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By Stephen, on August 20th, 2010%
There is a common perception that American youth are generally (as in over 50%) pro gun control and not interested in CCW. While both of those points are arguably true, the latter more than the former, the second perception that always follows is that this does not bode well for the future of the gun industry and gun rights. I think that argument is pretty obviously false. Though admittedly I don’t have a crystal ball and the changes in the beliefs of societies/humans in general are notoriously hard to predict.
In his excellent Harper’s magazine article Happiness is a Worn Gun: My Concealed Weapon and Me (August, 2010), which I’ve commented on here and here, Dan Baum makes the observation that “Young adults buy markedly fewer guns than older people” and quoted a gun salesman as saying, “The younger people tend to be more liberal. They’ve been led to believe the police are going to be there for them …”. To which I say … Yeah. Sure. But …
When I was younger I was also much more liberal and at least passively anti-gun. But I got better. And all the polls I’ve seen indicate that the current youth believe in the 2nd . . . → Read More: The next generation (current 20 somethings) and guns/CCW
By Stephen, on February 26th, 2010%
I finally got around to watching Jodie Foster in The Brave One, and while it’s no classic it’s pretty darn good. And an interesting comparison to two movies that definitely are classics, Robert Deniro in Taxi Driver and Charles Bronson in Death Wish. All three take place in New York City and are about people responding to violence and human predators. But they are also about the line between a citizen defending himself and a vigilante. And they come from very different eras, with The Brave One from 2007, and the other two from the mid 1970′s. And I was more than a little surprised at the conclusion of the latest one, especially given the different times we live in.
As a warning to all … if you haven’t seen all three of these movies, STOP READING and go see them now. They are all worth it, especially the two classics. Because there’s going to be a lot of spoilers coming here. Read on at your own risk.
In the mid 1970′s New York City was a much different place than it is now. Times Square was downright scary and New Yorker friends of mine said you just didn’t ride the subways at night. As . . . → Read More: 3 movies on armed citizens and vigilantism from very different eras
By Stephen, on November 1st, 2008%
The honorable senators Obama and McCain have both made their “closing arguments” on the presidential race. And while there are things I honestly like and dislike about both candidates, my internal personal debate always ends with several well documented facts:
1. Sen. Obama claims to be religious, and yet he has no concept of what religion means to the faithful. Certainly I can’t judge Mr. Obama’s heart or faith, but he has clearly revealed his opinion of religion as some kind of “bitter” reaction to a difficult economic situation.
Now I have no problem with a non-believer or openly atheistic politician, but I would like them to be respectful of my faith by being honest about theirs. Because how could anyone who has a personal relationship with God think that a believer has turned to religion out of bitterness toward a bad economy? Personally, I’ve been blessed with great career success and a personal knowledge of God.
The bottom line is, if God has touched your heart and you know the Truth of his existence and love, then your economic condition doesn’t matter one whit.
2. Senator Obama has an energy policy based on being beholden to extreme environmentalists that will badly damage our economy . . . → Read More: Obama vs. McCain: Closing Arguments for the 2008 Presidential Election
By Stephen, on October 16th, 2008%
I’m certain that Mr. Arne Duncan, Chicago Schools CEO, had his heart in the right place when he refused to accept this anti-gun group award . I’m certain that he considers himself a champion of children’s safety. I’m also certain that the laws he fights for will endanger our children and their future rather than make them safer.
That last statement is one that people of intelligence may debate. But in any case I wonder how Mr. Duncan finds it morally acceptable to position the 3 – 4 million NRA members in the same category as “gang bangers and everyone else” who dare to disagree with him on the subject of the 2nd amendment and firearms. And I wonder if he remembers the adage that “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”
Perhaps, Mr. Duncan, you would take a moment to read the below. And just perhaps you might realize there are intelligent people who also love children but disagree with you, and in fact think your goals will do more harm than good:
I am an NRA member, Sir. I’m a father of two beautiful children who mean more to me than my guns or ANY material thing in . . . → Read More: Declining an award because a constitutional right is not sufficiently infringed does not a heroic martyr make
By Stephen, on October 8th, 2008%
The American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) has been labeled a sham pro-gun group by the NRA and about every other group that supports gun rights. But are they really? Or do they speak for the average hunter? How do their positions compare to the Brady Campaign and other anti-gun groups:
All are in favor of banning .50 caliber rifles (which they call “sniper” rifles or an “armor piercing” weapon depending upon mood and context):AHSA anti .50 caliber rifle page.Brady Campaign anti 50 caliber rifle pageFSA’s anti .50 caliber rifle pageBut what are the facts about this weapon? It is NOT realistically capable of taking down an aircraft, even on landing or takeoff. Imagine, if you will, launching a robin egg sized bullet moving at about 2,000 MPH from 500 yards away at a target moving at 150+ MPH. If you’re a terrorist group that has to spend time and resources getting your assailants into the US, you don’t waste them on a 1 in a million shot against an aircraft; there are many more effective ways to expend your jihadists.
All believe that all firearms transactions should be documented, and that non-dealer coordinated sales should be ended (the so called gun show . . . → Read More: The AHSA: The Brady Campaign in a Flannel Shirt
By Stephen, on October 5th, 2008%
Another story of Amercians using that obsolete 2nd amendment right to defend their liberty and lives. Not everyone might agree with this particular group’s cause, but certainly no one can disagree with their right to support their cause, gather to talk about their cause, and generally live their lives without fear of violence so long as they don’t undertake violence against others.
Having grown up in New York City, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, during the turbulent 1950s and ’60s, this Jew–a lifelong Zionist and National Rifle Association member–saw his neighborhood–in fact, his entire city–practically destroyed by left-liberal policies and ideology. This Jew recalls the night when knife- and pipe-wielding, Black Muslims surrounded the brownstone building that housed the clubhouse, or moadon, of his Zionist youth movement chapter, and remembers well that it was the group’s (legally owned and stored) arsenal of rifles–and willingness to use them in self-defense–that prevented a massacre of young Jews. This Jew also recalls taking part in armed patrols, approved by the local sheriff, to deter white hoodlums from burning down the youth movement’s summer camp in Liberty, NY. This Jew recalls the urban murderers who gunned down Jewish store owners up and down Broadway. The candy . . . → Read More: Another modern day story of people who used guns as tools to defend life and liberty
By Stephen, on October 3rd, 2008%
The gunguys.com are proud of a union that forces it’s members to take a day off out of fear they might be contacted by the NRA and inspired to vote against Obama.
Union officials say they took the day to protest after a film crew from the National Rifle Assocation showed up at the Consol mine last week to interview union workers.They say the crew tried to get union coal miners to speak out against Barak Obama.
So these tough miners were so scared of a film crew they couldn’t even go in to work? Or was the union scared that some of their miners might vote their mind and for their own interested instead of the union’s? Is this a union or the Mafia?
How very American . . . → Read More: And this is the kind of crap that anti-gunners are proud of?
By Stephen, on September 29th, 2008%
This article from Philadelphia about the PA preemption law masquerades as news but is actually a blatant opinion piece. It presents only the point of view of the anti-gun people without a single quote from the other side or even an acknowledgement that there is another side. This is despicable, as the writer is promoting the limitation of a constitutional right without giving voice to the defenders of that right.
“Despicable” is a strong word. But it fits. Because whether some segments of society like it or not gun ownership is a constitutional right in the United States, protected for the people by the founders of our country and recently acknowledged by the Supreme Court in DC vs. Heller. It is a constitutionally protected right of American citizens by any means we would measure a right.
But our media and many politicians don’t accept that. For many, guns are an evil factor in America, a magical talisman that puts murder into the hearts of people who would not be violent if they couldn’t have guns. Would the two teenagers who committed mass murder at Columbine in 1999 have simply gone to school that day, graduated and become productive members of society if we . . . → Read More: Why does the media give anti-gun groups the Moral High Ground?
By Stephen, on September 25th, 2008%
There is an exploding population of self righteous people in this country (I may sometimes even be one of them). But one thing is for damned sure … self righteous rage isn’t limited to the right. I would say the most noticeable hatred is on the left, with entire websites like dailykos.com in place so people can vent their anti-red state/anti-conservative hatred.
Want one of these T-shirts (at least this guy understands free enterprise – could even be a conservative himself):
Red State Moron T-shirts
Below is one of my favorite articles from the 2004 election. I’m not a fan of Bush, but when I think of what the last 4 years would have been like with Kerry, and a total retreat from Iraq (whether we should have gone there in the first place is another question, but starting a fight without the courage to finish it against enemies like we face is not wise) suddenly “W” doesn’t seem so bad.
“outreach from Blue State radicals to Red State”
So let us secede, Blue America and Red America. We can handle the Blue state Republicans, so long as we don’t have a lot of ignorant Red state lemmings frustrating our efforts and screwing themselves in . . . → Read More: Hatred and Politics: The Bible is right, we get the leaders we deserve
By Stephen, on September 24th, 2008%
I’m reading The Last Centurion by John Ringo, written in an interesting “blog style” (blogvel). I’m not finished, but the first few chapters — which review current times as seen from the future — are fantastic! I don’t agree with every word, and I’d prefer not to read the “F-bomb” ten times per paragraph, but the wit and analysis of current times is remarkable in intelligence and detail. And we can only pray we don’t actually see our culture put through the wringer of plague and environmental catastrophe Ringo envisions, because I’m afraid the outcome would be painfully similar to what the book details.
The parts that I consider true jewels of insight, however, are when he describes how different parts of the country deal with some really, really bad things.
Ringo speaks of the concept of voluntary random social alliances, (EDIT: from Tocqueville’s Democracy in America) which define a large part of America – at least the positive and worthwhile America this blog promotes and reflects upon. He is referring to how Americans, particularly rural Americans, come together in times of crisis and work together. He refers to the “barn raisings” of days gone past when an entire community would voluntarily join . . . → Read More: “The Last Centurion” by John Ringo – a book possibly from the future (let’s hope not)
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