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Axios – Kristi Noem Wanted To Be Next NRA EVP

May 7, 2024 by 4 Comments

Axios, the online political news site, is reporting this evening that South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R-SD) approached Wayne LaPierre last fall pitching herself as his successor as CEO and Executive VP of the National Rifle Association. Noem, who has been an ally of the NRA and a very pro-gun governor, also came up in discussions as his successor after Wayne resigned in January according to Axios’ sources.

Official picture of Gov. Kristi Noem

Noem, of course, has also been in the news most recently for a story in her new book No Going Back (#commision earned) about shooting her German Wirehaired Pointer “Cricket” after he killed a chicken and bit her. Frankly, I agree with her agents, editors, and consultants who urged her not to include the story in the book. It seems to have been a very foolish way to show you can make tough decisions.

The story has not gone over too well with many people. People might have understood if she said that Cricket was taken to the vet to be euthanized for being dangerous. However by shooting Cricket, as my friend Dave said, she “euthanized her career” and probably ended her chances of being Trump’s VP pick.

Axios reports the dog killing incident and then continues:

The other side: A spokesperson for Noem “unequivocally” denied that the governor had a conversation with LaPierre.

  • “She loves her job as Governor of South Dakota,” Ian Fury told Axios.
  • LaPierre, through his lawyer Kent Correll, declined to comment.

Whether or not Noem actually held talks with Wayne and others of the Cabal I can see why she might want the position of EVP. Her current salary is $139,000 which probably would at least quadruple if named EVP, South Dakota is rural backwater compared to either Fairfax or Dallas, and she apparently has even greater political ambitions. Whether she was ever right for the job is another story.

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GRNC Feedback Day

May 6, 2024 by 0 Comments

Grass Roots North Carolina has declared Tuesday, May 7th, as Feedback Day. In an effort to get HB 189 for permitless concealed carry back on the agenda, they are urging everyone to call NC House Speaker Tim Moore and NC Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger. You are asked to thank them for ridding the state of the Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit and then urge them to get HB 189 back on track.

I would add that if you live and vote in the 14th Congressional District of North Carolina please remind Tim Moore that he needs your vote if he wants to be elected to Congress.

The alert is below with phone numbers and instructions.

‘FEEDBACK DAY’ ON
CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY
GRNC ‘Feedback Day’ will drop calls into leaders’ offices

 Should you need governmental permission to exercise a basic civil right? 

Last week, legislative team volunteers led by GRNC President Paul Valone delivered a hand truck full of petitions calling for constitutional carry to Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, arguably the most powerful politician in the state, and then held a press conference on his doorstep. That is called “speaking truth to power.”

The effort kicked off GRNC’s renewed campaign to pass House Bill 189, “Freedom to Carry NC,” sponsored by Rep. Keith Kidwell (R- Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico, GRNC ****). The bill stalled last year when Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger told reporters that, having repealed the pistol purchase permit law, legislators had no “need” to address another gun bill. GRNC President Paul Valone has countered that ours is a Bill of Rights, not “needs,” and that Sen. Berger is not a self-appointed arbiter of “needs.” 

When Berger conceded later to reporters that “Constitutional carry is something that is worth talking about. We’ll talk with our members and see whether there is an appetite to move forward with it,” Valone responded: “We’re the ‘members’ who gave you a supermajority, Sen. Berger, so let’s talk.”

GRNC in action: For a video of GRNC’s Legislative Action Team holding a constitutional carry press conference on Berger’s doorstep CLICK HERE.  
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
It’s time to make your voice heard loud and clear in the halls of the legislature by sending a message to Republican leaders in Raleigh. We would like you to call during a two-hour period from 9:00 AM EDT to 11:00 AM EDT this coming Tuesday, May 7.

Why Tuesday? Because NC Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and NC House Speaker Tim Moore are more likely to be in their offices. Legislative assistants will prevent you from speaking with them, of course, but they will witness the huge number of resulting calls, all calling for constitutional carry. Set a reminder in your phone. 

CALL SEN. PHIL BERGER: Between 9 AM and 11 AM on Tuesday, May 7, call Sen. Berger at 919-733-5708. (See below, under ‘Deliver This Message’ for the message to convey). 


CALL SPEAKER TIM MOORE: Also between 9 AM and 11 AM on Tuesday, May 7, call Speaker Tim Moore at 919-733-3451. (See below, under ‘Deliver This Message’ for the message to convey). 


PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO GRNC: Help us fight fun control while we promote Second Amendment principles. Please CLICK HERE to contribute. Bear in mind that GRNC is an all-volunteer organization, so you can be sure your donations are put to the best possible use. Any amount helps, and any amount is appreciated.   
DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

What to tell Republican leaders:     

Thank them for repealing our Jim Crow purchase permit law, but tell them the job won’t be done until the Republican supermajority passes constitutional carry, including over-riding Gov. Roy Cooper’s inevitable veto.

NC Republicans have fallen behind Republicans in the 29 other states that have already passed constitutional carry.

Research by John R. Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center found no increase in violent crime in constitutional carry states, and even a slight drop in murder.

Gun voters helped create the supermajority Republicans have used to pass several laws, over-riding Cooper’s vetoes. It is time they acknowledged that by passing House Bill 189, “Freedom to Carry NC” NOW!

Excuses like legislative rules and placing blame on one chamber or the other are just that: Excuses. 
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Self-Defense Law Webinar In North Carolina

May 5, 2024 by 0 Comments

I think the following webinar being offered by the UNC School of Government will be of interest to anyone who is armed for self-protection in North Carolina.

From the description:

The law of self-defense in North Carolina received a jolt from State v. McLymore, 380 N.C. 185 (2022), where the North Carolina Supreme Court held that the only way to claim perfect self-defense is by invoking the statutory right created by G.S. 14-51.3.  The Court went on to say, however, that to the extent the statute does not address an aspect of the law of self-defense, the common law remains intact.  This webinar examines the basic principles of self-defense in North Carolina under four headings: (1) aggressor status, (2) degree of force, (3) proportional response, and (4) reclaiming the privilege.  It aims to place McLymore in the broader context of the common law, so that practitioners will know what aspects of the law are “supplanted” by the statutory right of self-defense, what aspects are still governed by the common law, and what aspects remain unsettled to be determined by future caselaw.

The webinar is being offered on Wednesday, May 15th at 10:30am. The cost is FREE! Attendance is limited to 300 persons and registration closes on Friday, May 10th at 5pm.

The link to register is here. I found the registration was straightforward and easy. It does make reference to billing which is not an issue here as the cost is zero.

Even if you don’t or can’t attend the webinar, I think you will find the following flow chart that accompanies the webinar helpful.

Defensive-Force-Flow-Chart
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A False Flag Operation?

May 3, 2024 by 4 Comments

I received an email out of the blue yesterday evening from a supposed NRA staff member based in Fairfax. The email was sent to “undisclosed recipients”. I know one of the recipients was Jeff Knox as he had received the same email and was suspicious about it. The email alleges that private jets are still in use by NRA leaders including Charles Cotton and Randy Kozuch.

Here is the email in its entirety:

nraexposed <nraexposed@proton.me>Thu, May 2, 8:01 PM (15 hours ago)
to

I am a current staff member of NRA based in Fairfax. NRA President Charles Cotton frequently flies on Bill Brewer’s private jet (I don’t know if the jet is owned or chartered). Despite ILA Chief of Operations John Commerford testifying under oath that no one at ILA has flown private since Chris Cox left, this is not true, maybe he was covering for his boss Randy Kozuch, who has flown private dozens of times since Chris Cox left.

Now the question is why Jeff, I, and presumably others are getting such an email on the same day that the results of the 2024 NRA Board election are released and that reformers took three of the top five spots. Moreover, it is from a Proton Mail account in Switzerland which promises “end-to-end encryption and zero-access encryption.”

While the accusation could be true, so what? If the NRA is not charged for any of these flights do we really care if Charles Cotton flies on Brewer’s supposed jet? A check of the FAA records does not find any aircraft owned by William Brewer III. And what is the purpose of trying to implicate Randy Kozuch who seems a decent enough guy in improprieties?

What makes me really suspicious that this is some sort of false flag or disinformation campaign is what happened when I responded to the email suggesting if this really was the case then they ought to contact the NYAG’s Office.

I got this:

Address not found
Your message wasn’t delivered to nraexposed@proton.me because the address couldn’t be found, or is unable to receive mail.
The response from the remote server was:
550 5.1.1 : Recipient address rejected: Account recently deleted

The KGB was famous for running false flag operations in order to sow confusion.

What a better time to bait the reformers into making false claims than after they’ve just been elected. I don’t know who is behind this but that seems to be their aim in my opinion.

As I said earlier this week, if you are going to levy criticisms against the existing Board and its leaders, you better have documentation to back it up. An email coming in out of the blue like this making serious accusations is just the sort of thing that demands documentation and it is nowhere to be found.

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2024 NRA Board Election Results

May 2, 2024 by 6 Comments

Just hearing the Four for Reform got elected to three year terms was great. Now that I’ve seen the results – holy shit! They got three of top five plus Dennis Fusaro who was less known finished at 16th place. I wish Rick Ector had finished higher but I’ll be happy that he got a three year term.

There are some real surprises here. First, that two ex-Presidents, David Keene and John Sigler, did not get elected. Second, that Kim Rhode was not elected given her Olympic history and that she was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the State of California. Third, that a sitting officer, David Coy, finished in 22nd place and “Friend of Susan” Janet Nyce in 24th place.

I am not sure why Carolyn Meadows who was too ill to testify in either person or by video in the New York trial finished in the Top 10. It could be name recognition or it could be a sympathy vote. It is my understanding that Wayne Anthony Ross of Alaska is also rather ill.

These results were all one could ask for and more. There were some who won that I’d rather not see on the Board but they are more than balanced out by Phil, Rocky, Buz, Jeff, Rick, and Dennis.

UPDATE: The vote for the bylaw amendment to add the new position of Chief Compliance Officer was “overwhelmingly” in favor of it. I think it is a good idea and I voted in favor of it. My only hesitation would be that the person selected should not have any connections to Bill Brewer.

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Four For Reform Elected!

May 1, 2024 by 3 Comments

The members of the NRA just sent a clear message to the Board of Directors. They want reform and they want it now. The old ways of doing business just won’t cut it anymore.

Jeff Knox posted this to Facebook approximately an hour ago.

The Four for Reform candidates – Jeff Knox, Dennis Fusaro, Phil Journey, and Rocky Marshall – got on the ballot thanks to the many members who signed their petition. Even with the shenanigans from the Nominations Committee of padding the ballot, all four were successfully elected to full 3-year terms.

Additionally, Rick Ector who bucked the Cabal by endorsing Wade Callender to be the next EVP was elected to a full 3-year term.

I have not seen who else was elected. I did see a comment from Gina Roberts on the Members Take Back Our NRA Facebook page that she did not win election. It will be interesting to see who will be running for the 76th Director.

As soon as I can obtain a complete list, I will post it.

Now for a word of caution. This was a great win for the members but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that the Board is just too damn large with 76 members and even five members committed to reform will have a hard time changing things. It will take time which, to be honest, the organization doesn’t have a lot of to spare.

One final note and this is not related to the Board election. Judge Phil Journey is the lead individual plaintiff in a Federal lawsuit along with the attorneys general of 21 states challenging the new ATF rule that redefines “engaged in the business” of firearm sales. I will have more on that suit in another post.

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It’s War! Plus A Warning

April 30, 2024 by 5 Comments

There is a war for control of the NRA going on within the Board of Directors. While one could say it started when Wayne LaPierre announced his resignation, it probably started as early as last year when Charles Cotton was given a third term as President and Willes Lee forced out as an officer.

It picked up speed in mid-January when Buz Mills and Marion Hammer within a couple of weeks of one another both called out Charles Cotton’s attempt to become the next permanent CEO and Executive VP of the NRA. This forced Cotton’s hand and he appointed a search committee. The committee as we’ve come to expect is filled with the Old Guard. Even Bill Bachenberg who stayed relatively quiet for years on the Board sent out a letter critical of the search committee.

What had been essentially a Cold War suddenly became a “shooting war” little more than a week ago. That was when Marion Hammer had her contract with the NRA terminated by Interim EVP Andrew Arulanandam. I don’t think anybody believes Arulanandam did this on his own initiative. While we will never know for sure, it more than likely was at the behest of Cotton and Bill Brewer. As “Bitter” posted in the comments to that post, this sent a message to the rest of the Board to back off and don’t question us. If they were willing to take down someone presumably as powerful as Marion, lesser Board members don’t stand a chance to oppose them.

Al Hammond, who is presumably Camp Marion, lobbed a bomb into Camp Cotton-Brewer this past Wednesday where he questioned the leadership of the officers and asserted they were not told the real consequences of the New York trial. The next day a new email went out signed by all three officers – Cotton, Bob Barr, and David Coy – which, among other things, accused Hammond on “peddling partial information and NYAG propaganda” and told recipients to go to the NRA’s own “legal facts” website. In my opinion, any Board member who relied solely on that website would have thought the NRA won the case when the reality is that they lost on most issues.

Willes Lee jumped in yesterday with a Facebook post concerning both Hammond’s email and the officers’ response.

The morning calm of the grazing flock was broken by the shrill clarion cry “Circle them wagons.”

Many NRA Board members (incl me) didn’t know of ‘the missive’ until The Three … NRA officers (gaily signed “Charles, Bob, David”) sent an email disparaging the author as ‘misinformation, disinformation, misled, manipulated, troubling, peddling partial information, distorted’ (whew, all in one email). The Three… told us ask THEM for “honest communications”(!) and directed us to our legal-spin blog & scripted legal affairs meetings. #nothingchanged

You can’t make up this stuff.

Marion Hammer was not done either. On Saturday, she sent an email questioning compensation at the NRA. This was followed on Sunday by a brutal article in the Washington Post concerning Brewer’s influence at the NRA. While no more missives have gone out from either Camp Marion or Camp Cotton-Brewer, with the NRA Annual Meeting just a little over two weeks away this is probably the quiet before the storm.

Now to the warnings. First it is becoming evident that Cotton and Brewer are trying to find out who is leaking their emails. At least two different copies of the Cotton-Barr-Coy response were sent out. There were possibly more but I do know of two for sure.

Second, and this goes for all critics of the existing Board, you must have the documentation to back up what you are saying about them. Not having backup documentation will only provide ammo to the Old Guard aka the Cabal. I am aiming this comment at a claim made by Willes Lee yesterday. He asserted a fundraising letter went out in March listing Cotton as EVP. While I have no problem with Lee pointing out the foibles of Charles Cotton and others of his ilk on the Board and am actually somewhat amused by it, you have to be able to prove it. Unfortunately, no one including Lee seems to be able to locate their copy of that letter. It would suck to have to take back such a damaging claim.

I am neither in Camp Marion nor Camp Cotton-Brewer but rather in Camp NRA Member. My hopes for the Board to do what is right faded a long time ago. It sucks to have to rely on a court in New York City to remedy things but it is what it is.

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North Carolina Runoff Primary

April 29, 2024 by 0 Comments

Early voting in the North Carolina GOP runoff primary started this past Thursday. If what the Complementary Spouse and I experienced is any indication, turnout will be sparse. We went to vote on Friday and were the 16th and 17th voters in a county with almost 45,000 registered Republicans! This doesn’t even count the number of unaffiliated voters who are also eligible to vote in the GOP primary.

Other counties may have a higher turnout as they may have a Congressional candidate for whom to vote. In Buncombe County, it was only the race for Lt. Governor and the race for State Auditor.

As a reminder, the Grass Roots North Carolina – Political Victory Fund has these recommendations:

  • US 6th Congressional District – Addison McDowell – his opponent Mark Walker has dropped out but there still may have a runoff.
  • US 13th Congressional District – Brad Knott
  • Lt. Governor – Hal Weatherman
  • State Auditor – none as neither candidate in the runoff submitted GRNC-PVF candidates surveys.

While there is no recommendation by GRNC-PVF for State Auditor, I would note that Jack Clark is a CPA and former auditor while his opponent Dave Boliek, an attorney, only recently became a Republican. You can make of that what you will.

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“We were never told…”

April 25, 2024 by 7 Comments

Al Hammond III has been a member of the NRA Board of Directors since he was elected to it in 2022. Before running for the Board, he had been the Southern Regional Director, Field Operations Division, for the NRA. Hammond has also been affiliated with the Unified Sportsmen of Florida which was headed until 2022 by Marion Hammer.

I received an email from multiple sources that Hammond sent to fellow Board members yesterday. It expressed his concern about the NRA’s future and the information shared with the Board regarding the outcome of the recent jury trial in New York.

From: Al HammondIII <alhammond3@gmail.com> Date: April 24, 2024 at 1:43:14 PM EDT To: Al HammondIII <alhammond3@gmail.com>

Subject: NRA Court Final Documents

I wanted to share excerpts of the summaries from both the bankruptcy trial and the jury trial in NY. I am deeply concerned about our future and the involvement of the lead council in the governance of the day to day operations of the NRA. NRA Secretary John Frazer still could face disciplinary action and or dismissial by the judge based on the findings as well. Please read both these documents. We were never told about all of these conclusions and the subsequent consequences if we don’t make a course correction.

Al Hammond

NRA BOD Member

I have only seen one of the attachments. However, it is my understanding that the first attachment was from the court and the second (see below) concerned the bench trial that begins on July 15th. Neither document says who created them.

While the jury did find cause for removal for both Wayne LaPierre and Wilson (Woody) Phillips, they did not find cause for removal for NRA Secretary and General Counsel. They did however find that he had breached his fiduciary duties and had made false filings on behalf of the NRA. While it is my own opinion that much of Frazer’s actions stemmed from a lack of spine and willingness to say no to Wayne and his grifting cohort, virtually every other well-run organization would have already terminated him by now. Having a general counsel found guilty of a breach of fiduciary duty and making false filings is just beyond the Pale.

Hammond’s email and the attachment lead me to conclude two things. First, all together too many Board members were willing to believe the sugar-coated spin put on the outcome of the jury trial by Bill Brewer, Charles Cotton, and the Cabal. This correlates perfectly with their long-time behavior of willful ignorance and unwavering trust in “well, Wayne told me…” Second, many Board members have not done their own research. They have not read the thousands of pages of court filings nor read the many analyses of the jury’s findings. They should not have to be spoon fed information to understand the good, the bad, and the ugly of what lies ahead for the NRA if changes are not made.

I could go on and on about what changes need to be made and who needs to go starting at the top. However, it is a beautiful Spring afternoon and I wanted to enjoy it.

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It’s Not Just Illegal Mayors

April 23, 2024 by 3 Comments

For years we have seen one after another of Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns (sic) being arrested. Usually the charges had to do with some sort of corruption. Now it seems that the Demanding Moms are wanting to join the party but with an “Illegal Senator”.

Becker County booking photo

Minnesota State Senator Nicole Mitchell (DFL- Dis. 47) was charged with 1st Degree Burglary by authorities in Becker County, Minnesota for an early morning break-in. The burglary was of her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes, MN. Mitchell was dressed in all black, wore a black hat, and had a black sock over the lens of her flashlight. She supposedly was after pictures of her late father, his ashes, and other items. The stepmother who had been married to Mitchell’s father for over 40 years was reportedly afraid of her stepdaughter and had applied for a restraining order against her. She had also buried most of her late husband’s ashes but had sent a container with some of the ashes to Mitchell.

Mitchell was an Moms Demand endorsed “Gunsense” candidate in 2022 when she was first elected. She also has a boatload of endorsements from virtually every left-oriented group in Minnesota. Just last week she posted the picture of herself with Demanding Moms volunteers to X. Obviously, she was seeking their 2024 endorsement as she expected to get it for introducing a safe storage bill in March.

Not only is Mitchell a meteorologist, she is an attorney with a law degree from Georgia State. She is a member of the Minnesota Bar and is authorized to practice in Minnesota. One would think a licensed attorney would have used the court system to retrieve family memorabilia instead of engaging in an illegal, pre-dawn burglary.

As could be expected when the DFL has a one-seat majority in the State Senate, her arrest on felony charges is bringing different responses. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy is upset by the allegations but believes “Senator Mitchell has the right to a full defense of her case in court.” Meanwhile, Republican Minority Leader Mark Johnson said her conduct was unbecoming and “she needs to resign from the Senate immediately.” Republicans might also object to Mitchell voting while she still faces felony charges.

Mitchell’s district is strongly Democratic (or DFL in Minnesota-speak). She won her election in 2022 with over 58% of the vote. I’m sure if she resigned, another DFL candidate would replace her.

All in all, being an Illegal Senator sure doesn’t seem like Minnesota Nice to me.

UPDATE: Mitchell is now trying to justify her actions by claiming her stepmother has Alzheimer’s and associated paranoia according to her post on Facebook.

Like so many families, mine is dealing with the pain of watching a loved one decline due to Alzheimer’s and associated paranoia.

Over the weekend, I learned of medical information which caused me grave concern and prompted me to check on that family member. I entered a home I have come and gone from countless times in the past 20 years, where my son even once had his own room.

Unfortunately, I startled this close relative, exacerbating paranoia, and I was accused of stealing, which I absolutely deny.

I am calling bullshit on this. I understand elderly dementia all too well as my mother suffered from it in that last few years before her death. Yes, there is paranoia associated with elderly dementia but there are ways to deal with it in a constructive manner. For example, Mitchell could have had a trusted friend of her stepmother’s to intercede on her behalf. She could have had her stepbrother or other family member accompany her to visit with her stepmother so as to get the family memorabilia.

According to her father’s obituary, family was important to him and he always celebrated holidays with them. The obituary includes Mitchell’s son and two foster children as surviving relatives. It said her father considered it a “great gift” when he became a grandfather to her son. As an obituary is usually approved by the surviving spouse, it makes one wonder if any issues between the stepmother and Mitchell were actually of Mitchell’s doing and not that of the stepmother.

As it is, breaking in through a basement window at 4:45am dressed in all black with a masked flashlight would only serve to a) increase her stepmother’s paranoia, b) is suspicious, and c) indicates bad intent.