The results of the Virginia gubernatorial election are in and I am pleased to say the very anti-gun Terry McAuliffe was upset by newcomer Glenn Youngkin.  McAuliffe trotted every major anti-gun politician to support his candidacy in Virginia to no avail.  A few weeks ago, it looked like McAuliffe couldn’t lose but he did.  The Lt. Governor is Winsome Sears.  Sears served in the U.S. Marines and lit up the anti-gun left by being photographed with an AR15 which I am sure she knew how to shoot.  The shocked press is pointing out that Sears is the first black woman to be elected to a statewide office in Virginia.  Sears is red, white and blue through and through, those are the important colors.  During her speech to her supporters, she started the chant USA, USA, USA and the crowd loved it.

One nice bonus in the Virginia election was that anti-gun Attorney General Mark Herring got his walking papers.  Hats off to the Virginia Citizens Defense League and Virginia gun owners in general.  This was a tight race.  Virginia gun owners made a huge difference and probably put Youngkin and the down ticket candidate over the top.

In New Jersey anti-gun Governor Phil Murphy was re-elected by a small margin.  Still, between the Virginia victory and the scare for anti-gunners in New Jersey, anti-gun groups are getting increased deliveries of Pepto Bismol and adult diapers to their headquarters.  The left-wing media rightly points out that the election of Youngkin and Sears are nails in the coffin of the Virginia anti-gun movement.  These two people are more than nails, they are screws, bolts and rivets.  Never forget that anti-gunners are like snakes.  When things get tough, they crawl back under their rock waiting to strike again.

As we go deeper and deeper into the Biden-Harris Administration, Donald Trump keeps coming up constantly.  There are those, particularly on the left, who think that Donald Trump is the boogie man, the devil incarnate, the antichrist, or even worse, if there is a worse.  The question is what horrible sin has Donald Trump committed that garners so much hatred?

At the Constitutional Convention In 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government the Founders decided on?  Franklin replied, “A republic if you can keep it!”  I am always amazed at the God-like foresight of the Founders.  Franklin knew there were those who hated the idea of a democratic republic.  Imagine common people actually electing people with the same values, concerns and beliefs as their own.  Worse yet, those elected representatives running the Country are actually based on what the people want.  When such a calamity happens, it shakes to the core those self-centered folks who think they know better than the “common people.”

Those who think they know better than everyone else are always trying to consolidate their power and change the representative republic into an oligarchy.  Examples of would-be oligarchs are people like Mark Zuckerberg who controls Facebook and Instagram, Anthony Fauci who drives the mask mandates, and the moguls of mainstream media, all of whom control the message.  Then there are industrial moguls like Warren Buffet who doesn’t want a pipeline because he owns railroads that haul oil by rail, big pharma who controls drugs and drug prices, big city mayors and other politicians who want to supplement their power base with illegal immigrants and on and on it goes.

What was Donald Trump’s big sin that he terrorized these would-be oligarchs so much?  He actually had the nerve to stand up to them.  He ran for and became President without their permission.  Trump actually thought the citizens of the United States should be in charge.  The would-be oligarchs knew that.  That is why exactly nineteen minutes after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2016 election, the first call for impeachment was aired.  Right now, our Republic is in danger.  We cannot let the oligarchs win.  If we do, we will have to change the Pledge of Allegiance.  The new version will look like this: I pledge allegiance to the most popular flags of the United States and to the Oligarchy for which we must support one nation entirely divisible with liberty and justice for some and not others.  I like the Pledge of Allegiance we have now.

Governor Pritzker has issued an Executive Order (EO) addressing gun violence.  While The EO deals with gun violence, it does not attack law-abiding gun owners.  The EO does look for root causes of violence in general.  These include addiction, mental health problems, joblessness, despair, PTSD and lack of opportunity.  The EO also funds community-based violence prevention programs.  Once these funds leave the State of Illinois hands, they may be difficult to track.  Hopefully, they won’t be redirected into anti-gun coffers.  I hope they will be used for the announced purpose.

On Tuesday November 3, 2021, the oral arguments for the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen took place.  The pro-gun side did very well.  Now we wait; sometimes we get a decision in April or May but most of the time we have to wait until June.  Decisions are usually released on Mondays.

As of 11/1/2021:
Active CCLs: 446,315
Active FOIDs: 2,569,911

Tidbits:

November 4, 1922 - The entrance to King Tut’s (Tutankhamen) tomb is discovered.  What is important is that unlike other tombs, grave robbers missed this tomb.  We have learned a great deal about this era in Egyptian history from this tomb and its contents.  The discovery set off “Egypt Mania” which still goes on today.

November 5, 1941 - The Combined Japanese Fleet receives orders to attack Pearl Harbor.

November 6, 1869 - Rutgers defeats Princeton in the first college football game.

November 6, 1906 - Theodore Roosevelt become the first President to travel outside the United States when he visits Panama during construction of the Panama Canal.  The building of the Canal was going badly.  Terrible conditions such as debilitating tropical temperatures, tropical diseases, torrential rains and improper equipment plagued the building of the canal.  When Roosevelt visited the construction site, he took controls of a heavy steam shovel that rallied the spirits of the workers.  He also ordered improvements in safety and working conditions.  The Panama Canal was started by the French but yellow fever and malaria decimated the French workers and they abandoned the project.  Roosevelt brought in American medical staff that understood how these diseases were spread and how they could be controlled.  This enabled the construction of the Panama Canal to be completed.

November 7, 1983 - Murder in Bloomington, Illinois: David Hendricks called police to check on his family.  Hendricks, who was on a business trip in Wisconsin had called home several times but no one was answering the phone.  The Bloomington Police found Hendricks’ wife and three children hacked to death with an ax and butcher knife.  The police suspected Hendricks.  Food found in the victim’s stomachs indicated that Hendricks could have committed the crime.  Hendricks was charged with murder and convicted in 1988.  He was re-tried in 1991 and was found not guilty.  No one else was ever charged with the crime.

November 9, 1862 - General Ambrose Burnside takes command of the Union Army.  Burnside graduated from West Point in 1847.  He served in the Army for five years.  Burnside had an idea for a new rifle.  Burnside developed a new rifle, the Burnside Carbine.  He started his own firearm company but the company failed when Burnside refused to pay a bribe to get a contract to supply the Army.  His company went broke when he refused to pay a bribe to get an Army contract.  He served as treasurer for the Illinois Central Railroad but when the Civil War started, he went back into the Army.  He was very strict and unpopular with the troops.  He was replaced by General Joseph Hooker.  Burnside had a very unusual facial hair and his style became known as “sideburns”.  Concerned about the Soldiers poor marksmanship, he was one of those who founded the National Rifle Association in 1871. 

November 10, 1775 - Happy Birthday United States Marines!!!

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Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar
For more information, visit www.isra.org

Saturday, November 6, 2021
Range Work Day

Sunday, November 7, 2021
ISRA Combat Pistol/3 Gun League
ISRA Black Powder League (Bonfield Muzzle Loaders)

Saturday, November 20, 2021
Air Pistol League from 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Saturday, November 27, 2021
Well Armed Woman

Sunday, November 28, 2021
Glock Fall League

Gun & Trade Shows

Bloomington Gun & Knife Show – Bloomington, IL
Interstate Center
Dates: November 6 & 7, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00

Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show – Kankakee, IL
Kankakee County Fairgrounds
Dates: November 6 & 7, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-3:00
             Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00