Recently a reader asked: What reason do buyers of these weapons give themselves for buying an AR-15? Here are a few.
SELF-DEFENSE: There's no better firearm to defend homes against threats. It's easy to use, accurate and reliable. Copper Sulfate Copper Sulphate
HUNTING: AR-15s in 5.56/.223 are perfect for varmints and predator hunting, and with the proper ammunition make great deer rifles.
FARM/RANCH: The AR-15 is an excellent all-around rifle for farmers and ranchers to carry for predator control or other utilitarian uses. Accuracy, combined with magazine capacity, is enough to handle on a pack of coyotes preying on calves or lambs or on wild hogs tearing up crop fields. An AR-15 is also handy for farmers and ranchers to have on hand in remote areas should they run into those who would do ill to them.
COMPETITIVE SHOOTING: The AR-15 platform is excellent for a variety of competitive shooting sports.
Hundreds of people shoot AR-15s safely and accurately on a regular basis. Banning ownership of AR-15-type rifles for law-abiding Americans would be devastating to competitive shooting, one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.
With simple operation and very low recoil, there’s no better rifle to teach youngsters and women the skill of accurate rifle shooting. The fact that shooting this rifle is easy and tons of fun also makes it great for starting out new shooters, regardless of age.
Gun banners ignore the fact that rifles of any kind are seldom used in crime and seem to despise anyone who dares to own one. Many who are ignorant on firearms consider an AR-15 a weapon of war, suitable for nothing but murder and mayhem.
Instead of asking, "Why do you need an AR-15?" ask “Why should the government be able to deny us the constitutionally protected right to own one?”
I take issue with Edward Marasi's recent letters to the editor promoting the AR-15 rifle. He quotes the $700 price as a good reason to buy an AR-15 compared to a Winchester, Remington, Browning or any other semi-automatic rifle. He clams the only reason the AR-15 gets a bad reputation is because of the large magazines often used in mass shootings.
I served in the Vietnam War, and during training with the AR-15, it was explained to us that the AR-15 was the first weapon designed to do as much damage to the body as possible.
The .223 and the 5.56s tumble when they contact the body. This tumbling is a byproduct of the location of the shot and the ammunition used. Tumbling can be cured using a higher grain; 62 to 77 grain are the least likely to tumble.
It’s the reason bodies killed in mass shootings with AR-15s aren’t shown to the public; the bodies are shredded. You don’t go hunting with an AR-15; you go killing animals, the meat's been destroyed.
I used neckbonearmory.com, as my updated reference.
If you live in an homeowners association-managed community that’s planning on spraying residential roofs for mold and mildew, it’s imperative that you fully inform yourself about the health hazards of copper sulfate (COSu4), the active ingredient in some products.
Copper sulfate is a toxic, non-biodegradable chemical often used in commercial agriculture. When used by agriculture, workers applying COSu4 are required to wear personal protective equipment that includes protective eye wear and respirators as inhaling COSu4 vapor is extremely dangerous. The manufacturers of roof cleaning applications publish safety data sheets listing precautions that must be taken when using the product and the steps that should be followed if contaminated by it.
The sheet for a cleaning product I'm familiar with, which contains a 20% solution of copper sulfate, is 10 pages long and notes the product “causes severe burns, serious eye damage and is very toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects” (because it’s a heavy-metal chemical that does not biodegrade, but remains in the environment long-term). Furthermore, the SDS warns individuals should “not breathe dust/fumes/gas/mist/vapors/sprays” and should avoid “getting COSu4 in the eyes or on skin and clothing.”
Additionally, over-spray should be absorbed with “liquid-binding material and neutralized,” not rinsed off with water (as was done in our community, which simply spread COSu4 further).
I didn't see our HOA contractor follow these procedures, and our HOA and its property manager failed to inform residents about these hazards. Some residents have experienced loss of taste or a metallic taste in the mouth, burning, itchy eyes and running noses. Other symptoms may have occurred that residents haven’t connected to copper sulfate because they weren’t warned about them.
If your HOA insists on using chemicals as a cheaper alternative to traditional pressure washing, insist the board distribute to all residents the appropriate safety data sheet.
Some of the recent "hate-Trump" letters are so farfetched as to be laughable. I guess it would shock some of these people who listen only to left-wing media that the Biden White House is far worse than Donald Trump’s ever was.
Joe Biden treats money like they he's playing Monopoly ― but in the dark. People are beginning to question the amount of money we are sending to Ukraine, but what about the $400 billion that the newly revived "Energy Department Loan Programs Office" is tasked with handing out to Biden-friendly “green energy” companies? Remember Solyndra and how well that worked out?
This administration consistently operates behind closed doors, hoping no one will notice, and the mainstream media is happy to oblige. While Biden is being set up for sainthood, let's not forget how he lied when he said he didn’t know anything about or have anything to do with his son’s foreign “business.”
We’ve “had a border crisis for many years”? Laughable. Huge numbers of illegal immigrants and got-aways happened almost the day after Biden took office and continue unabated.
Claiming Biden has great “stamina," well, that’s just plain ridiculous. One can only imagine what Chinese President Xi Jinping came away with from his meeting with him. I actually can imagine: He’s thinking along the same lines as Vladimir Putin and Hamas; that the time is ripe for invading Taiwan.
But let’s just focus on the lies perpetuated against Donald Trump for over six years. It seems to be working.
During the pandemic, several far-right parent organizations sprang up to demand two seemingly reasonable things: a say in the curriculum being taught and the “choice” of where to send their child to school that the state will pay for.
The Republican Party will tell you it is all about the child’s education. If you dig a little deeper, you will find the Republican Party could not care less about your child’s education.
The Republican Party demands a say in their curriculum, because it has lost the last seven out of eight popular votes in the presidential election. The message no longer resonates with the majority. Instead of changing its message to fit constituents, it will fit the constituents to the message and that starts in kindergarten.
Look no further than action being taken in every red state. Denying facts, distorting history, to fit the right-wing message from birth.
School choice is a tax break for the wealthy. Statistics across the country will tell you poor people are not using this public money to educate their children. It’s the wealthy people who are using this money to enroll their children in private schools and here in Florida to the tune of $8,000-plus a year.
The wealthy guy here in Florida making $2 million a year, he’s got two kids in private school. He just saves $16,000 a year, courtesy of his Republican puppets in office.
The Republican Party is not interested in educating their children. Year after year, red states rank at the bottom in education. Year after year, they rank in the bottom of income. To fix this, the Republican Party wants to lie to your children and give the wealthy guy more money.
As we enter another likely heated presidential election period, perhaps some people could abstain from their dirty tactics of the past.
One common lowlife tactic was to contact someone's employer if they didn't like something a person posted online. This cowardly behavior began during the Donald Trump and "woke" eras.
In a perfect world, employers would simply ignore these extremists. These internet trolls won't ever be customers, so just ignore them.
At the very least, employers should get the name of the people complaining and their contact information. This should then be passed on to the employees.
Another tactic was to attack a person's business. This foul practice is most often practiced by businesses themselves. "Mr. Pillow" and "Nautical but Nice" come to mind. I didn't agree with the political antics of either business owner, but I now own two of the "Mr. Pillow" products. As for "Nautical but Nice," it is a shame a Miami landlord would evict him. Do we really want Martin County to be anything like Miami-Dade County?
So perhaps this election, everyone can view everyone else's political views for what they are: opinions. Just like my opinion, and almost everyone else's, nobody of any real importance or major influence cares what they are anyway. That means that we can all lighten up and stop taking ourselves so seriously.
As I was poking my nose around the Indian River County Supervisor of Elections Office one day, an employee asked me: “What are you afraid of?”
I replied: “Millions of uninvited people are crossing our border and will eventually try to vote, legally or illegally. That won’t be good for our democracy.”
Everywhere I read in the more-biased press, Washington Post and its comments section, for example, I see the fear people have of Donald Trump’s return. It will destroy our democracy. A new Hitler in charge. “I’m moving to Canada.” My fear is more real than theirs.
“Trump is an authoritarian.” Yes, Marsha, a president has authority. He is the author of executive actions, like taking troops out of combat zones before civilians just by using his pen and phone. He could authorize the building of a wall with money from other federal coffers in emergencies. Great leaders built walls. Ask the Chinese from B.C. if a Congress OK’d that one. Despite lefty media reports, Donald Trump acted decisively during the pandemic. Operation Warp Speed. Sounds like a fascist, right?
A real authoritarian creates a détente, carrot and stick for his enemies, whether it’s by intimidation, insinuation or prestidigitation. Trump used negotiating magic to keep a peaceful world for four years. Authoritarians don’t have to be Hitlerian.
The opposite of authority is what we see on the international battlefield now. Nature abhors a vacuum, and weakness in the form of a senile leader, attracts dangerous enemies.
As we see evil in the Middle East, Communist China threatening Taiwan and Vladimir Putin carving up Ukraine, I want my own authoritarian leading us. Discard the insignificant, politicized charges and think about the immediate future. Say to your kids: “He may be crude, but we’ll have a lot less to fear.”
As the influence of the omnipotent gathers dust, the reality of self-dependence overwhelms free people.
The Pius of the pious supersede what is common sense in American politics. Our Grand Old Party, Greedy Old People expose their Mafia roots as they bludgeon opponents in efforts to each become The Godfather. The base of our Republican developed from Big Business with their anti-labor endeavors.
I cannot deny some Democrats hold sway with the dark side. So it was, so it will be, as civilized man is weakened directly and indirectly by today's cornucopia of ills.
Sans outright murder, the Mafia of today relies on the Adman to control populations in their needs and wants. They make you an offer you cannot refuse.
The dogs of Congress reflect our woeful descent into a "them" or "we" mentality. Enemies of our ravished republic salivate our demise. The chaff from our labor class smothers the soul of the nation.
Is there not great irony in that what the wealthy most enjoy are products of the poor and downtrodden, the reality of light in darkness? Contradictions and juxtaposed ideas as such can be an old saw, but it still plays.
Calcium Iodate Anhydrous History recapitulates the castle, mansion on the hill.