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Where the F*** is the NRA?!

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Background

46f45fc1d77a6c0a37791ab4003e0e0aFor those of you who don’t know, a serious fight kicked off last January in Washington state. Lately I have volunteered my time to speak at gun shows and other events and let me tell you something, I am terrified. Out of the people visiting their local gun show you would expect at least 90% of the people to have at least heard about what’s going on, it’s more like 50%. Most have no real knowledge of either of the initiatives or their real legal impact and what it means for them as gun owners.

Recently gun owners accomplished a great feat in Missouri and everyone is all ecstatic, thing is strategically Washington has a lot of ground to cover and is quite likely to cause failures in other states. Not to mention they had no opposing ballot initiatives in their fight.

For those who don’t know, Bloomberg and his “Everytown” group have pledged 50 million dollars to aid in pushing Initative-594. Bloomberg has been stating he wants to crush the NRA, what better way when the NRA doesn’t even bother to show up, I’ll explain in a bit. Quite literally this is the biggest fight going on between gun owners and Bloomberg.

There is also an opposition bill, I-591, which Washington gun owners want to pass that will prevent the state from confiscating firearms under a declared emergency.

Current State of the Fight

Polling DataYardSignSTOPGUNblackfinal

First off, current polling data I’m getting through the grape vine, remember this fight began in January we’re 8 months in with 3 to go.

The news is, frankly, bad. We’re 8 months into a 11 month fight and running out of time. According to my sources, the numbers are running against us on the anti-gun I-594 stealth gun registration scheme, with voters polling over 2:1 in favor.

On I-591, the Gottlieb sponsored initiative banning gun seizures and forcing Washington to refrain from background checks at least until a consistent federal standard is passed is doing better – about half of voters polled support it. We can win 591 if folks get off their flabby… and start volunteering and writing checks.

The War Chests (The core data showing something’s wrong)

Our Side

Now lets talk war chests and who’s been providing support and where:

Data for the contribution statistics above can be seen here.

The good news is there have also been a pile of individual donors so the total contributions thus far are in the $1 million range.

What about those pushing for I-594?alt_pro594

What does it actually look like?

Total raised: $3+ million dollars, including a single $30k contribution from MAIG.

What about the NRA?

The NRA has showered this fight with a whopping, wait for it, $25,000. You read that right, MAIG has actually put more money into this fight than the NRA.

What’s being done with the war chests?

It isn’t always about how much money you raise, it’s about how you spend it. Here’s how each group, on our side of the fight, has spent their contributions to the war effort.

 

imgres-1

  • Created POGR
  • Created I-591/594 Campaign Art
  • Created I-591/594 Bumper Stickers
  • Created I-591/594 Yard Signs, currently in productions
  • Staff for the Washington Arms Collectors, Falcon, Knodel, and other gun shows regarding I591/I594

logo recreaction

  • Reference section regarding 591/594
  • Comped tables for anyone associated with POGR at any WAC show
  • Comp’d tables through CCKRBA for the NRA
  • Public Representation
  • Law Enforcement Networking*

*Quite honestly that is probably the biggest thing WAC, or anyone has done in this fight. You would think the NRA would have been able to do this but it was WAC. What am I talking about?

WACOPS declared support of I-591 noting that it protects background check uniformity, allows the background check debate to continue on the federal level and allows WA state standards to change if, or when, federal standards change.

At the same time WACOPS noted the many flaws of I-594 and made clear their opposition to the measure as an organization.

NRA-logo

  • Two field reps, who are forbidden to support I-591
  • No campaign materials
  • Outdated self-promoting material
  • Complete lack of coordination in working with any of the above for the common goal
  • A committee with an unknown name and no resources to actually be allowed to call itself such.

I wish I was making the above up but I am not. I have met both of the lovely young women who are working as field reps for the NRA, they expressed frustration at the way the NRA seemed to be dragging its feet. Even more importantly how they are restrained from being fully effective. The reps are being constrained from being effective by the NRA.

What exactly is the deal with I-591?591-594 Bumpersticker

If you are a Washington state resident you want it to pass, doubly so as it creates a very interesting legal problem if I-594 passes as well. This is a part of a legal chess game and honestly this all goes back to 2013 when I wrote this earlier article. Gottlieb saw 594 on the horizon and was trying to cut it off at the pass, destroy the Washington state pistol registry while really giving them nothing. The key to screwing our enemy is make them think they have a win when they actually get nothing. Well it was done so well that the NRA that sounded that alarm, portrayed Gottlieb as a traitor and move their residential members to have the bill struck down.

Now we find our selves facing 594, and 591 was created as a response to try to help gun owners, as usual though the NRA doesn’t like it, presumably because they didn’t come up with it and their committee to form a committee hasn’t come back with an agreement yet.

Interestingly the NRA doesn’t even seem to be really reaching out to their local members except to call up and ask for more money. Tell me, why would I give a contribution to the NRA to “Help fight Michael Bloomberg” when in the biggest ongoing battle with him you’re nowhere to be found? <- Seriously they called me last week wanting me to donate money and I was starting to dig up this information. I’m about ready to say I will not be getting the life membership I was thinking about getting this December as a birthday present, much less renewing.

Does the NRA hate Washington State?

It certainly feels that way. I have heard through the rumor mill that the NRA has a serious dislike for Gottlieb and they view this as a “let’s screw Gottlieb” moment. The catch is they’re screwing over every gun owner in the state of Washington over petty personal politics.

No one has been able to figure out why the NRA hasn’t endorsed I-591, it’s only a page long and so simple even a child can understand it.

If the NRA feels that 594 is too likely to pass so why bother investing in the fight, why not then endorse 591 to give the best possibilities in a legal challenge? Preventing a total victory for our opponents.

Tactical fallout:

There is, as with any battle, a list of tactical consequences that come with defeat and it is no different in this political fight. There are implications both nationally and locally.

First, despite the NRA seeming to think they do not have a dog in this fight, should 594 pass and 591 fail, MAIG, Every-town, and every other wholly owned subsidiary of Michael Bloomberg Inc. will declare this a victory over the NRA.  The NRA has been portrayed to be the big evil nasty villain that is impossible to conquer. This fight, the opposition may do exactly that.  That gives the opposition momentum. Momentum creates opportunity and allows for more losses.

Which brings us to similar types of initiatives being brought forward in Nevada, Arizona and elsewhere shortly there after should they win.

And then the local fallout.  Expect to see attempts for a semi-auto and magazine ban in the state of Washington most likely in 2016 when there is also a presidential and gubernatorial election and the Peoples Republic of Puget Sound will be out in full voting fury.

Conclusion:

There is no doubt this fight is a big deal. A bigger deal than most people realize.  Implications are reaching far and wide and it seems that the largest most effective group with the largest reach is sleeping at the wheel.

We have a fight on our hands, if you’re a gun owner in the state of Washington, be sure to educate your friends and family about I-594 and I-591, the implications and facts behind them.  If you’d like to volunteer in some way hit up this contact form.  If you’d like to donate to Protect Our Gun Rights, go here.

And I will say it again, “Where the F*** is the NRA?”  Feel free to ask that the next time they call asking for money.

*It should be noted that my main complaint here is that the NRA is more than happy to take my money but then is no where to be found when things actually go sideways. While some would say, “quit complaining and do it yourself,” well that’s exactly what I am !@#$ing doing. As such I’ll be taking my money with me, cause obviously I need it for the fight they’re not willing to take on.

An Interesting Jury

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Things are bad and they’re only getting worse.  Many run their lives from an apathetic point of view.  If it doesn’t directly affect me it isn’t my problem.  There is a problem with that though, it does affect you, it affects everyone.   It is an erosion of your personal liberty whether you want to currently exercise that choice or not.

It is time to start standing up.  It is time to force your voice to be heard.  Neither party cares about liberty or freedom.  They care about money and power.  They have been slowly turning up the heat so they can steal more money and more, it’s time to jump out of the pot.

I remind you of this great document.  It reminds of of not just our rights but also our responsibilities in such matters.  Are you OK with standing in front of that jury?

But you can have property!

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Can you?  This started as a rant I was sending to Facebook and then I decided to push it here.  You see Chris made a post on Facebook yesterday, the crux of which was this image.

Taxation

The the thread predictably devolved into people saying how taxation is not a form a slavery because you can have property.* Guess he missed all those taxes on that property where if you don’t pay they seize your property (so in reality rent). And my personal favorite, where the state can take your property under eminent domain and give you pennies on the dollar, if the state feels like spending the pennies.  (Seriously check out that link… The City of Seattle is seizing a 103 year old woman’s property, currently a parking lot, to make it a parking lot. I can’t make this crap up.)

So don’t tell me I’m not a slave when there is nothing voluntary about my relationship with my government and I live in fear of them deciding to seize my property without cause and me with no legal recourse. Remember, this is the land of the free, where the mob can vote to have the state steal your stuff to give it to them.

If everyone saw equal services from the state, then I might not call it slavery, but entitlements are horse shit. I should not be taxed to feed someone else’s kids because they squandered their money on a big screen TV.

Go ahead and say I have no heart. Know why I don’t have kids yet? Because I’m paying for someone else’s. But remember I’m the heartless asshole for merely being the responsible person and staying within my means.

I’m paying more now for my healthcare too, why? To subsidize people who didn’t want to take care of it themselves. Pardon me while I say screw all of you who support this BS.

*He also made a comment about the ballot box being involved so it wasn’t really against your will.  Uhh, so because the mob votes to steal my stuff makes it some how morally ok and just?  WTFO!?  Seriously, how does the fact a ballot box being involved make it OK for the state to take, by force, property from one person and give it to another.  If it was really that person’s property it couldn’t be taken in such a way now could it?

**As someone who’s now working as a contractor, I’m well versed in exactly how much I’m paying out in taxes and it’s far beyond most people. For every dollar I earn I see about .46 cents.  I could easily start a family with all that money being dumped into a government who spends more frivolously than a drunken sailor… But I’m not a slave since I can rent property from the state and they can seize at any time to do with as they please.

I’m going to end the rant here because I think I’ve made my point.  But seriously if you think you’re not a slave merely because they’ve provided you some illusions of freedom, you’re an idiot.  The greatest trick the government ever pulled was making the people think they’re free when they’re really slaves, they just don’t know it yet.

Quote of the Day–Jefferson Giffeath (7/11/2013)

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The government works in two modes: evil and incompetent.

Jefferson Griffeath – Facebook Status

July 11th, 2013

[What else he said in that post also applies but that little bit of wisdom was just too pure to let slip by. –B]

Independence Day…

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I’ve written about Independence Day many times before.  Honestly, go take a peek at those posts if you haven’t read them before.

It’s not the 4th of July, well it is literally, but it’s our Independence Day.  That is what we are celebrating, not just some random day of the year.  I don’t celebrate the 4th of July, I celebrate our Independence.  I celebrate the men who in that Continental Congress that hot July 2nd 1776 voted unanimously to declare the following:

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Re-read that last sentence and let that sink in for a a second.  These men were committing treason according to the British crown.  Those men had we lost would have been hung for what they did.  One man’s riot is another man’s rebellion.  It is important that we all remember those facts.

As you celebrate our Independent with family and friends today, don’t forget about those men who took the ultimate risk to secure your liberty, both then and now.  At the same time, you might want to ask yourself, “When was the last time I took a risk to preserve the liberty of myself and my country men.”  Currently there is a man on the run who exposed a serious overreach by our government.  Many in that government have called him a traitor.  He gave up everything to expose the wrong our government was doing.

I know for the most part with this last statement I’m mostly preaching to the choir, but when was the last time you were politically active and engaged?  When was the last time you contacted your legislators and expressed your opinions in an effort to make them represent you instead of themselves? When was the last time you spend researching a political topic and didn’t just trust the media for the information on the subject?  When was the last time you shared the skill, joy, and freedom that comes with firearms with someone else? All of those items merely require the sacrifice of time, nothing more.  If we aren’t careful though and we don’t start fighting back hard, the sacrifices that will have to be made in the name of liberty and freedom will be considerably higher and more costly.

"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."

And given the day, you should at least watch this once…

Quote of the Day–Me* 6/12/2013

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Good lord, that a lot of porn.  How could the NSA categorize it and make sure they have everyone’s kinks right?

Barron – Conversation

June 12th, 2013

[For context I read this article this morning which had this note in it:

Considering that, according to Cisco, the total world Internet traffic for 2012 was 1.1 exabytes per day…

My immediate thought was that was a whole lot of porn and bitching across the internet.  I then someone asked me why I said wow.  To which I informed them of the 1.1 exabyte estimate and immediately followed it with the quote above… It seems the prudent comment to make.

If you don’t understand why I would think that would be a prudent comment to make, I give you:

–B

*It’s my blog and I can quote myself if I damn well please!]

The Best Publicity in the World…

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This has to be the biggest piece of publicity for an item ever created yet it didn’t even come from the company that created it.  Instead it came from our own government.

The Department of State, Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance, Enforcement Division (DTCC/END) is responsible for compliance with and civil enforcement of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) (AECA) and the AECA’s implementing regulations, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (22 C.F.R. Parts 120-130) (ITAR). The AECA and the ITAR impose certain requirements and restrictions on the transfer of, and access to, controlled defense articles and related technical data designated by the United States Munitions List (USML) (22 C.F.R. Part 121).

The DTCC/END is conducting a review of technical data made publicly available by Defense Distributed through its 3D printing website, DEFCAD.org, the majority of which appear to be related to items in Category I of the USML. Defense Distributed may have released ITAR-controlled technical data without the required prior authorization from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), a violation of the ITAR.

It’s worth noting that there is an exemption that Defense Distributed falls under but the bad news, for the government anyway, this will have the opposite effect by causing more people to grab it than you desire.

If/When I receive a take down notice validating the position of the State Department I will have no choice but to pull it.  Tonight I will be burying it behind a page that will require you to state that you are a US Citizen to download it under penalty of perjury.  I’ve already added a line disclaimer stating as much.  You can still get the files through this post.

Honestly I think this is a bullshit call and is merely an attempt to instill fear in the people and only serves to delay the dissemination of information.  Doubly so when you consider the ATF and Eric Holder violated ITAR during Fast and Furious.  No, you can’t stop the signal.

Freedom of Speech and the Right to Arms…

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I am morally aligned with the following quote from John Adams:

If men through fear, fraud or mistake, should in terms renounce and give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the great end of society, would absolutely vacate such renunciation; the right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of Man to alienate this gift, and voluntarily become a slave.

I also consider the right to self-defense and with it the right to keep and bear arms an essential natural right.  It is for that reason I am hosting the Defense Distributed file pack (by clicking this link you certify that you are a US Citizen within the United States under penalty of perjury) here(Upon advice from good friends, this has been removed, just see this quote for details.) (warning almost 500MB).  For details on why only US citizens may download these files, please see this post.

Many people seem to be lost on the real meaning of the Liberator Pistol.

That pistol is not meant to be a replacement for your standard side-arm.  I honestly don’t see 3d printing replacing standard firearms production.  The point of the Liberator is allow those to arm themselves that would otherwise be rendered defenseless by their government.  It is not designed to be used repeatedly over and over, it’s use is designed much the same as this pistol.

300px-M1942_liberatorYou have one shot.  It is not to be used at a far distance.  It is designed as a last-ditch when you have no other alternative.  One shot you think may not be effective, but that man you just killed sent by the state who was trying to kill you, he has a gun too right?  One much more effective than the one you just used.

The point of the Defense Distributed’s pistol is to at least give a tool to help better even the odds for the person being abused by the state and prevented from defending themselves.  It is not a magic talisman, it is merely a tool.  A tool which can help level the playing field and give a disarmed people a fighting chance to save themselves.

There’s a reason our federal tyrants are so afraid of something like this.  It guarantees that no matter what they do, the people will always have access to some sort of arm.

I will maintain that link and create alternate servers if necessary to do so.  It is a natural right of the people to be armed for their own defense.  Any person who opposes that right is not my friend, but my enemy wishing for my enslavement or death and I will fight back. As Linoge said, “You Can’t Stop the Signal.“