"X" (Twitter) is about to begin charging all accounts a fee to maintain a presence, supposedly to try and eliminate bots. Just like with anything not absolutely necessary in my life, if it ain't free, it ain't for me. Therefore, this tweet oughta be the one to get me permanently banned and I will just walk away on a high note with the tweet forever in my timeline.
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For many years, Kommiecticut's state legislature has been in control of the Demon-Craps, and the governor's office has swung back and forth between RINOs and Demon-Craps. It has been in Demon-Crap hands since 2011. It is a well known fact that the peaceable (I do not say *lawful, see note below) gun owners of this state are looked upon as political enemies by state government. How dare you own firearms? How dare you hold a permit? And good God Almighty.... HOW DARE YOU ENGAGE IN ARMED SELF-DEFENSE!? Don't you know children (depending on which statistics you look at, up to age 26) die from such abhorrent things?
I obtained my original pistol permit one month after my 21st birthday in 1983. I received my 9th pistol permit renewal paperwork via USPS in late June, with my permit to expire 9-15-23. Permits are issued for five years at $70. Supposedly taking 6-8 weeks to process. OK plenty of time before expiration.
My US Passport was expiring in December 2023. I rushed to do the renewal because of news reports of huge delays from the US State Department. 13 weeks for renewals, up to 4 months for a new application. I did not want to get jammed up without a current passport. I got two 2" x 2" passport photos from AAA for $9 and change. I completed all my paperwork for both renewals and mailed the permit certified and the passport priority mail on Thursday July 6th. Both were received at their respective destinations on Saturday July 8th.
Amazingly, I received my new passport at the end of July or early August. Shortly after that I received my deactivated old passport in a separate mailing. Nothing from Kommiecticut about my permit.
In the middle of week 8, my check had not yet been cashed, so I tried calling the DESPP (Department of Environmental Services & Public Protection) number provided on the form for questions or status. It plays a useless recorded announcement and dumps your call. Great. Next I contacted Jonathan Hardy via email from the CT Citizens Defense League about what to do. He is a leading civilian expert on Kommiecticut pistol permit issues. He reminded me of the 90 day "grace period" upon expiration and advised me to just sit and wait. The problem is, during the 90 day "grace period" you can still carry a firearm as normal, but due to state infringements post Sandy Hook, you cannot buy firearms or ammunition. Also, if you go past the 90 days you have to start the process all over again for a new permit, including the pistol safety course. You basically just send your renewal into a black hole and hope for the best. I formulated a plan for a lawsuit, but I would need standing to file. First thing I did was sign up for a Life Membership with The Second Amendment Foundation. They were going to be my go to for filing a lawsuit on my behalf for having my Constitutional Rights actually infringed upon, so I figured I should become a member first. Since I am slowly ditching the NRA, I wanted to do this anyway. Next, once my permit expired on the 15th, I was going to go to a firearms retailer and attempt to purchase a firearm, and once denied at the counter, would have my standing to sue having my Second Amendment Rights burdened and infringed. On September 11th I called a state trooper buddy of mine to see if he could find anything out for me. He got back to me a few minutes later and told me the SLFU (Special Licensing Firearms Unit) was getting slammed with 1500 mail-in renewals per day and that they are processing them in the order they were received. On that day, they were only up to July 13th. According to the USPS, mine was received on the 8th, yet my check was still not processed for payment. The 15th came and went with no permit. I had things to do the weekend of the 16th and 17th, so spending time at a gun shop was not in the cards, and I had to work Monday the 18th, so I had another idea.
I do not normally like pulling strings and asking favors especially from politicians. I did it one time before but only because my livelihood was on the line. That time, the state Department of Public Health had totally screwed up my EMT license renewal by no fault of mine. I was getting nowhere on my own and the expiration date was dangerously close, potentially putting me off the job. I contacted my state senator whom I knew personally to look into it for me. Holy shit! He went right to the top, contacting the state Commissioner of Public Health, who then immediately contacted me. I had my new EMT license in less than 24 hours after getting jerked around for months! That state senator has since retired, so this time I contacted my current state representative whom I also know personally. He is a Democrat... BUT, he knows who his constituents are and is a gun guy who does not tow the party line on gun laws. I emailed him at 11:19 on Monday the 18th and had a response by 12:46. I now had an official answer from a guy at the SLFU stating that my permit had been processed on September 14th and I should have it soon by mail. He said if I do not have it by the end of this week, to let him know directly. I immediately replied to all thanking them for the quick response, and that I would continue to wait for my permit. As of this morning, my check for $70 has been processed by my credit union and according to the USPS Informed Delivery, it should be in my mailbox this afternoon. If not for the responsiveness of those I contacted, I would have gone through with my planned lawsuit activities. I will let all involved know once I have my permit in hand and thank them once again for their assistance.
UPDATE 15:10 on 9-21-23: My new permit did indeed arrive in the mail about 10 minutes ago. As soon as this post goes live, I will be emailing my state representative, his administrative assistant, the guy at DESPP, and my state trooper buddy (on BCC) to let them know I received it and to thank them all once again.
*Lawful = Many of the formerly law abiding gun owners of Kommiecticut have been steadily turned into paper felons by the stroke of a pen since 1994, by simply refusing to comply with unconstitutional/intolerable acts making what was once perfectly legal into a crime. I have been proudly non-compliant since the state enacted its original "assault weapons" ban in 1994 all the way up to present day and everything in between. I refer to us as Peaceable Gun Owners, because we refuse to comply with Commie diktats but are not violent criminals. At least, until the state ever feels froggy enough to try armed confiscation, in which case they will turn our firearms into their fabled "weapons of war," and that will be all on them.
Late this morning, my lovely bride suggested the two of us heading out for ride on the bike. She knew I had been texting other riding buddies and it looked like no one was going to be able to get out. My wife suggesting a bike excursion is unheard of and I was thrilled. Her only stipulation was we had to get dinner. I suggested heading to the shore for seafood. She wanted to go to the Dogwatch Cafe in Stonington, but reservations are required, especially for the outdoor seating, and we wouldn't get seated until 3:30 PM. We decided to head to New London to Captain Scotty's Lobster Dock instead. We took mostly two lane state roads with the exception of a short stretch of I-395 to bypass all the traffic lights going through Norwich. We rolled into New London and down the little hidden side street between some old run down warehouses, across the railroad siding, and into the parking lot of Cap'n Scotty's.
Parking is normally a nightmare, but today it was crowded but with plenty of empty spaces. I got a good spot by the building where they cook and serve the food as well as the restrooms. We hit those first before ordering. Wifey got a lobster roll, I got a scallop roll, and we split a small order of onion rings. We both had Diet Coke to drink because no alky-hol when on two wheels.
After dinner, we mounted up and headed for Mystic. This required another short trip on the highway, this time I-95 and The Gold Star Bridge to get over the mouth of the Thames River and connect to RT. 1 on the east side. My wife didn't think we'd be able to park and walk around, but it turned out traffic wasn't bad and I scored another excellent parking space near the waterfront. The first order of business was to get ice cream at the Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream shop. It is located right at the drawbridge hinge on the west side of the Mystic River. We were parked on the east side of the river and its a good thing we got to the shop when we did. Shortly after getting in line, the drawbridge had to be opened to let a gigantic catamaran sailboat go up river. It is really slow to open and close. My wife got a caramel swirl they call "Sticky Fractured Finger" in a cone, and I got a waffle cone of Maine Wild Blueberry. We ate it on the back deck over looking the Mystic River. When we finished, I asked my wife if she wanted to stroll up and down the main drag to do some window shopping. She was like, "Sure!" knowing I usually don't care to do such things, but it was a beautiful afternoon for a walk. We hit the restrooms and started getting ready to leave. A guy pulls up behind us and asked if we are leaving so he could have my spot. I told him we would be a few minutes and apparently he didn't mind waiting while we continued getting ready. I backed out and then pulled forward so my wife could get on in the street. Patience paid off for the guy because he slid right into where I was parked. We took some scenic back roads up to Ledyard where we took RT. 2A across the Thames River to pickup I-395 and go home the same way we came. We arrived safely back home just before 6 PM.
I got back on "X" (Twitter) last Sunday the 10th, and earned a 12 hour stint in Twitter Jail last night for this little gem.
It was my response to a tweet about poor Mittens Romney not running a re-election campaign where he would most likely face a primary challenge.
So by deleting the offending reply (which was a throwaway remark anyway) last night, my 12 hours was up this morning.
Last time I was in exile for over a year. Let's see how long I last before I offend the X censors again.
This one is awesome! H/T to Mike Miles at Ninety Miles From Tyranny for a sea shanty that documents the Brandon Administration to a "T"
It is based on a real sea shanty called "The Wellerman" best performed by the acapella group known as The Longest Johns. This is their official music video for their rendition. I suggest you subscribe to their YouTube channel for more great music.
The wellerman is a supply ship to the whalers at sea. Toungin' is the cutting up of the whale carcass as it was towed alongside the whaling ship. The song details a long fight at sea to harvest a Right Whale.
For fans of "The Pirates of The Caribbean" franchise, I give you a bonus of the creepy "Hoist The Colours" by The Longest Johns