Making it all public.....

Concerned Members and Former Members of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners!
An update on the ongoing problems with the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners (MCRGO), of which I am a member and a Director.

I will be putting an entire history of these lawsuits on this site at this location over the next two weeks. I want to clarify some of the issues right here and now, though, and allow members and past members to see some of what is going on. Perhaps this will even serve to enlighten some of the current Board members because, frankly, I believe they are being lied to and I know they have not been given access to many of the legal documents. Unfortunately, ignorance is not an exemption to responsibility when one sits on the Board of a Corporation.


All of the documents I have scanned or received in electronic format are available in this directory. Unfortunately, I believe some Board members may be badly surprised about what they read there and I know members will.

Here's how this evolved.

We went to the Show Cause/Stay hearing on August 29, 2005 and went in front of the Judge. Once again, he threw out their inept crap and found for what was legal and right. He put them on notice that they must face civil contempt fines for refusal to provide the records. I am told that some members of the BoD claim to other members of the BoD that they have given me all of the records. Please see:

A transcript from the Show Cause hearing where their attorney openly admits that they have not given them to me and then goes on to claim they do not exist. Unfortunately, State law requires they exist so they may have quite the conundrum going there.

Of note as well might be my analysis of the documents provided under the order to date:

Missing documents.

I am also told that Board members are being told that I will/have waived the contempt fines. I would have been willing to do so, and in fact, offered to do so had we been able to reach the expected settlement on 9-12-05 referenced here:

Attempted settlement letter.

That meeting has been canceled and we are now operating under the impression that those several weeks of wait time were a bad faith attempt to stall yet again complying with the Court's order. We have terminated negotiations and informed the MCRGO attorney that we will be at the office on Monday to get the required documents. If we do not, we will be seeing Judge Giddings again that day. There is no sense wasting a day off work and the travel, etc. I really do hope that their attorney is making the entire Board aware of the possibilities that follow from here. It is not just a matter of throwing money that belongs to them. This is member money from a C-4 corporation that was entrusted to the Board.

Before we ever left Court the day that MCRGO was found to be in Contempt of the order, and over the next few days, our attorney, working with Fleming and a Representative of the Board, Gary Huggins, got to the point in negotiations, that we had a settlement meeting lined up for the 12th. Part of their offer included Mr. Perricone's contract not being renewed, since his actions have obviously been extremely detrimental to the corporation. We were assured that the BoD no longer supported him as a whole, and that on the 12th, we were going to be able to hammer out some kind of an agreement to drop the defamation suit, that Mr. Perricone would no longer be in the picture and that as soon as we finished with this settlement meeting, we would all go over to the office and finish the day by getting the other orders' requirements fulfilled.

Apparently, Tuesday, September 6, 2005, in what appears to be a carefully engineered meeting, without all of the Board present and certainly not unanimously (or Dale Shantz - rumored to be an outgoing Board member - would have been trumpeting that), they decided they didn't wish to settle and were going to go the full drag it through the Courts another couple of years route.

They sent that email, I got it, I called our attorney and informed him of my wishes, he called Mr. Fleming, who said he'd only found out about a few minutes before our attorney called. I suspect6 he is disappointed that the possible settlement that he and Mr. Huggins worked so hard for is in the toilet, but then life is full of disappointments.

Now, we will ask the Judge to look at the members' interests in this. MCRGO members have the right to ask that MCRGO funds for the C-4 not be used to support defense of lawsuits against the Board members personally, which is what the defamation and slander suit is. We'd also like the Court to look at the members' interests when it comes to members of the Board deliberately flaunting the law and a Contempt order. If he decides that they have allowed a personal or ego-driven issue to influence decisions they should have made in the best interests of the members, he could terminate their use of MCRGO funds for the defense of this suit.

I have been told some things in confidence that appear to sound as though all they are really looking for is to get past the election cycle so I "lose" my bid for Directorship, ad then they'll give me everything they have. This appears to me to be a very personal issue rather than the so-called protection of MCRGO member privacy.

Please be aware that I have never asked for anything that I am not legally entitled to as a member of the MIchigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners. If you are a member who would like to see how the organization is being run and where the money is going, you, too may request all of the same documents I have. As this page evolves over the next two weeks, you will be able to see the communcations I have exchanged with the corporation, the Executive Director, and the Board in my attempts to get them to comply with state law. I have explained to them that we, as an organization, are in grave danger of being shut down by the State for failing to meet our responsiblities in reproting and records keeping, not to mention the financial burden of continuing this lawsuit. Complying with the law is a simple thing to do. Why any non-profit would seek to hide its financial and legal dealings from its own membership, even to the point of being held in Contempt of Court, heavily fined and spending tens of thousands of dollars attempting to keep those records hidden, is beyond me as a member, as a Director and as a Candidate for the Board of Directors in the upcoming election cycle.

Any MCRGO member (or ex-member who was still a member when I filed this suit in February of 2004) interested in supporting the termination of the use of membership monies being used to support contravention of the law or the defamation/slander lawsuit can contact me and join in as a plaintiff or even just in providing an affidavit that they do not support monies being used in support of these suits. The only cost to any of them would be ten dollars maximum for having a notary sign an affidavit my attorney is preparing. I am the only person who has a signed contract for attorney fees and that will continue in force no matter how many people join this suit or provide affidavits.


Please contact me at this email if you are an individual interested in joining in this fight to return MCRGO to a member driven organization fighting for firearms rights in Michigan, rather than a sad, ego driven Board directed group that appears to be interested only in hiding its financial records and operations from members legally entitled to that information.

Going Out of Town

My husband, I should say first, doesn't carry. Certainly, he is the far better of the two of us at target shooting, but he's extremely hard of hearing and doesn't carry. Not that the two have anything to do with each other, but they do for this story.

We'd scheduled some down time and a few days of luxury at a hotel half-way between our place and my brother's (in a neighboring state) and he and his family were to join us, do the Cedar Point Park, etc. but we finally decided to drive down the day before and have a decent night's sleep before we plunged into days of activity. We made reservations at an unknown hotel and, upon arrival, found it to be a pretty lively place. Two stories but strip motel type place, tons of kids, lots of people with cases of beer being unloaded, etc. We ate, settled in, and later, as we both were relaxing at around 1:00 AM, reading books before we fell asleep, I heard something outside the door, too close, and it sent me into alert. Then I heard the sound of the lock clicking and saw the door handle moving. I jumped up, grabbed my P7, hurried to the door and said in my big girl, don't screw with me voice, "This is NOT your room!" I heard the individual for a heartbeat more but then everything got quiet and I moved a little closer to look through the peephole to see - nothing. Whoever had been trying to get in was now gone.

My husband, when I turned around and said, "They're gone," grinned like six kinds of idiots and said, "That's my girl." I turned and picked up my holster from where I'd tossed it, reholstered my gun and put it back on the nightstand.

I imagine some drunk just got the wrong door and then went away as soon as I informed them of their mistake but it was a perfect example of why every state needs reciprocity and no business needs to disallow visitors' safety by forbidding firearms on the property.

BTW, after I did the first LFI, I asked my husband (then fiance') what he would do if we were ever in a situation where a bad guy needed chastising. I worried that he would still try to do some macho thing even though I would be the armed individual. He told me he would move back and sideways and try to distract the BG to give me more time to do what needed to be done.

I think we're a perfect couple.

Anti-Michigan Initiatives

Last September, our legislators enacted a hunting season for doves. Hunters had fought long and hard for the right to hunt doves in Michigan. This is done in 39 other states successfully without any damage to the population, of course, and provides recreational opportunity, meat on the table, and significant influx of dollars to the economy. In Texas, dove hunters bring $22,000,000 to local economies as well as state coffers for license, etc.

Unfortunately, a national level radical group has targeted the state of Michigan, its hunters and its economy for destruction. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has decided that our legislators.

I'm going to let you in on a fairly well-kept secret. The Humane society of the United States is not associated with any state humane society, does not operate or assist any shelter, and has one agenda and one agenda only as far as wildlife population control is concerned.

"We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States ... We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state."
Wayne Pacelle, President of the Humane Society of the US (HSUS), formerly of Friends of Animals and Fund for Animals, Full Cry Magazine, October 1, 1990

Interesting, no?

Imagine. A group says, "We want to help animals." Then they sue the National Marine Fisheries Services for their part in research efforts targeted at saving a declining population of Steller sea lions, whose population in Alaska has declined by nearly 80% in less than three decades. Nice work, HSUS - how about we let them just end up extinct because your organization doesn't want any interference in their habitat?

Now I certainly recognize that research and hunting are two different issues but they are also quite intertwined, especially if you want a healthy population that lives in concert with the human population of any state.

Presently deer harvest management in Michigan is established primarily at the county level, with the exception of area specific regulations applicable to managed hunts. Because Michigan's diverse landscape is undergoing changes in deer habitat quality as well as variances in human demographics, deer population level objectives must be determined and redertimed yearly, which the Department of Natural Resources does at a State level. The MDNR examines harvest trends and develops new harvest strategies for areas with similar deer populations and land uses.

In Oakland County, where I live, in the year 2003 there were 1,761 deer-vehicle crashes. Statistics vary, as does theiravailabilityy for recent years but deer-vehicle crashes in Michigan in 1996 numbered over 68,000, showing an annual increase each of the preceding years, according to Michigan State Police Crash Statistics. How much does this cost the economy and individuals in terms of damage and human lives and injury? Nationwide, each year, there are more than 1.5 million crashes involving deer, causing an estimated $1.1 billion in vehicle damages, 150 lives lost, and more than 10,000 injuries.

There are fewer natural predators today than in pre-settlement times and there is no argument (other than from various lunatic groups such as the HSUS, PETA, ALF, etc.) that regulated sport hunting is the best way to control deer numbers. Without hunting, deer management and population control would be impossible but the HSUS wants to end all hunting, all animal population control (other than spay/neuter programs), all breeding, and even humane methods for euthanasia. From its web site:

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is commonly used for euthanasia and anesthesia of laboratory rodents. It is a common euthanasia agent apparently because of its ease of use, its relative safety, and its ability to euthanize large numbers of animals in a short time span. In large institutions and those with significant rodent-breeding programs, there are occasions when many rodents are euthanized in a short time, and an appropriate gas agent is often the best method.

They then go on to say that CO₂ should be reconsidered as a euthanasia agent and that "decapitation by well-trained personnel, using well-maintained equipment may be acceptable." Don't put them to sleep - that's inhumane. Decapitate them instead? What the hell? I'm sorry but these people are quite insane.

And I would contend that our state's hunting, fishing and wildlife management is really none of their business when their main focus is simply to stamp out or citizen's right to hunt, fish and regulate their own wildlifepopulationss.

The dove hunt law, passed by our legislature and signed by our governor is under siege by this group, which has been a driving force behind a petition drive to change our law and end dove hunting in Michigan. A Michigan-based citizen led group has been formed to oppose the 2006 ballot initiative that would ban the hunting of doves in Michigan. I freely admit to being involved in the effort and to volunteering to do their web site work. You see, I believe that it is wrong for anyone other than the citizens of our state to make the decisions that govern our hunting heritage.

Please visit the Hunting Heritage DefenseCommitteee web site and consider donating and/or endorsing our fight against an outsider group. Endorsement costs nothing, but helps us in our fight and no information will be sold or otherwise shared. Every dollar donated helps us in our efforts to educate the public on this ballot initiative.

We need your support against radical outside interests attempting to abrogate our rights and destroy our heritage.

American Pit Bulls...

My husband and I rescued an injured and malnourished pit bull the other night. Born October 1, 2004, the couple that had owned him had split up and after some passing back and forth, the dog, who had been named Ghotti and has now been renamed Lucky, was taken by one of the owners, hit by a car while in his custody, then later that night, dropped off at the ex-girlfriend's house.

I won't dwell on where I think he ought to be dropped off.

About a month later, we were at the dog's home and saw him, tied to a fence with clothesline wire, unable to move his hindquarters or walk very well at all and painfully thin.

He went home with us and we took him to the vet the next day, more than half thinking that the dog would have to be put down. The vet went over him with a fine tooth comb. First she had to let him get something in him as he was obviously starved nearly to death and the next day, she did x-rays and found a lot of fusion going on in his hips and legs. He was, at the same time, declared to be a sweet, loving dog by everyone who came in contact with him.

The vet discussed it with my husband (she is his long-time friend, veterenarian extraordinaire and treats all manner of living things) and while I do not know exactly what transpired in that conversation, the dog came home to our house, ostensibly "overnight" to see how he coped with life that included food.

The vet is a terrifc woman, located in Royal Oak, Michigan, with offices in three other SE MI areas. For the absolute best and most reasonably priced veterinary care contact:

Royal Oak Animal Hospital
824 South Main Street
Royal Oak, Michigan 48067
Telephone: 248.542.7330
FAX: 248.542.0306

We don't want another dog. We don't want a "crippled" dog. We don't want a pit bull. We don't want another male. If we ever get another dog, it will be a Chow.

Except.

Lucky's staying. He's a good boy, loving and terribly needy and he needs us. He'll get better and we'll take care of whatever he needs to get better. And unlike the Asshat who allowed him to get hit by a car and then dropped him off without a care in the world, we'll never train him to do things that make his life painful and angry.

I've been reading some interesting information on the breed.

http://www.workingpitbull.com/
http://www.dogexpert.com/HomePage/DogBiteStatistics.html
http://pitbulls.jentown.com/dogattacks.htm
http://www.dogexpert.com/Popular%20Press/Pitbullfriend.html
http://www.pbrc.net/home.html

Now, there are those people and groups who would love to see the breed "outlawed" - PETA for one. "It's a pit bull, it's dangerous, it was bred for killing, blah, blah, blah."

They were originally bred as a hunter's gripping dog, then bred to bait bulls. Gripping dogs have been used for thousands of years in many cultures to hold dangerous wild animals while hunters killed them. The pit bull has had a variety of jobs through his long history, first as a gripping dog for hunters, then as the work-mate of butchers. When you realize how large, strong and unfriendly most bulls (not pit bulls) are, you realize that ancient and medieval butchers had need of a strong, absolutely fearless dog which would, when called, race out and become a "living nose-ring" by attaching themselves to the noses of out of control bulls. From this work came the contest known as "bull-baiting" in which butchers and gamblers would set their dogs on a tied bull to determine who had the better bulldog. The dog which could grasp the bull by the nose and not be shaken nor thrown off, and which could subdue the bull by pinning its nose to the ground, would be the winner.

When bull-baiting was outlawed, certain types of people still wanted to watch animals injure and kill each other, so dog fighting became popular. Since a dog fight is much easier to hide from the police than a bull-bait, dog fighting has remained to this day the most popular way for enthusiasts of animal fighting to get their kicks. You also have a group of criminals who believe that they are the biggest and the baddest if they can turn a decent dog into a complete asshole.

Rather than put the dog down, I have a suggestion......

But, whatever the arguments against Lucky coming to live at our house, he has and he's going to stay.

May he live long and prosper.

Now, that was well said....

On Democrats:

Yet despite the fervency of their commitment against the unborn, they go to great pains to euphemize their position, saying they're actually pro-choice, not pro-abortion, and while greasing the skids to maximize the number of abortions, they insist they want to make abortion rare. Do you think they would play such games of deceit if they were as sure as they pretend to be that the majority of the public aligns with them -- and their abject extremism -- on this issue?

I like David Limbaugh better and better.

Tag, you're it....

Book Tag is a blogger phenomenon wherein various folks ask other folks to answer some questions about themselves and books. The idea is, answer the questions and "tag" five other people. You're all tagged.

Total number of books I've owned: Thousands and thousands. I was once incapable of giving away, throwing away, or even donating books. Since then I have learned that there are so many different groups and people who cannot get access to books as I do. Now, we still own a lot of books but I quite regularly give away books to my daughter, to kids at school, to various groups and to other teachers at school.

Last book I bought: Women of Mystery - a book of short stories by a group of very good mainstream women mystery writes. I bought it to give to a young girl at school who reads non-stop. She reads "bodice rippers" by African-American authors and after skimming through one, I decided she needed to broaden out her reading and thought introducing her to Faye Kellerman, Sara Paretsky, Ruth Rendell, Anne Perry and Mary Higgins Clark might be a step up. As an aside, she admits she never read at all before our school adopted the Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Program. Our children read twenty minutes each and every day at the beginning of their lunch hour.

Last book I read: White Male Infant by Barbara D'Amato - not much impressed.

Five books that mean a lot to me: They mean a lot to me for different reasons. Three of them are by Mark Twain.

The Diaries of Adam and Eve. If you love, or are loved, or want to make someone feel loved, this is a fine, fine book. It is available online as well. This truck a chord with me because when Felix and I were courting, and it was a very odd courting dance, for sure, I hit a point where I felt that my life, with my children, my volunteer work, my hectic schedule, teaching, and all of the other bits and pieces of my life, would really make his life too complex - change things too much for him. His life seemed so simple and ordered - I was afraid of changing it too much and having him resent it later. I quoted this part of the book to him:

This new creature with the long hair is a good deal in the way. It is always hanging around and following me about. I don't like this; I am not used to company. I wish it would stay with the other animals.

He immediately quoted back Adam's statement at Eve's grave, long after they were driven from the Garden:

Wheresoever she was, there was Eden.

Forty years after she came into being, in Twain's book, Eve writes:

It is my prayer, it is my longing, that we may pass from this life together--a longing which shall never perish from the earth, but shall have place in the heart of every wife that loves, until the end of time; and it shall be called by my name. But if one of us must go first, it is my prayer that it shall be I; for he is strong, I am weak, I am not so necessary to him as he is to me--life without him would not be life; now could I endure it? This prayer is also immortal, and will not cease from being offered up while my race continues. I am the first wife; and in the last wife I shall be repeated.

Letters From the Earth. It's a wonderful book and it really goes to the heart of the human race and all of its faults and foibles.

Mark Twain on the Damned Human Race. Nobody writes like Twain.

The Federalist Papers. - Hamilton, Madison and Jay, Edited by Benjamin F. Wright. Reading the Founding Fathers words, knowing how strongly they felt, what commitment they held to our beginnings as a country. It is truly very powerful to read their words.

Safe, Not Sorry by Tanya K. Metaska
It's one of the earliest books I read on self defense, taking control, and making positive change. It's got a lot of anecdotal stuff in it and it is not "perfectly" written, but it opened my eyes. It can be ordered at townhall.com for $17.95 plus shipping.

Addendum - when I was married to my ex-maniac, I got my college education so I could make my escape. I did so by "sneaking" to classes, hiding my books, etc. Terrible punishments were exacted whenever I was caught out of the house without permission. We also had a wood stove for heat (I wasn't allowed to use the furnace without permission). One afternoon, I came home later than I should because I thought he would still be at work. He had gotten fired that day and was (1) home very early and (2) in a foul mood and (3) stupid drunk. When I came into the house it was blazing hot and as I cautiously looked around for where he might be, I looked down the stairs into the family room where the wood stove was and there he sat with the door open on the furnace. Almost simultaneously, I realised that the bookshelves were empty. I opened my mouth to speak, but then he held up my journal and said, "This is what happens when you don't listen." He then threw it into the fire.

Every book in my home, my journals (more than 25 years worth), every magazine, all of it - burned.

Felix gave me a book at our very first meeting and our courting revolved around trips to the range, to Borders and dinners where we talked and talked and talked.

Every woman should be so blessed.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

General Orders No.11, WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 1868
The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.
We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.
If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.
Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from hishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.
It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to lend its friendly aid in bringing to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.
Department commanders will use efforts to make this order effective.
By order of
JOHN A. LOGAN,Commander-in-Chief
N.P. CHIPMAN,Adjutant General
Official:WM. T. COLLINS, A.A.G.

I cannot say it any better than so many before me have. In 2004, LTG James R. Helmly, Commander, US Army Reserve Command Chief, Army Reserve said,in part:

It is this love of liberty that motivates young men and women to continue to enlist in the Army even when they know that soon they will serve in dangerous places far from the land and people they love. It is this love of liberty that provides strength and pride to families and loved ones left behind. It is a source of strength for us all.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
God Bless you, your families, our fellow Soldiers and the United States of America on this Memorial Day.

May God Bless all who have served, who continue to serve and all who have made and continue to make it possible for me to know Liberty and Freedom.

Dear God...

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Please take care of my Doc. Keep him safe in his travels and comfort him when he rests. Help him connect where he wishes to and become invisible when he needs to. Help him and all of his brothers and sisters find whatever it is each of them searches for today and for all of their days. Give him solace and community and let no one, today of all days, hurt him or shame him. Please lend him strength every inch of the way. Give him peace, hope, and a rested soul. Amen.

I needed a grin...

I've had one of those deep, thoughtful days. When you teach, the most incredible lessons keep coming your way via the kids, other teachers, the world as it sometimes attacks, sometimes soothes.

I'll write about the lessons some other time. I need to make my peace with the big ones today before I give them away.

Meanwhile, someone sent me to take another of those silly personality tests. I'm a shotgun. What are you? The What's Your Signature Weapon Test.

American Daughter

Nancy (aka American Daughter) has a couple of articles that are terribly graphic and terribly true.

The Left-Leaning Mainstream Media says nothing about things like this, sadly enough. They are so absolutely committed to Bashing Our President that they will show only that which shows the US and our Administration in a negative light. They cause death and destruction with the lies and omissions and call it a "mistake", as in "When Newsweek accidentally causes riots..." but when it comes to the truth about what is happening in places like Iraq and Iran, their silence is deafening.

I warn you, American Daughter's stories are graphic. But they are necessary.

Read them, link to them, tell others about them, forward them in emails, talk about them at the office. Three weeks to an election that could mean everything to the people in these stories.

Silent Screams

Severed Heads