//Update:
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished From Kevin @ The smallest minority

OK, I'm livid.

As most of you know, the fourth annual Gun Blogger's Rendezvous is fast approaching (43 days away as I write this), and this year I planned to make a special contribution to support Project Valour-IT - a gun giveaway that would be for even those unable to attend. But I'm not a 501(c)(3) organization, or any other kind of tax-free charity, so I couldn't actually run a charity raffle. Besides, I'm not really set up for it and wouldn't know how. So, with the aid of Rendezvous organizer Mr. Completely, arrangements were made with Soldiers' Angels to provide on-line ticket sales. Tickets went on sale Friday, July 17. We were ON!

Soldiers' Angels uses PayPal for their on-line donations. PayPal even has a "Case Study" of Soldiers' Angels' success (PDF) using PayPal, bragging:

Today Soldiers' Angels' biggest online contributions go through PayPal. "It's trustworthy to people and so they donate," says (Founder Patti) Patton-Bader. "There's a confidence that donors feel – that it's a safe way to make a donation. There are not many companies that inspire that kind of trust."

Trust.

Coincident with the Gun Blogger Rendezvous Raffle, Soldiers' Angels had also started a fund drive for other projects that same weekend. PayPal put a stop to that. Here's Patti Patton-Bader's official statement:

Online donations through PayPal are a huge part of our fundraising. They shut down our entire account-not just the raffle button—for twelve hours right in the middle of an email fundraising push. Looking at the Terms of Use, we couldn’t understand where we’d gone wrong, but we had to immediately remove the raffle so we could get back online ASAP. This just breaks our hearts because we were so excited about the tremendous fundraising impact the Gun Blogger Rendezvous raffle was already having.

(My emphasis). The "tremendous fundraising impact"? In the short time (3.5 days) the PayPal button was live, they had 42 participants and 109 tickets sold.

As noted above, we're still 43 days out from the Rendezvous. I just found out about this today.

And not only did the contributions for the raffle stop coming in, ALL contributions to Soldier's Angels via PayPal were cut off for twelve hours.

Because PayPal is anti-gun.

So where does that leave us? Well, you can call Soldiers' Angels and do a transaction over the phone. During normal business hours (PST) you can call (626) 529-5114, or you can call their voicemail service any time at (615) 676-0239, leave them a callback number and they'll get back to you - probably the less expensive option, timewise. It's not as convenient as a mouse click, but it beats snail-mailing a check.

You can also contact PayPal. Their Customer Service phone number is (402) 935-2050.

I've never asked this before, but I would appreciate it if every gun- and mil-blogger on the web and every gun board picked this up and spread it far and wide. I'm tired of gun-bigots. PayPal needs to hear from US - the law-abiding gun owners of this country - that we're no longer willing to just roll over when we're abused by the companies we "trust" just because we believe in and practice the rights guaranteed to us under the Second Amendment.

This post will remain at the top of the blog for the next couple of days.

See what other people have to say:

Laughing Wolf at Blackfive
Blackfive at Blackfive
Bill at Castle Argghhh!
Alan at SnarkyBytes
kahr40 at From the Barrel of a Gun
Sebastian at Snowflakes in Hell
Kevin at Brown Valley Kingdom
Albert A Rasch at The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
Maj C at A Major's Perspective

Labels: Asshats and Douchebags

Monday , July 27, 2009
By Phil Keating and Serafin Gomez

MIAMI —
No one knows first hand the horrors of war more than World War II hero Irwin Stovroff.

That's why when Stovroff — who was held for one year in a Nazi POW camp before being freed by allied forces — learned that the U.S. government didn't supply service dogs for wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the 85 year old decorated hero from Boca Raton, Fla. made it his mission to overhaul the policy.

"It is a shame." Stovroff says about the lack of an official federal program that pairs up battle-injured veterans with guide and therapy animals that can greatly improve their rehabilitation. "I wanted to do something about it."

Stovroff has raised nearly $2 million dollars to help train and match up service canines with wounded combat vets. Stovroff is also pushing lawmakers for federal funding to finance the program that he says has received lots of bi-partisan praise.

Stovroff is not someone who shirks away from a tough mission.

Stovroff is not just a World War II vet, but a Distinguished Flying Cross recipient whose own personal tale reads like a Hollywood movie.

After Stovroff was shot down behind enemy German lines on his 35th bombing flight, he had to hide his Jewish faith from his captors to survive, even throwing away his dog tags before his plane crashed.

His latest mission is to bring awareness and support.

"The dog can become his eyes. He can become his legs. He can bring him anything he needs." Stovroff told Fox News with his golden retriever, Cash, lying by his side. "A dog is probably the best thing that can happen to these soldiers."

Stovroff says that the dogs help the injured soldiers, not just in a functional way, but therapeutically.

"They need a guide (but) they need the help and love of a dog as well," he says, petting Cash.

"Benjamin is awesome," says Navy veteran Joseph Worley about his golden retriever.

Worley who lost most of his left leg, and severely injured his right one in a 2004 roadside bomb in Fallujah, Iraq says that his service dog is much more than a pet, but a “vital” support system.

"He braces to help me stand up. He brings me my shoe when I put my prosthetic on. He stabilizes me when I walk," Worley says.

However, it can be expensive to train these canines. Costs to train a service dog can run between $30,000 to $50,000 per dog, Stovroff explains, the reason behind his lobbying Congress for extra help.

But his efforts are beginning to pay off. Earlier this month, Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.) introduced legislation to help train guide dogs and other service animals for wounded veterans.

According to a release by Klein’s office, The Wounded Warrior K-9 Corps Act would establish a grant program for organizations that provide wounded warriors and disabled veterans with service animals. On the Senate side, their newest member Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) has also put out a similar bill.

For wounded warriors this means not just a lifeline, but a friend.

“He is a completely trust-worthy companion that does not judge anything. He is willing to help you, and its entire life is based off making you happy,” says Worley.

Labels: Support the troops and their mission, wounded troops

Image Credit: Justin Maxon/The New York Times Story by By JOHN BRANCH

J. R. Salzman, who lost an arm in Iraq, with his sister after winning his seventh logrolling title.

HAYWARD, Wis. — Sgt. J. R. Salzman remembers reaching for his ballistic glasses just as the roadside bomb blew apart his right arm. He remembers being unable to reach the handle of the Humvee’s passenger door and realizing that his arm was instantly shortened. He remembers the look on the face of the medic.

Just about everything from Dec. 19, 2006, when he was in the lead truck of a tanker convoy in northwest Baghdad, is lodged in Salzman’s mind. That includes what he thought when he realized he would not die: I’ve still got my legs. I can still logroll.

And that explained why Salzman cried when he won his seventh men’s logrolling title at the Lumberjack world championships on Sunday, his first with a prosthetic arm.

“It’s what I do,” he said in the quiet shadows after a lengthy standing ovation. “This is my life in the summertime.”

Salzman won the event five years in a row, from 1998 to 2002, and again in 2005. In between, Jamie Fischer won two titles, then another in 2006.

Salzman was in Iraq by then. Still nagged and inspired to serve by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he had joined the Minnesota National Guard. He eloped with his girlfriend just before he was sent to Iraq in March 2006.

She saw him again on Christmas Day at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Salzman’s right forearm was a stump. His left hand had severe nerve damage and was missing its fourth finger. Trauma to the brain left him without much of his memory. Some old friends, whose faces look familiar, can see the damage in his arms but do not quite understand why Salzman cannot always remember their names.


Logrolling brings comfortable familiarity and therapy. But it is not the same as it used to be. Salzman, 30, still has the quick feet and strong legs required to spin and stop the floating logs in a high-speed attempt to make an opponent fall. Arms, however, provide balance. There is a lot of semicontrolled flailing in logrolling. Even splayed fingers can be the difference between getting wet and staying dry.

Salzman’s carbon-fiber prosthetic — “my Tinkertoy arm,” he called it — is waterproof and hollow. Inside are thin rolls of lead for weight. In last year’s event here, he filled it with sand from the shore of Lake Hayward to try to find the right balance.

He was matched with Fischer in his first match last year. Salzman lost.

“I was in good physical condition,” Salzman said. “Emotionally, I was a wreck.”

He had one and a half pounds of lead in the arm, which made it lighter than his left but heavy enough to provide counterbalance. He and Fischer met Sunday in the best-of-five finals.

The two fell into the water almost simultaneously in one match, and Salzman won the point. When Fischer fell in to decide the title, Salzman slid into the water and the two embraced. Salzman waded to the dock, where his sister Tina, a 10-time champion at the Lumberjack world championships, had shouted encouragement, and clung tight.

Salzman admitted he had struggled to find the right balance to his life. He imagines bombs around every corner and in every box along the road. He bolts awake at night. He and his wife, Josie, live in Menomonie, Wis., where Salzman attends the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He wants to teach technical arts.

“It’s the old joke, the one-armed shop teacher,” he said.

But teaching would allow Salzman to spend his summers logrolling. And as he learned Sunday, that can make him feel whole again.

Labels: In the news, Interesting, Project Valour-IT, Soldier's Angels, Support the troops and their mission, wounded troops

We have 97 days to collect items for our soldiers holiday packages and ship overseas to our soldiers.

We have a lot to do to get ready to meet our holiday goals. Get the word out that you are collecting holiday items for Soldiers' Angels holiday care packages.

Contact your local Walmart, grocery store, schools, churches, workplace, service group, ask to put out a donation collection box.

Monetary donations are always accepted as we need postage money to ship our holiday packages. Facebook has a paypal option or click donate on our site or mail a check to us

We are sending every deployed service member in a combat zone a care package with holiday greetings, including goodies and a beautiful homemade blanket.

How Can You Help?
Challenge your school, PTA group, teachers, parents, senior citizen centers, businesses, church,
college, radio & TV stations, and newspapers. Get the word out tell everyone you know you are
collecting hot cocoa packets to provide comfort and warmth for our military. Every item collected is that much closer to filling a care package with holiday cheer.

We need 180,000 of everything:

Hot Cocoa Packets
Hot Cider Packets
Men's White Socks (sizes 9-15)
Candy Bars (any size)
Hard Candy
Candy Canes
Power Bars
Nuts
Christmas Cards- signed but not sealed

Handmade Blanket of Belief - directions on our website here

Please send your donation with your contact information with estimated value to:

Soldiers' Angels
112 Greenhill Road
Ramseur, NC 27316

Remember, it seems like an insurmountable quantity. But you know how you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

--Chuck

Soldiers’ Angels is a volunteer-led 501 (c)(3) non-profit supporting the troops since 2003
Help us meet our holiday goal of 180,000 by November 1, 2009

As some of you know, one of my favoritest things is beer. More than just drinking it, I am a connoisseur. I even brew my own.

For the last three years, while in PA, I didn't brew once. Just didn't have the desire. In the past two days, I've run two five-gallon batches, one a Frambiose, or raspberry lambic, and the other a honey wheat. It'll take a couple weeks for fermentation, and another few days for carbonation, but then I'll have ten gallons of fresh, homeade brew on tap in the garage.

Why the change in motivation?

Many, actually. In PA I was usually healing from one thing or another, and that generally precluded boiling gallons of water, or worse, lugging around big vessels of water. It gets heavy, and heat+heavy+injury=more injury. But I think the biggest reason was a lack of neighborhood. In PA we lived in a neighborhood, and knew exactly two couples, neither of which was the party and hang-out type. One couple was in their mid-hundreds, the other on;y in their 60's, but still, not the crowd to hang out on Fridays and BS till the wee hours.

Here, there are as many families our age as their are houses. We gather at whichever house has a pink flamingo on the lawn that friday, everyone brings a dish to share and a six-pack, and we watch our kids play, shoot the breeze, and hang out. I really, really missed that camaraderie and fellowship.

So the beer is fermenting, the fridge is repaired (I have an avocado green fridge made in 1972 that I got at a junk store near Fort Riley six years ago.) I drilled holes in the door and installed taps, cleaned it up, and got it running again. And all I have left to do is await the arrival of some parts to rebuild the CO2 system. Movers managed to nearly destroy that, too.

Life is good.

--Chuck

The Odyssey continues.

The cable internets guy came yesterday. After hoking everything up, there's no internet signal coming from the backbone. What that means is that everything is groovy out to the neighborhood box, but that's where the issue is. What *that* means is another service call from timewarner to fix the neighborhood box. Supposedly they will come today. I'm not betting on it.

Today is also supposed to be the day directv comes to hook us up. I saved $85 by buying my own pole and pole pounder instead of having them put a pole in the ground, as the army doesn't want us mounting the dish to the roof. I just need the tv guy to tell me where to put the pole so I can be sure the dish can receive signals from the satellite. Odds that I'll wait all day and neither of them will show up? I'm going with about 7-10 against.

No word yet on the Mrs. job hunting, she did find another vacancy at a hospital in KC as a social worker, so that may pan out as well.

For all you KC-area readers, I am thinking of a blogmeet sometime soon (off-post, as it'll save many of you the trouble of going through the gate) and may even be able to coerce John from Castle Arrrghh! to come. Just lemme know in the comments if any of you are interested, and recommend a place to meet up (KC Masterpiece, Cheesecake factory, if anyone wants to spring for Ruth's Chris steakhouse I'm game.)

--Chuck

With much thanks to the many who've made this trip bearable, and to all of you who've kept me chuckling with your "Cruel Summer" captions. Many thanks also to Code Monkey, who's kept the wheels from falling off, as it were.

We have arrived here at Fort Leavenworth, and we are starting to see carpet and walls instead of the mountains of cardboard boxes. Unpacking is an unenviable chore, as each carton is like a christmas present, wherein each box has stuff you already knew you had, but the surprise comes from finding out whether your stuff in that box has been destroyed.

So far, an antique childs' desk, which I can repair, a lamp I won't bother with, our bed frame, and pieces of the entertainment center have all been eaten by the moving monster.

Another fun thing is waiting for the various services to get hooked up. So far, the most fun has been the cable internet, because after I did all the account set-up and scheduling, and they sent a confirmation email, they then neglected to bother showing up to actually install the internet. They said that they sent an email telling me I had to reschedule, because the dates shown on their web site (timewarner) that it tells you to select, aren't necessarily available dates. (Then why the hell do they have them?)

So they supposedly sent me an email ahead of time telling me to reschedule. Funny, I got their confirmation email. I even got an email about the rescheduled date (after I called to kvetch). But no email telling me to choose new service dates. Gmail doesn't lie, but apparently timewarner does. Unfortunately, they are the only company to service Fort Leavenworth.

Which makes me really bitchy, because I hate artificial monopolies. How much better for the servicemember would it be if cable, phone, and intrenet all had to compete for our business? It tends to drive prices down.

In other news, the kid who went missing (some say deserted) in Afghanistan has been on the news making all sorts of statements. Here's my take, and the way it plays out.

Possibility 1. He willingly deserted
a. If returned to US custody, his lawyer will claim he was duped, tricked, abducted, suffering from PTS, etc. Not wanting the bad press from prosecuting him (and his victimization by the left, of the Taliban using said prosecution as an example of our tyrannical gummint) The Military, DOJ, hell, the Administration will instead hail him as a prodigal son, give him his 15 minutes, and send him quietly home, with a medal.

Possibility 2. He actually was duped, tricked, abducted, suffering from PTS, etc. Not very likely, I'm afraid to say. He certainly doesn't appear in any distress in the video.

What this kid doesn't realize is that the Taliban will never release him. Unless we find him, he will continue to be used for propaganda until he no longer is front-page news. Then his head will be separated from his body, and that will get him in the papers again.

Unless we find him, he is going to die.

Unless anyone can cite any instance of an American, let alone an American Soldier, being released by the Taliban.

If he did go willingly, he is responsible for the deaths and injuries of every servicemember out looking for him. He may simply be doing now whatever he thinks is necessary to survive as long as he can. I hope that is true. I hope that we find him and find out he was abducted, drugged, etc. I really hope he isn't the greatest traitor since punch-card boy sold out the Navy.

Finally, the Mrs. applied for a dream job today, social worker at the Disciplinary Barracks or Federal Pen here at Leavenworth. It'd be full time, and would greatly increase the speed at which she can get her clinical license (she's got the sheepskin, just needs the 3000 hours of clinical experience). PLEASE pray for her to get this. She really wants to work there, and she goes a little nuts if I leave her alone all day with the cats.

--Chuck

If you're like me, you don't keep phone books around because it's too easy to just look phone numbers up online.

One phone number you really should have in your cell phone, as well as written somewhere safe, is the emergency number for your electric company.

If the power's out and you don't have internet on your phone or a laptop with a charged battery, you can't Google it. Yeah, you can call 411 but that costs money. There are services like http://www.free411.com and Google's 411 but I didn't think of that pre-coffee. I wound up looking the power company up on my Kindle. (Kind of makes up for that Orwell thing.)

When the power went out at 9:00 am, it was already in the 90's here. You get a lot of interesting thoughts going through your head when it's supposed to be 113° and your AC is silent. (I wonder what security would do if I went to work with my cat in tow.) When I found the number and heard the recording saying that they were working on it, I felt a little better. And they did fix it 1 hour and 20 minutes before they predicted.

That's ParaUSA's new GI Expert entry-level 1911. The specs are:

Caliber: .45 ACP
Barrel: 5 inches, stainless steel
Twist: 1 in 16 inches, left-hand
Action: Single-action, Semi-automatic
Sights: Dovetail Fixed, 3-White Dot
Receiver: Carbon Steel
Trigger: Medium length
Hammer: Skeletonized Spur
Magazine: 8-round with removable base pad (two provided with pistol)
Overall Length: 8.5 inches
Height: 5.75 inches
Weight: 39 ounces
Finish: Covert Black Para Kote™
Stocks: Checkered Polymer
Safeties: Slide Lock, Internal Firing Block, Grip
Additional Features: Lowered and flared ejection port, beveled magazine well, flat mainspring housing, grip safety contoured for spur hammer
MSRP: $599

It looks like a good, solid piece with just enough enhancements to make it a great shooter.

Remember, THIS GUN WILL BE FIRED AT THE RENDEZVOUS. We'll try to clean it up a bit before we pass it on to the winner!



Soldier's Angels is running the on-line ticket sales ($10 each, no limit!), and there is also a chance to win a four day training course from the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute worth $2,000!


On-Line ticket sales END on Friday Sept. 4th. at midnight!
If you want to win one of the many, many other prizes being given away, you either have to attend, or you'd better know someone who is! ;-)

Major kudos to Kevin Baker of The Smallest Minority and Kerby Smith of Para USA for their help in supporting the Gun Blogger Rendezvous and Project Valour-IT!

---

Note: The above post was shamelessly stolen from Kevin because:

1. I'm lazy
2. My kids are throwing tantrums--where's my paddle?
   
3. My house is full of half-empty boxes and paper and tape
   
4. I have no shame......

Labels: Project Valour-IT, Soldier's Angels

Dear Chuck,

Time to jam the phones and tell your reps they are risking their jobs with stunts like this:

The Protection Racket

By Greyhawk

...or: "How the 'Helping Families Save Their Homes Act' screws the Troops"
*****

We're from the government - we're here to help you.
The good news: Believe it or not, our Congress and President have found a way to save a few bucks.
The bad news: They're going to yank it right out of the pockets of U.S. troops.

http://www.mudvillegazette.com/032351.html

Step 1: Grab some tissues

That this company is still using his name and likeness to hawk their product...

--Chuck

"He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance."

-- Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence, 1776

Today is the day we declared independence, the day we said "No more!" From this day in 1776, and for the next seven years, until September 3, 1783 we then put words to actions, and threw the English back into the sea.

(remember, Uno's Pizza and Miller beer today)

Captions in comments, please.

Stolen from Ride Fast because he did a better job than I could:
Mr. Completely (go here for lots more info in the 5 W's) wants everybody to remember that the Fourth Annual Gun Bloggers Rendezvous is just over two months away.
If your going it's probably about time to register, make reservations at the Silver Legacy (a big step-up from Circuis-Circuis IMO), and book your flights.
If your not going you should change your mind and go. CHANGE! CHANGE AND HOPE! This will be the best one yet.

Here are some highlights (context liberated from Kevin Baker at The Smallest Minority):

Alan Gura, the lawyer who won D.C. v Heller will be attending. (BTW, the first anniversary of that victory was last FRIDAY. How time flies!)
At the pizza dinner Saturday night, you can bid on an autographed Heller Kitty T-shirt donated by me. Yeah, we're fanboyz of a lawyer. Get over it.

Firearms lawyer and blogger Mark Knapp will also be attending.

Along with Glock, Para USA, Brownell's, Dillon Precision, Crimson Trace and many others, the National Shooting Sports Federation is now a sponsor, and will be picking up the tab for the pizza dinner on Saturday, thus allowing the $30 registration fee to be donated to Project Valour-IT. (The adult beverage tab will, however, still be ours.)

In addition to the Para GI Expert that I personally am donating, Para USA is donating another as yet undisclosed pistol for the Saturday evening raffle. I'm not certain yet, but I believe for that one you must be present to win.

Hi Point firearms is donating one of their carbines this year, rather than a pistol, so you have a chance to win one of at least THREE (3) firearms, and your odds are pretty damned good. Not to mention the other great swag provided by the ever-increasing number of fine sponsors.

Instead of just ONE day of shooting at the fine Palomino Valley Gun Club range, there may be the opportunity to go shooting THREE times - General blastage on Friday, Steel Challenge and Action Pistol-type shooting on Saturday, and possibly Cowboy Quick-Draw for those who are able to attend on Sunday. That's still being worked out, but things are coming together.

And, as always, there will be plenty of sitting around shooting the breeze in the hospitality room, and I believe we will be visited by a representative of the NRA again this year. (I want to know where my wheelbarrows full of money are.)

So make your plans to attend! This promises to be the biggest gathering yet.

The gig is being held at the Silver Legacy this year. They have a whole page of "special offers". The Great Reno Balloon Race coincides with the Rondy weekend. Some of the amenities offered by the Silver Legacy are: health spa, pool, full service hair salon, shoe shine, Segway rentals, Adventure Desk (outdoor activities in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area), Concierge service and property wide wireless Internet access.

The Commandress of Ride Fast fame is probably going to take advantage of the Harley Rental option. She and some of the gals that aren't goin' shootin' are going to rent Hogs and go tour the brothels outside of Virginia City. There is truly something for everyone.

Also, any bloggers reading this, steal all or part (including links) and lets get this plastered all over the blog-o-sphere since WE are the only advertisers of this gig.

I have to see what CGSC has in store for me that weekend, but I plan on attending at least part of the GBR-IV. --Chuck