Lockdown on Montana State University Campus

Earlier this week, Montana State University officials ordered a campus wide lock down and surged campus and city police to investigate sites on campus because two men were spied carrying a rifle (don't ask me how many it takes to screw in a light bulb).

BOZEMAN (AP) - Montana State University police are searching buildings and telling people to stay inside after receiving a report of two men carrying a rifle on campus. 

An alert sent out by the university Wednesday morning says police received a report the men were crossing 11th Avenue in Bozeman and heading toward the center of the Centennial Mall. 

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports one man is wearing a hunter's orange hoodie and the other a green or gray jacket and a baseball hat.

Aerial view of Montana State University campus.

Interesting descriptions -- they apply to maybe two out of three guys around here and one out of three gals.  The campus meanders in and around town. There is no obvious border. But shut your doors. Lock up the women and children.

Officers are searching buildings and have advised students, faculty and staff on campus to stay inside and lock their doors.

Pull in the usual suspects.

The two men were sighted at about 8:20 a.m., and an alert was sent to students and faculty at approximately 9 a.m. A campus-wide search by police turned up no suspects, and a traffic stop of a vehicle with passengers matching the descriptions of the suspects turned up no evidence.

Here are the rules.

Currently, firearms are allowed on the Montana State campus, though under the conditions that the firearms be used for hunting or sporting purposes, that guns be locked in designated storage areas—they're not allowed in residence halls—and that they never appear on campus or in academic and common areas. In 2013, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed a bill that would have allowed guns on all Montana's public college and university campuses.

The intellectuals who run the university and the geeky Democratic governor are soooooo smart. You can have a rifle, you can use it, but it must be stored, secured and cannot be seen. Then the smart people reported.

Ellig says two men matching the description were briefly detained, but they were released after their car was searched. 

Students are allowed to keep firearms in locked facilities.

Ellig says officials believe a student may have retrieved a rifle while moving out for the end of the school year.

Since we moved to Bozeman a couple years back I would guesstimate I've seen someone walking around with a rifle something like a hundred times. This is probably the safest place I have ever lived.

The most dangerous weapons in Montana are a dude barreling too fast around a corner in a Ford F-150 pickup truck or a gal running a stop sign in her Subaru. Look it up. Good luck to all.

A crushed gray Subaru sits at the scene of a fatal car accident on the intersection of East Valley Center Road and Frontage Road near Bozeman on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

BOZEMAN - A Bozeman woman is dead after a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Stucky and Cottonwood roads Monday morning.

The 44-year-old woman was traveling westbound on Stucky Road at around 7:30 a.m. when she failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection of Cottonwood Road, Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Glen Barcus said. The woman, who was driving a Subaru wagon, pulled in front of a pickup truck that was heading northbound on Cottonwood Road. The driver of the pickup truck, a 29-year-old Bozeman man, swerved to avoid the Subaru but was unable to miss it and the car was T-boned, Barcus said. March 13, 2013, KBZK TV.

Truck Control, Not Gun Control

The headlines are a lot different in Chicago.  This is why Barack Obama's remedies don't play well in Montana.  Pickup trucks are the instrument.  Jon Tester had a different idea. 

Senator Jon Tester Believes in Washington

These days, when asking about gun purchases and background checks, public opinion polls give respondents a choice between universal background checks or not.  But this isn't really the choice.  For example, I remember a hike up nearby Mt. Ellis last fall when I came upon a father and his adolescent son.  It was hunting season.  Each carried a rifle, slung over his shoulder.  If there was a law requiring truly universal checks that would make the father a felon for giving his son a weapon.  That law won't happen.

People who care about guns and the 2nd amendment rights generally accept the concept of background checks, but not for private transactions.  They trust their state and local governments to a degree but not centralized power mongers in Washington, DC.  In their view, people who are not in the business of selling guns ought to be able to transfer firearms freely among themselves.  They wouldn't knowingly sell a weapon to a criminal or a nut.  The gun rights crowd thinks we have a system now that does a pretty good job at regulating gun dealers while maintaining individual freedom.  In states like Montana, the standard public opinion surveys are pretty much worthless.   

Jon Tester and VP Joe Biden in the Old Senate Chamber

Here comes Jon Tester -- re-elected by plurality vote, propelled  by left-wing dark money that attacked his Republican opponent and boosted the vote for a Libertarian candidate to the point where Tester could sneak in with a minority of the vote.  Tester is not supported, or trusted, by a majority of his constituents. Although Tester strives to maintain his "dirt farmer" image he's been bitten by most pernicious of bugs, the one that transmits Potomac fever.  

Earlier this week, in a blast email to constituents, Tester explained his "yes" vote on universal background checks as follows, promoting lockstep the prevailing progressive, anti-gun view on background checks:

Let me be clear: the proposed legislation would not have prevented a law-abiding citizen from purchasing a gun. It would not have taken away anyone’s gun. It would not create a national gun registry. And it would not ban assault weapons or limit magazine clips. I would not support legislation if it did any of these things. In fact, I voted NO on amendments that would ban assault weapons or limit clips.

The Manchin-Toomey amendment would have made our Second Amendment rights stronger. It ensured that you do not need a background check for transactions among friends or family members. It provided safe harbor to hunters and others who have a gun, but travel through a state with tougher gun laws. Under the plan, a law-abiding citizen could have still purchased a gun without a problem – but criminals and folks who are violently mentally-ill could not.

Note that there is nothing in Tester's statement about the who, what, when and why of newly ordered checks required by the bill.  It's a whitewash.  He is a master of the double negative.  Montanans refuse to fall in with Tester.  They agree with Senator Max Baucus who believes current law strikes an appropriate balance.   

The Independent Record newspaper in Helena (state capital) put out a survey that yielded a 3 to 1 response in favor of Baucus and  against Tester's vote.  Montanans aren't naive enough to believe that criminals will have a "problem" buying guns if Washington passes a law.  The Record readers don't automatically side with the pro-gun lobby either.  In a March survey they sided 62 to 38 percent against allowing concealed carry on Montana college campuses.   Jon Tester has a problem because there are a helluva a lot of people who believe his vote was wrong for Montana.  

Boston Attack Re-Energizes Push for Truck Control Legislation

CNN has sourced the strategy for planting the type of deadly pressure cooker bombs detonated at the Boston Marathon finish line to the Al Qaeda Magazine Inspire.  The magazine laid out how to use the cooking device.

"The pressurized cooker should be placed in crowded areas and left to blow up. More than one of these could be planted to explode at the same time. However, keep in mind that the range of the shrapnel in this operation is short range so the pressurized cooker or pipe should be placed close to the intended targets and should not be concealed from them by barriers such as walls."

CNN also reported Inspire magazine provided tips on using a pickup truck as a weapon,

An article titled "The Ultimate Mowing Machine" calls for using a pickup truck as a "mowing machine, not to mow grass but mow down the enemies of Allah." 

The article says that such a plan could be implemented in countries where people back the "Israeli occupation of Palestine, the American invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq or countries that had a prominent role in the defamation of Muhammad."

It said a four-wheel-drive pickup truck is needed -- "the stronger the better."  "To achieve maximum carnage, you need to pick up as much speed as you can while still retaining good control of your vehicle in order to maximize your inertia and be able to strike as many people as possible in your first run," the article says.

The media's revelation of this mow-them-down advice has renewed the drumbeat for pickup truck control legislation.  Early in the 113^th Congress, Senator Jon Tester (D – Mont.) introduced truck control legislation that specifically targeted the “strong” pickup trucks preferred by Al Qaeda.  As originally drafted, Senator Tester’s legislation would have limited pickup truck ownership to a needs based ownership class and would have outlawed the use of pickup trucks by city slickers, suburban cowboys and gentlemen farmers.  The bill’s stringent ownership restrictions and resale regulations would have also prohibited pickup truck purchases by garden variety Al Qaeda terrorists. 

Pickup Pride Advocates

Though recently released studies provided empirical support for moving truck control forward, under pressure from pickup pride advocates (see picture on right) Senator Tester withdrew his proposed legislation. To justify his about face, the junior senator from Montana argued that pickup trucks were so intertwined with the pickup pride cultural core that pressing for truck control could violate the advocates’ civil rights.  Tester asked Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D – Nev.) to refrain from bringing the truck control legislation up for a floor vote.

Truck control coalition leaders, Hans Opelgänger, Director of Sustainability at BMW USA and Sven Olafscar, Managing Director of Volvo USA, hope the Boston tragedy will spur recognition of the need to regulate pickup trucks and re-energize truck control legislation.  They are asking that truck control supporters visit their website  www.wedontbuildpickuptrucks.com for information on what can be done to support the cause.     

Armed Protection Works

I remember the moment on December 14, 2012 that I learned of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.  It was just after 10 in the morning in Montana, and a bit past noon in Connecticut.   I climbed into the Jeep and turned on the radio as we were leaving the Holiday Pageant performance at Irving Elementary School.  I had just watched our then 6-year old, first-grade daughter sing with her classmates the sweetest songs.  The performance was touching -- it was precious.

Then I heard the Newtown news, that first graders, 6- and 7-year old children had been massacred.  I was crushed.  I cried. 

Our Bellamy, Irving Elementary School Holiday Pageant, December 14, 2012

I believe the kids should be safe.  I believe in protecting the kids -- all of them.

For 33 years I worked in a building that had armed guards at each of its four entrances, who demanded id of every entrant, and, during most of those years, required that anyone entering the building be authorized by an occupant.  The guards carried loaded handguns and had an arsenal of assault rifles ready at their command post.  Guests were screened through metal detectors.   It so happened we also had inspectors housed on the third floor, typically dozens of well trained men and women, each packing personal heat.  That’s not at all unusual in DC.  Much of the security is visible to the public.  Some of the federal complexes, like the Forrestal Building at the foot of L’Enfant Plaza and the Federal Reserve’s edifice on Constitution Avenue, have high profile, heavily armed guards patrolling the grounds, enforcing perimeter security.   

Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but with all this security, other than the occasional suicide, in my 33 years working in the area I don’t recall a single civilian shooting death up and down the National Mall, despite all the high profile targets.  There certainly were no mass killings -- tens of millions of school children visited safely.  Several federal officers responding to attacks lost their lives in the line of duty, but in each case attackers were subdued before completing their murderous plans.    

It has been safe.  Can you imagine the carnage if the National Mall were declared a gun free zone and armed security eliminated?  The White House, the Capitol, the Smithsonian’s, the IRS, The Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, the FBI, the State Department and the Monuments would all be vulnerable and subject to violent and successful attacks.  

Frankly, I cannot comprehend the logic of those who oppose training and arming select personnel at public schools.  It’s done at many exclusive private schools.  The public university two blocks from my kids' elementary school has its very own police force.  I would welcome a local school board decision to arm and protect.  My three kids would be safer for it.  The most important implication of armed school protection is that it plants a huge seed of doubt in the minds of cowardly attackers who, by definition, are seeking to assail defenseless innocents.  Their targets would not be defenseless anymore.  

The nutcases are looking for a path of least resistance.  Guarding and arming are enormous deterrents.  Block the easy path. 

Politidumb of the Week

PEZ and Spring
Loaded Dispensers

You would think that someone who creates a persona and advertises oneself as a reformer and advocate would invest some time and effort in learning about the object of their advocacy.   It's a pretty simple concept.   

When it comes to gun control, anyone who has ever seen or used a PEZ dispenser knows how a gun ammunition magazine works.  But taking a minute or two to figure that out was apparently too great of a burden for Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), a lead advocate and sponsor of “fundamental" "common-sense” gun control legislation. 

When questioned about the efficacy of banning new high-capacity gun magazines when there are already large numbers in circulation she said, 

“These are ammunition, these are bullets, so the people who have them now are going to shoot them.  And so, if you ban them in the future, the number of these high capacity magazines will decrease over time, dramatically, because over time because the bullets will have been shot and there won’t be any more available.” 

Just like a PEZ dispenser becomes useless when you eat through the initial candy supply?  Or how you dispose of a car when it runs out of gas?  Sure.  Right.

The Denver Post reported,

Rep. Diana DeGette came under fire for an egregiously incorrect statement last week. And deservedly so.

The Denver Democrat, who's led the charge on many high-profile issues in her lengthy career in Washington, demonstrated complete ignorance of how gun magazines work during our forum on gun bills Tuesday, telling the audience that magazines are unusable after bullets have been fired.

I've heard elected officials say things over the years that were regrettable, insensitive and just plain wrong. The stunning thing about DeGette's remarks, however, was that they showed a lack of knowledge about a topic on which you'd expect her to be well-informed. She is, after all, primary co-sponsor of a bill that would regulate magazine size.

As for the issue of bad guys having access to weapons she would prohibit law-abiding good guys from owning, Ms. DeGette told an elderly man not to worry about defending himself, that he’d “probably be dead anyway."

Ms. Degette’s assertions are politidumb gifts that keep on giving, no doubt to be recited and played back many of thousands of times in the years to come by the NRA.  

Jon Tester Pulls Truck Control Bill

Senator Jon Tester (D - Mont.) acknowledged today that he's received significant push back from his constituents on his proposed truck control legislation.   Senator Tester says that many constituents are concerned that "any sort of a ban is the first step to a bigger ban."  The junior senator from Montana lumped pickup trucks, guns and stoves together in a far reaching interview with NBC News Special Correspondent and part year Big Timber, Montana resident Tom Brokaw.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"I think in Montana we look at guns more as a tool, not unlike a pickup truck or a stove,” said Senator Tester. “The fact is, it's part of what we grew up with. It's part of our culture."  Notwithstanding new studies that support Tester's truck control agenda, the senator has asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D - Nev) to pull the truck control provisions from comprehensive safety legislation headed for the Senate floor.  While vehicle manufactures who have pushed for reasonable truck control (see www.wedontbuildpickups.com) continue to press the senator to introduce truck control amendments on the Senate floor, staff sources who do not wish to be identified because they are not authorized to speak on the matter, say Senator Tester is unlikely to do so.

New Studies Support Jon Tester’s Truck Control Agenda

A nonpartisan group supporting Senator Jon Tester’s truck control legislation unveiled a new study today.   Co-chairmen of the truck control advocacy organization, Hans Opelgänger, Director of Sustainability at BMW USA and Sven Olafscar, Managing Director of Volvo USA, said the groundbreaking study fulfills a need for data driven decision making.  “Too long, pickup truck ownership and use decisions have been undirected and emotionally charged” said Mr. Opelgänger, “We know pick-up truck use is less elsewhere, so why not build a case with data comparisons and look to other countries for a comprehensive US truck control model?”

Senator Tester (D-MT) welcomed the study.  “I want to thank Hans and Sven.  Their input is invaluable,” Tester said.  “Not only does their study put numbers around truck control benefits, it suggests where we might look for safe alternatives.” Tester said, “Also, I am excited domestic data that support the need for responsible truck control have come to light.” Senator Tester urged Chairman Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Roy Blunt (R-MO) to hold hearings on truck control legislation before the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security as soon as practicable.

The new study, entitled “Motor Vehicle Fatality Incidence Report” (MVFIR) found that vehicle fatality rates in the United States pickup truck rich environment are unacceptably high.  It highlights the much higher fatality rates in the United States than Western European country counterparts.

Motor Vehicle Fatality

Incidence Analysis

  

Country		Fatality Rate *
United States		12.3
Ireland		3.5
United Kingdom		3.6
France		5.5
Sweden		2.9
Norway		5.4
Germany		4.5
Spain		6.9
Portugal		7.9
Italy		8.7
Switzerland		4.7
Austria		8.2

* Road fatalities per 100,000 habitants.

United States fatality rates are 2, 3 and 4 times higher than in Western European countries.  It's a scourge upon America. 

Tight licensing requirements, strict environmental laws and comprehensive safety regulations make pickup trucks a low-preference, high-cost transportation option in Europe.   Super-safe Saabs and Volvos dominate Sweden’s light vehicle transportation market.   Urban centers in the United Kingdom extend buses to a second level rather than packing streets with dangerous extended cab pickup trucks.  Germany engineers and constructs its Autobahns to favor speed over bulk.  In Italy and Spain motor scooters are more prevalent than pickup trucks on the roadways.   The European experience vouches for a range of attractive alternative transportation modes available in low use pickup truck environments.

Pickup Truck Safety Risk Analysis

Senator Tester said he is also excited by United States research that has recently come to light.   The safety study presented to the Transportation Research Board by representatives of the University of Michigan and Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory, demonstrates pickup trucks are the most dangerous vehicles operated by non-commercial drivers on US roadways.  Specifically, researchers found (see green dots on scatter diagram to the right) that Dodge Ram, Ford F-Series, Chevy and GMC pickup trucks are the worst safety risks in their vehicle class.  Senator Tester reiterates that closing the Penny Saver pickup sales loophole, limiting non-essential pickup truck use and restricting pickup ownership to qualified buyers, will go a long ways towards reducing United States fatality rates and closing the fatality gap with Europe.  Supporters emphasize that the legislation does not apply to panel trucks or delivery vans.  

Senator Tester’s truck control legislation is explained at www.gradyent.blogspot.com/2013/01/john-tester-supports-truck-reform.html.  For more information on the truck control coalition,  and the comparative study, visit its website www.wedontbuildpickups.com.

Or is it the Candy Man?

What about the "Sugar" part?  Go Daddy, go.

Barack Does It Again

The utter lack of style and grace and the stiff posture of the skeet shooting Obama, make him look like a complete novice.  You could say the same about Obama’s golf swing. But we know of his unrequited love for the links.  

You have to give the guy props.  He is not the least bit embarrassed about avidly pursuing things he totally sucks at – like skeet shooting, golfing and serving as President of the United States.