When you look at the front page of any newspaper, listen or watch any news broadcast, nowhere is there a headline about the Second Amendment being on the 2018 Midterm Elections ballot, but it is. There are candidates on the ballot who disdain and despise the Second Amendment and are out to destroy it. This is true throughout the Country and, of course, here in Illinois.
At the top of the list in Illinois is the governor’s race. Governor Bruce Rauner has been a backstop in Springfield to some of the most outrageous proposals aimed at taking away our Second Amendment Rights and Freedoms. People who care about the Second Amendment must support Bruce Rauner for governor. For the last four years, it has been a pleasure to work with Governor Rauner. His door has always been open, and he truly cares about the concerns of law-abiding gun owners.
On the other side stands J.B. Pritzker. Pritzker would be a disaster for gun owners. When he ran for Congress in 1997, he proposed a 100% tax on handguns and handgun ammunition and also proposed to ban the sale of handguns entirely. Pritzker proposes to ban semi-automatic rifles, supports draconian dealer licensing schemes and magazine bans.
Pritzker donates to gun control groups and will continue to work for gun control and, without a doubt, represents an existential threat to the Second Amendment and the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
The clear choice for gun owners is Bruce Rauner and that is why the Illinois State Rifle Association Political Victory Fund has endorsed Bruce Rauner for Governor.
Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh is now on the United States Supreme Court. It is not over and what the Brett Kavanaugh episode has revealed is the length the left will go to destroy anyone or anything they don’t like. It has been leaked that the anti-Kavanaugh forces were financed by dark money. Dark money comes from a lot of places; most typically, it came from anti-American billionaires who live here or elsewhere in the world and foreign governments. The Clinton Foundation scandal is an example of dark money and how it is used. The Wall Street Journal revealed that George Soros has twenty front groups supplying protesters in Washington, DC.
The left is having a temper tantrum and right now they are pounding their little fists on the floor. That will soon be transformed to action if it has not already begun. We are going to see attacks that will try to change our institutions, like the Electoral College. The Electoral College was put in place as one final safeguard to prevent the mob from taking over the government, which is exactly what would have happened in 2016. The French Revolution is a good example of what happens when things get out of control.
In 1869, the number of Justices on the Supreme Court was set at 9. In the 1930s, FDR tried to pack the Court by raising the number of Justices but didn’t get away with it. We will see another attempt to raise the number of Justices (probably 13 or 15) to once again try to pack the Court. The next thing to likely happen is to limit the terms of the Justices so that it is a continuous mess; the Justices would be under constant pressure, which is exactly why the Founders made lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court. Brace yourself because the Constitution will be under attack for the foreseeable future. I am actually too nice referring to the left as the Left; they are communists, pure and simple.
A hundred years ago, October 1918, American troops were slugging it out with German troops in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, a battle that would last until the end of WWI. American troops were looked down upon by the Europeans at first. General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing would not let his Americans get bogged down in trench warfare and become cannon fodder like the European generals used their troops. Trench warfare was used in the Civil War and Pershing was taught by officers who had experienced it and understood how terrible it was.
The Americans gained a reputation of being fierce fighters and excellent marksmen with battles like the Second Battle of the Marne, Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood and Saint-Mihiel. In early October 1918, the Lost Battalion, under command of Major Whittlesey, held the Germans while European troops on either flank retreated. The 564 men of Whittlesey’s command destroyed the German offensive.
We have all heard of Sergeant Alvin York and his feats of marksmanship but there were many more examples of American Marksmanship. One of those was Lieutenant Samuel Woodfill from Indiana. During the Meuse-Argonne, Lt. Woodfill found his unit pinned down by snipers and 3 five-man machine gun nests. Lt. Woodfill and his Springfield rifle moved from shell hole to shell hole picking off some 17 Germans at ranges out to 300 yards. Woodfill, with his superior marksmanship and courage, turned the tide of the battle. This was another example of a single American Soldier and rifle making all the difference. Both Samuel Woodfill and Alvin York served as two of the pallbearers who carried remains of the Soldier to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Samuel Woodfill is interred near General Pershing in Arlington National Cemetery. Woodfill is a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Most of us never think about WWI and its effects the “War to End All Wars” has on us, but that war shaped the world we live in today.
For years, Hillary Clinton has been screeching about a vast right-wing conspiracy. I have never been able to find such a conspiracy. For one thing, the right-wingers are too stubborn and uncompromising to engage in such a thing. If this was a vast right-wing week-long convention, by the time they agreed on the agenda, the placement of the podium, the uniform style of footnoting, the font to be used on the power point and printed material, it would be Friday night and they would all be headed home.
The hearings on Brett Kavanaugh revealed a vast left-wing conspiracy. I must say, the left did a masterful job. The Kavanaugh hearings were a symphony of smear, accusations, innuendo and supporting protests. The stumbling blocks of reason and logic were blown away like chaff in a windy wheat field. It was a merciless and masterful job. Saul Alinsky would be proud.
Hunting season is in full gear. Before hunting, or anytime you are going shooting, you should make sure your firearm is in good working order. Shotguns need particular scrutiny because of the barrels. A shotgun barrel is built thin to make it light enough to use efficiently. Because of this, any obstruction in the barrel could cause the barrels to burst, a most unpleasant event.
A friend of mine found a spider web in the barrel of his shotgun and decided to shoot the spider web out of the barrel. He managed to blow the end of his barrel completely off. The spider wasn’t in the barrel but there was a good story to tell at the Spider Convention. The fact is that mud, snow, or part of a wad left behind by a defective load can raise havoc in a shotgun barrel. It is a good idea to carry a cleaning device with you while hunting, a cable cleaning device like you will find in an Otis (TM) or similar kit will work fine.
In September I attended the Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) and I am pleased to inform you that the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) has won the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCKRBA) Affiliate of the Year Award. The ISRA has won this award for 10 of the last 11 years. As I reflect on this honor of why the ISRA has won this prestigious award, I found the answer to be because of the dedication of our members, Staff and Board of Directors. Let me give you a few examples of what those words actually mean.
While I was receiving this award on behalf of all of you, there were two ISRA staff members working a table at the GRPC, the entire weekend. There were four other volunteers working on a different project someplace else, and yet another volunteer driving to Springfield to prepare for a meeting of another set of volunteers on the next day. There was an ISRA staff person doing weekend computer work in the office. Some days we have instructors volunteer their time, as well as range officers and other volunteers, by the dozens, working to help promote the shooting sports. On our previous NRA Day, held last June, we had as many as 300 volunteers; our Sighting-In-Day had 30 volunteers; AIM 3-Gun experience at Sparta 40; AR-15 basic classes 20; Women on Target Classes 24, and on and on it goes. The ISRA members probably donate their valuable time from 4000 – 5000 times a year. The ISRA also operates 16 shooting leagues a year, not to mention competitions that are all done with volunteers. This activity goes on day after day, week after week.
The ISRA legal teams are also always there. There are two divisions. The Attorney Referral System (ARS) helps you find qualified attorneys in your area to handle local issues. Many of these issues are FOID card and ICCL related issues. These attorneys offer reduced rates for ISRA members; this is a member benefit. The other division deals with Second Amendment issues. These are cases like McDonald v Chicago, Ezell v Chicago, ISRA v Madigan, Wilson v Cook County, the Deerfield case and many others.
The ISRA works with and is affiliated with many national groups such as the National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Amateur Trapshooting Association, Civilian Marksmanship Program, USA Shooting, National Shooting Sports Foundation, and many smaller governing bodies in order to keep the Second Amendment and the shooting sports moving forward.
Then there is the lobbying team which simply never stops. The Staff and Board of Directors are all involved and backs up all of the activities. Lastly, I would to thank all the members who donate. None of this would be possible without the donations to fund all of these many projects. While I got to be the lucky one who accepted this latest award, and other awards, I know who it really belongs to – You! No one is more deserving than you, by the way.
Be sure to Support Bruce Rauner…go Vote Early…much easier than waiting till the official Voting day which is Tuesday November 6th!
If you would like to be an award-winning member, join us now!
Thanks for being a member. For more info. SEE: www.isra.org
