Found this little pic in DayLife.com which proudly announces that its mission is “organizing and distributing the world’s news.” Yeah right.

You can click on the pic to read the accompanying caption or just read below.

The body of a young man who was shot dead is examined by doctors at the emergency room of a hospital near the Petare slum in Caracas November 14, 2009. Gun laws are lax in Venezuela, where the government estimates there are 6 million firearms circulating among the population of about 28 million. Venezuela’s murder rate is about 8 times that of the United States.

First, to say that the gun laws in Venezuela are lax is akin to say that Mayor Bloomberg and Dianne Feinstein  are Pro-Gun and members of the NRA. To legally buy a gun in Venezuela you must be really connected to the Government and have a crapload  of money or have a level of patience that would send Job to the Loony House… and still be ready to shell some serious bucks. I am not up to date on gun prizes nowadays but the yardstick years ago was US retail price plus $700 to $1,000 extra for any gun at any of the v ery few, very controlled gun stores. You must submit a long form, background and psychological checks, fingerprints, photos and a letter stating why you want a firearm. Now, the permit to own is only issued to an specific gun so you must buy a gun first but can’t take it with you until the paperwork gets approved (if) and even then the gun does not belong to you but it is sort of leased and subject to recall by the Government at any time. Basically you go through the expense and aggravation to buy a gun for the State.  I almost forgot, the choice of guns is very limited to .32 ACP, 38 Special and maybe a double barrel shotgun. 9mm, .45 ACP and other calibers and long guns are Military Weapons forbidden to civilians. Forget about anything full auto.

Second, I am not sure how any “journalist” can actually believe anything coming out of the Venezuelan Government, but Reuters plays along for whatever lazy or sick reason they have. I doubt much that there are 6 million guns in the hands of the rank and file Venezuelan but I do know that the number one provider of firearms to crooks is the own Chavez Government. Chavez has a full fledged campaign against any local law enforcement agency that is somewhat efficient in the prosecution of crime. He has a judge come up with a judicial intervention order and he sends his military goons to take over the stations were the first things to be grabbed are: The guns.  That those guns later appear in the hands of crooks is yet to be explained by the Venezuelan Government.

The next two pictures are from the Tupamaros, a very Pro-Chavez group that has applied violence liberally against those who dare oppose the revolution. Do notice the equipment:

Uzis, MP-5s, pump shotguns, FN-FALs, grenades, military radios… yep, you can by those at any local supermarket.  These goons literally control vast neighborhoods at gunpoint and the police are pretty much useless and unarmed to compete. There might be 6 million guns out there, but they are all in the wrong hands.

Murder rate in Caracas, the capital city is 108 per 100,000. 98% of all murders go unsolved. People consider that the lack of security is the number one problem affecting the country. The fear of dying at the hands of these animals is so great they are willing to do whatever is necessary including giving up any vestigial remains of Rights they may have left. Gun Control does work but only in favor of those lusting for absolute power.

Gotta love the Cadets at West Point. Some had some interesting material that might have not endeared them to the present Commander in Chief.

Kill Bin Laden by Dalton Fury and David Hunt & Brad Thor’s The Apostle.

On Killing by Dave Grossman.

Gates Of Fire by Steven Pressfield

Here in South Florida we have the chance of shooting IDPA at least three times a month with Florida Keys Shooting Club in Key Largo (cutest little range you’ll ever seen and they hate me when I say that) and with Tropical Sport Shooting Association which is the club I belong. I am tasked with the score keeping duties for the club and that gives me an unique perspective on how the shooters are doing.

We have shooters of all levels. From the ones that just picked up a gun for the first time to some really amazing practitioners that will leave you scratching your head in amazement.  Even though the local ranges run the physical gamut from crappy to downright useless for action shooting, Roger the mentally twisted Course Of Fire Designer manages to come up with challenging set ups that will include shooting from every conceivable position and none of them comfortable. About the only time we shoot behind a Bianchi Barricade is while we shoot the Classifier, other than that we get to shoot from non-standard cover that include leaning walls, sidewalks, vehicles, etc. plus lots of shooting on the move.

What I have been noticing while scoring is the low amount of points down our shootings are getting. For those not in the sport, IDPA is scored not only on the basis of speed but also accuracy. Making cute little holes in the wrong areas penalizes you by adding seconds to your total time. Also shooting the wrong target or a designated No-Shoot will increase the penalties.  I am pleased to see that our shooters of all levels are doing a great job keeping the rounds on the appropriate areas of the target while moving, kneeling, walking and laying prone.

I wanted to make a point because I had Tivoe’d a new series with a famous Hollywood action actor that is also a deputy sheriff in the South. One of the episodes has him training a fellow deputy for his upcoming firearm qualification. The deputy qualifies on a static range by the skin of his teeth and the target looked like it was used to catch shotgun pellets shot by somebody with a caffeine overdose 40 yards away.  Unfortunately most police officers do not shoot their firearm but in two events: the day of their quals or the unfortunate day they are forced to use it in the line of fire.  The former is not practice enough and the latter is too late to do something about it.

If you are in Law Enforcement, you know that your sidearm is a life-saving device. You have the personal responsibility to be trained and “practiced” to a level that will give you a fighting chance in case you need to use it and also in the safest most accurate way so bystander lives are not threatened by your actions. It is imperative that you do good practice with it and as much as possible. About 10 years ago when I got somewhat serious about firearms and started with IDPA, there was an institutional mindset among LEOs that they did not need to practice or to engage in silly competitive games because, By God! they are trained Cops with Guns and will out-shoot any darn civilian out there. More than one LEO who dared to come shoot a match, left the range humbled and furious when they could not even begin to compare themselves with the lowest scoring of the darn civilians. Many never returned and the lesson was lost on them and us. Fortunately the mindset changed and we see more LEOs coming to shoot and improving greatly on their craft. Many have brought others to practice and as eye opening moment to make them see that quals every six months or every year are not the solution.  They also learned that those civilians with guns are not “the enemy” and “Right Wing Fanatics” or “Domestic Terrorists” that White Shirts or politicians kept mentioning but just regular folks that competed with guns and are Law Abiding and respectful of the Constitution not that different than themselves.

So, if you are a LEO take a chance and join any shooting discipline you think you may like. There is actually no downside to it. Trigger time is always well spent even if it is just shooting the bull with like-minded people.

So Lary Correia gets wind that there is somebody out there with a video game based on his book Monster Hunter International and is charging for it which makes it more than just plain fan appreciation. Larry I am guessing gets a tad upset and posts on his blog and Facebook about it. Next thing we know, MHI fans have already identified the culprit, got email and home addresses, phone numbers, DNA sample, bring down the website, call PayPal to have the account shut down and offer the miscreant all kinds of pain and suffering starting with rabid porcupines inserted in certain body orifice to a convoy of MHI followers with intentions of using his residence as target practice. Suffice to say the misguided miscreant cried Uncle at the top of his lungs and removed his game from sale. Larry being the gentleman he is, spoke to the perp and it seems that all is now under control.

Before anybody else goes wild no, we were not going to use the greedy imagination-less imbecile as Zombie target but then again, I am sure he was not sure. Cooler heads did recommend the use of a much scary weapon: Lawyers but that was not necessary either. I guess that is what happens when you have a book that crosses over to both the Fantasy Fans and the Firearm Enthusiasts: you are bound to have a geeky idiot face the wrath of people that have the means and character to do something somewhat “impolite” even though we are a Polite Society.

I just know Larry will gloat big time at the next ComicCon or any gathering of writers & fans. How many authors can say that his or her fans will take up arms against copyright violations? I am sure he will rub it just a little. Fans of other authors may show up dressed up as their favorite character but Larry’s won’t dress up as shooters, we are Shooters and we look normal… and that has to be scary for some people out there.