philoshop

I'm hip deep in a number of issues right now, and I work hard to support all of them. Preservation of the US Constitution is the biggie for me, because without that nothing else matters.. I may not have power to directly change things, but I have power to inform others that change needs to be made.

Wascles I say. Wascalley wabbits.

I will never, ever, welcome people to this country who's greatest wish is to participate in it's destruction.

The biggest threat to America today comes from Washington DC. The Socialists, Communists, Enviro-nazis, gun-grabbers and alternative-lifestyle folks don't mean a damn thing until they get legislation passed to 'normalize' their views. I'll keep working hard to thwart that. "Never give an inch."

Absolutely none.

They're tough and adaptable. He doesn't even know he's been shot yet.

My brother has a nice chestnut grove going. A couple dozen young trees or so, after starting with a single one twenty years ago. They're very tasty. He's looking to swap some of his nuts to get a little genetic diversity in his grove if anyone's interested.

A pig on my property is going to be bacon in my freezer, in a hurry.

The "give an inch..." thing is very significant. And the thought that it won't ever affect you personally, just because you're a law abiding hunter/sportsman is delusional. There are people in government today who would like to see every citizen entirely disarmed. They're working hard toward that end. They can't do it in one leap, and they know it it. It's an incremental war. Giving an inch is far too much. I'm safe, and mostly happy, because I'm capable of protecting myself, and smart enough to live where gunfire is not currently necessary in my pursuit of happiness. Changing the rules at the end of the game doesn't sit well with me.

A new shoulder, so that I can bowhunt again. I can wish, right? Health and happiness for everyone. That's mostly doable.

Thanks for your diligence.

Very sorry to hear of this. I grew up in Newark. It's a good community, and I have a number of friends there. Glad you and your family are safe. As you've said, that's the important thing. Please let us know if we can help in any way. I'm a pretty good builder, and I'd be happy to help with putting together and running a volunteer crew for rebuilding when the time comes. PM coming coming your way. Seriously, Mark

My comment wasn't intended to be personal. Some very bright people are working on solutions. Unfortunately, very few of them are currently in government service.

A farm-raised pig that escapes captivity can be a problem. Two of them can become a devastating nuisance in a hurry. Some of them are tame enough to be brought back to captivity before they become feral, but some of them aren't. They're smart, tough, omnivorous and mean-tempered.

Life somehow got in the way of hunting for me this year, so there's at least one deer that will still be around. Then again, I'll be carrying the .44 mag while I'm running the splitter in the woods this weekend. Ya never know.

Apparently personal attacks are the diet du jour. The actual substance of an argument is all that most thinking people really care about. Trolls don't count. State a position and defend it. If you can't defend your position, you really shouldn't say it out loud, ie, post it on the internet. Stating that "It's a really difficult problem." got me thrown out of my junior high debating class in 1972. It didn't carry any weight then, and it still doesn't. If it wasn't a difficult problem we wouldn't be trying to discuss it.

I've never seen one, and I've never hunted them. I spent the summer of 2007 building a barn in Kentucky, and the owner took me out for some coyote hunting. We had a blast, by the way. On the second day out I asked him who had taken a plow and disc to his property over night. He said it was feral pigs/hogs. Almost 2 acres of alfalfa/clover mix gone in less than 12 hours. He called the local 'hog hunters' when we got back, to take care of the problem for him. Apparently these guys knew their chit, and they killed almost 3 dozen in one night! I had to get back to NY, but I certainly would have gone along to watch that.

I will hereafter be known as a "Saltine American". That 'cracker' crap is wearin' thin, even for me.

I'll propose a first step toward this country's rehabilitation: Stop taking drugs as an easy way out of a medical condition. Chances are very good that there's a better and safer alternative for the more common problems. More importantly: Stop feeding the children drugs as an easy way out of parenting. Adam Lanza, the Newtown shooter, wasn't just an isolated nut job. He was a kid who had been raised on pharmaceuticals. The same can be said for a number of recent domestic terrorists. The guns have been in every household in this country for about five centuries. Think about why they're being misused today.

The hunting could be better for sure, but I'm not going to complain about the extended construction season.

The hue and cry from the public is that "SOMETHING must be done!" The current gun-control proposals are an attempt to appease the masses, without any thought or care about what might actually be the immediate result of such legislation. They're looking for the votes, and consequences be damned. It's absolutely the worst kind of politics, and people like Obama, Hillary, Feinstein, Schumer, etal are very good at it.

From Mr VJP's post above, Thomas' point that "the public might feel safer..." gets to the heart of this slippery slope. Many people today, particularly of the younger generation, would 'feel safer' if the First amendment were restricted as well. And the Fourth certainly comes into play when LE is given free reign in it's pursuit of 'protecting' us. The people who advocate for these kinds of restrictions, or in some cases rewriting or outright abolishment of the Constitution, strike me as very insecure. The Federal government is not your Mommy.

I don't have a tv, so I drove 2 miles up the road to the American Legion to watch the speech. I walked in with a can of air freshener spray and everyone knew why I was there.

And a plate of hot peppers to share at every meal, including breakfast. If Chianti had come in a juice box in the 1960's...

I have Sunday lunch at my folks' house quite often. Guess what my dear old Italian momma served yesterday. ;-]