Friday, October 31, 2008

Intellectuals or Bigots? You decide.

Erica Jong thinks blood will run in the nation's streets if Sen. Obama does not ascend to the White House, something she has shared with those who speak and read Italian.

If you don't, you can read the New York Observer piece by Jason Horowitz.

Her pals, including Jane Fonda and Naomi Wolfe, can't sleep for crying or call Jong every day for moral support. Then, Jong has had to resort to Valium and acupuncture for stress relief.

"It's the silly season"

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer thinks most gun owners, particularly the ones with blogs, are partisan, delusional, users and silly. He's "concerned about the backlash against Dan Cooper." You'll find it here, in a follow-up USA Today story.

Cooper has either resigned or has been ousted in order to put distance between him and his company. He said there is nothing he won't do for his 38 employees, innocents who had "internet anger" turned on them. However, he didn't answer any questions regarding his plans regarding his stake in Cooper Arms of Montana, Inc., and other roles he might play with the company.

Of course, Bob Ricker, executive director of the anti-Second Amendment front group, American Hunters and Shooters Association, had nothing good to say about any gun owner who objected to Cooper's poor public relations and business decisions.

Cooper is right. He's the victim. The paying or potential customers who complained are wrong. They are paranoid and are too silly to understand. And anyone who e-mails or posts different points of view such as Sebastian of Snowflakes in Hell are white, racist, gun nuts.

I can't speak for Sebastian. He writes and posts more effectively. But when I watched the 1994 Biden Crime Bill, which contained a ban on firearms solely for subjective, cosmetic reasons, pass through Congress to rapidly be signed into law by President Bill Clinton, I knew it was a first step toward a total ban on firearms ownership. I watched it unfold on C-SPAN Sept. 13, 1994.

It wasn't a delusion. Still flushed from celebration, the antis leaked plans for "reasonable, commonsense" restrictions such as arsenal taxes, restrictions on the amount of ammunition and reloading components one could possess in their homes, one-gun-a-month limits, a broader Brady Ban II, and efforts to demonize the "gun culture" such as discouraging people from wearing camouflage clothing and exploiting division in the ranks of gun owners.

Never again! If foreign interests or a nice guy like Dan Cooper buckle under or sell out the workers and consumers of companies such as Smith & Wesson in 1999-2000 or Cooper Arms of Montana, Inc., in 2008, there's going to be a lot of gun owners watching, writing and spending money elsewhere.

Dan, WAKE UP! You endorsed and funded the same candidate Sarah Brady is backing! Have a few of your 38 employees draw you pictures or slap you back into reality. Talk to some other people in your industry. Know your customers.

Your fancy, wood-stocked rifles possess barrels made by Wilson Arms, the outfit that made my AR-15 barrel. A Cooper rifle can kill at too far of a range, are deadly sniper rifles, and can penetrate body armor. Cruel white guys used them to slaughter poor Bambi on government land. When the Obamacons come for my AR-15, your fine hunting rifles aren't that much farther down their list.

Dan, stop blubbering to USA Today and humbly apologize to your 38 workers, your network of dealers, your suppliers such as Wilson Arms, and your industry. Then, made amends to the honorable people that helped you in your climb from mowing yards to heading a company making fine rifles.

Dan, those people are noble, tough, smart, and will prove forgiving if an apology comes from the contrite heart of a fellow rifleman. They're straight shooters. The antis, including Sen. Obama, will maim you at a time and place not of your choosing.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

No coffee, a sad song, and a screwdriver: a killing combo

A 57-year-old Huffington Post writer, Carol Ann Burger gave her spouse, Jessica Kalish, 56, 222 puncture wounds with a Phillips-head screwdriver in their Boyton Beach, Fla., home nearly a week ago. Investigators said, however, that a blow to Kalish's neck probably killed her.

Burger discharged a firearm into her head before police could question her about Kalish's death.

Burger and Kalish, a prominent software designer, had shared the home since 2000. They were married in 2005 in Massachusetts. The housemates had ceased being lovers more than a year ago but continued to share the home because of financial reasons. Kalish had a new lover, who she dated via the Internet in her half of the house. Burger told friends of her growing isolation, depression and bitterness in e-mails she composed in the other half.

Burger had recently stopped drinking coffee, told friends Jackson Browne's For a Dancer was ideal to listen to when sad, and had refused anti-depressants. The police found Burger's shoe prints in Kalish's blood on the garage floor despite Burger's clean-up attempt. "She was obviously out of her mind," an investigator said.

She was obviously filled with hatred. Two-hundred-twenty-two acts of rage--yes, Burger was OffTheBus.

One can find The Huffington Post tribute to Burger here.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Cooper Firearms of Montana statement

This is a statement I found today on the home page of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc., regarding Dan Cooper's statements to USA Today and his personal, financial support of the Obama campaign:
"The employees,shareholders and board of directors of Cooper Firearms of Montana do not share the personal political views of Dan Cooper.

Although we all believe everyone has a right to vote and donate as they see fit, it has become apparent that the fallout may affect more than just Mr. Cooper. It may also affect the employees and the shareholders of Cooper Firearms.

The board of directors has asked Mr. Cooper to resign as President of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc.

Daily operations will continue with the competent staff currently in place in Stevensville, MT producing the finest, most accurate rifles money can buy.

Dan Cooper has spentall of his working life producing the highest quality rifles built here in the USA. He started with nothing but the American Dream and built that into firearms company anyone would be proud of. We firmly believe Dan stands by the 2nd amendment. We wish him all of the best in his future pursuits.

In response to the recent article highlighting Dan Cooper’s personal political donations, the board of directors, shareholders and employees of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc would like to issue the following statement."

Bank that cash ... in a state senator's brassiere

Baby, what a big surprise!

Right before the FBI's video eyes, Bay State Senator Dianne Wilkerson allegedly negoiated a series of legislative influence-peddling deals. She allegedly padded her foundational undergarment with consideration of $1,000 last June. Wilkerson allegedly was teaching an apprentice, her granddaughter, The Art of a Deal: Boston Illegal, when taking delivery of another $1,000 at the Fill-A-Buster restaurant across the street from the Massachusetts state capitol.

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was found guilty by a Washington, DC, jury. He had a lot of help remodeling a house and was gifted a massage chair and gas grill. Then he allegedly made a paperwork error when not reporting it. He will appeal. ... Allegedly.

Support those who support the Second Amendment

Someone expressed their distrust of Larry Potterfield, founder of MidwayUSA, in comments left regarding Dan Cooper, president and CEO of Cooper Arms of Montana, at Snowflakes in Hell.

If you're concerned if someone you trade with is undermining the Second Amendment, go to the Federal Election Commission and do a search. Enter your own name as well. Who knows? Maybe an ACORNer or your house cat has assumed your identity.


Anyhow, here's my comment regarding the Potterfields and other people who I buy guns, ammo, and other related items from:

"BTW, Brenda and Larry Potterfield of MidwayUSA have donated thousands to pro-Second Amendment candidates in Missouri. I will continue to redistribute wealth to to them and their employees, all fine people, as I have done since the inception of their mail-order business. I have a MidwayUSA order right in front of me. The add-a-buck option to the NRA that MidwayUSA and a growing number of other companies such as Brownells offers to customers is always a plus for me. And I've never seen an NRA contribution can sitting on the sporting goods counter at Wal-Mart. Gun stores that support the Second Amendment in any way such as funding 4-H shooting sports deserve our wealth."
If you don't want to redistribute your human and financial resources to one particular group or another, there's a wide range of good choices. Help out your state rifle association, Gun Owners of America, the Second Amendment Foundation, the CCRKBA, a Junior USA Shooting Team program, or the shooting sports efforts of Boy Scouts of America. Teach, score a junior competitor's target, oppose range closures, and set good examples. There are thousands of ways to extend the freedom we enjoy to others now and generations to follow.

Don't despair. Distrust shouldn't put us in blinders. Do some research. Take positive action. Don't let up. The 2008 presidential horserace will soon be soon be over. Our campaign isn't.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

"Proud" NRA Member Dan Cooper backs Barack "Redistributor" Obama

From Snowflakes in Hell via Days of our Trailers * :

Chief executive of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Dan Cooper, is so dazzled by Barry that he's redistributed $3,300 to the Obama presidential campaign.

When I went to the Cooper Firearms website, I received the "HTTP 404: The webpage cannot be found" message after clicking the "Find A Dealer" link. That might be the digital equivalent of the flushing sound following Jim Zumbo's Feb. 16, 2007, Outdoor Life blog attack on black rifles.

Here's my response at Days of our Trailers:

Thanks for the heads up. I am in the process of redistributing wealth to a couple of those Illinois firearms manufacturers Obama and his rich, trial-lawyer, community-activist pals have been trying to shut down for years. And since Dan Cooper is a "proud member" of the NRA, I'm going to redistribute some wealth to the NRA-ILA and the NRA Foundation with Dan and Obama in mind.

If I'm able to garner enough wealth to redistribute if Obama moves to the White House, I'm certain Dan Cooper doesn't mind if I spread it to any of his competitors not stupid enough to undermine the U.S. Constitution, their customers, and their industry.