The Paradox and Absurdities of Carbon-Fretting and Rewilding

Herschel Smith · 28 Jan 2024 · 4 Comments

The Bureau of Land Management is planning a truly boneheaded move, angering some conservationists over the affects to herd populations and migration routes.  From Field & Stream. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released a draft plan outlining potential solar energy development in the West. The proposal is an update of the BLM’s 2012 Western Solar Plan. It adds five new states—Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming—to a list of 11 western states already earmarked…… [read more]

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s Hypocritical Position On Gun Rights

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago

The Post and Courier:

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson on Tuesday urged Congress to pass legislation that would make states recognize one another’s concealed weapon permits, arguing every citizen’s right to self-defense is at risk without it.

With Wilson’s signature, South Carolina signed onto a letter with four other states — Missouri, Alabama, Louisiana, and Montana — in asking Congress to pass either the U.S. Senate’s Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 or the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, a House bill.

The bills would require states to recognize the permits of other states, including ones with less-stringent laws.

“States should not be able to deny citizens of other states the basic constitutional right to self-defense,” Wilson said in a statement. “South Carolinians who have gone through the process of getting concealed weapon permits shouldn’t have to worry about whether they can protect themselves and their families when they travel in other states.”

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-Seneca, is among the Senate bill’s 38 co-sponsors. The House bill is backed by the National Rifle Association. All six of South Carolina’s Republican congressional representatives are among the House bill’s 213 cosponsors.

Well isn’t this just rich?  Ms. Lindsey Graham wants to glom onto a gun rights issue.  As for Wilson’s position, I didn’t hear him speak up when open carry was before the S.C. legislature.  Let me say that again and add a little to it.  If you say nothing when open carry rights come up in the state house and senate, you have no right to open your mouth when some other state doesn’t like your version of infringement.

An infringement is an infringement is an infringement.  They’re all the same to me.

And Wilson is a hypocrite.

John Cornyn Continues To Side With Gun-Grabbers

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago

David Codrea:

The real question here is why is John Cornyn so eager to give the gun-grabbers a victory, teaming with the likes of Chris Murphy and Dianne Feinstein to “Fix NICS”? After all, we’re talking about a politician that the NRA, which gives him an”A+,” says “has always defended our gun rights in Congress!”

And it’s not like there’s any delegated Constitutional authority for the national government to impose prior restraints on firearms transfers in the first place. So why give citizen disarmament leaders something to crow about, especially since no one but a useful idiot believes expanding infringements is aimed at any but the law-abiding?

For whatever reason – I consider it to be a moral deficiency – this isn’t any different than what we’ve seen for years with him.  He pushed mental health checks two years ago with bureaucrats getting the say over whether someone was “mentally defective.”

This does go to show one useful thing in particular: NRA scoring is meaningless.  Don’t ever trust it for anything.

Sebastian Gorka And Two-Gun Carry

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago

HuffPo:

Gun magazine Recoil published a profile on Saturday about controversial former Donald Trump aide Sebastian Gorka.

The interview, which can be read in full here, touches on Gorka’s stint advising Trump on national security (Gorka left in August, following criticism over his anti-Islamist views and reported ties to a far-right Hungarian group), his political stances and his dim view of the media (hi!).

Since Recoil is focused on firearms, the piece included a large segment devoted to Gorka’s zest for guns and shooting. And there was one detail in particular that stood out and captured the interest of many folks on social media.

According to Recoil, Gorka’s “everyday carry” — meaning the items a person typically carries with them on a daily basis — includes two pistols, two flashlights, a knife, a tourniquet and a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

The contents, particularly the number of weapons, struck a lot of social media users as a little excessive.

Well, social media is stupid, so what do you expect?  I routinely carry two guns, depending upon what I’m doing and where I’m going.  At night (walking the dog, travelling, etc.) a good tactical light is a must, and if you ever leave home without a knife, you’re leaving the best tool ever known to mankind.  There isn’t a single day that goes by without me using my tactical knives for something.

The fact that the social media entries think Gorka is excessive is just proof that while they may grow hipster beards and wear flannel, they likely have never done a man’s work a day in their pathetic lives.  What kind of a man doesn’t carry a knife?

The Case Against Mechanical Safeties

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago

PDN:

Here’s why I don’t even like these devices being called “safeties.” I started shooting at a very young age and took my hunter’s safety course when I was eight years old. In that course we were taught that mechanical safeties are by definition “mechanical devices prone to failure.” We went on to learn the basic rules of firearms safety and that you should not rely on a mechanical safety. This has stuck with me throughout my years of shooting and even more so now that I am an instructor.

Many people have the misconception that these mechanical devices automatically make a gun “safe” and therefore you can let your guard down about the firearms safety rules once they are engaged. This leads to complacency and dangerous behavior, and goes even further when people question firearms not having these mechanical devices when children are around. The thought that this mechanical lever or button is going to prevent a child from firing a gun if they gain access to it is far from reality. But due to the name of these devices, uninformed people assume they instantly make a gun “safe.”

Due to these misconceptions, I believe that calling mechanical safeties a “safety” actually leads to firearms being more dangerous – the idea that once you “turn the safety on” you can ignore the standard rules of firearms handling. I have seen people get upset about being reprimanded for pointing a gun at someone, with the reasoning, “Well, the safety was on.” Some people have even been upset that anyone would question them about safety. Following the rules of safe gun handling does not end because you utilize a mechanical safety. Instead, if you choose to own or carry a firearm that requires the use of a mechanical safety, such as a single-action semi-automatic or double/single one in single-action mode, you should make an even greater effort to follow the basic safety rules of gun handling due to these firearms having more likelihood of an accidental discharge if you forget to engage the mechanical safety.

This argument makes no sense to me.  It’s like telling an engineer that he shouldn’t perform his designs with margin, rather, just learn not ever to make any errors or simplifying assumptions or engineering judgments.  I’m with him on ensuring that having a “safety” doesn’t lead you to ignore the rules of gun safety.  But my emphasis would be to follow the rules of gun safety regardless of the various and sundry mechanical features of your firearm, and if you want a mechanical safety, then have one.

I’ll keep my traditional 1911, thank you very much.  To his credit he does address the light trigger when the hammer is cocked on the 1911 and seems, haltingly and begrudgingly, to accept the 1911 safety.  But what about striker fired pistols and their light trigger pull?  The author spends a lot of time on double-action semi-automatics and the heavy trigger pull for the first shot, but when he addresses the obvious question of the light trigger pull for single-action striker fired pistols, unlike with the 1911 (where he accepts the safety) he simply rehearses the rules of gun safety again.

I think he wants his cake and eat it too.  Or not to offend 1911 owners, or something else I don’t understand.  Like I said, I’ll stick with my 1911, or an internal hammer pistol (FN makes models that have internal hammers).  My FN 5.7 has a safety and is an internal hammer pistol.  As for reaching the safeties of either my 1911s or my FN, I don’t see it as a problem since it is right where one of my fingers (or thumb) is.  Sure, it’s something to practice, but I don’t see this as a reason to give up guns with safeties.

Hog Apocalypse Delayed In Texas

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago

Dallas News:

Mike Brewer has tried all kinds of corn bait to lure feral hogs into a $1,000 trap at his Sunnyvale pecan orchard. He even mixed the corn with strawberry gelatin because the pigs love strawberries.

Nothing.

The hogs dig around the trees and trample the earth. They eat his pecan harvest off the ground. It costs Brewer and his wife, Kathy, weeks and weeks of labor to patch up the soil around the trees.

“It’s a constant battle,” Brewer said this month.

Wild pigs may not look like much, but they’re among the most intelligent animals in the United States, which makes them formidable adversaries. And they’ve taken over Texas and have been documented in every county, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

“If you’re not already dealing with pigs, you’re going to,” said Brett Johnson, an urban biologist for the city of Dallas.

The pigs cost Texans about $52 million in agricultural damage every year.

Even if you’re not a farmer, here’s why you should be concerned: Feral hogs tear up lawns, parks and golf courses; they skulk around highways and train tracks; and they poop in our water supply. Estimates peg the number of wild pigs in the U.S. at 4 million or more—  and somewhere between 2 million to 3 million are in our state.

Sure, Texas is a gun-friendly state, but don’t assume that getting rid of wild pigs is as easy as shooting or poisoning them. Population control is far more complicated than the state agriculture commissioner’s stalled plans for a “Hog Apocalypse.”

[ … ]

Guns: Texas law requires a hunting license and the landowner’s permission to shoot wild pigs. If you are the landowner or a designated agent, however, you don’t need a hunting license to dispatch a hog causing damage on your property. But who is a “designated agent” is fuzzy, so check with your local game warden. In the end, you may not be able to shoot at all: It’s illegal to discharge a gun in some cities, including Dallas.

So what action has been delayed in the state?

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller spoke enthusiastically about a “Hog Apocalypse” earlier this year when he approved the use of a controversial poison called Kaput Feral Hog Bait. The poison contains a chemical called warfarin, an anticoagulant that makes pigs bleed internally, ending in slow, painful deaths. Some people voiced concerns about the unknown effect on the food chain, and the manufacturer withdrew its state registration for the poison. Because it was classified as a state limited-use pesticide, Texas can no longer license people to use the bait.

Good Lord.  I cannot imagine a worse idea for hog control than to introduce that into the environment not knowing the effects on the food chain, and besides that, while these are awful and destructive creatures, we should still be concerned about “ethical kills” as good hunters.  This is a profoundly bad idea all around.

Hey, here’s the low-down on that stupid statement in the article about hog removal not being as simple as shooting them.  A kill shot is ethical, and removes the hog from the population.  If lethal removal isn’t enough in America – and so far it hasn’t been and is a long way from being enough – then we aren’t doing enough lethal removal.

Prior:

Save The Planet: Buy An AR-15

Texan Takes 416 Pound Hog With AR-15

Have A Blessed Thanksgiving 2017

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago

I’m thankful for my work, my life, my health, my family, and so many things I cannot even mention them all.  All good things come from God’s kindness to us, and I recognize His graciousness in my life.

I’m also thankful for my readers.

Mostly though, I’m thankful for Christ.  Have a blessed day and enjoy family.

MS-13 Gang Members Stab Man More Than 100 Times And Cut Out His Heart

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago

The Washington Post:

As many as 10 members of the MS-13 street gang lured a man into a park in Wheaton, Md., spoke with one another over walkie-talkies as he arrived, stabbed him more than 100 times, decapitated him and then cut out his heart, according to police documents made public Wednesday in Montgomery County District Court.

The first alleged attacker to be arrested, Miguel “Timido” Angel Lopez-Abrego, 19, was charged with first-degree murder and held in jail after a brief hearing Wednesday.

I’m just keeping you posted on the wages of open borders so that you can plan appropriately.

Border War Tags:

German Police: “I Am Afraid Of My Islamic Recruits”

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago

This is another must-watch video.  What a sorry excuse for police, but the example is in a sorry excuse for a country as well, with a sorry excuse for a leader.  It’s on par with what I would expect.

It seems they need to be taught Herschel’s Dictum.

Swedish No-Go Zones

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago

This is a must-watch video from WRSA.

Can Anybody Help Me Find My Gun?

BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago

From a reader, news from Arizona:

A red-faced Arizona police chief has asked the public if they can help find his handgun after her left it in a public library.

Astonishingly, Prescott Valley Police Chief Bryan Jarrell said yesterday he didn’t realize it was missing until four days later.

It now appears somebody picked up the semi-automatic pistol and the police department is scrambling to find out two has it.

Yesterday, Jarrell said he last had his firearm on November 9.

He thinks he accidentally left his weapon in a restroom stall while he was getting changed.

Jarrell had just finished attending a town council meeting at the Prescott Valley Public Library.

The department-issued handgun is described as a Glock 19, 9mm in caliber and black.

The serial number is YHC 944.

Anyone with information about the missing handgun is asked to contact Prescott Valley police.

Gosh, I just hate it when that happens to me.  I always want another one but my wife typically wants me to show some responsibility before dropping another grand on a gun.  I can’t tell you the number of guns I’ve just lost, never to be recovered.

The last gun I lost was a machine gun.  I guess some dude is having fun with it.


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