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Sweat the little stuff

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I’ll start with a little background on what prompted this post. Yesterday was an especially frustrating day at work. It wasn’t so much that there was any terrible thing that happened, but it was more of the same little frustrating things. Yesterday hit some of my team members especially hard which in turn hit me hard since I’m the project manager. In reality, it’s not really any different, good or bad, than it was a few months ago, but these types of things are cumulative and at times exponential. I’ll come back to this later.

This got me thinking about how relatively little things in the past have added up to bigger things. If we look back to the events of April 19th, 1775, it could have just as easily been just another day in colonial America, but it wasn’t. Individually, the events of Lexington Green, the North Bridge, and Miriam’s Corner don’t add up to a revolution, but tensions had been building for the better part of a decade leading up to this. For years, the colonials had been dealing with and pushing back on the Intolerable Acts, and once the Regulars started the powder raids, it really kicked things up a notch. The key point here is that the events of April 19th add up to more than the sum of their parts because of all the relatively little things that preceded them.

This brings us to a question that is often asked but never answered. Where does that put us today? The truth is that we really don’t know. The colonials couldn’t have told you April 18th that tomorrow they would become Americans, and I can’t tell you today when things will change for us, but I believe that tensions are high and the powder keg is not far from being lit. Our version of the events of April 19th could be just around the corner, or it could be years away, but a relatively small chain of events could happen at any time. It could have been Ruby Ridge, Waco, or the Bundy Ranch, and it could just as easily be in my home state with the seemingly imminent passing of I-594.

My hope is that your take-away from this is that maybe we should sweat the small stuff a little more. I don’t mean you should stress about every little thing that happens, but you should be aware that those little things can add up to more than the sum of their parts. In your work life, remember that all the little things can add up be they good or bad. Saying hello to everyone and little complements can really make it a much more positive place just like the opposite is true. In the rest of your life, be just as aware of the small things because you never know what the next Miriam’s Corner is going to be. Stay vigilant and maybe sweat the little stuff a little bit more.

~BSB

Quote of the Day – William McCormick (8/14/2014)

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A valid point Mike. Not a contradiction of mine, but ….I have to say, one of my biggest beefs with the LE community. If you want my respect and consideration, that REQUIRES you to police yourself.

[Emphasis mine]
William McCormick – Facebook comment
August 13, 2013

[This was in reference to an incident by LAPD where they shot and killed a hostage after shooting every last square inch of a vehicle. I don’t know all the details of said shooting. I do know if I shot an killed an innocent person while trying to defend myself in such a reckless manner I would be prosecuted for not exercising judicious marksmanship.

Look I get it, some times bad things happen. Problem is just because of your job you shouldn’t be held to a lower standard than everyone else. If anything it should be higher. More importantly that statement above illustrates my issues with law enforcement currently quite accurately. I don’t hate them, I don’t think their all evil. I however have no respect for them as they cannot even keep their own house clean.

Doubly so as we then have people in the Seattle PD who go out and publicly endorse things like I-594, as members of the department. You want to make me a felon for teaching people how to shoot a firearm and I’m supposed to respect you for it? Thankfully WACOPS doesn’t support I-594 and it’s a glimmer of hope, but publicly denouncing that type of behavior goes a long way for the public trust, which at this point is dying. And at least WACOPS isn’t someone doing so as a member of the department but as an organized body. I view this as the equivalent of me stepping up and saying something while claiming to be representative of my employer. Military members are not to make political statements while in uniform, why is it different for the police? -B]

Quote of the Day – Tamara Keel (4/8/2014)

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There is no greater irony in the world than a dude with a III patch and a Blue Sky Garand bitching about FOPA at a shooting match.

If that happened in an educational film, there’d be a little “Tinkerbell” noise and his rifle would disappear out of his hands in a *poof!* of bad special effects, as the narrator’s voice-over intoned “What did FOPA do? Well, I’ll tell you, little Johnny!“

Tamara Keel – Comment to Pre-Revolutionary War Era
April 7th, 2014

[I know many people who have a ban on allowing Tam to be a quote of the day because her snark is so damn sharp no one else even gets a chance… Thing is she’s had some serious golden nuggets lately and many are worthy of remembrance. I do get very annoyed when people get all angry without looking at the entirety of the situation at the time and what was going on.  Another good example of this is the 94 AWB. -B]

 

Quote of the Day – Lyle Keeney

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Hmm.  Goose, gander.  Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum?  Bevis, Butthead?

I guess if we kick out all U.S. military and militia, people will really feel safe.  If we rip the seat-belts from our vehicles, throw away all first aid kits, close down the hospitals, get rid of the fire extinguishers, then by never seeing those things we’ll never again have to be reminded that bad things happen, except when they do.

Or we could all jump off a cliff into the ocean.  Either way we’d need to be hypnotized the same.

Lyle Keeney – Email Thread
October 3, 2013

[Now it should be noted that this was in reference to an email about this incident.  The TL;DR version is as follows.  Parents go into PSH over a police officer dropping his child off in uniform, thus armed.

Ry, rightly pointed out, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”  Though I must say that the stupid is going to evolve into an epic Darwinian moment. Sadly there will be collateral damage involving children outside the gene pool of the idiot suffering from Peterson Syndrome.

With regards to the idiots and their PSH, I think this line/scene from Hunt for Red October puts it best. -B

]

 

Been There Done That…

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Many of us in this arena have been here before…

If you don’t understand what I’m talking about. I point you to the instance where we coined the term Peterson Syndrome.

A small win, I’ll Take it.

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I wasn’t too happy about how they ruled regarding carrying inside the Post Office, but with regards to the parking lot… AWESOME!

By contrast, prohibiting Mr. Bonidy from securely storing his firearm in his vehicle sweeps too far; the parking lot is not similarly sensitive, and the public safety concerns associated with open carry in the building are not similarly implicated. Therefore, as applied to Mr. Bonidy and his request to use the parking lot with his gun securely stored in his car,the USPS Regulation is not substantially related to the government’s public safety interest. It is an unconstitutional burden on Mr. Bonidy’s freedom under the Second Amendment.

In sum, openly carrying a firearm outside the home is a liberty protected by the Second Amendment. The Avon Post Office Building is a sensitive place and the ban imposed by the USPS Regulation is a presumptively valid restriction of that liberty. The Plaintiff has failed to present evidence to rebut that presumption. The parking lot adjacent to the building is not a sensitive place and the Defendants have failed to show that an absolute ban on firearms is substantially related to their important public safety objective. The public interest in safety and Mr. Bonidy’s liberty can be accommodated by modifying the Regulation to permit Mr. Bonidy to “have ready access to essential postal services” provided  by the Avon Post Office while also exercising his right to self-defense.

You can read the entire decision here:

MSJ Order

It’s a win and a loss.  The loss as read doesn’t surprise me and it is one of those things that serves as a solid reminder that you’re playing a game of chess.  Make sure you have a good solid case for anything you bring before the bar.  Miscalculations, especially when you troll for a criminal case against you, can be damaging to future cases and used as precedent.

This guy had a plan and he shot for the moon but he made it to Orbit and didn’t really get burned against us at all.  They merely stated he hadn’t proven his case.  As I said in the title, I’ll take it.

via Gay Cynic.

July 4th, 2013, The Day Lady Liberty took her last breath…

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Today saw many nails in the coffin of liberty, the worst of which involved TJIC. 

Well, TJIC got his Massachusetts FID* reissued, and has reapplied for an MA LTC**.

Now the local po-po*** is surrounding his crib, wanting to inspect the premises. Without a warrant. In the suburbs of Boston. On Independence Day.

The closing comments from TJIC is they have a lawyer, Jennifer’s firearms were illegally confiscated, and they took his FID without cause or warrant.

Go read the comment thread if you want the full details, suffice it to say there’s nothing about that situation that seem right or legal.

Moving forward, the third Amendment was dealt a blow as well.  (It happened yesterday but I just discovered it).

Henderson police arrested a family for refusing to let officers use their homes as lookouts for a domestic violence investigation of their neighbors, the family claims in court.

Anthony Mitchell and his parents Michael and Linda Mitchell sued the City of Henderson, its Police Chief Jutta Chambers, Officers Garret Poiner, Ronald Feola, Ramona Walls, Angela Walker, and Christopher Worley, and City of North Las Vegas and its Police Chief Joseph Chronister, in Federal Court.

See that, that’s agents of the government declaring the 3rd amendment no longer necessary and dead.  I figured that one would get a few more years but at this point we’re screwed.

No one in the government is trying to stop these abuses or otherwise reign in the problem.  It has become us vs them.  The best example of this was the cop from the TJIC incident on the 4th.

At the end, some of the cops who ransacked the house tried to shake hands with me. "No hard feelings".

I refused and said "Gentlemen, please think about what you’re doing. On the fourth of July, the day we celebrate freedom, you stole legally owned firearms from a women who is engaged to a guy who made a joke you don’t like. You are not the good guys. You are ‘just doing your jobs’. Look in the mirror. You’re the bad guys."

Response: "I’m sorry you feel that way. Have a good Fourth."

I am at a loss for words and frankly, I’m needing to sit down with the brain trust and see what, if anything can be done.  There’s three options to instill political change, the soap box, ballot box, and cartridge box.  It appears the first two aren’t working in protecting freedom and liberty and our would be masters want to disarm us because they know what’s coming.

If you’re the preying type, I highly suggest you start because I’m afraid, quite soon, shit’s going to go hot in this cold war.  There’s only so much abuse that can be taken, especially when the person doing the abuse is protected from all repercussions and consequences.

I leave you with this lesson from the 20th century:

If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and confiscate your firearms– kill him. The disarmament of law-abiding citizens is the required precursor to genocide.

Now is the time to make your plans and if they mean to have a war, let them have one.  No warrant, no cause, you have every right to resist.

SSCC Honorable Mention Cherryville

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The plea agreement was filed in U.S. District Court on Monday. Court documents allege Burgess embezzled more than $11,000 of city funds by forcing the Cherryville Finance Director, Bonny Alexander, to issue Cherryville city checks to "The Great Outdoors, Inc." for purchase of firearms for Burgess’ personal use.

Due to the fact that firearms are involved and this individual is claimed by those who would take away our rights as being “anointed” is only seems proper he makes the list.

State Sponsored Criminal: Woodrow Burgess

Because when you’re a cop and work for the taxpayer, take their money and use it to buy toys that many claim you should have but the tax payer can’t.