I looked at the calendar and was shocked to see how fast Thanksgiving is catching up with us.  Not only that but Christmas is not far behind.  Somehow when Halloween gets here, it always seems there is plenty of time before the major holidays; then, in a flash, that time is gone.  Happy Thanksgiving to all. 

Growing up, Thanksgiving was a big deal.  We did not live too far from Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul.  My father spent several Thanksgivings in lovely spots while in the Army, such as New Guinea, the Philippines, Veteran’s hospitals and other places.  He never made it home for Thanksgiving for four and a half years.  Every Thanksgiving we invited soldiers from Chanute Air Force Base.  He would go pick them up and take them back Thanksgiving Day.  My dad was a tough man but it was obvious that he wanted to make sure those young men had a good home cooked meal and was part of something more than a mess hall on that day.

The latest estimates of new firearm owners from 2020 to September of 2021 is now up to 11.6 million.  This number of new gun owners is amazing considering the well-funded attempts to demonize firearms and firearm owners.  At least 11.6 million people are not drinking the Kool Aid.  The emphasis of the anti-gun side is to try to make firearms and firearm owners a public health crisis.  This argument allows them to tap into public money and private foundation money to use against the Second Amendment.  Public Health Departments, universities and private groups are the leaders in this endeavor.  Anti-gun groups can use gun owners’ money to fight private gun ownership.  

What we are watching is health departments increasing the government’s reach into our private lives. Rochelle Walensky, the Director for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has been pushing for more studies of gun control.  I think the Center for Disease Control should rename itself to the Center for Dictatorial Control.  We wouldn’t even have to choose a new acronym.  It could still be called the CDC, thereby saving money.  Make no mistake, the CDC is a dangerous new enemy.  The pictures used in their propaganda piece show law abiding gun owners in a gun shop.  It does not show the drug fueled gangs and thugs that cause crime.  That is because the CDC is after you and me, not the criminals.

The legislative calendar is finally out and we will have IGOLD on April 6, 2022.  The General Assembly schedule will be much different from past years.  They will adjourn on April 8, 2022.  This is the earliest time that I can remember.  There are several factors in this decision to have a shortened session.  For one thing, the Illinois Primary Election has been canceled for March and moved to June 28, 2022. Therefore, campaigning for the primary will start later.  Added to this is the new legislative map.  There is still a court challenge to the new map to be considered.  I am not sure all those details are worked out yet.  With the primary coming several months later, that means the time to campaign for the General Election is much shorter.  All of this is something we have never seen before.  Proposed legislation will be interesting.  Some of the proposed legislation will be to promote the sitting legislators in their own district which means we might be getting some crazy stuff.  More as I get it. 

There is another brief due in the Brown case.  We are getting closer to a verdict.  With the holidays coming up, that will slow things down.  I still think it will be January or February of 2022 before we hear anything.

Right now, the Kyle Rittenhouse case is in the hands of the jury.  The withholding of evidence from the defense team and the jury should cause a mistrial with prejudice in my opinion.  The shenanigans pulled by the prosecutors indicate to me this is a political trial.  As I said last week, this should never happen in the United States but this trial shows us all that it does.

On the national front, Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont has announced he will not be running for reelection.  Leahy has served 48 years in the U.S. Senate.  Leahy has not been a friend of the gun owner.   Leahy fits the old adage, “Everyone here makes us happy, some by coming, others by going.”  Leahy fits the last part to a tee.

A couple of days ago, I received my long-awaited copy of Stephen P. Halbrook’s new book “The Right to Bear Arms - A Constitutional Right of the People or Privilege of the Ruling Class.”  I am only a few pages into the book but I can tell so far, it is excellent.  It is just what the Second Amendment community needs.  If you are looking for a gift for someone who loves to learn about the Second Amendment, this book would be the perfect gift.  The book is available from Amazon and several other book sellers.

Tidbits:
November 18, 1883 - Railroads create time zones.  Up until November 1883, the time in every community was set when the sun was at high noon.  This meant that every community had a slightly different time.  That was a real headache for railroads.  Not only was scheduling a nightmare, it was dangerous.  In 1883, railroads had a meeting at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Chicago which stood at the corner of Jackson and LaSalle.  There is a monument in the sidewalk there.

The United States actually has nine time zones.  We usually just think of four, Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific.  The others are Alaska Standard Time, Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, Wake Time, Chamorro Standard Time (covering the Northern Marianna’s and Guam), Samoa Standard Time, Atlantic Standard Time (U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) and also Earth Time which covers outlying U.S. Minor Islands.  The United States did not officially adopt time zones until 1918.

November 18, 1863 - Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address.  Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address while riding on the train to Gettysburg.  Lincoln tucked the address into his top hat which he used as his brief case.

November 20, 1945 - The Nuremberg trials begin.  High ranking Nazis go on trial for war crimes.  The tribunal was made up of representatives of the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union.  Millions of Jews and minorities were murdered under Nazi’s rule.  Some of the war crimes were never prosecuted because the Cold War broke out.  The Japanese were worse than the Nazi’s, in my opinion, but most of them were never prosecuted.

November 12, 1877 - Thomas Edison invents the phonograph.  If he could have looked into the future and listened to today’s music, he would have probably smashed it with a sledge hammer.

November 22, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy is assassinated.  The alleged assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald.  I was to spend the next few days visiting my cousins who were TV engineers in Peoria, Illinois.  They were both called in to duty and I went with them.  I watched every network’s coverage of the event for the next few days including Jack Ruby’s killing of Oswald.  I will never believe that Oswald assassinated President Kennedy.  There is too much that does not make sense for Oswald to have done it.  There is a grand coverup involved here.  Look to the grassy knoll.

Thanks for being a member.  If you are not a member, JOIN NOW!

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

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

Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Tuesday Night Air Rifle League

Saturday, November 27, 2021
Well Armed Woman

Sunday, November 28, 2021
Glock Fall League

Saturday, December 4, 2021
Range Work Day

Sunday, December 5, 2021
ISRA Black Powder League

Gun & Trade Shows

McHenry County Gun Show – Woodstock, IL
McHenry County Fairgrounds
Date: November 21, 2021
Hours: Sunday: 8:00-1:00
Admission: $5.00

Quad Cities Gun Show – Rock Island, IL
QCCA Expo Center
Dates: December 4 & 5, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00

Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club Gun & Knife Show – Chillicothe, IL
Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club Club House
Dates: December 4 & 5, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 8:30-5:00
             Sunday: 8:30-3:00
Admission: $3.00

Will County Gun Show – Peotone, IL
Will County Fairgrounds
Dates: December 4 & 5, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-3:00
             Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00

New Berlin Gun Show – New Berlin, IL
Sangamon County Fairgrounds
Dates: December 11 & 12, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-4:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00

Kane County Sportsman’s Show – St Charles, IL
Kane County Fairgrounds
Date: December 12, 2021
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:30
Admission: $7.00