How to get a free bike in Boston

A friend of mine went outside one morning last week and found her bicycle missing from the sidewalk where she had locked it up.  She called Boston Police to report it stolen, and they advised her to also check to see whether it was impounded for being locked to a public street sign.  She called to check and they confirmed it was in fact confiscated, and that she just had to go to a warehouse to pick it up. 

She went to the warehouse, which is run by the Department of Public works, and located near South Station.  She presented no ID, nor proof of ownership, nor even was asked for a description of the bicycle.  The DPW employee just told her to go into the storage room and get her bike.  My friend told me there were hundreds of bicycles stacked on top of each other in a tangled mess.  Instead of searching through the mess for her old, crappy bike she quickly gave up and left. 

So, fellow Bostonians, if you're in the market for a used bike you'd be a sucker to buy one at your local bike shop.  Just go to the DPW warehouse near South Station, tell the inept government employee that your bike was impounded, and leave with any bike you want.  All for free!

Be sure to thank Mayor Menino's office for their generosity. 

I made my parents commit a felony

After I finished cleaning up my brass at the range on Saturday, I noticed an extra spent .45 case and put it in my pocket.  Since it was about 110 degrees in Boston, my wife and I went straight to my parents' pool for the afternoon.  I sat outside on the deck for a while, went swimming and left without realizing that the spent case had fallen out of my pocket onto their deck. 

The next day I stopped by there again for a barbecue and they told me what I accidentally left them.  Here's why this matters.  Their possession of that spent case, that inert tube of brass, was a felony in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  If caught with it, they faced jail time and tens of thousands of dollars in fines.  It doesn't matter that it wasn't live ammunition, as MGL makes no distinction between live rounds and components. 

The same danger applies if you let someone without an LTC or FID borrow your car and there's a spent case in the trunk.  If a cop finds it and wants to be a jerk, your friend is in trouble. 

I'm not aware of any other states that criminalize innocent people for accidental possession of inert ammo components.  

Terrible sales pitch from American Gunsmithing Institute

I bought one of their videos on how to build a 1911 a couple weeks ago.  Although the production value isn't the best, it's a good value for $80 and I learned a lot from it.

Today I got an email from them using some really dubious scare tactics that - yes - invoke Hitler.  Here are some snippets:

Urgent Time Sensitive Information:

Who else is going to be able to Laugh in the face of an Economic Collapse when the U.S. Government Goes Broke?!

How are YOU going to survive and even thrive by protecting your income during the next few turbulent years?! This letter reveals a secret that could be your answer. 

Dear Friend:
I am writing to you because frankly I am extremely concerned. So, I am going to cut right to the chase. The current crop of politicians has me really worried! If this continues, the USA will have more than one foot in the economic grave. It will be falling face forward into the same type of hyper inflation that pre-Nazi Germany experience that brought Germany to the point of internal civil war and the rise of Hitler to power.

Here is the big secret to keeping more money and paying lower taxes (legally), while being able to earn income and barter for whatever you need. It is simply this: Own a small business doing something you love.

Here's why:
Small businesses for the most part fly under the Big Government radar and regulation machine.

As for what Gunsmithing course to take, I can only recommend one: The American Gunsmithing Institute's Master Gunsmithing Course.

I don't know what business is right for you, but the one I am suggesting in this letter is Gunsmithing...

Best wishes,

Gene Kelly
President

Gene - If you want me to buy products from AGI in the future, convince me of the value of what you're selling.  I want to know what gunsmithing skills I will learn from watching your videos, and how these skills will help me build better, more reliable guns, whether for business or hobby.  Don't try to scare me with predictions of impending economic doom.  I will believe whatever you tell me about gunsmithing, but not economics.  This sales tactic insults me. 

This is just too funny (from japete's blog of course)

From her post today:

There is obviously a serious difference of opinion about how to deal with the major problem of the huge appetite for drugs in the U.S. leading to the Mexican drug cartel abusing their power by killing those who would get in their way. (emphasis mine)

 It's because of gems like this that I can't stop reading her. 

What is a "civilized country not at war?"

Despite her belief that her own country is civilized and our brown neighbors to the south are uncivilized, I don't think Japete is a racist.  Perhaps in the "soft bigotry of low expectations" liberal sense of bigotry, but not a traditional racist.  Her outlook might better be described as patronizing, as she implies certain people can't help themselves from murdering, so they're not really comparable to us. 

Her civilized/uncivilized societal distinctions are practical.  If she includes the "uncivilized" countries in the comparison, the US ranks favorably in terms of "gun violence" rates.  But if she excludes the uncivilized brown people, the US ranks worse. 

It's a transparent move that doesn't fool anyone.  An honest person would question why countries like Mexico, whose corrupt government bans civilian gun ownership, realize rates of violence much higher than the US. 


Here are snippets of this Brady Campaign board member's disturbing views:

Jul 11, 2011 – This is the country that has the highest gun deaths per 100000 of any civilized country not at war. This is America where the second ...

May 30, 2011 – Why are there so many shootings every day in America (more than any civilized country not at war)? Why do the gun rights activists push back ...

Apr 24, 2011 – We already have enough victims and more than any other civilized country not at war. We don't need more. Ask your legislators what they are ...

May 1, 2011 – Statistics point to the very American problem of gun violence not seen in any other civilized country not at war. We have a serious problem ...

Feb 19, 2011 – We love our guns and as a result, we have more victims than any other civilized country in the world. These are victims- people who were one ...   

Jun 26, 2011 – Otherwise we wouldn't have the most gun deaths per 100000 of any other civilized country. I read a lot of articles about gun incidents that ... 

Apr 2, 2011 – ... that the U.S gun deaths per 100000 are hugely higher than any other civilized country in the world not at war. That is common knowledge. ... 

Aug 2, 2010 – ... every civilized country not at war except the U.S.). He needed a little help from Dailey to answer his question: "" He shook his head. ...