O-Day +3

--House Rejects Obama's Request For Rest Of TARP

--Obama's Ethics Policy Upsets Would-Be Staffers

--Labor Secretary nomination stalled

GWB Presidential Library

Dear Fellow Constituent: The George W. Bush Presidential Library is now in the planning stages and accepting donations.

The Library will include:
1. The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.
2. The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you won’t be able to remember anything.
3. The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you don’t even have to show up.

Read the rest at TexasFred's.

Good thing they upped security..

Otherwise it might have gotten really bad:

BLACKSBURG, Virginia — Virginia Tech Police say a female graduate student from China who was stabbed to death on campus was decapitated.

Yep. Another murder at VT. And the security is so good there now after last years massacre of unarmed students that the killer this time had enough time to cut the head off of his victim before they got there.

I feel safe. 45 Minutes later.

O-Day +2

--Kennedy drops her bid for Senate

-- Clinton confirmed

--Obama to sign EO closing Gitmo detention center

-- Holder confirmation delayed

--Fidel loves Obama

--Tax evader gets Panel approval for Treasury Secretary

O-Day +1

--Beyond the already well established nominations of anti-gun fanatics to Obama's cabinet, we have another for the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. One Cass Sunstein. He's an "Animal Rights Advocate" in the same vein as PETA to the point that he stated in his 2004 book, Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions:

"Animals should be permitted to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives ... Any animals that are entitled to bring suit would be represented by (human) counsel, who would owe guardian like obligations and make decisions, subject to those obligations, on their clients' behalf."

Yep, that's right. Animals should be able to sue.

What's his view on hunting? Well that should be obvious (video about 39 min in):

“We ought to ban hunting, I suggest, if there isn’t a purpose other than sport and fun. That should be against the law. It’s time now.”

Well that sure doesn't seem to be a position that supports hunters and sportsmen now does it?

I'm sure we'll hear criticism coming from the AHSA any day now. Ray?

Armed and Safe has more on this nutball.

--Treasury Secretary Nominee Geithner says he's sorry for not paying his taxes. I'm sure that would work for the rest of us. Right?

--Gitmo trials suspended along w/ any last minute Bush era regulations.

UMPC Stickers

You want them? In partnership w/ SnarkyBytes, you'll get them. Now it comes down to color. Take the poll on the side.

FULL COLOR

TAN SUBDUED

GREEN SUBDUED

Don't forget that the original UMPC patches in all three colors are still available. UMPC Lapel Pins and the new UM Marksman and UM Infantry patches (green only) are on order and will be available soon.

O-day

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more / Or close the wall up with our English dead!" (Henry V, Act III, Scene I)





Here's the roundup of commentary via Liberty Sphere.

Ah Hah!

Ayers Turned Away From Canada By Immigration Officials

Weather Underground founder and Barack Obama supporter William Ayers was not permitted to clear customs at a Toronto airport Sunday.

This is one person whose past definitely deserves to come back and haunt him.

And So It Begins

Illinois anti-gun bills:

HB 0012 - One gun per month
http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp...ID=76&GA=96

HB 0048 - Background check for private handgun sales
http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp...ID=76&GA=96

HB 0165 - "Assault weapons," .50 cal (and .50 cal ammo), and full capacity magazine ban
http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp...ID=76&GA=96

HB 0179 - "Safe storage" (raises age from 14 to 18; renders firearm unavailable for immediate defense)
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus...ID=76&GA=96

HB 0180 - Handgun dealer licensing
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus...ID=76&GA=96

Licensing, registration, "Safe Storage", the works. I'm sure we'll see plenty more as the weeks drag on. I think the only reason these don't have more sponsors is that the Blago situation has everyone distracted.

There are some good bills but historically they'll never see the light of day.

Thanks to 45Superman via IllinoisCarry.

Chicago weather...

Apparently the cold hasn't effected the crime rate:

2 teens charged in shooting of another teen

Mother accused of beating 2 children

Off-duty cop's home invaded, police say

Woman found slain on Southwest Side street

Man shot during West Side home invasion

I Am the SCCC

Since I'm back in school, I decided officially joining the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus would be advantageous. Unfortunately they didn't have an Campus Leader for Eastern Illinois University so I offered my services to do the job.

Hi Roy,

Your application for Campus Leader has been approved. Please take some time to review SCCC's Answers to the Most Common Arguments located at http://www.concealedcampus.org/arguments.htm to familiarize yourself with our response to a variety to claims. You may also find the SCCC Handbook of interest, as it contains a far more detailed look at SCCC's mission, history, and outlook for the future. You can find the handbook here: http://www.concealedcampus.org/sccc_package.pdf (approximately 6MB).

Thanks for your willingness to help and welcome aboard,

My buddy Kurt Hofmann remarked "Tough environment--not only a university campus, but an Illinois university campus. Like swimming against the current, do you?"

A bit ironic coming from a guy that volunteered to jump out of perfectly good airplanes but no, not really. Like him, I just want to do my part. Every Campus Leader, each Gun Rights Examiner column started, even every blog post gets the word out just a little bit more.

World War 2 Veterans: Das Reich

Hey, the National Socialist Flyers Corps issues daggers to its members.



That seems awful militaristic for a civilian organization. OH NOES!!! The Nazi's are re-arming! All those 'civilian' pilots are joining the Luftwaffe.


I guess we'd better print up a mess-load of these:


So this will succeed:


Go get 'em boys!

Blago's on his own

As his attorneys quit his impeachment case.

Poor baby.

UM Patch Prototype

As was noted, a new patch is being designed. Here's the initial design:



A few tweaks are still being worked on (including bottom wording) but this is the general idea.

These are the final designs.

Thoughts? Comments? Pre-Orders? :)

World War 2 Veterans: Viva Italia

US Army Intro to Italian Language Manual TM 30-303 circa 1943:


A very important little document which assisted in leading up to this:

Detroit Free Press. June 5, 1944.

AK's, RPG's, and Grenades! Oh My!

As has been reported, more PSH in regards to Mexico and guns.

Basically we have two options.

1) There really are gun shops that are selling RPG's, Grenades, and AK-47's by the hundreds to the Mexican Drug Cartels. The thousands of legal firearm owners in TX,AZ, and NM just can't find them.

or

2) The 'reporters', assuming they actually go to the shows to 'investigate', see dummy grenades, Prop RPG-7's w/ inert rockets, and semi-auto AK-47's and are unable/unwilling to tell the difference. The heavy weapons the Drug Cartels are actually using are coming from the corrupt Mexican military and Drug Cartels south of their border.

Which seems the more likely answer?

Getting the Word Out

Our very own author of Armed and Safe is now the columnist for the St. Louis Examiner Gun Rights.

Congrats buddy.

OK. This is Seven.

By the latest count.

Passaic, NJ Mayor Samuel Rivera
Frank Melton, of Jackson MS
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
Birmingham, Al Mayor Larry Langford
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon
Jeremiah Healey of Jersey City

Are joined in their fine club of indicted and/or convicted MAIG mayors by Racine, WI Mayor Gary Becker.

I'm going to have to start another category if this (hopefully) keeps up.

UMPC: The Next Generation ?

The UMPC patches have been so popular that two additional orders have been necessary to keep up w/ the demand.

That being said, some expansion is in the works. I'm looking at UMPC Lapel Pins and variations on the UMPC patch. Pricing would be around $3.50 - $4.50 ea. for the pins.


Patches are most likely going to take an infantry model with wording to be determined. The quill and Propaganda Corps would be removed w/ the traditional crossed infantry muskets added behind the Gadsen. A graphic for this is in works.

UPDATE: Latest prototype patch here

So basically I'm asking the community to tell me what they'ld be interested in. Would you like UMPC Lapel Pins? What kind of wording would you like on the new patch? Two polls are being added to the side for your input. If you can't or are unwilling to leave a comment, feel free to contact me at

thirdpower at hotmail dot com

UPDATE: Latest prototype patch here

EU with a Clue

The current president of the EU stated:

"The conflict has been going on for 60 years and I don't have any illusions, I don't think we are going to see a resolution tomorrow. Above all we need to try to reduce the violence and obtain a ceasefire," Mirek Topolanek told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

"But at this point I am fairly sceptical that we will achieve it very soon."

Seems the Czech Republic can actually elect politicians that don't have their heads permanently inserted into their rectums.

Who knew?

Philadelphia is now in New Jersey?

Bryan Miller convinced a bunch of religious leaders to ignore his regular violations of the 9th Comandment in order to try and follow the Brady Bunch's failed measure at enlisting church figures to push gun control.

Beyond the usual anti-gun nonsense, here's the part I find entertaining. Bryan Miller has castigated me on his blog and deleted comments for referring to activities in Pennsylvania. His quote:

I am the ED of Ceasefire NJ, as in New Jersey.

So Philly must have been moved by an earthquake or some sort of divine intervention then if Bryan is active in PA politics.

Or else he's just full of crap.

The Grass is Always Greener..

"Maximum" Mike Sullivan has resigned as director of the JBTOTA* aka BATFE.

Now what are we going to get as his replacement?





*Jack-Booted Thugs Of The Apocalypse.

Advertising

First day of classes. Wore my NRA jacket and Arcola Guns and Ammo hat.

Three people started conversations with me about various gun related issues.

It works.

Illinois Sportsmen

I'ld like to welcome the McHenry County Sportsmen's Assoc. to my list of Gun Sites. McHenry County was the first of the 'Collar Counties' to pass the Pro 2A Resolution last April due in no small part to the advocacy of these individuals.

They contacted me wanting to buy a whole mess of UMPC patches that they plan to give away to members who are active in writing to their congresscritters, letters to the editor, etc. I was happily able to oblige them.

Keep up the good work guys.

Raisins

After a quick Spring, the fruits shriveled on the vine.

Durbin, the senior senator from Illinois, talked to Burris to congratulate him, he told FOX News. Reid was to do so later in the day, according to Reid spokesman Jim Manley.

"I congratulated him and he was stunned," Durbin said.

What a Para Cheaters

The Ten Bloggers who rigged the voting to get themselves into the "Weekend At Blackwater" Contest now are being exposed nationally for their fraud.

Even though I had more integrity than to pad the numbers to allow me to go, thanks to Sebastian, Bitter, Todd Jarrett, Para-USA, Blackwater, and DownRange TV for all the hard work in this.

Durbin grows a pair

Sen. Dick Durbin threw a sizable roadblock in Roland Burris' path to the U.S. Senate on Friday, saying firmly the former Illinois attorney general cannot be seated without a missing signature certifying his appointment.

Whether he's legally correct or not isn't the point. It's that he's opposing the Lightbringer.

Will they remain solid or will they shrivel like Blago's chances at re-election?

And Another MAIG Mayor Indicted

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has been indicted on public corruption charges. The 31-page, 12-count indictment includes charges of perjury, theft, and fraudulent misappropriation and misconduct.

This makes what? Seven?

Seems being a member of MAIG gives you greater odds of being arrested and/or convicted than either firearm ownership or CCW.

H/T to ProGunProgressive.

Interesting if True

I'm not attesting to the validity of this nor the circumstances, just its surreal nature.

Apparently the guy who brought the Obama citizenship case up convinced Chief Justice Roberts to at least hear it:

Chief Justice John Roberts agreed to hear my case, Lightfoot v Bowen, challenging eligibility for presidency of Barack Hussein Obama. He distributed the case to the full conference of the Supreme Court. The timing of this decision by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, is absolutely remarkable.

Dr.Orly Taitz, ESQ
drorly.blogspot.com
dr_taitz@yahoo.com

No. 08A524
Title: Gail Lightfoot, et al., Applicants
v. Debra Bowen, California Secretary of State

Docketed:
Lower Ct: Supreme Court of California
Case Nos.: (S168690)

~~~Date~~~ ~~~~~~~Proceedings and Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dec 12 2008 Application (08A524) for a stay pending the filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, submitted to Justice Kennedy.
Dec 17 2008 Application (08A524) denied by Justice Kennedy.
Dec 29 2008 Application (08A524) refiled and submitted to The Chief Justice.
Jan 7 2009 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of January 23, 2009.

I leave it to the readers discretion to do w/ it what they will.

Blago Impeached. 114 to 1

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who would take over if Blagojevich is ousted, said it's time for the governor to "face reality" and give up his office.

The single dissenting vote was Milt Patterson D- Chicago.

Now it goes to the Senate for trial to remove him. A good day for Illinois.

More on Stripped Funding..

When Blago and the IL legislator stripped millions of dollars from conservation funds, it apparently did so in violation of federal funding rules. According to Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever:

The Illinois General Assembly must act this month to restore $9.25 million in restricted funds diverted to pay state bills, or the state risks losing $16 in federal dollars for fish and wildlife management.

This was noted earlier. We'll see if the legislators bother w/ anything other than impeaching Blago.

And still no AHSA.

Blago Irony

Remember when Blagojevich stated he thought firearm owners should get psych exams?

Well apparently his advisors think he should get one as well.

But when Arya's run with Blagojevich came to an end, he had a story to tell — one of intense jealousies by the governor toward President-elect Barack Obama, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and others, a terrorized staff, and emotional instabilities that Arya said demonstrate the need for a psychological evaluation by the legislative panel weighing the governor's impeachment...

“Many staffers cringed at the notion of calling him and we were under strict orders to never let the phone ring more than three times.”

In fact, Arya said, the running joke among staffers used to Blagojevich's disdain for the office was that he should go “on a trade mission so he could be gone for a few months and things might actually get done.”

Looking back on his 23 months on the state payroll, which ended last October, Arya described Blagojevich as “a good father and a great guy to go to a ballgame with” but an ineffective, emotionally unstable chief executive.

The man who was a leader in the charge for more gun control in Illinois.

My thoughts on Holder

It's a done deal. That's my opinion.

I've written the letters but it's still a done deal.

As for the lack of active response by the gun groups, well, they know they'll get burned right now if they try. The Obamanation has the momentum. We're on the defensive. That's the reality. Get used to it. Digging in our heels at this point will just result in a political equivalent of the Maginot Line.

Let their momentum wear down, they extend their lines, and burn their own resources. People will start seeing that the Lightbringer doesn't walk on water and everything they thought he promised isn't .

Then we counter-attack.

We are the Militia

Think like Guerrillas

Think like Partisans

Think like Soldiers

Compare and Contrast

On one side we have Cooper Firearms whose CEO donated thousands to the Obama Campaign and H-S Precision which used a known murderer as an endorsement.

On the other we have Barrett Rifles refusing to sell his .50 cals to CA LEO's and Remington Firearms CEO who takes the people he sponsors and buys from to task for stupidity and/or ignorance.

To that second list, we now add STI who will no longer sell to CA law enforcement due to the continued attack on firearm ownership in the state.

I know to which companies my money will go.


h/t to Armed and Safe.

Firearm manufacturing

More fun w/ statistics.

As usual, claims that ownership, hunting, manufacturing between such and such dates tend to be exaggerated and/or the dates specifically chosen to make an argument. This is clearly shown in the classic case of the VPC claiming that the numbers of firearm owners have been declining. Obviously this is not even close to being the truth.

The same can be said about firearm manufacturing which is supposedly in decline. Particular dates are always chosen and terminology used to show the desired results. So I decided to take a look at the data from the BATFE which is available for the years 1998-2000.

Looking at the total numbers, it does show a drop of a little under 53,000 firearms manufactured during that period. Looking at the individual types produced during the years shows a different story however:


So Handguns and Rifles vary with a slight trend upwards, revolvers remain very stable, while shotguns decreased significantly but have stabilized over the last few years.

Looking back another decade using data from Shooting Industry Magazine reports continues to show a varied history. From 1987-2006 one could say that US firearm manufacturing increased by nearly 90,000 firearms but that would still bely the wide swings in manufacturing over the last 20 years from a peak of 5.16M in 1994 to a ebb of 2.9M in 2001. That trend shows a slight drop in handgun(combined w/ revolvers) and shotgun manufacturing but a significant increase in rifles. The sales figures over the last two years seem to imply that we're still on an upward slope for manufacturing.

And these are just US numbers w/o taking into account the +/- 250K exports or +/- 1.25M imports every year.

On Closer Examin(er)ation

Not only has David Codrea's Examiner column gone national and his Cleveland spot continuing under another author, LA Examiner now has a firearm rights column.

At the same time SF is discussing dropping its handgun ban.

Perhaps the state is not a complete loss.

Ray Schoenke says Nothing...

After a 2 month hiatus, he comes back to brag about his election victories. Still nothing on what he or his group is actually doing though.

Why?

Because his group is doing exactly that. Nothing. Their whole purpose is to get anti-gun candidates elected under the guise of 'supporting hunters and shooters' and to attack the NRA.

"I'm a Big Boy now!"

So says Senatorial hopeful Burris.

Better than Ringling Bros.

My letter to the General

In response to his paper as noted by Irons in the Fire and SayUncle:

Gen. McCaffrey,

In regards to your report from December regarding crime in Mexico, I would like to make some corrections to your assertions that military grade firearms are being smuggled into the country from the United States.

To legally purchase a Class III firearm, one needs to follow all the regulations of the 1934, 1968, and 1986 firearm acts. This includes a background check, $200 tax stamp, licensing, and registration through the BATFE. No new fully automatic or select fire weapons have been added to this registration since 1986. The cheapest firearms cost over $2500 with AK-47's averaging $5000 ea. Licensed dealer rarely have more than a few in stock at any one time if at all. RPG's, Grenades, and other heavy weapons are not available through any firearm dealer unless they are licensed for explosives as well, also not common. What the Mexican authorities are facing from the US are semi-auto only clones of military firearms, commonly known as 'assault weapons'.
Since every firearm of any type needs to undergo an NICS check from a licensed dealer, a purchase of "a hundred at a time" would flag the buyer and warrant an immediate investigation by the BATFE.

If you have direct knowledge that this is not so and dealers are actually selling fully-auto firearms and high explosives 'out the back door', it should be brought to light and these dealers indicted.

If the authorities are facing these types of firearms from the cartels, and I have no doubt they are, they need to look south, not north, and to their own house for the reason. Numerous Mexican officials have been caught in the US attempting to purchase firearms while the entire system, as you have stated, is rife with corruption. Which would make more sense, finding officers or soldiers who are willing to accept a bribe for them to 'lose' their weapon or leave an armory door unlocked, or travel to the US to try and find a very uncommon class of weapon costing thousands of dollars? The very existence of the "Zeta's" should answer that question.

Regards,
Thirdpower

Not a perfect letter but let's see if he responds.

Late X-mas

The magazines and frog bought w/ my X-mas money came today.


Two Hungarian 20 rd Tanker magazines for my SAR-1 and a Romanian leather AK-47 frog from AK-47s.com

View From the Kitchen

Looking up.

Is This Really a Suprise to Anyone?

SIH, SaysUncle, Michael Bane, The Shooting Wire, RobbAllen, and I'm sure others are reporting that there's noises about a new AWB is in the works as punishment for opposing the LightBringer.

Well duh.

We've already seen how vindictive this administration is when they attacked TV stations for running NRA ads. Anyone who thinks that the Obamessiah WOULDN'T go after firearms were just deluding themselves to justify their opposition to Bush. IIRC, Bill Schneider had a couple of running bets w/ posters over on New West. Methinks he's going to end up being sorry he made them. I'll place money on not hearing a word from 'hunting and shooting advocate' Ray Schoenke of the AHSA.

Two Forums added

One is the G/K43 Community Forum. These are the fine individuals who helped me out on details regarding my Mauser rifles.

The second is a new forum started by TexasFred. The United States Gun Owners Association. Politics, Gun Porn, Gunsmiths, Sales/Trading, the works.

Springfield Gun Show

Went to meet the Armed SchoolTeacher. Apparently we got our days crossed as he was there Sat. while I was there today (Sun). Oops.

I did, however, get a chance to talk to Tom Shafer at the Sangamon County Rifle Assoc. booth. He runs a local pro-gun cable show ( Wed. at 7:30pm Springfield Ch 4) and has been spending his time watching the Blago impeachment hearings. We chatted about Blago and Burris for awhile and I was pleased to give him some additional info to present on his show. Notably how Blago gave a gun control speech on the steps of the hospital he was blackmailing and Burris's hypocrisy on firearms. I gave him a UMPC patch to recognize in a small way all the hard work he does.


Also got a chance to talk to Ron Corzine of the ISRA and booth volunteer Terry.


Today was busy but I was told that yesterday it was packed w/ a line out the door. I picked up a stock extender for my SAR-1 and a frog for the bayonet I got at another show a few weeks ago. Had I had more funds, I would have walked out of there w/ (receipts for ) many new toys (damn waiting period).

Both fit most nicely now.

508

The final tally for murders in Gun Free Chicago. An over 15% jump in comparison to last year.

Congratulations on a job well done Mayor Daley.

Taking your Change

WASHINGTON -- A 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel fuel taxes is being urged by a federal commission to finance highway construction and repair until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads.

The National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing, a 15-member panel created by Congress, is the second group in a year to call for higher fuel taxes.

So the push for more fuel efficiency combined w. a recession has led to decreased revenue from gas taxes. Who would'a thunk it? So of course the response is a call to tax the sh*t out of us some more.

To bad we can't throw gas into the harbor.

Selective apologetics

Via Armsed and the Law Safe (oops), we discover an apology letter for the "Ban All Guns" nonsense the other day. Both he, Pistolero, Kevin Baker , and others have taken her to task either in the comments and/or their blogs but their is one area they missed on in their replies to her.

The sh*tstorm that hit Zumbo wasn't mostly about the guns not being good for hunting, that's just a non-thought out opinion, it was that he called them terrorist weapons and that they should be banned. My reply:

Your analysis of the Zumbo affair is not entirely complete. Through your own link he did much more than state that he felt "Assault Weapons" weren't good for hunting. That is merely and uneducated opinion. What really got the sh*tstorm to hit was his statement that they were 'terrorist rifles' and that they should be banned from outdoor activities.

That showed not only a level of ignorance and elitism from someone who was a 'lifelong hunter' but also gave ammunition to all the anti-gun groups. Within a few weeks, the Brady Campaign and others were repeating his words as the voice of hunters in the US.

Calling a firearm an "assault weapon" in no way makes it more or less accurate. There are many different configurations of the many models out there, hunting, home defense, target shooting, etc. What it boils down to is that an 'assault weapon' is merely a semi-auto firearm that has cosmetic features similar to some military firearms. They function no different than any other semi-auto.

The Rev. spoke out in ignorance and hostility and was responded to in kind. Many gun owners are tired of being called terrorists and criminals because they choose to be gun owners.

Update: Seems that being polite and presenting counter information isn't as effective as she claims.

That's really all I have to say on the subject. I'm not going to answer any more comments on it. Sorry, I'm just out of time and interest.

Translation: Facts don't matter so please don't present them if they don't fit my worldview.

What will they do now?

Nutball sites like Democratic Underground, MoveOn, Huffpo, and Daily Kos have had a hayday the last 8 years feeding their severe cases of Bush Derangement Syndrome. While I am in no way a fan , these poor deluded souls are now going to be relegated to what the "Rightwing" sites have had to deal w/, only being able to reference the past for mistakes of the current administration and cries of 'obstructionism'. I'm seeing it already. Continuing references to Palin and McCain as if they're still relevant, 'but Bush did XYZ', etc. etc. They'll be able to play that game for awhile, but it will get old quick as the incoming administration starts making its own flubs and foibles.

What they're really going to hate is the traditional pattern of the media and celebrities. They've raised the Lightbringer to that status, now w/ him in the spotlight, it's time for them to knock him down. Everytime he takes a crap, the 'mainstream media' will be there to count the corns and anal-yze the texture. Recent reports have stated that he's already grating at the attention which will only make them even more determined to pressure him. Nothing sells better than a celebrity throwing a fit or having a breakdown.

Will they look critically at their own party during this period or will they stay quiet and support their own 'dear leader w/o question? That's been a regular attack against the Stupid Party.

What will they do?

Days of Our Trailers: 2008 year in review

Blog stats for the year 2008:

		Page Loads	Unique Visitors	First Time Visitors	Returning Visitors
Total		126,584	94,701	59,528	35,173
Average		346	259	163	96

Can you tell when I was in Northern Elbonia training Counter-Revolutionaries?

Most viewed pages:

10) Patches for Sale 606 views
9) Modern Militia: Vehicles 606 views
8) Ruger Super Blackhawk 614 views
7) Ruger GP 100 624 views
6) Il Gov calls for Psych test 626 views
5) Modern Militia: Uniforms 636 views
4) Enfield Jungle Carbine 813 views
3) Modern Militia: Firearms 1,207 views
2) Hunters who don't believe 2,337 views

And the #1 viewed page on Days of Our Trailers for 2008:

1) Unorganized Militia Propaganda Corps 4,117 views

Top Ten referrers:

10) The HighRoad.org 879 visitors
9) Xavierthoughts 1,081 visitors
8) WaronGuns 1,111 visitors
7) BredaFallacy 1,403 visitors
6) Armed & Safe 1,669 visitors
5) Google 1,675 visitors
4) ISRA 1,973 visitors
3) Ahab 2,124 visitors
2) Snowflakes in Hell 7,967 visitors

And w/ no real surprise, the #1 referrer to this site was:

1) SayUncle w/ a whopping 16,961 visitors

Special mention to my buddy Robb Allen who just missed making #10

It's been an interesting year. Lots of successes. Two big losses (death of Heston, Obama victory). Much drama. Our community has grown considerably. We've had our family squabbles but we're still here. I've met lots of good people both in real life and the intersphere, hopefully to really meet sometime in the future. The support for the UMPC went beyond anything I originally expected leading to a second order of patches in expanded colors. The 2A Blogger Bash was a hit at the 2008 NRA convention .

What I know is that I'm looking forward to another year, no matter how rocky it may be.

Happy New Year all.

More Women Hunting. Still no AHSA.

Women on Target, Women's Wilderness Escape, NWTF’s Women in the Outdoor events, Etc. All have been instrumental in the increase in firearm ownership and activities by women across the US.

And Ray Schoenke's AHSA had nothing to do with it. Two years they've been in existence to 'support hunters and shooters' and they can't point to a single event or project they've sponsored to do so.

I see your fat guinea pig

And raise you a fat cat:

I love Il Gov. Blagojevich

He's actually trying to appoint Obama's Senate replacement. Former Il AG Roland Burris, another anti-gun hypocrite.

W/ Durbin et al stating they won't let anyone appointed by Blago take the seat, it almost makes one feel sorry for him.

Almost.

According to the Trib's "Clout Street":

"Former Illinois Atty. General Roland Burris called him to say he was storing a gun in Decatur because he forgot to renew his registration, Mell said. The engraved shotgun was given to Burris by Illinois State Police when Burris left office, the alderman added."

You have to love Illinois politics.

More at WOG

I've seen this map before..

A Russian 'expert' proclaims the breakup of the United States w/ various nations gobbling up the remains either directly or as puppet regimes.

Where have I seen this division before? Oh right. When I played Fortress America in High School.

Could the US split? Sure. It's always possible. But this map is just the fancied dreams of a person dreaming of their glory days over 150 years ago w/o a clue of US regional attitudes.

TexasFred has more.

Whoever did it..

I'm sure the Ugandan locals are glad that they've been disarmed for their own safety and the betterment of society.

KAMPALA (AFP) – The Ugandan army on Sunday accused Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels of hacking to death 45 people in a church in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

It was all an accident

NY State Senate Elect Monserrate, who bashed his girlfriend w/ a bottle and is a staunch gun control advocate says he just 'slipped'.

It seems though, that he has a long history w/ mental issues and violence:

Monserrate - who just racked up his second arrest after an alleged violent outburst - claimed to be struggling with psychological issues when he quit the NYPD after 11 years.

His May 19, 1999, application for a disability pension was troubling enough that cops immediately seized his guns, public court filings show...

Yesterday's bust on charges that he slashed his girlfriend was the second time Monserrate faced a judge after a nasty confrontation.

He was arrested in the early-morning hours of Sept. 11, 2001, on charges of trying to run over a tow truck operator attempting to repossess his car. The outcome of that case could not immediately be determined.

Those high quality gun control advocates.

"Regulate the trafficking of illegal guns"

Do these idiots ever listen to themselves?

Note nothing is said about the drastic reductions in the Chicago Police or the rampant gang wars currently going on.

Again:

"Sure, I'll support more gun laws for you, as soon as you write the names of every family member and neighbor that belongs to a gang and has a gun hidden on this sheet of paper. Let me know when you're done and we'll hold a joint press conference to name names and start to really bring the cycle of violence to an end."

H/T to WaronGuns

Dance Paul Dance.

Christmas Eve Massacre Shuffle Statement from Paul Helmke:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to a man dressed in a Santa suit opening fire at a home in Colvino, California, shooting an eight-year-old girl in the face, her 16-year-old sister in the back, then killing eight others and himself, Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign, issued the following statement:

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and community touched by this terrible tragedy. It is profoundly sad that a distraught man would take up arms to kill his family and others.

"In this season of hope, however, we should not despair and say this kind of violence is inevitable. We should not tolerate the steady drumbeat of gun deaths and injuries that tears our families and communities apart. We can and should do all that is within our power to find solutions to gun violence.

"In the New Year, we hope that our nation's leaders have the courage and conviction to take steps that will help protect our families and communities from gun violence."

Why don't you emphasize the "strong, commonsense gun laws" that are already in place in California giving it the top score in your rankings? What other laws do you want that would have stopped this? A complete gun ban? Oh, right, you don't support gun bans. Except when you do.

You and your organization are scum Paul. Nothing else but.

hattip to reader Ambiguous ambiguae

Going National...

David Codrea's Cleveland Examiner column is being moved to their national page.

Most excellent job.

Spreading the word one step at a time.

Gun Show Stuff..

Went to the local gun show w/ my BIL to spend a little more of my X-mas money. The place was packed w/ people and lots of decent deals. Saw a Norinco NHM-91 which is something I'm looking at (or similar) when I have money again. Talked to John Naese of the Champaign County Rifle Assoc. He had some 6.5 Swedish that he was looking to sell. If anyone is interested, contact him at :

webmaster@gunssavelife.com

Tell him I sent you.

Also talked to "The Book Guy", Roy Carey Jr. (cgabooks@verizon.net) Oddly enough, there was not a single copy of the Turner Diaries or the Protocols present so I asked him why. He told me that not only does he not carry books like that (along w. ones like the Anarchist Cookbook) but that the sponsors of the shows he attends (most of Il and the tri-state area) don't want them there either. Hmmm. That seems to fly in the face of PSH claims that lines are out the door at shows for materials like that.

I picked up a book on WWI and another on the Spanish-American War. Both of which have some fantastic period photography and artwork. Also got a good deal on (what I believe is) an early model Romanian AK-47 bayonet:


And such went my X-mas money. After lunch and much wailing and gnashing of teeth over lack of funds, home we went. Went online and found a replacement frog. It should be here in a few days.

Their latest angle

SIH and WaronGuns link to a presser from the Brady Bunch as they try and wedge themselves into the Hain lawsuit. The last three Helmke blogs on Huffpo have been attacking carry. Three out of the last four additional posts on their site's blog have been anti-carry.

To me, this appears to be a prelude to another push. They are working to try and make open and concealed carry holders out as being irresponsible and dangerous. My guess would be that their short term goal would be the revocation of the National Parks carry legislation while at the same time trying to weaken national support for it for a longer term goal of making state carry laws more restrictive (hence less common) and/or an unlikely push for a national ban like Obama claimed he wanted.

That's their best bet. With the coming of a new administration, CCW in national parks seems to be the weakest link and the most obvious chance for a springboard victory to tout how the Obama victory was a mandate for gun control, how strong their organization is, the NRA is emasculated, what have you.

Helmke's default quoted statement seems to confirm that:

"the Bush administration's parting gift for the gun lobby to allow hidden weapons in our parks threatens the safety of these national treasures and those who visit them."

One can almost imagine Paul Helmke quietly whispering "pleaseohpleaseohplease" while hoping for a shootout somewhere so they can send out another email alert and press release.

Spreading the Joy..

Got back yesterday morning from my mom's. She was happy w/ the extra magazine and ammo we got for her new P32. I got my annual staples (salted cashews, sausage, slippers) and some money. With that I will be purchasing a couple of Hungarian 20rd Tanker magazines for my SAR-1. The rest will be put into saving up for the 2ABB in May.

Opening my computer, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature governor, and eight tiny subpoenas.

Our beloved Governor (for now) Blago)is asking for testimony from numerous Obama staffers including Emanuel. This will be the gift that just keeps on giving.

Kind of like Herpes.

Closed for the Holidays.

Blogging will resume in a few days. May all your gunnie dreams come true.

Running out of scary names..

VPC's latest 'report' to demonize firearms apparently was written by Jar Jar Binks. Large caliber handguns are now "Big Boomers".

VPC representative Binks was later quoted as saying:

"Meesa no like thees Big Boomas. Meesa theenk Big Boomas endanga Da Cheeldree."

They lampoon themselves.

A Little Bit of History..

One of my hobbies is collecting antique books. Not only do I like reading them(it's the best way to get the mindset and views of different periods) but they also look really good above the mantle piece.

Some of my more interesting titles are :
Websters Abridged Dictionary for use in Primary Classes, 1892*

Harper's Fifth Reader, 1889*

and White's New Complete Arithmetic, 1911*

But here's one that I found at a local charity sale:



The NRA Book of Small Arms Vol 1: Pistols & Revolvers, 1946.

History is fun.



*All of these are at a level that would be considered advanced for High School in today's classrooms. I have several others from the early 1900's that are the same way. Sad.

Will Emanual go under the bus?

Apparently the ties between him and Blago trying to sell Obama's Senate seat are getting stronger.

Will Obama follow his established pattern and drop Rahm before it puts a scratch in the Teflon?

My Favorite Che Guevara Photo..

Be a Victim in Rockford, Il

So says the "Only Ones" unable to stop a string of armed robberies. Otherwise you 'might get hurt'.

That crappy advice didn't work in the 80's when it was touted, now did it? I guess it's time to pull out the old comic again:




“Anytime someone demands money from you, you should not resist in any way, especially if they produce a weapon,” Sgt. Sam Pobjecky said. “If they are violent enough to carry a weapon, they are certainly violent enough to use it.”

Does that include you Sarge? Do you consider yourself 'violent'?

Here's what I say to you. F*ck off. Your little list of 'how to be a passive victim' is the equivalent of telling women to dress in Burkas to keep from being raped. Would you tell her she was 'asking for it' if she was wearing a skirt? No? That's basically what you're telling everyone to do.

How about I "assume" that they are going to hurt me? How about I put a couple rounds into them the second they threaten me? Would you support my actions or will you continue to enable their violence by encouraging passivity?

My Next Degree..

From what I'm sure is a highly prestigious university that the wife found advertised on Ebay:



So would I be able to offer my services on Craigslist then?

I am not a Crook..

So says Il Gov 'Hot Rod' Blagojevich.

He pledges "I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath."

Thanks Rod. Keep the state tied up w/ this for as long as you can. Make them even more useless than they've been the last few years under your 'leadership'.

This is a great Xmas present.

The Blogosphere..

She is a fickle bitch.

The Liberty Sphere is having one of those thought processes. I understand.

There are times when I spend hours on a well researched, thought out post and it gets completely ignored. There have been times where I just punched out a one-liner and it generated thousands of hits w/ dozens of links. While I admit I try and feed my narcissistic tendencies, most of what I do, I do just because I enjoy it.

I enjoy being a part of it. Finding and reading historical documents and statistical works. Arguing w/ anti's on messageboards. Learning about legislation and firearm facts. Etc.

I've also met lots of great people, both in real life and in cyberspace. I've also met some I don't really care for and others that I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire.

In the words of Bilbo Baggins "I don't know half of you as well as I should like and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve".

My 'Line'

I see three grown men trying to pull my daughter into a van? I don't care if they're yelling "Po Po" or not, they will be ventilated.


H/T to Waronguns.

The difference between Us and Them

Alan Korwin of GunLaws.com sent out a 'Page 9' e-mail quoting a 2A lawyer with an incorrect cite regarding Caroline Kennedy and the 2A. This morning, I received a follow-up e-mail w/ an apology and the correct citation:

"In accusing Caroline Kennedy of shoddy scholarship, I committed shoddy scholarship.

"The quote, 'the right to keep and bear handguns is not guaranteed by the Second Amendment,' does not appear in U.S. v. Miller, but (absurd as it is) it does appear in Quilici v. Morton Grove, which Kennedy was citing in her book. She was right, and I was wrong.

"Clearly, Kennedy is hostile to the right of individual citizens to keep and bear arms, but she is not guilty of making up a quote, as I alleged.

"I apologize for my unforgivable error."

No uncertain terms there, eh?


Now compare that to the Brady Campaign's Dennis Henigan and his misquoting the 2A. Instead of fessing up, they tried to erase it from their site and Youtube.

Blago's Twinkie..

Blagojevich's lawyer claims that if the glove don't fit, you must acquit.

Wait. Wrong scumbag.

Instead he's claiming that the wiretaps were illegal making all those 79 pages of late-night Cable dialogue inadmissible.

Oh please Rod, continue to be the arrogant schmuck we've all come to know. Drag this out in the courts and the state capitol for as long as you can and drag as many of your cohorts down with you as you can.

Make your Christmas gift to the state one that keeps on giving.

First Step

Or at least the first step.

Uncle reports that the Chicago Handgun ban was upheld in a lower court which is what was expected. Next step is the Circuit Court.

Daley can rant about 'crime prevention' and 'protecting police' all day long. He still won't be able to explain why his city, with the strictest laws left in the nation, have 5x the murder rate of the rest of the state and have seen a 17% increase just this year.

He can 'hold fast" all he wants. All it's going to do is cost the city more money in the long run.

An Expensive Education

Norfolk pays $15k after wrongfully arresting an open carry individual.

Unfortunately, the judge threw out the 2A issues and the excessive force. The trial would have been on privacy violations for asking for his SS number.

Read the comments. It's funny how violent those who oppose the decision are. Calls for Szymecki to be tazed, shot, jailed, etc.

H/T to reader Ambiguous ambiguae.

Quote of the Day

"Obama doesn't even have to push for gun control. Everyone he is assigning or nominating will be pushing for gun control, so he won't have to."

-RideFastandShootStraight

Read the rest.

Sliding Down the Slippery-Slope

From RobbAllen and War on Guns comes this handy-dandy little quote:

Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan dismissed the notion hunting rifles and shotguns are not the type of weapons authorities need to be worried about, noting they can cause harm if poorly safeguarded or stolen by burglars.

"Taking these off the streets is as important as the taking the handguns off the streets,'' he said.

Translation: We're going to institute as many laws as we can to keep people from owning long-guns.

Not that I'm really surprised.

I'm sure we'll hear hunting advocates VP Elect Joe Biden and AHSA President Ray Schoenke coming out in opposition to this any day now.

Right?

Joe? Ray? Anything?

Modern Militia: Rank Structure*

Commander - Whoever starts the unit.

Second-in-Command - His best friend.

Auxiliary Commander - His wife.

Captain - The new guy with money.

Militia Headquarters - The basement/garage of whoever has the fax machine.

Feel free to add your own.




*For the overly serious, this is known as self-deprecating humor.

Yes. Spelling counts. :)

NRA surveys

Don't exist. Really. Just move along. Nothing to see here.

More like this please

"As Americans, we should not have to pay a tax to exercise our constitutional rights — especially our Second Amendment rights," ... "No matter what, the responsibility to protect your family is greater than the state's need to generate taxes." ... said Rep. Eric Proctor, D-Tulsa.

I'm sure they're scared straight now

Some felons are caught w/ 'submachineguns' (which I doubt) and are charged w/ a few more felonies and a couple of misdemeanors.

Yep, assuming they are kept in jail and have that Monday hearing (instead of making bail and skipping town), I'm sure that year or so in prison they'll actually serve will just automatically turn them into model citizens.

22 years old and all of them are felons out on the streets.

Yep.

We're not after your guns. Trust Us.

So says Laura Eshelman of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence Ownership.

Yet the NCGV supports, endorses, and is directly associated with groups who openly support gun bans and endless restrictions.

Sorry Laura, but when you use quotes from organizations whose admitted goals are to highly restrict and/or eliminate private firearm ownership in the US as well as using long discredited Kellerman statistics, I'm going to have a hard time taking you at your word.

Hot Rod's 'Pocket Rockets'

Via Arms and The Law and IllinoisCarry, we have the VPC and Brady Endorsed 'reasonable, common-sense' gun ban on 'pocket rockets', introduced by Brady Endorsed "Hot Rod" Blagojevich when he was a US Representative.

It banned any handgun w/ a "total length of less than 7 1/2 inches".

Just to put that in perspective. Glock "standard size" handguns like the 17 or 22 have a rated length of less than 7.5". Adding in the grip angle might increase it to above that for some but not for others.

A 1911 A1 has a 'total length' of 8.25". The barrel is a hair under 7.5".

Yet looking at the bill itself, the word 'total' isn't there. What would the 'measure' be? Barrel length? Total length? What?

Not that it really matters. The entire point of this bill, as is usual with anti-gun bills, was not to reduce crime, but to eliminate Concealed Carry and to marginalize handgun ownership to larger individuals, mostly males, as the transfer and manufacture of anything small enough would be banned. "Only Ones" excepted of course.

This is what they get when they vote for people who think like this. This is what they deserve.

Bryan Miller the 'Decider'

Trying to get Bryan Miller to defend his proposed 'one gun a month' law by showing supporting evidence on how they will reduce crime is now "distracting" and "off-point" in his mind.

That is his response to asking how long is the average wait for a NJ resident to receive a handgun permit and how many 'crime guns' have been traced back to bulk purchases in the state.

The only way those questions can be 'distracting' or 'off-point' is if the 'point' is not to actually reduce crime and is 'distracting' from Miller's goal of reducing legal firearm ownership.

Instead he has laid claim to be the "Decider" , using his own snide term, in determining what people in the state do or do not 'need'.

His crass little response is pretty much an admission that his law won't have any effect on 'intrastate trafficking' or any sort of actual crime and shows what his goals really are.

Thank you Bryan Miller. You are the embodiment of the gun control movement.