I wonder if anyone who signed up that day at Tun Tavern ever imagined that their Marine Corps would be celebrating a birthday two and a half centuries later. They certainly would never have imagined the Marines fighting from “airships” and providing close air support to their fellow Marines on the ground.
It started with biplanes and has ended up with jets.
And for my usual close to this, here is the official Birthday Message. Semper Fi, Devil Dogs.
It is about damn time! The induction of Warren Zevon is long overdue. Unfortunately, it was not in the performer category but in the “musical influence” category. I guess I will have to be satisfied with these crumbs.
Two years ago the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame held a vote to see which potential inductees should be voted into the Hall of Fame. Warren Zevon finished in third place which should have won him a spot in the Hall of Fame. The powers that be just flat out ignored the vote and put in those they wanted instead. I believe, if memory serves me correctly, they call it only an “advisory vote”. They did induct Willie Nelson. Now I like Willie but Willie ain’t rock and roll.
This year they got their heads out of their rear ends and finally inducted Warren Zevon. Dave Letterman on whose show Warren often appeared gave the induction speech. You can see parts of it below:
As part of the ceremony, The Killers performed Zevon’s Lawyers, Guns, and Money. As anyone who has ever followed this blog knows, it was the influence for the name of the blog. Given I was a practicing financial planner at the time and not a lawyer, I decided to limit it to only guns and money.
There are so many of Zevon’s song they could have featured but I am obviously glad they went with this one!
Paul Valone, President of Grass Roots North Carolina, will be leading a seminar for 2A activists on Thursday, November 13th. It will train you on how to mobilize the base, how to use direct action to hold public officials accountable, and how to expose and defeat polices that are anti-rights. This seminar will be online and is FREE.
Details and how to register are below:
| Defending the Second Amendment Free Strategic Webinar 11/13/25 |
| Every time the political winds shift, one truth remains: enemies of the Second Amendment do not rest. Whether you’re shocked or unsurprised by the November 2025 election results, you can count on one outcome—relentless pressure to weaken your rights.That ends where you get organized. On November 13, 2025, join a free, first-of-its-kind webinar, “Defending the Second Amendment,” led by nationally recognized gun rights strategist and GRNC co-founder Paul Valone. 👉 Register now: https://www.litraining.org/event/f0201c57-2db3-4fef-aa43-125114b16236/defending-the-second-amendment-webinar- This is not theory. This is applied Constitutionalism. You will learn how to: Deploy grassroots mobilization that puts real pressure on politicians Use direct action in both legislative and election operations Expose and defeat policies designed to choke off your rights Hold officials accountable and well-behaved from your town council to the statehouse The government is not going to limit itself. That job falls to informed, disciplined citizens who know how to fight smart, hit strategically, and never cede ground. If you’re tired of watching your rights negotiated away, this is your line in the sand. Attend this free training and learn how YOU can shape policy and decision-making in your local, county, and state government. |
The NRA Foundation has decided they needed to weigh in on the NRA’s reorganization. According to a news release posted Tuesday in The Tactical Wire, they said they wanted to clarify their “independence” from the NRA.
From the release:
Amid recent news about the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) restructuring announcement, the NRA Foundation today reaffirmed its independence, stability, and continued focus on its charitable mission.
“The NRA Foundation is an independent, nonprofit public charity with its own staff leadership, legal structure, board of trustees, and mission,” said Tom King, President of the NRA Foundation. “While the NRA undergoes its internal restructuring, the Foundation’s work continues uninterrupted. We remain focused on preserving America’s shooting and hunting traditions for future generations.”
The NRA Foundation is not part of the NRA’s organizational or financial structure. Its role is educational, charitable, and safety-focused – not political or advocacy-driven.
When the NRA Foundation revised their bylaws after their consent decree with the DC Attorney General the way that Foundation trustees were elected was changed in August 2024. It should be noted that the consent decree did not mandate a change in the method of election of trustees. Previously, the trustees of the NRA Foundation were elected by the NRA Board of Directors. They are now elected by the trustees themselves. If this sounds a little self-selecting and incestuous that is because it is.
More troubling is that the overwhelming majority of the trustees are from what I term the Old Guard. You have your Cottons, your Kings, your Coys, and many others from their camp on the Board. It’s as if a conscious decision was made, somewhere, sometime, by the Old Guard that if they could not remain in power at the NRA then the Foundation would become their new locus of power. I and others find this disturbing.
The Articles of Incorporation of the NRA Foundation, as amended, state that among other things they are to support the 501(c)(3) activities of the National Rifle Association. Neither the 2024 amendment to the Articles of Incorporation nor the bylaws adopted in July 2025 changed that.
I really question the need for the NRA Foundation to release any statement regarding the reorganization going on at the NRA. First, it does not impact them in any way. Second, it only serves to muddy the issues. Third, it seems a conscious effort to denigrate the leadership and management of the NRA at a time when they are cleaning up the mess left behind by the self-same Old Guard. It is as if the powers that be at the Foundation are just hoping for failure which I find utterly disgusting.
NRA EVP Doug Hamlin was interviewed yesterday on Bearing Arms’ Cam and Company. The interview below with Hamlin ends at about the 21 minute mark and then goes into other topics. As Cam points out, Doug Hamlin came from the then-Publications Division and so he probably knows it better than most.
I would also like to point out the prior to the Brewer-instigated war with AckMac that Cam & Company was a NRA production. I would love to see it brought back in house.
In the video Hamlin explains the cuts in NRA Media and discusses the internal restructuring. The backdrop to all of this is the 2026 mid-term elections. Traditionally, the party in the White House tends to fare poorly in the mid-terms. The Republican majority is so thin in the House that every effort needs to be made to preserve it if we want to see progress on gun rights. More money and personnel will be coming to NRA-ILA. It needs to be used wisely as the old days of just throwing more money at the issue are over.
As has been reported by multiple sources, there will be organization changes happening to the NRA. A press release went out yesterday at 3pm Eastern which I will reprint below. I would have put it up earlier but I had three back-to-back Zoom/Teams yesterday evening. The last one of the evening was a NRA Board of Directors’ Town Hall meeting that was directors only. That is, no staff of any sort from EVP Doug Hamlin down to the janitor were on that call.
The gist of our town hall was to explain the organizational changes, review the 2026 budget, and to answer many, many questions. While it was never explicitly stated that we were in executive session I am going to assume we were. Thus, my comments on it are going to be general and top-level without going into the nitty-gritty details.
First, attendance was very good. I counted 60 board member attending including all three of the newest members.
Second, the presenters were all three of the officers plus Jonathan Goldstein who is chair of the Finance Committee.
Third, the NRA will end 2025 in the black for the first time in a long time. Going forward in 2026, budgeting with be a zero based budgeting approach. Automatic increases to budgets are a thing of the past. Each component of the NRA will need to justify their budget from scratch.
Fourth, for too long the NRA has existed organizationally as a collection of silos. I remember my friend Apryl Marie was told when she asked questions that she should stay in her silo. What one silo did was apart from what another silo did. Thus, education and training was separate from membership and so on. The reorganization is going to break down many of these walls. For example, advancement, marketing, and membership will have their walls broken down and will be one organic unit instead of three.
Fifth, the “Trump Slump” is real. It is not only impacting the firearms industry but the NRA as well. The number of guns sold annually is a good proxy to determine what the NRA’s revenues will be year to year. In 2020, over 20 million firearms were sold. In 2025, the estimates are that it will be approximately 13.5 million and the industry is banking on a flat year for 2026.
Sixth, the one NRA area that has been virtually untouched in the past has been publications aka NRA Media. When you see longtime outdoor and firearms media such as American Handgunner, Outdoor Life, Guns, and Field & Stream going digital, you know a new reality is here. Just as changes are happening within the firearms and outdoor media world, so too must the NRA change to accommodate this new reality. Thus, the print magazines will be reduced to the American Hunter and American Rifleman with the remainder going to a news-based web site. Moreover, the American Hunter and American Rifleman will become quarterly magazines in print and monthly digital magazines for the rest of the time.
Seventh, there are going to be furloughs. That is taking place today. Who is being furloughed, I don’t know. I do know I have many longtime friends in the publications division and I have my fingers crossed for them. All industries have ups and downs. Layoffs and furloughs are unfortunately a fact of life during reorganizations and restructurings. It sucks but it needs to be done for the overall health of the organization. If our revenues improve, some of those furloughed will be brought back.
Eighth, normally our committee meetings prior to the three board meetings take place over three days. That will be cut to two and all committees are being urged to do as much in advance as possible using online meetings. In person meetings are not cheap. Even reducing one day could save upwards of $25,000 or more by my wild guesstimate.
Finally, training, hunter education, and Second Amendment advocacy (NRA-ILA) will not be downsized and will instead be emphasized.
More will be coming out as we go forward.
Below is the full press released from yesterday:
NRA Announces Restructuring, Prepares for Future Battles for Gun Rights
FAIRFAX, VA- Today, the NRA is announcing organizational restructuring. These changes are
aimed at maximizing member dollars, streamlining operations, and investing in critical programs
that best serve NRA members and ensure the long-term strength of the organization.
“It’s our duty to ensure the long-term strength of the Second Amendment and health of our
critical organization,” said Doug Hamlin, Executive Vice President and CEO of the NRA.
“The NRA has delivered on its promise to provide a pro-gun President, Congress, and Supreme
Court for our members. These successes have not gone unnoticed by our adversaries, who are
doubling down on election spending, lawfare, and new programs to push their radical gun-
grabbing agenda. To ensure we are prepared for the fights ahead, we must create a leaner NRA
that focuses on stretching every member dollar to best protect your right to keep and bear
arms.”
Restructuring will occur within NRA Media (formerly NRA Publications), which has avoided
substantial cuts similar to those impacting a large segment of the print media market. In the past
15 years, major publications have foregone print altogether and moved to digital-only models,
yet the NRA currently releases four print publications, 12 months of the year. These publications
will be consolidated into our two legacy brands, American Rifleman and American Hunter,
which will move to a monthly, enhanced, premium digital magazine, accompanied by print
versions released quarterly.
“The NRA is listening and anticipating our members’ needs,” said NRA President Bill
Bachenberg. “NRA 2.0 is re-focusing on its core missions of protecting our God-given Second
Amendment rights, gun safety and training, supporting our Clubs & Associations and shooting
competitions. We are flattening the organizational structure, redeploying staff, and exploiting
technology to better manage the day-to-day activities of the Association. By knocking down the
current vertical silos and creating cross-functional teams, there will be less duplication, stronger
member services, and better communications.”
To increase efficiency and remove redundancies, the NRA will also merge its Membership,
Marketing and Advancement Divisions into a single department. This will streamline operations
and enable the NRA to implement new, data-driven techniques to increase revenue.
NRA-ILA and General Operations are not affected by today’s announcement. The NRA is
increasing its investments in its core missions of promoting and training the safe and lawful use
of firearms as it fights for the Second Amendment rights of Americans in courthouses and state
houses across the country, and in Washington, D.C.
These necessary changes will, unfortunately, impact staff. The NRA’s leadership did not make
these decisions lightly but must realign resources to ensure America’s largest and oldest gun
rights organization remains strong and ready to address the fight ahead
I had heard rumors of this earlier today but I just received an email from NRA Secretary John Frazer confirming that former NRA President Charles Cotton has resigned from the NRA Board.
Board member and past President Charles Cotton has resigned from the Board and Executive Council, effective immediately.
Tom King was the next runner-up in the 2025 election, but has declined to serve. Jeff Fleetham has accepted the position and will fill the vacancy until the adjournment of the 2026 Members’ Meeting. Mr. Cotton’s term would have expired in 2026, so no additional candidate will be elected to fill the vacancy.
As to why Cotton resigned, there is no official word. However, he had no committee assignments and did not attend the September Board meeting in Virginia. Additionally, he was not re-nominated for the 2026 Board election by the Nominating Committee nor did he apparently gather enough signatures to make the ballot by petition. He does remain a current trustee of the NRA Foundation.
Fleetham had attempted to run by petition for the 2026 Board election according to his earlier posts on Facebook. However, he did not gather enough signatures to make it on to the ballot. In the last election, he was part of the Strong NRA ticket.
Fleetham is a resident of Mesa, Arizona. According to his official bio in last year’s election, he was a 2016 and 2020 RNC delegate for President Trump. He served on the Arizona Register of Contractors for a number of years as a director. His business background is in the construction industry.
He will serve the remainder of Cotton’s term which expires at the close of the Meeting of Members in Houston.
Former NRA President Sandy Froman has resigned from the NRA Board of Directors effective today. This comes after serving on the Board for 30 years. She will remain a member of the NRA Executive Council. Her replacement is the next runner-up Todd Vandermyde.
First, what does this mean for the 2026 Board election? You will now have a total of 29 seats on the Board filled from the 38 candidates. This will include 25 regular 3-year terms, two replacement 2-year terms, one replacement 1-year term, and the one year term of the 76th Director. Reformers are in the ascendency and this election will cement their win.
Second, I am thrilled to have Todd on the Board. He and I have been friends for many years and I have endorsed him multiple times. He is on the ballot again this year by petition. I sincerely doubt any other petition candidate got as many signatures as Todd who received over 1,200 valid signatures.
Third, Todd brings a unique combination of expertise to the Board. Not only is he the president of the Aurora Sportsmen’s Club, the largest gun club in Illinois with over 2,500 members, but he successfully lobbied for gun rights in the Illinois General Assembly for decades. He did this for his union local, as a contract lobbyist for the NRA, and as the lobbyist for the Federal Firearm Licensees of Illinois. In addition, as I’ve said earlier, Todd is an innovative thinker who thinks out of the box when it comes to 2A litigation.
Finally, success or failure at the NRA is now on the shoulders of reformers. While many of the problems facing the organization were left to us by Wayne LaPierre and those who looked the other way, it remains our responsibility as reformers to repair the damage and rebuild the NRA into the organization it can be and should be. I look forward to having Todd helping in this effort going forward.
October 22nd – 10/22 – has been declared as National Ruger Day for obvious reasons. A number of dealers are holding events from what I’ve heard. You can find more on that here.
I am happy to celebrate as both my first and last firearm purchased were Rugers. My first was a 10/22 Carbine that I bought just after my 18th birthday. I paid all of $55 for it at a non-defunct local discount chain called Best Products. I wish I could say I still own that little carbine but I sold it sometime in the 1980s to pay some bills. I have since added a couple of 10/22s to my armory including a Ruger 10/22 International (Mannlicher stocked).
My last Ruger purchased was a SP-101 revolver in 9mm. I paid significantly more than $55 for it! I do plan to run a test on various 9mm moon clips for the SP-101 to see which works best.
Rob McCanna has resigned as Executive Director of the Dallas Safari Club and Russell Stacy has been named as Interim Executive Director. There is no public word as to why McCanna resigned or whether it was a forced resignation. Having met him at both the DSC Convention in January 2025 and later at the NRA Annual Meeting in April, I thought he was both a good fit and a very good executive for DSC.
Below is the official announcement from the DSC Board:
DALLAS, Texas (October 22, 2025) — Dallas Safari Club (DSC), a worldwide leader in hunter-funded conservation, is pleased to announce that Russell Stacy, former DSC Board Director and DSC Foundation President, has been appointed to serve as Interim Executive Director, effective immediately.
Stacy, a longtime supporter and leader within the DSC community, steps into this role as the organization initiates a succession plan for its top executive position following the departure of Rob McCanna, who had served as CEO since January 2025.
“Russell brings a wealth of experience, strong leadership, and a deep understanding of DSC’s mission and vision,” said Ray Mulholland, DSC President. “He is exceptionally qualified to guide our organization through this interim period, ensuring stability and continued progress as we move forward to celebrate DSC’s Convention, taking place this coming February in Atlanta.”
A familiar face to many within DSC and the broader international hunting community, Stacy has co-chaired the DSC Convention for the past four years alongside his wife, Mary Edith. He has served in numerous other volunteer and leadership roles over the years and has long been recognized for his commitment to advancing DSC’s mission of Conservation, Education, and Advocacy. His proven leadership and passion for conservation make him ideally suited to lead DSC during this period.
“I am honored to step into this role and continue working alongside our dedicated board members, staff, volunteers, members, and exhibitors,” Stacy said. “Together, we have accomplished great things, and I look forward to building on that momentum. The future holds exciting opportunities for DSC, and I am committed to advancing our key organizational priorities and to ensuring the future of our hunting heritage.”
Mulholland expressed the Board’s appreciation for McCanna, stating “The DSC Board values the significant contributions Rob has made as CEO. His efforts have been pivotal in guiding this great organization through numerous recent challenges and milestones.”
The DSC Board anticipates a seamless transition and remains confident in the strength of DSC’s management team and dedicated staff. “The entire Board of Directors has full faith and confidence in Russell and our outstanding team to continue advancing DSC’s mission fulfillment objectives,” Mulholland added.
As DSC looks ahead to its 2026 Convention, the organization remains steadfast in its commitment to serve members, volunteers, partners, and the entire global hunting and conservation community with integrity and excellence.
If I remember correctly, Stacy was one of the people manning the DSC booth at the NRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
Commentary on the forums dedicated to hunting in Africa is not exactly complimentary towards Stacy nor hopeful for what this means for DSC. There have been a number of issues plaguing DSC over the past couple of years including the leadership changes and the reaction to the temporary move of the convention to Atlanta.
At the Accurate Reloading forum under the headline “The Continued Implosion of DSC”, MJines said, “Looks like the Rob McCanna is out. Served as Executive Director for less than ten months. The leader of the coup that led many of the former directors and executive leadership to resign has been installed as the Interim Executive Director.”
Likewise at the AfricaHunting.com, there are questions about this change. After questioning the timing of it, MDWest whom I’ve both met and corresponded with, said, in part, “I also question their choice for Interim Executive Director.. I admittedly DO NOT know him personally… I do know however that his name came up several times earlier this year in threads about DSC, the direction its taken, decisions that have been made, etc.. and that the name was not placed in a positive light..” He went on to question whether given this if the optics would not have been better to appoint a different person as interim executive director even if Stacy remained the power behind the throne.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Life Member of DSC and on the Board of Directors of their Carolinas Foundation chapter.
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