Miscellany

New Picture of Juliette

Isn’t my cousin’s great granddaughter precious? What a great smile?

I heard she was laughing right out loud the other day. The dog was licking her bare feet.

The Right to Bear Arms – Important?

As Obama contemplates reducing our Second Amendment rights via Executive Order, you might find the following quotes interesting:

These quotes appear at the end of a column written by Lt. Col. USA (ret) Dave Grossman. You can see the whole article at:

http://www.uscca.us/ccr/view_post.php?postId=296

“Cogito, ergo armatum sum: I think, therefore I am armed.”
-Anon.
****
a frustrated General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony unanimously: 
     Our forefathers knew that it is not enough to just have a weapon, it is also vital to be trained in the proper use of that weapon.  In 1349, King Edward III of England told the citizens of London that their "skill of shooting" was being neglected, and he proclaimed that "every one of the said city, strong in body, at leisure times on holidays, use in their recreation bow and arrows, or pellets or bolts, and learn and exercise the art of shooting ... that they do not, after any manner apply themselves to the throwing of ... handball, football, cambuck, or cockfighting, nor suchlike vain plays which have nor profit in them." 
****
     In 1457, King James II of Scotland banned the game of golf from the hills on which it was created.  He argued that golf was a danger to national security as it distracted his soldiers from practicing their archery.
     His grandson, James IV, a keen golfer, lifted the ban in 1502.  Eleven years later, in the battle of Flodden against the English, Scotland suffered its worst ever military defeat.
Wall Street Journal, 18 Aug '09

*****
     In 1636 a frustrated General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony unanimously passed an ordinance that said:
     Whereas many complaints have been made to this Court, of the greatest neglect of all sorts of people of using the lawful and necessary means for their safety, especially in this time of so great danger from Indians, it is therefore ordered that no person shall travel above one mile from his dwelling without arms; upon pain of twelvepence for every default.
     Being unarmed was considered negligent!  Self protection was not just a personal responsibility, it was a duty to the community!  And for over a century after the danger from hostile Indians was eliminated, there was no suggestion that this ordinance be repealed.  A century and a half later, those people were the leaders of the armed rebellion that created the United States!
         John Farnum
****
     A strong body makes the mind strong.  As to the species of exercise, I advise the gun.  While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind.
     Games played with the ball and others of that nature are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind.  Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks.
Thomas Jefferson to his nephew Peter Carr,
August 19, 1785

"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."  ~Thomas Jefferson
****
    Teddy Roosevelt said, while he was President, that:  "We should establish shooting galleries in all the large public and military schools, should maintain national target ranges in different parts of the country, and should in every way encourage the formation of [shooting] clubs throughout all parts of the land... It is unfortunately true that the great body of our citizens shoot less and less as time goes on.  To meet this [challenge] we should encourage ... practice ... by every means in our power.  Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving the peace of the world.  Fit to hold our own against the strong nations of the earth, our voice for peace will carry to the ends of the earth.  Unprepared and therefore unfit, we must sit dumb and helpless to defend ourselves, protect others, or preserve peace.  The first step -- ... to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come -- is to teach our men to shoot.”
****
     A golf course is a willful and deliberate misuse of a perfectly good rifle range!
Col. Jeff Cooper  <—(I particularly like this one and need to remember to share it with my brother Jeff)
****
     Today we need a nation of minute men; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. The cause of liberty, the cause of American, cannot succeed with any lesser effort--- John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961

Until next time…