This is what happens when the average Joe Sixpack (or in this case, Joe Calanchini) doesn’t watch the news, has no idea what the hell is going on around him and goes about his peaceful life like nothing of importance is happening this year. I’m not defending the actions of the “authorities” in question, when they descended upon Joseph Calanchini of Pinedale, Wy. after he was observed carrying “a rifle-type case” while checking into the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Denver, of all places!
Yes, it’s ridiculous that this guy was tossed in jail for daring to plan a hunting trip around the time the Democrats are converging upon Denver like a plague of ants upon a tuna fish sandwich left after a picnic. I’m not a fan of licensing or punishing people for exercising their constitutional rights without permission from the government.
But it’s absurd to me that this asshat was so clueless that he had no idea the DNC was in town for their convention. It’s absurd that he doesn’t watch the news and doesn’t know what the hell is going on in his own nation, let alone the rest of the world.
I just love the drama, don’t you? Pelosi and the other guests evacuated, shielded from the evil gun-toting would-be killer, who turned out to be nothing but an ignorant nimrod with a nonexistent grasp of what goes on in his own country. I would wager a guess that Pelosi had nothing to fear from this dimwit. It’s the rest of us who should be afraid… this jackass’ vote counts as much as ours!
Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said 29-year-old Joseph Calanchini of Pinedale, Wyo., faces a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon after police officers at the Grand Hyatt hotel noticed him carrying a rifle-type case while checking in. Calanchini did not have a concealed weapons permit, said Lance Clem, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
[...]
Pelosi and other guests briefly evacuated the hotel but were never in danger, Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said.
Calanchini told KUSA-TV it was bad timing.
“I didn’t even know the DNC was in town. I don’t watch the news,” Calanchini told the station from jail before he was released on $10,000 bond. “If I had known, I would have done things differently. It was a simple mistake.”




Aug 25, 2008 @ 14:32:36
Are you sure that Pelosi didn’t get wind of the guy and do this as a gun-grabbing publicity stunt? I wouldn’t put that past her.
Aug 25, 2008 @ 14:33:39
Oh, yeah. Skeletor is more handsome.
Aug 25, 2008 @ 14:48:10
I definitely think Skeletor is more handsome, but Pelosi likely has bigger testicles.I wouldn’t put a publicity stunt past her, and maybe the reaction of the evacuation was one. I doubt there would have been such a circus of this nimrod had just shown up on any other day.
Aug 25, 2008 @ 15:45:24
You hit the salient point of the story when you pointed out just how totally clueless this nimrod is…assuming that this WASN’T a set-up stunt. Scary that we have to depend on idiots like this to help determine our leadership.Small point of question, I don’t know the gun laws in Colorado, being raised here in Indiana; but I was unaware that you would have to have a CCW to carry a long gun of any sort? (Again assuming that the weapon was encased in a ‘safe’ mode.) Under the circumstances of high VIP count in the area,the authorities certainly acted correctly in investigating this guy, but I’m still a little unsure as to if he should have been charged as he was…too bad there is no such charge as J-B-S. (just being stupid)
Aug 25, 2008 @ 16:54:06
From what I’ve read, he’s still in jail.HUH?
Aug 25, 2008 @ 16:59:40
Well as its said.. ignorance isnt a crime, I have a friend who was a PD in CO. But I also recognize that laws maybe different within the City limits, so Im going to check on this. I wondering what the legal method of transporting a firearm would be if carrying it in a case is considered “concealment”. Would it have been legaly acceptable if he had entered the hotel with the weapon slung barrel down, action open, over his shoulder. Do the laws for citizens change because the “elite” are in town? Are they saying that he should have left the firearm in his vehicle (assuming he had one)…. that’s certainly not secure….. Something just isnt clicking with me about this story.
Aug 25, 2008 @ 17:08:03
Mark, this story said he was out on $10,000 bond. For being an idiot.Troy, I know being a moron is not a crime. I’m just commenting on the general state of our society. How could a guy who barely knows what the hell is going on in the nation cast an informed vote?But yeah… the laws shouldn’t change just because a bunch of sniveling politicians are around. I figured that was self explanatory.
Aug 25, 2008 @ 17:12:24
Hi Nikki!Dropped by from The Rott, where I dropped a little bomb of my own on this.I agree the guy was REALLY clueless, buthe was acting within his rights.If we start arresting people for beingignorant and out-of-touch, what are weto do with Congress?Congress,hell, what about the Candidates?
Aug 25, 2008 @ 17:18:32
I agree with what you said gahayz. I’ve written about this idiocy extensively, so I didn’t feel the need to beat a dead horse about depriving citizens of their rights merely because there are a bunch of idiot politicians present.The post was more about the ignorance of the average American. Do I think they should be persecuted for being dumbasses? Absolutely not!
Aug 25, 2008 @ 17:26:35
Hi!Saw your answer over at The Rott, andagain, agree.Question: what is “tovarich”?
Aug 25, 2008 @ 17:38:58
“Tovarich” is Russian for “comrade.” Misha speaks a fair bit of Russian, so when we chat, I throw random Russian words in there just for the hell of it. There are actually quite a few Russian speakers at the Rott.
Aug 25, 2008 @ 17:44:33
Never mind, I looked it up.Thank you.
Aug 25, 2008 @ 17:53:08
Yeah, I won’t get into it much either,for wiser minds than mine long agocommented on democracy becoming it’s owndownfall thru the ignorance and capriceof the electorate.
Aug 25, 2008 @ 17:57:45
Skeletor and Pelosi…good catch. I always called Arnold’s old lady, Maria Shriver, Skeletor.
Aug 25, 2008 @ 18:42:21
Please correct me if I’m wrong ( and I have been in the past) but I THINK the concealment charges were for the pistols, not the long guns.
Aug 25, 2008 @ 21:10:02
The pistols were in luggage. Hardly concealed carry. Would every UPS driver delivering to a gun store or a C&R to a collector be guilty of unlawful concealed carry, because the guns were in a box, in truck, neither of which were transparent?This is bullshit propaganda to strengthen the left’s position on guns and the cops (all levels) are helping.Think about it for just a minute. Pelosi and others were evacuated. When? After the guy was arrested and hauled away. What was the need for evacuation then, if not publicity and propaganda?How goddamned concealed were these weapons if the damn desk clerk could tell he had them?Total manipulation is the order of the day here.