About Cowboy T

I'm a social liberal born and raised in San Francisco, California. The right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to Us, The People maintaining our liberty.

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Episode 50: Katie Couric’s lies, the M1D Garand Sniper Edition, and visiting an anti-gun country

Just before the panel discussion, at Mason Government Center in Annandale, VA, June 2015
Just before the panel discussion, at Mason Government Center in Annandale, VA, June 2015

Some of you may have learned by now about Katie Couric’s, shall we say, “creative editing” to make the VCDL look bad for her “Under The Gun” so-called “documentary”.  She invited us for a panel discussion about why we’re pro-2A.  She then deceptively edited some footage to make it look like we were “stumped” by one of her “gotcha” questions.  But it didn’t actually happen that way.

I know, because I WAS THERE.  You will get a first-hand account of it, from me.

Turns out she pulled a hack-job worthy of a Soviet-era “news” channel.  I really thought she’d be more ethical than this.

Folks, I know we don’t always agree with each other as people.  But fraudulent editing and lying should be off-limits, and Katie stepped over that line here.  I’m going to show you, and it should make every one of you mad when you can’t trust the press to at least be honest.  Disagree, fine, but at least be honest!  She crossed that line.

M1C and M1D Garands
Thanks to SniperCentral for this image

We also continue our discussion of M1 Garands, this time, specifically the M1D Sniper Rifle.  Shooting it takes you back a few years, and it got me to thinking about a few things.

I’m writing this two days, almost to the hour, after getting back from a trip to Thailand.  I’ll give you some thoughts on visiting there, from a 2A perspective.  And yes, jet lag is somethin’ else!

Episode 49: A very recent example of why the 2A exists…and finally getting to shoot Dad’s guns!

Yes, our Black lives *DO* matter! And we *will* defend ourselves.

Today is Monday, May 2nd, 2016.  What you see in the picture, though, looks straight out of the 1960’s, doesn’t it?  We promised we’d talk about this, and now, right here in Episode 49, we will do so.

A month ago today, there was a beautiful example of why the Second Amendment exists and why it’s still needed.  Seems some bigots calling themselves the Bureau of Islamic American Relations (BAIR) decided to do an armed protest in front of a mosque, located in a mostly-Black neighborhood.  Yep, these protestors were White. And yes, they did have the right to do their protest, as Texas is an open-carry state.

Here’s the URL for the story.

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2016/04/04/editorial-texas-anti-islamic-group-was-beyond-reckless-to-bring-arms-to-mosque-protest/

What the residents of this neighborhood did in response was just beautiful.  I laughed my can off when I found out about this.  Here’s a hint: not a single shot was fired.  🙂

The instrument of my Dad’s self-defense

Also, this evening, I finally got a chance to take Dad’s guns to the range.  These are the very same guns that protected him for decades; one of ’em’s probably close to my age.  I’ll tell you about them and how they were to shoot, from a shooter’s perspective.  One’s a Taurus, the other’s a Smith & Wesson.  Both are revolvers.

And finally, I’d like to recommend a Facebook page by a fellow Liberal named Anne Weber.  She added some important information regarding that whole Journal-News fiasco with the gun-owner-permit holders in New York City.  Folks, *this* is why the government shouldn’t know who and where privately-owned firearms are.  Anne, thank you for calling this to our attention; I hadn’t been aware of this until you posted it.

Episode 48: Shooting M1 Garands, and why I’m now “feeling the Bern”

Two things of note here.  First, New York State’s Democratic Primary election is tomorrow.  There are two candidates for President, Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Sec’y of State Hillary Clinton.  Until pretty recently, I hadn’t taken a favourable position on either of the Democrats.  But this last debate in New York, on Friday, April 15th, 2016, finally got me to, as they say on Twitter, “#FeelTheBern”.

I will explain to you how and why, as a Liberal, I came to this conclusion, and why you might consider doing likewise.

On the M1 Garand front, you know already that I went to the CMP’s Alabama facilities and

M1 Garand ad
If only they were still this price!

built my own rifle.  You will now hear what it’s like to actually shoot one of these.  I brought two women with me to enjoy the rifle’s inauguration…along with its brother rifle I picked up while at the CMP Store.  Hey, gotta do your part for the economy, right?  🙂  You will hear about their experiences, too…and you may be surprised at how easy a .30-06 rifle can be to shoot.

Episode 47: Dissecting Hollywood’s latest plan for demonizing law-abiding gun owners, Part 2 of 2

No More Gun Bans!

We continue our dissection of Hollyweird top bosses’ latest plans to try to paint lawful gun ownership as somehow a bad, socially unacceptable thing.

It further turns out that these new plans of theirs are incredibly ironic and even hypocritical.  We’ll go into that, too.

This is Part 2 of the 2-part series.

True Liberalism demands that we honor and fully support the entire Bill of Rights, folks.  All of it.

Episode 47: Dissecting Hollywood’s latest plan for demonizing law-abiding gun owners, Part 1 of 2

No_guns.svg

They never seem to stop, do they?

I just found out, thanks to the good folks at CalGuns, about Hollyweird’s latest plan to demonize us, meaning law-abiding gun owners.  They see that the courts aren’t going their way.  So, they’ve now turned to using their control of media to portray us as socially unacceptable.

Sad, but true.  They’ve even got a list of “suggestions” of how to portray us.  Here it is.

http://www.eiconline.org/topic-areas/gun-violence-firearm-safety-injury-prevention/depiction-suggestions/

Constitutional Carry = Safest State in USA
Constitutional Carry =
Safest State in USA

You should read these “suggestions”…because I’m going to dissect them and explain to you where and why they’re wrong.  This needs to be done, just like with David Hemenway and his distortions earlier.

Folks, there is absolutely nothing “Liberal” about disarming the law-abiding public.  There just isn’t.

As if on cue, West Virginia overrode a gubernatorial veto and now has Constitutional Carry!  That makes them the seventh state to follow in Vermont’s lead, for a total of 8 states.  Perhaps Virginia will also return to Constitutional Carry soon.

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series.

Episode 46: Defense against campus rape, carry in Virginia state offices, and why Black lives do matter

Legalize carry for all of us!
Indeed…legalize self-defense carry nationwide!

We’ve got three things to talk about here:

  1. why armed defense against college campus rape is a good thing,
  2. new rules for carrying in Virginia state offices, and
  3. what’s going on with this “war on cops” narrative I keep hearing.

A listener sent me his account of when he was attacked in Texas.  He wasn’t sure if he was going to live or die, as he was unarmed and essentially helpless.  He’s lucky to be alive.  You will hear his account of how he felt.  I’m pretty sure this applies to rape survivors as well.

There are new rules for carrying in offices owned or operated by VA State executive branch agencies.  Basically, you can’t anymore.  This is Executive Order #50, put out by current Gov. Terry McAuliffe (“McAwful?”).  No matter how he tries to frame his action, it doesn’t even qualify as a solution looking for a problem, and I will explain to you why.

Finally, we had yet another incident of racism from a White police officer toward a Black man, a part of the Black Lives matter movement.  The now-former officer was subsequently fired from the force.  This incident inspired a discussion of what’s going on and what police officers generally can do to help the issue.  Yes, all lives do matter…INCLUDING the Black ones.  Let’s not forget that.

When the Black lives matter as much as the White lives, then ALL lives will matter.
When the Black lives matter as much as the other lives (especially including White or “Blue” lives), then “All Lives Matter” will finally be true.  May that day come soon.

Here’s an example that illustrates the problem, from my own hometown of San Francisco, California.  WARNING:  some of the language you will read in the below link is rather offensively racist and bigoted.  But we can’t shy away from it, either.  We’ve got to confront it head-on.

http://gawker.com/the-horrible-bigoted-texts-traded-between-san-francisc-1692183203

We can’t give up, folks.  When the Black lives matter as much as other lives do–especially including White and “Blue” lives, then “All Lives Matter” will finally be true.  May that day come soon!

Episode 45: The “Deal” on Virginia Reciprocity…and Building a CMP M1 Garand!

The CMP Armory, Anniston, AL
The CMP Armory, Anniston, AL

It’s been a little while.  Given what happened in October (see the previous episode), I hope you all can understand why.  If anyone could possibly be the “poster child” for the need to carry, my Dad–the now late C. Terrell Prude’, Sr.–would be it.

But he wasn’t alone.  You’ll also hear the story of a young lady who really needed a gun recently.  Fortunately, there was a Good Guy With A Gun (me) to help her out of a very bad situation.

Speaking of carry…let’s talk about “The Deal” that was hammered out and signed into law recently, regarding carry permits and reciprocity here in the Old Dominion (that’d be Virginia, folks).  It seems that Atty. General Herring’s action caused enough of a firestorm that the McAuliffe Administration had to back off, and quickly.  Not only are we getting reciprocity back…it’s coming back in a new and improved form!  Liberty won this time, folks, because We, The People did our jobs.

And now…let’s talk about a symbol of that very liberty.

This is my rifle! There are many like it, and THIS ONE IS MINE!
This is my rifle! There are many like it, and THIS ONE IS MINE!

Just last week, I attended the CMP’s Advanced Maintenance Class for the M1 Garand rifle.  In three days, I learned how to build a complete, fully functionalM1 Garand.  I know it’s functional because I tested it out on the CMP’s extensive rifle range afterwards!  🙂  This class is a wealth of information, and when it’s all done, that rifle is yours to keep and take home with you.

That’s right, I build my own M1 Garand!  There are many like it, and this one is truly MINE!

Liberty is our best friend.  It is this nation’s life, and there can be no more potent American symbol of the defense of that freedom than this rifle.  It is indeed, “the greatest battle implement ever devised.”

Episode 44: What happens when you don’t have a gun–THEY FINALLY GOT MY DAD

DadAtHisPiano

For 83 and a half years, my Dad has lived on this Earth.  Nobody could tell him that he couldn’t exercise his rights as a man, even when they called him “nigger”.  Even when they came at him with knives to kill him.  There was no way that man was going to allow ANYBODY to treat him like he wasn’t a human being.

All that changed a short while ago.  Four very evil people attacked my Dad.  You know he’s a long-time gun owner, so you’d guess what would happen.

Unfortunately, at 83 1/2 years old and using a walker and a cane…he couldn’t get to his gun in time.  Ten years ago, he would’ve gotten to it and stopped them.  He has in the past, on several occasions.  But this time….

This time…they got him.  They broke his neck and left him for dead.  Someone found him, and he’s quadriplegic, now on life support in the emergency ward’s ICU.  He doesn’t have much longer on this earth.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE A GUN.

The antis want us all to be defenseless, like–unfortunately–my Dad was this last, final time.  The antis want us to be helpless against evil people who might choose us as prey.  Folks, when evil chooses you as prey, it is now up to you to defend yourself.  The cops are minutes away.  Your neck could be broken in seconds.

If we really have become such a degenerate society where this kind of evil can be visited on a senior citizen with a walker and a cane…DAMN RIGHT WE NEED GUNS!!

Just ask the British.

http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/11/british-police-calling-for-knife-ban/

Guarding-03

Dad, in your final moments of life, while you’re still here…this episode is dedicated to you.  You taught me how to be a man.  I love you and always will.  And when your time does come, I will be at your side.  I will be NOWHERE ELSE.

And those of you who would do such an evil thing…you’d better pray that I never, ever find you.

Yesterday’s activities at the Military Recruiting Station

Guarding-01

Yesterday’s activities.

Now, why was I doing this?  Notice the sign to my immediate right.  It says NO WEAPONS permitted.

That’s right, our military recruiters are forced to work in a GUN FREE ZONE.

And we all learned how that worked out in Chattanooga, TN…when a terrorist decided to shoot and kill them.

Will our elected officials finally learn that our military members are…THE MILITARY??  And that they do in fact need guns for their defense?

Even the most virulent antis–Sarah Brady, Josh Sugarmann, Dianne Feinstein, etc.–say that the military and police need guns!  Yet they disarm our troops when they’re the most exposed!  They disarm them…even on their own military installations.

Guarding-04

Not the best picture, but here you can see the problem.

Well, since they’re sitting ducks and thus cannot have armed guards…I decided to become one.

This was inspired by the fellow in Winchester, VA that started doing it.  Thanks to him, who prefers that his name not be used, for the idea.  And yes, as long as you don’t actually go inside armed, it is perfectly legal to do this.  And the recruiters appreciate it.

We need to stop any copycat-wannabes, folks.  If you have the time, and a gun, then I strongly encourage you to do likewise in your area.  Don’t let another tragedy happen in your town.