Gun-Blog Topics Which Have Become Boring because they are so repetitive

• Why are Anti-gunners so mean?  (Because they don't like you)
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• Oh, look!  A New Gun!  (Duh)

• Oh, look!  A New Holster (Double Duh)
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• What's the best way to Carry Concealed?  (see: new holster)
• 
  
• Why do people think I'm a dork go crazy in the store just because I open carry?  (Could it be .. because they can't tell whether you are making a political statement, or you're about to shoot everybody in sight?)
• 
  
• Why should I believe that "nobody wants to take my guns" is a lie?  (They Do want to take your guns, but they also know that you have guns and .. uh .. well, it's kind of obvious that they want someone ELSE to take your guns but they can't talk them into confronting you, either, because they already think that you're some kind of suicidal freak-job)

• I think that xmm caliber guns are much better than Ymm caliber guns for Z purposes, because of (a) modern bullet design, or (b) bigger is better.  (Yes, you are correct.  Of course.)

• There's this new technology which is suppose to make our country safer because it provides a 'tool' for law enforcement to more easily find the bad guys when they do bad things.  But I think it's just going to make guns/ammunition/components so expensive that they will become unavailable.  (Yes, it's only going to infringe on legitimate gun owners.  And your point is?)

• This girl in Amarillo has posted an anti-gun opinion to Salon, and she's so DUH because she doesn't know anything about guns and yet she's telling us how we should live our lives.   Isn't that a perfect target to dis her?  (Yes, she's a dork. But telling her so won't do any good, because (a) 2,134 gun nuts have already explained the zillion ways she's an ignoramus, and (b) it really helped to build up her stats on Salon when you reply to her article, and (c) she isn't reading anything you said anyway, and (d) she's not your type and you are DEFINITELY not her type, so (e) don't bother fisking her; she will not be impressed.)

A Veterans View of ... Fear

Folks are talking about the Sniper movie, which seems controversial.

Blogger: Sipsey Street Irregulars - Post a Comment:

Dakota said... I took my son to see American Sniper last weekend. ... . My biggest shock of the movie amazingly came at the end of the movie. The last portion is the funeral of Chris Kyle and it is all actual footage and there are some credits that are rolling as this is happening...... not one person got up early to leave!!! When the screen went to nothing but credits people began to file out of the theatre in very orderly fashion and "NO ONE" was talking, it was this eerie silence that I have never experienced at the end of a movie. This lasted into the hallway and into the mens room. I have spoke to my friend in Albuquerque who said that the theatre stood in unison and clapped but did not speak. I must say that I thought of starting to clap but the somber mood that I was in it did not seem proper at the time to me so I did not and neither did anyone else.     January 20, 2015 at 10:09 AM

Thirty-something years ago, I took my wife to see "Platoon".  I didn't expect the visceral reaction I experienced.

At the end of the movie, while they rolled the credits, nobody moved.  Nobody said anything.  We were paralyzed ... or at least, I was ... by the sound of a man in the front row sobbing uncontrollably.

I couldn't blame him.  I was feeling emotional myself.  Everyone in the theater sat quietly and allowed him a few moments to gather himself; and then we quietly filed out.  He was still sitting there, hunched over, among the two or three people who had attended the showing with him.  I hope they helped him; I couldn't. But I could understand why he over-reacted to the "it's just a story" movie.

The moment in that story which most powerfully affected me was when the non-hero was on ambush watch, and a file of NVA soldiers moved through the night-defensive (aka "ambush") position.  The Young Soldier was too frightened to move, or even alert the men who were sleeping beside him while he was on "night watch".  And that story pointedly did not depict him telling them about the experience after it was over.  Instead, he just curled up and died a small death.

This is a recurring nightmare which I had found myself unable to cope with for years.   It was among the worst fears of many veterans .. finding yourself surprised, unprepared, terrified by the sudden imposition of the enemy in overwhelming numbers.  And there's nothing you can do except freeze in place and pray that they don't notice you.

(There are other fears, just as powerful, and just as difficult to understand without the background of living with Fear sitting in the corner of your mind like a demon who never quite leaves you alone.)

Note to Gun Bloggers: I Don't Listen To Podcasts!

Okay, short note here.   Like most people I'm more visually oriented than (what's the word?) "auditorily" oriented.  So I don't care which very knowledgeable gun bloggers have a lot of very important opinions to offer, I'm not going to listen the them.  Sorry, Michaell I haven't listened to yo since you and I and Sandie shared a dinner at the 1998 Area 1 match in Reno.

I can't think of a more boring/loser way to spend an evening than to listen to someone's podcast pontificating on the Internet.  Do NOT send me emails (or whatever) inviting me to listen to your podcast.       I DON'T CARE!

Oh ...his is too long?  Let me please make it as brief as possible:

FOAD

Go directly to jail, do not pass go: Fools that they are.

Apparently, someone DOES want to take your guns!  (Who Knew?)   And yes, it's not just the people who elected Biden as their Senator for decades!  Well .. perhaps it is.

Sandy Hook Commission: Ban guns holding more than 10 rounds, no grandfathering (VIDEO):
(January 18, 2014)

A special commission set up by Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy after the Newtown shooting is ready to recommend a total ban on the sale and possession of guns capable of holding 10 rounds or more.

[H/T: Sipsey Street]

There are a lot of issues which might make this proposed legislation "problematic", including the Second Amendment.

Any firearm which is reloaded via an 'external magazine' might be reloaded with a magazine capable of holding 11, 15, 22, 30 ... who knows how many rounds?  So right there, you've "arbitrarily and unilaterally" eliminate everything but Revolvers and Bolt Action rifles.

Which was obviously the goal of this Star Chamber Commission.

French Police Confront Terrorists!

AND the French do what they do best ....

They Retreat.

Oh, I was the incentive for him to become a MULTI-BILLIONAIRE ...

... so I expect a billion dollars as my 'found money' during our divorce.


Billionaire’s ex-wife cashes his $975M check | Fox Business Video: Sue Ann Arnall, ex-wife of Harold Hamm, cashing a $975M check from him after initially rejecting it.

Oh yeah.  I'm thinking she was a significant asset in his financial serendipity.

The FRENCH: and Why I Ain't Been Talkin' to Y'all Lately

The world is full of bloggers.  Oh my yes, Lots and Lots of folks tabbing between Fox News and CNN just drooling over the Story De Jour.

Today?  French Marxists Muslims Islamic People who kill people for no reason related to their religion at ALL are killing people by the dozens in Paris

Parse THAT, Cambridge Scholars!

I don't want to talk about it.
But I will, anyways.

"Fight on Guns" ... 'they' don't understand why, but they don't like 'em

The great service that Op-Ed columns provide to their readers is that they provide every ignoramus a venue to vent their spleen even though they don't know a thing about their subject:

"The reason for all those guns is not for self defense, not for hunting and not for sport. The simple reason is that so many Americans are obsessed with guns and gun ownership."

Thesis:
Fight on Guns Is Being Taken to State Ballots - NYTimes.com:\

 Closing loopholes on background checks for gun owners is an area Americans support far more than steps like curbs on assault weapons or limits on magazine sizes. A recent Pew survey, for instance, showed that 52 percent of respondents said they believed it was more important to protect gun ownership rights. That figure was up from 29 percent in 2000. Still, in a 2013 poll, Pew found that nearly 75 percent of respondents supported background-check expansions.

Antithesis:
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/opinionnw/2014/12/17/a-glimpse-inside-washingtons-gun-culture-after-initiative-594/

(author: "Tom"): 

I despair that this nation will get a grip on gun control or gun safety anytime soon. The reason for all those guns is not for self defense, not for hunting and not for sport. The simple reason is that so many Americans are obsessed with guns and gun ownership. Contrast this ethos with that of other, similar cultures around the world and see what I mean.
So until the gun ownership mania goes away, guns won't go away, and the associated violence and mayhem won't either. What would cause the mania to go away? I haven't a clue.
Of course, gun advocates tell us that "guns don't kill people, people kill people." That's right. People kill people. With guns.

 Deep in the heart of Texas 3 days ago

Actually, Tom is almost half right.

Guns won't go away:

For hunting, for sport, for defense, and to protect the rights of The People;

Even to protect the rights of "Tom". Whether he likes it or not, the 2nd Amendment protects his First Amendment right to spout liberal tautology.

Respect The Gun

The hardest hardest lesson to teach "new shooters" is to RESPECT THE GUN.

When I teach people how to safely compete in IPSC matches, there all-too-frequent moments when the class members get distracted by secondary considerations, and seem to forget that they have a gun in their hand.   The muzzle of their gun may end up pointing in any direction, and they are unaware of just WHERE it is pointing.

Many people who attend gun safety classes consider themselves to be skilled, experienced  gun persons with good judgement.  They are often wrong in their self assessment.   They are not adept at "multi-tasking", which includes the ability to hold a loaded gun in one hand while fishing for a reload-magazine.

The most important lesson for them to learn is that they are holding a deadly weapon, and they alone are responsible for handling it safely; any other consideration is secondary

When they forget this lesson, their troubles multiply instantly.

Teaching Gun Safety (The REAL Story)

Some people just shouldn't have guns.  They don't understand the concept of safe gun-handling techniques, but they think it looks easy, so they want to try it out.

That's where I come in.  I teach people how to shoot safely under stress.  Not everybody is quite up to the challenge. If they can't hack it ... by the end of the afternoon, they know it better than I do.

And I know it.  I watch them pass or fail, and I never have tell them that they have failed the course:  I never see them again.   It's as simple as that.

Yeah, I bet you get tired of hearing how excited I am about teaching a new lot of folks how to compete safely in IPSC competition.

But I don't get tired of talking about it, and I don't get tired about the joy of watching new wanna-be competitors having fun shooting even the most mundane (or the most challenging) of live-fire exercises.

I've been doing this for four or five years now.

 Fifty percent of the  people I teach don't attend more than a single match, if that.  They're not all here for the competition; they're as often here to check it (competition shooting) out and see if this is something that they want to spend their time and money on.

It's a self-fulfilling prophesy:  They get some trigger time in, realize that *(a) they don't think they're good enough to do this, or *(b) they think they might be good enough ... in time .. but they don't care enough to spend the time to be 'good at it'.

Sometimes ... enough to make it worth my effort ... they prove to be safe, accurate, interested competitors that I wouldn't mind squading with.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Florida Man Charged With Decapitating Mom With Ax - NBC News.com:

 A schizophrenic Florida man chopped off his mother's head with an ax because she kept nagging him about chores, police said Thursday. Christian Jose Gomez, 23, who has several previous arrests, was booked on a charge of first-degree murder for the grisly New Year's Eve crime in Oldsmar. He allegedly told police he had been planning the attack for two days because he was angry over his mother's requests that he put some boxes in the attic, NBC station WFLA reported. Gomez put his mother's head in a garbage can but couldn't lift her body so he left it outside.

Welcome to 2015.

It's a good thing that no guns were involved; otherwise, people would think that guns are the reason why people kill people.

Some people are inherently violent.  In this case, the story made the news specifically because the crime was so horrendous.

If the murder was committed by a firearm, the story would have appeared low down on Page 7.  The people who think that people kill people because it's so easy to kill with a gun would have been all over this story.

Axe murders have always been "popular": Lizzie Borden (1892) found this an easily ready weapon.

The case was memorialized in a popular skipping-rope rhyme:

Lizzie Borden took an ax

And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done,

She gave her father forty-one.

There were no axe-control advocates back then.

Perhaps there should have been?

If only for the children.

Yawn.

Two people shot to death on Detroit's east side - Fox 2 News Headlines:

 DETROIT, Mich. (WJBK) - Two people were shot to death on Detroit's east side Wednesday. Both victims were getting into a vehicle in the 4000 block of University Place near Mack Avenue at about 6 p.m. according to Detroit Police. Another vehicle arrived and opened fire, killing a man and woman in their 30s in a driveway of a residence.

Understatement of the year!

TV on-the-scene reporter's comment:
  "Not the way you want to celebrate the end of 2014."

And the "Top Commenter" (the ONLY commenter") has this to say:

Marlean Dubry Leach ·  Top Commenter · The College Of Life

Yawn.

Reply · 

 · 8 hours ago

Given the apathetic state of Detroit Denizens, perhaps they should change the name from "Motor City" to "Motiveless City".

NOTE:   This is NOT the incident reported here.

Russian target ONLINE shooting game

Screw politics.  I wanna shoot something ... and it's raining outside!

So you think you can shoot a handgun. Check this one out.  Try it: see how good you are with a Russian pistol.( All text is in Russian. ) Save money and ammunition too!
The virtual pistol is a Soviet Tokarev Model 40, in caliber 7.62 mm.  It is quite accurate.Being virtual, it will lack the actual 'feel' and the recoil.  In real life, at each shot, the recoil will throw your aim off the target.
When the pistol appears, click on the trigger, take aim, and fire.  It’s very much like the real thing.The longer you hold the pistol, the more your aim will wander.
You have 3 shots in 30 seconds to hit the target and get your score.
CAUTION: It’s addictive.
click here:
Russian Shooting Range
Click on the white dot on the trigger guard to start, after your 3 shots click on first line in box to try again.Enjoy!

(H/T:  Big Dawg)

The link opens in the same window ... you may wish to right-click it.

Geek addendum:  yes, I tried and and it is addictive.  I got a lot of high-twenty scores out of 30 possible, but never got the perfect score.  I quit after 10 minutes.  

Here's the real challenge: can you do this for 10 minutes and quit?

Merry Christmas ... early, and horrible!

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer original video - YouTube:

How's that Catch 'n Release program working?

US government offering $5M reward for Al Qaeda leader freed from Gitmo | Fox News:

The Obama administration is scrambling to track down an Al Qaeda terrorist released from Guantanamo Bay years ago, offering a $5 million reward for information on him and placing him on a global terrorist list.
  Ibrahim al-Rubaysh was originally released in 2006 by the George W. Bush administration and put into a Saudi Arabian "rehabilitation" program. However, al-Rubaysh returned to the battlefield and now serves as a top leader with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- one of the most dangerous Al Qaeda affiliates.

(emphasis added)


Amazingly, this "catch and release" policy is one  which the Obama Administration has continued to support.

And in fact still is trying to  effect.   But he's getting some criticism as he is making the issue one of 'financial considerations"..

Silence Of The Lambs

Peshawar school attack: Taliban 'burn teacher alive in front of pupils and behead children':

Taliban terrorists allegedly burned a teacher alive and made the students watch during their attack on a Pakistan school which left over 130 people dead. According to a NBC News report, citing an unnamed military official, the terrorists stormed the Army Public school in Peshawar, in north-west Pakistan, and committed the horrific act as well as detonating a suicide bomb which killed a number of students. "They burnt a teacher in front of the students in a classroom," the unnamed military source told the US TV network. "They literally set the teacher on fire with gasoline and made the kids watch." At least six militants entered the Pakistani school wearing security uniforms, before massacring an estimated 132 people and injuring another 122.

(H/T: Irons in the Fire)

Compare this to Sandy Hook:

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and 6 adult staff members.Prior to driving to the school, Lanza shot and killed his mother at their Newtown home. As first responders arrived at the scene, Lanza committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

I don't mean to denigrate the tragedy of the Sandy Hook school shooting.  I merely offer it in comparison.

In America, we acknowledge that this kind of "Silence of the Lambs" slaughter of the innocents is rightfully considered to be an aberration of of Civilized society.  In other societies, it's Business As usual.  It's political.

Here ... we hold our people and our governments to a higher standard.   

In America, Liberals hold the peaceful citizens responsible for their actions ... and acknowledge (if reluctantly) that there is perhaps a reason why citizens should be allowed cannot be prohibited from owning guns.

We say: "When Guns Are outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Own Guns"

Liberals say"  "Small Penis Gun Nuts, Fearful Of Imaginary Bad Guys, Salivate Over The Prospect Of Getting To Shoot a Burglar".

Well .. here's what it looks like when "only outlaws own guns".

With all respect to the victims of Sandy Hook and their families .. and I had no intention to minimize their grief at the tragedy .... I recently watched a video in which teachers who survived Sandy Hook discussed their experiences and announced that the solution was to remove all firearms from private hands .. by law.

Condescending Co-President

Biden to code-writing girls: ‘You’re as smart as any boy’ | Fox News:

Don't worry, girls. "You're as smart as any boy." That was the message Monday from Vice President Biden as he pep-talked a group of young women during a White House technology event, in a uniquely Biden way.

How precious that the second-best Democrat in the nation should reassure "girls" that way.

Biden is, and always has been, an idiot.  The worst thing is not that he is clue-less, but that the Democrats decided that he was ... acceptable ... to represent our nation.

After a CBS News reporter tweeted the comments, Biden's office retweeted them. 

They're proud of their boy, they are!

Go, watch this!

Never Yet Melted L Flash Mob: The U.S. Air Force Band at the Smithsonian

It will exalt you, and it will heal your heart.

Happy Anniversary

I have been thinking that December 8 was the ten-year anniversary of Cogito Ergo Geek.   But when I looked for my first post, I discovered it was published on December 01, 2004.   Not December 8.

This calls for something special.  I'm thinking ... Fireworks!

Oh ... go Full-Screen! You know you wanna!

Kids 'n Guns ... Good? Bad? Indifferent?

Watch How Network Reporter Acts as 10-Year-Old Handles Her Favorite Guns — Then Wait for the Girl’s Response | Video | TheBlaze.com:
(December 03, 201)

The ABC News profile of ten-year-old Shyanne Roberts, a young firearms enthusiast, seemingly raised the blood pressure of the reporter covering the story.

I teach people how to compete in "Run and Gun" competition:  IPSC/USPSA.

I'll teach anyone.  If they can handle the gun safely and responsibility, I'll encourage them to try competition.  If they can't .. they can't I won't.

Has LEO equipment become too complicated?

Gun-mounted flashlight plays role in another Denver police misfire - The Denver Post:
(December 05, 2014)

A Denver police officer accidentally fired his gun while trying to turn on a flashlight mounted on his weapon in March, the department's third flashlight-related discharge in two years, records show.

Perhaps we're asking too much of Law Enforcement Officers to keep track of multiple levels of lethality when arresting accused felons.

What part of "Free Speech" do you not understand?

The entire concept of "Free Speech Zones" on College campuses is Anathema.

The First Amendment was established to recognize the right of Americans to 'indulge' in 'unpopular speech'.   Anywhere.  Any time.   But Higher Education Institutions across America don't recognize this.

California college settles First Amendment suit with student | Fox News:

"Freedom of expression is crucial in the higher education community, and the District and its Board of Trustees have done much to protect and advance this cherished right," the statement read. "As part of the settlement, the District will be implementing new procedures that will expand its current free speech area to include most open spaces on campus ....... "

[emphasis added]

A student on a California campus spoke in a "free speech zone", and was not the subject of harassment by college administers.  But when he (literally) stepped over 'the line' to discuss the fine points of his opinion with another student, a college administrator threatened him.

 Claiming that a political discussion could not take place outside of the free speech zone, the unidentified school employee threatened to eject Sinapi-Riddle from campus for violating the policy.

Since when is "policy" more important that the Constitution?

What are we teaching our children?

Thank GOD no guns were involved!

Attack in China leaves 15 dead, 14 injured | Fox News: BEIJING –
(November 29, 2014)

Chinese state media say 15 people have been killed in an attack in the country's troubled western Xinjiang region. The official Xinhua News Agency says 14 other people were injured in what it said was a terrorist attack Friday in Shache county. The Tianshan news portal said Saturday that the attackers used vehicles, knives and explosives in the assault. It said the dead included 11 of the attackers. Such attacks have claimed dozens of lives in Xinjiang over the past year. Members of the region's Muslim Uighur minority group have bristled under what they say is repressive Chinese government rule.

Let's Get Rid of the ATF

Backfire | Watchdog Update - Bill eliminating ATF introduced in wake of botched operations:
(September 17, 2014)

ATF!  Whoo-ah!  What is it good for? Absolutely NOTHING!

 A bill that would eliminate the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and fold its duties into the FBI and other agencies was introduced Wednesday in Congress. The bill, by U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), would impose an immediate hiring freeze at the ATF and require that a plan be submitted within six months on how to move its activities to other agencies. The bill calls for eliminating the agency a year after the bill's final passage, moving its functions into the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Treasury Department.

Recap?  Fast and furious.  Bogus 'scam gun stores' to no discernible purpose. (Both programs got ripped off, putting more full-auto weapons in circulation than they might have prevented.)

It's time to put this ineffective dinosaur to bed.  Or better, in the grave.

What are they good for?

When White People Riot

Ferguson protests v. white people's riots (Opinion) - CNN.com:
(November 20, 2014)

CNN has fulfilled it's mission once again.  By the clever manipulation of Moral Equivalence (even before the riots started) they have assured rioters that anything they do is just fine with their friends in Major Media.

 Just days after the Pumpkin Fest, riots erupted in the largely white town of Morgantown, West Virginia. Why? Because West Virginia University's team beat Baylor at football. The rioters "lit fires, pushed over street lights and threw rocks, beer bottles and other items at police," reported the local news. Police and fire vehicles were damaged. Eight people were arrested.
  Were the riot police, the National Guard, or a state of emergency declared? No. the city is just considering a law to ban upholstered furniture from outdoor areas, since the "tradition" of setting fire to couches apparently fueled the protests.
  Could you imagine a news story about a black community with a "tradition" of burning couches? The media would be pointing out how they're "destroying their own community" and the right would make assertions about black people not deserving public assistance.

[emphasis added]

No, I think that "... a news story about a black community with a 'tradition' of burning couches" would be a welcome relief.

The MAP is not the Terrain!

The Obama Administration has worked hard to convince America that the British National Health Care model is so superior to our (former) "independent provider" model, we have almost forgotten just how BAD the NHC (National Health Care) system really is.

Here's how bad it really is.

Jeremy Hunt: 'I took my children to A&E because I didn't want to wait for GP appointment' - UK Politics - UK - The Independent:

Jeremy Hunt has admitted taking his children to accident and emergency [A&E] because he did not want to wait for a GP appointment. The Health Secretary has spoken numerous times to urge the public to avoid A&E departments in all but the most urgent cases and turn to pharmacies, doctors’ surgeries and walk-in centres instead. But speaking during today’s health questions in the House of Commons, he appeared to go against his own advice. Mr Hunt said: “I took my own children to an A&E department at the weekend precisely because I did not want to wait until later on to take them to see a GP.”

[added by editor for clarification]

The Future of Obamacare

The problems with a National Health Care System (ake: Obamacare .. or earlier, Hillarycare" are threefold:

(1) Somebody has to pay for it
(2) It's run by the Government
(3) It completely ignores the advantages of capitalism

I don't blame him: I'd do the same damn thing!

Reports: Top Iranian Negotiator ‘Frequently Shouts’ at Kerry, Western Officials | Washington Free Beacon:
November 23, 2014 12:30 pm

 VIENNA—Iran’s foreign minister and lead negotiator in nuclear talks is known to frequently scream and shout at Western diplomats, including Secretary of State John Kerry, a practice that has caused alarm among bodyguards stationed outside the negotiating room, according to a member of the Iranian diplomatic team who spoke to the Farsi-language press.

"Like a five year-old trying to hold Hulk Hogan"

In His Own Words: Wilson's Account of Michael Brown Shooting | MRCTV:

Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson - in an exclusive interview with ABC News - recounted his fatal encounter with 18-year-old Michael Brown.

I've deliberately held back from voicing an opinion about this shooting, because we just didn't have any idea at ALL what happened that night.  There were many statements from so-called 'eye-witnesses' ... many of whom either changed their stories or refused to discuss their previous statements when questioned by both police and media.

Now we have the public statement from the officer involved in the shooting.

Personally, I think three things:

It wasn't Murder.
It wasn't even an arrest.
It was survival.

Security breach at USPSA

Email to members from USPSA:

We have become aware of a security breach r

USPSA.org Security issue We have become aware of a security breach that happened on USPSA.org within the last 24 hours. The USPSA login database was compromised and at least a partial list of usernames and passwords were exposed. USPSA staff has taken steps to address the vulnerability and we have changed the system to ensure this type of attack will not be effective in the future. Members are encouraged to change their passwords on USPSA.ORG and any other web site for which they used the same password.  It is important to note that the breach did not involve the credit card processing system or any financial data.  All credit card processing is done using a separate industry standard secure vendor - no credit card information is stored on the USPSA server. We will keep the membership updated as more information is available.

Copyright © 2014 USPSA, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are a USPSA member.

Feeling a little "JUMPY" today?

Epic World-Record Truck Jump by EMC and Lotus F1 Team 

*(Background story here)

Cover-up

Bracken: Stonewalled In Obama’s Garden Of Beasts | Western Rifle Shooters Association:
(November 23, 2014)

It is truly a great pity that in stark contrast to the Nixon Watergate era, today’s American Pravda reporters are not interested in uncovering the truth, but instead, they are an integral part of the cover-up. Today’s Woodwards and Bernsteins are secretly taking their marching orders from Obama’s White House. Welcome to the USSA, comrades.

If you don't regularly read David Codrea's "The War On Guns", you might want to check out this article which he recommended.

It's very long, quite 'imaginative', tells a complicated story, and unfortunately makes President Obama's administration look like a proper Dog's Breakfast.

You might even consider reading either or both of the books cited there.

UPDATE: For background,  Susan Rice's infamous Benghazi interview on YouTube

Gun Sales Surge in St. Louis Suburbs Ahead of Jury's Ferguson Decision - NBC News.com

"We're selling everything that's not nailed down," (gun store owners declare .. which may prove to be an economic boon to save Colt Manufacturing LLC from bankruptcy.)

It's an old story, reminiscent of the surge in gun sales when Barack Obama was elected President.

You never need a gun, until you really need one.  That's the story.

Apparently, folks in the Saint Louis area expect they will 'really need one'.

Why?

Riots, of course.   Also known as "Civic Disturbances" (not to be confused with "Civil Unrest" because there's nothing 'civil' about a Race Riot), the population expects that police officer Whatshisname will be acquitted of murder charges, and the fine, gentle Citizens (much like Michael Brown was a 'gentle giant'?) will be tossing beer barrels, overturning police cruisers and torching Korean grocery stores.

Unless the Koreans have their AK47's handy.  Which may evince more protection of private property than will the PO-lice and their MRAPs (or whatever ...)

THIS JUST IN: 

1. Islam is the Nation of Peace!
2. Obama to enforce Immigration Laws!
3. "Global Warming" is now "Global Cooling"

Well, one out of three ain't bad, in the Teens of the 21st Century.

File this under: "What a Maroon!"

Great Open Carry Video

This is the best way for cops to handle 'scary things'.

Our encounter one week earlier with an UNLAWFUL police officer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uipObT... We saw the a OC Sheriff car pull up so we all took out our camera-phones right away, anticipating trouble. This officer gets out of his car, waves to us, and walks right over. He shakes all of our hands, introduces himself, and states his purpose for walking over to us. (Somebody got scared and called). He never asked us to disarm, never threatened us, never asked for our names or identification. I think I can speak for everyone in the group that it was an honor to meet this man. Thisis what we need to see from police officers everywhere! THIS MAN IS A HERO

Note the people in cars, honking in support as they pass by.

Now, compare that with THIS.

President Obama to Replace Attorney General Eric Holder With Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch - The Atlantic

President Obama to Replace Attorney General Eric Holder With Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch - The Atlantic:

President Obama has settled on the chief federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, Loretta Lynch, as the nation's next attorney general. The White House said late Friday that Lynch was the president's pick to replace the departing Eric Holder, confirming a selection that CNN first reported earlier in the day. By choosing Lynch, Obama is bypassing a pair of candidates with more senior roles in his administration in favor of a prosecutor who could, potentially, be more easily confirmed by a Senate that Republicans will soon control.

Attorney General .. old

Attorney General ... new

Giving Obama his choice is like giving a kid his choice between recess and vacation,

Why I Carry ...and why not to say so

From time to time I have held break-room conversations with co-workers.

They knew I'm a "Gun Nut", and some of them know I have a license to carry a concealed firearm.

 But of course, my co-workers are are Academics, who are more concerned with the concept and have no idea that I had been carrying a firearm on my employer premises (a university campus, where concealed carry is illegal) since the first day of my employment .. which lasted for over 15 years.

That's another story, which I shall not visit today.  They never knew; they never asked.

In our conversations over coffee, when the subject came up (rarely), I asked them:
"Do you have a driver's license?"

All did, of course.

I asked them: "Do you carry it at all times?  Do you have it on your person now?"

They said yes.

"Why do you carry it?"

Bread and Circuses ... and Pot

2014 Oregon election results :: The Oregonian | OregonLive.com: regon [sic] results

For those who care ...

Oregon voted FOR Democrats in most significant races, and FOR Marijuana legalization ... but  AGAINST mosquitoes and flies. *

Apparently, the weed-heads are more annoyed by flies than by Democrats.
(Which seems a good reason to oppose the legalization of Marijuana.)

Democrats only annoy them the one day a year when they can't ignore them.  Perhaps if Oregon held elections more frequently, the preposterous Dem campaign ads would be seen as more pernicious to those of us whose perception of reality is more concerned with pot and television than with reality.

*(for party splits by state, see this graphic)

Politicians and Diapers ....

"Politicians and diapers should be changed often, and for the same reasons."

Often cited to Mark Twain and Winston Churchill  (and others, without rhyme or reason), the aphorism seems to work.   The defination of "an honest politician is one who, once bought, stays bought" also seems applicable.

To tonight we are witnessing another evolution of the same old revolution ... "kick the bastards out".

The only CHANGE is that the bastards are the 'other' group;  the only HOPE is that the newest group of lying bastards will provide sufficient resistance to the current Clown In Chief to force a degree of ... well, conservatism ... in his constant flow of outrageous, arbitrary social changes.

If nothing else, (a) the tendency toward acceptance of unrestricted/illegal immigration of people into this country, and (b) abrogation of our constitutional rights.

Yes, we will continue to deal with President Obama's "revolution by fiat"  (aka: "I have a phone and a pen") zeal as he will doubtless continue to attempt to establish his leadership in a manner reminiscent of a nascent Community Organizer on a national scale.  (God protect us from naif in power!)

But the Legislature has to duty of forming the laws (senate), and will not pay for the enforcement of inane laws (house); so we now have resumed a balance between the judicial, the legislative and the executive branches.  Well ... sort-of.

Nobody wants any political party to rule both the Executive and the Legislative branch; it is a conundrum which has ALWAYS led to extreme measures, when one party is in power.  When a 'new' (different from last week?) party gains control, we usually see excessive policies undermined, or boldly cast off.

Both parties are guilt of excessive legislation, arbitrary decision-making, and fear-mongering.

So what if you DO save your family and home from predation?

[Video] Couple Who Shot, Killed Burglar Last Year Discuss the Toll the Incident Has Taken on Them:

.... one thing that we don’t talk about often enough is the toll that is taken on you and your family after a defensive shooting.

Guns Save Lives is one of the few websites which I visit every day.

But this day, Dan Cannon talked about the burden which defending your family against a home-invasion imposes on the people who choose to defend themselves, their home, and their families.

It's a subject which deserves your attention.

Is it better to shoot?  Or to be shot?

Is The Law less threatening than the Lawless?

Politics! What is it good for? (Absolutely Nothin'!)

I've been reading my ballots (Oregon is a "Vote By Mail" state) and I admit that I am despondent.

When I think about the presidential elections  ... yet to come ... it's even worse.

Oregon cannot field a decent candidate in the Senatorial elections.  This sorry state of affairs (pun intended) has existed for years.

When it comes to local elections, it's even worse.  I'm sure that there are honest folks out there who would represent their constituents honestly and in good faith .. but are they capable?  We can't know.

I'm reminded of the quote (often attributed to Mark Twain and/or Benjamin Disraeli .. but perhaps even those citations are wrong) concerning the three types of lies:

"Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics"!

Perhaps the more mordant quote should be:  "Liars, Damn Liars, and Politicians!"

And how about war?  Watch the video ... and substitute "Politics" for the word "War":

About Washington State's Competing Gun Measures

... the NYT has an opinion:  it's still all about the "notorious" Gun Show Loophole.


The People’s Choice on Gun Safety - NYTimes.com:

Actually, Washington voters face two ballot measures on this nationally significant question. Initiative 594 would close notorious loopholes in gun control laws by requiring background checks for criminal activity and severe mental illness for would-be buyers at gun shows and on the Internet. The rival measure, Initiative 591, supported by gun rights advocates, says there can be no background checks without “a uniform national standard” — a Catch-22 ploy because, of course, there can be no such standard without congressional cooperation.

War is Hell

I watched the Bob Hope Christmas Tour (1967) on You Tube last night.  Of special interest was the rapt attention of tens of thousands of military men and women watching small-talent/big name entertainers perform acts which wouldn't "make it" on TV.

For the first time I realize just how BORING the Viet Nam War was.

Happy Halloween! (Curmudgeon Style)

Halloween has changed.  Gone are the belly-aches of yesteryear.

Gone are the caramel apples .. victims of razor blades embedded by evil people (and if you never believed that evil exists, this was my first clue when I heard about it decades ago).

It's Halloween, and I celebrate it the way I always do ... with no doorbells ringing.

 I turn off my porchlight (which I leave on 24/7 364 days a year) because I don't choose to spend my evening watching parents chivy their children down my sidewalk, checking to ensure that the 'treats' they receive from me don't include drugs, razor blades or other harmful "stuff".

In fact, I disconnected my doorbell years ago.  Nobody who ever rang my doorbell had something to say that I wanted to hear.  Most of them wanted to express their disappointment that I did not accept Jesus as my personal savior.  It never occurred to them that  "Personal" was the operative word.

Or else, they wanted to campaign for their favorite politician.  As the lone Conservative in a Liberal college town, I soon learned when I moved here that the doorbell ringers didn't want a dialogue .. they wanted to proselytize.  The smarmy bastards soon left when I presented a counter argument.

Or maybe the fact that I answered the door NUDE was a bit off-setting.

(Okay, I never actually did that .. but I wanted to!)

Still, I don't think that's an entirely appropriate way to greet trick-or-treaters.

Makes you glad to be an American!

TSA Confiscates Raygun Belt Buckle BECAUSE TERRORISM! - Hit & Run : Reason.com:

I pointed out that even if it was a "replica", which is dubious, it would be a replica of a fictional weapon used by Flash Gordon... Which, you know, makes confiscation of the belt buckle even MORE insane than it already was.

Is there a point when absurdity becomes reasonable?

Maybe .. especially when even REASON magazine treats a TSA confrontation as ludicrous.

In this case .. the writer attempts to board an airplane with a 'RAY GUN" replica belt-buckle in his luggage .. and the TSA in charge attempts  to confiscate it.  Because it is .. you know .. a "replica" of a firearm, and therefore banned.

(NOT, we should emphasize, a replica of an existing firearm.  A replica of an imaginary firearm.)

Alternative title:

TSA and "Belt Buckle" Reasoning .. from REASON!

I'm just amazed that REASON would find this ... unreasonable.

I know, I should have filed this under the heading: "Massacre Thwarted"!

But even I have limits to my sarcasm!

[H/T: Say Uncle]

Quick Question For Gun Control Advocates

#1 Why Do You Care? Quick Question For Gun Control Advocates - YouTube

In the 2009-2010 period, "this guy" presented 26 videos (there may be more) lasting 2 minutes or less asking "Quick Questions for Gun Control Advocates".

I sent though them all, and I was impressed by the straight-talk manner of his presentations.

If you are interested, go walk though the series of short videos.

Or not.

Here's the first one, just to get you started.



PS:  If anyone has more information about "this guy", let me know.  I'd like to shake his hand.

Moxie: "This is not your father's Oldsmobile!"

Not Network News: When Grandpa Shoots Three Home Invaders:
(October 28, 2014)

 While many on the Left spent last week using the terrorist attack in Canada to promote their gun control agendas, all three major networks managed to overlook a newsworthy story that supported gun rights. On October 20 in Lumberton, North Carolina, a grandfather used a gun to successfully protect his family from violent home invaders.

Home invasion, attempted rape, violence begun by the attackers was ended by the resident grandfather

Forgive my "bloodthirsty" attitude, but I'm liking this story.

Pathos, drama, a happy ending and the hero of the day is An Olde Pharte.

What's not to like?

True Lies, as promulgated by the New York Times

Please Take Away My Right to a Gun - NYTimes.com:
(January 19, 2013)

 A FEW years ago, I awoke at 2:30 a.m. to more than a “rapping, rapping at my chamber door.” It was a full-force pounding of a body trying to break into my little house in Washington, D.C. It was the sound and scenario that, as a single woman living alone, I feared more than spiders in the house.

What I really like about the New York Times (NYT) is that this publication provides a forum in which the most angst-ridden, dysfunctional East Coast quasi-Bramins are comfortable with expressing their worst fears in public.

Wow.  It's easy to believe that story, isn't it?

The original story ( click the link at the top of the page ) is admission from a Metropolis-Dweller who is so afraid on "Home Invasions" that she has considered buying a GUN!

But (she says) she won't, because she is even more afraid that if she owned a gun ... she might use it to kill herself.

DEAR WENDY:  SOME PEOPLE SHOULD NOT OWN GUNS

 You personally should not be trusted with a pen knife.

Actually .. you should not be trusted with a pen.  There's poison in it; and lies, deceit, and a hidden agenda.

Stupid Civilians Screw Up Space-ship Shootoff

Unmanned Antares rocket explodes after liftoff | Fox News:  (Video in the article)
(October 28, 2014)

An unmanned cargo rocket bound for the International Space Station exploded Tuesday over a launchpad in Virginia.
 No injuries were reported following the first catastrophic launch in NASA's commercial spaceflight effort.
 The accident at Orbital Sciences Corp.'s launch complex at Wallops Island was sure to draw criticism over the space agency's growing reliance on private U.S. companies in this post-shuttle effort.
 NASA is paying billions of dollars to Orbital Sciences and the SpaceX company to make station deliveries, and it's counting on SpaceX and Boeing to start flying U.S. astronauts to the orbiting lab as early as 2017.

Note:
"NASA is paying billions ... "

and later in the article:

President Obama has long championed this commercial effort, urging that NASA focus its human spaceflight effort less on nearby orbit and more on destinations like asteroids and Mars. He was in Wisconsin for a campaign rally Tuesday evening and was kept abreast of the accident and its developments.

Nowhere in the article was mentioned President Obama's 2013 decision to shut down NASA. and place the effort of space exploration on private industry.  This was his decision.

According to an Editor's Update to a September 30, 2013 article in  space.com:

Editor's Update (Oct. 17): NASA is officially reopened for business after a late-night Congress vote ended a two-week government shutdown.  [content link deleted] NASA would be among those federal government agencies  to experience a near total closure if the threatened government shutdown becomes reality on Oct. 1, U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday (Sept. 30). But a government shutdown should not endanger American astronauts currently in space.

Of course, the decision to shut down NASA was blamed on the GOP protest shut-down of national government enterprises.  In fact, Obama was undermining (and distancing himself) from budget items which he was personally unwilling to support.

Now we've seen a rocket blow-up,  (An attempt was made to embed the video here, but the FOX NEWS source was not functional in the embed HTML  Another example of private industry ineptness?  Probably not.)

Family -- The Jig Is Up!

My Favorite Daughter-In-Law (Mrs. Squidkid) texted me today with the astonishing news that she JUST discovered I have a blog!

It hasn't been a big secret .. I've been writing nonsense and other opinions here for ten years as of December the 4th.   My daughter knows about it (and sometimes read this opinionated trash; I think she gets bored).

My sister knows my shameful secret, too.  I doubt she visits often; our interests do not always coincide; nor do our politics.  

 Now that Mrs. Squidkid knows, I would have to be more careful when I rant .. except every one of the 2,530 articles I have written are available in archive.  So .. screw that.  It just never occurred to me to mention it.  I'm often embarrassed the next morning when I read what I wrote the night before, but I'm not ashamed.

Those of you who have also blogged for a while, has it ever occurred to you to tell friends and family that you are A Blogger?

Me?  I have a small handful of people who read me often, and others who find me here as a result of in internet search they have performed.

Mrs. Squidkid did that .. her teen-age daughter (her name is ELIZABETH, dammit, not LIZZIE!) was scheduled to go to the Oregon school that got shot up the other day(that night, not during the day) but that inter-scholastic was cancelled.  Favorite-Daughter-In-Law was surprised when during her search on related articles  she found my one on website .. with my photo.

Sorry, Missus S.Q. -- I wasn't trying to keep secrets.  It just never occurred to me to mention it.

Now that you're here, I expect to see my readership stats to soar.    Don't disappoint me .. my will is a Work In Progress!

(family joke)

Peace through Superior Firepower: Lewis and Clark and an air rifle

Girandoni air rifle as used by Lewis and Clark. A National Firearms Museum Treasure Gun.: Girandoni Air Rifle as used by Lewis and Clark. A National Firearms Museum Treasure Gun.

Uploaded on Feb 1, 2011

http://nramuseum.com Lewis and Clark's secret weapon - a late 18th Century .46 cal. 20 shot repeating air rifle by Girandoni , as used bin (sic) the Napoleonic Wars. A Treasure Gun from the NRA National Firearms Museum. See more at http://NRAmuseum.com. Narrated by Phil Schreier.

(link here)

Twenty +.46 caliber bullets in seconds, almost semi-automatic.  Awesome!

Lewis and Clark Expedition .. incredible

And the gun-grabbers thought that the Second Amendment didn't apply to large caliber, high capacity, fast-shooting firearms, because these were beyond the technical capacity until the 20th century?

[giggle]

(H/T: Big Dawg)

Another School Shooting .. by a student

And the press is trying, once again, to figure out "Why This Happened?"

People Go Crazy.  Go figure!  If it wasn't a gun, it would be a knife.  Or a base ball bat.

Or a hatchet.

You can't understand it; you can only prepare for the crazies.
Or expect the police to save you .. unless they are the first targets of random violence.

Marysville school shooting as student opens fire in cafeteria | Daily Mail Online:

 The shooter who opened fire at a Washington high school this morning was a popular 15-year-old boy who played on the football team and was crowned homecoming prince. Jaylen Fryberg killed one classmate and wounded four more before turning the gun on himself in the cafeteria of Marysville-Pilchuck High School at 10.39am. The horrific attack has left the entire community reeling as friends described Fryberg, a member of the Tulalip Native-American tribe, as a 'well-respected, great guy'. Authorities are now scrambling to determine a possible cause for the shooting as the four survivors fight for their lives in hospital. Pupils have told news stations Fryberg was suspended from the football team in recent weeks after being involved in a fight over 'racist' comments. Others said he had been rejected by a girl,

NY Hatchet Man

Zale Thompson shot dead after axe attack on cop in New York | Daily Mail Online:

New York police fear that a crazed hatchet attack on four police officers in Jamaica, Queens, today could be linked to terrorism. Suspect Zale Thompson, 32, pictured in surveillance footage, was shot dead on the scene after slashing one cop in the arm and the other in the head at around without warning about 2pm.

Right. And it's not about Muslim hate-stuff, either.

So much for the religion of peace.

Right.

I've Been Phished .. again

I recently received a 'confirmation of subscription' email from an online website (never mind their content), but I did not subscribe to them.

The confirmation was sent to an email address which I do not connect to my blog, to business accounts, or to my family correspondence; this address is used for 'general' purposes, which includes USPSA/IPSC and related issues.

I can only assume that someone with whom I have recently corresponded in relation to 'non-personal' issues has used my public email account -- which is available on 'some' websites -- to enter this subscription (which includes assumption of a minor charge).

Of course, I immediately wrote to the business involved, using the same email address, to disavow the charges and the subscription.  It's too soon to determine whether the charges will be debited to me.  Although I can't imagine how they would connect my email address and my credit/debit accounts (which do not use the same identity),

"Oh, Canada ..." How's that "Pretty tight gun control laws" thingie working for you?

Canadian Press Correspondent: Gun Control Discussion Imminent In Coming Days:
(October 22, 2014)

 As news about the attack on Canada's Parliament Hill continues to unfold, Canadian Press correspondent Lee-Anne Goodman says these kinds of things weren't suppose to happen in Ottawa where there are "pretty tight gun control laws" and suggested a talk on gun control is imminent in the coming days.

[emphasis added]
(H/T: New Jovian Thunderbolt: More Gun Control)

The funny thing about Gun Control is .. it only works to infringe upon the rights of legal, responsible citizens.  They just want to protect themselves, but since they're ... you know .. "Law Abiding"?

.. they give up their guns in accordance with the gun-control-laws-de monde?  Which doesn't do YOU much good, does it?  Think about it.

Iron Fist/Velvet Glove

University threatens students passing out copies of U.S. Constitution (Video) - Liberty Unyielding:
(October 15, 2014)

Four students enrolled at Southern Oregon University (SOU) were threatened with arrest last Tuesday for passing out subversive documents. According to Campus Reform, “university officials threatened to call the police and [take] disciplinary action against students” in question. So what were the students handing out that got the administration’s hackles up? Copies of the U.S. Constitution. The group was also collecting signatures to end the university’s restrictive speech policies, which limit free speech to an area that equals less than 1% of campus.

Other than that Oregon is a "Red State", I have rarely been ashamed of being a native Oregonian.

Still, I am ashamed of the way the People in Power, here (as elsewhere) treat our citizens.   More, I'm ashamed that the gene pool is so small here, small-minded people find themselves in a position where they can feel empowered to undermine the people they are pledged to serve.

And never more so than when the colleges (and actual "universities" in the Oregon University System) attempt to brow-beat and discourage the bright young minds,  with whose "positive" education they are charged.