Good Deal - Get Em While You Can

I was just browsing some of the surplus firearms dealer sites, and I came across a good deal. It is on a Russian Mosin Nagant, in aresenal refinish to excellent condition, at a price of only $69.95 plus shipping. That is pretty darned good since competitors are selling the same thing for anywhere from $89.99 to $99.99. Had I not just sent in an order for a M1916 Spanish Mauser to another dealer, I may well have been buying one of these. As a matter of fact, I may just have to count the change in the piggy bank and see if I come up with enough. The ad can be seen here: http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Russian_M44.html


All the best,
Glenn B

So You Tell Me - What's Up With Gas Not Going Down?

I mean, just two or three days ago, Iheard that the price of crude had gone down by just over $9.00 per barrel. When the friggin price of a barrel went up, even by just a quarter or half buck, the price at the pumps went up the next day; but when the price fals by over $9.00 per barrel - well there has not even been one friggin red cent take off the price at the pumps near me! If the info about the drop in crude prices was right, well then it is just gosh darned greed that is all that is keeping the prices as high as they are; greed and an absolute lack of respect for any of us consumers.

All the best,
Glenn B

Did He Really Say, About Barack Hussein Obama,...

..."I want to cut his nuts off"? If you have not heard it yet, well go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aLGkFpsdHo

I think it is a very revealing piece of truth, but my guess would be one that good old Jesse J did not want us all to hear, or why whisper. What a classic open mike take was this!!!

All the best,
Glenn B

Yet Another Two New Links...

...one to a blog and one to a neat firearms related site. Over on the right, you can now find a link to The Michael Bane Blog ( here it is if that does not work for you: http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/), and down further in the Firearms Interests section you can find DownRange.TV (here is a link just in case: http://www.downrange.tv/). I only found out about both of these because of a nice mention that Damsel gave to me over at: http://capnbob.us/blog/2008/07/09/not-just-beautiful/. These two new ones sure look interesting.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Check Is In The Mail...

...well, so to speak anyhow. I mailed out my order for the M1916 Spanish Mauser last night. Hopefully they will come available off of back order soon and I will have a new rifle to add to the small collection I already own.

All the best,
GB

New Additions To My Blogroll

The two latest additions to my blogroll are:

The Ready Line @ http://thereadyline.blogspot.com/ which is a pro-gun rights blog that seems to have new entries each and every day; and is well written and interesting at that.

Wile, Wit, Wisdom and Weaponry @ http://wilewitwisdomandweaponry.blogspot.com/ is another well written blog, a pro-gun rights and hunting site, but that is added to less frequently than the above blog.

Hope you enjoy visiting them and reading what they have to offer; I know I will do so.

All the best,
Glenn B

M1916 Spanish Mauser

I have wanted to buy a new gun for quite awhile, and it has been way too long since I have bought a new one. I have been thinking about this one and that one, expensive ones and inexpensive ones, new ones and old ones. Of course I could just go out and buy one, and in the end it is what I will do, but heck the search for the right one is half the fun.Now it would help make things quicker if I could afford a new one in the first place, but lately there have been a lot of repair bills that were quite unexpected.

HEY SELF - STOP PROCRASTINATING ALREADY!

Okay, I have made up my mind - finally - that I should at least pick up something even if not my heart's desire (like a new HK pistol), and I have finally decided to buy a surplus rifle. Well, I should say I have decided to send my C&R license to a dealer in preparation for such a purchase because the rifles are currently back ordered.

The one that I have my eye on is a M1916 Spanish Mauser, a bolt action rifle rechambered in .308. It is available through Samco Global Arms at the price of $129.95, shipping adds another $19.50. As I understand the wait for these back ordered rifles could be as long as 6 months. If that is the case then I have plenty of time to start saving for one, maybe even two of them. In order to get the ball rolling, I have to mail them my order along with a copy of my C&R license. I have only heard good things about SAMCO in the past, so I think I am going to begin the process today.

The way I look at it, this rifle should be a good plinker, and a good hunting rifle. It is 5 shot, bolt action, and has a relatively short barrel (good for a deer rifle here in the woods of the northeast). Of course if the deal somehow falls through because SAMCO does not receive any of them for sale in the near enough future, I can always take whatever cash I have saved and buy another Yugo SKS from them. So for just the price of a stamp today, and maybe saving $10 per week for a few months, I will have a nice new (well surplus but new to me) rifle in my collection.

So off to the post office I go, order and C&R in envelope, envelope in hand.

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In History - The Republican Party Officially Kicks Off

Yep, it was on July 6, 1854 that the Republican Party had its first official meeting. The party was formed by anti-slavery activists (imagine that next time someone stereotypes you as a racist for being Republican). Sure there were other things for which the party stood and for which it would stand over the years, but it was born as part of the anti-slavery movement. Soon it was the party of Abraham Lincoln, and the rest is history including Ronald Reagan and right through to today.

For more info on the Republican Party - of which I will admit I am still a member despite my grumblings about dropping out not too long ago - go to:

http://www.gop.com/About/AboutRead.aspx?Guid=a747a888-0ae6-4441-94f4-2a3a6561f872

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29

All the best,
Glenn B

Mulberry-licious...

...well I think out mystery tree with the berries may be a Mulberry Tree of one sort or another. I have more checking to do, and will bring some leaves (and a berry if I can still find one) to a local plant nursery to see what they think; but from online checks I would say it is a Mulberry. If that is correct, then we have to await next season (late spring into early summer) for any berries. They are supposed to be delicious and quite edible. I don't know what kind of Mulberry tree it could be, there are many different species, maybe a Red Mulberry which would make it native to our area; then again maybe one of more than a dozen other types of Mulberry Tree.

While I am not sure it is a Mulberry Tree but it does have some characteristics of one. For example it has both lobed and unlobed leaves. It has a bark that fits the description I read about. It is fast growing in its early years - to that I can attest. Its flowers, as I remember, look like ones I have seen pictured for a Mulberry tree. Of course, it also produces the berries.

If that is truly what it is, then I expect a load of berries next year, and double that within about another 2 or 3 years because we have another younger one growing also. I uprooted and replanted the sapling of the younger one just last year, and it is already about 10-12 feet tall. From inches to that tall in less than two complete growing seasons. That follows suit with what I have read up on Mulberry trees, fast growing when very young, then the growth slows down markedly. Our older tree has got to be at least 5 , maybe as much as 7 to 10, years old. I used to cut it back every summer thinking it was just a bush that annoyed my neighbor because its branches overgrew her fence. Once I realized it was a tree, I became very selective about how I pruned it. It is kind of messed up now as far as how its branches twist here and there, but it sure produces a lot of berries, and offers some cool shade. I recently pruned the other one - heck they have branches sprouting out every few inches along the trunk, and I am hopeful that one will grow straighter and taller with even more berries. If they actually are Mulberry trees, I will be berry pleased indeed.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Crisp Coolness...

...of a damp morning greeted me as I swung open our side door to let out the hounds a few minutes ago. As usual Mimi, our mutt, ran along the neighbor's fence staring up into the trees. She was looking for our resident squirrels and birds. She even stopped to tinkle, all the while peering intently up into her favorite small tree, one that until a few days ago was weighed down by an abundance of medium sized blackberry like berries (anyone know what kind of a tree makes berries that looks like blackberries). It is the squirrels that make her flip out though, and thankfully there were no squirrels this morning up in the berry tree. Yes those squirrels and many local birds love those berries. I am pretty sure Mimi too has eaten her share as we were seeing evidence of seeds in her 'business'.

When it comes to squirrels, I could use the magic of the Dog Whisperer (or any other dog training magician) to calm her down, she is so intent on them that she hears no or few commands from me when they enthrall her. I don't know if they are singing some high pitched Siren's' Song to her, but about the only way to control her when a squirrel is nearby is to tether her to another tree much as Odysseus was tethered to the mast of his ship. Squirrels simply make her go bonkers and she jumps trying to climb our trees, has jumped over the neighbor's fence, has apparently tried to take flight a couple of times (I am happy she does not have even vestigial wings), and once or twice when out front ran right out into the street chasing a squirrel (no more off leash for her on the street). It is not just the squirrels though. She has already - to our knowledge caught 4 birds in mid-flight in our backyard. She is quick. She has also chewed up a prized tortoise of mine, yes the tortoise is okay but will probably never win Best In Show again, and she has obsessed over a backyard pen that now houses the tortoise and 2 bearded dragons. She is almost possessed by a desire to catch small critters, and no punishment seems to deter her from her mischief. She is so taken by them that she will even sometimes stop playing fetch with her favorite ball; and the way she gets into playing it has to be something pretty compelling to make her stop. Today though, she just watched, I guess because she too was listening to the wonderful birdsong that filled the air.

Her presence under the trees this morning did not deter the flock of mixed species of birds that also greeted us as we walked out of the house. Their symphony of chirps, whistles, and chittering filled the air like it has not for quite some time now. It was late in the day before yesterday that I filled up the bird feeders (2 of them) for the first time in at least few months. Even with our mighty oak tree gone, these tiny winged singers still find their perches among the smaller trees of our backyard and serenaded us and one another with their busy songs, that is once those seeds are back! With so many present at one time, it seemed Mimi did not have a clue as how to react, and she sat there as if mesmerized by their songs. Pepe, our mini Chihuahua, ignored it all and went about getting his morning business done. He has his priorities straight if only because he is a slave to the dog biscuit that awaits him once he gets back inside; and I suppose he figures that birds are basically for the birds although a squirrel on the ground is fair chase for him too.

Today there was a slight delay between the doggy business of the backyard and the biscuit; I had to refill the bird feeders. Funny how fast those seeds disappeared once our feathered friends figured out they were back. Mostly we get English Sparrows, but there is also a good variety of others including House Finches, Doves, Cardinals and others of whose names I have little or no idea. Every now and then, maybe twice per year that we notice, a hawk stops by for a quick lunch too - and brother he is not eating seeds. Of course there are also those rats with wings (Pigeons) and busy tailed rats (Gray Squirrels) that bring their appetites to the feast. It is not until the pigeons show up though that my wife gets upset with me that I have filled the bird feeders. I am hoping they have found other, more abundant and tastier, feeding grounds than my backyard, and that it will be a long time before they again show up here. For now though, as my brief summer morning's backyard interlude fades into the rest of the day, the bird feeders are filled and I can hear the twittering of those more desirable avian songsters as my fingers clack away on the keyboard. Life is good.

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy Independence Day

To all of you throughout the world who are U.S. Citizens, and to the rest of you who are within the United States of America as legal immigrants, I say: Happy Independence Day, and I wish you and your families a safe enjoyable Independence Day holiday.

To the U.S. Servicemen and women around the world, who are busy keeping us a free and independent nation - I wish you safety, health, and happiness and say thanks for this day that you have helped to make possible throughout all the years of the history of our great nation.

All the best,
GB

The Next Time Our National Anthem Is Belittled...

...and if you are there when such is being done, why not stand up straight and proud, and get loud as you sing our National Anthem using the correct lyrics. Don't let someone take it and trash it with something that is unpatriotic.

As an American Citizen, I am ashamed of the people of Denver, CO who attended the annual state of the city address this week who did not sing our National Anthem when the, in my opinion, racist and unpatriotic singer Rene Marie stood up and reportedly started to interject words of Lift Every Voice and Sing, the so called black national anthem, in place of some of the words of our true National Anthem. Read about it here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,375164,00.html

Our National Anthem is not just for blacks, it is for everyone who is or wishes to become an American (as in U.S. Citizen or legal immigrant, not as in someone who lives on the American continents)) regardless of race, ethnicity, color, creed, gender, socioeconomic status and so on. It is about time that everyone who is an American, or who wants to immigrate to America, starts to realize this. To do otherwise is simply Un-American. The singing of the so called black national anthem in place of the National Anthem is, in my opinion, racist, and extremely Un-American. I see no way of getting around the racism of those who prefer a "BLACK" one over the red, white and blue National Anthem; I see no way to hide from the racism that such promotes when one feels compelled to disgrace our nation by replacing our National Anthem with one that is purported to be that of only one race; and I see no way to get around the unpatriotic act of the disrespect shown for our nation and her anthem in the changing of its words to suit a racial agenda.

What a shame that someone would apparently wish to be so divisive. What a shame that the stage and the crowd was apparently full of only politically correct arsehats who had no clue how to take action during the moment in a way that would have snuffed out the singers voice, overshadowed her apparent (to me) racism, and yet shown our national pride shining on in an unbiased manner. All they had to do short of throwing her off of the stage would have been to have started to sing our National Anthem as it was meant to be, with the correct words, and with proud and loud voices - just overpowering the person who was, in my opinion, a racist, and who for the moment was front and center. What shameful wonders of modern humanity we have made of ourselves in that we have bred a manner of man that would allow such an outlandish rendition of the anthem to continue unabated!

With pride in America,
Glenn B

A Commonality: American Beer - German Bier - Sex in A Canoe

I once heard a Lufthansa pilot telling a joke to a couple of Lufthansa stewardesses (that would be flight attendants for you politically correct dimwits who want to put a more modern slant on it). I am pretty sure he only told it to them as loud as he did to make sure he had gotten my attention since he knew I worked for the Customs Service at the time and he wanted to give a little jab to an American. The joke went like this:

Pilot: Do you know what is the same mitt American Biers and sex in a canoe.

Stewardess (after glancing over at me): Vhy No Herr Capitan.

Pilot: They are both f''ing close to water.

Stewardesses: Giggles.

Well, I have had a lot of American beers in my days since then from micro breweries. American beers have improved and while that joke may still apply to beers like Budwiper and Spoors, it most certainly does not apply to great brews like Ommegang.

I have also had a lot of German Biers since I heard that joke, I have almost always loved German Biers; and I must admit that until tonight I have never had one that had anything at all in common with sex in a canoe. Yes, that was until tonight when I had a bottle of Valdensteiner Premium Pils and suddenly I imagined myself in the movie Deliverance. (If you have never seen it, rent a copy. My son watched it last week for the first time and liked it. Although he did say there were too many canoeing scenes, he liked it overall and thought the plot was a good one. I am happy I did not have him watch it before our recent road trip to the Shenandoah Valley for some canoeing.) Back to the Valdensteiner - Had I paid for this stuff, I suppose I could have said I had been f'd by or in something close to water because to me it had that watery taste similar to some American beers.

As it was though, my brother-in-law Hans sent three biers to me on Sunday. He sent them with some darned fine tasting pork ribs, the best ribs I have eaten in years. I had one of the biers with them and that bier was yummy too, or actually I should say it was an ale and it was scrumptious. That was a bottle of Sticke Uerige Alt (Uerige being the name of the company I think). Sorry no pic of the bottle, sort of had the shape of a German WWII grenade, and the bang to go with the looks. Aah here it is here on the Uerige website. It was a Belgian Abby type brew, or so it tasted, darned fine stuff. Very strong and excellent taste indeed. Now I have one bottle left over, it too is a bottle of something by Valdensteiner. My guess is that they cannot possibly make two types of canoeing bier, so I am hopeful that one will be much better. As it turns out, that first Valdensteiner is still passing my lips in sips, and it is starting to taste a bit better, but still kind of close to water for a German brew.

All the best,

Glenn B

Buy Your Watermelons For The Weekend Today...

...because the price is almost sure to rise by tomorrow. The price of gasoline and diesel have little to do with this anticipated price increase, yet the price increase could be a steep one indeed. I base it all on supply and demand, and I expect the demand to rise sharply. Once the watermelon is all bought up, I also expect people not to just eat the fruity red part, but also to start eating the rind, or at least part of it. Why? Well you see, there is this article at FoxNews.com. If reading that is not enough to get at least 25% of the people in the USA hopeful that they can have a much more fun weekend if they eat watermelon (including the rind), and maybe another 15% convinced they will be healthier if they eat it, and therefore cause a price increase, then I don't know a thing about the human condition. There is sure to be a rise in interest in all things watermelon after this article makes the rounds (sorry I just could not resist).

All the best,
Glenn B

This Should be The Law Of The Land...

Read about the Texas homeowner who shot some suspected burglars, how he was then charged, and then how he was vindicated of any wrong doing - see Texas man cleared of shooting suspected burglars. Do I need say anything more than the law in Texas is a good one, and that it should be this way in all of America. Please note the part about the two dead suspected burglars being illegal aliens, one with a prior cocaine conviction. Good riddance, and good for Mr. Horn!

All the best,
Glenn B

John McCain For Prez - My Contributions Begin

The graduation party for my son is over, the guest have left, and I just sat down at the computer a short while ago. I checked my email and there was one from GOPUSA Friends. It was soliciting funds for John McCain and offered a chance to enter a ride on the bus with McCain contest or something like that. I figured it was as good a time as any to start contributing; and who knows maybe I will get lucky and win a ride on the campaign bus with our next president John McCain. So I made a donation. (Please note I cannot and will not even suggest you make one, as a federal LEO I am forbidden by the Hatch Act to do so, although I can tell you my opinion and what I have done.)

What I donated was not much, in fact it was a pitiable amount at best, it was only $10. Yet, I plan to donate again, maybe after some of the bills are paid for this coming month, and I hope to at least quintuple what I just donated the next time. As time goes on, up until the election, I will donate as much as I think I can spare, and I then I will donate more. I am hopeful I can donate at least a few hundred dollars, maybe even $500 or more. That would be the largest donation to a single political candidate in one election that I have ever made as far as I can remember. Giving someone else that much money will not be easy. We live pretty much on a paycheck to paycheck basis. We are not poor, far from it, but that means we have bills and I like to pay them promptly on time. Lately we have been hit with a number of unexpected house repair/maintenance type expenses. It has gotten difficult to make ends meet, and we have had to hit up our meager savings account to pay the bills. We reduced the saving account drastically at that. So as I said, it will not be easy to dole out that much money for John McCain.

You may be wondering then why I would still want to contribute as much as I am planning to give to John McCain in his run for the oval office. The reasoning is straight forward and simple. I cannot stand the prospect of winding up with Barack Hussein Obama as our next president. My opinion of Obama is that he is little more than a scalawag, poor liar, scoundrel, and charlatan at best. My guess would be that is Obama is elected to the presidency our country will fall into the dregs, lower than it has ever fallen before. Any hope of a better America will have been lost.

Imagining McCain as president, I see things in a better light. I see America left with some integrity. I see a man who has been and will continue to be a leader bringing us into a new era of strength on the international scene. I see someone who will not simply act as president, but who will lead us as our president under our Constitution instead of one as Obama whom I believe would lead us to communism and socialism. With John, I see a chance, at least a chance of our economy becoming stronger within his first 4 years term. I do not fool myself into thinking it will be easy with McCain in office, since he has been too ready to concede things to the left; but surely McCain has integrity above and beyond anything seen in Obama. McCain also believes in many of the core values upon which this country was founded, while all Obama can call for is change - yet he cannot even tell you what the changes will be.

So while I cannot campaign for McCain, while I cannot urge you to vote for him without, as a federal LEO, violating the Hatch Act - I can tell you my opinion of the candidates, I can contribute to a candidate, and I can tell you to whom I have contributed and why. I am contributing to John McCain, and I will vote for John McCain, because right now he is the only possible hope to defeat what seemingly amount to communism and socialism on the part of Obama, and John is therefore the only hope we have of remaining We The People of the United States of America; and he is the only hope we have of keeping our rights as we have known them.

All the best,
Glenn B

Brendan's High School Graduation

Spent the late morning at Brendan's high school graduation, and am now awaiting some guests for a family celebration. While waiting I downloaded the pics I took. I won't bore you with all of them, I'll just show you one short video.

As some guy once said in a Jerry Lewis movie: "That's My Boy!" even if he is a young man and a HS graduate ready for college now. He sure made me proud, just like Celina did when she graduated high school and then college. What a great feeling it is, for any parent to experience, to see their kids do so well.

All the best,

Glenn B

Can You Guess The Source Of The Below Quotation?

Read the following, and tell me source of it.

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms cannot be infringed.”

If you do not know the source of the above quotation, well you just might be amazed to find out that it comes from the New York Civil Rights Law, Section 4, Article 2. I wonder does it look or sound familiar to you? Yes of course it does! Here it is with a single word changed:

"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."

Yep that is the second Amendment to the United States Constitution found in the Bill of Rights. The NY Law looks awfully similar to it, does it not? Yet New York is one of the most restrictive states in the nation when it comes to firearms possession. I can only hope the NRA will ram it up their snouts in Albany until they realize that the people have the right to keep and bear arms even here in New York.

Reference:

http://www.nraila.org/statelawpdfs/NYSL.pdf

http://law.onecle.com/new-york/civil-rights/CVR04_4.html

All the best,
Glenn B

Firearms Ignorance Personified - Carolyn McCarthy Congressional Representative For My District

Below is a video I found at the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association website. The video is dated, it sounds as if it was made back near February 2007. Over a year old or not, it is worth the watch if you have not seen it before. In essence the video shows a reporter from MSNBC as he interviews the Congresswoman about a gun ban she introduced which would ban firearms with barrel shrouds. He logically asks her what is a barrel shroud and why should a firearm with one be banned. Listen to McCarthy's laughable attempt at sidestepping the question. Besides being laughable, this video plainly shows something important about the anti-gun crowd, but later for that - watch the video first.



So what did it show that was important to learn about the anti-gun crowd. It showed their ignorance. This Congresswoman, the politician who won her first election I suspect based upon sympathy, this ignorant crusader who would ban assault weapons, this horse's ass anti-gun person who would leave us defenseless, does not even know what is one of the features which she finds evil or bad enough to take advantage of in order to ban a weapon that has that feature. She is just absolutely ignorant of what is a barrel shroud, yet it is apparent from the interviewer's questioning that weapons with barrel shrouds were to be included in the gun ban this woman was sponsoring.

Had she even had enough sense to have paused for a moment, then actually used her gray cells to have thought about the two words and their individual meanings - barrel and shroud - my guess is she may have been able to give a good answer as to what was a barrel shroud. As it turned out, she was just too much a ranting anti-gun advocate to give an honest answer right away. She just kept trying to push the party line that guns are in essence bad, and she did so by trying to evade the question and mouth off balderdash instead of an honest answer. Yet the reporter was dogged in his pursuit of an honest answer and pretty much forced her to answer the question truthfully. When she finally did so she had to admit she had no idea about that particular firearms accessory for which she had proposed anti-gun legislation.

How assholes candidates like her get elected and then reelected is beyond me.
This video should be shown again and again to people who are on the fence about gun control. If they saw the ignorance of anti-gun politicians such as is displayed in this video, it might just persuade them to come down off the fence on our side of it. If you know someone who is a fence sitter when it comes to guns rights versus gun control, why not show that person this video, or at least email them a link to it.

Safe shooting,
Glenn B

Allow Me To Gloat...

...and to say (and pardon me if you are sensitive):

Hey Bloomberg, hey Lautenberg, hey Schumer, hey Daley, hey Brady, hey McCarthy, hey Obama, hey all you other anti-Constitutional, anti-Gun Rights nut jobs - we won - you lost; our right to keep and bear arms was affirmed. Now do the right thing and live by the law, or get your asses out of government.

With Pride In America,
Glenn B

The MUST ISSUE Clause

Last night, I read some Heller Decision, and the thing that popped out at me, and that really sank in, was that Justice Scalia said this:

"Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home."

I had been concerned, in fact worried, about the Supreme Court saying the right to keep and bear arms was subject to licensing regulations. Now I am not all that worried. Sure states, and localities, apparently can and will require licensing. Many like my home state likely will continue to try to make the licensing process difficult; but I am thrilled that it now seems the states will by law have to fall under the 'must issue' provision of the court's decision. Those two words, MUST ISSUE, are big indeed. They are not the words: 'May Issue' which imply it is up to the licensing venue to decide if they will issue or not. They are not the words 'Shall Issue' which imply it is a thing of the future. No they are not either set of words that were used by so many states before the decision. The court has made it plain and simple - there is no way around it - it is now Constitutional law - now a right of each person (and always has been) - that if a license is required by a government, and if the person is not disqualified from exercising his or her Second Amendment rights - the government MUST ISSUE the license. Of course the states will argue that the decision only applies to the District of Columbia; but that will be fought against and defeated, in the courts in short order if it goes that far.

Besides the fact that the Supreme Court decided the right to keep and bear arms is a right of each individual, in other words that they confirmed the term "...the people..." in the Second Amendment means each person as opposed to the government, the two words 'Must Issue' are the biggest news in the case. I believe that the section of the decision in which those words are seen will become known as the Must Issue Clause, or the Must Issue Decision. Those two words and the context in which they were used are a virtual powder keg that put power back into the hands of We The People.

My thanks to the Justices; but most of all my thanks to Mr. Heller for going through with this!

All the best,
Glenn B

The Heller Decision

You already know what they are saying about it I suppose, but if not, well they are saying that an individual's right to keep and bear arms was upheld by the Supreme Court as a Constitutional right. If that is correct, that is great. Yet, I have my suspicions that the states will continue to enact and enforce restrictive anti-firearms regulations and laws as allowed or provided for by the decision and beyond - especially states like NJ, CA, NY, MA and so on. The Heller decision, of course, is a move in the right direction though, or so it would seem. When I get the chance I will read the decision, probably bedtime reading over the weekend - it is kind of long.

If you would be interested in reading the decision, as government was kind enough to supply a copy of it, go here:

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-290.pdf

All the best,
Glenn B

WTF - Are They Out Of Their Minds...

...are they really going into a white frothed at the mouth frenzy, and are they truly about to replace up to 10,000 license plates for free in North Carolina all because some teen kids told their granny that the letters WTF can stand for something obscene in text messages. My guess would be they told her it means WHAT THE F--K, or WANT TO F--K (and I suppose it could mean other things in today's Internet lingo of which I am unaware). It does not matter what they could stand for though, what matters is what grandma did, and therein lies the shame as I see it. Granny reportedly, in essence, takes exception to those three letters, notifies the motor vehicles department, and they go berserk take action to eliminate that letter combination from up to 10,000 license plates, all apparently at the expense of the tax payers in NC. Do you even for a moment doubt that such panic stricken overreaction will spread to other states, and that it will cover other innocent letter combinations.

Let's see now what else should they ban using their line of irrational reasoning, here are some you probably have heard and seen if your ears and eyes have not been covered:

HSB - HOLY SH-T BATMAN

SMD - SUCK MY D--K

SFS - SEX FOR SALE

BAD - BONDAGE AND DOMINATION

KMA - KISS MY A-- (heck the FBI in NY reportedly (source=personal communication) sells a hat with those letters on it, apparently meaning exactly what I just wrote to signify a fed is able to retire)

GFY - GO F--K YOURSELF

TAA - T--S AND A--

Here are some I just made up:

RCA - RACIST CRACKER A--HOLE

ASF - ABNORMAL SEX FOREVER

IHA - I HATE AMERICA (the worst of them all as far as I am concerned, but I would not ban those letters from license plates)

SWK - SEX WITH KIDS

NYH - NEW YORK HOOKER (use any state abbreviation before the H)

Do you get it yet? Anyone can use just about any 3 letters in combination to signify a three word phrase that is going to be offensive to someone else, someone else that is who wants to take exception to something innocent and turn it into something it was never intended to be. The fact of the matter is that the letters WTF followed, or preceded, by numbers on a license plate do not signify the words WHAT THE F--K, or WANT TO F--K, anymore than they signify the words WHOLESOME TASTY FOOD, or WE THE FAITHFUL. Sure if the letters WTF were all that appeared on the plate, one might make something of it, but why do so when it means nothing.

If grandma had, in my opinion, any sense of what was right from wrong, she would have told her grandchildren in essence what I just told you. The letters were not meant to be offensive, and mean nothing when randomly chosen for a license plate dear, so get over the mere coincidence that they can also symbolize something that others choose to make them mean.

Now because of what I believe to have been an oversensitive granny, and because of what in my opinion are overly politically-correct hacks in the the state of NC, the chances are that the taxpayer is going to have to pay for the apparent quirks in the thinking process of that grandma. Why she could not instead just have educated her grandchildren to the fact that yes sometimes there are odd yet meaningless coincidences in life is beyond me unless of course:

SIS - SHE IS STUPID

Of course I do not know if she is stupid or not, but I consider it as a possibility based upon the article I just read.

All the best,
Glenn B

Hmm, Maybe It Was Work - Maybe Not...

...but just two days of work and I am feeling under the weather so much so today that I had to call in sick. Nothing serious I hope, bit of intestinal discomfort, nausea, a lot of aches and pains and fatigue; all in all enough to make me not feel up to work though. I now suppose though that the bouts of nausea I felt on Monday and yesterday may have been the start of some sort of a bug because it is bad enough today to make me just want to crawl back into bed; and I further suppose it was not just the thought of returning to work that made me feel that way on Monday. Oh joy.

More blogging later if I feel up to it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Just About To Walk Out The Door To Go To Work...

...but I had to sit down to write this little bit about what I think of returning to work after my vacation:

Ugh, barf, choke, cough, wheeze, barf again, ugh...

Nuff said about returning to work after vacation.

All the best,
GB