It Has Started

The CGA (Connecticut General Assembly) is a bicameral body consisting of a State House of Representatives and a State Senate. Both are controlled by a majority of The Evil Party, and the minority members of The Stupid Party are powerless to stop their march to full blown socialism. And of course, the head #LIBTURD member of The Evil Party is Gov. "Jolly Ned" Lamont, who will eagerly sign into law any unconstitutional infringement the CGA passes. As a member of the C.C.D.L. (CT Citizens Defense League) I receive the alerts when it is time to submit written testimony for the public hearings, and the C.C.D.L. will recommend whether to oppose or support a proposed bill and is always on the side of the right to keep and bear arms.

The first alert I received the other day was for House Bill #5653 (tagged on the CGA website as HB5653), which is to institute a punitive "sin tax" on all ammunition purchases to supposedly pay for something called "Community Gun Violence and Intervention Program Grants." They want to charge $0.02 per .22 caliber round, and $0.05 per round for everything else. Below is my [redacted] submitted testimony.

                       Oppose HB5653

 

My name is XXXX XXXXXX, and I have been involved with civilian firearms ownership since 1980. I also served in the U.S. Army from 1981 to 1987 earning my “EXPERT” marksmanship badge with the M16. I have held my CT state pistol permit since 1983 right after turning 21. I have competed in many firearms events in both rifle and pistol. I load my own pistol and rifle ammunition using standardized recipes and have developed and tested my own. I perform my own basic gunsmithing, fabrication, modification, and repairs. I have introduced and instructed many “firearms curious” individuals to their first firearms experience as well as an introduction to reloading while stressing safety at all times. I belong to the N.R.A., The CT Citizen’s Defense League, The XXXXXX XXXXXX Club, The Garand Collector’s Association, and am an authorized purchaser through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. I consider myself to have more firearm experience than the average firearm owner, and certainly more experience than the majority of members of the CT General Assembly, Administration, state bureaucrats, and sadly to say from experience, most law enforcement.

The U.S. Constitution; Second Amendment

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Constitution of the State of Connecticut; Article First, Section 15

Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state.

Neither of these statements confer any right to arms, but instead exist to PREVENT government from denying a right to be armed. These rights come from God the Almighty to Americans by birth, not granted by any government entity. That would be a “privilege” not a right.

 

The pro-civilian firearm disarmament element in the state government are once again targeting the peaceable gun owners of the state, this time by desiring to levy a punitive tax on ammunition purchases. Ammunition and magazines are as much a part of “arms” as stated in both constitutions as a firearm itself.

 

As anyone with a shred of common sense should know, the criminal element does not and cannot waltz into WalMart, Hoffman's, Cabelas, or the other smaller sporting goods retailers in the state and purchase the ammunition for their criminal activities (see note 1). They are forced to steal it or buy it on the black market. None of those type of transactions provide any type of revenue stream from taxes; sales tax or otherwise. Do you know what happens if I were to walk into such a retailer in CT to buy ammunition and didn’t have my pistol permit on me? I would be denied the purchase, no ifs or buts. Funny how the criminal element doesn’t seem to have such a problem and no law can fix that. Therefore such proposed legislation as HB 5653, which is nothing more than placing a "sin tax" on constitutionally protected activities, is yet one more infringement against The Second Amendment and State Constitution. It is so unfortunate that our state seems to have this bad habit of passing such infringements knowing they will end up in court, and then state officials crying like little children when they are sued (like right now with the multiple pending lawsuits). I will personally be more than happy to again voluntarily contribute to any court costs and attorney fees to fight such poor legislation should it pass. Penalizing the peaceable citizen for the actions of criminals and forcing them to pay for the prevention of those criminal activities is wrong… legally and morally. As far as “community gun violence” is concerned, my community of XXXXXXX (in fact most of rural Windham County) has high per capita firearms ownership and use. Yet the little violent crime that does happen out here is usually caused by those that don’t live here. The nightly news stories I see of “gun violence” comes out of Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, etc. I suggest you unleash law enforcement and target those “communities”…. and hard.

 

How about this novel idea? Crack down on criminals using or caught with firearms and ammunition like the original laws state. I’d be happy with search and seizure of person and property upon arrest, no bail, no plea downs, and no reduced sentences.

 

                            FOR THE RECORD: I OPPOSE HB 5653

 

 

Note 1

Sec. 29-38m. Sale of ammunition or ammunition magazine. (a) For the purposes of this section and sections 29-38n to 29-38p, inclusive, “ammunition” means a loaded cartridge, consisting of a primed case, propellant or projectile, designed for use in any firearm, “firearm” has the meaning provided in section 53a-3, and “magazine” means any firearm magazine, belt, drum, feed strip or similar device that accepts ammunition.

(b) No person, firm or corporation shall sell ammunition or an ammunition magazine to any person under eighteen years of age.

(c) On and after October 1, 2013, no person, firm or corporation shall sell ammunition or an ammunition magazine to any person unless such person holds a valid permit to carry a pistol or revolver issued pursuant to subsection (b) of section 29-28, a valid permit to sell at retail a pistol or revolver issued pursuant to subsection (a) of section 29-28, a valid eligibility certificate for a pistol or revolver issued pursuant to section 29-36f or a valid long gun eligibility certificate issued pursuant to section 29-37p and presents to the transfer or such permit or certificate, or unless such person holds a valid ammunition certificate issued pursuant to section 29-38n and presents to the transfer or such certificate and such person's motor vehicle operator's license, passport or other valid form of identification issued by the federal government or a state or municipal government that contains such person's date of birth and photograph.

(d) The provisions of subsection (c) of this section shall not apply to the sale of ammunition to (1) the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, police departments, the Department of Correction, the Division of Criminal Justice, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or the military or naval forces of this state or of the United States; (2) a sworn and duly certified member of an organized police department, the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or the Department of Correction, a chief inspector or inspector in the Division of Criminal Justice, a salaried inspector of motor vehicles designated by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, a conservation officer or special conservation officer appointed by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection pursuant to section 26-5, or a constable who is certified by the Police Officer Standards and Training Council and appointed by the chief executive authority of a town, city or borough to perform criminal law enforcement duties, for use by such sworn member, inspector, officer or constable in the discharge of such sworn member's, inspector's, officer's or constable's official duties or when off duty; (3) a member of the military or naval forces of this state or of the United States; (4) a nuclear facility licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the purpose of providing security services at such facility, or any contractor or subcontractor of such facility for the purpose of providing security services at such facility; or (5) a federally licensed firearm manufacturer, importer, dealer or collector.

(e) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a class D felony.

 

If you go to the link for the bill and click on the "Public Hearing Testimony" radio button, you will be taken to the list of all the submitted testimony. You will see that it runs in the hundreds in opposition, and very few in support. In reading the testimony of others, those in opposition list many reasons and logical arguments, where those in support are emotionally whining "we must do something!!!" even if it infringes on the Constitutional Rights of others. Of course, those writing in support are NOT firearms owners, would never pay a penny in such a tax to pay for a cause they seem to support, nor would they even consider voluntarily contributing to such a cause. It must be paid for with the confiscated money of others. Where I wrote "It is so unfortunate that our state seems to have this bad habit of passing such infringements knowing they will end up in court, and then state officials crying like little children when they are sued (like right now with the multiple pending lawsuits). I will personally be more than happy to again voluntarily contribute to any court costs and attorney fees to fight such poor legislation should it pass." Here is a video clip of Kommiecticut AG William "Sum-Ting-Wong" Tong whining about being sued over unconstitutional gun laws.

The next bill alert I received was for House Bill #6684 (tagged on the CGA website as HB6684) which is to remove certain precision small caliber pistols used strictly for precision target shooting that were hoovered up and into the update to the 1994 state "assault weapons ban" a few years ago. The C.C.D.L. recommends supporting this bill. Below is my [redacted] submitted testimony.

                        Support for H.B. 6684

 

My name is XXXXX XXXXX, and I have been involved with civilian firearms ownership since 1980. I also served in the U.S. Army from 1981 to 1987 earning my “EXPERT” marksmanship badge with the M16. I have held my CT state pistol permit since 1983 right after turning 21. I have competed in many firearms events in both rifle and pistol. I load my own pistol and rifle ammunition using standardized recipes and have developed and tested my own. I perform my own basic gunsmithing, fabrication, modification, and repairs. I have introduced and instructed many “firearms curious” individuals to their first firearms experience as well as an introduction to reloading while stressing safety at all times. I belong to the N.R.A., The CT Citizen’s Defense League, The XXXXX XXXXX Club, The Garand Collector’s Association, and am an authorized purchaser through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. I consider myself to have more firearm experience than the average firearm owner, and certainly more experience than the majority of members of the CT General Assembly, Administration, state bureaucrats, and sadly to say from experience, most law enforcement.

The U.S. Constitution; Second Amendment

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Constitution of the State of Connecticut; Article First, Section 15

Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state.

Neither of these statements confer any right to arms, but instead exist to PREVENT government from denying a right to be armed. These rights come from God the Almighty to Americans by birth, not granted by any government entity. That would be a “privilege” not a right.

 

I am writing to provide my support for H.B. 6684 AN ACT EXCLUDING CERTAIN TARGET SHOOTING PISTOLS FROM PROVISIONS ON ASSAULT WEAPONS for two reasons.

1). It corrects the placing of certain firearms that are specifically made for precision target shooting on a list of firearms referred to as “assault weapons” because of design layout characteristics that have nothing to do with making them any “more deadly” but more precise and accurate.

2). ANYTHING that weakens those unconstitutional/intolerable abominations from 1994 known as the “assault weapons ban” and the 2013 “Act Concerning Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety” is a win for the freedom loving citizens that may still live in Connecticut. I will keep you all updated on upcoming bills, and post copies of my testimony here.

 

As you can see, I use the top qualifying header on all my testimony. I want them to see that I am eminently qualified to speak about firearms, where THEY ARE NOT! And to remind them every single time of the 27 words in The Second Amendment and the 15 words of The State Constitution in which Article the First Section 15 is not even remotely debatable; and how they violate their Oath of Office every time they propose infringements. I will update you all on upcoming pro gun bills and unconstitutional intolerable infringements, and post copies of my testimony.

Conspiracy Theory?

Anyone else think the reason the Commie environazis want to ban gas stoves is because there is no way for them to control when and how much they are used like they might with an electric one? That is especially true if it runs on propane instead of natural gas.

Trips To Cabelas For Upgrades

I made two trips to Cabelas in East Hartford in the past few days and dropped just under $500 in leftover Christmas gift cards I had been sitting on for a few years. It was a combination of VISA gift cards, a Cabelas gift card, and some mad money cash. Why the two trips? I will explain.

I went after work on Thursday February 16th. I get out at 6 PM, have to go home to take care of animals and then needed to stop and get a bite to eat. I got to the store just past 7:30 and the sign on the door says they are operating under winter hours and closing at 8PM. Well I knew what I was originally after, a pair of Walker electronic muff and Hogdgon HS-6 powder. At the East Hartford store, all the gun stuff is on the second floor, so I hoofed it up there. It took several minutes of looking to find the version of Walker muff I was after, but I got it, Walker's "EXCEL". I thought about a carrying case but time was short. I went looking for gun powder, specifically a 1 pound container of Hogdgon HS-6. There were two on the shelf so I grabbed one. They had exactly ZERO primers, but I am all set with those... for now. They keep announcing that the store is closing to head for the register but I took a quick peek in the optics showcase. They sell laser range finders, but I don't have time to shop, so I went downstairs, cashed out and left.

I also grabbed another plastic cartridge case to put a hundred .38 Special rounds in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I never had a set of electronic muffs, so I couldn't wait to try them out. I put my empty .38 brass in the cartridge case, stowed the powder in my ammo cabinet, and since the muffs came with a set of Duracell AAA batteries, I chucked them and installed a pair of Energizer AAA batteries. I turned them on and was able to hear the TV audio just fine. It has four audio modes, but I couldn't tell much difference using the TV. What was neat was trying to clap my hands. I felt them smack together but heard nothing. It was weird to say the least. When the wife got home, I tried them with her and live conversation. They work best for me with my hearing loss on the "Clear Voice" setting.

On Saturday the 18th I had a work party at the sportsman's club that I thought would go until at least noon. Nope, we were done by 10, so I ran home, loaded the truck for the dump, and with little poodle boy headed out. He loves going to stores where dogs are allowed and behaves himself very well. After the dump it was back to Cabelas and a much more leisurely shopping trip. Up the stairs to the gun area and the Walkers display. I found a case that said it fit my muffs, but how the hell do they actually fit? The case is pretty small. Ah... ingenious design grasshopper. I'm glad I brought my muffs with me to try them out in the case.

 

 

The muffs in the case and a pocket for the instruction shett

 

The ear cups fold in and up to tuck under headband. Then the muffs sit in the case vertically. An instruction sheet would have been nice, but as usual I am able to figure shit out.

I then went over to the optics counter. Range finders run $99 for a cheap Bushnell model, up to $1249 for a top end Leica unit. For the features I wanted, the ranges it worked at, and the price I ended up with a Sig-Sauer KILO2200BDX 6x22 for $249.97. I set it up and messed with it at work today and it was easy to set up and use. It will do everything I need it to do.

The last thing I bought was a brand new Lee Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure. My original one still worked, but I always believed I was on borrowed time with it. The jackass that previously owned my equipment got too heavy handed with the screws that hold the powder hopper onto the dispenser and the plastic was all split and breaking. I was always gentle with it, but I could envision it one day letting go in the middle of a production run, dumping powder everywhere. It is also modernized, with the ability to turn off the powder without having to remove it from the press until the hopper needed to be emptied.

Already mounted and ready for use for the 9mm run

I mentioned the modernization. The original only had a spring operated return to fill the disk for the next charge. This uses either the spring return or a small ball chain attached to the shell plate carrier to pull the disk back for another refill on the up stroke of the operating lever. It is supposed to operate more positively in positioning the powder disk for filling and dumping. We shall see. I can always put the return spring and arm on the unit if I have difficulty with the new set up. The other nice thing is the improved way the hopper attaches, using machine screws and knurled knobs instead of sheet metal screws into plastic. I will keep the old unit as a spare.

Poodle boy enjoyed his visit to the store and everyone just loves him. Lots of little kids wanted to pet him and he just loves the attention. And his string cheese treats.

 

Mostly the treats.

New Data Infrastructure - Don't Care

First a little history lesson of traditional telephone service in Kommiecticut:

Southern New England Telephone Co. (SNETCO): Started as District Telephone Company of New Haven in 1878. It was the very first telephone exchange and first printed telephone book. It became the only phone company in Kommiecticut under the old Bell System. With the breakup of Ma Bell in 1984, SNETCO became a "Baby Bell" with AT&T having a minority share in the company. In 1996 they offered their DSL internet service. I was one of their early customers. Wow! 784kb download and 384kb upload. No more 56k dialup modems. They were a really good company. In the early `90's when I worked for Nortel, I was assigned to Northeast Utilities (now Eversource) as the lead on-site technician. How good was SNET? We had a monthly meeting with the SNET team assigned to N.U. to discuss any service issues or upcoming projects. The SNETCO representatives would bend over backwards to keep N.U. happy. Whenever I had a line trouble, I would call SNET Business Repair and open a ticket. As soon as I had my ticket number, I would call the staff at the central office where the line trouble originated or passed through. The C.O. guys (older experienced techs too old to go up on poles any more marking time to retirement) would ALWAYS answer the phone, take the ticket and circuit number, and get right on it. When the trouble was resolved, they would call right back and ensure the trouble was fixed to my satisfaction. They remained a great company until 1998, when sold to SBC Global.

SBC Global: SNET was purchased for $4.4 billion in 1998 by SBC Communications, which subsequently purchased the old AT&T, taking its name as the "new" AT&T. Under AT&T, SNET was known as AT&T Connecticut. 

In August of 1998, I was no longer working for the company that serviced N.U., so I can't speak to how N.U. was treated going forward. Minor system upgrades brought DSL speeds up to 1 MB download, with promises of major system upgrades and speed increases. 

AT&T: In 2006, AT&T merged the operations of SNET into AT&T Teleholdings, formerly Ameritech, making it a subsidiary of the latter. 

AT&T rolled out it's high speed internet and U-Verse TV on an all fiber network. But the fiber roll out was not on every mile of their footprint. It was only available in urban and suburban areas, and very limited in rural areas like along state roads. It was not available down my back country road, I was stuck with DSL. My speeds were limited because I was at the farthest distance from the remote fiber control box to still get service.

Frontier Communications: On October 24, 2014, Frontier Communications completed its purchase of AT&T's Connecticut operations, including Southern New England Telephone and SNET America, for $2 billion. The company began doing business as Frontier Communications of Connecticut. It is the second former unit of the Bell System to be acquired by Frontier, the first being Frontier West Virginia (originally C&P Telephone of West Virginia) which was purchased from Verizon in 2010. Frontier is still the main "telephone company" in the state today. Since then, there were basically no upgrades of anything, and they can barely keep things in working order. I have witnessed first hand how bad they are having worked 35 years in the industry in another life. Their wires and cables hang too low after tree damage and remain in physical disrepair. Under SNETCo, that would have NEVER been allowed to be. When a pole is replaced after an accident or weather event, the 2-3 foot long piece of the old pole where their cables are attached remains suspended in the air by ropes. and it sometimes takes over a year to have the cables moved onto the new pole. All the other utilities are on site for the pole replacement and move their cables to the new pole. The DSL was upgraded to "up to 3 MB" download speeds at some point, but I never even got 2 MB, and near the end of my time with them it was constantly down. I got fed up with their customer service Guptas in India telling me to reboot my computer AGAIN, and moved to cable internet only with Charter. They offered 100 MB download for a 2 year introductory rate of $49.99 per month. By dropping my landline and all services from Frontier I was actually saving money. My wife and I moved all our telephone service to our cell phones since we only used the landline to order pizza. Until recently, I never speed tested below 115 MB download and 12 MB upload. Now it tests to 200 MB download. I watch streaming services and videos with no buffering. Since the 2 year promotion ended long ago, my current price is $74.99 per month. But... since my wife and I watch so much streaming content, it is definitely worth it.

In recent years, state utility regulators have been coming down hard on Frontier for their legacy of not upgrading or repairing their infrastructure and networks. Everywhere in my area every day, there are multiple contractor cable crews out stringing brand new fiber optic cabling until after dark, and at night are the vans parked on the side of the road splicing the fiber strands. Right now they are going great guns along the major state roads, and they are now going down some of the side roads. I will be interested to see whether they actually come down my rural side road at some point.

As the title says, "New Data Infrastructure - Don't Care" because as far as I am concerned, that ship has sailed long ago. I am very happy with my service and speed, and don't need to pay $155 a month for 5 GB of speed. My wife and I are not gamers and only have our two devices and a home computer, Even if we had a house full of guests our present speed would be plenty of bandwidth.

I believe Frontier is going to experience a poor ROI on this big fiber roll out. Customers like myself were promised upgrades for years, only to see nothing happen and receive piss poor service for what was available are not going back. The only ones that will want this is the gamer types living in their parent's basement eating Hot Pockets that don't pay for a fucking thing anyway, and will convince Mommy and Daddy to get it.