Denouncement of the Founders and Our History

If you have read in the news as of late, two founders are being chastised for being slave owners – George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. This article will deal with the unfair recent outbreak of destroying the memory of Jefferson one of our prominent founders who drafted the Declaration of Independence and spent his life serving the republic that he helped create; but other founders are the target of Marxists who have infiltrated our educational system for at least three decades. 

The College Board that publishes SAT and AP tests have decided to remove mention of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington (and others) except for a one sentence mention of our first president.

After 18 Years, It is Time to Pass Fair Tax Act

In 1909, the 16^th Amendment proposed to be added to the US Constitution:

“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on income, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

It passed Congress in 1913 with the required two-thirds majority vote. It was signed by President William H. Taft and processed for ratification by the State governments. The amendment was ratified by 42 states at a time when there were 48 states in the Union. The income tax was nothing new. The use of income tax was passed as the Revenue Act of 1861 in order to fund the Civil War on income exceeding $800 that was subject to a 3% flat tax. 

Dry-Fire Causes Damage: Myth or Fact?

In tradition, the practice of dry firing was taboo, a cardinal sin. However, in every function test of a military firearm – dry firing is part of the function test.

So is it a myth passed down by generations, or based upon fact?

I would like to settle this argument with logic and science …

The answer, to make this article shorter, is it depends on the firearm. Most modern firearms are not damaged, unless performed thousands of times over and over when dry firing. 

Walk Through History II - YouTube Video

Walk Through History YouTube Video

American Hero: Kenneth E. Stumpf

Kenneth E. Stumpf joined the Army from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and by April 25, 1967 was serving as a Specialist Four in Company C, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. On that day, near Đức Phổ in the Republic of Vietnam, Stumpf rescued three wounded comrades despite heavy fire and single-handedly disabled an enemy bunker. He was subsequently promoted to Staff Sergeant and awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. Stumpf reached the rank of Sergeant Major before retiring from the Army.

Weapons of Choice: Lee-Enfield Rifle

Lee-Enfield MKI

The British Lee-Enfield rifle was designed after the similar black-powder rifle used in the American Civil War by Confederate troops, while most of the Union army used the US made Springfield rifle of similar cap-and-ball design using the newly introduced “minié ball” bullet introduced by Frenchman, Claude-Étienne Minié. The newly designed cartridge Enfield rifle was designed with a rear-locking bolt system like Mauser, but quicker to operate. It was fitted with a 10-round magazine and became the British military rifle beginning in 1895 until 1957 with variations in its design and using the .303 British cartridge. It is a valued rifle among collectors no matter what period it was made.

Weapons of Choice: Ruger LC380 (CA)

Ruger has reintroduced a conceal-carry handgun that was originally manufactured as the LC9 pistol chambered for 9mm, but has been changed to sell to California and Massachusetts buyers as LC380CA. It is chambered for .380 Auto ammunition with a capacity of 7+1 and a compact 3.5-inch barrel.

Walk Through History: 1940s

Walk Through History: 1950s-1960s

American Life in Early 1940s: 1939, 1940, 1941

Thoughts About the Pollution of the English Language and Other Social Atrocities

I am off topic in so far as gunsmithing and the subject of firearms in general, but those who were former readers of Lighthouse Journal (established in 1999 first as “Keifer's Korner”) and Old Glory Gunsmith Shoppe (UK),  know that besides being a connoisseur (Webster English word from France) of firearms and weaponry, I have a passion for history, literature, and American patriotism. 

Heroes: Christian F. Schilt, US Marine Corps

Christian F. Schilt … 1895-1987, first Marine Corps aviator to receive Medal of Honor for using his biplane to evacuate wounded Marines under fire in Nicaragua. Schilt served active duty in World War I, World War II, Haitian and Nicaraguan campaigns, and Korean War; retiring after almost 40 years of active service. Promoted to rank of four-star general at retirement. Born in Illinois he enlisted in the US Marine Corps on 23 June 1917.

General Schilt also received the Distinguished Service Medal for his actions in Korea War. 

Western Adventures of Louis L'Amour

An American icon for Americana stories of the Old West, Louis Dearborn L'Amour is among the greatest authors of United States literature. Born 22 March 1908 and died 10 June 1988, his last name spelled as LaMoore, is known for his Western novels, but also wrote historical fiction like The Walking Drum, poetry and short stories. He even wrote one science fiction novel entitled The Haunted Mesa. In 1954 he was nominated the Academy Award for Best Story.

Victorian Era: 1837 to 1901

Queen Victoria

Much has been written about the Victorian Era, a period of history named after Queen Victoria that lasted from 1837 to 1901 in England. It's culture, architecture and fashion extended to America as well. Indeed, it had become an international culture for a time.

It was a part of the Industrial Revolution that jump started Western civilization into the modern world with technology and innovation. Britain and the United States as well as other places in Europe were a part of the beginning of the industrial age. It brought good things and also brought bad things, like child labor. The world was changing and it was occurring quickly in terms of historical events. Science was unraveling mysteries and new discoveries and techniques were part of it in many areas of science that included medicine, archaeology, astronomy, et cetera. It also ushered in a period where people were interested in the paranormal, sometimes fascinated with not just death, but researching life after death.

Memorial Day - Remembering "Brothers In Arms"

American Life in Early 40s - 1942

Second Amendment and False Jefferson Quote

Laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes … Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. Cesare Beccaria

Note:  the quote comes from a translation of an essay by Beccaria entitled "Essay on Crimes and Punishment" - sometimes falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson.

American Life in Early 1940s - 1943

Original Americans: Native Americans

Black History [should be African American History] was celebrated for one week, but in 1976 it was extended to a month. The original people that occupied the Americas do not have a week or a month. They are Native Americans who were incorrectly called Indians because Columbus thought he had sailed to western India. In Canada, they called themselves the people/tribes of the First Nation.
So many tribes are now extinct and so much of their cultures have been lost. There should be a time of the year set aside to the original Americans, whose history goes back tens of thousands of years and beyond to prehistorical with Clovis man.

Early American History: Quakers and Tolerance

The Dutch Republic of the 17^th century, also known as the Republic of the United Netherlands, had early settlements and outposts in the New World of North America. The colonial province was known as New Netherland that extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to southwestern Cape Cod which now are the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut that had small outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

"... a time to every purpose ...A time for war, and a time for peace."

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace. [Ecclesiastes 3:1-3:8]

Thomas Jefferson constructed his own version of the New Testament compiled with the doctrine of Jesus, in which he entitled it: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, which has come to be known and published as the Jefferson Bible. Jefferson excluded all the miracles of Jesus and most of what is supernatural, which include the four gospels concerning the Resurrection and any passages that portray, in the eyes of the Apostles, Jesus as divine. It was because Jefferson relied upon logic. He supported the Christian faith, but put together the book for his own reference, never intending to publish it or offend his fellow Christians. Only a few friends knew it existed and read it before he slept at night.