Preach It!!

I'm a "church goer", although I haven't been it a month or so, and I get annoyed with people in the congregation shouting "encouraging words" to the preacher. Half of the time they're speaking without even listening to what the preacher has even said. Words like: preach it, amen, yes preacher, etc. flow from the desire to fit in to the collective, the manta humming ummmmm.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with every once in a while "speaking" out in a sermon, but every two seconds, sheesh. A few years back, my wife and I attended my In-Laws graduation from counseling at 1st Baptist of Atlanta. At the end of the ceremony, Charles Stanley gave a sermon type talk, and I noticed that a woman sitting in the row in front of us was really, really enjoying the sermon (God forgive me for ripping her, but here goes).

Her favorite word was "say it". As Stanley was speaking she would say, "say it, saaay it, oh say it." First off, what does that even mean? Second, I couldn't focus on what he was saying because she was cracking my wife and I up.

So what am I getting at? Call me crazy, but these are the people we have to worry about, for they are easily swayed. Can they be swayed for the good? Sure, but more often than not, they are the ones who blindly follow any two bit person who half way talks with authority. "You sound like you understand this health care debacle, so I'll do what you say", or "Even though this goes against what the Founding Father's wished for our country, it's a necessary evil to prevent X".

So I think I'm perfect, right? Wrong, sometimes (albeit rarely) when I'm fed false advertisement I choose the wrong side of the issue as well. However, and this is the critical part, I have a couple of key elements that keep me on the right path.

1) I am always ready to embrace the truth, even if it goes against what I've thought since I could think for myself. Some people, lets use Democrats here, refuse to see the light, even with it's blinding them. Just look at this article here. Charles Rangel is caught red handed and yet there's nothing but hemming and hawing by the Democrat leadership trying to justify his actions and their lack of action. Then look at how he's hailed as if he's a champion returning to Rome victorious (as in the article). Using Republicans here, (although I really hate to) 99 times out of 100 would have dropped the guy flat. That's because conservatives (at least true conservatism) tend to eat there own. "If you do wrong your gone".

2) I listen to others and then form my own opinion based on my own research. I may disagree, agree (and then reform my opinion), or I may need to do more research. That's one of the great things about blogging and reading other blogs. A few weeks back Conservative Scalawag talked about saying the pledge allegiance. I had never really thought about his perspective before (you'll have to find the post for yourself), and if fits right in with the premise of this post. I don't have much against it unless your saying it for sayings sake. Are you promising to uphold the ideals of the country, or are you zombie like moaning because everyone else is? I believe in the core elements of the pledge, but am not sure its needed to be done en mass. Most people sing songs at church but have never actually read the words, try it some time you may be shocked (hopefully in a good way).

3) I understand the need to distrust my government whether there is a R,D,I, or L next to it. I do this because every single one of those punks with try to slip something by me to increase the power and authority of the government. Consider the Roman Dictator (a topic I'll discuss in length down the road). The early roman republic would call for a dictator when they needed to cut through all the red tape, in "emergency situations". They needed to do this because they had the most complex set of rules to ensure there would never be another king in Rome. The rules were for the dictator as follows: 6 months service to deal with the "threat" and then relinquish control back to the consuls (in short). Dictator didn't mean what it does today, but you can see what people mean by slippery slopes. Necessary evils have a funny way of biting us in the ass down the road.

I Think I Need To Chill

I posted this as a response over at Conservative Scalawag concerning this topic. It turned into a rant that I figured I might as well post here.

The night before he had a guy on his show. Bill O'Reilly was talking to him about his (Bill's) belief that 10% of the Tea Party is wackos. He then asked the guy if he knew of any groups that represented that 10%.

The guy was careful not to say they were (Oath Keepers), but did say they "could" be down the road, or that they were close. Bill said he was going to call them up and have someone on to give their story. Needless to say I was proud there were guys out there, in their positions of authority, and couldn't wait to hear from them the next night.

Long story short, I was pissed at Bill after seeing that segment. First, the guy from the Oath Keepers did a good job stated the reasoning behind the group and their objective, and how they swore an oath to the Constitution first and foremost. His goals were that they educate military personal and LEO's this insight.

Second, Bill always blasts people over how certain laws open doors for further actions down the road (slippery slopes). The part where he's saying (or implies) that the Government would/or only would take guns in situation were they really needed to, really, really pissed me off. And then said the Sheriff in NC, and the actions in Katrina needed to be done to "control the situation". The first thing that came to my mind was how the redcoats probably thought the same thing.

That's enough for now I was pissed at him Thursday night over this (or which ever night it was), I need to enjoy the rest of today.

I Bet You Would Like That

I've become too depressed to blog lately. Story after story, of stupid, nonsensical, idiocy surrounds me. Check out this story found over at Survivalist News ( http://rawstory.com/2010/02/mexican-foreign-minister-calls-north-american-union-unified-currency/ FOR HERMIT).

I bet this guy would like to see the Americas in some sort of union, modeled after the European Union. Even as the EU teeters on disaster, this joker wants us to give it a try. Germany is still reeling from absorbing East Germany back into the country. Even though this isn't a perfect example, we would suffer significantly through a America Union (or whatever they would call it).

As Americans, we differ from others in the present age. We're individualists, and don't like big governments (at least for now the majority don't). Much like the Greek city states we wish to be governmened locally where we have a say.

I can only hope that much like the Jews who cry "Never Again", we Americans will use the Revolutionary War as our rallying cry, and proclaim "Never Again" will we succumb to rulers foreign and/or abroad.

It's Getting Kinda Of Hectic

As an electrician, this kind of story scares me. I need to do more research, but I can't figure what they thought they would get from electricians. The truck, tools, or perhaps credit cards? It just seems a lot of work to only get someone's credit cards, but it's not a bad idea when used the right way (and you suspend legalities).

This is exactly why I carry at least until the point I have to go into the crawl space or attic. The last thing I want to do is lose my firearm in the insulation (by the way, I once lost my keys off a carabiner after my belt loop broke without me knowing it) and have to go back with a magnet.

I have to admit there have been times where I've carried into someone's house and thought about how they might have felt about me if they knew I carried. And then considered putting my firearm back into the truck. These are the stories that strengthen my resolve. Please consider this event if you hesitate in exercising your 2nd Amendment.

Will You Be Ready?

I worked at a house today, that belonged to a break in victim. I think her story drives an important point home, one that we may not understand until we are in that moment. How will we act or react with faced with a break in scenario?

Mrs X. was home alone one evening with her husband out of town on a business trip. Late in the evening she heard the front door rattling. Living in a gated community, she assumed one of her neighbors was at the front door, for how could it be any more sinister living safe and cozy IN A gated community?

As she walked towards the front door she noticed a shadowy figure that didn't feel right (her feelings, not the shadowy figure). Her survival instincts immediately kicked in and she ran into her bedroom to get her gun. She crouched down and got in a ready position prepared to shoot whom or whatever came through the door (she had learned in a gun glass that when you pull a gun you (she) had better be prepared to use it).

She waited while the man continued to try to jar the door and then decided she would talk to the criminal. She yelled to him that she had a gun, which may or may not always be a good idea, mostly depending on if they have a gun as well, no sense allowing them to know what level of force you have (but that's an argument for another day). She informed him that she wouldn't take any pleasure in doing so, but would shoot him if he entered the house.

Then... he left. Story over right? Wrong. Now that he had left, and after waiting a few minutes, she began to stand up. However, she was still quite disturbed from the situation and "accidentally" pulled the trigger. Which would bring a frown to Conservative Scalawag's face after braking (breaking) one of the four pillars of gun safety. Fortunately, the round was a hollow point and just went through the wall and into a very expensive dinning room chair.

Now, how will you respond if/when the time comes? Will you be prepared to take action? Will your hands shake uncontrollably? Will you think clearly?

I'd like to tell another story that happened to me a while back. My wife and kids were out of town, which meant free time for me. The first night they were gone I got to act like the king I am. I popped in a red box video (Terminator Salvation) and began the night. At about 2am I heard a strange noise in the foyer (our bedroom is right off the foyer. I had the door closed so I turned down the volume and listened in. It truly sounded like someone was breaking the front door in. So I grabbed the shotgun and positioned myself in the master bath with the lights off (I did this because I would be behind the door when it opened, allowing me to see the person as they came through the doorway). I waited, and waited for a half and hour. Just when I thought I was imagining the whole thing I heard a noise in the foyer hallway. Crap, they're in the house. I figured I wasn't in a position to exit the room, and lose the "upper hand",so I'd wait them out.

And wait I did. But I kept hearing what I imagined was rummaging of our property. Finally after a little over and hour of waiting I came out balls to the walls. Only to find an enormous... Beetle Creature. The stupid thing kept banging on the walls throughout the house. Ha Ha.

What I did learn is my adrenaline makes me shake a bit. The first five minutes I was in the bathroom I shook a little. Then I calmed myself down, and focused on what was at hand. Even though I was a complete idiot (being I was imagining this), this was one of the best things that could have happened to me. I learned how I would react in a situation that I could never stage or prepare for, unless it was the real thing. Well at least I thought it was the real thing, good enough in my book.

So the next time this happens I'll be prepared right? I'm not sure to be honest. What I do know is that if I have to protect myself or others, I will be able to fall back to the time I was under attack by the Beetle Creature, and know I can get through it. I know I'll be able to calm myself quicker than roughly five minutes. But most importantly, I know I have the strength to do what must be done.

Make sure you know how to use your weapon by going to the range at least once a month (fire at least 2-4 magazines). Make sure you practice with both hp and fmj. I now a lot of people who use fmj at the range and then load hp in their firearm never having made sure their gun can handle that particular manufacturer of hp. Just make sure you don't hit your expensive dinning room set.

Police Oppression?

Saw this over at a great blog called Pro Libertate article date Jan 18th(I don't know how to add video yet). What really struck me was the fact that they didn't even ask anyone around what happened, and went straight to detaining the Jet's fan. I thought it was awesome that the Charger's fans came to his aid. Go over to Pro Liberate and read his thoughts, he says it better than I could.

P.S. The soccer riot further down at Pro Liberate is pretty interesting as well.

The Great Commission

I never knew this, but apparently Trijicon has been doing this. What makes me laugh is the fact the article writers (and ABC) describe the Bible verses as some kind of Bible Code (I'm sorry, "Secret JESUS Bible codes").

I like Trijicon, and I hope they stick to their guns if this gets all lawyer type nasty. If they choose to take the verses off , so they can keep their $660mil gov contract, I'd understand from the business side, but I'd take personal offense. Why put it on there in the first place if you don't intend to make a stand?