76th Director

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76th Director And NRA Meeting Of Members

May 28, 2022 by 1 Comment

If you are attending the NRA Annual Meeting on Saturday, I have two reminders.

If you want to vote for the 76th Director, voting opens at 8am and will conclude when the Meeting of Members adjourns. Voting is in Room 330 and you will need to have your member number available. In contrast to the regular board election, any member of the NRA can vote.

The two candidates are Frank Tait and Issac Demerest. Frank ran by petition whereas Mr. Demerest was on the ballot thanks to the Nominations Committee. Bear in mind that anyone who was on the ballot thanks to the Nominations Committee was vetted. By vetted I mean they had to pass the test of being a “Friend of Wayne” and not some one who would challenge the status quo.

Frank Tait, fortunately, will challenge the status quo and has when he tried to become an intervenor on behalf of the members in the NY Attorney General’s dissolution lawsuit. If he is elected as a board member, it should give him the wherewithal to be an intervenor again. I will note that I have not seen the mob of “volunteers” campaigning for Mr. Demerest as one would have seen in years gone by.

The Meeting of Members starts and 10am in the General Assembly Hall. You will need to pick up your credentials in Room 330. I will have a resolution regarding the state of the NRA Headquarters Building which is in shameful disrepair.

I fully expect the powers that be will try to adjourn the meeting as soon as possible. I do know there will an attempt to put resolutions at the top of the agenda which is a good thing and to remove a deadline for the end of the meeting. We need to have people there just like we did in Indianapolis in 2019. The more the better.

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Special Master’s Report From NY v. NRA

May 14, 2022 by 2 Comments

One of the latest documents posted in the New York Attorney General’s case agains the NRA has an interesting tidbit in it. It is a report from the Special Master to the court. While most of the report deals with the length of the deposition scheduled for Wayne LaPierre, it notes that clarification is sought on whether Paul Payne is being represented by Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors.

Where have we heard that name before?

Oh, yes. It was in the bonus episode of Season 2 of Gangster Capitalism podcast. That episode described how Payne worked as a special assistant to Wayne LaPierre and how he was responsible for organizing the campaign to elect the Wayne-selected candidate for 76th Director. Monies from NRA dues were used to pay the travel and lodging expenses of “volunteers” to campaign for the candidate. I personally saw them in action at the NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas where they pushed Herb Lankford and in Tucson where they pushed Jim Wallace. Both succeeded against reform candidates.

You can listen to the episode in the embedded player. Note that both Dezarae Payne, his ex-wife, and Michael Schwartz are still active Second Amendment activists.

I fully expect these folks to be out in force in Houston campaigning for Isaac Demerest against Frank Tait. It was obvious in Tucson that, even after being exposed by the Gangster Capitalism podcast, Wayne and his cabal have no shame when it comes to their openly corrupt actions of using member’s dues to stack the board.

The complete Special Master’s report to the court is below. See item (iii) where Payne’s name is mentioned.

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Tone Deafness (Updated)

October 25, 2020 by 12 Comments

Sometimes you just have to shake your head at the level of tone deafness of the powers that be at the NRA. Despite being under the microscope by the Attorney General of New York and despite the exposure of Wayne LaPierre’s strategy to stack the vote for the 76th Director, they still persist in pushing an establishment candidate.

When I went to vote this afternoon for the 76th Director, there had to at 10 plus “volunteers” campaigning for Jim Wallace as the 76th Director. They all had Jim Wallace stickers (see pictures) and they were passing out 4-color printed cards with his accomplishments.

I have nothing against Jim Wallace. I think he has done a great job in fighting the good fight in anti-gun Massachusetts. I appreciate that he has appeared and spoken at a number of Gun Rights Policy Conferences. It is just that I don’t think he will do anything to rock the boat at the NRA.

And that boat desperately needs rocking if it is to grow, to remain effective, and to solve its money woes.

The NRA establishment could have picked a far worse candidate to push. The problem is that they shouldn’t be pushing any candidate. It should be a decision of the members and not the leadership who serves as the 76th Director. If any of those who didn’t make it on the board really wanted to serve as the 76th Director, they should have done like Frank Tait and campaigned on their own.

Given the revelations in the Gangster Capitalism expose’, the question needs to be asked if any NRA money is being spent this year on pushing the establishment candidate. If it is all funded with private donations, that is how it should be. If it isn’t, the Board of Directors needs to be asking some hard questions and demanding answers.

UPDATE: It was announced at the Board of Directors meeting yesterday that Jim Wallace had been elected as the 76th Director. I don’t know whether that is a blessing or a curse for Jim given he had just assumed fiduciary duties. The vote totals were not announced. As it was, he was absent from the meeting and the announced reasons were due to health.

With regard to the establishment campaigning, I was told that the man in the gray suit with his back to the camera is Paul Payne who, if you listened to the Gangster Capitalism episode know, reports directly to Wayne LaPierre. Further, I had confirmation from another person that many of the people seen campaigning for Jim Wallace on Friday and Saturday were from the NRA Members Councils of California.

I don’t know who is advising the NRA these days on matters of public relations now that Ack-Mac has been kicked to the curb. Whoever it is should be cringing but I imagine he or she is as tone deaf as the powers that be.

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New Location For 2020 NRA Annual Meeting

August 12, 2020 by 6 Comments

Springfield is out and Tucson is in. The new location for the mandatory 2020 NRA Annual Meeting of Member is Tucson, Arizona on October 24th. The meeting is mandatory due to the bylaws.

An email was sent out today to the candidates for the 76th Director from John Frazer, Secretary and General Counsel of the NRA.

“Dear NRA Board candidate:

The Meeting Site Selection Committee met on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, for the purpose of deciding upon the date and location of the rescheduled 2020 Annual Meeting of Members. The Committee unanimously voted to hold the 2020 Annual Meeting of Members on Saturday, October 24, 2020, starting at 9:00 a.m. local time, in the Kiva Ballroom of the Loews Ventana Canyon Hotel in Tucson, Arizona.

Official notice of the meeting will be published in the NRA magazines and on NRA websites.

Balloting for the 76th Director seat will be held in conjunction with the meeting. Further information about the voting location and hours will follow separately in the near future.

We appreciate your patience throughout this challenging process.

Sincerely,

John”

Of course there is a conflict on that date. The 2nd Annual Rally for your 2A Rights is also scheduled for Saturday, October 24th in Washington, DC. The NRA has a “not invented here” mindset, for the most part, when it comes to other 2A activism. This was seen in Richmond back in January. The NRA held a “Lobby Day” in the State Capitol a week ahead of the long scheduled VCDL Lobby Day

Looking over the Loews Ventana Canyon Hotel website, the Kiva Ballroom can hold at most 1,000 people in normal times. What becomes interesting here is that there is a currently in-force Executive Order from Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) that limits public gatherings to 50 people.

The hotel itself seems very nice. For almost $200 a night it should be nice.

The downside is that it is 18-20 miles away from the airport and a half hour plus drive depending on traffic.

I have fully planned to go to the meeting in Springfield. I had my ticket and my room. Now I am going to have to do some recalculating.

One things for sure – it’s a heckuva lot easier to get to Tucson if you are part of the California NRA Members’ Councils than it is for us folks on the East Coast. It is not named the “Sinister Coast” for no reason.

UPDATE: I have been told by Todd Rathner, who is a Board member and Tucson resident, that the Board of Directors meeting will be on Saturday afternoon. When the meeting was scheduled for Springfield, MO, the Meeting of Members was on Saturday and the Board of Directors meeting was on Monday.

Any committee meetings will be held by phone or Zoom later. Participation in those by non-committee members will be at the discretion of the chairs.

Committee meetings will be held before the Board of Directors meeting on Saturday afternoon. I was just given a correction on that.

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Extortion? Oh, Puhleeze! UPDATED

April 26, 2019 by

Adam Kraut had an opinion piece published in Ammoland.com on Monday. It was entitled “When the Levee Breaks – NRA’s Untenable Position”. It discussed much of the ongoing controversy surrounding the leadership and executive staff of the NRA. At the end, it has this mislabeled comment regarding Adam’s candidacy for the board and Anthony Colandro. Adam considered the statement as an assertion and not a “challenge”.

With that out of the way, there is one more issue to attend to. Numerous individuals have asked if I’d be running for the 76th Board Seat at the NRA Annual Meeting. Others have asked if I would endorse or support Anthony Colandro (who is now being supported by Wayne LaPierre, among others!?). I’ve decided to keep my options open. My name will appear on the ballot, however, if Mr. Colandro will join me in demanding that Wayne and the Board Members who failed to exercise their fiduciary responsibilities immediately resign, I will consider stepping aside and offering my endorsement. Without that commitment though, I could not in good conscience endorse any candidate.

For those attending the NRA Annual Meeting this year, I’ll see you there. I hope you’ll join me in demanding accountability from the Officers and the Board.

Mr. Colandro responded in the comments saying it reeked of extortion.

I’m independent and I will make my own decisions. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I won’t be intimidated by ANYONE to make ANY decision. In New Jersey, we’re all too familiar with corruption and Mr. Kraut’s so-called “challenge” reeks of extortion. This infighting has to stop! We all have a common goal in the 2A community. If we stand strong and stand together, we stand a chance.

Extortion? I didn’t realize the self-described tough guy with pit-bull tendencies was such a snowflake.

Mr. Colandro makes much of the fact that he serves as a non-director member of three NRA committees. As Bitter at Shall Not Be Questioned noted, “Those appointments don’t come without the blessing of the leadership and support of the incumbent board.”

Therein lies the problem in my eyes. Mr. Colandro was 33rd out of 35 candidates and had existing board members in the runner-up position ahead of him. I have a feeling – and it is only a feeling – that some sort of deal or commitment was made between Mr. Colandro and the powers that be. The NRA Board doesn’t need any more people beholden to the executive staff. Indeed that is where many of the internal troubles have originated.

As for me, I plan to vote for the second runner-up aka Adam. I have a level of trust that Adam Kraut will do the right thing whereas I don’t trust Mr. Colandro in the least to do what’s right for the organization and its future.

This is my last post before Indy. I will try to post from the NRA Annual Meeting when I have time.

UPDATE: Rob Pincus has a post on Facebook expressing much of the same misgivings about a deal between Mr. Colandro and the existing executive leadership.

Anthony Colandro has been endorsed by the NRA. Nothing about the NRA suggests they would support him unless a clear deal was in place for him to support the current regime.

Read the whole thing. If you are here and want change, then vote for Adam Kraut. If you are satisfied with the status quo and don’t care if the NRA goes down the tubes, then by all means vote for Mr. Colandro.

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Adam For 76th Director

May 1, 2018 by

I endorsed Adam Kraut for the NRA Board of Directors before the balloting started. The other two people I endorsed – Julie Golob and Tim Knight – made it on the board but Adam came up a bit short. He has let me know that he will be running again for the 76th Director position. It is a one-year post and ALL members are eligible to vote for this director. You don’t have to be a Life Member or a 5-year continuous member to vote on this position. However, you must vote in person at the NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas.

As Adam posted on his Facebook page:

You didn’t think we were giving up did you?

Who can vote – ALL NRA Members
Where to vote – Outside Exhibit Hall A
When to vote – Thurs. 2 PM to 6 PM, Fri. 8 AM to 6 PM and Sat. 8 AM to 4 PM.

Last year we lost by only 60 votes. Bring everyone with you to cast a ballot.

If you are going to be at the Annual Meeting, I would urge you to vote for Adam. We need young blood like him on the Board of Directors now more than ever.