QOTD: Murphy's Law

In comments over at The Miller's, Murph throws out this gem:

Why these folks think that now that guns are scarce, I'm supposed to be their personal discount gun shop is beyond me.

 It's true. This is a smaller version of, "When the zombie apocalypse comes, I'm coming to your place."

No. No, you aren't, unless you've got something of value to make bringing you into my tribe worthwhile. Gas, grass, or ass, nobody rides for free.

Don't get me wrong: if one of my friends came to me today and said, "Hey, I just got this new .22 and I can't find ammo, do you have some?" ... I'd probably swap them a brick for an order of wings and a couple beers after we go shooting.

But then again, that's .22. If you're talking about a more social caliber, that willingness might be a bit less. A box to let you sight in? Sure. A half-case? Think again. I'll keep you in mind when I'm skimming classifieds, but more than that isn't likely.

I'm sorry you didn't have the foresight to buy when things were plentiful, if not cheap. I'm still wishing I had picked up a LOT more Wolf .223 when it was $130/case. And more 9mm at $90. And a few more cases of buckshot at $75. And a LOT more bricks of .22 at $10.

But I didn't - so that means I'm going to be pretty careful about what I've got. Not only do I not know when I can replace, but I don't know if I'll be able to afford to replace it.

Ditto for complete rifles. First problem: I can no longer transfer a semi-auto within NY. Second problem: if I could, it sure wouldn't be pre-2013 pricing. If I sell something, I don't know if I will be able to replace it.

It's for your own good

Here's a few quotes that ought to bump your blood pressure nicely (emphasis mine):

"Plaintiffs' assertion of a new 'fundamental right' to produce, obtain, and consume unpasteurized milk lacks any support in law."

"There is no absolute right to consume or feed children any particular food."

"Plaintiffs' assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families' is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish."

Got that? You have no right to choose your own diet, or your child's. You have no right to produce any particular food item.

And the Feds - via HHS, USDA, and various state agencies - are doing just that. Armed raids - over milk.

There's a trailer for the documentary Farmageddon here.

h/t Delicate Flower

What's coming?

I don't think even The Shadow knows this time.

I'm not quite pulling an ostrich act, but I've cut way back on my news consumption and I'm tending to stay away from the forums where Reynolds Wrap is trading high.

That said ... I'm scared. Not of moving, or selling the house - those make me a little nervous, but I think they'll be good in the long run. No, this is a more instinctual fear.

States are telling the federal government to pound sand. Bills have been introduced (and passed?) that will imprison federal officers trying to enforce federal laws. Sheriff's Associations - at the state level - have issued statements that they will not enforce some laws.

The last time the states went toe-to-toe with with  federal government, we ended up with a new lexicon. See if you recognize any of these:
- Fort Sumter
- First Manassas
- Fredericktown
- Round Mountain
- Fort Henry
- Yorktown
- New Orleans
- Williamsburg
- Baton Rouge
- Second Manassas
- Antietam
- Harpurs Ferry
- Winchester
- Chancellorsville
- Gettysburg
- Chickamauga

I suspect at least of those ring bells. If not, here.

I hope - pray - that a 2nd American Civil War is not in the offing. The toll in lives would be staggering.

Keep your powder dry, friends - and remind your representatives that they swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, not a party line.

Staying Alert...

Not just caffeinated. Kathy over at Cornered Cat has a bunch of great tips.

In comments, LarryArnold adds this gem:

One thing I haven’t seen from you is taking seriously “that feeling.” (Pit of your stomach, hair on the back of your neck, wherever yours shows up.) Working with survivors of sexual assault and other violence there’s one thing I heard over and over: “I had a feeeling something was wrong, but I ignored it/thought I was being paranoid/didn’t want to be embarrased*.”
Whenever “that feeling” shows up, get thee to Condition Orange!

A-freakin'-men. Fuck embarrassment. Don't overreact (pulling your gun because someone jostled you at the milk cooler is a Bad Thing), but start making plans and moving towards an exit.

If you haven't read The Gift of Fear, do so. (Link goes to Amazon.) It's $9, and it's got plenty of good advice.

I think most of the gunbloggers have posted up their own stories of things. Mine was a highway rest stop, Jay's (one of many) was a guy tailing several of them at NRA '11 (until he saw four open-carried pistols in .357 and/or .45), Caleb has drawn-down on a guy... the list goes on.

Quick Update

Just past halfway through an overnight, overtime shift... the money is good, but it'll be another hour or so and I'll be fighting to stay awake. Coffee on board...

The nation has had a look at the Wicked Witch's proposed ban. New York's ban is still being amended after the fact, to do things like exempt police officers - which they forgot to do the first time around.

The legislative process in this fiasco was short-circuited by a power-hungry governor and complicit legislators, making back-room deals. The leading belief is that Skelos (Republican majority leader in the NY Senate) traded his party votes for relief funds for Hurricane Sandy, and campaign finance promises.

Got that? Enumerated civil rights sold out for disaster funds and his future re-election campaign. Tammany Hall is alive and well.

We're moving ahead with plans to get the hell out, and I will be personally donating money to ANYONE who challenges Skelos. -D, -L, -I, whatever, anyone who opposes him will get a small donation from me.

NRA and NYSRPA are both getting things lined up for court challenges; I suspect large portions of this abomination will be overturned and then caught up in the court process for years.

If you haven't contacted your elected representatives - at ALL levels of government - please do so.

If you have - do so again. Email, write snail-mail, make phone calls. Be polite, be firm, be concise. Call every day if you can make the time. I called my state reps' offices several times before the bill was railroaded through, and spent less than ten minutes on the phone each day.

Ruger has a web form for contacting your reps. It's a good start, but it is a form letter. It doesn't hold the same weight as a semi-personal email, and nowhere near as much as a phone call.

Enough doom and gloom, it's time for some food.

Dinner last night was a pretty simple affair, but is tasty.

- one pound of pasta, cooked ~2 minutes less than recommended time, drained
- one quart jar of ground beef, browned (about 1lb) and drained
- one jar spaghetti sauce
- one large can crushed tomatoes
- one small can sliced black olives
- one can artichoke hearts
- lotsa cheese
- bread crumbs
seasoning to taste (garlic and oregano)

combine everything but the cheese and crumbs in a 3-quart casserole, put the cheese on top, bread crumbs over that, and bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes (until the cheese is melty and starting to brown).

Adding a minced onion would've been good too.

Escape from NY

I've reached out to several of you on the job front, and I have been buried under leads. Amazing. :-)

I got one callback already, and had a great conversation with the HR lady - but the job in question wasn't going to be in the pay range I need.

We're still looking at options and both expanding and refining our search a bit.

I just sent the following to my state representative and state senator, both of whom voted against the travesty that was passed last week:

Mr. O'Mara/Mr. Palmesano,
I appreciate your "no" vote on the anti-rights bill this past week. Unfortunately, Governor Cuomo felt it was important to sidestep the legislative process and force unconstitutional laws upon the law-abiding citizens of New York.

I was born and raised in central New York. I love this area, for the seasons, the scenery, and the multitude of outdoor sports I have been able to enjoy - not just hunting, but fishing, kayaking, skiing, swimming, etc.
My wife and I purchased a house in [redacted] County in 2009 with dreams of building a small farm - both to provide for ourselves and eventually for our community.

This farm would have paid taxes, preserved the environment, and likely created several new job opportunities. Within ten years, we'd hoped to expand into agri-tourism on a small scale.

My wife currently works at [redacted], and I work for [redacted] as a 911 dispatcher. I have spent the past ten years of my life serving my community as a volunteer firefighter, and my wife as a youth hockey coach.

Thanks to the foolish legislation passed last week, we are in the process of putting our house on the market and applying for jobs in states that respect our rights as Americans. We will be gone from New York by the end of the year - taking our education, the hundreds of hours of professional training, and the taxes we'd have paid over the coming decades with us.

To be clear - the latest bill is not the only reason we're leaving, but it was the final straw. I look forward to living in a free state, with lower taxes, a healthier environment, and a better quality of life overall.

Please feel free to contact me.

lost it...

Yesterday was kind of a black-letter day. Hell, strike "kind of". It was.

I woke up and popped open news, as is my habit, and nearly hurled my coffee cup when I saw the shenanigans the NY Senate had pulled. (Midnight vote, no public comment period, text of the bill published 20 minutes prior to the vote beginning.) The only thing that saved my favorite mug was the fact it was nearly full of fresh joe.

I've thus far managed not to call Mr. Skelos and cronies and tell them exactly what I think of traitors.

After being ready to face the world, I spent several hours of my morning helping at/observing a PD training. Good times, and I'm heading back there shortly for another few hours. There was some lunchtable discussion with them about, "Who's going to enforce it?" - and the resounding answer was, "Sure as hell not me."

I spent my evening working a console, finding jobs, working on my resume, and getting things moving a whole lot faster than I'd intended to.

By the time I left work, I had gotten more than a dozen leads on jobs, and two offers of crash space for myself and MrsZ.

Both of the people who have offered me space ... have never met me in person. One is a regular on #GBC, and the other reads this blog. That's it.

I came home and showed the information to MrsZ, and I lost it. Stress, exhaustion, anger ... and then relief. Tears. Not many, because Boys Don't Cry, but a few.

I can't thank all of you enough. Readers and commenters, facebook friends, fellow GBC denizens... you guys are the best. If I don't get a chance to thank you individually for something, please don't take it personally.

I got some sleep (need more!) and now have coffee in me, and I'm still kind of dazed ... but I'm motivated. Gonna blow this pop stand.

Following up

... to my post of Jan. 9.

Because MrsZ wanted to tell some people in person, I haven't made anything publicly official yet... but she's telling them now, so here it is

We're leaving NY.

It's not just about guns; it's about taxes, opportunity, open space, and nanny-state crap. The latest legislation should tell you all there's a problem: closed-door discussion, no public discussion period, and criminilization of gun owners everywhere. This isn't about any one thing; it's time for us to leave a diseased state.

We started making serious moves in this direction the day after Cuomo said, "Confiscation is an option."

We'll be putting our house on the market in the next few months. We've started applying for jobs in many places, and will likely go to wherever one of us finds a job that can pay the bills. Salt Lake City is a strong option, but nothing is set in stone yet.

If you're in a free state and see something that might tweak our interest, please let us know (zercool/gmail). I've got 8 years of 911 dispatch and 5 years of tech support prior to that; MrsZ has an Ivy League degree in Animal Science and five years of DNA lab experience. There's more, obviously, but that's the high points. Wish us luck, and good thoughts/prayers won't be turned down.

Let the adventure begin!

Fire Mission

Seems that someone noticed http://www.senatorfeinstein.com wasn't registered. It is now.

Similar things have happened to:
http://www.senatorchuckschumer.com
http://repjohnyarmuth.com
http://congressmanmccarthy.com

I like this. A registration is $10, another $7 if you want the private registration, for a year.

Have an anti-gun rep who hasn't spent the $10 to protect their name?

 HIT IT.

Put up a one-page pro-rights blurb, or...

Redirect it. NRA, SAF, JPFO, GOA, your state-level organization (NYSRPA, VCDL, CCDL, Florida Carry, etc) - pick one.

Simon Jester was here.

It's that time

Not much to say. I can't quite give up on this entirely but I really don't have words to express things properly.

For now, an image:

To quote Jay:

That is all.