Episode 57: Ammo shortages, gun shortages, new gun owners, and the importance of the First Amendment

It’s been four years. This is the first new episode in all that time. It’s good to be back. And we’ve got a lot to discuss, because a lot has happened in that time.

There is no such thing as too much ammo!

There is a grave disturbance in the availability of guns and especially ammunition. That’s because, in light of what went on last year (2020), there are now a lot of new gun owners–some estimates say about 8 million. And I don’t blame them. You always, ALWAYS have the right to defend yourself and your loved ones!

We’re also going to tell you one way to help deal with the ammo shortage of 2020 and 2021. I have a preferred way of dealing with it, which I’ve been advocating for years. We’ll talk about that, too.

And finally, just as the Second Amendment is so important…so is the First Amendment. We talked about this way back in Episode 3, about eight and a half years ago. It’s a funny thing about rights. Very often, we seem to have no problem limiting them…so long as we’re not the ones affected at that moment. That makes it a privilege, not a right, and we can never let that happen here in the United States of America.

Episode 56: Lobby Day, “The Russians Are Hacking!”, and getting cozy with Mr. Weatherby for cheap (re-upload)

This is Episode 56, first published four years ago in January 2017. Four years later, in February 2021, it seems frighteningly relevant today in several ways. This is the other episode I was able to recover from the catastrophic Web site failure.

The now-late Rep. John Lewis’s opposition to the RKBA, in light of what happened to pro-Civil Rights activists like him and MLK Jr, never ceases to baffle me, as the son of a Black man myself. As the Charlottesville, VA racists showed us yet again, we have the right to defend ourselves from attack, and that most definitely includes with guns. Even MLK Jr. agreed with this notion! Yes, you read that right. We discuss that in this episode.

Russia! Russia! Russia!

We also discussed the whole “Russia, Russia, Russia!” thing, from a cybersecurity engineer’s point of view. Since Mr. Trump is no longer President, some people might think this is moot. Well, no, it’s not, but not because of Mr. Trump…but rather because of biased media coverage. And that’s true no matter who does it. Biased media coverage is not the Liberal way. That’s the way of Communists and Fascists, not us Liberals. To my amazement, not just Mrs. Clinton and her allies ran with this business, but Rep. John Lewis–one of my heroes–also did. That was really disappointing to me, since Rep. Lewis himself, as a Civil Rights Activist, was himself a victim of media propaganda in the 1960’s.

Hello, Mr. Weatherby! Even Archie would like you. 🙂

We also discuss a really slick rifle, and one that I’m surprised doesn’t get more love in the used gun market. This is the Weatherby Mark V. It’s basically the Mercedes-Benz S-Class of rifles. And like luxury German Cars–Mercedes, BMW, and Audi–this rifle doesn’t hold its value in thye used market. But they’re excellent rifles! They’re basically semi-custom. We’re going to talk about it, its benefits, and how inexpensively one can get one of these fine rifles.

Episode 55: Armed self-defense, on a shoestring budget (re-upload)

This was originally written and published in December 2016, but it’s just as relevant now with what happened last year in 2020. I was able to recover this and Episode 56, the next one, just recently, from the catastrophic Web site failure.

People want to arm themselves, and I don’t blame them one bit. But unlike our politicians, not everyone is made of money. Therefore, we’re going to talk about how to do just that, but on a shoestring budget.

Examples of guns to consider!

Today in early 2021, guns are of course harder to come by. Why? Because so many people are shopping for, and buying, guns! Now, that’s a Very Good Thing in my view, but it does mean that prices are going to be a bit higher now. So, saving money is even more important now.

I also realize that ammo is tough to come by. We’ll be dealing with that in the very next brand-new episode. For now, basically get what you can, and get set up to handload.

In this episode, we give you some examples of why doing all this is important, including from my own life.

Episode 54: M1 Garand vs. Mosin Nagant; and *why* Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016

American Flag
Today is Veteran’s Day

Today is November 11th, Veteran’s Day in the USA.

By now, World+Dog knows about Donald Trump’s “surprise” win over Hillary Clinton in the US Presidential Election.  “The Donald” is now our President-Elect and will become the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017.  All sorts of people, especially the “talking heads”, are wondering…”how did he do it??”

I think I know how.

That’s what we’re going to discuss here.  Not whether or not I personally agree or disagree with his win, but rather why he *did* win.  It’s important to understand why he won.  And no, it’s not just something we can dismiss by shouting, “RACISM!!”  There are much deeper reasons beyond that.  *MUCH* deeper.  And we do ourselves a disservice by not understanding them.

Picture of M1 Garand
All-American, Righteous M1 Garand!

After that, we’ll go into a range trip where the Upstanding, Virtuous, All-American M1

Garand, the Hero of World War II, goes up against that Pinko-Commie Mosin-Nagant!  And we’re going to tell you who wins.  You may…or may

Picture of Mosin-Nagant rifle
Evil Pinko-Communist Vintovka Mosina!

not…be surprised when you hear the results.  🙂

Admission here:  in reality, I actually do like Mosins quite a lot and own several.  But hey, gotta have some post-Cold-War fun, right?  😀

Episode 53: Why, as a Liberal, I *cannot* vote for Hillary Clinton for President; and thoughts on the police shootings in Dallas and Baton Rouge

The Oval Office

The Oval Office

There’s a Presidential election coming up, folks.

As a Liberal, I’ve had to think long and hard about who I might vote for.  As you might expect, I’m not a particular fan of the Republican candidate, Donald Trump.

What you might not expect is this:  under no circumstances can I in good conscience vote for the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton.

What??  A Liberal not voting for the Democrat?  What’s up here?

Turns out I have some very good reasons for this view, and I’m going to share them with you.  You may or may not agree with them.  But they are my reasons, and I consider them 100% valid, given my own life experience.

Some of you might say, “Cowboy T, you just don’t want to vote for a WOMMMAANNN!!”  Well, if you think that, then you’re as poor a judge of character as you clearly are in logical discussion.  I have no problem voting for a female candidate…just not that particular one.  And I’m hardly alone.

When the Black lives matter as much as the White lives, then ALL lives will matter.

We’ll also discuss the reasons for those terrible shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge a couple of months ago.  When discussing something terrible like that, I don’t need to “be first” to cover it.  I’d rather think carefully about it, and we’re going to talk about what we can do to address the root causes of the mindset that would commit such a horrible act.

You would do well to listen to Episode 40, here.

Episode 52: America’s 240th birthday, why reloading is necessary, and the danger of Gun-Free Zones

Today’s the Fourth of July, 2016.  That’s right, the day we declared independence from Britain.  It is our 240th birthday as a free nation.

On that note, I think it’s important to consider the freedoms and liberties that we have here in the United States of America.  As both a patriot and a veteran, I have no choice but to think about this stuff a lot.

One of those rights is the right to keep and bear arms.  And that includes having ammunition to feed those arms.  One way to ensure you have ammo is to handload, or reload, your own.  A gun is useless without ammunition with which to feed it.

We’re going to give you a real-world example of why the right to keep and bear arms is so important.  And it happened to a member of “the elite”, or rather, an elite-in-training.  Yep.  Having a privileged life is no protection against attack, folks.  You still need to be able to defend yourself.  Just ask Katie Couric.  She knows.

Included among our rights is the right to defend ourselves from just that sort of thing.  That’s America, and we’re supposed to be able to do that ANYWHERE, HERE in this country…well, ideally, anywhere in the world or beyond.

Happy 240th Birthday, America.  You’re a labour of love, always a work in progress.  And it’s our job to make sure that work to preserve our liberties never, ever stops.  And if we ever do stop…that is when we will have failed you.

I WILL NOT FAIL YOU.

Episode 51: A case for GAYS to be armed! (this episode rated PG-13)

I am a Pink Pistol.

Yep, we’ve done the case for Blacks to be armed, and the case for Muslims to be armed.

In light of two recent events, now we make the case for gays to be armed.

By now everyone’s heard of that horrific act of terrorism in Orlando, FL by a madman who swore allegiance to the terror group ISIL.  If there is a Hell, then may he rot there forevermore.

We address actress (and as it happens, also gay) Kelly McGillis’s recent decision to get her conceal and carry permit.  And given what she’s had to endure in her lifetime, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.  I’m sure glad it’s happened now, though.

As we Pink Pistols say, “pick on someone your own caliber.”  🙂

YellowJournalism

Finally, we bring you a li’l surprise, a nice ‘n’ juicy nugget from Katie Couric’s “Under The Gun” interview with the VCDL.  Katie apparently thinks it’s somehow–oh, I dunno–“more OK”, I suppose–to face an attacker with a knife vs. a gun.  Apparently she’s never heard the old policeman’s adage:

“If you’re facing a gun, you might get shot.  If you’re facing a knife, you WILL get cut.”

I think Kelly McGillis would disagree with her, too.  I think we’re also starting to perhaps see why Katie got fired from CBS back in 2011.  Shoddy journalism can have that effect.

NOTE:  This episode is “Rated PG-13” for a small amount of “strong” language during the discussion of Ms. McGillis’s ordeal.

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.