Thursday, February 21, 2013
Drudge Crashes Rush!
Heh... Drudge with a headline that Rush said for the first time in his life, he's ashamed of his country. Rush's site is down. Those are 2 powerful people who tend to crash servers on a daily basis. Kudos to Drudge for crashing Rush, and kudos to Rush for speaking your truth.
NRA, Coalitions, and Dealers. Or, Why Do I Own a Gun?
Weird. I used to work in law enforcement, and yet the only gun I owned was given to me when my grandpa died when I was 12. I used to work in Corrections, and during that time, I had a CCW, used strictly for work purposes. I was issued a .38 for transportation runs of inmates to and from the hospital, to and from different prisons, etc. The weapon wasn't issued to me; it was state property, and I had to turn it back into the arsenal after each transportation run.
To obtain the CCW certification, I had to run through the law enforcement training corps gun safety course, which included shooting about 28.5 million rounds (OK, a slight exaggeration), loading, reloading, low light firing, barricade firing, situational awareness, etc. I was also part of the regional Emergency Response Team, where I underwent other training for building clearing, search and rescue, hostage situations, and internal gun squad readiness, which required an ability to use a 12 gauge Remington 870. I left the department in 2005 to venture out into IT consulting (great decision, BTW).
I've never had a problem with guns. It wasn't like I was scared of them, but we never had one in our house growing up (even though my mom had a psycho ex husband), and it was never impressed upon me to work, live, and breathe firearms. I just never thought about it. I didn't look at people who owned guns as nuts, and I didn't view those who didn't as elitists. I just lived.
We bought our first gun about a month ago. We went to a local show, and we were able to walk away with a nice Ruger 380. I wanted it for my wife. A nearby business has been broken into twice since we've moved to our house, and the owner of the business walked in on the robbers when one of the robberies was in progress. They got away, and he's lucky they weren't armed when he encountered them. We have also had increased violence in the Grand Rapids area, and a town about 5 miles away recently had a double homicide of an elderly couple. Violence is increasing, and even though the violence may not be gun related, I feel my wife and I need to be protected.
We chose to buy a gun for the home, one that my wife can handle and feels comfortable holding and shooting. I will be purchasing a .40 within the next couple days, and we will introduce them to our 2 daughters once we start going to the range. I want them to be able to protect themselves too. I have started writing a protocol for situational awareness for our family to follow, and we will go to the range together, as a family.
I am also planning on buying an AR-15, a .308 and a 12 gauge. Mostly for protection, but the AR and .308 will be because I want one before I can no longer get one. It's sad that this country has dwindled down to the depths of the stupid lately. These plays on emotion, the elitist, ruling class dictating what is best for us, when they really don't know what they are talking about. Banning guns because they look scary, or have a suppressor, or can shoot <x> amount of rounds... Just idiotic.
So why the shift? Why have I gone from not thinking about owning a gun, to wanting to amass what amounts to a mini-arsenal to me? Well, because it's my right. As an American, we are given certain rights, and were given them at the start of this great nation. We Americans were given the right to speak freely, worship who or what we want, the right to assemble, and the right to bear arms. We are not given the right to hunt. We are not given the right to whisper. We are not given the right to gather with a couple of people around the water cooler. We are not given the right to pray in silence, behind a curtain, in the basement of our home.
The right to bear arms affords us the ability to speak freely, assemble in large groups, worship our God, and it is a foundation to keep tyranny in check. I have many liberal friends and relatives who think that I am nuts for my stance on the second amendment. They ask "how many guns do you own?" When I told them up until a month ago that I owned none, they were shocked that I would support the NRA, gun coalitions and the right for citizens to carry wherever they want. "WHY?!?!?!" I would just say simply, "it's their right." It amazes me that only Gays have the right to marry. That only the liberal press has the right to write what it wants. That only Occupy <whatever> has the right to assemble. That only the president and legislature have the right to decide what is a right or best for me and my family.
I joined the NRA at the gun show where I bought my wife her 380. I joined for a year. I will be a member for life, but I didn't have the cash for a lifetime membership. They aren't nuts. They are there for people like me. They are an organization who speaks up for my right, to ensure that my right to bear arms is not infringed, as it says in the constitution. I don't want my wife unable to protect herself. I can't bear the thought of some evil person attempting to harm my little girls. Having the ability to protect themselves and myself from an individual intent on harming me or us is very important. Protecting myself from a government intent on telling me what is best for me is my right. Thank God for the NRA, Coalitions and Dealers who are now standing up for us. Go spend $25 and join the NRA. Even if you don't own a gun. They need the money to defend our right. And it needs defending right now.
To obtain the CCW certification, I had to run through the law enforcement training corps gun safety course, which included shooting about 28.5 million rounds (OK, a slight exaggeration), loading, reloading, low light firing, barricade firing, situational awareness, etc. I was also part of the regional Emergency Response Team, where I underwent other training for building clearing, search and rescue, hostage situations, and internal gun squad readiness, which required an ability to use a 12 gauge Remington 870. I left the department in 2005 to venture out into IT consulting (great decision, BTW).
I've never had a problem with guns. It wasn't like I was scared of them, but we never had one in our house growing up (even though my mom had a psycho ex husband), and it was never impressed upon me to work, live, and breathe firearms. I just never thought about it. I didn't look at people who owned guns as nuts, and I didn't view those who didn't as elitists. I just lived.
We bought our first gun about a month ago. We went to a local show, and we were able to walk away with a nice Ruger 380. I wanted it for my wife. A nearby business has been broken into twice since we've moved to our house, and the owner of the business walked in on the robbers when one of the robberies was in progress. They got away, and he's lucky they weren't armed when he encountered them. We have also had increased violence in the Grand Rapids area, and a town about 5 miles away recently had a double homicide of an elderly couple. Violence is increasing, and even though the violence may not be gun related, I feel my wife and I need to be protected.
We chose to buy a gun for the home, one that my wife can handle and feels comfortable holding and shooting. I will be purchasing a .40 within the next couple days, and we will introduce them to our 2 daughters once we start going to the range. I want them to be able to protect themselves too. I have started writing a protocol for situational awareness for our family to follow, and we will go to the range together, as a family.
I am also planning on buying an AR-15, a .308 and a 12 gauge. Mostly for protection, but the AR and .308 will be because I want one before I can no longer get one. It's sad that this country has dwindled down to the depths of the stupid lately. These plays on emotion, the elitist, ruling class dictating what is best for us, when they really don't know what they are talking about. Banning guns because they look scary, or have a suppressor, or can shoot <x> amount of rounds... Just idiotic.
So why the shift? Why have I gone from not thinking about owning a gun, to wanting to amass what amounts to a mini-arsenal to me? Well, because it's my right. As an American, we are given certain rights, and were given them at the start of this great nation. We Americans were given the right to speak freely, worship who or what we want, the right to assemble, and the right to bear arms. We are not given the right to hunt. We are not given the right to whisper. We are not given the right to gather with a couple of people around the water cooler. We are not given the right to pray in silence, behind a curtain, in the basement of our home.
The right to bear arms affords us the ability to speak freely, assemble in large groups, worship our God, and it is a foundation to keep tyranny in check. I have many liberal friends and relatives who think that I am nuts for my stance on the second amendment. They ask "how many guns do you own?" When I told them up until a month ago that I owned none, they were shocked that I would support the NRA, gun coalitions and the right for citizens to carry wherever they want. "WHY?!?!?!" I would just say simply, "it's their right." It amazes me that only Gays have the right to marry. That only the liberal press has the right to write what it wants. That only Occupy <whatever> has the right to assemble. That only the president and legislature have the right to decide what is a right or best for me and my family.
I joined the NRA at the gun show where I bought my wife her 380. I joined for a year. I will be a member for life, but I didn't have the cash for a lifetime membership. They aren't nuts. They are there for people like me. They are an organization who speaks up for my right, to ensure that my right to bear arms is not infringed, as it says in the constitution. I don't want my wife unable to protect herself. I can't bear the thought of some evil person attempting to harm my little girls. Having the ability to protect themselves and myself from an individual intent on harming me or us is very important. Protecting myself from a government intent on telling me what is best for me is my right. Thank God for the NRA, Coalitions and Dealers who are now standing up for us. Go spend $25 and join the NRA. Even if you don't own a gun. They need the money to defend our right. And it needs defending right now.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
It is the Messaging
Last night I went to a town hall with my US Representative, Justin Amash. He's known for being a wild-card, disagrees with leadership frequently, and was in the news here lately on a couple of different occasions. Elected as part of the 2010 Tea Party wave that gave Republicans an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives, he was nominated by a grass roots movement, and easily won re-election in 2012. I voted for him in 2012, but lived in WI in 2010.
What I found humorous last night, was that he gave an update to the full room (don't ask how many, all I know is that all the seats were taken, and people were left standing) on the sequestration and then took questions. I'm sure that with Obama touting how catastrophic these looming cuts would be if the sequestration went through, Representative Amash expected to be peppered with numerous questions on the topic. There was one:
"Do you feel that the cuts should happen?"
Amash said in summary: I do, because it was put forth as a bill, passed, signed into law. I did not vote for it. I don't think that it's the best way to balance the budget, but these cuts won't be catastrophic. In fact, they're not cuts in spending, they are a cut in the rate of GROWTH of spending.
So, in short, no one cares about the sequester. It's true. EVERYONE says we have a spending problem, even those getting free crap. They just aren't smart enough to realize that it isn't free and the money to give them free crap comes from people like you and me. I think it is funny that everyone was like "yeah, OK, more political theater, the US will shut down if we cut one penny, blah, blah, blah." I really do think Obama whining every time he doesn't get something he wants is getting old, and people, even the ones getting free crap, realize that their lives will go on.
He took on numerous questions, and even answered mine. Mine was as follows:
"Today, the Tea Party Patriots sent out an email wherein there were links to pictures and one of these pictures had Karl Rove photoshopped dressed in a Nazi uniform. There is open bickering between the moderates and conservatives in the Republican party. Because of your voting record, you were kicked off of committee [for this congress]. You, yourself, have gone on MSNBC and bashed fellow Republicans.
My question is this - when will Republicans unite behind a message, and can you guys ever come together and get the message out without fighting? I don't care what you do behind closed doors, but the media is killing you guys when you air it out in public."
His response was very good! He denounced the Tea Party Patriots' actions, and stated that he had never been on MSNBC, so that was false. I have to admit that I saw him say his remarks about the sequester and stating that it was wrong to just blame Obama for the sequester when everyone voted for it to become law. However, those remarks must have been taped at the time I viewed the clip. I'll cede that, and I do watch MSNBC from time to time to see how the enemy thinks. Representative Amash then let the room in on a little secret. He said that the unified message that leadership wants to pump out would be a mistruth to the people. He couldn't do that to his constituents, and he was elected to serve us, not lie to us.
So, herein lies the dilemma. We all know the Dems lie. They lie whenever they talk. They lie in their sleep. They lie when they're pondering how to lie while taking a nice pause during one of their recesses. But they lie together. They lie the same lie. The media reports the same lie for them. It is in the same tone, the same context, the same emphasis points. The same EVERYTHING!
Republicans, well, most of them, do have a conscience. Thus, they cannot compete with lying liars who lie about the lies they tell. The Republicans eat their own. The Republicans tell the truth (somewhat), and so, well, the truth has many variations. Therefore, poor messaging. The Republicans absolutely SUCK at messaging, and they need to step it up.
It was clear from Justin's answer that his convictions far outweigh the wants of the party. I can respect that, but for us to take back our country, I have to respectfully disagree. In my profession, teamwork is important. There are many key players to get a project through to completion. We may not agree all the time, but for the good of the business, to save money, time and make our customers happy, we have to deliver. We deliver the product, and then we address how to do it better the next time in lessons learned documentation.
We take on each other behind closed doors to air our dirty laundry. I have had many fingers pointed at me (literally), and I have had harsh words for many a consultant. But I've never directed that to them, nor they to me, in front of the customer. It's just bad business. We want to show a solid, finished product that the customer is happy with; not let them know what it took to get it for them. Because, in the end, it's the customer who decides whether or not they want to keep you around. They pay your salary, in essence, through buying your product.
So, respectfully, and as much as I like Representative Amash, I have to disagree with bashing each other on the open airwaves. Much like in business, we the people decide whether or not we like the product when it comes to politicians too. I do like Justin. I voted for him, and I would vote for him again. There are rumors here in MI that he is toying for a run for Senate. I would support him there too. But, and this is a BUT bigger than Michelle's (sorry, cheap pot shot...), we need to get a better product out of the Republican party's representatives. I don't know what it will take to get there, but it has to happen. And quickly. People just don't like the product anymore.
What I found humorous last night, was that he gave an update to the full room (don't ask how many, all I know is that all the seats were taken, and people were left standing) on the sequestration and then took questions. I'm sure that with Obama touting how catastrophic these looming cuts would be if the sequestration went through, Representative Amash expected to be peppered with numerous questions on the topic. There was one:
"Do you feel that the cuts should happen?"
Amash said in summary: I do, because it was put forth as a bill, passed, signed into law. I did not vote for it. I don't think that it's the best way to balance the budget, but these cuts won't be catastrophic. In fact, they're not cuts in spending, they are a cut in the rate of GROWTH of spending.
So, in short, no one cares about the sequester. It's true. EVERYONE says we have a spending problem, even those getting free crap. They just aren't smart enough to realize that it isn't free and the money to give them free crap comes from people like you and me. I think it is funny that everyone was like "yeah, OK, more political theater, the US will shut down if we cut one penny, blah, blah, blah." I really do think Obama whining every time he doesn't get something he wants is getting old, and people, even the ones getting free crap, realize that their lives will go on.
He took on numerous questions, and even answered mine. Mine was as follows:
"Today, the Tea Party Patriots sent out an email wherein there were links to pictures and one of these pictures had Karl Rove photoshopped dressed in a Nazi uniform. There is open bickering between the moderates and conservatives in the Republican party. Because of your voting record, you were kicked off of committee [for this congress]. You, yourself, have gone on MSNBC and bashed fellow Republicans.
My question is this - when will Republicans unite behind a message, and can you guys ever come together and get the message out without fighting? I don't care what you do behind closed doors, but the media is killing you guys when you air it out in public."
His response was very good! He denounced the Tea Party Patriots' actions, and stated that he had never been on MSNBC, so that was false. I have to admit that I saw him say his remarks about the sequester and stating that it was wrong to just blame Obama for the sequester when everyone voted for it to become law. However, those remarks must have been taped at the time I viewed the clip. I'll cede that, and I do watch MSNBC from time to time to see how the enemy thinks. Representative Amash then let the room in on a little secret. He said that the unified message that leadership wants to pump out would be a mistruth to the people. He couldn't do that to his constituents, and he was elected to serve us, not lie to us.
So, herein lies the dilemma. We all know the Dems lie. They lie whenever they talk. They lie in their sleep. They lie when they're pondering how to lie while taking a nice pause during one of their recesses. But they lie together. They lie the same lie. The media reports the same lie for them. It is in the same tone, the same context, the same emphasis points. The same EVERYTHING!
Republicans, well, most of them, do have a conscience. Thus, they cannot compete with lying liars who lie about the lies they tell. The Republicans eat their own. The Republicans tell the truth (somewhat), and so, well, the truth has many variations. Therefore, poor messaging. The Republicans absolutely SUCK at messaging, and they need to step it up.
It was clear from Justin's answer that his convictions far outweigh the wants of the party. I can respect that, but for us to take back our country, I have to respectfully disagree. In my profession, teamwork is important. There are many key players to get a project through to completion. We may not agree all the time, but for the good of the business, to save money, time and make our customers happy, we have to deliver. We deliver the product, and then we address how to do it better the next time in lessons learned documentation.
We take on each other behind closed doors to air our dirty laundry. I have had many fingers pointed at me (literally), and I have had harsh words for many a consultant. But I've never directed that to them, nor they to me, in front of the customer. It's just bad business. We want to show a solid, finished product that the customer is happy with; not let them know what it took to get it for them. Because, in the end, it's the customer who decides whether or not they want to keep you around. They pay your salary, in essence, through buying your product.
So, respectfully, and as much as I like Representative Amash, I have to disagree with bashing each other on the open airwaves. Much like in business, we the people decide whether or not we like the product when it comes to politicians too. I do like Justin. I voted for him, and I would vote for him again. There are rumors here in MI that he is toying for a run for Senate. I would support him there too. But, and this is a BUT bigger than Michelle's (sorry, cheap pot shot...), we need to get a better product out of the Republican party's representatives. I don't know what it will take to get there, but it has to happen. And quickly. People just don't like the product anymore.
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