American History Lesson...Constitution Day. September 17th is designated as Constitution Day which is also the date the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The law that created the holiday in 2004 mandates that publicly funded educational institutions provide educational programming on the history of the U.S. Constitution. We as a Nation have become ignorant regarding this great document and how it provided the foundation for our country and our system of government that has lasted longer than was probably intended or expected. The folks over at the Media Research Center interviewed folks at the National Mall and found many people that couldn't name 3 of the amendments. What may be even worse is this story about a college student trying to handout copies of the Constitution on the holiday on his campus. That was a no-no. The Founding Fathers are rolling over in their graves. For more information on the Founders and to view a copy of the Constitution (I keep a copy on my desk always) and the Amendments please check out http://www.constitutionday.com. 2nd Inning.
Movie I want to see...X-Men: Days of Future Past. If you saw 'The Wolverine' this past summer and stayed until the credits were over for the extra scene then you saw there was a lead-in to another X-Men movie. That movie is X-Men: Days of Future Past. This storyline is taken from the comic books and was one of the most popular plot lines that hit the comics world in its day back in 1981.
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| A picture of a Sentinel. |
This new film will be the seventh in the X-Men movie series. It will be a sequel to both the 'X-Men: Last Stand' and 'X-Men: First Class' along with taking place after the events of 'The Wolverine'. There will be plenty of mutants in this one in addition to new villains, in particular the Sentinels which are mutant hunters. Per Wikipedia the plot is: "The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The beloved characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from X-Men: First Class in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future." For additional plot lines/spoilers check out this article over on Screenrant.com.
Over on YouTube, MovieBytes put together a cheat sheet to keep track of all the characters to be included in this jam-packed sequel or inbetweenquel.
3rd Inning.
Articles of the week...
- Stargate Reboot...I am a big fan of the original movie and all the tv shows and hearing this has got me nerdcited!
- An obituary...A great obituary for what sounds like a very interesting man.
- Private Property or Government Property..."Diligently protecting the right to privacy and property guarantees religious, journalistic and political experience, as well as a free market economy and sound money. Once a careless attitude emerges with respect to privacy, all other rights are jeopardized." A good little piece from Ron Paul.
- Professor Embarrassment?..."One conservative college professor’s support for traditional marriage was enough for one online commenter to brand him 'the biggest embarrassment to higher education in America.' " His response is awesome!
- Time to secede..."A group called the Western Maryland Initiative, incensed that their heavily conservative part of Maryland is ignored by the rest of the largely liberal state in the state’s legislative process, is calling for the five counties of Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick and Carroll to secede and form their own state." This is not just limited to Maryland. There are other movements in Colorado and California. I support these efforts and I think it would be a positive movement for our nation.
- Wedding Dead...An interesting wedding photo shoot...not like shooting zombies but sort of...
Poverty, shmoverty... "Americans who live in households whose income is below the federal 'poverty' level typically have cell phones (as well as landline phones), computers, televisions, video recorders, air conditioning, refrigerators, gas or electric stoves, and washers and dryers and microwaves, according to a newly released report from the Census Bureau." And tattoos, cigarettes, alcohol, and a new iPhone!- Public Ignorance Department..."We have to ensure that our citizens are well informed and prepared to face tough challenges," she said. "If there is a single child not learning about civics or not being exposed to what they must do as citizens, then all our lives are poorer for that." A great woman and American.
- High-Tech toys...Christmas is right around the corner and this list has plenty of ideas for that hard-to-buy for person.
A hunting bike and great gift for that hunter that has everything or a flat tire on his atv.
4th Inning.
Uncle Jeremy's Tips To Getting The Nation Back On Track...Starting with my generation let's begin replacing Social Security with 401Ks...Let's eliminate government-backed student loans which will bring down the cost of college tuition...Provide school vouchers to everyone and let capitalism and the schools compete by providing the best education...Conduct an audit of Fort Knox and let the public know if the gold is still there then let's get back on the gold standard...Sell government assets to help with debt such as commercial land, underused buildings, valuable parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and financial assets...A member of Congress collects a salary each year equal to that of the U.S. median household income which according to Census Bureau data for 2012 would be around $50k, oh, and no pension once they leave office...Move all Congressional retirement funds into Social Security and make all past, present, and future Congressional members use Social Security or the 401K plan mentioned above...End drug prohibition and reduce gang violence and murder as was seen when we ended alcohol prohibition and saw Al Capone and the mob lose influence and murder rates decline...Encourage entrepreneurship and reduce government interference through deregulation...
5th Inning.
Funny Videos...
Ben Affleck playing Batman while in Good Will Hunting.
An inspirational and motivational video from Obama supporters!
6th Inning.
Random Facts About Me...I have walked across the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado...I have consumed an entire Silky O'Sullivan's Diver buckets by myself...I prefer a campfire and a cooler of beer over any bar...One of my favorite tv shows is 'Mysteries at the Museum'...It is my belief that aliens will make contact with our civilization before I die...I like Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band...I believe the Football Pro Hall of Fame did the right thing and Derrick Thomas does belong in Canton...I believe that my wife watches Law&Order/CSI-type shows so she can off me and be free and clear (if I disappear, this is my warning!!!)...I once played on a men's slow-pitch softball team called 'The Young Guns'...7th Inning.
Firearms corner...Obama Gun Control Executive Action #14. On January 16, 2013, President Obama issued 23 Executive Actions in response to the tragedies of Sandy Hook. One of those actions, #14 in his list, provided $10 million to the Centers for Disease Control(CDC) to research gun violence in the United States. This was a significant move due to the fact that in 1996 Congress passed a ban on research by the CDC to advocate for or promote gun control. Much of the mainstream media started doing a touchdown dance at this news. It was a chance to stick it to the NRA who they blamed for the ban's implementation. Well, after 17 years of a ban on research what did the CDC find? Kyle Wintersteen with Guns and Ammo magazine compiled seven major bullet points and they are as follows: - Armed citizens are less likely to be injured by an attacker:
“Studies that directly assessed the effect of actual defensive uses of guns (i.e., incidents in which a gun was ‘used’ by the crime victim in the sense of attacking or threatening an offender) have found consistently lower injury rates among gun-using crime victims compared with victims who used other self-protective strategies.” - Defensive uses of guns are common:“Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million per year…in the context of about 300,000 violent crimes involving firearms in 2008.”
- Mass shootings and accidental firearm deaths account for a small fraction of gun-related deaths, and both are declining:“The number of public mass shootings of the type that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School accounted for a very small fraction of all firearm-related deaths. Since 1983 there have been 78 events in which 4 or more individuals were killed by a single perpetrator in 1 day in the United States, resulting in 547 victims and 476 injured persons.” The report also notes, “Unintentional firearm-related deaths have steadily declined during the past century. The number of unintentional deaths due to firearm-related incidents accounted for less than 1 percent of all unintentional fatalities in 2010.”
- “Interventions” (i.e, gun control) such as background checks, so-called assault rifle bans and gun-free zones produce “mixed” results:“Whether gun restrictions reduce firearm-related violence is an unresolved issue.” The report could not conclude whether “passage of right-to-carry laws decrease or increase violence crime.”
- Gun buyback/turn-in programs are “ineffective” in reducing crime:“There is empirical evidence that gun turn in programs are ineffective, as noted in the 2005 NRC study Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review. For example, in 2009, an estimated 310 million guns were available to civilians in the United States (Krouse, 2012), but gun buy-back programs typically recover less than 1,000 guns (NRC, 2005). On the local level, buy-backs may increase awareness of firearm violence. However, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for example, guns recovered in the buy-back were not the same guns as those most often used in homicides and suicides (Kuhn et al., 2002).”
- Stolen guns and retail/gun show purchases account for very little crime:“More recent prisoner surveys suggest that stolen guns account for only a small percentage of guns used by convicted criminals. … According to a 1997 survey of inmates, approximately 70 percent of the guns used or possess by criminals at the time of their arrest came from family or friends, drug dealers, street purchases, or the underground market.”
- The vast majority of gun-related deaths are not homicides, but suicides:“Between the years 2000-2010 firearm-related suicides significantly outnumbered homicides for all age groups, annually accounting for 61 percent of the more than 335,600 people who died from firearms related violence in the United States.”
As you can guess, this research has not been given much airtime considering the way it was flaunted after President Obama's announcement it would occur. The fact that it dispels many of the myths of the anti-gunners should be noted and should be used every time one encounters an individual that wishes to take away our 2nd Amendment rights. The complete research can be found here.
8th Inning.
FFL Factoid...Continuing with the 'Top 10 Frequently Asked Firearms Questions and Answers' per the ATF.
5. Does ATF issue a Concealed Carry Permit (CCP) that authorizes a person to carry a firearm throughout the United States?
Neither ATF nor any other Federal agency issues such a permit or license. CCPs may be issued by a State or local government.
9th Inning.
Baseball video..."It was like coming this close to your dreams...and then watch them brush past you like strangers in a crowd."--Archie 'Moonlight' Graham.
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