Gun Free Zone

My stomach is sounding the alarm big time. The old churning-super-fast-spin-cycle warning of incoming doom tells me Hurricane Ike is going to do a tap dancing act in my neighborhood and I hate dancing in general.

The sucker is ugly as the picture shows and if you take in consideration that he is blowing at 135 miles per hour, what we have is an honest to God fifties horror blob intending on destroying whatever it can swallows.

Tomorrow and the day after are going to be very busy days getting ready for Ike. The shutters are going to be installed, at least in most of the non-necessary openings, generator checked, gasoline hoarded, double check the pantry for items that need to be stocked and of course more water.  Just to be sure I’ll go over Southcom’s Hurricane Survival Kit which is perhaps the best checklist out there.

I am one of those guys who goes to sleep watching horror movies and uses horror books as coasters which makes living with a wife who adores the genre somewhat challenging so I kinda surprised my wife when the book arrived at our abode and I told her it was about monsters and guns. She got her hands on it after I read it (I devour books while she savors them slowly) and she loved it. And as you may guess, I loved it too.

MHI tells the story of Owen Zastava Pitt, a man that tried to run away from his destiny but destiny ran over him and mauled his body with the furor of a full moon. For those who love monster stories, this book has plenty of creatures, some I never heard of before in my life and I was forced to google them. If you like guns, you will enjoy the literary gun porno that Larry Correia describes in detail. If you like both, well friend you will be in hog heaven. The story is fast paced, entertaining, funny and packed with action. As today, I have read the book 5 times, in fact I finished my fifth go-around last night and it does not loose its flavor.

Gun people are very picky about the usage of guns be in movies or books. We want accuracy in its portrayal, smartness in the tactics and no B.S. of any kind. Larry manages to imbue that by a strict description of the firearms used in the book, but somehow he easily get us to suspend disbelief and we buy Master Vampires, Orcs, Werewolves and Wendigos. Did I forget to mention it is his first book? Yep and I can’t wait for MHI2 to come out.

Now the good/bad news. The cover you see in the picture is from what I call Edition Zero. Larry self-published his book after being rejected by everybody but the taco vendor in the corner. He himself admits he was not ready for the acceptance and the books went out as fast as the printer could have them ready. The good news is that MHI was picked up by Baen and it is due sometime next year if I remember correctly. The bad news are that MHI: Edition Zero is gone. There is somebody selling an used copy in Amazon.com for $199 and I could not find copies in either Ebay or Powells. So if you want your copy, you must wait for Baen to publish it.

Larry Correia is the owner of FBMG, a gun store in Utah that would make any human being shriek in glee plus he is a firearms instructor and contributor to SWAT magazine.

By the way, Larry had a great sales strategy: He offered the patch you see in the cover during the distribution of Edition Zero. In a rare moment of insight, I managed to secure two so the wife would not complain. I have not seen hers ever again, something about not trusting me to keep my paws away from it (Damn it, she kinda knows me after 22 years) and I keep mine also in a safe place, unable to decide if it will ever be attached to some garment.

I have not made my mind yet on Sarah Palin’s nomination as VP. First impression is I like her, but I do want to learn a bit more before going full burst. However things look good because the Dems are throwing a gigantic hissy fit about her supposed lack of experience and how 2 years as governor of Alaska cannot prepare her for a job as important as the Vice Presidency which is to say that Dems are afraid that since McCain is old, he may kick the bucket and a woman (Lib Dem Says:Gasp! Only Dems are allowed to have a woman President!) with only two years of experience as governor (Lib Dem Says: Please ignore Obama’s 140 days as Senator) may become POTUS. The Horror! And of course the Lib Media is going after her, her redneck husband (Lib Dem Says: Snowmobile races? Is there anthing more retarded?) and her 17 year old pregnant daughter. Top that with the fact that she is an NRA member, likes guns, fishes and hunts to boot. Lib Dem Says:Oh My G-O-D! Poor Bamby!)

So what we have is a fighting conservative with two years of experience as governor, with guts to shake the corrupted old boys network within her own local party, who won the governorship on merit and not money, large family with problems but loving anyways and loved guns and went shooting & hunting & fishing and may reach the Presidency if something happens to the elected President. It sort of sounds familiar…. I heard something similar that happened before… Oh yes!

Created Equal ? Made Equal!
(Originally posted on May 10th, 2008)

“I hate people with guns. They are cowards.”

In the now defunct TruTV “reality” series Operation Repo, one of the characters is Matt who is the muscle-bound goon/enforcer for this repossession company. If you ever have the misfortune of catching a rerun, you will see Matt doing his specialty: jumping on people about half his size and wrestle them into submission.
In one episode however, the tables were turned when a car owner pulled a firearm and threatened the Repo-Idiots with deadly force. Muscle Matt became a quivering mass of fecal decomposition and was looking for a hole to hide. In the post-event interview Matt made clear he despised armed people and considered them cowardly because they did not fight fairly. This is typical of bullies and criminals who like to have the upper hand on their victims, they bitch and moan about a gun giving an “unfair advantage” as if their physical abilities to pounce and stomp somebody without the body mass or fight training is supposed to be fair. I guess that your average steroid-enhanced moron think he has the OSHA-mandated right to pulp the hell out of a smaller person and such person should not have the means to defend him/herself and having a gun is some sort of Federal Violation punishable by death.

Is having a gun and the ability to administer deadly force in case of attack by Matt or one of his colleagues considered unfair advantage? Well, yes! It is my life we are talking about here and I plan to used every mean and perform every trick in the book if I can stay out of the hospital or the morgue. And if Matt or someone like him makes the tactical error of considering that I am not a physical match to them and thus easy pickings, it will be his mistake by initiating an unprovoked attack and then find himself with a new orifice where one was not that morning. Fair means I get to go home alive. So allow me to repeat those famous words (infamous to bullies and criminals) uttered by somebody but that reflect a deep and enlightening truth.

“God created men, Sam Colt made them equal.”

Whenever I fee too polite, I drop by Monster Hunter Nation and read Larry Correia’s latest which inspired the butchered Photoshop creation displayed above. Click on it for better resolution.

This year we are faced between a shit sandwich and a shit hot dog. Not very palatable options and still we must ingest one.

Set aims for Congress 2010. We were caught asleep at the wheel too many times already. We cannot let it happen again or risk lose everything.

The Responsability of Starting People on the Road towardas CWP.
(Originally posted on July 29th, 2008)
People at my workplace and some non-gun friends know I am involved in guns and IDPA shooting so it is not unusual that they come to me to ask questions. Day before yesterday I found myself again answering the doubts of somebody who wanted to get a Florida Concealed Weapons Permit making him the 6th person this year who has initiated the process by going through me first. I would lie if I say I am not proud that people thinks I know enough and I am approachable enough to confide in me for their initial steps towards self-protection. It also scares me silly because I know how limited my knowledge can be.

I usually don’t ask why do they want to get a CWP since I’ve noticed that I usually get a canned response and I get a better feeling when they start asking questions. Most of the inquirers are people who are truly worried about being defenseless and feel they need tools to protect themselves. The minority have some sort of Rambo complex and feel they can achieve instant justice if they are packing and to both of them I said that they are better off without even owning a gun.

I should not be, but I am still amazed at the amount of misinformation floating out there regarding CWPs. I have no doubt that the Media and Hollywood are to blame and it is a titan’s job to counter all the lies but it must be done. I patiently tell them that no, you cannot shoot somebody in the State of Florida because they are stealing the car and you cannot “shoot in the air” either to scare them. Just get Police on the phone and then call your insurance company. I tell them to repeat over and over Reasonable fear of death or grave bodily harm and to memorize it alongside the Four Rules of Gun Safety. I tell them to get, study and know by heart Jon Gutmacher’s Florida Fireams Law, Use & Ownership and to remember that every bullet he shoots has a possible lawsuit attached to it. I also leave politics aside and concentrate on the issue of getting the permit. The Second Amendment will come in full force when they are part of the Gun Culture and realize some cretin in D.C. wants to leave them defensless.

And you want to know what surprises them the most ? When I tell them that the moment they officially put on a legally concealed gun, their first casualties will be ego and pride. They blink hard when I tell them that from then on, no matter how vile the insult, how nasty they were cut off on I-95 by the idiot in the green truck or how maddening they feel when they see somebody cut in at the register line their emotions must be in check and they must avoid conflict at all costs. Add to that that if they never drove by a bad neighborhood before, the gun does not give them permission to do so now, nor to resolve conflicts between neighbors or to assist police when not requested. And also that Avoidance, De-Escalation and Deterrence are now their guidelines for life. The final straw for a few was: “If you ever have to shoot somebody in Self-Defense, that will probably will not be the end of the whole thing but the end of Chapter One with more to come.”

Some, a few, decided that the new responsibility was too much and forgot the whole CWP idea.The rest still went on and obtained or are in the process to get theirs. I just hope the meager basic instructions I gave them serves them to start on the right path.

I want to say that I am not an instructor nor I have any experience as an Operator in any conflict area or have an impressive a rray of certificates from attending many schools of Guncraft. My little experience comes from a dedicated study of those “who have been there, done that have the T-shirt”, one long weekend having a class with a well renowned instructor, the instances where I had the unpleasant experience of having a weapon directed at an unarmed me and those rare occasions when I had to use a firearm to avoid trouble. As of now, I have exact ly the same number of orifices that I came to this world with and the only scars I have in my body come either from utterly mishandling of sharp objects or surgery due to physiological maladies so I guess I haven’t done too bad after all but do take this post with a grain (or two) of salt.

The Lone Sheepdog.
(Originally July 31st, 2008)

In some Gun Forums, the now famous On Sheeps Wolves and Sheepdogs article seems to create furor among the ranks. Some identify with it, some take umbrage at calling those less than aware Sheep, some who serve or served in the Military or Law Enforcement communities seem to believe that it does not apply to those who are not in their groups and some think it is a Ramboesque thing that wannabes spout. I never served, I am not LEO. I am a Citizen. I know “I don’t get it” because I wasn’t there but I get things others don’t. I am a Lone Sheepdog.

Like many modern Sheepdogs, I started as Sheep, a believer in the goodness of Mankind and with the hopes of a better World. However life taught me differently and, in my case, my eyes were finally and totally opened by the death in my arms of a dear friend who was killed by roaming Wolves. I swore then I would do my best to avoid that same situation or die fighting so I began the process of learning to become a Sheepdog and I still do every day.

And you know what? A Citizen Sheepdog is a lonely endeavor. We must provide for our guns, our ammo and our training. We must walk alone the streets without back up a radio call away or the support a squad of friendly sheepdogs with more guns and even air support which the Wolves shy away from while they look and seek me since I am alone or with my family. Wolves are not afraid of Civilians since most are sheep ready for the picking but turn around and hide if they see a black and white or a Humvee. But since I look like the other Sheep, I can be targeted at any time with any degree of violence and I must respond to save my life or the lives of my loved ones.

And it something happens and I am succesful in defending myself, a new wave of attack begins. I will be interviewed by Police and Prosecutors and if I am unlucky I will be seen as a Wolf. The Press will try to crucify me as a wild predator, thirsty for blood. Friends and Family might see me as Cain, the slayer of the Brother now holding the Mark of the Beast in my forehead. I will have to reach into my savings for a lawyer if a politically hungry prosecutor decides to make me his campaign issue: No FOP or Union Lawyer for me, no Laws Of Warfare apply to me, I will get the brunt of the Sheep Law as I was some scum of the Earth.

And yes, I call them Sheep because they are Sheep. I was one, see? Lots of them had the same warnings I did, sit with me in the same lunch rooms watching news reports on TV about the horrible things Wolves are doing to the flock and they just moan and complain about needing more Sheepdogs to defend them. The thought of becoming Sheepdogs themselves is bothersome at best or frightening at worst. They refuse to take the responsibility because it is too cumbersome and too dangerous and prefer to ignore the world out there and its dangers till it is too late and then complain and seek justice as long as someone else does the dirty work.

And please, do not construe this as a criticism of Soldiers and Cops: God knows their jobs are hard enough and they could not pay me enough to do them. But then again I ask you to understand that we are faced every day with the evil you fight since it seeks us. We are not Rambos or Jack Bauers or Chuck Norrises, we are Joe and Tom and Rick and Mary and Sylvia, every guy and gal who lives next door, has a lawn, flowers and a pot belly and roots in their hair and loves his or her family but must stand alone when the Wolves come howling in the middle of the night.

It is scary but we swallow hard and face the Wolves. I do hope you understand.