Guard Dog

Happy belated B-Day Shady. I've planned out my first two road trips for work next year. Indianapolis and Evansville in January and Little Rock, Jonesboro, Dyersburg, Springfield and Fayetteville in February. Hey Calax, I'll be working in Des Moines and Sioux City this summer . If you're in town and feel like a drive I'll buy you a beer or two. Gonna be a busy year.

I agree with you guys for the most part about the military possible being unwilling to fight American civilians. However that only makes this comment all the more ominous and dangerous: I completely agree with you here. I am growing increasing alarmed with every passing year the federal government takes more and more power the US Constitution forbids it to have and there are no consequences for it. No one pushes back, no one fights them in court. And even if you change politicians the next group comes in and takes more and more of our liberty away. Nothing big, nothing major. A little here, a small thing there, and all the while insisting they are doing it to "help" us. A little over a long time adds up to a lot.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Megacorporations, governments, criminals, foreign others, all out to get me. I think I need to buy a gun! Oh c'mon, that was funny!

Oh I grant it is unlikely it would ever come to that but armed citizens are a further insurance against it. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is well armed sheep contesting the vote. I don't find it difficult at all to imagine a situation where the government does something we simply will not live with. @Hurlshot: I simply do not understand this paranoia about megacorporations. The largest, most powerful corporation in the world could not take one penny out of my checking account that I did not freely give it. The smallest government right here in Tennessee can seize my home, my entire life's savings, and my freedom and and array such a treasure against me it would bankrupt me to defend myself even if I were successful. Who should we really be afraid of here?

This goes to Alan's comment as well. Yes, I think armed citizens ARE an effective force against the modern military. Here is why. In Tennessee in 2009 (that is the latest data I could find online) 497,348 hunting licenses were sold. In Alabama is was 567,299, in Mississippi it was 509,996, in Arkansas is was 362,541, in South Carolina it was 421,675. Most hunting hoseholds have multiple fire arms but only one hunting license. Those five states alone have more armed citizens (just counting the ones who have hunting licesnes, not the one who have weapons and don't hunt) than the entire muster of all five branches of the US military including reserves. Hunters practice with their weapons and are proficient in their use. Now look up two more states, Missouri & Texas and you get 509,121 and 667,834 respectively. That is by a factor of 2 the largest armed force in the world. Just seven states. Forty three more to go. Now granted not even a fraction of these are capable of acting as a cohesive military force but history is replete with examples of partisan effectiveness.

Well lets start with the fact that the vension I'm cooking for Christmas did not volunteer to be here. I enjoy hunting and sport shooting but that is far from the issue. I live in a rual area. VERY rual. There is no help for me from police. If the need ever arose to defend myself from animal or man I am totally alone and I need the tools to do it with. But more than that I've been telling you for years the mindsets between American and Europeans are very different. You guys forget that because we do have so much in common that there is so much that is different. Euopeans have learned to accept whatever malfeasence their governments thrust on them. You don't need me to list examples.You live in a free country Ros but imagine what you would do if you woke up tomorrow and that were no longer so? An armed citizenry is the last check on government tyranny. As unlikely that is would ever happen here I still would not surrender that last check. All of our founding fathers (with the possible exception of Hamilton) wrote at length about this. This country was forged by revolution. George Washington himself wrote that an armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject. We (at least many of the people I know) do not look at our federal government as a friend, or a parental figure like many of you guys in Europe seem to. It is a like tiger in the room that needs to be there but also needs to be closely watched. Just because the tiger does not seem inclined to eat you now does not mean it will always be so. It might sound crazy but just about everyone I know feels this way. Like I posted Ros, individual liberty is more important than anything. The moment they can take away any of it is the moment they can take away ALL of it. Either we are completely free or we are not free at all, just enjoying what rights the current body politic will suffer us to have.

I'm just hanging out at home this year. I'm going to cook a venison back strap in the smoker and I'll make some jerky for my dog while it's cooking. It's kind of a bummer not having the NHL to watch this year. They always had a triple header on Christmas.

I believe there are comprimises to be made but I have a real problem with everyone having to ask permssion (get a license) to exersize a right. The Constitution of the US and the SCOTUS as recently as DC v Heller have confirmed that firearm ownership is an individual right. Having to ask the government for permission puts the government in a position to deny for no reason whatsoever other than politics, incompetence or carpice. Just look how many people who have no terrorist affiliation somehow ended up on the no fly list. That said I do think a system can be worked out for quick background checks. We do it with credit scores I'm sure we can do it with this but in MUST be automated. NOT government run. Quite simply I do not trust that the federal government will fairly administer something like this. You guys need to understand something here... private gun ownership in the US is not going to go away. Ever. There are limitations we will accept but if it ever comes to outright confiscation I suggest they send well armed men with no families to worry about when they come for me. Some things are worth fighting for. And the fight would not be over lost guns, or lost private property but over lost freedom. Nothing... nothing on this earth not even life itself is more important than individual liberty. I see a lot of scenarios where it could be lost forever and they all start with total gun control.

Hey today is the 23rd. Happy Festivus everyone! It's a Festivus for the rest of us! Now for the airing of grievences: 1) Felthvian lighten up 2) Gorgon stop being so pessimistic 3) Lady Crimson have a drink, it won't kill you! 4) Volourn, NWN was NOT the best game ever. 5) Calax attractive female roomates are a BAD idea if they are unattainable 6) Wals your absence from these boards is inexcusable! 7) Shady, Hurlshot, Raithe and Gorth.... I got nothing. You guys keep doing what you're doing 8 )Bruce you're too cheerful. It makes us think you have something to hide 9) Cantousent where the heck have you been lately? 10) Krezack I'm leaving my Christmas lights on all the time just to piss you off! I'm just kidding eveyone.

Now reading The Man Who Saved The Union by HW Brands. It's about Ulysses Grant. Also re-reading Towers of Midnight. The new book comes out in two weeks!

I forgot about this. I guess the Mayans really screwed the pooch on this one.

Wuss. It's zero degrees now and I haven't even broken out my gloves. It's 30 F Gorgon. We are still in the 20th Century here!

VERY impressive! I've been working on a liquor cabinet for a little while now but I keep making so many mistakes it might never get done. How did he do that scrollwork on the lid? Router or Dremmel?

I still have a lot of reading to do on this thread but Boo and a few others have hit on something important here. The mere presence of firearms is not the cause and banning them is not the solution. I suspect in the rush to do something they will reenact the assualt weapons ban. It was a useless law that did nothing more than make a handful of weapons illegal based solely on cosmetic criteria. You guys know I've never been a fan of collective solutions for individual problems. The real breakdown here is in what is happening to our society that leads to these events. I have a few theories myself but I'd like to read this thread a bit more before posting them in case one of you already has... and did a better job of it. I will mention this however. There is no firearm in the US that is legal now that wasn't legal since the end of WWII (or equivalents of weapons that didn't exist then). AR-15s are new but .223 semi-auto rifles have been around since the 50's. This "lone lunatic with a gun shoots everyone in sight" is something that, while very rare now, was almost unheard of 20 years ago. Now there are some restriction I'd be in favor of. Banning hi-cap magazines, ballistic amo (note full jacketed ammo is already illeagal) background checks at gun shows make sense to me. But I would not go much farther than that.

I just spent a week fishing in Cedar Key down in Florida. Somehow it got seriously cold while I was gone. It was in the 80's down there, it's in the 30's here. Yeah yeah I know to you Scandinavian folks that's a warm spring day but it feels bloody cold to me.

Hey Hurlie, I know I'm a little late to the dance here but I second what most folks here are saying. Out of context it dies sound like petty things to take offense over. So she's a little brash? Maybe even a little loud. They don't have to live with her and you're obviously happy so what's their problem? Letting contact cool off a bit is the right way to go I guess. I's ask your parents what kind of remedy do they want here? She is who she is and that isn't going to change and she isn't going anywhere. So they can either accept her or break off contact. That might give them a little perspective at least. I never had this issue so I really don't have much insight. My wife loved my parents, it was ME she had a problem with!

Ouch Nep, doesn't sound like a fun fulled few days I recommend a few, friendly Tequila's to sooth away that frustration Bruce has the right idea here Nep, but not Tequila. Please not that. Jose Cuervo will have you calling her at 3 AM trying to get back together. Only it will be hard to talk with a bloody lip from the brawl you'll have gotten into earlier. You'll wake up with a black eye, cut knuckles, busted lip lying on the floor in a puddle of vomit with the phone in your hand and no memory of how any of it happened or who you called! Now everyone is mad at you and you won't even know why! Nothing good ever comes from Tequila. Trust me I've done extensive field research on THAT subject!

Doing some work around the house lately. Upkeep was really neglected since I spent almost all of this year on the road. There will be some of that next year but not as much. My brother invited me to spend Christmas with him and his family. I have a feeling it was really an "unvitation" though. He extended it knowing it was unlikely I'd accept. Plus he was kind of half hearted about it. Since both of our parents passed away we have rally gotten out of touch. But that's how it goes I guess. A friend of mine has asked for help with a dog she rescued. It's a a pit mix that has apparently suffered abuse because she is fearful and prone to lashing out and biting. She's at her wits end and is considering euthanasia. Hopefully I can prevent that. The nice thing about dogs is she will not actually remember being abused, but the abuse has ruined her confidence and programmed her to act a certain way. It's just a matter of taking away her fear by building up her confidence and deprogramming her negative reactions with positive reinforcement. At least that has worked for me before.

I concur!

Keyrock you missed an option on the poll: Guard Dog sits on his porch, gets loaded on fine bourbon, and greets the apocalypse while blasting Bob Marley from his speakers.

It's your choice evolve or be extinct. I will be assimilated, resistance is futile huh? When they come for me I suggest sending well armed men (or cyborgs) with no families to worry about. I will make them kill me and I won't go alone. Actually I've sort of been preparing for that kind of thing for a little while now.

No thanks. I'd prefer to play the cards I was dealt. Like the old Queen song says "Who wants to live forever"

Good thing you managed to get in on this while malls still exist. As long as there are teenage girls with more money than sense there will always be malls! But I agree they are sort of dinosaurs.

I'm guessing.... no. Felithvian certainly has a one track mind like LoF and seems to enjoy posting off the wall stuff just to get a rise out of everyone like LoF. But his English (while very good) is not perfect. LoF had a very precise writing style, I don't remember him ever using contractions. I bet LoF was really someone we see and trade posts with almost every day... under their REAL account name.