Generations, generations.

I grew up in a small town in the Southern Tier of New York State during the sixties and seventies. 

In our modest six member household we had about a dozen long guns in the house.  We all loved out of door activities such as fishing, hunting and camping.  It was a rite of passage that my two brothers, my sister and I became of age and took the state mandated hunter safety training course at fourteen years old.

With each of us it was the same procedure.  Upon successful completion of the course my father would take that child to Dicks or Philadelphia Sales to get our hunting license AND buy us our first shotgun, used of course.

I remember the other long guns in the house as a 30-06 rifle, several .22s  ( one long and one short) rifles, a .225 (?) rifle, 410 shotgun and probably a few others that I have forgotten about.

The firearms and ammunition was stored away but not locked up.  My whole family had unfettered access to all the guns and all the ammo on a 24/7 basis.

We shot a lot of rabbits, squirrels, grouse, pheasants and deer.

We never thought to use the guns for any other purpose other than hunting or target shooting or the emergency of self defense.  Our household was typical of the homes in our neighborhood in regards to firearms.

Fast forward to today in New Jersey.  A picture of a youth that was lawfully possessing his rifle is shown on social media.  Due to a flawed reporting system, overzealous child protective personnel and police rush to the residence to investigate the matter under the guise of child endangerment.  They brow beat the father of the child to gain entrance to the home and insisted on seeing the firearms that were locked in the safe.

The confused and concerned father contacts his attorney via phone and the attorney advises him that unless the authorities have a warrant they must leave the premises upon his request.  He requests, they leave.  

At the time of this writing it is not know if any charges are being contemplated by the authorities.

I suggest that the agents of the state, in New Jersey, that were involved in this incident, go to a refresher course at an in-service training session on topics that include the rights of citizens in regards to the Second, Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

Generations, generations.

A Glimmer of Hope

After having 27 years in government let me explain to the politically naive what sequestration actually means; smoke and mirrors and sleight of hand in conjunction with a gullible public.

The government has OUR money.  They will spend it where THEY want to.  At the same time the government (legislators and chief executives) realize they don't have enough money for THEIR stuff.  One way it get more money is to take financing from other programs and put the funding in their favorites programs and or to raise taxes and fees.

Now, because of their greed, stupidity and fiscal ineptitude they are caught in a pinch where they have no money to back THEIR programs.  

Here is where the deception and the use of Teflon clothing comes in.  Bring the fiscal crunch to the public forum by cutting the MOST popular or MOST strategically important programs and BLAME the loyal opposition.  

This is where the public is to rebel and approve of the solution to the fiscal problem set forth by the current administration.  You the public rejoice as the useful fools that you are (some of you anyway).

Four years ago, President Obama abdicated his fiscally responsible leadership to guarantee an approval to the fiscal irresponsibility of the 111th Congress.   Hence the PORKCULUS BILL was made law and we all suffer from it today.

The voting populace who voted for President Obama and the 111th Congress and also those who voted for giving President Obama a second term, are those responsible for our present fiscal woes.

A glimmer of hope remains.  It appears that not everyone is backing the administration's way of avoiding finding a real solution.        

Safety and Respect

While doing some historical research I came across an interesting article which appeared in The Washington Post dated January 4, 1913.  The subject of the piece was a report given by Major General Leonard Wood, Army Chief of Staff, concerning improvement of the army. He mentioned several ways to accomplish this task which included getting rid of unfit officers, improving the canteen services and reorganizing the artillery branch.  I found the last statement of the article very telling in how our American society has changed.  It read, "Gen Wood strongly recommends the enactment of legislation pending in Congress for a certain amount of government support of rifle shooting in the public schools."

I graduated high school in 1972 and I can't honestly remember if my school had a rifle team or not.  I know they weren't uncommon at the time.  A quick check of the web shows high school rifle teams still exist as do college rifle teams.  Air rifles and .22 caliber rifles are used most commonly.

Does anyone remember any story about a rifle team member going berserk and killing or wounding others?

Times have certainly changed for the worse.

It isn't the firearm that causes the death and destruction at a shooting incident, it's the mental state of the person pulling the trigger.

Personal privacy concerns govern treatment for mental illness rather than public safety concerns. 

The movie industry and gaming industry have more power and effect on our society than we want to admit.

Topsy Turvy

It seems incongruous that law abiding gun owners have to listen to and be lectured by President Obama about what types of firearms and magazines they may possess in light of the fact that the president has the power to execute an American citizen without due process.  Also, he and other governmental officials are guarded by employees that not only possess high capacity magazines in their firearms but also have fully automatic weapons as well.

The killing of subjects that are believed to be dangerous to the United States is being done on a continuous basis with the help of drone aircraft.  Sources now indicate that under Obama's watch more have been killed in the name of national security than under the Bush administration, even to the point of killing an American citizen without utilizing the constitutional  guarantees of due process.  Where is the public outcry? 

Bush- Cheney evil: Obama - Biden good. 

This is an extremely sad commentary on today's society.

Many Americans remain smug and unfeeling that law abiding firearms owners are having their constitutional rights to firearms possession eroded away by law and regulation.  The same people sit idly by when a American citizen is executed without due process by the president.  How long will it take until those torpid spectators start to have their constitutional rights violated?

Oh, don't worry, "Some animals are more equal than others."  Which category do you belong to?  For now.  Enjoy it while it lasts.

While we are at it.

The easiest target is always the law-abiding citizen or the person that would turn the other cheek.

Soft headed intellectuals and criminals see these traits as weaknesses in human beings. So now that some people have harassed legal gun owners who exercise their constitutional right, let us turn the table!!!!

Let's have all Americans with any criminal record or mental record or medical record have their name, address and crime or malady for all to see, published in the newspapers. The purported reason for putting handgun owners in the newspaper was in response to so-called public safety concerns. Okay, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

I want to know if the guy next door is a criminal whether he committed DWI, smoke pot or physically abused his children or spouse; IT IS FOR MY SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY!!! SO IT'S OKAY.

I want to know what mental illnesses my neighbors suffer from. IT IS NOT THEIR PRIVACY IT IS FOR MY SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY.

I want to know what diseases my neighbors have. Are they communicable and dangerous? Do they have HIV OR HEPATITIS? THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO PRIVACY WHEN IT COMES TO MY SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY.

Legal firearm ownership, criminal tendencies, mental disease and infectious disease; it's all the same, right? Oh it's not? Why not?

What about MY RIGHTS!!!!!

Get Rid of New Years Day Holiday

How many of you are in favor with doing away with the New Years Day Holiday? In today's world what purpose does it serve except to give non-essential government workers a day off.

We have to suffer through endless, boring looking-back -over -the- year- perspectives on television which are totally meaningless. Drunks crowd the downtown square while public officials try to burn downtown by igniting tons of fireworks. For what purpose, because the next day is January one and it is a new year? We are not celebrating the birth of a messiah or birth of a nation; it is just a new year like last year was, BIG DEAL!

What do you think?

Nanki Poo this ain't Titipu Anymore

In recent weeks I have been irked by some comments made by people when they were discussing the President of the United States (POTUS).

One talking-head on MSNBC was referring to POTUS and his upcoming remarks on gun control legislation in the wake of the shootings in Connecticut.  She said something to the effect that we all should be interested in what POTUS has to say because he is "the Commander -in- Chief".

 

Well...., yes and no.  He is not my Commander-in-Chief since I am not a part of the military.  He cannot order me to do anything.  Military personnel are another matter and he is in fact their Commander-in-Chief.  He is in fact the civilian commander of the United States military.  We the People run the military, they do not run us.

But not too far from that blooper Nanny -in-Chief Michael Bloomberg was stating what POTUS should be telling us what to do about gun control.  

Well......yes and no.  He can't just tell us what to do.  He may suggest legislative changes and then enforce them as law BUT even with his shaky "Executive Orders" he must be constitutionally correct and should not over step his authority in a non-emergency situation.

These episodes represent the mistaken notion that POTUS is supreme dictator or Commissar ala Joe Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao se Tung and Nanny Bloomberg.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is even getting into the act!  The New York Times reported on his intention to possibly "confiscate" firearms from New York State citizens.

Why are chief executives at all levels of government considering themselves Commissars, Nannies, Tsars, Despots, Emperors, Kaisers or Big Cohunes and by doing so being the legislative, judicial and executive roles all wrapped one!?!?!?  This reminds me of Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan's satirical comedy opera The Mikado.  That was fictional comedy, this is real governance in the 21st Century.

These Pooh Bahs ought to remember the United States Constitution has a Second Amendment and Fourth Amendment.  They should also remember they are the representative of only one co-equal branch of government.  The electorate elected them, they did not appoint themselves and no power has anointed them. 

We the people gave the power to govern to the government and we can just as easily take it away.

Oh how life was so simple in The Town of Titipu!