Anonymous

So on the way to work today (a 15 mile drive, mostly on the interstate) I counted 71 white pickup trucks.

Just sayin’.

Is there an elephant in the room?

Here it is, in all it’s FAIL-drenched glory:

An entire article on the loss of non-resident hunting permits declining without mentioning anywhere the recent push of the Colorado Denver state legislature making it so dangerous to bring any guns into the state that hunters nation-wide are boycotting us.

Money quote: “…lose that non-resident hunter–from old age, economic downturns, or whatever–and you lose a substantial bit of jingle.”

OR WHATEVER? Good lord.

I have no sympathy for the Department of Parks and Wildlife losing their entire budget because of this, if they aren’t going to go out of their way kicking and screaming about the idiocy out of Denver. If you are silent on this issue OR WHATEVER, you are no friend of me, resident sportsmen, or the out of state hunters you claim to love the money of.

A Capitalist Plot!

Those crafty capitalist pigs! Overthrowing the dreams of socialism by creating a (market, not literal) run on toilet paper!

Junk

Republicans…

Why do I consider myself an Independent? Because every political party out there wants to be a tin pot dictator, they just want to ignore different parts of the constitution.

I got a letter from Mark Udall (Dumbass, Colorado)

Dear Fellow Coloradan,

The horror of the Newtown shooting, arriving on the heels of the mass shootings in Aurora, Columbine, Virginia Tech and Tucson, has appropriately reignited a national debate over gun violence.  Sadly, this week even a bipartisan compromise to expand background checks to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, drafted by two conservative U.S. senators — Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia — failed to pass the U.S. Senate, despite being supported by 90 percent of Americans and over 70 percent of NRA members. [citation needed]

Last week I met with the mothers and fathers of the children who were murdered in Newtown [IS FOR THE CHILDRENS!!!]; although they told me about how thankful they were to the families and community of Aurora for their support, I know they are uniquely disappointed in the Senate’s failure to pass meaningful gun-safety measures.  This gulf between public support and congressional inaction cannot continue.

As with many issues, Colorado serves as a roadmap for the steps we must take: Our state closed the gun show loophole through a ballot initiative in 2000 and in March this year, Gov. John Hickenlooper [The future one term governor of Denver Colorado {they're different? who knew!}] signed into law several bills that require universal background checks for all gun purchases and limit high-capacity magazines.  These actions mirror my votes in the U.S. Senate this week in favor of background checks, supporting a ban on high-capacity magazines, cracking down on illegal gun sales and trafficking, and improving mental health services. [And now the Denver Democrats are out there leading the charge off the cliff all alone]

The U.S. Senate also considered an assault weapons ban.  And while I’ve previously called for an effectively crafted ban on military-style weapons, the specific ban we considered went much further than the 1994 assault weapons law and also would have banned legitimate hunting rifles and even some shotguns.  I spoke to sportsmen from across Colorado and they voiced their concerns about how this ban would restrict their ability to hunt and responsibly practice their sport, which is an important part of our economy and way of life.  I know some Coloradans may say that banning some legitimate hunting weapons is a small price to pay to keep other, more dangerous weapons off of our streets — especially for a state that has suffered mass gun tragedies.  I can relate to that sentiment, but after years of seeking to find common ground on gun-safety issues, I also know that overreach can spur the backlash that we’ve seen undermine even the most common-sense solutions – like universal background checks. [sign of intelligent life?]

But an assault weapons ban alone should not serve as a litmus test for people who want to reduce gun violence.  Even if a perfectly drafted assault weapons ban were signed into law, we would still be left with easy access to millions of military-style weapons on our streets today – which is why it is so important to also ensure that a background check is conducted on every gun sale. [Good luck getting gang bangers to go along with that]

There are no easy answers, but we should all agree — and a large majority of NRA members do [citation needed] — that we must keep firearms of any kind out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill by requiring universal background checks.  But loopholes — which the Manchin-Toomey proposal sought to correct — continue to prevent many of these background checks from occurring today.  Disturbed individuals should not get a chance to fire even one round into their communities, let alone the 30 rounds a high-capacity magazine would allow.  Together, background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines achieve much of what an assault weapons ban seeks to — preventing the wrong people from having access to weapons [like pressure cookers] that can inflict mass casualties in a matter of moments.

Coming from a state with a long and storied tradition of gun ownership that has also suffered through too many gun tragedies, I know we must simultaneously renew our commitment to keeping our children safe while safeguarding our Second Amendment rights.  My friend Gabby Giffords [yeah, I know a guy who knows a guy with brown skin], a survivor of the senseless violence in Tucson, knows too well how important this debate is and her strength has only affirmed my conviction that the status quo must change.  I will keep fighting for Colorado’s [I think you meant to say "Denver" there] families and values.  Our nation deserves nothing less.

Warm regards,

Mark Udall

quote of the gun control

From The Miller:

“The biggest question I have today is why was President Obama more upset about this than the terrorist bombing in Boston?”

Indeed.

Camouflage: Phase Six

Got the maple leaf, the People Eating Tasty Animals KIDS! stickers, and my Aussie sticker. Can’t decide if I should put all of them on the case or save some for the truck and whatnot. Still coming is another two sugar skulls. And then I think I may have maxed out my credit 3.99 at a time…

BAG Day?

I didn’t technically. My tax return went to support the Boulder Airlift. But in the same time frame I bought my spiffy new Pelican and decked it out with camouflage (with more stickers inbound!) and a new plastic toy. So plenty of my money (more than my tax return, I can say that) was sent off in return for gunny-related goods.

Camouflage: Phase Three

Still got another sticker in the mail, and still have a whole nother side to think about…

Jem – They

Strange how some random song can really hit a nerve when it comes to the happenings of current events in your life.

Who made up all the rules?
We follow them like fools,
Believe them to be true,
Don’t care to think them through

And I’m sorry, so sorry
I’m sorry it’s like this
I’m sorry, so sorry
I’m sorry we do this

And it’s ironic too
‘Cause what we tend to do
Is act on what they say
And then it is that way

And I’m sorry, so sorry
I’m sorry it’s like this
I’m sorry, so sorry
I’m sorry we do this

Who are they?
Where are they?
How can they possibly
Know all this?
Who are they?
Where are they?
How can they possibly
Know all this?

Do you see what I see?
Why do we live like this?
Is it because it’s true
That ignorance is bliss?

Who are they?
Where are they?
How do they
Know all this?
And I’m sorry, so sorry
I’m sorry it’s like this

Do you see what I see?
Why do we live like this?
Is it because it’s true
That ignorance is bliss?

And who are they?
Where are they?
How can they
Know all this?
And I’m sorry, so sorry
I’m sorry we do this

Camouflage: Phase One

An eclectic mix, only to get weirder when the next shipment comes in. Oooh, and there’s a whole ‘nother side! What kind of mischief could happen over there?

Black gold

So I walked through Cabela’s, and wonder of wonder, they actually had a metal AR magazine.

Then I got home, and the other half of the Boulder Airlift arrived.

Huzzah!

Gun Case Questions

It’s a day of blegging, apparently.

Since it appears that I should be doing more gun-and-magazine-locking-upping in the near future, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for easily lockable cases. I would prefer one that could hold more than one rifle at a time, and was a nice sturdy hard case. The plano-esque one that my ORC came with is ok, but firmly on the flimsy side. I was thinking that I should also get a separate lockable box for my OMGEEEEVILLL (but still ok enough to be grandfathered in) over-15-round magazines, just so when Officer Friendly stops you for your burnt out tail light he can’t start jumping to conclusions right away. Something that doesn’t scream “GUNS!!!!” would probably be good.

I was looking at this and this (not affiliated with Amazon or it’s affiliates, and any affiliations are purely in the mind of the FCC or FTC or Effin-whatever-the-hell-your-stupid-government-organizations-who-seem-to-be-obsessed-with-making-our-lives-more-difficult-are-called, merely linked for educational purposes.) A bit rich, maybe, but, as my Uncle says, “It’s only a dollar more to go first class.” And despite the recent stock market run, I have my doubts on the long-term worth of my money, so why not convert it into something useful? Something that might usefully help me stay out of jail for malum prohibitumy things? After all, you wouldn’t want any of your high-velocity rifles to escape, since they can go so fast, apparently.

Wow, that turned kinda ranty there at the end, didn’t it?