Carrying My Piece

"An Armed Society is a Polite Society"

I'm thrilled that the Texas legislature has passed an open carry bill.  Governor Abbott says he is "warmin' up my signing pen," and I believe that's a good thing.  This bill is actually an expansion of existing Texas carry law, which allows concealed carry of handguns, and open carry of long guns.  Here in Florida we've had concealed carry laws on the books since 1988, and I've carried a sidearm every day since before and after that date.  Personally I'm a total purist, and I think that any carry law or other obstacle to a citizen bearing arms is a violation of the intent and language of the Second Amendment, but I'm reasonably, yet warily, comfortable with the requirement that background checks and licensing be in place.  That keeps everyone's crazy uncle or psychopathic wife from packing heat.  In theory, anyway.  Despite what the perpetually timid and afraid detractors maintain, open carry is a good policy for those who have met the background checks and obtained a concealed carry permit.  There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is the deterrent factor.  An armed society is a polite society.  No one is likely to challenge someone with a pistol on his hip, and random craziness like road rage episodes will be considerably deterred when a raving lunatic doesn't know for sure if the intended victim is armed.  The Brady Bunch and their ilk will try to tell us that an open carry environment will have us reliving the violence of the Old West.  Gunfight in Tombstone and the OK Corral revisited.  Right.  But with all but a handful of states issuing "shall issue" carry permits, Dodge City hasn't come to life, and remains firmly in the past.

Ruger LC9 in 9mm

Kimber Ultra Carry II in .45 ACP

The second benefit to open carry is the elimination of the need to carry ever smaller, lighter and less obtrusive handguns.  And less potent ones, too.  I'm a 1911-style, single action .45 ACP aficionado.  I'd love to carry single action pistols in that caliber, like my Kimber, or my Colt or my 15-round Para - or even my Heckler+Koch USPs.  But because of Florida's weather and the need for lightweight clothing, I'm resigned to carry my little Ruger 9mm DAO (double action only). Compare the images here.  Needless to say, if I ever need my pistol, I'd much rather have the .45 than the 9mm.  Not to say that the Ruger isn't a fine gun, it certainly is.  It's just that it's all I can lawfully - and comfortably - carry concealed.  So when Florida gets around to finally passing an open carry law, and law abiding citizens are enabled to carry sidearms openly, I'll be packing the 1911-style 45 pistol.  No doubt.

Islamamania

I can't figure it out.  Seriously.  I really don't get it.  Has the country as a whole gone completely round the bend?  It must be the case, because freedom loving Americans would never succumb to a creeping, insidious dilution and eradication of their culture, would they?  No?  They would certainly never even consider trading the US Constitution for Sharia law right here in River City, now would they?  Then why are we being pummeled by this constant drum-beat of Islamamania?  That's a term I just coined referring to the love and adoration of all things Islamic.  You know, things like Islam's intolerance of anyone not Muslim, the blatant human right inequities embedded in Sharia law,  its regressive Luddite mentality, and its extreme and pervasive brutality and violence. Perhaps it's that evil plague political correctness that's done us in.  That's the nonsense that dictates that we be "tolerant" of every known intolerable utterance or act.

Brilliant!  Point Taken!

Consider.  In just the last few days we've seen cultural institutions cave into the demands by the terrorist organization CAIR and other Islam sympathizers.  Note Facebook's cave (OK, Facebook's not a cultural institution.. . or maybe it is, to America's everlasting shame) to censor anything remotely "Islamaphobic - whatever the hell that means - yet doesn't censor the hate filled, illiterate rants posted by Muslims.

Aside from the hate this Muslim maggot spews, we have more evidence that there's insanity in the air, as the world renown publishing house in the UK, the Oxford Press, has decided to not print any reference to pork, so as to not offend Muslims. Unreal.  Tell me this:  Who cares if Muslims are offended? I certainly don't.  In fact, I'm offended that Muslims don't respect - nor are they tolerant of  - my religion and faith, which predates Islam by thousands of years.  But these savages operate within a 7th century stone-the-infidels mindset, and the entire world quakes at the thought of offending them.  They are always offended at everything, especially everything western in culture.  So what?  Their cast system treats the kafir (non-believers) as a subhuman class, and as such may be killed at will. And, if Muslims try to leave Islam, they, too, can be killed.  Of course, they love to kill each other, too.  Sunnis Muslims and Shia Muslims do kill each other, so there's some joy in that.  There's a difference between them, but as an American Christian of European and Anglo-Saxon ancestry, I really couldn't care less.  The bottom line for me is that they are the savage enemy by their own decree.  And even in my gated, upscale, relatively affluent neighborhood, Muslim sleeper cells exist.  This I know for a fact, but I will post no citation for that statement, because I don't want to see my dog's head impaled on a stick in my yard some day.  But my instincts have never failed me, and I am ever vigilant.

I hope you are, as well.

The People vs. the Federal Government

The Republic of Texas logo

For years many Americans - in fact, the vast majority of them - seem to think that the federal government is getting out of hand.  Recently federal government agencies - the vast majority of them - seem to think American citizens have gotten out of hand.  Looks like a Mexican standoff.  Pun intended.  So what happens?  Well, Americans gather together and discuss how to reign in their out of control government. Notice the use of the possessive pronoun - their government.  Oddly, mostly perpetrated by the Kenyan and his leftist panting lapdogs in the press, the government thinks it's their government.  Something's gotta give.  In Texas, a few dozen Americans gather together (hint:  First Amendment's peaceful assembly clause) to discuss seceding Texas from the union, and returning it back to its original Republic of Texas status.  Well, we can't have folks in Texas or anywhere else exercising their Constitution rights like freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, so in a "show of force," presumably to intimidate any others from challenging the federal government, the feds, along with the local police and sheriff's deputies, raided this political meeting (hint: again a violation of the First Amendment) and seized all phones, tablets computers and any and all digital recording devices, and fingerprinted every single person attending.  Wow.  Is this the America we grew up in?  Or is this a nightmare from Soviet Russia, or East Germany's Stasi? In reporting the story, Information Liberation noted the irony being lost on the jackbooted thugs when they stated:  "The raid has angered many people.The tactics used went well beyond what was necessary to address a few individuals over a matter of disputed paperwork. It is clear that full-blown raid was performed to intimidate and harass every member of the group. … The irony of the situation is that the thuggish tactics employed by the police and federal government actually validate the concerns of the members of the Republic of Texas and other Americans who would prefer independence from the United States federal government.”

Again The Past:  Must We Fight For States' Rights Again?

One hundred fifty-five years ago, eleven states decided that they too had had enough of the dictatorial northern-based federal government, and seeking independence from the heavy-handed US federal government, they elected to secede from the union to become the Confederate States of America.  It didn't work out well.  In the ensuing four-year war six hundred thousand Americans and Confederates lost their lives in an attempt -  not to preserve the Union - but to reestablish the concept of limited federal government as set forth in the original Constitution of 1787.  But as always, the victor gets to write history.  The true cause of the War of Northern Aggression was mostly due to the clash over the rights of the states and people as enumerated in the original Constitution, i.e. about limited federal government, and far, far less about any slavery issues. The northern states refer to this conflict as a civil war because they didn't recognize the Confederacy as a sovereign nation.  The southern states refer to it as the War of Northern Aggression (also know as War Between the States, or War for Southern Independence) because they did consider themselves a sovereign nation, which they were.

Nonetheless George Santayana reminded us that those who are ignorant of - or ignore - history are doomed to repeat it.  Let's hope that this regime and its lawless, illegal Marxist ideology can be brought under the people's duly elected Constitutional control before we have yet another war between the states.

In The Age of Disbelief

Epistemology and Belief Systems

Ah, epistemology - the thorniest of all the philosophies, and the hardest to reconcile.  Epistemology deals with the study and nature of truth.  In  the tightest of definitions, it's how you know what you know.  Think about that for a second.  We all have opinions, and they are based on experience, knowledge, personal biases and more.  We all have a political position and I dare say it's primarily based on what we can glean from the news, from the internet, and from personal interaction.  So we defend our positions based on what we know.  Or think we know.

But what is the source of that knowledge we cling to so desperately?  Let's keep this discussion within a political context;  I won't engage in the debate raging right now between quantum theorists and general relativists regarding the beginning of the known universe.  For now, anyway.  When one establishes a political position, or belief system, he does so based on information he has at the time.  Now that information could be erroneous, or it may be correct.  It may be bad information arising from flawed data, or it could be straight up disingenuous propaganda   Or it could be true.  One has no way of knowing for sure, apart from direct observation.  Let's take a few examples of recent issues facing us today, and see if we can find sense by applying epistemology and logic.

Global Warming

This issue has adherents so strongly enamored of this topic that it is literally a religion to them. Wikipedia defines religion as ". . . an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence."  Hmm.  That certainly applies to the GW crowd, who pejoratively refer to those who simply question their dogma as "deniers."  Yet report after report has shown that the data upon which their belief system is based is either incomplete, flawed or outright manipulated.  In fact, it's been debunked completely.  Yet the adherents cling to it blindly.  Why?  

Net Neutrality

Yesterday the Federal Communications Commission empowered itself to regulate the Internet.  Thousands cheered this move, because it supported their contention - dare I say religion-  that anything under private corporate management is "bad," and government oversight is "good."  In reveling in their delight over a perceived victory over Comcast, ATT, Verizon and others, they  miss the point entirely.  Those who championed this move - some the very essence of Silicon Valley - really stood up for free speech, didn't they?  They did, right?  Now that not only government oversight of charges by providers is on the table, but soon to come is licensing and censorship of content.  But, hey, we really put the screws to Big Communications, didn't we?  No matter that the baby went out the window with the bathwater.  Again, why?

How do we know what we know?  What is our basis for making decisions that have real and long term consequences?  Some would say directed government propaganda drives a demand for more tyranny and less freedom.  I would concur.  In both cases above, emotions were brilliantly played in order to justify more government takeover.  Here's the evil in that:  all government systems exist only to retain and seek even more power; of total and complete control of us by them.  Remember:  Power always seeks more power.

So the debate should not be whether the planet is cooling or warming - it does both over epochs of time - and neither is attributable to human endeavors.  The debate is why the government wants to curtail our use of energy, whether demanding we all drive electric cars, or killing off the coal and oil industries, or pouring money into unproven "alternative" energy sources.  But we do know why, don't we?

And the FCC isn't empowered to enact any regulation that hasn't been approved in advance by congress, yet it did so anyway.  And the FCC won't release the actual rules until after they're enacted.  Why?  Watch this space:  in the next two years of this administration's reign, you will see not an increase in economic freedom, but merely another government monopoly.  In the near future, expect some kind of internet use tax, then a campaign to curtail "hate speech" which will be aimed at any content that rises in opposition to an all powerful central government.  All this will be in the name of free speech and free and equal access, of course.  For the short term, your costs for internet use will increase, your connection speed will decrease, and your content will be censored.  In the long term, the internet will be nothing more than a digital version of government sponsored PBS.  And we know why, don't we?

Adoration of the Emperor

The not-so-hidden-hand in all these power grabs is the Kenyan, who has emphatically stated that he defies congress to vote against his policies of fundamentally transforming America; whether with caps on immigrant work permits, or the Keystone pipeline, or his refusal to deport illegals aliens, or even closing Gitmo.  Elections don't matter to the Kenyan.  He has the keys to the throne, and he's acting as emperor.  Yet he doesn't have the constitutional authority to enact  any of these things, it's just there's nobody bold - or brave - enough to stop him.

So what you know, at the end of the day, is that what you "know" is all a hoax. It's just propaganda disseminated by those who are adherents of the religion of totalitarianism.  There's a very real and orchestrated campaign to separate you from the concept of free and open government of, by and for the people. Our Constitutional Republic is being replaced with a totalitarian dictatorship, in which rights and freedoms are determined by the government, and to whom these rights and freedoms may selectively be granted.  And he has two more years, maybe even more - we'll see - to work his plan.  

But as we've seen, logic and epistemology have no place in this government's narrative.  Don't think, just do as you're told.  Now that's what I call a fundamental transformation of America.

Will No One Rid Us of this Turbulent Priest?

Will No One Rid Us of this Turbulent Priest?

OK, with apologizes to King Henry II regarding his lament about Thomas Beckett, I do wonder who will save us us from the destruction perpetrated by the High Priest of Tyranny, our own treasonous dear leader, the Kenyan.  And when.  With news just the other day that Mitch McConnell will have Senate Republicans throw in the towel on the vastly unpopular - and blatantly illegal - amnesty program, the Kenyan knew the deal was done, and flew off to sunny Miami for some golf.  As the image indicates, will none stop this blatant destruction of the rule of law, from which there can be no return?  Like the Kenyan, every one of the five hundred and thirty five members of congress swore an oath to defend the constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.  Yet no arrest has been made, no impeachment enacted.  The Kenyan has broken more laws than all other presidents before him combined, by orders of magnitude.  Roosevelt?  Carter?  Nixon?  Clinton?  Mere choirboys in comparison.  Yet the vengeful, petulant spoiled child continues on, simply because he can.  No one dares stop him and our "free" press encourages and enables him.  And he has two more years to exact even more destruction, revenge and punishment from America, to rectify what he sees as her sins.   He's one man who seeks to inflict harm upon three hundred fifty million others, and yet he walks free as the breeze.  Our enemies too, see that to the Kenyan, America is the enemy, and by this undeniable observation are ever emboldened in their attack on us.  He will let them finish what he himself cannot do.   Astonishing.  Will no one rid us of this turbulent priest?

Enemies Within and Without

Crusaders and Saracens, circa 21st Century

Ever emboldened by the western culture's refusal to reply in kind, the Islamic State again shows the world that it is the absolute epitome of barbarism.  All the whitewash and sugar coating in the world cannot downplay the evil of which this religion is comprised.  And it's not new; this war continues today as it has for the last fourteen hundred years.  What is new, however, is the slick propaganda production the butchers have employed.  Video and internet can take their message to the world in the blink of an eye. The Islamic State’s Al Hayat Media, the group that has published the previous beheading videos in the Middle East, produced the Libya video titled, “A Message Signed With Blood To The Nation Of The Cross.”  I wonder who they mean by that.  A reference was made to "all crusaders" and "we will conquer Rome."  That sounds like a declaration of war.  The most recent victims, 21 Coptic Christian men whose only crime was not being Muslim, were gruesomely beheaded while the voice over spews the same old rhetoric.  At least Egypt's government has vowed retribution, and conducted airstrikes almost immediately.  Here at home, however, the Kenyan has yet to comment on the slaughter, since he was golfing on Sunday at a private golf course owned by billionaire Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle.

And this act of barbarism is no coincidence.  Aided and abetted by the Kenyan's inane and inaccurate comments at the National Prayer Breakfast a few weeks ago, wherein he compared the current atrocities of the IS to alleged "atrocities" of Christian crusaders a thousand years ago, the Islamic State exacts its revenge on a few Egyptian Coptic Christians.  It's this writer's opinion that this is planned; that every utterance of the Kenyan is tacit permission for IS to wage their terror war on Christians and Christian nations.  

So now what do we have?  We have a rich and powerful Islamic State killing and maiming Christians and others alike all over the world. Even Denmark is no longer spared their carnage, as jihad reaches a Free Speech Conference.  Ironic.  The recent mass "immigration" of Muslims in Europe and the US is disguised as normal and peaceful, but it is anything but.  Think London, Dearborn Michigan, and north Texas as examples of demographic changes within Christian countries.  Sleeper cells are everywhere, in every western nation, invisible but ready to strike, as evidenced by CAIR exposed as a terrorist group.

So as yet another poke in the eye to Americans, the Kenyan vows to "squeeze every drop of change" out of his last two years in office.  That means giving illegal aliens, most of whom don't speak English, not only amnesty, but also the unearned right to vote.  Apart from inviting foreign nationals into the US as fully fledged citizens, and apart from encouraging IS atrocities here and abroad, the Kenyan has now decided to render Americans as defenseless as possible. Yes, folks, ATF (now the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) has already taken three major executive actions on gun control. First, it was a major change to what activities constitute regulated “manufacturing” of firearms. Next, BATFE reversed a less than year old position on firing a shouldered “pistol.” Now, BATFE has released a “Framework for Determining Whether Certain Projectiles are ‘Primarily Intended for Sporting Purposes’ Within the Meaning of 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(c)”, which would eliminate M855’s exemption to the armor piercing ammunition prohibition and make future exemptions nearly impossible.  

The Ubiquitous .223 Cartridge and Variants

The M855 cartridge is the green-tipped variant of the very same ubiquitous M193 .223 caliber (5.56mm NATO) round that nearly everyone who owns an AR-15 style rifle has laying around the house.  It has a tiny steel tip on the bullet.  An explanation of the variants of this cartridge here.  Oh, by the way, BATF will take comments from the public until March 16, 2015.  I'm sure public input will weigh heavily on the predetermined decision.  This is the camel's nose under the tent; if M855 can be banned, why not the M193, or .45 ACP, or 9 mm Luger?  Own a gun or ammo?  Be prepared to become a criminal.

If you're awake and can read the news, and you're still not extremely concerned as to the direction this contry is going, well, you're just not nearly paranoid enough. 

Stopping the Government Monster

ETC wants to regulate the Internet

As the federal government seeks more and more power and control over its citizens, and as new federal criminal laws pass year after year, and as it's impossible to go about our daily lives without breaking some federal law, are you starting to feel powerless and vulnerable?  Are you concerned that both political parties are vying for control that will result in policies that are not in your best interests?  Do you instinctively fear those alphabet government agencies like IRS, DHS, TSA, FEC, FTC, BLM, and many others - their agents all armed to the teeth - will somehow detain, arrest, imprison you, or seize your assets like your guns, your bank accounts and your home and land?  As the federal government now seeks to regulate - that is, monitor, control and censor - the internet, are you just a bit concerned that you may be tracked while viewing some sites that are not government approved?  Are you a little afraid to voice your views on topics such as homosexual "rights," or the growing influence of Sharia Law invading local and federal governments?  Are you concerned that the erosion of Christian morality is being not only mocked, but displaced, by the Jewish owned media?  Yeah, me too.  You're not alone, and you're not nearly paranoid enough.

www.americanpreppersnetwork.com

But many folks are content to rant only in the relative safety of the Ethernet, hoping they may add a little weight to the liberty conscious, albeit anonymously.  Let me say this about that:  Continue on with voicing your dissatisfaction and alarm at the growing government monster, but be wary, armed and prepared as well.  Am I a prepper?  Not in the pejorative lunatic fringe sense that the media has defined that term, but I do believe wholeheartedly in being self sufficient and surviving. I am consciously and acutely aware that our American way of life can change in the blink of an eye, and like millions of other Americans, I recognize the danger that this unchecked monster of a tyrannical government poses.

Deterrence by Force of  Arms

So what can we do?  First, as many have pointed out, it's the Second Amendment that guarantees the rest.  So yes, I own firearms, and yes, I have a concealed carry permit, and yes, I carry a gun every day everywhere.  And so does my 104 pound attractive blonde attorney wife.  That protects me at the personal level.  But on an legislative and judicial level, I am a life member of four major gun rights groups, and I encourage each of you to become members of one or all of these.  They are:  National Rifle Association (NRA), Gun Owners of America (GOA), Citizens Committee for The Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), and Second Amendment Foundation (SAF).  These groups constantly challenge the courts and legislators to ensure Americans keep their God-given rights to self defense and liberty, and are very successful at what they do.  See the NRA sidebar on this blog.  In fact just yesterday, the handgun interstate sales ban, part of the Gun Control Act of 1968 signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson, was overturned as being unconstitutional.  This was an effort by CCRKBA and SAF attorneys.  Take heart -  the good guys do win.

Vote for Liberty always

In a civil way, continue to pressure your elected representatives to stop this expanding federal government monster that's intent on taking over every aspect of our lives.  And personally fight every liberty-reducing enactment from red light cameras, to the insidious RealID Act,  to Samsung's "I'm watching you" television, to TSA search-and-grope policy nonsense, to IRS seizing Tea Party member accounts, to NSA's and other government agencies' constant violations of the Fourth Amendment, to KenyanCare mandates, and to every other overreach of the federal and local government.  Fight to keep your God-given rights, so that our children and grandchildren can know the freedom we once had, and will have again.  Don't let the will of the people be corrupted or ignored by the people we place in office.  Make them do their jobs according to their sworn oath of office.  That's the American way.

Military, Civilian, Scout Manuals

But also do what you can to hedge your bets as a fail safe.  Take a stand.  Don't become a casualty if and when the SHTF (Shit Hits The Fan), the euphemism for when All Things Break Down and Collapse.  Many people don't have even basic survival skills that some of us learned in the Boy Scouts or through advanced military training.  For those who lack these basic skills, learn something new by perusing some of the prepper and survival sites as linked above, or buy a military survival manual to see what you can do to help yourself, your family and neighbors.  The Army and Air Force have excellent field survival manuals available on Amazon and elsewhere.  Here's a free downland of the Army Manual FM 21-76.  Exhibit that common sense self reliance that we all were taught in what seems like another, safer age.  Be prepared.  Count on yourself.  Assess.  Evaluate.  Act.  Knowledge is power.  That's the American way, too.