Reference Librarianship is Entertaining

You get an interesting mix of questions. Most of them are simple – where do I find this, I need information on that, how do I print from the library computer?

But sometimes they are interesting.

“I’m looking for information on how the growing fundamentalist Christianity movement affected the voting behaviors of the Native American population here in Arizona during the last Presidential election” (asked 4 months after the election)

“I need 3 books and 4 websites that talk about Japanese tattooing techniques for a paper I have to turn in tomorrow at noon” (asked at 8:24 PM)

“I have to find information on social phobia disorders” (in reality, the topic was the mental disorders suffered by Andrea_Yates, none of which were any form of social phobia)

“I want to know how this health care law Obama passed (sic) will affect health care here in Arizona.” (asked a little over a month after it was signed into law)

 

Now don’t get me wrong – I got into librarianship because I was convinced as a child that my local public librarian could find ANYTHING; she always found was I asked her for and that’s generalizable, right? And I do a pretty good job even with questions like these.  But still, it has it’s moments.

 

Don’t get me started on the kind of behavior that makes it’s way into the Incident Report Log.

StrikeForce…Eh, I Can’t Be Bothered To Repeat Myself

What I said here.  And here.  And here. And here.  Sums it up, those do.

Oh, and when Randy Couture’s kid (a mediocre and kind of boring fighter) gets national billing because of his name, and ex-, never-start-(*cough* Cro Cop *cough*) UFC fighters, old school Chute Boxe guys, Fedor and Herschel Walker are your main draw you may want to rethink your business model.  

There’s a reason StrikeForce is on premium cable and UFC breaks exorbitantly priced PPV records (1,000,000+ sold for UFC 114) and sells out whatever venue they use. Say what you want about Dana White and Joe Silva, or the depth in some divisions and shallowness in others, they provide a better show and a better class of fighter overall.

OC Ranting Pt. 2

Nothing new from me, but Robb makes a lot of sense. Not that this surprises me.

The OC Ranting Continues

So, the gunblogosphere is ablaze with posts and comment threads about the open carry stuff happening recently in Michigan. I’m not going to link to here, there and everywhere since the 3 people who follow this probably have seen it already ;-).

I did want to make a quick post about it though. I understand the concerns people had regarding someone open carrying a shotgun into a library, but the rantfest that has ensued is kind of ridiculous. Politeness has managed to go right out the window on both sides and the Circular Firing Squad is working overtime. The young man was pushing an agenda, but in what appears to be (from cursory examination) a perfectly legal way. Focusing on “yeah it’s legal, but it was still a bad idea and he was a complete asshat” isn’t productive but it IS polarizing, as is “If you disagree you’re a FUD/Brady/flippin’ idiot”.

 

I approve of open carry – it’s a viable option and one I sometimes exercise.

I don’t approve of someone arbitrarily setting out “rules” for open carry, or telling other people how they should be dressed if they are going to open carry. You do it your way and I’ll do it mine. Don’t like mine? Too bad.

 

I do believe, as has been stated elsewhere, that there is actually one concept that should be applied judiciously when open carrying: Don’t Be a Dick. I also believe this young man followed that; others believe otherwise. That’s life for you, I guess.

But I’m pretty sure I’m right *g*.

Dogs. I Like Them…

Better than people. By kind of a lot, really. Dogs see who you really are, and you get from a dog exactly what they feel at any given time. Their love is unconditional (and often, sadly, given freely in spite of  the fact that their owners suck and aren’t good to them). I like any dog better than I like 9 out of 10 people I meet, and usually more than that 10th one too.

I’ve been given to understand that there are people out there  who don’t like dogs. I disapprove of them and hope they stay away from me. Mark over at Jaded Haven sums it up nicely:

…a persons like or dislike of dogs in general will tell you all you need to know regarding their general character and trustworthiness. If, when a dog approaches tail wagging your first reaction is to turn away and state that dogs stink and you don’t want the smell rubbing off on your Dockers, you and I have a long way to go before I will trust you with anything like an introductory handshake or my first name.

That’s putting it mildly. At that point I can write you off entirely unless you possess some skill or attribute that I genuinely need, and even then I’ll probably only deal with you at arm’s length because you suck.

 

He then goes on to reach all the wrong conclusions about cats but that’s OK – not everyone is a cat person. I am. I have a chubby squawking one laying next to me now – she’s demanding and neurotic, but still.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I wish I could be the person my dogs think I am.

 

Open Carry…

…becomes a point of controversy again, this time over at Breda’s. Name calling, overly defensive behavior and even some good points ensue.

The consensus? It’s legal in many places and therefore your right.

The controversy? From what I can see, mostly created by Breda taking media reports at face value, which I most always think is not in line with news interpretation best practices, and then not liking the kind of responses she gets in the comments (one of the big reason I mostly avoid the Comments Wars of which the Blogosphere is sooooo fond). As Tam so artfully put it once, we should probably try to avoid playing Circular Firing Squad like that.

Do I agree with Breda? Not really, but that’s neither here nor there (she doesn’t care about my opinion, I expect, and vice versa). I’ve been reading her blog for a long time now and she’s a large part of why I started doing this myself but we hold differing opinions on a lot of thing, as I do with most people.

I don’t know that parking oneself in the teen section of  a public library with a shotgun is wise on any level, but if the library is pre-empted from making a policy forbidding it then they are wrong. Library officials feel the law is on their side and they can make this policy, so I can see why MOC is pushing on this.

Now, I know librarians (since I am one and all *g*) and many of them would find the idea of a firearm in ‘their’ library enough to drive them to tears, let alone a panicked call to the police, so I can see their perspective. But I don’t agree with it.

I suppose part of it is that I’m lucky enough to live in a state where OC doesn’t result in a call to the police, or if it does it mostly results in the police telling the caller “If they just have the gun in a holster walking down the street it’s perfectly legal, sir/ma’am, but thank you for calling”. I’ve never even gotten a remark from anyone, let alone hassled by the police or had to play 20 questions. And a bunch of the local gunnies have an “OC dinner” once a month where they meet at a restaurant somewhere OC’ing. I don’t go in for this type of political statement but I appreciate their efforts.

OK – that rambled a lot. Summing up; OC good because it’s an option; OC shouldn’t be a political statement, just an option; don’t be a jerk especially when you’re carrying a gun in any fashion; I like Arizona. I think that’s all *g*.

Dennis Henigan Said It So It Must Be True

At a Cato Institute event co-sponsored by the Federalist Society, titled The Future of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Dennis Henigan states (in regards to a point he is making of the gun culture vs. the gun control culture, which he of course characterized as “guns in every corner of American society” vs. ‘responsible…owners having guns in the home for self-defense while allowing government to impose reasonable restrictions…’; paraphrasing mine):

“The state of Arizona has largely realized the vision of guns everywhere…”

Not really, though we’re certainly trying *g*.

I fully support the tight of property owners to determine whether or not to allow firearms on their property (though I tell any business that bans them why I don’t spend my money there any longer and that I will publicize their policy so others can make their own determination). I understand that there will be certain public buildings where firearms will be considered an unacceptable concern (though these should be quite limited).

That being said – goodness, I’d like to think Dennis was right ;-). We’re not nearly as open about guns as he makes us out to be, at least not here in the valley. But we’re working on it. Normalizing firearms ownership, sporting use and carry for self-defense is one of the areas I work on as best I can, because when people see a firearm as a tool that requires an operator to determine what it will be used for, they are far less likely to have an emotional reaction to the presence of one (or the mention, in some cases).

I can understand the current discussion about how the NICS background check system can be improved to include those with severe enough psychological issues which might preclude them from owning firearms, but I haven’t been able to balance this with the issue of invasion of privacy, especially where medical records are concerned.  I for one don’t think the gun laws here in Arizona are perfect but they’re very, very good for gun owners and fans of personal responsibility.

Besides, Dennis probably isn’t right – that happens so seldom after all.

Interesting – The USDA Has Been Here

I’m not sure why. I don’t have any strongly held opinions on animal husbandry or anything (that I’m aware of).

(Click to embiggen – that’s the largest size WP would let me make it)

I’d Like to See This Pass Here

and everywhere else, too.

Iowa has a proposed amendment to their state constitution introduced to the legislature:

“The right of an individual to acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, and use arms to defend life and liberty and for all other legitimate purposes is fundamental and inviolable.

Licensure, registration, special taxation, or any other measure that suppresses or discourages the free exercise of this right is forbidden.”

I like it. Arizona has a straightforward right to bear arms statement, but this spells it out in unequivocal detail.

Thanks to Robb for pointing this out.

Bloomberg and MAIG=Whatever…

So Michael Bloomberg sent investigators to an AZ gun show.

Responses are about what I expected.

Attorney General Tom Horne:

“Local law enforcement and the Arizona Department of Public Safety were never notified that Mayor Bloomberg’s operation was being undertaken. That is standard professional courtesy and is also designed to protect the general public,” Horne said. “Arizona law enforcement should have been made aware that people posing as criminal elements were in fact undercover officers. The fact that no such notification was made indicates this so-called sting is nothing less than a public relations stunt.”

Horne added, “I would suggest that Mayor Bloomberg consider the skyrocketing crime rate in New York City before he asks any more of his city’s police to leave town on these p.r. missions. According to the most recent FBI statistics, violent crime in New York City increased significantly in 2010 compared to data from 2009. Robbery went up 3.9 percent, forcible rape rose 13.9 percent, aggravated assault increased 8.8 percent and murder rose 12.3 percent. Clearly, the good men and women of the New York City Police Department have more pressing crimes to investigate than alleged violations at a gun show 2,400 miles away.”

State Senator Ron Gould (from the link in the first sentence of this post):

“Let me get this straight: From New York City, they are going to send people to Arizona to look into this?” said Ariz. state Sen. Ron Gould, a Republican. “They might take a look a little closer to home if they are concerned about guns getting in their state.”

Show Organizer Crossroads of the West( from the link in the first sentence of this post):

“Mayor Bloomberg and his `task force’ have no legal authority in the state of Arizona, or in any other place in America except New York City,” said the statement from the Crossroads of the WestGun Shows. “These forays into America’s heartland committing blatant acts to entrap otherwise innocent gun owners is an unlawful scheme that is created by Bloomberg’s task force.”

Governor Jan Brewer:

“Well, I find it interesting that he’s out here in Arizona solving our problems. I guess he believes that he has solved all the problems in New York. Here he is in the good state of Arizona. It has been a fascinating story, but we are a big Second Amendment state I support our laws here. I’ve signed gun laws here. What he went after the way it was portrayed is not what the issue is. I think all laws should be enforced. And those people that buy guns from private owners at a gun show have the responsibility, if they knowingly realize it, someone cannot pass a background check or if they suspect that maybe they are mentally incompetent, it is a state felony and a federal felony. So those laws need to be enforced.”

So, I guess color us unimpressed with him is the message for today. You’d think with that big old city to play with he’d have better things to do.