We all know that the police really aren’t there to protect us.  We also know where they are when seconds count.

Seconds ran out for 17-year old, Heather Catterton. And what were those precious final seconds like for her?  Her killer says they went like this.

According to the taped confessions, Hembree suffocated Catterton for 10 to 15 minutes. In that time he said he tried smothering her with his hand followed by a Walmart shopping bag. He ultimately stepped on her throat with his bare foot to make sure she was dead, he said in the recordings.

No candle for Heather either.

But at least they got him, right? Even though the police weren’t there to save Heather’s life, they at least brought him to justice.  Right?

Well they put him on trial.  He was convicted and sentenced to death. But tell me, does this sound like justice to you?

“Is the public aware that I am a gentleman of leisure, watching color TV in the A.C., reading, taking naps at will, eating three well balanced hot meals a day,” Hembree asked in the letter. “I’m housed in a building that connects to the new 55 million dollar hospital with round the clock free medical care 24/7.”

He also asks if the public knows that the chances of his “lawful murder” taking place in the next 20 years, if ever, are “very slim.”

And some people claim the threat of prison is a deterrent to crime.  You can read the letter in its entirety here (PDF).  It is not for the faint of heart.

No, I’m not going to say the if Heather had a gun she might be alive today. Being addicted to crack and trading sex for cocaine is not exactly a safe lifestyle. Statistically, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened to her, but it still was not her fault.  She was brutally murdered. She was one of three women killed by this man.

And this is the ‘justice’ he was brought to. A life of leisure for his crimes. This is the justice that the National Gun Victims Action Council (Don’t worry, that link goes to Bitter and her excellent post about the Brady’s newest unofficial arm) would wish for all criminals.

Personally, I prefer the kind of justice Sarah McKinley delivered. It only took 10 to 15 minutes for Hembree to kill Heather with only his hands, a shopping bag, and his foot.  Sarah McKinley waited 14 for the police to arrive. She was facing 2 men, one of which was armed with a hunting knife. Because of a gun, no one needs light a candle for Sarah and her goblin will never terrorize anyone ever again. That sounds a lot more like justice to me.

(h/t Stranger)

Hey! Look at that.

Jay’s got a fancy new ad over there in his sidebar. A leaner, meaner url too.

Oh look!  I’ve got one over on my sidebar too.  Ah yes, the holster maker extraordinaire pays handsomely for his premium ad space here*.

So do the clicky and browse around.  The site is mid-makeover.  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

*Psst. I know it’s scandalous, but I’m sleeping with the holster maker. And he keeps me in premium leather.

Just look at what they have done.

I think it's a super-villain disguise. Or he has a mustache of daggers.

I don't think you get to count it as design when you just wrap a brightly colored towel around a hot guy wearing make-up.

Um. Yeah, I got nothing.

Oh look! It's the Soldier of Fabulous!

What do you wear with your long underwear, anyway? I know! There's this Victorian inspired coat left over from some vampire movie. Just throw that on and look like you wish you were the guy in the onesie.

Why do I have the strong suspicion these designers graduated from the University of Minnesota?

Looks like everyone is talking about Starbuck’s Appreciation Day in answer to some anti’s boycott.

I heard it first over at PAGunblog.

And got an email from a Luchador.

Honestly, I don’t like their coffee.  I think it’s over-roasted and over-priced.  But I do like the fact that they don’t bend over for the whiny anti’s. And the idea of inflating their profits on the day of the whiny class boycott makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Wouldn’t it be great if they made record sales on Valentine’s Day?

So yeah, I can probably find something there.  The tears of fools are sure to make my coffee sweet.

UPDATE: There’s a Facebook Event and you’re invited.

We get caffeine and pastries, they get to wallow in their irrelevancy.

Clearly, something must be done about those sentient bullets.

On the Monday after Christmas a bullet left a firearm, traveled across two streets, a front yard, and a vacant lot before striking a house and hitting the head of a three-year-old Minneapolis boy, Terrell Mayes, who was climbing the stairs with his three other brothers to hide in a closet when they heard the first gunshots. Terrell died the next day. Had the bullet gone a little farther to the east, it would have missed the house and struck a neighboring elementary school.

No word on whether or not it picked up the dry cleaning on the way.

I guess the College of Design at the University of Minnesota teaches that colors place themselves on posters independent of graphic designers too. And it was fabric that helped these Haitian kids.

But wait! That article credits the design students. That can’t be right. Not when the Dean says this.

As Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once put it, “guns don’t kill people, bullets do.” The problem of gun violence begins and ends with bullets, so let’s focus on them.

From reading Thomas Fisher’s piece, you’d never know that it was a stray bullet fired by a person.

Terrell died early Dec. 27, hours after being struck in the head by a stray bullet that entered his Hawthorne neighborhood home. He and his brothers had heard gunfire on the street and were running to an upstairs closet for safety. Whoever fired the shot hasn’t been caught.

A person that is still at large.  A person that was already breaking the law and most likely involved in gang violence that just so happened to incorporate a gun.

But does he opine about gang violence?  Of course not.  Mr. Fisher would rather blame an inanimate object.

Rather than push for a crack down on the gangs; he pushes for ridiculous restrictions on bullets and ammunition manufacturers.

I suppose if it was a bullet that killed Terrell Mayes, then it follows that bullets feed the homeless too.

Arguments like these do nothing to solve the very real problem of violence.  Don’t light a candle. Fight back.

You know, the day these pictures were taken was the same day I met today’s birthday girl. Why yes, it was a freaking awesome day.

Coincidence? I’ll let you be the judge (and not the kind that shoots shot shells).

Go wish Tam a very happy birthday.

Go congratulate Larry on the birth of a toddler*.

Mrs. Correia is indeed a badass warrior woman.

*Weebot was only 5lbs 12 oz and not delivered with nearly as much badassitude. The anesthesiologist was my best friend.  I told her that too.  Even after she dropped my first epidural bottle and had to do it again after I verified that I could still wiggle my toes. 

I love you all.  Really.  I’m not at all bitter that I spent my week at work drooling over your live updates.

Really, it’s fine.  I can hear JayG‘s squeeeing from here anyway.

Sure it would have been fun to check in with The Great Satan and play with new shotguns. Or see if I could outdo Tom and and his crapton* of schwag in a bag.

It would have been great to hang out with the always delightful, Pastor Kenn

But alas, those beans won’t count themselves.

Derek just has too much good stuff to pick just one post.

So I’m sorry I missed the Gatling Gun and sore feet and bleeding zombie targets, but I want to thank all of you, and those I didn’t link here, for giving the rest of us a peek into your SHOT show experience.

I swear, I’m not pouting or anything.   Honest.

Maybe next year.