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.