“But Father George! Father George! I’m gonna snitch on you to the highest of ecclesiastical tribunals like I’ve done before many times to complain that you’re spending your time as a priest commenting on Fox News stories on some stupid blog, because, you know, like, as fake neo-conservatives, we’re holier than thou! And besides, Portland is NOT YOUR PARISH! What the hell are you talking about?!”
Good question, actually. Here’s what I’m talking about:
That headline, because mentioning North Carolina, where I am, acts, of course, like click-bait. I gotta find out which town they’re talking about. I thought that surely it’s gotta be Charlotte or Raleigh, five and seven hours away. Nope, it’s Asheville, just down the road from the parish. Any tourists to Asheville make it out my way so as to drive through the Nantahala gorge, perhaps over the Trail of Tears, perhaps along The Tail of the Dragon.
I immediately thought of a guy and a gal who are perhaps now helping to head up whatever anarchical group, perhaps a “them” and a “them” (I can never keep up with the thousands of fake pronouns), who came out to the parish right after a Sunday Mass. I’m guessing that they had been waiting in the parking lot for everyone to leave, but a couple of us were still having a gab-fest in the counting room before I went off on Communion Calls. Instead of spray-painting and knocking over statues, breaking stained-glass windows and stealing the Most Blessed Sacrament for satanic rituals, they decided to talk instead.
They droned on and on with prepared soundbites about wanting to use the parish as a hub for “community organizing”, remaining secretive about their “grass roots” organization at a certain university campus. Upon my questioning, I discovered that they had zero individual donations for their activities. They were not “grass roots.” Funding came from one person whose name they were not allowed to disclose. Oh my! Who could that possibly be?
They had questions about the demographics of the parish, because, of course, they were racist in the sense that, to them, only black and brown lives matter (they were lily white). Combine that with their agitation-Marxism and they had a perfect lead-in for their most important question of all:
“So, anyway, like, you are, like, able to defend, like, your church, right?”
Looking hard at one of the “thems” in the eye, I said slowly and with some degree of calculated firmness, very deliberately: “Yes… I am able to defend… and we are able to defend…” Meanwhile, I was open carrying, as always. Hehehe.
Later, I discovered that, generally speaking, such like have been visiting pre-researched targets, whether pro-life centers that give out diapers and baby formula (therefore, their enemies), or church communities (because, you know). Their criteria for shortlisting targets for an actual attack included just how “soft” a target might be. The goal is to hit hard, destroying property and committing violence on people at their most vulnerable time, and then getting away without a scratch.
We haven’t seen hide nor hair of them since, but I’m fully expecting that they’ll be back, with chances of an incident rising hyperbolically as we get closer to the mid-term elections.
Does your pro-life center or parish church have any kind of situational awareness going on? Are they those among you who are able to stop already being delivered mortal aggression while knowing how to minimize possible harm to non-aggressors?
Oh, and what are the political leaders in Asheville doing about their being a “hub” and their astronomical rise in violent crime? Well, they are defunding the police, dumping criminals on the street, and talking about… wait for it… climate change!
The threaded barrel was ditched. I don’t own a suppressor, but the extra 0.5″ length was a help for me with accuracy, that is, for the extremely rare session of target practice. It looks like that 0.5″ longer barrel will no longer be legal what with proposed legislation in Congress. Just the fact of the threading would be considered to be a weapon of mass destruction.
The 15-round magazines were ditched for a new single-stack factory version limited to 10. I hate that, but I have three such magazines, as I always carry an extra two. That’s also because of the proposed legislation.
The ATF (=BATFE) and FBI, sycophantic to present political sway, are all about infringement, so, I just want to avoid their whirlwind. I’ve had so many boating accidents!
I’m hoping someone will tell me I’m wrong about this, but there’s one boating accident that can’t take place with my Glock 19 Gen 4. The proposed legislation this week in Congress is that if any type of gun, even pistols, can possibly be converted from semi-auto to full-auto, that gun, even if not converted, will be illegal. That means prison for any non-compliance in owning such a gun, regardless of any conversion. The problem is that pretty much all Glocks can be converted to full-auto.
There are likely between 20 and 25 million Glock owners in these USA and likely around zero percent of them do such a thing, especially with target ammo being so expensive and difficult to get these days. And that’s only Glocks. I’m sure plenty of other guns can be converted, making about half the population of these USA into criminals overnight even if they didn’t know that such a thing could be done in the first place.
But is there some “fix” that could be done that would make such a full-auto conversion impossible?
Hahaha! Great! I love that! LOL! He’s running for U.S. Congress. This is game changing. Just so right.
The humorous video above – so very truthful – got me interested enough to check out Jerone Davison’s campaign for Congress, with the vote coming up real soon in Arizona.
First I went to see his general presentation of issues at his own website:
But then, it’s always useful to go to ballotpedia to see the answers to specific questions on surveys presented to all candidates, which include pro-life questions:
Totally. Awesome. On. All. Issues. He’s super Pro-Life.
Take that you Democrat KKK racist bag-head transvestite burqa wearing cowards… Hahahahaha!
P.S. On a personal note, my own experience with a weaponized baseball bat was in a parish of which I was pastor in the deep-deep south, well over 300 miles further south than I am now. But the bat wasn’t just wrapped in barbed wire (which can rip you to shreds), but also had dozens of large spikes hammered through it so that every hit would also be like being stabbed multiple times.
That bat was in full view in the back seat of a uniquely marked junky red car. The bat had all sorts of racist death threats written on it with paint-marker pens. That car had been parked right in front of the rectory, forcing me to walk by it to the church, all on parish property, on which we also had a parochial school. It would be half a week or so before that car was removed. It was in and of itself a hate-crime.
After some days again my own car needed some work. I asked for advice on good mechanics, and one nice lady told me to go to an out of the way garage in a back-neighborhood of a town that wasn’t close by. But, fine. I went. It took quite a while to find it. There was a guy working on another car. He didn’t see me with his head buried in the engine. I took the opportunity to mentally examine the inside of the garage in detail. I couldn’t miss seeing that same red car was on the far side of the shop, raised up on a hydraulic car lift, like, to the ceiling, all the lights turned off on that side of the shop.
Just then he emerged to see what I wanted but I somehow was able to talk my way out of getting anything done at that shop and left, feeling I had just gotten away with my life, that guy being very possibly the owner of that car and spiked baseball bat.
Such baseball bats are meant not only to smack down black people, but also Catholics and Jews.
It’s all a piece with the Democrat KKK party pushing abortions in black neighborhoods all this time.
Thank God for the Supreme Court’s defederalization of fake rights to murder kids in the womb.
Thank God for new politicians like Jerone Davison.
Here’s another guy I really like a lot, also pro-life, and I hope he becomes our governor here in North Carolina, Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, Republican:
NOTE TO THE CANCELERS: The last time I supported a pro-life candidate over satanic pro-abortion maniacs the powers that be did their best to shut me down altogether, frantically contacting me to say that the separation of Church and State (that’s not the law) demands that I, as a priest, take down any support for Republican candidates unless I cover up and lie for the hellion pro-abort racist Demoncrats, which I cannot do.
I suppose I will immediately receive horrific pressure to take down this post, or else. Whatever.
Just some legally significant logistics: I write on my own time on my own equipment for no compensation on my own bandwidth in my own “hut” as one parishioner calls it. I own the blog. I’m the publisher, blah blah blah. … and … Hahahahaha.
… all the shirts you own are tattered in a certain place.
You know you’re exercising 2a rights when…
… the Glock factory in Smyrna, Georgia, is sprucing up your tool of choice and the guys there tell you that they’ve never seen such wear on the coating on their slides, and then ask if you’ve put out more than eight thousand rounds, and are undercutting the count by more than two thirds. (And that was years ago.)
Note to infringers: You’re right, that’s a threaded barrel. But I don’t own a suppressor. This is just to get a slightly longer barrel for target practice which in these years has been extremely rare because of the lack of inexpensive plinking rounds.
You know you’re exercising 2a rights when…
… lively conversations about the faith at supermarkets and gas stations – with all sorts of questions about the priesthood, about pro-life, about Christ Jesus precisely as the Divine Son of Mary, about Church history and the reformation, about priests being chaplains for the military and law enforcement, about where our Catholic church is located in town, about God-given rights enumerated in our Constitution, about these non-Catholics feeling totally welcomed to come by the church for a fish fry and for Holy Mass to see what’s really going on at Catholic parishes, all this because of carrying open and people loving to see that.
“New York’s proper-cause requirement for obtaining an unrestricted license to carry a concealed firearm violates the Fourteenth Amendment in that it prevents law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.”
There’s another issuance day tomorrow, 24 June 2022, and the possibility of two more issuance days next week. The decision on whether or not Roe v Wade is to be overturned, sending the abortion issue back to voters in the States will take place on one of those three days.
This great decision protecting the 2nd amendment is just in time for the possible mayhem after the upcoming decision on Roe v Wade. Jane’s Revenge has promised horrific violence. The FBI has confirmed evidence that the threats are legit, saying Catholic churches, Catholic bishops and Catholic priests specifically will be attacked the night of any decision that Jane’s Revenge thinks is adverse to them. DHS has said that such a threat will continue until the end of November (after weird counting of mid-term election ballots).
So, I’m proud of SCOTUS today. Yay!
This makes me nostalgic. The year I was born Dad was accredited to the Supreme Court of these United States:
In my Diocese the official policy, regardless of any recommendations by any risk retention insurance group, is brief and to the point in the context of applicable Natural Law and State, Federal and Constitutional laws: Don’t actively encourage but don’t necessarily forbid.
Our Diocese respects the unalienable God-given right to stop any being-delivered-mortal-threat of unjust aggressors against non-aggressors.
Our Diocese respects the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Our Diocese respects open carry laws of the State of North Carolina, which do not forbid open carrying in churches, though this can be legally blocked and that blockage legally enforced if accompanied by proper, visible signage. In my parish, I’ll expressly forbid any rifles or shotguns. I’ll also forbid open carry of any kind of weapon to those I don’t know. Sorry. I know that’ll offend some people, but that’s just the world we live in today. If they don’t depart willingly, immediately, they’ll be trespassed and it will immediately turn into a big deal. Having said that, I do not at all forbid certain individuals to open carry, who, for instance, have become well practiced in law enforcement and in the military and who are personal friends, well known to me.
Our Diocese respects concealed carry laws. I don’t forbid any legal concealed carry (but no rifles or shotguns) to all those assisting at Holy Mass. I even put up stickers at entrances to the church and social hall stating that attitude of non-forbidding, as depicted up top of this post. If someone is legally carrying concealed here in North Carolina, it means they’ve been trained up and tested and have shot their weapon of choice dozens of times and have gone through the entire spectrum of local, state and federal background checks which now includes the databases for all State mental health agencies / hospitals and all of our Federal Intelligence Agencies and Bureaus. We’re pretty thorough in North Carolina. I’m not going to command people to carry, but if they’re legally doing this, I’m not going to stop them. It’ll make me smile. :-)
Our Diocese is insisting churches have security teams. As to whether anyone who is a member of such a security team carries a weapon in whatever way is not something any pastor can require, but neither is anyone necessarily to be forbidden their Constitutional rights. It’s about walking the fine line of liability on both sides. Clever. Effective.
The CIA operator in the LifeSite video above is certain that there will be grave violence in churches during services, particularly in Catholic churches during Holy Mass, a lot of violence. Shootings. Bombings.
So, there’s a problem. A Catholic risk retention / insurance group of mid-West American bishops (Does that mean Cupich as well?) has sent out advice to pastors of parishes in America on creating church security teams that – surprise surprise – seems geared to get you killed out of respect for the tender feelings of Marxist funded terrorists. I’ll present what they say and make some comments. They begin with sarcasm and condescension:
“Remember, the goal is not to develop a church SWAT team, but to be ready and able to take action until help arrives.”
Mind you, that’s specifically about dealing with an active shooter gunning down everyone in church in real time. The idea of the program is “to be ready and able to take action until help arrives”, which literally means that such readiness and action that they have in mind has already rendered you helpless until help arrives, right? And while you wait, what happens? Everyone dies.
As a local Sheriff told me, these kinds of programs simply pave the way for a clean-up operation, the removal of corpses, the washing down of blood. These programs are not at all about actually protecting anyone.
The following is put in a shaded paragraph with red-capitalized letters and all in bold, the emphasis added by the creators of the security program. I guess they really mean it:
In case you didn’t quite get what they’re on about, so annoying is it, let’s see what they mean specifically by the actual addressing of “an active shooter”:
“A distractive weapon could be a fire extinguisher, while blunt force weapons could be objects such as heavy candle sticks or lamps which could be thrown at the intruder.”
That’s just sad. So many people will die unnecessarily.
This has to be satire, right? Are they serious about the effectiveness of throwing an entitled tantrum in front of a shooter who is pulling the trigger as fast as he can?
Anyway, it’s even worse. Zero churches are lit by electric reading lamps. Right? So…Did you just see what happened? It’s true that quite a lot of churches don’t have candle sticks on the altar, but rather have oil lamps, which, if you throw them at those nice people blowing you apart with bullets, are now Molotov cocktails setting your own parishioners and your own church on fire. You will have burned down your own church, burned your own parishioners to death. The bishops have prepared this; you will have done that:
That’s the advice. Throwing those lamps will really help, right? And since the bishops can’t imagine anyone being “mean,” they’re envisioning that these lamps be lobbed like a soft-ball. I can just see people’s hair-sprayed hair catching on fire. That will ensure absolute mayhem. Are these people stupid or malicious or both? Just satirical? Hey, Cardinal Blase, do you have an answer for us?
But, wait… are they really saying no to guns? They’re going to be careful about this. They think that not having armed security is a viable option, but let’s say you’re belligerent and do have armed security:
“If you decide that armed security is needed at your parish, it is highly recommended that you use either current law enforcement agencies/personnel or a qualified and licensed security firm, each of which, carry professional liability insurance. Before any agreement is reached or signed by the parish representative, it must be reviewed by the designated representative at the Chancery and/or […] to ensure the language and coverage is providing adequate protection to the parish/diocese. A benefit to utilizing these professions is they are required to receive regular and current methods of training to handle emergency situations. They are conditioned to make split-second decisions and can diffuse a stressful situation from escalating into a tragic outcome.”
We can’t afford that. We have no paid staff in our parish. We’re so tiny! Hired armed security, individuals whom we don’t know, is going to scare our parishioners. That’s a non-starter.
“Whereas non-professional persons engaging an attacker, are most likely not qualified to do so and could cause increased risk to themselves and others.”
Well, well. That’s an outright lie. Anyone with a weapon here in North Carolina is instructed, tested, practiced. That’s the law for concealed carry. Those on our security team are willing to take the risk of being a target, to lay down their lives for others. They won’t be a risk to anyone but mass shooters. They know what they’re doing after a lifetime of service, more than any rookie cop, or “security firm.” And I do know some of those who have worked in the security industry. I would never entrust them with protection of a church during Holy Mass. Never.
But let me be clear: in this parish pretty much every single person carries who can do so legally. And again, that means that they are instructed, tested, practiced and willing.
Our CIA friend in the video above correctly understands the threats in the last screed of Jane’s Revenge, that they are promising to move on quickly from spray paint and broken windows and arson to real violence against innocent church goers. That means mass shootings, and that means bombs. The FBI has warned the U.S. bishops that there is much credible evidence that Catholic churches, Catholic bishops, Catholic priests will be attacked the night of any SCOTUS decision reversing Roe v Wade.
And then do you know what the bishops will do? Here’s my prophesy. If it get’s real bad…
The bishops will close down the churches just like they did for Covid. “Being on Calvary with Jesus is too dangerous”, they’ll say. “Let’s run away!” they’ll say. “Catholics DO run away!” they’ll shriek. Running away from Calvary was the first collegial decision of the Apostles,” they’ll rationalize. “No more Mass anywhere at all,” they’ll insist.
But that won’t happen if we just have proper church security teams from the get-go. One of the best ways is NOT to use woke programs which insist on respecting the feelings of terrorists, letting them kill everyone “until help arrives.”
And if you think I’m exaggerating, wait until the next installment on church security on this blog providing a critique of the bishops’ wokeness on church security, playing into the hands of the terrorists all the more. Not only do the bishops create an atmosphere of welcome for active shooters, but they community-organize the creation of mass shooters using Critical Race Theory. Yep. Stay tuned.
It’s all about chevron deference. No longer. That decision of SCOTUS the other day undoes just about all BATFE infringements on the second amendment. LOL. Chevron deference claimed by BATFE was an abuse of authority:
“We, the entitled ones at BATFE, get to interpret the law anyway we want because we’re, like, special and have, like, chevron privilege! We can define the law contrary to its plain meaning, because we say it’s ambiguous, and… and… besides… we’re the one’s who are nice.”
SCOTUS finally got sick of it all. Any chevron should be earned, have integrity. Here’s dad:
I’m sure BATFE will now be so emotionally traumatized that they’ll want to do a SWAT raid on the parish, looking for the one who has the offensive hat.
Rule number one: men in the congregation don’t wear hats in church.
Rule number two: be reasonable. The hat doesn’t mean one even owns a gun.
My estimation of Taylor Marshal just went up. He knows Jiu-Jitsu, like, really well. Very impressive. My own health isn’t good enough right now. I’ve been putting off an operation and there are other things. But out of interest I looked up Jiu-Jitsu and found that one of the best instructional schools in these USA is right close to my parish – https://www.fxselfdefense.com/ – boasting of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Israeli Krav Maga Maleh, Muay Thai, Okinawan Karate etc.
In daily life I enjoy exercising situational awareness (noticing how to get out of or deescalate situations) along with my “force-multiplier,” but Catholic churches full of parishioners attending Holy Mass is now set to be a favorite target of the pro-abort anti-SCOTUS terrorists. And, as Taylor points out, the priest at Holy Mass that is offered ad orientem has zero situational awareness and is the perfect unobstructed first target, the fiddleback vestment with any embroidered “decal” making it all the more easy target-wise for the terrorist:
So, security teams are all the more necessary. My own diocese has been insistent on having security teams. The advice about 2nd amendment possibilities for these security teams is extremely carefully not provided, with absolutely nothing said for or against, insisting, in fact, on making sure that no parish offers any advice one way or the other. In court, people will hold you liable if they are hurt because you’ve limited their rights or because you didn’t and someone was hit by, say, a ricochet. So, you let the 2nd amendment speak for itself.
We do have neutral signs on the doors of the church and social hall proclaiming that concealed carry is just fine by us. In North Carolina, concealed carry permits involve extensive local, state and federal background checks to such an even exaggerated extent that we enjoy reciprocity with most any State. I proactively invite any on-duty law enforcement officers to attend in full uniform, which includes, of course, their open carry. We’ve even had the Chief of Police attend Mass in such manner. Great! They’re an exception to the only-concealed-carry rule (if you wish to carry).
But when terrorists are looking for soft-targets in a region and see such small signs discreetly posted on church doors, that’s not the church they are going to go to first. They will want to go to the softest target, a church which is militantly anti-2nd-amendment, regardless of whether congregants agree with SCOTUS or with the stated interests of the terrorists themselves.
Just to say, terrorist groups (imnsho) having a history of arson, assault, murder, level-of-war damage to real property, assassination of police officers… they are also gearing up to join in the new Summer of Love.
The video above has a lot of good advice for larger congregations. But in my tiny parish it comes down to this: quite simply, the violence of aggressors will not be tolerated by anyone. Our entire parish is our security team. If any of our parishioners is aggressed upon, the aggressors can be politely escorted out of door. I’m told in casual conversation with one of our officers that it is likely illegal to detain anyone, but violent aggressors can certainly be escorted out the door.
At the Spanish Mass, any actively violent people crashing into church – whatever that violence happens affecting others happens to be – would be instantly dogpiled until the threat was escorted outside. And I do mean that this would happen instantly. Most of those attending the Spanish Mass are from the same town in Mexico, an extremely violent town. They have seen it all before and are instantly ready to smack it all down here. That’s not what they want to see here. They will protect their wives and children and each other. To our Mexicans, who know all about suffering the violence of being thrown into vats of acid, dismemberment by chainsaw, beheadings, gunfire, whatever, a handful of SCOTUS protesters is not what is going to freeze them in fear. You know why? Because my parishioners believe in God, in Jesus, and will lay down their lives for each other, instantly. You think my parishioners are afraid of phone-videos while they are being assaulted or worse? No.
At the English Mass we have plenty of people who carry. Also, and this changes from week to week, but we have a constant flow of well trained military and law enforcement, often Federal law enforcement on vacation, frequently FBI, intel groups, etc. They’re all ready to instantly take care of any eventuality in such manner that Holy Mass could and would continue without missing a beat. I love that.
At the TLM, you can combine everything said for the other Masses above. :-)
But when I saw something I didn’t say anything because the body armor I saw was perfectly legal to wear anywhere you want. This college is just down the road from the parish. I’m guessing this is the same guy who was in Andrews the other month.
I saw him making a beeline to the supermarket in his ballistic vest. So what? I was frequently wearing a ballistic vest with POLICE CHAPLAIN written all over it, and was carrying, when accompanying our officers as police chaplain. However, since there were a number of suspicious things about him I circled back and parked near the main doors and watched him go in. I knew a retired cop was doing the bagboy thing at the registers and I could see that he wasn’t particularly worried. But I waited until the guy left and went on his way, just a few minutes, with no one caring about it. This is, after all, WNC. All good.
It did look, however, like he was holding on to a pistol chest-level under the ballistic vest as he walked. That’s totally possible. There are certain muscles you use to do this. The more you know… But it was all good. And now I don’t feel foolish knowing that (extremely probably) this is the same guy with a felony warrant such that the police actually chased him (and that kind of chase is, like, really rare). But I suppose his going on campus with body armor looks a bit too suspect, more than a supermarket, and I imagine it’s against campus law.
Anyway, this is one of a thousand examples I can give of being happy to be at the ready with proper tools to help out if need be, you know, when seconds count and police are only minutes away. That’s not vigilantism. It’s just being neighborly. Bad things do happen and when they do, it’s all very immediate. People are still in denial about the fact that something bad can happen to them. “Too bad that happened, but it will not… cannot… happen to me.”
I can’t imagine leaving home without my carry.
So, when’s the last time you cleaned and oiled your carry?
Joe Biden casts doubt on whether he can ban all 9mm guns by way of executive order, but then gives the rationale for doing this legally. So, he just announced his intentions, trolling citizens in good standing who are wanting to be able to defend themselves and any victims over against unjust, deadly aggression that is astronomically increasing because of Joey’s love for crime and his hatred for law enforcement. He mentioned banning mags with ten rounds or more so that everyone who bought mags limited to ten rounds will also be felons: it’s not “over” ten rounds, it’s “ten roundsor more.”
Having announced his intentions, Joey, sippy cup or ice cream in hand, with his own government hired security detail, will surely move ahead with registering and then confiscating most tools for self defense in these USA guaranteed by the Constitution. Joey says that the God-given rights (and concomitant duties) enumerated in the Constitution aren’t absolute, you know, just like Pope Francis says that the God-given Commandments aren’t absolute. Yours truly says they’re both wrong.
I say this with all due respect. Pope Francis having it that blasphemy is good sometimes, or murder of the innocent is good sometimes, or dishonoring one’s parents is good sometimes is demonic. For Joe Biden to say that God-given rights (and concomitant duties) enumerated in the Constitution are not absolute is an insult to God and all human beings. Dem “Summers of love” with “mostly peaceful” assault, arson, rape and murder will ensue. But people vote for their own death because they get free stuff at the cost of their lives.
Meanwhile, to the North…
That means that only criminals will have weapons and that gun violence will sky-rocket just like in every other place where citizens in good standing are stripped of their self-defense tools but criminals are good to go. Trudeau is enacting a forced “buy back” of all guns having mags of five rounds or more. That, of course, rules out 99.999999999999999999% of all pistols and revolvers. Nothing is “grandfathered.” Poor Canada. The robberies and home invasions and murders will increase astronomically.
Criminals disobey gun laws. They’re criminals. You can’t legislate gun control onto criminals. Guess what: they’ll break those laws, especially because prosecutors and judges politically want criminals on the streets. Wherever citizens in good standing can exercise self defense preparedness, crime goes waaay down immediately. But that’s not what’s wanted.
Seems to me that these guys are all liars and murderers from the beginning. And, by the way, they are racist as well:
Do I really have to go into how many rounds have been shot at yours truly in my life? or how many times in the past few years that I have been carrying that I’m really happy simply to have had an effective self-defense tool with me?
The Dems in the USA and the liberals up in Canada have purposely socially engineered society to be hyperbolically more violent. The need for effective defense is intensified. And they proportionally take away any methodology of defense.
This is as far back in the back ridges of moonshine Cherokee County as you can possibly get. The old guy who lives here makes his way out on Sundays to serve the Traditional Latin Mass, and then afterward, I go on Communion calls, which includes his wife.
He greets me at the door packing heat, I think a .38 Special. Meanwhile, the son, who’s probably as old as I am (which is old), will usually be coming up from downstairs to see what trouble is brewing up top. The son can mag-dump into the same bullet hole a good distance out with – not a revolver, as that would be too easy – but with a grindy-trigger pistol. Hat’s off to him. Then he’ll disappear again. Meanwhile, the old guy’s elderly wife, well, let’s just say that this reminds of her skills and wisdom:
We have a chat, making sure we’re all good to go with food supplies and candles for prayer and such. Then the prayer gets serious with the Holy Communion part of the Communion call. Then we chat a bit more about schedules of doctors and such for the week. We might also talk about guns, because, well, I’m always carrying as well. If I’m not, I get severely reprimanded with lectures about the fallen state of the world and how I have to be at the ready in any situation. If I’m just coming from the Rehab/Nursing Home I might say that it’s still in the car. More reprimands come my way for being so forgetful, with no discipline. I love it. They’re such a day brightener for me.
[I admit it. I put up this post just to annoy the infamous commenter troll guy who wants me out of the priesthood. Just a little humor to lighten things up. But some people just like to be angry. Anyway, I’m in a really good mood today, and so very happy to be a priest.]
It’s been my contention for many years that, say, the reason why Chicago, dumping ground of deadly drugs for, say, the Sinaloa cartel, has some of the most restrictive gun control anywhere ever, is that the politicos are given massive kickbacks from the sale of deadly drugs to the effect that law abiding cititizens are not allowed to protect themselves with their 2nd amendment God-given rights, but those on the street who sell the drugs, even if ultra-felons, even if arrested, are simply let go so that they continue their sell of deadly drugs as accompanied by untold numbers of murders. Follow the money.
Gun control only hurts citizens in good standing. Thugs and buffoons assisting the cartels love gun control, because they are not controlled by it. This is all proven exhaustively, comprehensively, repeatedly, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, millennium after millennium. Everyone knows it, including, say, the Department of Justice, including, say, INL in the Department of State, including, say, the Department of Homeland Security.
Oh. I forgot. The Disinformation Governance Board of DHS will deny everything written in this post and force shadow banning on any such opinions. They’ll say it’s a grey area. As I’ve always said, when anyone claims “grey,” a river of red blood is shed.
The FBI? Easy peasy. They’re good at following the money. They know who’s who:
But I hate to point fingers. That’s not fair.
You know whose policies are also helping cartels with drugs and human trafficking and sex trafficking, hurting these U.S.A.? Catholic Charities. Let’s see… remember this video?
I got a response about that video from Catholic Charities. The response was a mishmash of ambiguity about being happy to follow the direction of the bishops in these USA. So, a non-response. Whatrya gonna do, Father Byers, take away the 501(c)3 of Catholic Charities? ;-)
A million little projects. Just calm, at a million miles an hour, but a breather for sure. To start off, the Hanukkah and Christmas picture window display needed setting up. The lighting from last year, pictured above, was not easy. A simplified version was in order, which I like much better:
That was just for the picture, a trial lighting making sure everything works. I’ll change out the “Shamash” candle in the middle. I know, I know, it’s not even Advent, or even Hanukkah, or even Thanksgiving for that matter. Just preparing.
Hanukkah is all about God’s joyful intervention in assisting the celebration of the rededication of the Temple. Christmas is all about the Living Temple in the Body of the Messiah, the Lumen gentium, the Jewish Light of the Nations borne amongst us.
I totally get that the candles or lamps should be wax or oil. I mean, I wouldn’t use electric candles for the Altar for Holy Mass. But this is a celebration at home, which doesn’t have the same candle/lamp viability as does the church.
Hanukkah is super early this year (the lunar calendar thing), beginning Sunday Night 28 November, 2021, which coincides with the evening of the first Sunday of Advent. Hanukkah runs through daytime of Monday, December 6. Only the “Shamash” and the first candle are lit Sunday night, from right to left, night by night. The prayers the first night (from Chavad.org):
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion. [This one is just for the first night.]
Next up on the day off was the cutting of a rose bush out front (which was obscuring the picture window), then the ripping off the Jasmine from the inside fence of the backyard (lots more to be done there), as well as ripping up of the Jasmine that had been hiding “Brake-Man” since springtime. The asparagus forest was also knocked to the ground.
Next up on the day off was attaching the tiniest of all concealed carry holsters next to the standard shift of Sassy the Subaru. I rarely use stuff for what it’s intended. Benefits: availability-at-speed instead of struggling with the seat-belt over the open carry and now, almost winter, under a jacket (the concealed carry permit was just renewed). I can’t imagine concealed carry under a shirt, under a jacket, under a seat-belt. That would be worse than carrying non-chambered. Also, there’s a comfort factor while driving, however slight. But most people won’t carry if there’s the slightest discomfort. I’m no better than anyone else.
The footwell of the passenger seat is a catchall for rituals of all kinds, Holy Water, a sacramental stole, the mail that day, other items of various projects. I don’t care what any ecclesiastical authority, say, in Rome, says about priests being forbidden to give Last Rites because of Covid-whatever, I’m always a priest and always have the right to provide Last Rites. That rebellious spirit applies over against any secular authorities as well. Going up against all the lawyers and upper-echelon admin of the hospital and going up against the governor’s office brought immediate positive results.
The bit of orange you see is a glass-breaker should the doors be wrecked and the electric windows fail. All the electrical in the car failed just the other day. Just sayin’. A left-over from years gone by next to that bit of orange is a really old wallet filled with cancelled credit cards and one dollar in cash. That would be given to any would-be robber who would ask for the wallet if the circumstances permitting that kind of deescalation and avoidance of conflict were present. It just buys enough time to leave a situation and have it resolved another way. We live in weird times. I’ve already been in a car-jacking incident helping transport a retired cop to the hospital. But that guy was apprehended on the spot by the police came screeching up with miraculously good timing.
“But Father George! Father George! You start off with the Temple and the Prince of Peace and wind up with guns?!”
Lol. Yes. That’s me. You might want to read up on the violent occasioning of the celebration of Hanukkah, the celebrating being brought about by God Himself. You might want to recall the violence occasioned in this world throughout time by Adam with original sin (see “Brake-Man” above) but the actual peace we will have in heaven, please God. You might want to remember that the second amendment is a service to one’s fellow man in violent circumstances. This is about just defense over against unprovoked and already being delivered deadly aggression. Statistically, where the second amendment is respected there is a huge decrease in crime. But there is always an increased risk for those who render the service of deescalation and defense of the innocent. There’s really so much good with Jesus intervening amongst us, but it helps us appreciate His entrance into this world when we remember why He came!
Hahaha. What’s not funny is that the media brought about the riots in which people lost their lives. That they lost their lives is not the fault of Kyle, not in the least. They forfeited their own lives by delivering potentially deadly aggression toward Kyle. Meanwhile, Kyle had been busy putting out fires and rendering first aid. Kyle is not a vigilante. And he’s surely not a Vigilatte®:
Employment of the 2nd Amendment for defense of self and others against unprovoked and already being delivered deadly aggression is still part of this Constitutional Republic with the Rule of Law, and always remains part of Natural Law (=unalienable, God-given). Just defense is not illegal. It is a positive contribution to the virtue of justice which you never want to have to make. But if you do, it is what it is.
Kyle is the victim in all this.
Thanks for putting out fires, Kyle. Thanks for rendering first aid, Kyle. Praying for you, Kyle.
Targets out, I’m told, 125 feet, from the new balcony at the house of some parishioners. I was there to bless the house, but stayed for the Jewish-Catholic Dialogue. Really good. What a great family. Lots of exquisite food and drink. No alcohol for me!
The old man is one of the most studied up, practiced, scenario-ed constant trainer of decades, having all that the IDF etc have to offer down cold. As soon as he saw that I was carrying, like in a nanosecond, he said: “I like you already.”
Of course, we had to do up some target practice. He gave me Federal to use, which you simply cannot get these days.
The rubbish you see at the tree line above is the group of targets. A close up:
My favorite was the second from the left up top, just a few inches across. It got set to swinging, again and again and again.
I was happy to be accurate at that distance, which I’ve never practiced, ever. The most I’ve done is 25 yards out, just 75 feet, and only quite rarely, concentrating on 21 and 25 feet out. This was another 50 feet beyond the 75 feet, close to another 17 yards farther, with a mere pistol.
Since I haven’t practiced in forever, this was a confidence builder. Of course, without an abundance of ammo, the aim, so to speak, was accuracy, not speed. But I think that will also come back easily enough in future, unless these USA go total communist.
We talked quite about that, communism, and Russia. I said that the old USSR didn’t much like the Jews. No, he agreed. I said it was because they didn’t like moral principles, the Natural Law, such as is expressed in the Ten Commandments. That set off quite the commentary by many, all in agreement.
The conversation and the bullets were all on target. A great time. Surprising what carrying can open up.
In stepping up to shoot I apologized for not having practiced in a long time. Then I pulled the trigger a few times. Then they gave me a new nickname: Shot-Shark. :-)
Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for the Pontifical Family to go through the personal archives of the Holy Father – having the originals of all correspondence with any Pope – and provide me a copy of the letter of Emmanuel Célestin Cardinal Suhard to Pius XII. But they are afraid. Sooooo afraaaaid! They shouldn’t be. I got the response down cold. I just need to contextualize this with what actually instigated the response. I thought we were going to open up the archives, right? to help out with Jewish-Catholic dialogue, right? RIGHT?
If I got that and made commentary on it and somehow actually got published I would get another nickname from the anti-Semites, and it wouldn’t be so kind to me as Shot-Shark. It might be something like: Jew-Boy! Of course, I would take that as reality and a compliment. In fact, they could be combined: Shot-Shark-Jew-Boy. I like it, a lot. But seriously, that commentary would be done with accuracy such as I still retain with my firearm. ;-)
The call came in yesterday morning at 8:30 AM. Jumping in the car, continuing with other phone calls on the road about funerals and then about extracting friends out of Afghanistan, ever more dangerous, ever more frustrating, arrival was soon made in the Sheriff’s Office, always a super friendly bunch.
Why? Recreation with wild target practice, though that’s difficult at this time with the loss of my private range and the high price and scarcity of ammo. One session of practice can entail really a lot of ammo, with so many courses to run through. So, only rarely. But it’s fun when it happens.
Why? Self-defense, and some occasions have arisen when I’m happy to have been at the ready, but always happier when, with the whole “carry” lifestyle of situational awareness as avoidance and verbal deescalation techniques, there are no confrontations at all. This has been a real education.
Why? Defense of others, and some occasions have arisen when I’ve been happy to have been at the ready, particularly during one would-be carjacking incident when I was driving a crippled police officer to the hospital. Given permission to leave the scene by the first arriving officer, we counted nine cruisers from one direction, guessing that there were as many coming from the other direction. Imagine if I had let that crippled officer become a hostage to that guy. Ain’t gonna happen with this transporter. ;-)
Why? To support the 2nd amendment to this democratic Republic’s Constitution.
Why? Because all this prompts wildly wonderful conversations about Jesus all around town and far beyond.
Today was the day at the Sheriff’s Office for renewing my CHP (Concealed Handgun Permit). I’ll be able to go pick up the actual card in a few weeks, just before my old one gets out-of-date at five years.
“Five years.”
What a ride these five years have been. It’s all been a learning process for the better. So many great opportunities for serving others, for sharing the faith with perhaps sometimes some that that one might think are the least likely candidates for evangelization, who turn out, of course, like clockwork, to be those most intensely interested in hearing all about the good Lord.
And, yes, with all due credit to my guardian angel and the dear Lord (who both like to work with those who appreciate being reasonable in a fallen world), the “tool” that is carried appendix has done me well, keeping me alive.
Here’s to looking forward to another five years of enjoying the 2nd amendment to the Constitution of this Constitutional Republic with the Rule of Law, of these United States of America.
All that fun was a while back out at the now sold-off hermitage. However, last time I was out the timings and accuracy were still up to muscle memory par. All that’s necessary, but…
What’s most important for the lawful and prudent exercise of the 2nd amendment is a good spiritual life, lots of friends, lots of involvement with the wildly varying community at large, just wanting to do good for one’s neighbor, lots of involvement also with honest peers. Moreover…
It’s necessary to have ever sharpening skill sets regarding situational awareness, which skills, mind you, have their emphasis on noticing and evaluating circumstances so that if there are indicators of any kind of trouble you have already mapped out your extraction from that situation and have already become at the ready to take steps in de-escalation.
Just my opinion, but I wish more would be presented for newbies on situational awareness and de-escalation for any required courses for concealed carry. There are plenty of books and articles about this, plenty of situational training sessions in which one can participate. The USCCA is great for this. I’m a member of that.
I’m always amazed (I shouldn’t be) at the mentions of having one’s spiritual life in order as a sine qua non for carrying, having gotten it straight in mind and soul and spirit what it means to be in a position whereby one might end the threat of someone already delivering deadly aggression on yourself as a non-aggressor or on other non-aggressors.
If you haven’t had a TBI from an IED while serving God and country, don’t even ask why it would be therapeutic recreation to teach an ultra-naive Catholic priest how to hit a target at far away sniper distances (with a lot of luck, perfect conditions, lots of patience and determination to enjoy the hilarity of it all). My friend said that he would step it back from the crazy distances as we worked through ammo, but only with ever diminishing targets, down to playing-card size, you know, so I could have a souvenir.
This guy’s not a sniper. Such over the top skill sets constituted just one box of many dozens he had to check off to attain his real occupation in the military. He’s the best of the best of the best.
And he has made miraculous progress with his TBI. He was so very far gone. For so very, very long. The Veterans Administration did him good. Thank God.
In the past, he’s been one of out top operators who taught me how to shoot a pistol. Now he wants to have some more fun with me, you know, because it’s kind of hilarious to teach a naive priest over-the-top skill sets. :-) You can’t know how much respect I have for this guy. He’s been down to North Carolina now a couple of times. This time, I will be making 1,200 miles up North to get to his ginormous prairie range. But that trip will double and triple for other visits.
The least I could do is special order a box of Creedmoor 6.5., pictured above, which came in just the other day. He shoots out of a setup just like this…
Just guessing, but methinks that part of the TBI therapy part must be getting outside and doing a zillion calculations in your head all at once about heat, humidity, distance, trajectories, wind, breathing, heartbeats. This guy has the more patience than most people in the world put together. That means that the frustrating moments of teaching the likes of me immediately turns into hilarity. And hilarity is great therapy for what ails you.
Writing this in convalescence of pneumonia is a good distraction for me. The doctor says that a couple of things a day while on the mend helps the mending.
Oh. Almost forgot. Saint Paul.
“To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23)
Oh. Almost forgot. Plot twist alert just in case people were asleep reading all this:
Don’t you think it might be my sniper friend who is the one who has become weak to win over the weak, coming the closest I’ve seen anyone come close to laying down his life for his friends, the greatest love of all, so that, for instance, I myself might be the priest for Jesus’ Little Flock, bringing people into the life of the Sacraments?
The least I can do amidst all this valor of his is to offer him a moment of hilarity. It’s hilarious for me too. His laughter allows me the therapy of laughter, which is all the more hilarious for him.
So, I get it, probably the DOJ and BATFE will entitle me an extremist for having a picture of a gun and a picture of ammo in this post, and – ooooh! – because I mentioned the military, but to all that imbecilic idiocy of our deepening deep state self-entitled anti-American snowflakes, I say, take a breath, lean back, and laugh!
UPDATE: Sometimes I’ll look up IP geolocator longitude / latitude coordinates and sometimes those will come out at Fort George Meade or Langley or Tyson’s Corner, etc. Sometimes that’s not necessary as named servers will be used, such as the CIA’s open source crowd in Reston, etc. Geolocators are often imprecise, but basically the coordinates for a hit on this post landed on top of the roof of DARPA headquarters located in Arlington, VA. ;-) ///// end update
Exclamation points are important for getting the attention of the DARPA sarcasm detector. Perhaps it makes it easier for them if, at the end of an offscouring of sarcastic statements, the following is added: /// off sarcasm.
Some background that will be useful in battling to be allowed bail for what is surely a crime as detailed below.
The almost five year old Hogue grip add-on for my Glock 19 Gen 4 is now slightly worn out, as depicted above. After getting my North Carolina concealed carry permit, this grip was a gift from a 25 year deputy sheriff. I’m sure he thought a priest, perhaps particularly me, would need all the help I can get, and he’s right about that. So, the other day I splurged and got a grip on the situation and did a new and newly revised for the better grip.
And now…
Much better. The material is better, much more heavy-duty, much better fitting, just much better. Kudos to Hogue. But – a word to the wise – keep it away from the mag-release on both sides, otherwise it will interfere with the slide, and then you’re dead.
Meanwhile, BATFE has been apoplectically changing definitions of gun stuff. Everything seems to be defined as an actual gun. I wonder if my new Hogue grip counts as an unregistered weapon of mass destruction all on its own or as an evil add-on that I don’t yet realize is a felony weapons charge that will have me put into a Federal Penitentiary for the rest of my life. Sigh. BATFE needs to get a grip. We do have a 2nd amendment, right? The whole “shall not be infringed” thing, right? And – oh no!!!!! – I used my credit card to make this purchase: BATFE knows everything! Gasp!
Does DARPA really have a Sarcasm Detector? Hah! Yes.
Let’s try it out. Let’s see if this post get’s banned by DARPA:
I LOST MY GRIP IN A BOATING ACCIDENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dropping the sarcasm, let me say this: shall not be infringed means shall not be infringed. So, such a tautology is sarcasm, but not really, because, I mean… Oh, sorry!!!!! I’m being sarcastic again!!!! ;-)
ARISE! LET US BE GOING! 