Veterans Day 2023

This is the day we honor all who served regardless of the branch of the military. Originally known as Armistice Day, it was a day to recognize the end of the Great War aka World War I and those who fought in it. The armistice signed by the Allies and Germany ceased hostilities on the Western Front on November 11 at 11am.

It was renamed Veterans Day in 1947 to recognize all veterans and not just those from the First World War. It became a holiday in 1954 after President Eisenhower signed the bill designating it as such.

I want to thank all those who served regardless of their age, gender, or branch of service.

Happy 248th Birthday, USMC!

November 10, 2023 is the 248th birthday of the US Marines Corps. While I come from an Army family and the Complementary Spouse is from an Air Force family, we both recognize the dedication that Marines have to this country and our freedom.

I try to recognize the event with old recruiting posters and the official birthday message.

And the official birthday message is below. It evidently was recorded sometime in October as the Commandant, Gen. Eric Smith, had a heart attack on October 29th. Best wishes to him for a full recovery.

You Did It!

Through your efforts and that of other like-minded people all four petition candidates made the 2024 NRA Board election ballot. I don’t remember this many petition candidates on the ballot since I’ve been a voting member.

Jeff Knox, Judge Phil Journey, Rockey Marshall, and Dennis Fusaro will definitely be on my list of endorsed candidates. I might add Rick Ector given the great work he does in Detroit in bringing women into the gun culture.

An Updated Analysis Of The NRA’s Finances

I have published financial analyses of the NRA by former board member Rocky Marshall in the past. Based upon an audit filed with the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Charities Division by the NRA, he has updated his analysis. I am publishing this with the permission of Rocky.

From Rocky:

RED FLAGS AND REALLY RED FLAGS

  • Revenue continues downward spiral as expenses (mostly legal) will likely increase in 2023-2024.
  • Net Income losses will likely continue 2023-2024.
  • Cash on hand is $12M and monthly expenses are $19M.
  • Recommended minimum cash on hand should be $57M.
  • Additional cash required to cover -$26m projected operating loss for 2023.
  • Additional cash required for contract liabilities of $40M to paid during 2023
  • Additional cash required to cover principal loan payments due in total of $28M during 2024.
  • Line of Credit and other Notes jumped 78%.
  • Increasing debt through loans to cover general operating expenses.
  • Capitalizes computers in excess of $500 and other fixed assets greater than $1,500.
  • Capitalization of purchases is artificially low and reduces expenses in order to boost net income.
  • Assets due from the NRA foundation are $31M and inflate the NRA balance sheet.
  • Most of the NRA foundations assets due have donor restrictions and cannot be used for general expenses.
National Rifle Association Financial Analysis Year Ending 2022    Estimate
(in millions $M)20212022$Change%Change2023
Revenue233.5213.5-20-9%203
Expenses228.2228.60.40%228.6
Net Income5.3-15.1-20.4-385%-25.6
Members’ Dues97.483.2-14.2-15%75
Cash30.412-18.4-61%10
Liquidity Assets65.943.1-22.8-35%34
Note Payable & LOC24.643.719.178% 
Contract Liabilities44.840.2-4.6-10% 
Total Investments717100% 
Total Investments pledges as collateral53.644.2-9.4-18% 
Percentage of Investments collateralized75%62%-13%-18% 

In a marginally related aside, NRA In Danger is reporting that Wayne LaPierre has put his house in Great Falls, VA on the market. The asking price is $2.4 million. NRA In Danger is taking this as confirmation that the powers that be have made the decision to move to Texas. As with the bankruptcy case, the Board has been kept in the dark until it was a done deal. Read his or her full post.

Fountain Pen Day 2023

Today marks the 12th year that Fountain Pen Day has been celebrated around the world. It is a day to celebrate writing with that most environmentally conscious of writing implements – the fountain pen. With care, a good fountain pen will be passed down to your grandkids. Contrast this with most ballpoint and rollerball pens which are tossed away when they run out of ink. They have their purpose especially if you have to use multi-part forms. But for freedom of expression in a journal or signing your name with a flourish, nothing beats a fountain pen.

I am traveling today so I only have a couple of fountain pens with me. I went with an old standby along with one of my newer pens. The old standby is a Pelikan 205 in transparent blue. It is a piston filler. The newer pen is a Sailor Compass 1911 in transparent olive. It fills using a convertor or you can use ink cartridges. Both have steel nibs in Fine and Extra Fine.

The latter pen is a great introductory pen for someone who is just starting to write with a fountain pen. I believe I paid $30 for it from Goulet Pens. It is one of the smoothest writing pens that I own and it starts up every time. Many fountain pens take a bit of priming to get the ink flowing.

While my Pelikan and Sailor are made in Germany and Japan respectively, you can get very decent pens from China and Pakistan. I have a number of Chinese pens along with the Pakistani “dollar pen”. The Dollar Fountain Pen (717i) is a pen used by students in Pakistan. It is actually a great pen for day to day use despite the low price. It is a piston-filler with a medium steel nib. I think I bought 10 of them for about $15 off of Ebay and I have given a number of them to my fountain pen loving friends. That plus a $10-12 bottle of ink is all you need to get started using a fountain pen. I have always like ink in the color blue-black. Think of a very dark navy blue and you have blue-black.

Pens are a lot like firearms. You can have expensive ones and you can have cheaper ones. They will all do the job. Also like firearms, you are always wanting to get just one more. Ask me how I know!

None Dare Call It Racism

A recent Tweet by David Hogg has gotten some notice. He accuses white suburban women and their voting habits as the reason more gun control has not been enacted.

Given that the Demanding Moms would not even exist if it were not for white suburban women, his claim is ludicrous. One really should not expect anything honest or profound coming from “Camera” Hogg.

If this was the only thing regarding “persons of pallor” and support/non-support for gun control, it could be passed off as just more crap coming out of Hogg’s mouth. Unfortunately, it is not. A post by journalist Emily Miller of “Emily Gets Her Gun” fame (#commission earned) listing posts she began and abandoned led to a CNN story out of Denver.

It was a “whites only” demonstration for more gun control in Colorado.

Hundreds of White women gathered at the Colorado Capitol Monday morning, with more expected to show up throughout the day, to use their “privilege” in a silent sit-in to demand Gov. Jared Polis ban guns and create a gun buyback program….

Here4TheKids, a movement created after a mass shooting in Nashville in March left six people dead, including three children, calls for primarily White women to peacefully sit-in until Polis, a Democrat, signs an executive order banning guns. It was founded by two women of color, Saira Rao, who is South Asian American, and Tina Strawn, who is Black. Both are mothers.

Strawn told CNN the movement calls for White women to be at the forefront of the sit-in because, “we know what happens when we show up with demands.”…

“So, it appealed to me very much that this was actually a time where we are asking Black folks and other marginalized and vulnerable communities to sit this one out and allow the White women and their privileged bodies, their privilege, and their power to show up. It’s time for them to show up,” Strawn added.

The thesis pushed by Strawn is that white women are less likely to be arrested, less likely to run afoul of police overreaction, etc. She goes on to add that blacks and other “marginalized” minorities have been “traumatized over and over and over again” both by police and by violence within their communities. Thus, white women should use their “white privilege” to bring attention to the issue of gun control.

The aim of the sit-in was to have Gov. Polis (D-CO) sign an executive order that any court in the land would find unconstitutional.

The executive order Here4TheKids has proposed for Polis to sign calls for the governor to “ban the use, loading, possession or carrying of all firearms in Colorado, including but not limited to firearms for personal protection, hunting, law enforcement or any otherwise lawful purpose” and create a statewide gun buyback program.

The organizers of Here4TheKids want more action because gun control laws have not stopped “the violence”. They say “because guns can cross state lines, you can print guns on 3D printers” that gun control is not working. Cody Wilson would agree with that last part as that has always been his argument about making gun control futile.

I look at my friends in the gun culture. They are white, black, Asian, Native American, and everything in between. They are male, female, and transexual. They are rich and poor. They are urban, suburban, and rural. In other words, they all are part of this melting pot that we call America. We make no demands that only whites can be for gun rights. Indeed, we argue against laws that were implemented to keep blacks and other minorities disarmed. Unfortunately, the enemies of freedom and our God-given right to self-protection have argued for these very laws.

Frankly, I find this interjection of race into the arguments for gun control to be repulsive. I thought we left that behind years ago along with anti-semitism. Obviously, not.

Meme Of The Day

My friend Derek LeBlanc who heads the Kids Safe Foundation has created a number of 2A memes and infographics. I will be posting them on occasion.

Additionally, if you want to make a tax deductible donation to a great organization which does fantastic gun safety education for kids, consider Kids Safe. I have attended one of Derek’s presentation to children and it is top notch.

An Interesting Question

The meme below posits an interesting question for which the anti-gun forces have no answer. I assume most of them will say that you will be protected by the government which any rational person knows is a fallacy.

While any weapon can be abused by those with evil intent, these same weapons can and are used by good people to protect themselves and their families on a daily basis. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about an AR-15, a baseball bat, or a knife. All can be used for defensive purposes.

Entertainment At The 2024 SCI Convention

The Safari Club International convention is more than just a chance to meet with outfitters, attend educational seminars, or bid on trips in the auctions. It also has a lineup of entertainment events on Wednesday through Saturday nights.

It starts with Southern rockers .38 Special, moves to mega-country star Jason Aldean, then on Big & Rich, and concludes with late 70s, early 80s icons Foreigner. There should be something there for everyone.

Tickets for all acts but the Jason Aldean concerts include the dinner, auction, and entertainment. You can register for them here. The tickets for Jason Aldean will go on sale today through Ticketmaster.com.

UPDATE: Tickets for the Jason Aldean concert have a special code and link. Prices range from $140 to $247. These price are pretty much in line with his other concerts from what I can tell. You can see the info below:

Tickets are now available for Jason Aldean’s private concert at the famous Bridgestone Arena exclusively for SCI members! 

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster with your presale offer code. Please click on the link below which will direct you to Ticketmaster. Enter the Safari Club Presale Offer Code listed in this email when prompted by Ticketmaster. Your code is valid for a one-time purchase up to 8 tickets for the private show at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday February 1, 2024. Tickets only available while supplies last. 

Jason Aldean’s exclusive event for SCI members requires separate tickets from SCI’s Thursday evening’s Night of the Hunter dinner and auction at the Music City Center. Premium concert seats are also available for Thursday night’s SCI banquet attendees. Purchase Thursday night dinner tickets to unlock access to premium concert tickets.

Safari Club Presale Offer Code: SCI3CZUPW

Link to ticket to purchase tickets:
https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1B005F57DE255B07?did=safari

Know Any Budding Outdoor Writers?

I received a press release today on behalf of the Outdoor Journalist Education Foundation of America. It was seeking entries for their Lindsay Sale-Tinney Award. This award is open to those ages 12 to 25. They will be paired with a mentor and will be given up to $1,000 in travel expenses to attend an outdoor-related trade show, conference, or workshop. Examples of the types of events approved can be found here. Applications for the scholarship will be accepted until January 31, 2024.

I reached out to Lisa Snuggs, CEO of the organization, this afternoon as I was surprised to find out they were based in Badin, North Carolina. Badin and its namesake lake adjoin the Uwharrie National Forest. Despite its North Carolina, it is actually groups from South Carolina including the SC Outdoor Press Association who are promoting the scholarship. We Tar Heels need to step up our game!

Now to more details on the Lindsay Sale-Tinney Award:

BADIN, N.C. — With school in full swing, now is the perfect time to promote scholarship opportunities for young people interested in learning more about outdoor communications. The Outdoor Journalist Education Foundation (OJEFA) is accepting applications for its Lindsay Sale-Tinney Award through January 31, 2024, for hands-on experiences next year.

“We are here to help encourage and educate the next generation of outdoor storytellers and the Lindsay Sale-Tinney Award can open up a whole new world to young people who might consider a career in this arena,” said Lisa Snuggs, CEO of OJEFA.

Funding is widely available for projects that teach young people about wildlife and the environment or for programs that actually take kids fishing or hunting, but only a few opportunities exist for those who want to learn about communications in the outdoors industry.

Recipients of an OJEFA scholarship will be able to choose from a pre-approved list of events to attend, or they may ask for consideration of something aligned with their specific areas of interest. This could include anything from shadowing a content creator at the Bassmaster Classic to accompanying a wildlife biologist in the field or attending a video editing workshop.

The Lindsay Sale-Tinney Award was first awarded in 2011. More than one-half of the recipients are still actively associated with the outdoors as communicators, guides, champion shooters, land managers, and more. The most recent recipient, Lindsey Lucas wrote in her application essay these telling words.

“My long-term goals include pursuing a career as an outdoor writer and using the stories of my outdoor adventures to inspire people of all ages to step outside their comfort zones and try new outdoor adventures. I especially hope to inspire young ladies.”

Lucas, 17, is already a featured columnist with CrappieNow and has appeared on several television shows, including “Outdoor Vigilantes,” “Living the Dream Outdoors TV,” and “MNP Outdoors.”

View all the past recipients HERE and click HERE for the scholarship information and application. Contact Lisa Snuggs for more information: mailto:lisa@ojefa.org

Special thanks go to our partners who make the scholarships possible: Stu Tinney, South Carolina Wildlife, SCOPe, Eagle Anglers, Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation, and the South Carolina Waterfowl Association.

OJEFA Mission: OJEFA is dedicated to the education and support of outdoor communicators and their efforts to promote the wise and ethical use of our wildlife and natural resources, with an emphasis on developing and implementing programs to encourage such communications among young people.