Firearms Friday: SNAFU

When Sig Sauer originally started producing the Sig Brace they insisted that reviewers, especially those on YouTube, not shoulder the brace so that the ATF wouldn’t get their feelings hurt. The brace was designed with a specific purpose at its inception in that it would assist those unable to shoulder an AR-15 by allowing them to put the brace on a pistol length platform and wrap the brace around their forearm allowing for one handed operation. Since the ATF was fine with people shouldering an unaltered pistol, the brace was frequently being employed as a means to circumvent NFA requirements and making AR pistols function similarly to the highly regulated short barrel rifle.

The Sig Brace even came with (and probably still does) a letter from the ATF securing the legality of the brace and the multiple purposes that it serves. Everything was fine for a while but as soon as the first video was posted of the brace being shouldered, the letters to the ATF came pouring in. The astounding thing is that these correspondences were not from the registration and regulation happy crowd, they were from law abiding gun owners basically asking the federal agency if they were really really sure that shouldering was okay.

Well finally the ATF had enough and like most people in politics they decided to flip flop and declare that the shouldering of the brace was no longer allowed. That’s right, we had a good thing going and we are the ones that screwed it all up. So now we are going to have to wait and see if Sig Sauer decides to fight the ruling and eventually we will find out if the ATF will reverse their decision again.

But, for the time being, here are four simple words for some of the gun owners out there: “Shut The Heck Up!”

Of course, there are many of us that see the Bureau of Always Totally Fudged more as a waste of money rather than an effective means of regulation. After all, who are they really regulating anyway? That’s right, it is the law abiding gun owner (some obviously a little too overzealous in their caution) not the ones that would use any of the NFA items in a nefarious way. The $200 tax stamp, extra paper work, and additional background checks are only ensuring that they know where all the legal firearms are and doing nothing to remove them from the hands of criminals. 

Heck, maybe the ones who need to be controlled are the hoplophobes who like to randomly tackle citizens legally carrying a firearm into a Florida Walmart. Those people are nuts… and fortunately now they’re going to jail. Who’s the real criminal here?

Face Value

While there are some trying personal situations going on lately, I have been doing my best to stay as objective as possible, offer the few tips that I have to make things a touch easier or prepare those a little better, and, in some instances, just stay the heck out of the way. More often than not it all comes down to the “shut up and listen” mentality. However, there have been a few moments when I have attempted to make things a little easier by letting people know of a few things that they need to keep in mind.

Recently I did just that and, just like in previous instances, it was a complete mess. While I will not get into details or divulge any names, let’s just say that the reaction that I saw made me second guess the motives of some individuals. Furthermore, it confirmed that those people don’t trust me whatsoever and believe that I have an ulterior motive with everything that I say. While that perception is not in line with the reality of my words, the fact that things were so heinously skewed makes me question the motives of the person with whom I spoke.

I take great offense when my offer of assistance, however minor it was in this instance, is viewed in such a manner. And frankly, I am done in trying to help certain individuals. There are other caught in this same situation for which I would do anything I possible can but then there are the others. I wasn’t even expecting acknowledgement of this tip so if nothing were to be said I would continue to offer the little I have from my experiences to assist. However, to be confronted in this way… I am done. Thomas Hardy said it best and for those incurables there is little that can be done to change their prognosis.

So while I am finished with those who revel in the conspiracy of their on minds and searching for a different meaning behind advice that does not exist, I will continue to listen, process, and do my best to relay any helpful information to those that will take it in the way that it is intended… a simple offer to ease the process in any minute way that I can. And with all that is going on we can’t say with any certainty about what is going to happen in the future but some things are coming into focus and we are able to plan for the inevitable. Until then most of the time I will simply shut up and listen and help those who take my offer at face value.

Voting SNAFU!

I knew that I was going to be arriving late the office this morning. After all, I had to stop by my polling place and cast my vote (even though it wouldn’t make any difference in the area in which we live). I arrived at my designated polling location and it seemed as though I had never left the apartment building.

Of the dozen or so people staffing the location only a couple of them weren’t neighbors. I knew each and every one of them which is why I can confidently say that this was not a politically diverse crowd. Maybe that is why no one would say a word to me as I walked up to the building and through the doors.

There were only a couple people in front of me so it didn’t take me long to get up to the table. The lack of participation is not surprising as, according to recent study by WalletHub, only 42.1% of voters ages 18-24 and 68.9% of senior citizen even bother to show up at the polls. License in hand I gave them my name and watched as the confused look fell upon their face as to why I would have a photo ID out. Thirty seconds later I was in, and out, of the booth and heading back to the car.  

By the end of the long day, with the results beginning to come in, I was both incredibly disappointed by my state and happy about the shift in power that was going to occur in Washington. While the process is necessary for the people to have their voices heard I just can’t get over the fact that we will have to put up with a new Governor that does not represent us. To add to the entire fiasco is the fact that his main body of supporters are completely oblivious to the contrariness of the vote that they just submitted in their naive push of the button.

These people who take pride letting everyone know that they are part of the 99% just voted for someone who is part of the 0.1% to represent them. They claim that they want the government to stay out of their bedrooms and their lives but they support having their rights limited and, in some instances, taken away. They want people to take home more of their hard earned money but they support tax policies that obliterate their paychecks. They say they want people to have greater opportunities in life but they don’t want to encourage them to be self-sufficient, they prefer giving them handouts.

WTF!

This whole day just proves the point that sometimes saying that you voted is like saying everybody poops. We know that its true but it doesn’t mean you should be applauded for crapping on the carpet. Voting for the Republican candidate in my town is like farting in the middle of the room… they know people will notice but they don’t want to admit to it. Well, pull my finger because I’m the one who voted Republican across the board.

Why Am I So Tired?

After a longer than expected evening at the lodge (for good reason), I headed back to the apartment only to find that the fire department was using the front driveway of the building as a parking lot. It’s kind of sad, but this happens so often that I didn’t think much of it as I walked across the parking lot and opened the door. However, as soon as I put down my work bag I knew that it was going to be one of those nights. Within moments of walking through the kitchen and pulling the strap off my shoulder, the fire alarm began blaring.

Both from living in the building and working the front desk, I knew that this wasn’t going to go away quickly so I headed to the lobby to try and get some additional information on the situation. Can’t say that I was surprised when no one really knew what was going on at first and the president of the board refused to do anything beyond sitting in a chair and holding out her hand so the passersby could more easily kiss the ring. 45 minutes later and a couple of culprits emerged, neither of which involved smoke or fire.

As it turns out there was a faulty sensor in the pump room and some dust also got into the detector in one of the hallways 6 months finally getting drywall replaced 6-8 months after the bust pipe. With my wife only a few minutes away after her long day at work, I was glad that things seemed to be getting resolved. I really should know better!

Having not had time to eat before the debacle, I made a small snack as we talked about all that had happened during our days and the mess that was unfolding in the building. We got into bed around 11:00 and began slowly settling into sleep since we both had a long day ahead of us. With our eyes nearly sealed for the night, we jumped out of bed at 11:30 when the alarm began blaring again. Keep in mind that this was not for the whole building, just our apartment as they were testing the system.

We walked up to the front desk, quite perturbed by this point, and tried to figure out what was going on especially since the fire department was no longer present. Turns out that the fire department forced them to turn off the boiler until they could get the sensor problem figured out. They decided to continue working on the sensor issue so that they could turn on the hot water by morning.

I didn’t sleep well during the night. I would later find out that the alarm continued to go off throughout the night just long enough to wake us up but not long enough for us to realize what was forcing us to open our eyes. However, I was wide awake when the cold water hit my head in the morning. So, after little quality sleep during the night it was a cold shower in the morning. Just the latest thing to add to the list and that much more incentive to find somewhere else to live by the time our lease is up… I’m already looking forward to spring!

Rocking The Boat In Crap Creek

I'm pretty sure that is not dirt that he is shoveling.

Well, another day and another cluster at our apartment building. Saturday was a wasted day as maintenance was in our apartment three times attempting to fix the leak leaving us behind on our errands and too tired to do much more on Sunday. After those unsuccessful attempts they agreed that a plumber needed to be brought in to address the problem… that was the plan until today when we were informed that they had entered our apartment without our permission to attempt to ‘fix’ the problem again. I am not sure as to whether they lied or management wouldn't approve the request; either way it is a huge load of crap. By the way, still no word from management about the situation nor an apology for previously ignoring my communications regarding our refrigerator.

On top of that mountain of crap we found out on Friday (luckily I read the notices posted in the mail room) that work will be done to repair the connection to the power grid beginning on Monday morning at 7:00 am. While the repair is necessary it should have never been required as the line was severed in the fall when they dug up the parking lot and lowered the new boiler into place. It wasn’t until a recent two day power outage that this became a priority. So what does this mean? Per the posted notice, residents that normally park in the garage under the building now have to park in the lot which is already at capacity. Translation: no parking spots available.

While we have rarely requested any maintenance work in the two and a half years since we moved in and we have not caused a stir in the building regarding little things that have come up here and there, this situation has put us over the edge. We are done with this building and we are done with playing nice and letting the little things go. So much so that I sent a letter to the management office and copied the president of the board. One of those correspondences when you summarize many of the issues that you have been letting go, the bag of crap if you will, all stemming from the most recent turd left at your door. Now, I post it here for all of you to enjoy (I removed the building name and all proper names).   

Dear Building Management,

On Friday evening I took note of the notice posted in the mail room regarding the repair work that will begin on Monday morning. While not required under House Rule 18, my wife and I would have appreciated a note placed in our door or in our box which was previously done as a courtesy prior to all major projects. This has previously been an effective means to keep us informed as we do not regularly enter and exit the building through the main lobby.

As I write this on Sunday afternoon all of the parking spaces in the lot are occupied. As I expect this to be the situation when I return home from the office tomorrow I am writing to inform you that if I, or my wife, are required to park in the shopping center across the street we will be holding the building personally liable for any damage, theft, or towing that may occur. Additionally, it is my hope that the building has received written permission from the shopping center to allow residents overnight (it remains unclear as to whether this has been received). Simply put, the parking arrangements outlined in the notice are unacceptable. Parking across the street will not work.

With regard to parking, there has been numerous issues that we have taken note of over the years and we have gone without bringing this to the attention of management or the board, until now. While most “contractors, workmen, and service persons” abide by House Rule 9.B.9 there have been numerous occasions when resident parking spaces have been occupied by service vehicles most notably in front of apartments A and B. I have yet to witness and rectification of these instances when they occur. This is in addition to the fact that, when my wife and I first signed our lease, we were given the verbal assurance that the parking spaces along the side of the building were reserved for the aforementioned apartments. While not outlined in the House Rules or our lease, it is disappointing when a verbal agreement is not honored.

There are a few residents that frequently use these spaces, the agreement of which they are certainly unaware, however that is not my concern with these individuals. What concerns me is that there are at least two apartments that park along the side of the building so that they can specifically use the emergency exit from the fire tower to enter and exit the building. In addition to this being detrimental to our own sleep as they discourteously slam the door behind them both late at night and early in the morning, they seem to be in violation of Lower Merion Fire Code (78-12.1, Section 5-2.1.5: “Locks, Latches, Alarms and Release Devices” and 78-26: Sections C.7 and D both pertaining to high-rise buildings).

Furthermore, additional consideration needs to be made regarding parking during large gatherings as we find ourselves in a similar situation that we are in now. This parking situation needs to be resolved (even three extra spaces like the ones occupied by the immobile vehicles near the dumpsters might offer some additional logistical leeway). There are more and more cars parking in the lot that are without a proper permit. For all visitors, parking tags or passes should be issued as well. As residents, it is our responsibility to have our permits displayed on our vehicle. All residents and employees should be issued permits, all others found in the parking lot that do not have a resident or employee permit, visitor pass, or are service personnel in the building should be towed!

Lastly, I would like to express my displeasure regarding the limited communication from the Management Office. When I recently attempted to contact management directly regarding an issue with our refrigerator I never received any communication back. I attempted to reach out through numerous means of communication (phone message, verbally through the front desk, and a note left at the front desk) as a courtesy before calling to have the service done but did not receive a single correspondence in return. While I don’t expect an immediate response, no response is simply unacceptable.

If you have any questions regarding the content above please feel free to contact me via phone or email. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Regards,

Sean

I am generally an easy going person. True I can let my passionate opinions shine now and again but, overall, I maintain a pretty even disposition. This stockpile of issues has recently ruined that for me and that fact alone has pissed me off. I guess we are just going to have to see how this thing plays out. All I know is that I am not going to just sit in my paddle less boat as the crap level in the creek continues to rise.

California Politics = SNAFU

I don’t hide the fact that I am a rather partisan person when it comes to politics. However, in my life, there are instances when I have broken with party lines and voted for another candidate. Granted, there has to be darn good reason to do so but it has happened and I believe that I made the right choice at the time. There are people in this country that are ardent supporters of one party over another regardless of the actions of the candidates… welcome to California!

Back in March, anti-gun California State Senator Leland Yee (D) was arrested by the FBI on corruption and bribery charges. Unfortunately, it is not surprising these days to hear such charges being leveled on a politician. However, what made this case unique and rather disturbing is the fact that the anti-gun legislator, who has attached his name to nearly every anti-gun piece of legislation since he took office, was also arrested by the FBI on charges of conspiring to illegally import and distribute firearms, allegedly including machine guns and “rocket launchers”. Since that time additional details have surfaced. Specifically, he was arrested for conspiring with the Chinese mafia (Triads) to import and sell full-auto rifles and rocket launchers (I wonder if any of them were “ghost guns”). The full warrant affidavit can be read here.

This week, Leland Yee was back in the news. Mr. Yee, supposedly possessing either the worst memory or biggest balls in history, was running for Secretary of State. This is not a punch line, this is reality. I heard about this some time ago and, like many law abiding gun owners, I was confident that no one would vote for such a criminal. Well, like many times before, I underestimated the stupidity and partisanship of many voters. Leland Yee collected nearly ten percent of the vote in the California primary. This translates to a third place finish with 300,425 Californians who decided that legal firearms are bad but illegal guns are perfectly acceptable.

Results such as this really bring to light that not all the issues in politics can be blamed on the politicians themselves, it all comes down to the voters. This isn’t a new problem, this has been a part of politics since the beginning when politicians realized that they had four primary ways of running a campaign: run an honest race and position yourself as the best person for the job; manipulate the perceptions of the voters and attack your competition; use your celebrity status (entertainment, sports, politics, etc.) to garner popularity votes; or, run for office in a place where your party is guaranteed to win by blind party vote. The first has long since withered away while the other three strategies are what have taken root in this country. This is why it really doesn't matter if you are an adulterer (happy belated 50th birthday to Monica Lewinsky), left someone to die after driving your car off a bridge, you are an arms trafficker, or your biggest accomplishment is finishing second on American Idol... you still have a chance to be elected.

A blind vote is supporting the Political SNAFU that we all despise. While I don’t think this is ever going to go away, we should at least do all we can to stunt it’s growth by educating ourselves as to the candidates that are running, knowing who is currently representing us, and giving a crap about the decisions that these people are making in office. While we may all have opinions as to whether their actions are good, bad, right, or wrong, we should take those policies, actions, and charges into account before we pull that lever or hit that button. I am not against voting along party lines so long as you know who you are voting for.

Shut Down!

As you should be aware the Federal government officially shut down at 12:00 AM this morning. We have now gone nearly an entire day without any progress being made. The politicians still got paid and Obamacare enrollment still happened but many people found themselves with no job to go to and no paycheck to be had. This is our government at work.

While the Democrats keep saying the Republicans are at fault and the Republicans keep saying the Democrats are at fault I think we all have to come to the realization that this was a combined failure. On the good side, this may be the most decisive bipartisan effort in Washington in a long time but it also means that we are paying for what has become the epitome of ineffective government. This is what happens when the best interests of the people are a secondary concern to the egos of elected officials.

There are far reaching effects beyond the confines of Capital Hill that, in some shape or form, could impact all of us. CBSnews.com put out a pretty good list soon after midnight to break down the government breakdown:

Air Travel: Federal air traffic controllers would remain on the job and airport screeners would keep funneling passengers through security checkpoints. Federal inspectors would continue enforcing safety rules.

International Travel: The State Department would continue processing foreign applications for visas and U.S. applications for passports, since fees are collected to finance those services. Embassies and consulates overseas would continue to provide services to American citizens.

Benefit Payments: Social Security and Medicare benefits would keep coming, but there could be delays in processing new disability applications. Unemployment benefits would still go out.

Federal Courts: Federal courts would continue operating normally for about 10 business days after the start of a shutdown, roughly until the middle of October. If the shutdown continues, the judiciary would have to begin furloughs of employees whose work is not considered essential. But cases would continue to be heard.

Mail: Deliveries would continue as usual because the U.S. Postal Service receives no tax dollars for day-to-day operations. It relies on income from stamps and other postal fees to keep running.

Recreation: All national parks would be closed, as would the Smithsonian museums, including the National Zoo in Washington. Visitors using overnight campgrounds or other park facilities would be given 48 hours to make alternate arrangements and leave the park. Among the visitor centers that would be closed: the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York, Independence Hall in Philadelphia and Alcatraz Island near San Francisco.

Health: New patients would not be accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health, but current patients would continue to receive care. Medical research at the NIH would be disrupted and some studies would be delayed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be severely limited in spotting or investigating disease outbreaks such as the flu or that mysterious MERS virus from the Middle East.

Food Safety: The Food and Drug Administration would handle high-risk recalls, but would suspend most routine safety inspections. Federal meat inspections would be expected to proceed as usual.

Head Start: A small number of Head Start programs, about 20 out of 1,600 nationally, would feel the impact right away. The federal Administration for Children and Families says grants expiring about Oct. 1 would not be renewed. Over time, more programs would be affected. Several of the Head Start programs that would immediately feel the pinch are in Florida. It's unclear if they would continue serving children.

Food Assistance: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, could shut down. The program provides supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition education for pregnant women, mothers and their children. School lunches and breakfasts would continue to be served, and food stamps, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would continue to be distributed. But several smaller feeding programs would not have the money to operate.

Taxes: Americans would still have to pay their taxes and file federal tax returns, but the Internal Revenue Service says it would suspend all audits. Got questions? Sorry, the IRS says taxpayer services, including toll-free help lines, would be shut as well.

Loans: Many low-to-moderate incomes borrowers and first-time homebuyers seeking government-insured mortgages could face delays. The Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees about 30 percent of home mortgages, would still approve single-family loans, but with delays. Multi-family mortgage approvals would be suspended. Action on government-backed loans to small businesses would be suspended.

Science: NASA will continue to keep workers at Mission Control in Houston and elsewhere to support the International Space station, where two Americans and four others are deployed. The National Weather Service would keep forecasting weather and issuing warnings and the National Hurricane Center would continue to track storms. The scientific work of the U.S. Geological Survey would be halted.

Homeland Security: The majority of the Department of Homeland Security's employees are expected to stay on the job, including uniformed agents and officers at the country's borders and ports of entry, members of the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration officers, Secret Service personnel and other law enforcement agents and officers. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees would continue to process green card applications.

Military: The military's 1.4 million active duty personnel would stay on duty, but their paychecks would be delayed. About half of the Defense Department's civilian employees would be furloughed.

Prisons: All 116 federal prisons would remain open, and criminal litigation would proceed.

Veterans Services: Most services offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs will continue because lawmakers approve money one year in advance for the VA's health programs. Veterans would still be able to visit hospitals for inpatient care, get mental health counseling at vet centers or get prescriptions filled at VA health clinics. Operators would still staff the crisis hotline and claims workers would still process payments to cover disability and pension benefits. But those veterans appealing the denial of disability benefits to the Board of Veterans Appeals will have to wait longer for a decision because the board would not issue any decisions during a shutdown.

Work Safety: Federal occupational safety and health inspectors would stop workplace inspections except in cases of imminent danger.

However, this is just about all the neutral news coming out of the mouths of the media regarding this issue. Some coverage has been outright biased (MSNBC) while other reports ‘talk to the people’ who all seem to place the blame squarely on Congress. I agree that they are to blame, both sides of the aisle, but so is the rest of the federal government at this point. By the way, all of you ranting on Facebook and Twitter are not helping the situation either. In fact, it's getting so bad on social media that you should all run for office. 

This is the 17th shut down of the federal government since 1976. Fault has been assigned to each of the parties at any given instance but why don’t we finally take a look at the situation and realize that this is, and has always been, a bipartisan clusterf**k. This will blow over like the legislative flatulence that it is and life will go on just like it did the previous 16 times. Just don’t expect anything to get resolved and remember that there is a reason why we hold elections.

To sum up the current state of Washington politics I will borrow a technical acronym from the military… SNAFU!

International SNAFU: Syria Edition

Map taken from Sondra Oster Baras' blog (discovered when looking for images online). I recommend reading her post about the current situation in Israel regarding Syria.

Unless you have been under a rock for the past month or so you know what is happening in the Middle East right now, specifically with regard to Syria. You should also be aware of the fact that President Obama is asking Congress to support military action against an admittedly horrible regime that is currently in power. There have been numerous questions and debates over the last several weeks as to whether or not the United States should get involved and, frankly, I am uncertain as to what can be done to quell the violence happening in Syria right now.

I can say that there has been a common thread in the discussions I have had with countless people, mostly those directly involved in politics, which has boiled down to a very simple yet complex question: “If we attack Syria, what happens to Israel?” ("How will Iran react?" was a close second). No one, myself included, really has a definitive answer to that question but it is one that needs to be considered when determining what kind of action, if any, we should take. Obviously, there are countless other factors that come into play such as financial commitment, putting more troops in harm’s way, and the scale of such an offensive.

The bombing and use of chemical weapons on its own citizens is an abhorrent act that has been committed by those in power in Syria and one that needs to stop. However, we have to take into consideration that these heinous acts are currently kept within its borders. Introducing an external force, such as the US military, drastically changes the rules of the game… it would no longer be a civil war. This has the potential of giving the Syrian government a reason to expand the conflict into neighboring countries, specifically attacking Israel.

While military action has the potential to save lives, our ‘intervention’ would cost the lives of thousands more. Like it or not, this is a numbers game… that is the cold hard fact of the matter. If this action is going to cost more innocent lives than it saves then why should we take action in the first place?

Consider the wisdom found in both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud. Many of you have heard or read variations of these passages but let us consider them in their entirety. 

 

"Whoever destroys a soul from Israel, the Scripture considers it as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life from Israel, the Scripture considers it as if he saved an entire world." - Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a

"Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world." - Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 4:1 (22a)

I am by no means a Talmudic scholar, but it seems as though we are in a grey area at the moment. Being that there has been no direct threat revealed against the United States, at least at this point in time, we can’t claim to be acting in self defense. Therefore, I think we are on the wrong end of this holy equation.

Now I can hear many people saying that we must defend the innocent and I whole heartedly agree with that statement but the taking of human lives should not be the first course of action it should be the last course of action after all other options have failed. We have not yet attempted to find an alternative solution. Besides, our primary priorities should be to protect our own interests first and those of our allies second (Israel) before we even consider the people in hostile countries. So instead of fighting alongside Al-Qaeda to fight a lesser evil, why don’t we make sure we contain the conflict and protect our allies, namely Israel. That seems like the most logical course of action at this time with the information we have.

If the conflict expands beyond the Syrian border then I am open to considering taking more aggressive action (especially before the United Nations sanctions Israel for defending itself). At that point I could see justification in taking military action in a supportive role to protect the interests of our allies and therefore our own interests. And if you don’t think defending Israel is in the best interests of the United States please stop using any technology developed in the last 20 years (including your phone).