Focus on Illinois

According to a legislative update by the Illinois Council against Handgun Ownership, a primary Joyce Foundation puppet organization, they and the Brady Campaign are planning on focusing on Illinois during the up and coming legislative and election seasons. They realize they've lost the fight nationally and are now fighting desperately to keep whatever ground they can in states they feel are susceptible to their nonsense( ie Illinois via Chicago).

Their plan is to take Joyce Foundation money (the 'strong organization' they mention) and use Chicago as a bulwark to try and move out into the suburbs one legislator at a time.

As Todd Vandermyde so distinctly put it. "Game On"

Robb Allen is Awesome

He designed this most excellent banner for DOOTwear.

Maybe the Blogosphere should be regulated..

For accuracy. Huffpo would then be bereft of the majority of its publishers including this nitwit. While whining about the Credit Card/Concealed Carry in Parks bill, he blathers:

At a time when gun violence kills more Americans than ever before,

Uh, no. Perhaps you might want to look at the FBI numbers from the late 80's and early 90's. You know, the heydey of gun control activism. It's about 2/3rds what it was then.

He also relates us with this magical tale:

No state is considering legislation to make it harder to buy a gun.

Really Scott? I can find about a dozen bills in Illinois alone that were introduced at the start of the legislative season. Never mind NY, CA, or the numerous other states high on the Brady list.

Really man. If you're going to open your pie hole, do some basic f*cking research before you spew your nonsense.

Commercial Appeal

Commercial Spot for Days of Our Trailers courtesy of Cowboy Blob.





Make sure to check out all his other great videos of the convention and gun related issues.

Still a Sad Clown

Our buddy Josh is really upset over the House and the Senate passing the Credit Card/Park Carry bill:

This dangerous provision will put park park rangers, visitors, and wildlife at extreme risk. Don't believe me? Listen to the people who actually work every day to protect our nation's parks and their visitors.

Josh, you said the same crap when CCW was sweeping the nation. Police officers have not died by the droves by license holders. Streets are not running red with blood.

As a matter of fact, you've been spouting the same thing about Assault Weapons, the DC Handgun ban, plastic guns, 'cop killer' bullets, caseless ammo, and a litany of others for years and it still hasn't happened with any of them.

No wonder nobody listens to you anymore.

Quote(s) of the day

Kaveman on Huffpo:

Go out into the street and ask 100 people if they know what the NRA is.

Now ask those same 100 people if they know what the Brady Campaign is.

Reply by MolonLabe:

Of COURSE they know what the Brady Campaign is......

It was the movement in the 70's to revive Florence Henderson's career.

Good Sheepdogs

Much has been made over the selection of speakers at the 2009 NRA convention. Basically it boils down to "What was the NRA thinking?". I mean come on. Mitt "The Sh*t" Romney. John "AGS" McCain. Michael "my balls aren't made of" Steele? These are some of the biggest RINO's the GOP has to offer and are no friends to gun owners, that's for sure. I certainly didn't want to waste several hours of my life listening to them try and kiss my ass because they realized they f*cked up and that getting the support of 4 million + people is a good political move.

Because that's why they were there and that's why the NRA invited them.

Think about it. These guys are part of a party that is in worse shape than it has been for decades with no sign of it improving any time soon. They need to do everything they can to get back to the base that they've abandoned since they got cocky after getting into power and that means courting this huge base of pro-gun leaning voters.

That also means that they need us. We don't need them. There are lots of other politicians who support firearm rights that we can put in their place. "Daschle" became a verb because he promised to support gun owners then didn't.

But we're good sheepdogs. It's our job to bring them all back into the fold when they've strayed to far from the flock. It's up to them to bleat the message that keeps them in the fold now that they've realized who's in charge. Otherwise they may find themselves in an uncomfortable situation again.

Now that doesn't mean we throw them back out to the wolves if they get out of line. Good sheepdogs don't do that. But we wouldn't be adverse to pushing them into a more visible location when the shepherd gets lonely and comes looking for some lovin'.

Blogger Bash 2009: My Thoughts

Cost of gas to drive to and from Phoenix: $140
Amount it took to replace shoes that melted in 105 deg weather : $25

The look on Paul Helmke and Josh Sugarmann's faces seeing tens of thousands of gun owners give them the proverbial middle finger: Priceless

Even though I spent over 48 hours on the road and am completely exhausted, the two days I got to spend there were totally worth it. Seeing Sebastian, Bitter, Kevin Baker, Mike W. , US Citizen, The Ten Ring folks, etc. again was great along with meeting for the first time Breda, Alan , Sandcastle Scrolls, Dustin, Cowboy Blob, ExUrban League, Eric Shelton, Primeval Papa, Daniel Pehrson and many others. I know I've forgotten a bunch of names so please forgive me if I left you out.

The convention itself seemed a bit more chaotic than last year but the centralized location and practically ALL functions w/i walking distance made up for that. Had I known how close everything was in comparison to last year, I would have just flown.

The Blogger Bash also showed some improvements with the addition of several topical speakers like Cam Edwards on Podcasting/NRANews and Darren LaSorte on Hunting issues. Both were very informative and well attended. I think the rule for drawings next year should be if you're not in attendence at the drawing, another name is drawn.

It definitely had more of a professional feel to it as the importance of "Alternative Media" is being recognized by not only the NRA and state affiliates, but also by anti-gunners like our buddy Josh Sugarmann. I spoke at length to numerous local organization leaders, NRA Gen Ops and ILA media reps, lobbyists, state reps, and dealers all wanting to increase their relationships with us in information dissemination, advocacy, advertising and a multitude of other areas. This is a good thing for all involved.

For my side, this was no NRA lovefest. I specifically went with the intention of letting them know my and other Illinois firearm owners standing on the Concealed Carry issue. I spent several hours going head to head with them over it. I listened to their reasons and I understand why they won't go all out for it and they know that I, and many other IL residents, are going to keep to our guns to get it passed any way we can no matter the stance they take. As for the political speeches, I didn't bother. With my limited time, I didn't want to waste it listening to a bunch of RINO's tell me how much they support the 2A and then go and vote for whatever bill they think they can get away with.

Some things I learned:

Leaving soda cans in a locked car in 105 degree weather is bad.
Bacon-wrapped shrimp w/ BBQ sauce is good.
19 hrs of driving sucks.
Media credentials can open doors and also get you threatened.

Thanks to Bitter for once again putting this together and all the attendees who braved the unnatural heat to show thier support. Also thanks to all the NRA reps and staff including Rachel Parsons, Glen Caroline, Cam Edwards, Scott Christman, Lars Dalseide, Danielle Sturgis, Brent Gardner, Andrew Dysart, Alexa Fritts, Vickie Cieplak and all the ladies running the Press Office table.


Blogger Bash 2009 Day 1
Blogger Bash 2009 Day 2A
Blogger Bash 2009 Day 2B
Blogger Bash 2009: Day 3

Blogger Bash 2008