davehayes.org

as of the time of this writing, fox news is reporting the following:

BLACKSBURG, Va. — At least 32 people are confirmed dead and at least another 21 are wounded after a shooting at Virginia Tech University Monday morning, federal law enforcement officials told FOX News.

Campus police said there was only one shooter and he is now dead. They are unsure if the shooter was a student and it was unclear if he was shot by police or took his own life.

“The university was struck today with a tragedy of monumental proportions,” Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said during a press conference shortly after noon. “The university is shocked and horrified that this would befall our campus … I cannot begin to convey my own personal sense of loss over this senselessness of such an incomprehensible and heinous act.”

It was the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history.

you can read similar reports at my way news, abc news and many others. there are already people all over the tv blaming virginia’s relatively lax gun laws for this shooting, and indeed demanding tighter gun control. regarding such nonsense, i’d like to echo the white house’s statement on the matter:

“The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed,” Perino said, noting that Bush and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings held a conference on school gun violence last October. “Certainly, bringing a gun into a school domitory and shooting … is against the law and something someone should be held accountable for,” Perino said.

guns were already banned at virginia tech. tighter gun control laws would have in no way prevented the horrible things that happened today. what you probably won’t see talked about much today is this article from the roanoke times last year:

A bill that would have given college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus died with nary a shot being fired in the General Assembly.

House Bill 1572 didn’t get through the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety. It died Monday in the subcommittee stage, the first of several hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws.

The bill was proposed by Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, on behalf of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. Gilbert was unavailable Monday and spokesman Gary Frink would not comment on the bill’s defeat other than to say the issue was dead for this General Assembly session.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. “I’m sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly’s actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus.”

Del. Dave Nutter, R-Christiansburg, would not comment Monday because he was not part of the subcommittee that discussed the bill.

Most universities in Virginia require students and employees, other than police, to check their guns with police or campus security upon entering campus. The legislation was designed to prohibit public universities from making “rules or regulations limiting or abridging the ability of a student who possesses a valid concealed handgun permit … from lawfully carrying a concealed handgun.”

The legislation allowed for exceptions for participants in athletic events, storage of guns in residence halls and military training programs.

Last spring a Virginia Tech student was disciplined for bringing a handgun to class, despite having a concealed handgun permit. Some gun owners questioned the university’s authority, while the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police came out against the presence of guns on campus.

In June, Tech’s governing board approved a violence prevention policy reiterating its ban on students or employees carrying guns and prohibiting visitors from bringing them into campus facilities.

i’ve added the emphasis in the above text. one armed student or faculty member could have stopped that gunman in his tracks. when things happen like they did today, it makes me sick. i cannot stand to see law abiding citizens rendered defenseless lambs for the slaughter by restrictive gun control. one armed student. one armed faculty member. instead, 32 innocent people are dead as a result of virginia tech’s policy on legal concealed carry. i wonder how safe parents, students, faculty and visitors feel on virginia tech’s campus now, mr. hincker.

it’s time to make our schools safer for the students and faculty and not those who would do them harm. it’s time to allow students and faculty to equip themselves with the tools necessary to stop these kinds of atrocious events. it’s time to end this “gun free zone” nonsense that keeps getting our country’s youngest and brightest killed.

i had to share this…

or, a stream of consciousness account of an insomniac’s (that would be me) typical evening…

12:05am

0.84 miles is entirely too far for me to drive to taco bell. i wish it were closer so i could walk and get some exercise before compulsively overeating. man, i am such a fat kid these days… but i am starving to death and will have to make the journey at some point, and they close in 2 hours. i probably should get going soon.

i’ve always been amazed at the people that are disgusted by taco bell’s food. seriously, i’ve always really enjoyed it… it’s not like it’s any less healthy or consistently any less clean than any other fast food, so why the hate for taco bell?

i’m looking forward to listening to imogen heap in the car. hopefully it’s not too cold.

how is my dad so obsessed with ren and stimpy? he’s been talking about that show for weeks, which is odd considering it’s the first time he’s really mentioned it since i’ve been old enough to be allowed to watch the show.

El Kabong: my 2 favs are Stimpy goes through puberty and the other where they join the army

off to newzbin we go. i seem to remember a ren and stimpy cartoon where ren had insomnia… unfortunately all the ren and stimpy at newzbin is dvds, and hopefully i won’t be up long enough to wait for one of those to download so i’ll just skip it.

you know, the last time i was home i sat and watched evil dead 2 with my parents. that was pretty interesting since it’s one of my favorite movies and draws heavily from the 3 stooges, who my dad loves. the 3 stooges do rock pretty hard. i don’t think he liked evil dead though.

stupid god forsaken stomach! i guess i’ll get dressed and drive to taco bell. $2 says i come back with a steak nacho cheese chalupa (no tomatoes), a steak quesadilla and some of those new steak taquitos. you’re on.

12:48am

what do you say,
that you only meant well?
well of course you did
what do you say,
that it’s all for the best?
of course it is
what do you say?
that it’s just what we need
you decided this
what do you say?
what did she say?

i love fourthmeal. WHERE IS THE SAUCE ON MY QUESADILLA!? dang it, that’s the best part, don’t skimp on it!

1:00am

i’m not even close to tired. i have to get up for work in exactly 5 hours, which sucks immensely. it could be worse i suppose… i could be getting up for school. or i could be getting up to be executed. either one of those would suck much worse i think. at least this way i get to make a little money.

i’m pretty sure the get up kids are my favorite band. i love the new amsterdams too, but they can be a little bleak at times. the get up kids’ music just makes me feel good, which is strange. it’s strange that recordings and pictures can evoke such strong emotions in most of us, both positive and negative. i’m glad matthew pryor is out there doing his thing to counteract idiots like the zach guy from rage against the machine. have a glass of chocolate milk and smile once in a while, sour puss.

where did sierra mist come from? one day i was happily going along with my life, enjoying my sprite. then, out of the clear blue sky, none of the restaurants around here have sprite… they all have this sierra mist stuff. and it’s great. thanks for that one, God.

if you’re ever trying to install windows (as paul is right now), do remember to keep your driver disc for your SATA controller handy, or you’ll run into trouble because windows won’t be able to see the drive. that presents a problem considering you’d like to install windows to the drive, which it does not currently see.

The Paul: I’m the bomb.com: on a note… for a mass cleansing of a computer, would taking off both sides and using a the compressor from a gas station be a plausible idea?

upon further consideration, perhaps his problems are more far reaching than i had previously thought.

another strange thing about music is the way that it can trigger certain memories in a very big way. the new amsterdams’ never you mind, the get up kids’ something to write home about and reggie and the full effect’s promotional copy evoke very strong winter memories for me. i can remember having a snow day, and braving the storm to go spend the day at erin wexstten’s house and listening to never you mind for most of the day. i can remember listening to promotional copy at the new year’s eve party i attended that year. i can remember working at inky dew by myself on a saturday, listening to something to write home about. i sat for hours and watched out the window as it snowed and snowed and snowed so badly that i had only a brave few customers the whole day.

none of these things happened a terribly long time ago, 5 or 6 years at the most, yet i suddenly feel quite old and distant from them. only last week, my friend’s 15 year old daughter was amazed that i (being a quite elderly 23 years old) would have a myspace account. i am, apparently, much too old for such things, at least in her mind (i hope you don’t mind me re-using this, rachel). so, 23 years old… and here i sit with my laptop resting on my buddha belly and scratching the top of my balding head thinking fondly of a better time… long before global warming came and ate our winters like a big bowl of snow ice cream.

dagger576: some music makes me think of the video games i was playing as i listened to it

i hadn’t thought of that, but nothingface’s an audio guide to everyday atrocity does evoke the memory of playing the catacomb abyss on that old 386 dale reese gave me. dos games rock.

1:38am

my eyes feel like they’re going to bleed.

1:40am

this season of 24 is pissing me off. i don’t know what it is… just seems like the middle ones (3, 4 and 5 maybe) were so much better. i still haven’t watched last week’s episode. it wasn’t too long ago i would be up at this hour simply because i was so engrossed in 24 that i couldn’t turn it off. now, i’ve had last week’s episode sitting on my hard drive for a week and just can’t get excited about watching it. maybe those chinese losers beat all the BA out of jack, i don’t know. rush says to just wait, cause it gets better… but i don’t know man. it’s honestly boring me to death. i’m ready to see some terrorists meet the wrath of jack bauer.

myspace is such a huge hunk of crap. seriously, what a flaming poo of a web site. i curse it.

well, it’s now 1:50am. i’m feeling somewhat tired so i think i’m going to try to actually go to sleep.

2:40am

still can’t sleep. why is it that the most “enlightened, progressive and culturally aware” people tend to be the biggest racists, bigots and irrational, emotional, unreasonable and least tolerant loudmouths in a given area? news flash: the toothless redneck, backwoods hillbilly and various iterations of billy bob and bubba, yeah… those are offensive racial stereotypes. we get the point, you’re an elitist, hypocritical jerk face and you think that since obviously the entire southeastern united states is running around barefoot banging their sisters, eating roadkill and spouting their ridiculous fundamentalist values, none of the rest of the country (or world) will mind your belittling an entire geographical region and culture. well, guess what: we do mind. we do not act out deliverance on a daily basis, like i’m sure you think we do.

i’m a network administrator. i am a linux enthusiast. i enjoy writing xhtml and css. i went to school for audio engineering. i scored a 29 on my act as a junior in high school. if, after reading that, the fact that i am a christian who enjoys drag racing and firearms instantly invokes caricatures of buck toothed, uneducated imbeciles in overalls with straw hanging out of their mouths… congratulations! you’re a bigot, a prejudiced scum bag and probably a racist too. your offensive and inaccurate portrayal of the people southeastern united states and their culture needs to stop.

3:13am

regardless of the fact that i am now mad enough to spit, i’m going to try to sleep again.

i’m bored, so here’s a list of things i’ve been drooling over. mostly as a result of watching entirely too much 24.

rothco heavy-weight classic messenger bag

hey, i need a bag with which to carry my tricks, right? well, this is a heavy weight canvas bag made by rothco. it features the follwing…

• a large main compartment
• an inside zipper pouch
• 3 outside pockets
• brass hardware
• and a 2 inch wide adjustable shoulder strap

the bag’s 15” x 11” x 6” dimensions make it ideal for carrying the next item on my list…

system76 serval performance

system76 is a new company that primarily sells computers with ubuntu linux pre-installed. the price is right, the hardware is good and the whole thing is very good looking. here are the abbreviated specs of the serval i would (will?) be ordering:

• Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz 4MB 667FSB
• 2 GB DDR2 667 MHz
• 100 GB 5400 RPM SATA
• CD-RW / DVD-RW (Dual Layer)
• nVidia GeForce GO 7600 with 256MB VRAM
• 15.4” Widescreen WXGA (1280X800)

microtech HALO III

now we’re getting to the good stuff. this is the microtech halo iii, quite possibly the finest automatic knife available. it features a 5.37″ blade and an automatic, out-the-front opening action.

unfortunately, the $400 price tag isn’t the only thing holding me back from procuring such a great piece of hardware; switchblade knives are illegal to own or carry here in tennessee, which makes this the only item on my list that i can never own as long as i live here.

heckler & koch USP

the HK USP is a modern, polymer framed firearm that has been battle proven many times over (although i still prefer my 1911 colts) and i think it’d make the perfect weapon to keep concealed in me bag o’ tricks.

i’d have it fitted with some nice tritium night sights. however, i think i’ll stray from my favorite round (.45 ACP) in favor of 9mm in this case. i’d also need an extended, threaded barrel for the…

advanced armament corp. evolution 9 silencer

this wonderful piece of equipment provides between 33dB and 41dB of sound reduction, which is remarkable. the integrated nielsen device insures that browning-inspired handgun actions function reliably with the added weight on the barrel.

contrary to popular belief, silencers are completely legal for anyone to own in most states (including TN). there are no special permits or licenses needed. only a background check and a transfer tax… basically just like buying a firearm. if you can purchase and own a gun, you can purchase and own a silencer. too bad we can’t be as sensible about the knife i mentioned earlier.

surefire 6p

surefire makes the best there is when it comes to flash lights. the surefire 6p is a small package, only 5 inches long… small enough to easily slip into your pocket, yet with the optional p61 bulb it produces up to 120 lumens… more than a 5 d-cell mag-lite!

it makes a perfect companion for the silenced hk usp in the case of a night-time self defense situation. the surefire 6p is actually bright enough to be used to temporarily blind an assailant in low-light settings, providing you with precious seconds to respond to the threat.

conclusion

well, there you have it. me bag o’ tricks. i’m interested to hear your suggestions for other items that you think should be included, as i’m sure i’ve left plenty of room for more items.

i came across a couple articles that were talking about some recent studies on the effect of red-light cameras in various cities around the country. one of the articles had this to say about a town in maryland:

Upon installation, the cameras caused an immediate 40 percent increase in rear-end collisions from 53 in 1999 to 74 in 2000. Overall accidents were up between 25 percent and 41 percent from 107 in 1999 to 134 in 2001 and 151 in 2002.

it’s no wonder as i’ve been saying for years that most traffic enforcement is aimed at generating revenue rather than actually keeping the public safe. it’s also not entirely different from one other such area where the government (with a lot of public support) has done whatever they wanted without any regard for public safety, and that is gun control.

some of you may know that every year, the brady campaign (remember the brady bill?) releases a nationwide report card grading each state on its gun laws. generally speaking, the stricter the gun control the higher the grade. upon inspection of this year’s grades, i wondered to myself how the grades would compare to the violent crime rates in each state. so what i did was convert the grades to a numeric scale which i then entered into excel along with the violent crime rates for each state and then made a graph comparing the two. here’s what i came up with:

the graph is a little confusing, but i’ll explain. i arranged the states by their brady grades, highest scores on the left to the lowest scores on the right represented by the blue area. each corresponding state’s violent crime rate is represented by the red area. as you can see, on average the states with the lowest brady scores also had the lowest crime rates and the states with the highest brady scores had the highest crime rates.

if gun control increases violent crime, why are there so many people in favor of it? why does the brady campaign openly push for legislation that is guaranteed to increase violent crime? why the gubbament be all up in my bidness? i suspect they’re mostly just idiots, but i’m sure some have alterior motives considering that almost every instance in history of a nation being disarmed preceded genocide, forced relocation or at the very least a staggering loss of freedom at the hands of a fascist police state.