Reciprocity BIll

Honestly not sure what to think of this passing.

I have heard so much about this both pro and con that I am not sure if it is a good thing or if the Dems have found a way to poison it. . .  .

Most seem to be backing it now as far as the pro-gun groups go, but some are not. . . .

I guess time will tell.

I do know that it has got the liberals heads exploding.  As I listen to the NPR crap coming off some radio on the shop floor I swear they know nothing about the gun laws on the books, or guns in general but boy do they like to hear themselves talk.  They even seem to think they know something. . .

Who was it that said "better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt"?  NPR needs to learn that one.

Open letter on Massachusetts Gun Control

Dear Rep.

I am writing you as a concerned independent voter.  Once again our civil rights are under attack by people with little to no understanding of the laws already in place and who are ignoring the fact we do not have a gun problem in MA now.  In addition, we are actually well below the national average for any kind of gun crime. 

At the same time gun ownership in the state is on the rise.  In 2015 ABC news was reporting we had a 66% increase in gun licensing over the previous 3-4 years.  Last year they reported an increase of 7.8% in 2016 alone. . . .

As a Massachusetts certified instructor, I can tell you my club holds monthly classes and we get 18-20 folks EVERY month at the class looking to get their permits.

Based on this I find it hard to believe there is any real support in this state for more gun control.

We need to clean up the gun laws we have, end the confusion that our patchwork of laws has created, and get the Attorney General out of the lawmaking business and back to enforcing what is passed by our legislature.  Gun laws should be easy to understand and if you would not put that restriction on voting you should not be looking at it for gun ownership which is also a right.

I ask that you vote against any new restrictions on our rights.  I know the next open meeting on upcoming bills is on the 16^th, but like many, I have a job and bills to pay so will not be able to attend.  I am especially concerned about the following bills:

H.1281 – We do not have a magazine problem in this state and there is no reason to pass more regulation on it that will be impossible to enforce.  Criminals will still do what they want and use whatever magazine they want.  This does nothing to keep us safe.  And if you do take lawful citizens magazines, who will reimburse them for the money lost?  How much per mag is the state going to pay?

H.2495 – Required insurance to own a gun and exercise a right?  How is this Constitutional?  This is no more than an attempt to make it too expensive for the very people who need a gun for protection to own one, our elderly, poor and middle class.  This is a poll tax with a different name.  

H.3610 – This has already been looked at and is dealt with through protective orders which already restrict gun ownership.  We don’t need more laws when we already have laws in place that cover this and include due process for all involved.

S. 1298 – As I stated MA has some of the lowest ratings for gun crime, well below national average.  We do not need more taxes on gun ownership and taxes is another way to price a right out of existence for the poor, elderly and middle-class people of our state.  Enough.

I am saddened to see us wasting time on these bills while we have folks dying of overdoses all over our state.  The legislatures time would be better spent dealing with our illegal drug problems and how to get these people treatment and off drugs.  That would really save lives.

Gun Control and truck attacks. . .

What comes next in MA?

The attempt to pass a bump stock ban failed in MA. . . they tried to tie it to a budget bill and wrote it so badly that even oiling a gun may have violated the law and had you looking at YEARS of prison time.

So now what?  We wait and see if they try to put another bill together now that they have lost momentum and the “Feeling” part of the event to help them push it through.  Not sure but would not surprise me if they push for something anyway.  It has nothing to do with safety - it is about a chance to strip us of our rights.

Yet in NYC a nut here on a green card from the Diversity program just yelled Allah Akbar and ran down a bunch of folks who had no chance because they were disarmed by NYC.  Not one person there could have a gun to fight back.

What the fuck is wrong with us???

Free Speech under attack

What is so hard to understand about our First Amendment and freedom of speech.

Folks are in an uproar over the KKK and Neo-Nazi protests and calling for removal of statues.  The left also seems OK with using violence to prevent the KKK and Neo-Nazis from speaking out.  And the media paints the violence from the left as somehow justified.

No, it is not OK.

Folks if all they are doing is a protest or rally and they are not violent then our government has no power to stop them, and you have no right to attack them with violence.

In fact, if you are the one throwing the bricks and bottles at folks based on their speech then you are the problem and you are the fascist.  Sorry to break the news to you but yep, you are the bad guy.

The KKK, Neo-Nazis and any other white supremacists group out there is loving this.  Yes they are dirtbags, and yes you should protests against them if you want, but you have no right to use violence on them if you are not attacked.  To make it worse, these groups of misfits were on the way out until you gave them a platform and put them back in the news. . . Had no one showed up against them it would not have made the news.

Instead, you have pushed them back into the national spot light and as crazy as they are you make them look good because they now can play the victim.  They had the permits and did not start anything, you in the Antifa were the first to attack. . .  that makes you the bad guy even compared to them. . . way to go.

With your violent attacks against anyone you disagree with you are showing that your cause is part of the problem, not the fix.  You are also pushing normal folks to actually look at these hate groups and actually give them a look and listen.  You are making the very people you want to stop look like the injured party. 

You are helping them to recruit new folks by showing how violent you are to folks you don’t like.  This is scaring folks who see you attacking Trump supporters and other libertarian and conservatives on TV and they easily make the jump to thinking “that could be me”.  In Boston, even the Mayor called out the protesters on the left when they posted flyers around the city calling for folks to bring bottles and such to the libertarian free speech rally on the common so they had things to throw at those evil libertarians.

If you really want to fix this, then you need to call out Antifa and BLM for the terrorist groups they are.  By attacking cops and those they disagree with, often with the bloody results on TV they have shown they are no different than the KKK or Neo-Nazi.  I don’t care that they are on the left instead of the right, it does not justify the violence.  If you think it does, you are part of the problem.

They Call it Free Speech

The last few days or so have been very scary on the free speech front.  Antifa seems to have folks convinced that free speech means you can silence hate speech or any other speech you don’t like. . . .

IDIOTS!

Folks we have a little thing called the First Amendment that protects you from the Government stopping your free speech. . . your boss, on the other hand, can fire you if he/she wants for what you say. . . .

Anyway what that means, in a nutshell, is they MUST issue the permit for the march, be it the KKK, Antifa or any of the numerous other hate groups out there.  They have the right to march and speak.

I don’t have to like what they say.  In fact, that is the reason we have the amendment, to protect speech we don’t like.

The lack of education is showing as folks call for laws and other BS to silence the views they don’t like.  No, you don’t get to do that here in the good old USA where our speech is protected.

And that leads us to the other problem.  The left does not like being told they can’t silence folks so they are now relying on the old standby of the thug, beat folks who disagree. 

And the news media tells us there is a difference between the alt right and alt left.  I just don’t see it. 

KKK, White Supremacist, BLM, Antifa all seem to use the same play book.  That does not make it right if your side is violent to suppress speech.  Hate is hate, be it right or left I don’t care.  Watch the news, read the internet and look who is being violent and who is starting the riots.  Time and again I see BLM, and Antifa calling for violence, kill the cops, attack the man. . .  the KKK is the same old BS they have always been and they are dying a slow death as they should.  BOTH ARE THE PROBLEM!

I don’t care what your goal is if you need to cover your face and resort to violence to get what you want you are the problem.  So it seems to me both of the “Alts” are the problem and the rest of us need to admit this - and the news folks need to stop the fake news BS and help us spread the word.  None of these folks want anything good for the rest of us, they want power OVER us!

Don’t buy into the BS.  They want us divided, it is easier to rule us that way. .  .

New Dog

Well since we lost our older dog Dixie to cancer our pup (10 mo old) Bell has been a bit depressed.

She has been getting back to her old self slowly but we figured it was time to save another stray.  Well my wife did, I am along for the ride. .  .

So we got Aurora this weekend, from the same shelter we got Bell from.  She is 2-3 years old and has no problems with chewing up the house, going outside to do her business or using a leash.  All of this leads the shelter and us to think someone just dumped the poor thing on the side of the road for some reason as she was a stray.

I have to say the look on her face kills me.  She was so sad yesterday when we got her.  I know her whole world was mixed up again on her and you could see it.  But after a nights sleep and some dinner she seems better today.  Hopefully, a few days and she will settle in with us and start to see we won't abandon her.

Bell is very excited to have another dog to play with, almost over excited.  Pool Aurora is not quite ready for Bell and her enthusiasm but they do seem to be getting along.

The cats are not so thrilled we brought in another dog, but they are ok.

I swear anyone that would treat an animal like this and abandon them needs some jail time, that just ain't right.  I swear all I need to know is how you treat your animals and I know all I need about you...

The Circle of Martial Arts

When I was a kid the first martial arts I learned were shooting and the use of a bow and arrow. 

As I got older I got into reading everything I could on Ninjitsu and other open hand martial arts.  In high school, I started playing with a bo and wooden swords along with some other Asian martial arts weapons.  And so it went.

When I went to college I let things drop for a bit as my studies got in the way of practice.. .

Once I got married I started to look at Karate, and my wife found a local school that we both joined and back down the rabbit hole I went.  I did a number of years of Shotokan then went on to do some Tai Chi.  I took another break as life got in the way then went back to do some Uechi  Ryu for a number of years.

The someone hit repeat on me. . . . I got back into shooting and gave up on the karate for a while.  And by getting back into it I mean I started taking some formal classes and got my NRA certification in a few things so I could teach shooting and help folks get their permits.  I also started back on the archery stuff with my younger daughter.  That is a bit on and off as we can, but still. . . . my 35 yr old bow still works well.

Now that I have been teaching shooting for a few years in my free time it seems like Karate is calling to me again bit by bit.  I really need to set aside time to get back into my kata work for the styles I know.   I still have all my info from my karate days, videos of the kata, and more notes than you can imagine on it.  I had my own book I wrote along the way on how to do everything I was learning. . . .

I guess I will always be hooked on the martial arts of one form or another. . . may as well stop fighting it and get back into my karate. . . .

Dry Fire?

Well?  Do you????

You may not believe in it but please, give it a shot.  I have found that my groups get better and my aim too.

Dry fire is a great way to get rid of those bad habits you picked up, such as flinching and anticipating the recoil.  Best done with center fire.  You can dry fire rimfire guns but make sure to have a snap cap to protect the firing pin.

The basics are to use your gun with no ammo or with snap caps to practice aim and trigger pull.  But there are some things you can do to make it better.

Some folks I know will buy a laser bore sight to put in the barrel of the gun.  You aim at the wall (you know it is a safe direction right?) and watch the red dot as you pull the trigger.  In a perfect world, it should not move at all as you fire. . .  Work on your grip to minimize the movement.

I took it a step further and I use a LaserLyte practice system like this:

The red thing is a laser that fits in your gun barrel.  I use a special blue gun with a working trigger also from LaserLyte to train.  The laser picks up the noise of the trigger snap or hammer fall and flashes for a second.

The target actually picks up the hits and records them.  Not too bad for practice in the living room.  I also like that with the blue gun there is no real gun for my kids to get their hands on if I get distracted.

Now the laser will work in a real gun too.  It is adjustable for the caliber.

On a side note, this is also a nice way to work with new students.   I had a friend who thought his sights were off.  He was new to shooting pistol so we unloaded the gun and put in the laser.  He took aim and the dot was visible in the black.  A great way for him to see it was him and not the sights.  He was anticipating the recoil and pushing the barrel down. . . . when he knew there would be no recoil he was right on target with the laser.

So go forth and dry fire my friends!  It is cheap and you will see improvements!  And who knows if you go for the laser trainer you may find other uses for it too. . . .

From the range.

Two take away’s from this weekend’s day at the range:

1 – the most dangerous person on the range is the new shooter.  We did a Women on Target day and it was a great success.  Everyone had a good time and was safe.  That is because we make sure to have one instructor per shooter when we do the pistol.  Now, this is not a safety class, just the basics on safety then we move on to a closely supervised chance for women to try their hand at Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, and Archery.  There were lots of happy faces at the end of the day so that was a big win.

As I said it went well and was a success but we did have a couple of times we had instructors pushing guns back down range before anyone got swept with a loaded gun.

Getting new folks into the shooting sports is critical, but safety is too.  When you have that new person at the range stay extra vigilant on safety folks.  I find I spend most of my time watching the gun until I know they have the safety part down, then I will move on to helping them with the group and getting on the paper.

2 – I need more range time.  During a break the head instruction let us take a few round with the range guns.  Now I could blame the dirty gun with a stock trigger but truth be told I was not happy with my shooting.  Yes, it was all on paper and good enough for self-defense but not up to the standard I want.

Time for more dry fire practice with my laser trainer and more .22 range time is called for. . . . 

Training Training Training

Had a great night last night working with our kids rifle group at my gun club.  We had a new adult club member who had experience as a competitive shooter in college stop by to help out.  He had a lot of good points and did help a lot but learned quickly you can overwhelm folks with fixes. . .

What do I mean?  When you are teaching someone a martial art (or anything for that matter) you need to limit the number of things you correct to the critical few at that moment. 

What I mean by that is give the student the safety corrections first, then work on the one or two things that will make the biggest difference in what they are doing next.  Then step back and let them work on them for a while.  Let them make the fix and internalize it. . . . only then do you go to the next item on the list of corrections.

Think about it. . . . If I give you two things to work on for the night and let you go I bet you will get better.  If I give you 10 things to work on I bet you will not only forget most of them, but will get discouraged and think about walking away. 

Everyone seems to think teaching is easy. . . until you do it.  Teaching things that deal with muscle memory are no different.  It is all about repetition so you learn the right way to do it and eventually you do it right without thinking. . . . So don’t rush your students, let them learn at their pace and you will both be happier with how quick they pick up that new skill. . . .

Trying to get moving again

OK, been a while since I have been active here. .  posts now and again but that is it. . .

Well I am going to try to fix that.  Going forward I will be posting on various martial arts, from shooting to hand to hand stuff. . . .

Also I may start putting up some of my photos and stuff on the models I have started building again. . .

Anyway we will see how it goes, so hang on folks!

= )

Terrorism

When will we admit terrorism is here to stay and no law or reduction in freedom will fix that?

To fix this and end these attacks every religion out there would have to admit they are no better than all the rest and none of them have the true one path to God. . . .

Can you ever see any of them doing that?  Ya me either.

Folks religion is about control, at least the organized ones.  They are about power and ruling just like any government is.  They are not about God, least not in a primary sense.  God is secondary to getting control over you and getting you to give them money.

So I don't see an end to this, not today, not tomorrow, not after we wipe large chunks of the middle east off the map to eliminate ISIS.  You may fix the problem for a while, but it will come back again and again until that day that religions can admit that one fact. . .  .

No, I am not holding my breath. . . .

Manchester Attack

Another Terror attack in the disarmed UK.

No gun used, they used a nail bomb.  The data so far looks like the attacker was in a public area (outside security) and blew himself up.

Honestly, I am not surprised by this.  We keep adding more laws and more security checkpoints in the hope it will make us safe.  It does the opposite.

I remember seeing Disney World after the Orlando attacks on the Pulse nightclub.  Huge crowds of people getting screened before going into the park.  My first thought was you just changed the target - from people in the park to the door where they can kill a lot more a lot quicker bunched up like that. . . .

These checkpoints or the should be called choke points scare the hell out of me every time I have to go through them.  All I can think is how easy it would be for them to hit us all bunched up here . .  . ..

And they just did in the UK.  They got lucky there was only one this time. . .  a well-planned attack would have had a second or third bomber to get other exits. . . and they will at some point.

They think it was a terror attack. . .  I am going to guess Islamic Terror cell.  And to the cowards that would attack children, all I can say is if your God would have you kill children, then your God is evil.

Male, Female, or X. . . Check One. . . .

Due to some discussions I had I got thinking about gender roles and what we call ourselves, male, female, and those folks that want another choice.  So I needed to get this out. . . .

Folks it is time we grow up and look at this like adults, not children.  You are Male or Female and that is just a basic fact of your DNA.  Beyond that, it does not matter (outside of reproduction) unless YOU let it matter.

Now there are some basic realities that we cannot get around.  A 5’ 100 lbs. woman is not going to get a spot as a linebacker on any NFL team.  Sorry, that is just a fact and you can self-identify as anything you want that fact won’t change.  You get a sex change operation your DNA does not change nor does your basic structure.  Going from Male to Female under the knife you will look female but still be stronger than most women because of your genetics and you will have an unfair advantage competing against them physically. No, I don’t think athletes that had a sex change should be able to compete anymore or at least not in any way that they get an unfair advantage. 

Go from Female to Male and you will have the same issues except you will be at a disadvantage against other men because your DNA and basic body will be weaker physical than most men.  Get over it.  Hormones treatments only do so much. . . .

Beyond that why do we let the media/liberals/anyone divide us up like sheep?  You need to identify as one of the many sexes they keep coming up with, or no sex at all. . . . This is foolish.  You are what you are physically and in your DNA.  Accept that and move on with your life.  Don’t be the girl on YouTube who self-identifies as a cat. . . you are not a cat nor will you ever be a cat in this life.  That is only a path to sadness and possibly madness. . . . enjoy your time with the cats, have a cat or cat’s live with you, but be smart enough to admit you are not a cat. . . .

Let it go.  Don’t let your physical sex define you any more than nature requires.  We need to stop worrying about what we identify with and just live.  Who cares?  You need to identify as HUMAN and move on.  Don’t get boxed in and don’t get worked up over it.  You are male or female, those are your only choices PHYSICALLY but WHO YOU ARE IS SO MUCH MORE than that. 

Stop limiting yourself and stop wasting time wanting to be something you physically are not.  You only hurt yourself and put up roadblocks to your own happiness and growth that way.

·         Love who you want to with all your heart

·         Work to get the job you want ( but be real, see above)

·         Enjoy your hobbies

·         Enjoy your family and friends

·         Grow and make the world better

Yes, a guy in a dress is going to get looks.  More so than a woman in a suite will.  Learn to deal with it or admit society does have some standards and you can break them but you will have to deal with the results.  Clothes should not be your identity anyway. . . if it is about how you dress then sorry, I think that is a bit shallow. . .  I am sure with some work you could find a way to dress yourself that is your style that would get less attention than a 250 lbs guy in a short black backless dress . . . . You want to go there and wave the freak flag go for it but expect society to look at you funny.

None of this has anything to do with your DNA determined sex . . .  don’t let it rule your life.  Reality is what it is and you need to work within its bounds no matter what folks tell you.  We all have physical limits and challenges of some sort.  Learn to work inside the limits and be happy with who you are – don’t let other define you.

Happiness is much more than your sex or your clothes.   What it is for you is going to be different than what it is for me but whatever it is it must come from inside you, not outside.

Post Obama

The election is over and things are starting to settle down. . . if you ignore the sound of heads exploding on the left.

So far all I can say is I think we picked the better of two bad choices.  At least Trump is putting the USA first and doing what he said he would.  Which is a nice change from the previous POTUS?

I find a few things amusing so far:

• Liberals think he is a Narcissist. . . Yet don't think Obama was. . .
• The rioters that were arrested at the inauguration are facing a Felony charge and 10 years each. . . that is awesome and even better when you realize Obama is the one who put that on the books
• Liberals still seem to have a problem with the concept of legal immigrant and illegal
• The women held a huge march to protest and one of the founders of the march supports Sharia law. . . . think about that one

I have to say I am happy to see the media actually doing their job for a change even if they are showing their bias.  It is also nice to have a politician get into office and actually do what he said he would.

The wall is nice, but the ending of funding to sanctuary cities is much more important.  When folks have to make up the budget shortfall out of their pocket I think they will wake up to the cost and start voting out the fools supporting the illegals.

I would really like to see us make it impossible for illegals to stay here. . . you start fining companies $5k a day that they employ illegals the jobs will dry up.  Do the same for anyone who houses them . . . . along with getting rid of all those pit stops we maintain in the desert to give them water on the way in and suddenly they won't want to be here or come here anymore.  No house or work why come?

Now I want to see some good pro 2A stuff go through and good justices picked for the courts and we will be in much better shape than we were under Obama.