A Lack of Posts

I know, I'm a bad blogger. I don't post as much as I should. It seems like half my brain is doing 100 MPH and the other half is doing 25 and the 2 keep running over each other. Hopefully, life will calm down enough to allow me to put 2 thoughts together for a post soon.

This Made Me Think

Of Brigid...I wonder if this happens to her?

When Good Onions Go Bad

Grocery Store | Gainesville, FL, USA

(At the natural foods store where I work, we cater to a lot of people with food allergies. I overhear this conversation between two customers:)

Customer 1: “I have a mild case of celiac disease. It’s always so tempting to just eat a little bit of bread or cookies, but I regret it so much later!”

Customer 2: “Oh yeah, I know what you mean. I love onions, but I’m terribly sensitive to them. They make me suicidal!”

Customer 1: *laughs* “I’m sure they’re not that bad!”

Customer 2: “Very much so! I can tell when I accidentally eat some because my thoughts turn dark. I hallucinated the bacon had a gun and wanted revenge!”

H/T notalwaysright.com

Faulty Perceptions

I've got my habit of reading all of the blogs on my blog list daily. Sometimes, I'll see something interesting on one of them and read that link as well. These link chasing expeditions can take up a whole day. I'm repeatedly noticing what appears to me, to be a little error in the way the gun rights community is being perceived by the non or anti gun types.

The things I notice are not in what is said, although that is scary enough, but more in what isn't said as much as it seems to be implied. You will pardon me if I don't include any specific links in this missive. You can find references to this on any anti gun page.

It seems to me that the anti gun crowd actually thinks that we pro gun people just wander down to whatever gun show is in town and plunk down some cash and walk out with a gun strapped on and ready to go do some vigilante thing in our local slum. I am willing to bet that 99% of the gun rights folks are thinking of or doing nothing of the sort. Oh sure, there will be the odd and thankfully rare anomaly, but it is odd and thankfully rare.

I want to start with a word that anti gun people like to toss around almost as if it were some kind of curse. Vigilante. From Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: vig·i·lan·te

Pronunciation: \ˌvi-jə-ˈlan-tē\

Function: noun

Etymology: Spanish, watchman, guard, from vigilante vigilant, from Latin vigilant-, vigilans

Date: 1856

Could we please note the key word vigilant? Note the etymology Watchman or guard? If we are grey, then are we not all vigilantes? If we're not, then shouldn't we be? The appellation should be one that makes us proud, not one which makes us cringe. See? faulty perception in action.

Now as to the process we go through...I'll go with myself since the source for the information is close to hand. I bought my gun. I went out and tried many different guns before I settled on the Springfield Armory M1911A1 Mil-Spec. Then I got the purchase permit that is required under Michigan law. Then I plunked down my money, in a gun shop I might add, after shopping around to find the best price. Under the law in effect at the time, I took said gun to my local sheriff office to be "inspected" and have a safety inspection card issued. Then I bought a large amount of ammunition and I went to my local range and I fired it....a lot....putting myself through the NRA pistol course to the level of expert. Then I went to a CPL course, many months later after around 5000 rounds, and I took and passed that. Then the $105 for the Michigan Concealed Pistol License. I have put somewhere around 10,000 rounds through that gun since I've owned it. I do my best to maintain proficiency so that should I ever need it, I can use it safely and effectively.

I am my own vigilante in that I am vigilant as to my surroundings at all times. I know who and what is around me and I avoid places where trouble could find me easily. I avoid people who appear to have trouble as a co-pilot. I'm not looking for trouble, au contrare I actively seek to avoid it. My gun is an insurance policy much the same as the insurance I have for my car. I have it because when I need it, I really need it although I hope to never use it. It is a tool for my protection and the protection of my loved ones. It is a tool that is in the tool box I use after vigilance and safe practice have failed or been thrown out. It is not a first line of defense but a layer that I hope never to have to use or expose. I have no desire to confront criminals, I am not a law enforcement officer nor do I have any desire to become one I am merely me, a citizen of a free country who desires to be left alone to take his walks in peace and safety and who realizes that the only thing that truly makes me safe is my own sense of personal vigilance.

Something to Consider

I was reading an outstanding post over at the Anti Idiotarian Rottweiler that led me to another outstanding post from Bill Whittle called Tribes. I want you to go read Tribes and think about it...HARD. Make up your mind where you stand and then, if you're like me, come back and repeat these words from Babylon 5:

"I am Grey. I stand between the candle and the star. We are Grey. We stand between the darkness and the light."

Hey Al

How's that "global warming" working out for you?


H/T Theo Spark

Place Blame Where It Belongs

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I'm no big fan of the way government has been operating. I spend a fair amount of time bitching about it even if I don't think anyone cares. I'm no fan of Obama or his administration and I don't trust Congress any further than I could throw the Capitol Dome.

Take a look at what they have done, they are slowly but surely neutering the military, which happens under every Democratic administration. They run around expanding government and spending tons of money that the country doesn't have. New bureaucracies and higher tax burdens for all. A nation bleeding jobs at a rate never before seen. Agencies of the alphabet soup variety out of control and looking in all the wrong places in the name of political correctness not actually looking where they should be. There certainly is a lot to complain about and as responsible citizens in a Constitutional Republic, we should be complaining very loudly and very clearly. Silence will not be our friend in this.

But:

Having said all of that, We the People seriously need to take a breath here.

I think it is very probable that Obama is NOT eligible to be the President according to the Constitution. Ya know what? None of the courts are going to deal with that. Not now and sadly, probably not ever. I know, it sucks, it weakens the nation to allow a usurper to stay in office. But it is what it is.

All that stimulus money? Not too much we can do about that, it's pretty much spent. Pork and all. I honestly do not know if the next congress could change that or not, if they can and don't then there should be hell to pay over it.

Health Care....Obamacare....Pelosicare...whatever you want to call it. This can still be stopped if we stay on those damn representatives and keep writing and calling and reminding them how much we hate it. Should it pass, it should result in the immediate impeachment of every senator or representative that voted for it and all 50 states should pass resolutions against it. I think you know how I feel about Health Care and if you don't, read Still Trying.

Cap and Trade could be the final nail in the coffin of this nation's economy and must not be allowed.

Yes, there is a lot to complain about and much work to be done if we are to save the greatest nation on Earth from falling into darkness. But we have to do 2 very important things in order to be successful.

1. Get our facts straight. If you're going to bitch, bitch with as much accurate information as possible. Liberals argue with emotions and feelings, we have to argue with facts as they are so much harder to refute.

2. Place the blame where it belongs. If you're going to point fingers, make sure you point at the right source.

I'll even add a third. Pick your battles. If you're going to flood your elected officials with letters, do so with issues that can or will be dealt with. The Obama birth thing is a dead issue right now..Health care is very much an issue. Getting Congress to look into and possibly overturn the recent Executive Order that gives Interpol so much power in the US is an issue. Write on these, leave the stuff that can't or won't be dealt with lay.

So, with all of that as ground work, I come (finally) to the point. Yes, TSA is useless. No, TSA should not be unionized. Yes, TSA should be commanded to look for actual threats and stop being politically correct about it.

NO, TSA should not be blamed for the Christmas underwear bomber. That guy didn't board that aircraft at an airport under TSA jurisdiction. The guy boarded the aircraft in Amsterdam. Maybe he was on a watch list, or a no-fly list but it is pretty obvious that the people in Amsterdam didn't know that....and who's fault is that? There is where the national finger needs to point. TSA does do a lot wrong, but this time, it wasn't all their fault.

Nice Surprise

It would appear that I have been linked by another blog. I was going over some of my sitemeter stats and I found traffic coming from a blog called Coordinated Illumination so I went over to see what was what. Any blog that has a beautiful photograph of the USS New Jersey up top gets an automatic nod from me, so go take a look.

Still Trying

Well, I wrote my Congresscritter today and asked him to stay out of healthcare. Too bad he's a socialist. I wonder if they fully understand the stakes involved here? You see, there are many out there who believe that a civil war is looming on the horizon. Indeed, while I still fervently pray I will never see such a horror in my lifetime, I am afraid that I too hear the beating of the war drums in the distance.

I know that many believe that the final trigger will be a gun control related issue. That the government will have the BATFEieio go just a touch too far. I believe that the trigger is going to be healthcare. You see, people seem to have forgotten that one of the provisions of obambicare is that all citizens....excuse me, subjects, WILL purchase healthcare as provided by the regime. No matter that this violates ALL of the founding documents of this country, you will do it if you know what's good for you and if you don't, then they fine you. If you don't pay the fine, it's 5 years in prison.

Let's look at that final statement one more time. If you don't buy their healthcare and you don't pay the fine, you go to prison. Take a moment and digest that folks because that will be the trigger point on the next civil war.

Imagine will you? It's 2 AM and you're all snug in your bed when suddenly, the door explodes inwards and government thugs enter to take you off to the gulag because you haven't paid your fines for refusing to purchase the blatantly unconstitutional mandated healthcare. Do you really think that every person they try this on is going to go without putting up a fight? What exactly do you think is going to happen when the thugs kick in someone's door and exterminate the family dog in the kitchen? It's 2 AM, you were just sleeping. How many of you, out of pure reflex, are going to go for the handgun on the nightstand? Since these thugs usually wear black and conceal their faces behind masks, how many of you are going to be able to identify them in time to stop yourself from blowing their jackbooted asses straight to hell? Can you say instant firefight?

Now wait just one minute more and picture this in your mind if you will. How many of you are going to be sitting there waiting for them? After the first few arrests, how many people do they think they're actually going to take by surprise? How long do you think it will be before this really and truly descends to a true civil war with all of it's attendant bloodshed and horror? Is this both gloomy and horrifying? You better damn well bet it is. It won't get too much more horrifying than this.

We still have a chance to stop this madness from becoming more than something to worry about. Stay on your elected officials. Don't let them forget for a second that this nation is supposed to be governed by We the People and We the People are really tired of the crap that's happening in Washington DC. Never stop, never rest because I fear that the very fate of our Republic is in grave danger and the final kill shot to liberty will not be the bang of a government thug's weapon being fired at a citizen, but the silence of those that lacked the courage to speak.

Merry Christmas

A Christmas Poem for All Americans

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!"
"Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light,
Then he sighed and he said, "It's really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam,
And now it's my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile."

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white and blue. . . an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother
who stand at the front against any and all,
to ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.
So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son"
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Michael Marks
December 7, 2000

H/T Smalles Minority

Oh My

You have probably seen the video of the house that synchronized it's Christmas lights to the music of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Have you ever wondered what it would look like if an entire neighborhood did it? Theo Spark has posted the answer.

Thoughts

So, it's the Winter Solstice, I hope it's a happy one for those who follow that path. In fact, no matter what spiritual path you follow, I wish joy and happiness to you and your family for this Christmas Season. If you must travel, arrive and return in safety and with a minimum of stress.

I Couldn't Agree More

I found this video in my daily surfing and I thought I would share it with all of you. I'm glad to see a main stream news source actually come out and say this.