Sunday, December 31, 2017

Incomprehensible

I admit that I've blogged some posts which didn't make the point I intended, over the years, but this author published one post that I absolutely don't understand.

Perhaps someone can explain it to me; I'm old, so my friends tell me, but I didn't think I was mentally feeble until I read this.

View From The Porch: Proof I don't understand Kel-Tec's target demo:

Proof I don't understand Kel-Tec's target demo I mean, I've had a few customers I've thought were piss-drinkers over the years, but I don't know as I'd have called them that to their faces. Maybe I was doing it wrong. Bold strategy, Kel-Tec.

See the link above for the appended photo.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

"It isn't Christmas until the lights are strung around the house"

I may be the Gumpy Christmas Blogger, but here's just one more reason I'm glad I don't have to string lights around the house every Christmas.
You could own all of Netflix. Or purchase 747 Boeing 747s, with change to spare. Or erase the national debts of Venezuela, Nigeria, Peru and Iceland, combined. Or, if you're Mary Horomanski, you could pay for one month's worth of electricity.
 Pennsylvania woman gets $284 billion electric bill, wonders whether it's her Christmas lights - Chicago Tribune:



Sunday, December 24, 2017

Merry Christmas Eve

In the spirit of Peace on Earth and the universal Good Will Toward Men, here is your vision for the future:
By phasing out a mindset of absolute ownership of guns and creating a mindset of nonviolence, we can start on the path toward a safer and more secure society.
Binod Kumar, UD, nonviolence, gun violence, gun culture:

We expect that the gangsters will read and heed that hopeful message.

Borepatch has a more realistic message: enjoy!

Friday, December 22, 2017

Dear Washington State: You're screwed!

David Codrea details the sad state of Washington under Democrat Leadership:

Anti-gun laws are expected.  Sorry, but if it wasn't y'all, your neighbors voted for those idiots.

Proposed Washington Law Shows Gun-Grabbers Intend to Have It Both Ways | Oath Keepers: “November’s special election will give Democrats control of both the state House and Senate for the first time since 2012 during the next legislative session,” Seattle’s My Northwest reported Tuesday. “November’s special election will give Democrats control of both the state House and Senate for the first time since 2012 during the next legislative session.”

Expect your 2nd Amendment Rights to be thoroughly and painfully "Rogered".

Monday, December 18, 2017

Over-reacting much?

I personally think it's just SWELL that "officials" closed the school because some nerd crayoned the boys-room mirror.   If I was cloistered in a catholic boys-only school, I might not choose this particular means, but I'd be desperate to get the HELL out of there ... whatever it takes.

Thankfully, the "officials"  ... uh ... responded appropriately?

Or maybe just predictably.

Loyola Blakefield closed after racist graffiti in bathroom stall, Towson boys school says - Baltimore Sun:
Officials at Loyola Blakefield, a Catholic boys’ school in Towson, closed the school Thursday after threatening graffiti using a racial slur was discovered in a bathroom stall, administrators said. “We are heartbroken and outraged by this attack on the respect and dignity of members of our community, especially our African-American members who were targeted by this hateful message,” school President Anthony Day said in a statement. “We will discover who did this,” Day said, “and they will no longer be a part of our community.” The Jesuit school enrolls students in grades six through 12. School officials said they were working with Baltimore County police “to investigate this hateful act.”

Adding Insult to Injury in the State of Misery

Good intentions, I'm sure, but how happy will you be to prosecute a parent who has just lost his or her child due to an accident in the home?

Bill would hold adults liable for unsecured guns | Local News | newspressnow.com:
A Missouri state representative is proposing a bill that will hold an adult responsible if a child gains access to an unsecured firearm. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis, is sponsoring House Bill 1343, which specifies that a person commits the offense of endangering the welfare of a child if he or she knowingly fails to secure a firearm. The goal is to eliminate the cases of children accidentally shooting themselves or others after gaining access to a firearm.

Welcome to England, where our anti-firearms laws are making this a safer hunting ground!

Other than that, remember that you cannot legally defend your person or home with a paring knife!
Or pepper spray.  Or anything else which might inconvenience your friendly  neighborhood home-intruder/murderer.   But you CAN use a Rape Alarm!

Violent crime rising in England and Wales, police figures show | UK news | The Guardian:
There have been “small but genuine” increases in murder and other violent crimes, including 13-14% increases in gun and knife crime in 2016, according to the latest police-recorded crime figures. The Office for National Statistics said the police data showed a 9% rise in overall crime in 2016, but that had to be viewed alongside the more authoritative crime survey of England and Wales, which showed an apparent 5% fall over the same period. These figures do, however, show an increase in violent crime, with a 10% rise in robberies, a 35% increase in public order offences and a 12% rise in sexual offences, including rapes.

,,, which has nothing at all, of course, to do with that when seconds count, the bobby on the block is only an hour or two away; and while you are waiting,  you are free to try to talk to your home intruder ... but you can't hurt him!

also check the Bearing Arms article here ...

Molan Labe

California Lt. Gov Gavin Newsome to NRA: "We ARE Coming for Your Guns":
 “We have a message for the NRA – National Rifle Association of America: If you hurt people, we ARE coming for your guns,” wrote Newsome. The message was accompanied by a video featuring Newsome speaking on how the only thing more certain than another mass shooting is the “moral cowardice” of Republicans who ignore it.
Hat Tip: Red State


What in the  WORLD is this asshole talking about?

What ever gave him the idea that NRA members want to "hurt people"?

I have no information which suggests that the NRA, or members of this organization, have ever  (Individually or as a group) deliberately hurt people except in defense of  innocents who were arbitrarily attacked by other  people.  So I don't know what this means.

And what has all this to do with "Mass Shootings".  Has he information about NRA membership of murderers in the news, recently?  If so, I've not been privy to that news.

The charge of "moral cowardice" is equally as confusing;. As far as I know, the only moral cowardice possible is the dis-inclination to defend self, home and family against assault by those who choose to attack those who they assume are unarmed ... Lord knows the attackers are never, ever, members of the NRA! 

Is he accusing Republicans of "Moral Cowardice" because of their political affiliation?  Someone should tell the Republican Party that their membership is composed of "Moral Cowards".  I'm sure that would be news to them!

I am currently a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA); but the moral equivalence of the NRA has never been an issue; if anything, I sometimes feel that the NRA is insufficiently supportive of the Second Amendment.


An "armed society" is a "respectful society".  So saith the memorable author Robert Heinlein, and more people know his name than know the name of Gavin Knowsless!

And not all members of the NRA are "Republicans" who "ignore"  ... well, the original article is lacking in the definition of moral fiber which is, in his view, ignored by NRA members.  Many of our members are Democrats, and members of other policies; our common ground is to just be left alone to enjoy a day hunting, or shooting a match on the range.

God knows that our intention is not to "hurt people"!

Newsome speaks of "Moral Cowardice", but I'm sure that my brothers who are armed are as astounded as I am to learn that we are so charged.   Many of us are veterans, as I am, and whatever cowardice we may rightfully be accused of is to go to a foreign country and fight a war for a cause which we did not agree ... but we went there, and fought a war we did not believe in, only because our National Leaders decreed that we should do so.

So to my mind, the only "Moral Cowardice" of which we may be accused, is the we didn't emigrate to Canada instead of allowing ourselves to be drafted.  Did Newsome ever face such a moral quandary?

Newsome, you've spent too much time in The Land of Fruits and Nuts.  You should get out more.  Go visit folks in flyover country and discover America.  You may be surprised to learn that most Americans love their country more than their state or their selves, and are willing to get shot at when they are drafted into that "Crazy Asian War" which you so conveniently missed.

Newsome's entire screed is based on disrespect for his country, his people, and anyone whose political viewpoint differs from his.

I lived in California for a couple of years in the 1970's; The weather was great, but  I sure am glad I  moved out of there before people like THIS nimrod came into power!

Saturday, December 16, 2017

"Shot At And Missed"

Good intentions notwithstanding; if you have reason to shoot, it's better to hit your target than to miss.

Having been 'shot at and missed' is not a felon's deterrent to future crime escapades.

Robber killed by citizen shooter was shot at weeks earlier - San Antonio Express-News:
When local real estate broker Stephen Manion saw the news that a young father, carrying a concealed weapon and having dinner with his two children at a Popeyes restaurant on the South Side, had shot and killed a masked robber last week at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, it struck him as weirdly familiar.
 Around 8:30 p.m. on a Tuesday two weeks prior, Manion said, he was at a Dollar General on W.W. White Road “and stopped a robbery by firing at the very same guy.”
Manion missed. A San Antonio Police Department spokesman, Officer Doug Greene, confirmed that detectives believe the suspect who fled the Dollar General that night was Andres Herrera, 19, who was killed a week later at Popeyes.




Friday, December 15, 2017

Has America Gone Crazy?

Sandy Hook Anniversary: These Are the Gun Control Laws That Have Failed Since the Newtown Shooting:
What seemed at the time like the horrifying turning point in the American gun debate—a gunman in Newtown, Connecticut, slaughtering 20 children and six adult employees during the school day after killing his mother—now instead seems like the moment the United States decided no tragedy was too great to change federal gun laws. More than 200 state-level gun laws have passed since Sandy Hook, but every major attempt at federal legislation has failed, even as shootings with ever-higher body counts keep coming. 
Yes.

Madmen arise in any society; they don't obey laws, but here ... in America ... they take advantage of the freedoms which our country holds most dear.

There is little we can do about that, without infringing on our own constitutional rights.

The problem isn't with the constitution; the problem is with our society.   Will we give up the rights which our progenitors fought for, because we now realize that we have created a "sick" society?

Our system of government is deliberately "skewed" to protect our rights.  That some people abuse those rights is not the fault of the laws, nor the Constitution; it's something in our national character which promoted aberration.

It may have begun when President Reagan undermined the Mental Health System.

Reagan observed a system which regularly locked up people with mild psychotic symptoms, and determined that it undermined the civil rights of people who were "just different".  He acted to correct this social injustice, and people who were committed for no greater offense than being 'different" were set free and thus protected from the distrust of their society.

Was Reagan wrong?  Is he the cause of the slaughter we have recently experienced?

As is the case in many decisions to protect individuals at the expense of the general population, this single act may have served to ignore delusional people, who have become a larger portion of our population than was earlier allowed to remain free. 

Whatever the cause or the effect, America today seems to have its fair share of crazies who feel no compunction against acting out their rage.

And the few sane people left ,,,
 ("I fear all are mad except me and thee, and I worry betimes about thee!")
... now suffer the consequences of a society which is so "free" that the madmen are ruling the institution.

Well ... the politicians, of course. 

But I was speaking about normal people.

Christmas and Adolescent Angst

There is nothing like trying to hang long (snarled) strings of wire and bulbs from the eves of the house ... and then trying to find the one bulb that is burned out ... to suck the Christmas Spirit from the heart of a teenage boy.

About the time I moved on to College I realized it was a lot warmer in the house, so I unsnarled the wires and tested all the bulbs in the living room.  (I recall my father's paternal pride when he remarked:  I was wondering how old you would be when you figured that out.)

The next year, we built a new set of light strings ... wired in parallel.   My father was disappointed when I did that; I think he enjoyed my annual outrage.   If nothing else, he kept track of what new curse words I had learned since the previous year; because I kept coming home for Christmas, and the box 'o bulbs was always waiting in the attic.  (Pop claimed his rheumatism made it too hard for him to climb the ladder ... it always seemed to kick in toward the END of Elk Season.)

Now I live in an apartment, and if anyone is going to climb a ladder to decorate the place it won't be me.  My landlord went out of town to visit his kids for the rest of the month, so even HE won't be bugging me to "lend him a hand".

My afternoon has been spent watching my neighbors hang out their lights.  It went so fast, I almost missed it.  They didn't seem to have any problems.

Probably just "new technology".

Thursday, December 14, 2017

A Credit to American Ingenuity?

[Video] Head-shot on a Whitetail Doe with .50 BMG [He missed but the deer still dies] - The Gun Feed: [Video] Head-shot on a Whitetail Doe with .50 BMG

  [He missed but the deer still dies]

"Who knows?  The next time I may actually hit the animal!"

Well, that's something to look forward to.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Lies, but without even the courtesy of statistics or a "thank You Ma'am"!

NRA hijacks bipartisan gun bill. Now it's too dangerous to pass.:
Talk about robbing Peter to pay Paul. As a package, “Fix NICS” would keep guns from domestic abusers — while “Concealed Carry Reciprocity” would force states to allow people to carry concealed guns in public even if they are domestic abusers, have other dangerous histories, or lack even the most basic safety training to carry concealed guns in public.
USA Today is among the many public forums which have deliberately lied about current  (and proposed)  firearms legislation, and their agenda is to completely disallow the free exercise of the Second Amendment.

There are no state or federal laws, currently active or proposed, which would:
"force states to allow people to carry concealed guns in public even if they are domestic abusers, have other dangerous histories, or lack even the most basic safety training to carry concealed guns in public. "

There are NO states which have enacted gun-control laws which "force states" to allow convicted felons or domestic abusers to be allowed to carry concealed firearms.    That's just stupid!

How many times must this point be emphasized, to deny the false hoods engendered by public forums?

Intelligent people would probably read the statement, and dismiss it without needing to cite other resources.

Stupid people will read the USA TODAY article, and take it at face value; after all, it's USA TODAY And they wouldn't lie to us!

The Big Lie

There was a propaganda technique (often utilized by the Russians in the 20th century) which proposed that if you tell a lie which is so obviously WRONG ... many people will believe it because "who would tell such a horrible lie, if it was not true???"

Well, many people use The Big Lie to argue against facts which are obviously true, and unfortunately it is all-to-often accepted as "TRUE" because who would lie about that so disingenuously?

Answer: people who think you are stupid enough to believe obvious lies.

There are no states which allow convicted domestic abusers to possess firearms, let along "force" them to do so. 

Second Amendment Supporters recognize that there are a sub-genre of people who are not responsible to carry firearms, and domestic abusers have proven their poor judgement.

USA TODAY is just one of the public forums which abuse their privilege to report the news, in order to publish their bias on social issues ... about which they are insufficiently informed.


Saturday, December 09, 2017

"Throw 'em In Prison!"

Welcome to the Garden State ... bring a gun, we'll have you cultivating a prison garden in no time!

This is the essential message that NJ Dem Sen. Bob Menendez prefers to send to travelers who enter New Jersey with a firearm ... and who are ignorant of the state's draconian firearm laws.

Sen: Jail CCW Holders If They Enter Jersey | The Daily Caller: WASHINGTON —
“Throw’em into prison for five years” is what New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez wants for any out-of-state concealed carry permit holder who enter his state with a firearm.
 “People violate our law — we are a state that has decided that we are against concealed carry weapons. We have stronger gun laws. We believe we have made the states safer as that,” Menendez told The Daily Caller Thursday. “They violate our laws, then whatever is the law, and they are found guilty of it, they should pay the consequence.”
 When pressed about travelers with concealed carry permits who may be detoured into his state by accident, he replied: “They know what our state’s law is. They should know what our state law is if they want to carry a concealed weapon. I don’t think that they just simply get detoured and they should think in advance when they are traveling.”

 He continued, “I find it amazing that Republicans who believe in state rights all of a sudden have a problem observing the state rights of those states that think that stronger gun laws is the way to protect citizens and that’s what I have to say about it.”


 New Jersey has some of the most stringent gun laws in the country. Its state troopers are known to pull over drivers and question them on whether they are carrying concealed firearms.  Unfortunately, some out-of-state travelers are not aware that the Concealed Handgun Licences issued in their home state are not recognized in New Jersey .. so when the drivers answer truthfully, they are arrested.  Their firearms confiscated.  And they may find themselves in jail.

In the New England States, the borders seem to be amorphous; drivers from one state assume that they are still "home", even though they may have unwittingly crossed a state line.  It is possible there to drive for one hour and find yourself having entered three states.

And they assume that the freedoms they enjoy "locally" are recognized in adjacent states.

Unfortunately, when they cross into The Twilight Zone which is (for firearms owners) New Jersey,  they are often not only surprised to learn that their Concealed Handgun License is not recognized, but their civil rights are similarly not recognized.

New Jersey is not alone in their determination to deny firearms owners their Second Amendment Rights:  Florida also has made it illegal to carry a firearm.

We need a federal law which recognizes the 2nd Amendment.  We need for all states to recognize this right.  We thought we had it, but we were wrong.

Universal backgrounds checks are just one side on the controversy. 

Universal carry rights are the other side of the issue, and as long as America is willing to impose upon the Second Amendment, we should (all states) pay as much attention to our universal rights.  as we do to our local limitations.


Wednesday, December 06, 2017

More Wapo Lies

The Washington Post is up in arms (so to speak) about new legislation which acknowledges the Second Amendment Rights of Americans.

The GOP's idea of gun control | Washington Post | heraldstandard.com:
Incredibly, what the Republican-led House appears ready to do is make it easier for people — including those with dangerous histories — to carry hidden, loaded guns across the country. 
No, what the Republican-lead house appears ready to do is to acknowledge the right of law-abiding citizens to carry a weapon ... which is enumerated in the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

 The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 was the National Rifle Association’s “highest legislative priority,” so Republicans fell in line, brushing aside the reasonable objections of law enforcement officials about the dangerous consequences to public safety.
No, Republicans fell in line to acknowledge the right (already confirmed in most states) for law-abiding citizens to carry a weapon in all states if they have already been vetted in their home state to do so.

" ...— including those with dangerous histories — ..."

No state in the union will issue a Concealed Carry Permit to anyone with "dangerous history".

All states perform a thorough background on every candidate for a concealed carry permit'; nobody who has a criminal history will ever be issued a Concealed Carry Permit, in any state, if the candidate fails the background check.

There is no reason for the Washington Post to lie about this; they have a professional staff of researchers who can readily identify the process for allocating Concealed Carry Licences at both the state and (now) the national level.

The Washington Post lies about this because they choose to.

They are (apparently) politically against issuance of a firearms carry license to anyone, and they have obviously chosen to lie in order to ramp up public resistance to the new process.

Criminals ... those previously convicted of a crime ... are not likely to be missed in the vetting process.   EVERYONE who wishes to purchase a firearm from a legitimate dealer must be vetted by the current process to determine that purchases of firearms are not felons or otherwise forbidden to own firearms.

Of course, criminals who get their firearms from folks who steal guns and sell them on the black market will not go through this process; they never have.   When they do, they are committing another crime.    There's nothing new about this.

And when WaPo lies about the new effort to support America's First Freedom (the Second Amendment), they perform a disservice to the American people.

Most states have laws which permit individuals with no criminal background to carry a concealed weapon; this is what WaPo calls permission to  carry hidden, loaded guns across the country.

Their choice of verbiage is loaded to describe a legal process, but to express it in the most negative terminology possible.   Criminals already do this; under this new national law, honest people can protect themselves without the risk of running afoul of the widely varying laws of individual states;  all states will have the same standard, so if you are legally permitted to carry a concealed firearm in Florida, you may also do so in Washington.

This law merely standardizes laws so that honest people will not be harassed during interstate travel.
There is nothing dishonest, nefarious nor shameful in this law.

What is dishonest, nefarious and shameful is the way that the Washington Post has chosen to blacken its name before it is officially enacted.

It's Not Guns ... It's Men!

It's not guns, it's men. 

(Do not say "WHEW!" yet)


The Greenfield (MA) Recorder has an opinion article by Rob Okun which announces that the problem with violence in America might not be guns; he posits that the problem is Men.

My Turn: Men, we can, and should, do better:
... there’s a common denominator among all of the shooters that we in the pro-feminist men’s movement are blue in the face from shouting from the rooftops for decades: They’re all men.
Well, he may have a point there.  I don't know anything about the "Pro-feminist men's movement", and I haven't seen a whole lot of blue-faced guys at pistol matches for the past .. oh, I don't know ... THIRTY YEARS! 

But he may still have a point.
After all, how many mass shootings are committed by women?

Zero?  (Ignoring that the person who provided guns for the Colorado school shootings was a woman.   Women as enablers?  Who knew?)

(Almost everyone!)

I suppose it's legitimate to posit that women are more likely to be "enablers" than killers in the Pro-feminist Men's Murder Class (Dylan, et al).  Which may not be the author's point, but it's what I get from his writing.  Still,  I'm a bit concerned about this one tiny point he makes:
 It’s time for Congress to fund the Centers for Disease Control to conduct a study of how boys are socialized, starting with preschoolers. I’ve proposed this to an aide to Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal. Please, senator, introduce the legislation. 
Ouch!

Given that the CDC has been partially defunded because of their biased political stance against firearms,  this is like throwing baby chicks to the alligators;  gobble gobble gobble.   Let us ignore that the CDC lost a TON of funding from the federal coffers a decade or two ago because of their obvious anti-2nd Amendment bias.  The Namby Boys still haven't forgiven the NRA for that.
 What else? The NRA considers most men tacit supporters, and unless they hear otherwise, they have us right where they want us — silent,

Tacit?   Us?

I'm not sure what men are "tacit supporters" of.   I had to look it up.  Most men I know aren't "tacit" supporters of anything;   They are either indifferent, against, or balls-to-the-wall for it.   Life's too short to be "tacit".   And as for the NRA, they either hate it or they pay their annual dues.

There's no crying in baseball, and there's no "tacit" in guns.

Tacit this, Robie.

Monday, December 04, 2017

You people are beginning to piss me off!

You know, there are a few opinionated articles which just cry out for someone to set them straight.

Unfortunately, these articles seem to be (increasingly) grounded in websites which require that the respondents adhere to strict rules of identification.

It's not enough that we have to identify ourselves, we also have to identify the blog website with which we  re associated.   These folks want not only to know who you are, but what Blog Site you support!  Why the HELL do they need this information .. to the point where you are forbidden to post  a comment without giving up your blog site?

Are they looking for personal blogs which oppose their political viewpoints?  And when they identify these people .. what will they do with that information?

*BTW .. as far as I can tell, if you don't  have a blog .. you can't enter a comment!*

Well, hell, every body who know me knows that I'm a easy-going kind of guy.  I don't mind giving out more information about my personal identity than would ordinarily seem to be reasonable just to justify the fact that I have an opinion.

(Sorry,  urping all over my keyboard here ... they need my WEBSITE to justify my comment?)

Personally, I think it's bizarre that some folks are so hoity-toity that they need to be assured their commenters have an actual WEBSITE (read: blog?) before they will accept a comment.

Why would my opinion be more legitimate if I have a website, than if I did not?

Oh, just TRY to enter a comment on these websites if you don't have a BLOG!
The curious thing is ... I only bump into this certification process when my comment is going to be  something like:  "Hey, wait a minute now, this is all bullshit!"

In other words, I encounter this strict requirement to identify my websites where I strongly disagree with their printed opinions; which is to say, "Liberal" websites.   "Conservative" websites don't seem to impose this "tracking" requirement nearly as frequently.

Conservative websites don't seem to give a shit who you are or where you are coming from.  They just take whomever you are at face value.   Are they less fearful

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed this bizarre requirement from Liber websites?


Sunday, December 03, 2017

Wishful Thinking? ("Too Much Ordnance in One County"?)

Slate questions whether the Government can bypass the Second Amendment by abrogating the right of law-abiding vendors to sell firearms.

The cited 9th Circuit Court decision that a local ordinance which prohibits "too many gun stores in one municipal locality" (not a direct quote) is a legitimate restriction on the single product which is protected by the Constitution.

The question is whether the 2nd Amendment allows a 2nd gun store to establish itself in the same community where another gun store already exists.

California has decided that ... no, you cannot.

The 9th circuit court has decided that local zoning rules allow a municipality to limit the number of gun stores in a given area does not violate the Second Amendment: hey, you already have one gun store in this county ... we've done our part!

OPINION:

If these were two shoe stores opening in the same county, the local government would not impose an ordnance restricting freedom of trade; But because their product is firearms (protected by the 2nd Amendment, which shoes are not) the locals feel free to impose an ordnance proscribing "too many gun stores" in one county.

Whatever happened to Free Trade in America?  Oh, it's all politics.

9th Circuit rules there’s no Second Amendment right to sell firearms.:
Does the Second Amendment protect an individual right to sell firearms to the public? No, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday in Teixeira v. County of Alameda, a landmark decision affirming the government’s constitutional authority to strictly regulate gun shops. The 9–2 ruling is a victory for gun safety advocates who feared judicial aggrandizement of the right to bear arms could invalidate myriad laws governing firearm commerce. The decision may be imperiled, however, if the plaintiffs appeal to the Supreme Court, where conservative justices are increasingly eager to expand the scope of the Second Amendment.
So ... if the 2nd Amendment acknowledges our right to purchase firearms, can a local ordnance legitimately prevent us from choosing between twocompeting  purveyors of firearms?   Whatever happened to the American right to buy the best product at the best price?

Oh .. it's not constitutionally protected.  And besides, they don't like guns.

Okay, I get it.

Someone put a few dollars in their pocket.  It's all about graft, and not about freedom.

But ... oh hell, isn't their a law against bribery?   And aren't elected officials above all that?

Wishful Thinking!
NOTE: Just a casual set of meandering thoughts; it was NEVER my intention to suggest that local officials have been influenced in their decision!
Appeals Court Ruling:
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has taken a swipe at 2nd Amendment absolutists by ruling that, however one interprets the Constitution’s guarantee of a right to “keep and bear arms,” it doesn’t mean that gun shops have an absolute right to locate themselves anywhere they wish.

(You have a right too keep and bear arms, but that doesn't mean you have a right to BUY arms!)

PS: I hope that the local folks who have decided that the 2nd Amendment is not an imposition on firearms dealers don't think that I'm at all denigrating their high moral position.

Friday, December 01, 2017

NRA, Republican Politicians, White Blood Guilt and Letters to the Editor of the SLC Tribune

Letter: Even with sensible gun laws, it would take centuries to undo the crazy - The Salt Lake Tribune:
For over a decade now the NRA and Republicans who are financially obligated to them have waged a campaign of aggressive pro-gun activism. They have convinced the public that gun ownership is essential to survival. These Republican policies have come to fruition. The chest-thumping, white Americans proclaiming the most important thing to them is their gun have set the new norm of our Republican-run America, a mass shooting every month. The NRA, Republican politicians and all those white voters will have to own this bloodshed.
Actually, the Republicans are not all that "financially obligated" to the NRA.

Washington Examiner: (December 05, 2015) *
... an examination of the NRA's actual lobbying and political contributions reveals it is a relatively light spender compared to other corporations, interest groups and industries.
Which seems as if the NRA is not the big-spender that you seem to think it is.  Look up the stats on the NRA vs  .... oh, say ... the dairy industry.  You know ... cows?  Milk?  *sic
For example, the NRA spent roughly half of what the dairy industry spent last year on lobbying, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Don't take my word for it; go look it up!

And by the way, where does all that money come from, which " ... financially (obligates) ... the evil REPUBLICANS to the whims of the even-more-evil NRA?

Some of it comes from the $50 a year membership fees for the (reportedly) five million members of the association.

But some of it comes from corporate sponsors:

Cheaper Than Dirt: (March 28, 2013)
Companies often donate money to the NRA to protect our RTKBA. But is the NRA just taking orders from all gun companies? No, the NRA takes orders from the members of the association; the guys and gals who love guns and want to keep their rights. If any group is a “shill” for the firearm and ammunition companies, it would the NSSF, but even that is a stretch. The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade organization that represents all of the companies that make up the shooting sports. Their job is to protect and defend shooting industry companies and rights. However, in this industry, the views of the NRA and the NSSF almost always are directly tied if not the same. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” the old saying goes, and what is good for the gun owner is good for the gun industry.
Of course, none of this information will ever filter back to the writer of the letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune. (), but that doesn't matter.  Even if she got the information, she wouldn't believe it. Her mind is made up, and she cares not for the facts.

Because Theresa is a bigot.    She knows what she knows, and she doesn't like what she doesn't like. 
Facts are something of a stumbling block for her, so she not only ignores them, she doesn't even bother to do the five minutes of online research it took me to find these references (although I'm not sure she wouldn't take a glance at the Washington Examiner article).
Oh, and here's another factoid which you can take for a lie:

www.washingtonexaminer.com/how-powerful-is-the-gun-lobby/article/2577699
Dec 5, 2015 - "Just what will it take for Congress to overcome the intimidation of the gun lobby and do something as sensible as making sure people on the terrorist watch ... Blue Cross Blue Shield, a major health insurance company, poured more than six times as much money into lobbying as did the NRA last year by ... (see below the fold)

Liberator resistance pistol

I'm appalled to learn that a WWII "Liberator" pistol was "surrendered" in England.
[H/T: Guns.com]

During WWII, thousands of these pistols were air-dropped in England and Nazi-occupied Europe, where the citizens were helpless to resist the German invaders.

There was also a program in which Americans voluntarily donated their private firearms to be sent to England, to help the Brits resist the expected Nazi invasion.  (Never got any of them back, either!)

The Brits wouldn't surrender in 1939-1945, and we admired their pluck.

Once, Winston Churchill declared "We will fight them on the beaches ..."

Once, the Brits proudly proclaimed that "The Sun Never sets on the British Empire!"

Today there is no British Empire and no British "pluck".    The sun has set.

It's sad, but perhaps inevitable, that men get old and "can't get it up anymore". 
It's even worse when an entire culture deteriorates so pitifully.

Liberator resistance pistol pops up during British gun amnesty (PHOTOS):
The first national firearms surrender in England and Wales in years has produced a treasure trove of antique weapons to include a famous WWII-era “gun to get a gun.”
 The two-week amnesty, coordinated by the National Ballistics Intelligence Service, allowed gun owners to turn in firearms, ammunition and gun-like items to police without
fear of penalties or punishment. One of the more interesting items coughed up was an FP-45 Liberator pistol handed in at the Folkestone police station last week as reported by Kent Police.

Thursday, November 30, 2017

The jobs that Americans won't do ....

I did harvest "stoop labor" during the summers while I was in high school.  These were the only jobs I could get.

Buddy ... this is not really something I want to do.


Immigrants: You Want Our Jobs, Take Em' - YouTube:
Some people are claiming illegal immigrants are stealing the jobs from Americans. But Alyona asks, during this recession when unemployment is high, would Americans really want to do those jobs? RT Producer Ramon Galindo explains if Americans would want to do these jobs and says that only three people took the offer from 'Take Our Jobs Campaign.'

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Denial?

A mother's grief at the loss of a child is boundless, unendurable, and understandable.

 After her unimaginable loss, Fulton discovered some relief when she reached out to other moms who have lost children to gun violence. Now, she plans annual peace walks in her home state of Florida, works with legislators on gun violence laws and travels around the country speaking at colleges and churches about preventing senseless shootings.

Trayvon Martin's Mom Helps Other Grieving Mothers | PEOPLE.com:
 Sybrina Fulton’s life as she knew it ended on February 26, 2012. That’s when her 17-year-old son, Trayvon Martin, who was unarmed, was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by a neighborhood-watch volunteer for his gated community. 
Zimmerman testified he was flat on his back; Martin,  straddling his supine body, beat him with closed fists.
So, George Zimmerman should have just laid there and taken the beating

Flashback:
March 8, 2012 - Investigators receive a fax from the Altamonte Family Practice containing the medical records identifying the injuries sustained by Zimmerman on the night of the shooting: Open wound of scalp, without mention of complication; nasal bones, closed fracture; assault by other specified means.
March 12, 2012 - Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee says that Zimmerman has not been charged because there are no grounds to disprove his story of the events.
We will never know the full truth of the story, but Zimmerman's wounds suggest that his version of the story has some validity; that he was helpless, under physical assault, and unable to overcome his assailant.

April 30, 2013 - George Zimmerman waives his right to a "stand your ground" pretrial immunity hearing. Zimmerman's attorneys decide they will instead try this as a self-defense case. If Zimmerman had had a pretrial immunity hearing, a judge would have ruled whether his actions were protected under the "stand your ground" law. If the judge had ruled in favor of Zimmerman, it would have meant that no criminal or civil trial could proceed.

Whether Zimmerman was justified in confronting Martin is a moot point.  Whether Zimmerman was reacting to a deadly assault was ... not entirely deniable; some people refer to his wounds as evidence that he was in fear for his life.

Counting the story as an example of "Firearms Violence" is stretching the interpretation a bit.

The violence was initiated by Martin.  He was in control of the situation, and chose to continue beating Zimmerman ... who was helpless to defend himself against the younger, stronger aggressor.

Except that he carried a weapon, and used it.

(NOTE: Zimmerman refused to take a "stand your ground" defense)

This is "Gun Violence"?   Or is it using a weapon as the last method of defense against an aggressor?

You decide.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Ron Howard Teaches Directing | MasterClass

What A fascinating concept: one of the great Cinema Directors of our culture offers a class where you and I have the opportunity to determine for ourselves whether we have the imagination, the skill, the talent and the leadership to actually become the director of a great movie.

It's probably never going to work for me; but would it work for you?


Ron Howard Teaches Directing | MasterClass


Ron Howard Teaches Directing | MasterClass

Monday, November 27, 2017

I Had Never Touched a Gun . Then I Bought One.

Fascinating article for a self-professed "Snowflake", examining the angst and trauma of an gun-control proponent.

The author walks us through the trials and tribulations of buying, and becoming familiar with, a handgun in the wilds of Seattle.

I Had Never Touched a Gun Before the Las Vegas Massacre. Then I Bought One. - Features - The Stranger:

A liberal snowflake gets to know gun culture from the inside.
The author walks us through every detail of his decision to 'find out' what the attraction of firearms might be.   And during the trip, he pays much attention to detailing how upsetting ... yet fascinating ... the journey has been.

As I read through the article (excellent written, atypically "fair and balanced" as they say", I began to wonder about his motivation.  If he finds guns so fearful, why did do this.    True, it's a fine example of expository skills; and though it's rather long, it's not a waste of time and I hope he received a fat check for his efforts.

But still .. he harps on the fear he felt.   Why the fear?   Was there something special which made the 'experiment' particularly dreadful for him?

Then toward the end of the article, *under the header "TRIGGER WARNING"* he provides full exposure: 

He has a suicidal tendency which he has fought years; he controls it by medication.

There Are Some People Who Simply Should Not Have A Gun

I have made this point in my writings over the past ten years here.   To my mind the sorts of people who should not have a gun include:

  1. Violent Criminals
  2. People who are either incompetent, untrained, or unable to comprehend the lethality
  3. Mentally Unstable People

There is obviously some overlap in these three major categories, plus sub-categories not defined here.

But a person who is admittedly suicidal, and who requires medication to control suicidal urges, is certainly playing a life-and-death game with himself.   This author qualifies in the second and third categories, although he makes a stringent effort to describe why he shouldn't be included in the second (and lacking a felony conviction, he has not qualified for the first category).

Although I admired his work, and still have my copy of "Hunting with Hemingway", I lost my respect for Ernest Hemingway when he took his own life.

And you, sir, are no Hemingway.

Please follow up with your better judgement, and remove that damn Glock from your life, rather than to remove your life with the Glock.


Friday, November 24, 2017

Miss Bird

Not ... everyone ... appreciated Miss Bird.

I think her name was "Byrd.  Perhaps not.

It has been a long time since she was my "primary teacher" at Helen McCune Junior High School in Pendleton, Oregon, and it is remotely possible that I may have forgotten a few things about my personal life between not and then.

But I will never forget Miss Bird.

She was my home room in the Seventh Grade ... the first year I "graduated" from Grade School to Junior High.

Oregon is different from some other states, in that there are three levels:
Elementary School (also called "Grade School", which encompases "Kindergarten" through the Sixth Grage;
Junior high (7through 9th grade)
Senior High (10th through 12th grade)
Perhaps this is better  alternative from 1-8 grades, then 9-12 High School.  I don't know.

But it did insulate us, a bit, from the teasing and other abuse imposed on sub-freshman students in high school.  I know it worked for me, for I was very shy through my formative adolescence, and I appreciated the Junior High school teachers seemed to be more aware of the transitive years, and tended to ignore them.

Miss Bird was known as the most strict teacher in my junior high school, and I'm sure others knew it.
For my self, I loved Miss Bird beyond reason.

She seemed to understand that particularly odd formative phrase when children became young adults.  There is a period when emotions are only just beginning to be recognized by the students, and she seemed to have an insight into the struggles we were dealing with.  Although she was widely known (in Junior High School) as the most strict disciplinarian (often sending unruly students to "See Mister Bowles" .. the 9th grade Algebra Teacher who was the designated "man with a paddle" who would kick your ass .. he had a paddle board which I later recognized as a cricket bat and was perforated with 1/2 inch hols to make it whistle as it came down to strike your pale ass), I actually never knew her to raise her voice or "send you to Mister Bowles".

There was a day when a guy in the desk next to me threw up.  He was not my best friend, in fact he was quite an unpopular guy who wore a black leather jacket and always reeked of cigarette smoke.

One day, he was nervous about ... something .. and barfed all over the floor.

Miss Bird dismissed the rest of the class to the hallway, called the janitor to clean up the mess, and it took a half-hour for the clean-up.  I talked to him later.  He said Miss Bird was nice to him.  As it turned out, he had some serious problems at home (hence the black leather jacket reeking of cigarette smoke) and it turned out that he was the gentlest boy I knew in Junior High.

As I got to know him better, I came to know that someone there tended to beat him if he was "reported" from the school.  Or did anything that required his "Dad" to be responsible for his behavior.

Miss Bird never reported him for anything ... he got into more than a few fist fights, and the principle reported him to his parents .. but in class, if there was a problem with him Miss Bird would dismiss the class to the school-yard for 10 or 15 minutes if there was a problem with my friend, and nothing ever came of it.  Nothing.  Ever.  But he was always calmest when Miss Bird and he had had their little chat.

She was a fat broad.  Always wore dark blue or black dresses.  She kept herself clean and prim, and required her students to be clean.

She tought me more about language than I ever knew existed.  Verbs and adverbs, nouns and adjectives were easy.  Then she started on past participles and present participles, and I got lost in the haze which permeated the room.

She may not have been the best teacher on gerunds and grammer, but she was really really good on boys and girls.

One day I was walking down the hall and I met Connie Firstname (not her name) who was wearing hose and garters under a skirt for the first time, adjusting her hose with her skirt up about her hips.

She had delicious hips, and I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was in the hall.  But she got those hose and garters JUST RIGHT before she lowered her skirt.   Then she said something like "Oh, I didn't know you were there!"

And Miss Bird .. who appeared from nowhere, said "okay children, go back to your home rooms now".

I remained a sexual virgin until I got to Senior High School (and I may not remember that right, either), but Miss Bird made sure that me and "Connie" (not her name) .. oh, well, Connie got knocked up in High School *sophomore year*, but not by me.

(Damn!)

I last saw Connie at our 50th High School Reunion.  She was in the middle of divorcing her fifth husband, had a half dozen children, and still was unable to keep her garters straight.   But I wasn't her sixth husband ... Thank You, Miss Bird!

THERE ARE PEOPLE in the education system, who can teach you to conjugate verbs and ... stuff.

And there are people who can teach you to be people.

I can understand the difference between a verb and an adverb, an noun and and an adjective.

Still not clear on the whole "participle" thingie, but I just write and let y'all folks work it out.

The thing is .. Miss Bird taught me things that I'm pretty sure were not in her syllabus.  And she did it with such gentle ease, I never saw it until years later.  Now, THAT is education!

Wish I had met her after I graduated from High School, though.  I'm pretty sure I would have had a whole flock of daughters who were rotund, dressed in dark (dresses always .. not skirts and NEVER jeans) and had pouty lips that promised ... well, I never knew the promise.

Miss Bird, I miss you still.  And Damn Me if you weren't the sexiest fat broad I EVER met!

And the smartest woman, of any profile.

*Come to think of it .. she was never fat; I was just young and stupid.  What she was, was .. full figured.

And it took me a lot of years to learn the difference.







Celebrating Oregon’s Most Remarkable Teachers: Celebrating Oregon’s Most Remarkable TeachersSPONSORED CONTENT| NOV 06, 2017 | BY OREGON LOTTERY TEACHERS ARE OREGON'S SUPERHEROES. THE OREGON TEACHER OF THE YEAR PROGRAM, PRESENTED BY THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE OREGON LOTTERY, WAS CREATED OUT OF THIS BELIEF - TO HIGHLIGHT THE TREMENDOUS IMPACT THAT EDUCATORS HAVE ON THEIR STUDENTS, THEIR PEERS AND THEIR COMMUNITY. HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE REASONS WHY WE THINK TEACHERS ARE SUPERHEROES:

The Ultimate Most stupid question Gun Law to Ever have Been Proposed!!

Here's just one more reason why you should feel okay about yourself for thinking that "The Giffords" are their own private Insane Clown Posse.
You aren't alone.

A recent bill proposed by "The Giffords" would ... require every gun part to have a serial number ..."

This single 'bill' illustrates the insanity of people attempting to make regulatory laws when they do not have ANY appreciation of the complexity and REPORTAGE of what they are asking ... because if you must register every part of a gun, then when you replace a part you must report the change.
It's the first bill I've ever heard which approaches the inanity of "Serialized Ammunition"; or the even more inane plot to require a firearm to butt-stamp an unique identifying firearm serial number on every round which is fired, so the gun can be identified by examining expended brass found  by crime scene investigators. .. I think we have a name for that INSANE proposal, and I've even written about it extensively .. I think I called it "Encoded" ammunition, but I'm not sure because I tried very hard to to not think too hard about it before it warps my mind.  (That part is not working well!)
 Somebody has to register that part number change ... and most of the parts of the umpteen million firearms currently in private (or public) possession are not designed for identifying individual parts.

If this all sounds stupid to you .. it gets worse when you think about it!   The Feds are almost swamped trying to keep track of the transfer of individual firearms. 

There are 52 parts in a common 1911-style pistol, including various springs. Would this bill require them ALL to have serial numbers? Some of them are 'consumables" (such as springs), and it would be impossible to impose serial numbers on them without weakening the federal support structure beyond the point where they would serve their purpose. 
(See the diagram and parts list for a common 1911-style pistol here.)

Other parts are commonly 'lost' during dis-assembly for cleaning and maintenance

.(SEE: Recoil Spring; Recoil Spring Plug)

 Still more wear out and must be replaced simply because they are no longer serviceable.  The simple process of reporting them as "lost or discarded during maintenance" would suggest a huge administrative process before a (serialized) replacement can be ordered, let alone received.
Would federal authorization be required?  That goes beyond the pale!

And a request for replacement would require the supplier to report the shipping of a "serialized" part, and the recipient to report receipt of the part.  Tracking parts would be a HUGE problem!

Other firearms parts are replaced by "higher quality" merchandise.  Some are rotated from one firearm to another for various reasons.  Some are disposed of because of wear, or unsuitability replacement; or freely moved from one firearm to another for various reasons which perhaps make sense only to the owner. 

But the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence suggests that "every thing that can be used to build a rifle" implies that "every thing that can be used to build a pistol", and that suggests the everyone from the manufacturer, to the retailer, to the new owner, and to subsequent owners .. should be somehow tracked through a magic database system that nobody in this century is capable of maintaining.

The physical impossibility to do so .. and keep track of and report every change in every firearms, is a bizarre and unmanageable imposition on private owners of firearms. 

(Oh, and are the police going to require their department to register changes to every firearm during their regular maintenance schedule?  I don't think so!)

Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2017/11/giffords-law-center-prevent-gun-violence-call-gun-laws/#ixzz4zLGfEJCW 
The regulating of anything that can be used to build a rifle is very vague. The ultra-liberal governor of California, Jerry Brown, vetoed a similar bill on these grounds. Gov. Brown said that AB1673 had “far-reaching and unintended consequences.” He also vetoed a bill supported by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence that would require every gun part to have a serial number and would require background checks for ammunition purchases.
Bad people make bad choices.   And you can't make laws which are going to change that.

Some people are just bad.  Deal with the people, not with the guns.

Double Jeopardy? Or just a Pol who hasn't got her name in the news enough to peddle her career?

So let me get this straight:  In where-ever this is (I presume some backwards state like Arkansas), you not only get prosecuted for violating the law, you also get prosecuted for violating the law that makes it a violation to violate the law?

Senate bill introduced to make gun trafficking a felony: Gillibrand contends there is no federal crime that specifically recognizes gun trafficking. Her bill would modify current law to make it a felony to transfer two or more guns in an instance where there is a reasonable belief that doing so would be in violation of the law. The crime would extend to those directing or assisting others in such transfers. Penalties for those convicted could run as high as 20 years with ringleaders facing 25.

To my great chagrin, reading back on the original article I discover that this was not presented in "a backward state like Arkansas", but in the totally dark-ages state of ... New York!
The measure, proposed by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, would make it a crime to sell two or more guns to someone whom the seller knows is prohibited from legally possessing them. It is a repeat of legislation proposed by Gillibrand in 2013 and 2015 that never made it out of committee.
(Just another example of a politician building a career on submitting one bill a year, to show she's really "doing something", even though the same bill has been rejected every dam time)



I offer most abject apologies to the fine folks in the great State of Arkansas.  I have done you a GRAVE INJUSTICE in comparing you unfairly with the backward folks in New York.

I have worked with Arkansans.  They were fine folks.  I never understood a word they said, but they said it with gravitas and great sincerity.  Whatever it was they said. 

Oregon Forest Service, Summer of 1967 ... we fought forest fires.  Very very tiny ones.  In between, we surveyed the hills around South Central Oregon (off Broken Top Mountain) for a road.  Great way to work your way through college .. even if you fuck up didn't get the measurements just right, nobody cared.  We all knew it would never be built, but we got paid over two dollars an hour for our work. (50 years later, there's still no road in those mountains.)

 My Friend, Mark from Arkansas, ate Spam Samwiches for lunch me for 3 months and never once complained.  I think his name  was Mark ... he pronounced it using some vowels I had never heard before, so I always just called him "Mark", and he always said "Whe's thet Staiik Samwich y' mek f' m' dinneh?"   

*That's a rough translation; either that, or he was spitting out the chaw he'd been working on all morning (mawnin) into the shirt pocket.  Either way, I made lunch, and he paid for Dinner at "Maw's Steakhouse in Bend".

That was great; when I got to Viet Nam, I though "C-Rations" were excellent cuisine, compared to lunch at Central Oregon.  (Maw's Steakhouse Saved My Life ... great food, even when we couldn't afford to spend $5 for a steak dinner!)

Growing boys ... what you learn when you're 19 may save your life when your 22.

Funny? I thought we already had enough of this from Democrats~

Investment Watch -Hoax! (Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Door)

Giving the Government Power to Determine Gun Ownership – InvestmentWatch:  (Nov. 16, 2017)
Legislation is being brought to the Senate (announced Tuesday) in a cross party bid that will effectively mean the Federal government has the final say on who is and who is not allowed to buy a firearm. 
Is this something beyond current firearms laws?

No, it's just a bad joke.

I don't mind jokes, even bad ones .. but I wish it had been presented less amateurishly.
As it was done, the tongue is too firmly in cheek; it's just a poor attempt to goad someone into responding as if it was a legitimate news report.

This isn't a 'legitimate" website, and "Not The Onion".   It's an attention-grabbing device.

Oh, hell, it's The Internet!  ANYBODY can put up balderdash and get it published.
As satire, it deserves even less credit than if it was true "financial reportage"

I've been online since 2008 and nobody has kicked me off the internet ... yet.

But even I am funnier than these guys.

Did you hear the one about the chicken crossing the road?

Oh .. you did?

Can you please explain it to me?  I didn't get it .. I think.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

I'll Huffpost and Huffpost until I blow your house down! (Ex Post Facto? Never heard of it!)

The Huffingtons are at it again, working political double-speak rather than facing the facts.

The problem with "Universal Backgrounds Checks" isn't so much the issue with distrust of firearms owners as it is with the way the checks are conducted. Heck, legitimate firearms owners are no more eager for criminals that the "mentally adjudicated unstable" to own firearms than anyone else is.

The problem is with the supposedly secure record keeping; there was an agreement back in the '90s that the proposed Background Check system would validate, but not permanently record, firearms transfers.  In fact, as soon as a transaction was not denied because neither party was disqualified from firearms ownership, the record of the traction was suppose to disappear within a very narrow period.

Why did firearms owners oppose that facet?  Because they didn't want to agree to a "Firearms Registry", which would track firearms transfers in great detail with the subsequent consequence that a database of transfers would be tantamount to registry of firearms.

But it it isn't permanently recorded, why do Universal Background Checks require that the firearm description ... including Make, Model, Caliber and Serial Number ... recorded on the background check form?  If it isn't permanently recorded, why is it considered as important as the personal identification of both the buyer and the seller?

And no, that's not paranoia ... that's "learning from Experience" as Californians learned when their state Attorney General back in 1990 agreed that a certain rifle  (the "SKS") would not be 'tracked' because it was a legal rifle:

The situation became more complicated for the writers of the
Roberti-Roos law in 1992 when then California Attorney General, Dan
Lungren, approved the sale of Chinese-designed SKS, which use detachable
magazines.
Even though Lungren said the SKS “Sporter” was legal to sell, some
district attorneys throughout the state threatened to arrest anyone who
sold the gun claiming it violated the Roberti-Roos law.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/1999/07/3745/#ac4ggB4C1wdafWLi.99


 ... and then later that same Democratic Politician changed his tune and hundreds of up-to-then legal rifles which had been transferred between individuals and the detail entered into a state data-base were (arbitrarily) "reclassified".  Then the State decided that the specific firearm was an "assault weapon", retroactively downloaded transfer information from their database (which they swore would never be used for that purpose), and CONFISCATED EVERY RIFLE WHICH HAD BEEN SOLD UNDER THE ASSURANCES THAT IT WAS LEGAL!

And they were able to do so because every firearm transfer was part of their state database.

And now Huffington accuses the NRA of doublespeak?

Despicable!

Ex Poste facto laws are the way that politicians ... and politically biased pseudo "information sources", prey upon the naive and trusting citizens who put them in office and pay their salaries to protect their civil rights.

Just because they come right out in public and say "Oh, that's okay, we're not going to take THAT gun away from you", that doesn't mean they won't come back next week and declare it illegal.

Americans who rely on the Constitution to protect their rights, and their elected representatives (and their appointees) to respect those rights, have been getting a raw deal from both their representatives and the henchmen who do their dirty work for them.

And the Huffington Post is just one of their minions .. who don't get paid for lying to Citizens; they just do it for practice ... until  they  can get elected to lie to citizens who pay their wages.

The NRA's Background-Check Doublespeak | HuffPost:

... And if NICS is fixed to everyone’s satisfaction in a way that really prevents the criminals, the drug abusers and the mentally ill from walking into a gun shop and buying a gun, the idea that private gun transfers requiring background checks is a violation of the 2nd Amendment wouldn’t pass muster in any court. When all is said and done, the NRA’s opposition to background checks boils down to one, simple thing; namely, that government regulation of the gun industry is a bad and unnecessary thing. In that respect, the gun industry’s opposition to regulation is no different from every other industry.
 Nobody wants to take your guns away.
Except hollywood celebrities, comedians, talk-show hosts, Liberals, your State Government, your Federal government ... oh, since Al Franken was elected a U.S. Senator  these categories seem to overlap quite a bit, don't they?  I always thought it was inevitable that a "Franken" was elected to the Senate.  He fit right in with the rest of the Clowns; his recent legal problems only prove the appropriateness.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

It's raining!

It's Oregon.

I wouldn't have it an other way

Thank you, God, for allowing me to have been in the Great Pacific Northwet.

(not a typo)

Gun laws in neighboring states

My daughter lives in California.  Which is among the most gun-free states in the nation.

My son ("Davy who is in the Navy, and probably will be for life") is stationed in Washington.
Folks there are also more "civilized" when it comes to 2nd Amendment rights.

They're against it.

I would love to visit either or both of my children, but there is a small problem, 
I live in Oregon; a state which respects the right of its citizens to defend themselves ...because it's burdensome to carry a cop in your hip pocket.  Pistols are smaller, lighter, and perhaps more reliable.

Both California and Washington frown on people carrying firearm.

  There is no reciprocity between the states.

Because both of these adjacent states refuse reciprocity with Oregon handgun licences (CHL), I am denied the right to defend myself if I wish to visit my children, and my grandchildren.   (No, I'm not worried that they will attack me ... but I don't know their neighbors!) 

I miss my family, but they cannot (or will not) move closer to me, and I am reluctant to violate the laws of their chosen state of residence.  I'm talking about Carrying Conceal Weapons. 

They won't move because they have good jobs with high wages.  Even though they their Civil Rights are  often denied by state law.  Disappointing ... I should have raised them better. 
(Oh, and The Son is in the Navy .. he goes where they send him.)

Have you ever been shot at? 
Not fun .... I've been shot at many times, in Viet Nam (I was drafted ... it wasn't my first choice of a vacation in "The Orient") so I've since been inclined to carry a firearm for my personal defense, and I have held an Oregon Concealed Handgun License (CHL) for many years.

My sojourn to The Orient convinced me that if you're going to be shot at, it's better to have a means of defense be an armed combatant than to be cowering target.  This isn't paranoia ... it's experience.
Generally speaking, the "Bad Guys" prefer that their victims be disarmed; it is much safer for them.

I'm not sure why my neighboring states (especially California, which has one of the highest crime rates in the nation) refuse to grant that their citizens are constitutionally protected by the Second Amendment, but that's their choice ... the otherwise-sane citizens of those states elected their lawmakers and have acceded to their judgement.   It's difficult to get a license to carry there.
You get the politicians you deserve.  Fucking idiots!

(Note: I have been a resident of both California and Washington, upon occasion, but I keep  coming back to Oregon ... which is also a "Liberal" state; but my neighbors here are not CRAZY!")
For the past 20 years, I have chosen to live in a state where I am "allowed" to exercise ALL of my Constitutional rights.  I guess I've been spoiled by that; but I ain't gonna move closer to my kids.

The'll come to their senses, eventually.

\

Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others ... wtf?

Okay, so I "Get" that some Arkansans are ... um ... safer than others?  So why are the others different?

And who gets (understands) what, and why?


Enhanced Arkansas Concealed Carry Permit Allows Guns More Places: LITTLE ROCK, Ark. --

More than 200,000 Arkansans have their concealed carry license, according to Arkansas State Police. In the coming months, the enhanced carry permit will allow guns in more places. Firearms will be allowed in public buildings, universities, bars and churches. Arkansas State Police is expected to release its training program in January. One concealed carry instructor said if you get a permit you're entering a good faith agreement with the community when you carry.  "Second Amendment gives you the right to own arms, but if you carry in public you enter a social contract with us," said Ron Garatt, the G.I. Guns and Ammo owner. Instructors also recommend coming in at least once every few months, to re-qualify. One instructor said some people quickly forget the basics, like loading a magazine.


Ok, so here are MY questions:

(1) Why are some CCL's better than others?  If you are 'trusted' to carry concealed, what makes you "less trusted" than others?
(2) If you are a CCL, but you are trusted in the streets ... what is it about you that renders you un-trusted to carry in a courtroom, school, church or low dive?  To my way of thinking, churches and bars are equally unattractive:    I'm not buying what they're selling.  (The same goes for Universities.)

I'm just saying .... and while I'm at it:

this is so friggin' lame.  Who forgets 'loading a magazine" and still passes the qualification for Concealed Carry License?   This is just SILLY!

Are they this silly in Arkansas?





Shannon Watts wants to know if you have guns in your house. Oh yes, and was your turkey slaughtered humanely?

Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) | Twitter

Okay, two points;
(1) I was kidding about the turkey and humane slaughtering
(2) I don't give a damn what Watts wants

Other than that, this whole tweet is a joke.

Okay .. I don't tweet.  Just kidding about that, too.

Fingerprint recognition software in a pistol grip? Where's the Morality?

There is a small, but significant community which thinks that "Fingerprint Recognition" might be a justifiable safety technology to keep unknown persons from using stolen firearms from being used in mass shooting events.

It's called "Biometrics"
it's another way for gun-grabbers to justify abrogating our civil rights.

RetMSgt said...

Had fingerprint recognition for our time clock at work. I had been picking up black walnuts in the yard, which stained my fingers brown. For three weeks my fingerprint was not recognized. People knew who I was, but the machine didn't.
Yet, some people think this is a reasonable way for both firearms owners, and firearms confiscators, to find a common ground which would satisfy the concerns of both communities.

Here's what I think:

A gun is just a tool, like a screwdriver or a hammer.  If a man steals your gun, or your screwdriver, or your hammer to hurt people, he deserves whatever happens to him.

  If a man needs shooting, then shoot the sonovabitch.  A gun doesn't know what's right, and neither do politicians, scientists, or engineers.

Just you.  

The kicker?  Shoot the wrong man?   Wrong reason?  I'll hang you.

We don't need "Fingerprint Recognition".

It's called "Morality". 
Look it up. 
I'll wait.