Massad Ayoob's Blog, page 129

WHAT DEMOCRATS NEED TO SEE

Before anyone blames every Democrat everywhere for their party’s aggression against guns owners’ civil rights, we should remember that there are many Democrats who have a more realistic grasp of things.

Here is a case in point: http://kontradictions.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/dear-democratic-gun-control-lobby-how-to-get-better/.

Thanks to Steve Harris for sending it along.

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REFLECTIONS ON THE BOSTON ATROCITY

Now gratefully back in warm weather after freezing my butt off in flooded Chicagoland for a week, I think it’s a good time to reflect on lessons learned from five horrifying days in Boston. I spent that week at the annual conference of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association. It was there, as I mentioned in my last entry, that applause spontaneously broke out when it was announced that the useless Universal Background Check had failed in the Senate. ILEETA’s 700-plus attendees train cops for the streets, instead of sitting in white shirts behind mahogany desks, and they know the reality. Maybe that’s why NRA always has a strong presence at the vendor booths during the police equipment expo there, and why the anti-gunners don’t bother showing up.

We sadly witnessed the spectacle of a major city turned into a ghost town, its citizens literally in lockdown and hiding in their homes from a single heavily-armed teenage terrorist. You may be sure that most who owned firearms had them loaded: the fugitive, and the brother he apparently killed by accident, had already kidnapped one citizen at the point of illegally possessed firearms. Despite a massive police presence, it was a private citizen who found the quarry; thank God the suspect was debilitated by wounds sustained in his shootout with brave Watertown Police officers and was in no condition to attempt to murder him. One wonders if that good citizen would have felt better at that moment if he’d had a familiar pistol at his hip when he pulled back the tarp on his bloodstained boat, and realized what he was facing.

We have much more to learn about this incident and how many more of these terrorists are inside our borders. Among the many lessons that will sooner or later become plain, one is certain to be this: in a nation of well over 300 million citizens policed by far less than a million cops, more people than ever will recognize the importance of the armed citizen that our nation’s founders so wisely memorialized in the Second Amendment.

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THE PRESIDENT IS A SORE LOSER

When I heard the news that the Senate had failed to pass a Universal Background Check, I was at a police seminar on the topic of active shooters. The panelists had agreed that “active shooter” was a poor descriptor, one noting that some attackers use other weapons, such as the blade-wielder in the recent Texas case. (And, of course, the Boston Marathon bombing was fresh in everyone’s mind.) Another panelist, a retired SWAT lieutenant who has responded to such things for real, pointed out that an active SHOOTER is what it takes to stop an active MURDERER.

When a retired police chief on the panel announced that he’d just received a text that the UBC had failed to make it through the Senate, the police audience erupted into applause. So much for the idea that cops all want to restrict your gun ownership. The real cops know where the problems are, and that they ain’t coming from people like you.

Alas, the White House is out of tune with that reality.

 

A very angry Chief Executive declares that Senators who see reality and prevent what’s best described as “the tyranny of the (uninformed) majority” have somehow subverted the process. He then manages, with practically the same lungful of air, to spout bogus statistics and simultaneously accuse those who told the truth of willful deception.

My favorite part was watching Vice President Biden’s face, in the Senate chamber during the vote and at the President’s side during the above-mentioned press conference shortly thereafter. The man does one hell of a good Grumpy Cat impersonation, and one “safu” on the Internet has come to the same conclusion.

 

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TENSE TIMES

We live in times that could raise any American citizen’s blood pressure.  The atrocity that occurred today at the Boston Marathon.  A whacked-out martinet on the other side of an ocean threatening to nuke our country.  No wonder so many of our neighbors are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

Of course, the moonbeams and butterflies crowd can’t distinguish between preparation and paranoia.  Here, the Daily Sheeple takes a wry look at the matter of “prepping”: http://www.thedailysheeple.com/you-may-be-a-dangerous-paranoid-doomsday-prepper-if_042013

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FROM THE CNN/GIFFORDS PERSPECTIVE

Late last January, a Fox commentator noted that CNN had turned into a 24/7 “gun control” telethon. And now, on the evening of April 9, I sit here watching what CNN has called a two-day special devoted to exactly that topic.

It is focusing on background checks.  No surprise: the gun prohibition movement nationwide has lasered in on the exact same thing. They’ve been doing it for a while, ever since they realized that both the “assault weapon ban” and the “high capacity magazine ban” are being increasingly recognized as illogical and meaningless…as, indeed, they were proven to be the last time they were enacted.

The “opening shot” of the “two-day blast” (puns intended) centered on Gabby Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly.  Before she was shot by psycho Jared Loughner, Rep. Giffords was a conservative Democrat who staunchly supported gun owners’ civil rights.  She owned a Glock 19 pistol exactly like the one Loughner used, and to their credit, her husband admitted that.  He also admitted that he and his wife owned a slightly larger capacity version of the same gun, the Glock 17, which he fired obligingly at a backyard plinking range for the CNN cameras.

The Glock 19 pistol holds 15 rounds in its standard magazine, and the Glock 17 contains 17 rounds when its standard magazine is full.  Each will take one more round in the firing chamber when fully loaded. Kelly made a big point of the fact that Loughner had used extended 33-round magazines in the weapon he used in the massacre.

Interesting, that, though Giffords and Kelly have now become icons in the “gun control” movement that wants to limit everyone to 10-round magazines (and New Yorkers to only 7), neither seems to have even symbolically given up their standard capacity magazines “evil high capacity assault magazine clips.”

“Sean AZ” commented in the last blog entry below this one that it looked to him as if the backstop Kelly was shooting at on CNN was unsafe. And  in a previous entry here I commented on the disingenuous hypocrisy Kelly demonstrated recently in his purchase of a “high capacity assault rifle,” to wit the SIG version of an AR15.  (The gun shop where he bought it refused to complete the transfer. When I am next in Tucson, I want to shake the hand of the gun shop owner who made that decision.)

So far in this particular stage of the “we gotta have universal background checks” CNN marathon, it appears that folks think we gun people want it to be legal for criminals to buy guns on the street, or have their girlfriends buy guns for them. Nothing could be further from the truth. That’s already against the law, and has been for a very long time, and it’s us gun people who rage against the Obama/Holder Justice Department’s failure to prosecute more than a token number of criminals who do so.  So far, even Anderson Cooper, the point man on this particular CNN blitz, doesn’t seem to be aware of the quicksand of creating felons out of a husband who leaves a gun at home with his wife, or parents who bequeaths a family heirloom gun to heirs, which lies in some of the currently suggested “background check” legislation passes. (Please see the blog entry below this one.)

To Cooper’s credit, while he’s obviously not “pro-gun,” he’s trying to show both sides like a professional journalist, in stark contrast to his fellow CNN denizen, Piers Morgan. Having been forced out of his journalism career in England by a hoax he perpetrated as a journalist, and a phone-tapping scandal, Morgan gets about half the ratings Anderson does. Anderson has already, honestly, brought out the fact that Loughner PASSED a background check when he bought the gun he later used that terrible day in Tucson.

My heart goes out to Gabby Giffords. It pains me to see what the brain damage inflicted on her by a monster has done. I can only wish she’d been carrying her own Glock 19 on that day, and seen the evil little monster in time to stop him.

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THE INSIDIOUS UNDERSIDE OF “REASONABLE COMMON SENSE UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS”

In recent days, we’ve seen a senior proponent of the full capacity magazine ban reveal that she didn’t have a clue how either magazines or stripper clips worked, and neither apparently did her research assistants.



It was a moment of absolutely monumental cluelessness.  It’s as if a denizen of Capitol Hill was pushing legislation to limit how much fuel you could have in your vehicle’s tank, and to limit your family car to low speed…and you discovered that the legislator had never driven an automobile and didn’t know a steering wheel from a spare tire. Not long before that gaffe, we saw Governor Cuomo push through the SAFE Act in New York State, not only limiting the public to seven cartridges in the magazine but crafting the legislation so sloppily that he and his minions didn’t realize they had written it to apply to police as well. This sort of thing reflects a level of ignorance on a par with the politician who, last year, made it clear he thought an island would tip over if too many people were located on one side of it,



or the candidate last year who declared that women’s bodies had some magic mechanism that kept them from getting pregnant if they were raped.

Such things should be taught in civics classes, as a warning to the electorate.

 

In the wake of it all, thankfully, more middle-of-the-road citizens are re-examining the whole “assault weapons/high capacity magazines” propaganda blitz, and seeing the mendacity and futility hidden therein.  Yet pundits still tell us that the shining hope of the gun prohibitionists is “reasonable, common sense universal background checks.”  Here, stalwart gun owners’ civil rights activist David Kopel explains all the bad stuff that hides in the proposed legislation: National Review.

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WE ARE DIMINISHED

It always sucks when good friends die.  It sucks worse when they are people who’ve devoted their lives to the good of others.

Word reached me this week that Brian Stover had just died, claimed a few months before his 60th birthday by cancer he had valiantly fought.  Brian was a sergeant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, with decades of intense street experience behind him that had made him one of the best police instructors in the country.  He had served for a decade as a member of the advisory board of ILEETA, the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association.  Before that, Brian was for many years vice-chair of the firearms committee for ASLET, the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers, and I do not exaggerate when I say that he did more work there than any two or three of the rest of us on that committee. The last time someone tried to shoot him and his deputies, Brian shot the offender with his department issue Beretta. Alas, a Beretta doesn’t work against cancer.

Shortly before Brian’s passing, Dr. Joe Davis passed away in Tallahassee.  Joe was one of the all-time great forensic pathologists. Though some say the title character in the TV show “Quincy” was modeled on Los Angeles coroner Thomas Noguchi, others said Joe Davis was the template for that ultimate medical examiner. Joe led the Metro-Dade (now Miami-Dade) Medical Examiner’s Office to greatness, and made it sort of the Harvard grad school from which many other great MEs emerged from his mentorship.  I first met him in the 1970s at a Second Amendment Foundation meeting: Joe was always a stalwart defender of the rights of armed citizens.  His work had taught him that armed victims survived, and unarmed victims came to his stainless steel tables.  When I was teaching at the Metro-Dade Police Academy a short time after the horrendous 1986 shootout that left two FBI agents dead and several more wounded, Joe was kind enough to drop by and give the officers in my class a complete briefing.

Some days before Joe’s passing, we lost Kevin Steele. Still working in law enforcement in his late sixties, despite fighting cancer, Kevin was best known as an authority on knife-fighting, but his expertise ranged across the martial arts and into guns as well.  He was devoted to keeping the good guys and gals alive.

Their dedication, and their ability to face reality, made all three of these fine men advocates for the rights of private citizens to protect themselves with firearms.  Each of them left powerful legacies for all of us who carry on in the justice system.  May all those who follow be as inspiring as they were.

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WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EASTER BUNNY AND A CERTAIN KIND OF POLITICIAN?

The difference is, the Easter Bunny doesn’t defecate all over your rights.

It ain’t a “those damn liberals” thing. Many true liberals have realized that the right to protect self and family is one that should be spread to all socio-economic levels of society, and not restricted to the wealthy and influential. Liberal law professor Don Kates and former Amnesty International leader Mark Benenson come to mind.  So does the late Charlton Heston, whom too many forget marched with Martin Luther King.

But, hey, it’s a holiday weekend and time to lighten up.  Whether you’re a devout Christian or a secular humanist about to enjoy a traditional time for American families and friends to gather, or anywhere in between, I wish you a Happy Easter.

And, should holiday discussions turn toward controversial topics, you might find some very useful ammunition here: http://www.michaelzwilliamson.com/blog/item/the-post-in-which-i-piss-off-everybody .

Oops, did I slip on the “lightening up”?  To compensate, here’s the recipe for a way cool Easter treat:

  Cottontail bottoms up…

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JACK SPIRKO’S PODCAST

I’ve enjoyed Jack Spirko’s free Survival Podcast for some time, and my significant other is a huge fan of his show.  Jack recognizes that it ain’t just a “Panic In the Year Zero” apocalypse scenario that justifies being prepared for bad things…it’s life itself that constantly reminds us we need to be so prepared.  Whether you live in hurricane country, earthquake country, tornado country, flood country, or wherever, Mother Nature can deliver some nasty large-scale surprises.

No matter where you make your abode, life can also give you some smaller-scale surprises which are no less terrifying if you aren’t prepared to handle them.  It was with that in mind that he recently interviewed me for the show: http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/episode-1094-massad-ayoob-on-lethal-force-aftermath .

In going on six and a half decades on this planet, I’ve learned that really bad things are most likely to happen to people who aren’t prepared for them.  From medical emergency to a cutoff of power and food supply to self-defense, preparedness seems to downgrade bad things from “horrible disaster” to “memorable adventure you’d just as soon not have had to go through.”

If you’re not familiar with Spirko’s podcast, check it out.  He strikes me as A Thinking Man.

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A GOOD CAUSE

If the name Keith Jones rings a bell with you, you’ve probably traveled in circles that involved officer survival training or armed citizen training.  A Vietnam veteran who saw heavy hand to hand combat, Keith came back to the USA to become a police officer in a major city for some four decades.  During that time, he won half a dozen gunfights himself and studied many more.  The lessons he imparts have kept a lot of good people alive.

 

If you haven’t listened to one of his lectures, you can catch him on the Pro-Arms Podcast at no charge, here.

 

Keith’s lovely wife Kathy was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer of the pancreas.  Friends are working to help.  Ashley Gibbons at Sand Burr Gun Ranch is kicking off with an auction for one of my 40-hour Massad Ayoob Group classes.  Or, simply send a donation to the fund listed at the end.  Ashley explains it below:

 

 

What: MAG 40 with Massad Ayoob

Where: Sand Burr Gun Ranch   Rochester, IN

When: June 20-23, 2013

MAG and SBGR are offering for auction to the highest bidder the tuition for one MAG 40 student.

100% of the proceeds go to Kathryn Jones, wife of Keith Jones to aid in medical expenses as Kathy fights pancreatic cancer.

 

How the auction works:

Bids for the auction will be accepted by calling Sand Burr Gun Ranch at 574-223-3316.

The winning bidder will be contacted at the end of auction by Sand Burr.

Winning bidder must meet the same requirements as all MAG students.

Auction starts March 22 @ 10 am EST  auction ends May 1@noon

Opening Bid $500.00

Sand Burr Gun Ranch will post current top bid amounts on their Facebook page.

 

 

Course details can be found at  http://massadayoobgroup.com

www.sandburrgunranch.com

 

 

Bid often and Good Luck.

 

 

 

If you want to help without placing a bid:

Kathryn L. Jones Cancer Relief Fund

c/o Huntington National Bank

3460 N. High School Rd

Indianapolis, IN 46224

Donations can be mailed in or deposited to any Huntington National Bank branch office.

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