Man's Best Friend....Always and Forever....

When Marine Sgt. Ross Gundlach served as a dog handler in Afghanistan, he told the yellow lab who was his constant companion that he'd look her up when he returned home.

"I promised her if we made it out of alive, I'd do whatever it took to find her," Gundlach said.

On Friday, he made good on that vow with help from some sentimental state officials in Iowa who know how to pull off a surprise.

Since leaving active duty to take classes at the University of Wisconsin this summer, Gundlach, of Madison, Wis., had been seeking to adopt 4-year-old Casey.

The 25-year-old learned Casey had finished her military service and had been sent to the Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office, where she was used to detect explosives.

Gundlach wrote to State Fire Marshal Director Ray Reynolds, explaining the connection he felt with the dog. He even has a tattoo on his right forearm depicting Casey with angel wings and a halo, sitting at the foot of a Marine.

"He's been putting a case together for the last two months, sending me pictures ... it just tugged on your heart," Reynolds said.

Reynolds decided to arrange a surprise. First, he got in touch with the Iowa Elk's Association, which agreed to donate $8,500 to buy another dog for the agency.

"We have a motto in our association that as long as there are veterans, the Elks will strive to help them," Iowa Elks Association president Tom Maher said.

Then, Reynolds came up with a ruse to get Gundlach to Des Moines, telling Gundlach he needed to come to the state Capitol to plead his case in front of a "bureaucratic oversight committee."

When Gundlach arrived with his parents, Reynolds told them the meeting had been delayed and invited them to join an Armed Services Day celebration in the rotunda. There, hundreds of law enforcement officers, military personnel and civilians were seated, keeping the secret — until they brought out Casey.

When Gundlach saw Casey, he put his head in his hands and cried. She licked his face, wagging her tail furiously.

"It was a total surprise," he said. "I owe her. I'll just try to give her the best life I can."

During the 150 missions they performed together, Gundlach said Casey never missed an explosive — she caught three before they could be detonated. He credits her for making it back home safely.

"I wouldn't be here ... any kids I ever had wouldn't exist if Casey hadn't been here," he said.

Yahoo

h/t Lightfighter

The Duplicity of Statists

“People need the nanny state occasionally.” - Piers Morgan, 11 March

“I’ve had some of the pro-gun lobbyists on here, saying to me, ‘Well, the reason we need to be armed is because of tyranny from our own government,’ and I’ve always laughed at them,” Morgan said. “I said, ‘Don’t be ridiculous! Your government won’t turn itself on you. …

“But, actually, this is vaguely tyrannical behavior by the American government.”

He continued, “I think what the IRS did is bordering on tyrannical behavior. I think what the Department of Justice has done to the AP is bordering on tyrannical behavior.” - Piers Morgan, 16 May

Was this a sea change on the part of our Hoplophobic buddy Piers? Or has overreaching Statism merely hit Piers in the emotional gut, touched on an issue where he has a personal stake? After all, the actions of the IRS, while not affecting him personally, leads him to envision a paradigm that could affect his bottom dollar, and his ability to afford armed security.

The ever-evolving narrative of gun control

Gun Control to Gun Safety to Gun Reform....what will it be next week? The goal is the same, but the narrative keeps changing almost as often as the Liberty movement knocks it down for being the intellectual pap that it is. It's both amusing and frustrating that the gun control cabal keeps trying to pass off a thinly concealed goal with a series of intellectually dishonest scripts, that when pressed, some will be honest enough to admit the fallacies of.

One will most often find gun control supporters employing the argument-of-straw that supposes the gun rights movement favors a paradigm of zero restrictions when it comes to firearm ownership. While there are those who would state that the 2nd Amendment is the only firearm license required by the US Constitution, the would-be controllers willfully ignore that the NRA was/is a huge supporter of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System [NICS] and Project Exile.

I probably don't need to rehash previous logic based remonstrations against the rhetoric the gun control lobby invents ["high-capacity", "assault rifle", etc..], nor the petulant tirades that project a desire for violent criminal acts on the gun rights movement, in response to us acting as a bulwark against legislation that would not prevent such acts.....and infringe on a Constitutional right.

TTAG has an illuminating exchange between it's publisher and USA Today that speaks well of this logical disconnect on the behalf of the controllers:

When USA Today contacted me to write an editorial I asked the Gannet guy why his employer stopped using the term “gun control.” Why’d they adopted the language of the civilian disarmament industry (see what I did there?) and substituted the term “gun safety”? He didn’t miss a beat. “The words ‘gun control’ come with a lot of baggage,” he declared. “So does the term ‘gun safety,’” I countered. “It indicates a clear bias for gun control.” “We are biased,” he admitted. “We’re in favor of it. That’s why we use the term ‘gun safety.’” Bonus points for honesty, I guess. Only USA Today doesn’t restrict their Orwellian language choice to the editorial page. And I didn’t become an OCD gun blogger by leaving well enough alone . . .

Please read the rest

Don't be a Douche....

Great advice at Military 1, from a former Platoon Leader to all current, or future Platoon Leaders:

We've received more than a handful of emails from people asking us to post our thoughts on leadership – mostly from seasoned NCOs who want us to use our powers for good instead of evil (at least every once in a while).

This is a tough one for us to write, because in some ways it starts with the position that we are qualified to teach leadership.  I mean you can go to the store and literally buy hundreds of books on the topic of leadership from real war heroes that should be dead a hundred times over, general officers or sergeants major who have a lifetime of service to the nation, or even business leaders, coaches, or politicians who have made a real difference in the world.  Hell, a lot of the guys that read this site have been to combat four times or more by now!  Candidly, we felt that posting an article on leadership would be more than a little presumptuous.

Nevertheless, the emails have continued coming in – as a result, I posed this dilemma to one the NCOs in the Ranger Up Militia.  "Why should we tread on ground that so many great leaders have already covered," I asked.  "Simple," he replied, "You won’t write it with the intent of making yourself look like a big deal, which means someone might actually listen."

His logic was hard to argue with, so we drew straws and for this one you're stuck with me.  I've decided to write it from a platoon leader's perspective, because no one needs more help than a 2LT, but hopefully most of my comments transcend all levels of leadership.  So here goes:

Read the rest

And all good things come to an end....the Roman Edition

As some may know, I've been deployed to the Pacific since January, and in that time I've embarked on a pretty comprehensive 'return to fighting form' program. Between running, rucking, P90X Ab Ripper, elliptical and weights....I've lost around 20 pounds and regained some sorely needed muscle mass.

It was either that or get into trouble....I mean, it is the Pacific right? OK, it was really either that or start my Masters program; did I want to be cooped up with my nose in books...I mean, it IS the Pacific right?

During my cardio and a bit of my rucking, I've been listening to podcasts....and I've just come to the end of a 179 episode adventure in Roman history. Though I've read many a book on the various phases and aspects of Roman civilization, there are always new perspectives to learn, and I can recommend no better way than Mike Duncan's The History of Rome.

It's available on iTunes [free] and Audible [probably not free], and it's well worth your time, if you are into podcasts or audiobooks. Mike Duncan delivers an astounding tour from the hopeful era of Romulus to the despair of Romulus Augustus, with a dizzying sense of academic knowledge, wry humor and impeccable timing.

And now I'm done. I have to say goodbye to the guy who's voice has been with me almost everytime I've saddled up to the elliptical for the last 3 1/2 months. It's like finishing the last episode of The Wire, or The Soprano's, or Battlestar Galactica. You're left with a feeling of ....what the hell do I do now?

So I've started on The History of Byzantium, by some British guy. A guy, who to his credit, opened his first podcast with glowing praise of The History of Rome, and the desire we all felt, of continuing the saga of the eastern empire. Unfortunately, I just about fell asleep while working out.

I may go back to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, since it's apparently still ongoing [I got into him while in Iraq in 2007/8]. But I also solicit recommendations from the assembled blogosphere.

Once again, check out The History of Rome. I can't oversell this learning experience.

Quote of the Day

From TTAG's OpEd in today's USA Today:

Relying on the same people who brought us Operation Fast and Furious to keep politics out of gun safety ads is like asking Lindsay Lohan to teach Driver’s Ed.

Uh-Oh.....bad news for the Nanny-State Gun Control Cabal.....

Good news for law abiding citizens though [which includes we who recognize the right to defend ourselves with common-use tools commensurate with the threat].

WaPo

Inquisitor

Climbing the Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail

A little over 2.25 miles to the top......not a great distance, but you're ascending roughly 1800 feet between here and there. Good tree cover most of the way, but precious little breeze. I was sweating more on this trail than on Mt Olympus last weekend, just due to the humid, static air.

Great views at the top, as advertised. One does well to heed the sign.

The views from the top. The next ridge over.....looks doable.

Koko Head Crater in the background.

I did earn my Good Samaritan merit badge on today's hike. I had passed a group of older ladies as I was trekking up...they were heading down. After my ascent, and probably about a mile from the start/end point, I came across them again. One of the ladies had twisted her ankle pretty badly, and they were making only a few steps at a time before taking a break. Being a good Infantryman and a gentleman to boot, I inquired if she minded that I was drenched in sweat, and piggy backed her the rest of the way down. luckily for me [and my back] she couldn't have weighed over a buck 20, so it ended up giving me a strong finish to a hike that only took a couple of hours.

I hit the weights back in the gym and am ready to relax and enjoy Single Malt Saturday!

For the next time you hear the intellectually challenged use this comparison......

I speak of course, of the oft cited "we require vehicles to be licensed and registered...so why not guns?" Setting aside the fundamental issue of one being a privilege that the State allows, and the other being a Constitutionally protected right, just come back with the following logic by Lawdog:

I see that the gun grabbers have resurrected the old "We license cars, so why can't we license guns?" meme.

I tell you what -- every time you hear a gun grabber snivel about licensing guns like cars, call him a liar to his face.

I would absolutely love to license guns just like we do cars and drivers -- for the same reason that every gun grabber who suggests it is lying through his or her snaggle teeth.

Think about it.

Read the rest....it's worth it.

h/t Sean Sorrentino

Of Feigned Outrage and Bloody Shirts

Regarding the tragic shooting of a toddler by her 5 year old brother, Sean Sorrentino adroitly puts into perspective the circus of the gun control-media complex.

Here’s what bothers me about the story. The fuckheads on Twitter screaming bloody murder about the accidental death of a child none of them knew and none of them actually cared about before she became a prop in their political morality play.

Newsflash assholes: You aren’t fooling anyone with your crocodile tears. Tearing your hair and rending your garments while wailing might look cool in a movie, but you look really stupid when you do it over a child you’ve never even heard of before today.

Here’s what’s really going on. You assholes are pretending to care about this girl’s death so that you can use it to push for stricter gun control laws. You are using this girl’s death as a weapon to attack the gun company that makes the Crickett rifle (Warning, ThinkProgress) her brother was playing with. You don’t give a shit that tens of thousands (at least!) of these rifles have been sold to parents all across the USA. You don’t give a shit that these tens of thousands of rifles are used safely to teach children and small adults to shoot.

No, the only reason you give a shit at all about this poor little girl from a gun owning family in a flyover state is because you think you can use her death to advance your political agenda. At some point, when you were down on your knees scooping her blood up in your hands so you could grease the skids for more gun control, you should have seriously questioned your humanity.

The fact that you didn’t tells me you don’t have any left.

And what the fuck is it with all the Australian #GunControl fanatics on Twitter? Go the fuck back to your own country. If you want to cheer your masters for taking away your rights, go ahead. But don’t expect me to celebrate with you. And you better damn well not expect me to give up my rights to be just like you pussies.

An NC Gun Blog