A podcast by Syd
Powered by Podbean.com
Topics: Concealed Carry and Terrorist Threats, Remembering Ruby Ridge, Grizzly Bears and the .357 Magnum, Remington 185g +p .45 ACP ammunition, Ambidextrous Gunfighting.
Front Sight Press is one of my favorite reads, and Syd's podcasts are well worth your time to listen to.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Mumbai Photographer - I only wish I had a gun rather than a camera
Allen from The Whited Sepulchre posted excerpts from an interview with the photographer who got most of the photos during the recent Mumbai massacre in India .
From the interview:
The gunmen were terrifyingly professional, making sure at least one of them was able to fire their rifle while the other reloaded. By the time he managed to capture the killer on camera, Mr D'Souza had already seen two gunmen calmly stroll across the station concourse shooting both civilians and policemen, many of whom, he said, were armed but did not fire back.Head on over to The Whited Sepulchre for more.
...."There were armed policemen hiding all around the station but none of them did anything," he said. "At one point, I ran up to them and told them to use their weapons. I said, 'Shoot them, they're sitting ducks!' but they just didn't shoot back."
They're Coming For The Children
by Peter W. Wickham, Jr.
AKA The Ol' Grey Ghost
The first African-American President of these United States appears to be planning to bring back slavery to our country. Or at least he intends to entice some by promise of monetary rewards into voluntarily serving (.pdf) the federal government while for others, especially the children, he intends to coerce local governments (read school districts) into enslaving the children for the federal government, all in the name of teaching them to "be active citizens." It's interesting how he uses language so that we all think we know what he is saying but somehow it's a little difficult to determine if he means what we think he means.
If you read the entirety of Mr. Obama's speech it seems he is under the impression that there are very limited opportunities for Americans, particularly the young, to serve their fellow man in a volunteer capacity. Just off the top of my head I can list the Cub and Boy Scouts, Brownies and Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls, 4H, The American Red Cross, Candystripers, and other youth organizations that require their members, who have voluntarily applied to join these private associations, to perform some form of charitable service for the less fortunate amongst us. Every church in my local area with a membership of at least 50 adults has a youth program and I've personally seen these young people mowing lawns and doing yard work for elderly persons who can't get around as well as they used to. I even see little ones scour their neighborhoods knocking on doors to raise money for charitable organizations like the Muscular Dystrophy Association. No, Mr. Obama, there is no lack of opportunity for young people to serve.
Mr. Obama refers to studies he says shows that children who serve are better students. I would posit that the reason these children serve is because of their personal moral code that also drives them to be better students. It is the personality traits of the young person that drives them to success. Their volunteer service to others is merely a symptom of their good character and not the cause of it. To expect compulsory service to change bad students into good is the same as expecting a mouse to turn into a fish just because you throw it into a lake. The mouse will expend the minimum energy necessary to survive and will spend all its time struggling to get itself back to dry land where it will emerge from the water soaking wet but still a mouse. The only thing the mouse will learn from the event is to never trust you again with carrying it in your hand.
There is still the question of what kind of service will be expected of these young people and whether they can choose to perform one type and refuse to perform another. Since taking over the education system, Liberals have been adamant in trying to break the emotional and spiritual bonds between parent and child so that the child will look to the state, run by the Liberals, as their new parents and this call for service could be just more of the same. Imagine the children of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim parents being forced to work at an advocacy center for homosexuals or at an abortion clinic for the poor in order to sensitize the children to the "plight" of others different from themselves and "help" them break the vicious cycle of "archaic bigotry" passed from one generation to another. An ironic aspect of Liberals is that their immediate assumption that someone's personal religious convictions are always based on "archaic bigotry" is itself a form of archaic bigotry.
Then there is the matter of the children's safety as they perform this mandatory service to the state. Private organizations that enlist volunteers have the incentive to protect those who work for them since any public report of persons being injured on the job will certainly cut into the number of people who might volunteer in the future. These organizations are also open to civil litigation if it can be proved that the administrators were negligent by not providing a safe work environment and there are a myriad of laws issued by the government that cover the same thing. The government can exempt itself from such laws if it determines that it is in the best interest of the government to do so and can go so far as to block anyone from filing a lawsuit against it for the negligence of its executives. During their forced labor the children can also be exposed to such fine examples of benevolent government officials like Congressman Mark Foley and President Bill Clinton. We all know how well they took care of young people assigned to work with them.
We can pretty well guess that with the number of hours a week students will have to perform this service, there will not be an accompanying reduction in the number of hours they are required to attend their classes so the time has to come from another important source, namely time with their families. It will also cut into that time that some young people can use for part-time gainful employment where they learn that valuable lesson of how to satisfy a customer, their employer, and the added education in how to live on a budget and how to invest their money so as to build up capital for larger purchases in the future or for lean times when there are no wages to be earned. The worst moral hazard is that our children will learn from this program that slavery and being a slave is a desirable state. Kind of turns the whole concept of "government serving the people" on its head.
Now some might think that their children would be exempt since they do not attend public schools but I think we should file that theory under the "They can make 'em put seat belts in our cars but they can't make us wear 'em" heading. As the government presently persecutes (but not aggressively prosecutes) young men who fail to register for Selective Service we will eventually see requirements for the presentation of certificates that attest to the fact that the young person has completed the required "service" before they are allowed to attend any college or university that accepts federal grants. We will probably also see it show up on applications for employment and assistance from government agencies, including Social Security, the IRS, FEMA, and we might even see it on the BATF&E form 4473.
Contrary to what Mr. Obama says there are plenty of opportunities for Americans to serve their fellow countrymen, and even fellow Earthlings, through hundreds of thousands of private charitable organizations without having to turn to serve the federal government, or any government for that matter. The rub for Liberal Marxists like Mr. Obama seems to be that these organizations are not under the thumb of he and his minions and the best way to destroy these groups and the ideology which they represent - that people can take care of themselves without government - is to take away the people they depend on for volunteers and leave everyone dependent on the government for their very existence.
It's high time to teach our children that to be a Patriot also means from time to time to resist an oppressive government even when and if it is your own. As Mark Twain pointed out when he quoted Czar Nicholas II: "...(T)he true patriotism, the only rational patriotism, is loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government (only) when it deserves it." They are coming for our children. Let us prepare to make them pay dearly when they have the audacity to try...
For further reading I would like to recommend Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream
by Lerone Bennett and Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War
by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel.
AKA The Ol' Grey Ghost
"The third part of my plan will be integrating service into education, so that young Americans are called upon and prepared to be active citizens.Senator Barack Obama, December 5, 2007, Mt. Vernon, Iowa
"Just as we teach math and writing, arts and athletics, we need to teach young Americans to take citizenship seriously. Study after study shows that students who serve do better in school, are more likely to go to college, and more likely to maintain that service as adults. So when I'm President, I will set a goal for all American middle and high school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all college students to perform 100 hours of service a year. This means that by the time you graduate college, you'll have done 17 weeks of service.
"We'll reach this goal in several ways. At the middle and high school level, we'll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities."
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted 1865
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
servitude - 1. the condition of a slave, serf, or the like; subjection to a master, slavery, or bondageWebster's New World Dictionary
The first African-American President of these United States appears to be planning to bring back slavery to our country. Or at least he intends to entice some by promise of monetary rewards into voluntarily serving (.pdf) the federal government while for others, especially the children, he intends to coerce local governments (read school districts) into enslaving the children for the federal government, all in the name of teaching them to "be active citizens." It's interesting how he uses language so that we all think we know what he is saying but somehow it's a little difficult to determine if he means what we think he means.
If you read the entirety of Mr. Obama's speech it seems he is under the impression that there are very limited opportunities for Americans, particularly the young, to serve their fellow man in a volunteer capacity. Just off the top of my head I can list the Cub and Boy Scouts, Brownies and Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls, 4H, The American Red Cross, Candystripers, and other youth organizations that require their members, who have voluntarily applied to join these private associations, to perform some form of charitable service for the less fortunate amongst us. Every church in my local area with a membership of at least 50 adults has a youth program and I've personally seen these young people mowing lawns and doing yard work for elderly persons who can't get around as well as they used to. I even see little ones scour their neighborhoods knocking on doors to raise money for charitable organizations like the Muscular Dystrophy Association. No, Mr. Obama, there is no lack of opportunity for young people to serve.
Mr. Obama refers to studies he says shows that children who serve are better students. I would posit that the reason these children serve is because of their personal moral code that also drives them to be better students. It is the personality traits of the young person that drives them to success. Their volunteer service to others is merely a symptom of their good character and not the cause of it. To expect compulsory service to change bad students into good is the same as expecting a mouse to turn into a fish just because you throw it into a lake. The mouse will expend the minimum energy necessary to survive and will spend all its time struggling to get itself back to dry land where it will emerge from the water soaking wet but still a mouse. The only thing the mouse will learn from the event is to never trust you again with carrying it in your hand.
There is still the question of what kind of service will be expected of these young people and whether they can choose to perform one type and refuse to perform another. Since taking over the education system, Liberals have been adamant in trying to break the emotional and spiritual bonds between parent and child so that the child will look to the state, run by the Liberals, as their new parents and this call for service could be just more of the same. Imagine the children of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim parents being forced to work at an advocacy center for homosexuals or at an abortion clinic for the poor in order to sensitize the children to the "plight" of others different from themselves and "help" them break the vicious cycle of "archaic bigotry" passed from one generation to another. An ironic aspect of Liberals is that their immediate assumption that someone's personal religious convictions are always based on "archaic bigotry" is itself a form of archaic bigotry.
Then there is the matter of the children's safety as they perform this mandatory service to the state. Private organizations that enlist volunteers have the incentive to protect those who work for them since any public report of persons being injured on the job will certainly cut into the number of people who might volunteer in the future. These organizations are also open to civil litigation if it can be proved that the administrators were negligent by not providing a safe work environment and there are a myriad of laws issued by the government that cover the same thing. The government can exempt itself from such laws if it determines that it is in the best interest of the government to do so and can go so far as to block anyone from filing a lawsuit against it for the negligence of its executives. During their forced labor the children can also be exposed to such fine examples of benevolent government officials like Congressman Mark Foley and President Bill Clinton. We all know how well they took care of young people assigned to work with them.
We can pretty well guess that with the number of hours a week students will have to perform this service, there will not be an accompanying reduction in the number of hours they are required to attend their classes so the time has to come from another important source, namely time with their families. It will also cut into that time that some young people can use for part-time gainful employment where they learn that valuable lesson of how to satisfy a customer, their employer, and the added education in how to live on a budget and how to invest their money so as to build up capital for larger purchases in the future or for lean times when there are no wages to be earned. The worst moral hazard is that our children will learn from this program that slavery and being a slave is a desirable state. Kind of turns the whole concept of "government serving the people" on its head.
Now some might think that their children would be exempt since they do not attend public schools but I think we should file that theory under the "They can make 'em put seat belts in our cars but they can't make us wear 'em" heading. As the government presently persecutes (but not aggressively prosecutes) young men who fail to register for Selective Service we will eventually see requirements for the presentation of certificates that attest to the fact that the young person has completed the required "service" before they are allowed to attend any college or university that accepts federal grants. We will probably also see it show up on applications for employment and assistance from government agencies, including Social Security, the IRS, FEMA, and we might even see it on the BATF&E form 4473.
Contrary to what Mr. Obama says there are plenty of opportunities for Americans to serve their fellow countrymen, and even fellow Earthlings, through hundreds of thousands of private charitable organizations without having to turn to serve the federal government, or any government for that matter. The rub for Liberal Marxists like Mr. Obama seems to be that these organizations are not under the thumb of he and his minions and the best way to destroy these groups and the ideology which they represent - that people can take care of themselves without government - is to take away the people they depend on for volunteers and leave everyone dependent on the government for their very existence.
It's high time to teach our children that to be a Patriot also means from time to time to resist an oppressive government even when and if it is your own. As Mark Twain pointed out when he quoted Czar Nicholas II: "...(T)he true patriotism, the only rational patriotism, is loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government (only) when it deserves it." They are coming for our children. Let us prepare to make them pay dearly when they have the audacity to try...
For further reading I would like to recommend Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream
by Lerone Bennett and Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel.
A Recommended Dealer
I did not go to the Market Hall gun show this weekend, but from all accounts it was packed. Folks were lined up around the block to get in, and once inside were greeted by vendors asking $30 for standard GI AR mags and hundreds of dollars over MSRP for the AR's themselves. I understand that one vendor had SKS's for $600. The demand is exceptionally high, and with that demand dealers are asking an exceptional price for their wares. There is nothing wrong with that, but these vendors risk backlash. How are their customers going to feel when they get home, hop on the Internet and find just how badly they were taken? There is also the fact that those of us who do attend the gun shows on a regular basis have noticed who is doing the gouging and who is not. Those who have taken advantage of this situation will be remembered.
That being said, the dealers who are not using the recent run to gouge the heck out of us need to be highlighted. One such dealer is Model 1 Sales.
Model 1 Sales offers a very good selection of AR-15 parts, kits and accessories. I own Model 1 Sales components and I highly recommend them for all of your EBR needs.
That being said, the dealers who are not using the recent run to gouge the heck out of us need to be highlighted. One such dealer is Model 1 Sales.
Model 1 Sales offers a very good selection of AR-15 parts, kits and accessories. I own Model 1 Sales components and I highly recommend them for all of your EBR needs.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sniper Rifles of the IDF
DoubleTapper has a very informative post on IDF Sniper Rifles. This is more than just a picture post, DoubleTapper has included the history and uses of these rifles by the IDF.
Head on over and give it a read.
Head on over and give it a read.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Black Friday
My feet hurt.
V and I get a lot of our Christmas shopping done on Black Friday. This tradition started several years ago when Wal Mart had a great deal on one of those battery operated Jeeps that kids can sit in and drive around.
V enjoys the shopping, I enjoy being V's muscle/body guard/over watch. There wasn't anything listed in the sales fliers that required our hitting the road at oh dark thirty, but we were out and about by 0800.
We stumbled into some very good deals and pretty much have our shopping done for the kids and grand-kids.
I was pleasantly surprised at the crowds today. Most everyone was pleasant and polite. The phrases "excuse me" and "thank you" were often accompanied by a somewhat tired smile. Where we shopped was nothing like what was being reported on the radio.
It was a long, productive and surprisingly easy going shopping adventure.
V and I get a lot of our Christmas shopping done on Black Friday. This tradition started several years ago when Wal Mart had a great deal on one of those battery operated Jeeps that kids can sit in and drive around.
V enjoys the shopping, I enjoy being V's muscle/body guard/over watch. There wasn't anything listed in the sales fliers that required our hitting the road at oh dark thirty, but we were out and about by 0800.
We stumbled into some very good deals and pretty much have our shopping done for the kids and grand-kids.
I was pleasantly surprised at the crowds today. Most everyone was pleasant and polite. The phrases "excuse me" and "thank you" were often accompanied by a somewhat tired smile. Where we shopped was nothing like what was being reported on the radio.
It was a long, productive and surprisingly easy going shopping adventure.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
Last year I Live Blogged the Turkey as it was slowly cooked to perfection in my pit. This year we are at the oldest daughter's house in Little Elm, and the turkey is going in the roaster.
We have lots of things to be thankful for this year; a healthy extended family, good friends, jobs that pay the bills, and living in these United States.
I am very thankful for my life with V, she is my favorite person in the world and waking next to her each day is a blessing.
I am also thankful for all of you folks who read this blog. Some time in the past week or so the blog received more hits than I have miles on my '02 pick 'em up truck. That is pretty cool.
I appreciate your readership, your comments and your thoughtful emails.
Happy Thanksgiving y'all.
If you email images of your Thanksgiving spread, I'll post them later this afternoon.
We have lots of things to be thankful for this year; a healthy extended family, good friends, jobs that pay the bills, and living in these United States.
I am very thankful for my life with V, she is my favorite person in the world and waking next to her each day is a blessing.
I am also thankful for all of you folks who read this blog. Some time in the past week or so the blog received more hits than I have miles on my '02 pick 'em up truck. That is pretty cool.
I appreciate your readership, your comments and your thoughtful emails.
Happy Thanksgiving y'all.
If you email images of your Thanksgiving spread, I'll post them later this afternoon.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Basic "Bill Drill"
Shot by Catfish, someone who obviously knows how to do a Bill Drill.
5 shots, on target, in under 1 second with an AR 15.
I have some work to do.
Next Secretary of the Interior?
David has some insight on one of the contenders for Obama’s pick for Secretary of the Interior in Just in Case There are Any Doubts...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Another Night...
...dining out with friends.
I'll leave you with this:
I'll leave you with this:
...The carrot offered by government is limp, it is rotten and it is sugar-coated to make it taste sweet when it is sickening. And once you bite the rush of the sugar swamps the negative feeling, which is often the harness and switch used upon you to make you subservient to government. Soon you no longer think of yourself as your own master and look to government to decide for you in those things that are good, because the sugar is so sweet that the pain of the lashings to 'do good' become an incentive to go after the carrot as it gets smaller, further away and then disappears all together. By giving up the positive and negative liberties to be administered by government, what is left for the people beyond submission, subservience and enslavement to government?Catch your interest? To read the whole thing, go here.
And once the goodies disappear and all that is left is the lash for you to work for government, only then do you mourn your lost liberties and freedom.
A Chilling Reminder
As I mentioned earlier, our youngest granddaughter spent the weekend at Casa JR. Saturday was just the two of us, her mom and V made it back to the house late Saturday evening.
I have been working with her brother on the four rules of firearm safety. If we are going to the range, we talk about firearm safety around the dinner table the night before and our Little Lady Bug has picked up on some of the rules and with a little prompting can get through them all. The only problem is that she is, after all, only two. I was reminded of that this weekend.
Sunday afternoon we watched Papa J on the TV running through the shoot house at Blackwater. Later she was in and out of the office while I cleaned my Kimber. While I was reassembling the pistol, we talked about the parts and how they went together. Just as I got it all back together she got the biggest smile on her face and said:
"Squirt me Papa J, squirt me."
I can still feel the chill that washed across me at those words, the same words she shouts when I'm watering the garden or playing with squirt guns in the summer heat.
I have been working with her brother on the four rules of firearm safety. If we are going to the range, we talk about firearm safety around the dinner table the night before and our Little Lady Bug has picked up on some of the rules and with a little prompting can get through them all. The only problem is that she is, after all, only two. I was reminded of that this weekend.
Sunday afternoon we watched Papa J on the TV running through the shoot house at Blackwater. Later she was in and out of the office while I cleaned my Kimber. While I was reassembling the pistol, we talked about the parts and how they went together. Just as I got it all back together she got the biggest smile on her face and said:
"Squirt me Papa J, squirt me."
I can still feel the chill that washed across me at those words, the same words she shouts when I'm watering the garden or playing with squirt guns in the summer heat.
A Fire Is Lit
by Peter W. Wickham, Jr.
AKA The Ol' Grey Ghost
I had originally planned a column on another topic for today but something happened last week that is a little more telling of our times and might be of more interest to some of the regular readers of this blog so I'll postpone that first one for another time and tell y'all what happened instead.
Because of my professional and personal experience with firearms I am often approached by family and friends, and their family and friends, for advice on what type of gun they might want to purchase. I usually go through a verbal questionnaire with the inquiring party over what that person has experience with, if any, and what he or she intends to use the weapon for, if at all. I'm getting a lot of queries these days for self- and home-defense weapons and I wasn't surprised when I was asked by an older family member what type of long gun she should purchase to protect herself and her ranch. What did surprise me was that it was Mom.
My mother has never been one of those people real keen on shooting for sport and though she owns a small .38 snubnose for defensive purposes she hardly practices with it (the last time I cleaned it for her I had to remove some cobwebs). Now she wanted something bigger like a rifle or shotgun but not anything too heavy or expensive. I asked her why she had a sudden interest as she had never expressed any desire for anything "bigger" in the past and she said it was because of the new President. Mom is not a big proponent of the Second Amendment and has never been a member of the NRA or other gun lobby group but she isn't going to allow "a President to take away her guns!" She had heard totally independent of any news from me that there might be some new gun control laws coming and she wanted to get something before "they" had a chance to pass them. You better believe I was going to make sure Annie Oakley got her gun.
Mom has a few health problems and is of a small frame so most firearms designed for full-grown men were not going to work. She has a few varmints of the rodent family around her homestead as well as a busy highway passing by her house that brings quite a few two-legged varmints within a short distance and occasionally they have stopped for a visit and worn out their welcome PDQ so she needed something of a reduced size but still packed a wallop when discharged. I recommended the Remington 870 Express Youth Model 20 gauge with a 21 inch vent rib barrel and interchangeable Rem-Chokes.
With standard Game Load shells using size 6 shot this shotgun will take care of the little critters that bother Mom and with 00 Buckshot she should be able to take care of the bigger critters if the need should ever arise. Its reduced size fits Mom to a "T" and she can loan it to her youngest grandson when he's of a size to use it for hunting. With it being a pump-action shotgun Mom also has that audible deterrent that should give a rationally minded person a reason for pause and introspective reflection on the plans they had developed for that particular foray unto my mother's property and decide to turn around and leave.
Mom is now the proud owner of a new shotgun and she's waiting on me to clean it and then take her out to my farm property where my oldest son and I have set up an informal range so I can teach her how to use it. Sometime after the coming holidays we should be able to get out there. Now my mother's husband is asking me for advice on what would be a good defense rifle for him to purchase. He says he wants an Uzi submachine gun (I hope he's joking) but I'm trying to talk him into a Ruger Ranch Rifle. So many people, so many guns, and I'm only one person. I need some help 'cause I think this fire is just beginning to grow...
AKA The Ol' Grey Ghost
I had originally planned a column on another topic for today but something happened last week that is a little more telling of our times and might be of more interest to some of the regular readers of this blog so I'll postpone that first one for another time and tell y'all what happened instead.
Because of my professional and personal experience with firearms I am often approached by family and friends, and their family and friends, for advice on what type of gun they might want to purchase. I usually go through a verbal questionnaire with the inquiring party over what that person has experience with, if any, and what he or she intends to use the weapon for, if at all. I'm getting a lot of queries these days for self- and home-defense weapons and I wasn't surprised when I was asked by an older family member what type of long gun she should purchase to protect herself and her ranch. What did surprise me was that it was Mom.
My mother has never been one of those people real keen on shooting for sport and though she owns a small .38 snubnose for defensive purposes she hardly practices with it (the last time I cleaned it for her I had to remove some cobwebs). Now she wanted something bigger like a rifle or shotgun but not anything too heavy or expensive. I asked her why she had a sudden interest as she had never expressed any desire for anything "bigger" in the past and she said it was because of the new President. Mom is not a big proponent of the Second Amendment and has never been a member of the NRA or other gun lobby group but she isn't going to allow "a President to take away her guns!" She had heard totally independent of any news from me that there might be some new gun control laws coming and she wanted to get something before "they" had a chance to pass them. You better believe I was going to make sure Annie Oakley got her gun.
Mom has a few health problems and is of a small frame so most firearms designed for full-grown men were not going to work. She has a few varmints of the rodent family around her homestead as well as a busy highway passing by her house that brings quite a few two-legged varmints within a short distance and occasionally they have stopped for a visit and worn out their welcome PDQ so she needed something of a reduced size but still packed a wallop when discharged. I recommended the Remington 870 Express Youth Model 20 gauge with a 21 inch vent rib barrel and interchangeable Rem-Chokes.
With standard Game Load shells using size 6 shot this shotgun will take care of the little critters that bother Mom and with 00 Buckshot she should be able to take care of the bigger critters if the need should ever arise. Its reduced size fits Mom to a "T" and she can loan it to her youngest grandson when he's of a size to use it for hunting. With it being a pump-action shotgun Mom also has that audible deterrent that should give a rationally minded person a reason for pause and introspective reflection on the plans they had developed for that particular foray unto my mother's property and decide to turn around and leave.
Mom is now the proud owner of a new shotgun and she's waiting on me to clean it and then take her out to my farm property where my oldest son and I have set up an informal range so I can teach her how to use it. Sometime after the coming holidays we should be able to get out there. Now my mother's husband is asking me for advice on what would be a good defense rifle for him to purchase. He says he wants an Uzi submachine gun (I hope he's joking) but I'm trying to talk him into a Ruger Ranch Rifle. So many people, so many guns, and I'm only one person. I need some help 'cause I think this fire is just beginning to grow...
Sunday, November 23, 2008
From the Side Bar
While I have been busy at home and work the last few days, some of the folks on the sidebar have been putting out some quality commentary.
Xavier has penned a couple of excellent posts on two completely different topics.
USCitizen announces a new product line, Gun Pr0n: Just In! Desert Eagles. If you have not yet visited his commercial site, you might be missing out on some good deals.
ExistingThing shows off his sewing and design skills with The SKS slimline clip carrier.
Last week David posted We're The Only Ones All Fired Up Enough, commentary on an incident here in Texas involving alcohol, guns, and a Constable. For his efforts, David was invited to A Party in San Benito.
Joe has More about Jim Jones and those who supported him. Some of his supporters might surprise you (but then again maybe not).
Kevin notes that When You Can't Have a Gun . . ., it must be nice that you can afford a bodyguard.
Michael has a few things to say about our next president's choices for his cabinet. Obama's Jack-Booted Thug opines that Eric Holder is the real fascist deal, and our New Attorney General = Janet Reno Lite.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Morgan has a Story from a Victim of the Lautenberg Amendment, more evidence as to why the Lautenberg Amendment must be repealed!
Ken has THE LIBERAL LIE CARTOON GALLERY AND YoU cAn'T mAkE tHiS sTuFf Up.
The LawDog shares a story about the life of an LEO and the dregs of our society in Au contraire.
A Jacksonian comments on The Citizen and representative democracy. If you read nothing else from this roundup of posts, read this one.
Steve reports that the Bushmaster ACR/Masada (is) delayed along with a few ideas as to why.
I have not even made it half way through the blogs listed on the side bar and time has ran out for this post. As you can see, there is some quality reading over there on the right. Give one or two of them a click and you may find another new daily read.
Xavier has penned a couple of excellent posts on two completely different topics.
- First is A Gun Safety Class from 1956, a class taught at a school and reported on by Life Magazine. We do still have a very few schools that teach gun safety, but not nearly enough.
- Next up is Black Monday, a timely and informative column on how to protect our computers and personal information from the goblins who would use the Internet to steal from us.
USCitizen announces a new product line, Gun Pr0n: Just In! Desert Eagles. If you have not yet visited his commercial site, you might be missing out on some good deals.
ExistingThing shows off his sewing and design skills with The SKS slimline clip carrier.
Last week David posted We're The Only Ones All Fired Up Enough, commentary on an incident here in Texas involving alcohol, guns, and a Constable. For his efforts, David was invited to A Party in San Benito.
Joe has More about Jim Jones and those who supported him. Some of his supporters might surprise you (but then again maybe not).
Kevin notes that When You Can't Have a Gun . . ., it must be nice that you can afford a bodyguard.
Michael has a few things to say about our next president's choices for his cabinet. Obama's Jack-Booted Thug opines that Eric Holder is the real fascist deal, and our New Attorney General = Janet Reno Lite.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Morgan has a Story from a Victim of the Lautenberg Amendment, more evidence as to why the Lautenberg Amendment must be repealed!
Ken has THE LIBERAL LIE CARTOON GALLERY AND YoU cAn'T mAkE tHiS sTuFf Up.
The LawDog shares a story about the life of an LEO and the dregs of our society in Au contraire.
A Jacksonian comments on The Citizen and representative democracy. If you read nothing else from this roundup of posts, read this one.
Steve reports that the Bushmaster ACR/Masada (is) delayed along with a few ideas as to why.
I have not even made it half way through the blogs listed on the side bar and time has ran out for this post. As you can see, there is some quality reading over there on the right. Give one or two of them a click and you may find another new daily read.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Papa JR's Day so Far.
V and our oldest daughter had to go out of town today so I have been watching our 2 year old granddaughter since I got off work. We have had a great time, spent an hour picking the perfect book at Borders and she got to choose dinner at the grocery store (chicken nuggets, french fries, mandarin oranges, cheese and corn dogs) and is finishing up her bath as I type.
I'll be getting her out of the bath in a sec, then we will settle down to watch the Stars game.
It has been a good day.
I'll be getting her out of the bath in a sec, then we will settle down to watch the Stars game.
It has been a good day.
Friday, November 21, 2008
I Know That I am a Day Late, But...
...I have an excuse. We went out to dinner last night.
So what's the good news?
The Beaujolais Nouveau is Here!
So what's the good news?
The Beaujolais Nouveau is Here!
The Failure of Gun Free School Zones
Head on over to Xavier's place and watch the video "When Seconds Count". A portion of the MSM has finally recognized the failure of gun free school zones. Go and give it a watch.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
V and I are...
...going out to dinner with friends. Not much time to work up a good post, so this is what you get.
That Milt Sparks holster is my daily carry holster and it has easily survived two Texas Summers at my side.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Will There be a New Assault Weapons Ban?
The Dallas Morning News recently published a well written article concerning the increase in firearm sales following the elections. I think reporter Jessica Meyers did a good job on this column, but I disagree with a couple of the Second Amendment scholars she quoted who feel that we have nothing to worry about.
"There is no Democratic proposal to deal with guns, and there is going to be no Democratic proposal to deal with guns," said Scot Powe, a Second Amendment scholar and law professor at the University of Texas at Austin.I do not know Professor Powe. What I have found indicates that he is a very strong intellectual when it comes to the First Amendment. I'll not make any assumptions about his support of our right to keep and bear arms, but I will take him to task over his declaration that "...the Democrats have any interest in the gun-control issue." here in a bit.
"It's fantasy land to believe the Democrats have any interest in the gun-control issue. It would kill them."
A scholar that I am somewhat familiar with was also quoted in this article:
Even if Mr. Obama advocates an assault-weapons ban, he's not going to push it any time soon, said Dr. Stephen Halbrook, a Second Amendment lawyer who just wrote a book on the right to bear arms.So, are those of us who believe that an Obama administration and a heavy Democrat Congress will move quickly on gun control issues living in "fantasy land" or being "unreasonable"? I think not.
"It is not the top agenda in the midst of the economic crisis," he said. "It's unreasonable to argue that people need to rush out and get a gun because their supply is going to get cut off."
President Elect Barack Obama has spent his entire adult life opposing our right to keep and bear arms. From his time as a director of the Joyce Foundation, to his time as an elected official, Obama has advocated for the most draconian of gun laws. What is to stop him from using his authority as president to push anti-gun legislation? Is it the idea that gun control legislation might have an effect on the 2010 elections? I think not. Have California legislators suffered for their support of anti gun legislation? How about those who represent Washington DC, New York, New Jersey or Massachusetts? We had a serious contender for president on the GOP who actually signed an Assault Weapon Ban into law, and our front runner on the ticket wanted to criminalize the private transfer of firearms. Obama has no reason to fear gunnies. The NRA endorsed McCain, McCain lost. The NRA produced some outstanding ads supporting McCain and spent lots of money airing those ads in tight race gunny states. McCain still lost.
Why should Obama fear political retaliation from gunnies?
He does not. From his transition platform:
Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn’t have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.Joe Biden, our Vice President Elect, sponsored an assault weapons ban as recently as 2007 and has bragged that he wrote the original Assault Weapons Ban.
We have a President and a Vice President who are vehemently anti gun and who see no political repercussions for pushing forward an anti gun agenda. Who is going to stop them? Congress?
Congress belongs to the Democrats. That is just a fact of life. This is the same House that had 67 cosponsors to HR 1022, a supercharged AWB that would ban many common firearms held by citizens today. But you say that we can count on the Republicans to block any AWB that the Dems come up with. All I can say is "maybe", and maybe is just not good enough. Why do I think that? Because the Latest Assault Weapon Ban Legislation was authored by Republicans. Yep, Republicans.
So am I living in fantasy land or being unreasonable for believing that Obama & Co. will move quickly on some very severe gun control legislation? I think not.
Neither does Vin Suprynowicz.
H/T to Peter for the Suprynowicz article.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Texas 2009 Legislative Session. On Your Mark...
Here are a few more gems from our representatives in Austin, legislation that has already been introduced for the 2009 Legislative Session:
First a couple of bills authored by Dallas Democrat Roberto Alonzo.
Next we have an oldie but goodie from Republican Representative Todd Smith of Bedford.
Current firearm and CHL related bills are:
HB 47 - Relating to the procedures for registering to vote and accepting a voter at a polling place.
HB 125 - Relating to requiring a voter to present proof of identification.
HB 140 - Relating to the use or display under certain circumstances of an expired license to carry a concealed handgun.
HB 176 - Relating to the punishment for the offense of aggravated assault.
HB 267 - Relating to the interstate purchase of certain firearms.
Nothing to really get excited about yet. HB 140 allows you to continue to carry under an expired CHL while waiting for the state to issue a new license.
Thanks to Charles Cotton for saving me some time in looking these up.
First a couple of bills authored by Dallas Democrat Roberto Alonzo.
- HB 188 - Relating to the rights of children and the education of parents regarding their duties as parents.
This bill would create a "Children's Bill of Rights" require that "parents are educated regarding their duties under law as the primary protectors of their children..." I have an idea for Rep. Alonzo. Why don't you worry about ways to improve the lot of your constituents (of which over 26% have a hard time with English), and leave the parenting of our children to us. - HB 193 - Relating to the identification information required of an applicant for a driver's license.
This bill would allow illegal aliens to receive Texas drivers licenses.
The Mexican Consulate in Dallas issues ID cards to illegal aliens. Under Rep. Alonzo's bill, these ID cards could be used to obtain a valid Texas drivers license. This bill actually does serve his constituents. Almost 32% of the population of Alonzo's district are non citizens of the United States. In this case, serving his constituents places a burden on the general population and further legitimises criminal activity.
Next we have an oldie but goodie from Republican Representative Todd Smith of Bedford.
- HB 169 - Relating to the authority of the Texas Department of Public Safety and certain local law enforcement agencies to establish a checkpoint on a highway or street to determine whether persons are driving while intoxicated.
Representative Smith thinks it is a grand idea to allow the police to set up road block sobriety checkpoints in our cities and rural areas. Treating Texans as guilty until proven innocent is not the way to keep drunk drivers off of our roads. Sobriety checkpoints are an abuse of police authority and should continue to be forbidden in the State of Texas.
- SB 204 - Relating to a prohibition of foods containing trans fat; providing a criminal penalty.
Yep, you read it here first. There is nothing better to do in El Paso than worry about the evil trans fat dealers. Most of the food we eat here at Casa JR is fresh and cooked in nut oils if oils are used at all. We are not big on trans fats, but if trans fats are the evil food substitute that our legislators would like for us to believe, why aren't the slip and fall lawyers making a mint off of those who manufacture and sell trans fat related products to the public?
Current firearm and CHL related bills are:
HB 47 - Relating to the procedures for registering to vote and accepting a voter at a polling place.
HB 125 - Relating to requiring a voter to present proof of identification.
HB 140 - Relating to the use or display under certain circumstances of an expired license to carry a concealed handgun.
HB 176 - Relating to the punishment for the offense of aggravated assault.
HB 267 - Relating to the interstate purchase of certain firearms.
Nothing to really get excited about yet. HB 140 allows you to continue to carry under an expired CHL while waiting for the state to issue a new license.
Thanks to Charles Cotton for saving me some time in looking these up.
Fifty Caliber Institute Alert - NJ Delays Gun Ban Vote
Please Contact Your Assembly Members Again!
In response to your calls, faxes, and emails, the New Jersey Assembly on November 17 delayed passage of A2116 (banning most firearms of .50 caliber or larger) and instead amended the legislation in an attempt to respond to gun owner concerns. The amended bill could be considered by the full Assembly as soon as December.
What this means is the author of this bill is trying to refine the bill so it will become a "Stand Alone Bill" to ban the .50 BMG. This is where they are going and this is what they want to accomplish. We need to send a clear message that any ban is unacceptable.
The amendments are currently under review and further email alerts will be forthcoming. However, no amount of tinkering can "fix" a gun ban, and A2116 remains fundamentally flawed legislation because it bans handguns and long guns based on the size of the hole in the barrel instead of punishing criminal behavior. Please continue to contact your Assembly members and oppose A2116. Their contact information is available here.
I guess New Jersey didn't get the memo that the Dems were not coming after our guns any time soon.
For more on the Fifty Caliber Instisute, go here.
In response to your calls, faxes, and emails, the New Jersey Assembly on November 17 delayed passage of A2116 (banning most firearms of .50 caliber or larger) and instead amended the legislation in an attempt to respond to gun owner concerns. The amended bill could be considered by the full Assembly as soon as December.
What this means is the author of this bill is trying to refine the bill so it will become a "Stand Alone Bill" to ban the .50 BMG. This is where they are going and this is what they want to accomplish. We need to send a clear message that any ban is unacceptable.
The amendments are currently under review and further email alerts will be forthcoming. However, no amount of tinkering can "fix" a gun ban, and A2116 remains fundamentally flawed legislation because it bans handguns and long guns based on the size of the hole in the barrel instead of punishing criminal behavior. Please continue to contact your Assembly members and oppose A2116. Their contact information is available here.
I guess New Jersey didn't get the memo that the Dems were not coming after our guns any time soon.
For more on the Fifty Caliber Instisute, go here.
Monday, November 17, 2008
From the Inbox
An email from a friend who recently purchased his first AR:
Shot my new A-2 just a few minutes ago, WHAT A RUSH!! Performed flawlessly! Where be them zombie fellers?
Welcome to the clan of the EBR my friend, welcome.
No Lights
Came home this evening to find that the power was out. Called it in, went to dinner and came home to lights.
All is good in the modern world.
Saw something interesting in the Starbucks parking lot while we were getting an after dinner coffee. A woman was sitting in her car playing Texas Hold 'Em on the Starbucks Wifi.
All is good in the modern world.
Saw something interesting in the Starbucks parking lot while we were getting an after dinner coffee. A woman was sitting in her car playing Texas Hold 'Em on the Starbucks Wifi.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Texas, The Nanny State?
Sometimes you just have to shake your head in wonder and disgust at the "Nanny State" mentality of some of our elected representatives.
I was perusing the list of introduced legislation for the 2009 Texas legislative session when I came upon this little gem:
Sec.A797.001.
I was perusing the list of introduced legislation for the 2009 Texas legislative session when I came upon this little gem:
Sec.A797.001.
DEFINITION. In this chapter, "novelty lighter" means a mechanical or electrical device typically used for lighting cigarettes, cigars, or pipes that has entertaining audio or visual effects, or that resembles in physical form or function articles commonly recognized as appealing to or intended for use by children under 18 years of age. The term includes lighters that resemble cartoon characters, toys, guns, watches, musical instruments, vehicles, toy animals, food, or beverages.This is the kind of legislation that Democrat Representative "Mando" Martinez thinks is so important that he gets it introduced early. If you happen to live in District 39, you might want to let "Mando" know just how disappointed you are in this time and money wasting piece of legislation.
Overheard at the Range
It felt like I was standing there holding a piece of metal and someone hit the end of it with a hammer.A friend shooting her Smith & Wesson Model 642 Airweight for the first time.
A lot of good things can be said about these revolvers, "A pleasure to shoot" is not one of them.
A Boy's First Hunt
CowtownCop recounts a boy's first hunt in The Wild Boar, a nice read for a Sunday morning.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Guns, Roses, and Armor-Piercing Ammunition
by Peter W. Wickham, Jr.
AKA The Ol' Grey Ghost
Bullet-resistant vests, for instance, come in several levels of protection. When I graduated from the Police Academy, my wife and mother got together and bought me a modular concealable vest system that consisted of a carrier that was made like a mesh-material athletic shirt (read tank top) and two panels made of 9-layers of Kevlar wrapped in a flexible rubber to keep them water resistant. This vest was rated at Level 1+ which is hardly used anymore but at the time was the most we could afford and was best suited for hot Texas summers. Level 1+ provided me protection from those rounds fired from the most easily concealable of handguns: The .22LR, .25ACP, .380ACP, and the time-honored .38 Special.
The manufacturer of the vest also listed that it would defeat shots of 12 gauge Birdshot and the .44 S&W Special round I carried in my S&W Model 29revolver and the .45ACP round I carried in my S&W Model 645 auto-pistol.
Now the manufacturer did not list all the rounds that could defeat this vest since it is safe to assume anything more powerful than the rounds already listed could and would penetrate this level of armor. That would include just about any rifle cartridge, including popular hunting rounds like the venerable .30-06 Springfield and .30-30 Winchester, and shotgun rounds like 12 gauge Buckshot and Rifled Slugs.
This would also include just about any handgun round that has the word "magnum" in its name such as the .22, the .357, the .41, and the .44 (and any new cartridge known to generate more ballistic energy than these).
Strangely enough this also includes the diminutive 9mm Luger cartridge. I'm sure many people who have ever entered the 9mm vs. .45 debate wouldn't even begin to consider the 9mm Luger as an AP round but due to its higher velocity it is capable of defeating a Level 1+ bullet-resistant vest. And if a round is capable of defeating a vest, then by the definition the VPC recommends, that round would be considered Armor-Piercing and they want it banned.
When the VPC, and those benevolent government officials who listen to them, call for a ban on something we know they are only speaking a half-truth. As I have pointed out before any ban they call for does not apply to government employees. Even the ban on AP handgun ammunition mentioned in the VPC article allows for the government to use such rounds if it feels they are necessary. When they call for a ban, they are only talking about a ban on private ownership by "We the People" and with the ban they call for in this instance, they are talking about disarming the American people by just changing "what's in a name." We cannot and shall not allow that to happen..."
AKA The Ol' Grey Ghost
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet;..." Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.While doing research for a recent column I had occasion to visit a page at the Violence Policy Center (VPC) where I found this little tidbit:
"Military surplus armor-piercing (AP)...ammunition for .50 sniper rifles is widely and readily available. Although Congress has banned the manufacture of some armor-piercing ammunition, those restrictions apply only to handgun ammunition. The existing ban on armor-piercing ammunition should be updated and expanded to cover all AP...ammunition. This would most effectively be accomplished through the promulgation of a performance standard in which ammunition is tested for its ability to penetrate bullet-resistant vests, ballistic glass, and armor, as opposed to the existing standard based on the bullet's content." Emphasis in originalThis new "performance standard" that the VPC advocates turns the history of modern ammunition on its head. Man invented the bullet to penetrate flesh and bone. The "Other Man" invented armor to stop the bullet from penetrating his flesh and bone. The first Man then adjusted the metallurgical make-up of his bullet and increased its velocity in order to penetrate the armor created by the Other Man and then penetrate flesh and bone and the AP round was invented. The VPC calls for banning AP rounds not because of the efforts of the manufacturers of ammunition but on the lack of effort on the part of the makers of armor.
Bullet-resistant vests, for instance, come in several levels of protection. When I graduated from the Police Academy, my wife and mother got together and bought me a modular concealable vest system that consisted of a carrier that was made like a mesh-material athletic shirt (read tank top) and two panels made of 9-layers of Kevlar wrapped in a flexible rubber to keep them water resistant. This vest was rated at Level 1+ which is hardly used anymore but at the time was the most we could afford and was best suited for hot Texas summers. Level 1+ provided me protection from those rounds fired from the most easily concealable of handguns: The .22LR, .25ACP, .380ACP, and the time-honored .38 Special.
The manufacturer of the vest also listed that it would defeat shots of 12 gauge Birdshot and the .44 S&W Special round I carried in my S&W Model 29revolver and the .45ACP round I carried in my S&W Model 645 auto-pistol.
Now the manufacturer did not list all the rounds that could defeat this vest since it is safe to assume anything more powerful than the rounds already listed could and would penetrate this level of armor. That would include just about any rifle cartridge, including popular hunting rounds like the venerable .30-06 Springfield and .30-30 Winchester, and shotgun rounds like 12 gauge Buckshot and Rifled Slugs.
This would also include just about any handgun round that has the word "magnum" in its name such as the .22, the .357, the .41, and the .44 (and any new cartridge known to generate more ballistic energy than these).
Strangely enough this also includes the diminutive 9mm Luger cartridge. I'm sure many people who have ever entered the 9mm vs. .45 debate wouldn't even begin to consider the 9mm Luger as an AP round but due to its higher velocity it is capable of defeating a Level 1+ bullet-resistant vest. And if a round is capable of defeating a vest, then by the definition the VPC recommends, that round would be considered Armor-Piercing and they want it banned.
When the VPC, and those benevolent government officials who listen to them, call for a ban on something we know they are only speaking a half-truth. As I have pointed out before any ban they call for does not apply to government employees. Even the ban on AP handgun ammunition mentioned in the VPC article allows for the government to use such rounds if it feels they are necessary. When they call for a ban, they are only talking about a ban on private ownership by "We the People" and with the ban they call for in this instance, they are talking about disarming the American people by just changing "what's in a name." We cannot and shall not allow that to happen..."* all photographs of ammunition are borrowed from the Winchester.com website
For further reading I would like to recommend Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare, which is just as much a treatise on political intrigue and human psychology as it is a "love story."
by William Shakespeare, which is just as much a treatise on political intrigue and human psychology as it is a "love story." A Gift
The other evening I received a call from a gentleman who mentioned that he read about this blog in the Star Telegram and liked what he found when he got here. He said that he had an old plastic plaque in his garage that he thought I might enjoy and asked if he could stop by some time and give it to me.
Well, Jerry showed up this afternoon with this plaque.
This is a Marlin Firearms centennial commemorative from 1970 and I very much appreciate it.
Thank you Sir, you have made my week. This is going up here in the office where I spend a good amount of time working on the blog and taking care of business.
Well, Jerry showed up this afternoon with this plaque.
This is a Marlin Firearms centennial commemorative from 1970 and I very much appreciate it.
Thank you Sir, you have made my week. This is going up here in the office where I spend a good amount of time working on the blog and taking care of business.
Link of The Day
RideFast does a good fisking of a column written by Bill Schneider, a pragmatic gun owner who has a thing or two to say about "gun nuts".
Why do you insist on sacrificing someone or thing or right? Why not protect all lawful uses of a firearm, and for that matter, all firearms? This is why people think you are a traitor. You're selling us out, at least some of us. The Second Amendment is about combat arms. Not hunting guns, not collecting, not shooting sports. Those protections all flow from having and bearing combat arms...As they say, RTWT.
Day at the Gun Show
This weekends North Texas gun show is in Fort Worth. It is The Original Fort Worth Gun Show, and it one of my favorite local shows. I knew it was going to be packed when I exited I30 on to Montgomery, the exit was backed up more than usual for a Saturday morning. Parking was scarce at the Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall. Even the sooper Sekret underground parking lot was full to the brim. It is a good thing there is plenty of alternate parking surrounding the venue.
I made it into the show at about 10:10 and the place was hopping. One of the larger vendors had 13 chairs set up to do paperwork, all the chairs were full and there was a nice line of folks waiting to complete the transactions for firearms they had chosen.
The prices for AR's were through the roof. Some dealers had decent prices on magazines, and others were outrageous. I ended up with 5 new 30 round AR magazines and a new Surefire G2 flashlight. The G2 seems to have a larger and brighter beam than my Cyclops XCF, but the XCF has a thinner aluminum body and a pocket clip. I think the G2 will become my nightstand light and the XCF will continue to be my carry light.
All in all it looked like a good gun show. Everyone was making money and folks seemed to be in a good mood. Prices on a lot of the stuff was high so, as with any gun show, know what you want and what it is worth before going. There are deals to be had, but in this atmosphere you have to keep a sharp eye out for them.
I made it into the show at about 10:10 and the place was hopping. One of the larger vendors had 13 chairs set up to do paperwork, all the chairs were full and there was a nice line of folks waiting to complete the transactions for firearms they had chosen.
The prices for AR's were through the roof. Some dealers had decent prices on magazines, and others were outrageous. I ended up with 5 new 30 round AR magazines and a new Surefire G2 flashlight. The G2 seems to have a larger and brighter beam than my Cyclops XCF, but the XCF has a thinner aluminum body and a pocket clip. I think the G2 will become my nightstand light and the XCF will continue to be my carry light.
All in all it looked like a good gun show. Everyone was making money and folks seemed to be in a good mood. Prices on a lot of the stuff was high so, as with any gun show, know what you want and what it is worth before going. There are deals to be had, but in this atmosphere you have to keep a sharp eye out for them.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Local Gun Store Robbery
From the Star Telegram:
By Andrew Chavez
By Andrew Chavez
Parker County authorities are looking for three armed men who exchanged gunfire with a clerk during a gun store robbery near Reno on Thursday.I guess these goblins just wanted to do a little Pre-Obama shopping also.
The men, who investigators said were armed with handguns, entered the Fort Worth Arms gun store in northeast Parker County and held the clerk at gunpoint while they snatched guns from a display case, according to Capt. Mike Morgan , a police spokesman.
Sheriff Larry Fowler said they made off with six handguns and a small amount of cash...
Officer Involved Shooting
This is the raw dash cam video of a goblin being shot by a police officer.
From KWXT 10 News:
By Eli Ross
From KWXT 10 News:
By Eli Ross
It all started the afternoon of Oct. 8, when sheriff’s deputies in Bosque County were following up leads in the report of a sexual assault.When you blow the video up to about 5" square, you can see the goblin reach into his right pocket early on in the confrontation. This officer showed great restraint in not shooting any earlier than he did.
After spotting a car that matched the description of a vehicle used in the sexual assault, Deputy Jeff Hightower attempted to identify the driver.
What happened next was caught on Hightower's dashboard camera; News 10 obtained the graphic footage from the Bosque County Sheriff’s Office...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Hockey Night
V and I are off to the Hockey game. The Stars are hosting the Kings (who they lost to just the other day in Los Angeles) and we looking forward to a great game. Our seats are five rows back from the ice on the defensive end goal line, and I am ready to go.
This will be our first game at American Airlines Arena this season and the tickets are a gift from our eldest daughter.
So no more posts tonight. We are gone!
This will be our first game at American Airlines Arena this season and the tickets are a gift from our eldest daughter.
So no more posts tonight. We are gone!
Multitools have always...
...been cool. Today there are multitools to fit pretty much any budget. Multitool.org is a good place to find general information on many of the tools currently on the market. But how about "Back in the day"?
Take a look at this super cool tool from the 1700's:
Here is a look with the knife open:
If you want to spend a few hours browsing through the over 1300 items up for auction in the "Fine and Collectible Arms, Sporting Guns and Knives" auction, click here.
Take a look at this super cool tool from the 1700's:
Here is a look with the knife open:
If you want to spend a few hours browsing through the over 1300 items up for auction in the "Fine and Collectible Arms, Sporting Guns and Knives" auction, click here.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Fifty Caliber Institute Alert
NJ ASSEMBLY TO VOTE ON .50 CALIBER GUN BAN -
MONDAY!
The New Jersey Legislature has decided to immediately move the bill that would effectively ban the .50 BMG in that state. The fifty caliber community has to join other law abiding gun owners in that state to prevent the passage of this bill. Please support the effort to stop this bill.
Please Contact Your Assembly Members Today!
On Monday, November 17, the New Jersey Assembly is scheduled to vote on A2116 -- legislation banning most firearms over .50 caliber. Though previously amended in an attempt to address gun owner concerns, the legislation still bans many popular hunting guns, historical firearms, and large bore target firearms, based on alleged public safety concerns. Ironically, the legislation bans many of the guns that won the very freedoms the bill seeks to destroy, including some Revolutionary War and Civil War guns and their replicas. A2116 makes the fundamental mistake of banning guns based on the size of the hole in the barrel rather than punishing criminal behavior. It treats law abiding citizens who choose to exercise their Second Amendment rights like potential criminals. Please immediately email, call, and/or fax your Assembly Members and urge them to oppose A2116! Their contact information is available here.One Bailout, Two Bailout, Three..
You get the drift. We are in the middle of bailout mania. It seems everyone is rushing to get some of that bailout sugar from the tax payer. Maybe I should overextend my ability to repay and pick up a few items on my wish list. I would really like a KRIS Super V 16” CRB/SO, a Barrett Model 82A1 with the BORS integrated electronic ballistic computer mounted on a Leupold Mark IV Tactical Scope, and while I am at it I might as well throw in a Nighthawk Custom Heinie Tactical Carry Pistol. Yeah, that's the ticket. If I let my mortgage go, I could purchase all this stuff then ask the .gov to bail me out.
That is not going to happen. Companies and individuals are getting a bit more than they bargained for with these bailouts.
Take Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for example. The .gov owns all the mortgages held by Fannie and Freddie. Let that little tid bit settle in for a moment. The .gov owns 80% or so of the mortgage market. If the .gov holds your mortgage, do you have any private property rights? If the .gov holds your mortgage, and you get behind, can the government relocate you to a property that you might be better able to afford, maybe a multi-level government run housing project?
The $700 Billion (+++) banking industry bailout is not going to work out quite as we were told when Congress gave Paulson the keys to the Treasury.
From npr:
So the .gov owns a large portion of the mortgage, banking, and via AIG, the insurance industries in the United States. Does this fact not give you pause? We were all up in arms when Maxine Waters let it slip that the Dems want to socialize the oil industry, but it seems we are being complacent when it comes to the fact that our financial industry is now basically controlled by the .gov.
The Big Three American auto manufacturers sought to find a position at the hog trough filled with our bailout money. I guess the money we gave them earlier this year to upgrade their manufacturing facilities was just not enough. I think the news from today may have caught them by surprise, they may want to rethink their request for our tax dollars, the cost to them may be to high.
From the Star Telegram:
That is not going to happen. Companies and individuals are getting a bit more than they bargained for with these bailouts.
Take Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for example. The .gov owns all the mortgages held by Fannie and Freddie. Let that little tid bit settle in for a moment. The .gov owns 80% or so of the mortgage market. If the .gov holds your mortgage, do you have any private property rights? If the .gov holds your mortgage, and you get behind, can the government relocate you to a property that you might be better able to afford, maybe a multi-level government run housing project?
The $700 Billion (+++) banking industry bailout is not going to work out quite as we were told when Congress gave Paulson the keys to the Treasury.
From npr:
But Paulson said the financial industry's situation has worsened since the bill was passed, prompting him to spent nearly $250 billion to buy equity stakes in banks.Our government now owns an equity stake in the banking industry, and is planning on purchasing an even larger stake.
"Although the financial system has stabilized, both banks and nonbanks may well need more capital...
So the .gov owns a large portion of the mortgage, banking, and via AIG, the insurance industries in the United States. Does this fact not give you pause? We were all up in arms when Maxine Waters let it slip that the Dems want to socialize the oil industry, but it seems we are being complacent when it comes to the fact that our financial industry is now basically controlled by the .gov.
The Big Three American auto manufacturers sought to find a position at the hog trough filled with our bailout money. I guess the money we gave them earlier this year to upgrade their manufacturing facilities was just not enough. I think the news from today may have caught them by surprise, they may want to rethink their request for our tax dollars, the cost to them may be to high.
From the Star Telegram:
A key House Democrat is writing legislation that would send $25 billion in emergency loans to the beleaguered auto industry in exchange for a government ownership stake in the Big Three car companies.Do they even teach the failures of Socialism and Marxism in school any more?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are pressing for quick passage of an auto bailout during a postelection session of Congress that begins Tuesday...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Texas legislator wants license for tasers
Veteran's Day
I would like to take a quick moment to thank all of our veterans who have served this country in our military. Drafted, volunteered, enlisted or officer, thank you so very much for your service. You have defeated our greatest enemies on the battle field and off. Your mere presence and professionalism defeated the Russian Bear without firing a shot (well, not one that ended up in the papers anyway). You have held the line between communism and freedom, you have kept our country safe and our children sleep well at night because of your service and hard work.
Thank You.
WBAP's Bob Leonard takes a look at just what a Veteran is. Click here to listen to the podcast.
You Have Purchased...
...your first firearm, studied the owners manual, educated yourself on firearm safety, learned how to field strip your weapon and maybe even spent some time at the range. Now what? What do you use to clean the now dirty firearm, and what else should you have on hand?
A friend asked about this today, if he had these kind of questions, maybe you do also.
I will start with cleaning and lubricating. A clean and properly lubricated firearm is a happy firearm. A dirty and dry firearm is one that will be prone to malfunction. corrosion and potential safety issues. So clean your guns.
The market is chock full of gun cleaning supplies. Any sporting goods store you walk into will have a large array of solvents, oils, patches, kits and brushes. I pretty much stick with the basics. For most of my guns, I pretty much stick with good 'ol Hoppe's #9 Powder Solvent and Lubricating Oil. On occasion I use the Hoppe's #9 Benchrest Copper Cleaner to remove copper deposits. For my EBR's (Evil Black Rifles) I use Break Free CLP for just about everything. These two families of products work and I see no reason to change my ways. There are other products out there that are recommended by folks I respect, but if you want a product that you can purchase in any sporting goods store, and that I will guarantee will keep your guns running, go with the Hoppe's or the Break Free CLP depending on your application.
Now that you have an idea of what solvent and lubricant you want to use, it is time to decide on a cleaning kit. A good cleaning kit includes properly sized brushes and patches, and rods or other means to use those brushes and patches to clean the bore of your firearm. A kit might also include carbon scrapers and other brushes specifically tailored to a particular firearm. Over the past few decades I have used quite a few different gun cleaning kits from just about every manufacturer out there and I have settled in on two that I depend on for maintaining my firearms.
In the field I will use a Bore Snake while the barrel is still warm to initially clean the bore of my firearm.
For actual firearm cleaning kits, I don't think you can beat Otis Technology. I purchased one of their pistol cleaning kits four or five years ago, and have been hooked ever since.
Old tee shirts and the like get cut up into 4" squares for scrubbing and wiping. I also purchase clean room swabs by the thousand to get into any nooks and crannies. A thousand swabs lasts a good while. Brass O-Ring Tools make great, inexpensive carbon scrapers and old tooth brushes find a second life cleaning my guns.
If all you want is a basic starter cleaning kit, the KleenBore Universal Cleaning Kit, or the Hoppe's Deluxe Universal Accessory 76 Piece Cleaning Kit will get you going with a minimal investment and are available pretty much anywhere.
A friend asked about this today, if he had these kind of questions, maybe you do also.
I will start with cleaning and lubricating. A clean and properly lubricated firearm is a happy firearm. A dirty and dry firearm is one that will be prone to malfunction. corrosion and potential safety issues. So clean your guns.
The market is chock full of gun cleaning supplies. Any sporting goods store you walk into will have a large array of solvents, oils, patches, kits and brushes. I pretty much stick with the basics. For most of my guns, I pretty much stick with good 'ol Hoppe's #9 Powder Solvent and Lubricating Oil. On occasion I use the Hoppe's #9 Benchrest Copper Cleaner to remove copper deposits. For my EBR's (Evil Black Rifles) I use Break Free CLP for just about everything. These two families of products work and I see no reason to change my ways. There are other products out there that are recommended by folks I respect, but if you want a product that you can purchase in any sporting goods store, and that I will guarantee will keep your guns running, go with the Hoppe's or the Break Free CLP depending on your application.
Now that you have an idea of what solvent and lubricant you want to use, it is time to decide on a cleaning kit. A good cleaning kit includes properly sized brushes and patches, and rods or other means to use those brushes and patches to clean the bore of your firearm. A kit might also include carbon scrapers and other brushes specifically tailored to a particular firearm. Over the past few decades I have used quite a few different gun cleaning kits from just about every manufacturer out there and I have settled in on two that I depend on for maintaining my firearms.
In the field I will use a Bore Snake while the barrel is still warm to initially clean the bore of my firearm.
For actual firearm cleaning kits, I don't think you can beat Otis Technology. I purchased one of their pistol cleaning kits four or five years ago, and have been hooked ever since.
Old tee shirts and the like get cut up into 4" squares for scrubbing and wiping. I also purchase clean room swabs by the thousand to get into any nooks and crannies. A thousand swabs lasts a good while. Brass O-Ring Tools make great, inexpensive carbon scrapers and old tooth brushes find a second life cleaning my guns.
If all you want is a basic starter cleaning kit, the KleenBore Universal Cleaning Kit, or the Hoppe's Deluxe Universal Accessory 76 Piece Cleaning Kit will get you going with a minimal investment and are available pretty much anywhere.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sniper Rifles and Silly String
Peter W. Wickham, Jr.
I would like to expound on some comments I made to a recent posting JR made here on his blog. I was shopping with the family the other day at America's favorite discount retailer and while walking through the Sporting Goods department I overheard a conversation between one of the salesclerks and a customer who was complaining that this particular store no longer carried the brand of riflescopes he liked. The salesclerk announced it didn't really matter since the government was planning to ban high-powered riflescopes anyway. I stopped walking abruptly and both gentlemen noticed me standing there with one of those "Whaaat?!?" looks on my face and the salesclerk explained that one of his merchandisers had told him they were no longer buying certain riflescopes since they might be outlawed in the next few months. I said I hadn't heard anything about that but we were in rush and I didn't have much time for more conversation.
I used to work in retail back in my college days specifically in a Sporting Goods department where we sold firearms and I know any good businessman will continue to sell something if it turns a profit right up to the second before (and maybe a few afterwards) any ban by government officials becomes effective, so I suspect the decision to drop this particular brand of riflescopes was more along the line of poor sales figures than anything else but since I have a vested interest in this I decided to do some research on the matter.
We have enough "Assault Weapons" around the homestead so I have been looking for something a little more conventional that packs a whole lot more wallop at long range over my 5.56 mm Main Battle Rifle (MBR). When I was a member of my police department's SWAT team, I was trained as a long-range marksman (not sniper; different jobs that use similar tools) and during my training I developed an affinity for bolt-action target rifles. The model I owned at the time was a Ruger 77 VR in .308 Winchester but of late I have been studying the Remington 700 VTR in the same caliber as a future purchase.
As you can see from the accompanying photograph it looks a lot like any other deer rifle except maybe for the O.D. green stock with black handgrips. It has a specially designed barrel with an integral muzzle brake and vents in the forward portion of the stock that allows for quicker heat dissipation. It has no sights so I was looking to attach a Tasco (I know there are better brands but Tasco has always worked for me at a price I can afford) Varmint/Target 10X-40X 50mm riflescope to it. Again, we're talking basic stuff that any varmint hunter would use to take out prairie dogs, coyotes, and armadillos at 400+ yards.
Now the first place I looked for information was at Google and I found no current news about any plans to ban riflescopes but under a search for a "Sniper Rifle Ban" I found this information at the NRA-ILA website which was mostly about the old whine on banning .50 caliber rifles. I did learn that the Remington I was thinking of buying was considered an "Intermediate Sniper Rifle." I guess that means it's for targets at ranges less than a mile. This led me to visit the Violence Policy Center website (I wiped my shoes before I left) where I found a page titled, "Voting From The Rooftops" which had this little jewel on it:
In case you weren't paying attention, there was an election last week and the most liberal Senator in Congress was elected President of these United States. And he will be working with a Democrat-controlled Congress with its most liberal members in charge. All this stuff that has been simmering on the back-burners for the last eight years are probably going to be moved to the front of the stove and some of us are going to get burned. A lot of gunowners and hunters are complacent when it comes to bans on certain types of firearms because since they don't own those types they think they have nothing to worry about. Our benevolent government officials have a lot of plans for "We the People" over the next few years and to get them to work, they need to take our guns; all of our guns.
As Benjamin Franklin said, "We must hang together, gentlemen (and ladies)...else, we shall most assuredly hang separately." One has to wonder if a criminal ever used it in a crime, would these people want to ban Silly String? Oops, I spoke too soon...
Peter W. Wickham, Jr.
AKA The Ol' Grey Ghost
For further reading the Violence Policy Center would like to recommend Stalk and Kill: The Thrill and Danger of the Sniper Experience
by Adrian Gilbert and Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills
by Charles Henderson.
I would like to expound on some comments I made to a recent posting JR made here on his blog. I was shopping with the family the other day at America's favorite discount retailer and while walking through the Sporting Goods department I overheard a conversation between one of the salesclerks and a customer who was complaining that this particular store no longer carried the brand of riflescopes he liked. The salesclerk announced it didn't really matter since the government was planning to ban high-powered riflescopes anyway. I stopped walking abruptly and both gentlemen noticed me standing there with one of those "Whaaat?!?" looks on my face and the salesclerk explained that one of his merchandisers had told him they were no longer buying certain riflescopes since they might be outlawed in the next few months. I said I hadn't heard anything about that but we were in rush and I didn't have much time for more conversation.
I used to work in retail back in my college days specifically in a Sporting Goods department where we sold firearms and I know any good businessman will continue to sell something if it turns a profit right up to the second before (and maybe a few afterwards) any ban by government officials becomes effective, so I suspect the decision to drop this particular brand of riflescopes was more along the line of poor sales figures than anything else but since I have a vested interest in this I decided to do some research on the matter.
We have enough "Assault Weapons" around the homestead so I have been looking for something a little more conventional that packs a whole lot more wallop at long range over my 5.56 mm Main Battle Rifle (MBR). When I was a member of my police department's SWAT team, I was trained as a long-range marksman (not sniper; different jobs that use similar tools) and during my training I developed an affinity for bolt-action target rifles. The model I owned at the time was a Ruger 77 VR in .308 Winchester but of late I have been studying the Remington 700 VTR in the same caliber as a future purchase.
As you can see from the accompanying photograph it looks a lot like any other deer rifle except maybe for the O.D. green stock with black handgrips. It has a specially designed barrel with an integral muzzle brake and vents in the forward portion of the stock that allows for quicker heat dissipation. It has no sights so I was looking to attach a Tasco (I know there are better brands but Tasco has always worked for me at a price I can afford) Varmint/Target 10X-40X 50mm riflescope to it. Again, we're talking basic stuff that any varmint hunter would use to take out prairie dogs, coyotes, and armadillos at 400+ yards.
Now the first place I looked for information was at Google and I found no current news about any plans to ban riflescopes but under a search for a "Sniper Rifle Ban" I found this information at the NRA-ILA website which was mostly about the old whine on banning .50 caliber rifles. I did learn that the Remington I was thinking of buying was considered an "Intermediate Sniper Rifle." I guess that means it's for targets at ranges less than a mile. This led me to visit the Violence Policy Center website (I wiped my shoes before I left) where I found a page titled, "Voting From The Rooftops" which had this little jewel on it:
"Therefore, a useful strategy for effective control may lie in civil litigation, a strategy that would be enhanced if states passed legislation clearly establishing strict liability for damages resulting from the use or misuse of such weapons. Such litigation could impose tort liability, including punitive damages, for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, importers, retailers, and any others who participate in bringing to the civilian market any sniper rifle (in any caliber) or associated gear (such as ammunition or optics) that is used to kill or injure a human being or to damage property." Emphasis mineSo what these fine people want to do is sue any and everybody involved in the firearms and firearms accessory market if a criminal decides to use a product in the commission of a crime. It is easy to see that if they get tired of paying attorney fees they might want to use their influence to cause the government to ban, outlaw, or heavily regulate everything they list here. One should note that all this information is from around the last turn of the century so since it's old news one might ask why should we be concerned?
In case you weren't paying attention, there was an election last week and the most liberal Senator in Congress was elected President of these United States. And he will be working with a Democrat-controlled Congress with its most liberal members in charge. All this stuff that has been simmering on the back-burners for the last eight years are probably going to be moved to the front of the stove and some of us are going to get burned. A lot of gunowners and hunters are complacent when it comes to bans on certain types of firearms because since they don't own those types they think they have nothing to worry about. Our benevolent government officials have a lot of plans for "We the People" over the next few years and to get them to work, they need to take our guns; all of our guns.
As Benjamin Franklin said, "We must hang together, gentlemen (and ladies)...else, we shall most assuredly hang separately." One has to wonder if a criminal ever used it in a crime, would these people want to ban Silly String? Oops, I spoke too soon...
Peter W. Wickham, Jr.
AKA The Ol' Grey Ghost
For further reading the Violence Policy Center would like to recommend Stalk and Kill: The Thrill and Danger of the Sniper Experience
by Adrian Gilbert and Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills by Charles Henderson.
You're Not Going to Shoot Your Eye Out
David's latest column for The Gun Rights Examiner is out.
Anybody who thinks you can make kids safer by treating guns as forbidden fruits is sorely mistaken. Knowledge and familiarity, not ignorance and avoidance, are always the keys for achieving best outcomes, and you should see the way my feral pups would suddenly get focused when I took off my Dad hat and put on my listen up Range Master cap.This regular pro-rights column is gaining in popularity and is worth your while. Head on over and give it a read.
If you teach them proper safety, they're not going to put anyone's eye out. The biggest danger will be to your ego, when you find out how quickly their young eyes and coordination combine to create a challenge for those of us on the other side of that slope...
For New Gun Owners
Firearms are flying off the shelves all over the country. If you have just purchased your first firearm, I have a couple of links for you. With firearm ownership comes a great responsibility. You are responsible to be a safe firearm owner. You are responsible for learning how to safely and efficiently handle your firearm. Your first step is the owners manual, read it and get comfortable with the basic operation of your new firearm. Follow all safety rules in the manual as you learn. If you purchased a used firearm, odds are good you can find a .pdf of the manual online.
For your next step, I recommend these two links:
The Importance of Firearm Safety
and
Kids and Firearm Safety
Finally, if you do not understand a procedure or operation, ask. Make sure you fully understand how your firearm operates before taking it to the range.
Congratulations on your new purchase, looking forward to seeing you at the range.
For your next step, I recommend these two links:
The Importance of Firearm Safety
and
Kids and Firearm Safety
Finally, if you do not understand a procedure or operation, ask. Make sure you fully understand how your firearm operates before taking it to the range.
Congratulations on your new purchase, looking forward to seeing you at the range.
Negligent Discharge
SayUncle reports on his Negligent Discharge from this past weekend.
It, along with all the comments to the post, is well worth the read.
It, along with all the comments to the post, is well worth the read.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
More Gun Sales
Over the past couple of months a friend at work has been trying to decide upon a defensive firearm. I pointed out the advantages of a simple pump action shot gun for the home and when we started taking about potential carry guns we talked about the reliability of a good revolver and then about some of the advantages of a nice semi auto like the Smith & Wesson M&P.
Well, he and his wife went shopping this weekend:
Seems they made up their minds.
Well, he and his wife went shopping this weekend:
Seems they made up their minds.
A Clean Match
Today I shot my very first clean action pistol match. I neutralized all threats, did not put any holes in no-shoot targets, and suffered zero procedural penalties. I'm a happy camper.
The match was the Lone Star IDSA Club Match, an annual trophy match. We shot 12 stages that ranged from the very basic to the fairly competitive.
This was one of the longer stages. The shooter starts seated at the four targets to the left (behind the score keeper). At the buzzer, engage the four targets from the seated position. When the targets are neutralized, the shooter proceeds to the middle barrels and engages two more targets from cover. The target with the two hands is a no-shoot target. The shooter then moves to the barrels on the right and engages two targets from a kneeling or squatting position. The center target was also a no-shoot target. This was a 16 round stage so there was only one mag change
This image was from the last portion of the last stage, engaging three targets from the prone position.
You will notice that I did not wear my street clothes in this match. I must be getting more competitive.
How did I do? I came in second in the Single Stack Division. More importantly, I shot the match clean.
The match was the Lone Star IDSA Club Match, an annual trophy match. We shot 12 stages that ranged from the very basic to the fairly competitive.
This was one of the longer stages. The shooter starts seated at the four targets to the left (behind the score keeper). At the buzzer, engage the four targets from the seated position. When the targets are neutralized, the shooter proceeds to the middle barrels and engages two more targets from cover. The target with the two hands is a no-shoot target. The shooter then moves to the barrels on the right and engages two targets from a kneeling or squatting position. The center target was also a no-shoot target. This was a 16 round stage so there was only one mag change
This image was from the last portion of the last stage, engaging three targets from the prone position.
You will notice that I did not wear my street clothes in this match. I must be getting more competitive.
How did I do? I came in second in the Single Stack Division. More importantly, I shot the match clean.
Anarchism 101
Peter W. Wickham, Jr.
Anarchism - the theory that all forms of government interfere unjustly with individual liberty and should be replaced by the voluntary association of cooperative groups (Webster's New World Dictionary).
Recently at this site some persons that shall remain nameless (though you know who you are) poked some good-natured fun at my preference for Anarchy. They used the term anarchy as a synonym for violent chaos which as one can see from further exploration in Webster's that this is a popular connotation for the word but the word anarchy at its root merely means the absence of government and law and not necessarily the absence of good social order. The world can "suffer" peace without having any interference from benevolent government officials and at times can become even the more violent because of government intervention into simple neighborly disputes that could have otherwise been worked out by the individuals involved.
Most of us live our everyday lives in a state of anarchy. Those of us who "carry to live" walk amongst an unsuspecting population with the capability of causing the death of a large number of people. That we do not go berserk and shoot up some rude salesclerk has more to do with our personal moral code (or the fact that the target might also be armed) than it does that it is against the law to do so. Most recent mass murders by lone crazed gunmen have such a high number of victims because the government decreed that the victims should be disarmed and incapable of defending themselves. The laws against murder never stopped anyone bent on committing it.
The first question that people ask of proponents of anarchism is if there is no government, who will take care of [insert "essential" government-provided service here]? This is one of those questions that is best answered by asking another question. Who is in charge of making sure that your local grocery store has the products that you want on hand when you show up to shop there? Who is in charge of making sure that some young person wants to go to medical school so that years later there is a doctor in the Emergency Room when you have need of one? Who was in charge of making sure the house you live in was built in the first place?
All these services are provided by private individuals who have decided to serve you in order to make their living. If they fail at providing the service you want at the quality you demand, then you fire them by no longer doing business with them until they improve. You can't expect this much from any service the government provides since you generally have no power to fire them and the government always gets its fee from you in the form of taxes. The government can also pass laws that gives it the monopoly over some industries and businesses, including the business of passing laws, with no concern for keeping you, the customer, satisfied. Just compare at how things work at Fed-Ex and UPS over the quality of service provided by the U.S. Postal Service, which has a monopoly over handling the mail because the Federal government says so.
In the last few years, people who believe as I do have been given a bad reputation mostly from a group of individuals who are self-described and also labeled by the government as anarchists. Now these folks do want to overthrow a government by violent means but then they want to replace it with one of their own that abolishes private property rights and is usually of Marxist leaning. It would be more correct to call these people, "Communist Revolutionaries." It is ironic that when their homes are raided by police officers holding search warrants, they complain of their property-rights not being respected.
As George Washington said, "Government is force; like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." As some people would strive to eliminate all weapons so that man, supposedly, could not harm himself or his fellow man, I strive to eliminate government which has proven itself to be the most deadly weapon ever devised. But I'm an easily contented man (some might call me lazy but that's only because they are not as easily contented as I am) and I accept just about any degree of shrinkage when it comes to Leviathan. If you work with me in this endeavor, even if you believe in limited government, then we have more to unite us than to separate us...
Peter W. Wickham, Jr.
AKA The Ol' Grey Ghost
For further reading, I would like to recommend Market Anarchy Explained: ''But Who Will Build The Roads?''by Francois Tremblay.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
The Cowtown Cop...
...would like to Thank You for Panic Buying...
I agree, the more pre-ban magazines in our hands now, the better the availability post ban.
That is, of course, assuming that we can still buy and sell pre-ban magazines post ban.
I agree, the more pre-ban magazines in our hands now, the better the availability post ban.
That is, of course, assuming that we can still buy and sell pre-ban magazines post ban.
It Begins
The first shot has been fired by the Obama/Biden administration in their war against gun owners.
From their transition platform:
H/T to Sebastian.
Also commenting are David, SayUncle, and most likely many others off the sidebar who I just have not gotten to yet.
From their transition platform:
Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn’t have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.It did not take them long to initiate the battle, the next move is ours.
H/T to Sebastian.
Also commenting are David, SayUncle, and most likely many others off the sidebar who I just have not gotten to yet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
