July 2024 - Page 3 of 3 -

GOALS Comes To Knoxville In August

Gun Owners of America will be holding their first annual GOALS event in Knoxville, TN on August 17th and 18th. GOALS stands for Gun Owners Advocacy and Leadership Summit. This two-day weekend event will feature speeches from leaders in the gun rights movement, educational panels, meet and greet sessions, and musical performances from major artists. There will be special breakout sessions specifically for women and students.

The event will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center in downtown Knoxville. The Convention Center is located on the site of the 1982 Worlds Fair. It will be free to GOA members. You can obtain tickets by going here.

Unlike many other 2A events, GOALS will be emphasizing the role of 2A advocates in the media and content creators. I see many folks that I have known for years participating including Chris Dover, Jared Yaris, IraqVeteran8888, and MrGunsandgear.

You can hear more about it in this YouTube short.

I love the fact that this event is being held just over the mountains from me. Both the Complementary Spouse and I have registered for this event. If you plan to go to Dollywood, Gatlinburg, or Piegon Forge in August, why not include this in your plans as well.

(Un)Happy Canada Day!

Note: This post was originally planned for July 1st which is Canada Day. However, due to server issues, the blog was down and it could not be posted.

Growing up I knew July 1st as “Dominion Day”. It was a Canadian holiday that commemorated the granting of dominion status or autonomy to Canada by the British Empire on July 1, 1867. It was renamed in 1982 to Canada Day upon the adoption of the Canada Act which provided Canadians with a constitution and ended the UK’s Parliament ability to amend it.

I have a great love and admiration for our northern neighbors. I have visited Canada many times and have been to most of their provinces. Going even further, my first girlfriend Pat was Canadian and lived in Ontario. Thus, it is with great sadness that I see the arrogant disregard for the rights of Canadians by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Whether it was the attempt to freeze the bank accounts of those protesting his Covid policies or his authoritarian decrees on firearms, Trudeau fils has shown utter contempt for the democratic process.

It is no wonder then that 70% of Canadians feel their country is “broken”.

Canada won’t hold federal elections until October 2025 unless Trudeau and his Liberal Party decide to dissolve Parliament sooner. One can only hope that Pierre Poilievre and his Conservative Party can win enough seats to form a government. His approach to various policies have been labeled libertarian and he definitely does not have the authoritarian streak possessed by Trudeau. Besides, anyone who has seen his handling of a journalist’s questions while eating an apple has got to be impressed how he dealt with those leading questions.