bloggers

WHO Has Your Back?

Too much privacy advocacy is done by a self-appointed expert class who, believing their own preferences to be universal, beseech legislators and regulators to mold or even remake the information economy. I have nothing against self-appointed experts—I am one, and some of you have been falling for my schtick for a decade. But the hubris of claiming to know how things should come out? That’s too much.

So the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s “Who Has Your Back?” report is real stand-out. Using a clear, six-star grid, they assess how well major Internet companies and ISPs do when it comes to key dimensions of privacy protection.  (Jim Harper/Cato@Liberty)

It’s worth going to the link above and determining who (or if) your ISP has your back.  Remember a couple years back when *blog name redacted*  had his Internet service terminated, and his home raided w/o benefit of a warrant because of potentially inflamatory statements he made in his blog?  It was Massachusetts, so, the State revoked his gun permit and confiscated his firearms, too!  With no due process involved and the full cooperation of his ISP with the authorities.

So much for protecting the customer…

Go check out the grid, and be enlightened.

On losing a furry loved one…

Brigid reminds us often of the love, responsibility and loss we acknowledge in our lives.  Recently, her friend Vic @ Monkeywrangler had to put down her beloved dog Charlie.

I was never allowed pets as a child.  For many years, I believed it was because my parents didn’t trust me with that responsibility.  Later I found out my Dad had both a dog and a cat in his teen years.  And they died.  And it was he who couldn’t bear that pain, again.

Once I was out of college and had my own place, I more of less by default acquired a cat, a black longhair with yellow eyes.  Partly feral.  Beelzebub.  The moniker seemed appropriate.  She would sleep on my chest and upon my awakening bat at my eyes with her claws out!  Guess it was time to get up.  The landlord had told me no dogs.  He saw the cat and amended his statement to include cats.  Bastard!  To the so-called Humane Society she went.  I’d no other choice at the time.

It was years later when I met my future wife I learned she had a kind of chi-weenie.  Lady Eowyn.  She was very timid, and didn’t like me, and ran away.  Then we got a Spitz (Nessie) and a knee-height brown shorthair mix (Ilsa).  And a Calico shorthair cat (Gracie).  And some kind of special Siamese with a tabby skeletal structure (Bear).  They all left this World in various ways:  disease, fights, old age.

And this process about killed me.  Each time.  I now know something of what my Dad must have felt.  Our pets were not working animals; they were part of the family.

Now, living with my exgf, and her three Chihuahuas and black long-haired cat, I know this will happen again.  I was here before when another cat passed away.  And the old lady dog is 18 1/2 years old!!  Blind, deaf, no teeth.  But in no pain and a real sweetheart.  And the two other dogs are 14.

I’m constantly reminding you to love the people in your lives.  Love your animals, as well.  Do it now.

Because you never know.

Crosby – she’s 18 1/2 !

“…out endure the bastard!”

I love the Joe Wambaugh police novels.  Not just because he brings you into the ‘real’ world of the street cop, but because he gets you into their hearts and minds.  THAT’S the function of a good novel, any novel.  And because he had been there (as an LAPD cop) he speaks the truth, metaphorically.

There are lessons to be learned.

American Mercenary writes for us about Recon, Raid and Ambush.  Not just the stuff most of us see only in action movies and television shows, but the textbook Army Ranger School reality about such matters.

Why should we care?  Most of us are armchair adventurers at best.  I’m a disabled, overweight,  60 year old man.  Do I think I can best some regular Army 21 year old, if they come for my guns?  Of course not.  But, there are lessons to be learned.

I truly hope and pray with every fiber of my being that ‘we’ can overcome the dark political forces working diligently to undermine this American Republic’s Constitutional System.  Many of these folks raised their right hand and swore allegiance to defend the U.S. Constitution , and they were lying.  They had a different agenda all along.

Much of what we see daily in the blogosphere tells us we will soon see Civil War.  NOT on paper, but a real blood, guts, taking prisoners, killing war.  ‘They’ say it’s inevitable.  And some say we should be prepared to engage.

But Joseph Wambaugh makes a point (in The New Centurions).  The fictional PT training officer in the police academy in the book says the job of the street cop (the good guy) is to out endure the bastard!  (the street criminal).  That what he prepares them for.

And American Mercenary gives us the very same message 30 years later.  He doesn’t just give civilians textbook answers about how do be a military force.  He says the following (in part):

~I don’t know if my perception is skewed by what I read, but it seems to me that a lot of people in the Liberty movement believe that conducting light infantry style operations will be something that comes naturally. I think that this is a dangerous and foolish notion on both a tactical and strategic level.  Scotland would be free if Scots could work together beyond the clan level.~

~I don’t know about all of human history, but from what I know of warfare, “lone wolf” actors have never been decisive in the outcome of a revolution.  So having “tribe” or “clan” is good.  Having a unified political presence is decisive.  In the Revolutionary War General Washington lost more battles than not.  In WWII after Pearl Harbor we got our asses handed to us straight for 18 months.  Remember that winning a war isn’t always about killing the other guy, it is about being the last one standing.  And most insurgencies go along the same way, the insurgents die in disproportionate amounts to the superpower, but the superpower decides to go away.

Think about it this way: if you take the kill/loss ratio from the US experience in Vietnam, and apply it to the current US political atmosphere against the “Three Percent” then there would be not enough Three Percenters left at the end of the war to have a political voice.  There may be a few lone wolves howling at the moon, but they will be dismissed.~

~War is bloody politics.  Politics is just people trying to work together, often to gain power over other people.  And politics is “mostly” bloodless war.~

The Liberty Movement is not only about Civil War.  It’s about going back to Joe Wambaugh:  We have to out endure the bastard(s)!

Keep those cards, letter, emails and telephone calls coming in, folks.  Let D.C. know we’re out here!  We’ve won some battles, but certainly not the war.

Training, Shooting and Fashion

Cornered Cat|Scratching Post always presents such well-reasoned wisdom.  You should read this link in particular, if you’re not already reading her blog.  Then you should remedy the situation by reading it, regularly.

Kathy Jackson walks us through the thought process of the new female shooting student.  After all, generally women are more concerned with fashion dictates.  (Yes, I know, Brigid, not every woman!  )

Some student concerns:

One person expressed it very well when she wrote, “[The Cornered Cat] course requires a holster type I have no intention of ever using. So that means even more money spent on a holster and clothing that would only be used the days of the class.”

Another person wrote something similar: “I’d have to invest in pants with belt loops, belt, and holster that I would probably never use again just to take one or two classes.”

Kathy intones:

Putting a loaded gun into a holster is the single most dangerous thing anyone ever does in a professional firearms training class.

I remember Jeff Cooper poo-pooing fashion with regard to its dictates versus the need to carry safely.  An  no one would have ever called The Colonel a fashion plate.  After all, what’s more important?

And men, don’t gloss over going to Kathy Jackson’s link because it’s aimed at women.  Her above quote applies to you, as well.

Both in training and (daily) carry, safety should be our foremost concern.  We are dealing with lethal instrumentalities, after all.

Fashion should come second.  Or even farther down the list.

As I’m on disability, my daily wear is usually a colored T-shirt, a long-sleeve over-shirt, Wrangler jeans, a belt from The Wilderness and my diabetic orthopedic walking shoes, with my right one built-up (aka ‘Ed’, the really big shoe).  On more formal occasions, I’ve been known to substitute a polo shirt.  George Clooney eat your heart out!  (I know – your bodyguards probably dress better!)

My shooting wear isn’t much different, except for the addition of my Tilly Hat and eyes/ears.  And sunglasses.

If you need to purchase (or perhaps borrow?) some clothes or holsters to meet the requirements of a particular class, I say go for it.  More training is always better.

h/t Kathy Jackson, Jeff Cooper

Ther’s a LOT of this going around, Part Two…

My roommate made a recent observation which seems to be borne out in fact:

More people with whom we are acquainted or have knowledge of seem to be going through more health-related stuff in their lives than ever before.

(I think she was more graphic in her statement.)

The point being, seems as if folks are more ill, are having more accidents, have relatives with horrible health conditions and stuff in their lives.  I suppose part of the observation could be accounted for by the instantaneous nature of Internet communication, worldwide, but certainly not all.

And yes, we are older, but not all persons involved are older than us.  Some, are in fact much younger.  And it’s not all based on living in a specific geographic or geopolitical environment.

As I write this, I’m thinking about Brigid’s brother, my roomie’s stepmother, my stepbrother-in-law, and a close friend’s father, among many others.

Is this something superstitious, or Biblical in nature?  Or are the facts being compounded based on emotional content, skewing the conclusion?

Keep a good thought, take care of yourselves, and tell those near and dear you love them.  And hold them close.

Because, you never know…

(for St. Valentine’s Day*) The Millionaire – a remake (kinda)

When I was growing up, there was a television show called The Millionaire.  In the show, personal representative of millionaire J. Beresford Tipton (Michael Anthony) doled out one million dollars to a worthy nobody every week.  Of course, the plot revolved around how this windfall affected their life.  At the time, one million dollars was a lot of money.  The only caveat was the recipient was to agree never to reveal the source of their new wealth.  I suspect the IRS wasn’t involved in this agreement. 

Today is St. Valentine’s Day*, a day I loathe, as I’m alone.  Obviously, if there was someone in my life, celebrating it would be terrific.  But alas…

I was preparing dinner last night, when the doorbell rang.  It was the UPS guy.  He presented me with a small, heavy package.  I hurriedly opened it and discovered a surprise!

NO, it wasn’t one million dollars, but rather a serious amount of ammunition in the calibers I own and shoot!  Accompanying the ammo was a note.  Obviously someone reads this blog, read I am ‘ammo poor’ and took it upon themself to send me a gift of reloads!  How cool is THAT?

I don’t know how soon I’ll be able to go shooting, again, but it’s nice knowing people whom I’ve never met are kind enough to send me gifts.  I’m quite moved and humbled.  And now more sufficiently armed.

And as I’ve no way to thank them personally, I’m posting about it.  And, I’ll never reveal the source.  Part of my agreement.

You never saw a happier worthy nobody!

There’s a LOT of this going around!

Rev. Paul, of Way Up North reportedly had a cardiac event and rolled his pickup truck yesterday.  He’s doing okay, after a stent was put in, but the truck not so much.

Please keep good thoughts for him, and pray, if that’s your thing.  Paul is one of my first Internet blogfriends  and has been an ardent supporter of both me and this blog.

Hang in there, Rev. Paul!

The NRA

Mama Liberty commented on my post yesterday, mentioning the National Rifle Association’s flip-flopping with regard to various issues involving federal law.  Specifically the whole ‘no guns in school’ thing.

It seems they initially supported such a thing, then became wiser.  They’ve done the same thing with regard to other gun control laws and politicians (giving some folks a Grade of A, when they voted mostly in the anti-rights tent).

In short, they’re wafflers and inconsistent, at best.

I’ve thought on more than one occasion about sending back my Life Membership Card (which I paid for in monthly installments!) with a better-than-terse letter regarding many of these inconsistencies.

But I’ve not yet done that.  Why not, you ask?

Well, because, in spite of their failings, they’re still one of the best tools we have in this battle.  There are others:  The Second Amendment Foundation and Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership come to mind.

Find the group or groups you can support and do so.  Four-and-one-half million people coalesced into a lobbying force is remarkable!  47% of American households reportedly possess firearms.  The NRA and other pro-rights groups memberships should be even larger.

Yeah, they aren’t perfect.  But…

“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately”  -  Benjamin Franklin

Where do we go from here?

A quick perusal of about 105 blogs (and news and opinion sites – most mornings) doesn’t bode well the answer to this question.

People who support individual, Constitutional liberties over collectivist ‘it’s for the children people sea birds, snail darters et al’ rubbish are scrambling for this very answer.

It’s obvious the Grand Old Party has no backbone, and hasn’t had for some time.  Nor does their platform have anything to do with preserving American Freedoms.  It’s our government control versus their government control.

And the Democrats Progressives have been completely assimilated by the progressive movement, in the forever-forward effort to ‘fundamentally change’ the nature of this Nation.  Brick by bloody brick.   Away from its founding documents and principles.

The Libertarians! (you answer.)  While they did best this year of any election year, ever, they are still a drop in the bucket.  And, as libertarians, they philosophically don’t lust for power and control.  It’s against their nature. And the Demopublicans are reluctant to give up any of their monopoly.

The Tea Party(s)?  And there’s is a two-fold problem.  1)  There are many of them, some with differing views, and 2)  The Left has successfully painted them as racists, even though there is scant evidence of that – largely promoted by the (largely Left) media.

Want proof of anti-Constitutional furor?  It’s all over the media…

The Second Amendment has Outlived It’s Relevance to America – The Staten Island Advance

Let’s Give Up On The Constitution – The New York Times

Haven’t 95% of all elected federal officials already done that, beginning with denying their Oaths of Office to said Constitution?

And bloggers and commenters abound on the Internet, blustering about how they’ll stand behind every blade of grass with a rifle, and the Three-Percenters will, and the Oath Keepers will refuse to take disarmament action against United States citizens…

All while the TSA, and the FBI and the NSA and a myriad-of-alphabet-soup-other-agencies quietly and consistent erode all of our civil liberties, with the tacit approval of Congress and multiple Presidents!

SO…where DO we go?

It’s for the children, you know…

THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.  -  Thomas Paine (1776)

The Triumvirate On Gun Control

There has been much gnashing of teeth in the past few days over the most recent school shooting.  Surely, the fact that I must use the term ‘most recent’ gives one pause.  Or the term ‘school shooting’ that doesn’t involve marksmanship practice.

And the Internet is all abuzz with sorrowful pleas for ‘they’ to do ‘something’.  I believe it’s human nature in that we all feel so helpless when such things occur.  We want ‘something’ to be done.

The President himself just released his proposals, including another assault weapons ban, a magazine capacity ban and restrictions on private sales of firearms.  (Of course, none of these measures would have stopped the homicidal, unbalanced criminal from the recent massacre of innocents.)

I’ve mentioned recent events a couple of times, and even wrote a couple yet unpublished posts, but many other bloggers have addressed the issues in a much more eloquent and informed manner than I.  If you’ve not seen these three recent postings, you should go to the links and read.  And think about what you have read.  And hope The Nation has enough wisdom to absorb these things, as well.  Links and excerpts below…

A Couple of Elephants by Old NFO

~The mental health community has morphed away from actually treating and committing people due to numerous lawsuits by, among others, the ACLU.  Also, due to ‘privacy’ concerns, many institutions will not report a person with mental health problems to NICS or even to local police.  You can go find articles that point out that the ONLY way to get someone committed is to have charges filed against someone.~

~A few school systems use School Resource Officers (SROs) who are either retired LEOs or are LEOs specifically hired to work in schools both for security. those SROs are armed, have full police powers and are directly connected to the local police departments via radio if they need assistance/backup.

Many were funded under programs from the Federal Government after Columbine…

However, those programs were de-funded by the current administration.~

Stop Teaching Our Kids To Kill by Dave Grossman, Lt. Col. USA (ret.) (via Maddened Fowl)

~Research on the background of our juvenile mass murderers show they have one thing in common:  they ALL dropped out of life and filled their lives with nothing but violent movies and violent video games.  The sickest video games and the sickest movies are very very sick indeed.  And the sick sick kids who immerse themselves in this “entertainment” are very sick indeed.

~And it is a world-wide phenomenon!  Germany has had two mass murders in their high schools with body counts that beat Columbine.  England had a massacre in the kindergarten class in Dunblain Scotland, tragically forecasting Sandy Hook.  Canada had the Taber, Alberta school massacre.  Finland has had three school massacres.  In Norway the killer got on an island and killed all their kids.  In China killers are going in the classrooms with knives and gutting and hacking the kids.  In Belgium a sicko got in the day care center and hacked 12 babies in the cribs, dressed as the Joker from the Batman movie.  (All those European gun laws made THEM real safe, eh?)

And we though it wouldn’t happen here!?

And you think its over now?  The worst is yet to come.  We will reap what we sow for a generation to come…. Until we stop teaching our kids to kill.~

Feeling Good by A Girl and Her Gun

~My extra bag of rice, my gun, my ammo, my kerosene heater are of real value to my survival. I used no government funds to purchase those items. In fact the purchase of those items only helped contribute positively to a failing economy. I have never harmed a single person. I am of no threat to you. Your desire to label me crazy and limit my rights will only serve to put me at more risk and it has ZERO chance of doing anything for you other than to make you feel good.

Please forgive me, but your facade of happiness just isn’t worth my life. I won’t hand it over without a fight.~

The mental health crisis/real school security, video games as parenting, and the desire to absolve our guilt – to feel better – all need to be addressed and solved, lest these behaviors continue.  And lest our rights be taken away for no good reason.

PS - Bobbi punctuates EVERYTHING with common sense!

~Know the facts.  Know the “official facts” even if you choose to doubt them — and get expert advice.  The “rifle found in a car” was contentious issue here at Roseholme Cottage, until Tam found video of it being removed: it’s a scary, black…pump-action shotgun! She was pretty sure of make and model from the low-rez image, thanks to her years shooting and working at gun stores. (Remember, the media talking heads reporting this stuff know a lot less about guns than you do — and they’re being briefed by police who are used to dumbing things down for them.)~

~Know your audience.  In my blog, I can talk about the deterrent effect of removing legal barriers to teachers and school employees being armed if they chose to be (and qualify for whatever carry permit their state offers!).  In the lunchroom at work, not so much.  Don’t be That Guy; we can’t afford it just now.~

OKAY, that’s really four, not three!  Regardless, take a few minutes and read each of these wise bloggers’ entire posts.  I’d say doing so is for the children, but that would just be pandering.  It’s for ALL OF US!