Sybil Ludington Rides Again

Politics, Freedom and Farm Life

Month: February 2014

Mustang Sally

Naw, I don’t really have a Mustang….I have something way cooler, a Saturn SC2. Which the nicest old man backed into back in January. I finally took it in to Raymore Collision Plus the week to get it fixed. They were on the list of shops American Family (the hit-ers) insurance works with. The hit-ee (that would be me) can choose off the list and not have to get second estimates or anything. I admit, I had a lot of concern that it would look like an “appaloosa” car. That the spot would show, but it doesn’t. It looks perfect, and I mean perfect! They even cleaned the car out. They should get a medal for bravery for that!

I returned the rental car, and picked up my car. YEAH!

As soon as I got home I jumped in my truck to take it in to my regular mechanic to get the wheel bearings fixed/replaced whatever he’s going to have to do so I can haul the illustrious Captain (my version of the original Sybil’s Star) to where ever we need to go, safely.

I hope that’s it on the automobile shuffle game for a while. But boy Raymore Collision Plus sure did do a GREAT job. And they were all really, really nice!

The first part of the day was the Mustang part. I made good on my Valentines gift to hubby and had his horses teeth floated. For those that don’t know, that means filing the sharp edges off their teeth. This horse is old and only has about 4 teeth left. While it might seem like with 4 teeth it doesn’t matter, it matters even more then. Dr. Aaron did just a great job, and he says hubby’s horse is looking great for his age and for me to keep feeding the same way I have been. Almost like giving him two gifts!

Saturn SC2

Saturn SC2

In Defense of Chickens, or Children

I ran across and interesting article today on allowing armed Teachers in schools. It points out that the “gun free zone” model isn’t working out well. It never does work out well. Pretty much all the mass shootings that have taken place over the last few years have taken place in “gun free zones”. Alan Korwin over at GunLaws.com has a great answer in his “Gun Free Zones Liability Act” . In short: “If you create a gun-free zone, you’re liable for any harm it causes.” I’d go over there and check out more.

That’s not really today’s topic though. The article points out that school boards says they don’t want to arm teachers or basically “the good guys” because they can’t get insurance, or it’s “too expensive”. Guess that lets you know what your kids are worth, eh? The article points out that most school districts adopt the “huddle and pray” policy. I seemed to recall someone else telling me that keeping the kids “safe” in lock down just pretty much makes it easy for the killer to find bunches of them huddling and praying. The media rather than honestly reporting things has their own agenda. Seems like most times a gun is used successfully in a defensive manner they can’t help but get their little comment in about how it’s so amazing bystanders weren’t killed in the spray (2 bullets fired) of gunfire. Or they show film clips of a fully automatic weapon firing while taking about a semi-automatic weapon and the uninformed have no idea of the difference. Right now 7 states allow armed teachers and  33 others are considering doing so.

If you look to Israel, they had a series of horrible school shootings, as well as terrorist attacks on the civilian populations in many venues. What did they do? They have armed people in the schools. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman points out there are ways to help your school prepare for such scenarios. He also pointed out that if we pulled every active duty military member in from overseas and those based in the US we still wouldn’t have enough to put one in every school and on every bus. But if parents or teachers were used? OH YEAH, then it was possible. Somehow I don’t think this will fit well with the common (rotten to the) core standards that have been adopted by current Gov. Jay Nixon (not the general assembly or educational board though).

Israel objected to being dragged into the debate (I don’t blame them) From the Jerusalem Post

Israeli officials and academics, however, distanced themselves from comparing the gun situations in Israel and the US. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the situation in Israel was “fundamentally different” from that in the United States.

“We didn’t have a series of school shootings, and they had nothing to do with the issue at hand in the United States. We had to deal with terrorism,” Palmor told the Daily News.

“What removed the danger was not the armed guards but an overall anti-terror policy and anti-terror operations which brought street terrorism down to nearly zero over a number of years,” he said.

“It would be better not to drag Israel into what is an internal American discussion.”

While I very much agree there are different faces of evil here, in Israel it is sometimes done to gain the release of terrorist buddies and sometimes to just flat kill all, in America it is the product of a sick mind and there is nothing to gain and only death sought by the killer/s. It’s interesting to note that it seems all these mass shootings of late have been done by those with a “progressive/liberal” political philosophy though those in the “impartial” (gag gag gag, excuse me for a second) media immediately jump to find links between the killer/s and the conservative movement. But no matter the REASON for the attacks, the result is the same. Dead innocents, children or adults. The answer is the same too, decrease the response time till someone with effective means is there to handle it. You don’t get much better response time than someone already there.

So, how long do we live in the problem, or with the specter of the problem looming over school children (or shoppers, or people in church)? How long will people continue to trust a media more concerned with their own ideology rather than reporting the truth? Seriously? Obama got re-elected & Hillary is considering running, if we had a NEWS media, never would be!

So where do the chickens come in you ask? A few years ago I had a racoon getting into my chicken house and I ended up losing a third of my little feathered darlings. I was beyond livid. It finally showed up in my barn, short version of the story, it died. Killings stopped after I lost a third of them. Last year a possum got in my chicken house (they got in different ways, both have been addressed) I walked in to gather eggs and it was eating one of my little feathered darlings. Possum died. I lost one girl that time. Response time matters, it matters a LOT. Did I feel bad about killing either of them? NO! Those chickens are MY responsibility. I’ve raised them from a day old. I wanted them, they didn’t necessarily want to come live with me (although it’s a pretty good gig for them). How is it, I’m more willing and prepared to take care of my little feathered darlings than some parents, teachers and school districts are actual human children? I do NOT understand that.

Pray & Huddle Policy vs. Pray & be effective

Pray & Huddle Policy vs. Pray & be effective

Has Gun Owners of America Opened a Ukraine Branch?

Reading about and watching videos of the recent violence in the Ukraine (and Venezuela) is a very vivid reminder of what happens to people who aren’t armed because they have the government to “take care of them and protect them”. As I watch this first video it seems to me most of the citizens (protesters) are armed with wood, as shields and as clubs, some shields made of what looks like sheet metal maybe? They want freedom so much, they don’t want to go back to communism, they want to go closer to Europe, which is socialist, in my opinion. I suppose compared to communism it  is “more free”. I understand the protesters have some hunting rifles, but in the video clip they look like they are armed mostly with clubs and the will to be free, as they are fired on by the governmental snipers.  In some of the video clips I’ve seen the protesters are wearing hard hats, bicycle helmets maybe some old military helmets. Some have no helmets.

But from today’s TownHall  Katie Pavlich tells us that since the protesters were victorious they are demanding some new Constitutional Amendments. One proposed by the “Ukrainian Gun Owners Association” is: Amend Article 27, paragraph four as follows:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of owning a firearm to protect their life and health, housing and property, life and health of other people’s constitutional rights and freedoms in the case of usurpation of power , the encroachments on the constitutional order , sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine . Exercising the right to free possession of firearms is governed by applicable law and may be limited only by the court on the individual. “

They sound like America’s Gun Owners of America to me!

The Ukrainians are fighting so hard for what so many in America are trying to throw away with both hands, the right to live as free people, safe from thugs (of all stripes). When Americans say we don’t need a Second Amendment, that it doesn’t mean what it means, they are living in a fools world.

Because they don’t think it would ever happen here.

 

 

 

Would it?

 

 

To Correct Bad Behavior or Not?

How many times have you been in a store and seen a 3 year old brat giving his parents a fit. He/she wants a toy, wants it right now and if he/she doesn’t get it the whole store is treated to screams of boorish outrage. Then do you see the parent cringing under the unappreciative glares of fellow shoppers? Or do they do the  ineffective, “I’m going to count to three, one, two, three, no Freddie, I mean it, now, one, two, three Fredrick Joseph I’m serious, one, two, three. By then you are ready to go slap the parent! As a parent you can either correct this behavior or be treated to some form of it for the rest of your, or his/her life.

Any other horse people out there? I have a 1300 lb critter with a mind of his own. Most of the time we work well together, but when I first got him we could be working in a round corral and if he didn’t appreciate what he was trying to learn he would send a hoof flying my way like a 15 year old boy with a bad attitude and flip me the hoof. I can either correct this nonsense (which I choose to do) or one of these days that flying hoof may catch me. I can either correct it when he starts to buck or run over the top of me or I can live with the consequences. I choose not to.

So this brings me to the point of the column for today. I have taken some pretty heavy incoming fire for criticizing the NRA over their bad behavior on SB 613 here in Missouri. But I tend to view it in the same light as the examples above. WHY do we have a Attorney General who would so obviously lie about what the 2013 version of the Second Amendment Protection Act would have done? Why do we have an AG that would release a lie filled letter one week before the veto override vote when legislators and law enforcement wouldn’t have enough time to properly check it out? Wellllllll, because the NRA endorsed him. Yep, that batch of orange cards went out and voters went to the polls. Now, the WMSA and GOA , and GCLA (two of those are the Grassroots Second Amendment Groups in MO) endorsed Ed Martin, a good man who would have been a great Attorney General. But the NRA voters weren’t properly informed. Did the media call out the AG on his lies? Not so much, some like this column at the bottom, but the “lamestream” media, naw, they gave Koster’s lies a pass.  Now, Second Amendment groups howled, we KNEW he was lying, Sen Nieves said at the second rally that the letter was filled with lies. The NRA did nothing to help, and continued to quietly signal their disapproval of this bill. But we knew Koster lied, and we said so!

That brings us to the NRA and their lies on this years version of the SAPA. They lied in their press release as bad as Koster does. They have not sent a correction. I guess they looked at how Koster got away with it and decided it works well. If this were a liberal lying we would be on them likes ducks on a June bug. In a heartbeat! But because it’s the NRA, we shouldn’t say anything? Because they are our “friends” (a point I would hotly debate) we should give outrageous lies against a friend (Sen. Nieves) a pass? I don’t think so!

A friend of mine pointed out 10 years ago the NRA sold out gun owners on the Assault Weapons ban, the members rose up howled and let them know how angry they were, now the NRA is backing the AR shooters against the Federal Leviathan. Because enough people contacted them and told them the error of their ways. Well, and wine and Life lock sales probably dropped off.

If the NRA doesn’t learn that members are VERY unhappy with them, if NRA members don’t tell their friends to contact them and howl, the NRA like a spoiled child, or a misbehaving animal will continue down it’s path. And no NRA members are going to learn what is going on if they aren’t told. This doesn’t sound like a winning strategy to me!

Will we cover up our “friends” bad behavior, or will we tell them they are wrong? We do not support them and will not cover for them if they choose to continue down this path. Personally I seldom listen to the NRA voter endorsements for MO, they usually get it wrong.

It’s hard when you have a “spat” with a friend or a loved one. But when what they are doing hurts innocent parties (law abiding Missouri gun owners) and hurts the cause of Liberty it’s a choice. You have principles (lying to harm someone is wrong) or you don’t.

Your call, what do you think?  compromise

 

I’ll leave you with this, I think the words to this song are pretty good.

 

Some Days it’s great to know your purpose….most days

I sure did hear a great sermon tonight. Tonight we heard about when you’re feeling lower than a snakes belly sometimes you just have to “Get Up, Mount Up and Ride On”. Isn’t that the truth! Riding with purpose, good stuff! You can watch it, or the second link, just listen to it.

 

 

Or you can just listen at  http://www.openrangefellowship.com/media/external/wheelbarrow/RidingOn/purpose1.mp3

Second Amendment Protection Act-Nationwide

Missouri is far from the only state that is wanting a Second Amendment Protection Act. Check out the map below. Blue – Introduced. Yellow – Passed one or more Houses. Green – Passed both Houses. Red – Law

States with SAPA in play

States with SAPA in play

 

You can find more information at the Tenth Amendment Centers page.

Come on MO Legislators! Let’s be the next state with the SAPA passed!

The NRA Fibbed?!

Well, there is nothing like starting off a new blog with a “bang” so to speak of course. I have long maintained that the NRA is not necessarily a friend of law abiding gun owners. Now, they will sell you a fine bottle of wine, or life-lock, but mostly what they seem to be very good at doing is blocking legislation that law-abiding gun owners would like to see. For instance, here in Missouri last year there was an excellent bill up for consideration that would have allowed applicants for a CCW (concealed carry weapon) to send their fingerprints via their local sheriff to the FBI using a number rather than their name.  HB 379 would have been a great bill.  But the NRA blocked it.  Inquiring minds want to know why. I already do.

This year we are trying to get a Second Amendment Protection Act passed, last year we were sold out by RINOs Dempsey & Richard. Discouraging since they are Senate leadership. They objected to newspapers not being able to publish the names of concealed carry holders.

So now we have Senate Bill 613 is the 2014 Second Amendment Preservation Act.

On February 12th, the NRA released one of their e-mail blasts stating that an amendment had been added to the bill by Sen. Nasheed that made the bill anti-gun. The whole one sentence amendment is this “Section 2. Upon becoming aware that a firearm has been stolen, a person shall have seventy-two hours to report such theft.” That’s it. You can view it yourself.  Dated 2/11/14 offered by Nasheed.

What the NRA said was:

Missouri: De-facto Gun Owner Registry Legislation Moving In Missouri Senate! Call Your Senators NOW!
They the claimed: This modified anti-gun language would require every person to report the theft of a firearm they possess to a local law enforcement agency.  Any missing firearm must be reported within 72 hours of the time he or she knew or “reasonably should have known” that the firearm had been stolen. Those who are unable to report a lost or stolen firearm within this arbitrary amount of time, would be subject to penalties including: a $1,000 fine, Class A misdemeanor and the loss of their Right to Carry Permit.  Victims of gun theft should not be punished further by being prosecuted for such a “crime.”  Police resources should be focused on finding the real criminals responsible, not further victimizing those who have had not only their belongings stolen, but their sense of security and privacy as well.

I have NO idea how they could have gotten all that from the one sentence. At first several of us thought that they had confused Nasheed’s SB 556, but even after they have been contacted they are continuing to call this an anti-Second Amendment bill claiming it would create a gun registry.

I think I will let a couple of folks speak for themselves. One is  Sen. Brian Nieves, the sponsor of the bill and an excellent friend to law abiding gun owners. This is from an e-mail he sent out:

Subject: The NRA is Lying!!
This may be the strangest, most unexpected email I’ve ever written but I believe YOU deserve the truth….
Ladies & Gentlemen, the NRA is using the same inappropriate, dishonest, and disgusting tactics we only expect from the left!! They are attacking Senate Bill 613, Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act, based on LIES! They are reporting that an amendment was placed on the bill that was not. At first I gave them the benefit of the doubt, assuming they’d simply made an error but they’ve now put out another alert that contains some of the same LIES!!
Senate Bill 613 is still in process and it has had a couple amendments placed on it BUT there is NOT an amendment on the bill, nor will there ever be, that does what the NRA is reporting. The second amendment preservation act (SB613) is arguably the most powerful piece of gun legislation in the country and it MUST pass. Why in the world the NRA would be opposing it is beyond my ability to reason but it’s time for them to stand down and start helping.
There is an amendment that talks about Stolen Guns and has No Penalty, No Fine and only pertains to firearms that a person is aware of having been stolen. This amendment does NOT pertain to lost firearms and has no wording that involves “should have known” stuff! The amendment also effects what is known as the severable clause and when it’s all said and done, the amendment will be REMOVED. I am completely open to the idea of the NRA, or any other group, addressing concerns that are accurate and true but to see such a respected organization resort to LIES and Distortions is very diss-heartening to say the least.
As I said, the bill is still a Long Way from being finished AND the amendment the NRA doesn’t like will be removed. I just can’t stand to see them out & out, LIE about the bill/amendment. Are you an NRA member? Call them and ask them to move back in the direction of credibility and respect by retracting what they’ve said about this bill/amendment and moving forward with truth instead of acting like the liberal left and resorting to lies and distortion.
You can read the bill in it’s full, current, form by searching for SB613 at www.senate.mo.gov/nieves you can even watch my press conference on this subject.

The Second is Kerry Messer of The Missouri Family Network  Kerry is the lobbyist for the Missouri grassroots Second Amendment groups. He is honest, trustworthy and very Capitol savvy. It is with his permission I share this:

Pro-gun Senators like Brian Nieves and Ron Richards should be thanked for their overall support of the Second Amendment (last year’s veto vote debacle notwithstanding), not attacked by groups that are not even engaged! Until these national groups who are commenting from remote locations humble themselves and acknowledge their misinformation and attacks on our Senators, they need to apologize and retract using the same venues they used to spread their erroneous accusations.

Fact Check: Information being circulated via email (or otherwise?) from national gun rights groups (specifically the NRA and the NAGR) is totally wrong. Many folks are being miss-led by these groups who are not even in Missouri much less in the Capitol here in Jefferson City! SB 613, the Second Amendment Preservation Act was amended with a provision related to stolen firearms – however – that amendment is nothing like it is being reported by the NRA (and those repeating the misinformation) criticizing Senator Brian Nieves and other pro-gun Senators. (It is a provision requiring a report of a stolen firearm based on the time you discover such theft, and with NO penalty for failing to report! That’s it.) Reports that gun owners would be required to pay a $1,000. fine (as well as the many other myths about the amendment) simply are NOT true! Additionally, today’s accusation from NAGR that Senator Ron Richards orchestrated the amendment as a plot to kill the bill is an outright fabrication with no basis at all. PLEASE CONFIRM DETAILS FROM TRUSTED SOURCES “ON SITE” BEFORE RESPONDING TO SUCH FALSE CLAIMS. DO NOT BE LED TO SPREAD FALSE RUMORS OR BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE OF JUSTIFIABLE FRUSTRATIONS AND A CYNICAL VIEW OF GOVERNMENT – there is enough true and verifiable facts to warrant complains, we do not want to lose credibility because of the sloppy reporting from people who don’t know what in the world they are talking about!

Last but not least, and excellent interview with an excellent State Senator.

So now the amendment has been stripped out, so Sen. Nasheed filibustered (preventing this was the point of accepting the amendment). It still passed and the NRA is crowing like they’ve done something great. Have they apologized, no.

I may have mentioned once or twice the NRA has not been our friend in Missouri, and has prevented us from getting legislation we wanted, but this is beyond the pale! On top of the lies, having labeled the Second Amendment Preservation Act an “anti-gun” bill, they are NOW saying they will score the vote! How many legislators are going to want to help Second Amendment groups now?

It seems that Missouri is not the only state that has troubles with the NRA trying to block state sovereignty legislation, Florida is dealing with it as well.

http://www.examiner.com/article/nra-works-against-second-amendment-preservation-act-florida

And yet, there are those that protecting the NRA’s reputation will be more important than protecting law abiding citizens rights.

Whose side are you on?