Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Four Rules

One of the four rules of safe gun handling is to keep one's finger off the trigger until one's sights are on the target and one is ready to fire.

A Lebanon, TN police officer did not obey those rules.

The officer slipped and accidentally fired his gun into the air. Another officer, thinking the first officer was firing in self defense, opened fire on the suspect, killing him.

Sad. I think the guy should not have been shot, but I also think he shouldn't have been doing things to get pulled over by the police. I hope the officer who was doing the shooting does not get punished... was not their fault. I hope the officer who fired in the air gets remedial gun handling training.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Just a thought...

Recently, the state of Arizona made it against the (state) law for a person to be in the US illegally.

Since the Federal Government is obviously unconcerned about the illegal immigration problem, and refused to enforce their own law, the state decided to exercise its rights under the Constitution and give their state and local police officers the ability to arrest people here illegally.

Reports now are saying that many illegals are fed up and ready to leave Arizona.

Seems the law is working just perfectly...

An observation on Brazillian Jiu Jitsu

I have long held that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is a great martial art - with one major drawback. BJJ instructors are notorious for not ranking students quickly enough.

Case in point... Link

Tim Sylvia, former UFC champion, just received his blue belt (first belt after beginner - white belt).

As a martial arts instructor, I think I would promote my professional competitors appropriately. Just a thought...

Saturday, April 24, 2010

A Great Place to Visit

Today, I got to visit Shooter's Depot in Chattanooga, TN.

While they have just opened, I can already tell you this store is headed for success.
- The showroom is excellent.
- Prices are the best in Chattanooga.
- Selection is best in Chattanooga... and going to get even bigger!
- Their indoor range is reasonably priced and will be open soon!
- Their staff is one of the best I've seen.

I will go out on a limb here and recommend Shooter's as being (or soon will be) as good as some of the great gun stores in Tennessee - up there with the Outpost Armory, Hero-Gear, and Guns 'n' Leather.

If you are in the area - go check them out.
If you are not in the area - it's worth the drive.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

What it really means

"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."

Let's analyze:
"well regulated" = the ability to understand and execute the commands: "ready... aim... fire;" and having in one's possession the tools to do so.

"militia" = adult citizens capable of bearing arms and defending themselves, their families, and their country.

"being necessary to the security of a free State," = The Founding Fathers did not want a federal army that could be used by a tyrant to control the people.

"the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." = self explanatory.

Note: to infringe =
1 : to encroach upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another
2 obsolete : defeat, frustrate
* Usagi's Note: I do not think the second definition of infringe is obsolete at all

Best Anti-Gun Control Saying

At least it's the best I've heard in a while:

"De-clawing the cat won't protect it from the pit bull."


Quoted from the Facebook post by The Armory Gun Shop - Lebanon, TN.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Reasons for not wanting Gun Control

Gun Control is a bad thing. But many of my readers want to know why - that is, they want some specific talking points. Here are a few for thought:

1. Gun Control is racist.
Many attempts at gun control were aimed at blacks. This one tarted in the 1800's as a way to oppress black people.

2. Gun Control advocates do not know why they want what they want.
They call for laws and have no idea why they want to ban what they want to ban. (PS, a "barrel shroud is the forward grip on a rifle. It protects the shooter from the heat of the barrel).

3. Gun control does not work.
Check out crime stats in cities where there is strict gun control - always through the roof! What they don't want you to know is that gun control only disarms the law-abiding.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

This day in history

In 1775, this day in history was one filled with tension. Of course, April 19th (tomorrow) would play host to the battles of Lexington and Concord, which were the recognized beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

Prior to 1775, tensions had been mounting. The American colonists were angry with the increased sanctions being exercised by King George III and the British Parliament.

Among the accusations against the king, which are outlined more completely in the Declaration of Independence, included several that are relevant even to this day:
- imposing Taxes on us without our Consent
- combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation
- erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

Hhhmmmm.... sound somewhat familiar?

Among other grievances, there were laws enacted to prevent the general public from ownership of the modern military firearms of the day. Specifically targeted was the (then) new rifle technology that allowed the black-powder muskets of the day to increase their effective range from about 75 yards to up to 250 yards. Rifled barrels had existed for some time, but had only become effective in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War. Also, the British had been confiscating weapons and ammo (back then there were no cartridges, just powder and lead musket balls).

Make no mistake, these things are antiquated compared to firearms technology we now have. But at that time, these were the "latest and greatest" guns and ammo.

These days we hear political groups and anti-gun groups say we need to ban this or restrict that. These folks refuse to participate in the factual world. When guns, accessories, or ammo are banned, the ban only keeps them out of the hands of the law-abiding. Criminals do not obey these (or other) laws, and will go ahead and manufacture, purchase, steal, or otherwise get their hands on them anyways.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Excellent article

Really good find this time.

Link.


My favorite part, was the quote of the following statistic:
"When a robbery victim does not defend himself, the robber succeeds 88 percent of the time, and the victim is injured 25 percent of the time. When a victim resists with a gun, the robbery success rate falls to 30 percent, and the victim injury rate falls to 17 percent. No other response to a robbery – from drawing a knife to shouting for help to fleeing – produces such low rates of victim injury and robbery success."
I wonder what the percentage is, of robbers who get shot and still go on to rob the victim?

Friday, April 16, 2010

Good news on the national carry-front

Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed a bill into law that allows law-abiding Arizona citizens to conceal-carry their firearms without a permit.

The state will still issue permits for citizens who wish to carry in other states that have a reciprocal agreement with Arizona.

Link to story.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Archie Bunker on Gun Control

When Archie Bunker was originally on TV, I was too young to understand it. However, it has come to my attention that he was no fan of gun control. My kind of guy!

Link 1
(Nice suggestion on stopping terrorists on planes, too!)


Link 2

I really don't know if the audience is laughing because they think he is a crazy conservative, or because he has a point. I'm sure the TV executives that put the show on held different opinions than I do, but the fact is that each of Archie's statements were right on the money! And they were funny, too!


On a similar note, here's one of the best movie lines ever - delivered by Bob Hope. LINK!

Good guys win again

This story from Memphis ( a haven for crime and criminals).

A man pulled a knife and started attacking people at a Family Dollar Store.
The deranged criminal made an error - as they always do.
He attacked one particular customer, and that customer's two young children.
This particular customer is, according to other reports, a Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit holder.
HCP holder draws and fires.
Six times.
Dead bad guy.
Good shoot.

Link.
Great comments all over this link!

Just a thought...

For all you liberals out there. Or maybe for all those in favor of government "doing more" and, as a result, taxing the citizenry more.

Consider the following:

Most who are "wealthy" or who earn far more than average are people that could be called "producers." They "get it" and really understand how to earn money. They are not afraid of hard work. They are most often sharp minded individuals who can figure out how to maximize their efforts.

If they get taxed more, they will essentially pass that tax on to those who are poorer than them. These producers understand that if the costs of their goods/services increase (via increased tax burden in this case), they will increase prices. Ultimately, the end user (the poorer ones) will wind up paying the tax. The ones who "get it" pass the burden on to those who do not "get it."

So, by endorsing Socialism, you liberals are really endorsing the oppression of the poor - not their liberation.

Prove this wrong... I dare you!

I voted Democrat...

10. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

9. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

8. I voted Democrat because Freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

7. I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.

6. I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

5. I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies through abortion so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

4. I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits.

3. I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the democrats see fit.

2. I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.

1. I voted Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my rear-end that it is unlikely that I'll ever have another point of view.


***
I copied this, but the place that posted it did not attribute it to anybody in particular.
Very telling...

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

I knew it!

Red Light cameras do not help safety! I hate the contraptions, and there seems to be increasing proof that they do not make intersections safer.

Link to just one such story.

Also, the city of Cleveland, TN recently lost its Red Light Camera company because the company pulled out of the contract... citing that they did not generate enough revenue!

These devices are revenue-generators. Plain and simple. As such, I believe they are illegal on several fronts:
1. The Sixth Amendment states:
"... to be confronted with the witnesses against him..."
This clause guarantees a person the right to face his accuser.
The reason for this amendment was that in the time of the foundation of the USA, the King of England would have people arrested on charges, and prosecuted without ever having anyone testify against the accused. He was hiding something. Just like these red light cameras!
In the case of a ticket via a red light camera, one cannot face one's accuser. They are, therefore, unconstitutional.

2. Since there is substantial proof that the red light cameras do not increase safety, they can only be viewed as a revenue generator. There are several problems with this:
- The companies that manufacture and install the cameras get a percentage of the fines. This is plainly a conflict of interest as the intent to fudge the issuance of fines is obvious so that the company will be able to benefit from increased revenues, regardless of the actual violation of law.
- Most local governments that receive fine proceeds from these contraptions are not required to indicate in local budgets how that money is appropriated. This is TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.
- Tennessee state law requires certification by an officer of the law for each and every traffic citation issued. Where are the officers that certify these citations?

3. It is easy to find instances where cities with these cameras actually reduced yellow-light times in an effort to increase revenues. Not only is this illegal, IT IS MORALLY WRONG!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Funny clip

I came across this video of The Daily Show.

Normally, I cannot abide much of anything Stephen Colbert has to say, but this satirical clip struck me funny.

It draws a parallel between the discrimination experienced by...

get this...

gay folks...

and...

Persons who open-carry.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Another win for the good guys (or gals)


An 82-year-young woman used her concealed handgun to thwart a robbery attempt.

Link to article.

Liberals often say that folks who own guns are attempting to compensate for something. I guarantee you that this lady was compensating for something...
Starting with the fact that she was weaker, older, and more vulnerable than her young, able-bodied, male (COWARD!) attacker.

Softball observation

Funny story here.

I play softball for my church.
A little background... I played men's slow-pitch softball competitively from 1991-1998; every year for either or both my church and the Baptist Student Union in college.
For both teams (except my first year) I was one of the guys that was counted on to get the hits. Due to my size, and weak throwing arm, I usually played first base.
At bat for the Baptist Student Union, I failed to get a hit three times in four years. That is a batting average of well over .900.
Most years, I led the team in RBI (Runs Batted In) and hits.

I say all of that, not to brag, but to give background as it makes the story even funnier.

I took time off from softball up until 2008. Then, I joined my church team. Being a team-player, I told the coach I was willing to play any position he needed, and bat anywhere in the lineup he needed.

So the coach put me in at catcher, and let me bat dead last. I played catcher for the first time since 1991. And I enjoyed it. My first year back, I hit nearly .400 - and last year got my batting average to over .700 - all from the last position in the lineup.

Now the team thinks I am a perpetual catcher. And they expect nothing from my bat as I'm always dead-last in the batting lineup!

My little secret is the fact that the four best hitters on the team are batting right behind me.

So last week we have a scrimmage practice with the other team from our church (yes, it's a big church with two men's softball teams). As will happen from time to time, we did not have many players show up. So the new coach put me in at first base. The irony here is that the coach is the pitcher and liked having me as his catcher as I would remember what players tendencies were - what pitch locations they got hits off of and such.

First play of the game, with me standing at first base - where none of my team-mates were used to seeing me play - is a ground ball to our shortstop.

He snags the ball, sets, and fires the ball to me at first base.

The throw is wide to my left.

I step off the bag, catch the ball, and tag the runner out in one motion.

The cheers from my team-mates were uplifting. Of course, inside, I was happy to have made what was a routine play for me.

But I'll let the guys keep on thinking it was something spectacular.

:)

Oh - and I was 4-for-5 at the plate. :)

Baseball observation

My son played a t-ball game this afternoon. I have some observations to report:

1. Folks need to stop feeding their kids the sugar-loaded junk.
Seriously.
There is a little boy on our team that is in a perpetual daze. He will eventually follow directions... if you catch his face, speak directly to him, and tell him what to do about 5-10 times.
His brother is not much better.
I have never seen them consume anything other than candy / sodas / sugar-filled drinks (kool-aid, etc.).
Gee, I wonder if there is a connection?

2. Kids t-ball at age 5 is funny.
Really, there is rarely an inning that goes by that does not have something funny happen. Better than any movie or TV show.

A gun sign I like

Thursday, April 8, 2010

An observation

Back in late 2001 - after the September 11 attacks, people of all sorts were saying:
"Aren't you glad Bush is President. Al Gore would not have handled things as well as Bush did. It's a good thing he didn't win the election!"

Right now, you don't hear people saying:
"McCain and Palin were so under-qualified. It's a good thing they didn't win the election!"

Fail is strong with this one...

I am about to direct you to an article that is fairly inaccurate.

Link.

For my reader's information - there is no 45-mm handgun in existence... that I know of. There are several .45 calibers - .45 ACP, .45 GAP, .45 Long Colt to name a few.

45 millimeters is nearly two inches. The law currently disallows any commercial firearm to have a caliber (diameter) greater than .5 inches - .50 caliber.

Perhaps the author felt guns are to "icky" to research enough to write an accurate account of.

The worst part is later in the article, a .45 caliber handgun is correctly written as such. This means the editor failed, as well.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Good quote

I saw this one today, and I knew my readers might enjoy it!


"After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it."


-William Burroughs

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Foolishness!

President Obama announced today that the US would not use nuclear weapons in combat, with a very few exceptions. This is foolish on many levels, but two particular reasons stand out to me:

1. Why should we limit ourselves in any potential conflict?

2. Why would one ever announce one's battle strategy to the enemy?


That would be like me putting a large sign in my front yard saying:
"Attention burglars! I promise if you rob my house, I will not shoot you. I might spray you with mace. I might use a baseball bat. I might even call the police. But I will not shoot you."
Even though I live in a good neighborhood, I bet I'd be robbed by week's end.

An observation on singing

I have followed American Idol pretty regularly this year - more so than I have in the past.

Contestant Crystal Bowersox is just plain impressive. Best contestant on the show by a wide margin.

I usually don't watch much TV (outside of sports). And I have never watched much of Idol, or any other reality show. Even when I have caught a show here or there, I never have felt compelled to blog about it.

But this time is different. I am really impressed with Bowersox. I predict great things in her future... if she doesn't derail herself like so many performers do.

First pitch - and its real significance.

On opening day for Major League Baseball, President Obama threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Watch this Youtube video of the event.

Anybody else notice two things:

1. The pitch was way off to the LEFT.
(no big surprise, really)

2. The booing was equal to the cheers, before he put on the White Sox hat!
(and really - what was the point of the White Sox hat?!)

Monday, April 5, 2010

Another funny thing I saw

So tonight, I practiced softball with my church team. We practiced at Cedars of Lebanon State Park. I checked before going whether local government had "opted out" of allowing lawful HCP holders from carrying in the area - but they hadn't.

In my search, I came across this FAQ - and it struck me funny.
Link. Funny part is 2/3 of the way down the page - response to whether firearms are allowed in the park.

The funny quote:
"While this new law makes an exception for possession, it does not make exception to the use of a firearm. Discharging a weapon in non-designated areas of our parks is still an offense."

Of course that's the case! But when has anybody ever seen a permit-holder just shoot randomly into the air??? We don't even do that at New Year's (unless we are fortunate enough to live out in the country, then who cares?)!

These guys that write this stuff (and think this stuff) crack me up!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Open carry in California

Another article on open carry in California.

I hope they (Californians) get their laws changed to "shall-issue" and get their freedoms back.

Favorite quote from the article:
"Get your gun out of my Easter."
- Attributed to a protester I will not name.

Funny. I carried my GLOCK all day today - Easter.
Did that make me less of a Christian? I don't think so.
Did it take away my Salvation? No.
Did I get the sudden urge to shoot people up? Nope.

I'll leave you with this quote from Scripture:
"
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
- Matthew 10:34
PS - they used swords back then. We use guns now. But we still don't know whether Jesus advocated concealed carry or open-carry.

Another liberal article gets it wrong...

This article from Louisiana is about as liberal as it gets. The author says legislation to allow concealed carry in churches in LA does not provide much safety compared to the risks it brings.

Once again, for all the folks out there, trying to deny truth... Legal carry permit holders are not the ones committing the gun crimes.

Criminals are the ones committing the crimes. Even in church - which is why one should carry in church.

Funny at the store today

So I am at Wal-Mart with my brother today, picking up some sundry needed items.

On a side note, this was the first time in the last two months that this particular Wal-Mart did not have any of my preferred brand of .22 cartridges available.

We (my brother and I) are walking toward the refrigerated goods section, as I need milk. As we approach, a seemingly nice lady turns toward us and asks in a loud voice if we knew where the beer was in the store.

I give her my blank look, as I do not drink, and have never purchased beer there. I hold out my hands and explain: "I simply don't know... I'm sorry."

My brother's face matches mine. He lives on the other side of town and was just there with me.

She walks on, in a huff. Then something dawns on me and my brother at the exact same time.

There - to the immediate left of where the other shopper had been standing - was a very large stack of Miller Lite beer. We walked around to the other side of the display, and it was the refrigerated beer.

She had literally been two steps away.

I cannot figure out which is funnier - the fact she didn't see it, or the fact we did not see it until after she was gone.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Superfast

Came across this video.

Link.

This guy has a revolver. He shoots it six times. Then he reloads it. Then he shoots it six more times.
How fast can he do that you might ask?

About three seconds.

Folks, some say I'm pretty good. I cannot fire twelve straight times out of my GLOCK and hit the target every single time in three seconds. I'd probably be at about ten rounds, tops. And that is with no reloading (my magazine holds 15 rounds).

This guy does it with a revolver.
And a reload.
WOW!

Friday, April 2, 2010

A funny at work

So work is going well. We (new hires) are in training classes. All last week, all this week, and all next week.

Early in the class, myself and a counterpart from MN get to talking about... you guessed it, our love of the shooting sports. A few co-workers overhear us, and next thing you know, I have a half-dozen people asking me about shooting.

Fast forward to this week. All of the new hires are required to attend a class, which was also attended by about the same number of people that were not new-hires, on corporate security. In one small section, they talk about looking for warning signs of unstable co-workers. One of the signs is a "sudden interest in firearms." At this point, I get about a half-dozen looks from my fellow new-hires... all in jest, of course.

The topic of conversation after class was just plain funny... and consisted mostly of me getting ribbed for being one who needs to be reported to HR. The funniest part was the fact that it was the HR guys that were most interested in learning about shooting.

For all this dumbing down of America, and brainwashing to the left, I can still say that we can win the good fight on a day-by-day basis by simply staying positive and telling the truth about things.

Wouldn't you know it...

Tonight in Tae Kwon Do class there was sparring.

As my son sparred, I called out to him as motivation: "if you kick your opponent in the helmet, I'll buy you a video game!"

Eyes lit up.

And wouldn't you know it. In front of everybody, and with much teasing all around, my son earned a video game out of the whole thing.

They say these are the days - with my children being ages 5 and 2. I tend to agree.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

That's it... I've had it!

I am so sick and tired of it all!

Though I cannot detail in this blog why, I am going to go downtown and hand in all of my guns.

Just can't stand the idiocy any more!









April fools! :)


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