Mark your calendars

“Make no mistake about it, everyone. I repeat, make no mistake about it, the  number of gun deaths in New York State will decrease because of the bold actions we take today,” Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel (D-Great Neck) said.

Okey-dokey.  Actual facts.

I am sad that the Government of the State of New York decided to do this - in the dead of night.  If it's so important, if it's so critical, why not take your time, why not persuade us?

It ain't about guns.  It's all about control.

Interesting times.

Crazed American, out.

The law of unintended consequences... of law?

CNN Video here

Schadenfreude?  Pelosi: We have to pass the bill to find out what's in it.

ObamaCare forbids firearms registration?!

Senate amendment 3276, Sec. 2716, part c.  

"‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON DATA COLLECTION.—None of the
authorities provided to the Secretary under the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act or an amendment made by that
Act shall be construed to authorize or may be used for the
collection of any information relating to—

‘‘(A) the lawful ownership or possession of a firearm
or ammunition;
‘‘(B) the lawful use of a firearm or ammunition; or
‘‘(C) the lawful storage of a firearm or ammunition."

Thinking Harry Reid ain't such a bad guy - I mean I disagree with 99% of him otherwise... What else is in that damn law?

So the next time you are in a doctor's office and they ask you about guns in your home, unless you know them personally and they are trying to buy an early Mauser from your collection, you can refer them to the above statue, or tell them that you have no evil, icky guns.

Senator Harry Reid, whether or not his position has changed, did us a solid by putting that little nugget of an amendment in there.  

CRAZED AMERICAN, out. 

Dictation

The Vice President, has stated that the administration can and will take unilateral action on a Constitutionally protected, FUNDAMENTAL right.

This would be bypassing Congress, and spitting in the face of the third branch of government, the Supreme Court, which has ruled TWICE to uphold the individual right to keep and bear arms.

Some readers (if I had any) might say, "hey Crazed American, they're just going to ban certain kinds of weapons and magazines.  They won't do away with all of them!"

Why in the name of G-d would I ever trust this government to stop there, if they are going to unilaterally decree that legally owned, possessed and licensed things are illegal???  Also, please see NDAA, Patriot Act, illegal detentions, the Drone War, etc.

Also, they'll figure out that a .223 AR-15 is shit compared to a .264, .270, .308, .30-30, .30-06, etc...

I'd be equally mad if they just decided one day to outlaw gays, abortions, Jews, veterans, or **insert name of group or activity not 100% loved by everyone**, BY UNILATERAL DECREE.

As a law-abiding citizen, presented with a law passed by the Congress and our nominally-representative officials, that's one thing.  I will rail, I will spew invective, I will work to get an unjust law overturned.

But obey a decree by the Executive Branch, that bypasses the Congress, AND the Supreme Court?  That comes from outside the system, and ignores our very governmental process.

Some would say that the Administration is no longer governing, they are literally RULING BY DECREE.

That is an illegal, and immoral action.  It cannot be obeyed.

Dangerous ground, folks.

CRAZED AMERICAN, out.

Tri-cornered hats on standby...

Took place - January of last year:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/05/us-shooting-utah-idUSTRE8040FO20120105

One pot-using and asleep criminal (who was also a veteran of the US Army) vs. Narco-Strike Force

I am of the mind that resistance to gun seizures would overwhelm and stop measures to seize guns. The government knows this.

This was ONE vet, who was illegally growing (and using) pot - no value call - those things are illegal.  He had a Beretta 92F (for the uninformed - a 15 shot 9mm self loading pistol - standard issue pistol of the US military).

No-knock warrant was served, by a law enforcement anti-narcotics "Strike Force".  They were all kitted up (body armor)and had massive fire superiority (M4's true, select fire assault rifles, shotguns and .40 cal Glocks - more powerful than the 9mm at least objectively).  

The criminal (and he is a criminal - I do not excuse his conduct, just using it as an example - he was growing for distribution and using a illegal drug), was awoken from sleep by the police smashing his door in.  

Skip to the end?  Five officers seriously wounded and one dead.  

One vet, non-combat arms MOS, one pistol - think he was Signal Corps.  No insult intended to SC - the SC guys I knew were good soldiers and communicators - just that most of them spent their time playing video games and calling their girlfriends in their air conditioned Humvees... They didn't get a lot of range time, and no advanced pistol training was given to SC soldiers (or anyone else for that matter).  Most soldiers, sailors, Marines and Airmen are not hard-charging killing machines.  Most of them are technicians, doing things that do not require guns.  A very few veterans have any meaningful "killing skills".  Even fewer know anything about CQB and MOUT.    There are more civilians out there with more meaningful "combat", "non-permissive, disruptive environment" training out there, than one cares to contemplate.  Assuming you could get everyone working (from Green Beret to Office Manager to landscaper to dog catcher) for the .gov to drop their office job, and pick up an M4 to raid the homes of law-abiding gun owners, after a handful of instances with results like these, you'd get a lot of resignations.  

Understand that a goodly percentage of .gov employees are law-abiding gun owners.  A not-unsubstantial number of those people would refuse the unconstitutional, unlawful, and immoral orders.  

Point is:  the Government has to think that registering / confiscating the weapons of people (combat vets or just armed citizens) might be a fools errand.  Imagine sending a Strike Force like that against someone with a touch of training and an M1A?  168 Grain FMJ vs. body armor at 10-20 feet?  The .gov has to take that into account!

I'm hopeful that reason will prevail.  

Contact your representatives.  Contact the White House.  Make noise.  Let your voice (no matter where you stand on the issue) be heard.  

My favorite Englishman...

...Jeremy Clarkson.

...apparently broke his finger punching my least favorite Britisher in the face.

Some say he downshifts only when he's near a Prius to watch them cry for Gaia.

I love that guy.

The Economy Sucks in Argentina?!

Then it must be time to rattle some sabers!!

By way of the Telegraph, this link speaks on a subject I do know something about...

So the economy sucks, future is bleak in Argentina, so what does Madame Kirchener decide?  Let's take back islands that haven't been ours in a couple of centuries, and we fought a short, and bloody war for back in the early 1980's.  Rattle sabers!

Granted, the nation Formerly Known as Great Britain, is in no shape to defend her possessions   There is a squadron of British fighters on the island, but the none-to-shabby Argentine Air Force and Naval Aviation, if done with a touch of the old commando style small unit airfield raid, get air dominance damn quick.

The Argentine's are no dummies.  They have a decent military, and I'm sure no one in Flag level positions in the Argentine chain of command didn't sit the 1982 war out.  Long story short, if the Argentines are willing to risk a bit, they could have those islands back, pretty damn quick.

The US President has also, through his use of the term Malvinas, and well known distaste for the British, indicated just where his administration stands.  Aside from it's submarines and a few surface ships, the UK can't project power.  No more carriers, no more carrier aircraft.

Unlike in 82, when Reagan helped out a bit, they shouldn't count on much from us, this time, NATO obligations included.

Interesting times, we'll see what happens...

Crazed American, out.

Business in the XXIst Century, Part II

This one is a quick one - but it's pithy.

If you cannot sum up your business idea in a single, simple sentence, it's too complicated.  Corollary = change is not always good, even when it's unavoidable - it should be MANAGED intelligently, never diluting the core business plan.

Practical example:  I have worked for a few companies that could, when I started with them, sum up their entire business plan in a single, clear sentence.  Over time, scope and mission creep began to set in, as the brains of the operations began to expand into other niches. Different niches translated into different requirements, which translated into more overhead and more payroll and people.

One business expanded their way into arrogant extravagance and ultimately bankruptcy, the other one "took it to the next level" which saw payroll expand by a factor of 2.6 and saw it's brand diluted and revenue drop by 10%.

Change has to be managed, especially in the current economic times.  It is going to get more and more expensive to have employees in the future, and the constant / infinite growth paradigm is being shown to be a falsehood, born by a very specific set of non-repeatable factors.

Next up, Loyalty: a two way street...

Crazed American, OUT

Well, who lets facts get in the way of the narrative?

http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50208495#50208495

No AR15 used in school shooting!

Why ban them? I ask honestly. I don't own one.

Merry Christmas!

Today, no politics, no ranting about the Constitution, or the corruption of politicians.

Today I take care of Mrs. Crazed American, laid low by a cold, and try to get out to commune with the mountain this afternoon.

G-d bless all of you, Friend and Reader.

May this day be one of love, family and warmth.  Remember your blessings and keep this day in a way that fills your heart with joy.

Pacem,

Crazed American, out.

Business in the 21st Century, Part I

This is going to be the first in a series of posts, when I, your humble author, lays upon you a critique of modern business, as viewed through the lens of a small, buzz-word-centric, business in the "e-commerce" field, that heavily leverages long, run on sentences in it's official communications, and strives to be synergisitcally present in the social media paradigm, and leverage that presence into market driven action.

Horseshit.

Basically this is my treatise on how a cool, little company began to believe it's own hype, and eventually went from being special, to being effectively a mediocre mail order catalog company, with high turnover.  It has to do with forgetting what made the idea special in the first place, losing sight of making each and every employee feel valued, losing sight of team building, taking 27 steps backward by trying to take things to the next level, and testing loyal and dedicated employees.

I will not include any specifics, this may or may not be a company I'm working for.  I have worked for companies like it in the past, and the fundamental things to do wrong were done there as well.

Long story short, there are fundamentals that make a successful business and fundamentals to make an unsuccessful one as well.

Let these treatises serve as a cautionary tale to entrepreneurs out there. This is not a case of sour grapes, merely lessons learned.  Identities will be changed to protect the innocent, or in this case brilliant and clueless alike.

Should be interesting and an excellent way for me to organize thoughts and perhaps branch out into a business of my own...