Showing posts with label Survival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Survival. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
EBR Dissipation Range Report
Success!
Here's the rifle with my ladybug helper:
Here's the setting for the test:
And, here's the proof in the pudding:
Please pardon my goofy grin. I'm not sure what's up with that. Here's the close up of the target in question:
That's at 100-yards, prone. Given a little more time with the gun, and some high-quality ammunition, I'm confident that I can tighten up that group quite a bit. I really see no reason that this should be any less than a sub-minute rifle. It looks like she's pulling slightly to the right, but it got to the point that I didn't want to mess with the sight adjustment any more for the weekend. The gun shoots like a dream, and I should have done this modification a long time ago.
Yesterday, I mounted a single rail on the bottom of the handguard. I'm going to have to get some better handguards to get where I am trying to go with this thing. I still don't think I want to do a quad rail, as I like the low size and weight of the plastic. At any rate, I'm having fun, and that's really the point of the thing. I wish the antis could figure that one out...
Here's the rifle with my ladybug helper:
Here's the setting for the test:
And, here's the proof in the pudding:
Please pardon my goofy grin. I'm not sure what's up with that. Here's the close up of the target in question:
That's at 100-yards, prone. Given a little more time with the gun, and some high-quality ammunition, I'm confident that I can tighten up that group quite a bit. I really see no reason that this should be any less than a sub-minute rifle. It looks like she's pulling slightly to the right, but it got to the point that I didn't want to mess with the sight adjustment any more for the weekend. The gun shoots like a dream, and I should have done this modification a long time ago.
Yesterday, I mounted a single rail on the bottom of the handguard. I'm going to have to get some better handguards to get where I am trying to go with this thing. I still don't think I want to do a quad rail, as I like the low size and weight of the plastic. At any rate, I'm having fun, and that's really the point of the thing. I wish the antis could figure that one out...
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Stock Market Bargains.
A couple days ago, the stock market closed under 7,000. So, Jen and I bought it. Yup - we know a bargain when we see it. We had been scrimping and saving, and we were able to pony up the $7,000.00 that the entire stock market was worth. Once we finally come out of this pesky recession, we'll be super, uber rich! I'm gonna have me sooooooooo many fur coats it isn't even funny! I'm going to be hosting the greatest party in history! You are all invited, too! *singing to a tune* Rich rich rich rich riiiiich riiiiiich!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
EBR 2.0
Folks,
It looks like the wife and I are about to pick up our second Evyl Black Ryfle. H&H Gun Range hosts an annual gun expo, in which one could buy tickets to test drive a multitude of guns from over a dozen manufacturers. We attended the last one, and had great fun. We set a budget and bought a pre-determined amount of tickets. We split the tickets down the middle and acted like a couple of kids at the fair. Well, in all fairness, I acted like a kid at the fair. My darling wife acted like a man shopping for a car.
Where I ran around looking for the next amazing firearm to try out, my wife was objectively comparing variations of 1911s. When I was down to about three tickets, the S&W M&P15 caught my eye. It was so completely unlike anything I had ever considered shooting before. It was black, had a lot of plastic on it, and was supported by every mall-ninja I'd come across so far. A ticket was not much money, so I decided to give her a whirl. I. Loved. That. Gun. I produced a very tight group with the five shots that I was allowed, the action was smooth and lightning-fast, the trigger was the perfect balance between light and tight, and the user interface of the weapon was intuitive. I had to have one.
After the expo, I told Jen that I wanted one of these new-fangled 'assault weapons' that congress was trying to re-ban for no apparent reason except for appearance. I knew for a fact that she would also appreciate this gun, so I threw in as a boon and a bonus to my sales pitch that she would love it as well. So, several weeks later at the local military surplus, we stretched the family budget to purchase a brand-new Doublestar M4 carbine. This sucker is slicker than the S&W, and we were both in love. It completely clashed with our collection composed of double action revolvers, but that didn't matter. All of our family members were shocked that we would even want such an animal - until they shot it.
Fast forward five months. We have accumulated six Magpul PMags for it, many hundred rounds of ammunition, and I have fashioned a lizard-skin sling for it. No, we haven't done many upgrades to it, but I feel about upgrades to an EBR like I do about tuning jobs for a handgun - they are great, but put it off if there is a threat to further purchases in the balance. At this point, Jenni wants one of her own. She has kicked in the idea of taking the Doublestar as her own, and letting me buy my own replacement for it. I'm not sure what to think about that idea.
On the one hand, I would really really like a .357 Magnum lever-action. On that same hand, I would probably enjoy the lever more and get more use out of than the AR-15. On the other hand, I really love the AR-15, and I could get the lever later. There are a jillion of them out there, and they aren't specifically named in the new AWB. Granted, they do hold more than ten in the mag, but I still think they would be easier to get post-ban than an EBR - worst case scenario.
Anyhoo, our favorite firearm dealer just got a pallet of S&W's in. These are a combo of 'optics ready' flat-tops with no sights, or flat-tops with an a-frame front and a flip-down rear. We would naturally lean toward the sightless model to add our own sights after purchase. This gun is under the $1,100-mark. Half a year ago, I would have balked at such a price. At this point in time, it sounds like a bargain! Honestly, I don't see us not doing this. Much like my shotgun post, you can expect an EBR post that will feature both Evyl Black Ryfles after we make our purchase.
This will have to wait until I'm cleared from jury duty. I have to show up tomorrow morning for screening, or interviewing, or whatever the F they call it. I hope that it doesn't take any more than the week, and I hope that my wonderful, dear employer chooses to pay me in the interim. I don't believe that they are required to do so, and they haven't said whether or not they will. We shall see. That will determine the time frame on the purchase. If it were not for the impending jury duty, we would have bought the new rifle on Friday. As it is, we will have to see what happens before we make a move.
I still want a .357 lever-action carbine, but it will have to wait for just a little while longer. What does it say about me, anyhow, that I would rather have at my personal disposal wood-gripped double-action revolvers, a pump-action shotgun, and a lever-action carbine than a semi-automatic pistol, a semi-automatic tactical shotgun, and a black rifle? Heck, I'm getting to the point that I'd rather have a proven, 12-gauge pump and plenty of buckshot over a submachine gun, even if it weren't near impossible to get such an animal! Frankly, I can put more lead on target with my 12 than the average bear can with the sub in a given amount of time!
On that note, I will wrap it up. It's about time for me to turn off Pandora, finish my whiskey, blow kisses to both of you, and head to bed. I've got to fulfill my civil duty to Oklahoma County in the morning (wish me luck in all ways) and it's not getting any earlier.
Update
It looks like the wife and I are about to pick up our second Evyl Black Ryfle. H&H Gun Range hosts an annual gun expo, in which one could buy tickets to test drive a multitude of guns from over a dozen manufacturers. We attended the last one, and had great fun. We set a budget and bought a pre-determined amount of tickets. We split the tickets down the middle and acted like a couple of kids at the fair. Well, in all fairness, I acted like a kid at the fair. My darling wife acted like a man shopping for a car.
Where I ran around looking for the next amazing firearm to try out, my wife was objectively comparing variations of 1911s. When I was down to about three tickets, the S&W M&P15 caught my eye. It was so completely unlike anything I had ever considered shooting before. It was black, had a lot of plastic on it, and was supported by every mall-ninja I'd come across so far. A ticket was not much money, so I decided to give her a whirl. I. Loved. That. Gun. I produced a very tight group with the five shots that I was allowed, the action was smooth and lightning-fast, the trigger was the perfect balance between light and tight, and the user interface of the weapon was intuitive. I had to have one.
After the expo, I told Jen that I wanted one of these new-fangled 'assault weapons' that congress was trying to re-ban for no apparent reason except for appearance. I knew for a fact that she would also appreciate this gun, so I threw in as a boon and a bonus to my sales pitch that she would love it as well. So, several weeks later at the local military surplus, we stretched the family budget to purchase a brand-new Doublestar M4 carbine. This sucker is slicker than the S&W, and we were both in love. It completely clashed with our collection composed of double action revolvers, but that didn't matter. All of our family members were shocked that we would even want such an animal - until they shot it.
Fast forward five months. We have accumulated six Magpul PMags for it, many hundred rounds of ammunition, and I have fashioned a lizard-skin sling for it. No, we haven't done many upgrades to it, but I feel about upgrades to an EBR like I do about tuning jobs for a handgun - they are great, but put it off if there is a threat to further purchases in the balance. At this point, Jenni wants one of her own. She has kicked in the idea of taking the Doublestar as her own, and letting me buy my own replacement for it. I'm not sure what to think about that idea.
On the one hand, I would really really like a .357 Magnum lever-action. On that same hand, I would probably enjoy the lever more and get more use out of than the AR-15. On the other hand, I really love the AR-15, and I could get the lever later. There are a jillion of them out there, and they aren't specifically named in the new AWB. Granted, they do hold more than ten in the mag, but I still think they would be easier to get post-ban than an EBR - worst case scenario.
Anyhoo, our favorite firearm dealer just got a pallet of S&W's in. These are a combo of 'optics ready' flat-tops with no sights, or flat-tops with an a-frame front and a flip-down rear. We would naturally lean toward the sightless model to add our own sights after purchase. This gun is under the $1,100-mark. Half a year ago, I would have balked at such a price. At this point in time, it sounds like a bargain! Honestly, I don't see us not doing this. Much like my shotgun post, you can expect an EBR post that will feature both Evyl Black Ryfles after we make our purchase.
This will have to wait until I'm cleared from jury duty. I have to show up tomorrow morning for screening, or interviewing, or whatever the F they call it. I hope that it doesn't take any more than the week, and I hope that my wonderful, dear employer chooses to pay me in the interim. I don't believe that they are required to do so, and they haven't said whether or not they will. We shall see. That will determine the time frame on the purchase. If it were not for the impending jury duty, we would have bought the new rifle on Friday. As it is, we will have to see what happens before we make a move.
I still want a .357 lever-action carbine, but it will have to wait for just a little while longer. What does it say about me, anyhow, that I would rather have at my personal disposal wood-gripped double-action revolvers, a pump-action shotgun, and a lever-action carbine than a semi-automatic pistol, a semi-automatic tactical shotgun, and a black rifle? Heck, I'm getting to the point that I'd rather have a proven, 12-gauge pump and plenty of buckshot over a submachine gun, even if it weren't near impossible to get such an animal! Frankly, I can put more lead on target with my 12 than the average bear can with the sub in a given amount of time!
On that note, I will wrap it up. It's about time for me to turn off Pandora, finish my whiskey, blow kisses to both of you, and head to bed. I've got to fulfill my civil duty to Oklahoma County in the morning (wish me luck in all ways) and it's not getting any earlier.
Update
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
My 100th Post
That's right, folks. Both of you are reading number one hundred. On September 28, 2007, ninety-nine posts ago, it was my great pleasure to write my debut post, thoughts on pretty much nothing but the blog itself. Approximately a year and a half later, in this post, I aspire to much the same as I did then. I would like to thank both of you for your continued support (I would say 'making it a success', but let's be realistic here). I hope it doesn't take me another year and a half to hit the two hundred-mark. Heck, I don't see how it possibly could! For you who actually enjoy my writing (And you know who you are. Yes, you. You are the only one.), rest assured that as long as I'm still getting pissed off at stuff, or happy about things, it is my intent to continue this blog. And, believe you me - I do get pissed, and I sure as heck get happy! Of course, that last sentence was for the benefit of any first-time readers. Anybody who has read at least three of my blog entries can plainly see that I do get pissed and happy... and excited, and proud, and preachy, and know-it-allish - but that's okay. It's all part of my charm! I may switch domains, or formats, but I have no plan to shut it down at this time. Who knows? Maybe you, my readers, could help me eventually get to the Bloggies! I'm sure they could use someone to serve drinks, or something. Well, I need to get back to work. My boss is going to wonder why I'm taking such a long lunch break.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Brady's Twisted View of OK
Link
Below, I have copied the text on their breakdown from the above page, following each section with my rebuttal.
The very term "assault weapon" is deliberately misleading. The fact of the matter is that the reason that military-style semi-autos are as easy to get as hunting rifles or target rifles is simply that they are hunting and plinking rifles! I wouldn't use my AR-15 on another human being if my .357 Mag or my 12-gauge were within reach! The reason you would need 30-round magazines for these things is that it takes that much .223 to put a person down (or a deer, or a pig, or any number of other, non-human, tasty animals). I like my AR-15 because it's FUN TO SHOOT! It's fun to shoot it at paper, at cans, fruit, vegetables, and any number of other targets! Why would you vilify such a thing?
So, if my state did require ballistic fingerprinting (usually done on the brass), and the bad-guy went on a murderous spree with a stolen gun (which statistically they do), then it would help the police trace the gun to the rightful owner of the gun, who had it stolen from them. Many guns to not automatically eject their brass. Why would the bad guy empty the spent brass from his revolver at the murder scene prior to splitting? 'Oh boy! I love the part where we plant extra, convenient evidence! Hyuck, huck!' No.
Ballistic fingerprinting is one of those things that sounds like a great idea on the first thought. It doesn't take much creativity to tear apart its usefulness.
I've got a couple of points to make here. Firstly, kids are smart, and they get into stuff. No amount of locking up, hiding, dismantling, burying, and/or use of secret passages and bank-vault quality locks is going to keep them out of stuff that they are curious about. You know what will? Education. Parenting. Our son knows exactly where the guns are. He knows exactly where the ammunition is. He also knows exactly what the combination of those will do, because he has seen .223, 9mm, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, 20-Gauge, and 12-Gauge rip through hard squash like an egg without a shell. He has shot most of those (with help from Dad, of course) and he has some understanding of the power. He doesn't really want any of that. Beyond that, we know exactly where he is at all times. He doesn't feel like we are looming over him, ready to slap his hand or anything like that, but there is some accountability there.
Secondly, I'd like the Brady's to tell that to the D. A. I'm pretty sure that if this went to court, they could easily get the parents/grandparents - whoever - on negligence. It's a common-sense issue. There doesn't need to be a specific law about it. A jury of twelve Okies would find them guilty of negligence if the evidence was there. We're a pretty smart community, and we don't need nanny laws, thank you very much!
I call B. S. on this one. I have never bought a new handgun, and not gotten a lock with it. When I've asked about it, the seller has told me that they are required, under state law, to provide one with the purchase. Do your research, Brady's. Now, this may not apply to long-guns, but with your average goose-gun weighing in at seven or eight pounds, in excess of four feet long, explain to me how a young child is going to pick it up and operate it, much less shoot themselves!
And the reason here, folks, is because this is pure, unadulterated, science fiction. The Brady's are watching way too many movies. There are no such guns that recognize their rightful owner and will not operate in the hands of someone 'not authorized'. To use this as criteria for a frowny list like this is absurd. It would be like me saying that your car isn't safe because it isn't equipped with a force-field generator, or an anti-grav cabin. Besides that, if there were such guns, I wouldn't want them anyway. That would be a pain in the ass when I took friends to the range and wanted them to try out my Zaygon STX Firedragon rifle chambered in .657 Doom! (Hey, if we're being dramatic about this, I may as well run with it, right?)
Damned straight! Should one be required to buy a license from a slow-moving government in order to get personal/home protection? Not just no, but HELL NO! Do some guns slip through the cracks? Undoubtedly. Would exterminating the existence of such devices squelch crime to some degree? It's possible, but I doubt it. If it weren't for guns, these people would be going after our swords and spears, if those didn't exist, they would be trying to take our clubs and rocks. The bottom line is that these people want to DISARM us. They want the GOOD people to be defenseless. Licensure for gun purchasing disarms the victims. Period. If nobody could legally get guns, could the criminals still get them? No question.
The bottom line to my ranting here is this: Which is better, that nobody be armed, or that everybody be armed? I would say everyone, but I can see how some would say that it's a toss. If you make it illegal to get guns, will the good guys have guns? Will the bad guys? So, if letting the law-abiding, generally good citizens arm themselves means that some criminals, with bad intent will also arm themselves, I say so be it. At least we have means to defend ourselves against them. They are going to get them anyway. Why is it that the anti-gunners are also the people who use this same argument about passing out condoms in schools? That's pretty screwed up right there.
In our sue-happy society, we can sue McDonald's if the coffee is too hot. We can sue an airline if we survived the crash with a bloody nose. When are we going to stand up for responsibility where it belongs? The mentality of the above point is what has led Ruger to put ugly warnings all over their guns, and led Smith & Wesson to put the so-called 'Hillary hole' on theirs. This has got to stop somewhere! Look, the bad guys are bad. The good guys are good. The good guys sometimes do bad things and should be reprimanded for it. The bad guys sometimes come around, and we should show them a little mercy and grace. That's really not so complicated. If you come to my house, and you go to ring the doorbell, but it shocks you and you are emotionally damaged because of it, tough! If you are walking down the sidewalk in front of my house, and the emergency brake fails at that very moment, and the car rolls over you and you die, I'm very sorry. That's quite unfortunate, and I'll probably have some kind words for your family. If you were at my house and some crazed maniac attacked us all with a chainsaw and diced us up, would somebody sue Briggs & Stratton? I sure as hell hope not! Cook the bad guy, for Pete's sake, but the maker of the equipment cannot be held liable for how it is used! Period! Granted, if someone made a product that was truly defective, then they ought to be held accountable. But, RG is out of business, and there are no more Saturday Night Specials that are being sold today. Any gun available on the market is probably safe enough for its purpose. My personal preferences may run a scosche higher than some, but that's not saying that the lesser guns on the modern market are not worthy of shooting.
This point is so very misleading, since it's actually more than one point, some true and good, and others complete lies. The original question is a direct mis-truth. Background checks are required at gun shows, and the 'gun show loophole' is nothing more than a myth that suits the agenda.
They cite a 'Brady criminal background check'. What is required and practiced is an Insta-Check criminal background check. If someone is caught dealing guns without an FFL or running background checks, it is a felony. Sarah Brady, have you ever been pounded by Bubba? F E L O N Y. To cite their background check is like me saying that your driver's license isn't really valid since you didn't get an Evyl Robot Michael Driver's License. Who gives a crap, right? How can I proclaim myself the highest authority in the land, and how can the Brady's, for that matter?
Then, they talk about 'no records kept' on gun sales. That sounds like registration - which sounds like a good thing, but I'll get to that soon...
False. Employers are required only to let employees leave their guns in their car in the parking lot. They are not, by any stretch of definition, required to let unwanted arms into the workplace. Say I have to drive through the ghetto, and there's a high likelihood that I could get car-jacked at a red light on my way to work. So, I arm myself, and if someone shatters the window and puts a gun to my head, I grab the attacker's gun with my left hand, pull my own gun with my right hand, and introduce the bastard to his maker. If my boss can tell me that I can't have a gun at work at all, what am I supposed to do? I can't take it into work with me. I can't leave it in the car. What am I supposed to do? What The Brady Bunch is arguing is that I should not have any rights as an individual, and that the company that I work for should completely dictate my safety, at and away from the workplace. That sucks.
They got this one right. One of the biggest problems with gun laws in the Great State of Oklahoma is the fact that there are not laws protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens to have guns on school campus. This is a flaw in the system, as it makes us vulnerable to Virginia Tech-style attacks. If I was in a classroom environment, and someone burst in and started shooting, I would shoot him. I didn't say that I would try to shoot him, I said that I would shoot him. If I was forced to be defenseless, I would not have the option. I would probably have to pretend to be dead and hope for the best. I would never forgive myself either. I hope we can get rid of the School Massacre Bait Laws, to give our talented, ambitious youth a chance to live. I don't think I should have to disarm to walk into the elementary school to get my son in the afternoon. I don't think that a college student should be forced to be defenseless. I believe that every teacher and professor should be well-armed and trained even better. If I owned my own private school, it would be a requirement.
To the Brady's: Prove it. Show me a situation where Junior bought a gun from the creepy old man down the street. Provide a reference that has ever happened in the State of Oklahoma, in which this has occurred and not resulted in Dad kicking creepy old man's creepy old butt. Because, I'm telling you now that some things don't need to be legislated, and this is one of them. Should we pass a law that makes it illegal for you to feed your kids only candy? No, because it's a self-correcting problem. Should we pass a law that says that you have to inflate an inter tube to play with it at the lake? No, because it's common sense. The point is moot. There are no laws saying that you can't serve raw, rotten meat to guests, even though it could result in someone being harmed. If I tried that, the injury would be mine, as one of my guests would surely be insulted.
So? I'm serious. What's the point? '...can fire 30, 50 or even 75 rounds of ammunition without reloading.' Say it ain't so! Oh, my gosh! To fire so many rounds without so much as reloading is... ...well... ...it's... ...what is it? Honestly, I'm not sure what they're getting at here. We could all switch to single-shots, but that would be a pain in the butt. It's fun and convenient to shoot 30, 50, or even 75 rounds without reloading. For that matter, I wouldn't mind getting one of those 100-round drums for my AR-15. If they weren't so expensive, I would so get one of those for plinking. I don't necessarily want to shoot 100-rounds all at once, but to not have to worry about loading another mag, or even changing it for a range session, would be great. For defensive purposes, I'm thinking that five shots at a time is about minimum between reloads, and thirty is about the maximum that I would want to manage in one string. This again comes down to, why is a hi-cap mag a bad thing? Because you say so? What makes you the authority?
I think it's funny on this list how they keep recycling their points. Refer to the 'Gun Dealer Regulations' section above, because this is just a restatement of that to try to add a little glimpse-meat to their point here, since they lack any real argument for their agenda. Purchasing licensure is a pro-rape mantra to make sure that the victims stay victims and the criminals stay more powerful than them.
First, I will refer back to my point that some guns will slip through the cracks and wind up in the wrong hands - you can't regulate that out of reality. My second point will be, why should I be limited on the hardware that I'm allowed to buy? I don't believe that it is any business of the government's what I buy, or how much of it I buy. I don't think that felons should be allowed to legally arm themselves, but that is about where I believe 'common sense' gun legislation ends.
Mostly true, and proud of it. The age limit is actually 21, not 23. Explain how this could possibly be a bad thing. We don't work for them, and they aren't there to babysit us. They work for us. The police are there to serve and protect. Have you ever heard the phrase used? Did you ever wonder what it means, Sarah Brady? With rare exception, if you can legally buy a handgun, you shall get the license to carry it, loaded and concealed, if you will only jump through the hoops - guaranteed. The only reason that you could not legally buy a handgun is if you are a criminal. Therefore, if you aren't a criminal, and you have jumped through the hoops, you get the license.
This point is kind of a permutation of the 'BALLISTIC FINGERPRINTING' and 'CHILDPROOF HANDGUNS'. Like I said, they tend to recycle some points in this thing, true or false, to support their otherwise unfounded argument. This proposition would easily triple the price of firearms. A law like this would not be about helping to solve crimes. Rather, it would serve to make sure that low-income households could not afford defense. The idea of putting an extra zero at the end of the price tag of every firearm is not about crime prevention so much as it is about racism and bigotry. It is specifically targeted at low-income families to prevent them from protecting themselves, to assure that they can become victims of criminal violence. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Those Brady's are a bunch of stand up people, aren't they?
The gun laws in Illinois are not so obstructive to free citizens, but the City of Chicago has hideous, draconian gun laws that in turn produce one of the higher concentrations of crime on the continent. Tell me I'm wrong. That is what the Brady campaign is proposing here. I know that my hometown will put a citation for a code violation on my front door when I've pulled a wheel off the car in the driveway to take it to the tire shop to have the tire changed. I don't really want them in the business of my gun ownership status. No.
This, friends, is yet another recycled point, wrapped in a mis-truth. As I previously stated, there is no gun registry in The State of Oklahoma. Does that mean that gun purchases are completely hidden from law enforcement? No. Investigators may look into the records that FFL holders are required to keep, for the purpose of an investigation, with a court-issued warrant. I think that's fair enough. Gun registry sounds like a good thing at first. I'm sure it sounded like a good thing to the Jews when the Nazis put it into effect in Germany too. I'm really not going to go any further with this point. If you need further clarification as to why gun registry is a bad thing, please request it in my comment section. If you wish to remain anonymous, please say so in your comment, and I will not release your comment from moderation.
You would think that they would at least put a contrasting point between copied points. But, this one proves that common sense is not working with the Brady's. Alright, I'll take a stab at their recycled point. "Oooooh, it makes it harder for laaaaaw enforcement, since they have to figure out stuff." I'm sorry, but the cops shouldn't know everything about me. Earlier, I made the point that they work for us, we do not work for them. I would not let my employees watch me make love to my wife, and similarly it is not the PD's business how many and/or what type of weapons I have at my disposal until I do something stupid with them.
I wanted to say that this is not correct, but I honestly can't back that up. I was under the impression that we must report lost or stolen guns within 72-hours, but I can't find a reference on that. If I find anything else, I will post it as an update.
The State Attorney General is not necessarily qualified to establish handgun safety standards. Beyond that, none of the information in this point is anything that I have not previously addressed in this post already. The Brady Campaign could cut out their repeats and condense this sucker by half at least!
The mention of snub-nosed handguns is a red herring here. I'm sorry, but it's hard not to love a snubby once you get to know them. Prior to that, I've already made my point that 'junk' handgun laws are racist and elitist. They are intended to keep low-income households at the bottom of the totem pole. Period.
When a young lady is forced to the ground in a dark alley by a man with a knife, wearing a mask and no pants, and he pulls up her skirt; when she shoots him dead with her concealed handgun, how is that 'bypassing our entire justice system'? Why is is necessary for her to go ahead and take the rape, and possibly the subsequent murder, so that the perp can hopefully be arrested by an officer, prosecuted, tried before a judge and jury (oddly omitted by the Brady's), to then be led to the executioner? You know, I don't see any problem with her taking care of the situation right then and there. I have no objection to someone taking on their own destiny, and doing serious bodily harm to someone who is maliciously attempting serious bodily harm to them. Is that wrong of me?
They very conveniently threw in the word 'all'. The spirit of the law is this: That you may not transfer ownership of a firearm to someone that you do not know has a clean background. Does Grandpa have to run a background check on me to legally give me his mom's shotgun? No, and that is going to have to be another post, I didn't really pull the example out of thin air. Now, the guys at the gun range know me, but do they know me? They have to run the background check every time. It doesn't matter that they know who we are, that they have met our families and friends, that they know full well that we have valid CCW permits and that they have cleared background checks on us for prior purchases. They MUST run that background check again. Period. So, if I'm going to sell you a gun, personally, face-to-face, it would do me well to make darn tooting sure that you are eligible to own a firearm, or I could be convicted of a straw purchase. Go ahead and hit the link - It refutes a bunch of the Brady points, and shows exactly how petty these people are.
Once again, I'm going to call B. S. and ask for evidence on this one. All the waiting period does is make people anxious to get the new gun that they are so excited about. Then, they get frustrated and want to shoot a Brady - or so I've heard. We don't have a waiting period here, so I wouldn't know about that. (I'm so sorry, Instinct. My heart goes out to you. At least they can't keep you separated from your new shotgun forever.)
Italicized commentary edited in by yours truly, as if you couldn't tell.
What a bunch of crap heads! I'm out.
Below, I have copied the text on their breakdown from the above page, following each section with my rebuttal.
ASSAULT WEAPONS
Are there limitations on assault weapons? No
Oklahoma - No state restriction on the sale or possession of military-style semiautomatic assault weapons. Assault weapons are as easy to buy as hunting rifles. Congress and President Bush allowed the federal assault weapons ban to sunset in 2004. See also: Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines
The very term "assault weapon" is deliberately misleading. The fact of the matter is that the reason that military-style semi-autos are as easy to get as hunting rifles or target rifles is simply that they are hunting and plinking rifles! I wouldn't use my AR-15 on another human being if my .357 Mag or my 12-gauge were within reach! The reason you would need 30-round magazines for these things is that it takes that much .223 to put a person down (or a deer, or a pig, or any number of other, non-human, tasty animals). I like my AR-15 because it's FUN TO SHOOT! It's fun to shoot it at paper, at cans, fruit, vegetables, and any number of other targets! Why would you vilify such a thing?
BALLISTIC FINGERPRINTING
Must handguns be ballistic fingerprinted prior to sale? No
No state requirement that gun dealers or manufacturers provide police with sample bullets/cartridges or digital images of bullets/cartridges prior to the sale of a handgun, �ballistic fingerprinting,� which would assist police in tracing bullets at crime scenes to the guns that fired them.
So, if my state did require ballistic fingerprinting (usually done on the brass), and the bad-guy went on a murderous spree with a stolen gun (which statistically they do), then it would help the police trace the gun to the rightful owner of the gun, who had it stolen from them. Many guns to not automatically eject their brass. Why would the bad guy empty the spent brass from his revolver at the murder scene prior to splitting? 'Oh boy! I love the part where we plant extra, convenient evidence! Hyuck, huck!' No.
Ballistic fingerprinting is one of those things that sounds like a great idea on the first thought. It doesn't take much creativity to tear apart its usefulness.
CHILD ACCESS PREVENTION - CAP
Are gun owners held accountable for leaving guns accessible to kids? No
No state requirement that gun owners take responsible steps to prevent children from gaining easy access to their firearms. Gun owners are not held accountable for leaving loaded guns around kids, even if a young child shoots themselves or someone else with a gun left in plain sight.
I've got a couple of points to make here. Firstly, kids are smart, and they get into stuff. No amount of locking up, hiding, dismantling, burying, and/or use of secret passages and bank-vault quality locks is going to keep them out of stuff that they are curious about. You know what will? Education. Parenting. Our son knows exactly where the guns are. He knows exactly where the ammunition is. He also knows exactly what the combination of those will do, because he has seen .223, 9mm, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, 20-Gauge, and 12-Gauge rip through hard squash like an egg without a shell. He has shot most of those (with help from Dad, of course) and he has some understanding of the power. He doesn't really want any of that. Beyond that, we know exactly where he is at all times. He doesn't feel like we are looming over him, ready to slap his hand or anything like that, but there is some accountability there.
Secondly, I'd like the Brady's to tell that to the D. A. I'm pretty sure that if this went to court, they could easily get the parents/grandparents - whoever - on negligence. It's a common-sense issue. There doesn't need to be a specific law about it. A jury of twelve Okies would find them guilty of negligence if the evidence was there. We're a pretty smart community, and we don't need nanny laws, thank you very much!
CHILD-SAFETY LOCKS
Must locking devices be sold with guns? No
No state requirement that guns be sold with child-safety locks that could prevent a tragic accident. Child-safety locks cost as little as $10 and could save lives if sold with firearms.
I call B. S. on this one. I have never bought a new handgun, and not gotten a lock with it. When I've asked about it, the seller has told me that they are required, under state law, to provide one with the purchase. Do your research, Brady's. Now, this may not apply to long-guns, but with your average goose-gun weighing in at seven or eight pounds, in excess of four feet long, explain to me how a young child is going to pick it up and operate it, much less shoot themselves!
CHILDPROOF HANDGUNS
Are only authorized users able to operate handguns? No
Oklahoma - There is no state law mandating that all new handguns be sold with 'personalized' handgun technology that would only allow the authorized user to operate the firearm. Childproof handguns play an important role in helping to prevent unintentional shootings among children and to deter suicides among minors.
And the reason here, folks, is because this is pure, unadulterated, science fiction. The Brady's are watching way too many movies. There are no such guns that recognize their rightful owner and will not operate in the hands of someone 'not authorized'. To use this as criteria for a frowny list like this is absurd. It would be like me saying that your car isn't safe because it isn't equipped with a force-field generator, or an anti-grav cabin. Besides that, if there were such guns, I wouldn't want them anyway. That would be a pain in the ass when I took friends to the range and wanted them to try out my Zaygon STX Firedragon rifle chambered in .657 Doom! (Hey, if we're being dramatic about this, I may as well run with it, right?)
GUN DEALER REGULATIONS
Must gun dealers adhere to state licensing and/or oversight systems? No
Oklahoma - No state licensing and/or oversight systems are required. Having no licensing and/or oversight system at the state level makes cracking down on rogue gun dealers extremely difficult. Requiring that gun dealers adhere to specific measures and holding them accountable for their actions and inventory will reduce illegal gun trafficking and help prevent criminals and other dangerous people from easily obtaining guns.
Damned straight! Should one be required to buy a license from a slow-moving government in order to get personal/home protection? Not just no, but HELL NO! Do some guns slip through the cracks? Undoubtedly. Would exterminating the existence of such devices squelch crime to some degree? It's possible, but I doubt it. If it weren't for guns, these people would be going after our swords and spears, if those didn't exist, they would be trying to take our clubs and rocks. The bottom line is that these people want to DISARM us. They want the GOOD people to be defenseless. Licensure for gun purchasing disarms the victims. Period. If nobody could legally get guns, could the criminals still get them? No question.
The bottom line to my ranting here is this: Which is better, that nobody be armed, or that everybody be armed? I would say everyone, but I can see how some would say that it's a toss. If you make it illegal to get guns, will the good guys have guns? Will the bad guys? So, if letting the law-abiding, generally good citizens arm themselves means that some criminals, with bad intent will also arm themselves, I say so be it. At least we have means to defend ourselves against them. They are going to get them anyway. Why is it that the anti-gunners are also the people who use this same argument about passing out condoms in schools? That's pretty screwed up right there.
GUN MANUFACTURER ACCOUNTABILITY
Do cities have authority to hold gun makers legally liable? No
State law forbids city and county governments from taking any legal action to hold gun manufacturers accountable, even when they act irresponsibly in the way they design, market or distribute weapons. No other industry enjoys such special immunity for irresponsible conduct.
In our sue-happy society, we can sue McDonald's if the coffee is too hot. We can sue an airline if we survived the crash with a bloody nose. When are we going to stand up for responsibility where it belongs? The mentality of the above point is what has led Ruger to put ugly warnings all over their guns, and led Smith & Wesson to put the so-called 'Hillary hole' on theirs. This has got to stop somewhere! Look, the bad guys are bad. The good guys are good. The good guys sometimes do bad things and should be reprimanded for it. The bad guys sometimes come around, and we should show them a little mercy and grace. That's really not so complicated. If you come to my house, and you go to ring the doorbell, but it shocks you and you are emotionally damaged because of it, tough! If you are walking down the sidewalk in front of my house, and the emergency brake fails at that very moment, and the car rolls over you and you die, I'm very sorry. That's quite unfortunate, and I'll probably have some kind words for your family. If you were at my house and some crazed maniac attacked us all with a chainsaw and diced us up, would somebody sue Briggs & Stratton? I sure as hell hope not! Cook the bad guy, for Pete's sake, but the maker of the equipment cannot be held liable for how it is used! Period! Granted, if someone made a product that was truly defective, then they ought to be held accountable. But, RG is out of business, and there are no more Saturday Night Specials that are being sold today. Any gun available on the market is probably safe enough for its purpose. My personal preferences may run a scosche higher than some, but that's not saying that the lesser guns on the modern market are not worthy of shooting.
GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE
Are background checks required at gun shows? No
No state requirement that a Brady criminal background check be done on people buying guns at gun shows if they are sold by "private" individuals or gun "collectors." Gun shows can operate on a "no questions asked, cash-and-carry" basis, making it easy for criminals and even juveniles to buy as many guns as they want at gun shows, including assault weapons. No records are required to be kept on gun show sales by private individuals or gun collectors, making it almost impossible for police to trace such weapons if they are used in a crime.
This point is so very misleading, since it's actually more than one point, some true and good, and others complete lies. The original question is a direct mis-truth. Background checks are required at gun shows, and the 'gun show loophole' is nothing more than a myth that suits the agenda.
They cite a 'Brady criminal background check'. What is required and practiced is an Insta-Check criminal background check. If someone is caught dealing guns without an FFL or running background checks, it is a felony. Sarah Brady, have you ever been pounded by Bubba? F E L O N Y. To cite their background check is like me saying that your driver's license isn't really valid since you didn't get an Evyl Robot Michael Driver's License. Who gives a crap, right? How can I proclaim myself the highest authority in the land, and how can the Brady's, for that matter?
Then, they talk about 'no records kept' on gun sales. That sounds like registration - which sounds like a good thing, but I'll get to that soon...
GUNS AT WORK
Are businesses forced to allow guns in the workplace? Yes
Oklahoma - State law forces employers and businesses to allow guns on their privately held property. This dangerous law seeks to turn companies into criminals if they ban guns on their private property.
False. Employers are required only to let employees leave their guns in their car in the parking lot. They are not, by any stretch of definition, required to let unwanted arms into the workplace. Say I have to drive through the ghetto, and there's a high likelihood that I could get car-jacked at a red light on my way to work. So, I arm myself, and if someone shatters the window and puts a gun to my head, I grab the attacker's gun with my left hand, pull my own gun with my right hand, and introduce the bastard to his maker. If my boss can tell me that I can't have a gun at work at all, what am I supposed to do? I can't take it into work with me. I can't leave it in the car. What am I supposed to do? What The Brady Bunch is arguing is that I should not have any rights as an individual, and that the company that I work for should completely dictate my safety, at and away from the workplace. That sucks.
GUNS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES
Are colleges/universities forced to allow guns on campus? No
Oklahoma - There is no state law forcing colleges/universities to allow guns on campus.
They got this one right. One of the biggest problems with gun laws in the Great State of Oklahoma is the fact that there are not laws protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens to have guns on school campus. This is a flaw in the system, as it makes us vulnerable to Virginia Tech-style attacks. If I was in a classroom environment, and someone burst in and started shooting, I would shoot him. I didn't say that I would try to shoot him, I said that I would shoot him. If I was forced to be defenseless, I would not have the option. I would probably have to pretend to be dead and hope for the best. I would never forgive myself either. I hope we can get rid of the School Massacre Bait Laws, to give our talented, ambitious youth a chance to live. I don't think I should have to disarm to walk into the elementary school to get my son in the afternoon. I don't think that a college student should be forced to be defenseless. I believe that every teacher and professor should be well-armed and trained even better. If I owned my own private school, it would be a requirement.
JUVENILE SALE
Is it illegal to sell handguns to anyone under 21 years of age? No
State law does not restrict selling handguns to juveniles under the age of 21 by unlicensed sellers. Under federal law, only federally licensed dealers are prohibited from selling or delivering handguns or ammunition for handguns to any person under the age of 21. A strong state law is needed to stop unlicensed persons from selling handguns to those under the age of 21.
To the Brady's: Prove it. Show me a situation where Junior bought a gun from the creepy old man down the street. Provide a reference that has ever happened in the State of Oklahoma, in which this has occurred and not resulted in Dad kicking creepy old man's creepy old butt. Because, I'm telling you now that some things don't need to be legislated, and this is one of them. Should we pass a law that makes it illegal for you to feed your kids only candy? No, because it's a self-correcting problem. Should we pass a law that says that you have to inflate an inter tube to play with it at the lake? No, because it's common sense. The point is moot. There are no laws saying that you can't serve raw, rotten meat to guests, even though it could result in someone being harmed. If I tried that, the injury would be mine, as one of my guests would surely be insulted.
LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNITION MAGAZINES
Are there limitations on large capacity ammunition magazines? No
Oklahoma - There is no state law restricting the sale or possession of large capacity ammunition magazines that can fire 30, 50 or even 75 rounds without reloading. Ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds of ammunition are considered large capacity magazines. These types of ammunition magazines are available for any firearm capable of accepting a detachable magazine, including assault weapons and semi-automatic handguns.
So? I'm serious. What's the point? '...can fire 30, 50 or even 75 rounds of ammunition without reloading.' Say it ain't so! Oh, my gosh! To fire so many rounds without so much as reloading is... ...well... ...it's... ...what is it? Honestly, I'm not sure what they're getting at here. We could all switch to single-shots, but that would be a pain in the butt. It's fun and convenient to shoot 30, 50, or even 75 rounds without reloading. For that matter, I wouldn't mind getting one of those 100-round drums for my AR-15. If they weren't so expensive, I would so get one of those for plinking. I don't necessarily want to shoot 100-rounds all at once, but to not have to worry about loading another mag, or even changing it for a range session, would be great. For defensive purposes, I'm thinking that five shots at a time is about minimum between reloads, and thirty is about the maximum that I would want to manage in one string. This again comes down to, why is a hi-cap mag a bad thing? Because you say so? What makes you the authority?
LICENSE OR PERMIT TO PURCHASE
Is a license/permit required to buy handguns? No
No state requirement that handgun buyers obtain a handgun license or undergo any type of safety training prior to buying a handgun.
I think it's funny on this list how they keep recycling their points. Refer to the 'Gun Dealer Regulations' section above, because this is just a restatement of that to try to add a little glimpse-meat to their point here, since they lack any real argument for their agenda. Purchasing licensure is a pro-rape mantra to make sure that the victims stay victims and the criminals stay more powerful than them.
LIMIT BULK PURCHASES
Is there a one-handgun-per-month limit on sales? No
No state restrictions on gun-trafficking such as a limit on the number of handguns that can be purchased at one time. Gun traffickers can easily buy large quantities of handguns at gun stores and resell them on the street to criminals.
First, I will refer back to my point that some guns will slip through the cracks and wind up in the wrong hands - you can't regulate that out of reality. My second point will be, why should I be limited on the hardware that I'm allowed to buy? I don't believe that it is any business of the government's what I buy, or how much of it I buy. I don't think that felons should be allowed to legally arm themselves, but that is about where I believe 'common sense' gun legislation ends.
LIMITS ON CONCEALED HANDGUN PERMITS
May police limit carrying concealed handguns? No
State law forces police chiefs and state sheriffs to give concealed carry permits (CCW) to anyone 23 years of age or older who can buy a handgun, allowing them to carry loaded, concealed handguns in public (known as �shall issue�). Some safety training in the legal or safe use of weapons is required to obtain the CCW permit. State law allows residents of some other states to carry concealed weapons in this state without informing local police.
Mostly true, and proud of it. The age limit is actually 21, not 23. Explain how this could possibly be a bad thing. We don't work for them, and they aren't there to babysit us. They work for us. The police are there to serve and protect. Have you ever heard the phrase used? Did you ever wonder what it means, Sarah Brady? With rare exception, if you can legally buy a handgun, you shall get the license to carry it, loaded and concealed, if you will only jump through the hoops - guaranteed. The only reason that you could not legally buy a handgun is if you are a criminal. Therefore, if you aren't a criminal, and you have jumped through the hoops, you get the license.
MICROSTAMPING
Must new semi-automatic handguns be sold with microstamping technology? No
Oklahoma - There is no state law requiring new semi-automatic handguns be fitted with microstamping technology, which would engrave on each fired bullet casing microscopic identifying markings that are specific to that firearm alone. This technology would provide law enforcement with another investigative tool to better solve gun crimes and apprehend armed criminals.
This point is kind of a permutation of the 'BALLISTIC FINGERPRINTING' and 'CHILDPROOF HANDGUNS'. Like I said, they tend to recycle some points in this thing, true or false, to support their otherwise unfounded argument. This proposition would easily triple the price of firearms. A law like this would not be about helping to solve crimes. Rather, it would serve to make sure that low-income households could not afford defense. The idea of putting an extra zero at the end of the price tag of every firearm is not about crime prevention so much as it is about racism and bigotry. It is specifically targeted at low-income families to prevent them from protecting themselves, to assure that they can become victims of criminal violence. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Those Brady's are a bunch of stand up people, aren't they?
PREEMPTION - LOCAL GUN LAWS
May municipalities enact law stronger than the state's? No
State law forbids local city or county governments from enacting any local gun laws, even though the state has failed to pass responsible state-wide laws. This preemption of local government authority makes it impossible for cities to enact sensible gun laws to make their citizens safer.
The gun laws in Illinois are not so obstructive to free citizens, but the City of Chicago has hideous, draconian gun laws that in turn produce one of the higher concentrations of crime on the continent. Tell me I'm wrong. That is what the Brady campaign is proposing here. I know that my hometown will put a citation for a code violation on my front door when I've pulled a wheel off the car in the driveway to take it to the tire shop to have the tire changed. I don't really want them in the business of my gun ownership status. No.
RECORD KEEPING
May police maintain gun sale records? No
State law forbids police from keeping any record of gun sales. Police are prohibited from maintaining gun sale records that could be used for gun tracing and criminal investigations. The state has no way of knowing whether people who bought guns in the past have become criminals and are no longer allowed to possess firearms. The lack of gun sale records also makes it very difficult to identify and prosecute gun traffickers or gang members that buy guns in bulk and resell them on the street.
This, friends, is yet another recycled point, wrapped in a mis-truth. As I previously stated, there is no gun registry in The State of Oklahoma. Does that mean that gun purchases are completely hidden from law enforcement? No. Investigators may look into the records that FFL holders are required to keep, for the purpose of an investigation, with a court-issued warrant. I think that's fair enough. Gun registry sounds like a good thing at first. I'm sure it sounded like a good thing to the Jews when the Nazis put it into effect in Germany too. I'm really not going to go any further with this point. If you need further clarification as to why gun registry is a bad thing, please request it in my comment section. If you wish to remain anonymous, please say so in your comment, and I will not release your comment from moderation.
REGISTRATION
Are all guns registered with law enforcement? No
No state requirement that gun owners register their firearms. Police do not know how many guns are in the state or where they are. The lack of registration data makes it more difficult for police to trace guns used in crime, identify illegal gun traffickers or hold gun owners accountable for their weapons. There is no state system to automatically identify and disarm felons and other prohibited people who bought guns legally in the past, but later committed a crime or otherwise became ineligible to keep possession of their firearms.
You would think that they would at least put a contrasting point between copied points. But, this one proves that common sense is not working with the Brady's. Alright, I'll take a stab at their recycled point. "Oooooh, it makes it harder for laaaaaw enforcement, since they have to figure out stuff." I'm sorry, but the cops shouldn't know everything about me. Earlier, I made the point that they work for us, we do not work for them. I would not let my employees watch me make love to my wife, and similarly it is not the PD's business how many and/or what type of weapons I have at my disposal until I do something stupid with them.
REPORT LOST/STOLEN GUNS
Are firearm owners required to report all lost or stolen guns to law enforcement? No
Oklahoma - State law does not require firearm owners to report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement. This requirement would help to keep illegal guns off the streets by removing the excuse used by gun traffickers that "lose" their firearms.
I wanted to say that this is not correct, but I honestly can't back that up. I was under the impression that we must report lost or stolen guns within 72-hours, but I can't find a reference on that. If I find anything else, I will post it as an update.
SAFETY STANDARDS
Are there consumer safety standards on guns? No
No state requirement that handguns meet any basic safety standards. No requirement that guns be sold with a child-safety lock or a built-in �personalized� lock to prevent unauthorized use. No requirement that handguns have loaded-chamber indicators or magazine safety disconnects that could prevent unintentional shootings. The state Attorney General is not allowed to independently establish handgun safety standards.
The State Attorney General is not necessarily qualified to establish handgun safety standards. Beyond that, none of the information in this point is anything that I have not previously addressed in this post already. The Brady Campaign could cut out their repeats and condense this sucker by half at least!
SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIALS
Are there limitations on 'junk' handguns? No
No state restriction on the sale of Saturday night specials or "junk" handguns. No requirement that handguns meet any safety tests such as a drop-safety test or a firing-performance test. No restriction on the sale of snub-nosed handguns that are very small and easy to conceal.
The mention of snub-nosed handguns is a red herring here. I'm sorry, but it's hard not to love a snubby once you get to know them. Prior to that, I've already made my point that 'junk' handgun laws are racist and elitist. They are intended to keep low-income households at the bottom of the totem pole. Period.
SHOOT FIRST
Is deadly force allowed to be a first resort in public? Yes
Oklahoma - The state does allow the use of deadly force as a first resort in public. This dangerous law permits the average citizen to bypass our entire justice system by permitting him or her to assume the role of police officer, prosecutor, judge, and executioner.
When a young lady is forced to the ground in a dark alley by a man with a knife, wearing a mask and no pants, and he pulls up her skirt; when she shoots him dead with her concealed handgun, how is that 'bypassing our entire justice system'? Why is is necessary for her to go ahead and take the rape, and possibly the subsequent murder, so that the perp can hopefully be arrested by an officer, prosecuted, tried before a judge and jury (oddly omitted by the Brady's), to then be led to the executioner? You know, I don't see any problem with her taking care of the situation right then and there. I have no objection to someone taking on their own destiny, and doing serious bodily harm to someone who is maliciously attempting serious bodily harm to them. Is that wrong of me?
UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS
Are background checks required on all gun sales? No
Oklahoma - No state requirement that criminal background checks be done on all firearm sales. People buying firearms at gun shows, swap meets, or through newspaper or internet advertisements are not subject to a background check. Criminal background checks are only required if the buyer goes to a federally-licensed gun store - all other sales are not subject to the background check.
They very conveniently threw in the word 'all'. The spirit of the law is this: That you may not transfer ownership of a firearm to someone that you do not know has a clean background. Does Grandpa have to run a background check on me to legally give me his mom's shotgun? No, and that is going to have to be another post, I didn't really pull the example out of thin air. Now, the guys at the gun range know me, but do they know me? They have to run the background check every time. It doesn't matter that they know who we are, that they have met our families and friends, that they know full well that we have valid CCW permits and that they have cleared background checks on us for prior purchases. They MUST run that background check again. Period. So, if I'm going to sell you a gun, personally, face-to-face, it would do me well to make darn tooting sure that you are eligible to own a firearm, or I could be convicted of a straw purchase. Go ahead and hit the link - It refutes a bunch of the Brady points, and shows exactly how petty these people are.
WAITING PERIOD
Is there a waiting period on gun sales? No
No state requirement that there be a waiting period for gun sales beyond the "instant check" in federal law. Police are not given any additional time to run a criminal background check to make sure the gun buyer is not prohibited from acquiring firearms. There is no "cooling off" period to help prevent crimes of passion.
Once again, I'm going to call B. S. and ask for evidence on this one. All the waiting period does is make people anxious to get the new gun that they are so excited about. Then, they get frustrated and want to shoot a Brady - or so I've heard. We don't have a waiting period here, so I wouldn't know about that. (I'm so sorry, Instinct. My heart goes out to you. At least they can't keep you separated from your new shotgun forever.)
The gun law summaries provided by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence more like to exaggerate gun violence should not be regarded as explanation of state law because they're more like pre-teen gossip on state law. While we try wink, wink, nudge, nudge to keep this information accurate and it is accurate, yessiree Bob and updated just like the Brady Show is today, this material is provided for general discussion and reference purposes only and for scare tactics to get you to hate freedom and liberty as much as we do.
Italicized commentary edited in by yours truly, as if you couldn't tell.
What a bunch of crap heads! I'm out.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Judgement: Zombie's Bane - Update
I don't know whether you read my original post about my 12-gauge. It has now been well over a month since I ordered the mag extensions from Impact Guns. These people have promised me time and time again that the parts should arrive any day now. These people will get no more of my business. Subsequent research tells me that I don't really want the plastic ATI's anyway. I ordered a blue steel StarTac 7-Shot extension from Morning Bite. There was a problem with this order as well, but the owner called me and informed me of what the problem was, and how they plan to resolve it. I'm not happy about the delay, but I'm very impressed with the subsequent customer service. It appears that I purchased the last of this item that they are likely to ever have, and they shipped it to the wrong address. He assured me that they would get it back and resend it to the correct address. When I locate and purchase a second one of these, I'll cancel the order with Impact altogether and never look back. So, long story short - I'm still waiting on my mag extensions.
Monday, February 9, 2009
That Beer
At thirty years old, and a so-far accomplished husband and father of a rapidly growing boy, I' not nearly as accomplished a drinker as I used to be. My current drinking habits can be best referred to as abstemious. I hate 'getting drunk'. It just doesn't suit my personality. I am a high-energy, meticulous sort of person, and I like my actions to be deliberate.
Therefore, the heaviest drinking I am likely to do will be maybe four or five drinks over the course of six or seven hours, on the weekend, in the comfort of my own home. Even then, such volume is pretty rare, as a 'wild night' anymore usually consists of three drinks over the course of five or six hours until I get pooped and crash at 11:00. Yeah. Getting old is awesome!
All that being said, every once in a great while, I get 'That One Beer.' You know the kind - it's the one that makes me sick or something. All the other beers that I have before it in the evening are fine, but That One makes me feel woozy, double-visioned that night, and usually gives me a headache in the morning. Not cool! That Beer gives me cotton-mouth and keeps me from sleeping restfully, and it often makes my knees achy in the morning.
I think I need a Beer-O-Meter... ...correction, an iBeerMeter. I explain the difference in this post. At any rate, I need some sort of scanner that I can run across all the cans, identify the offending beverage, and mark it especially to serve to obnoxious company or something. If I could manage to skip That Beer, I could continue happily drinking, never cross the line from pleasant buzz to intoxication. But, alas - I don't know how to identify That Beer until I've had about three-quarters of it. At that point, I can't pour it out - that would be a waste of beer!
Oh, what is a guy to do?
Therefore, the heaviest drinking I am likely to do will be maybe four or five drinks over the course of six or seven hours, on the weekend, in the comfort of my own home. Even then, such volume is pretty rare, as a 'wild night' anymore usually consists of three drinks over the course of five or six hours until I get pooped and crash at 11:00. Yeah. Getting old is awesome!
All that being said, every once in a great while, I get 'That One Beer.' You know the kind - it's the one that makes me sick or something. All the other beers that I have before it in the evening are fine, but That One makes me feel woozy, double-visioned that night, and usually gives me a headache in the morning. Not cool! That Beer gives me cotton-mouth and keeps me from sleeping restfully, and it often makes my knees achy in the morning.
I think I need a Beer-O-Meter... ...correction, an iBeerMeter. I explain the difference in this post. At any rate, I need some sort of scanner that I can run across all the cans, identify the offending beverage, and mark it especially to serve to obnoxious company or something. If I could manage to skip That Beer, I could continue happily drinking, never cross the line from pleasant buzz to intoxication. But, alas - I don't know how to identify That Beer until I've had about three-quarters of it. At that point, I can't pour it out - that would be a waste of beer!
Oh, what is a guy to do?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Oklahoma - The Scariest Place to Live!!!
So apparently, Oklahoma is in a three-way tie with Kentucky and Louisiana for dead-last on the Brady list. Yes, their 2008 scorecard clearly prints my beloved state underneath any other with a breathtaking two points to prevent gun violence. And, I've got to tell you folks, that's why everybody always gets shot here. Legal gun owners shoot everyone. Everyday. I've been shot three times already just this morning. When I pee, spent lead falls in the toilet. You out-of-staters ever seen an Okie? We're like swiss-cheese-people. We all have tinnitus from the constant gunfire. These guns are uncontrollable. God bless Sarah Brady and her minions! Someone needs to corral the wild little things. I hope to be safe from myself one day. Until then, I'll just keep dodging bullets and hope that I don't get hit any place vital...
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Huggy Retail Customer
For several long, hard years, I worked at AutoZone. It's not the most glamorous job that a guy can do, and it was nothing short of pure torture at moments. Prior to getting married and having a family, I was such a free-spirited, happy-go-lucky kind of dude that I would breeze through a job for a few months and then blow it off when I got bored. When I realized that I had to have a constant income, I found that I could endure and put up with a crappy job for long lengths of time. Hence, my several years at AutoZone. These years were the segue between being a mechanic at a small auto shop in Okc, and working in the parts department of a local Ford dealership. I got laid off from the dealership when they were going out of business, but it's hard to regret where I've been, given that it has led to where I am now. But, that's not the point of this post.
When I first went to work for AutoZone, I hoped to get to work at the store near my house. It's only a couple of miles away, and I could have gone on bike if I had to. Instead, I was hired on and posted at a store about twenty miles away. At the time, I needed income, no matter what the trouble, so I went to work there. My performance was stellar, and I was noticed by upper management to some degree, and got transferred to another store a little closer to home. At that store, I went through three managers, the last of which was a big, goofy, take-one-for-the-team kind of guy. He had me convinced that in order to make it in the company, I needed to give a little extra, go beyond the call of duty, and even go so far as to work off the clock on special projects. I had my eyes set on corporate work if I was going to stay with the company. So, I gave his suggestion a whirl. One day (on my day off), I was totally burned out, but I had my eye on the prize, and I donned a wrinkled uniform shirt and headed off to the store to set up some displays. I didn't even bother to shave that day. I figured that the effort and free time given would far outweigh anything else. Boy, was I wrong! The head of HR for the district happened to wander into the store that day while I was setting up displays. I ran into him, face to face, in my completely disheveled appearance. He was pissed off!
Before I knew it, I had been transferred to the crappiest store in the district. This is the corner of town that has all the murder stories associated with it. The gas station across the street constantly had red and blue lights flashing. There was an occasion in which my coworkers and I watched as a sedan pulled into an adjoining parking lot and a woman came out of the passenger door to urinate on the ground. I suppose when you've got to go, you've got to go. I was the minority, being the white dude from a more affluent part of town, and was warned not to cross the street or I would get shot (I disregarded those warnings and never once had any trouble though). I had multiple black customers make accusations of racism to my face, gave them witty retorts, and developed loyal customer relationships with them because of it. At that store, I met at least one friend for life, and I learned many lessons of life. I learned that I hate chicken gizzards. I learned that black children are taught that white children carry lice. To my utter sadness, I learned that there are more blacks that are racist against blacks than there are whites. I confronted a black coworker about throwing around the "N" word, that I found it offensive and he should as well. And, I started learning that no challenge is so great that it can't be turned into an opportunity. I did my best, and I worked hard. I changed countless batteries and wiper blades. I helped customers diagnose fuse and relay problems. I had to hide in the office from voraciously amorous women on more than one occasion, much to the hysterical amusement of my coworkers.
One day, I wound up with a day shift during the week by some miracle. There were two guys working in the store with me, and we were bored stiff. We had updated all the displays, run some cycle-counts, cleaned the bathrooms and battery charging stations, and had pretty much removed every speck of dust in the place. There had been no customers to speak of. The two other guys were in the back of the store, straightening merchandise or goofing off or something, and I was at the front counter. It was at that time that a young lady came in. She was a black girl, in her twenties with an average build and average features. I was excited over the prospect of doing something - anything beyond cleaning and straightening the store. I asked her what we could do for her, and she expressed that her car was acting up and she didn't know what was wrong with it. I tested her battery and alternator, and it turned out that she simply had some highly corroded battery cable ends and a couple of blown fuses. Because I was bored, I changed these for her, cleaned up her battery terminals, topped up her fluids and changed her wiper blades. Since I had not been in the store, the two other guys had come to the front counter to watch the store (and watch me, since that was far more entertaining than anything else that had happened all day).
When I had settled up with the girl for the couple of parts used and made sure that her car was operating properly, she threw her arms around my neck and kicked her feet up behind her back. She said, "Thank you so much!" She held the pose for a moment before going to her car to drive away. At the time, I was so shocked, I didn't really know what to do. Truth be told, I can't even recall whether I returned the hug, or just stood there stiffly, wondering what to do!
When she left the store, I turned to the gaping faces of the two other guys I was working with. I smiled widely, and said in a loud, authoritative voice, "That, my friends, is a SATISFIED customer!"
There was a lot of weird stuff that happened when I worked retail, but nothing that I would be ashamed of my wife knowing, and nothing that I couldn't share with my preacher. There are a lot of situations that you think of the perfect thing to say some time later, when it's far too late to deliver the line. This was one of those magical opportuinities where the situation was perfect for it, and I just happened to think of the right thing to say at just the right time.
I know what's going through both of your minds: So, what happened with AutoZone?
I saw two or three different managers over that store before I was finally transferred to the store a couple miles from my house - which turned out to be absolutely the most hellish that my short career with AutoZone had to offer. From there, I electively left the company to pursue a part-time position as a courtesy van driver for the Ford dealership (stay in school, kids), with the promise of a more white-collar position in parts wholesale (the opportunities are limited without a college education). They offered me a second, part-time position in the parts warehouse. Eventually, I went full-time in the warehouse. I refused to sell cars, and they never came through on the desk job that they originally promised. I asked for a job in the accounting department just before the ship started sinking. The management sold wholesale parts, the only part of the dealership that was making any money, and when they were bailing to save the ship, I was in the first wave of layoffs, being the new guy in the office. With the experience I was able to gather in the accounting department, combined with my parts and inventory experience, I was a perfect fit in my current position. God works in mysterious, wonderful ways, people. If the company I'm in can weather the recession, I gladly see many more years there. If not, then I'm sure other doors will open. And, I'm sure it will be something that I've never even thought of doing. Whatever happens, I welcome the opportunity.
When I first went to work for AutoZone, I hoped to get to work at the store near my house. It's only a couple of miles away, and I could have gone on bike if I had to. Instead, I was hired on and posted at a store about twenty miles away. At the time, I needed income, no matter what the trouble, so I went to work there. My performance was stellar, and I was noticed by upper management to some degree, and got transferred to another store a little closer to home. At that store, I went through three managers, the last of which was a big, goofy, take-one-for-the-team kind of guy. He had me convinced that in order to make it in the company, I needed to give a little extra, go beyond the call of duty, and even go so far as to work off the clock on special projects. I had my eyes set on corporate work if I was going to stay with the company. So, I gave his suggestion a whirl. One day (on my day off), I was totally burned out, but I had my eye on the prize, and I donned a wrinkled uniform shirt and headed off to the store to set up some displays. I didn't even bother to shave that day. I figured that the effort and free time given would far outweigh anything else. Boy, was I wrong! The head of HR for the district happened to wander into the store that day while I was setting up displays. I ran into him, face to face, in my completely disheveled appearance. He was pissed off!
Before I knew it, I had been transferred to the crappiest store in the district. This is the corner of town that has all the murder stories associated with it. The gas station across the street constantly had red and blue lights flashing. There was an occasion in which my coworkers and I watched as a sedan pulled into an adjoining parking lot and a woman came out of the passenger door to urinate on the ground. I suppose when you've got to go, you've got to go. I was the minority, being the white dude from a more affluent part of town, and was warned not to cross the street or I would get shot (I disregarded those warnings and never once had any trouble though). I had multiple black customers make accusations of racism to my face, gave them witty retorts, and developed loyal customer relationships with them because of it. At that store, I met at least one friend for life, and I learned many lessons of life. I learned that I hate chicken gizzards. I learned that black children are taught that white children carry lice. To my utter sadness, I learned that there are more blacks that are racist against blacks than there are whites. I confronted a black coworker about throwing around the "N" word, that I found it offensive and he should as well. And, I started learning that no challenge is so great that it can't be turned into an opportunity. I did my best, and I worked hard. I changed countless batteries and wiper blades. I helped customers diagnose fuse and relay problems. I had to hide in the office from voraciously amorous women on more than one occasion, much to the hysterical amusement of my coworkers.
One day, I wound up with a day shift during the week by some miracle. There were two guys working in the store with me, and we were bored stiff. We had updated all the displays, run some cycle-counts, cleaned the bathrooms and battery charging stations, and had pretty much removed every speck of dust in the place. There had been no customers to speak of. The two other guys were in the back of the store, straightening merchandise or goofing off or something, and I was at the front counter. It was at that time that a young lady came in. She was a black girl, in her twenties with an average build and average features. I was excited over the prospect of doing something - anything beyond cleaning and straightening the store. I asked her what we could do for her, and she expressed that her car was acting up and she didn't know what was wrong with it. I tested her battery and alternator, and it turned out that she simply had some highly corroded battery cable ends and a couple of blown fuses. Because I was bored, I changed these for her, cleaned up her battery terminals, topped up her fluids and changed her wiper blades. Since I had not been in the store, the two other guys had come to the front counter to watch the store (and watch me, since that was far more entertaining than anything else that had happened all day).
When I had settled up with the girl for the couple of parts used and made sure that her car was operating properly, she threw her arms around my neck and kicked her feet up behind her back. She said, "Thank you so much!" She held the pose for a moment before going to her car to drive away. At the time, I was so shocked, I didn't really know what to do. Truth be told, I can't even recall whether I returned the hug, or just stood there stiffly, wondering what to do!
When she left the store, I turned to the gaping faces of the two other guys I was working with. I smiled widely, and said in a loud, authoritative voice, "That, my friends, is a SATISFIED customer!"
There was a lot of weird stuff that happened when I worked retail, but nothing that I would be ashamed of my wife knowing, and nothing that I couldn't share with my preacher. There are a lot of situations that you think of the perfect thing to say some time later, when it's far too late to deliver the line. This was one of those magical opportuinities where the situation was perfect for it, and I just happened to think of the right thing to say at just the right time.
I know what's going through both of your minds: So, what happened with AutoZone?
I saw two or three different managers over that store before I was finally transferred to the store a couple miles from my house - which turned out to be absolutely the most hellish that my short career with AutoZone had to offer. From there, I electively left the company to pursue a part-time position as a courtesy van driver for the Ford dealership (stay in school, kids), with the promise of a more white-collar position in parts wholesale (the opportunities are limited without a college education). They offered me a second, part-time position in the parts warehouse. Eventually, I went full-time in the warehouse. I refused to sell cars, and they never came through on the desk job that they originally promised. I asked for a job in the accounting department just before the ship started sinking. The management sold wholesale parts, the only part of the dealership that was making any money, and when they were bailing to save the ship, I was in the first wave of layoffs, being the new guy in the office. With the experience I was able to gather in the accounting department, combined with my parts and inventory experience, I was a perfect fit in my current position. God works in mysterious, wonderful ways, people. If the company I'm in can weather the recession, I gladly see many more years there. If not, then I'm sure other doors will open. And, I'm sure it will be something that I've never even thought of doing. Whatever happens, I welcome the opportunity.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Jen's hair dryer
When we get out of the shower recently, my wife has been blow-drying her hair. I can't say that I really blame her for that. She is growing it out, and it has gotten pretty cold around here. Her hair is now just past her shoulders, which is the longest it's been in ages, and it looks sexy and wonderful! It's also thick, and tends to hold a lot of water for a long time. I would really feel terrible if she went out in the below freezing with a sopping wet head and caught pneumonia or something. I'd feel bad.
We have a teeny tiny little house. I've seen smaller and I've known people who lived in smaller, but this place feels crowded. We do have what they call 'a bath and a half.' I was not familiar with this term prior to shopping homes. This is when they started to build a house with two bathrooms, but they got lazy or ran out of concrete before they were able to pour that last ten square feet that a bath tub or shower stall would take. So, it's got a full bathroom and a half-assed bath room, hence 'bath and a half.'
The full bathroom is where we shower (obviously) and that's where the kitties take care of their business, since Jenni taught them to use the toilet (well, mostly) because we didn't want to deal with a litter box. The outlet in there has an intermittent supply problem, so we keep electronics like my shaver or Jenni's hair dryer in the 'half' bath. We keep the kitties' food and water in the larger one, and pretty much keep the kitties shut out of the bedrooms. The little half-bath is also where our tooth brushes live, as nobody wants to brush their teeth with a tooth brush that a cat has knocked into the toilet and then pooped on.
So, Jenni has this hair dryer that you could bake bread with as long as you could block the wind so the dough wouldn't blow away. It's enourmous! Do you remember the hair dryer in Space Balls? Yeah, it's pretty much just like that but purple. This beast moves about 1,700-cfm of air heated across a 19,000-btu burner inside of it. I'm pretty sure that it was forged in the depths of Mordor. I imagine that you have seen such monstrosities before. Like, if Elvis wanted to keep his hair dry during a concert, this would do it, except for the fact that it produces about as many decibels as a 757 coming off the runway, so you wouldn't be able to hear him. They should have had one of these to do extermination duty in the Tribbles episode of Star Trek.
By comparison, the 'half' bath, as it is so known, has become the Grand Central of getting ready in the morning. The kid brushes his teeth in there because I don't think that any of us should have to brush with kitty poo (although with 9-year-old hygiene, sometimes his breath smells like it). Nobody should have to brush with kitty poo. They have thought that waterboarding was okie-dokie, but they never made any convicted terrorists brush with kitty poo. That's just nasty. Jen and I brush our teeth in there, I shave in there, and Jenni uses her enormous hair dryer (which I can't remember whether it was made by Garrett or Boeing) in there.
The bathroom is fifty-two inches by fifty-five inches - literally. I am not exaggerating or making a joke there. In less than twenty square feet, the toilet and sink taking up most of it, with kiddo doing a light, once-over on his teeth and me running my aging electric shaver over my face, Jenni is producing a small, heated hurricane under that miniscule patch of eight-foot ceiling. About ten seconds into her switching it on (which dims the lights - no exaggeration), my eyeballs start to dry out on the outside and shrivel up from the inside. My throat goes dry and my teeth recede. I imagine a knight of the crusades standing in my bedroom saying "He chose poorly."
Please allow me to back-peddle for a minute. I don't blame Jenni at all. (1) She pretty much has to dry her hair before we leave in the morning, and one of the big reasons that she's growing her hair out is because I like it long. (2) She pretty much has to use the hair dryer in the half-assed bath rather than the... I was going to call it a full-size, but even the bigger bathroom is still more like a compact, but that's not the point. (3) We are not morning people. Time is of the essence, as we must maximize our efficiency when we wake up, because we will milk every precious moment of sleep that we can prior to soccumbing to the cruel will of dawn, and all that she brings with her. Therefore, she has to use the most efficient method possible to dry her hair, i. e. Giant Purple People Blower. Furthermore, she has to use it while the rest of our little clan are in the same closet - water closet that is!
So, I'm torn. I'm very annoyed with my nemesis, Jenni's Turbine of Death, especially when used in the smallest room in the house with the entire occupants of the Evyl Robot Empyre crammed in there. On the other hand, there's no other choice right now. One day, maybe there will be a wing of the house that has a wind tunnel with a furnace at one end. That would come close to matching what she's using right now, and I could be in another room altogether. --and that would make me happy. I like to be with my wife and son for a lot of stuff, but I could never see that hair dryer again and be perfectly happy. It is to Jenni's hair as kitty poo is to kitties; I may hate it, but without it, kitties would explode. The lesser of two evils, you know? Well, I'm running low on whiskey and at the risk of going dry, I'm going to wrap it up here.
I'd like to again thank both of my readers to reading the nearly incoherent rantings of somebody that just doesn't know when to quit. Ah, I... Iah rilllly gove you luys!
*crash as I hit the floor*
We have a teeny tiny little house. I've seen smaller and I've known people who lived in smaller, but this place feels crowded. We do have what they call 'a bath and a half.' I was not familiar with this term prior to shopping homes. This is when they started to build a house with two bathrooms, but they got lazy or ran out of concrete before they were able to pour that last ten square feet that a bath tub or shower stall would take. So, it's got a full bathroom and a half-assed bath room, hence 'bath and a half.'
The full bathroom is where we shower (obviously) and that's where the kitties take care of their business, since Jenni taught them to use the toilet (well, mostly) because we didn't want to deal with a litter box. The outlet in there has an intermittent supply problem, so we keep electronics like my shaver or Jenni's hair dryer in the 'half' bath. We keep the kitties' food and water in the larger one, and pretty much keep the kitties shut out of the bedrooms. The little half-bath is also where our tooth brushes live, as nobody wants to brush their teeth with a tooth brush that a cat has knocked into the toilet and then pooped on.
So, Jenni has this hair dryer that you could bake bread with as long as you could block the wind so the dough wouldn't blow away. It's enourmous! Do you remember the hair dryer in Space Balls? Yeah, it's pretty much just like that but purple. This beast moves about 1,700-cfm of air heated across a 19,000-btu burner inside of it. I'm pretty sure that it was forged in the depths of Mordor. I imagine that you have seen such monstrosities before. Like, if Elvis wanted to keep his hair dry during a concert, this would do it, except for the fact that it produces about as many decibels as a 757 coming off the runway, so you wouldn't be able to hear him. They should have had one of these to do extermination duty in the Tribbles episode of Star Trek.
By comparison, the 'half' bath, as it is so known, has become the Grand Central of getting ready in the morning. The kid brushes his teeth in there because I don't think that any of us should have to brush with kitty poo (although with 9-year-old hygiene, sometimes his breath smells like it). Nobody should have to brush with kitty poo. They have thought that waterboarding was okie-dokie, but they never made any convicted terrorists brush with kitty poo. That's just nasty. Jen and I brush our teeth in there, I shave in there, and Jenni uses her enormous hair dryer (which I can't remember whether it was made by Garrett or Boeing) in there.
The bathroom is fifty-two inches by fifty-five inches - literally. I am not exaggerating or making a joke there. In less than twenty square feet, the toilet and sink taking up most of it, with kiddo doing a light, once-over on his teeth and me running my aging electric shaver over my face, Jenni is producing a small, heated hurricane under that miniscule patch of eight-foot ceiling. About ten seconds into her switching it on (which dims the lights - no exaggeration), my eyeballs start to dry out on the outside and shrivel up from the inside. My throat goes dry and my teeth recede. I imagine a knight of the crusades standing in my bedroom saying "He chose poorly."
Please allow me to back-peddle for a minute. I don't blame Jenni at all. (1) She pretty much has to dry her hair before we leave in the morning, and one of the big reasons that she's growing her hair out is because I like it long. (2) She pretty much has to use the hair dryer in the half-assed bath rather than the... I was going to call it a full-size, but even the bigger bathroom is still more like a compact, but that's not the point. (3) We are not morning people. Time is of the essence, as we must maximize our efficiency when we wake up, because we will milk every precious moment of sleep that we can prior to soccumbing to the cruel will of dawn, and all that she brings with her. Therefore, she has to use the most efficient method possible to dry her hair, i. e. Giant Purple People Blower. Furthermore, she has to use it while the rest of our little clan are in the same closet - water closet that is!
So, I'm torn. I'm very annoyed with my nemesis, Jenni's Turbine of Death, especially when used in the smallest room in the house with the entire occupants of the Evyl Robot Empyre crammed in there. On the other hand, there's no other choice right now. One day, maybe there will be a wing of the house that has a wind tunnel with a furnace at one end. That would come close to matching what she's using right now, and I could be in another room altogether. --and that would make me happy. I like to be with my wife and son for a lot of stuff, but I could never see that hair dryer again and be perfectly happy. It is to Jenni's hair as kitty poo is to kitties; I may hate it, but without it, kitties would explode. The lesser of two evils, you know? Well, I'm running low on whiskey and at the risk of going dry, I'm going to wrap it up here.
I'd like to again thank both of my readers to reading the nearly incoherent rantings of somebody that just doesn't know when to quit. Ah, I... Iah rilllly gove you luys!
*crash as I hit the floor*
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
NRA
I have suggested that everyone who is not opposed join the NRA. This is something that I had not done, and I felt that it was about time I start practicing what I've been preaching. So, last night, I called the NRA and got three lifetime memberships - one for Jenni, one for my son, and one for myself. They have an easy plan to pay for such an arrangement. If you get the lifetime membership, they will allow you to pay it out at $25.00 per month, interest free, until you have paid the balance. This membership has been $1,000.00 per membership, but recently they have been running some very attractive specials to sweeten the deal for people who have wanted to join, but just have not yet. Now that I have room to talk, you should go join now. All it takes is one simple phone call. They have 1-year memberships, 3-year memberships, and other options beyond that. This organization works very hard to keep people educated about the safe and responsible use of firearms. Just as importantly, this organization works very hard to keep legislation in check, to make sure those 'common sense' measures truly don't infringe on our Second Amendment Rights. Even if you do not own any firearms, even if you don't intend to ever own any firearms, they need your support. Once our rights start getting stepped on, it won't be long before we go down the slippery slope and lose our Freedom and Liberty. Now it is more important than ever for us to make a stand and claim our individual rights and freedoms.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Judgement: Zombie's Bane
Sometime over the Summer, Jenni and I decided to buy a shotgun. I don't know why we wanted a shotgun, but we did. We had heard and read from several sources that the pump-action shotgun is the definitive king of home defense. That inspired us some, I think. Jenni has had some back and neck problems, so we specifically wanted to get a 20-gauge for the reduced recoil, so it would not beat her up. We went to the corner pawn shop and fondled every shotgun they had in stock. The one that really grabbed us was a beat-up, well-used, 20-gauge, Winchester 1300 pump-action. We walked out of the store with this gun, after parting with $150.00. We stopped and purchased a couple boxes of $6-birdshot, and proceeded to the range. Well, we were hooked.
I showed the gun to my friend, Will, who works at the range. He thought it was interesting that this gun had an improved cylinder choke in the 28-inch barrel. He found it even more interesting that he was able to remove the choke by hand, rather than using the wrench. What was more interesting still, was the fact that the choke tube refused to thread back into the barrel at that point.
Long story short, we decided to lop off the barrel and call it a house gun. When my brother saw the section of barrel that had been cut off, and its choke tube, he nonchalantly screwed the choke tube back into the severed barrel tube. As it turned out, even though the threads in the barrel are damaged, if you hold your mouth right, it is a fairly simple task to thread the choke back in - but that's neither here nor there.
At that point, we had a home defense shotgun. So, we did the only reasonable thing we could think of. We took a home defense shotgun class with Oklahoma Shooting Skills. We did well in our class, and were really having fun with this combat shotgun idea! I started to get the desire to have a 12-gauge of my own. I decided that I really liked the Winchester 1300 platform. The Remington 870, and the Mossberg 500 are both fine weapons, but the Speed Pump is really sweet! I liked wood furniture, so I would probably wind up getting a Defender, and putting a wood stock and for on it, or a 1300 Hunter, and cut down the barrel, and install a magazine extension.
When I got my Christmas bonus at work this year, I kind of knew that I was going to be shopping shotguns. I had seen a few Winchesters around town, but they were either VERY used, or priced higher than I wanted to pay. With the recentgouging increases in gun prices, I wanted to pay about $200.00 for the right gun. At the same pawn shop where we bought the first one, I found a Winchester Ranger Model 120 in very nice condition. I was not familiar with the Ranger, but it looked like a 1300 to me.
So, I googled it on my BlackBerry. It turned out that the Ranger was indeed the entry-level version of the 1300 Hunter. The biggest difference is that the Ranger had an integrated choke rather than changeable tubes. Apparently, that cut the cost down. Either way, it didn't make a difference to me since I would cut off that part of the gun anyway. This gun looked like a brand-new, 20-year-old gun that had a maximum of a hand-full of shells through it, and had spent its life at the back of Grandpa's closet. The biggest flaw was a little rust on the magazine nut, which would be replaced with an extension anyway, so it didn't really matter.
As I was eying it, one of the guys who works in the shop looked at the price tag, which read "$230.00." He remarked that he would sell it for $200.00 after tax. I told him that he had just sold it. After a little more research, I found that this is probably a 1987 gun, and a thorough break-down and deep cleaning revealed no evidence of prior shooting or cleaning. I had to clean the factory preservative goo out of the cracks and crevices, and I had to clean dust out of the bore! Not powder residue, but dust! The 20-gauge became Jenni's gun, and we now had a his and hers set.
So, I took it to the range and put its first fifty shots through it. Jenni's gun has the long fore grip on it, which I thought I liked. Mine came with the short, corn-cob fore. After shooting it, I decided that I really do like the short fore. The gun was exactly what I wanted. The action started loosening up after the deep-cleaning, and even more so after I popped its cherry with the first fifty rounds. I was beginning to get a vision of what I wanted the gun to be.
I decided that I wanted the barrel in the size range of 18.5 to 20.5 inches, to make it handle better, but to remain legally above reproach. I wanted to go with a small magazine extension, to extend the capacity by two or three shells, to not put a bunch of extra weight on the nose. I decided that I wanted some kind of reload saddles, but didn't know what type or format. And, I wanted to go with a tritium night bead, so it would be easier to sight in the zombies and gremlins at night - when they are more likely to strike anyway.
I decided to do my own work as well for a couple of reasons. Firstly, my preferred gunsmith is backed up by about 4-weeks, with the recent frenzy on firearms. I don't have that kind of patience. Secondly, I have access to some tools that make the job easier for a do it yourself gunsmith, and I've done some simple machining before. I even decided to make my own saddles since I couldn't find any that I really liked, and I work leather pretty well.
I ordered two ATI '7-shot' extensions from Impact Guns, as the mag tubes on the 1300 derivatives are identical between the 20-gauge and 12-gauge. I figured I could slap one on each of our guns. I picked up two Meprolight tritium beads - one for each gun. The thread pitch is a 6/48, and I was unable to find a tap in stock anywhere in town. I wound up ordering one from a supplier that I use at work. I was determined not to cut the barrel until I had the mag extensions in hand, to make sure to leave enough steel over the extension. I would then mount my bead, of course.
To pass the time, I stitched together a nice, leather, stock saddle that holds eight shotshells on each side. I put the center-line of the elastic low enough on the stock that the shells do not interfere with the proper cheek-weld. The shells hold securely, and pull out easily with minimal deliberation, and I call it a success. On subsequent trips to the range, I've received many compliments on the saddle.
Then, I found out that there was a problem with both the tap and the magazine extensions. It looked like the tap was delayed by several days, and the folks at Impact Guns couldn't tell me when I would get my extensions. So, I lost my patience, chucked the barrel in the band saw at work, and cut 8-inches off the barrel. I used the belt sander to even my cut and deburr the outside of the cut, and used a 1-inch drill bit to chamfer it. When I got home, I did a little more work with a piece of emery cloth, and touched up the white metal with a cold bluing compound. If you have never used that stuff before, you have got to try it! It is so cool! I applied the fluid with a Q-tip, and watched it go from white to blue-black in seconds!
Fortunately, my tap came in the next day and I was able to drill and tap the barrel for the new sight. The Meprolight sight is a glowing, green dot on both sides, front and back. I suppose that they do this so that you have 180-degrees to align it. I used Locktite to secure the sight in its newly cut threads. I didn't really want the gremlins to have a green dot to shoot at, so I touched the front of the bead with some black fingernail polish to allow its luminescence to come from the back only. A couple days later, I mounted the other sight to Jenni's gun.
Here's my gun, with the barrel length corrected, and the night-sight installed:
Here are both guns together (12-gauge, "Judgement" on top, 20-gauge, "Deliverance" on bottom):
And, here's a low-light shot of both sights (They are a lot brighter in real life. This was just the best pic I could take with the equipment on hand):
Impact Guns keeps telling me that they will ship my magazine extensions any minute. In reality, I have no idea when or if I'll actually get them. We shall see. I'm also thinking of putting an additional side-saddle on the receiver, but I haven't decided yet. Jenni's gun will also get leather saddles, but she wants a new holster for her 640 before that. I may have to post an update at that point.
2/11/09 - UPDATE
I showed the gun to my friend, Will, who works at the range. He thought it was interesting that this gun had an improved cylinder choke in the 28-inch barrel. He found it even more interesting that he was able to remove the choke by hand, rather than using the wrench. What was more interesting still, was the fact that the choke tube refused to thread back into the barrel at that point.
Long story short, we decided to lop off the barrel and call it a house gun. When my brother saw the section of barrel that had been cut off, and its choke tube, he nonchalantly screwed the choke tube back into the severed barrel tube. As it turned out, even though the threads in the barrel are damaged, if you hold your mouth right, it is a fairly simple task to thread the choke back in - but that's neither here nor there.
At that point, we had a home defense shotgun. So, we did the only reasonable thing we could think of. We took a home defense shotgun class with Oklahoma Shooting Skills. We did well in our class, and were really having fun with this combat shotgun idea! I started to get the desire to have a 12-gauge of my own. I decided that I really liked the Winchester 1300 platform. The Remington 870, and the Mossberg 500 are both fine weapons, but the Speed Pump is really sweet! I liked wood furniture, so I would probably wind up getting a Defender, and putting a wood stock and for on it, or a 1300 Hunter, and cut down the barrel, and install a magazine extension.
When I got my Christmas bonus at work this year, I kind of knew that I was going to be shopping shotguns. I had seen a few Winchesters around town, but they were either VERY used, or priced higher than I wanted to pay. With the recent
So, I googled it on my BlackBerry. It turned out that the Ranger was indeed the entry-level version of the 1300 Hunter. The biggest difference is that the Ranger had an integrated choke rather than changeable tubes. Apparently, that cut the cost down. Either way, it didn't make a difference to me since I would cut off that part of the gun anyway. This gun looked like a brand-new, 20-year-old gun that had a maximum of a hand-full of shells through it, and had spent its life at the back of Grandpa's closet. The biggest flaw was a little rust on the magazine nut, which would be replaced with an extension anyway, so it didn't really matter.
As I was eying it, one of the guys who works in the shop looked at the price tag, which read "$230.00." He remarked that he would sell it for $200.00 after tax. I told him that he had just sold it. After a little more research, I found that this is probably a 1987 gun, and a thorough break-down and deep cleaning revealed no evidence of prior shooting or cleaning. I had to clean the factory preservative goo out of the cracks and crevices, and I had to clean dust out of the bore! Not powder residue, but dust! The 20-gauge became Jenni's gun, and we now had a his and hers set.
So, I took it to the range and put its first fifty shots through it. Jenni's gun has the long fore grip on it, which I thought I liked. Mine came with the short, corn-cob fore. After shooting it, I decided that I really do like the short fore. The gun was exactly what I wanted. The action started loosening up after the deep-cleaning, and even more so after I popped its cherry with the first fifty rounds. I was beginning to get a vision of what I wanted the gun to be.
I decided that I wanted the barrel in the size range of 18.5 to 20.5 inches, to make it handle better, but to remain legally above reproach. I wanted to go with a small magazine extension, to extend the capacity by two or three shells, to not put a bunch of extra weight on the nose. I decided that I wanted some kind of reload saddles, but didn't know what type or format. And, I wanted to go with a tritium night bead, so it would be easier to sight in the zombies and gremlins at night - when they are more likely to strike anyway.
I decided to do my own work as well for a couple of reasons. Firstly, my preferred gunsmith is backed up by about 4-weeks, with the recent frenzy on firearms. I don't have that kind of patience. Secondly, I have access to some tools that make the job easier for a do it yourself gunsmith, and I've done some simple machining before. I even decided to make my own saddles since I couldn't find any that I really liked, and I work leather pretty well.
I ordered two ATI '7-shot' extensions from Impact Guns, as the mag tubes on the 1300 derivatives are identical between the 20-gauge and 12-gauge. I figured I could slap one on each of our guns. I picked up two Meprolight tritium beads - one for each gun. The thread pitch is a 6/48, and I was unable to find a tap in stock anywhere in town. I wound up ordering one from a supplier that I use at work. I was determined not to cut the barrel until I had the mag extensions in hand, to make sure to leave enough steel over the extension. I would then mount my bead, of course.
To pass the time, I stitched together a nice, leather, stock saddle that holds eight shotshells on each side. I put the center-line of the elastic low enough on the stock that the shells do not interfere with the proper cheek-weld. The shells hold securely, and pull out easily with minimal deliberation, and I call it a success. On subsequent trips to the range, I've received many compliments on the saddle.
Then, I found out that there was a problem with both the tap and the magazine extensions. It looked like the tap was delayed by several days, and the folks at Impact Guns couldn't tell me when I would get my extensions. So, I lost my patience, chucked the barrel in the band saw at work, and cut 8-inches off the barrel. I used the belt sander to even my cut and deburr the outside of the cut, and used a 1-inch drill bit to chamfer it. When I got home, I did a little more work with a piece of emery cloth, and touched up the white metal with a cold bluing compound. If you have never used that stuff before, you have got to try it! It is so cool! I applied the fluid with a Q-tip, and watched it go from white to blue-black in seconds!
Fortunately, my tap came in the next day and I was able to drill and tap the barrel for the new sight. The Meprolight sight is a glowing, green dot on both sides, front and back. I suppose that they do this so that you have 180-degrees to align it. I used Locktite to secure the sight in its newly cut threads. I didn't really want the gremlins to have a green dot to shoot at, so I touched the front of the bead with some black fingernail polish to allow its luminescence to come from the back only. A couple days later, I mounted the other sight to Jenni's gun.
Here's my gun, with the barrel length corrected, and the night-sight installed:
Here are both guns together (12-gauge, "Judgement" on top, 20-gauge, "Deliverance" on bottom):
And, here's a low-light shot of both sights (They are a lot brighter in real life. This was just the best pic I could take with the equipment on hand):
Impact Guns keeps telling me that they will ship my magazine extensions any minute. In reality, I have no idea when or if I'll actually get them. We shall see. I'm also thinking of putting an additional side-saddle on the receiver, but I haven't decided yet. Jenni's gun will also get leather saddles, but she wants a new holster for her 640 before that. I may have to post an update at that point.
2/11/09 - UPDATE
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Jen's Fitness Challenge
Aw, F! I'm not exactly sure how I got roped into this. But, needless to say, I have committed to getting myself into better shape. I kind of like my current shape. Well, ok. I admit that there are some improvements that I would like to impose on my body. Besides that, life is more fun with an improved body. I'm certainly not going for Hulk or Mr. Universe stats, but there are some things that I am looking forward to doing.
Of course, her crazy New Year Stunt caused me to do some work beyond push-ups and crunches. Jenni was talking about how she wanted to buy a scale so she could post a weekly update on her measurements and weight. I told her that we didn't need to buy a scale since we have a perfectly good one in the garage.
This, my friends is the scale in question. This is after I disassembled it to clean out the spider nest that had been constructed between the viewing lens and the zero. I don't recall whether this one came from Grandma's house, or if I picked it up at a garage sale, but I thought it was beautiful and wanted it, even though we had no use for a scale at the time. It's a vintage Health-O-Meter, a relic of a forgotten era when things were made of a legendary material known as 'metal.' Everything was built with beautiful lines, and everything had an 'O' in the middle of the name - much in the same way that everything has a lower case 'i' at the beginning of it now. Take this Juice-O-Mat for example:
Yes, this was the Golden Age in which a computer was a device as large as a high-school gymnasium, and had the awesome processing power of a modern greeting card today. This device was known as a Calc-O-Tron, I believe. They cost as much as a Banana Republic and could play chess, or do grade-school arithmetic. If these devices were built today, they would be boxy looking, made of plastic, and would be called iHealthmeter, iJuicemat, and iCalctron.
But, I digress. Please allow me to get back to my tangent. Fortunately, I've been feeling very industrious recently. I've been taking pics of my new shotgun, which I'll write a post on soon. I'm trying to get a nice little collection of images together so I can post a graduation from 21-year-old, hunting pump to elegant, zombie bane.
I've been doing quite a bit of organizing, cleaning, and creating, so the restoration of the Health-O-Meter is a logical progression from what I've been doing anyway. As Jen posts pics of her progress, so shall you see the progress on the old scale. I'm thinking of having the case blasted and powder-coated some wacky color. I'm a sucker for red, but a period mint green might be really nice. The lens is pretty scratched up, and I'll probably see if the scratches can be buffed out. It's glass, so I'm not afraid of scorching it on a buffing wheel. I'll probably wind up scraping and painting the guts of the thing. It appears that about half of them were zinc-plated, and the other half were white steel. They have all gone mostly to rust. Thankfully, the steel parts are thick, and should clean and paint easily. The step pad on the surface of this scale is some kind of linoleum or something. It is very brittle, and has been coming apart as we've been handling it for this project. I'll probably replace it with a piece of leather or vinyl or something. Brightly colored urethane might be nice if we decided to go black on the case. I don't know yet. The little chrome bezel has seen better days, but I'm not exactly sure what to do about it yet. I could have it stripped and re-plated, or I might just clean it up and see how it looks after everything else. I suppose I could take it down past the chrome, prime and paint it to match the case. If I did that, I would probably go back over the raised lettering in a different color to bring that out. Well, it shouldn't take me all year to do something about the scale, so I'm sure that you will all get the opportunity to see its transformation.
Oh, yeah - I guess this is where I can get back to the main point, huh? I've made it my goal to gain some weight, trim a couple of inches off my waist and put them on my chest and biceps. I don't think this will be hard to do. I'll try not to change shape too radically, because I don't really want to have to replace my nice clothing all at once. We shall see what we shall see.
Of course, her crazy New Year Stunt caused me to do some work beyond push-ups and crunches. Jenni was talking about how she wanted to buy a scale so she could post a weekly update on her measurements and weight. I told her that we didn't need to buy a scale since we have a perfectly good one in the garage.
This, my friends is the scale in question. This is after I disassembled it to clean out the spider nest that had been constructed between the viewing lens and the zero. I don't recall whether this one came from Grandma's house, or if I picked it up at a garage sale, but I thought it was beautiful and wanted it, even though we had no use for a scale at the time. It's a vintage Health-O-Meter, a relic of a forgotten era when things were made of a legendary material known as 'metal.' Everything was built with beautiful lines, and everything had an 'O' in the middle of the name - much in the same way that everything has a lower case 'i' at the beginning of it now. Take this Juice-O-Mat for example:
Yes, this was the Golden Age in which a computer was a device as large as a high-school gymnasium, and had the awesome processing power of a modern greeting card today. This device was known as a Calc-O-Tron, I believe. They cost as much as a Banana Republic and could play chess, or do grade-school arithmetic. If these devices were built today, they would be boxy looking, made of plastic, and would be called iHealthmeter, iJuicemat, and iCalctron.
But, I digress. Please allow me to get back to my tangent. Fortunately, I've been feeling very industrious recently. I've been taking pics of my new shotgun, which I'll write a post on soon. I'm trying to get a nice little collection of images together so I can post a graduation from 21-year-old, hunting pump to elegant, zombie bane.
I've been doing quite a bit of organizing, cleaning, and creating, so the restoration of the Health-O-Meter is a logical progression from what I've been doing anyway. As Jen posts pics of her progress, so shall you see the progress on the old scale. I'm thinking of having the case blasted and powder-coated some wacky color. I'm a sucker for red, but a period mint green might be really nice. The lens is pretty scratched up, and I'll probably see if the scratches can be buffed out. It's glass, so I'm not afraid of scorching it on a buffing wheel. I'll probably wind up scraping and painting the guts of the thing. It appears that about half of them were zinc-plated, and the other half were white steel. They have all gone mostly to rust. Thankfully, the steel parts are thick, and should clean and paint easily. The step pad on the surface of this scale is some kind of linoleum or something. It is very brittle, and has been coming apart as we've been handling it for this project. I'll probably replace it with a piece of leather or vinyl or something. Brightly colored urethane might be nice if we decided to go black on the case. I don't know yet. The little chrome bezel has seen better days, but I'm not exactly sure what to do about it yet. I could have it stripped and re-plated, or I might just clean it up and see how it looks after everything else. I suppose I could take it down past the chrome, prime and paint it to match the case. If I did that, I would probably go back over the raised lettering in a different color to bring that out. Well, it shouldn't take me all year to do something about the scale, so I'm sure that you will all get the opportunity to see its transformation.
Oh, yeah - I guess this is where I can get back to the main point, huh? I've made it my goal to gain some weight, trim a couple of inches off my waist and put them on my chest and biceps. I don't think this will be hard to do. I'll try not to change shape too radically, because I don't really want to have to replace my nice clothing all at once. We shall see what we shall see.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
AWB 2009
The Libocrats will defend Mr. Obama against the Conservatives' fears of the proposed Assault Weapons Ban, saying that every time a Democrat takes office, we get scared that guns will be taken away. I would say that it is a well-founded fear, as this is exactly what happened the last time we had a Democrat in the White House, and it is part of Obama's Agenda of Change. The reason the '94 ban was allowed to expire in 2004 is that it very simply did not do any good.
So, the question is WHY? Why does Mr. Obama want to take steps towards further disarming The People? The actual text on Obama's website reads:
This is the way I read it:
If I sound nutty, please try to keep an open mind and humor me for just a moment - even if you will leave my blog shaking your head at what a wack-job I am. If you followed my links, and/or did a little Googling on your own, or know a little history from the last two decades, you will see that the AWB whose duration was from 1994-2004 had NO positive effect on crime rates. This is why it was allowed to expire ten years after its inception. This history teaches us that the law was useless to its purpose of reducing violent crime.
Mr. Obama is not stupid, nor is Mr. Biden. They are smart enough men to know that the previous law did nothing towards its stated purpose. Why then, would they want to push for a permanent version of the same law? It is obviously not for the reasons stated, therefore it has to be for other reasons. What are those reasons? That's the million-dollar question. What hidden agenda do the newly elected have in mind that is supported by the 2008 Assault Weapons Ban?
Any answer to that question explains exactly what the Conservatives are so afraid of.
So, the question is WHY? Why does Mr. Obama want to take steps towards further disarming The People? The actual text on Obama's website reads:
Address Gun Violence in Cities: Obama and Biden 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. 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.
This is the way I read it:
Address GunGenerate Escalated Violence in Cities: Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, in purcuit of their totalitarianistic goals, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information for the purpose of individual privacy, as well as the protection of law enforcement agencies, and give police officers across the nation thetoolsGestapo strong-arm tactics they need in the guise to allegedly solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade, but in effect, only violate the privacy of law-abiding citizens. Obama and Biden also favorcommonsenseunconstitutional measures thatrespectpay lip service to the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away fromchildren and from criminalsthose otherwise law-abiding citizens that would oppose an oppressive government - as our Founding Fathers intended. They support closing the imaginary gun show loophole and making guns in this countrychildprooffor the government only. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent because they are either too stupid to see that it had no positive effects the first time around, or they have another agenda.
If I sound nutty, please try to keep an open mind and humor me for just a moment - even if you will leave my blog shaking your head at what a wack-job I am. If you followed my links, and/or did a little Googling on your own, or know a little history from the last two decades, you will see that the AWB whose duration was from 1994-2004 had NO positive effect on crime rates. This is why it was allowed to expire ten years after its inception. This history teaches us that the law was useless to its purpose of reducing violent crime.
Mr. Obama is not stupid, nor is Mr. Biden. They are smart enough men to know that the previous law did nothing towards its stated purpose. Why then, would they want to push for a permanent version of the same law? It is obviously not for the reasons stated, therefore it has to be for other reasons. What are those reasons? That's the million-dollar question. What hidden agenda do the newly elected have in mind that is supported by the 2008 Assault Weapons Ban?
Any answer to that question explains exactly what the Conservatives are so afraid of.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Science as a Religion?
Let's think back to people in 1900 in, say, New York. If they worried about people in 2000, what would they worry about? Probably: Where would people get enough horses? And what would they do about all the horseshit? Horse pollution was bad in 1900, think how much worse it would be a century later, with so many more people riding horses?
Who could not love the work of Michael Chriton? This one is worth a read in its entirety.
Linkarooni
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Hail To The Chief IV. - What Can You Do?
So, at this point, you may find yourself saying, "But Michael, what can I do?" In my humble opinion, the answer is several things.
1) Seek training and gun ownership if you have not yet done so. Getting either right now will be tricky with the whole rush, but give it a little while. Be patient. There will be no bans immediately. There will be no passing of the torch until January, and even then, new legislation takes time. The initial fireams madhouse rush will die down a little before any bad laws are passed. Keep your ear to the ground, and opportunities will come up. Check pawn shops and gun shops alike. Make a short list of what guns you would like to own, prioritize it, and assign a range of price that you would be willing to pay for each piece. When you buy a gun, practice, practice, practice. The propensity of responsible gun owners is a wonderful argument against the antis.
2) Get your CCW Permit/CHL if it is available in your state. If the powers that be can make a correlation between the number of active permits and the census numbers, and show a shockingly high number of permit carriers, disarming the populace is obviously going to be an inconvenient task. Even if you don't think that you will carry, it's still nice to have the option.
3) Join the NRA. I really need to practice what I preach on this one. I'm still trying to recover from #1, so finances have been a little thin lately. Even so, this organization is a powerful ally in the fight for your 2nd Amendment Rights, and needs the monetary support of new members more now than ever. In addition, a healthy member roster is a weapon that they can use against the opposition. Your state may also have similar associations on the state level.
4) If your state allows it, open carry. This is a controversial point to make, but I'm making it anyway. People who are against open carry form two camps. On the one extreme, you have the antis. They think that if everyone is carrying a visible handgun, as in the Old West, that duels will spring forth, and blood will flow in the streets. This hasn't been a problem in any state where it is legally practiced. On the other extreme, you have the tactical gunnies. They say that you should keep your gun hidden so that you have the element of surprise on the bad guy. I say that if normal people are commonly seen with a side-arm, it removes the element of fear from the would-be antis - which is what makes an anti an anti in the first place. In other words, you don't open carry for the tactical arrangement, you open carry for the political statement. If people are never exposed to guns except for TV and movies, the message is that cops and bad guys carry guns. If they see their friends and neighbors, fellow PTO members, grocery store patrons, and everyone that they interact with on a daily basis carrying openly, the message is that normal, responsible, good people have guns. I think this is better, and makes anti-gun legislation nearly impossible to pass.
5) Write to your State Representative. Don't send them an email, or blog about it. Put a letter on paper telling them how you feel about the threat to your Second Amendment rights. Tell them courteously, in no uncertain terms that you do not intend to support a politician that does not represent you.
6) Pray that we don't lose too much over the next two years.
1) Seek training and gun ownership if you have not yet done so. Getting either right now will be tricky with the whole rush, but give it a little while. Be patient. There will be no bans immediately. There will be no passing of the torch until January, and even then, new legislation takes time. The initial fireams madhouse rush will die down a little before any bad laws are passed. Keep your ear to the ground, and opportunities will come up. Check pawn shops and gun shops alike. Make a short list of what guns you would like to own, prioritize it, and assign a range of price that you would be willing to pay for each piece. When you buy a gun, practice, practice, practice. The propensity of responsible gun owners is a wonderful argument against the antis.
2) Get your CCW Permit/CHL if it is available in your state. If the powers that be can make a correlation between the number of active permits and the census numbers, and show a shockingly high number of permit carriers, disarming the populace is obviously going to be an inconvenient task. Even if you don't think that you will carry, it's still nice to have the option.
3) Join the NRA. I really need to practice what I preach on this one. I'm still trying to recover from #1, so finances have been a little thin lately. Even so, this organization is a powerful ally in the fight for your 2nd Amendment Rights, and needs the monetary support of new members more now than ever. In addition, a healthy member roster is a weapon that they can use against the opposition. Your state may also have similar associations on the state level.
4) If your state allows it, open carry. This is a controversial point to make, but I'm making it anyway. People who are against open carry form two camps. On the one extreme, you have the antis. They think that if everyone is carrying a visible handgun, as in the Old West, that duels will spring forth, and blood will flow in the streets. This hasn't been a problem in any state where it is legally practiced. On the other extreme, you have the tactical gunnies. They say that you should keep your gun hidden so that you have the element of surprise on the bad guy. I say that if normal people are commonly seen with a side-arm, it removes the element of fear from the would-be antis - which is what makes an anti an anti in the first place. In other words, you don't open carry for the tactical arrangement, you open carry for the political statement. If people are never exposed to guns except for TV and movies, the message is that cops and bad guys carry guns. If they see their friends and neighbors, fellow PTO members, grocery store patrons, and everyone that they interact with on a daily basis carrying openly, the message is that normal, responsible, good people have guns. I think this is better, and makes anti-gun legislation nearly impossible to pass.
5) Write to your State Representative. Don't send them an email, or blog about it. Put a letter on paper telling them how you feel about the threat to your Second Amendment rights. Tell them courteously, in no uncertain terms that you do not intend to support a politician that does not represent you.
6) Pray that we don't lose too much over the next two years.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Hail To The Chief III. - Kneejerk Reaction
On many of the gun forums that I frequent such as The High Road, The Firing Line, and The Gun Counter, the word is flying around that gun stores are being stormed in response to the election results. I emailed with my friend who works at H&H Gunrange about the current situation. This is an enviable facility, dedicated to firearms education, practice, and sales, in a safe, family-friendly environment. Their sales floor is amazing. Anyone who has the slightest interest in firearms should pay them a visit if they ever happen through the Okc area.
What I could ascertain from the rumors on the forums is that pretty much every gun shop had been completely cleaned-out by customer demand by the weekend. This spawned a personal desire to do some research on my part. My wife and I paid visit to a couple of pawn shops that we frequent, looking at firearms. Both of them had dramatically reduced inventory, but were not out of firearms. My friend said that AR-15 inventory is "thin", that they have but one AK-47 left in inventory, and that they are sold out of Glocks and several other handguns. He said that it is as though they have done a month's worth of business in half a week. Contrary to what I had read on the internet, most of the sales seem to be among people who were planning on their purchases already, but the election results simply rushed their planned actions.
On his website, Obama has stated that he intends to push for another assault weapons ban, but to make it permanent this time around. My wife pointed out that there have been some er... problems on Obama's website. It is my hope that the clear message that The American People have sent is that we do not intend to let go of our Second Amendment Rights. Mr. Obama is not at all a stupid person. I believe that he is a short-sighted, arrogant, naive elitest, but not stupid in the least. I want to believe that he sees the message and is reconsidering some of his stances, and that is the explanation of the site being down this morning.
It is not at all uncommon for a politician to change their stances on certain issues due to public response. Frankly, that is the mark of a good leader. These people work for us. When they see that they are making us unhappy, they should consider modifying their goals. As of this moment (11/10/2008 at 13:07), his website seems to be mysteriously devoid of any talk of weapons bans. A quick search on the site for "assault weapons" brings up short biographies on each of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The "Agenda" tab of the site shows nothing concerning future weapons bans. As a last-ditch effort, searching on the keyword "weapon" adds a third piece to the above mentioned search results. This third one notes that they plan on keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Could it be that this man intends to listen to The People after all? We can only hope. It was an electorate landslide, but a slim margin of the popular vote. The fact of the matter is that at most, the very slight majority voted for him. There are still doubts that it was even that many of us. It would serve this upcoming administration well to listen to The People. Whether an assault weapons ban is still in the works or not is not clear right now, but the message has been sent, and seems to have been received.
I believe that we all believe in change, but some of us want the right kind of change. There is a huge group of us that don't want some vacuous, mysterious, unknown change. I will keep praying for these men, and I will keep up the hope that we see positive change. I'm not holding my breath, but I do still want to be wrong about them. I, like many others, have been frightened about some of the change that may come with this passing of the torch, but am nearly as frightened of the possible reactions to such change. I don't want to see a civil war or a return of terrorist attacks. I don't want to go into exile because of my beliefs. Granted, these would be radical reactions, but the change that he seems to have proposed is radical as well.
Only time will tell, and we have not cleared the rapids by a long shot. We must hold on to hope, and we must hold this new administration accountable for what kind of change is acceptable. That is the bottom line. In the meantime, I know that many will be bolstering their arsenals, stocking up on weapons, ammunition, and high-capacity magazines. I can't say that I blame them in the least, and I hope that it is a clear message to those that might attempts to infringe upon the rights to such things. We may have voted in different ways, but ultimately, we are all in this boat together. If we row in different directions, who knows where we'll end up? Pray for whatever is right, hope for the best, and communicate with those that we have appointed as our leaders - by any and all means possible.
What I could ascertain from the rumors on the forums is that pretty much every gun shop had been completely cleaned-out by customer demand by the weekend. This spawned a personal desire to do some research on my part. My wife and I paid visit to a couple of pawn shops that we frequent, looking at firearms. Both of them had dramatically reduced inventory, but were not out of firearms. My friend said that AR-15 inventory is "thin", that they have but one AK-47 left in inventory, and that they are sold out of Glocks and several other handguns. He said that it is as though they have done a month's worth of business in half a week. Contrary to what I had read on the internet, most of the sales seem to be among people who were planning on their purchases already, but the election results simply rushed their planned actions.
On his website, Obama has stated that he intends to push for another assault weapons ban, but to make it permanent this time around. My wife pointed out that there have been some er... problems on Obama's website. It is my hope that the clear message that The American People have sent is that we do not intend to let go of our Second Amendment Rights. Mr. Obama is not at all a stupid person. I believe that he is a short-sighted, arrogant, naive elitest, but not stupid in the least. I want to believe that he sees the message and is reconsidering some of his stances, and that is the explanation of the site being down this morning.
It is not at all uncommon for a politician to change their stances on certain issues due to public response. Frankly, that is the mark of a good leader. These people work for us. When they see that they are making us unhappy, they should consider modifying their goals. As of this moment (11/10/2008 at 13:07), his website seems to be mysteriously devoid of any talk of weapons bans. A quick search on the site for "assault weapons" brings up short biographies on each of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The "Agenda" tab of the site shows nothing concerning future weapons bans. As a last-ditch effort, searching on the keyword "weapon" adds a third piece to the above mentioned search results. This third one notes that they plan on keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Could it be that this man intends to listen to The People after all? We can only hope. It was an electorate landslide, but a slim margin of the popular vote. The fact of the matter is that at most, the very slight majority voted for him. There are still doubts that it was even that many of us. It would serve this upcoming administration well to listen to The People. Whether an assault weapons ban is still in the works or not is not clear right now, but the message has been sent, and seems to have been received.
I believe that we all believe in change, but some of us want the right kind of change. There is a huge group of us that don't want some vacuous, mysterious, unknown change. I will keep praying for these men, and I will keep up the hope that we see positive change. I'm not holding my breath, but I do still want to be wrong about them. I, like many others, have been frightened about some of the change that may come with this passing of the torch, but am nearly as frightened of the possible reactions to such change. I don't want to see a civil war or a return of terrorist attacks. I don't want to go into exile because of my beliefs. Granted, these would be radical reactions, but the change that he seems to have proposed is radical as well.
Only time will tell, and we have not cleared the rapids by a long shot. We must hold on to hope, and we must hold this new administration accountable for what kind of change is acceptable. That is the bottom line. In the meantime, I know that many will be bolstering their arsenals, stocking up on weapons, ammunition, and high-capacity magazines. I can't say that I blame them in the least, and I hope that it is a clear message to those that might attempts to infringe upon the rights to such things. We may have voted in different ways, but ultimately, we are all in this boat together. If we row in different directions, who knows where we'll end up? Pray for whatever is right, hope for the best, and communicate with those that we have appointed as our leaders - by any and all means possible.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Hail To The Chief II. -Concerning My Best Friends
The way of things is odd, to say the least.
When I got married, I married my best friend. After nearly ten years, she remains my best friend and my soul-mate. We have made it a point to grow closer together rather than drifting apart, as I have seen many couples do with the weathering of the years. At this point, it just seems natural to spend the time together that we do. Most people who meet us have no idea that we have been together for so long. I like it this way. I'm looking forward to the next decade with her and the one after that, so on and so forth.
If you are close friends with your family, i. e. parents, siblings, cousins, count yourself as fortunate. This is a blessing, and not to be taken for granted. My wife and I are very close to my brother and sister in law. I value their friendship and their place in my life. Granted, I may get annoyed at them from time to time, but that is the way of siblings, isn't it? If you don't get annoyed at them, you probably aren't that close.
All that being said, I come to inner-circle best friends. I have three best friends that don't fit into any of the above categories (arguably). I'm speaking of non-blood relatives that are close enough friends that they may as well be. These three friends in no particular order are Darren, Beej, and Sean. Something else that these three people share in common other than essentially being non-blood relatives to me is that they all three voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday, and I don't think any less of them for it.
I've known Beej since I was in second grade. Back then, she was a squirrelly little kid, and went by Bridget. Of course, I was also a squirrelly little kid, and I was known as Michael. Later, she decided to go by her initials, B. J. She found that this new moniker had mixed results, and her group of friends settled into calling her "Beej," even in written word. Beej is a highly gifted, highly intellectual individual that has had the most unique personal story that I can recall. But, I would have to let her tell you about that on her own time and motivation. When Jenni and I took up handgunning in January, 2008, it kind of scared Beej at first. She wanted to come for a range session with us just to see what it was about. After her first trip to the range, she was hooked and the disease took her over. She now has a Smith & Wesson revolver and a Sig 9mm and has been thinking about getting herself a shotgun and some formal training. She thoughtfully listens to and reads our conservative views, but doesn't embrace them on our word. I'm proud of her for that. If everyone could openly consider all viewpoints and come up with their own independently, the world would be a better place to live.
I've known Darren for nearly as long as Beej. I can't remember whether it was in late grade school or junior high when Darren and I met. Darren has done some really crazy stuff in his life. He has a cabin out in the woods, but currently leads the career military life with his wife who is a nurse for the United States. In high school, Darren and I chased after some of the same girls. We've always had our differences, and never let them bother us. I've always been an opinionated fan of Japanese cars, and he has always been vocal about his Pontiacs. There have been times that we poked fun at each other for such differences, but at the end of the day, we'll drink from the same scotch bottle. I think it was during the 2004 election that I discovered how vastly different our political views were. I have to admit that I was shocked at the time. Darren has had points in his life when I thought to myself, "Dear Lord, he's going to kill himself." But such is they way with young men, I suppose. This is how we grow into full-fledged, grown men. I can't help but wonder if he thought the same of me from time to time.
I have been friends with Sean for the shortest amount of time of any of these three dear friends. I met Sean about 7 years ago maybe? We were fast friends from day one. He and I were both driving (and modifying) 1983 Honda Civic Station Wagons. He had commented that he wanted to lower his. Without hesitation, I asked Sean to buy the supplies needed and to bring them to my house on my day off, and we would lower his car. I didn't really know the first thing about him, but he struck me as a good person. My first impression of him could not have been more right. Sean and I got to know each other over the engine compartments of many Japanese cars. Together, we fixed some basket cases, and screwed up perfectly good drivers in the pursuit of making them perform better. I have fond memories of some of those monstrosities, which took on personalities of their own and were usually unfit for public roads in their final forms. Sean is a metal man. He has a heart made of solid gold, a mind like a steel trap, iron convictions, and if I had a sister, I would do everything in my power to marry her off to him so we actually could be brothers.
As I said before, all three of them voted for BHO. I find it incredibly interesting that I felt so very strongly about this election - that it was not a matter of black and white, or right and left but to me it had become a matter of right and wrong or good and evil - and yet, the three people that I would consider family except for the lack of blood relation each disagreed with me on this point. Of course, with the way my brain works, I'm trying to find correlation - some sort of cause-and-effect situation in or about my life that could explain what would seem to be such an odd coincidence. I have spoken with each of them in turn about the election. They all know that I'm opinionated and outspoken (that's just the nice way of saying a big-mouthed punk). A great friend will allow that and still care about you. Each of them has seemed hesitant to touch the issue to varying degrees, I suppose in fear that they would elicit my opinion maybe? I shudder to think that that could be the case!
Ultimately, I hope they find that I am proud that my friends think about things, and have individual beliefs and opinions. I hope they know that when it comes down to it, we agree on all of the important stuff. I believe that God's Will is the One Constant, and though different stuff happens because of what we as people do, His Plans will come about one way or another. I am a believer in the strength of the individual. I am a believer in unity in small groups. Once you really get down to it, these people - my immediate family, my extended family, and my adopted family - are more important than all the people in DC rolled up into one big, corrupt ball. As I wrote in my previous entry, I hope they are right and I am wrong on this one. I also hope that such petty things never damage friendships like these.
(By the way, I still think you guys voted wrong! ;-P)
When I got married, I married my best friend. After nearly ten years, she remains my best friend and my soul-mate. We have made it a point to grow closer together rather than drifting apart, as I have seen many couples do with the weathering of the years. At this point, it just seems natural to spend the time together that we do. Most people who meet us have no idea that we have been together for so long. I like it this way. I'm looking forward to the next decade with her and the one after that, so on and so forth.
If you are close friends with your family, i. e. parents, siblings, cousins, count yourself as fortunate. This is a blessing, and not to be taken for granted. My wife and I are very close to my brother and sister in law. I value their friendship and their place in my life. Granted, I may get annoyed at them from time to time, but that is the way of siblings, isn't it? If you don't get annoyed at them, you probably aren't that close.
All that being said, I come to inner-circle best friends. I have three best friends that don't fit into any of the above categories (arguably). I'm speaking of non-blood relatives that are close enough friends that they may as well be. These three friends in no particular order are Darren, Beej, and Sean. Something else that these three people share in common other than essentially being non-blood relatives to me is that they all three voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday, and I don't think any less of them for it.
I've known Beej since I was in second grade. Back then, she was a squirrelly little kid, and went by Bridget. Of course, I was also a squirrelly little kid, and I was known as Michael. Later, she decided to go by her initials, B. J. She found that this new moniker had mixed results, and her group of friends settled into calling her "Beej," even in written word. Beej is a highly gifted, highly intellectual individual that has had the most unique personal story that I can recall. But, I would have to let her tell you about that on her own time and motivation. When Jenni and I took up handgunning in January, 2008, it kind of scared Beej at first. She wanted to come for a range session with us just to see what it was about. After her first trip to the range, she was hooked and the disease took her over. She now has a Smith & Wesson revolver and a Sig 9mm and has been thinking about getting herself a shotgun and some formal training. She thoughtfully listens to and reads our conservative views, but doesn't embrace them on our word. I'm proud of her for that. If everyone could openly consider all viewpoints and come up with their own independently, the world would be a better place to live.
I've known Darren for nearly as long as Beej. I can't remember whether it was in late grade school or junior high when Darren and I met. Darren has done some really crazy stuff in his life. He has a cabin out in the woods, but currently leads the career military life with his wife who is a nurse for the United States. In high school, Darren and I chased after some of the same girls. We've always had our differences, and never let them bother us. I've always been an opinionated fan of Japanese cars, and he has always been vocal about his Pontiacs. There have been times that we poked fun at each other for such differences, but at the end of the day, we'll drink from the same scotch bottle. I think it was during the 2004 election that I discovered how vastly different our political views were. I have to admit that I was shocked at the time. Darren has had points in his life when I thought to myself, "Dear Lord, he's going to kill himself." But such is they way with young men, I suppose. This is how we grow into full-fledged, grown men. I can't help but wonder if he thought the same of me from time to time.
I have been friends with Sean for the shortest amount of time of any of these three dear friends. I met Sean about 7 years ago maybe? We were fast friends from day one. He and I were both driving (and modifying) 1983 Honda Civic Station Wagons. He had commented that he wanted to lower his. Without hesitation, I asked Sean to buy the supplies needed and to bring them to my house on my day off, and we would lower his car. I didn't really know the first thing about him, but he struck me as a good person. My first impression of him could not have been more right. Sean and I got to know each other over the engine compartments of many Japanese cars. Together, we fixed some basket cases, and screwed up perfectly good drivers in the pursuit of making them perform better. I have fond memories of some of those monstrosities, which took on personalities of their own and were usually unfit for public roads in their final forms. Sean is a metal man. He has a heart made of solid gold, a mind like a steel trap, iron convictions, and if I had a sister, I would do everything in my power to marry her off to him so we actually could be brothers.
As I said before, all three of them voted for BHO. I find it incredibly interesting that I felt so very strongly about this election - that it was not a matter of black and white, or right and left but to me it had become a matter of right and wrong or good and evil - and yet, the three people that I would consider family except for the lack of blood relation each disagreed with me on this point. Of course, with the way my brain works, I'm trying to find correlation - some sort of cause-and-effect situation in or about my life that could explain what would seem to be such an odd coincidence. I have spoken with each of them in turn about the election. They all know that I'm opinionated and outspoken (that's just the nice way of saying a big-mouthed punk). A great friend will allow that and still care about you. Each of them has seemed hesitant to touch the issue to varying degrees, I suppose in fear that they would elicit my opinion maybe? I shudder to think that that could be the case!
Ultimately, I hope they find that I am proud that my friends think about things, and have individual beliefs and opinions. I hope they know that when it comes down to it, we agree on all of the important stuff. I believe that God's Will is the One Constant, and though different stuff happens because of what we as people do, His Plans will come about one way or another. I am a believer in the strength of the individual. I am a believer in unity in small groups. Once you really get down to it, these people - my immediate family, my extended family, and my adopted family - are more important than all the people in DC rolled up into one big, corrupt ball. As I wrote in my previous entry, I hope they are right and I am wrong on this one. I also hope that such petty things never damage friendships like these.
(By the way, I still think you guys voted wrong! ;-P)
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