Happy Halloween!
31 October 2008
Range Day
Here's me shooting the S&W 640. .357 Magnum, 7 yards. Five shots at a time. Aiming for center, top 7 and top 8. I am not used to DAO revolvers and this much recoil. I have a lot to learn.
I am a great deal more comfortable with the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless. .32 ACP, 7 yards. 8 shots at a time. Shooting at the numbers.
Not bad for a 96 year old gun. John Moses Browning, (pbuh) accept no substitute!
I am a great deal more comfortable with the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless. .32 ACP, 7 yards. 8 shots at a time. Shooting at the numbers.
Not bad for a 96 year old gun. John Moses Browning, (pbuh) accept no substitute!
30 October 2008
An Enjoyable Read
From here:
http://taxes-stupidity-and-death.blogspot.com/2008/10/open-letter-to-barack-hussein-obama.html
Excerpt:
"To those of you who are seeking something to believe in, or a government to give you things: Grow up. Really. I mean that. If your life is so empty that you need to have a politician to believe in, then you need to work on yourself, because something is sorely lacking in you. Politicians, and especially Obama are not to be trusted. They will whisper pretty words in your ear, and tell you all the things they will do for you, in order to get your vote. They will make you slaves for that all-important vote. If you think that the government's purpose is to provide you with things, then you too, have a problem, because you get what you pay for."
http://taxes-stupidity-and-death.blogspot.com/2008/10/open-letter-to-barack-hussein-obama.html
Excerpt:
"To those of you who are seeking something to believe in, or a government to give you things: Grow up. Really. I mean that. If your life is so empty that you need to have a politician to believe in, then you need to work on yourself, because something is sorely lacking in you. Politicians, and especially Obama are not to be trusted. They will whisper pretty words in your ear, and tell you all the things they will do for you, in order to get your vote. They will make you slaves for that all-important vote. If you think that the government's purpose is to provide you with things, then you too, have a problem, because you get what you pay for."
28 October 2008
Communication Problem
When I post, I assume that you've read all the preceding material and remember it. Mostly, because I remember it.
When something doesn't make any damn sense, it's likely a continuation of an earlier post. Or it really doesn't make any damn sense and it's just steam escaping.
This blog's primary purpose is to keep me off the local water tower. Demanding I prove my position to your satisfaction will not lead to that end.
If you have enough time to research every little thing I misspoke or got wrong, then you certainly have enough time to post to your very own blog. If you don't have a blog already, you should get one.
I am not good at debate. I never have been. Debate has rules that can be used to bury the truth or facts in a discussion. Debate does not allow for shooting my opponent between the eyes and yelling, "Rebut that motherfucker!" This is why I am not on a debate team.
A link to a web site will never trump my lying eyes. The argument there would have to be insanely good to convince me that I didn't see what I saw. Try to remember I was on the line in West Germany often on the Inter-German and Czechoslovakian borders, in 1987-89. I've seen what Communism looks like and don't want it imported here. Try not to make too much fun of the angry old man.
Much of my anger has to do with being punished for the actions of others.
On the topic of gun control: The core issue is that my guns have killed no one, let alone murdered someone. No gun control law yet passed affects the criminal more than me.
On racism: I've never owned a slave. My family has never owned slaves in recorded history. My family arrived here too late for the Civil war. I and my family have never oppressed. Therefore you are mad at someone else. Using the government to get even with "Whitey" is only tarring me with the same brush.
On Socialism/Communism: The only entity I owe money to is the bank holding my mortgage. I certainly owe my friends things and they owe me. Those associations are entered into freely and openly. I do not owe anyone else anything, nor do I think they owe me. I resent that my taxes are taken to feed and shelter people I don't know. Other than sucking O2, what have they done to earn it? This is punishing me because they are lazy.
On Equality: I have absolutely no objection to equal. But equal is where I draw the line. I will not abide a reversal of positions just because my Dad and Grandfather were racists or sexists (they weren't racists). Go after them, not me. But things must be equal.
Now! If you want to not trip my trigger, when you are part of a group that espouses that I must be punished for the trespasses of others, you must be crystal clear that you are not just rephrasing what the greater organization said in a new and novel way. Without such a clear statement, when a black Democrat talks about the civil rights movement, redistribution of wealth and the Constitution being a barrier, it gets read as reparations to slaves. By the way, the last slave died years ago.
I care far more about what people do than what they say. For example, I have heard from Michele Evermore that Sen Harkin is pro-gun because he's told her that. I know that he votes anti-gun though. There's a dissonance between what he says to her and what he does on the Senate floor.
When something doesn't make any damn sense, it's likely a continuation of an earlier post. Or it really doesn't make any damn sense and it's just steam escaping.
This blog's primary purpose is to keep me off the local water tower. Demanding I prove my position to your satisfaction will not lead to that end.
If you have enough time to research every little thing I misspoke or got wrong, then you certainly have enough time to post to your very own blog. If you don't have a blog already, you should get one.
I am not good at debate. I never have been. Debate has rules that can be used to bury the truth or facts in a discussion. Debate does not allow for shooting my opponent between the eyes and yelling, "Rebut that motherfucker!" This is why I am not on a debate team.
A link to a web site will never trump my lying eyes. The argument there would have to be insanely good to convince me that I didn't see what I saw. Try to remember I was on the line in West Germany often on the Inter-German and Czechoslovakian borders, in 1987-89. I've seen what Communism looks like and don't want it imported here. Try not to make too much fun of the angry old man.
Much of my anger has to do with being punished for the actions of others.
On the topic of gun control: The core issue is that my guns have killed no one, let alone murdered someone. No gun control law yet passed affects the criminal more than me.
On racism: I've never owned a slave. My family has never owned slaves in recorded history. My family arrived here too late for the Civil war. I and my family have never oppressed. Therefore you are mad at someone else. Using the government to get even with "Whitey" is only tarring me with the same brush.
On Socialism/Communism: The only entity I owe money to is the bank holding my mortgage. I certainly owe my friends things and they owe me. Those associations are entered into freely and openly. I do not owe anyone else anything, nor do I think they owe me. I resent that my taxes are taken to feed and shelter people I don't know. Other than sucking O2, what have they done to earn it? This is punishing me because they are lazy.
On Equality: I have absolutely no objection to equal. But equal is where I draw the line. I will not abide a reversal of positions just because my Dad and Grandfather were racists or sexists (they weren't racists). Go after them, not me. But things must be equal.
Now! If you want to not trip my trigger, when you are part of a group that espouses that I must be punished for the trespasses of others, you must be crystal clear that you are not just rephrasing what the greater organization said in a new and novel way. Without such a clear statement, when a black Democrat talks about the civil rights movement, redistribution of wealth and the Constitution being a barrier, it gets read as reparations to slaves. By the way, the last slave died years ago.
I care far more about what people do than what they say. For example, I have heard from Michele Evermore that Sen Harkin is pro-gun because he's told her that. I know that he votes anti-gun though. There's a dissonance between what he says to her and what he does on the Senate floor.
A Rules Change I Just Noticed
When I was in the Army there was a rule about using the heavier guns on people.
The .50 was for equipment. Not personnel. We joked that a belt buckle or uniform was "equipment".
There's a lot of TADS footage from Apaches using their gun on people. That's a 30mm; more than double the bore size of the .50 I was told was too heavy for troops. And the 30mm is HE not just a slug like Mother Duece fires.
Since this TADS footage would have to be cleared for distribution, I assume the rules are changed enough to allow the heavier guns on troops.
Like they weren't going to be used like that back in 1988...
The .50 was for equipment. Not personnel. We joked that a belt buckle or uniform was "equipment".
There's a lot of TADS footage from Apaches using their gun on people. That's a 30mm; more than double the bore size of the .50 I was told was too heavy for troops. And the 30mm is HE not just a slug like Mother Duece fires.
Since this TADS footage would have to be cleared for distribution, I assume the rules are changed enough to allow the heavier guns on troops.
Like they weren't going to be used like that back in 1988...
A Glimmer Of Hope?
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=6099188&page=1
ABC News! That's a mainstream media! They need more guys like this I think.
ABC News! That's a mainstream media! They need more guys like this I think.
Consider The Sacrifice That Made You Free Before You Demand I Pay Your Bills. UPDATED
"If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court. I think where it succeeded was to invest formal rights in previously dispossessed people, so that now I would have the right to vote. I would now be able to sit at the lunch counter and order as long as I could pay for it I’d be o.k. But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in the society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as its been interpreted and Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can’t do to you. Says what the Federal government can’t do to you, but doesn’t say what the Federal government or State government must do on your behalf, and that hasn’t shifted and one of the, I think, the tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from that."
Barak Hussein Obama, NPR 2001. http://www.vinceautmorire.mu.nu/images/od-010118.ram
Update to bring the newbs up to speed: There has been a movement inside the civil rights movement for quite a long time that believes that because their grandparents were once slaves that society at large, especially white people, owe them financial compensation for "their" suffering.
Something I want to address about his "grievance": Us white folk paid in blood to free y'all black folk. Paid more than can ever be repaid, just so you can be free. We don't owe you anything. If anything, you owe us for fighting and dying for that freedom. We didn't ask to be repaid for the service we rendered unto you, we did it because we thought it was the right thing to do. For you to demand payment now after the sacrifices made for you? How dare you, sir? How dare you?
If you were not slaves, then you would be in Africa. Checked the politics there?
If predominately white men had not fought and died to grant you freedom, you would still be enslaved. Be grateful, take the gift go forth and prosper!
Barry, your father was not the descendant of American Slaves, nor are you. You don't get to put on that mantle. It's not your heritage.
UPDATE
Oh, by the way, the Service Oath I took way back in 1987: I, (McThag), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Support and defend the Constitution of the United States Barry. That document you are finding in your way. Shall I put you in the foreign or domestic category? We had classes on lawful orders and several of us (not me at the time) asked about what would happen if the President issued an unlawful order. "Unlawful is unlawful, and the order does not have to be obeyed," is what the Drill Sergeant told us.
Barak Hussein Obama, NPR 2001. http://www.vinceautmorire.mu.nu/images/od-010118.ram
Update to bring the newbs up to speed: There has been a movement inside the civil rights movement for quite a long time that believes that because their grandparents were once slaves that society at large, especially white people, owe them financial compensation for "their" suffering.
Something I want to address about his "grievance": Us white folk paid in blood to free y'all black folk. Paid more than can ever be repaid, just so you can be free. We don't owe you anything. If anything, you owe us for fighting and dying for that freedom. We didn't ask to be repaid for the service we rendered unto you, we did it because we thought it was the right thing to do. For you to demand payment now after the sacrifices made for you? How dare you, sir? How dare you?
If you were not slaves, then you would be in Africa. Checked the politics there?
If predominately white men had not fought and died to grant you freedom, you would still be enslaved. Be grateful, take the gift go forth and prosper!
Barry, your father was not the descendant of American Slaves, nor are you. You don't get to put on that mantle. It's not your heritage.
UPDATE
Oh, by the way, the Service Oath I took way back in 1987: I, (McThag), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Support and defend the Constitution of the United States Barry. That document you are finding in your way. Shall I put you in the foreign or domestic category? We had classes on lawful orders and several of us (not me at the time) asked about what would happen if the President issued an unlawful order. "Unlawful is unlawful, and the order does not have to be obeyed," is what the Drill Sergeant told us.
It's Alive ALIIIIIVE
Got the Mac Pro hooked up and running!
Yes, those monitors are freakishly huge.
Yes, those monitors are freakishly huge.
27 October 2008
25 October 2008
Home Improvements Continue Apace
Got the new vanity in and started on the walls.
Marv, Pam, and The Lovely Harvey holding the paneling up while the liquid nails set.
The Vanity itself.
The paneling.
Harvey will begin laying tile to cover the terrazzo soon.
Marv, Pam, and The Lovely Harvey holding the paneling up while the liquid nails set.
The Vanity itself.
The paneling.
Harvey will begin laying tile to cover the terrazzo soon.
Attempting To Say What I Mean
Here goes.
I cannot recall all of the experiences that led me to my beliefs. I do know I have not encountered anything that has altered them significantly. I definitely cannot express the point of view I have into words.
I can try with some things. I saw East Germany. Germany invented the car. Democratic West Germany had BMW, Mercedes, Daimler and Volkswagen. Communist East Germany had the Trebant. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebant ) Trebbies made Yugos seem like well designed and built cars. The disparity between East and West was shocking. West Berlin was like any other West German city. East Berlin still showed damage from World War Two. The inhabitants were depressed and downtrodden in a way that I cannot convey.
The Germanys started at the same place at the end of WW2. The three sectors controlled by the democracies (France, Great Britian and the USA) became West Germany. The Soviet controlled sector became East Germany.
Just how bad East Germany was seems to have sucked down the memory hole.
I saw it first hand. This is what Communism does.
Communism is a form of Socialism. Specifically, it's Socialism that comes from the top down instead of the worker up. There are other definitions, of course, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism ) but this one makes a usable distinction from what Marx put down. The Democrats have gone Socialist, and I must fight against it and them.
Until recently, the Republicans were not Socialists. Republicans In Name Only (RINO) are Socialist Lite. McCain is sort of halfway between the old Republicans and the RINOs. Not that he's really taking a middle stance, he just swings across the entire range and it averages to halfway.
My Great Grandfather Natto fled Italy one step ahead of the secret police in the 20's; he left behind at least three children. He pounded into our little heads when he saw us playing 'war' that Communists, Facists and Socialists were all leftists.
I know I have belabored the point before, all the leftists when they take power become totalitarian. The first step down that road is gun control. Notice that every single anti-gun measure introduced in the last 74 years has been started by a Democrat. Would you trust them? The few repeals of the gun crap we've had have been spearheaded by Republicans, including their Supreme Court nominees.
The Constitution is a ridiculously simple document. Read it, it only takes about an hour. Now, consider the humor in the ACLU worrying about the border patrol's "Constitution Free Zone". Dude, it's the entire fucking country and it's been like that since around FDR. Do a bit of searching for what's been justified under the commerce clause. Don't forget to check out (http://www.stoptheaclu.com/ ); especially the ten reasons they founded and the 10 myths about the ACLU. The first thing I want you to notice in those lists is when they make a statement, they give a link right there in the text to their supporting information. This sort of thing is common in the right wing blogs and is almost entirely absent in the left, almost like they don't want you do your own research because if you do you will not find concurring information.
I started noticing this back around 1993. That's my domestic political awakening. 15 years of seeing this country creep ever closer to East Germany. I feel like a trapped, caged wolf and people keep poking me with a stick. I alternate between "oh what NOW?" and "LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Lately, I have felt that we could turn it around and reverse the bullshit from FDR to now. We just need time. But more importantly, we need to keep the Democrats from getting both houses and the presidency at the same time. My favorite snob refers to the Dems as "The Evil Party" and the Republicans as "The Stupid Party". They are apt descriptions. Want evil or stupid? Me either, but we have to choose one.
Voting for a third party is a defacto vote for the winner from the major two, as is not voting. Your best hope is to get involved locally and hope you can get people who agree with you in and they keep moving up the hierarchy. The Democrats have a problem from this direction in what is called a "Blue Dog Democrat". It hasn't caught on in the large cities, but it might be getting larger.
That's it for now. This is as rational as I can put it.
I cannot recall all of the experiences that led me to my beliefs. I do know I have not encountered anything that has altered them significantly. I definitely cannot express the point of view I have into words.
I can try with some things. I saw East Germany. Germany invented the car. Democratic West Germany had BMW, Mercedes, Daimler and Volkswagen. Communist East Germany had the Trebant. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebant ) Trebbies made Yugos seem like well designed and built cars. The disparity between East and West was shocking. West Berlin was like any other West German city. East Berlin still showed damage from World War Two. The inhabitants were depressed and downtrodden in a way that I cannot convey.
The Germanys started at the same place at the end of WW2. The three sectors controlled by the democracies (France, Great Britian and the USA) became West Germany. The Soviet controlled sector became East Germany.
Just how bad East Germany was seems to have sucked down the memory hole.
I saw it first hand. This is what Communism does.
Communism is a form of Socialism. Specifically, it's Socialism that comes from the top down instead of the worker up. There are other definitions, of course, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism ) but this one makes a usable distinction from what Marx put down. The Democrats have gone Socialist, and I must fight against it and them.
Until recently, the Republicans were not Socialists. Republicans In Name Only (RINO) are Socialist Lite. McCain is sort of halfway between the old Republicans and the RINOs. Not that he's really taking a middle stance, he just swings across the entire range and it averages to halfway.
My Great Grandfather Natto fled Italy one step ahead of the secret police in the 20's; he left behind at least three children. He pounded into our little heads when he saw us playing 'war' that Communists, Facists and Socialists were all leftists.
I know I have belabored the point before, all the leftists when they take power become totalitarian. The first step down that road is gun control. Notice that every single anti-gun measure introduced in the last 74 years has been started by a Democrat. Would you trust them? The few repeals of the gun crap we've had have been spearheaded by Republicans, including their Supreme Court nominees.
The Constitution is a ridiculously simple document. Read it, it only takes about an hour. Now, consider the humor in the ACLU worrying about the border patrol's "Constitution Free Zone". Dude, it's the entire fucking country and it's been like that since around FDR. Do a bit of searching for what's been justified under the commerce clause. Don't forget to check out (http://www.stoptheaclu.com/ ); especially the ten reasons they founded and the 10 myths about the ACLU. The first thing I want you to notice in those lists is when they make a statement, they give a link right there in the text to their supporting information. This sort of thing is common in the right wing blogs and is almost entirely absent in the left, almost like they don't want you do your own research because if you do you will not find concurring information.
I started noticing this back around 1993. That's my domestic political awakening. 15 years of seeing this country creep ever closer to East Germany. I feel like a trapped, caged wolf and people keep poking me with a stick. I alternate between "oh what NOW?" and "LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Lately, I have felt that we could turn it around and reverse the bullshit from FDR to now. We just need time. But more importantly, we need to keep the Democrats from getting both houses and the presidency at the same time. My favorite snob refers to the Dems as "The Evil Party" and the Republicans as "The Stupid Party". They are apt descriptions. Want evil or stupid? Me either, but we have to choose one.
Voting for a third party is a defacto vote for the winner from the major two, as is not voting. Your best hope is to get involved locally and hope you can get people who agree with you in and they keep moving up the hierarchy. The Democrats have a problem from this direction in what is called a "Blue Dog Democrat". It hasn't caught on in the large cities, but it might be getting larger.
That's it for now. This is as rational as I can put it.
24 October 2008
Home Improvements Continue Apace
The tub and its enclosure is DONE!
Here's how that window turned out.
Here's how that window turned out.
Something I Don't See The Mainstream Media Do Much Of
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/10/23/why-that-mccain-volunteers-mutilation-story-smells-awfully-weird/
This is a story that, if it were true, would be immensely helpful to the McCain campaign; however the blogger based media often reports things that don't help their side.
The MSM would either not report at all, or run with it as if it were true and defend it to the last once evidence began to pile up. Dan Rather anyone?
22 October 2008
From The Comments Of Earlier
"Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (a strange, obsessive focus of hate on the American right) "
We hate them because they hate us. There's nothing strange about it.
The Constitution was written in plain, simple English. There is no nuance or hidden meanings.
The Second Amendment reads: "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."
That's damn plain in 1789 English. Only confusing today because comma use has changed considerably.
If the authors of the 2nd had intended it to mean just the militia to have arms, then they would not have said "people". Another thing to consider here is the people writing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were people who had just succeeded in an armed rebellion and recognized that the common ownership and familiarity with arms was what allowed them to attain that victory. That's not speculation, they were also a verbose group who wrote about their thoughts almost endlessly.
This amendment is there because possession of arms is not A freedom, it is THE freedom. Taking away the arms means that we are completely reliant on whatever freedom is granted us by the people who still have their arms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is at the forefront when it comes to taking the arms from the people. If arms = freedom then someone who cares about liberty is going to be a little peeved at people attempting to take said arms away.
And ATF is not as hated as Sarah Brady, Howard Metzenbaum, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Charles Schumer or Joe Biden; the authors of the Brady Act and '94 "Assault" Weapons Ban, signed by William Jefferson Clinton.
We remember in 1986 that Ronald Reagan signed the Gunowner's Protection Act that made it a little harder for ATF to track a specific gun from factory to owner, but it he also removed machineguns from "common use" by banning manufacture of new guns for private ownership.
We remember that Lyndon Baynes Johnson expanded the NFA in 1968 to make sure the government had the ability to track every firearm made and that all sales of new guns must be made through a dealer licensed by the Federal Government. To transfer a firearm legally from an owner in one state to a person in another state, one must go through such a licensed dealer. Like the ability to tax, the power to license can be used to destroy.
The people who hate also have no love for the left's hero, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1934 under his watch we got the National Firearms Act. That made the preeminent weapon that a militia should have, the machinegun, tightly regulated and (at the time) prohibitively taxed.
We notice that Heller did not address the infringements of our rights I mention above. Heller specifically stated "firearms in common use", notice how they eliminated machineguns from common use?
We worry about Barack Hussein Obama. He has only voted in a pro-gun manner ONCE since becoming a US Senator, for SA4615 in 2006. He's said, repeatedly that he's for gun bans, renewal of the AWB and restricting gun sales to one a month. Oh, notice his running mate is also on our minds from 1994? Real confidence builder there.
ravenclaw_eric
It'd be a hoot if we had a Presidential candidate who was campaigning on a platform of repealing everything banning or regulating guns, from Miller vs. US on...but who was also a Muslim. A lot of people's minds would explode.
23rd-Oct-2008 10:31 am (local)
mcthag
Candidate X: "I propose radically chopping government back to it's constitutionally authorized size and making sure each and every law is in accordance with that highest law of the land, praise be unto Allah!"
23rd-Oct-2008 04:41 pm (local) - linguistic change
fuzzy_geff
There is a non-punctuation issue that confuses moderns: most people, in my experience, don't even suspect that "well-regulated" means "properly functioning". They are far more likely to imagine it has something to do with government control.
In case any of our readers are suffering from such confusion, I will quote from The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1971 edition):
Well-re.gulated, ppl. a
1709 Shaftesb. Moralists ii. iv. 108 If a liberal Education has form'd in us .. well-regulated Appetites, and worthy Inclinations. 1714 R. Fiodes Pract. Disc. ii. 250 The practice of all well regulated courts of justice in the world. 1812 J. Joyce Sci. Dial., Astron. xii II. 126 The equation of time .. is the adjustment of the difference of time, as shown by a well-regulated clock and a true sun-dial. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lviii. A remissness for which I am sure every well-regulated person will blame the Major. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib i. v. 27 It appeared, to her well-regulated mind, like a clandestine proceeding. 1894 Pop. Sci. Monthly June 165 The newspaper, a never wanting adjunct to every well-regulated American embryo city.
I may have mangled some typography, but I am confident that I rendered the content of the citations correctly. And no, I didn't delete the definition; they really didn't include one.
We hate them because they hate us. There's nothing strange about it.
The Constitution was written in plain, simple English. There is no nuance or hidden meanings.
The Second Amendment reads: "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."
That's damn plain in 1789 English. Only confusing today because comma use has changed considerably.
If the authors of the 2nd had intended it to mean just the militia to have arms, then they would not have said "people". Another thing to consider here is the people writing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were people who had just succeeded in an armed rebellion and recognized that the common ownership and familiarity with arms was what allowed them to attain that victory. That's not speculation, they were also a verbose group who wrote about their thoughts almost endlessly.
This amendment is there because possession of arms is not A freedom, it is THE freedom. Taking away the arms means that we are completely reliant on whatever freedom is granted us by the people who still have their arms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is at the forefront when it comes to taking the arms from the people. If arms = freedom then someone who cares about liberty is going to be a little peeved at people attempting to take said arms away.
And ATF is not as hated as Sarah Brady, Howard Metzenbaum, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Charles Schumer or Joe Biden; the authors of the Brady Act and '94 "Assault" Weapons Ban, signed by William Jefferson Clinton.
We remember in 1986 that Ronald Reagan signed the Gunowner's Protection Act that made it a little harder for ATF to track a specific gun from factory to owner, but it he also removed machineguns from "common use" by banning manufacture of new guns for private ownership.
We remember that Lyndon Baynes Johnson expanded the NFA in 1968 to make sure the government had the ability to track every firearm made and that all sales of new guns must be made through a dealer licensed by the Federal Government. To transfer a firearm legally from an owner in one state to a person in another state, one must go through such a licensed dealer. Like the ability to tax, the power to license can be used to destroy.
The people who hate also have no love for the left's hero, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1934 under his watch we got the National Firearms Act. That made the preeminent weapon that a militia should have, the machinegun, tightly regulated and (at the time) prohibitively taxed.
We notice that Heller did not address the infringements of our rights I mention above. Heller specifically stated "firearms in common use", notice how they eliminated machineguns from common use?
We worry about Barack Hussein Obama. He has only voted in a pro-gun manner ONCE since becoming a US Senator, for SA4615 in 2006. He's said, repeatedly that he's for gun bans, renewal of the AWB and restricting gun sales to one a month. Oh, notice his running mate is also on our minds from 1994? Real confidence builder there.
Comments:
23rd-Oct-2008 01:16 am (local)ravenclaw_ericIt'd be a hoot if we had a Presidential candidate who was campaigning on a platform of repealing everything banning or regulating guns, from Miller vs. US on...but who was also a Muslim. A lot of people's minds would explode.
23rd-Oct-2008 10:31 am (local)
mcthagCandidate X: "I propose radically chopping government back to it's constitutionally authorized size and making sure each and every law is in accordance with that highest law of the land, praise be unto Allah!"
23rd-Oct-2008 04:41 pm (local) - linguistic change
fuzzy_geffThere is a non-punctuation issue that confuses moderns: most people, in my experience, don't even suspect that "well-regulated" means "properly functioning". They are far more likely to imagine it has something to do with government control.
In case any of our readers are suffering from such confusion, I will quote from The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1971 edition):
Well-re.gulated, ppl. a
1709 Shaftesb. Moralists ii. iv. 108 If a liberal Education has form'd in us .. well-regulated Appetites, and worthy Inclinations. 1714 R. Fiodes Pract. Disc. ii. 250 The practice of all well regulated courts of justice in the world. 1812 J. Joyce Sci. Dial., Astron. xii II. 126 The equation of time .. is the adjustment of the difference of time, as shown by a well-regulated clock and a true sun-dial. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lviii. A remissness for which I am sure every well-regulated person will blame the Major. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib i. v. 27 It appeared, to her well-regulated mind, like a clandestine proceeding. 1894 Pop. Sci. Monthly June 165 The newspaper, a never wanting adjunct to every well-regulated American embryo city.
I may have mangled some typography, but I am confident that I rendered the content of the citations correctly. And no, I didn't delete the definition; they really didn't include one.
Home Improvements Continue Apace
We have begun remodeling the main bathroom.
This is just the window.
As is typical, nobody thought to grab the camera to take a before picture or pictures of the tear-down. The Lovely Harvey was with The Boy at his bowling league so our brain was absent.
Laying bricks. Learning on the job, do it ourselves.
Damn camera focuses on the screen and not what you want to take a picture of.
The glass blocks! This was marketed as a basement window.
Inside.
The workers on our Union (Brotherhood of Slaves Local 242) Mandated "Job is all done you can rest now" break.
This is just the window.
As is typical, nobody thought to grab the camera to take a before picture or pictures of the tear-down. The Lovely Harvey was with The Boy at his bowling league so our brain was absent.
Laying bricks. Learning on the job, do it ourselves.
Damn camera focuses on the screen and not what you want to take a picture of.
Inside looking out. Ready for the glass blocks!
The glass blocks! This was marketed as a basement window.
Inside.
The workers on our Union (Brotherhood of Slaves Local 242) Mandated "Job is all done you can rest now" break.
19 October 2008
Orson Scott Card, Democrat
I quite often disagree with Mr Card on many issues.
But when we agree, he normally says it better than I can.
http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2008-10-05-1.html
But when we agree, he normally says it better than I can.
http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2008-10-05-1.html
17 October 2008
Some Fodder For Anglave
http://coldfury.com/?p=11253
Read, enjoy, pick-apart.
By they way, Mr Menzel, you could post this to YOUR live journal and not be limited by the word count. Hey, post the McLame tear down there! I'll link my other reader to it for you!
If what his replies say is true, there's much ado about nothing with Bill Ayers. The problem I have trouble articulating is there is a pattern with Mr Obama and the persons he associates with. It's never anything overt, but there's always something unsavory about the people he's been rubbing shoulders with. Oh, it's innocent enough, now, but he sure doesn't seem to know anyone that doesn't have a major skeleton.
I have to keep repeating it; I DO NOT LIKE GEORGE W. BUSH! I only voted for him in 2000 because I was voting against Al "ozone" Gore, and again against John "Three Purple Hearts" Kerry.
I DO NOT LIKE JOHN McCAIN! but I end up defending him (and Bush) because I am always being assaulted by people who know I am "the conservative" about the latest evil of the "Rethuglicans". If the media spent as much time on the effects of George Soros as they did on Karl Rove, I think I could seriously look at both parties.
Comments Below
Trust
I've grappled with the question, from time to time, "what would it take to get me to vote Democrat?"
On several issues, I have no problems with them at all.
Two things I have huge issues with. First is the gun thing. Second is the communism thing. Those are pretty big things.
But it doesn't really answer the question.
I think that if the Dems would propose, and pass, legislation repealing the Brady Act, I would consider voting for them. That would be a good step to show that were not aiming to recreate the "happy Soviet".
Legislation forcing the BATFE to obey the law would also be welcome, and a sure sign they were interested in freedom and liberty.
On several issues, I have no problems with them at all.
Two things I have huge issues with. First is the gun thing. Second is the communism thing. Those are pretty big things.
But it doesn't really answer the question.
I think that if the Dems would propose, and pass, legislation repealing the Brady Act, I would consider voting for them. That would be a good step to show that were not aiming to recreate the "happy Soviet".
Legislation forcing the BATFE to obey the law would also be welcome, and a sure sign they were interested in freedom and liberty.
16 October 2008
Stocks
I mentioned my quest for better stocks for the 1911 before. The smooth rosewood The Lovely Harvey pointed out at the Orlando Funshow feels better than any other 1911 grip I have ever held.
I took a pick of all the also-rans for comparison purposes, first with ambient light then with flash.
I took a pick of all the also-rans for comparison purposes, first with ambient light then with flash.
Left to right, stock Springfield Armory Model 1911-A1 GI walnut; WW2 issue USGI from my dad's Rem-Rand; Colt's rubber; unknown black plastic; smooth rosewood.
Same order showing the various thicknesses.
Same order showing the various thicknesses.
12 October 2008
Mundane Tasks
The trap on the sink in the garage bathroom corroded through last night.
Home Depot, to the rescue! Da da da DAH!
Our drains are strange, they are not the cast iron stubs they should be, they are copper and the 1.25" drain tubes slip into them. It's very strange, not how they do it in the midwest at all.
Luckily, Home Depot® has a wide assortment of adaptors and fittings.
In the course of the repair, I discovered that my faucet was not in the best condition either, but that will have to wait until I can shut the house water off, since we don't have shut-offs at the sink.
Home Depot, to the rescue! Da da da DAH!
Our drains are strange, they are not the cast iron stubs they should be, they are copper and the 1.25" drain tubes slip into them. It's very strange, not how they do it in the midwest at all.
Luckily, Home Depot® has a wide assortment of adaptors and fittings.
In the course of the repair, I discovered that my faucet was not in the best condition either, but that will have to wait until I can shut the house water off, since we don't have shut-offs at the sink.
11 October 2008
Like I Remember It
This is how she came.
I added a carrying handle and ditched the P-Rail for the sheet-metal dust cover. FALs really aren't tack-driving accurate enough to rate optics.
And with the obligatory bayonet; just to piss of the bedwetting supporters of "assault" weapons bans.
UPDATE
Details of the bayonet.
If you look close you can see the latch in the bottom.
This is the slot in the flash-hider where the latch engages.
The slots in the bayonet line up with the holes in the flash-hider.
You can just see the edges of the flash-hider in the front.
I added a carrying handle and ditched the P-Rail for the sheet-metal dust cover. FALs really aren't tack-driving accurate enough to rate optics.
And with the obligatory bayonet; just to piss of the bedwetting supporters of "assault" weapons bans.
UPDATE
Details of the bayonet.
If you look close you can see the latch in the bottom.
This is the slot in the flash-hider where the latch engages.
The slots in the bayonet line up with the holes in the flash-hider.
You can just see the edges of the flash-hider in the front.