Farewell

Greetings all,

We are the sons of Popgun, affectionately known as Butch to most here in the real world. It is with much sadness we must share with you his sudden passing on the morning of Tuesday, July 31st 2012.

The past few weeks have been difficult as anyone would understand. In dealing with our loss we did not want to forget about all those whom dad touched with his writing, both in life and through his blogs.

Several bloggers in particular were very influential on him. We don’t know how many posts were forwarded to us with the comment, “They said it better than I could.” Special thanks to you Bayou Renaissance Man, View From the Porch, John Lott, and Lawdog.

We were always very proud of him for freely sharing his love of life and country with us (and anyone else within earshot). We wanted to let you know how much he appreciated his readers. We would love to know of any notable posts or conversations with Dad that left an impression on you. Please share in the comments section and we will publish them as we can.

Again, thanks so much for being a part of Popgun’s world. We lost a good one.

Warm Regards,

The Sons of Gun

You Didn’t Build That?

“You didn’t build that!”, Obama said, in a fit of honesty. Every once in a while his mouth gets ahead of his brain and he tells us what he really believes.

The very best thing you can say about his statement is that his head is in the clouds so much that he doesn’t understand the reality of anything!

It is incredibly offensive to so denigrate the years of hard work of anybody that has ever done anything with their life!

He directed this comment to business, but if he thinks it is true of business, then he certainly thinks it is true of personal property. I’ve got a home that I have spent 40 years purchasing, building on, and improving. What absolute arrogance to suggest that I didn’t do this! Because it sure as heck was not just given to me. And I could not have done it without – business.

Obama has demonstrated that he really would like a world where all we have is what the government gives us. That’s his perfect world!

What a fool he is!

-Popgun

Chic-fil-A

Officials in at least three cities, including Rahm Emanuel in Chicago, are trying to block Chic-fil-A from opening restaurants in their towns, because Chic-fil-A does not support gay marriage.

This constitutes religious persecution by the government.

Since when, in the U.S.A., do we give our government authority to shut down businesses because of their owner’s religious views??? Gee, I must have missed the memo!

As a matter of fact, Chick-fil-A does NOT discriminate against gay folks or anybody else – they’ll sell food to anybody with money, and never ask you your sexual orientation, race, gender, or political position.

So what, if the owners happen to be Christians? I kind of like that, myself – if nothing else, it means I’m less likely to get cheated at the cash register. And if the owners support Christian causes, that is their business and nobody else’s. If you don’t like them, for whatever reason, go somewhere else to eat! Vote with your feet!

The deception here is that the GLBT community wants you to believe that Chic-fil-A is forcing their views on other people – something they are NOT doing. I would have a problem with that, myself, if I thought they were. Christians have no more right to force their views on others than anybody else.

However, the GLBT community IS trying to force THEIR views on everybody else. And their tactics stink. The GLBT community has been outvoted in most places; they constitute around 2% of the population, and they need to get over it. They act like a two year old stomping his foot because he doesn’t get his way. They want to appear to be victims, so they’ll get the sympathy vote; a typical liberal strategy.

A month or so ago, some GLBT “representatives” visited the White House, and were photographed flipping off the portrait of President Ronald Reagan. Since I happen to respect Reagan, this did not endear me to these folks. This tactic is not only disrespectful, it is stupid. It makes enemies of people who were not your enemies, before – and gains you nothing at all. Idiots.

I don’t particularly have anything against gay or lesbians folks – I know a few, and those particular individuals are fine people. What I object to is the general GLBT community’s tendency to get in everybody else’s face and try to demonize everyone who does not believe the same way they do.

A word of advice: The GLBT community will achieve their goals a whole lot sooner if they try to make friends of those who disagree with them; or, failing that, at least earn some respect by acting like adults and treating others respectfully whenever possible. Pissing off your opponents is poor strategy, unless you have them outnumbered and outgunned. Obnoxious behavior deserves to be slapped down.

Message to the Gay-Lesbian community: Leave me alone. And I’ll return the favor. On the other hand, push me, and I will push back. I don’t like being pushed, and at least some of you folks are pushy.

-Popgun

Tea Party – Violent?

It seems that the leftist liberal main-stream media has succeeded in painting the Tea Party as being violent.

I find this interesting since I cannot think of a single instance of any Tea Party activity in which the members of the Tea Party were violent. Does anybody out there know of any? (Contrast this with the recent activities of the Occupy movement…)

That’s mind control right there, buddy. When the common belief is controlled by the media, that’s mind control. And that is precisely how Hitler managed to send a huge number of Jews to the gas chamber without his own people throwing him out; they believed what they were told by the propaganda machine.

For God’s sake, people – think!

It ain’t that hard to do. Don’t let other people do your thinking for you. I don’t.

-Popgun

Murder in Aurora, revisited

I just found out that the mass murder at the theater in Aurora, Colorado, happened in a theater which has a no-guns policy.

Gee, that worked well, didn’t it?

I might point out also that the killer was stopped by the arrival of more guns – in the hands of law-abiding police officers, in this case. Spree killers are always stopped by the arrival of the next gun. Sometimes it is a cop; sometimes it is a private citizen with a handgun license. But they are always stopped with the arrival of the next gun.

To reiterate the obvious; if somebody near enough in the audience was armed, many lives might have been saved. The cops are only minutes away; if somebody in the audience was armed, they might have made the response time merely seconds. No-gun zones are places where murderers like to hunt, because they know that for a while at least, nobody will be shooting back. It is amazing to me how many well-meaning folks don’t grasp this concept.

And every public school in the country is a no-gun zone, by government decree. Many malls and theaters are also no-gun zones by their own choice. Those signs only keep out the law-abiding.

-Popgun

P.S. John Lott has a good post on this incident here.

ADDENDUM 7/26/2012: Article showing that “With a single exception, every multiple-victim public shooting in the U.S. in which more than three people have been killed since at least 1950 has taken place where citizens are not allowed to carry their own firearms.”

Murderer in Aurora, Colorado

We just got back from our vacation in Durango, Colorado; had a great time, but for some car trouble.

Now, a few days later, some nut-job decides to get in the news in a big way by murdering or injuring a whole lot of people at the new Batman movie premier.

I have a lot to say about this, but Peter at Bayou Renaissance Man has already said exactly what I think. Go read his post.

Please God help the survivors and their families deal with it, and may the victims be with Him in Heaven.

And also, dear Lord, remove from power those opportunistic politicians whose first thought is to use this incident to advance their political agendas. Michael Bloomberg comes to mind…

-Popgun

Traveling

We’re going to be traveling for about the next week. I expect to be able to post some, but it may be a bit slow. Even for me.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Popgun

The Mandate

Well, I will admit I was taken by surprise by the Supreme Court ruling in favor of ObamaCare. It seems so incredibly obvious to me that nothing in the Constitution gives the government the right to require me to purchase something whether I want it or not. And I still feel that way.

I think Chief Justice John Roberts has, for whatever reason, really screwed up on this one. His interpretation seemed a bit contrived, to me. But what do I know?

For better or worse, the Supreme Court is the last word in our legal system.

So now, I see a whole lot of greedy politicians sitting around figuring out how to run with this newly-established principle that, as long as it can possibly be construed as a tax, they can make us do anything.

What if Obama decides he wants to implement a tax penalty to make you buy a new electric car, for instance; we know how much Obama pushes environmentalism. He could potentially force a transition to all-electric vehicles simply by structuring it as a hefty transportation tax against anybody who burns gasoline. Exactly the same way ObamaCare mandates that you buy insurance, or you pay a tax of similar value. And the cost for this comes out of our pockets, one way or the other.

That’s an extreme example, of course. Here’s another, worked up by Ed Morrissey, tongue-in-cheek. It’s satire, but I kind of actually like his example, which is about enforcing the Second Amendment. After all, “keep and bear arms” is actually in the Constitution, unlike health care.

The principle has been established. And the Supreme Court has just given the government an incredibly powerful tool to make us do whatever they, in their infinite wisdom, want us to do.

We’re screwed. Thanks, John Roberts. Thanks a bunch.

-Popgun

What Are They Hiding??

Regarding Fast & Furious, and President Obama protecting Attorney General Eric Holder by invoking executive privilege – you just have to ask yourself:

What are they hiding?? What could possibly be so heinous that this was the least painful route for them to take?

The most transparent administration in history? Hardly.

-Popgun

Gays Flip Off President Reagan

A group of representatives of the gay community were invited to the White House by Obama. They were photographed flipping off a portrait of President Reagan – an act they seemed to be proud of.

This is pretty odd behavior for a group that really desires universal acceptance. They are not going to make any new friends with that kind of behavior. Nor will they earn any respect, from anybody. Even if you don’t like somebody, flipping them off is so – seventh grade. Are these the best “representatives” the gay community can come up with?

For instance, I personally strongly disagree with almost everything President Obama has done, and I trust him not at all. Obama has made it abundantly clear that he is NOT the President of ALL the people, but only those who agree with him. Obama has personally insulted my belief in my God, my Bible, and my guns; so I have good reasons to dislike the man, even aside from his job-crushing and foolish economic policies. Obama has done nothing to earn my respect.

But, while I wouldn’t bother to walk across the street to see him, I wouldn’t flip him off, either. Childish.

Are there any adults in the White House?

-Popgun

Evil Flees the Light

It seems clear enough, to me: Attorney General Eric Holder has something to hide, and President Obama is protecting him. I can see no other reason for Holder’s obstructionism regarding “Fast and Furious”, and Obama’s willingness to use executive privilege.

It must be something pretty major, for Obama to take this action at this time.

This makes Holder and Obama both look as guilty as sin. Both of them, because clearly Obama would not have done this unless he knew what is in those records.

And here it is a few months before the election. This is a major embarrassment for Obama, because it is so obvious that he is hiding something incriminating.

Only evil flees the light….

-Popgun

ADDENDUM: Tamara, over at View From the Porch, has another possible reason for the cover-up that I had not considered…. I wish I’d thought of it.

Cars Are More Dangerous Than Guns

I really don’t understand the horror some people have for guns. Really, they should be afraid of driving.

I have contended for a long time that cars and trucks and other moving vehicles are far more deadly than guns which are legally carried for self defense.

My reasoning is as follows:

First, handguns being carried legally are not ordinarily handled except when getting dressed or undressed. In my case this amounts to perhaps 30 seconds in the course of a day. The rest of the time they are inert and quite safe in the holster (you do have your gun in a holster, right?). Risk due to human error equals perhaps 30 seconds in 24 hours.

Second, with a handgun, shooting someone requires several things to go right; you must draw, disengage any safety, aim the gun and pull the trigger, for instance. And one bullet is not likely to damage more than one person.

Comparing this to automotive dangers:

First, vehicles are manually controlled at all times. Every second you (or the guy approaching you at 70 mph) are behind the wheel, you (and he) are subject to human error. If either one of you screws up, terrible things happen. Think about two drivers approaching each other on a two lane road, both at, say 60 mph. Let’s say one car has your family of four in it, and the other has just the driver. If either one of you make the wrong mistake, five people could easily die or be horribly injured.

The probability of this happening is many times what it is for a handgun accident, because most of us are subject to this scenario many times each day, and because twice as many people (either driver) can cause the accident.

Further, consider the comparison of kinetic energy available to an automobile compared to a handgun bullet:

The equation is KE = (m * v^2) / 2
where KE is kinetic energy, m = mass, and v = velocity

For the bullet, based on a 230 grain (0.0329 lb.) .45 auto slug traveling at 900 feet per second, KE (converted) comes in at 414 foot-pounds. (I cheated and used a physics calculator here).

For the car, based on a 3000 pound car traveling at 60 mph, a similar calculation arrives at a value of 361,036 foot-pounds. This is 872 times the force exerted by the bullet. And that is doubled in a two-car head-on collision.

So with a car, you have many, many times the opportunity to have an accident – and much, much higher forces are involved if you do. And for that matter, in a car you are more likely to impact something, since you are probably inside the moving object! Plus, it is far easier to hit something you don’t want to, in a car that is six feet wide and 17 feet long.

John Lott has an interesting article up this morning about mass killings using vehicles; he brings together a number of cases where people, intentionally or otherwise, drove into crowds, etc. It kind of drives home my point.

Gunsafe says that there are about 43,000 accidental vehicular deaths each year, and about 1,100 fatal firearms accidents per year. By that measure, cars are 39 times more likely to kill you than a gun.

Be careful driving, folks!

-Popgun

Union Bail Outs

I’ll refer you to Bayou Renaissance Man for the rest of his excellent article, but here is a quote from one of his sources:

Instead, President Obama gave over $26 billion to the UAW — more money than the U.S spent on foreign aid last year and 50% more than NASA’s budget. None of that money kept factories running. Instead it sustained the above-average compensation of members of an influential union, sparing them from most of the sacrifices typically made in bankruptcy. Such spending does not serve the common good. President Obama did not bail out the auto industry. He bailed out the United Auto Workers

Emphasis mine. There’s your proof of Obama’s priorities. It makes my blood boil.

Really, go read Peter’s article, over at Bayou Renaissance Man, who deserves kudos for doing the research. There is lots more there.

– Popgun

Liberals Are Violent People

Joy Behar, a person who deserves zero respect, wants to see Romney’s house burn down.

Looks like it is just fine for liberals to use violent imagery, but God forbid a conservative put target symbols on a map!

Those bloody liberals are idiots – and two-faced, as well.

-Popgun

Clinging

In his 2008 campaign, Obama said that country folks were “clinging to our Bibles and guns” – like that’s a bad thing.

Now NBC news reminds us of that statement, dissing “folks in rural areas” – like me – because we “cling to their gun and their religion”.

First off, these out-of-touch liberals act like they are surprised by this.

Second, they display their arrogance when they deride us for being that way. Because we’re not like them, you see. It is a form of bigotry.

Third, I’d just like to point out that our religion, our Bibles, and our guns are a hell of a lot more reliable and are far more beneficial to us than the federal government has ever been. We had our religion, Bibles, and guns long before there ever was a federal government.

Trade my God and my guns for the government dole? I’d rather die, than become an Obama drone, voting for more rabbit pellets to be doled out of the machine – that we have to fill in the first place.

Obama wants the Federal Government to replace these things, in our lives and affections. NOT gonna happen!

-Popgun

The Private Sector is Doing Just Fine

President Obama said the “private sector is doing fine”, and, “Overall, the private sector has been doing a good job creating jobs.”

Of course! What was I thinking! That explains why food stamp use has doubled since Obama took office!

Can you say “out of touch with reality”?

For a more extensive look at this, check out John Lott’s blog.

-Popgun

Words That Get You Watched by Big Brother

Somebody published a list of words that government computers search the telephone traffic and the internet for, presumably to automatically flag for further attention by the various security services.

You can view it here. Some of the choices are kind of interesting.

-Popgun

Things That Annoy Me

Things that annoy me, in no particular order:

> The phone system is smart enough to know you need to put a 1 in front of that number, but it is too stupid to do it for you.

> Bicycle riders on country roads, who will not move over to let you pass. They get aggravated at me because I don’t want to drive at 8 mph and take an hour to get home. I get aggravated at them for the same reason. They should get a hobby that does not annoy the uninvolved.

> People that think turn signals are optional. Also, people that think they don’t have to turn them on until they start the turn.

> Customers that think I am on the clock 24 / 7 and have my cell phone number. (I am salaried, which means I don’t get a dime for overtime).

> Bahia grass that grows 14″ – overnight.

> Slow internet.

> People that drive slowly because they think that makes it safe to talk on their cell phones. In a six-mile-long no-passing zone. On second thought, just make that “people who talk on their cell phone while driving – period”. They cause accidents.

> The Federal Government.

> Casual liars, like one pastor I know.

> Windows based computers. Once you use OS X for a while, you will understand. OS X is smooth. Windows feels like a kludge.

> Mosquitos. Mosquitos will fly 20 miles to get me. I get invited to outdoor events to keep the mosquitos off the other guests. I am a true mosquito magnet.

> The fact that you cannot call and find out how much a medical procedure will cost ahead of time. Try it for a colonoscopy sometime. If I get my car worked on, the mechanic gives me an estimate. If I go to the dentist, he tells me the cost of the procedure. For general medical service, it is never clear going in what your costs will be.

> Property taxes: The lying politicians swear they won’t raise your rates; so instead, they raise your property valuation, so you pay more every year anyway.

That will do for now. I may be adding to this list, regularly.

-Popgun

Types of Issues

It occurs to me that there are two fundamental types of issues in play in the games of politics.

The most common is an issue that is largely a matter of passion. For instance, I personally am pro-life, and I view abortion as the same as murder. I am also pro-gun, and believe that if the criminals can get a weapon, I should be able to get the equivalent, for the purpose of self defense.

Those types of issues are personally important, but the country will likely survive as we continue to waffle back and forth on them.

The other type of issue is kind of like gravity: it exists, so get over it. There are two sides to this issue, too; sanity, and insanity.

For instance, there is this issue of whether we want to be a socialist country, which takes care of people cradle to grave (and controls them!) just like good cattle; or whether we want to be a personally free country again, which requires free-market capitalism; but which does allow for the possibility of individual or corporate failure.

Now, free stuff from the government is all well and good. I’d be in favor of it myself, except for one thing; I don’t see how it can work economically.

This is a big deal, to paraphrase Joe Biden. Liberal and socialist policies simply do not make economic sense, long term.

As Margaret Thatcher famously said, “The trouble with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”. And the proof of this is the incredible deficits and debt we have – in excess of $15 trillion, last time I checked. Because the liberals didn’t stop when they ran out of other people’s money.

I have asked liberals to explain how they expect this to continue, and I have never received an answer. Because they don’t have one. Not a single liberal has ever explained to me a plan for all this socialist crap to continue. I’d really like to hear it.

If we could just wave Obama’s magic unicorn wand and give everybody free stuff, I’d be in favor of it, too. But it doesn’t work that way. And the liberals cannot explain how it will work. Not long term. Because, you can’t fool Mother Nature. Eventually, the house of cards will fall down – and a vast number of people will be hurt in the collapse.

Socialism requires slave labor to function, in the long run; because if I can get by without working, why should I? So to get goods and services for free, somebody has to give them up – for free. That’s slavery, folks.

So, here we are watching the European Union implode economically because of liberal / socialist policies. Over there, those who vote for a living outnumber those who work for a living.

Do you think the liberal / progressive / socialists will learn anything from this?

I doubt it. They’re going to ride that horse until it dies.

-Popgun

Obama’s New Logo

Obama’s new logo is “Forward”.

He sure as heck doesn’t want you to look back at what he’s been doing the last four years….

“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” – The Wizard of Oz (who was also a fraud).

-Popgun