Life Goes On As Usual And I Am A Bit Disappointed

There I was thinking that today would be a day full of hardship, trying times and adventure due to the Mayan Calendar coming to an end and with its end so too would TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it) be upon us. Yet, here I am at my laptop, almost bored to tears, after nothing adventurous at all happened today except maybe me going Christmas shopping and I am just typing away, now thinking that the Mayan tour guide we traveled with last December knew of what she spoke. She said the modern day Mayans believed that the end of the Mayan calendar just meant it would be time for a new calendar. Of course, the day ain't over yet and neither has the fat lady sung for today but it seems so much of another ho hum day as to bring me near to tears. What a let down.

Hark, I hear sirens in the distance - could it mean...but no, it could not be anything all that ominous as doomsday - there are not enough of them. Oh well, I suppose that I will just have more ammo than I had thought  left over after today and I can use it for the range. Maybe I will bury some too in the more likely event (more likely than doomsday anyway) that some truly ludicrous gun and ammo control measures will go into place in the not too distant future. What are you going to do with your now surplus ammo? Oh come on now, you can admit it to me that you went out and bought at least a thousand round case of your favorite caliber just in case the shit was truly going to hit the fan today! Leave a comment to let me know what you plan to do with your excess ammo; I promise, I won't laugh, I promise - really I do.

So, when is the next "End of the World" scheduled to take place? We had one today, one last year, probably at least another 3 or 4 between then and the year 2000 - not to speak of the end we purportedly faced with the coming of the new millennium. I am sure the world will end someday. It is even possible people will still be around and maybe some will wake up and even have the chance to realize, "Oh shit, this is really it" but for now I kind of don't see it in the cards. With our short time span here on the earth, my guess would be that it is more likely to end once we have all passed to the great beyond and not one soul will witness it except maybe some roaches.

Speaking of roaches, I have to go feed mine (Blaptica dubia) now; they have not gotten any new slop in the past couple of days. I need them nice and fat to feed to my Crested Geckos and Bearded Dragons and Toad so I had best finish up here.

All the best,
Glenn  B

There Are Some Real Morons With Guns...

...out there in the world, real potential Darwin Award material (and as you will see the guy in the picture has a lot of potential to win a Darwin Award). One can only hope that they smarten up. Otherwise, it just may wind up that they just wind up removing themselves from the gene pool and actually win a Darwin Award. While smartening up would be a benefit to themselves, I think that either way - getting smarter or removing themselves from gene pool - would be of benefit to mankind. Click on the below link to see what kind of person I am talking about:

http://imgur.com/p8IWx

Hat tip to Deb H for bringing this one to my attention.

All the best,
Glenn B

No Zombies Yet...

...but the day is still long. I suppose a lot could still happen over the course of the next 23 hours and fifteen minutes or so. In the meantime, while waiting for the world to end, I am going to go have a nice belt of something or other since someone finished my last HB Oktoberfest Bier and the basement mini-fridge is empty. Perhaps something with rum or vodka or a Baileys Irish Cream... Wait a minute, did I mention zombies and then rum - sounds like a winner.

All the best,
Glenn B

On The Eve of TEOTWAWKI - Farewell and Thanks For All The Bullets

Just a quick post to say thanks to all of my readers and to say that is was nice to virtually have met many of you in the Blogosphere and to have met a few of you in person in the real world too. I am telling you this now because this may be my last blog post ever. No, it has nothing to do with my health (not as of today anyway) nor to do with family or work or with the political atmosphere in the firearms world. I just figure that in case the nuts who say the world is going to end tomorrow are not all that nutty after all, then it would be good to say goodbye in advance.

I am hopeful that the world will not be ending but as you may know, I am ready for a lot of bad situations including: the Apocalypse, a zombie horde, a small meteorite striking nearby, other natural disasters, nuclear winter, global warming, a food shortage, economic collapse, civil unrest, a military takeover, and a bullet shortage. Hopefully nothing will happen tomorrow to make me use up any of my ammo but if it does come down to it, I am ready for that too.

Oh the anxiety and anticipation of what tomorrow may bring. Personally, I don't have any angst about December 21st; I think it is going to bring some crappy weather and not much else. In case I am wrong and the nut jobs are right about tomorrow (and thus not really nut jobs) then I just wanted to say, Farewell and thanks for all the bullets. Had you bought them all, there would have been none left for me!

All the best,
Glenn B

Russia and Global Warming

Temperatures in Siberia have been at minus 20 degree Fahrenheit with the wind chill making it feel like 50 below. Add to that a couple of feet of snow and that is one hell of a winter so far. To date, the cold spell, across much of Russia has claimed 45 lives and put 270 people into the hospital, more than half of them suffering from frostbite. See: 

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/19/16022433-deep-freeze-across-russia-dips-to-50-below-at-least-45-die?lite=

I am sort of surprised that he headline did not read: Flash - Global Warming Kills 45 In Russia. Well, I am sure that is how Al Gore would put it anyhow.

All the best,
Glenn B

ATF Liaison To BOP May Spend A Lot More Time With BOP Than Expected

The ATF Liaison to the federal Bureau of Prisons, George Gillet, a former ATF Assistant Special in Charge, may spend more time with BOP than he ever expected. If the claims in the linked article are true, this is absolutely amazing. Not only did his pistol reportedly wind up at a murder site in Mexico, but he allegedly 
gave bad addresses on the required ATF firearms forms (which is a felony if he in fact lied on those forms) when purchasing two guns for himself.

"Gillett purchased the weapon at Legendary Arms, a Phoenix gun store. On the federal form 4473 used to buy the gun, Gillett used the ATF office address, 201 East Washington, and said "Apt 940." On subsequent purchase, Gillett used a commercial address, that of a strip mall."

Is this really the quality of what we have, at the top, in federal law enforcement today! At least he has not yet been charged with exposing himself to little girls, I guess that is pretty much restricted to ICE officials.

By the way, look at the type of firearm it was that they reportedly found in Mexico at the murder scene. It was an FN Five-Seven, a pistol that law enforcement tried to have banned in this country and it seems that a high ranking ATF official bought himself one. I think this just another reason for We The People to be armed folks; to me it look as if way too many of these guys are not working as our servants but at trying to become our masters by any means whatsoever.

See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/19/ex-atf-official-gun-ends-up-at-mexican-cartel-shootout-that-killed-beauty-queen/

Stuff like this makes me almost ashamed to admit to folks that I had a 32 year federal LE career but then, I never did anything that could have wound up with my arse getting thrown into jail.

All the best,
Glenn B

Could This Be Why Shipping Rates Are So Friggin High

Leave it to a guy like this, who I imagine is an illegal immigrunt and probably a member of the Teamsters' Union, to possibly waste a month of workdays trying to perfect this act instead of doing his job.

Biertijd.com // Media » Forklift vs Coin & Bottle

All the best,
GB

Can Armed Security Guards (or armed teachers) Protect Our Students - You Bet They Can

It is truly amazing that so many have forgotten Matthew Murray and Jeanne Assam as the current debate about gun control rages on over the recent school massacre. If you give it some thought, maybe you will recall that in December 2007 - only 5 years and 5 days apart from the Sandy Hook Elementary School murders - Murray walked into church during a Sunday service while armed with a rifle, two handguns and as much as 1,000 rounds of ammunition (source). Before he went to that church though, he already had killed two people, and injured another two folks at a mission earlier in the day and also killed two sisters and injured their father in the church parking lot. Then he went to the church where it seems apparent that he had been intent on killing many more than the two he had killed earlier on. Sounds pretty familiar - doesn't it - almost identical to the weaponry used last week in CT and almost identical in the way things had been planned out by the two murderers. The rest of the comparison though is not all that similar.

We all know of the terrible tragedy in the school shooting in CT, all those innocent children and the teachers slaughtered by a madman who first had killed his own innocent mother earlier that same day. Teachers shielding little angels. For many of them, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and no real protection from the courageous teachers who shielded their young bodies. No help, for those gunned down, from an unarmed principal who was also shot dead in her over the top effort to stop an armed intruder while she herself was unarmed. All of the teachers and children waiting for the 911 calls to be answered, many waiting and dying while the police responded as fast as they could fly which sadly was not like Superman who could fly "faster than a speeding bullet". (source)

The incident at the church in Colorado Springs back in 2007 had a much different outcome. Murray fired on a family outside of the church wounding the father and killing his two daughters, one 16 the other 18 years old. Then he burst into the church and that moment is when one sees a marked difference between the two incidents. That was because Jeanne Assam was there, inside the church, at the same moment that Murray barged in while armed much like the Sandy Hook madman. The difference was not only that Assam, a security officer working for the church, was there but also that she was armed and trained. She had been hired by the church to, in effect, be the sheep dog watching over the flock of churchgoers, protecting them from wolves who would prey on them as so many sheep led before a slaughter. Maybe there was another difference, she had God as her backup.

 ""It seemed like it was me, the gunman, and God," said Jeanne Assam, describing her feelings as she confronted a man who charged into her Colorado Springs church Sunday firing a weapon." (source)

She did what she had been trained to do, what the church and enlisted her to do, what she had volunteered to do and what was the right thing to do. She, without hesitation, took cover, drew her weapon and then engaged a much more superiorly armed assailant. Then she shot him, took him down and ended his evident planned massacre. At the time, while it was certain that Assam had indeed shot down Murray, it was uncertain if she had killed him or if, once downed, he had killed himself. I do not recall, though I think they determined she had killed him but it does not matter. She put an end to the terror that he had planned to unleash on the community. That she saved lives there is no doubt, that she saved many lives is more than merely probable it is almost definite.

Now back to a few other similarities between the two tragic incidents. At each, the intended victims were all innocents, none expected what was about to take place but each institution had planned for unexpected bad situations by each having security measures in place. While those things were similar they were also very different. The big difference was that while one security measure was very effective, the other was virtually worthless when it came to stopping an armed intruder. So, what mattered was the fact that one place had employed armed security officers to protect people while the other relied on unarmed means to do so and that second system was easily defeated by the killer. In the one - many died, in the other two died but many were saved.

According to Assam's pastor: "There could have been a great loss of life yesterday, and she probably saved over 100 lives." (Source)

The murderers' choice of weapons in either situation did not matter. Sure, it matters now that the killers chose firearms, at least it seems to matter after the school shooting. It matters because it has already been politicized by the anti-gun crowd and politicians. In truth, the killer in CT could have used other means, and killed with even more ease than with guns had he used those other means. Yet, had he done so, no one would seek to put an end to the ease at which someone could acquire those other means. Think of how much easier it would have been for him to kill if using Molotov cocktails. Open the door to the classroom with one already lit and toss it inside, close the door, light another and toss it inside, then maybe a third. Certainly a lot quicker than firing all the rounds he fired as he had to reload several times to do so. He could have moved from one class to another doing likewise. In short time the whole school would have been ablaze and even those children who the brave teacher had locked in the restroom possibly would have perished. Or, he could have chained the doors shut and then poured gasoline, or any flammable liquid, around inside of the school and ignited the whole place at once. No, it is not the item used to kill with which we should be concerned but with the killer, with what made him do it and why society seems to have somehow bred so many mass murderers sometime over the past 30 years. Even if we take away all of the guns, that mindset would still be in the making in way too many who would merely find other means to kill as many as they could kill.

It is very sad indeed that the school did not have an armed officer like that church had employed. If armed security can be successfully deployed within churches then why not within our schools. Gun control, it is so much hype. You could rid every gun in the USA and I mean every one (citizens, police, military) and someone would just start making them in their garage. It is not difficult to do even in a mediocre machine shop. Others would smuggle them in across our borders, not all that difficult to do either. Just look at our narcotics problem and the very unsuccessful war on drugs - it has never stopped the flow of narcotics entering across our borders. Guns are not going to go away, it will never happen. Anyway, as I showed above, other weapons that may be even more effective than guns and are easier to obtain are available. They are just as, if not more, deadly. It is a shame that so many critics and anti-gun people have been saying and continue to say that it would be crazy to arm school teachers or to put armed guards into schools. Aren't they the same people who said it would be crazy to arm pilots. They probably would have said likewise about churches if they ever paid them any attention.

Schools are not all that different from churches. Yes having armed guards at school would have very possibly, even very likely, have caused there to have been a very different outcome at Sandy Hook Elementary School. That though is in the past but there are a lot of unsecured schools out there and still plenty of people needing work too. Why not create some meaningful jobs that really might make a difference in protecting our children and our teachers. There also are a whole bunch of guys at TSA who would probably gladly jump ship to do it. If you don't want to create security officer jobs, then train and arm the teachers. Either way, it would protect our children.

By the way, if you think the incident involving he security guard at the church taking down a bad guy is a fluke, then think again. Here is a link to an article about yet another example of a security officer putting down an armed intruder:

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Security_guard_for_Scientology_building_shoots,_kills_man

And here yet another although this one not near a church but think about this one if he had gotten through and the station had been open. How many would he have stabbed:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/mta-guard-shoots-man-break-closed-subway-station-article-1.1195061

So: Can armed security guards, or armed teachers, help protect our students? Yep, you can safely bet they can do just that, at least much more safely than can an unarmed buzzer door.

All the best,
Glenn B

 
References:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/10/colorado.shootings/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316322,00.html#ixzz2FXN972Tz
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/16/at-least-26-dead-in-shooting-at-connecticut-school/

Don't Worry Signifigance of Mayan Calendar Figured Out

Well there is finally an undeniable explanation as to why the Mayan time lords decided to select December 21st as the end of their calendar. It has nothing to do with it being a stellar event, no cosmic debris will rain down on us that day. It has not even one iota to do with the end of the world. A zombie apocalypse will not take place, the Rapture isn't happening yet and the dead will not rise again. Not even WW III will break out on that day. The only danger will be to those husbands who were foolish enough not to order their wives their Christmas presents on time - for before Christmas delivery.

 

And to think, I bought all that ammo for nothing! Well, maybe not for nothing considering today's political climate but that is another story. Hurry up, get your online shopping done fast. Only two days to go until the 21st and that delivery deadline.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Why Not Ban Fertilizer, Racing Fuel, Box Trucks...

...cars, gasoline, matches, cigarette lighters, knives, hatchets, axes, bleach and ammonia, iron and aluminum shavings, magnesium fire starters, bows, arrows, crossbows, bolts, and many other things I could think up with which I could easily kill large groups of people. 

All the best,
Glenn B

Are There Any Legitimate Reasons To Stockpile Ammunition?

People who do not shoot often wonder why it is that people who do shoot often seem to have the habit of caching what is or seems like a very large amount of ammunition. Many unfamiliar with guns and ammo often jump to the conclusion, that if one has a large quantity of ammo, it is for nefarious purposes. That usually happens when their thought processes are ruled by emotion such as in the aftermath of a terrible shooting event. Even some people within the world of firearms sometimes wonder why other shooters stockpile ammunition when they instead have what amounts to few rounds ever at hand. These would likely be hunters who utilize firearms for hunting and not for any other purposes and who only hunt maybe one or two days per year. They have little need for ammunition except those related to hunting, like a possible annual trip to the range to assure the gun is sighted in before going afield to hunt. They fire a few rounds at the range and if lucky, fire one shot to kill a game animal while hunting; that is the total they shot in the span of a year. That type of firearms owner may have no need for more ammunition and sometimes cannot see why others do. Note that other hunters hunt much more frequently and also enjoy, and participate in, all of the other aspects of firearms use and ammunition storage I am about to mention and thus fully understand the need for possessing and storing a larger amount of ammunition.

 

Some people have tens or hundreds of rounds of ammunition in their ammo locker while others may have thousands and some tens to hundreds of thousands. What is it that could drive a person to buy and store so much ammunition to any legitimate and legal ends. Truth be told, whether you agree with them or not, there are quite a few valid reasons that shooting enthusiasts stockpile ammunition and none of them even hint at wrongdoing ever being an outcome.

 

While one may think that there is a correlation between the amount of guns owned and the quantity of ammunition one owns, equating to the more guns owned then the more ammo possessed, that is not always the case. Gun owners may own one or two guns or many guns, the amount of firearms does not necessarily calculate in to how many rounds of ammunition they have available to themselves at any given time, the amount of guns is more likely to calculate into them having different caliber ammunition because as the amount of guns one owns increases so too does the likelihood that said person has acquired firearms in different calibers.

 

Those ammo cans held ammo for a shoot
 in which my son and I participated just
this past summer. Total time shooting,
 maybe an hour and fifteen minutes to an
hour and a half. Total ammo expended,
1,300 to 1,700 rounds by only the two of us.

A more likely reason that one has a lot of ammunition is that one likes to shoot frequently. The shooter, who goes to the range often to train, to practice or for fun could easily shoot a few hundred to several hundred rounds within an hour or so. If that person goes to the firing range once per week or even just once per month, the amount of expended ammunition adds up quickly. For instance, if I were to go to the range as often as I liked, which for me ideally would be at least once per week, and if I shot the average amount of ammunition that I have shot at each of my recent range sessions, I would wind up shooting at least about 26,000 rounds of ammunition per year. Some people would shoot much more than that. So having ammunition on hand, ahead of time, is fairly common. Such shooters often have thousands of rounds of ammunition in their stocks at any given time. Some buy it as they go along assuring they always have more than enough. Others stockpile it, shoot most of it, then begin to replenish nearly depleted stores of it. Either way, there is nothing wrong with doing so.

 

Another reason that people who enjoy shooting or shoot to maintain a certain skill level often have large amounts of ammunition on hand is because they buy it as they can afford it and then store it for future use. Over the past few years, ammunition prices have gone up more than double, in some instances more than three to four times what it had been previously within recent memory. There are various reasons for the price increases: shortage of raw materials because of the two wars, higher fuel prices causing higher shipping for manufacturers and that being passed on to the consumer I higher en product prices, hoard buying because of ammunition and gun restriction fears fueled by the political situation, more and more people prepping for what they believe may be in store for us in the future such as food shortages, financial failure of our economy, violent civil unrest because of those other two factors and the like. Whether or not those fears will be founded, they have caused some to prep for the worst case scenario and that in part has led ammunition supplies to dwindle and caused prices to rise. Firearms enthusiasts who predicted those rising prices often bought and continue to buy ammunition well in advance of future price increases. Since the price of ammunition has kept rising, over the past few to several years, people have kept buying it as a hedge against the day when it may become cost prohibitive for them to obtain it and many have stockpiled some of it while also using some of it to maintain their skill levels or for their enjoyment of other legitimate shooting pursuits such as putting food on the table.

 

Maybe a six months' to a year's supply
of ammunition for totally law abiding
yet ardent shooter or a decent amount
 in storage for possible emergencies.

Yet another reason that people stockpile ammunition, and this one is regardless of price, is one I just mentioned above. They buy it and store it now so as to have it for emergency use in the future. While some people who store a large amount of ammo and give reasons for ammo hording as the impending Apocalypse as in the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI), the end of the Mayan calendar, alien invasions from space or zombies rising from the dead all that is just fantasy and  kidding around. Well almost all of it, I am pretty sure some people believe the world is about to end and who knows. Yet, people who stockpile ammunition have many  concerns that in part or whole cause them hoard ammunition. Whether that emergency use be for defense of self and family and even neighbors against rioters, looters after a natural disaster, or if it is intended for use against an illegitimate tyrannical government, or if meant to make the person able to assist in the repelling of an invasion force in event of war on our soil – all those reasons are innocent and well intentioned even if you think them farfetched or not. Bear in mind that not many thought there would ever be tyrants the like Chavez, Castro, Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin or Hitler who would totally disregard their rights, eliminate their liberties, and crush their freedoms. At least 4 of the mentioned rulers each killed millions of people, if not tens of millions, all killed to gain and remain in power, and all were/are tyrants who severely restricted the right of the people in their countries to possess firearms and ammunition. Have you ever wondered why one of their top priorities was to arm government forces and disarm the civilian populace!

 

The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor
by Nathaniel Currier.

Another reason that people buy and hoard ammunition is because they believe there may soon come a day when, because of government interference, it will be either impossible to acquire or next to impossible to acquire. For example, many fear that ammunition will be taxed at such a high rate as to make it unobtainable for any but the extremely rich. Do you think that a farfetched idea. It was only a few years ago, when Senator Daniel P. Moynihan (DNY), with the full support of still current Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), suggested and pushed for a 10,000% tax on ammunition. Not 10% not 100% not 1000% but 10,000%. Imagine if that had passed into law, it would mean that a box on ammunition costing $30.00 today would cost $3,000.00 with that tax added to the cost.

 

Then there are also the attempts to outright ban certain types of ammunition such as hollow point bullets. Have you ever stopped, even for a few minutes, to give serious thought to why it is that many police departments, law enforcement agencies, politicians, and the military are against the use of hollow point bullets for civilian ammunition yet all use it for their own applications and when they use it, they use it against people who are usually citizens of, or possibly immigrants in, our country. (Yes, despite the Geneva convention there are military uses of HP ammo.) So, in other words, it is okay for them to use it with the possibility they may shoot one of us (accidentally or purposefully in the hail of bullets that is too frequently unleashed by authorities during their shootings) but it is not okay for us to use the same to defend ourselves. The military and law enforcement also use armor piercing ammunition. Yet again, they frown heavily on civilian use of that type of ammunition. Think about why it is okay for their own protection but not okay for your own protection. Then consider the assault weapons ban (now sunsetted federally but still in effect in New York state) and tell me: why is it okay for the government to possess those weapons and not for the general populace to do so. Is the government afraid of the people being armed suitably enough to be able to control the government – and remember they are our servants not we theirs’.

 

Bear in mind, while excuses to stock up on ammo, like conspiracy theories regarding possible government abuses of power and tyranny may seem like so much bunk to some, the threat is also plausible to many intelligent people. Give some long serious thought to: what I just mentioned about the government’s attempts to tax and ban ammunition, the assault weapons ban, high capacity magazine bans (both still in effect in NY) the recent purchases of huge amounts of ammunition by the federal government, its admitted planned spying on its own people by way of airborne drones and the recent laws passed giving the federal government the ability to arrest and indefinitely detain citizens without probable cause, the more recent policy on compiling and storing dossiers on U.S. citizens and legal resident aliens who never have been even hinted at being criminals let alone of being suspected of criminal activity, the continuation of the Patriot Act, the categorizing U.S. Military personnel as a potential terrorist threat, the abuses committed by the Transportation Security Agency, surveillance cameras being set up in virtually every public place imaginable. Then tell me, even if you do not believe it part of a plan to overthrow the Constitution and our current form of government, that it is difficult for you to see and understand, that even if not actually planned, the government has given itself the power to turn itself into an unbending and all powerful tyranny just as did the past tyrants I mentioned above. Is it really that farfetched to fear the same might be happening again and in that light is it reasonable to prepare for a revolution against tyranny. It may never come but if it dos would you be better prepared or unprepared. One can think back just a month and a half to tropical storm Sandy to see how the unprepared fared as to the well prepared. Were you foolish or nutty to have prepared for such a storm in NY well ahead of time; I think not. I remind you too, Winston Churchill was viewed as being a loony when he warned about Nazi Germany’s rise to power. He was proven more than correct but  look at the consequences that an unprepared Europe faced. Most had thought his predictions impossible and they ignored the threat and thus were unprepared to deal with it and suffered greatly. Thus another reason, whether you agree with it or not, that many people stockpile ammunition. 

 

One final reason to acquire a lot of ammunition is with the hopes of later being able to resell it for a profit or to be able to trade it for something of value. People collect all sorts of things with the hopes they will go up in value. Had I been able to purchase several thousands of rounds of certain types of ammunition about 7 to 8 years ago, I could be making a very nice profit on it today had I stored it for all those years.

 

As you can see, there are various honestly justifiable reasons as to why law abiding people store ammunition. While some of it may somehow wind up in the wrong hands and eventually be used criminally, just as anything can be misused, in the great majority of cases that ammunition is legally and reasonably possessed and will be, or is planned to be, used for totally appropriate purposes such as: hunting, defense of self and family, defense of property (where permissabe by law), as collectibles, to make a profit, to acquire and maintain shooting skills and even in defense of our Constitution and great nation.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Preventing Extreme Violence By Proper Adjustment To, And Use Of, Milder Forms Of It

I think one of the major problems in society, within the United States, is the almost absolute aversion to violence, of any kind, with regards to children. Sometime, probably about the mid 1970s to early 1980s, it seems that the educational system in the U.S. started to prevent all forms of violent behavior among school children. Look at most schools where many if not all forms of even potentially violent behaviors have been banned, including contact sports or sports in which a child might be injured such as dodge ball. Not long afterwards, police (in general) started to arrest children for truly minor infractions that involved violence at schools. I am not talking about violence that had ever been considered a crime before. I am talking about the violent acts that come with the natural aggression seen in pre-teens and teens that goes toward them establishing a pecking order among themselves. Children were arrested for acts as minor as pulling on another's clothing, a minor schoolyard fight between two children, and normal bullying.

 

This cessation of even minor violent behavior, pushing, slapping, bullying, sports, and the like, I believe, has led to children not having an outlet for the anger they experience as a normal part of their development - it does not prevent anger and probably does not truly prevent violent at a higher level. Most certainly, acts of extreme violence perpetrated by youthful offenders, has been on the increase over the years since any type of violent behavior by youths has been shunned and strictly eliminated in our schools and in our society in general. I hypothesize that this total attempt at elimination of violent behavior among youths has led us to a society in which we have a disproportionate number of children and young adults who do not know how to handle certain types of frustration and anger through at least one of the most effective means of deflating those emotions - mildly to moderately violent behavior. We also have a large number of children who when confronted with mild forms of violence such as shoving, minor fighting, taunting or bullying or even mandatory violent sports participation who do not know how to react to it and then ultimately inappropriately react and sometimes overreact.

 

I believe that anger and frustration then have no outlet, that they are internalized and are held within, without an outlet, over the years that the children are developing and thus lead to the child becoming an adult who does not know how to cope with frustrations and anger invoking life incidents as well as would a child who was allowed to act out with minor violence throughout development. Of course, there are other ways to out frustration and anger - talking about feelings for instance; however the communication skills of children are in development, just as are aggressive skills, and talking is often if not always not enough.

 

Thus, by the time many children have reached their mid-teens or passed on to young adulthood they are ill equipped to deal with their emotions and are also not able to interact with other people as well as had they been allowed mildly to moderate behavior, at times, during their development. In addition, the propensity of many children to play extremely violent games, where the only successful way to win the game is to utilize extreme violence may add to their inability to understand how to deal with their emotions and with social interactions that anger them. 

 

Thus, a youth who has never learned how to control anger and frustration through the utilization of minor violence may also be otherwise unable to cope, possibly due to minor mental disorder, drug use, buildup of family and or personal problems  may be more likely to reach a point where he or she inappropriately resorts to extreme violence to deal with their problems. Why extreme violence – because they have been repeatedly admonished if they have ever resorted to minor or moderate violence and have been prevented as much as possible from ever resorting to such and because they have seen examples of extreme violence being used as a problem solver with great success in video games, theatrical entertainment, and on the news (such as war coverage). Therefore, extreme violence is often the only violence that children and teens have been taught about as a tenable option to solve problems no matter how appropriate or inappropriate for any given situation. Had these young people been taught the proper and natural outlet for their angers and frustrations, by way of minor violence in some instances, it is unlikely that so many would resort to the only type of violence that they have ever witnessed as being successful – extreme violence.

 

You will not, I did not mention firearms as a problem above. I also did not mention automobiles, gasoline and matches or knives or clubs or any other thing that could be used by someone as a means toward violet behavior. Those things are not the problem, they are inanimate objects that are not dangerous in and of themselves. A loaded gun will not go off if left alone, if no one picks it up to fire it. An object that could be used as a weapon is not dangerous without someone to operate it. Millions of Americans own firearms and never have or will use them for inappropriate violent behavior or illegally. We would be better off addressing the real problem of why people resort to inappropriate use of extreme violence for problems that would have been so much easier to address if they were aware of and familiar with other means to solve them. Ban guns, sure you can do that and then a youngster could resort to using matches and gasoline, Molotov cocktails, poisonous substances (easy to obtain or create with things found in the supermarket) or even explosives (also pretty easy to make at home). 

 

In addition we need to address our mental health care system and reconsider allowing people who are mentally ill, who have the high potential to act out with extreme violence, to remain unfettered in our society. Maybe it is time to restrain them to protect society as had been past practice. 

 

Bear in mind, that behavior resulting in school shootings and other mass murders, within the United States were virtually unheard of up though the 1970s. Certainly there were some but not nearly as many as there have been  within the past two or three decades. It was only after the implementation of the anti-violence campaign, relative to children and teens, in our schools and society in general that it seems our youths began to resort to extreme acts of violence as a means to cope with their problems. Violence may have been said to beget violence but sometimes, I would hypotesize, appropriate use of milder and moderate levels of it almost surely is a way to adjust one to its appropriate use and thus prevent further inappropriate use of heightened forms of it.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Christmas Gifts For The Firearm's Enthusiast

Only 8 shopping days left before Christmas, starting tomorrow, and bear in mind that Christmas Eve is a short shopping day. Have you finished all of your shopping yet? If not, why not? Is it because you can't figure what to get for someone who is a gun guy or gal. I can help there with some suggestions all the way from A to Z and in virtually all price ranges from a few bucks up to the amount of a pretty nice annual income. Here are my recommendations for firearms related gifts, everything from stocking stuffers to super high end gifts to put under the tree: 

 

Ammo, case of (make sure you get an appropriate caliber)

Ammo by the box (make sure you get an appropriate caliber)

Books (The Standard Catalogue of Firearms  or The Blue Book of Gun Values or a reloading manual or a book about firearms' history)

Bore Light

Calendar Babes or Hunks with guns

Chronograph

Cleaning Solvent, for firearms

Dehumidifier (for the gun cabinet or safe)

Eyewear - Shooting Glasses

Flashlight, Weapons’

Gift Certificate, firearms related

Game Calls (deer, predators, turkey, duck)

Gun Care Tool Set

Gun Oil Breakfree CPL, bottle of

Hard Sided Rifle or Pistol Case

Holster (you may be better off buying a gift certificate with a holster maker if you are not sure of the correct size or the style preferred)

Instructional Video

Jewelry

Knife, folding

Laser Sight (the particular one in the link os for a rifle)

Magazine Pouch

Magazine, pistol

Magazine Subscription (Guns Magazine, Rifle Shooter, Trap Shooting USA, Gun Tests Magazine)

NRA Membership

Optics (Red Dot Sight, Spotting Scope, Rifle Scope, Binoculars)

Portable Gun Rest

Portable Gun Cleaning Kit

Preparedness Gear

Quiet (Hearing Protection)

Range Membership (check with your local ranges)

Reloading Kit

Sand Bag Rifle Rests, set of

Scope Rings (make sure they fit the scope and the rifle or pistol)

Silicone Gun Cloths

Shotgun Case

Shooting Jacket

Soft Rifle or Pistol Case

Tannerite ExplodingTargets

Targets (Bleeding Zombie, Bull’s Eye Targets, Metal Reactive, Shoot-N-C, etc…)

Trigger Locks

T-Shirt

Universal Gun Cleaning Kit

Virtual Firearms (Gun Club 2)

Vise, Gun (Tipton’s Best Gun Vise)

Watches (Remington , Smith & Wesson)

Women’s Shooting Apparel

Women’s Shooting Gift Box

X-tac

X-tra Special Gifts (All Expense paid: Hunting Trip, Firearms Training Trip, trip to firearms historical site like the NRA Museum)

Youth Rifle

Zealot, Guns for a (The Beretta Imperial Montecarlo $130,000.00)

 

I hope that helps make someone's Christmas a little merrier!

 

All the best,

Glenn B

 

Someone's Idea Of Their Dream AR-15?

It is certainly not mine. I might go for accessorising an AR by adding a flashlight or maybe a glass or red-dot optics but that would be about it. I am hoping that the pictured AR-15 was done up that way as an advertisement or a movie prop since I could never see anyone, except maybe Arnold Schwarzenegger, carrying one. Even then, Arnold would only carry one of those in a movie. 

Talk about overkill, I'd probably get a hernia just trying to pick it up let alone trying to hold it steady to get off a good shot. Chances are the bipod would snap, if you moved it back and forth a bit while sighting in, what with all the weight pressing down on it. Then again, it might snap my spine if I tried to walk a few miles while carrying it - or I'd at least sprain something anyway. Nor can I imagine trying to engage anyone in a firefight with that thing, I get too confused as to which sighting system to use. I guess when you've got a lot of money and a wild imagination something like that looks great. Thing is, I figure I be the one getting killed if I ever tried to engage a bad guy with it. Definitely not for me but to each his own I suppose!

All the best,
Glenn B

Brigade GunLeather M-1 Hoplon, The Holster I Want For My Remington R1 1911...

...but of course, as my luck would have it, the holster maker has suspended taking orders due to having too many orders already! The holster I want can be seen, along with many others they make, on this page for Brigade GunLeather:

http://www.brigadegunleather.com/gunholsters.html.

Now, I know it would be quicker to just give you the link to the particular holster I want, and I will do that in a moment, I am only linking to that page because it shows the 'no orders for now notice' at the top of the page.

Brigade GunLeather M-1 Hoplon

The holster I would like to get from them, once they start taking orders again, is the M-1 Hoplon. It would be the one in the photo and at this link: http://www.brigadegunleather.com/m-1hoplon.html.

I like almost everything about this holster and only have a slight reservation about the type of belt slot on the backside of the holster. I am used to a flat one not one that sticks out like that but it will do because this is the only holster I can find that meets all of my other criteria. It is similar to the Bianchi Askins' Avenger (I have one of those for my Beretta 92FS pistols) in design of: the holster body, open muzzle end, extra leather strip at front of holster mouth, and the location of its belt slots. It has the addition of a thumb break design which is a very big plus over the Bianchi Askins' Avenger. It also has a lower cut front than the Bianchi Askins' Avenger - neither a big plus or minus for me but it may wind up making my draw a bit faster from it than from the Askins' Avenger. I am debating getting it lined or unlined.

I have sent the company an email requesting that they put me on their list of customers in waiting. I am going to call them this coming week to see if they can give me an idea of when they expect to be taking orders again.

I have done a lot of searching on the Internet for the type of holster I wanted. I have a Don Hume holster (sorry I cannot recall the model and don't have it handy to check on it) for a Glock 19 (used to be one of my issued guns). It was of a very similar design and was the holster I wore for the most years while a federal agent. Like a Bianchi Askins' Avenger, the Don Hume rode pretty high, fit snug to the body, had the added leather around the front of the holster mouth, had an open muzzle end, and was a well made production holster. I liked that holster more than any other I have ever worn, even more than the Askins' Avenger (which I believe is of somewhat slightly higher quality overall) if only because the Don Hume holster had the addition of a the thumb break retention strap. I imagine that the Brigade GunLeather M-1 Hoplon, which as I said has the thumb snap retention strap, would be similar to and possibly exceed the Don Hume, if not also the Bianchi, in quality of workmanship and materials. I hope so since I will be ordering one if they can make it for the Remington R1 1911 (which they do not list but they do list the 1911 5" model and I believe the Remington R1 1911 fits that bill). I can only hope that the holster is as impressive in the flesh as it looks on their website. If I do get it and like it, I will ask if they can make it for the Beretta 92FS also and get one for them too if they say they will make it. Yes I have two of the Berettas but I will only get one of these holsters for the 1911 and one for one of the Berettas as I am not a Nelson Rockefeller or a Bill Gates in the finances department. The one for the 1911 will come first and foremost so I can start carrying that pistol, as soon as feasible, in excellent leather.

All the best
Glenn B

Is Evil Caused by The Devil

I believe in evil but in none of the figures that many believe allow it to take place. Evil was, has been, is and will be caused by human beings and not by imps, demons, the Devil, Satan, Lucifer or any other such excuses for humanity's failings. Mankind is the only force behind it, let's put the blame squarely where it belongs. If you want to bring religion into it, then I would blame God since he created evil (as the creator of all things) and allows it to continue and has allowed it to continue ever since the creation of mankind if not before with the creation of Lucifer. (I am sure others in other religions believe in other causes of evil than the devil but I use that one as an example because of my Catholic upbringing; to me they are all the same - just excuses for our actions.)

I believe that evil is caused by mankind and nothing else. I have never seen a devil, an imp, Satan, or anything like them sitting on any one's shoulder tempting anyone to to do bad or evil things and I have seen more than my share of evil people being evil and doing evil things. To say that the devil made someone do it is, to me, just the same as saying God made someone do it because God created and tolerates the devil or otherwise is helpless to overcome evil. I believe that evil is bred, born and nurtured by mankind within mankind with no help needed or ever given from outside forces and that evildoers should never be given an excuse for their evil acts by way of saying that, in essence, the devil made them do it. The responsibility and the causes of evil are all squarely on the shoulders of the evil doers because they have chosen to do evil. Mankind needs no outside forces to do evil and we need to admit that if we ever truly want to get a handle on it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Disbelief, Shock, Acceptance It Happened, Saddness, Despair, Anger, Helplessness, Confusion, Fear, Fury

Those are some of the things I have felt today, I suppose that all of us have felt today over the senseless act of evil that took the lives of 28 in CT today. I am not a religious man, spiritual but not really religious at all. Yet, today, I prayed. I will probably do likewise tomorrow. There is just no way around doing it in an instance like today's because today evil reared its ugly head and did the unthinkable.

Someone, on Facebook, commented that the pro-gun crowd is remaining silent today and he got a few anti-gun comments jabbing at pro-gun folks and that sickened me. Not because I am pro-gun but because this moment is not the right time to be smug about your side of the issue. As you know, I sometimes address senseless shootings and gun issues on the same day as a shooting, in fact I did so right after the Oregon mall shooting. However, I will not address the gun issue today, not more than to say that now is not the time for it if not for any reason but the fact that the dead children have not even been identified yet; tomorrow is another day or the day after that but today is not the day to keep up the argument. I have to respect those children and their memories and their parents rather than get in some gun rights argument with the antis. I find I can only stop to pray and wish, for the victims relatives, that wellness and healing will come to them eventually.

It probably would be better that all of us do likewise - forget the argument for now and just keep all of the shooting victims from the school, both the adults and the children, and the victim at the shooter's home - his own mother, and all of the victims' families and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers. Don't forget the survivors at the school and the first responders who rushed to that carnage because they too are victims of the evil that took place today. That is what I am going to do tonight, I am going to keep them all in my thoughts, well wishes and prayers.

All the best,
Glenn B

Fast Becoming My Favorite Christmas Song

Sort of like Christmas around our house, not every year but every few years.




Hat tip to Mike McC for this one.

All the best,
Glenn B

Another Time Honored Tradition Destroyed By Personal Pride?

Once again, someone in the name of tolerance of his own beliefs, over and above the tolerance of the beliefs and traditions of others, has put an end, forever, to a time honored tradition. Jatenderpal Singh Bhullar reportedly is a Sikh and also a Scots Guardsman. What he did was decided to wear his turban (and his beard) instead of the traditional headgear of the Scots Guards - the bearskin - while on duty outside of Buckingham Palace in once merry olde England. So 180 years of tradition has been destroyed by a single individual who apparently because of personal feelings decided to strike out against tradition. Why do I say "...apparently because of personal feelings...", I will let the reported words of Mr. Singh Bhullar speak for themselves and for his motive for his bringing down a great tradition of the country he supposedly serves:
 
"Conducting public duties while being a practising Sikh and wearing my turban is a great honour for me.
 
I am very proud to be a member of the Household Division and to be the first Sikh Guardsman to mount guard in a turban will be the best thing in my life, especially as a member of the Scots Guards.

The regiment is full of history, as is my religion."
 
Did you see - it is an honor for him to wear his turban, and I am very proud, and it will be the best thing in my life, and the regiment as opposed to my religion - it evidently is all or mostly about him. He even went so far as to call himself a Sikh Guardsman. Unless I am mistaken, he is not a Sikh Guardsman; as far as I can determine, he is a Sikh who is a Scots Guardsman and one who put being a Sikh before being a guardsman. I am not saying he should not practice his religion. I am saying that he chose to serve England in the Scots Guard and in so choosing, I think, he should, while on duty, honor their traditions as have all other Sikhs, who were also Scots Guardsmen, by wearing the bearskin and not a turban. Instead, he seemingly has put his pride in his religion, culture and self, above his service, duty and honoring the traditions of the country in whose military he serves. It makes me wonder just how he would react if the country he now serves ever went to war with the homeland of his ancestors and birthplace of his religion. 

Of course, that is all just my own opinion, and everybody has one, so what do you think?

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9737480/Sikh-soldier-first-guardsman-to-parade-outside-Buckingham-palace-wearing-turban.html 

All the best,
Glenn B

I Don't Want To Read To Much Into It...

...but it seems as if I have been selected, out of a group of about 150 candidates, to write for another gun blog. I will let you know more about it if actually got that right. As of right now, I am 99% certain I have been slected but want to wait until 100% sure before giving the details.

What will be very nice about that is it seems I will only have to write a piece for that blog once per month and I will have the opportunity to do reviews of guns, ammo and accessories. I think I could come to truly enjoy a gig like that.

All the best,
Glenn B

Countdown To December 21st - Will It Be An Alien Invasion

Some folks seem to be thinking so in light of recent claims of unidentified flying objects reportedly seen over both Brooklyn in New York Shitty and over the Mission District of San Fransicko.

The Day The Earth Stood Still - 1951
Gort gets the message - "Klaatu barada nikto"
and subsequently spares the Earth!

If it comes down to an invasion from outer space, then BBQ'd alien iguana sounds pretty good for Christmas dinner! If it is a friendly visit then make nice and invite them over for dinner but remember - trust no one - especially illegal aliens and that includes Mexicans as well as Venutians or Plutonians.





Shoot em in the eye. No, not that thing on
the end of the stalk.The aliens were inside,
that thing is their ship's viewer and also
the ships dastardly death ray shooter.

Whatever, if it happens it happens. I could see myself doing a lot of praying like the preacher man here but only to the gods war with a Mosin Nagant my hands. I see a 7.62x54R doing the trick on either one of these alien terrors or on whatever else they throw at us. I think we are ready, even for an alien invasion from space, at our house. Are you ready?

All the best,
Glenn B

I CONFESS...

...I did it.

Not my wife, kids, friends, the police, the feds, military personnel nor CIA spooks could get more out of me. That is all.

All the best,
Glenn B

Besides Wishing The Living Victim A Speedy Recovery...

...one can hope a few things with regard to the shootings at the mall in Oregon. First that the relatives and loved ones of all of the victims find peace. Second, that something like this does not happen again soon. Third, and this would be music to my ears played on the harps of the strong, that the police come to discover it is not a 5.56x45mm or .223 round that killed the bad guy. In other words, I would be ecstatic to learn that the bullet that took the bad guy down was fired from a handgun, by a person as yet, and who will remain, unknown - who quietly left the scene after putting down the bad guy shooter  / apparent psycho.

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy Hanukkah

Yes, I am tardy with this one but truly it is better late than never.

I hope all of you who celebrate Hanukkah have a joyous one.

All the best,
GB

There Are The 4 Rules of Firearms Safety And Then There Are The Other Rules...

...of firearms safety that need to be adhered to just as much as the 4 rules. One of those rules is something I mentioned in a blog post I wrote a few days ago about a man who reportedly shot his son. The man reportedly had tried to climb into his truck and put a handgun into the truck's center console at the same time and the gun discharged killing his son who was in the passenger seat. I mentioned in my blog post the rule hunters are taught in hunter safety courses, in essence about not trying to do things that require both hands while holding a gun. They are told never to climb a fence with a loaded gun and not to try to climb into a treestand with a loaded gun but instead to unload the gun completely and then either lean it on or near the fence so you can reach it after you climb to the other side or tie it to a cord to pull it up into the tree stand after you have first ascended. In both cases it is important to unload it first. That could be similar to placing an unloaded pistol into your pocket or waistband or holster before climbing into your truck and once in then putting it into the center console if that was where you were going to put it (not a good place to put a gun in my  opinion).

Well, it has only been  few days at most since I reminded folks of that and last night a friend sent me an email about a hunter in upstate NY. Seems he climbed up into his treestand and then pulled his rifle up after him, kind of like he was supposed to do but not quite right. Apparently he forgot to unload it before doing that. According to the news report, he shot himself in the foot while trying to get his rifle up into the treestand. See:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121205/NEWS/121209856

To add insult to injury, the NY State Police and DEC are now investigating to see if they are going to charge him criminally. I would think the hole in his foot enough punishment in a case like this.

All the best,
Glenn B