Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Been a Rough Week Already.

So it seems that my vehicle has decided to go Galt as well. Last fall I replaced the head gaskets for the second time due to a malfunctioning fan clutch, then replaced the front end and front u joints. About 10g's in repairs in a few months. Not to be outdone, the old gal decided to allow her starter to puke out on me. Unfortunately I was 100 miles from home at a scout camping trip when it happened.

Several hundred bucks later, I'll be back on the road and running, but I'm losing my faith in the old gal.

Our schedule is just stupid right now. Between my wife working from 2-3am until 3pm, then handling homework and sometimes dinner, she's not in good mental shape to deal with a teen and tween boys that love to fight. Add in my irregular training schedules, service calls, weekend scouting and teaching schedule, it's pretty much a free for all around here.

None of our gardening has been completed. At this point we are going to have to go with seedlings and such to populate our garden plot. Not how I like to do it, but necessary at the moment.

I'm so far behind on reloading, I have to sit at the dillons for a few hours before I can hit the range. I still have factor ammo put back, but for range fodder, I generally use my reloads. I acquired a dillon primer tube filler, so that will be a time saver once I get it set up and running. Need to make full size human targets for the weekend and kick out about 1200 rounds of 5.56 and 400 rounds of 9mm. Might even run some 45acp if I get froggy.


Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Back From the Land of Banjo's and Squalor

The NRA convention was about half the size of last year's event, but even so, I was able to talk to some really cool people. The designer at LWRCI helped me iron out some issues on my rifle and the guys at LeHigh defense dropped some knowledge about their new bullets and the upcoming arrivals.

It was a good time all around. I was present for 2 great seminars on Saturday. One was about Sniping in WW1 with John Plaster of "Ultimate Sniper" fame. The second was Kyle Lamb of Vtac and his Mindset Seminar. I'm going to talk to the lead guy and see if we can incorporate a few items from it into our mindset class. The highlight of my day was chatting with IV8888 about the Barrett M107 I'm lusting after. He's a really cool guy. I'd go blow stuff up with him any time.

The show was a bit tawdry with all the models and the bare flesh. I realize it's a huge sausage fest, but to cheapen it with meth'd out models and oddly cast equipment hookers was offensive. The gals knew little to nothing about the product, and they would scoff when you didn't fawn over them. I was looking for porn of a firearm variety, not the more seedy style. 

I spent a full afternoon talking with some very interesting people within the fringe media about the new M855/NFA DD/Sporting purposes agreement that's been blown up with it's seeing the light of day. We spent a good 4 hours considering implications and current cases that could gut the ATF very soon. We also spent a time talking about logistics and militia concerns with regard to infiltration by agent provocateurs. One gent discussed openly about one of his best friends getting in trouble and being owned by the feds to the point that he no longer had contact with him and the friend is now supporting extremist agents of the militia fringe.

It makes me wonder how many times the Feds have taken an interest in an old useless guy like me. I have contacts in that world, but I'm not privy to any information that would be considered valuable by anyone. I'm sure if my life or freedom was suddenly called into question, I'd rethink my associations in order to walk among the rest of society.

Lastly, I'd like to talk about the city of Nashville. The downtown area is pretty nice, but difficult to navigate due to terrain. Once you leave downtown, the outlying area is full of squalor. My hotel was near Brick Church Pike, and I had to drive around a while to find decent food in the area. A biker gang had a road closed and was parking bikes in the street. Not many police in those areas as well, but you didn't have to look hard to find a closed business or boarded up housing. I was a little shocked at how dilapidated the surrounding area is. The women out there were VERY friendly, and I will say that they honked and shouted at me more than a few times. 

Next Year it's in Louisville, and I'm hoping to make it for a larger show.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

NRA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee this weekend.

I'm not the biggest fan of the NRA, but I've decided that change must come from within in that organization. I've become a member with voting rights and have cast my ballot for more hard line candidates. I've also decided to go to the convention this weekend to check out all the new cool stuff they have to show off. I'd like to get some Sellebrity pics as well. Yes, I spelled that correctly.

Have fun if you plan to head out.


Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act backlash?

The more I hear about the RFRA, the more genius the idea is. The conservatives have played this card knowing perfectly well the backlash that would ensue. They also knew that the law wouldn't allow rote discrimination, yet the progressive media and various associations decided it was their chance to rally under a flag and pull an all out nonviolent protest. This whole issue was thought to be a PR gold mine for progressives.

Right now you're probably thinking I'm daft or the wife beat me too hard last night, but that's not the case and I'll explain the facts as I see them. I'll start by saying that I have a very diverse group of friends on facebook. Schoolmates, work associates, motorcycle community, diving friends, etc. are on here and fairly active with their accounts. Of the nearly 800 friends, around 50 of them were very upset at the RFRA, about twice that number are outspokenly for it. For the other 650, it's not enough of an issue either way for them to worry about because it doesn't affect them in any way. They don't discriminate, nor do they wish to deal with the strife created. They quietly go about their day just trying to get by. What they do pay attention to is the amount of disinformation being heralded by both sides. The right attempted to sway the argument by looking at other states that have similar laws while the left really went overboard saying that the laws would allow civil right violations, Jim Crowe era segregation and then called for the financial destruction of the state they live in if they didn't get their way. That's just so.... Inclusive of them.

Those 650 people noticed the grandstanding, and along with the 100 staunchly conservative people in my feed, will have an overwhelming majority once again when they vote next year. The whole affair is pure genius on the part of the right. They knew up front it would cause a stir, they knew how progressives would (over)react.

What people don't understand is the social dynamic. The low to no information voter will always vote for the hand that feeds them, even though it also is responsible for keeping them caged. They don't care about religious freedom one way or another. They are still getting fed when someone else gets elected, so it's not important to get out and vote until they might lose their meal ticket.

On the other hand, hard core progressives are a small minority of the voter pool. They always vote the same way, hard left, and will never change their tune unless their candidate changes position, which they will follow along while goose stepping to the polls. These "enlightened" souls make a lot of noise, but rarely find a following unless there's a scandal. Now here they are holding the narrative that the sky is falling while everyone else is aware that nothing has changed.

The supposed financial backlash is more of a blessing in disguise. Conservative groups have a great following in the midwest. The NRA came to town a last year and dropped 70 thousand tourists in the city. Religious organizations are clamoring to host events in the city. The Gen Con that is attempting to hold the state hostage was bankrupt just a couple years ago, and they don't bring in half the total dollars that the NRA did due to the demographics involved.

All in all, the RFRA is a huge coup for conservatives in the next election. You will see another landslide in the electorate, verifying that religious freedom and personal freedom is important to Indiana, while progressive culture won't know what happened to their elitist momentum. While I've enjoyed the roll back of the firearms laws, this and many other conservative ideas are a bit unnerving to say the least. I'd prefer things to stop where they are this year, after constitutional carry is passed.


Sunday, April 5, 2015

Back From Mordor on the Potomac

I was very happy to be out of DC and West of the mountains this past Friday. I'd spent several days in amongst the sites that once held prestige and glory for our nation. I'm still amazed at how our ancestors (well, the countries ancestors since most of my family is rather new here, arriving in about 1890.) built our nation from a ragtag group of states. The genius of a living document that protects the individual's rights over that of the government is unheard of throughout history. To think that ink on parchment can hold such esteem and cognitive intelligence is mind boggling.

Then I think about all that has been lost over the years. Today we cannot even think in deference to popular culture without severe repercussion from some group or quasi governmental agency. How far the mighty have fallen. We as a people have allowed progressive culture to rape liberty while using some pop culture tag line to make us feel better about it. It's maddeningly simple to see the teachings of Alinsky come to life within the borders of the US. Karl Marx would be proud.

 There will come a day when the powers that be will come for your liberty. They will use the money they steal from you with Quantitative Easing, Quadruple Taxation and Commodities Manipulation to exact their revenge on you for thinking differently than how they like. We see flower shops, pizza joints and religious venues being sued for upholding their freedom to choose. Regardless of what that choice is, the fact that they have the ability to choose is far more important that the choice they make. One day it will be you in the crosshairs.

I've personally gone Galt. I refuse to pay for my own destruction. I am very careful to not break any laws, but I'm not going to allow myself to be penalized for my success. Many of my friends and merchant associates have moved to bartering for goods and services. No taxes on trades. Completely legal and legit, but it removes my support of the system. I still pay my property taxes and some sales taxes, but when I get a chance, I barter.

How many times has the same story been told throughout history? A great empire emerges, out grows it's utility, inflates it's economy and it's dying stroke is to penalize success. We are there. Our country is as tyrannical as the greatest in history. We have yet to crown a Caesar, but our elite banking culture and privileged governing class chooses the candidates we are allowed to vote for. Invention and success is ridiculed and regulated into the dustbin. Freedom is squandered for safety. Our citizens are penalized for being citizens while illegal aliens are protected from prosecution that would land us in jail for the same behavior. It's absurd.

 Study the Past, or repeat it forever.