The irony is almost beyond words.

After exhaustive but failed attempts to convince campus officials that director Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" film - which is under investigation for rules violations in association with his Academy Award entry - did not belong on campus television, the Second Amendment Club at Ohio University decided to promote an event on campus to ensure that the truth had it's say as well.

The group invited economist John Lott to speak on campus, and Lott accepted. Ohioans For Concealed Carry agreed to sponsor the event, which will occur on Monday, September 22 at 6:00 p.m.

Apparently there are a few people with free time on their hands at The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Handguns Control, Inc.) these days, because soon after the Club and OFCC began publicizing the event, Club President Curt Winzenreid received a most ironic email from Brady/HCI communications director Peter Hamm, entitled "concerns about your planned speaker Monday".

In the letter, Hamm engages in baseless personal, ad hominem attacks on Lott's character, and then uses Stanford professor John J. Donohue III to try and call Lott's research into question. OFCC supporters may remember how Donohue was caught telling a lie in a Columbus Dispatch letter to the editor a few months ago.

As we read Hamm's attack letter, a few questions kept popping up:

• If Brady/HCI is so concerned about questions on academic study methodologies, why are they using John Donohue (a proven liar, who can't find a link between CCW and crime reduction, but claims to have found a crime decrease linked to abortion on demand) to prop up their case?

• If Brady/HCI is so concerned about character flaws, why aren't they joining the investigation into Michael Moore's suspected Academy Awards rule-breaking? Why aren't they holding him to task for the many falsehoods presented in his film?

• Is the only thing Brady/HCI communications director has to do these days is follow John Lott around, trying to sabotage a book promo tour?

Click on the "Read More..." link below to read the Brady/HCI attack letter. Keep these questions in mind as you read.

.00025%.

2 out of 8000

That's how many right-to-carry permits the state of Minnesota has revolked since it began to issue them three months ago.

And like most cases involving the tiny fraction of withdrawn licenses in other states, in both Minnesota cases the permit was not at issue in the matters necessitating the revolkation.

For an excellent op-ed from a columnist who appears to be being convinced by experience:

Click here to read the op-ed in the Minneapolis Pioneer Press, or click on the "Read More..." link below for an archived version.