AND I THOUGHT WAYNE LAPIERRE WAS AN ACTOR!

(Chris Moody, the Ticket, Aaron Spuler, Huffpost, Frazer Chronicle)

 

Wow, do I feel stupid, I’ve made all sorts of assumptions in my life…..mostly about women, but Wayne LaPierre…..serious, come on you’ve got to be kidding, nobody that looks, sounds and says the crap that this guy does can’t be anything else but an actor, and he’s probably got a flaming case of halitosis to boot.

 

Look, we’ve got a huge problem with guns, and gun control in our country, we can all agree on that one point…..right. I know, I know, “guns don’t kill, people with guns kill people,” what a whole bunch of dribble, each and every one of us knows somebody that, given the right situation, and the right provocation, will lock, load and indiscriminately shoot the crap out of whoever is around them. Hell, I myself have known several of these very scary people.

 

If not for the grace of God, these people would have shot up somebody or some place and either been shot to death at the worst, or behind bars at the least. My dad had a 22 and a 12 gauge shotgun during my time growing up at home. Never once did he tell me that a gun was to be respected, or feared, all he said was that “a gun could kill, or injure, so be careful.”

 

That did it for me, before I entered the military; I can count on my fingers and toes the number of times I shot a gun. In the military, (Army) I became a medical technician, and although we had to shoot a rifle, our primary job was to medically support the troops, work in hospitals or clinics.

 

I’ve know guys that were snipers, could knock the sweat off an eyebrow at a thousand yards…..or whatever, suffice it to say they were better shots then I was. The military in the early 1960’s was kind of in a flux, there was a change happening from the old ways, soldiers charging up a hill, to a more mechanized approach…..anyways, I was glad to get out of there.

 

Firearms are first and foremost for killing, whether a rabbit or Bambi, rifles are for killing things, and guess what, I’ve never been a fan of animal hunting. For me it was you shoot it, clean it…..then I’ll cook it. Really the same with fishing, you catch it, clean it, and I’ll cook it.

 

I’ve went in the woods a couple of times with guys that were hunting, in fact one guy had a cabin. We sat around till the wee hours of the night drinking, and everybody piled out at the butt crack of dawn to hit the woods with loaded weapons. Not me, I stayed back at the cabin, got another 40 winks, and had breakfast ready when they stumbled back…..with no kills to their credit.

 

WHAT’S THE HUB-BUB-BUD

Wayne LePierre, a soon to be 65 year old armed with a BA in education from Siena College and an MA in government from Boston College is the preeminent activist for the prevention of gun control in the United States. Now it must be stated up front that good “ole” Wayne boy isn’t just your ordinary lightening rod for guy lobbyists, no-sir-eee, Wayne get’s paid…..really well, like $970,300 well…..annually.

 

So in a sense, Wayne Boy is royalty in the National Rifle Association, he speaks, and his legions either squat, or listen-up. Speaking of legions, the actual membership of the National Rifle Association, (NRA) has a listed membership of 4.5 million members. The headquarters is Fairfax, Virginia, was founded in 1871, has an operating budget of $231 million, and the president is listed as a Mr. David Keene.

 

Keene has been around the NRA for decades, was the chairman of the American Conservative Union, became the national chairman of the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), ran for political office in 1969, but lost in his only attempt at public office.

 

David Keene has always been a strong supporter of American’s civil liberties, on both sides of the aisle, although he is most well known for his efforts on behalf of gun rights. Keene has a somewhat checkered background, if you take into account that he was a political assistant to Vice President Spiro Agnew during the Nixon years.

 

Keene’s personal life isn’t a template of how you might want to operate, three marriages, a son, David Michael who is spending time in prison for attempted murder in a 2002 road-rage incident. Also David Keene’s ex-wife pleaded guilty in 2011 to embezzling $120,000 and $400,000 from 2006 to 2009 during her time as a bookkeeper of the ACU group.

 

I do guess it helps being a high mucky-muck of the NRA if you have skeletons rattling around in your closet. It lets people know that you can be a serious S.O.B. if a situation calls for one. Kind of like being locked and loaded at all times.   

 

With a membership of only 4.5 million, one might wonder exactly how they shoulder so much seeming power on the political scene. Well, I’m glad I asked that question, because if one examines the number of munitions and weapons company’s right here in the United States, one will answer that question without much searching.

 

My wife has a saying, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” and it explains the National Rifle Association to a “T”. It seems as if self defense and being patriotic are almost joined at the hip…..at least in the NRA’s eyes. Assault weapons, weapons with multi-bullet magazines, armor penetrating munitions and the like don’t really have a place in the 21^st. century….right?

 

People are still allowed to purchase hunting rifles, people can still own pistols, whether they are for sport or protection, what’s the problem with banning those weapons that I listed in the last paragraph, can somebody please explain that.

 

Should there be a background check for every person that wants to purchase a firearm, absolutely, should only authorized dealers, with a government license be able to sell guns, you bet your bottom buck. Should the government regulate who can have a gun…..of course, it simply makes sense.

 

THE FLY IN THE OINTMENT

I bet you already guessed, weapons makers, ammunitions providers, and those legal and illegal sellers that’s who. The weapons-munitions industry, with military contracts is a multi-billion dollar industry. And the biggest seller of weapons in the world…..bing-bing-bing, what do we have for the winner “Johnny,” it’s the United States of America. Could it have been any different?

 

Of the 320 weapons makers of the world, (there are more but I got tired of searching), a 3^rd reside right here in the United States. I wonder how much these whore-whumping war moguls spend every year on lobbying congress every year, it’s gotta be as much as some small 3^rd world countries overall operating budgets.

 

I leave you today with one thought.

HAVE A NICE DAY!