If you and another person get arrested together in Chicago, you’re both part of a loose network of people with a high risk of getting shot in the future, Yale University researchers say in a newly published study.
New study shows likelihood of being shot in Chicago – Sun Times

I mean, this is serious, people from Yale University made one of them really deep studies probably costing six figures and they found out that:

This study investigates the concentration of nonfatal gunshot injuries within risky social networks. Using six years of data on gunshot victimization and arrests in Chicago, we reconstruct patterns of co-offending for the city and locate gunshot victims within these networks. Results indicate that 70 percent of all nonfatal gunshot victims during the observation period can be located in co-offending networks comprised of less than 6 percent of the city’s population. Results from logistic regression models suggest that as an individual’s exposure to gunshot victims increases, so too do that individual’s odds of victimization.

Tragic, but not random: The social contagion of nonfatal gunshot injuries.

So basically the investigators found out that if you hang out with stupid people at stupid places during stupid hours, you win stupid prizes.  We never heard this before, thank God we have the Intelligentsia to protect us and save us.

Telescreens are fictional devices which operate as both televisions and security cameras. They feature in George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four as well as all film adaptations of the novel.

This is from Samsung Global Privacy Policy – SmartTV Supplement which connects to the Internet, has both a camera and microphone to make your TV experience more “fascinating:

Samsung’s SmartTV service offers a set of features that provide enhanced video content, customised TV, movie, and other content recommendations, connections to social networking services, and the ability to control and interact with your SmartTV with gestures and voice commands. We collect, use, share, and store information through your SmartTV in the ways described in the Samsung Privacy Policy. This Supplement provides additional details about the privacy practices of some SmartTV features.

I feel much more safer, don’t you?

Hat Tip to Mark L. A.

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) has introduced a resolution “honoring” the life of Trayvon Martin and calls for a repeal of “Stand Your Ground” laws. No sh**. And I guess being elected to the House of Representatives gives you the leeway of lying through your teeth:

Whereas on February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin, an African-American youth, was horrifically shot and killed while walking from his local 7-Eleven
If by walking you mean straddling George Zimmerman and beating his head against concrete…well yes… I guess.

Whereas Trayvon Martin was racially profiled, stalked, chased, made to fight for his life, and ultimately murdered;
All proven lies but why bother with the truth. She is a politician after all.

Whereas Zimmerman raised a ‘‘self-defense’’ claim and Martin, as the deceased victim, was unable to rebut such claim;
OK, Are we against Stand Your ground or Self Defense or both? Get thy feces together!

Whereas Trayvon Martin’s brutal death and the inconceivable fact that his killer remains free should not be ignored;
That pesky judicial process that tried and found Zimmerman Not Guilty must be abolished!

Whereas Zimmerman’s unfounded assumptions and racial bias led to the use of deadly force
Whereas the only proof of racial bias actually came from the victim.

Whereas John F. Timoney, …..has declared Stand Your Ground laws to be a ‘‘recipe for disaster,’’
The same Timoney that was getting free SUVs from donors and resigned.

Whereas over 20 States have passed and implemented Stand Your Ground laws
30 more to go…give us time

Whereas Stand Your Ground laws dramatically and recklessly expand the right of citizens to use deadly force
And we cannot be acknowledging a Right for The people. That is kinda icky.

Whereas Stand Your Ground laws were drafted by organizations, corporations, and individuals that ignored advice
from experts
Whereas Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) apparently ignores that Stand Your ground is over 100 years old.

condemns unfounded reliance on Stand Your Ground laws to protect actions that extend far beyond historical use of self-defense;
Apparently over 100 years is not historical enough.

urges any State legislature to reject or repeal Stand Your Ground legislation;
Not even your State of Florida will do that as its citizens rather like the law.

So much dumb packed in three pages.

The GunBlog VarietyCast is in need of a decent banner. This is what we have right now:

As you can see, we cannot draw a stick man to save our lives. The show is a bunch of gun bloggers that talk about their field of specialization or in my case, I make it along as I go.

If you have good taste and the tools to do so, your banner donation will be very welcome. We are in iTunes and I think pretty much in every podcast delivery system. Check us out!

….that certain people should not have guns:

Bloomberg claimed that 95 percent of murders fall into a specific category: male, minority and between the ages of 15 and 25. Cities need to get guns out of this group’s hands and keep them alive, he said.

“These kids think they’re going to get killed anyway because all their friends are getting killed,”

This was said during a conference at the Aspen Institute where he also riled against Colorado’s decision to legalize pot. One wonders if His Eminence may have had a little toke of the local organics before going on stage.

Hat Tip to Bob Owens.

The same tired argument:

And abusing Barron Barnett’s video to demonstrate the falsehood:

And one thing to remember is that Police Qualifiers have been reduced due to the cost of ammunition and that cops have to be paid during such qualifiers. Let us not forget that cops are not mandated to keep a training schedule or refresher during the year and that the qualifier means a good shoot is anything that hits the black zone.

There is a reason good cops either take the time to train at their own cost or participate in competition: The establishment does not provide for it. A sedentary gun owner going to the range maybe three times a year will probably shoot 3-4 times more than the average cop.

And the stories of civilians unloading a magazine and hitting the wrong person or missing altogether at their intended target are almost non-existent while the opposite is unfortunately quite common.