Wednesday, September 4, 2013

A Little Snark, A Few Questions, And Random Musings

 
 
   My first question is, "Are Chicken McNuggets really that good?" I remember eating one now and then when my daughter was little. It's been a lot of years, but I don't remember them being that tasty. They certainly weren't worth committing assault and battery for. Did anyone else want to see her, "Assume her ultimate form?"
   I read somewhere that about 10% of Americans need some form of mood altering substance to get through the day. This could be something like prescription medicine for being bi polar, alcohol for alcoholics, or illegal drugs for those with drug addictions. I have no idea what the problem is with the woman in the video above. She clearly needs something (other than mediocre chicken products) to even out her emotions.
  One thing that preppers often worry about is what their locality would look like if the trucks stopped making deliveries for a few weeks (or longer). What would happen if the meds stopped reaching the pharmacies, and the booze stopped making it to the stores.
  It's worth considering what your neighbor, coworker, family member (or yourself), is going to act like if you're stranded in the middle of another San Francisco Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, or LA Riot. Are you going to be on the receiving end of a Chicken McNugget rampage, or perhaps something worse?
 
 
   It seems that President Obama is vowing to cut down on weapons being trafficked to drug cartels. If you aren't getting the irony of this then you're probably here by mistake, and should be on MSNBC.
 
 
  Did your media choices spend the last year showing pictures of Trayvon Martin at the age of 12? It doesn't matter if you believe that his shooting was justified, or not. You should consider whether your news outlets are trustworthy. These are the information providers that help to shape your world view. Do you think that showing the 17 year old's 6th grade picture is accurate, or were they shaping the story instead of reporting it? Did you spend the last 12 months being informed, or duped for political reasons?
 
 
  My daughter has had dozens of trips to the range, and has shot up thousands of rounds of ammunition. She's taken instruction from a professional, and even participated in several matches. I made it a point to take her shooting at every opportunity because I knew that once she became 18 years old, she wouldn't be going to the range with her old man.
  This practice didn't make her Annie Oakley, or Jeanne Assam. It did, however, make her much more competent than many people twice her age.
  But... she cannot buy handgun ammo in my state until she's 21yrs old. Oddly enough, she's allowed to buy long guns, and rifle ammo.
  What are the government's legal expectations of this young woman? TheDaywalker can vote, be charged as a felon,  and can run up so much debt that she'll never be able to pay it off. She can marry, and join the military. She now pays taxes. This 18yr old is held responsible for her actions, as all adults are.
  She cannot, however, buy a handgun or handgun ammunition.
  Bear in mind that the same people who believe that she is too immature to own a handgun are fine with a 13 year old making the decision to abort a baby without consulting her parents.
 
 
  I have an AR15. Obama calls it a, "Weapon Of War." The anti gun groups and their pet politicians call this firearm an, "Assault Weapon." Law enforcement officers call this gun a, "Patrol Rifle." When DHS orders AR15s, they're called "Personal Defense Weapons."
  The military simply calls my semi automatic AR15 a, "Rifle."
  I think that's probably the most accurate term (paraphrased from something I saw on AR15.com)
 
 
  There's a lot of talk about allowing concealed carry on college campuses. The anti gun side say that it's too dangerous having guns in classrooms.
  We're told that college students are too immature to have handguns on campus. I'm not willing to concede that point to the gun banners, but let's talk about those that are never mentioned in this debate.
  Is the 22yr old veteran on campus too immature and inexperienced to carry concealed? What about the 30 year old janitor, or the 45yr old maintenance supervisor? College professors are not intelligent or mature enough to carry a pistol?
  If the concern was merely about drunken fratboys, then those listed above would be allowed to carry concealed.
 
 
   3/4 of all jobs created in 2013 are part time. You and I consider a full time job as having 40 hours of work per week. The government used to count 32 hours per week as a full time job. 30 hours is now considered by Uncle Sam to be full time employment.
   We keep hearing that our current inflation rate is running about 2%. Bear in mind that this doesn't count those crazy things that no one uses such as food and fuel. The real inflation rate is closer to 8%.
   We're told that the Unemployment Rate (U-3) is currently about 7.4%. This doesn't take into account those working part time jobs because they can't find full time work, or those that have simply quit looking out of disgust with the job market. The Total Unemployed Rate (U-6) is 14%. Over 47 million Americans are on food stamps.
  We aren't changing the employment numbers in real life. All that the government is doing is shifting people around from unemployed to part time work, or they're simply not counting them anymore. The last 5 years and trillions of dollars have been wasted, if this is considered what's now the norm for our economy.
 
 
  Back to "Assault Weapons." I usually try to keep most of my personal information off of the internet because there are too many people out there with really good computer skills, and too much time on their hands. With that said, I'll mention that I spent part of my time in the Marine Corps guarding nuclear weapons. There's a small portion of the Marines that guard nukes for the Navy. The job itself is really nothing to brag about, but you do have a secret security clearance and will sometimes be within a few yards of a nuclear missile. It's not a huge thrill, but the military usually picks some pretty trustworthy people for this duty.
   It boggles my mind that my government would trust me to carry a M1911, or M16A2 while standing several feet from a nuclear missile, yet they don't trust me with a semi automatic rifle such as an AR15.
  


   I predicted that ammo prices would be back to normal by now. Clearly, I am not psychic.

 
   If this is your concealed carry method then you're doing it wrong.

   All of my friends and family know that I'm a gun guy, and most have a pretty good idea of what's in my safe. Several months ago, the anti gunners in DC were proposing a long list of draconian gun Bills. Guns and ammo became scarce around this time, and people lost their minds trying to find something (anything) to buy. I had friends asking me to sell ARs. Those with no previous interest in builds were looking for stripped lowers. People that had no prior interest in "Assault Weapons" were desperate to find an AK or AR. Some were willing to pay a premium just to get a Ruger 10/22.
  Sooo... now guns are readily available again, and prices are near 2012 levels. Ammunition (except 9mm and .22lr) is becoming easy to find. Prices are a little high, but not obscenely expensive. Magazines are everywhere, and retail for normal amounts.
  ... and these same people now have no interest in putting away ammunition or in buying that firearm they were desperate to find back in Feb.
   In 6 months or a year the cycle will probably start all over again.

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