January 5, 2023
So far, 2022 has gone well. I have written four or five checks and every one of them had the right year on the date line. This year the ISRA will celebrate its 120th year. That is 12 decades of serving the gun owners of Illinois and helping protect the United States. It hasn’t always been easy. I don’t expect 2023 to be easy either but here we go.
The big news that you haven’t been hearing from the “Lame Stream Media” is that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has omitted the defensive use of firearms from their reports. The CDC reportedly received pressure from both the White House and anti-gun groups to omit the self-defense statistics. These actions and their acquiescence have weaponized them and made them just another political arm of the left. I have long thought they should change their name to the Center for Dictatorial Control.
Another group that has gone from science to junk science is Johns Hopkins. Recently, Johns Hopkins published a pamphlet regarding gun control in Illinois. By sheer coincidence, it supports all the provisions in HB5855 (who are they kidding). Just so you know, John Hopkins has received 1.8 billion dollars from leading anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg. That does not include another 150 million dollars here and there. Bloomberg also funds an anti-gun think tank at Johns Hopkins. I think that was 200 million dollars, as I recall – Disgusting.
New York City’s anti-gun culture isn’t protecting them. Not only are they anti-gun, but they are also anti-knife. That didn’t seem to stop a crackpot on New Year’s Eve from attacking people with a machete. The perp was shot by a couple of NYPD cops, but the perp is already out of the hospital. The two cops were also cut in the attack. New York City is a Joke. An elderly jeweler was almost beaten to death by a group of thugs. He is in critical condition. He might live but he will never be the same. There is no real way to protect yourself in New York City. Remember that if you are dumb enough to go there.
Recently, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) discovered there were deficiencies in reporting to the National Instant Check System (NICS). The system that is supposed to keep bad people from getting guns, often makes law-abiding citizens wait days to get approval for a duck gun. And who do you suppose is the major contributor to these deficiencies? Why, the Department of Homeland Security, of course. They are reportedly behind 6.4 million records. I think Ronald Reagan said something to the effect that government isn’t the solution to a problem, government is the problem. True then and getting truer every day.
John Lott, President of the Crime Prevention Research Center, reports a noticeable increase in the use of firearms for self-defense. Not surprising, considering what is going on the United States. John Lott reports there are now 22 million concealed carry permit holders in the United States. This number is much lower than the real number of persons carrying because of the recent trend of states passing constitutional carry. As of January 1st, 2023, there are 25 states that allow constitutional carry. Alabama is the latest, with the law taking effect on January 1st, 2023.
The question is how many people are actually carrying firearms for self-defense? That is hard to say, but my guess is somewhere between 45 and 50 million people. Women and the elderly are among the leading demographics carrying. I don’t blame them.
In the small town of Elderon, Wisconsin (population 276 ), is an example of why people, particularly elderly people, are carrying firearms for self-defense. Elderon is one of those towns that most people know each other. Nothing could happen in a northern Wisconsin town like Elderon, or could it? A 79-year-old man came home and was parking his car in his garage when a 22-year-old thug attacked him and was stabbing him in the face. The 22-year-old had apparently been following the elderly man, waiting for a chance to rob him. There is no way a 79-year-old is going to win this fight with an armed 22 year old unless he was carrying a firearm, which he was. The elderly man fired one shot into the chest of the 22-year-old. Still, the 22-year-old managed to take the gun from the elderly man, but it was too late. Seconds later, the young thug collapsed and died. Just one more example of it can happen anytime and anywhere so be ready.
Some of the stuff that happens makes you scratch you head. I watched a documentary over the weekend of a guy in Minnesota who had a long criminal record. The judge let him out on bail. Before the police caught up with him, he murdered at least six young women and two young boys. The police don’t really know how many people he murdered. It could have been 30 or 40 people. This guy would cruise neighborhoods and look for homes which obviously had children living there, particularly little girls. He was a total stranger to his victims and their families. I watched a now-adult woman who witnessed her family being murdered by this guy. I will say there is nothing that will ever help this woman to recover. It happened to this woman and her family after this guy was let out on bail. How about the judge and the attorney who set him free? They are probably eating lunch at the country club.
As of January 3rd, there are now 458,077 Illinois Concealed Carry Licensees and 2,424,189 FOID cards. Remember every one of these people go through a background check every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Easter, and the 4th of July. The courts are closed on those days. That is 360 background checks a year. That equals 1,037,615,750 background checks a year on law-abiding gun owners. That does not include another background check when someone buys a firearm. Law-abiding gun owners have done enough. How about enforcing the laws we have and putting criminals in jail instead of trying to make law-abiding gun owners criminals?
Tidbits:
January 5, 1945 – World War II takes a dark turn when the Japanese High Command orders inexperienced pilots to begin Kamikaze attacks on United States ships. They took a heavy toll.
January 6, 1919 – Theodore Roosevelt dies at age 60. Roosevelt’s exploration of tropical areas had caught up with him. Many of the diseases had no cure and are even difficult to deal with today. Roosevelt gets credit for many things and deservedly so. One of his least known achievements was that he saved football. Roosevelt was an avid football fan. His poor eyesight had kept him off the Harvard football team. Nevertheless, he loved the game because it was rough and tumbled. It made people tough and Roosevelt liked that. So do I, come to think of it. The problem was it was very dangerous in those days. Between 1900 and 1905, 45 football players died on the field and there were hundreds of severe injuries. In 1904, 18 players were killed and 159 severely injured. There weren’t many teams in those days either. Football was banned by many schools.
Roosevelt took action. He called a meeting at the White House with coaches and league officials to discuss changes in the rules to make the sport less violent. These included the forward pass, blowing the ball dead when a ball carrier was down, stopping the practice of piling on a downed player, and better protective gear. In those days, they played without helmets. Changes were made and are still being made today. Most people never think of the fact that without Theodore Roosevelt’s intervention, there would be no college football, professional football, no Super Bowln and all the rest of it.
January 7, 1953 – In his final State of the Union Address, President Harry Truman announced that the United States had developed the Hydrogen Bomb.
January 8, 1815 – The Battle of New Orleans. I try to vary the historical tidbits every year, but I write about this event every year. I just can’t help myself because this was so important even though technically, the War of 1812 was over. The British had perpetrated unbelievable atrocities against Americans during the Revolutionary War and just couldn’t get over losing that war. One of the more disgusting things they did was to dig up the decaying bodies of the relatives of patriots and make the patriots sit among or on them, until they gave the British the information they wanted. If they did not, they would be hanged. Many were hanged.
Jackson gave the British the trouncing they deserved. The lopsided victory was not lost on the British and the rest of Europe. The message was clear. Don’t mess with the USA!
January 9, 1776 – Thomas Paine publishes a pamphlet entitled “Common Sense”. The pamphlet laid out the reasons the colonies should be free from British rule. It spread throughout the colonies and united them as never before. Here is part of what Thomas Paine said: “Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America. This new world has been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe. Hither they have fled, not from the tender embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster; and so far, is true of England, that same tyranny which drove the first emigrants from home pursues their descendants still.”
Paine’s pamphlet sold 500,000 copies, pretty good for a country of roughly 4 million people. He went on to serve in the United States Army. He went to Britain in 1787, but his sentiments were very unpopular with the British government. Surprising!
January 10, 1901 – The first Texas gusher came in on Spindletop Hill near Beaumont. The gusher spewed out 100,000 barrels a day until it was finally capped. There were a few fledgling companies involved at Spindletop. Exxon, Mobil Oil, and Texaco had their roots there.
January 11, 1775 – The first Jewish person elected in America takes office in the South Carolina Provincial Congress. His name was Francis Salvador whose family was originally from Portugal. In 1733, his family bought land in South Carolina. In 1755, an earthquake wiped out the family’s property in Portugal and they moved to Great Britain. In 1773, Salvador moved to South Carolina, the only property they had left. He was very popular and was outspoken on the need for the colonies to be free from Britain. He was elected to the South Carolina Provincial Congress. He became a member of the militia and soon became famous as the “Southern Paul Revere” when he rode 30 miles to warn of Cherokee attacks on rural settlements. He returned with the militia under command of General Wilkinson a month later. The militia defeated the Cherokees, but Francis Salvador was shot and scalped. He never knew his advice to the South Carolina delegation to vote for independence from Great Britain would be followed and that he had a major role in that decision.
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Upcoming Events:
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Range Work Day
Tuesday, January 10 & 17, 2023
Air Gun Practice
Wednesday, January 11 & 18, 2023
Pellet Rifle League
Saturday, January 14, 2023
Winter Wars XIX
Sunday, January 15, 2023
ISRA Academy NRA Range Safety Officer Class
Thursday, January 19 & 26, 2023
Women’s Pistol Team Practice
Saturday, January 21, 2023
NRA Pistol Instructor Class
Sunday, January 22, 2023
NRA Pistol Instructor Class
Gun & Trade Shows
Kane County Sportsman’s Show – St Charles, IL
Kane County Fairgrounds
Date: January 8, 2023
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:30
Admission: $7.00
McHenry County Gun Show – Woodstock, IL
McHenry County Fairgrounds
Date: January 15, 2023
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:00
Admission: $5.00
Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show – Kankakee, IL
Kankakee County Fairgrounds
Dates: January 21 & 22, 2023
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-3:00
Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00