Image: Aerial view of the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor
Today, we remember the lives lost and the devastation that occurred at Pearl Harbor 82 years ago on this day. Despite America’s resolve to stay neutral during WWII raging in Europe, the Imperial Japanese sneak attack on Naval forces in the Pacific put an end to that notion.
On December 7, 1941, more than 350 Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2,390 American servicemen and civilians and wounding 1,282. The attack sank or damaged eight battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer, and destroyed 188 aircraft. It took four years and the full military-industrial capability of the United States to defeat Japan.
There was no more devastating surprise attack on the United States until 9/11.
After the attack, Roosevelt stated: “December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. … Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory. … With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounded determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.”
Join us today, as we pray for world peace and victory over the evil forces among us.
For the first time in American history, the federal government will require virtually every person who sells a gun privately to be a licensed gun dealer – and every person who buys one privately to register the sale with the federal government!
(Image: A Double whammy – either the “Punisher” or the Gadsden Snake will subject me to be put on an FBI “domestic terrorist” watchlist.)
As you know, gun registration is the first step towards confiscation and by becoming a licensed gun dealer, gun owners would be forced to submit to warrantless searches by ATF agents looking for even the slightest violations.
To make matters even worse, the ATF can throw the book at any gun owner who runs afoul of the new rule! If you sell a gun and the ATF determines you made a “profit,” you can be jailed for 5 years and fined $250,000!
Time is running out for comments against the proposed rule. The on-line comments form is at REGULATIONS.GOV. Go there and leave your comment in opposition to this bizarre (and unconstitutional) proposed rule. The comment period ends December 07, 2023, so just do it NOW. Copy and paste is OK.
The following are a couple of comments made by others in opposition to the NPRM:
From John Crump at Ammoland:
I strongly oppose the proposed rule that redefines who is “engaged in the business” of selling firearms. The new rule will burden American gun owners by creating a grey area where they can inadvertently break the law.
The new requirement circumvents Congress by creating a de facto universal background check rule. Congress has chosen to leave background check laws for private gun sales to the state governments. This rule will override the authority of the states with overburdensome federal regulations and strip state’s rights.
The regulation will not make us any safer. The vast majority of guns used in crimes are stolen. States that have enacted universal background checks did not see any reduction of crimes committed with firearms. I strongly encourage the government to work on real solutions to solve the epidemic of violent crime and stop using firearms as a scapegoat for failed policies.
From the Arizona Citizens’ Defense League (AZCDL):
1. ATF is wrong to suggest a single firearm sale—or no sale at all—might require a license. ATF’s rule does not specify a certain number of firearms sold but instead suggests that “even a single firearm transaction, or offer to engage in a transaction, when combined with other evidence, may be sufficient to require a license.”
However, the statutes enacted by Congress clearly do not intend to regulate the conduct of an individual who merely sells a single firearm. Instead, 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(11), (21), (22), and (23) contemplate regulating someone who “regular[ly]” and “repetitive[ly]” either (a) manufactures and sells or (b) purchases and resells multiple “firearms.”
2. ATF fails to protect unlicensed conduct exempted by Congress. Congress also expressly exempted “occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby.”
3. Wrongfully licensing constitutionally protected activity will lead to warrantless searches and additional constitutional violations. Selling a single firearm—which might make you a newly-minted gun dealer—could subject you to warrantless searches of your home and firearm collection. This is a clear violation of both the Second and Fourth Amendments, and runs totally contrary to the Supreme Court’s Caniglia decision in 2021, wherein the court ruled unanimously that warrantless searches for firearms as part of a “welfare check” is unconstitutional.
4. ATF suggests it might deny a license to applicants who the agency ordered to become licensed due to prior sales without a license. Catch-22!
5. ATF’s backdoor Universal Background Check includes Universal Firearms Registration. So-called “Universal Background Checks” are only enforceable with a gun registry. This rule proposes that private citizens be regulated by the federal government as gun dealers, forcing them to run background checks on every firearm transaction in a backdoor attempt to require private citizens to eventually turn over these registration papers (i.e. Forms 4473, Multiple Sales Reports, and Acquisition and Disposition logs). Failure to do so will be considered a federal crime. The Biden Administration described this as “moving the U.S. as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation.”
Again, the link to the regulations.gov page is here:
Damsel and I attended the annual “Cops Who Care” Cruise and Toy Drive today at the community center downtown. There was a pretty good turn out of folks who brought their prized antique and classic cars to the event. Each one of the attendees was required to bring an unwrapped toy as a gift to our underprivileged kids in the area. We brought four unwrapped toys (not required but just to help out) as we usually do for this event.
Image above: Damsel posing next to a 1927 Ford farm truck.
We stayed for the better part of an hour, taking photos and gawking at the goodies on display. Here are a couple of photos of classics we deem to be very cool:
Image above: 1957 Red Chevrolet Hardtop Coupe
Image above: 1960’s Pontiac Trans-Am Firebird
We headed back home to prepare our Sunday Dinner which was a Keto version of Ham and Spaghetti Alfredo. Yummers!
Happy Thanksgiving from our household to yours! We will be celebrating the day of thanks by feasting, as usual, serving traditional turkey and all the trimmings (tailored to our diets, of course). We wish for you a peaceful and enjoyable day of thanks.
In yesterday mornings reading, The Patriot Post included this Thanksgiving message given by President Ronald Reagan:
We Americans have so much for which to be thankful. … But prosperity is not an end in itself. It helps us pay attention to the more important things: raising our children as we want them to be raised, helping others in need, and bringing nations together in peace. … We will give thanks for these and one thing more: our freedom. Yes, in America, freedom seems like the air around us: It’s there; it’s sweet, though we rarely give it a thought. Yet as the air fills our lungs, freedom fills our souls. It gives breath to our laughter and joy. It gives voice to our songs. It gives us strength as we race for our dreams. Think of those around the world who cannot bow their heads in prayer without risking their lives. … And then think of how blessed we are to be Americans. Yes, as we gather together this Thanksgiving to ask the Lord’s blessings. … Let us thank Him for our peace, prosperity, and freedom.
We ask you to give prayerful thanks for our freedoms and pray for peace at home and elsewhere.
We have been following several of the unconstitutional edicts set forth by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms’, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF) for several years now. Of particular interest to us would be the ATF’s conversion (magically) of braced pistols to become short-barreled rifles (registered and taxable under the NFA), even though there are millions of these items in use by law-abiding Americans for lawful purposes.
After declaring that braced pistols are not Short Barreled Rifles (SBRs) in the past, the ATF suddenly (as prompted by the 2nd Amendment hating Biden administration) decided to enact a rule (not a law) to declare these pistols as SBRs in January of this year (2023). Since then, there have been several legal challenges to the rule. Recently, a Texas-based Federal District Court judge issued a nationwide stay preventing the ATF from enforcing its rule on pistols equipped with stabilizing devices.
The case, Britto v. ATF, challenged the “Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached ‘Stabilizing Braces’” rule. The ATF created the regulation after an executive order by President Joe Biden directing the Bureau to deal with pistol braces. The ATF would reverse years of classification letters and revoke previous determinations issued to brace manufacturers.
The Britto case challenged the rule, claiming the ATF pistol brace rule violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). The plaintiffs felt the final rule wasn’t a logical outgrowth of the proposed rule. The proposed rule had a point system (ATF Form 4999) that helped individuals determine if their firearm would be considered a braced pistol or short-barreled rifle (SBR). Most of the comments during the public comment period addressed concerns with the form.
The bottom line is that the ATF and other law-enforcement agencies are enjoined from enforcing the rule for all braced pistols, nationwide. However, the fight is not over by a long shot since the ATF has unlimited tax plunder to continue fighting this ruling all the way to the Supreme Court. In the meantime though, we may all continue using our braced pistols in whatever manner we please.
It now seems to be a good idea to continue (or start) supporting those pro-2A organizations that are making these rulings possible:
Look for the 501(c)(3) foundation of each of the above entities if you want your donations to be tax deductible. Thank you in advance for your support.
Damsel and I each have a special interest in this litigation process.
In 2004, Interstate 17, which runs from Phoenix, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ, was designated to be “Veterans Memorial Highway,” in recognition of America’s Veterans, past, present and future.
The Memorial Plaque seen here is located at the McGuireville Rest Area (southbound) on I-17 in Rimrock, AZ. Click on the image to enlarge. There may be another plaque on the northbound side, but I can’t say for sure.
It is notable that Veterans Day shares the same anniversary date as the signing of the Mayflower Compact in 1620. That simple document, after all, is the taproot of a great nation, now a shining beacon of Liberty, which owes its very existence to the toils and trials of generations of American Veterans.
From the cold winter winds at Valley Forge in 1777 to the deadly terrain of the Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan today, generations of American Patriots have stood fast in defense of Liberty and at great cost.
I am certain I will never meet a seasoned war Veteran who is fond of combat, but to a man, every Patriot concurs with John Stuart Mill’s timeless note on the subject: “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance at being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”
I am equally certain that these Patriots, like millions of others since the 1789 founding of our Republic, have honored their “sacred oaths” to support and defend the Liberty enshrined in our Constitution, against all enemies foreign and domestic.
Most of you by now know that Damsel and I share ancestry originating from the Celtic tribes of ancient Ireland and Scotland. To that effect, we have come to celebrate some of the festivals and traditions of the Celts. This weekend, we decided to celebrate the festival of Samhain.
Samhain, (Celtic: “End of Summer”) in ancient Celtic religion, one of the most important and sinister calendar festivals of the year. At Samhain, held on November 1, the world of the gods was believed to be made visible to humankind, and the gods played many tricks on their mortal worshippers; it was a time fraught with danger, charged with fear, and full of supernatural episodes.
Sacrifices and propitiations of every kind were thought to be vital, for without them the Celts believed they could not prevail over the perils of the season or counteract the activities of the deities. Samhain was an important precursor to Halloween.
Of course, we are not Pagans and don’t believe in all the spooky stuff the Celts thought to be true. We are Christians and merely celebrate our heritage while being true to the One and Only God. We celebrate Samhain on the first Sunday of November with traditional Irish and/or Scottish feasting.
This weekend turned out to be atypical weather for November since it got up to 85°F on the patio today. We celebrated the Samhain cross-quarter event with an actual Feast – Corned Beef, Cabbage, Root Veggies (lo carb, of course) and an Irish Coffee.
We hope everyone enjoys the good weather while it lasts.
For the first time in American history, the federal government will require virtually every person who sells a gun privately to be a licensed gun dealer – and every person who buys one privately to register the sale with the federal government! 
It is notable that Veterans Day shares the same anniversary date as the signing of the Mayflower Compact in 1620. That simple document, after all, is the taproot of a great nation, now a shining beacon of Liberty, which owes its very existence to the toils and trials of generations of American Veterans.
