Greensboro Man Defines The Majority

In this viral video Mark Robinson sets the Greensboro City Council straight on who they should represent and his thoughts on legal gun owners. I don’t know him, but I wish I did!

More Questions To Ponder

A few days ago we posted questioning which story by David Hogg was true. Since then some reports have indicated Hogg’s comment was taken out of context and he rode his bicycle back to the school later that evening at twilight to shoot film. One thing is for certain, it would have been impossible for Hogg to have heard about the shooting while sitting at home and make it there before the school went into lockdown. Since there is video which was made during and after the lockdown of Hogg, he was certainly inside the school. If his statement was simply taken out of context then shame on CBS for editing clips to drive viewership and controversy.

There still are some questions which remain unanswered. The timeline for the events in Parkland are well documented. The shooter was dropped off by an Uber at 2:19pm, the shooting began at 2:21pm and stopped at 2:24pm, the school was locked down at 2:25pm, the shooter exited at 2:28pm, went to WalMart at 2:50pm, McDonalds at 3:01pm, the lockdown lifted at 3:36pm, and the shooter arrested at 3:41pm. Edited video from Hogg has been released on various news media which has him in a classroom or closet interviewing students and providing his own commentary. It begins at 2:52pm and he indicates he heard a single gun shot at around 2:30pm. We’re only talking about a 5-9 minute discrepancy, but one would think someone who professes to be a journalist would strive for accuracy especially someone from a generation known to use a smartphone regularly as their clock. At 3:13pm in the video Hogg identifies “Nick Cruz” as the shooter. This makes us wonder how he could have identified someone at 3:13pm who was not arrested until 3:41pm.

An unedited and unverified time stamp video emerged which indicates the interview in the closet/classroom is actually taking place at 9:32 with no indication of am or pm. So has someone pieced together various videos to try to tell a particular story, or are portions completely made up? In the LA Times video Hogg can clearly be seen exiting the building after the lockdown was lifted. There can be little doubt he was in the school at the time of the incident. The questions then become is the video and edited compilation of snippets designed to tell a narrative and are portions fabricated. Also how would Hogg be able to identify Cruz before the police were able to make the identification? We’ve not seen anyone pose that question before, but to know at 3:13pm it was Cruz would mean Hogg knew information the police had not yet figured out. The only other explanations which come to mind are Hogg’s video is a fabrication or Hogg was somehow complicit in the event. We may never know the truth, but it is evident the LA Times video is edited so we are leaning toward the video being fabricated to meet a storyline.

Apparently David Hogg Can’t Keep His Stories Straight

I remember in the aftermath of the tragedy in Parkland, FL hearing David Hogg talking about the shooting. He indicated in this video he was in his Environmental Science class.

He gave the same story to the Sun Sentinel.

So how does he explain his latest statement where he said he was home and rode his bike to the school to get video.

If anyone is thinking of Hogg as their spokesperson they might want to rethink their choice. He’s quickly showing his true colors and a panache for making things up as the shooting was over before he could have ridden three miles to the school after he received the news. He inserted himself in the middle under the guise of journalism, but his true colors are showing through, all he desires to do is extend his 15 minutes of fame. Looks like we may have another Brian Williams in the making.

David Hogg Career Advancement

I remember watching the aftermath of the shooting which occurred in Parkland, FL and seeing David Hogg interviewed and later making commentary on CBS News Sunday Morning and thought what an intelligent young man. I also felt for all he must have been through during the shooting which took 17 lives. Later it surfaced he may have been coached, oh heck, he WAS coached in his responses. Regardless he still experienced the shooting and was certainly affected by it.

On 60 Minutes they featured the high school students from Parkland and of course Time has them on the cover. Yesterday a video surfaced of a woman discussing the “rally” on Saturday in DC and the lack of permits, where they were going illegally, and firms who supposedly has financed the trip when the reality is those firms are not providing transportation. She is a teacher and was coaching the kids on how to act, what to wear, and what to say. She mentioned throughout the experience they would have teachers with them. It got me wondering if this group of students is leading the charge as they asserted on 60 Minutes or if it’s the adults who run the show.

Anyway, last night I happened upon a YouTube video of David Hogg entitled, “David Hogg is the NRA’s worst nightmare, and he’s just getting started,” by The Outline. I was listening to the video and besides figuring out Hogg used the most profane sentence structure to enunciate his thoughts, I happened to catch a statement made at ~5:40 into the 9 minute video which made me rewind and listen again. The Outline has part of video written on their website, but neatly omits that portion. Here is what I heard, listen and see if you hear the same thing.

David Hogg: So honestly it’s been a great thing because people are becoming more critical thinkers and becoming more politically active as a result. It’s also been great advertising for me. Uhh, in terms of acting, because I don’t give a **** what people say about me, but they quadrupled my twitter following, they’ve done a great job of that.

Previous to that statement the people conducting the interview touched on the crisis actor conspiracy theories so some might say the term actor and advertising were a response to those previous questions, but I don’t buy that argument. In candid interviews he tends to say what’s on his mind without thinking and judging by the volume of profane statements this was a candid interview and he was speaking his mind without thinking. We’ll see what the future holds. I suspect you’ll see him as a commentator on the news and eventually as a reporter. That is unless he continues to do candid interviews laced with profanity and discussing how the tragic event in Parkland has been great advertising.

Tragedy In Las Vegas

This morning I awoke to learn of the tragedy which happened last night in Las Vegas when a single gunman was positioned in a high rise and shot down into a crowd of 40,000 attending a concert. The police have indicated one person caused this tragedy and he acted alone. Early reports indicate he had at least ten rifles and shot into the crowd for at least ten minutes killing at least 50 with more than 400 transported to the hospital.  I watched some videos and it the gunshots came rapid fire as if the firearm was fully automatic. Those weapons are highly regulated and legal owners are registered or criminals have illegally converted the firearm to be fully automatic. Crimes committed with machine guns are few and far between.

The events in Las Vegas are terrible and the facts are not yet known. I hope society will focus on the victims and their families because they need our support as those who were injured heal from their wounds and the families of those who were killed mourn the loss of their loved ones.

TSA Rules Recap: Air Travel With Firearms

If you plan to travel with firearms, please pay attention to this recent article from the NRA. It is important to follow the TSA rules, the airline rules for the particular airline on which you will be checking luggage, and also the suggestions in the article. Something I found interesting was the requirement to have a lock in every padlock hole as opposed to just a single lock. I checked on of my cases which has two locks on it and also found it had two padlock location so to fly with that case would require me to put two additional padlocks on the case. Not a big deal, but something which would certainly ruin your day if you showed up at the airport without the additional locks.

Be Careful Instructors, Students Are Depending On You

I was disappointed recently by a fellow instructor who discouraged a former student of theirs from pursuing a firearm which has not yet been released. It was obvious the student was drawn to the firearm which IMO is one of the first steps in deciding if you want the firearm or not. Sure if you are going to conceal the firearm you need to think about many, many other topics, but to discourage someone from considering a firearm you have not held, touched, read range reports on, and fully investigated is the equivalent of poor parenting. As an instructor you should assist the student to the best possible firearm for their budget and needs. Had this particular firearm been out on the market with substandard reviews then my opinion of the situation would be much different, but because the only tangible reports were tactile from Shot Show 2017 and the gun is not on the market, to tell a student to overlook it is bad form. I’ve actually had my eye on this particular firearm and believe it may turn out to be a winner. I’ve been wrong many times in the past, but this one looks to me to be on the right track to be a great firearm for IWB carry. Anyway, if you are an instructor and have a favorite manufacturer do not allow that bias to carry over into the decision making process for a student. Just because I am a Ruger fanboy does not mean I would tell someone to avoid an S&W, Bersa, or Taurus, I would fully research the firearm they are considering and would probably head to a large firearm store to put my hands on it and decide for myself before offering an opinion. There is no way I would tell a student anything about a firearm which is not yet on the market other than to read the articles out now and I will be glad to assist them with an evaluation once the firearm has been released.

Join The NRA Or Renew Your Membership!

Since the beginning of the blog we have had an NRA tab where you could join. The NRA brings much more to the party than what you frequently hear on the news. Training courses from the NRA are essentially to proper firearm handling and situational awareness. Often this training is overlooked by the media and the fact that almost every state has NRA training somewhere in their statutes whether it be for concealed carry, police officer training, or some other purpose such as range development. The best thing a firearm owner can do is join the NRA if for nothing else the firearm insurance. You can become an associate member for as little as $10 or can join as a regular member for $30.

Join or renew today at this link!

Celebrating Five Years

Today is the fifth anniversary for the blog. When it started 1,827 posts ago the direction was unclear and with this post once again the direction is a bit of a mystery. Trying to post daily has proven difficult when a fresh topic idea isn’t forthcoming, for that reason the plan is to only post when there is something relevant or fun to say. That might be a reminder of a particular day to celebrate a drink or beverage of a discourse on how ignorant a politician is on the topic of alcohol or firearms. The goal will be for topics to concentrate on firearms and fermentation only occasionally coloring outside the lines. Thank you to everyone who receive the blog via email and to those who visit regularly to read what we have to say.

Cheers to you all!

Upcoming Fifth Anniversary

On February 12 the blog will turn five. We generate about 1,000 new views per month and 135 people following our mindless banter. Every comment is considered and we appreciate you taking the time to read about whatever happens to come to mind that day. We may decide to post less frequent and with more focus after the 12th because some days it is difficult to find an interesting topic while other days it is difficult to stop typing. So if you start to see less posts do not become alarmed, we’ll post when we have something to say as opposed to saying something daily.