Scary Experience, Comforting P32

Had a scary incident at work today, and got a moment to consider just how serious I am about personal safety and the safety of those around me. It all happened in a matter of minutes and I will say that I was very aware of myself the whole time. Here is my memory of what happened and what I was thinking:

I was at the shop and it was a hectic day that had just slowed a bit. I was on the front counter helping a a young female customer with a middle aged guy waiting in the wings for some assistance. One other employee was at the shop as well and he working at the service bench while talking on the phone with a customer.

As I was finishing up with the young lady, an individual walking in the store that set off my alarms. He was young and wore a sweatshirt with a hood drawn as far over his head as the fabric would allow. He was looking down and away from my security camera, and most importantly he kept both hands in his sweatshirt pockets from the moment he walked in and did not even take them out when he sat down in a chair that had large armrests. The whole time he kept from looking at the camera, but he did seem to be looking around, mostly at people's legs.

I was immediately concerned and followed the advice of "don't ignore your instincts".

I told him that I would be with him soon and he just nodded in my direction. So I continued with the lady while keeping my eye on him. My alarms kept getting louder as his behaviors did not change and his hands never came out. I just kept thinking that I needed to get the customers out of the store quickly without raising an alarm. I especially needed to get the lady out as I perceived her as a potential target and one that was on the other side of the counter from me.

I helped the lady as quickly as possible and shooed her out without finishing her warranty paperwork. Since the phone was ringing, I took the call and put the person on hold, again while keeping the guy in sight. To understand the layout of the situation, you need to know that I work in a rectangle shaped room with a counter near the front, narrow end, and 70% of the rectangle behind me which comprises the actual service area. While it is all open, the counter can only be gone around on the right hand side as you stand behind it. The guy was sitting less than 10' away, but nicely on the left side. The remaining customer was on the right side at the end of the counter which gave him room to get behind the counter if needed.

Again, I was very clear in my mind that I needed to get the remaining customer out of the store and I prayed no new customers would arrive. Luckily our business was short, and the last customer left, but he did it slowly, keeping himself in the greatest area of danger. So I stalled.

Before the suspicious guy could stand, I told him I had to take a call that was on hold and would be right with him. Without waiting for a response or taking my eyes off of him, I moved to a phone further away and took the call that was on hold. No one was there. So I had a fake conversation while the last customer left the store. It took perhaps 10-20 seconds, but that was the time I needed to have the store empty.

My co-worker was still on the phone, oblivious to the events unfolding. So I hung up the phone and decided to address the hooded guy while I was lucky enough to have a near empty store. I moved quickly to the left side of the counter so that I was positioned between the guy and my oblivious co-worker. As I moved, I casually pulled the back of my t-shirt up and over my right back pocket where my loaded P32 was in a pocket holster.

I should stop and mention here that my heart was THUMPING and the adrenaline was pumping as my body was getting ready for potential combat. I felt that my system was getting near out of control, but that my mind was far clearer and focussed that I expected it would be. I could hear the words of Ayoob and others: watch his hands, trust your instincts, check the backstop, think about your next step, create space, and so on. I was also weighing my own mind, asking that final time, "If he attacks to maim or kill, will you be willing to kill him?". The answer seemed clear as day.

He got up and came over to the counter with his best gangsta gait and took both hands out of his pockets showing me an MP3 player. He wanted to sell it. He still was intentionally looking away from the camera, but since I could see both hands I was a bit calmer. I wanted him gone, and was not really interested. I suggested a nearby pawn shop and backed away from the counter in disinterest. He murmured something, turned away from the camera and left the store.

No sooner had walked 15' into the parking lot, than two police cruisers pulled up and confronted him. Two more quickly showed up and I saw them taking the MP3 player out and asking him questions. I went to the door and waved an officer over that I had met the week before when some guys sold me some stolen goods and had been arrested. I told him that this guy had tried to sell me the MP3 player and that I could give him footage.

The officer laughed and asked if I had noticed that this was the very same guy they had arrested the week before. I HAD NOT. Perhaps it was the hood that obscured my sight, perhaps the threatening behaviors took all my attention, who knows. As we talked, the officers in the lot were putting the handcuffs on and loading the guy in the back seat. I burned a copy of my security footage and off they went.

Before he left, I mentioned how the guy had freaked me and how I had not recognized him. The officer was not in a talkative mood. I did not mention my carry license or the fact that I was preparing protect myself. The last thing I need is to look like a vigilante.

I did, however, have a conversation with my co-worker about how we need to come up with a code for "Get the F**k out the back door!". I told him that I wanted him to leave so that there would be no obstructions in my own egress out the back door (or through it at high speeds). I did not mention that I wanted him out also so that I would not have to worry about protecting him or keeping him out of any potential line of fire.

So what did I learn today? Let's list the lessons in no particular order:

1. Trust Your Instincts: They may be better than your eye sight.
2. Keep in Control of the Situation If Time Allows: Both because it creates a better situation and it let you feel in control, even as adrenaline courses through your veins.
3. A P32 in the back pocket goes a long way to helping you feel calmer in the face of a potential robbery. (Although an upgrade to a P3AT might be nice).
4. Stay Calm & Keep Planning: I just kept thinking, "What next, what next?" as I used each moment to slightly improve the situation while I still had time to improve it.
5. Live Semi-Rural: It is nice to be in a town where a stolen MP3 player warrants 4 police cruisers + handcuffs.

That is about it. If I had any question about full time carry at work, it is answered, especially as my alone time at the store may increase.

Good night!

New AK: Back to the Shop

So I took it out to clean it off and look more carefully at the canting, and I noticed that the front end seemed a bit off. So peered down the barrel and noticed that instead of looking at the middle of the end of the receiver, I was looking more at it's corner. A more careful examination reveals that the entire front of the rifle was misaligned because of a poor attachment of the front end to the receiver.

The whole front end is pointing off to the left.

Damn!

I just emailed the vendor to see if he will swap it. I really don't want to send this thing off to Century Arms.

Will let you all know...

UPDATE:

After only one email, the wonderful people at The Exchange have offered to just replace the rifle. I will let you know how good the new one is once it arrives!

Danger vs. Fear: A Parade of Ammo

It is humorous to me when people fear guns by reputation alone. Here is the parade of ammo types that make up my armory. From Left to right, they are the most feared. While in reality, from right to left, they are the most dangerous.

Go Figure.

Which is the dreaded AK? Or the cheap, hidden Saturday Night Special? Or the high capacity, handgun of death? Or the socially acceptable hunting gun? Which has been the focus of the most gun legislation? Which would I least want to get hit by?

Here are the answers:

(A) .32 ACP round from my inexpensive "carry" gun that some call a Saturday Night Special because it retails under $200.
(B) .40 S&W round from my Hi-Cap Taurus pistol that I use for home defense and competition.
(C) 7.62x39 round from my AK47 Underfolder, my Katrina Gun.
(D) .303 British round from my "deer rifle" (sporterized Enfield SMLE III), which can drop a Black Bear not to mention a deer.

Which round is the most dangerous? (D) .303 British. Why? Because no body armor available could stop it and the terminal kinetics it offers are far, far more deadly than the AK's anemic round.

Which round has made the least news? (D) .303 British. Why? Because no one fears a deer rifle, well, except me.

Where am I going with this? Nowhere in particular, except to say that fear does not equal lethality. Also that danger is not the source of fear. Ignorance is.

Enfield takes the Field: Bye, Bye, Saiga.

Since the New AK showed up, I took the Saiga in to trade it out with my local dealer. He liked the Saiga enough to trade out for a sporterized Enfield (it was that or take a Norinco 870 shotgun clone). Long story short, I am a sucker for old mil surplus and since the only thing I hated about the Enfields was their weight, this VERY nicely done sport job makes a very nice rifle.

It even has a very nice barrel after a good bore brushing.

The .303 round is ugly, and not as versatile as the 30-06, but it has the power to drop dear or bigger animals if ever needed. It also should give decent accuracy to practice with. A much nicer conversion than the mouser I was eyeing at MC Sports the other day.

It even has a new sling. Bonus!

New AK Here! Jury Out on Quality...

Well, we will just have to get this guy out to the range and see what it can do. I like the magazine, the bore looks good, a pin fell out of the folding stock but does not effect performance, there is a slight cant to the front sight but not the gas system, and one mag is slathered in camisole.

The range is the final arbiter.

It is heavier than I expected.

Article Posted @ DailyKos

Here we go, come and see how this goes:

Towards An Understanding of Gun Nuts: One Progressive Gun Owner's Notes


It is up and running now...

Welcome New Congress: Don't Blow It!

Welcome to our new Congress and our new majority!

May this new year bring accountability, sound judgement, oversight, and a lame duck Presidency. It will take hard work, and unusual amount of unity among Dems. Here are my top 10 suggestions for how this new Congress can turn around this country and return us to whom we once were:

1. Stay Focussed.
2. Pick Your Fights Carefully.
3. Be Bold, Even if You Risk Being Wrong.
4. Respect All, Even Idiots.
5. Be Certain in Your Oversight Role.
6. Stay in 2007, Not 2008.
7. Be Merciless on Corruption.
8. Stay in 2007, Not 1994.
9. Be for All Americans, not Just the Ones that Elected You.
10. Stay in 2007, Not 1968.

Good Luck, Godspeed, and God help you all.

Oh, and give them hell!

Because, if you blow this, the voters will not forgive, we just are not in the mood for it...

The Sounds of Silence & A Happy New Year!

I love being a parent, but sometimes the constant, unending noise makes me nuts. Screaming, yelling, giggling kids who all operate at volume 11. TV and radio blaring all hours (the baby sleeps best with audio input). Other machines too: the dishwasher, dryer, washing machine, exercise bike, blender, often running at the same time.

Deafening literally and mentally.

My son was the first to request my shooting ear protectors to wear during the times when his baby sister is screaming. Then he got to wearing them when he wanted to hear himself sing (go figure). Then I swiped them back when I blog so that I can hear myself think (wearing them now).

While I occasionally like the dead silence of the empty house, that silence is overwhelming and oppressively empty.

Instead, the muted noise of family insanity leaking through my $9 hearing protectors let me see and hear the action while letting me see what is going on:

Wife and one daughter baking strawberry pound cakes, son playing rocket ship police with a space ship made from duct tape and spare golf ball tubing, cats trying to decide if we are all insane, and me blogging with my cheap "ears" on.

The Sounds of Silence...

Happy New Year!

Saiga Problem Solved - A.K.A. New AK on the Way

I worked REALLY hard this month and really grew to hate the Saiga (see previous posts). So, I broke down and ordered a Yugoslavian Underfolding AK. Still will not be all that amazingly accurate, but will be much more fun on a geek level. Add to that a serious bonus in storage and magazine capacity. And I can get rails for it. And I can modify it without violating BATF rules. And, and, and... I cannot wait.

First of my second Gen guns..

(Picture pulled from Guns America and The Exchange, from whom I bought the AK).

My Brother's Stolen Sandwich

Another story from my Brother in the big city:

He had just put down his lunch combo on the table at the Subway restaurant and was filling his soda cup when he noticed a man just outside the window looking left and right and at his sandwich. Before he could do anything, he sees the guy run in the door, grab his sandwich and bolt out the door.

(I interrupted here and said, "He must have been hungry" did you get another sandwich?")

Nope, my brother throws down his drink and runs out the door in hot pursuit. Weaving through the grid locked traffic, he is running the sandwich thief to ground. In a few minutes he will have the guy.

(I interrupted again here and said, "Man, that was stupid!" Why not just let the guy go?)

He expains to me that he only had a budget for that one meal that day and he did not want to be hungry. Plus, IT WAS HIS SANDWICH!

So the guy looks back over his shoulder and sees my Brother catching up to him and what does he do?

He takes the sandwich out of the bag and, gulping down unchewed mouthfuls, he just keeps running.

(I interrupt with tears of laughter, "Just how hungry were you? Would you still eat it then?")

Nope. My brother let it go at that point. He really wanted a HIS sandwich, but not that bad!

Even Gun Safety can be Trouble

My kids know firearm safety, at least the safety basics for their age level. This is not because they learned it in a class, or at school. Nope, it is because the learned it from me. Could I teach others? Sure, but I wouldn't dare. Why? Because it would mean: A. telling people I own guns (dangerous in certain company) and B. convincing people that exposure to firearms, even just for safety training, will not harm their children mentally or physically.

I find it ironic that we liberals make fun of the "head in the sand" approach of the right wingers when it comes to sex education (i.e. abstinence only programs). We say, "The kids are doing it, there is a unignorable threat, and so we have to give them the tools to get through life safely. Teaching it will not make them do it."

And yet we no longer have basic, communal firearm safety instruction for our kids.

Given that 1 out of 4 homes has at least one firearm on average, and given this is much higher in rural areas, you would think that kids should get some very basic, sobering, and responsible safety instruction. Especially in a society that sadly confuses firearms with toys.

In every experience I have had, exposure leads to respect. Respect leads to responsibilty. Responsibilty lead so safety.

As a member of the NRA, there are options for me to become a certified safety instructor and I have considered them. But even if I went through the certification courses, I would still be in the same catch-22: to name my certification would be to invoke the dreaded NRA and that would possibly even make matters worse.

So, my kids are safe, and I trust them as much as kids can be trusted. My house is also safe (gun locks, safes, and more - oh my!). But sadly, there will be unsafe houses and there will be unprepared kids. And accidents will only add to the visceral rage that many people have towards all firearms and gun owners. And kids will be no safer for it.

When I was in the 6th grade one of my classmates was accidentally killed by her brother who was cleaning a loaded rifle. It was one of the pivotal points in my life and my first introduction to death. The sad reality is that the son was not safe, and as a result his rifle was unsafe. The fact that his sister did not know enough to leave the room when he was being unsafe, maybe not even realizing the danger they were both in, I think attributed to the accident.

He was a minor handling a weapon without the presence of his parents. AND he was cleaning a loaded weapon in violation every safety rule in the book. AND he was surprised by the family dog. AND he dropped a loaded weapon. AND he had a fluke accidental discharge. AND the round hit his sister in the head. AND she was dead.

I cannot help but to think that the situation could have been different. Maybe not. But training could not have hurt either.

Dog Owners

Why do so many dog owners think that dogs need to run free? Especially in residential areas?

"My dog would never hurt anyone."

"My dog is not a problem."

"My dog is special, just like me!"

Your dog is going to get run over, hurt someone, or get taken to the pound. Being "special" won't make a difference. Today the most recent addition to our neighborhood tried to climb in the family minivan today with my wife and kids.

I guess it thought it was special...

The Bear in the Yard

So today while visiting relatives I find out that one of my semi-distant relatives moved to a rural location at the edge of a national forest. He is not fond of guns at all, but had a change of heart when he met his new neighbor. Guess the real-estate agent failed to mention the Brown Bear that owned the apple tree in their yard.

Yep, owned. At least according to the bear that spends a great deal of time in their yard sleeping and lounging 20 feet from their front door. Now in addition to all the usual bear precautions (spraying trash with ammonia, ringing a bell, being very aware of the bear's presence or absence), he also has to carry a large hand cannon on his property to protect himself if the bear ever tried to evict him.

This is both a spiritual hassle and a logistic one, since guests also must wear the hand cannon when they visit if they plan to be outside. He was not specific, but I am guessing from the description that he referred to a .460 or .500 revolver of some sort (definitely a hand howitzer).

Personally, I would blame the real-estate agent and ask him or her to speak to the bear. Or maybe move the bear to the real-estate agent's home. Or even move the tree to another location.

But in the mean time, the howitzer is a no-brainer, even if it is a hassle.

Defending Pro-Gun Progressives @ DailyKos

I have planned to write a diary over at Daily Kos, but never got around to making a user until I planned to post. Turns out, there is a waiting period to post after account creation, so I will have to wait another week to send it up. I will post a copy when I send it to Kos...

Concealed Carry Experience: Overweight and Undergunned

I have been carrying concealed off and on for a couple of months now and after several holsters and clothing experiments, I am getting the hang of things. The only problem is that the gun I have centered on is the Kel-Tec P32. It is superbly small and light. Conceal-ability does not get better (especially for us "husky" folk), but the trade off is the .32 ACP round that it fires. It is better than nothing, but that is about all it has going for it.


The reality of this underpowered reality was driven home recently. I buy used electronics often and recently I had a very large woman try and sell me a very "hot" piece of merchandise. A couple of calls to the cops, and a quick investigation resulted in the police taking the merchandise and going over to her house to arrest her. At least that is what they said when they left my store.


In fact no arrest was made, and instead they let me know that they had "made contact" and were looking for a boyfriend who was the "actual" thief. They assured me that neither the woman nor the boyfriend would make contact with me, but if they did I should call 911. And that was that.


Needless to say, I had to decide wether to be armed or not the next day. Why? Frankly, this woman outweighed me easily by 150 lbs and who knows what her boyfriend was like. I figure, someone was going to jail and I was not sure if they wanted to upgrade from theft to aggravated assault before heading to lockup. I wanted all of my options available. At the same time, no one could know I was armed.


So, as I am getting prepped for work the next day, I had that drop in the gut feeling as I armed up. Looking at the puny .32 ACP rounds in the magazine and thinking of 400 lbs of charging woman, or 600+ lbs of charging woman and boyfriend, I had a very real crisis of confidence. Even with martial arts and minimal military training, there are limits to what I can do. The Kel-Tec was the only option realistically available to me, and off to work it went. But I resolved in that moment to try and find a more powerful carry piece for the future.


In all reality, the chances of trouble were miniscule. The thieves would have to be complete morons to come back to my shop, stand in front of my security cameras for a second time, and cause trouble. But I remember from my years as a Jail Chaplain just how stupid, and emotionally driven criminals can be. 


The good news is that they have not shown up. Instead, 48 hours later the cops were again at my store collecting more stolen merchandise and this time actually arresting the teens who sold it to me no more than 5 minutes before (I am out $5 in cash on that deal). The thieves had been followed by the victims who shadowed them into my store while the cops were in route. Luckily, the victims were very calm and the thieves did not know who they were and so there was no scene. 


I will say that I was much more calm in the situation knowing that all of my options, no matter how undergunned, were open to me. I was armed, and not with a stapler.


Now to decide between a Taurus and a Kahr...

Go! Go! Godzilla!

My son was obsessed with trains when he was younger. Obsessed is a light term for it. From the fantastical Diesel 10 of the Thomas the Tank Engine series to the very real bullet trains of Japan, he was a complete train freak. At one point I had concerns he would grow up to be the kind of guy that films cargo trains on the weekends to get his train fix. (My wife told me to just let him be, "He's a boy").

Then I began shooting competition and my son became obsessed with guns. This was a problem until we set strict rules of when he could and could not share his obsession (NEVER AT SCHOOL, etc.). But my wife found it VERY disturbing. She was a real trooper and I did everything I could to assure her that he was not on a track that would end with him dead in Baghdad. (I told her to just let him be, "He's a boy").

But then came Godzilla and saved my ass. I mean that. We were watching Lilo and Stitch when I realized that a reference to Godzilla in it meant nothing to the kids because they had never seen any of the movies. So I showed them Godzilla 1985 as well as Son of Godzilla (the silliest of them), and WHAMO! he has a new obsession! Problem solved...

I swear, watching him set up cities of blocks and cars, just to stomp them down, brings back so many memories. Does my heart good.

And it also really helped my marriage...

Joining the Ranks of CCW: Self-Reliance & Adulthood

CCW: Concealed Carry Firearm

So, when I got my permit to carry a handgun in the state of Indiana, I not only became elidgeable to transport a firearm but I also became legally able to carry one. At first I did not think that I would use this new legal right in any other way than to transport my Taurus to and from the range and shooting competitons. I did not consider myself as having an immediate need to carry and was not sure that I would feel comfortable "packing" a loaded firearm.

As time passed, I realized that there were times when I did feel at some small risk: late night ATM runs, being in my glass showroom/office at night, etc. And so I tested the waters with a small of the back holster and my Taurus. The results were ok and the weapon was unnoticed since I was careful in dress and body motion. I neither "printed" (let the pistol outline show through my clothes) or "flashed" (accidentally showed it to another person). But it was very uncomfortable and awkward, which is to be expected from a full sized pistol that was never intended for concealed carry.

So I did what any other gun owner would do: I bought another gun, a Kel-Tec P32 mousegun. While mouseguns are looked down on by many gun owners, the size of the pistol (tiny) and the weight (same as a wallet) made it a good choice. Since then it has become a regular carry piece when I go out at night for business or even when out on the rare date night with my wife.

In a quality holster the P32 is quite undetectable and is so light that it just feels like I am carrying two wallets. The only down side is that the firearm is weak (I will blog on this later). But I can carry this all day and not sacrifice clothes or comfort and that is what I need most right now.

I expect people would have many questions for me if anyone actually read this blog: How can you as a father own and carry deadly weapons when there are kids around? How could you as a liberal add more guns to a gun laden society? Aren't you no better than the criminals out there? Do you REALLY need a gun? Who are you to take the law into your own hand? Could you really shoot someone?

To make these questions more interesting, you need to know that I have taken a long journey to get to where I find myself driving around town armed with a .32 pistol in my back pocket. I have been a pacifist, I have been a militant, I have been a radical, and I have been a parent. But one thing that has always been core to me: I am a pragmatist.

What am I? I am a father, a husband, a citizen, and an adult. As a father & husband, I am responsible for myself, my wife and my children (just as my wife is responsible for herself, me, and our children). This means that I do not have the luxury of letting something happen to me. Even moreso, I cannot let something happen to my wife or kids. I was clear on that long before I bought my first firearm.

Do I really need a gun? Ask anyone who got stuck in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. While we want to believe that others will keep us safe (police, military, neighbors, etc.), the reality is that we are the only ones who can protect ourselves. That is true after a disaster, and it is true in the dark parking garage, and it is true in the home, and it is true in the gas station bathroom, and it is true..... And, frankly, the sad fact is that there are many people that I am no match for, not without a firearm. My 5'8" 250 pounds of blubber is no match for 6' 5" 300 pounds of muscle. Not to mention two attackers. I would be as outmatched as I was at 12 when I was mugged at knifepoint. If I am responsible to defend myself and my family, then a firearm is a necessity of last resort.

Does this make me like the criminals? Of course not, that is insipid. Does my breathing the same air make me the same? Does my wearing clothes make me the same? Does my driving a car make me the same? Or using money? Of course not. We are all overly evolved monkeys that use tools. A gun is simply another tool: nothing more, nothing less.

Aren't I making the world a worse place? The reality is that while passive resistance can make the world a better place, it cannot make every individual a better, law abiding, person. And in the moment of confrontation, when my family is at risk, I am not worried about changing the world. I am worried about me and mine. It is that simple. And as far as flooding the world with guns? That ship has sailed. Cancel the production of all new firearms and the country would still have plenty to go around.

And as far as being a liberal and being armed, I am finding that the numbers of both are increasing. Liberals believe in helping others, self-reliance, fairness, and the communal good. All of these are helped by my firearm ownership. As a responsible, careful, civic minded liberal, I am interested in being able to do something for the good if that time ever came rather than running away or cowering in fear. Additionally, since carrying a firearm puts me at legal risk if I do something stupid, I find that when I am armed, I am much more careful to obey the law fully. I do not speed, j-walk, or do other questionable things when I am carrying.

And as far as safety is concerned, my guns are very safe. And even more importantly, my kids are very safe around guns. Both are vital. Gun safes, trigger locks, ammo safes, unloaded storage all are vital points of gun safety, but none can protect your kids when they find a gun at someone else's house or on the street. At that time, only the kids with safety training and exposure can be expected to do what is right. My little ones are much better prepared than those of my friends who simply avoid firearms out of fear.

And you know what is most surprising in all of this? The number of people who were already in the ranks of the CCW. Legal, conscientious concealed carriers are already everywhere around us. From the guy at Kinko's to a mother from play group. From the super liberal off-the-grid ex-hippie, to the manager at the fast food joint. There are many more people who carry than I ever suspected. No-one needs to know, so they don't. And, sadly, no-one appreciates or realizes them.

These are people who take on the full self-responsibility of the adult-citizen, take on the fullest responsibility for others, take that responsibility seriously enough to not underestimate danger, and who spend a great deal of time, training, and effort to be ready if needed. And none ever expect to be thanked.

I am proud to join their number.

My AK-47 (Saiga): A Love/Hate Relationship

The Tale of the Katrina Gun

So I had been considering getting back into shooting after years away and had not yet decided on the one weapon that could do everything: protect the house, play at the range, shoot for pennies, have a bit of character, and most importantly - catch my fancy.

There were so many things to mull over, I just could not make up my mind. New or Used? Civilian or Milsurp? Rifle or Carbine? (I had ruled out shotgun only cause they are kinda boring at the range). But with all the research, I had not made a decision.

Then the Katrina disaster hit us all. Day after day a major US city was left to its own. People without protection were looted, people with protection were not. True, as my wife pointed out, those who could go did and we would have gone too. But I knew that being able to leave was just a novel feature to this disaster, in most there is no warning and no simple, planned escape.

If anything BIG happened, Katrina was a lesson in just how alone and screwed we were all going to be.

So I just went down to the nearest large gunstore and searched the racks. While I have a real soft spot for military surplus, nothing there that day really was both in good shape and terribly affordable. I also wanted a really available, cheap round, so the enfileds were out (I also have always found them bulky). The SKS's are not all that light either and I have never liked their stocks - the grip is just too fat.

Then I saw the strangest AK I had ever seen. Night black, sporter stock, short magazine, AK receiver, but just rifle enough to pass the wife's "What's THAT?" test. It also felt better in my hand than the Romanian AK next to it and was much lighter feeling. Add that all to being in great condition, and sporting the super cheap 7.62x39 round and the plastic was on the table.

Now, I need to add that I love the sloppy perfection in idiot-proofing that is the AK. I have shot my fair share of AR-15/M-16's and they have never felt right to me. I really can't explain it, except to say that I like clugey hacks, and the AK is a legend of cluginess that works like perfection.

Anyways, one Russian AK clone and 200+ rounds of ammo in the minivan and I was on my way home.

It did pass the wife test, barely. But nothing much would, so mission accomplished there.

After many trips to the range, I will say this about the rifle: it is reliable. 700+ rounds later and I can only report one jam, and that with a soft point round so I stopped using soft points. This reliability is remarkable since there are gaps in the gas tube, the magazines are essentially plastic, and the rifle is as cheap as they come.

The down side is that it is not very accurate. I have tried the original sights which are so poor they cannot be seen by anyone over 25. I have tried a red dot scope which was worse than the original sights. I have tried Mojo Peep sights which helped alot but are no good over 60 yards or so. And I have tried magnifying scopes (better but still not great).

Could this thing hit a deer? Sure. Could it hit a man? Sure. Could it win a fight against a well armed, determined attacker at 100 yards? Not likely at all.

But then again, does it need to? No, not really. It has a limited magazine (10 rounds) and was intended to get around assault ban restrictions. It was intended for hunting. It was intended for guys who could not realistically own a real AK (either failed the wife test or the government test).

Worse yet is that the BATF has very stringent rules for this particular rifle. Although it is easy to do, and the parts are openly sold, I cannot use a magazine with a higher capacity than the 10 round ones sold with the rifle. And even though folding stocks are sold (and this would greatly improve my closet space situation), I would be a criminal if I installed one on my rifle. Basically, all the cool mods that you can put on other firearms, you cannot on this one. It is as it is, and cannot be changed.

So, do I keep it? For now, yeah. Why? Because I cannot afford to replace it. And also because I really do like the mechanisms involved. You'd have to look inside one to understand what I mean. The really are an impressively simple design.

So, until I can get a Polish Underfolder AK with Synthetic stocks, I guess I will have to keep this as my Katrina gun.

It will just have to do...

When Do Ends Justify Means?

We liberals are funny people. Sometimes we are soft to denounce the terrible actions of others, while finding as many possible actions of our own that can be labeled as being terrible. It is a weakness of ours that the right smells on us and exploits at every turn. Face it; we liberals have a habit towards moral relativism that is something we must be aware of and work against all the time.

At the same time, the very same right loves to talk about absolute truths of right and wrong until those truths are inconvenient. The "Party of Life" ain't so full of points of light when it comes to communists, liberals, terrorists, arabs, scary looking people on the street, or traitors. The list of people they are willing to "waive" absolute truth for includes Americans as well as non-Americans and is long enough to make their Jesus weep. They are not so much moral relativists as situational moralists.

But the reality is that both groups are faced with a serious and difficult question. In a nutshell, what do we do with people who want nothing less than the absolute destruction of Americans (in the world or just in the middle east - does not matter) and relish in the harm and brutality that they can inflict?

The volume on this question is high. With Americans literally being beheaded on TV and our safety in the balance, the answer is hard to calmly come to. BUT IT IS VITAL to remember that volume does not change the nature of the question. The question is absolute (REALLY absolute - not CONVENIENTLY absolute!):

Do the ends justify the means?

Some have answered the question in a simple fashion: the ends are bunk so the means are unjustified. This is answer given by McCain and others who point at the lack of meaningful information gathered by the use of torture. Torture elicits confessions and admissions that are for political ends, not useful in any tactical way. At best we could have Osama on the TV admitting the error of his ways and begging forgiveness of the masses with a bruise on one eye. But does this justify torture?

The problem with this answer is that it begs the question, "If the ends WERE valuable, THEN would any means justify them?" I.E. If pulling out some jihadist’s bowels while he watched elicited the location of a nuclear weapon, then his torture and murder would be ok? By this argument, maybe it would be.

Another group argues that the means cannot be justified because in the end it is we become what we hate. I.E. even if we use the means, and the enemy is destroyed, we have become something else, something worse. The ends of the war move the nation to an end that itself is unacceptable.

The classic problem with this is that if we let the enemy get to far, maybe there will not be a future for us. Would it be better to be dirty or dead, the argument goes. This is an easy argument to make, but only if the enemy really has the capacity to inflict this kind of end on us. Do they have thousands of nukes pointed at us? No? Hmm...

And yet another says that the ends justify the means because in their means, they have absolved us of ours. In other words, they lose rights to the Geneva Convention when they act as stateless terrorists. They lose their American rights the first day at the Pakistani Jihadi training camp. “They want a war, we will give it to them.”

But this does not hold in any other field. When guards storm a hostage situation where the hostage taker raped a bank teller, they do not hand cuff him, drop their pants and begin the payback. No, there is some sense that our laws hold despite the actions of criminals, terrorists, and even traitors.

So when do the ends justify the means? When are they, even the most extreme ones acceptable? And is their acceptability based on their extremity?

Once at a dinner party, I posed the question, "If you could end all warfare in the Middle East by taking a 4 year old from the dinner table out in the street and putting a bullet through his head, would you?"

Considering the table was full of Israelis and American Jews, this was not as academic a question as you might think.

I posed it in part because I though people were not being absolute in their condemnation of terrorism as well as others being too accepting of the use of inexact munitions in targeting known terrorists.

So, again, do the ends justify the means?

The first group I mentioned might say that children aught not be killed, or even risked since we cannot be sure that we will get to the target we want. But what if we were sure the bad guy was in the car with his family? Would it be worth it? What if he was alone, but on a crowded street? If the end is that tantalizing, does the justification come only with the accuracy of the missile or the information gleamed from the water boarding?

The second group has its own problems. If a single life could stop the horror, isn't that easy math? Really. Doesn't the father lose the right for his kid’s safety if he chooses the life of terror? Hell, won't the kid just grow up to be a terrorist anyways? What if just a few slaps, or even just the threat of a visit to room 101 could save our own kids? How could you not?

The last group ends with the moved end point. Once we do this, we cannot be who we were before. But, so what? I mean, we all weep for the loss of the Indian nations, but we are glad to be the ones running the country, right? Hey, a little sin with a whole lot of life is survivable, ain't it?

So, finally, does the ends justify the means? Are there absolutes in this world anymore, or are we all just relativists, either the moral relativists or situational moralists? Are we all just confused and lost? Have we already lost who we were, never really having any strong moral backbones to begin with?

So I leave you with the question: You have the gun, you have the 4 year old, and peace could be possible.

Do the ends justify the means?

How do you know?

Learning from the Airlines: School Shooting Solutions

Two more tragic school shootings have made the headlines and terrified each and every parent and student in the nation. While most honest coverage of these events has made clear that the attackers were not students, much of the reports have spent time on the problem of gun violence in the nation and how disarmament would help move us all to safer schools. And yet, while reports are willing to opine and wander into areas of political discourse, they are seeming squeamish at reporting another part of these two shootings: the choice of schools as targets by violent rapists.

Let us be clear, in both cases the attackers had two goals: sexual abuse of young kids to be followed by murder and suicide. Like suicide bombers, these two killers chose schools as the softest targets that held the highest number of their potential victims. The first chose a public school, the second chose an even softer target: a religious pacifist school.

In both cases the attackers entered unopposed, set up defenses, chose their victims and began their sexual abuse before the police could arrive. In both cases, negotiations were meaningless since the police had nothing the butchers wanted. The butchers had the weapons, the young girls, and time to commit heinous sexual acts before killing themselves and taking a few children with them.

Let me also be clear, these two cases are unusual and the police handling of the events seem to be fully appropriate and even heroic. In both cases they had hostage situations with armed and well-blockaded perpetrators with a classroom full of kids. In both cases they had to storm tactically difficult rooms and surely saved lives in the process.

The problem is that the police could only arrive after the attack had begun, the victims carefully selected, and the barricades put up. There was no one who could give meaningful opposition in the critical opening moments when the attackers were most vulnerable. As per the now national norm, kids in other classrooms were put into lockdown and huddled into "safe" locations until the police arrived. This helps slow down attackers, but does nothing at all to stop them. Trust me, any classroom door can be opened by a breaching shotgun (but I digress here).

Who could have reacted in the initial moments of the attack? Only those who are in the school: Teachers, Principles, staff, or visiting parents. A security guard is preferred, and a police officer is even better, but if he is sick that day or on the opposite end of a large campus, he is not going to be able to make the difference. And most schools have neither.

When it became painfully obvious that our cockpits were a soft target for terrorists, we soul searched and decided to make three key changes to harden them. First, we actually hardened the doors on the cockpits to slow the terrorists down. The "lock down" plans in most schools accomplish much the same goal. We also hired police (marshals) to ride the planes and be there to thwart attacks even though they would only be on a few flights at any one point in time. Perhaps more schools will now hire armed guards, time will tell. But the last element has been that we have allowed, certified, trained, and professional pilots to carry firearms themselves and provided them with the means to save themselves, the people on their planes, and the people on the ground. Could we not even consider doing the same for our schools?

But wouldn’t guns in schools mean accidents, hurt kids, bravado, and the collapse of western society! (Ok, that last one was over the top...)

The same was said of the pilots and yet no accidental shooting has occurred. No pilot has blown out a window while showing off his "six shooter" in a moment of braggadocio. No pilot has let a kid play with his gun and shot the family pet. No pilot has sat down, farted, and killed grandma with an accidental discharge. No pilot has helped solve a drunk and disorderly passenger situation by putting a gun in the jerk's face. And no pilot, to my knowledge, has gotten in an argument with his co-pilot and shot him in a drunken rage. Nope. Never. Not a one.

Instead, the quiet skies have been just that: quiet. Too bad our schools aren't.

So, can we please have an open and realistic debate about how we can harden our schools? Against student attackers, against hostage takers, against suicidal rapists, and God forbid, against the future possibility of suicide bombers. Schools are increasingly a target of opportunity. They are unarmed, unlocked, chaotic and filled with our most precious treasures: our children.

Hoping them safe has not worked. Making them free of any and all firearms has not worked. Disarming the entire nation has not worked (even in placed that are nearly disarmed). And expecting the police to protect us has not worked (again - no insult to the police intended).

Perhaps our schools can learn something from the airlines...