Mark@Sea

This is the best explanation I have seen yet: “The problem that progressives have on the gun issue has far less to do with the typical policies they espouse than the rhetoric they employ.†- The Third Way “It’s critical that progressives recognize that only an aggressive outreach strategy to gun owners will ensure that your opponent’s message about your gun record does not define your candidacy.†- The Third Way Those two instructions to so-called “progressive†political candidates explain Barack Obama’s camouflage of lies and deceptions that hide his consistent history as an aggressive proponent of virtually every aspect of gun control -- from gun-owner licensing and universal firearms registration; to criminalizing private ownership of whole generic classes of now-lawful firearms; to what I call denial of civil liberty at local option. The bait-and-switch gimmick of employing rhetorical tricks to hide very real gun control agendas, and to create a fraudulent history to assure that “your gun record does not define your candidacy†are the central lessons offered in a political/propaganda playbook or script proffered by something called the Third Way. Titled, “Taking back the Second Amendment,†the script is built around a central public opinion finding: “Voters overwhelmingly support the Second Amendment and believe that it confers an individual’s right to own firearms†– a finding confirmed long ago by NRA’s own polling of American public opinion. The Third Way’s propaganda manual is co-authored by Jim Kessler – who as then-U.S. Rep. Chuck Schumer’s policy director husbanded legislation that became the 1994 Clinton gun ban. This political playbook is a stark study in duplicity and is word-for-word the blueprint for both Barack Obama’s stunningly empty embrace of the Second Amendment, and of the media’s total participation in this intellectually dishonest campaign of deception and obfuscation. “Don’t let your opponent define you by your record.†In this case, Barack Obama’s opponent is the National Rifle Association and the millions of individual citizens we represent. Indeed, we have defined Obama’s record with a gold-standard analysis of his words and deeds. He has earned his “F†rating, just as he’s earned the endorsement of the Brady Campaign (formerly Handgun Control Inc.) which universally supports registration and licensing as precursors for outright gun bans. Yet Obama makes such statements as, “I take a back seat to no one in support of Second Amendment rights, but I also support… continuing the ban on assault weapons… Our gun rights come with the responsibility to keep them out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and children.†My mistake - that’s a direct line from Kessler’s script to be memorized by poseur anti-gun candidates. Here is a real Obama quote from an appearance in South Dakota as reported by the Boston Globe: “As President, I will uphold the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun-owners, hunters, and sportsmen…. We can work together to enact common-sense laws … so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals.†And here is what appears on Obama’s campaign website: “Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals…†Even Kessler’s former boss, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, is now talking the Third Way talk, while still walking the gun-ban walk. But while Kessler was Policy Director and gun control point-man to the then-New York Congressman, Schumer testified before an April 5, 1995 Judiciary Committee hearing on the meaning of the Second Amendment. Schumer sputtered: “There is no constitutional question here… If anyone tried to sell the baloney we’ll hear today, they would be arrested for consumer fraud. The NRA’s Second Amendment is an empty cereal box in the marketplace of ideas…†Further, Schumer said the belief that the Second Amendment was an individual right “is poisoning our political dialogue… The sickening fruit of this poisonous lie are obvious in our society…. Like flat earth fanatics, Second Amendment fanatics just don’t get it… It does not guarantee the mythical individual right to bear arms…†That extraordinary rant notwithstanding, Schumer said in a May 8, 2002 press release: “The broad principle that there is an individual right to bear arms is shared by many Americans, including myself.†Nothing Chuck Schumer espoused in 1995 has changed. I suspect nothing in his heart-of-hearts has changed either… just the rhetoric he employs. It is the same with Barack Obama, who stands with Schumer in the forefront of the most radical supporters of oppressive gun controls. Following the Third Way dictate about not permitting any one but himself to define his record – Obama falsely claims to be “moderate†on gun control saying he has never supported a ban on handguns. For starters, as a member of the deep pockets Joyce Foundation board of directors from 1998 through 2001, Obama approved over $30-million in grants to fund anti-gun projects – including massive funding of the Violence Policy Center (VPC) whose singular goal is to rid America of private ownership of handguns. Obama has repeatedly voiced support for local handgun bans like Chicago’s oppressive law. In addition, there is a long list of radical gun control strictures that Obama sloughs off now calling them “common sense gun safety.†Obama… - Voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry; -Voted for legislation that would have given government bureaucrats free rein to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting; - Would re-impose the failed and discredited Clinton Gun Ban; - Supports a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America; - Favors a ban on high capacity magazines; - Favors gun-owner licensing and gun registration; mandatory micro-stamping; mandatory waiting periods; one-gun-a-month sales restrictions; and a ban on inexpensive handguns; - And wants to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits information on gun traces collected by the BATFE from being used in reckless lawsuits against firearm dealers and manufacturers. There is virtually nothing in the gun control bag of tricks that Obama has not at one time or another supported. And what anti-gun measures he has not sponsored, championed or supported, his running mate, Joe Biden has. Yet, over and over he follows the Third Way script with his hollow promise about his Second Amendment. The huge majority of Americans who believe in the Second Amendment as their personal individual right need to understand that if Obama’s wish list of “gun control†were to become law, there would be virtually nothing left of the right to keep and bear arms – especially the implicit and inherent right to self-defense. Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the D.C. gun ban case (District of Columbia v Heller), Sen. Obama and his running mate, Delaware U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (NRA-“Fâ€) were asked to join with 55 other Senators of both parties on a friend of the court brief upholding the Second Amendment as an individual right. They both refused, proving yet another example of “progressive policy†versus the “rhetoric they employ.†As the Heller case was being weighed by the Federal courts, Obama’s campaign expressed his strong contention about the District of Columbia’s oppressive gun ban declaring that Obama “… believes that we can recognize and respect the rights of law-abiding gun owners and the right of local communities to enact common sense laws… Obama believes the D.C. handgun law is constitutional.†(Emphasis added) This description of Obama’s view of the D.C. law was expressed in the November 20, 2007 edition of the Chicago Tribune. For seven months Obama never once repudiated that statement of support for D.C.’s ban. Had it been a misstatement by his campaign as he now claims, he had ample opportunity to disavow it – but he did not. In fact, in a February 11, 2008 interview on Washington’s WJLA Obama was asked about his support for the D.C. gun ban, answering, “I teach constitutional law, and what I said was that I believe in the Second Amendment as being an individual right and I have said that consistently. I also think that individual right is constrained by the right of the community to maintain issues of public safety.†(Emphasis added) When the interviewer said, “But you support the D.C. handgun ban and you said that it’s constitutionalâ€. Obama nodded gravely in the affirmative and said, “Right, right.†During the April 16, 2008 Philadelphia Democratic debate Obama said “As a general principle, I believe that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms. But just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can't constrain the exercise of that right…†Over and over Obama puts forth this notion of a civil right – the liberty of individual Americans – being trumped by state and local government. Civil rights at local option? Isn’t that what the entire civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s was about -- ending the notion that a state or locality could trump an individual citizen’s civil rights -- like the right to vote, or the right to be a full participant in public education, or the right not to be denied access to public accommodations? Civil rights at local option; isn’t that why Rosa Parks so courageously refused to ride in the back of the Birmingham bus? Where 50 years ago politicians stood in the schoolhouse door or blocked admission to state universities based on race, Obama would reserve the power of today’s equally oppressive local politicians – like his own Chicago boss, Mayor Richard Daley – to stand in the doorway of homes and businesses of law-abiding citizens who wish to own handguns for self defense. Then on the day of the Supreme Court’s landmark Heller decision, June 26, 2008, Obama said that the earlier statements in support of the District’s now unconstitutional ban were “inartful,†and suddenly claimed that the decision striking down the D.C. ban was in line with his vision all along. Policies versus rhetoric -- Obama style? Self-defense in the home with handguns was indeed the essential core of the U.S. Supreme Court’s remarkably clear decision in District of Columbia v Heller, declaring the District of Columbia’s firearms ban an unconstitutional breach of the Second Amendment as an individual right. In a 5 to 4 split decision, the high court ruled that the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns and on all operable registered long guns in the home violated the letter of the Second Amendment. Of equal importance was the Court’s recognition of armed self-defense by ordinary citizens as an essential purpose of the Second amendment - the very spirit of the right to keep and bear arms. In writing for the Court’s majority, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia declared: “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.†(Emphasis added) “In sum, we hold that the District’s ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense.†Finally, Justice Scalia emphatically pointed to the utility of handguns for that essential exercise of the Second Amendment: “…the American people have considered the handgun to be the quintessential self-defense weapon… and a complete prohibition of their use is invalid…†And that brings us to key points in Barack Obama’s consistently ugly record on that core protection of the Second amendment – armed self defense. In defining Barack Obama on self-defense, we must examine the late December 2003 story of a courageous Illinois citizen -- a victim of both a potentially deadly criminal and of an oppressive local gun ban law supported by Barack Obama. Obama’s denial of a citizen’s right to armed self-protection begins with a nightmare for a Wilmette, Illinois homeowner, Hale DeMar. While he and his children slept upstairs, Mr. DeMar woke in the dead of night to discover that his home had been invaded by a thief who took household items and keys, which he used to steal the homeowner’s automobile. Police did virtually nothing except take a report. As Mr. DeMar recounted to the Chicago Sun Times, “The police informed me that this was not an uncommon event in east Wilmette and offered their condolences.†Within 24 hours of the initial crime, the burglar returned in Mr. DeMar’s stolen SUV and again entered DeMar’s home, this time using stolen keys. Because of the weak response of police the previous night, Mr. DeMar was prepared for the worst with a handgun that he had legally purchased and kept locked in a proper safe. Legal in most other parts of the state, Mr. DeMar’s gun was illegal to possess within the city under Wilmette’s gun ban ordinance. Confronted by the criminal and fearing for his children, he shot the burglar who fled in DeMar’s stolen vehicle. As it turned out, the wounded home-invader had a long rap sheet. This guy was a dangerous career criminal. Cook County prosecutors found Mr. DeMars’ use of his banned handgun to be justified, but Wilmette trustees pressed to prosecute him for violating the town gun ban ordinance – claiming that Mr. DeMar’s simple possession of a handgun in his home “is endangering innocent civilians…†Outrage grew exponentially among ordinary Illinois citizens, ultimately resulting in enactment of legislation making self-defense or defense of others in a home or business an affirmative defense against prosecution for possession of a banned defensive firearm in such places as Wilmette, Morton Grove and Chicago. In spite of Obama’s vote, the legislation passed the senate by a 38 to 20 vote. The House margin was 86 to 25. And he voted against armed self-defense in the home again when the Illinois Senate overrode the governor’s veto. Like its sister city of Morton Grove, Wilmette withdrew its handgun ban soon after the Heller decision came down but Obama’s home town of Chicago remains defiant. Chicago’s handgun ban is literally a carbon copy of D.C.’s now-illegal ban. Even after the Heller decision, Obama still fully supports the handgun ban in his home city, Chicago. It is a law that Mayor Richard Daley is defiantly defending in spite of the Supreme Court’s D.C. decision. Daley, among Obama’s most powerful and influential supporters and political mentors, recently shouted at an anti-gun rally: “NO GUNS IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA!†Remarkably, where Obama believes a right can be infringed by local politicians, he also believes the inverse - that the Federal government can trump state and local laws where it serves his “progressive policy†end-game. Once again, the issue is armed self-defense – in this case, right to carry. Just as Obama’s record clearly shows he considers laws criminalizing citizens self-defense use of firearms in the home as “common sense gun laws,†he is unalterably opposed to the concept of right to carry for ordinary law-abiding Americans – a right recognized by 38 states after hard fought legislative battles. On April 4, 2001, Obama led a floor fight in the Illinois Senate defeating legislation that would have provided limited conceal-carry rights to persons whom a state court had determined were in imminent danger of death or bodily harm and were shielded by that court’s protective order. During the floor debate, the bill’s prime sponsor, Illinois Senator Edward Petka, repeatedly cited the Second Amendment describing his legislation as “a modest proposal which simply permits a person, who would usually be a woman, to exercise a constitutional right to defend themselves…†Obama countered by labeling the legislation “a potential Trojan horse through which we introduce the notion that conceal carry is appropriate to our state.†The following day, Obama issued a press statement in which he cut directly to the question of the right to self defense: “…authorizing potential victims to carry firearms would potentially lead to a more dangerous rather than less dangerous situation for the very people we want to protect. It was a bad idea and I’m glad it failed.†(Emphasis added) Headlined, “OBAMA HELPS DEFEAT CONCEALED-CARRY LEGISLATION,†Obama’s statement complained: “Although this bill supposedly only affected people who receive an order of protection, it would have opened the door to the adoption of laws permitting all persons to carry concealed firearms on the street or in their cars. “Concealed-carry laws would only increase the problem of hand-gun violence and ultimately make the streets less safe everywhere.†Obama’s extreme opposition to law-abiding armed citizens in Illinois was expanded to cover all Americans as expressed in a February 20, 2004 Chicago Tribune story: “He (Obama) backed federal legislation that would ban citizens from carrying weapons, except for law enforcement.†The article directly quoted Obama, “National legislation will prevent other states’ flawed concealed-weapons laws from threatening the safety of Illinois residents.†(Emphasis added) Most recently, in an April 2, 2008 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article Obama said, "I am not in favor of concealed weapons. ... I think that creates a potential atmosphere where more innocent people could (get shot during) altercations." Again, in a Chicago Sun Times July 12, 2007 story headlined, “From Promise to Power,†Obama said, “I am consistently on record and will continue to be on record as opposing concealed carry.†All of this gets us back to Jim Kessler’s “Taking Back the Second Amendment,†and the notion that rhetoric is a cover for real policy. The words of Chuck Schumer’s 1995 rant on the Second Amendment equally apply to Obama’s 2008 reinvention of himself on the right to keep and bear arms: “If anyone tried to sell the baloney we’ll hear today, they would be arrested for consumer fraud.†I agree. Anyone buying Obama’s baloney on this issue simply isn’t reading the fine print.

That looks like a Millet sight, though... And yeah, you make Mark cry!

Hi All Have fun! There should be a little firewood remaining, but you're welcome to cut your own. If you keep the fire going 'till 3 a.m. again you'll probably have to. My chainsaw is out of commission - needs to go to the shop, sorry. Probably the best thing to have in the tent (beside your significant other) would be a 12 ga. shotgun. There are a couple at the house you can borrow - just take the bayonet off the trench gun if you decide that floats your boat, please. You don't want to be swinging a 16 inch bayonet in a tent, anyway... The riot gun is loaded with slug, might want to swap that for buck or buck and ball... There is a Garand, a couple of carbines, and several M1A's available for those who want to try them (Sorry, the new garand is off-limits ). As always, coleman lanterns and stoves available to those who need 'em.

This story was related to me this morning, after a very long day and night of ops, so it is possible it isn't as funny as it struck me. The difference between a fairy tale and and a sea story is that a fairy tale starts "Once upon a time", and a sea story starts "This is a no-*****ter". This one is of the second category. I'm sitting in the tower with the HCO (Helo Control Officer), a contract civilian who is the air detachment CO. We were nearing the end of a long vertrep (vertical replenishment) exercise, waiting for the bird to return from a big flattop (aviation ship). The HCO starts telling me of the time one of the companys' birds was sent to a DDG to pick up a mental patient for transport to a flat-top. The crew chief aboard the helicopter asks the pilot in command what he should do if the passenger started to wig out in the air. The PIC thinks about it for a moment, and says "The guy will be wearing a cranial (an unusual sort of helmet), if he starts to freak, pop him in the head with the rubber mallet." The crew chief thinks about it a second, and asks the pilot "Are you *****ting me?" The pilot assures him that no, thats' the plan. Due to safety regs, and because they have nothing to do it with, the passenger cannot be restrained. So they pick up the pax from the DDG (a destroyer) and are headed to the flattop when the kid grabs his face with both hands and starts screaming. The crew chief, standing behind him, looks forward to the pilot and lifts his mallet questioningly. The pilot, looking back at the noise, gives him an enthusiastic thumbs up. WHACK - the passenger goes tumbling, picks himself up, sits back down quietly. Ten minutes or so later, he again grabs his face with both hands and starts yelling. The crew chief looks forward again, and receives a firm headshake - WHACK. This goes on about three times before they land the bird on the large ship, and the crew chief escorts the passenger below in order to retrieve the company gear (cranial and flight vest). When the crew chief returns, he has a terrible look on his face, and he is shaking his head. The pilot asks if all is well, and the crew chief says "Mike, Mike, when I got him below they asked why he was all beat to h3ll. I told them he started freaking out on the aircraft so I popped him with the mallet. They asked me why, I said "well, he's a mental patient, didn't want him going nuts on the bird." The doc shakes his head and says "No, son, not mental - dental." The passenger had a tooth so bad he was flown to the flat top for emergency surgery. As with all good sea stories, this one had a moral - illustrating the importance of good communications - but we were losing it, thinking about the poor SOB with a toothache, who will probably NEVER get on a helicopter again if he can help it.

Nope. At that age I wasn't thinking about politics.

Accuracy - match conditioned AR Dependability - mini-14 Fun - M4gery

Well, I've heard there are no mountain lions in East Tennessee, but my wife has e-mailed of something making a sound 'like a woman screaming' very close to the house, the last two nights running. The dogs are going nuts, too... Since fish & game say 'no such animal', any alternate suggestions? Chipmunk with an attitude, perhaps? As it is just her with a very old dog and a puppy, I told her to take a pistol and a shotgun with her when she goes outside.

There are many like it, but this one is mine. It happened that the Garand Collectors Association yearly meeting was held during/at the Hampton gun show, the weekend before I reported aboard ship. I was just in the right place at the right time. The Anniston crew had several tables, and had brought a triwall or two of Garands and another of carbines. They had maybe 30 of each out on the tables. Once I worked my way through the crowd to the table I picked this one out of the 'service grade' selection, they tagged it, stored it, and I sent the paperwork in 3 weeks later (from Greece, as it happens). Took about 10 days from them receiving the mailed in order to delivery. Makes you wonder what was on the table before I got to it. The 'correct grade' rifles there were stone cold beauties (yeah - better looking than this one!!!), but out of my price range at the time. I'd suggest going to Anniston. Heck, I'd go again myself, if I had the opportunity. If I'd had more cash free at the GCA show, I'd have picked out a couple more.

The S/N puts it about 300,000 from the last rifle made (not counting the 'X'-guns). Not very impressive from a collectors standpoint, probably, but she was born pretty late in the game. Bore gauged at zero, no sign of wear anywhere. Probably not the worst spent 600 I've ever blown. Not as flashy as an AK, AR, or exotic milsurp, maybe, but suits me fine.

My CMP Garand came in last Friday, my wife sent me a photo...

Hi Ladies, My wife has decided she wants a sewing machine. She knows nothing abou them, and believe it or not, neither do I. Anyway, can anyone give me some advice or real-world reviews?

It has been said the difference between a pickpocket and a 'liberal' is that, if you ask the pickpocket to return your money, he won't question your motives.

Hi Dave, I'd loan you mine, but I'm a looong way from home right now, and don't think my wife can find it in the scrapheap I affectionately refer to as my workshop. Northridge has 'em, link below. Described as a GI tool, 25 bucks. http://www.northridgeinc.com/m1_carbine.htm Night and day difference between using the tool or using both hands, a nail, and assistance from a frustrated spouse.

Thanks, Joe. Something to keep an eye on....

First you'd have to find a holster to fit that thing. As pistols go, that'n should've been issued with wheels and a tow hitch.

Found on-line Fellow Sportsman, Hello, my name is Rich Pearson and I have been active in the firearm rights movement for over 40 years. For the past 15 years, I have served in the Illinois state capitol as the chief lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle Association. I lobbied Barack Obama extensively while he was an Illinois State Senator. As a result of that experience, I know Obama's attitudes toward guns and gun owners better than anyone. The truth be told, in all my years in the Capitol I have never met a legislator who harbors more contempt for the law-abiding firearm owner than does Barack Obama. Although Obama claims to be an advocate for the 2nd Amendment, his voting record in the Illinois Senate paints a very different picture. While a state senator, Obama voted for a bill that would ban nearly every hunting rifle, shotgun and target rifle owned by Illinois citizens. That same bill would authorize the state police to raid homes of gun owners to forcibly confiscate banned guns. Obama supported a bill that would shut down law-abiding firearm manufacturers including Springfield Armory, Armalite, Rock River Arms and Les Baer. Obama also voted for a bill that would prohibit law-abiding citizens from purchasing more than one gun per month. Without a doubt, Barack Obama has proven himself to be an enemy of the law abiding firearm owner. At the same time, Obama has proven himself to be a friend to the hardened criminal. While a state senator, Obama voted 4 times against legislation that would allow a homeowner to use a firearm in defense of home and family.

Mike, how about a list of links? I'll do some searching but my net connection makes dialup look speedy.

I've e-mailed a couple sites for a price on a Uberti Walker Colt clone, and heard that they are having trouble getting them in. Anybody heard anything about this?

Joe, does anyone currently make an off-bore type can, (like the old maxim muffler from the '20's)? Something I could put on a woodsman without losing my sight picture?

Molonlabetn has it, I think...

Obama was endorsed by Brady Campaign and the AHSA. 'Nuff said.

No telling. No guarantee the 'new' ban would be identical to the 'old' ban. Some phrases I've heard were 'any weapon designed for, or used by, any military'. Obama is rabidly anti-gun, believes that even self-defense inside your home with a gun should be verboten. Biden, of course, wrote the original AWB.

Oh, there are double standards, all right. There is a full-court press by the media, some state officials, and several 'civil rights' organizations. Countdown to a counter-post by our local Obama Shill in 3...2...1...

Great Pic!