From Shawn

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution (As I see it.) by Jack Collins | The D.C. Clothesline

It seems to me that the simple use of a dictionary fully explains the God-given rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

2nd Amendment:

A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

A well (successful or effective) regulated (accurate and properly functioning) Militia(An army composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers) being necessary to the security (Freedom from risk or danger; safety) of a free ( Not imprisoned or enslaved; being at liberty. Not controlled by obligation or the will of another) State, (the condition or circumstances of a person or thing, a sovereign political power or community, the territory of such a community) the right (a freedom or power that is morally or legally due to a person) of the people to keep (To retain possession, have a supply of or maintain for use or service.) and bear (To carry from one place to another; transport.) Arms (weapons considered collectively. Any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting. The term (or) not being preceded by the word either means that both fighting and hunting are applicable, not either one or the other), shall not be infringed. (To transgress, violate, defeat, invalidate or encroach on someone or something;.

Therefore according to the definitions of the words as they were used should have meant the following.

A successful, effective, accurate and properly functioning army of ordinary citizens, being necessary to maintain the freedom of the people or the nation from anyone or any government trying to take away that freedom, the moral and legal freedom or power of the people to possess, have a supply of or carry or transport weapons or any instrument used in fighting or hunting, shall not be transgressed, violated, defeated, invalidated or encroached upon.

As far as I can tell by the definitions of the words used in the 2nd Amendment the Federal, State or Local Governments may not tell the people what type of weapons they may have, or how many weapons they may have, nor how or what weapons they may transport with them. Nor may they make any laws, regulations or bans concerning what weapons a person chooses to own or how and where they choose to transport them. In other words there are to be no infringements on this right whatsoever. If a person were to use those weapons in the commission of a crime then the governments may prosecute them according to law. However, maintaining our freedom is not only, not a crime, it is the duty of every American.

-Jack Collins

My letter to the Tea party people who spend a lot of time complaining about things but don't actually do much:




To the Tea party clerk who sends me these emails,



Can you stop sending me these FAX Blast requests

They don't help

I know you think they do, and we are on the same side, but honestly it only wastes our money.

You see it as an act of desperation that will literally "Flood" washington with a physical representation of how we feel.

Well, Washington does not care what you think. They see us as fools, and to a large extent we are.

What we need to to is to actually write our elected representatives. I do that, and several times now over the gun bill.

Then we need to show up at pro gun rallies that are held wherever and whenever the left demonstrates for the removal of guns.

Why aren't we doing that in numbers?

Why hasn't the Tea party, if there is such a thing, called for a million patriots to swarm capital hill? I believe you believe we wouldn't show. In face most of us wouldn't. We simply have stopped caring as evidenced by the lack of a meaningful response.

Fax Blasts? Adolescent behavior that someone came up because they realized the reality. And that reality is that most people just don't care.

I believe you only get to keep what you are willing to protect, defend, and fight for. Therefore I logically conclude that we will loose this fight and eventually our guns as well. Of course our right to worship and to hold civil meetings discussing our conservative views will also be lost. And all the while some clerk in your leadership will be calling for more fax blasts.

Hmmm, I'm wondering why we didn't hand out leaflets in Iraq and in the Stan showing our outrage at the roadside bomb killings. Why didn't we send a billion, yes one billion letters of concern to Sadam Hussein and to the Taliban government after the 9-11 bombings?

Well, quite simply, because it doesn't work.

The left is better organized than we are. We have hooked our carriage to this inept Tea party who no longer has even the will to do anything more than collect some money and have some clerk send some fax or letter to another clerk, who shovels all that trash into the waste can which is handled by janitors and eventually sent to landfills or recycled.

Please don't ask me to waste my money any longer on useless efforts. And stop being a paper tiger, you and indeed, we have little resolve beyond getting our household chores done. We wasted our time, you wasted our money and got little to nothing done!

Step aside and allow some well organized conservative group take the reins. Or step up to the plate and fight. Call me if you decide to do something meaningful!

Bobby, this made me think of you...
This half boy, half man the piece talks about is not me. It speaks about the hard working ground forces, mostly infantry. I wasn't one of them but I carried a few thousand of them in my helicopter. Had a couple die back there as well. I can't ever think about them and keep a dry eye...can't see the keyboard right now...
They are wonderful people, the best this country and some others can produce. I love them all so dearly...


1/2 boy 1/2 man

If you read this, you WILL forward it on.
You just won't be able to stop yourself.

The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either.




He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer.

He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.

He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.

He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march.

He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient.

He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.

He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.

If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.

He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job.




He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all.

He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime.

He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.




He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.

Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.




He has asked nothing in return, except
our friendship and understanding.

Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.

And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.




As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot...

A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.




Prayer wheel for our military. Please don't break it. Please send this on after a short prayer.

Prayer Wheel

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us.

Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. In Jesus' Amen."

When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our ground troops in Afghanistan, sailors on ships, and airmen in the air, and for those in Iraq, Afghanistan and all foreign countries.

There is nothing attached....

This can be very powerful.




Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Coastguardsman, Marine, or Airman, prayer is the very best one.

I got out a can of the John deere flat black to touch up the shiney parts, and that's when I got a little crazy!

Before it was all said and done, I was looking at this:

OK let's get busy on the Gator again.
Previously it was destroyed when multiple layers of dust settled over it rendering it inoperable!

I started it anyway and it roared to life!

Well, even with the dual batteries, the voltage had slowly trickled away requiring a bump from a battery jumper pack.

So, since it is parked in a garage next to a window, it should get some sun and therefore a daily charge, trickle though it may be.

After some research I found some 5 watt solar panels on sale, so I purchased a few. One went on the Case Track loader this morning and the second onto the Gator.

Here it is:

Then the rear pin, the buffer tube, buffer retainer and the buffer and spring and finally the butt stock

Then the selector lever

The bad pic, in more ways than one!

The magazine release went right in

 used a display lower that was custom made for the pilots on a project I worked on in the Stan. It had collected too much dust, but now it will be spraying copper and lead on a regular basis!

THe second build is a scratch POF lower reciever using DPMS small parts kit, and some custom stuff.
Here's the mess:

Originally Posted by nmeyer414 View Post
looking mean Don, i like it!

It's gettin an attitude, that's for sure.
So one day I was flying resupply to all those FOBs along MSR1 from Kandahar going out toward Bastion and Lash. I landed in that one on the Wadi about half way, a Canadian FOB me thinks. ANyway while sitting there a Polaris all cammoed out with a M240 mount comes motoring by. Why was I looking at it so closely, you ask? The guys drove under my rotor system, and I was in a AW-139, an aircraft they were not familiar with! They had multi-cam on before anyone had it, so you know who they were, but that little vehicle struck me as pretty cool. So that's where I'm going with this one. More suspension, more lift, more engine, more range, more stuff...Got a lot more stuff to bolt on there!
Here's my actual AW139 based out of KAF, ever see it?

So here's what it all looks like at the moment:

Next the rubber gun base was screwed into place with some stainless hardware and nylon lock nuts. That assembly was then secured to the fender with the same hardware

On to the M4/gun mount. That was a quick fab project where I used (T-5???) Aircraft aluminum. With some quick cuts and a few simple bends I had it. Later I decided to double it so I bent up another piece to lay over the base.

While there spending my money while we can all still do that, I picked up some things to start outfitting the cargo utility box I installed yesterday. I forgot to put the roll of 100mph tape, but I bought it never the less

While I was out at Harbor Freight, I picked up a bunch of cheepo LED lights. I thought I'd slap them all over creation to use as an expedient dome light that you could grab and go with.

Well I finished up the M4 mount and added some pioneer equipment as well.

First while shopping for some bolts (On black Friday, what was I thinking???) I came across this cool brush clearing chopping device. I immediately saw it in my minds eye mounted to the over-grossed rear head protection.

Same-same with how I secured my weapon in the bird in Baghdad, I like the use of a clip on halo which then is attached to the vehicle with a carabiner. That way if all hades breaks loose, say a rollover at speed for example, the weapon will be retained even if it comes out of the mount and beats your face all up!

The upper gun mount is pretty cool. It has a slot and thick rubber jaws. You need to twist a jaw up or down then press in the weapon. while releasing the jaw. The rubber closes around the barrel, and just like that the gun is pretty secure.

Since I still had time and no more hardware to complete the gas can mount, I decided to finally decide where to mount the rifle.
Since I am going to use the Gator down on the farm initially and then who knows where afterward, I think the perfect weapon to mount there would be a M4. So that's the gun I used to model the mount up, however I will ensure it also can secure an AK-47.

Here's where I decided to mount it:

I decided to use locking handles on the gas can as well. Since I'll have three keys once I mount the white water cans, I decided to just spray paint the keys the same color as the cans. Green, red and white. Simple enough for a pilot!
I have not finished the installation, owing to some more rubber sway bar bushings which I like to use, various lengths bolts which I could not find in the Don shop, and some other hardware, but this is what it looks like at the minute:

I mounted it to the roll cage bar with 2ea. 3/8" bolts resting on rubber blocks to isolate vibration and used a U-bolt to capture the round steel tube on top of the truck bed.

Actual mounting is a snap. Line it up, drill 4 holes, secure the hardware and add a stiffening plate to the top side and you're done!

Turkey day!
Great weather, like mid 70's, sunny and wrenches were all a' gleamin'!
So to burn off some of the calories I consumed, I did some Gator projects, pushing that ball down the field a bit more.

I have that bok of Roto-pack gas, water, and storage cans, so I mounted a couple more.

The first to go in was a general equipment container, olive drab, which I needed to store various things.

The location would be onto the underside of the roof just like the existing first aid kit. THis time, however, I am using locking handles so the stuff in there just doesn't go marching off.

Here's what that looks like:

With all the wiring run, the front end reattaches with 2ea. large bolts, a lower skid plate and the two side rub rails. That went pretty fast and before I knew it, it was done! I also added a tree saver strap to the accessory gear stored under the hood. I'm now self recovery ready!