As I’ve explained before:

“For historical reasons to do with the nationalisation of the land under Lázaro Cárdenas and the predominant form of peasant land tenure, which was “village cooperative” rather than based on individual plots, the demand for “land to the tiller” in Mexico does not imply an individual plot for every peasant or rural worker or family. In Mexico, collectivism among the peasantry is a strong tradition … one consequence of these factors is that the radical political forces among the rural population are on the whole explicitly anti-capitalist and socialist in their ideology. Sometimes this outlook is expressed in support for guerilla organisations; but struggle movements of the rural population are widespread, and they spontaneously ally with the most militant city-based leftist organisations.”

One of the reasons for this reflexive alignment with leftism has to do with the the mid-twentieth century and what the Sovient Union and allied ideologies accomplished.  South and Central America was the recipient or receptacle for socialism draped in religious clothing, or in other words, liberation theology.  Its purveyors were Roman Catholic priests who had been trained in Marxism, and they were very successful in giving the leftists a moral platform upon which to build.  This ideology spread North from South and Central America into Mexico, and thus the common folk in Mexico are quite steeped in collectivist ideology from battles that were fought decades ago.

Among everyone in the Senate and House, Jeff Sessions gets it.

A sensible immigration policy would also listen to the opinion of the American people. Not the opinions of the paid-for consultants trotted out with their agenda-driven polls to GOP member meetings—but the actual, honest opinion of the people who sent us here. There is a reason why none of the corporate-funded ads for amnesty breathe a word about doubling immigration levels. According to Rasmussen Reports, working and middle class Americans strongly oppose large expansions of our already generous immigration system. Those earning under $30,000 prefer a reduction to an increase by an overwhelming 3-1 margin. 

And bad policy, the senator from Alabama details. “Coordinating with a small group of the nation’s most powerful special interests, last year President Obama and Senate Democrats forced through an immigration bill which can only be described as a hammer blow to the American middle class. Not only would it grant work permits to millions of illegal immigrants at a time of record joblessness, it would also double the annual flow of new immigrant workers and provide green cards to more than 30 million permanent residents over the next decade. These new workers, mostly lesser-skilled, will compete for jobs in every sector, industry, and occupation in the U.S. economy.”

While these voters will be democratic – most of them – the GOP is rushing headlong into legalization of some sort.  Why would they do this to themselves?  The answer lies in the special interests who own the GOP.  You see, if there are entitled special interests on the low end of the income spectrum who own the Democrats (or whom are themselves owned by the Democrats), the GOP is the same, just on the high end.

Corporate interests are pressing for this legalization and for more green cards.  The reason is simple.  It amounts to corporate welfare.  The low income paid to immigrant workers doesn’t afford them the ability to purchase good health insurance or good automobile insurance (and sometimes any insurance at all), doesn’t afford them the ability to eat well, and so on.  We pick up the tab with food stamps, uninsured motorists coverage, additional health insurance premiums, and on and on the list goes.

The windfall goes into the pockets of the powerful in the corporate world so that they can have their boats, expensive cars, homes at the beach, and all of their other largesse.  The GOP is so beholden to corporate interests that, just like a drug user who simply wants to mainline heroin one more time as demanded by their addiction, they are willing to destroy the party and any hope of recapturing the government so that they can get their next fix.  Because it feels good.

That’s why Roger Simon’s solution is no solution at all.  John Boehner said that he has learned to deal with “every Jackass that walks through the door.”  Says the lead Jackass of a herd of Jackasses.

Fox17 Nashville:

NASHVILLE, Tenn.– Gallatin Industrial Park will be the new site for Beretta USA’s firearms manufacturing and R&D facility.

The move is expected to bring 300 new jobs in Sumner County according to Governor Bill Haslam. The facility itself will see an investment of $45 million dollars.

Executive vice-president Franco Gussalli Beretta says Governor Haslam and his economic team played a large role in “demonstrating the benefits of doing business in the state.”

Construction is expected to be completed this year.

Beretta had announced their plans to move from Maryland after the recent gun control measures passed, and we were waiting for it to happen.  I have several thoughts, but I’m tempted to say that Beretta is the loser because they didn’t choose South Carolina.

Honestly though, Maryland is the real loser in all of this, as is Connecticut, Colorado, and any other state that pursues these idiotic gun control measures.  And let’s be clear about one thing before the objection even gets raised like it was for Smith & Wesson when they announced that they were pulling out of the California market.  These companies are doing what they must to survive.  We gun owners are faithful rewarders of our friends and allies, and relentless and unforgiving punishers of compromisers.

Smith & Wesson, Remington, Kimber, Colt, Rock River Arms, Springfield Armory, are you listening?

Harvard Business Review has a hypothetical case they have posed to readers.  It begins this way.

As the founder and president of a new ethical bank focused on environmental sustainability, Jay McGuane realized that he and his board needed to set guidelines about which loans to approve and which to reject on “values” grounds. In his eagerness to start running the business, he’d put the issue off, but the bank was already confronting two problematic requests, one involving fracking and another concerning guns.

Without clear ethics rules, Jay worried that his already divided directors would fall into bitter squabbling, which could lead to resignations, negative media attention, and a flight of investors.

Take not of the silly way in which this supposed business case has been framed.  Investors are scrambling.  There is a veritable “flight” of investors, an analogue to the way investors are fleeing Cerberus-Freedom Group over the poor performance of gun investments over the past couple of years, I suppose.

It ends much the same way it began.

“Sure, they sell to the military,” Neitha said. “But you can buy the FF286 at gun shows. That’s what makes it one of Field Force’s most profitable products. Our bank’s mission is sustainability. How can we have a sustainable society where military-grade guns are being used to kill children? How can we, in good conscience, do business with that company?”

“It’s a no-brainer,” Clyde said. “Jay was talking about establishing guidelines for decisions. I’m all in favor of weighing the pros and cons—let’s do that when we discuss the shale gas loan. But when it comes to guns, there’s only one guideline we should follow.” He turned to Fred Keeler. “It’s like the Hippocratic Oath, right? First, do no harm. Or how about this: Do no evil.”

It was Fred who had advocated saying no to a loan if there was mere indication of harm, but now he looked confused. He loved his gun collection, from the flintlocks to the Uzis, as Jay well knew. Fred asked, of no one and everyone, “But what is ‘harm’? What is ‘evil’?”

I once worked for a manager whom I liked very much, and he worked extremely hard until his retirement, upon which he had planned to do what he had trained himself to do for years – sail.  He and his wife, together, enjoying their golden years on the sea.  Then a drunk teenage driver killed his wife just after his retirement.  I was heartbroken for him, but of course not as heartbroken as he was.

Notice that the Harvard Business Review didn’t pose the “problem” of loans to purchase automobiles as the dilemma.  Because apparently Harvard School of Business no longer teaches business.  They teach goofy, worthless courses in political correctness and effete, urbanized progressivism.

From Michigan:

SILVER CITY — A father and son from Albertville, Minnesota are lucky to be alive after being lost while snowmobiling and surviving 28 hours in near minus 20 degree temperatures.

Benjamin M. Jenny Sr., 40, and Benjamin M. Jenny Jr., 19, are in Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital Monday night in good condition. Both men suffered hypothermia and dehydration symptoms.

Michigan State Police at the Wakefield Post say the two men were snowmobiling in an area near Silver City in Ontonagon County on Sunday. They were last seen leaving a restaurant at 11:30 a.m. Police say the pair was on the trail all day and on a river. While on the river, their snowmobiles began to ice up and stopped. They were stranded in the back country, deep in the woods. It was 5:30, Sunday evening.

Authorities say at that point they tried to walk out. The snow at times was four to five feet deep. They had no survival gear with them.

The father and son did have a cell phone, but they could not get service. They instead sent a text message about their situation. After that, the cell phone went dead and the weather turned worse. A blizzard was taking hold.

The Michigan State Police were called in Sunday night about 8:30. Those with the Michigan DNR, the Ontonagon County Sheriff’s Department and County Emergency Coordinator and the U.S. Forest Service were all part of the search and rescue party.

Several search and rescue snowmobilers started down the trail Sunday night. Around one Monday morning, weather conditions turned them back. The blizzard was too much for the rescue crews. There was an eighth of a mile visibility, winds clocked at 20 to 30 miles an hour and gusting to 40 miles an hour. The search would have to wait until later.

A State Police official says search and rescue crews wanted to know the last known location for the two men. That’s when the United States Air Force entered the picture. The Air Force was able to use that last text message ping from the men, to narrow their location to within four square miles where they were last. That’s where the search and rescue crews headed Monday morning.

Thirteen people from local, state and federal agencies were involved in the search. They were on snowmobiles and snowshoes. The U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was called in to assist. However, weather socked them in, at their base in Traverse City. The Michigan Civil Air Patrol Group 700 also tried to get their fixed winged aircraft up, but weather made that impossible.

After a long night in the woods of Ontonagon County, with temperatures of minus 20 and a windchills even worse, no way for the men to start a fire, police say they knew they had to keep moving to survive.

Finally, at 2:11 Monday afternoon, 28 hours after being in the woods, Bill Doan, a supervisor at the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, found both men. Doan was on snowshoes.

Good grief.  We’ve covered this in detail folks.  I don’t even go on a long drive, much less out into the wilderness on camping, hiking, or other trips, without at least: A gun (or guns) and extra ammunition, a knife, 550 cordage, a rubberized poncho, a tactical light with extra 123 batteries, and multiple means of starting a fire.

This list is a bare minimum, and I might carry much more.  But with the items on this list you can keep warm, give yourself shelter (with the poncho and 550 cord), see at night, and protect yourself.  For a trip into the snowy wilderness, this list would be significantly expanded to include a tarp, fleece, heavy gloves, parka, head and face protection, and maybe a sub-zero sleeping bag.

Dear readers – don’t even be caught in a situation in which you weren’t prepared because you had quite literally nothing when you went out into the wilderness.  You know better than that.

Prior:

Survival In The Canadian Wilderness

Nineteen Snowy Days Of Survival

My son previously offered his assessment of Lone Survivor, and in the interest of showing that I don’t ignore contrary opinions, I’ll offer up a few.  I don’t always do this, and feel no requirement to do this, but in this case I’ll link three differing opinions.

The first comes from Max V.  I think Max gets a bit wrapped around the axle thinking that the point of Daniel’s critique was who could do the job better, Marines or SEALs.  Who has the better men – who would have used stealth better – who would have planned better?  I think Max might miss the point.

The main point of the post was that the SEALs were used out of their area of specialty of infantry.  Daniel has seen good infantry and bad infantry, and knows the difference.  The Marine Corps has some very good infantry – and some bad infantry.  No generalization on this point was intended in the original post, and Daniel conveyed none of that to me.

I’ll mention one final point on Max’s post.  It’s a bit condescending in that Max assumes that there is a “tactical misunderstanding” concerning what Daniel wrote (or what I wrote for Daniel).  We had a longer discussion than the post could convey, but there is no tactical misunderstanding.  Daniel understands exactly what the mission was and why they sent the team they did.  He just disagrees with it.  So that characterizes at least one part of Max’s objections, i.e., that they did what they did because that’s what they do when they do that!

But if we leave a bit condescending and reasoning in a circle with Max, we enter complete condescension and know-it-all jackassery with WeaponsMan.  Here is a taste: “Daniel’s bitches …” (I don’t allow Daniel to bitch at me, and I was the one discussing it with him very calmly), “This is the line soldier’s profound ignorance of two things speaking …,” “Daniel, in his personal experience, does not understand the difference between recon and long-range recon …,”Young Smith may be unaware of why Marine Scout Snipers are escorted to their hides …” (Marine Scout snipers are not always escorted to their hides as he alleges, and are not trained that way or necessarily to expect that this will occur – I know Scout Snipers), “A SAW weighs over 20 pounds and burns copious quantities of ammunition. Would it have saved this recon team? No …” (He doesn’t know any such thing), “This partly flows from Hollywood bullshit, but most of it is Marine bullshit, frankly …” (he only thinks that because he was never in the Marines and doesn’t know what the Marines do or why they do it the way they do).

On and on it goes, but it’s the same sort of thing that Max posted, it just took him thousands of words to say what Max did in just a few.  They didn’t do it like Daniel wanted because that’s not what they do when they do that … and oh by the way, Daniel is stupid because we say so.  I can be frank too, and frankly after reading WeaponsMan I wanted that fifteen minutes of my life back.  Also, I just chuckle and roll my eyes when they object to carrying a SAW because it weighs a lot.  Good grief.  Go back and read Dirty Micks list of things he carried as a Pathfinder.

That’s not what they do when they do that is called assuming the consequent (and it goes by other names in college logic courses).  It’s a fallacy, and my son’s objections went much deeper than why did they do that?  His objections went to the issue of they shouldn’t have done that!  Or if you will, doctrine as it touches on or informs tactics rather than tactics proper.  And the issue has mostly to do with the way they would have done things versus how the SEALs did it.  As for the notion that my commenters are Marines, Dirty Mick and Jean (both of whom commented on the original article) are active and retired Army, respectively.  Lastly, WeaponsMan states unequivocally that “We didn’t see the underestimation. Everybody knows that the lightly loaded Afghans can often outrun their American allies, or enemies, and believe me, everyone understands the physiology at work here.”  I do not believe that everyone understands, and I do not believe him.  And that’s not what the report portrays.

There isn’t any reason at all that a larger team, inserted at night, right at the outskirts of the town, couldn’t have performed room clearing and hunting for their intended target (with another team inserted for the sole purpose of preventing egress from the town) at dawn (with fire teams carrying SAWs) could not have worked.  Not a single reason.  All things considered, I’m quite unimpressed at the article.  I think his ego got in the way of making what could have been a contribution to the conversation beyond “I know everything and they did what they did because that’s what they do when they do that.”

Then leaving condescension we enter slightly odd from Sean Linnane.  He says “let me state this is at best a historical analysis and at worst Monday Morning Quarterbacking by a guy who was not there.”  It doesn’t matter whether he is talking about himself or Daniel.  This is odd.  Taking this position means that there can’t be any such thing as an AR 15-6, a post-Mortem, followup assessment, training, or any other review of actions taken in any given situation unless you were there.  Again, just odd.  I think Daniel’s assessment means something, and I wish Sean had weighed in a little more fully.

In conclusion, I’m disappointed in all of the responses to Daniel’s assessment thus far.

By now it has become common knowledge that Smith & Wesson has rejected microstamping and will revise they way they distribute in California.  The author of the bill has called their position baloney.

Feuer is the one whose position is baloney.  It would be a profoundly bad idea for any gun maker to engage in such a practice.  First of all, if a manufacturer ever crafts guns that are microstamped, the entire gun community would know within a day what firearm it is, and would never expend the effort necessary to ascertain whether the specific gun they want to purchase has been microstamped.  Sales of used firearms of that make would plummet and the value of the gun would go to about zero.  Second, the gun community would within short order let that manufacturer know exactly where we stand.  Smith & Wesson has been there and done that.  They won’t be going back.

But it isn’t that simple.  Read some of Smith & Wesson’s statement.

Smith & Wesson Corp. announced today that although it continually seeks ways to refine and improve its firearms so that consumers have access to the best possible products, the State of California is making that impossible when it comes to California residents.

Under California’s “Unsafe Handgun Act,” any new semi-automatic pistol introduced into that state must comply with microstamping laws. In addition, California asserts that anything other than a cosmetic change to a handgun already on the California Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale, including performance enhancements and other improvements, requires it to be removed from the roster and retested. For semi-automatic pistols, this means it must comply with the microstamping requirements, as well.

Smith & Wesson does not and will not include microstamping in its firearms. A number of studies have indicated that microstamping is unreliable, serves no safety purpose, is cost prohibitive and, most importantly, is not proven to aid in preventing or solving crimes. The microstamping mandate and the company’s unwillingness to adopt this so-called technology will result in a diminishing number of Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistols available for purchase by California residents.

This is not a problem unique to Smith & Wesson. The microstamping legislation and California’s position regarding performance enhancements and other improvements creates the same challenge for all firearm manufacturers, since presumably all of them refine and improve their products over time.

Smith & Wesson currently produces a California-compliant version of its M&P® Shield and SDVE™ pistols. Both of these new products were launched last week at SHOT Show® in Las Vegas and are expected to begin shipping within 90 days. They are expected to more than offset the impact of those M&P pistol models that will not remain on the Roster. Both the M&P Shield and the SDVE pistols are expected to remain on the California Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale as long as no changes are made to those models and the company does not plan to make changes to them for this reason. All other Smith & Wesson handguns are at risk of eventually falling off the roster over time. The company expects that any current production revolvers that fall off will be re-tested and returned to the roster, since microstamping does not apply to revolvers. Without some change in position by California, however, any semi-automatic pistols (other than the California-compliant models referenced above) that are removed from the roster will not be returned and law-abiding citizens will not be permitted to buy them from a licensed dealer in California.

Absent in this statement is what Smith & Wesson will do about sales to law enforcement of M&P models and any other model that interests LEOs.  Law enforcement is specifically exempted from any microstamping requirements.  It would be an abominble and obscene position to sell to law enforcement what the common citizens cannot legally have.

I have sent a note to Matt Rice for clarification.  I’ll keep readers informed on what Smith & Wesson says about this issue.

David Codrea:

As is typical with such publications, it only looks at (less than) half of the equation, disregarding the substantial number of defensive gun uses that occur each year …

David is on the case of that presumed “study” that concluded you are at risk for suicide if you own weapons, with no increase in personal security.  I’m glad David had the patience to undo the silliness in the report, since I usually skip past reports like this in a few seconds.  Listen folks.  I work engineering and science for a living.  When someone tells you that “science proves …,” or “science demonstratrates …,” take it with a grain of salt (and usually ignore it).  Like I have said before.  If you want me to give a report on science or engineering the time of day, get a registered professional engineer to prepare the calculations, seal the work with his PE seal, and send it to me for review.  Otherwise you’re just wasting my time.

David:

There’s another consideration, a speculation really, as information is sketchy: While ATF is prohibited by law from creating a database of gun owners, it appears federal power can trump state safeguards on medical marijuana records …

Well, you know what I have to say about that!  Federal regulation should NEVER be able to trump state laws on anything.  And oh, by the way, get cancer, and you may lose your guns.  Kurt Hofmann is also covering this issue.

Kurt Hofmann:

That last sentence is where the entire counterargument falls apart. No one seriously asserts a right to “murder, rape, and thieve out of self-defense.” Murder, rape and theft are all intrinsically evil acts, which violate the rights of others, and there is therefore no “right” to commit them–for anyone.

Kurt is dealing with one of the classical objections to our objections to more gun laws.  Kurt’s thinking is my thinking exactly.  But there are already laws against murder rape and kidnapping.  Making more doesn’t change things.

Daniel Greenfield (via WRSA):

Mayor Bloomberg flubbed the snow challenge badly. Instead of preparing road salt, he banned salt in restaurants. Instead of having a snow strategy for the winter, he had a Global Warming strategy for the next fifty years. Instead of doing his job, he kept trying to transform the people.

And his successor is no better.

Bill de Blasio’s focus after his petty and mean-spirited inauguration was a ban on carriage horses in Central Park at the behest of a real estate developer who backed his campaign and has his eye on their stables, a tussle over who will get the credit for Pre-K with Governor Cuomo and the beating of Kang Wong, an 84-year-old man, over a jaywalking ticket.

I think it’s awesome.  New Yorkers elected him.  Now.  Live with the consequences.

Daily Caller reports on Castle Rock repealing their ban on open carry.  Good for them.

Coloradoan.com:

The embattled Berthoud police department bought fully automatic military-grade machine guns, hired officers who showed “glaring” signs of illegal and inappropriate behavior, and then gave them “woefully inadequate” training, Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith says.

In a letter sent to town officials and made public Tuesday night, Smith offers a scathing critique of the department, which has come under fire for child-abuse allegations leveled against one of its officers. That officer was arrested, and Police Chief Glenn Johnson resigned amidst allegations he knew about the accusations against his officer but did nothing.

Since October, Smith’s deputies have been serving as the town’s police force at officials’ request.

In his letter, Smith said the department was rife with mismanagement, from poorly handled evidence, paperwork and personnel files to broken Tasers and in-car laptops. He said problems within the department risked breaking the trust between the public and law enforcement, and risked letting criminals go unprosecuted because court documents weren’t being filed on time.“Most shockingly, fully automatic machine guns (not appropriate for standard police operations) were acquired from the military and were stored in open room with minimal security,” Smith wrote. “At the Berthoud Police Department, we found that the chief has overlooked and neglected many of the things that are absolutely necessary to leading an effective and accountable police operation.”

[ … ]

“The application and hiring process for town officers allowed unqualified individuals to be hired and to maintain employment, despite glaring warning signs of inappropriate and sometimes illegal behavior,” Smith wrote to the town. “Paperwork filing appeared to be haphazard at best. The chief did not maintain appropriate personnel files on his officers, yet he had documents in town filing cabinets from his previous employment. Those files should have never left those agencies.”

[ … ]

Police officer Jeremy Yachik was fired by the town in October after he was arrested on child-abuse charges after video surfaced of Yachick allegedly beating his daughter.

Good grief.  And they say that we’re unqualified to own fully automatic firearms.  Perhaps rather than repealing the Hughes amendment (itself an obscene abomination) as I have advocated, we ought to insist that it be repealed for us and applied exclusively to law enforcement.

These guys were just a dangerous hazard top to bottom.

The Tribune Papers:

By Linda Crisp-In recent news, it has been reported that six U.S. Forest Service (USFS) employees from Western North Carolina were awarded “Law Enforcement and Investigations Awards” by the USFS for their roles in “Operation Something Bruin”, a four-year, multi-agency investigation targeting “bear poachers” in WNC and surrounding states, resulting in arrests in February 2013.

Also, in October, the National Wildlife Federation bestowed “prestigious conservation honors” on Sgt. Chad Arnold, an officer from Charlotte with the Special Investigations Unit of the N.C. Wildlife Commission. Arnold was named “Wildlife Enforcement Officer of the Year”, and the Commission was named the “Natural Resources Agency of the Year”, according to a press release from the N.C. Wildlife Commission.

After state and federal wildlife officials arrested these “so-called” poachers in February, 2013, the state dismissed all charges on some of them in April, 2013. Some hunters were arrested again in June, 2013 by United States Forest Service officials.

The Wildlife Federation, United States Forest Service, state and federal officials have been too hasty in handing out awards and congratulating themselves.

In 2009, Arnold (undercover alias “Chad Ryan”), and Davey Webb (alias Davey Williams), a wildlife agent from Georgia, visited a gun shop in Bryson City, N.C. According to the shop owner, they stated that they wanted to get involved in bear hunting and asked for recommendations of hunting guides in the area. However, according to subsequent reports, they were supposed to be infiltrating “known poaching circles”. The gun shop owner told them about some hunters he knew in Graham County, N.C. These agents hunted with men in Graham, Swain, Jackson, and Haywood from 2009-2012.

In late 2010 through 2011, under time constraints, and possibly due to not finding any illegal activity, Arnold and Webb resorted to various schemes to try to entice the hunters to break laws.

During one hunter’s trial in Haywood County, agents admitted to buying illegal bait for bears in Tennessee, and placing it in a hunter’s yard in Graham County. Hunters witnessed the officers killing at least four of the ten bears that were taken. These agents, against the advice of hunters, removed the bears’ gallbladders and called hunters from surrounding counties to try to get them to participate in the illegal selling of bear parts. The hunters refused to take part in this illegal activity. These are only two of the many tactics used in attempts to entrap hunters of Western North Carolina.

According to one attorney, Arnold admitted in court to violating 39 wildlife laws.

So far what is being discussed is very serious: illegalities, violations of civil rights, waste of taxpayer money, and corruption.  But it gets worse still.

Additionally, state and federal agents employed “Gestapo-like” techniques in search and seizure of so-called “evidence”, including improper service of search-warrants.

Men in bullet-proof vests, with M-16 rifles came into homes where women were alone.

In one house, more than 20 agents with guns drawn, terrorized screaming toddlers and left them unsupervised while the parents were roughed up, searched, handcuffed, and taken outside the home. To this day, these children display post-traumatic stress symptoms.

They left homes in disarray and removed items unrelated to bear hunting: a laptop computer, hunting picture of deceased family member, legally killed mounted deer and boar heads, duck and turkey calls belonging to a four-year-old boy, a boat and boat titles, a front-end loader, personal vehicles, and many other items, which have not been returned.

To date, hunters who have had jury trials have not been convicted. In one case in Graham County, agents could not produce video “evidence”. Enticements were made by prosecutors including an offer to drop some charges if the hunter involved would plead guilty. The hunter refused and requested a jury trial. In this case, all charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.

Various new releases by state and federal agencies, as well as the media, have already labeled all the hunters as “poachers”; however, most of these men have not had their “day in court”. Whatever happened to due process of law and “innocent until proven guilty”?

To add insult to injury, some hunters who have not been convicted of anything have been assigned federal probation officers who visit monthly.

“Something IS Brewing” in WNC; that “SOMETHING” would be tempers. The hunters involved are tired of being falsely accused, their rights ignored, and their reputations ruined.

The citizens of WNC and Northern Georgia are now organizing to get some answers from these agencies on why their constitutional rights have been ignored and proper due process of law not given.

A public hearing is currently being planned for mid-January 2014. Organizers are asking for Governor Pat McCrory, Congressman Mark Meadows and all elected officials to initiate investigations of all officers and agencies involved in “Operation Something Bruin”. If you have information to share, or would like to participate, please send an e-mail to SomethingBrewing2013@yahoo.com , or letter to P.O. Box 948, Bryson City, N.C., 28713.

The moment they pointed weapons at people it left the category of mere corruption and became dangerous.  The good folk of Western North Carolina don’t have the L.A. Times to which they can turn.  They are doing the best they can do to bring attention to this outrageous abuse of power and authority.

I too call on Governor Pat McCrory to intervene and investigate these abuses and illegalities.  This kind of thing will go on as long as we allow it to.

David Codrea:

While doing some internet searches to support Saturday’s column about Oregon Firearms Federation accusing anti-gun state senator Floyd Prozanski of lying when he promised his bill regarding private transfers would not accomplish registration, I by chance came across a bizarre “tweet” from an unlikely source.

“Oregon Firearms Federation are pigs” …

David also covered this same sort of hate-filled, violent, cruel reaction from the anti-gunners here.  Have you asked yourself why the anti-gunners are so violent?  I have, and I have my own views of the nature of progressives and totalitarians and why they do what they do.

Kurt Hofmann:

Last year, Missouri HB 436. the “Second Amendment Preservation Act,” was passed by large, bipartisan majorities, in both chambers of the Missouri legislature, and then vetoed by Governor Jay Nixon (D). The House overrode Nixon’s veto, but the Senate fell one vote short–that failure aided and abetted by a stab in the back from Republican senate “leadership.” This year, Representative Doug Funderburk (R-103rd District) is trying again …

I hope it has better success, and for heaven’s sake, make it a serious effort as we’ve discussed before.

Mike Vanderboegh is covering the new ATF appropriations bill.  Their efforts are likely to be damaging.  You know my view on this.  The second amendment – while I do not believe that it has a limitation to applicability to states or citizens in all of their relationships with all of government – was primarily written as was the balance of the constitution.  It circumscribes the power of the federal government.  The upshot is that all federal laws concerning firearms – each and every one of them – are unconstitutional.  Now there’s a cost savings idea for the administration concerning ATF funding.

WRSA: A nice looking H&K AR-15 to be sure.  I’ll stick with my Rock River Arms AR-15 because I like it.  Very much.  Very much indeed.  And I will just never have an NFA weapon because I’ll never beg the ATF for permission to do or have anything.

Finally, Semper Fee, dude.  My son Josh says, “She’s such an idiot. What kind of person lives as long as she has and never hears those words pronounced?  A raging, tree hugging, urban-spawned progressive.”