I’ve been curious for a while, but there wasn’t really any answer….until now!
On the February 24th, 2009 show Glenn Beck mentioned having received a Beretta for his birthday. Nice…
I don’t know which Beretta he got, maybe he got a PX4 Storm Sub-Compact
Oleg Volk posted his movie reviews. And I realized this is something I’ve been meaning to do but have continued to put off. I’m not going to give as detailed scoring of the film as Oleg. Mostly just my feelings.
Defiance
Enjoyed the movie. It was a decent film, nothing spectacular. But it was fun and a good gun guy’s night out movie. I mean who doesn’t like seeing Mosin-Nagant’s on the big screen. My understanding is that the movie really diverged from reality and history on many levels, and mostly used the concept as a springboard. That said, the underlying themes that I got from the film were that if you concede to corrupt totalitarian government it will likely lead to your death. It is better to flee and fight. And flee again. And fight again. It also showed the strong need for both community and leadership. Without strong leaders, the sheep perish.
It also reminded me of my concern regarding the advancement of technology. In one scene the encampment is spotted by airplane. This leads to their having to move and suffering a number of casualties. That was WWII. How does one avoid a Predator drone with infrared cameras and advanced targeting systems. In truth, as much as the antis oppose semi-automatic (so-called assault weapons) and describe them in the fashion of true automatic assault rifles. I am left with the continual question of how can men even with fully automatic rifles survive, hide, and exist against the like of Predator drones?
***
Gran Torino
Okay, this movie isn’t going to win an Academy award. And there are a few aspects in the movie where it feels like there should be more (Dirty Harry, extended edition please). But the beauty of this film is two fold. One it is the absolute anti-epitome of “political correctness”. People utilize ethnic throughout the film. Both in derogatory fashion but also in friendship and camaraderie.
It also is a gunnie film. Fans of classic military guns, 1911s, etc should enjoy. (I am curious if these were from Clint Eastwood’s personal collection?). The movie also tends to be a bit more realistic than many gun films. (ie: Clint Eastwood pumps the shotgun before engaging, less cinematic but a heck of a lot smarter). Also this movie is realistic. It’s not a super-hero vigilante goes guns blazing and takes down all the bad guys type film. It confines itself to reality…which is nice.
The film does contain some disturbing scenes, topics. Rape, racism, violence. Seems like every review has to make caveats for the political incorrectness. But that’s what’s beautiful about the film. You see prejudice, you also see such barriers change. But that doesn’t get rid of the political incorrectness. Just changes the heart behind the statements.
All in all the film was well delivered…rumor has it that this may be Clint Eastwood’s last screen appearance as a leading man.
I’d label Gran Torino a “must see” gunnie film.
There is a fervency brewing…
It’s not just gun nuts getting on edge. This is on a stock exchange floor…listen to the guy. More so, listen to the people around him.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1039849853
There is growing disenfranchisement and disillusionment. All while our government plots a course of bankruptcy. (Enough so that Rick Santelli’s mere rant is spawning a movement… CLICK HERE.)
Does this mean we should throw our arms up in the air and run around crying “the sky is falling, the sky is falling”? Absolutely …not!!!! But it does mean we should be prudent and ensure that we are prepared. I’m not saying relocate to the hidden bunker in the mountains. Rather, make sure you’ve got more than a mere 3-days food on your shelves. Our former President asked all Americans to help prepare by keeping a few days worth of food, water, etc. If more people heeded such admonition, events like Katrina would have gone much smoother.
As individual Americans, one of the most patriotic things we can do is simply “Be Prepared!” (okay, how many just raised their three fingers in the Scout salute?).
***
So perhaps I should share about some of the preparations I am taking:
- We’ve got a shelf in the basement. I’ve just made sure over the past year that it’s well stocked with canned and dry goods. This isn’t stuff to hoard for 20 years. We eat the stuff too. But when there is one of those sales on Progresso soups 10 for $10. We stock up…
- Water, I picked up a couple of those 4 gallon water jugs from Costco. There are a lot of wells in our area. So I wager water won’t be a significant long term issue in our area. But it’s good to have at least a few gallons on hand.
- Guns & ammo, I am sure most of my readers naturally endeavor to stock up (buy) guns. But how are you stocked for ammo? How many of us have maybe one or two boxes of Walmart white box Winchester for our reserve? Is that enough? You’ll have to determine what is a good on-hand amount. But I know many advocates say you want a 1,000 rounds of all commonly used ammunition. And others advocate several times that. And while I’d love to have such personal stores, finances do not allow for such a dream.
Can I make a personal suggestion? .22LR is about $14 for a box of 550. With the purchase of just a few boxes you can have a reserve of .22LR ammo.
- Candles, Batteries (be they alkaline rechargeables). AM/FM radio. Things for when you don’t have power. Global Warming aside, the past year or so has seen some pretty intense winter ice storms. Some people find themselves without power for weeks. I am a big advocate for dynamo crank devices (ie: those cheap LED flashlights and radios powered by the little crank handles).
Eric Holder fired the first shot in the battle for a new ban on so-called assault weapons.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6960824&page=1
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29389404/
The White House when asked to comment referred them to the DOJ. Nancy Pelosi made a comment on the need to utilize the current laws instead of passing a new AWB is being seen by some as a glimmer of hope. But I think it more likely that she is merely saying “too soon” and we can do most of this via executive order without a need for a vote that will put our legislative power in hard straights.
Fast forward a couple hours and we were on our way to our very first Friends of the NRA dinner in Lancaster. (Which just happens to be in the top 15 nationwide.) Now, I have never been to one of these and didn’t know what to fully expect.
We were running a 1/2 hour late thanks to a mistake on my part. I mis-entered the time of the event. Thankfully it was a buffet dinner and we were still able to eat. The food was quite delicious (included veggies, real mashed potatoes, chicken, pork, salmon and roast beef).
After that we reviewed the various offerings. There was a silent auction (where you write down your high bids for items). A scheduled “live auction”. A number of games, raffles, both large and small. Then there was a 21 gun raffle. There was even a table gun. Where everyone who participated at a table wins the same gun. This year it was a Taurus Judge.
We had some tickets for the small raffles which also included a bonus ticket for a chance at 5 other guns. My wife and I placed our 8-10 little tickets in for the various item batches we wanted. (They had about 40 of these little raffles that would include a variety of things from knives to fishing poles, to gun mounting kits, hearing protection, and a diversity of other items.)
We also put an entry in for the “Win it All” table. Which had a $1,000 of merchandise (about 50 items I’d guess).
One entry for the “Guns of Year” BINGO raffle. You had the option of a matched pair of Ruger Vaquero’s or an NRA Mini-14. Which was won during a live auction by the gentlemen sitting next to us for $510. (What a steal!) If my wife would have let me, I’d have bought it.
We did not win any of the raffles. I did win a silent auction bid on a Sightmark Dual Reflex Laser sight for $55 (they seem to go for about $69-79 online).
But we had a great time, good food, and fun – and my wife really enjoyed having an adult night out away from the baby girl. Definitely recommend you attend one of these events. In fact, if you live in York County or the surrounding area, we are having the “White Rose Friends of the NRA Dinner” in April. Email me for more information if you’re interested.
Saturday began with a trip to the York Gun Show at the York Fairgrounds with a friend of mine. “Guns…lots of guns!” and might I add “Crowds, lots of crowds!”
There was much difficulty navigating the aisles. If Liberty is a well-armed sheep. The York Gun Show was clearly the sheep pen. Prices were definitely up on a lot of things.
Mosin-Nagants $99-$175 for nothing specials.
SKS were priced $350 and up…and I mean up to nearly $600.
AK Semi-automatics were going for what you’d expect to pay for an AR.
AR15, as for them gone were the $700+ units. $1,100 seemed to be the standard AR price and $1,500+ was NOT uncommon.
My friend and I got separated for a while. I eyed a 1925 Mosin-Nagant with some very interesting markings. Which I did not see any examples of on 7.62×54r.net. In the end I passed, I’m kind of on a gun restricted budget for the next 6 months (*sighs*). I have a good wife though…and she’s very tolerant and supportive on this issue.
I did wind up buying a sardine tin of 7.62×54r surplus ammo. $100 for 440 rounds and a few P-58 can openers. (Figured good idea to tape one to each sardine tin I buy.) Also bought a box of a 100 7.62×54r “blanks”. They were $3 and I figured WHY THE HECK NOT! (I figure when the little one is old enough to shoot a larger rifle. A blank might be a good thing to start off with. Especially since they were so cheap.) That was about all I bought…
So I met up with my friend at the door. And lo and behold he had bought something. And it clearly did NOT look like it was within his $200 budget. Not unless Springfield Armory has significantly lowered their price on the XDM model. He had been eyeing sub-compacts for carry (which the XDM is not) but saw the XDM for $550 and went for it. Can’t blame him, looks like a really nice gun and I’ve heard only good things about it.
As a little test we pulled a prank on my wife. When I got home I pretended it was my purchase. My wife was clearly not thrilled but neither was she enraged. She later told me she was waiting for my friend to leave before she yelled at me. *LOL* (She wouldn’t have been upset about purchasing such a firearm, but for the fact that I am not supposed to buy any more for 6 months.) We want to save for a house…
Yes you read that right…. Armor Holdings is developing Kevlar body armor reinforced with liquid. On top of being lighter and thinner than equivalent protection, it also provides protection from knives and puncture wounds.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_32/b3996068.htm
So how does it work?
Did you ever play with corn starch mixed with water as a kid? When you squeezed it, it would harden under the pressure. But would liquify after the pressure was removed. This liquid works in a similar manner. It is then applied to the Kevlar.
Or more accurately, is our military being prepared to be utilized in a martial role against U.S. citizens?
National Guard practices going from home to home doing searches, in the pretext of searching for drugs. But this tactic doesn’t make sense when talking about drugs. I mean, when have you heard of police drug raids going from home to home? This type of tactic is much more common historically when searching for a specific item or type of individual, be it a firearm or Jew….
FYI, military units do not have legal jurisdiction (the exception being one branch, the U.S. Coast Guard, which has legal jurisdiction on U.S. waters).
http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2009/02/ive-seen-future-brother.html
This on top of the military training in how to conduct a roadblock…
http://www.duiblog.com/2008/12/16/here-come-the-feds-contd-marines-at-dui-roadblocks/
And for the first time, a U.S. army brigade will be deployed on active-duty during a peacetime/non-emergency period.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/
Posse Comitatus Act – which makes it illegal to utilize the military in a law enforcement role except in a few specified exceptions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act
Quite thorough covering of common terms used by the media in their articles, and just what those terms mean.
http://stuckinmassachusetts.blogspot.com/2009/02/fun-with-media.html
(Be sure to check out the comments for a few proposed editions to the terminology list.)
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