Liberal Gun Guy

It's Patriot's Week... Again...

2019-04-17T14:59:00.001-05:00

I dread this week EVERY. YEAR. 

Concerns and alerts for copycats, follow-ons, protest actions, and other criminal activities come out, have to be tracked and vetted, and lead to publicized activity. Today, tens of thousands of school children were kept home as the result of a fangirl from Florida (really, "A Florida Woman" was involved?). She went to Colorado as part of a roadtrip to commemorate the 1999 Columbine Shooting... with a shotgun...

This week would be sunshine and moonbeams if it weren't for some of the asshats who have popped into the timeline. Our nation's history kicked into high gear with events in Massachusetts nearly 250 years ago. And now every Tom, Dick, and Adolf wants to get in on the act. They have turned Patriot's Day (and Week) into a shitshow of anti-government, white-supremacist, and worship of teen angst. 

The Story So Far

1775: April 19 - The Battles of Lexington and Concord - remembered by most of us as the opening shots in our Revolution; Remembered by 3%ers and other miscreants who purposefully misremember history as the rallying point behind which we once overthrew the yoke of tyranny... and we can do so again... 

Just your regular, everyday militia members wearing bullshit gear, having done bullshit training, and believing in, you guessed it, bullshit. (photo PBS)

1889: April 20 - Birthday of a certain person with a tiny mustache, a penchant for blaming the problems of his country on an entire segment of the population (and later murdering them), and the target of lampooning by british comedians. Some of his followers are referred to later as "really nice people" by an American President.

1985: April 19 - Siege of The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord begins in Arkansas; The CSA surrenders 2 days later. White supremacists, Christian Identity, AND anti-government? From an organization with the initials "CSA"... hunh... never would have guessed.

1993: April 19 - Siege of the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas, ends. 

1995: April 19 - Murrah Federal Building Bombing in OKC. This event led me to begin following and studying the related subjects of White Supremacy, Christian Identity belief, and anti-government activity more than anything else. I had stayed in OKC just a couple nights before this happened and I wanted to understand why.  

1999: April 20 - Columbine - I could have been one of these kids in another life - on both sides of it. I knew kids like the shooters. One of my best friends has kids who have graduated/will be graduating from Columbine. This date ALWAYS ratchets up her blood pressure. 

2000: April 22 - Elian Gonzalez Raid - A surprisingly large number of anti-government activists look to this event as Federal overreach, an evil government interfering in parental/family rights, and the last gasp of the Clintons kowtowing to a Communist Cuba (seriously? we are still worried about the evils of Communism?). It's not as if we would want another country to return a child removed from America or anything... 

2007: April 16 - VA Tech shooting. Yes, Virginia, there are shooters on college campuses. 

2013: April 15 - Boston Marathon Bombing; Bomber killed 4 days later. Take note - this is the only thing on this list that doesn't involve Christian Americans. Yes, I am using the term "Christian" loosely... but it stands out. Oh, and before you call me out on Item Two on this list, check some of his current followers... especially those who showed up in Charlottesville...

I still don't get it. 
I really want to, but I don't understand. I really wish I did. Then we could move towards working on these issues...

May this week be quiet.

It's Not Achmed

2016-09-29T21:15:00.000-05:00

No, he doesn't actually look like me...
except for the chromosomes...
and the pigmentation...

The Issue At Hand

Again. It's not Achmed I worry about.

And, for the first time, I feel I need to add I'm not worried about Jamaal - I only use that name as it is likely Black/Urban/African-American enough that "not-racist" racists will get the point.

I am worried about the pissed-off white guy who looks like me. The guy who doesn't like the direction the country is headed and worries about "what it's going to be like in 18 years". The mechanic who plans to join a militia and states, in no uncertain terms, there will be a revolution to take the country back when "your patriots overthrow the government" after HRC is elected.

A Faulty Premise

OK, First: Take it from what? Or from whom? No one took anything from you.

You handed it over in a gift-wrapped package when you decided the you wanted to be afraid of a world that didn't look like the one portrayed on Leave It To Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan's Island, or The Brady Bunch.

You tied the bow as soon as you didn't want to acknowledge there was change occurring around you.

The problem with the worlds created for these shows is that they are one-dimensional. I'm not talking about the empty building fronts and thin plots. I am talking about the lack of interaction between people of color and the main characters. Each of these shows creates a false universe from the viewer's perspective. The main characters are all white, straight, and unoffensive.

Few characters smoke or drink and no one has bodily functions beyond eating. Sex is right out. Sexy can be OK, though, but not too much (just ask Ginger). Even those with problematic traits (Otis on Andy Griffith, for example) are seen as lovable comic relief figures and are treated with patience by all.

The Brady Bunch's Peter meets sportsball star Deacon Jones.
Peter is not frightened because Fox News hasn't begun broadcasting.
(That and Deacon Jones was forced to wear a cardigan sweater)

This artificial world has the camera looking at a specific view - and it is not the view from the other side of the tracks. You know, the side of the tracks where 'they' know 'they' need to stay - because that is where 'their' churches, schools, stores, restaurants, bars, and homes are located. And that world doesn't leave much room for non-white role models. Well, there are the Harlem Globetrotters... but they fall outside of this made-up world. They are part of the real world. The public world.

So, in this artificially produced world, there are a few speaking roles for people who aren't white. There is one in Leave It To Beaver (a maid), one on The Andy Griffith Show (a football coach), three on Gilligan's Island (a Hawaiian cast as a Pacific Islander, an American Indian cast as a Pacific Islander, and a Japanese/Hawaiian cast as an Asian Indian - not counting any of the later one-offs), and three on The Brady Bunch (sportsball star Deacon Jones and two children - Asian- and African-American adoptees). Even I Dream of Jeannie cast a Burmese actor as an Arab. (if I missed any - please let me know!)
 
Not the minority you were looking for... 
Italian-American Vito Scotti playing a Japanese Sailor on Gilligan

There are minorities if you look hard enough, but they are cast as set dressing with only a handful of speaking parts. There are no interactions outside of crowd scenes (so long as they stay to the back) and occasional nods of recognition. There are no issues with someone trying to drink from the wrong fountain, go to the wrong movie theater, try to get your hair cut at Floyd's, or sit in at the Five and Dime. There is no friction, no protest, no MLK, much less BLM. 

At least those hippies on Scooby Doo and The Partridge Family came into contact with minorities... Scooby and the gang encountered minorities as both good guys and bad guys - and as white guys in costumes. The Partridges were really inclusive. They had people of color AND non-Christians... They even showed up in Detroit to help out Lou Gossett and Richard Pryor (with the help of the Black Panthers). 

The Times, They Are a'Changing (Maybe)There are still issues with how television hasn't changed much. For a long time, the minority roles were often the main family portrayed as "all-Americans" - The Cosby Show, The Jeffersons, etc. Not much room for a modern day Chico and the Man or Sanford and Son. There are some outliers with Modern Family, Glee, and others. Surprisingly (or not), the Disney Channel may be one of the best in this area as they recognize the marketing need to be more inclusive. I won't even touch blackface/whitewashing here as others have covered that far better than I could. 
Wizened Elder AND Environmental Activist 

Either way, I can't help but think that this mental creation of a pre-racial America can only come from the segregated world of popular TV. In other words, a world in which minorities are seen and not heard. It was a world with no BLM. A world in which American Indians were seen as a lost people, at worst, or wizened elders and environmental activists, at best. A world in which everyone went to the same church. 

We all were good citizens. Authority had a purpose. Order was there for a reason. Alphas were better than Betas. In many ways (and as a parent), I see parallels to the Isle of Sodor, a place where anything other than solid, serious, diligent work and putting order first results in "Chaos and Delay." 
And how would Sir like his Topham Hatt? 
This is a world in which everyone could be happy and have little in the way of strife and disagreement. A world in which we didn't have to ask, "Can't we all just get along?" Because we were already getting along.

The Reasoned Response... no, wait... the Opposite of ThatBut just in case we aren't getting along and it appears that someone is trying to change the camera placement, I can think of no better way to fix it..., er, defend the Constitution... than to have an armed insurrection. It's not like there is a mechanism to modify/throw out the Constitution... Oh, wait... that would be Article V... 

And maybe that is the thing. By the clarity of the complaints about how "They" are supposedly destroying the Constitution (in ways that the usual suspects can't actually do things), I can only assume that the militia member, the white supremacist, and the sovereign citizen don't recognize that in order to change things, they have to have a SOLID majority. Nationally. Of course, many sovereign citizens don't believe the current form of government is legitimate. 
Either way, maybe this is part of why the Bundy Family, the 3%ers, the Oathkeepers, and others feel the only way to affect change is to haul out their AR and act offended. They act offended because they do not understand the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and History. They act offended because their view of the world is incorrect, based on a one-dimensional view.

The Future of the Country 
As for where the country will be in 18 years, I expect a white guy will be back in the White House. I expect that the Black Lives Matter movement will no longer be active. I expect that activism, in general, will have moved along. Animal rights, nuclear energy, guns, save the [insert animal here], global warming, any variety of human rights issue. I expect that there won't be much protest. It should be nice and quiet. 

(At this point, our mechanic friend in Georgia should stop reading) 
I expect that these protests won't be as active because the problems they are protesting will have greatly gone away as we have progressed as a society. Racial/gender equality is much less of an issue because we are People. Our power is greatly renewable. Guns - while not outlawed - are fewer in number and no longer constitutionally protected. It won't be the world of Demolition Man, but that's a good thing, that is unless you like the idea of Denis Leary running through the streets naked with green Jell-O all over his body reading Playboy magazine... 
Denis Leary Ranting because Reasons

The last dregs of the Baby Boomers will be dropping out of power positions. 
The Gen Xers in Congress will be the old guard, attempting to work fixes until Gen Y gets in to place. 
And Gen Z will be bitching about whatever 20- and 30-somethings will be bitching about in two decades. 

And, of course, I expect the White guy in the White House will be gay. And no one will give a rat's ass. I also expect he will be married to an immigrant from Columbia (or Mexico, or Korea, or maybe even Croatia). 

Of course, he still won't be able to be an Atheist because reasons... 

 

Editorial Restraint

2016-09-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

Part 1 - In Which I Recognize My Limits

For regular readers of my Facebook feed (Because I know this blog is anything but regular...), you may be wondering why I have recently covered Kaepernick, the Election, LGBTQ issues, Anti-Islamic sentiment, minority rights, and women's rights issues and NOT DAPL (other than the one link related to something totally different but in the same vein), the reason is simple.

I don't feel qualified to do so.

Part 2 - In Which I Place Matters Into Context

While an ally of the tribal members attempting to safeguard their heritage and history (two different things) while protecting their (and our) environment, I do not feel comfortable speaking to the issues as a whole.
Why? because I am a white guy in the West. I have spent most of my adult life within a short drive of various tribal lands - Northern Arizona, El Paso, Montana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and now Arkansas. I have seen people treat tribal members poorly. A much more ignorant me treated tribal members poorly once upon a time.
With time has come the knowledge and respect of the various cultures and the importance of giving them the right of refusal regarding corporate work on tribal lands.

Part 3 - In Which You Find Out The Upshot

I will say I support the collective voice of any tribe when someone attempts to take the tribe somewhere it does not want to go. I support their right to control what occurs on tribal lands. I support the right of activists to prevent damage to their sites of importance - religious, historical, and archaeological.
I do know that as a white guy in the West, I do have a voice. I also know that I am far enough from tribal politics that I should censor myself for fear of misspeaking and saying something that is culturally insensitive.

And so I leave it to You, Dear Reader

I have many friends who are tribally-affiliated or have worked with the tribes across this country. I will let their voices speak loudly and clearly as I know that my own voice will not add clarity.
Now. Go and Speak.

Missing Things

2016-05-31T22:04:00.000-05:00

Wow... this has been an intense few weeks...

After finally allaying the fears of my friends that something was wrong, I started to slowly dip my toe back into the pool of Facebook. It was a good, albeit weird, few weeks. I stepped back, took a few breaths, and realized that I don't have to do Facebook. Especially at the level I had been Facebooking. Keep in mind that I am someone who - for several years - had been telling friends in the museum field, "You HAVE GOT to be on Facebook!"

What an ass.

You don't have to be on Facebook. You don't have to be on any social media if you don't want to. Yes, these things can help to get certain things done. But they are tools. Tools have purposes. They vary from platform to platform. They vary from user to user. Figure out what you want and then use it.

Once I got over that, I relaxed a bit. I now log in, look around, like, comment, maybe post, and then log out. I can get more done of other things now. Yet I get to stay in contact with those who are important to me (Sometimes that contact takes the shape of simply lurking your posts).

That doesn't sound so intense!

Only because it's not.

It was/is everything else. I would say nothing much, and then I stand back and look at the whole. I am feeling that the big exhale is coming up but that is just because I feel like I have been holding my breath for the last few weeks.

Something that has been a spectre during this time of year is the anniversary of my mom's passing. We lost her to ALS four years ago (until recently, my most-viewed blog). As close as I was to her, I felt that I was dealing well. Until this year. There have been a few moments these past few months when I caught myself finally realizing I miss my mom. So with the anniversary coming up, there are thoughts. Time does not heal all wounds. Good huevos rancheros help. That or magnums of Berenger while eating taco chips...

Compounding this was the passing of our cat, Merley (мурлыкать). We had this little guy for most of 20 years. He was the youngest of our '50 pounds of cat'. Merley allowed us to live in his house for the last six years, having lost his buddies Caramel and Tigger to diabetes and cancer.

As much as they were all our cats, Merley was mine. I was the one who brought him into the house the first time. I named him, I was the one whose lap he went to. When I moved to the new job in November, he came with me as my roommate (well, he and the fish). He was the only thing that got me through living alone for two months. He was my little buddy. He flopped on my chest. He groomed my beard. He woke us at all hours with what one friend referred to as "The Cry of the Demon Cat." And he was my furry little buddy.

The last couple of weeks saw age catch up with him. One night last week, Merley passed away in his sleep. He is now somewhere annoying Caramel and Tigger with his pouncing and cuddling. But I can still hear him messing around in the house. That or we think of the doors we no longer have to close, the litter box that is no longer in the way, or the food and water we no longer have to refill. It's the small things, but that still fails to lessen the hurt.

While this was going on, my soccer fandom expanded by one team. Through watching John Green's FIFA 16 series playing the Wimbly Womblys, I was introduced to the story of AFC Wimbledon. With all of the attention on Leicester's rise from near relegation to champion of the Premiership, AFC Wimbledon's tale has received short shrift.

Fourteen years ago, the local community created AFC Wimbledon in response to the previous home club being moved to the town of Milton Keynes (46 miles as the crow flies). Starting with tryouts in the city park, the locals took pride in their 'phoenix' club. Starting in the 9th tier of the English Football League System, the Dons were promoted 5 times in 9 seasons. Finally arriving in League Two of the Football League, they saw a few rough seasons, near relegation, and a brilliant run of great play this past season.

Two weeks ago, AFC Wimbledon finished their regular season in 7th place on the table. This qualified them for a four-team playoff to determine the final club to be promoted to League One. After a win and a draw against Accrington Stanley, they received a date with Plymouth Argyle at Wembley Stadium. FREAKING Wembley Stadium. A club with a home grounds capacity of 4,850 (half standing) playing on a pitch surrounded by 90,000 seats...

@malls_co @johngreen @AFCWimblyWombly Nerdfighters singing he's big, he's round. And Akinfenwa scoring. Coincidence? pic.twitter.com/ujJzJ3R76Z
— Klara (@chestofbooks) May 31, 2016

This week, the club formed in 2002 beat Plymouth Argyle 2-0 and earned their promotion to the same league with the MK Dons - the team that used to be the team from Wimbledon. Being in the States, I had no easy way to watch the match. Twitter and several news feeds gave me the lowdown - but I still yelled out when Lyle Taylor scored - eliciting a "Daaaaaaad!!!" from TheGirl - and sang John Green's "Akenfenwa" song after the PK in 90'+10', laughing and crying as I did so. John Green - the guy who piqued my interest in the club was at the match and shared his experience in his vlog. At the end, I again started laughing and crying.

The Upshot

With the downs come a few ups.

I guess that is the point here. Nothing about guns. Nothing about being a liberal. Nothing about history - well except that bit about the Dons and their phoenix-like rise from the ashes.

This has been a weird Spring. Some house cleaning - mental and otherwise. Some drama - at home, online, in the world.

But there is good. Good for all of us. We just have to look for it. It doesn't just show up. Don't be lazy. Be active in seeking it out. Huevos rancheros, kitty hugs, or Cinderella stories. Be welcome to shed tears.

Just make sure to look for and embrace the happy.

Schrödinger's Social Media

2016-05-09T15:39:00.002-05:00

Leaving Facebook (without actually leaving...)

So.

A few weeks ago, I left Facebook. Well, I didn't. But I did.

After many, many years of being on Facebook (July 2, 2008), I think I am good with stepping away.

And, yes, I know some of my friends and family have called it ‘Davebook’ in the past - and for good reason. I am a chronic Facebook poster, sharer, over-sharer, linker, liker, etc. I have maintained a few pages related to my personal interests and politics. I created and managed a group related to Military Music. I connected and reconnected with people I have worked with, grew up with, and played with (music, games, whatever). And now I think I am good.

Now. What's all this about NOT actually leaving...

Well, several things came up as I was thinking about getting away from Facebook. Part of this is tied to Facebook's insane hold over EVERYTHING on the internet. Whether it is UPS or gaming sites, signing in via Facebook will get you in the door. So there is that.

The main reason is I don't want to lose contact with my people. Yes, I said 'My People'. Most of the people on my page are people who want to come into contact with me - or at least are willing to put up with my nonsense. And by nonsense, I mean anything from Star Wars to video games to K-Pop to politics.

There are some people I have only known through Facebook. I am closer to some of these people than people I have known since childhood. One of these close friends recently posted the following:

So do you all have "sacred" people?

I know. That sounds weird.

But what I mean is, there's family. There are friends. But beyond those levels of intimacy, there are a select few people who could do no wrong you would find unforgivable. People you're intensely protective of and loyal to. Yes? No?

Is there a term for that? Love is insufficient. I've thought a lot about this, over the years. Despite my lack of religious leanings, the best word I've come up with is sacred.

A number of these folks have become my sacred people. Several of them know who they are. That said, yes, I am Terry. You can be Wayne or you can be Garth. I won't judge.

So, why are you leaving then?

There are a few reasons.

Primarily, Facebook itself, and my inability to not browse, comment, link, browse, link some more... wash, rinse, repeat. I will be the first to admit I have a bad case of FOMO. But then I also have the insufferable need to tell everyone what I have learned. That and I have limited self control. Basically, I am a monkey with clothes and no tree to live in. I am working on that. I put a down payment on a tree.

A second reason is that it is getting mean. Not just run-of-the-mill mean. This is getting to be a full-bore, GIFT-esque assault on anyone who even slightly disagrees with you. I have seen otherwise sane people turn into complete asshats for the simplest reasons. I used to be one of those people. A friend called me on it. I thought I was being funny but I realized I was being a dick. I am tired of calling people on it. I'm not a cop and I am done thinking I need to be a referee (online, anyway).

Finally, I am looking for a change. I am getting rid of the comfort. As I was thinking about why I wanted to get away from FB, I came across this video from Linn/Darbin Orvar, one of my fave YouTubers. She states it much better than I feel I could.

There are other reasons - Not wanting to filter yet not wanting to offend; Disappointment with humanity; Election malaise... But nothing I need to go in to here (at least right now). In general, I feel I can't be who I want to be online.

So what HAVE you been doing?

Work, mostly. Coaching soccer. Playing a variety of games. Getting to know western Arkansas.

My online socialising has seen me getting more into Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr (links below). My online education has seen me going to YouTube, picking one topic, and letting it roll from one video to the next. Ted Talks one day, Video Game Design another. Soccer Laws of the Game; K-Pop; Prop Modeling; Carpentry; Gaming...

It is amazing what you can get done while listening to people who know more than you about a subject.

The Upshot:

Less stress. I feel like I have time for other things. It's not interfering with other aspects of my life. I don't feel like I have to check my phone every five minutes to see what is going on. I take more of an active role in what is going on around me. I get to realize that there are other things I can do other than scrolling interminably through a newsfeed of what Facebook wants me to see - not the newsfeed I want.

To top it off, I get to do all of this without feeling like I am missing out on the latest 'big thing'.

The downside is that I don't feel as if I am involved in the lives of my friends out there in the big blue world. From Atlanta to Portland - with side trips to Canada and Europe - many of my favorite people are only accessible through FaceBook. I now miss their lives. And I am sad.

So. If you want to contact me but you are not currently a friend on Facebook (I won't be accepting friend requests for the foreseeable future), You can reach me at the following:

Twitter
Instagram
Tumblr
Snapchat (mtkgamer)

And for all of you - be good to each other. It's a short life. Don't piss it away.

Liberal Gun Stores

2016-02-01T15:09:00.000-06:00

I just responded to someone who had a question for me: 

"Are there any Liberal Gun Shops you know of?"

The short answer: No.

The long answer: Yes, but you will never find them. 

As with a number of the folks - People on the Political Left who like our guns - I learned a long time ago that there are times it is better just to bite my lip, nod, and say, "Yep, you got that right." or similar when someone refers to how "Libtards", "Hillary and all of those other lesbians in government", and "Obummer" are ruining America.

Why did I suck it up? Well, a wife and two kids... and a job that was GREATLY tied to the firearms world (Lots of gun show trips - including to the Shot Show). I lost track of the number of conversations I was party to in which I had to hear comments suggesting armed insurrection, assassination of government officials, guns buried in back yards, etc., ad nauseum. About as far as I went was to reply to chain emails with, "You know, that story doesn't sound totally accurate... You might want to doublecheck that..." 

As a case in point of what can happen, I offer Dan Cooper of Montana. Mr. Cooper started his company in Stevensville, Montana, building custom bolt-action firearms that most shooters can't afford. If you read the history of the company, you will notice a change in ownership in 2009. This change in ownership came as a result of Cooper making the conscious decision to support a political campaign. The kicker is that he donated to the presidential campaign of then-Senator Barack Obama. 

When this became public knowledge, the company was inundated with phone calls, faxes, emails, and letters demanding that Cooper be separated from the company he started (and that most of these people had never heard of and would not buy from in the first place). 

There is also the case of Jim Zumbo, but I will let you research that one yourself. 

So. What does this have to do with the question? 

Only everything. 

As a result of the gun community's willingness to eat their own, Liberal-leaning folks in the gun business have to keep it on the down-low. If you come out of the closet, so-to-speak, you threaten your own success. 

After leaving the gun position I had, I mentioned my thinking to a few friends who were still in the business. They agreed with me that if the secret had gotten out, I would likely have lost my job. From one friend: "No doubt. You would have been gone in a heartbeat." 

So as for Liberal Gun Shops? They are there. You just don't know it. And they won't tell you. You can make a good guess, though. Go visit some places and look around. 

Warning Signs:

Do you see any pictures of the President with a Hitler mustache? 
How about a target reticle on his head? 
or in some sort of Middle-Eastern costume? 
How about targets with non-descript Middle-Eastern men on them?
Targets with Democratic politicians on them (including the sitting President)?
Confederate Flags? 
Tea Party ("Don't Tread on Me") flags? 
Racist jokes about the president taped to the counter or posted on the bulletin board?
Misogynist jokes about Hillary Clinton taped to the counter or posted on the bulletin board?

Now. If there is a lack of these, it may infer a lack of Conservative leaning. However, a store with a lot of this may be attempting to overcompensate. You will have to be the judge. Just keep in mind that regardless of the owner's politics, most of the staff and most of the clientele will not be voting a straight-ticket for the Democrats. So if you drive up in a Prius with a Hope sticker on the bumper while wearing a 'Feel the Bern' shirt and making comments deriding the Stars-and-Bars behind the counter, prepare to be given a hard time, refused service and told to leave, or even escorted off for trespassing. You are the enemy to a lot of these folks and part of why their country is having problems. 

Or you can just go to Cabela's or Bass Pro and avoid all of the overt politics (while having to endure walking past the Southern Kitsch decorations).

Before You Hit Enter...

2015-05-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

While checking one of my favorite webcomics, Terminal Lance (not for the faint of heart), I was reminded of the two ways people seem to celebrate this weekend.

Drunken barbarian or keyboard-enabled douchenozzle? You decide!

As a result, I would like to offer a small suggestion/request.

Even though this is Memorial Day weekend, and not "drunken-gorge-myself-on-hot-dogs-and-cheeseburgers" weekend, please refrain from spending a passive-aggressive weekend on Facebook trying to make people feel bad because of the following:

they did not serve in the military,
people died in uniform somewhere,
someone wants to actually enjoy their time with family and friends,
Someone in our government, another country, or both "hates the flag", or
'Murica

Please DO remember. Simply that. You don't have to feel bad about it. You don't need to make others feel bad about it. Just remember that someone else (who likely had no intention to do so) gave their life in the service of their country. I bet most of them would think it is awesome that someone is eating a cheeseburger on a back porch instead of carrying a rifle somewhere overseas. I would also bet that they would not think it is awesome that you are sharing your internalized guilt by making others feel bad.

While I was in the Army, I never went to war. I never went overseas. I never carried a weapon except in training. The closest I got to hazardous duty was one gig we played in New Jersey (I wish that was a joke).

I did participate in more memorial ceremonies than I would care to count. I get it. I have seen what we are remembering. I have seen the families, the friends, the fellow service members, the survivors. They remember much more than they want to.

This weekend, shoulder a little of that for them.

Pedantistry

2014-11-14T11:11:00.000-06:00

Is that a word?

No, but it should be.

Intersections

My last post mentioned some of my interests. Based on the title of the page (and this post and this post) you can guess I am into guns, as well. I'm also into cars. I'm not a gearhead or grease monkey, by any means. I just like cars.

Well, I like cars I can't afford. And I like listening to bumbling, sarcastic Brits prattling on about said cars I can't afford. So, naturally, I watch Top Gear.

And while Jeremy Clarkson may take the piss out of James May for getting overly pedantic regarding cars, engineering, physics, and design, it is entertaining because they DO IT TO BE ENTERTAINING. They are in on the joke. They expect you to be in on the joke. They expect the audience to understand the humor of a scraggly-haired car nerd at a white board describing the innards of a hovercraft.

Another example of Top Gear acknowledging their personal foibles is Clarkson going on about power, speed, and guns in his exuberant, pseudo-jingoistic manner (imagine a twelve-year-old with a monster truck fitted with rocket launchers and you will have a good idea).

Where I come to the point

So, I happen across a Top Gear video of Clarkson and May racing sport wagons on a biathlon course because of course they will. As part of this race, they do the shooting element of the course, firing the prone targets from inside the back of the car because of course they will. Clarkson, however, forgoes the standard Anschutz for a Heckler & Koch MP5 submachinegun because of course he does.

Let the theatrics commence. I can wait.

I showed the video to a friend. This led to questions about biathlon rifles. This led to biathlon, itself. I then happened across a great video produced by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Featuring Annelies Cook from the US biathlon team, the video shows a typical biathlon rifle and the use of it, including the unslinging and slinging (watch all of the various manual checks and manipulation a of covers). There is some awesome footage of the shooters, proper form, and discussions of how they do what they do.

Really good stuff there.

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here...

A mantra of mine regarding YouTube:

do not read the comments.

After viewing this video, I accidentally neglected my mantra. And this one time, it was gold.

Gun Guys in the audience will recognize some incorrect usage (clips, bullets, shells, and the like). As can be expected, some of "those guys" make an appearance on the comments lamenting the use of perceived incorrect terminology, America's lackluster biathlon performance in the Olympics, and what can only be described as a cross between "kids these days" and "get off my lawn!"

One of my fave Gun Guys - Steve Fjestad from Blue Book Publications

During my time as the Curator of the Cody Firearms Museum, one of my favorite activities was talking to Gun Guys. One of my least favorite activities was talking to Gun Guys...

The following dialogue from the YouTube comments on the Biathlon video (screen-capped for posterity) made my day. It involves BOTH types of gun guys.

David W. is my new Hero of the Interwebz.

He used his wittiness, knowledge, and snark to defend against the demons of pedantistry. As another associated the woman's use of firearms terminology with reasons behind how America sucks at biathlon, David W. kept his calm and poked the troll in such a manner that he started using all sorts of unrelated arguments (the supposed wealth of Olympians, his military experience, and the use of the word 'Libtard' - the hallmark of all well-planned defenses).

David W. won the internet.

In search of a common language

While watching this discourse, I began to ask myself why we cannot progress beyond this argument of pedantic terminology. I remember getting into arguments about this more than three decades ago - as a GRADE SCHOOLER!

I think we are at a point in the shooting world at which we can recognize that language is malleable. Language changes. Language moves. Language bends. Language becomes new.

Yes. A magazine and a clip are, pedantically, two different things.

Yes. A bullet and a shell and a cartridge are all different things.

But people (most people) use them interchangeably. Most of us (students of firearms history and related esoterica) prevent ourselves from getting the vapors when we hear someone describe how they load bullets into a clip. We stop ourselves from hollering at people "It's a Magazine!!!"

You should too.

2014-10-31T09:19:00.001-05:00

So. I have lots of interests...

Here is another: Theater

Some of my earliest musical experiences involved pit bands for two different high school productions of Fiddler on the Roof and a run of Guys and Dolls (I can still say almost all of the lines along with either). One of my sisters was in Oklahoma and a couple other shows. Throw on the usual attendances at Shakespeare productions and a viewing of the 1980s televised production of Mister Roberts and you have someone who has a healthy respect for the stage. I haven't had a chance to tread the boards, yet, but there is always time.

Favors

So.

Something that comes out of knowing people and letting them in on who you are is the opportunities that arise when you share mutual interests.

Some folks I know have been involved in the local theater for quite a while. And, as you likely know, I work at a museum. In the name of cooperation and mutually beneficial partnership, we partnered with the theater to run a production of The Rainmaker. As a known nerd of the music, A/V, and technology variety, I was asked to run the PA as a favor.

A couple great weeks later and I was hooked (and a known entity).

Down the Rabbit Hole

I don't even think it was a month later I received a phone call asking if I was free over the dates of a run of August: Osage County. After checking my schedule (poorly, as it turned out) and with my better half, I accepted.

Two weeks into my participation - a week of tech runs and 4 of the 6 performances - and I definitely see more involvement in the future.

The Upshot

During this last two weeks, I compiled a list of observations (see number 7). Take from them what you will. Keep in mind that I am an outsider starting to move inside. Catch me in a year and I may take issue with some of this myself.

The play (like the book) is often better than the movie.
Spending three hours in a dark room isn't the best thing to do if you are tired...
No two performances are the same.
No two audiences are the same.
Forgetting to unmute an audio channel is only funny after it is fixed...
Watching the WHOLE CAST eat fried chicken and apple pie during the whole run while you watch them from the booth brings on an interesting response...

Sorry. This is the only pic you get - no GIFs for you!

Sixteen pages without a light or audio cue make Dave a dull boy...
It's pretty cool being in the category of "Authorized Person"
It's neat when you receive the head tilt people give when they learn that you do this and they never suspected.
It's fun to watch actors relearn a part on the stage as they interact with the space, lights, and audience
Watching actors pick themselves up when they realize they borked a cue, line, or mark can be a good light on their character.
Watching audience members attempt to sneak in after a missed intermission also shine light on their character...

So.

All in all, it has been a fun couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to more.

Manliness and California

2014-05-28T00:19:00.000-05:00

OK. I have stayed silent on this long enough.*

I have known too many women who have been the recipient of mistreatment, negative attention, slut-shaming, and harassment, at best; abuse, violence, and rape, at worst. This is not the result of their actions as people. This is the result of the choices of others. These choices deriving from a belief that women should bend to their will and be the object of whatever attention the others choose to give.

I have known too many 'men' who act like this because we are still raised that women are chattel and somehow become our property once we enter into any sort of a relationship. (I use 'men' in quotes simply to denote that I do believe 'manliness' is very much a concept that drives a lot of this behavior)

I am hacked off at any of the attempts I have seen to make it sound like all men are guilt-free because "it wasn't us, it was him" (check out #notallmen on Twitter). Bullshit.

It was us. We may have not pulled the trigger, but it was us who allow others to act this way. The same self-perpetuating nonsense allows white men (of which I am one) to continue to fail to realize that we ARE a privileged group. This is not a case of white guilt, male guilt, or any other guilt. This is an acknowledgement that there are differences within our society - differences in how we are treated.

I have never been singled out by a cop, a clerk, or anyone else because of my skin, my sex, my dress, or my mannerisms. I have never had to be in fear of my safety because someone had any sort of intentions, sexual or otherwise. I never had to worry about how I dressed and how that would make others perceive me other than in a business sense.

I have been guilty of ogling and making assumptions of women due to their dress and actions. I have been guilty of making advances that were unwanted. After reflection, I realized I was in the wrong. That may have been years ago and miles away, but there are still people who still may feel the effects of my actions and words. That is where my guilt lies.

What I can do now is show others that it is not OK to let this slide.

A boy in California (yes, I will call him a boy) was turned down by girls. In response to this, he decided he had to go on a shooting spree.

I know he had issues. I know he needed help. However, despite what some pundits have proposed, he didn't need to get laid - or, interpreted in another way, none of the women in his life needed to give in to his desires and give him what he apparently felt he deserved.

If a woman says she does not want you in that way: Let. It. Go.

If she wants to be 'friends': Be. Her. Friend.

Just because you want something and you do not get it, whether a look, a word, a kiss, a feel, or more, it does not mean she is a bitch, a tease, or any of a number of worse words. She is being a person with every right to control what happens to her being. If you choose to act in a manner that forces her to unwillingly give up this control, you are the one in the wrong.

If you are preventing someone from exercising their control over themselves (or you are enabling this), you are part of the problem. You do not have the right to someones agency. You have not "put in the hours". You have not "earned it".

You only have to acknowledge that the issue may not be with them. The issue may be with you.

Either way, driving around town with a gun and bad intent is not an appropriate response.

* Although I do discuss a male-female power relationship in this post, this type of situation can be present in any type of relationship, whether straight, gay, or otherwise. In all of these relationships, believing others are less can only lead to bad things. All of this article is a poorly-written attempt to straighten out some of this view in my own head. I can't guarantee any logical clarity or simplicity of view.

Mosin-Nagant Humor

2014-03-14T15:49:00.001-05:00

A friend posted me this one from Urban Dictionary:

mosin-nagant

The Mosin-nagant is an old school bolt action rifle from Russia. Originally designed by a drunk Russian engineer and an even more drunk Belgian gunsmith, who drew up blueprints on napkins in the back of a pub somewhere in Siberia in a vodka-induced stupor. The Mosin-nagant fires the 7.62x54r cartridge, which can kill a polar bear at a thousand yards and keep going right through the tree he was standing in front of. The Mosin-nagant was used by the Russians in both world wars, so it's killed more Germans than collisions on the autobahn and under-cooked sauerkraut combined. Surplus Mosins can be found at gunshops in the States for like a hundred bucks on sale, and ammo is cheap surplus, so this is what real men shoot who don't want to drop $1299.99 on an AR-15 which fires a .22 round and that's made out of recycled milk jugs and Legos. Many of them come with a bayonet that's roughly the size of the sword William Wallaceused in Braveheart. In the absence of gun oil, you can clean a Mosin by pissing down the barrel and wiping the bolt off with a dirty rag that you found on the floor in a Grease Monkey. Try that with a rifle that was designed less than 50 years ago.

Joe: " I need a rifle that is ten feet long and fires anti-tank rounds, but Ive only got 200 dollars!"

Ivan: "Amerikan comrade, you need mosin-nagant . Spend 100 on the rifle, fifty on case of ammo, use rest for vodka!"

In Soviet Russia, rifle fire you!!!

by Realmendrinkbeer94 June 19, 2011

I have a SAKO-rebuild that was dropped during the Winter War... nice gun...

Museum Professionals Who Aren't

2014-01-17T10:23:00.000-06:00

One of the concerns across the museum field is the hiring of a person with specialist knowledge for a specialist position - for example, the job I had awhile back as the Curator at the Cody Firearms Museum.

This is a position that requires some specialty knowledge. Yes, the person in that job needs museum experience and understanding of the responsibilities of museum staff. It also needs knowledge of firearms.

Granted, you will find people who can take care of the collection without knowing the subject, but they cannot deal knowledgeably with patrons. They will not know where the collection gaps are. They cannot be a success going out and talking to Rotary about what they do. Positions above and below can do this, but they don't make a living as the subject expert.

The concern comes in when an organization is hiring. The organization needs the specialist. Who typically fits the mold? The enthusiast, the collector, the hoarder? It can be all of the above.

When the right person comes in, great success is had. Friends are made, gifts of money and objects come to the museum, and visitors come away better for the experience. When the wrong person comes in, things look great for awhile, but eventually the bill comes due...

I was reminded of this today when I saw an article out of France... This was a bad hire. Things likely looked tip-top. I'll bet everyone loved him. Granted, I don't know the ins and outs, but we have seen it done here in the US - moon rocks on ebay, guns walking out doors, and other outright thefts are the usual. The big stuff, though, is the use of museum funds to purchase materials for private use (embezzlement).

The case here is pretty bad. Most World War II armored vehicles sell in the range of $40-50,000. Most full-on tanks sell for a $150,000 or more... (And, yes, I know the M18 is not technically a tank...) Add in "arms and jackets" and we are talking something in the realm of $200-300,000 or more...

And people ask why audits are necessary.

As an aside, this also touches on a related subject - and one that can be almost as bad. Sometimes, a collector/museum employee is offered something for the museum that they want for themselves. They refuse the gift, but make an offer to purchase it privately. Don't know about you, but I consider this to be a conflict of interest, at least, and highly unethical... For more on this, take a gander at the American Alliance of Museums' Curatorial Code of Ethics as developed by the Curator's Committee (CurCom). (disclaimer - I was a member of the CurCom board at the time of the Code's creation and I am still on that board at the time of this writing)

Have a great weekend! (and don't embezzle anything from your museum!)

Hot Fun in the Summer

2013-07-11T10:11:00.001-05:00

Ok...

This is awkward... Six months with no post... And the last one was about Christmas music and movies... Nice.

I can make some excuses about why I haven't posted about Colorado's 30-round magazine ban (boo), Illinois finally allowing concealed carry (yay), or nonsensical political posturing on both sides of other attempts to (de)regulate gun ownership or use (double boo).

I'll get there, but a lot of my time lately has involved blowing up armored vehicles, taking over the world, or catching up on various TV shows on Netflix...

I have also been trying to hook up other professional opportunities... This August, I will FINALLY get a chance to expand my one day "firearms and museums" presentation.

Thanks to an invite from the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies in Illinois, I will teach a three-day class in firearms conservation. This is intended for museum professionals and related folks, but can fit just as well for collectors.

If the course description doesn't do it for you, feel free to look at the instructor's LinkedIn profile...

I understand that it may seem a bit expensive, but there is lots of good stuff in the class. If you have questions, give me a holler or shout at the folks at the Campbell Center!

Cheers! (and I'll try not to be such a stranger...)

All Things Christmassy

2012-12-24T17:03:00.000-06:00

Is that a word?

Even given the insanity that was the NRA's response to Newtown, I can't bring myself to comment on it at this time. Instead, I will focus on the season and a conversation at work this last week.

As with a lot of folks, we had a Christmas potluck at work. During it, we had a discussion of favorite Christmas music, movies, etc. A few of my choices were out there and a bit non-traditional. In order to enlighten, I'll offer the following lists for your listening and viewing pleasure.

Favorite Music:

My favorite traditional Christmas song will always It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, the Nat King Cole version. This one has a special meaning to me as I will always think of my Grandpa Al walking around the house whistling the title phrase with his Characteristic emphasis on the last two syllables. Christmas to me has always, for some reason, brought back memories of my Grandpa Al's rather than memories of my own home. Odd, that.

Anyway, one person mentioned that it was a shame there were no "newer" Christmas songs. I told her that there were a bunch of them - they just had to compete with our collective memory of the old favorites.

Number 5 is at Daily Motion - the rest are on a YouTube Playlist...

5. Baby, It's Cold Outside, Buster Poindexter and Sigourney Weaver

"Baby It's Cold Outside" Sigourney Weaver&Buster... by alienfan

4. All I want for Christmas (is You), the Love, Actually version
3. Snoopy's Christmas, The Royal Guardsmen
2. I Believe in Father Christmas, Greg Lake (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer)
1. Christmas Must Be Tonight, The Band

Favorite Movies:

5. Die Hard - Yep. Die Hard. The reason they are at Nakatomi Plaza, the Santa on the Elevator, and "It's Christmas, Theo. It's the time for miracles."
4. The Ref - A cat urine-soaked burglar, an overbearing family matron, and a family in chaos... makes your holiday seem normal and somewhat boring.
3. Scrooged - Hilarious retelling of the old classic. Bob Goulet chased by a gator, Bob Goldthwait with a shotgun in his pocket, and Bob Mitchum kicking a cat are just a few of the highlights in this cameo-filled bit of holiday cheer.
2. Love Actually - Oh, you like cameos? You will love this one. Connections, Relationships, and Forgiveness abound in the inspiration for later holiday-based enseble productions.
1. It's a Wonderful Life - I know. This isn't a new one. In fact, given it's original failure, it is amazing it is still around. Not only is it still around, it has become a classic and has spawned numerous imitations in TV, in movies, and on the stage. My personal favorite was the Stick Figure Theater treatment on MTV's old Liquid Television show (remember Aeon Flux?).

And for all of them in a Playlist:

Now. Stop reading this and go back to your family and friends and give them all a hug and wish them whatever you choose to wish them.

Be good.

It's a damn good thing the world is about to end...

2012-12-18T01:36:00.000-06:00

Craziness.

Lots of conflict. So many kinds.

As with July, I really don't know what to say.

Actually, I know what I want to say. I am just not sure if I can say it in a way that won't come across as uncaring (because I'm not) or that I believe I know all the answers (because I don't). This is part of the reason I have held off as long as I have in commenting on the subject of the horror of last Friday.

Well, that and the fact that I wrote a rather longish blog post a couple nights back that was posted, published, and then passed on to Facebook, Twitter, and even Google+. The link on Facebook even showed an image from the posting. I woke up the next morning and it was gone. Poof. Lost in the Ether.

More Craziness

There was a period last Friday during which I seriously considered just going home, pulling out all of my guns, and selling them. It lasted all of about 5 seconds, sure, but it was there.

That's when I reminded myself that it would not resolve anything.

It would not keep those kids and adults from having their lives taken from them. It would not prevent such an event from happening in the future. It would not do anything except remove part of who I am. I am a gun guy. I am a Liberal Gun Guy, sure, but a gun guy nonetheless.

Since then, I settled. I shed a tear and felt some wishful thoughts about the situation in Connecticut. Then I went home and hugged my kids. I have a little Liberal Gun Guy who turns eight tomorrow. I also have a little Liberal Gun Gal who is five. I can't imagine. I just can't. Not enough band-aids to cover that cut.

Talking Heads

I currently have a sore neck. Nothing I did, really. I didn't sleep on it wrong. However, I did listen to too much commentary on the TV and radio. About every 5-10 minutes, someone said something that would cause a synapse in my brain to pop and my head to whip around, as if that would help get the factual errors out of my head.

I get that, though. I did nothing but guns for almost six years. I wrote a book on guns for Pete's sake. I can be expected to talk semi-intelligently about guns when needed. After the Aurora shooting, I even ended up on a legal-talk radio show talking about the ins-and-outs of obtaining guns.

99% of the folks I heard on the radio don't have that background. The reporters, news readers, guest commentators, and others made statements that represented levels of experience from watching an episode of CSI to growing up around (while not knowing a lot about) guns.

Clearing the Air

The other 1%, all three of them, impressed me. One was an antigun guy with an extensive background and some solid mechanical and legal knowledge. The two progun guys were similar except that their experience placed them on the other side of the discussion. Unfortunately, the rest of the week was misinformed or uninformed blather.

A lot of the last week's discussion has focused on a few subjects. Unfortunately, it has also been reflexive posturing for the most part. The usual suspects were there, saying the usual things, and repeating the usual memes. The big issues that registered with me during the last week (not all inclusive) are:

Reinstatement of the 1994 Assault Weapon Ban
Arming Teachers
Reworking our Mental Health System
Secure Storage of Firearms

How Congress Helped the Gun Industry

I'll let the Assault Weapon Ban (AWB) go simply by stating it was a bad law written by people who didn't understand what they were legislating. In effect, it made certain firearms less visually scary. The day it went into effect, it only aided the manufacturers of these arms by streamlining their product manufacture. "We can't put bayonet lugs or folding stocks on them? That's OK, we'll save money on a supply item and still charge the same."

The only other effect of the AWB was the increase in the price of magazines that held more than 10 rounds or ammunition. The standard magazine size for an AR-15 prior to the ban was 30 rounds. The 10-round restricted magazines were priced at the same price point as the original standard magazines and the 30-round magazines shot from $10-20 each to $60-100 each. The last eight years has seen a HUGE uptick in the manufacture of these components though, so I don't think this will have much of an impact. And then there is Makerbot...

Reactivate the AWB and the industry will have the best quarter they have ever had. Want to keep those guns out of the hands of the wrong people? Establish a Gun Show background check.

Miss Janey's Got a Gun

Arming teachers is problematic in that many (most?) teachers don't like guns in the first place. Those who do like guns may not necessarily want to carry. I have known Concealed Carry Permits holders who don't like carrying or, for a variety of reasons, choose not to carry. I think something like this would be similar to the Armed Pilot Program. Only 10% of pilots are trained to carry in-flight. And this is a population that has a very large prior-service military contingent.

I have heard some of the folks proposing that teachers carry because Israel arms their teachers. Sorry, but it ain't the case.

The Inmates are Running the Asylum

I'm looking at you, Congress.

The majority of the mass shootings in the last 30 years involved shooters who showed signs of mental illness prior to the shooting. Yet these people were able to possess firearms. Even going through the right channels and processes. This tells me that the reporting mechanism has issues, or the process to adjudicate is flawed, or that doctors, friends, and families don't feel comfortable facing the fact that there is indeed a problem.

I fell into that last category once upon a time. A good friend of mine committed suicide after he went off his meds - one of them an anti-psychotic. A few of us knew what he was taking. We knew he was a gun owner. He was a retired Air Force security officer. He didn't drink or smoke. He was active in his church. He was a straight arrow. Health problems led to the meds. Going off the meds led him to threaten his family (scared them enough to drive 90 miles to stay in a hotel). The next morning, he shot himself.

I still feel guilty. I feel I could have talked to him or others prior to that in order to help make sure that he would have been safe. But I didn't. I didn't want to be the guy who said, "I don't trust you to be safe with your guns, even with the thirty years of training, instructor time, and being one of the most squared away folks I know."

I do believe that we need some sort of meaningful legislation to change how we look at gun ownership by those who have the potential to be unsafe

Put a Lid on It

If you leave guns where someone can get to them, and that person is not you, you are asking for any bad things that happen. Kids in the house? Roommates? Family members with mental illness? LOCK UP YOUR GUNS.

One of the major causes of accidental firearm deaths is this.

The next step - make sure that EVERY. PERSON. who will come into contact with the gun has training. Now, I am not talking about uncle Jimbo taking little Stevie out to the quarry to show him how to shoot. I am talking about taking an NRA Firearms Safety Course. These two steps will cut down on accidents like you do not believe.

The Upshot

We are finally moving somewhere on a discussion. Unfortunately, I doubt much will come out of it that is meaningful. However, we are talking a bit more and looking into causes before we look at solutions - a nice change in and of itself.

I still feel that education is essential for everyone. Learn what a gun is. Learn what it isn't. Learn how to be safe, not sorry.

I will leave you with two last beliefs of mine:

The only safe person with a gun is the person trained to be safe.
The only safe gun is the gun that is unloaded and not in someones hands.

Cheers, and keep the community of Newtown in your thoughts.

PS - this includes the National Shooting Sports Foundation, headquartered in Newtown, Connecticut.

Nerdiness and Addiction... and weird music... and guitars... yes, guitars...

2012-08-08T21:05:00.002-05:00

A Slight Departure

Given the previous week's events and the current trends in the gun market, I had planned to do a writeup on how to buy guns (or what you have to do to legally buy guns and who can legally have guns, if you prefer). Instead, I chose to look at something that is equally close to my heart. It is also a lighter topic - something we could all use on occasion. All work and no play, you know...

Related to today's subject is this week's music video. Given that I am on the road this weekend, I wanted to post early in order to beat my usual Friday release. If you can't wait, scroll to the end, otherwise, enjoy!

Nerds!!!

So. I'm not the only one. Not in this house anyway.

My wife is a nerd. It's one of the things that helped us understand each other and it was part of the attraction. but enough of that.

The Gateway Drug

She is now an Asian Pop Culture nerd. She always liked anime. I'm not talking Pokeman, Avatar: The Last Airbender, or even Naruto. Assuming that anime is simply Japanese for 'kid's cartoon' would be akin to thinking that all live action TV dramas are only for kids (or adults for that matter). Yes, lots of shows are for kids or teens, but the great majority are produced for an adult audience. Imagine your favorite soap opera or police procedural drawn as a cartoon. There you go. That is anime.

We watched InuYasha for years when it was on Cartoon Network. InuYasha is currently streaming on Hulu - if you want an intro to anime, this is a good place to start.

You know what they say about men who carry big swords, don't you?

So, over the last six months, herself has been getting in deeper. She started watching more anime on demand on cable, on NetFlix (having a Wii is the awesomesauce for this alone), and online (Mainly crunchyroll and AnimeHere). Other than gaining a crush on Ichigo Kurasaki from Bleach, no harm no foul... I am that secure in my relationship... and it gave me free time to blow up digital tanks...

A Slippery Slope

As with other addictions, anime was the gateway media. from there, my wife started to hit the hard stuff: Manga.

In the same way that anime isn't just cartoons for kids, manga is definitely NOT just comic books for kids. American Geeks, Nerds, and other Fanboys have been attempting to defend the US comic industry for years. In Japan, manga are a respected part of culture (not so much in Korea and China, but they are still there). Kids, hipsters, wives, and salarymen all read manga.

Normally, anime begins life as a manga. InuYasha, Bleach, and others started out in this form - small black-and-white books read right to left, back-to-front (from the American viewpoint), concerned with any subject or literary style imaginable. There are modern, sci-fi, fantasy, historical, and other styles of manga. Some sources for free Manga include Manga Fox, MangaReader.net, and MangaHere. If you have an iPad, enjoy, you'll have a ball sitting on the couch!

One benefit from all of this is that she has learned about 100 words and phrases in Japanese. Quite a few of these are useful in conversation. A number of these are the words for some of the different regular story line types, categories, content descriptions, etc. Unfortunately, these leads to knowing some terms that may make American audiences uneasy. Much of this is from the different societal mores and concerns. While the broader American audience may take issue with a gay male couple and have no issues with a tattooed hero, it is the complete opposite in Japan.

We have Christianity, they have Yakuza.

The Last Straw

Eventually, the desired anime and manga ran out...

But wait! They make live action dramas of some of them, as well! (The term 'Drama' is generic to any live-action show - whether drama, comedy, action, etc.) In our house, it started at Gokusen, a hilarious drama about a Yakuza assassin-princess cum-school teacher - trust me, it works. Gokusen had already been read as a manga and watched as an anime. The live-action was definitely funnier based on the outbursts of laughter from the desk five feet to my right. The big differences between these series and American television series are the lack of violence and the lack of sex. LOTS of love triangles, family conflicts, and money issues though...

The hit parade kept a'rolling for awhile. A. Long. While. Brother Beat, Nobuta wo Produce, Yukan Club, Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge, and others. Many others.

Japan failed to keep up with the voracious appetite, unfortunately, so off to Korea we go...

The First Step to Recovery...

...is admitting you have a problem.

Coffee Prince, Shut Up Flower Boy Band, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, and other Korean dramas.This led to looking for the music, which led to trolling the news for the various 'Idol' bands - The Korean Music Industry is a machine... dorms, training, choreography, curfews...

This led to last week's video, PSY's Gangnam Style. I saw this on The Soup's feed and recognized it for the brilliance it is.

You're welcome.

Wait. You Want More?

Now that you had to go through all of that, here is this week's music video - Led Apple brings us another K-Pop video that will make you wonder what they are feeding to the Korean Musicians.

Again, you're welcome.

The Upshot - or, DOES THIS EVER END???

No.

Check the guitar on the right...

The upshot about all of this is that I became aware of one of the coolest instrument concepts I have ever seen. While watching another Led Apple video, I saw the guitar player playing what looked like a funky Steinberger Demon. I was intrigued, so I looked up what he played. IT. IS. NOT. A. STEINBERGER.

Now, I am quite familiar with the history of guitar-style midi controllers. However, I am drooling over the 'guitar' controller they made. All I need now is $800... and for them to make a bass version...

Enjoy this last video (a demonstration at NAMM 2011).

Have a great weekend!

Disappointed at the mall

2012-08-01T19:56:00.001-05:00

I know. It isn't hard to be disappointed at the mall...

I was about to comment on lots of folks spending about $6 to get 1000-1500 calories in order to support their beliefs... but I am too disappointed right now.

I took my son to his tae kwon do class at the mall and to do my walking. I was impressed (but not surprised) by the number of folks supporting CFA. The line was 50-60 deep the whole time. Seeing as we are in Enid, it was to be expected. And, to make it clear, while I disagree with the corporate beliefs of CFA, I think it is great that their supporters came out. That is to say until we left...

The disappointment kicked in when, on our way out, I saw 20-something guy in the line wearing a T-shirt on which he had written out John 3:16. I don't take issue with that so much as his modification of the verse. He had a line through "the world" and inserted "straight people".

For God so loved ~~the world~~ Straight People, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He may have changed something else - that was all I caught in my attempt to get to the door.

If the mall didn't have two security guys right there making sure no one took any pictures, I'd be sharing the joy.

During this whole CFA deal, I have been concerned, surprised, and, at times, amused. This is the first time that I have been disappointed by the actions taken by anyone (besides public figures).

I know that this guy does not represent all (most) Christians. I suspect that this guy would also not have worn this shirt in public without the belief (correct or not) that everyone around him agrees.

I am most disappointed in myself in that I did not point out his 'correction' and inform him that not everyone agrees with him.

Go Team USA!

2012-07-28T15:08:00.000-05:00

We're a mixed bag

With all of the bad press going on about guns lately, I am glad I have the chance to get on my soapbox so I can talk about the positive side of gun culture. Also, keep in mind that I am the Liberal Gun Guy, so my view is more middle of the road. My views on the world are like those of many Americans - mixed. I lean left on some things and right on others. Sometimes these views conflict and I have to work it out - I supported Afghanistan, but not Iraq for example.

Once we all start to accept that people can be a mix of beliefs and not just black-and-white, I think we will agree that we agree - at least on a few things.

Now. With that off my chest, I realized that other than referencing Kim Rhode's ammo use, I failed to mention that there is a small sporting event going on in London.

England.

You know? Where the history is from.

Olympic Shooting 2012

There is a lot going on in the way of shooting at the Olympics! The largest field of Shooting competitors ever will be at the games.

By the time I am writing this, the Women's 10m Air Rifle and the Men's 10m Air Pistol are over. The US was out of the medals in each, but the female shooters represented us well, coming in 5th and 7th.

One of the great things about the Internet Age is that the network of tubes we rely on will allow us to watch some of the events that typically do not allow spectators or attract many viewers. NBC, this years contracted broadcaster, will be streaming most, if not all, of the shooting events - including the qualification rounds. All I know is that I will be watching Kim Rhode shooting skeet at 8AM Sunday morning! Between this and her chance in Trap, she has the opportunity to become the first American to medal as an individual in five consecutive Olympics.If that isn't awesome, I don't know what is.

Good luck to team USA!

How much ammo does one person need?

2012-07-26T00:48:00.000-05:00

Guns and Ammo

No, I'm not talking about the magazine. I am talking about Guns and I am talking about Ammo.

Actually, I did already talk about these once today. I had a great time on internet radio with Bennet Kelley (and here) on the CyberLaw & Business Report. We spent a half hour discussing some of the various points of purchasing guns and ammunition online. In light of last week's shooting (no, I'm not linking to it), we looked into the various rules and regs of buying guns, magazines, and ammunition.

The best thing about this is that I was able to walk Bennet and his listeners through what it takes to purchase these online, talk about how more regulations won't necessarily be a good thing, and how some common sense and education would definitely be a good thing.

Note to Gun Guys: DO NOT EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER sell a personal firearm to someone across state lines or who even jokes about not being able to pass a NICS check without going through an FFL!

As a sidenote, I want to give a nod to HARO (Help A Reporter Out). This is a website set up to help reporters get into touch with subject specialists. I jumped on the mail list and within a few days I was on the web (and getting hits as a result).

Now on to business...

How much ammo does one person need?

Over the last few days I have been in a few conversations about the shooting in Aurora (nope, still not linking it). Each one included the question, "Why did he need six thousand rounds?"

*sigh*

A little voice in the back of my head snarked, "Because he couldn't afford seven?"

I had to ask why that was a problem. It wasn't like the shooter needed much. By all of the reports I have heard, the C-Mag in his M&P 15 jammed - but we have not heard when. His shotgun likely carried 5-8 rounds (several versions of the Remington Model 870 exist). The standard magazine for the Glock G22 holds 15 rounds. There are extended magazines available (similar to those used by the shooter in the Tucson Shooting), but there have been no reports of these being used. Totaling that, we are looking at about 123 rounds (barring any backup magazines or loose shotgun shells). With some number of those not being fired, this is less than 2% of his ammo stash.

I'm just damn glad it wasn't stadium seating and that the C-Mag jammed. Seconds here... seconds there...

Shooters and Ammunition

I remember years ago (as a young Liberal Gun Guy) buying a box of shells, going to the range, and shooting EVERY LAST ROUND. How many rounds were left at home? none. I couldn't afford any ammo other than what I put into the cinder cliff behind the target. Now? I'll shoot about half of what I buy (maybe). If I'm in a 100-round trap shoot, I'll get 150 shells and come home with 40-some. Sure, those extras get shot at some point, but they build up.

As a result of the conversations recently, I did some mental calculations. Given range bringbacks and the odd lots I have picked up along the way, I think I have about 1500 rounds of different types - 40 S&W, 12 gauge, .410, .30-06, 7.62x54R, .303, and .22. I think I also have some loose .45ACP (which I don't even have anymore...). Don't think I'm the only one. I didn't intend to get there. I just did. Now, if I was an active shooter (in a local-gun-club-regular-shoot-winner), I would be buying or reloading hundreds of rounds a week (high power rifle maybe being a little less).

Shotgun sports, 3-Gun, Cowboy Action Shooting, name it. If these folks want to stay on top of their game at the local/regional level, they will shoot (conservatively) 300-500 rounds a week - often a non-standard round. That is somewhere around 5,000 rounds in a few months. This is a supply that can't be supplied by your FLGS (Friendly Local Gun Store) or Wal-Mart.

Kim Rhode, two-time Gold Medalist in Double Trap, shoots 500-1000 rounds A DAY. Even on the south side of that (and taking a couple months of over the year), this comes up to more than 150,000 rounds over a year. Take that order to the Gun Shop up the street.

EDIT: I was reminded by a Facebook Friend that another reason competition shooters buy in bulk is to ensure that the ammunition is part of the same production lot. This ensures that differences from cartridge-to-cartridge and box-to-box are kept at a minimum.

Unfortunately, these aren't the folks we hear about. We hear about the folks stockpiling against armageddon, further government regulation, and zombies... OK, maybe not necessarily the last.

Also, unfortunately, we have the guy in Colorado. I don't know his deal. He had a lot of ammo. He also had a lot of issues (based on numerous articles and his appearance at his hearing. It does reflect poorly. I want to stress that while he had lots of ammo, he didn't apparently have a plan for it except to leave it in his apartment to burn it. This may give a tip to his knowledge of guns and ammo.

Ammunition in a fire will go nowhere - it needs a chamber to prevent a splitting case and a barrel to give direction. I have seen the aftereffects of a house fire on several hundred rounds of .30-06 stored in a wood case. It was a beautiful, semi-artistic piece of lead, mangled cartridge cases, and copper bullets.

The Upshot

Seeing as how he passed a series of background checks while purchasing four firearms over the previous several months, the knucklehead in question would have undoubtedly passed any sort of check someone would want to create for ammunition. There are legitimate reasons (sane or otherwise) to obtain or store bulk ammo. Registering bulk purchasers would be tantamount to registering gun owners. To my mind, this seems to be something that the majority of gun owners would oppose. I don't mind some regs and laws, but I don't want my name on a list.

Weak close, I know, but I had a good (long) day and I am glad I got to teach some folks about guns.

Gun Violence, Personal Choice, and America in an Election Year

2012-07-21T01:09:00.000-05:00

OK, we know what happened...

So, I won't go into the details. There.

Now.

*sigh*

First, I would like you to watch this video about the Winnendon school shooting in 2009. I found it in Patton Oswalt's Facebook feed (I freaking lurve Patton Effing Oswalt). Pay really good attention starting at 1:34.

Now. I will let that point sit on its own. Please don't go all 24-hour-news-cycle on us. We don't need to see his face. We don't need to hear nonsensical eyewitnesses give their side of the story using hyperbole and incorrect gun terms. We don't need news readers making comments of a technical nature.

We do need facts. We do need what happened (as far as we can tell). We do need who did it (as far as we can tell). We do need to know what we need to do next (lock our doors, pack our bags, hug our families).

We do need restraint.

We do need to get on with the other things going on in the world. This may sound callous, and my heart does go out to the victims, their families, and their friends, but I am glad I have the internet so I could see if there was something else going on in the world.

First Response

I guess you know how I feel about the network coverage. Between the inane rambling of people still on an adrenaline high after surviving the worst shooting since the Va Tech Massacre and the inane rambling of a news anchor who knows next to nothing about guns (I love you, Robin Meade, but you need to get to the range sometime), I was boggled. The only decent eyewitness account I felt was legitimate was that of a combat-experienced Marine who was with his wife. He calmly described what he saw and heard. He didn't exaggerate. He didn't make guesses. He told what he knew.

Sadly, I believe the best journalistic effort of the day came from the Onion, citing an imaginary person as saying "Nothing really surprises me when it comes to this kind of thing anymore. And that makes me feel terrible" and "In exactly two weeks this will all be over and it will be like it never happened."

Yep. This.

The United States of Guns

I'll let most of the pundits go into the facts and figures.

TL:DR - There are more guns in the hands of fewer people now than there have been historically. Violent Crime has been decreasing rapidly. Concealed Carry is available in almost every state (several without permitting).

Let me use my golden, reassuring voice to scare you into buying something.

Since Senator Obama was nominated as the Democratic Party Candidate in 2008, sales of guns and ammunition went up in the mistaken belief President Obama would take all of our guns away because of his following a European socialist who was attempting to ban our guns. I was there and I watched it happen. The last four years saw the gun industry as one of the only recession-proof areas of the economy other than the gold sellers advertising via Glenn Beck. (I do have to admit, I expected the bottom to fall out of the gold market by about 2010-2011... I was wrong)

I like my guns. I like being able to shoot them. I like being able to teach people about the role of firearms in American and World history. I like teaching museum people about firearms (reaaaallll small slice of the Venn diagram there...). I like talking to Gun Guys (and Gun Gals).

However, I also can't stand talking to Gun Guys.

Most Gun Guys I know are great people. Some are religious, some aren't. Most are on the right, some are on the left. Some are active shooters. Some are collectors. Some just buy guns. Most are the salt of the earth. Most are white. Most are upstanding members of their communities. Genuinely nice folk, for the most part.

Sometimes, though, being around guns has placed me in the company of some people I really did not like. Racists, White Supremacists, Anti-Government Conspiracy Theorists, Separatist movement folks, and a few Aryan Nation folks. Real great crowd. Shining examples of a group of otherwise great people. Also, the folks who will easily get on camera because they fit the stereotype.

Stuck on the NRA

Then there is the mix. Good people who are believing everything the NRA is telling them. When pundits mention the core of the Republican Party, they are talking about these people. I have written previously about my feelings on the NRA. I will reiterate that I appreciate the non-lobbying activities - firearms use and safety training, youth shooter programs, and grants for ranges to make improvements, to name a few. As I am happy to share, I am a life member of the NRA. However, I have to admit I giggled when I saw the Onion giving Wayne LaPierre a dig.

Over the last couple of decades, Wayne and his people have been pushing Social Security off of the third rail of the political subway and replacing it with Firearms. For the last 10 years especially, they have made the life of our Congresspeople harder than it already was. Vote the wrong way on a bill and every gun owner in your district will find out. nice.

The NRA, as usual after a situation like this is lying low. They did the same after the Gabby Giffords Shooting - smart move on their part.

Some folks, however, are pointing to a decline in the power of their organization. There are different reasons behind why this may be happening. One is that they are outliving their utility as a result of one success and one failure. The success is that they have pushed back or removed many gun restrictions across the country (including hamstringing the ATF through limiting their investigative power). The failure has been in catching the graying of the gun community too late. The retirees with guns are passing away. The greatest Generation is all but gone. The youth are in single-parent homes with no dads (This is what happens when you believe "Only boys shoot guns"). The majority of our population lives in an urban setting. On the one hand, you have one of the most liberal environments for gun usage. On the other, the percent of the population that does own guns is decreasing.

Worshipping at the Altar

The result of this is that those with guns see themselves surrounded by those without. Tie this with the belief in family, church, and country shared by many of these folks and you get an almost religious fervor that has spread among the gun-owning public.This was best shown through the Pat Robertson-esque comments made by Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert. Referring to our Founding Fathers and asking repeatedly, "Where was God in all of this?" he is searching for ties that aren't there. In asking why no one in that theater was carrying concealed, he is making an assumption of your typical concealed-carry permit holder and the situation in the theater. My money is on Representative Gohmert never having a concealed carry permit.

I have. After arriving in Wyoming in 2003, I applied for and received my concealed carry permit. That permit allowed me to carry concealed in more than 1/2 of the United States. I regularly did. Even in Cody, Wyoming, I would carry to Wal-Mart, to restaurants, and, yes, to the movies. Why? Because I knew then what some folks are just starting to understand. This can happen anywhere. Statistically, you have a better chance of getting cancer, but there is always that chance.The best training doesn't just teach safety and how to shoot. It teaches you when to shoot and how to determine IF you should shoot. Many was the time at Wal-Mart when I knew that I would not be shooting - I would be grabbing my kids and doing my best Franco Harris impersonation.

Part of the reason I support legal carry is simply that I have met too many idiots with guns. Most of them, fortunately, do not get the concealed carry permit. Sitting in a class for 16 hours (in a lot of states), filling out forms, writing a check, and then waiting is too much for some. Others aren't legal residents of the state in which they live. Some get refused because of a past crime. Some have "issues." These folks decide to carry concealed for reasons unknown. These are the people I worry about.

And then there are the people like Aurora (I won't call him by name). He picked out what he wanted to do. He picked a great place to attack. He chose a good time to go "in costume." He chose some good weapons for the job. The guns were purchased legally. There were no warning signs (that have been reported). He was not going to be stopped.

Weapons in the Hands of Private Citizens

Even if someone had been carrying (like that Marine I mentioned earlier?), I would expect that their first and best response would have been to get the hell out of Dodge and keep your eyes open. This is due to the stories of the smoke grenade (if that is what it was) and the combination of the Remington 870 and AR-15. If I have a handgun and the other guy has a rifle or shotgun, I am finding hard cover. Why? Because they can do more damage and are more accurate over range.

The larger firearms (and the ones folks tend to freak over) have historically been designed and used for hunting. Even the venerable AR-15 uses a round very similar to small game cartridges. I have an 870. I've shot trap, grouse, and rabbit with it. I would likely own an AR if I had the spare cash. Why - because they can be so heavily modified. Otherwise, there are other firearms that don't look so scary that are more dangerous because that can fire larger ammunition just as fast.

Whether or not we should have these firearms is, to me, not an issue. I believe we have the right, but I would give them all up for a happy peaceful world (this is why I am damned to be a Liberal). The more I have thought about it, though, the more I am surprised the Democratic Party is not on the side of gun rights. This is one of the only rights issues that the Democratic Party does not support. We support the right to choose, the right to love who we want to love, the right to vote, the right to think and worship (or not worship) as we wish. We should be the gun rights party.

The Upshot

I'm just rambling now, but there are bigger issues than gun rights and bans. There is the issue of our society. There is the issue that we have a nation that does not pay attention to mental illness as it should. There is an issue in that our society does not engender more empathy and respect for life. It's not guns, it's not video games, it's not kids underlining 'Eskimo' in their copy of Moby Dick. It's responsibility, it's family, and it's love.

#forgettheshooter

Peace, out.

Planning for the Future - Firearms and your Estate Planning

2012-07-18T23:06:00.001-05:00

It always starts the same...

"Mr. Kennedy?"

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"Well... my husband passed away."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thank you. It's just that he was a gun collector and..."

The rest of the conversation usually pans out the same way. Almost every time. The husband had lots of guns - maybe 20, maybe 50, maybe 100, maybe more. He died. She didn't realize how many he had, what they are, what they are worth, and (most importantly) who to trust.

The reason I get this call is that some buddy of the late Mr. Hoplophile is nosing around, knows a little (or a lot) about the collection and wants to help the widow by giving her some money to help her out by buying one (or more) of the guns - with a pained expression and at a cost WELL below retail. I received calls like this about once or twice a month while I was the Curator at the Cody Firearms Museum. I still get them through friends and acquaintances now. Maybe I seem to be the trustable sort. Maybe it's the boyish good looks, maybe it's the glazed look and the paunch, I don't know.

The sad thing is that it is preventable. As fanatical as many of us are with our guns while we are alive, we sure don't seem to care much about when we're dead. This needs to change.

Why is it always the Gun Guys?

I'll tell you why. It's because we did all we could to beg, borrow, and steal to get them in the first place and we don't want the government (or anyone else for that matter) to take them from us.

Take the guy from the opening scenes of Red Dawn for a case in point. Cue it up to 1:30 and enjoy. I'll wait.

Now. That guy isn't too far off from the truth. I have known... well... not this guy, but many like him. According to the American Firearms Institute (an organization devoted to defending gun rights) "there are 250 - 280 million firearms in the US" and "40 - 50% of US homes own a firearm, that's 120 - 150 million people". Easy math. that averages out to 2 per household in about half of the homes in America. However, as with most averages, there are outliers. I know many folks who own just one gun. I also know a couple guys who could outfit a small Latin American country, so long as they don't mind bolt actions from the two World Wars.

What is common amongst all of these people? They will not give up their gun(s) easily. If they are like this while they are alive, why do it when they are dead?

I don't know.

I don't know if it is a lack of planning, an unrealistic belief that they will always have time to divest themselves of the collection before they pass on, or just simply believing that it will work itself out on it's own as part of the rest of the estate. But it drives me crazy and tells me that they care more for their guns than they do for their wife and family.

T.C.B.!

Many gun owners arm themselves initially because they feel they need to TCB - Take Care of Business. This could be defending life and limb from an intruder or getting groceries through the barrel of a gun. However, we all protect ourselves and our families in other, less dramatic ways. Unless you are supporting your self solely on Social Security, you are taking care of business - financial business.

Elvis (Mr. TCB) and a few of his guns - note the Luger on the left and the suppressor on the top right

Think about it. We all plan in the boring, mundane, "Gee, I hope the economy doesn't tank again before I retire or die, taking my nest egg with it" way. We set up retirement plans, 401(k)s, investments, stocks, bonds, annuities, and all sorts of other things that make me fall asleep. Some of these guys have retirement plans that cover EVERYTHING - except their guns. No plan, no inventory, no appraisals (scrawling a list of 100% values from the Blue Book doesn't count). I don't get it. But I have come to terms that it happens. Every day.

If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail

Regardless of how you pass on, not having a plan for your guns is a bad, bad thing. Think about it. No matter how much warning you have, you cannot prepare. You die in your sleep of a heart attack (you eat red meat and stay off the treadmill, right?), you get an aneurysm on the floor of the gun show (we've all seen prices on guns that could lead to this...), or you stroke out on the golf course.

Just kidding. That last one never happens to gun guys. They stroke out during a round of Sporting Clays.

During any of those, there is no time to prepare. But that's OK, you have emphysema, ALS (I know way too much about that one now), or the big 'C'. I'll have plenty of time. Sure. Once you get past "Depression" and on to "Acceptance", you have a short window. By that time, though, you will be hip-deep in medical bills, clinic appointments, and last checks on your bucket list. There will be time to take care of the guns later - besides, you may get better. You're right. You might. Lots don't.

So. While you are still healthy, wealthy, and (hopefully) wise, here are some things to do to prep your collection for your demise, sudden or otherwise.

Inventory - Get a list with make, model, and serial number (separate from any bound book you may keep as an FFL or C&R). Tag the guns - you can use those little hangtags they sell at most office supply stores. For Pete's sake, no tape, no markers, no pens, pencils, sticky dots, or other adhesive badness.
Photograph - Get digital pictures of it all. Use a generic mount (you can use a range sled/sandbags with a nice cloth over the mount). Get both sides and necessary details (barrel address/sns are not necessary but inscriptions/engraving are). Have a card in frame showing make, model, and sn. Use decent lighting - a shop light behind the camera on the left and right should be good - prevents flash shadows. Use a tripod. Use a neutral background - not a plaid tablecloth. VERIFY that all of the pictures are clear.
Appraise - Get a legitimate appraisal. If it is a few nice guns, you can Blue Book it. Write it down. Again, record make, model, and serial number with the value, the source for your estimation, and why you think it fits in a certain grade/%. Depending on the size or value of your collection (and your insurer's limits), you may want to go to one of the major national GUN auction firms or a private appraiser. Repeat this at least every five years - or if something happened that would otherwise increase the value of your collection. Legitimate appraisers will charge you for their time, per gun, etc. If they charge a percentage, they benefit from high-balling your collection.
Insure - Theft, fire, or any number of other things can happen. Now that you know what you have, insure it. Most reputable companies have a firearms policy rider. Boost the limit to whatever you are willing to go to, not surpassing the value of the collection. If you think the value has gone up, get it reappraised and insure accordingly.
Secure - Keep it locked up. Keep it in a safe. Keep it in a locked display case. Keep it in a locked room. Ask a trusted (industrious) buddy to figure out how he would steal your guns. Fix what he would do. Why? Because someone will try to steal them (with a check or otherwise) after you are gone. Also - make sure someone trusted stays at the house while you are in the hospital or the casket.
Allocate - Figure out where they go. Now. Just like anything else in your will (the house, property, etc.), this should be established well before you are de-established. Which ones go to your son or daughter. Which ones go to which friends. Make conditions (with a list of prices) to allow private sales (helps with the 'buddy' mentioned above). ID which guns go to an auction house. Figure out which ones go to a museum. Figure out which ones go to other non-profits (If you plan to send them to the NRA, let the NRA know first).
Note on Museums - Make arrangements with any museum AHEAD of time. I have had to refuse gifts from the deceased because of conditions they set. There are things responsible museums cannot agree to, in good faith. I am certain they were small issues that could have been resolved simply through a discussion beforehand, but legal conditions are exactly that.
Organize - Keep all of the documentation on ALL of the above in hardcopy and on a USB thumb drive. Keep these in at least two places - with the guns and off site (safe deposit box if you have it).

I recognize that some of this appears to be expensive. That's because it is. Ask yourself how much you spend on investment counseling, overhead fees on your IRA, or your accountant. Now ask how much you are willing to spend to take care of your family in this way.

Step up. Do it.

Now, on to the ammunition...

Sorry, but we can't fail...

2012-07-09T11:03:00.000-05:00

I love how folks on both ends of the political spectrum believe that their beliefs are the only ones that support Freedom and Liberty and that the other end of the spectrum is, at best, sending our Country down the drain or, at worst, actively striving to destroy the country or turn it into some sort of fascist or socialist state (depending on how you roll).

The beauty of our system is that NO ONE PERSON who gets elected - regardless of office - is able to irrevocably harm the nation. As the Chief Justice just told us, if you don't like what someone does, vote them out. If they do something illegal, they will be prosecuted. If they do something stupid, they will be called out for it. If the minority gets beat up, they can (and often do) come back in the next election.

No one person can destroy America. 236 years of various idiots, plutocrats, warmongerers, adulterers, liberals (Yes, I consider TR to have been a Liberal), conservatives, slave owners, racists, gays, Christians (they were all Christians of some sort), or other -ives/-ists have failed to screw it up beyond recognition yet.

The Argument Clinic - or "How I Disagree with the White House"

2012-07-08T15:02:00.000-05:00

This isn't an argument... It's just contradiction...

Lots of fun lately watching people on the talking box "discuss" things.

Quite often it's as Jonathon Bernstein pointed out - the "out" party gainsaying the "in" party, regardless of where they stood when they were in power, a la Monty Python. The President or Democrats say one thing and the Republicans are instantly against it - especially if Grover passes it along as the official line on the weekly phone call.

However, I think one subject has been gaining some traction lately. It is something that people can form a little bit of a personal opinion about and a subject that was not much of an issue a few years back. It is the use of a 'kill list' and its widespread use around the world and across borders.

I have asked a few people if they can think of something illegal or unconstitutional the President has done. I rarely get a response. Often it is something easily disproved by a quick trip to Factcheck.org or Snopes.com. [As a side note - anyone concerned by how "Liberal" these sites are needs to go back to them, you would love how they have been finding fault with the President. They are equal-opportunity fact-checkers.] This is the one thing on the top of my head that I have questions about - legality.

Men and Machines

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or Drones have been in use by the military in a wide variety of purposes since World War I. The MQ-9 Reaper is the current top-of-the-line version of the drones that first arrived in the 1990s. The US Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency use these to kill targets around the world - mainly in the 'Stans - 309 in Pakistan, alone. However, there have been strikes in Yemen, Somalia, and the Philippines.

These missions have been carried out from bases around the world. Besides bases in-theater, there are now 64 known drone bases in the US. Some of these bases are for training, some of these bases are for war fighting, some of them are for national defense. Some are all three. Most of the drones are for optical/signal surveillance only. Some can be configured to carry ordnance.

Unfortunately, this means that some of these birds can "accidentally" spy on you (even though the military is not allowed to do so). I'll be the first person to say that if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about. However, as much as I trust the military, I harbor less trust for local and state jurisdictions operating these UAVs. Granted - there are the legitimate uses we hear about, but my money is that there are as many times (if not more) in which somebody was wondering why that remote control plane was orbiting their yard while they were sunbathing.

On the civilian front, there is a growing culture of amateur UAV pilots who are using their camera equipped drones for fun. Some of them are inadvertently catching evidence of illegal activity. My thoughts on this are about the same as my issues with Law Enforcement using UAVs. Pervs will Perv.

Legality and Targeted Killing

I can understand how it is OK to kill an enemy combatant with any weapon. I was in the Army. We were soldiers first, regardless of our MOS. Granted, I was a Bass Guitar Player for two different units that were without arms rooms, but I was still a soldier and knew what it could entail.

From my historian perspective, I know that you win wars by the correct application of force. Add in a little politics... A little economics... A little public relations... and you have a won war. This one, I am not too sure about.

I know that assassination is illegal. You can't just go out and kill someone who your country doesn't like. In the realm of targeted killing, however, the target has lost protection of the Geneva Convention through a "allegedly taking part in an armed conflict or terrorism, whether by bearing arms or otherwise". The 'allegedly' part is what concerns me. The only time I hear the word 'alleged' in conversation, there is a court, a judge, and a jury involved. Many of the targets had it coming to them, I am sure. Some of them concern me (there I go using that word again).

None of my reading has given me sufficient satisfaction that due process is being followed and that some attacks have been badly-researched, badly-thought-out, or badly-executed.

Much of what has been happening in Pakistan and elsewhere has been the result of the CIA, not the US Military. Concerns have been raised as a result of both this and that Pakistan is not "a zone of armed conflict." Even though we may see this as being a fully legal act, I doubt that Pakistan, a sovereign nation the last time I checked, considers it to be against the law. And 74% of Pakistanis consider America to be an enemy... hunh. I wonder why.

I can only imagine how the US would feel if we were to suddenly experience a spate of (officially) unauthorized attacks by a nation-state on American citizens because they are involved in some sort of military adventure in a 3rd-party country. I think that would last about 2.4 seconds before we would be going on alert as a nation.

Differences of Opinion

2012-06-18T23:27:00.001-05:00

I've been getting into trouble recently

A few of my Facebook friends... OK, more than a few of my Facebook friends (and a number of my real world friends) are very Conservative. I mean, c'mon, how can you be involved in firearms without knowing some Gun Guys (and if they aren't a conservative bunch, I don't know who is).

I was called out for offending someone with cartoons and posts that made it seem I was trying to say something about them personally. Most of the posts/shares I made were attempts to show the political beliefs I espouse or to ridicule what I see as the low side of both ends of the political spectrum. One cartoon was about the lowest common denominator within a conservative political group (and something I have seen first hand).

I have known your run-of-the-mill Conservatives, religious Conservatives, economic conservatives, some people who are Reagan Republicans, some folks who think of themselves as Reagan Republicans (but aren't), a number of Libertarians, some folks who think of themselves as Libertarians (but aren't), a guy who thinks of himself as the modern incarnation of Theodore Roosevelt (without using the word 'environmental', because, you know, only Liberals have something to do with environmentalism - and, no, he isn't on Facebook), and some folks who make the John Birch Society look like the Socialist Party of America. I have gotten along with them all - granted some better than others. I even changed some minds in the process - while I had mine opened as well.

I myself, as the blog title suggests, am not conservative. Well, not about most issues. I have also started to become less quiet about my beliefs.

Given the various places I have lived and one particular job I had, I now tend to let people know what I am thinking about a political subject. I got tired of having to nod, smile, and say, "Sure" when someone suggested the President was born in another country and how he was going to try to force Socialism on us and take our guns away. In the position I worked, I would likely have lost my job if my political leanings would have been made public.

So, back to Facebook...

Lately, I have been sharing some comics, graphs, and other things that support my worldview. Some people have taken issue with these beliefs and think that because I don't like some of their personal and political beliefs that I do not like them. This could not be further from the truth.

The first thing I ask myself:

Are you a mean person? I have known Liberals and Conservatives both who were complete asses. There are people across the spectrum who want to hurt people, who don't respect property, and who think of those who disagree with them as lower life forms. A perfect example of this are some (not all) of the Occupy protestors at Zuccotti Park. Closer to home are people who abuse their family members. Douchebaggery knows no political lines.

Do you use your worldview to determine how you treat others (coworkers, people on the street, customers, etc.)? For some people this manifests itself through ignoring those who do not attend your church, go to your political club, or attend your rally. An extreme case is robbing and murdering people because you don't like illegal aliens...

If the answer to either is yes, I may not want to be your friend. In a lot of ways this comes down to a simple question: "Would I want to have a beer with you?" In the case of the current presidential election, I could answer yes for either of them. Hell, I would have said yes to Ron Paul. Most of the others would be a solid no.

I can't think of a person I am friends with that I wouldn't want to have a drink with. I hope you feel the same way.

What is my worldview?

Here is a short list.

(Note - I have the right to add, delete, or modify anything on this list without notice)

Yes to separation of Church and State (much of the rest hinges on this)
Yes to Taxes - especially yes to raising the capital gains tax back to pre-Clinton levels; especially no to a flat tax
Yes to reducing unnecessary governmental spending
No to continuing tax credits or subsidies for US corporations keeping headquarters/money overseas for tax purposes
Yes to Evolution
Yes to Gay Marriage
Yes to Social Welfare, unemployment, food stamps, etc.
Yes to a program allowing illegal immigrants a means to become legal citizens (Not Amnesty)
Yes to Gun Rights although I agree with background checks at Gun Shows and take issue with some of the nonsense spewed by the NRA
Yes to cutting back on the military - specifically the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter
Yes to Health Care Reform
Yes to reproduction rights for women. However, while I support the right to it, I do not support the act of abortion.
I disagree with the Citizens United Decision
I believe that many Tea Party members are genuine in their interest to see a better America and that the end result is similar to my image of a better America. Now if we can only agree on how to get to this shared destination
I believe that the people running the Tea Party (There are several Tea Parties to choose from - each supporting slightly different things) have been very good at pulling the wool over the eyes of the rank-and-file, hiding the corporate/1%er wolf under the sheep's wool of God, Flag, and Family
I believe that teachers do not get paid enough and if the pay was better, we would get better teachers.
I believe that unions are a good thing for disenfranchised workers - until they get too greedy for their own good.
I believe that the Amendments to the US Constitution compose a list of our rights, first and foremost. Any attempt to amend it in order to infringe the rights of ANYONE goes against that theme. (There is no such thing as a right to not be offended)
I believe that the President is an American Citizen, a Christian, and the legal Commander-in-Chief
I believe that there is no Muslim agenda to destroy America - I am more worried about a Christian Identity member with a U-Haul full of ANFO
I believe that the 1% is padding their wallets and that the rest of us are suffering as a side effect

Yes. I am the Secular Humanist your parents warned you about.

Health and, well, not...

2012-05-16T21:09:00.000-05:00

Clunky title, I know.

I have been finding myself thinking about health for awhile now. Between signs my body has been giving me and signs I have seen in others over the years, I have a nice list of what-not-to-dos.

Unfortunately, while somethings are obvious - don't smoke (will likely get a sign someday), don't drink too much (already got a sign a few years back), don't eat too much (trying not to get the sign) - some things are not so obvious.

Although a lot of diseases have their known causes, there are others. The problem with these is that you could be doing everything right and you can still get it - certain kinds of cancer fall into this category. The one at the top of my mind right now is ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Oddly enough, this leads me to food...

About a year ago, I had some huevos rancheros. best. huevos. rancheros. ever.

I was on a road trip across the Southwest. It was past lunch and we were hungry. It was also Sunday afternoon in Gallup, New Mexico. The offerings were fast food, Chinese buffet and what appeared to be a "homestyle" diner (read: bland, pre-packaged, oily, and overcooked food fit for a retirement home). As I have had most of the fast food in Gallup over the years and I know better than to chance a buffet of any kind on the road, we chose the diner... the Route 66 Railway Cafe.

As soon as I walked in, I changed my mind. I smelled the authenticity. I saw the plates on the tables. I read the look of smug satisfaction on the faces of the diners. As soon as I read the menu, I knew.

I wanted the huevos. It was a late lunch, but it's always a good time for huevos.

So, one piping hot cup of coffee later, the huevos showed up (with green sauce, of course). My travel companion spent the next half hour laughing as I "Mmmm"ed and "Ohhhh"ed through the plate (did I mention it was good?). We had a great time complimenting the food, the coffee, and my error of judging the book by its cover. I will never forget that lunch.

We left, heading east. A few hours later, we stopped at Cline's Corner. We were waiting for the vehicle we were traveling with - it had developed issues coming through Albuquerque. We decided to go in, sit down, have a 10-100, and a milkshake. best. milkshake. ever. Again, this made all the more enjoyable for the company.

I was regaled with tales of a lifetime of stops at Cline's Corner - all the way back to the late 1940s on old Route 66 in a Plymouth sedan with the windows rolled down - no air conditioning back then, you know. Many other trips occurred over the decades with her folks and her brother. Years later, these trips were her and her dogs.

This visit with me was her last stop at Cline's.

The reason for our trip was to bring my mom back home. Not eight months earlier, she had been diagnosed with ALS. When the diagnosis was made, everything started to add up. Little things here and there - at one time played off to allergies, asthma, arthritis, and other ailments - were now easily explained. As near as we can guess, ALS had started to show up in our lives two years prior - maybe three.

Within a few months of the diagnosis, she needed a walker on occasion. By Easter of last year, we borrowed a wheelchair so she could enjoy the Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale, AZ. The first day of this move, she drove from Scottsdale to Payson, Arizona. I think that is the last time she drove more than 30 minutes.

As of this Memorial Day weekend, it will be one year back in our hometown. She is now living with my sister and is in hospice status. Spirits are high. Friends and family are near. Laughter is still in her eyes.

So. Here we are. ALS is on our mind. I wrote this partially to let some air out but to also try to do the little bit that I can to raise awareness of the disease. Those who are friends of mine on Facebook have seen my profile pic for the month of May. It is the symbol for the ALS Association. They have been great to my mom and our family. The services and support they provide have been wonderful at a time when we needed them. The support groups associated with them have been helpful for my family, as well, for the advice in dealing with bureaucracy and anything else associated we just don't get.

If nothing else, learn the signs and symptoms of ALS. There is not a cure yet, but there are some treatments and clinical trials that are looking good. It's only too late if it is too late.