The long-time leftist dream of destroying the National Rifle Association (NRA) got a setback on Thursday, March 3, 2022. New York Attorney General Letitia James had part of her lawsuit against the NRA dismissed by New York Supreme Court Justice Joel Cohen. James had sought to have the New York Supreme Court simply dissolve the NRA. This part of the lawsuit was simply a political attack on the NRA and its members. The left is always looking for ways to silence free speech if they don’t like the message. NRA Counsel William A. Brewer III declared the ruling a victory for all those who believe in free speech and association. The NRA still has a lot of financial hurdles ahead of it and is by no means out of the woods yet. Bankruptcy is still a possibility, but a victory is still a victory.
As the threat of the Russian invasion became closer, the Ukrainian Parliament made it easier for Ukrainian citizens to get firearms. The Ukrainian Parliament’s actions came too late. Imagine if the Ukrainians had been training with firearms for years and had 1000 times the ammunition that they have. If you have been watching news coverage of the war in Ukraine, there are occasional clips of citizens getting very elementary training on small arms. In one news clip, there is a Russian drone approaching and one of the citizen soldiers was having trouble getting a fresh magazine into his AK47. Not a difficult task if you have had training. Obviously, this fellow had not been trained well enough. Tasks like magazine changes should be second nature. This is why classes, leagues and competitions are so important. Had the Ukrainians had more time to train, my guess is the Russians would be sitting around nice warm barracks sipping vodka. At this point, there have been about 25,000 rifles, mostly AK47s, and 10,000,000 rounds of ammunition distributed to the Ukrainian people. An American ammunition maker, Ammo, Inc. is donating 1,000,000 a rounds of 7.62 X 39mm to feed the AK47s. While all this sounds wonderful to those who don’t know, it is pitifully small compared to what is needed.
Of course, the anti-gunners don’t want to talk about any of this. They are happy to change the subject. Too bad everyone in the world with half a brain knows that an armed population in a country makes the invasion of that county a losing proposition for the invaders. We also need to take the lessons of the Ukrainians to heart. If we don’t learn from them, we will get a first-hand in person lesson ourselves.
What happens in Ukraine isn’t going to stay in the Ukraine whether it is the defeat of the Russian invaders or the victory of the Russian invaders. This is a turning point. When the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) broke up in 1991, it became the Russian Federation. Much of its territory made up of formerly independent nations had their sovereignty returned to them. It had to be a rough day for Vladimir Putin, former KGB agent.
Putin is now determined to rebuild the old U.S.S.R by reclaiming those areas and forcing them back into the Russian Federation. The Ukraine is the first stop on Putin’s wish list. He is doing the old-fashioned Russian way, ruthless brute force. Putin will use those same tactics on any country he wants, including the United States, if he gets a chance. The next countries on the list are probably Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Russians have beat up on these three small countries for years. The problem is these are NATO countries and part of a mutual defense treaty. That may not matter depending on how much weakness the Biden Administration exhibits.
The answer is simple, but Biden & Company have to control the left wing of their party which is filled with environmentalist Nazis. Right now, it does look that way. Biden & Company is trying to make a deal with those who hate us. On top of that, he is willing to pay them off by strengthening their position and weakening ours.
How could we strengthen our position? The President would have to issue an Executive Order opening up drilling, more fracking, increasing production and getting rid of most of the strangulating regulations that make it difficult to do. By bringing cheap oil back, you cut off the money supply to those countries that hate us. Not only could we clobber Russia, but also Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iran and a few others who would like to cut our throat. We will see. Like I said, what happens in Ukraine isn’t going to stay in the Ukraine whether it is Russian victory or defeat.
The good news is that IGOLD is on for 2022 and will be held on April 6, 2022, at the Bank of Springfield Center, 1 Convention Center Plaza, Springfield, IL. No masks will be required at the Bank of Springfield Center where we hold our rally. Doors open at 10:15am. Once again, we will have our parade and the rally at the Capitol steps. We will not be able to enter the Capitol this year. This means the time will be shorter. We will load the buses about 2:00 pm east of the Capitol between Second and Third Street.
This is a very important IGOLD. This year, the Illinois Primary Election will be held after IGOLD. It is important for all the candidates to see the IGOLD parade. It is also important for the legislators to see the IGOLD parade. We have handicapped buses for those who have difficulty walking. After the rally, the handicapped bus will take you back to the Bank of Springfield Center.
The Spring Legislative session will end on April 8, 2022, but that does not mean there won’t be any legislative session after the Primary and in the Fall. There are 260 bills that will be active until January 11, 2023. This will be our only major rally before that time. Please mark your calendars and make sure you attend IGOLD 2022 on April 6, 2022.
The last two years the ISRA has had to cancel a couple of classes because of COVID-19 and ammunition availability concerns. Those days are behind us.
We will be hosting an Emergency Response for Trauma Injuries. This is a one-day class that will be held at the ISRA Range on April 9. This is a certified class by the Illinois Department of Public Health and is NRA certified for 8 hours of continuing education For Range Safety Officers. Sign up must be completed on the Spartan Tactical website: teamsttg@aol.com
Another class is the MTG’s two-day Defense Rifle Course with transitioning to a handgun. This class is designed for semi-automatic rifles and handguns. The ammunition requirements are 600 rounds for rifle and 100 rounds for pistol. This class is designed for those interested in home defense in suburban and rural areas. For complete details and to sign up: www.midwesttraininggroup.net
Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama signed the Alabama Constitutional Carry bill into law one hour after it passed the final vote last week. The sponsor of the bill was Representative Shane Stringer. Representative Stringer was fired from his job as a Captain on the Mobile County Sheriff’s Department for sponsoring the bill. The Alabama Sheriff’s Association opposed the bill so his boss fired him. Representative Stringer is a solid Second Amendment supporter who stood up for what he thought was right and took the hit for doing the right thing. I predict a bright future for Representative Stringer. Maybe he ought to run for sheriff. Alabama is the 22nd state to pass constitutional carry. Governor DeWine of Ohio signed SB215 making constitutional carry legal in Ohio, making Ohio the 23rd state with Constitutional Carry. That leaves Indiana being the next state to most likely become part of the Constitutional Carry family. Georgia is the next most likely after Indiana. That would bring the total Constitutional Carry states to 25, half of the states.
I do a lot of reading when I write the Thursday Bulletin or other articles. Probably 95% of background research gets tossed away. While working on the Constitutional Carry issue, I came across a couple of stories that point out the weakness and lack of understanding of how things really are in our, or any, society. One was by an Alabama reporter worrying about the increased number of women and children who will get shot in Alabama because of Constitutional Carry. It brought to mind the adage “None are so blind as those who will not see.” This argument has been used whenever permit or permit less carry is passed into law. I remember listening to a testimony claim that there would be shootouts over parking spaces, car accidents or any manner of everyday interaction between people. It didn’t happen anywhere.
Another article was by a woman who was worried because some of the members of her church were armed. She saw a man with a gun in front of her when he stood up to sing a hymn. She was afraid he was going to start shooting. The real reason he was there was for the protection of the church and its members. There is an undercurrent of weakness in this country that has been pounded into some of the people that borders on dangerous. There was a woman who lives near me who called 911 because she couldn’t find the light switch in her house. Their dependence on everyone but themselves is ridiculous. We all know people like this, but we must keep people from fearing their own shadow.
We need to teach readiness, self-reliance and yes, self-defense to our friends, family and fellow citizens. There is too much denial of how tough life can get. The attitude of “this shouldn’t happen to me“ is because people think they are owed something just because they are alive, is pure folly. I admit getting some people out of their cozy cocoon is nearly impossible, but we must try. Readiness is a state of mind and we must teach it to others. There are some questions that we will never know the answer to. For example, when a snowstorm, hurricane or other possible disasters are predicted, how does stocking up on milk and eggs help the situation? What do Eskimos do when they have neither?
Many of you have heard of the Quinnipiac Poll. When asked about the U.S. Military and NATO countries, President Biden, the Ukrainian President, Putin and Russia: “What would Americans do if we were in the same position that the Ukraine is in today?” The answers really made my blood boil in the section on “what would you do if the United States were in the same position as the Ukrainians.”
The average breakdown of those polled is as follows. In total, only 55% of those that answered the question would stay and fight. When broken down by age group of those that would cut and run are the 18–34-year-old group at 48%, which is what you get when the mainstream media and politicians continually bash the United States. By party, 68% of Republicans say they would stay, 57% of Independents say they would stay and only 40% of Democrats say they would stay. No wonder Vladimir Putin Is doing what he is doing. He knows he can get away with it and the Biden Administration hasn’t got the will or the brains to do anything about it.
We are in a time of timid, hesitant, incompetent leaders. We can only hope we can hold on until the 2022 elections. Putin and the Russian Federation, Xi Jinping and the Red Chinese, Kim Jung-un of North Korea and others are all bullies. Bullies cannot be appeased as Biden and Company are trying to do, they only get meaner and demand more. In the end, anyone who tries to appease them will only beg their way into their own nonexistence.