"This is as far as the bastards are going."

"This is as far as the bastards are going." Click the link to see Mike's dialogue with a confused pragmatist who will gleefully talk to gun controllers as they disarm him completely.

I have mentioned Mike Vanderboegh a few times on this blog, and definitely have talked about him to those people I'm lucky enough to talk to in person.

I've linked an excellent response Mike made to a pragmatist (we'll call them Prags) who thinks that we can reason with people who, while they say they want to compromise, really have only one goal - the eradication of private firearms ownership in any form.

Mike recounts an excellent story that I'll rewrite here from Anecdotes from the Battle of the Bulge:
Late on the night of December 23rd, Sergeant John Banister of the 14th Cavalry Group found himself meandering through the village of Provedroux, southwest of Vielsalm. He'd been separated from his unit during the wild retreat of the first days and joined up with Task Force Jones, defending the southern side of the Fortified Goose Egg. Now they were in retreat again. The Germans were closing in on the village from three sides. American vehicles were pulling out, and Banister was once again separated from his new unit, with no ride out.

A tank destroyer rolled by; somebody waved him aboard and Banister eagerly climbed on. They roared out of the burning town. Somebody told Banister that he was riding with Lieutenant Bill Rogers. "Who's he?" Banister wanted to know. "Will Rogers' son," came the answer. It was a hell of a way to meet a celebrity.
An hour later they reached the main highway running west from Vielsalm. There they found a lone soldier digging a foxhole. Armed with bazooka and rifle, unshaven and filthy, he went about his business with a stoic nonchalance. They pulled up to him and stopped. He didn't seem to care about the refugees. "If yer lookin for a safe place," he said, "just pull that vehicle behind me. I'm the 82nd Airborne. This is as far as the bastards are going."

The men on the tank destroyer hesitated. After the constant retreats of the last week, they didn't have much fight left in them. But the paratrooper's determination was infectious. "You heard the man," declared Rogers. "Let's set up for business!" Twenty minutes later, two truckloads of GIs joined their little roadblock. All through the night, men trickled in, and their defenses grew stronger.

Around that single paratrooper was formed the nucleus of a major strongpoint.

We have made some incremental gains in the last eight years. However, Obama's own Change.gov site dictates directly that he will do his level best to erase those eight years in a few fell strokes of a pen. And not only erase those last eight years, but plunge us back into the dark gun control filled days of the 80's. The gun control fanatics are already trumpeting their triumph and are lining up with new bills designed to disarm law abiding Americans - leaving us at the mercies of thugs, gangsters, and crazed terrorists bent on our destruction. Do not think for a moment that attacks like those that happened in Mumbai could not be easily carried out in Chicago, Washington DC, or New York City - all three of which are full of unarmed victims. All three held up as utopias by gun control organizations.

The time for one step forward and two steps back is over. People like Mike (and I'd like to think myself as well) are willing to dig in where they are. They're willing to not only act as a rallying point for like minded individuals, but they're willing to risk potential harassment, imprisonment, or worse by showing the world that they're willing to stand up for what they believe in. By doing so, they provide hope and momentum to others who are willing to take up the fight, but don't have the eloquence, debate skills, or knowledge to effectively do so themselves.

Stand up and get vocal. Blog, leave comments and letters to the editor when you see an anti-gun article/editorial in your paper. Correct misconceptions where you can. Show the Government that there is a strong group of people out there that will not stand idly by while our rights are removed piece by piece.

Stop alongside your fellow Patriots in the road and dig in to bring the fight to the enemy.

For the record, the image above is a poster distributed to commemorate PFC Martin's heroic statement. The paratrooper in the image is PFC Vernon Haught, also of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. More information and a link to a nearly full size copy of the poster can be found at this site.