Darrell

This guy paid us a visit about half an hour ago. Judging from the deer-feeder, it's just about as tall as me when standing on its hind legs. I think I've seen this fellow before out on the road. Not a great pic because I was standing in the kitchen shooting through the window and screen, but you can see him.

When I moved to TN four years ago I stopped at the local Sheriff's office and asked the same question. They told me that I can shoot on my own property (20 rural acres.) I regularly shoot out behind the barn, but before I began I spoke with my nearest neighbors, all of whom also shoot on occasion. The guys on this forum are a great resource, but speaking with your county sheriff makes more sense than taking the word of a stranger on the internet.

Here in Crab Orchard, just NE of Crossville, we got some wind and rain, but nothing remarkable. We DID get a tornado warning on the phone, but the wind was never worrisome at all.

OK, I'm going to go off-topic here because the talk of the M14 reminded me of a story. I worked at a Naval shipyard in Washington, and after 9-11 the ships posted guards while tied up at the piers. Women are serving on aircraft carriers, and one night I saw a young woman who probably stood about 4'11" in her boots standing watch with an M14 slung over her shoulder. The muzzle was above the crown of her head, and the butt was darn-near dragging the ground. She probably wondered what tickled me to the point of laughing out loud, but I just couldn't image that she'd have been able to shoulder that rifle and put an accurate round down range.

What Bruen actually says is that the government that wants to uphold a gun restriction must look back into history to show it is consistent with the country’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation. There has already been considerable confusion among the lower courts as to what, exactly, that means, and I'm confided that SCOTUS will have to revisit that decision. Lower courts are looking at exactly the same questions and coming to differing conclusions. I agree with you that government does not grant rights, and have made that argument many times over. But the Bill of Rights only lists SOME of our rights, The Tenth Amendment makes it clear that any rights not specifically granted to the federal government are retained by the states or the people. Further, the Constitution has always allowed for penalties to deprive citizens of some or all of their rights. As you pointed out, capital crimes were punishable by death, which is the ultimate deprivation of rights. And the Bruen decision mentions "law-abiding" citizens over thirty times. At all events, we've not heard the end of this one. Bruen was written to address New York's carry laws, and the court did a poor job of telling us how it applies to other situations. I'm sure it will be clarified further in the future.

Though I have read, re-read, and studied the Constitution, I'm anything but an expert. But conviction for the commission of a crime carries penalties that deprive the criminal of his rights. The most obvious is his right to liberty, but there are others as well. My personal take is that it's just fine with me if the penalty for certain crimes includes imprisonment, a fine, AND the forfeiture of the right to keep and bear arms. A person who commits armed robbery just once should never, ever be allowed to touch a firearm again, even after he's served his sentence. I also think that anyone who commits voter fraud should be forever stripped of their right to vote. I know, I'm a hard-ass in this respect, but it makes sense to me that the penalties for some crimes should be severe.

I'll leave the value judgement to others, but those who have committed crimes in the past don't deserve the trust that those of us who have been law-abiding enjoy. I doubt that many who are convicted of committing a crime are caught on their first offense, and recidivism statistics show that those who get our of jail are likely to reoffend.

I wonder if that would include people convicted of selling drugs, or of committing fraud, or perhaps of gun trafficking? I think a lot of clarification is going to be required.

I voted to legalize pot in Washington, thinking that doing so would remove the criminal element from the trade. It didn't work that way, though, as illegal pot became easier to get and less risky for the sellers. The legal pot is available EVERYWHERE. There are stores in every small town, so if a person wants to be legal they can go and get their dope there. But that dope is taxed, and the business have overhead that makes the legal stuff considerably more expensive than the illegal stuff. So the illegal stuff is still there, and arguably more popular than ever. You can safely carry black market dope without fear of arrest since it's indistinguishable from the legal stuff. The instances of driving under the influence increased significantly in Washington, too, after marijuana was legalized. If I had it to vote on again I would vote against legalization. That law of unintended consequences is a big one.

I'm retired from federal service. After the state of Washington legalized marijuana one of the guys in my division was seen smoking on a golf course. He lost his security clearance immediately, and since he had no security clearance I had to fire him. I sure hope that was worth it to him.

I just got an email from Hodgdon, and they're offering free Hazmat shipping this weekend. The powder I want isn't in stock, but maybe there's some you need,. From May 26-29, order at least $100 of your favorite Hodgdon, IMR, Accurate, Ramshot or Winchester powder and receive free Hazmat, courtesy of Hodgdon. Simply use promo code, FREEHAZMAT at checkout and hazardous material costs are on us. It’s our way of showing our appreciation for your support. Offer good this weekend only.

There's a Ducati 749 semi-basket case for sale in Montgomery, AL that's tempting me sorely. Something of a pig in a poke, but I'm a sucker for projects that might be a good deal. That five hour drive may be saving me, though.

I think everyone hates those "is this still available" messages. FB should just remove that as a auto-response. Keep your chin up, the right bike will come along. Another option would be to sell your bike and then buy with cash. You might have better luck.

A fairly large proportion of used dirt bikes are going to have issues. Most dirt-bike riders wring their little necks. I would pay attention to WHO is selling it. If it's a young guy the bike may have been thrashed harder than if an older guy is selling it. But I agree with Greg above that overall condition is going to be a good indicator. You can generally tell if a dirt bike has been kept clean and maintained. One that's been used the way it was meant to be used will show the signs.

I got a call from Costco for their Visa card a few weeks ago. They immediately caught an attempted transaction at Best Buy, refused it, and called me. I don't have a clue how the flagged it immediately, but I'm glad they did. They cancelled that card and sent me a new one within several days. That's the first time anything like that has ever happened to me.

My first hard drive was so stinking big that I knew I would never fill it. 6, yes, SIX, megabytes in a full-height drive. I had 8" floppy drives in that computer, too.

There have always been migrants working the fields. There's a specific immigration status (not Green Card, I don't think, but something special for agriculture) that allows for those workers. I don't think the hoards coming in now are looking for farm work, but those jobs are available to work legally. One of the many problems is that any child born in the US is a US citizen, and those born to illegal immigrants (and I suppose to legal immigrants, too) are "anchor babies", meaning their parents can't be deported. And hospitals in Texas and California are going broke providing required care for those poor folks. Lots of US companies love immigrant workers, but many of those jobs go to legal immigrants from India; people with in-demand skills. We have a system for immigration, and it doesn't include coming here illegally. I'm all for immigration, some of my forebears came from Ireland during the potato famines. But it has to be controlled and the executive branch is constitutionally tasked with enforcing the law,

Man! I've never heard that one before.....

Take a guess

Unfortunately, the only way that would work would be if you also made it impossible for those people to get any kind of aid, essentially starving them, which would sure increase crime. I think the solution is obvious: seal the borders, and deport anyone who's here illegally. Previous posters have mentioned that the door is open, and I think it should be closed. But I sure don't blame poor people for wanting to come here where they can get lots of help and probably find work. I DO blame our government for letting illegal immigration get out of hand.

My wife made me stop at the one in Crossville a few months after they opened. That'll be my last visit.

I'm loving the sunshine, but unlike you, Erik, it'll be a while before I'm wearing shorts. The wind this morning wasn't "almost chilly", it was downright chilly. Very nice this afternoon, though, and I just came in from rocking on the porch for a spell.

Hi. Did "Me" take the scope? If not, and if you'd be willing to meet me in the Harriman / Rockwood area, I'll go $350 for it. I don't need the rings. Thanks! Darrell