Vote v Buy

    Is it easier to buy a gun than to vote?

 So you want to do your civic duty and go vote. You drive to the polling place and park you car.  You walk in and present your government issued drivers license. They scanned the bar code on the back. Ask you to verify the address then sign the tablet screen they were using.  You are then given a ballot and directed to a voting booth.  After filling out the ballot you dutifully take it to the tabulation machine. Out the door you go proud of yourself.  Easy Peasy.

  Feeling good about your civic duty you decide to exercise your civil rights and buy a firearm.  You drive to the local firearm dealer and go in.  At the gun counter you stand there admiring all the freedom on display.    A clerk comes up and asks to help you.  After trying several firearms you decide on a Smith and Wesson M&P AR15. Great says the clerk may I see your divers license. You hand it to him and he hands form 4473 from the ATF.  

  Please read the above form or go to www.atf.gov . You are to answer each question truthfully under penalty of perjury.  If you falsify any answer you are committing a Felony punishable by up to five years in prison in addition to fines!

 So you fill out the front, sign and date the back.  The clerk calls into NICS.  That is the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.  Now if you answered truthfully on the form one of three things will happen.  After a wait of what seems like hours the answer will be YES you can buy the firearm; NO you cannot buy; or nothing.  Yes and no are pretty straightforward but silence could mean anything.   It could be millions of God fearing American citizens are buying boom sticks at the same time.  It could be lunch break.  Whatever the cause if no answer is forthcoming from NICS after three days you can go ahead and buy the gun.

  Obviously buying a gun is harder.  The example I gave you is from the Great state of Missouri.  If you live in the People’s Democratic Republic of Illinois you will need an additional government issued ID.  In Illinois it is called a FOID card.  That’s Firearm Owners Identification card.  That requires you to have gone to a gun store previously and filled out a form.  Got your picture taken.  Payed a fee and wait 6 weeks or more for the FOID card to come in the mail.  In Illinois you cannot buy a gun without this card.  In Illinois you cannot handle a gun without this card.  You go to a gun store in Illinois to look at guns the first thing they will ask is for your FOID card.  No card no handle.

  Many states also require waiting times depending on whether you are buying a handgun or long gun (aka: rifle or shotgun).  These waiting times can range from 2 days to 2 weeks.  It may also require additional background checks by police or the state which could lead to months of delay (for example New York City).

  Still think it’s easier to buy a gun than to vote?  Any gun purchase you try in a store goes through NICS.  Every gun show I’ve attended in Missouri or Illinois has required a gun purchase to go through NICS.  Every internet gun purchase requires the firearm to ship to a federally licensed dealer who will use NICS before they transfer the gun to you.  But the lie continues because it’s repeated over and over again.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Joseph Gorbbles

Candy Time Machine

   It’s just a little thing really. A bag of candy at Bass Pro. However when I picked it up it propelled me to 1963.  I was 8 years old again.

  I am sitting in my Dad’s car eating these peanut butter bars waiting for dad to come out of the hospital.  Mom was taking care of me and my little brother Steve keeping me quiet with candy. I remember dad coming out and for the first time in my life I saw my dad crying.  Grandma Janie, his mom, had died.  I asked mom about what was going on. When she told me I stupidly said out loud what I was thinking. “One down and two to go”. Mom looked at me in horror and exclaimed “don’t say that”. 

  By the end of the year mom’s mom passed away as well as her grandma.  In between those deaths JFK was assassinated.

What happens to a man reaching the twilight years that causes him to review events in his life?  Am I looking for forgiveness?  Am I trying to justify my actions of so long ago?  Or is it just a memory tied to a little piece of candy the little 8 year old me wishes to keep.  To keep it in that memento drawer with all the little and big events of ones life.  

I will eat that little piece of candy and remember.  I will also look forward to the next memory of a life lived.  A life of love and loss.  To put it another way: life.

Life

  The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence begins:

  “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

   We cannot pursue happiness if we are not free to do so. We cannot be free if we do not have liberty. We cannot have liberty if we are not alive. Everything depends on our right to life. That right as well as others are ours given by our Creator at our birth. To deny birth is to deny our right to Life. The first and foremost of our rights. As stated in the Declaration of Independence governments are instituted to secure our Rights and is therefore right and just to protect the Right to Life.
   The living in exercising their right to liberty cannot use this freedom to deny the right of life to the unborn. Freedom and therefore liberty comes with responsibilities.
   Our founding fathers knew that a republic was founded on a moral populace. They also knew that if we lost our moral way the republic would fall. Our insistence on denying this right to life to the unborn has broken our moral compass. We have lost our way and the country is on the precipice. One step and we are lost forever.
   The solution? Stop acting as spoiled children who have received a great treasure with no effort on our part. The founding fathers pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to achieve the liberty we take for granted. Many of those did indeed sacrifice family, fortune and even their very lives for the liberty we enjoy today. We have lost sight of the idea of America and have replaced it with the instant gratification of the bread and circuses of our modern world.  All of which cheapens life, which brings us back to the beginning. Life is the beginning of freedom. Nothing else can be achieved without it.   “We the People” Choose Life.

In defense of Rough Men.

”People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because Rough Men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”

  This quote has been attributed to Orwell, Kipling, Churchill among others. It doesn’t matter who wrote it. The saying stands. When it comes to the hard dirty work the Statesman stands aloof as the rough man gets into it.
  For many many years I’ve looked for the Statesman to return this country to its original idea. All to no avail. That man, if he even exist has not come forward. So an argument can be made for the Rough Man to step up and take charge.
  The American people have also grown tired of the career politicians and the way the country is run. They want a man who, when asked a question, answers that question in plain speech. None of the political blah blah blah. We’ve grown tired of the decline of all the things that has made America what it is. Our freedoms have been eroded. Our hard earned money going all over the world to places that hate us. Our trade deals that restricts our businesses and constricts our economy forcing us to borrow from foreign powers. We want someone who remembers the forgotten man. Enter Trump. The out rider. Not a politician. The Rough Man.
  Trump is a business man not beholding to special interest groups. He didn’t need their money or help to win the election. He loves America and the idea of freedom on which it was founded.
  Trump is crude some times. He does not speak eloquently. He wields his Twitter account as a broad sword. But he puts America first. Trump speaks like the common man in flyover country. He speaks for us when he stands up to our enemies and our friends. The majority of the People have stopped looking to politicians. We understand the Rough Man because we are as well.

A mosque was shot up in New Zealand killing dozens.
Christians are blown up in churches in Sri Lanka during Easter services killing hundreds.
A synagogue is attacked in California resulting in one death.
Hundreds of churches burnt and defiled in France and Europe.
Black churches in the southern United States burnt.
Sri Lankan churches are now closed to worshipers and guards put up on mosques.
 Evil is on the rise.

  I am a Christian and by the Grace of God Roman Catholic. My Faith as well as the teachings of other religions abhors this murder. We are made in the image of God. When you look into another’s eyes you must see God looking back. This is why it is written, Thou shalt not murder. To murder is to remove the Divine spark that resides in the Other. We must treat each other better. That’s why religions around the world also teach some version of the Golden Rule.

  “All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. For this is the law and the prophets.” Matt. 7:12 (Douay Rheims Bible)

  In other words love your neighbor as your self. That’s the key isn’t it. To love each other. To love the Other. For the Other is God. If we therefore love God we will, we should, we must love the man or women made in his image. When hungry we want fed. So feed the hungry. When sorrowful we want comforted. So comfort the sorrowful. When we are in error we desire gentle correction. So correct with gentleness and love. This must be our chief purpose. Duty to God. Duty to others.
  Whenever these horrible events take place we feel hopeless. What can we do?  Especially when these events take place a world away. So we offer up our hopes and prayers. Our leaders also offer them up. They too feel helpless. The cynics cry out against our prayers and demand action. Action will indeed be done but prayers are not the same as doing nothing. Prayers unite people. Prayers turn the world to God. Prayers bend our will to God’s will. These events drive us to our knees. On our knees should be the first action taken in all things. If more people started with prayer and surrender the evil in this world would be lessened. But not altogether eliminated.
  Suffering will be with us always. Don’t take our suffering away. My suffering today helps me understand your suffering tomorrow. Just as a lump of ore is blasted by fire and forged on an anvil so too our toils form us into fine steel. Those who have lived through the above evils, and many others, are now better prepared to meet the next event. They can better offer comfort to the sorrowful. They can better attend the wounds of the injured; body, mind and soul. They are now a source of strength and inspiration to the world. By the Grace of God they have walked through the valley and the shadow of death. We shall not fear suffering or evil.
  Let us not fool ourselves evil is still out there. The first evil has been perpetrated by those who committed these murders. They will be dealt with. But there is a second evil. An evil committed by the carrion birds who swoop in after these evil events to feast on the dead. I’m not talking about actual vultures but the so-called leaders in this world who use death and destruction to advance their cause. They cannot stand on their own merits but must bend the narrative to perpetuate their evil. They stir up the masses to a fever pitch knowing all along this will continue the us vs them mania. Their only hope for power is to keep everyone at odds with each other. Divide and conquer! The easiest emotional response you can engender in someone else is anger. So, if I can make you mad I can manipulate you. If you have a focus for your anger it can be used to weaken their opponents. And so they point their finger at the Other. The world is full of these us vs them scenarios that destroys our inner peace and bleeds out into the world and perpetuates the evil.

  There is no others. There is only us. We are the light of the world.

Muslims

Muslims. What do you know about Muslims?  Well a recent poll of Muslims living in America is interesting.  A recent poll commissioned by The Center for Security Policy reveals the following:

Of those polled 55% were male,  88% are between 18 to 44 years old and are currently living in the United States.
47% characterize sharia as a guide to the personal practice of Islam
25% agree sharia is a comprehensive program governing all aspects of the faithful Muslim's life.

Sharia vs U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights: 43% for Constitution, 33% sharia.
39% support the American Courts over sharia.
36% think they should be free to choose either.
15% support sharia courts only.

51% want the choice of being governed by sharia.

29% agree with violence against those who insult Muhammad, the Qur'an, etc.

25% agree that violence against Americans here in the U.S. can be justified as part of the global jihad.

Jihad understood by 51% as peaceful, personal struggle to be more religious.
16% believe jihad is the violent holy war against unbeliever of Islam.
11% say jihad as non-violent actions to undermine non-Muslim states and peoples.

54% think that there are violent jihadist in the U.S.

19% thinks the use of violence in the U.S. is justified to make sharia the law of the land.
24% think violence is justified to punish those who offend Islam.
36% think the Muslim Brotherhood is present in the U.S.

According to the Pew Research Center (pewreach.org) in 2010 there are 1.6 Billion Muslims in the world. About 2.75 million Muslims (1% of U.S. population) live in America.  Looking at the afore mentioned poll of Muslims living in the U.S. approxamently 20,000 Muslims are living here who think the use of violence is justified to advance sharia.  If only 10% of them are willing to act upon their violent belief that's still 2000 people willing to attack us here.  Many more would be willing to look the other way or even help those who wish us harm.  Look what two Muslims were able to do in California last week.  Yeah I'd be looking twice at most Muslims I encounter.

We keep hearing about "peaceful" Muslims.  The majority may well be but enough are willing to hijack their so called peaceful religion to advance it to cause pain and suffering to the population around them.  The rest are unwilling to stop the jihadist, to protest or even turn the jihadist in. But we are looking at the problem with Islam all wrong.

Let me elaborate.  Islam calls itself one of the three religions of "The Book".  The Torah, the Bible and the Qur'an are revelations of the One True God according to Muslims.  But I contend the Qur'an is a distortion of God's Word.  Since Satan is the author of lies, he distorts and corrupts all he touches.  As a Christian I see the following as signs of Satan's work.

Islam condemns the Trinity. They view Christians as Polytheists, worshiping more than one God.
Islam considers Jesus a prophet not the Son of God.  They rank Jesus below Mohammad.

God's Law states:
Thou shall NOT commit adultery.  The Qur'an teaches against adultery, punishable by death, but a Muslim man can have several wives and many concubines.
Thou shall NOT murder.  But the Qur'an teaches a Muslim can murder any non-believer to advance the faith. The Qur'an teaches a Muslim can lie and falsely swear to advance the faith and is encouraged to do so.
A Christian man marries a woman and the two become one.  A Muslim man owns his wife(s) and considers them his chattel.  No different than livestock.  Examples of this last point can be seen time and time again when peaceful Muslim men, men put forward as examples of moderates within their faith, beat their wives or even kill them for some violation of the Qur'an.  Their daughters are subject to "honor killings" to atone for some slight to the honor of the father/family.

Time after time the Qur'an takes God's Law written on Man's heart and twists it into something abhorrent. Children, young girls, can be married.  Mohammad himself married children.  When asked how old a girl should be before a husband can consummate the marriage Mohammad is quoted as saying she should be able to bare his weight.  This is sick and flies in the face of Western Civilization's mores.

Many, the President included, point to the sins and writings of Christians as proof of prior bad deeds as an excuse for the Muslims.  The Bible was written by several men (inspired by God) over 1500 years.  Those who wish to point out the violent words of the Old Testament to justify the violent words of the Qur'an do so by ignoring the New Testament which is the Church of Christ.  The Perfect love shown by Christ and the writers of the New Testament is not mirrored in the Qur'an.  The Qur'an was written by one man, Mohammad.  The teachers of Islam say the newer verses of their book overrides the words written earlier.  Meaning the last writings, the ones most violent, have more importance and therefore precedence.

Islam is at odds with modern civilization and our mores.  Islam is a remnant of a mid-evil cult that is an abomination of the teaching of the Bible.  Muslims who behave in a civilized fashion may be at odds with their own religion.  Their conflict and their inability to quell the violent side of their faith is killing us.   It is difficult for me to understand how we can live at peace together.  I am willing to try but how can I be at peace with them when I cannot trust what they say?  If they cannot or will not assimilate into our culture what are they doing here?  I can only conclude that for a few of them they are here to move us in the direction of Islam.

All this rambling is to help me understand our world today.  I also want you to give thought to Muslims.  Our President wants to bring thousands of Muslim refugees here.  Christian refugees are noticeable absent.  65% of Syrian refugees are said to be illiterate and are coming from a war torn area where there is not much in the way of information to properly vet.  There should be a pause from accepting more refugees for those countries until we can set up a better vetting process.  I believe we should help but should we let our compassion get ourselves killed?  What about our families?  Do they deserve to live in fear because of our rush to accept refugees?  The first order of a Government is to protect it's citizens.

Finally.  The group of refugees just forced  upon Texas are young men of military age.  Why aren't they fighting in their own country?  These are not the widows and orphans the President talked about.  Muslims vote overwhelmingly Democratic. Are we being played?  I know what my answer is.

SCOTUS on marriage

These are my thoughts on the SCOTUS rulings this week.

Let me begin by saying I don't care who you marry.  When my daughter Sue gets married I will truly be happy for her and her wife.  I will dance at her wedding.  Not my business but I do have an opinion.

Now, SCOTUS got it all wrong.  It is not for them or any other Federal Government body to define marriage.  The U.S. Constitution does not address marriage.  Therefore it is by definition a States right as defined in the 10th Amendment and/or retained by "We the People" as defined in the 9th Amendment.  The use of the 14th Amendment in this decision is a stretch because that Amendment was passed to straighten out problems that arose after the Civil War when the southern states came back into the Union.  What the Supremes have done is remove the will of the people from the equation and replaced it with the rule of five.  The Government continually takes more and more power from the People and it's our fault.  We vote them in.  Not the Supremes I know but the ones who appoint and confirm them.  We keep running to the Supreme Court to get our wants validated.  We should try working it all out ourselves.

I or anyone else should not have to go to any government agency, hat in hand, and ask permission to enter into an agreement, contract or marriage with someone we love.  I realize some protections need to be in place to protect those who cannot answer or consent for themselves.  But that's not what this ruling was about.  It was the Government inserting themselves into our lives.  If we ask them to define marriage we are asking them to regulate marriage.  They can't help themselves.  We have asked the Government into our bedrooms after all these years of yelling for them to stay out.

Now same sex marriage is the law of the land.  What does that mean?  No one knows but we have some indications.  First every county will start issuing marriage licenses.  Well most will.  I've read of some counties in Alabama who will not issue marriages licenses at all.  For any type of marriage.  How do you get married without a government permission slip?  What are we going to do if the Government doesn't give us permission for every step in our life.  Time and lawsuits will tell.  Yes Lawsuits!  Lots and lots of lawsuits!  Lawyers are going to get rich over this because the government will have to pass laws, rules and regulations to counter all the nuances of enforcing this ruling.  All those laws will have to be adjudicated through the courts.  The Congress will spend time debating and passing these laws further inserting themselves into our private lives.

What about the religious rights of citizens who object to this ruling?  Justice Kennedy wrote in the majority option that our First Amendment rights will not be affected.  Well present and past practices say the opposite.  Already bakers and caterers have lost lawsuits defending their religious beliefs.  A Georgia state worker was fired because he was as a lay preacher in a church that opposed same sex marriage.  A Marine was discharged because of a scripture quote sitting on her desk.  The Solicitor General before the Supreme Court, in answering a question from a Justice about the tax exempt status of religious organizations, stated "That's being looked at".  I've written before how I think this administration would like to force a confrontation with churches so they could strip their tax exempt status to gain revenue and control.  To force a crisis with the Obamacare law so they could force single payer onto every one.  Single payer was the goal all along if you listen to Obama from his 2007 speeches, but I digress.  The President has stated that we have First Amendment rights in our worship and private homes but has indicated that is as far as it goes.  Being a Christian is fine and dandy as long as you keep it to yourself.  Don't take it to work with you.  It has no place in the public square.  Your business, adoption agency, hospital all must conform or be ruined, closed down and fined.

I am a Catholic!  My Church opposes same sex marriage.  Will I be barred from employment because of my faith?  Will I be barred from my social security next year when I reach 62?  Will the Christians have to return to hiding in the woods or the catacombs again?  I could write on how this might be a good thing but that's not for this discussion.

The future is uncertain.  The path is unclear.  But that doesn't matter.  I write to organize my thoughts and I publish to share them.  Thank you for putting up with me.

How was your day?

How was your day you ask?  Well let me tell you.

Woke thinking it was going to be a good day.  Planning on going for some group therapy.  For those not in the know that means I was going shooting.  Loaded up my pistol and some targets and headed up to the American Shooting Range in Peoria.  40 miles later there I was.  I walked in, did the usual dance and jumping through hoops and found myself on the firing line.  Mount the target.  Load the magazines.  Insert a magazine into the pistol.  Rack the slide, set the safety and put the pistol on the table.  I picked up the pistol and swept off the safety as I aligned the sights on the target.

Boom, boom, boom…….. Shit!

The slide locked back and I had a failure to feed.  So I went through the drill.  Slap the magazine on the bottom making sure it was seated.  Pull back the slide and release.  Only the slide would not pull back.  Would not go forward.  Ok repeat the drill.  Still nothing.  Thinking a round was jammed I dropped the magazine and tried racking the slide.  Nothing.  Ok I depressed the slide lock lever and the slide slid forward into battery.  Ok thinking the round in the magazine might be the problem I striped it out and reset the mag.  Racking the slide it worked fine slapping forward as it stripe the next round out of the mag.

Boom……… Shit!

The slide locked back again.  Thinking the magazine was the problem I removed it and inserted another.  I depressed the slid lock lever and the slide snapped forward chambering the round.

Boom…….. Shit!

Ok, emergency repair procedure number 2: I tried harsh language.  Didn’t work.  Ok bullets not jamming, check.  Both magazines having the same problems, check.  Must be the pistol.  I contacted the range officer and asked for his help.  He loaded one of the magazines and shot the pistol.  

Boom…… Shit!  

After several tries he determined there was a problem with the spring on the slide lock lever.  My group therapy was over.  Loading everything up I drove home.  Did I mention it was 40 miles?  I am now in a sour mood.  Ok, I was pissed!  It didn’t help my mood by bumping along on Illinois roads thinking there were too many assholes on the road.  Then I thought there were the right amount of assholes on the road.  One for each driver.

Getting home I call Ruger and am put on hold.  Finely after 16 months (really only 5 minutes) I get a nice lady who helps me prepare to return my pistol to Ruger to be fixed.  So I go to my email to print out the shipping label and …… Shit!  Window’s 8.1 wants me to watch some video before I can print out the email and label.  I watch the stupid video then go to print….. Arrh!  The printer is out of black ink.  Replacing the cartridge I try again.  Success!  Shit!  The shipping label comes out the size of a stamp!  Reformatting the email creates a life size shipping label.  I start to fill out the form in the email.  Serial number, check.  RMA#?  What the hell is an RMA#?  So I poor over the email and shipping label looking for the elusive RMA#?  There is no such number to be found so I call Ruger again.  On hold again for 16 month!  Really only 10 minutes this time.  Nice lady says that’s the reference number.  Why the BLEEP didn’t they call it the reference number on the form?  Ok, I finish filling out the form then clean my pistol.  Getting in the car I head up the Manito Blacktop to drive back to Peoria to the FedEx place.  Only 35 miles this time.  I’m in a hurry because I have to be back by five o’clock to go pick up something from Sue’s.  Halfway to Pekin there is a police car in the road forcing traffic to detour.  I know not why but I now have to drive almost to Manito (where I live) to pick up another road to cross the Mackinaw River.  Well I made it to the FedEx ok after that and tried the Manito Blacktop coming home thinking it might be open now but no.  So I had to detour once again.  But I made it.  So, how was your day?

Camping Cook Pots

OK! Something different for a change.  I'm going to try to incorporate pictures into a story.  This story will not be about politics or religion.  It's about cook pots for camping, so here goes.

When I was in Boy Scouts I used the boy scout mess kit.  What a bad piece of cook kit it was too.  It had a plate, fry pan, small kettle and a plastic cup marked off in quarter cup, half cup, three-quarter cup and one cup measurements.  The frying pan was too thin to cook with and I lost the wing nut for the folding handle right away.  The plate was alright I guess but I ended up using the small pot and the plastic cup the most.  We used the group cook set for the whole patrol but when I cooked for myself all I did was boil water to make instant coco and instant oatmeal.  The only other cooking I did was soup.  Here's a picture of the small pot.

It would hold about two cups of water and did all I needed at the time.

Later someone gave my Scout Troop a bunch of Army surplus cook gear and I was able to snag onto a canteen and canteen cup as well as an Army mess kit.  Again not much cooking in the mess kit but the canteen cup became my new cook pot. 

Here you see canteen cup next to the Boy Scout cooking pot.  This is not the canteen cup I used in Scouts.  This has the better butter fly type handle and a home made lid for it.  The old type handle folded under the cup and when unfolded and hooked had the worst timing for coming undone.  Usually when it was full of boiling water and lifted off the fire.  After our Canada canoe trip I ditched the Army mess kit and just carried a Tupperware cereal bowl to eat out of keeping the canteen cup as my main cooking pot.

Later I wanted a collecting hobby and since I didn't have much money I decided to collect mess kits.  So here are a few I have...

First up is an East German mess kit patterned after the German WWII mess kit.

This kit is aluminium and light weight but I am not a fan of the inner cup and would replace it with something plastic like a Tupperware bowl or a Swedish Kaska cup.  You will see one of the Swedish cups in that mess kit.  This kit will hold about four to six cups of water for cooking and the lid can be used as a small fry pan or to heat up one quick cup of water for coffee or tea on the march.

The next mess kit is another German mess kit.  It may even be from WWII but I don't know for sure.

This kit is the same dimensions as the East German kit just better made and also aluminium.

Next the Swedish mess kit.  It's a little larger than the German ones but not by much.

Here you see it packed together inside its aluminium pot stand/wind screen.  The pot itself is Stainless Steel.  The newer mess kit were made of aluminium and the newest Swedish mess kit look entirely different.

Now you can see the pot does not have the inner bowl the German mess kits have.  Instead the pot is packed with the Kaska cup, trangia stove and alcohol bottle.

You'll notice too that the Swedish mess kit is oval where the German kits are kidney shape.  The Germans would wear their kits on the bread bag or their Y-straps so the kidney shape allowed the kit to ride closer to the body.  The Trangia stove ran on alcohol.  Not any alcohol will do.  The best is denatured alcohol like you get in the paint aisle of a hardware store.  They say you can use the yellow DEET fuel additive too.  The red DEET contains chemicals that are harmful if breathed in when it burns.  The stove is super simple in that all you do is pour in some alcohol and light.  It's a little finicky in the super cold but works well enough even someone in the Army could use it. 

Here are a series of pictures showing the set up and use of the cook kit.  Notice too the D-rings on the skillet handle that allow a stick to be used extend the reach of the pan.

Notice the pot stand unfolded.

The Trangia stove is in place ready to light.  (If it wasn't in my living room on a card table)

The top picture shows the cooking pot in the stand.  The middle shows how the skillet can be used to cover the pot and speed up boiling time.  The bottom pictures shows the skillet in the stand for frying or boiling a small amount of water for a cup of Joe.  Notice too the stick in the D-rings on the handle allowing for greater reach.  Helpful if cooking over a wood fire.

These are all the military mess kits I have so I think I will wrap it up for now.  I'll show some of my other mess/cook kit later.

Death Visits a Child

  This coming November 20^th marks the 50^th anniversary of the assignation of President Kennedy.  The television is playing stories around the clock informing us of all the details of who, what, when, where and why of that fateful day.  I am not watching any of these.  It’s not that I know all about that day.  Nor that I don’t care.  The fall of 1963 had another meaning for me and the killing of JFK was only a part.  That year was the year “Death visits a Child”.

 

   When I was 8 years old, almost 9, in late September 1963 I remember sitting in our car in a parking lot at a Missouri hospital.  Mom and I, and my 2 year old little brother, were waiting for my dad who had gone into the hospital where his mom was.  I don’t remember much about the drive down from Illinois but for some reason I remember eating candy waiting for dad.  When he came out of the hospital I saw my father cry for the first time in my life.  Grandma Watts had died.  This is very big for a little boy who is starting to be taught the life lessons needed to grow into a man.  My father cried, my grandma Watts had died.  This is the first death I had experienced in my short life.  Since I was so young my mom and dad had Grandpa and Grandma Pannebecker (mom’s parents) take care of me during the visitation and funeral.  Later we returned to Illinois and life returned to normal for a little boy.

 

On November 8^th I turned 9 years old.  Five days later my mom’s mom died.  Mom, my brother and I rode down to Missouri with mom’s sister and family.  Dad followed soon after when he could get off of work.  For some reason I don’t remember much at all about this trip except that Grandma Pannebecker had died.  I do remember saying to my mom “two down and one to go”.   She looked at me shocked and said “don’t say that”.  I was making reference to the fact that both grandmas had now passed away in six weeks’ time and one great-grandma remained alive.  As a 9 year old losing both grandmas in such a short time had changed me.  I was not thinking any great thoughts, just all that was normal in my life was changing.  For a little boy change like this makes you begin to think that all things in your life may change.  You begin to wonder what else is going to change, who else is going to die.  Death was changing my world and he was not through with me.

 

November 20^th, 1963.  I am sitting in class when one of my fellow students, a girl named Leslie Maquet, came back from the principal’s office and starting whispering in the class that the President had been shot.  Not long after the principal came over the school speakers telling us the President had died.  Back then there was only three channels on TV and all three were playing nothing but this story.  I saw Ruby shoot Oswald.  I watch as the new President was sworn in on Air Force One with Kennedy’s widow looking on still in her blood stained dress.  I watch President Kennedy’s flag draped casket lay in state in the Capital Rotunda.  I watched John salute his father’s casket as it rolled by on an Army caisson.  The rider less horse with the empty boots turned backwards in the stirrups.  All the flags were at half-staff.  Then “Little Grandma” died five days after Kennedy.

 

I didn’t go with mom to Missouri to her grandma’s funeral because I had already missed too much school.  I didn’t need to for death to tell me my life had changed once again.  I have referred to 1963 as my year of death.  But it was only the beginning.  Latter in the 60’s Bobby Kennedy died.  Martin Luther King Jr. died.  I watched the Watts riots.  I watched Detroit burn.  I watched the Vietnam War on TV every night.  The limp bloody bodies of our GI’s carried across the TV screen day after day.

 

About this time I started doodling dead trees.  Leafless branches attached to dead stumps graced my pages.  Latter I was told by a girl I used to work with that my doodling showed my preoccupation with death.  Perhaps.  However I know death has taught me the rule of change.  The rule simply is “All changes”.  We die.  Life changes.  We move on.  We flow through this river of time, going from one scene to the next in this play of life.  Yet I struggle with this change every day.  I want my life to be the same today as yesterday.  I want the people who were in my life yesterday here today.  I know I cannot get what I want.  I know I must accept the change and the sorrow.  I know this because in 1963 death visited a child.

Presidential Malpractice

Welcome to the era of Presidential malpractice.  Obama sits in the White House and continues to espouse he had no idea that you would lose you health care.  He had no idea the web site was so poorly put together.  He didn't even know about the IRS scandal until he read it in the papers the same as the American people.  Nether he nor his Attorney General knew about the Fast and Furious gun running program.  The President didn't know about potential problems in Benghazi.  He didn't know about tapping the phones and emails of our European Allies.

So either he is incompetent or a liar.  A recently released memo suggests the President knew about you losing your health care back in 2010.  Yet he continued to tell the people you could keep your health care if you like it.  All to win an election and remain in power. When asked about untruthful statements during the 2012 campaign it was explained that these little untruths are just part of the campaign process.

I hope he is just a liar.  If not then this is all part of the master plan or incompetency.  An incompetent President begs the question "Who is running the show"?  Is there a puppet master behind the scene or is our faceless, unelected bureaucracy the real movers and shakers of government. Who is the puller of the strings?  Who is reining in the outlaw bureaucrats?

Promise after promise has been made by this President to "get to the bottom of this". 

Well Mr. President we're waiting!!!!!!!!

An honorable man would admit his mistakes and correct the problems.  If he could not then again an honorable man would resign.  The problems are not being fixed!  He has not resigned!  Ergo I conclude this President is not an honorable man and we deserve better.

But wait!  I contend we deserve exactly this President because "We the People" elected him.  Then re-elected him.  We will not get better unless we elect better!  We must elect those men and women who believe in the same America as the people.  We must elect men and women who are from among us.  Not Washington insiders!  Not media sweethearts!  Not Ivy League prima donnas!

Until then welcome to the decline.

The Drowning

I awake to a mighty struggle.  A battle requiring all my strength.  I'm in a pool fighting with a man, I know not who, holding him under the water.  His strength is equal to mine if not superior.  As the struggle continues I grow weaker as his strength increases until his face breaks the surface of the water.  I revolt in horror as I gaze upon my diseased self.  This revelation weakens my resolve.  As I begin losing the battle two arms wrap around me, nail stained hands grasps my wrists.  This helper's strength takes over where mine fails me.  He drives the diseased Adam of myself under the surface of the water and holds me there until all struggle ceases.  He is drowned, the victory won until I awake once again to the daily struggle....

Luther's Small Catechism

Question:  What does such baptizing with water indicate?
Answer:  It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Romans 6:4  "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live in a new life."

M.A.D. and the small arms race

 

Mutually Assured Destruction

Those who are in my generation will remember the threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The fallout shelters. The duck and cover drills. At the time a phrase was used called Mutually Assured Destruction or MAD. What this ment was each side had the equal ability to completely destroy the other. While the leaders on both sides were willing to sacrifice millions of their citizens in a war they knew there wouldn’t be anything left to govern if a war broke out. So we had a stale mate. And an Arms Race. Each side built bigger and better nuclear bombs trying to get an edge. Either to win a war or to bully the other side. Remember this for now we are going to talk about…..

The Small Arms Race

　

My readers know I like history. So lets have a history lesson. Europeans started coming to North America in 1492. With them came their weapons. Metal armor, steel swords, steel spears and oh yeah firearms. The first firearms they brought were matchlocks. They used the coal on the end of a glowing rope to ignite the powder in the barrel. These were crude, prone to misfires, slow to load and affected by bad weather. But they could fire a .75 caliber lead ball further that any Indian could shoot an arrow. The Europeans conquered much of North and South America.

Fast forward to the 1700’s. Flintlocks were now being used. You know; Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. Still muzzle loaders were slow to load. Armies would train to load and fire 3 un-aimed shots per minute. That was using a smooth bore musket. A rifle was slower. Maybe one shot per minute or a minute and a half. The difference? The musket had no rifling and used a loose ball in the barrel making it easer to load. This also made it inaccurate. The rifle had spiral groves cut inside the barrel. This would impart spin on the ball which was loaded with a cloth patch to make the ball fit tighter so the rifling would work. This was much more accurate. Which was better? Depended what you needed the firearm for. The military used muskets because they loaded fast. Their tactics was to stand in ranks shoulder to shoulder and fire as fast as they could at the other army standing shoulder to shoulder firing as fast as they could. The distance between the two armies was usually about 50 yards. On the other hand a good rifleman could hit a man sized target at 300 yards. But the rifle was slow to load. It could not take a bayonet. And was expensive to make compared to a musket.

The small arms race had already begun even then. During the Revolutionary War a British officer named Ferguson invented a breach loading rifle that could be loaded and fired 3 times per minute. Moreover these were aimed shots and this rifle was effective to 300 yards. The British Army did not choose to arm more than one unit with this gun which was later disbanded after Ferguson was wounded. Lucky for us. An interesting side story. Ferguson had General George Washington in his sights with one of his rifles but choose not to shoot. Gentlemen did not target officers after all. Ferguson died some months later in battle.

Firearms advanced a lot in the next hundred years. The Indians were out gunned when they went up against rifles with their bow and arrows. So they acquired rifles. The battle of Little Big Horn in 1876 now enters our discussion. General Custer and his men were armed with single shot rifles and 1873 Colt revolvers. The Indians had repeating rifles. They were using Henrys and the Winchester 1866 both of which held 10 or more rounds. While Custer’s rifles had a more powerful cartage and could shoot much further the Indians had superior numbers shooting repeating rifles. We know how that ended.

So now we jump ahead to the 1970’s. Mary and I are staying in a motel on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. We were a minority. But there was a police presence at the motel so I didn‘t feel too unsafe. Something didn’t look right about the police. They were all carrying two pistols! Actually each officer had his issued revolver PLUS a 9mm semi-auto handgun. Why? I asked one of the officers. He told me they needed the fire power. More bullets between reloads with faster reloads. A six shot revolver just wasn’t cutting it for the cops. They were out gunned by the criminals. This was the beginning of a trend across the country of police departments switching from revolvers to semi-auto pistols. Criminals had more firepower than the cops! There was a small arms race between the cops and the robbers. Civilians started on the semi-auto trend too. Now we have millions of semi-auto hand guns in this country. The genii was out of the bottle.

Then came 1994 and the Assault Weapons Ban. Among other things it limited new guns sold from having a magazine with more than a 10 round capacity. It didn’t really matter because of all the higher capacity magazines that were “grandfathered” in. Those were the ones manufactured before 1994. The law of unintended consequences became involved during this time. The Colt 1911 style semi-auto pistol in .45 ACP was fading away before 1994. It was a bigger, heaver pistol and usually only held 7 rounds. Everyone wanted the newest and best 9mm higher capacity pistol. But after 1994 you were only allowed 10 rounds. So shooters were weighing their options. Ten rounds of 9mm or 7 of .45 ACP? The great 9mm vs. .45 debate raged. Which is better you ask? There is good and bad points that can be argued for each. The end result though was the Colt 1911 style has made a come back to the point it is not going to fade away anytime soon. Though the debate rages on and the Assault Weapons Ban ended 2004.

Now it’s 2013 and there is a new push for anti-gun laws. New York State has just passed an anti-gun law that restricts magazine capacity to 7 rounds. Most semi-auto pistols use a magazine which carry twice that. In fact there are NO 7 round magazines made for most of the pistols in this country. The exceptions are the 1911 style mentioned above and some of the new small semi’s used in conceal carry. The law of unintended consequences has reared it’s ugly head again. New York forgot to put in an exemption for police as to the 7 round restriction. When pointed out one New York legislator stated they would amend the bill. After all “we couldn’t have the criminals having more bullets than the police”. I know, I know, you have already leapt past saying “that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard” to “but it’s alright if the criminals have more bullets than me!”

Remember way back at the beginning of this article? Remember what I said about Mutually Assured Destruction? We live in a dangerous world. Always has been always will be. We are safe only through luck, divine protection or preparedness. One way to prepare is to make you and your family strong enough that criminals don’t want to take you on. To be equal to the bad guy kicking in your front door.

Remember:

Rifles replaced muskets because they could shoot further and more accurate.

Indians gave up their bow and arrows for rifles so they could hunt better and defend themselves from the white man.

The Indians wiped out Custer partly because they had superior firepower over Custer’s single shot rifles.

The police in the 70’s started switching to semi-auto pistols from their 6 shot revolvers because the criminals had superior firepower over them.

The anti-gun bill in New York will be amended so cops can have more than 7 round magazines so the criminals won’t have superior firepower.

The civilians in New York are assured to have inferior firepower to the criminals.

One legislator in New England said no one need a gun that held more than one bullet. Tell that to Custer.

Tell that to the mother who defended herself and her two children in Georgia. She emptied her revolver (6 shots) hitting the criminal 5 times. He managed to get out of the house into his car and drive a block or two before collapsing. If he had a gun. If he had accomplices. If she only had one shot this would be a different story.

There’s a reason dogs have fangs and lions have claws. There’s a reason deer have antlers too. There is a natural right to self protection. Our Constitution recognizes this right in the 2^nd Amendment. If given the choice, when investigating that bump in the night, do you want to be armed like Custer or a policeman.

Beware of "Need"

Beware the “need” argument.

The recent gun debate has featured the question “why do you need an Ar15 or a 30 round magazine?” Beware of the use of the word - need. I’ve addressed this “need” as to magazine capacity before. I will broaden our examination further.

To repeat, who or what determines what I need. We the People or the Government? Who has the power? We the People or the Government? The correct answer is We the People as outlined in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States.

In 2011 the President, while talking about high gas prices, told a man complaining about high gas prices to buy a new car. When told the man had 10 kids and needed a bigger vehicle to hold them all, Obama ridiculed him then told him he needed a hybrid van.

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/04/07/obamateurism-of-the-day-487/

In other words if this man hadn’t been so selfish. If he would have thought of the greater good. He would not “need” so many kids. If he had not needed those kids he would not have needed the SUV. It doesn’t take much reasoning to see where this is going. You only “need” a small electric or hybrid car. You “need” to walk or bike more. We the Government will tell you what you “need” and will make laws and regulations to move you in the right direction. The car you “need”. The number of children you “need”.

For example: China has a one child policy. Why? Because they had too many people using too many resources. The result? Millions of baby girls have been aborted in the quest for boy children. Many baby girls born were murdered by their own parents so they could try for a boy. This because the government defined it’s citizen’s needs.

Are you an empty nester with that 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom house? You only need one bedroom and one bathroom. What if you still have kids living at home. Do you need a bedroom for each person? The Government could say you only need three tops. One for mom and dad. One for the daughters. One for the sons. You only need one or one and a half bathrooms too. Do you really need a house with a big yard? It would be much more efficient to live in a one bedroom apartment. You know the Earth cannot sustain it’s growing population if we continue to demand more resources for our own selfish reasons. We are the Government, we know what you need better that you.

Do you need all those calories you consume each day? Why we have an obesity problem in this country. Our heath care costs are skyrocketing! Our government scientists have determined you only need 2500 calories a day. That’s all you really need to live. Think of the greater good. Problem with compliance? Not with that RFID chip in your Government issued ID. Do you think the Government can’t control something like this? When was the last time you tried to buy antihistamine at Wal-Mart? You had to show ID and your purchase was recorded so you could not go to another pharmacy to purchase more antihistamine in the next few days. A data base just to restrict cold medicine! It wouldn’t be that hard for food too.

You don’t think this will this happen? The mayor of New York City has determined his citizens don’t need to buy a soda bigger than 16 oz. Touting women’s “need” to breast feed more Mayor Bloomberg now has baby formula locked up in hospitals. He has just come out saying his citizens don’t need more that a three day supply of pain medication when they leave an ER. “You may have to suffer little” he says. Suck it up Buttercup! He is also preventing the prescribing of some pain medications out of the ER.

 
 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/nyregion/new-york-city-to-restrict-powerful-prescription-drugs-in-public-hospitals-emergency-rooms.html?_r=0

　

The First Lady persuaded schools in America to limit the calories in students meals. Her plan denied growing teenagers the nutrients to keep them going for the 8, 9 or 10 hours they were in school. Athletes and non-athletes alike received the same amount of food. Students were leaving campus during lunch to buy food to keep going. They weren’t buying health food either. Chips, power bars, candy bars. High salt, high calories, high fat. Again, Government determined “need” in action. The outcry of the student meal plan has now caused it to be modified.

A Government that defines so many “needs” destroys wants and desires. Did man need to fly? No but his wants and desires has him soaring like Eagles and walking in space.

Did man need to go faster than one horse power? No but his wants and desires have him driving in cars now. More mobile that ever. Along with the airplane traveling to the far reaches of the Earth. Shrinking the globe making all our next door neighbors.

Did man need a phone? No but desire has given us I-phones that access the internet. A TV? Didn’t need that too but man’s desire has brought the world to our living rooms.

The point is a Government that defines our “needs” is a Government that restricts our freedoms. Restricts our innovation. Keeps us from remaining the great nation that saved the world several times in the last century. A “needs” centered government restricts our freedom to move around as we please. To learn as we please. To raise our families as we please. To speak, worship, defend ourselves as we see fit. A “need” defining Government is a people controlling Government. A Government Of the People, By the People and For the People keeps us safe and free to be the great nation we use to be.

Beware of the use of the term “NEED”. It is a freedom killer.

Dasvidaniya

The end is near.  No not the end of the world.  Just the end of America.  Our Traitor in Chief Obama and his comrades in crime the Democrats and Republicans have ran this nation into the ground.  Now their assault upon the 2nd Amendment has begun.  Also this state I live in, Illinois, may pass a sweeping anti gun law in the next few days disarming the citizens of this state.  All semi-auto pistols, rifles and shotguns will be baned.  All pump action rifles and shotguns will be baned.  No grandfather clause.  We will have a short time to turn them all into the State Police to be destroyed.

The choices we face are; comply and become serfs, become felons, move out of the state, or revolt.  I like to think that I am strong enough not to comply so that leaves one of the other three.  If the gun owners leave the state still wins.  But most cannot up and leave on short notice.  Especially if they have family, jobs, homes they would have to abandon.  Become a felon?  With a stroke of a pen tens of thousands of citizens could became felons.  If caught what are the fines.  What would be the jail time.  What would be the consequences of a felony gun charge on your record.  Couldn't move to another state then and be a free man, a free gun owner.  To revolt would mean someone would be hurt or killed.  Am I willing to kill or be killed for my constitutional rights?  I imagine these same thoughts went through the minds of Americans in 1776.

How about the State Police?  The local police?  Will they comply with this unconstitutional order to disarm?  Will I?  Will you?

Dasvidaniya Comrades

The Gifts from Thorns

Something different for a change.  The Sunday School teacher gave us homework.  He wanted us to write up something like you would find in the "Portals of Prayer".  The "Portals of Prayer" is a daily devotional booklet published by Concordia Publishing House for the LCMS.  For the month of December 2012 each day was about a Gift from God.  So our devotional was to be about Gifts.  Our own version of a Gift listed in the "Portals of  Prayer" or some completely new Gift.  This is my homework.  It may not be the final draft but it will be close.

 

The Gifts from Thorns

Read Psalm 91

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being conceited” 2 Cor 12:7 ESV

“From brambles of thorns roses grow”

                                                              Mikhail

To keep Paul grounded in this world, to keep him humble, God allowed St. Paul to develop, as the King James puts it, “a thorn in my flesh”. This thorn forced Paul to turn to God for strength. As he says later in verse 10 “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” As with Paul so with us. God allows thorns in our flesh to bring us to our knees before Him to seek His strength. God turns our thorns into the many roses of His Blessings.

There was a lady who suffered from many medical problems throughout her life. On one occasion she needed surgery on her foot. On the day of surgery family and friends and her Pastor gathered with her in the hospital. Surgery, even if just on a foot, was surgery after all. Carrying risks. Showing the weakness of the flesh. Her gift of thorns reveled the blessings of family, friends and pastors. Right before the nurses were to take her to the operating room the Pastor prayed with her. Her thorn became the rose petals of Prayer and Comfort.

As her family and friends gathered in the surgical waiting room the Pastor offered a prayer for successful surgery. Her thorn became the blessing of Prayer and Comfort for her loved ones.

As the “Amen” was said they looked up. All the other people in the waiting room were looking at them in silence. These people had been listening too. This lady’s thorn became the blessing of Prayer and Comfort for people she didn’t even know. The Pastor’s prayer had contained the Word of God. The Good News of Christ. The Comfort of the Great Physician. The Holy Spirit working through the Word touched each and every heart in that room. We may never know how many thorns in loved ones flesh caused these people to be in this room at this time to hear this prayer. But God knows and his Holy Spirit will not return to Him void. From the gift of thorns to this one lady the roses petals of blessings surrounded her, her family and friends and perfect strangers. Who but God knows how many were moved that day through the gift of thorns to everlasting life.

There is a poem that begins: “For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost…”

I think it could be rewritten this way:
“For the gift of a thorn, a prayer was said;
For the word of a prayer, a soul was won…”

Our Hymn
“Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to your God to order and provide;
In every change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; Your best, your heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.”
Lutheran Worship 510:1 Amen

An AR primer

A brief primer on “Assault Rifles”. The AR15 used in the recent mass murder of children has been referred to as an assault rifle. Here are some facts concerning this type of firearm:

The rifle used fired a .223 (5.56mm) caliber round originally designed to hunt varmints such as prairie dogs and coyotes. It is considered a mid range round firing a 45 to 55 grain bullet at approximately 3200 feet per second. This round is considered by some to be a bit under powered for deer but there are hunters who do deer hunt with it. An effective killing range would be out to 300 yards or so. But with an expert maybe longer. The United States adopted this round in the 1960’s to be fired from the Armalite Rifle which we now know as the AR15. The military version is known as the M16. Some of the reasons for the adoption of the M16 and this round are: The round was effective at short range and since we were fighting in the jungles of Vietnam ranges were reduced. This smaller round allowed our GI’s to carry (hump) more ammo. And since soldiers have to carry everything they needed this was a good thing. Some of our soldiers in recent wars have carried up to 80 pounds in weapons, armor and gear. The M16 was a lighter weapon to carry. The previous battle rifle the Army was using was the M14 which was all wood and steel and used heaver ammo. The M1 rifle of WWII weight more than 9 pounds and carried 8 rounds. The plastic and steel M16 and the .223 allowed the GI to carry twice the firepower for the same weight.

Definition of Assault Rifle.

The news likes to report the murderer used an automatic rifle or an assault rifle to shoot the children. An assault rifle is a select fire rifle. This means the rifle has a selector switch which will place the rifle in one of three different modes. They are: SAFE, SEMI, AUTO. This means the rifle is placed in SAFE which means it won’t fire. SEMI means the rifle will fire one round each time the trigger is pulled. AUTO means the rifle will fire continuously while the trigger is held back until the trigger is released or the magazine is empty. Some versions have a 3 round burst instead of full AUTO but you get the idea. A rife firing full AUTO is difficult to control. It is also difficult to hit the target after the first couple of rounds because of muzzle climb. And wastes ammo. In Vietnam many units had orders to not go to AUTO unless they were given a direct order by their NCO (non commissioned officer I.e.: sergeant/platoon leader).

The rifle used by the shooter was an AR15 which has a selector switch for SAFE and FIRE only. It will not fire full AUTO it can only fire one round for each pull of the trigger.

Magazines:

Magazines are not “high capacity” they are the normal capacity magazines designed for the firearm. Restricting the magazine capacity will only cause the firearm user to change magazines more often. 30 rounds in 30 seconds will now be 30 rounds ( three magazines of 10 rounds each) in 45 seconds. That’s figuring on a 5 second magazine change. 5 seconds won’t matter if you are hiding in a corner praying the cops get there in time.

The shooter at Virginia Tech had two handguns. One with a 10 round magazine and another with a 15 round magazine. He also had a backpack with 30+ magazines with him. Magazine capacity is not a limiting factor.

The Media:

The media in concert with the politicians is using hype to lead the public conversation against firearm ownership to institute a new Assault Weapons’ Ban. The Assault Weapons’ Ban of a few years ago were all cosmetic. If you already had a semi auto version of an AR15 or AK47 etc you were “grandfathered in”. So the rifles were not gotten rid of. The ban eliminated the import of rifles that had a pistol grip, bayonet lug, flash suppresser, magazines with a capacity of over 10 rounds, etc.

The ultimate wish of the media and the politicians is to remove all firearms from the people. They want to create a ground swell for new anti gun laws and to render the 2^nd Amendment moot if not repealed altogether. The reasons for the 2^nd Amendment can be found in the writings of our Founding Fathers. The Constitution was not ratified until the Bill of Rights were included. They are the first 10 Amendments that give specific Rights to the People and put binders on the power of the Government. See my previous post on the 2^nd Amendment.

Facts:

According to a study by John Lott, 2 million people in America stop robberies, rapes and murders each year using some form of firearm.

According to the 2011 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report homicide (by any means) is not among the top 15 leading causes of death in America.

The 2009 CDC report listed 16,799 homicides with 11,493 of those attributed to guns. During that same year, motor vehicle deaths were nearly triple that of gun-related death - 34,485 vs. 11,496. Death from accidental falls totaled 24,792, almost double the firearms homicide total.

Homicide by other guns (non-handguns) have remained at approximately 2% since 1985.

Since Britain has instituted it’s gun ban gun violence by gangs have increased to the point the once gun-less Bobbies are now walking around armed.

As of this writing there have been 500 homicides in Chicago.

There have been 26 gun deaths in Chicago schools this year.

Chicago has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the nation. Some of the law are:

Prohibit the registration of handguns, thus effecting a broad handgun ban

Require that guns be registered prior to their acquisition by Chicago residents

Mandate that guns be re-registered annually, with another payment of the fee

Render any gun permanently non-registerable if its registration lapses

　

Conclusion:

All this hype about the gun used is because it’s “scary” looking. It looks military. It can shoot lots of bullets fast. The media and politicians are trying to stear the naritive away from the 2^nd Amendment right and towards emotional knee jerk reactions to disarm the people.

The Founding Fathers were clear in their writings that the 2^nd Amendment was NOT about hunting and Militias. No they made it clear the people’s rights to own guns, firearms, weapons was there for the self protection of the people from a tyrannical government. Remember we had just fought a war of independence from Britain and they knew how far an unchecked government could and did go to suppress the people.

Our government is moving from Freedom and Liberty to Tyranny. We must look past the scary gun and fight for our Rights!

The 2nd Amendment

Ok one last attempt to explain the 2^nd Amendment and the “need” for magazines that hold 10-20-30 rounds. I am not going to discuss the actual magazines or firearms but rather the broader question of the need of the 2^nd Amendment.

In answer to the question “why do you need a 30 round magazine?” I would reply “because the guy kicking down my door will have one”. That’s the one line answer that leaves everyone unsatisfied. Their eyes cross. Their brain cannot fathom the totality of that statement. So here’s the longer version.

Why do I need a 30 round magazine? Why do I need access to an AR15? Who tells me what I need or don’t need. Who has the power in America? The People? The Government? Your answer to the last two questions will show your understanding of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Let us return to those times of old where men wore powdered wigs and spoke in flowery ways. The colonies had put up with many wrongs from the English Crown and despite their attempts at a peaceful redress of grievances finally penned the Declaration of Independence. Part of the second paragraph reads as following.

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness---That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed….” (emphasis mine)

Let us now look to the preamble to The Constitution of the United States of America.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

In this case the emphasis is not mine. The words We the People were written in emphasis to establish who is setting up this Constitution and who has the power. The Founding Fathers were afraid of a strong central government so they wrote the Constitution as a relatively short document designed to establish limited government at the same time allowing freedom and liberty to thrive. The Constitution is a wall around the power of the government. The Constitution protects us from the same type of tyrannical government we broke away from in 1776.

If I remember my history right when it came time for the States to ratify the Constitution there were concerns about the absence of a list of Rights in the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson wrote from Paris about a lack of Bill of Rights. The Anti-Federalists were also concerned with a central government that was too powerful. The Federalists said that a Bill of Rights were not necessary because these Rights were understood and didn’t need to be listed. Thank God for James Madison. He wrote the Bill of Rights! With these Rights attached the States were able to ratify the Constitution. Read the Bill of Rights, they are the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution! They all are about the individual’s rights. This is the list of Civil Rights you hear so much about. As an individual you have the Right of: Freedom of Speech (1). Freedom of Religion (1). Freedom to assemble (1). Freedom to petition the Government (1). Freedom to keep and bear Arms aka self defense (2). Freedom to not be forced to house soldiers (3). Freedom from unlawful searches and seizures (4). Freedom from self incrimination (5). Freedom to a speedy and public trial (6). Freedom to a jury trial in civil cases (7). Freedom from excessive bail or fines (8). Freedom from cruel and unusual punishments (8). Freedom of other rights not listed (9). Freedom to retain the powers not in the Constitution (10).

I will now concern myself to the 2^nd Amendment. What was the original intent of the 2^nd Amendment? Why was the phrase “keep and bear Arms” used? Let us look to what was written back then.

“The whole of the Bill [of Rights] is a declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as individuals… It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of.” Albert Gallatin to Alexander Addison, October 7, 1789

“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to us them…” Richard Henry Lee, January 25,1788

“To disarm the people…[is] the best and most effectual way to enslave them…” George Mason, June 14, 1788

“The right of the people to keep & bear arms has been recognized by the General Government; but the best security of that right after all is, the military spirit, that taste for martial exercises, which has always distinguished the free citizens of these States;…. Such men form the best barrier to the liberties of America.” Gazette of the United States, October 14,1789

“The great object is, that every man be armed… Every one who is able may have a gun.” Patrick Henry, June 14, 1788

“The advantage of being armed… the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation… In the several kingdoms of Europe,,, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.“ James Madison, Federalist 46

“The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms for all would be alike; but since some will not, other dare not lay them aside… Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them… The weak will become a prey to the strong.” Thomas Paine, July, 1775

“A free people ought…to be armed…” George Washington January 14, 1790

You can see by these writings of our Founding Fathers, and there are many more I could have added, we have the individual right to bear Arms. Arms were for the preservation of our Liberty. Arms preserve ourselves and our property. Arms for protection from the criminal kicking in our door. Protection from the foreign invader. Protection from our own governments attempts to enslave We the People.

As you have read, the early writings about Arms must be viewed through the lens of history. We had just fought a war of independence. Wars require military Arms. Invaders and governments have military Arms. Criminals won’t give up their arms even if we do and they will have the most firepower they can get their hands on. They will have the “high capacity” magazines. They will have the AR15s and the AK47s. So will the invader and the tyrannical government.

So why do I need these things? Because I determine what my needs are as a free man. Because I have the Right to keep and bear Arms. This Right shall no be infringed! Because I am one of We the People.

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

　

　

　

Moral Decline, Part 1

This post may seem to run counter to the previous post I made about the Connecticut Shooting. There is no doubt that the EVIL COWARD is to blame. This post is my attempt to explain why there seem to be more and more evil cowards committing these heinous acts.

No society can long withstand the assault upon it’s morals as America has. That is the sad state we find ourselves in today and the list is long.

Number one on my list is abortions. A couple of numbers to remember when it comes to abortions. The first is 54,559,615. That is the number of babies aborted (cut from their mother’s wombs) from 1973-2011 in the US. The other number I want you to remember is 1.2 million (1,200,000). Every year since 1978 there have been in excess of 1.2 million abortions performed in the US. And finally a third number, 2%. That’s the number of abortions reported because of rape or incest in the US. These numbers are from the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life website found here: http://www.mccl.org/us-abortion-stats.html . These numbers closely match the numbers reported by Planned Parenthood.

Friday an evil coward forced himself into a grade school and murdered many, including 20+ children. It is all in the news now with new crews from all the networks parked in the little town reporting all the facts they can find. Even if they are the wrong facts. Yet! Yet, every day over 3,000 children, babies, are cut up in their mother’s womb and suctioned out. To be thrown away like so much garbage. There is not a single news camera to be found to cover this story. Remember the 2%? The number of abortions as a result of rape or incest? Rape and incest are terrible things to happen to women and girls. Yet this is the main argument trotted out whenever abortion is debated. Emotions run high with this argument and I can understand the strain upon a woman both physically and mentally. I can see the use of abortion in this case or in the case of the risk to the life of the mother. However most of the remaining 98% of the reasons for an abortion listed involve the following: cannot afford another child, don’t want a child, a child will interfere with the mother’s life style, the mother doesn’t want a lasting relationship with the father. How can the murder of innocents on this scale not affect the morals of a country?

As we can see from the abortion reasons above that America has devolved into a selfish nation. We look for instant gratification. We think of the ME and the NOW. Thus we move to the next item on our list.

The media. Wither it’s the news or movies. The music or TV. The media trots out assaults upon our morals time after time. Case in point, the news crews are swarming all over the little town in Connecticut with their cameras and reporters thrusting their microphones into everyone’s face. Just so they can be the First to get some tidbit of a story ahead of their competition. This is such a problem the state of Connecticut has assigned a trooper to each of the victims families. Not to protect them from evil doers but to protect them from the media. (Although I could possibly assign evil doers status to the media)

Movies show violence. Lots and lots of violence. Now don’t get me wrong I like movies that have a lot of bang bang boom boom. But should we be showing such graphic violence in movies that children and young adults watch? Then there is the hypocrisy of the actors who make these movies then decry the violence of the people. They decry gun violence yet make movies where they shoot thousands of rounds killing thousands of people. Maybe they should stop showing gun violence in movies just like they stopped showing people smoking. They won’t because that would cost them money.

How about the video games where the player is the shooter killing all around them. All this numbs the mind and the soul of the viewer and player. And I think that is the reason for the change in our media over the years. The numbing of the soul. The violence. The sex. The anti marriage messages. The anti religion messages. The anti Christian rants and hints. Name the number of TV show that have a happily married couple. How about the number of shows that have a single parent? The number of shows where the actors are sleeping with every one and every thing. How about the shows were the pastor or priest is some bumbling buffoon. Or some kind of amoral person. “The butler did it” has been replaced with “the preacher did it”.

I could go on and on but this is getting too long so I will end this as: Part 1