Finding Religion in Illinois

Things are heating up in Illinois and in the IL 51st Senate District, the candidates are fighting over who is the most pro-gun.

Dem. Candidate, Tim Dudley, however, is having to explain some of his past actions. As a Macon Cnty board member, he voted against the non-binding 2A Resolution in 2008 (which passed). So now he's playing it down for all he's worth:

"He pointed to a nonbinding resolution I voted on on the county board, which had no practical effect. I joined other pro-gun members on the board voting against it."

Yet now:

"Illinois is only one of two states in the nation that doesn't allow concealed carry," Dudley said. "We must have a state policy to ensure that the constitutional rights of our friends and neighbors are defended."

Yeah OK. Sure. We know how he'll vote if the issue ever comes up, just like Gillibrand.

His best counter attack is claiming the incumbent R Senator, McCarter, didn't do enough to support a CCW bill that was killed in a loaded committee and never even got to the floor.

Maybe Quinn should take the hint.

Strategy Fail

After IL Gov. Quinn's losing campaign opened their arms to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership, someone apparently decided it was a good idea to try and push a gun ban referendum:

Petition documents filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections show the title of the proposed referendum as being "Petition to Ban the Sale on Semi-Automatic and Assault Weapons." Notarized signatures on over 100 pages of petitions show one "Maz Jackson" as being the petition circulator. Maz Jackson is a top field operative for the Quinn gubernatorial re-election campaign.

Yep. Ban Semi-Auto's. That's exactly what it says. At first the Quinn campaign played the denial game but then finally admitted to it.

The relase was sent out to the media, then as an alert. Capitol fax picked it up last night. While the Quin campaign downstate was denying the particpation and claiming it only delt with "assualt weapons" they got to see the petition and began to wet their pants. unhappy is a mild discription of what must have been going on.

Durign the middle of the day Quinn people were trying to tamp down the rumor and the ISRA press release. ISRA's facts tended to push back. By midnight they were trying to come up with an answer as the downstate Quinn guys found out they had their legs cut out from underneath them by the Governor.

Early this morning Capitalfax reported that Quinn's campign owned up to the petitions. Game, set, match.

Between this, the double digit raises for his staff and the 'early release of violent prisoners' fiasco, it's no wonder his numbers keep plummeting.

Blatant Plug for Sportsman's Guide.

SG has recognized the value of blogs for advertising. Click on the link on the side (or here) and give them some love back.

Faking Grassroots

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership tweeted about a blog glorifying accidental firearm deaths called "Ohh Shoot" (ohhshoot.blogspot.com) Looking at the blog there of course are no comments allowed and no identifying information except an e-mail: necpgv@gmail.com .

Googling the acronym came up w/ this : New England Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.

And from an old post from our old buddy Gonzo at the "Gun Guys" (who has effectively stopped blogging except for the occasional copy/paste after the funds dried up):

They’re an affiliate of Freedom States Alliance, a national group which also runs the FSA Network, of which this site is a member.

They're still listed after the FSA merged w/ States United (who just got another $100K grant from the Joyces).

Color me shocked. Another 'grassroots' organization that a light breeze could blow over w/ little to no membership and funded by the Joyces.

Sad.

Guns for the Rich...

According to anecdotal reports, It's costing about $250 (including license, ammo, and class fees) to obtain a Chicago Handgun License and that doesn't include the cost of the firearm.

Slapdown

This is a dictionary definition.

Seriously though, I know a guy that has claimed to be everything from a Navy SEAL Officer/Chief, Sniper, CIA operative, Veterinarian, Doctor to name just a few.

He never had a copy of his DD-214 since it was super top secret and they wouldn't let him have a copy of it.

Medical Literature and Gun Control Continues

The Children's Memorial Research Center in Chicago has released a report on youth being killed or injured with firearms in Illinois.

It starts out with the mandatory scary paragraph:

In the United States, homicide is the second leading cause of death for
youth ages 15 to 19 and the fourth leading cause of death for children
under the age of 15. Among children over 10 years of age who have been a
victim of homicide, the vast majority have been due to firearms.

Some interesting stats they include:

The rate of firearm injury to young adolescents (ages 10 to 14) is
very low in most of Illinois, with numbers generally too low to
compute rates.

The rates of firearm hospitalization and death in Chicago are at least
four times higher than any other region in Illinois (Figure 4).

Southwest and Far South Chicago adolescents ages 15 to 19 have
very high hospitalization rates due to firearm injuries at 139.3 per
100,000 and 134.1 per 100,000 respectively (Table 2).

So in other words, economically depressed areas with high levels of crime have more gun violence. Water is wet and bears defecate in the woods.

So what is their conclusion?

A gun or other weapon does not make anyone safer. It only means that someone may be seriously hurt or killed.

A home is safer without a handgun.

And their recommendations?

• Support legislation that requires background checks for all private handgun sales to help reduce illegal trafficking of handguns.
• Support regulation and oversight of licensed gun dealers.
• Oppose laws that allow for carrying concealed handguns. Research shows that carrying concealed weapons leads to more violence, not less.
• Call on law enforcement to trace the flow of illegal handguns and assault weapons that end up in the hands of street gangs or drug dealers.

Where did they get those ideas from? Well looky what comes next:

Visit Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (icpgv.org) for more information.
Adapted from Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

So they endorse the agenda of politically motivated organizations even though their own data directly contradicts their claims.

Chicago, with its near ban on handguns continues to have exponentially more violence than the rest of Illinois. The only areas even remotely comparable are East St. Louis and Rockford, both areas noted for high crime, gangs and drugs.

It's amazing the amount of hypocrisy and deliberate blindness that is required even among the academic elite to support gun control.

More Shootey Fun w/ the Family

The sister and BIL, on their way home from vacation, stopped to pick up mom and take her home. What better way to pass some time than to take the niece and nephew out to shoot the guns they use in the 'Call of Duty' games?










The nephew is going to start a display board of the different calibers he shoots but the quote of the day goes to the niece:

"I'm not freaked out by them anymore"

And that's how we win.

Ya whatever

Can I talk to you about Jesus?

Anyone who knows me, knows that I find religion… somewhat humorous. I could write a book about what I find when I read the “Great Books” of any religion but, I’m more interested in the genesis of things than the actual things themselves.

I’m funny that way.

The human brain is good at three things:

1. Recognizing patterns
2. Categorizing things
3. Making shit we don’t already have

Sounds like a simple recipe and yet it has allowed the human race to dominate all other species. Those species we find useful?…we cohabitate with them and provide their every need as if we were subservient to them. All the others?…we work into a recipe. I blame salt and pepper.

So just what did our ancestors recognize as the primary pattern?

I gotta eat stuff and I like eating stuff that eats other stuff.

That just may be the most succinct description of life ever written.

I have a herd of elk and deer that have the audacity to drink water from my river. I have squirrels that have the testicular fortitude to eat seeds out of my bird feeders. I even have coyotes who send a menstruating female down to try and lure my dog back up the ridge to the rest of the pack.

We’re all trying to fill our bellies, no harm no foul.

If there truly is a GOD, then I’ll be the first to thank him for my thumbs; I use them frequently. But my thumbs only do what my brain tells them to do, and my brain tells me that there are others in this world who care nothing for the mere sustenance of their own body and seek to enrich themselves off the labors of others.

Life is not about eating and sleeping. Life is about learning how to eat and sleep without some other scumbag stealing your crap. That may sound materialistic to some but it is true to our nature.

I can recognize patterns.
I can categorize things.
I can build and buy shit I don’t already have.

In the end, the only things that can be taken from me are the things I allow to be taken from me.

For everything else, you’ll have to meet the brute force of the kaveman.