Somewhere a Drill Sergeant is smiling.

I've wanted an AR-15 for 16 years- ever since I was in Army Basic. I've decided top build a CA-legal AR-15 and to that end I did a trade for an AR upper.

Got it from FedEx last night (FedEx delivered it at 8:36 PM) and looked at it a little.

Today, I sat down and stripped and cleaned the upper. Still knew how to take it apart, still knews where all the 'dirty spots' are. Used mostly CLP, but needed Hoppes in a few persistent places. Now its clean.

Note to previous owner: Sir, your weapon did not pass inspection... :)

Somewhere, at least one of the three DIs I had in Basic are smiling.

One year later...

Sometime after 6:30 AM EST, on August 20, 2005, my father died.

The phone rang at 7:30 AM PST. My wife was semi-awake and looked at the phone.

"Its your sister." she said.

I buried my face in the pillow and almost started crying. There was only one reason my older sister would call me at that time of the morning.

A few years ago, they had found a bit of cancer in one of my father's lungs- a bit the size of a fingernail, he said. They took out half the lung or so to 'fix' it.

More recently, they found it in the lymph nodes near his stomach. (I got this news exactly one week after seeing Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru.) My father node had lymphoma. It was metastisizing.

They gave him chemo, and had told him mere days before that the chemo had worked. He was getting better, they said. He was feeling better, eating better.

Sometime that same morning, my stepmother and he had discussed things. They figured they had at least one more Christmas together. They went back to sleep....

...And he passed in his sleep.

My father had been in a wheelchair since the mid-80s. In the early 80s, his back started to hurt- he had some type of spinal degeneration, where the nerve cells in his spine were developing scar tissue for no reason.

He was in constant pain for 24 years.

After his passing, a friend's lament still rings true...

at least his pain is over.

_______________________________________________


Oddly enough, if my father had lived 15 more days, he would have passed 10 years to the day after my mother died.

This year has been rough for me. My father was one of the people most supportive of my return to college, and was most happy with my performance there. He's one of the people that always knew I could do better and was so pleased that I was showing everyone else he was right.

We may have had our differences over the years, but I miss him terribly.

He taught me how to shoot, how to fix cars, and the basics of self defense.

And in his later years, how to live honorably in the face of debilitating pain.

Rest in Peace, Dad.

Will GFWs ever learn- gun control DOESN'T WORK.

Start by reading here and here.

Or, I'll give you the short version...

LAPD officer with 18 years on, and his rookie partner, pull over goblin in stolen car. Before they can get out, goblin hops out of his car and 'rakes their patrol car' with shots from an AK-47. Rookie partner takes a bullet to the hand- it was mangled, but he is expected to recover fully.

(If you're curious, the newsie tapes from the scene show some of the goblin's shell casings on the ground. They are clearly visible as steel 7.62x39 casings... Police displayed the weapon and ammo- yeah, polymer-coated Wolf...)

The goblin has a criminal record, including robbery and narcotics violations, but no gang ties known.

So, we have a convicted felon, in possession of a so-called 'assault weapon', firing it at cops. He is being charged with "Attempted murder of police officers" (So was the goblin driving the car.)

For those that don't know, CA has a ban on the sale of 'assault weapons' and 'high-capacity' magazines. Most manufacturers of AKs are included. Even if you already own an 'assault weapon', you can't sell it or the 'high-capacity' magazines you have with it in the state to another private citizen- you have to sell it out of state.

So there's no way said goblin legally acquired the AK. AWs in possesion of private citizens have to be registered in CA, and they can take them away if you commit antything on a list of crimes...

This goblin had a thirty-round mag also.

If a cop sees me, a law-abiding citizen, in possession of anything that looks like an 'assault weapon' he can ask to see my registration paperwork- which essentially must be dated 2000. If I can't produce said paperwork, I, the law-abiding citizen, can be hauled off to jail. If they can prove I bought the 'high-capacity' magazines after then...

I get charged with "Possession of an assault weapon" and "possession of high capacity magazines".

Remember, they are both illegal to acquire. (If his AK was full-auto- well, class 3s are illegal in CA, so there's another charge. And since the BATFE thugs have records on every class 3, that means its illegally converted to full auto. Another charge.)

Yet, the goblin had both.

Ten (heh, started as two) very frustrating points to all this:

Criminal felons who want firearms are perfectly willing to violate federal law prohibiting them from owning firearms.

Criminals who want firearms are perfectly willing to violate state law prohibiting transfer of non-C&R firearms between private individuals without a background check.

Criminals who want firearms are perfectly willing to violate state law prohibiting transfer of firearms non-C&R firearms without a ten-day waiting period.

Criminals willing to buy firearms illegally are perfectly willing to violate a silly 'assault weapons' ban when picking their weapons.

Criminals willing to shoot at police officers are perfectly willing to violate a silly 'assault weapons' ban when picking their weapons.

And where the HECK are the weapons charges this goblin should be getting hit with? To wit:

Felon in possession of a firearm
Possession of an unregistered 'assault weapon'
Illegal possession of a 'high-capacity' magazine
Improper transportation of an 'assault weapon' (assault weapons must be transported in a locked case in the cargo area of a vehicle)
Use of an 'assault weapon' in the commission of a felony

These are ALL felonies in CA, under the conditions which they would be charged. Heck, these are worth roughly thirty years all by themselves, according to CA Penal code.

The California 'Assault Weapons Ban' states in its preamble that it is being enstated to prevent crime. What exactly did the California 'Assault Weapons Ban' do to prevent this crime?

If these laws aren't applied to criminals SHOOTING AT POLICE OFFICERS WITH AK-47S- then why have them at all?

So, I can't have an AR, because I am obeying the law- which I would like to have, and the Army spent weeks training me on proper use of- but a criminal thugs can have an AK, because THEY DON'T OBEY THE LAW.

That's what makes them criminals, ain't it?

Breaking the mold

I know, people assume that someone working in the entertainment industry, or working in the industry, must be a liberal. It is apparently a foregone conclusion.

This perception comes from all of the high-profile liberals- liberal to the point of moonbattery, really- that are in the industry. My theory on these particular beasties is that many of them never really 'lived life' long enough to learn the lessons that create a conservative. In particular, self-reliance seems to be missing out here once you 'make it'- specifically, as an actor, and many directors. (more another day on my theories with that...)

When I originally moved out here, I had a job at a VFX studio. A friend was offered a job at the same studio, but refused based on the violent content of the show he would have worked on.

Others that I know simply swallowed their pride and did it.

There are libertarians and conservatives both in the entertainment industry- just mostly in support roles- i.e. the jobs where you work hard. A common example is armorers and gun handlers, many of whom are NRA members and NRA certified instructors.

Just because you don't hear about us on the news doesn't mean we don't exist.

Bite Me, John McCain.

I may live in a 'blue state' but politically, I still live in Virginia. I'm not going to play this game with incumbents who want to keep their jobs. The government, at all levels, needs to be reminded that they serve at our leisure, especially in Calofornia, but just as critically at Federal levels. The congressweasels that passed this tripe should be, at least, looking for another job come November.

Ten days

Ten days from now...

Open for Business

After hanging out on other people's blogs for two years (you know who you are) I decided to start my own. Here it is.

Yes, I'm using ads. Clicking on ads will pay for necessary expendables- primarily, Mountain Dew.