Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Friday, July 27. 2007

An unarmed home

The terrible story of the home invasion-murder-rape in a peaceful, leafy Connecticut suburb this week reinforces the necessity to have an armed home, as Never Yet Melted notes.

The right to self-defence is the most basic human right.

It matters not to me that such crimes are rare. Lightning strikes on houses are rare, but where they are possible, we have lightning rods. We have them on the house and on the barn. It's a reasonable, cheap precaution against a low-likelihood but catastrophic event. Like fire insurance.

More thoughts: I have been thinking about this doctor for days, since the Dylanologist emailed the story to me. How does he feel? I cannot imagine losing a whole family - his life - in that way, or in any other way. Does he regret that he could not protect his family - or that he could not die trying? Surviving something like this must be a world of pain.

Our longer essay on the topic of the CT invasion, and home defence,  here.

Posted by Bird Dog in Our Essays, Politics at 08:44 | Comments (14) | Trackback (1)

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Home Invasion
We posted a piece this week on the terrible recent home invasion in Connecticut, about 20 minutes from where I live. By coincidence, this was the same week I was taking my required Concealed Carry course down in Bridgeport (which was excellent, and good f
Weblog: Maggie's Farm
Tracked: Jul 30, 10:44

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would a gun have helped? where they taken by surprise and how and when would they have had the gun fight. I have a feeling they would never have used them. RIP
#1 opie on 2007-07-27 10:57 (Reply)
Not having a gun we know would have done no good.

Having a gun is betting on the safe side. We don't know how much noise was generated, if any in the family were alerted by the noise but if the intruders were detected a gun would have given them some measure of defense.

People who live without guns are called victims, often called dead too.
I had my wife take gun training and get a carry permit even though she is a 2nd degree blackbelt in karate and has won many tournaments. A gun trumps any karate move.

Get one. Practice until you can hit the torso of a man from 5-7 yards away and when you start just keep blasting away.
#2 Anonymous on 2007-07-27 11:50 (Reply)
And after that, the questions become endless - stainless or blued? Charcoal case-hardened or camo? .22 short or .45-70? Black plastic or Circassian walnut marblecake? Tung oil or linseed? To checker or not to checker? A little something with a fleur de lys?
#3 Skookumchuk (Link) on 2007-07-27 13:55 (Reply)
.45-70? Skookumchuk, that's a BIG home you're protecting my son. Wooo! Does Tyvec come in Kevlar now? Is DuPont mixing and matching?
#3.1 Jephnol (Link) on 2007-07-27 19:07 (Reply)
There should be an instant death penalty for crimes like this. The perps should not have made it to the police station, something about a struggle in the cop car, or a broken taser that wouldn't shut off or something.

There is no room for appeal, the goblins were caught red handed. What would society risk or lose by simply hanging these guys in the town square?
#4 phil on 2007-07-27 14:43 (Reply)
Phil you are right on .First torture the SOBS then douse them with some gas and light a match.They need to die just like their victims did.
#4.1 jappy on 2007-07-27 18:05 (Reply)
Allow me to share a very personal and tragic home invasion murder.
I grew up as a Marine Corps brat. My father was on several occasions the executive officer and finally Chief of Staff of an aviation legend that most of you have never heard of. But allow me to tell the story.
This Marine Corps Aviator was the first Marine "Ace" in the Corps history. He was the first Marine to fly a jet,a helicopter, and he flew secret missions over China. He won three Navy Crosses one of which should have been the Medal of Honor.
Before Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier this Marine held the world speed and altitude record.
In WWII he was at Wake Island, Midway and Guadalcanal scoring 18 1/2 kills before the War Department forced him home to sell War Bonds. He formed the first Marine Corps acrobatic team albeit it was short lived.
I dated his daughter and was accorded the seat of honor at his dinner table during several formal dinners even though I was just a teenager.
He retired to his home state of Oregon in the late 1970's.

On June 29,, 1998 a punk kid made a home invasion and the General in defending his wife was killed by a shotgun blast to the head. The kid, Jessie James Fanus was captured and sentenced to death, which has yet to be carried out.
The General was Marion E. Carl, a mentor and friend, a role model and a true American hero. I honor his memory every day. He died as he lived, a hero, but it was not the way it should have been.
He is buried at Arlington as close to Arlington House as they place the top heros. The President attended his funeral.

I vowed to never allow anyone to break into my home and live. We have a moral duty to defend ourselves.
That is my story, that is my promise.
#5 Habu on 2007-07-27 19:15 (Reply)
guns, but with barking dogs to sound alert. If the dogs are inside the house, you don't have to worry so much that the perps would just toss 'em some hamburgers and slither on by without setting off a sufficient barking.

Something attracted those guys to follow the women home, and something about the home gave them confidence they could get in. Wonder what the clues were? Cops ought to ask 'em, then report it. Then kill them.

Problem is, those guys don't care whether they live or die, so there's no way those scores ever even begin to get even.
#6 buddy larsen on 2007-07-27 19:21 (Reply)
Absolutely. A dog will more likely than not do the trick.
#6.1 Skookumchuk (Link) on 2007-07-27 19:30 (Reply)
There is a gun in my home for every member of my family even though one is still in diapers and can't use 'em. My father had a few and his father had a few. If it were possible to do so, you could most likely determine that there has not been a home without a firearm in my family since they came over from Europe (maybe even my the Dutch ancestors). It's an American tradition, right and sometime necessity. There are some who do not own which is perfectly fine, but I feel safe knowing I have an AK-47 and 1000 rounds a few feet away in case folks decide they want to die in my foyer.
#7 Wolf Flywheel (Link) on 2007-07-27 19:57 (Reply)
Wolf,
I stand with you and others of our disposition. That disposition was granted by God as a moral duty to defend ourselves and families and formalized by the Founding Father's in the body of the 2nd amendment to our Constitution.

I also own an AK w/ a thousand rounds and fifteen clips.
Every long rifle I own from my .22's , M-14, M-16 6.8SPC and Springfield .45 XD all are backed with mutiple clips and a thousand rounds.

When the Shumer hits the fan I will be ready.

Molon Labe!

Best,
Habu
#8 Habu on 2007-07-27 21:37 (Reply)
HABU--I am so sorry to hear about your friend.

What type of hand guns are your wive's using?
#9 apple pie on 2007-07-28 01:32 (Reply)
AP,

She has several within her usual areas and we have them all over the house. She will shoot all of them which include two .38's with "hot loads" , two .45ACP's, one .357magnum, one .22 automatic and three shotguns. The shotguns have diffferent configurations and gauges. One 12 gauge has a short barrel, one is a short barrel 20 gauge "coachgun", and there is one 12 gauge auto loader.

On the recommendation of Buddy Larsen I have placed a 12gauge shotgun outside in a utility shed so that we can escape the house and run to a gun.

I know this sounds like some paranoid but if your weapons are all in one place and the intruder is between you and them you might as well not even own them.

Buddy's idea can considerably cut down the expense of owning so many weapons by "bugging out" to your shed or other building you might have and making your stand there...keep you cell phone handy too.

Sine an intrusion can happen at any time it's difficult to pick the perfect spot for one weapon but having one on under your pillow isn't a bad idea.
Best,
Habu
#9.1 Habu on 2007-07-28 10:59 (Reply)
FYI:

Google "Terry Langford"+"Ovando" +"1988" You should come up with this story.

http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/langford441.htm

HABU:
http://www.montanaforum.com
#10 apple pie on 2007-07-28 13:22 (Reply)

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