A Common Fight for Personal Freedom

I am often struck by the audacious attacks on personal freedom from those who seek to interfere with the pleasures and rights of others. The anti-gun crowd in the United States is vocal, intrusive, violent and sadly, out of touch with reality and rational thought. Our 2nd Amendment fight has many parallels in the cigar world. I read the following recently in "The Ultimate Cigar Book," by Richard Carleton Hacker,

But these growing numbers of smoking enclaves aside, there are also subtle ways to win an anti-cigar war fueled by ignorance and prejudice – the two things that cannot be swayed. Rather than pointlessly argue with militant anti-smokers, we must try to win the nonsmokers over to our side. There are people who are neither anti- nor pro-cigars. They are the middle ground and comprise the largest percentage of the American populace. If we can show them that we are more civilized that the radical anti-cigar thugs, we will have made our point. We must convince them with kindness. And courtesy. It does no good to force ourselves upon others, for we only aggravate the situation.

I get as much pleasure from the shooting sports as I do a good cigar. Although my life would not be under threat if I lost the right to smoke a cigar, replace "cigar" with "gun" and the paragraph still rings true. It's a fight we must take on. I know I have successfully explained gun rights to more people who are "neutral" on guns, than people who are already ignorantly "anti-gun." With the Governor of Virginia actively trying to negate the 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 14th Amendments of the Constitution, our rights are again under a direct threat.

As with the gun grabbers, the anti-smokers are unabashed in their intrusiveness. Not too long ago I was sitting in the outdoor cigar lounge area at a local brewery. A group of people moved from where they had been sitting to sit in the smoking area, ostensibly to find seats in the sun. A woman in the group promptly asked me to put out my cigar. My one word answer was a very polite but emphatic, "No."

All of these intrusions have as their basis a claim of "for your own good." Americans once appeared to have learned a lesson during Prohibition. Yet, I don't for a minute think that fight will not be fought again. The nanny state and prohibitionists of any ilk are unrelenting. The next time we lose a freedom, it may not be won back.

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.” -- William Pitt the Younger

Bergers and Beer

Yes, I spelled that headline correctly. I celebrated Fat Tuesday with a beer and Baltimore's iconic Berger Cookies. I grew up enjoying these decadent delights, picked up fresh-baked at Lexington Market, and they are a fond, and tasty, memory. To my delight they recently have they been available at our local grocery store and the occasional box will find its way into our shopping cart.

Sadly, the government's war on trans fats might push Bergers out of existence. Thanks to the ever growing nanny-state, the cookies which have been produced in Baltimore since 1835, are threatened. You see, they get their flavor from copious amounts of margarine and fudge, which contain contain partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, sources of trans fat. As long as Americans choose government care over personal responsibility, classic foods such as these, enjoyed by generations, could be changed forever.

But for the time being, we'll thumb our nose at the busybodies and continue to enjoy the foods we choose. Well, when Lent ends anyway.

Cavalier IDPA Match

A few years ago, when I first was getting interested in competitive shooting, the first "local" event I found out about was the monthly IDPA match at the Cavalier Rifle and Pistol Club in Montpelier, VA. But, for whatever reason, I never made it to one of the matches there. This past Sunday, I had no other commitments, and the rest of my family was away for the week serving the less fortunate at a Diocesan Work Camp. It was a good time to finally check out this match.

I arrived early as the three stages for the match were still being set up. Once shooting began I hung back for a bit to watch and refresh my memory on the IDPA rules. After shooting mostly USPSA events, and only a few IDPA matches, it would be easy to mess up. In fact, a friend I've shot with at USPA matches saw me on the last stage and expressed surprise I was there, and then promptly asked "How many procedurals have you earned so far?" (I had none.)

All stages required 18 rounds, three hits each on six targets. The first stage began with the shooter with hands on the front of an open-hood jeep. The first two targets were engaged in tactical sequence while moving backwards. The final four targets were taken from behind cover at various points around the vehicle. I ended up just two points down on the stage.

Stage 2 required at least one of the three shots on each target be a head shot. All the shooting was done around or between stacked barrels. Two of the targets were low to the ground and had only the head area visible. I shot the stage clean for zero points down.

On the final stage, the shooting began by engaging two targets from behind cover, then three targets that were to be engaged while on the move across the bay. Given the 10 round per mag limit, that meant a reload before the three open targets were fully engaged. In IDPA no reloads can be initiated except from behind cover. This meant moving to a second set of barrels, reloading, and finishing up from behind cover. This is where a USPSA shooter might mess up and do a reload in the move, while in the open. In fact, it was right before this stage that the USPSA friend all but predicted I'd earn a procedural. But, no procedurals and just two points down on the stage.

I enjoyed this match very much. I was also pleased with my finish of 8th out of 21 in my division, and with just 4 points down total. The folks I met at Cavalier were extremely friendly and helpful. I overhead many new shooters being offered detailed and constructive comments for improvement, and I tried to make a point to listen in! I think I'll add this monthly match to my calendar and try to get down as often as possible. It's actually a fairly easy drive from Fredericksburg, and, once you get off I-95, you find yourself cruising down some winding country roads; not an unpleasant Sunday drive.

On the way home I stopped at a convenience store and picked up a 32 ounce sugary drink for the drive home. Hey Mayor Bloomberg, I spent the morning with people shooting guns AND I had a large size cola. So there, you pompous nanny-state twit!

Hey Bloomy!

Water Cooler Cannon

Ssshh. Don't tell the nannies. We've already seen what happens when they see someone misuse a household object as a weapon. Just look to Illinois, where trying to fix a clogged drain now requires a photo ID and your name recorded in a database. If the guardians of the nanny state realize that there's a cannon that will fire common water cooler bottles they just might break out in hives.