August 4, 2022
We all know that Nancy Pelosi, with the help of two Republican Congressmen, one from New York and one from Pennsylvania, passed H. R. 1808, the assault weapons ban. The vote was 217 to 213. Had the two Republicans held, it would have been 215 to 215 and not gone anywhere. At the moment, H.R. 1808 is DOA in the United States Senate. What this points out is how important it is to vote in the November elections.
As you can imagine, I talk to about a zillion gun owners every year. I get tired of hearing “I didn’t vote because it doesn’t matter”. It does matter. A few years ago, Senator Bill Brady was running for governor. My wife worked at a restaurant at the time and the next morning there were eight people sitting at a table talking about the election. Six of the eight thought Bill Brady would win so they did not vote. The technical term for such behavior is “dumb”. Every gun owner needs to vote pro-gun in this election. If you know you might not be able to vote on Election Day, vote early or vote absentee. If you are driving to the polls and get in an accident, be sure to tell the ambulance driver to stop at your polling place before they take you to the emergency room. If you don’t vote, the only thing I will accept is a note from your undertaker. Kapeesh.
The Mayor of Houston, Texas, pushed a gun buyback program. We will not discuss how you buy back something you never owned. That is one of those unanswerable questions like: “Where does fire go when it goes out? The Houston Police Department paid $50 for each 3D printed gun turned in. One enterprising fellow made 32 plastic 3D guns at a cost of $3 each. He walked away with $3100. For some reason Houston will no longer pay for those dreadful 3D guns.
Nancy Pelosi is out globetrotting and some are worried about her being kidnapped. It is good to think about such scenarios should something happen to her. I believe I have the solution should she be held for ransom. We would, of course, pay the ransom with a couple of conditions. First, the deal must be done in 10 days. Second, we have to insist the ransom be paid over 10 years in 10 installments. As long as they keep her, we will continue to pay the ransom. The second they send her back, we stop the payments immediately. And as to why this must be done in 10 days: If they keep her any longer than that, they might get tired of putting up with her and send her back anyway. I should be in the State Department.
The New Orleans Police Department had the slowest average response time of any major city police departments. The old saying in the concealed carry world is “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away”. Not so with the New Orleans P.D. Their average response time is 2.5 hours. Rigor Mortis appears about 2 hours after death. I’m just saying.
The Grand American is under way in Sparta, Illinois, and we have opened our new location on Commercial Row in building 500, to be exact, 502 and 503. We are just behind the firing line overlooking bank number 4. The Grand American runs until August 13th. We had our kickoff picnic which consisted of hot dogs, chips and fixens, on Friday afternoon. Legendary wiener chef, Dustin Brauman, was on the barbee, ably assisted by Assistant Executive Director Mike Huber. Thanks to all who attended.
The ISRA is a co-sponsor of the youth 3 Gun Shoot which was held Saturday and Sunday. This was one of the largest, if not the largest, youth event we have held at Sparta. We haven’t gotten the final number in, but we are in excess of 500 kids. They shot over 18,000 rounds of .22 ammo in two days. Thanks to all the volunteers and staff who got the operation open in Sparta and helped with the youth event. That number stands at 51 people at this moment, and we are not done yet. Thank you to everyone. Well done!
August is National Shooting Sports month. Do your part and take someone out shooting, participate in an event, a league, or take a class. Remember, 60,000,000 Americans participate in the shooting sports every year. Let’s try to get that up to 70,000,000.
Reports are still coming in from the National Rifle and Pistol Matches. At Camp Perry, Ohio, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) High Power Rifle Matches are under way.
ISRA Junior Benjamin Holliger won the 600-yard portion of the Service Rifle Match and came in 7th overall. ISRA Tuesday Night High Power League shooter Justin Patton-Ryder’s has the CMP Cup with a score of 2380-113xs. The highest possibility score is 2400-240xs. For those who don’t know, Xs are center shots and used for tie breakers. Joel Falk has earned 4 points in a quest for an Excellence-in-Competition (EIC) Badge. It takes 30 points to attain the EIC honor and Joel finished 16thout of 268 competitors.
The National Smallbore Championships are winding down. Jim Miller, ISRA Smallbore Coach, garnered second place in the Senior Division Prone Smallbore Championship. The ISRA Junior High Power Teams have done well. The ISRA Junior Red team took third place in the Junior Championships. ISRA Blue and ISRA White also finished well. Congratulations to Benjamin Holliger. Benjamin was top Junior High Power shooter in the Nation in the team matches. Out of a total of a possible 1300 points, he scored 1264 points. Well done everyone. More next week.
The President’s 100 is one of the premier matches at the National Championships. If you make it into the top 100 shooters, you receive a special patch, pin, and certificate. ISRA Junior shooter, Benjamin Holliger, was the only junior shooter to not only make it into the top 100, but the top 20. Congratulations Ben!
A few years ago, I was on the NRA Clubs and Associations Committee for the NRA. Iowa did not have a strong association, so we helped form a new group known as the Iowa Firearms Coalition (IFC). They are still small but they are fighters. Monroe County, Iowa, had rules about carrying firearms on county property which was contrary to Iowa state law. Dutifully, the IFC pointed out to the Monroe County Board that their rules were in violation of state law. Local governments always seem to have at least a few people who believe that their election to a local board imbues them with God like qualities and wisdom the moment they win an election. Such must be the case with the Monroe County Board.
Instead of simply changing the Monroe County Ordinance, they decided to sue the upstart IFC. A David and Goliath battle if there ever was one. Little did they know, David is still around with a whole bag of freshly polished stones. They Monroe County Board hauled IFC into court. David loaded his slingshot and let the Monroe County Board have it right between the eyes. Monroe County wrote a check to the IFC for $100,000, or their insurance company did. Hopefully, some of the other insufferable types on other boards in Iowa were watching. Nice job IFC.
Tidbits:
August 5, 1861 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Revenue Act which establishes the first Income Tax. This was a 3% tax on income over $800 per year. That would translate to roughly $20,000 today. The tax was repealed in 1871. In 1913, the 16th Amendment was ratified, making the Income Tax permanent. Citizens were told the rate would never go above 2%. How is that working out for you?
Most of the Civil War was funded by taxes on liquor. Peoria, Illinois, was the biggest liquor producing town in the country. So, not only did Illinois elect the President, supply the commanding general, and had the most soldiers of any state, we also paid for the Civil War or a large part of it.
August 6, 1945 – The first atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima. The pilot was Colonel Paul Tibbits who was born in Quincy, Illinois. The Commander of the mission was William S. Parsons USN, from Chicago, Illinois. Parsons went on to become a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy
August 7, 1782 – General George Washington creates the “Badge of Military Merit” which later become known as the Purple Heart; originally, it was a cloth patch. Only three were known to be awarded but there may have been more. All recipients were to be recorded in the “Book of Merit” but the book was lost. The award fell into disuse, but General Douglas MacArthur got it reinstated in 1931. The new name was “Order of the Purple Heart” and it became a medal and not a patch. During WWII, a great number of Purple Heart Medals were struck in preparation for the invasion of Japan. If we had invaded Japan, it was estimated that there would be at least 250,000 casualties. We are still using those Purple Hearts today.
August 7, 1942 – The 1st Marine Division invades Guadalcanal. The code name was Operation Watchtower. The Marines proved themselves on Guadalcanal. The first Marine to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor was Sgt. John Basilone. His citation read in part: “For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action against enemy Japanese forces, above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in the Lunga Area. He contributed materially to the defeat and virtual annihilation of a Japanese Regiment. The Japanese lost 24,000 troops on Guadalcanal vs 1600 from the American troops.
August 9, 1945 – The Second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The name of the B-29 that dropped the bomb was Bockscar. Bockscar was restored and is on display at Wight-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
August 10, 1945 – Japan accepts term of unconditional surrender. WWII is over. The Cold War begins.
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Upcoming Events:
For more information, visit www.isra.org
Saturday, August 6, 2022
Range Work Day
ISRA Steel Challenge
Sunday, August 7, 2022
Bonfield Muzzle Loaders
Saturday & Sunday, August 6 & 7, 2022
MTG Advanced Handgun Skills
Monday, August 8 & 15, 2022
Military Bench Rest League
Tuesday, August 9 & 16, 2022
Tuesday Night Irregular Rifle League
Wednesday, August 10 & 17, 2022
F-Class Rifle League
Bench Rest League
Paper & Steel League
Thursday, August 11 & 18, 2022
ISRA Smallbore Prone/F-Class League
Saturday, August 13, 2022
2022 ISRA Outdoor Pistol Championships
Defensive Rifle I Course
Sunday, August 14, 2022
2022 ISRA Outdoor Pistol Championships
Marksmanship League
Saturday, August 20, 2022
Defensive Tactics for Concealed Carry-Level II
Guardian Tactics Advanced CCL Training-Level I & II
Sunday, August 21, 2022
ISRA Bullseye Match & Combat Match
Rifle/Pistol Training
Springfield Armory Pistol Match
Saturday, August 20 & 21, 2022
ISRA Academy NRA Basic Rifle Class
Gun & Trade Shows
Prairie State Long Rifle Show – Princeton, IL
Days Inn
Dates: August 5 & 6, 2022
Hours: Friday: 12:00-4:00
Saturday: 9:00-4:00
Admission: $5.00
Crown Point Gun Show – Crown Point, IN
Lake County Fairgrounds
Dates: August 20 & 21, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00
Belleville Gun & Knife Show – Belleville, IL
Belleville Fairgrounds
Dates: August 27 & 28, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00