That seems to be about the extent of the thought that went into matter before State Senator Jim Merritt, egged on by local TV, started winding himelf up into a tizzy over Tannerite, the low-sensitivity, low-pressure reactive target material. (And if ever a story revealed the Administrative Control Bias of the oldstream media, this is it!)
Senator Merritt, surprisingly ignorant and weak-kneed for an NRA A-rated Republican, wants to introduce legislation to make it impossible for anyone to buy more than a few pounds of Tannerite at any time, keep track of anyone who buys any amount of it at all (!) and to keep "children" from buying it -- never you mind that you can't even set the stuff off without a rifle bullet fired into it (requiring guns, a product children already cannot buy) or a blasting cap (a product nearly everyone cannot buy). Nope, he figures it is a Homeland Security matter -- which I would expect from a creationism-in-schools, anti-smoking drug-warrior;* it's a wonder he's even gun-friendly to a limited extent.
If you enjoy shooting at reactive targets, ever think you might, if you're sick of being treated like a dope-chemist every time you buy sinus medicine and don't want more of the same dimwitted feelgood political theater or just figure there are way too many limits on what people can and cannot buy, let the dear Senator know at s31@in.gov, Senator.Merritt@iga.in.gov or via this webpage. His crazy notion needs to stopped before it ever gets off the ground.
Oh, and Senator? The active ingredient in teenage zit-cream is a primary explosive; those same kids can churn out a dangerously shock-sensitive, high-pressure primary explosive so tricky that mad-bomber Islamists are wary of it, using nothing more than household chemicals and a glass mixing bowl -- and plenty of ice, if they have half a clue. Are you going to ban car batteries, antiseptics and nail-polish remover next?
This is how liberty is lost: one bedwetting do-gooder law at a time.
____________________________________
* Chair, Lawrence Township Drug Abuse Resistance Education Council
Probably the only reason he bothers to be NRA A-rated is in order to get re-elected...
ReplyDeleteIf I recall correctly, dish soap is an ingredient in field-expedient explosive cookerage. Is he going to take our Palmolive away next? Will Homeland Security arrest Madge for pushing exlosive precursors on unwary housewives? Enquiring minds want to know.
AMEN SISTER BOBBIE!
ReplyDelete"IF TNT WONT DO IT DYNA-MIGHT"
A RINO idiot wanting to put his foot on the liberty of the people. Yet the people keep re-electing these idiots.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I just scratch my head.
This is why nobody gets chemistry sets for Christmas anymore. And that makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's just great! It's bad enough that all the Fudds and the Cletti are buying up Case lots of Ammo and Guns, now they're going to jump the price of Tannerite!
ReplyDeleteI can just see the sign at the Weekend Warriors Table at the Fun Show : "TANNERITE BAN COMING! BUY NOW WHILE IT'S STILL LEGAL!"
"Are you going to ban car batteries, antiseptics and nail-polish remover next?"
ReplyDeleteStop giving them ideas!
;)
Anyone who took high school chemistry ... Oh, wait.
ReplyDeleteSo that's the real reason behind the NEA.
It's not the tannerite. It's SMART PEOPLE that are dangerous.
Off to the hardware store and pharmacy for WMD.
And never-mind that both black and smokeless powder are over the counter as well.
ReplyDeleteQuick we need an Aluminum registry!
I sent off an email myself, explaining the basics of chemistry and availability.
huh. I have a lovely book on my desk, Hiscox and Sloane, 'Fortunes in Formulas' 1939 ed. It details, often with exact measurements, how to make a variety of very effective explosives, poisons, home-made fireworks, and other interesting concoctions. (along with innumerable cleaners, paints, perfumes, and just about anything)
ReplyDeleteSomehow, I don't see a 2013 edition in the works..
Then again, the 1944 edition has some information that may come in handy. (For things like clearing stumps far away from crowded areas, and where getting large equipment in place would be prohibitively expensive.)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.freebookspot.es/Comments.aspx?Element_ID=2318
Hey acairfearann, are the relevant sections all that different from your copy?
I like Sudafed. It's the only decongestant (as of a decade ago when I was still active anyway) that Navy divers could use and still stay on dive status. It works without side effects, and without causing odd reactions to your biochemistry under pressure.
ReplyDeleteSo after all these years it's still my decongestant of choice. But to get it I have to jump through my own asshole and make like I'm buying a half ton of TNT. Because some criminals use it to produce meth, now everyone who wants to buy some is treated like a potential criminal.
As William S. Burroughs (admittedly, not the most stable exemplar of private firearm ownership) once said "The first thing government does when somebody commits a gun crime is to punish everyone who didn't do it."
Breaking Good: how to synthesize Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) From N-Methylamphetamine (crystal meth)via Boing Boing
ReplyDeleteJust in case you need extra-legal sudafed.
AJD,
ReplyDeleteI can't check that link at the moment, but I doubt that it is all that different. If anything, it might be somewhat better.