In addition to honoring our fallen soldiers on this Memorial Day, we would also like to say thank you to every member of the US military for bravely and selflessly defending us and our great nation.
Capitalist pig and I did not serve in the military, so we feel that it is our duty to find alternative ways that we can serve our country and assist veterans in any way possible. When we were at the NRA Meeting/Convention in Phoenix last week, we discovered a wonderful organization that we will be doing as much as possible to support, and we encourage you to do the same.
Honored American Veterans Afield or HAVA, was put together by some of the top names in the firearms industry, and they are dedicated to raising awareness and assisting disabled veterans with the healing process through active participation in outdoor sports. Their goal is to increase injured veteran’s confidence and hope for the future by reconnecting with their love of the outdoors and the American traditions of hunting and firearms.
We agree with HAVA in that “every veteran is a national hero that has earned our respect and support through valorous service in defense of our way of life.”
HAVA has already touched the lives of several injured veterans when they hosted a shooting event earlier this year for the Ft. Gordon Warrior Transition Battalion in Augusta, Georgia. The shooting event featured two-man teams consisting of a wounded warrior and a shooting sponsor in a three-gun competition with awards provided to the top three teams.
We would like to say THANK YOU to Travis Noteboom from Crimson Trace and Tom Taylor from Remington for not only putting this great organization together but also for taking the time out of their busy schedule at the NRA show to discuss HAVA with us.
This is not another version of the 494 stories about the shooting last night in Mesa that were copied and pasted from the news wire. The shooting occurred a mere 957 feet (319 yards or .18 miles) from our home, and we happened to be outside when the whole thing went down.
Here is our first hand eye ear-witness account of the events that occurred WAY too close to our house last night:
Last night, about 11:30 pm MST, Capitalist Pig and I went outside for a cigarette. A few minutes later, we heard 8 or 9 gunshots coming from fairly close range. Five or six rounds followed by a second or two pause, then three shots – each spaced about a second apart. We surmised the following from what we heard:
The shots were being fired from the Northeast, and were VERY close.
A handgun was being used, probably a .40 or .45 caliber
We were on the muzzle end of the shots – a very uneasy feeling to say the least.
In retrospect, it would have been in our best interest to go inside at that point, but we did not. I’m not sure what CP was thinking at this point, but my brain was still trying to process what I had just heard.
The second round of shots came about four minutes later. We heard a faint scream (female voice), a siren from a distance that sounded like a fire truck, then a “chirp” from what sounded like a police car pulling up to the scene. Immediately following, rapid fire, sounded like at least 12 rounds. At least one magazine was being emptied as quickly as possible, and in the general direction of our house (again).
Four minutes would be the minimum amount of time it would take for the police to get there from the Mesa Police substation (1.1 miles from the scene) If someone had called 911 immediately after the first shots were fired. While I consider this an exemplary response time from the PD, the old saying, “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away” came to mind right after the second round of shots were fired.
A barrage of police, ambulance and fire truck sirens could now be heard in the distance, and were moving closer to us by the second. About one minute later, massive rapid fire from several firearms. I couldn’t tell you how many rounds were fired in this exchange, but I can say that it sounded like several magazines were emptied in a couple of seconds.
At this point, CP and I realized that this was very likely an ongoing situation, and we needed to get inside right quick. My fight or flight response had kicked in after the first round of fire, but the rest of me apparently needed time to catch up.
I shuffled myself off to the safest place in the house (a small bathroom), and CP was cool headed enough to grab my cell phone and hand it to me before getting out the Ruger P90. CP then valiantly stood watch – finding a good place in the house to keep an eye on the doors and still have cover. As I worked on calming myself down, I sent a text to my next door neighbor to let her know that she needed to stay inside and find cover.
I think I had been in the bathroom about 15 minutes when I heard a loudspeaker that may have been coming from the helicopter that was still circling directly overhead. I think they said, “Do NOT go outside” twice (it was very Charlie Brown Teacher sounding).
If the last part of the story seems extreme, or overly dramatic to you, keep in mind that our normally quiet and somewhat serene neighborhood had just been turned into a gunnery range. CP saw police cars racing down our street and we could hear the sound of the helicopter changing positions (which it does when it is still hunting for someone), and it was apparent that the situation was not yet under control. Even after several dozen rounds of fire, the bad guy(s) were still loose, and it was very possible that someone was looking for a place to hide (or worse) in the neighborhood.
At about 1:30 am, the noises had died down, and CP sounded a tentative all clear. A search on the internet and Twitter for what had just happened was fruitless, so we proceeded outside with caution. CP did a sweep of the yard (all-clear), and at about 1:45, we heard the sound of fire trucks leaving the scene.
We found out this morning that after this guy killed his ex-wife and friend at a house party then traded shots with the police (where he shot an officer), he barricaded himself in the house for a couple of hours before surrendering.
While we weren’t victims last night, I was still pretty scared during the event. The only comfort I was able to find while this was all going on is that we had the ability to defend ourselves if the bad guy had tried to make us another victim. While we both consider firing our weapons at another living thing a VERY last resort, knowing that we could if we needed to – Priceless.
The number is in, and it’s big. While not an all-time record for an NRA Annual Meeting, the total attendance for the Phoenix NRA Meeting was 64,324.
Phoenix may have fallen just short of the annual NRA Meeting attendance record which was set last year, but there was no shortage of records set this past weekend. The following records have already been recorded for the 2009 NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits:
The biggest convention in Phoenix EVER
The largest dinner ever held in the state of Arizona – Over 6,000 paid attendees for the Banquet held on Saturday featuring speakers Oliver North and John Stossel (both were incredible).
The largest attendance for the NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop – 375 attendees.
We’re sure this list will continue to grow as the numbers come in. Tune in later, as we’ll be posting some more records and interesting statistics that we are working on confirming now.
UPDATE: We’ve found the video of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North’s speech at NRA Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ on Armed Forces Day, May 16, 2009. Please enjoy Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North’s tribute to our troops.
Photo courtesy City of Phoenix Convention Center website
There is still plenty of time to attend the 2009 Convention/NRA Meetings and Exhibits in Phoenix this weekend (May 16th and 17th). Here’s some information to help you enjoy the event:
Admission is $10 for non-NRA members, and the price includes a one year NRA associate membership.
Admission is free for NRA members and their families, military and law enforcement personnel, and organized youth groups.
To enter and register for the event, go to the Phoenix Convention Center North building, hop on the escalator, and take it down to the exhibit hall level.
The easiest way to find the escalator is to enter the Convention Center through the main doors, which are on the West side of the building. Hang a left when you hit the area that splits into four directions, and the escalators will be almost immediately on your left. If you hit the food court, you’ve gone too far.
There are several public parking garages downtown, and most are running a flat $12.00 per day. There are a few metered spaces here and there, but you are not likely to find an available meter this weekend.
The Metro light rail runs a short block from the Convention Center, and at $2.50 for an all-day pass, it could be your best bet for getting down there on the cheap. There are several park and ride facilities on the rail line, if you want to get most of the way there and use the rail as a shuttle in to the downtown area
We’ve decided to take the plunge and join the hep and cool world of Twitter. We got us some new fangled, fancy phones with a thing-a-majig that slides out so we can text to our heart’s content (which has been about once a century to this point), and keep you updated on all of the going-ons at the NRA Convention in Phoenix this weekend.
So far, we only have two people following us, but wow, what a list so far – exurbanjon and Karl Rove. How awesome is that?
Feel free to follow us at GreatSatanInc, and become part of our illustrious list.
We’ll be adding our tweets to the site very soon so you can follow allong with our oh, so exciting lives. I just have to figure out how to send this, wait, I think I press this button, no – oops, I just deleted that whole message. Uh, I’ll get this thing up and running as soon.
Highlights of this convention and event include NRA’s Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum on Friday, 300,000 sq. ft. of exhibitors showing off their latest and greatest, and TED, WHITE and BLUE featuring Ted Nugent (Hooray for Uncle Ted!).
We are very happy to report that we will be attending as media, and we plan on bringing you as much information as possible about this great event. Thanks to Rachel, Bitter and the rest of the NRA press crew for making this possible (hope you like the tortillas)!
President Mer-see-bo-ku blundered yesterday when he welcomed guests to the Whitehouse by saying, “Welcome to Cinco de Cuatro—Cinco de Mayo at the White House.” For those who don’t habla Espanol, cinco is Spanish for “four”, which means our President of the world greeted his guests with, “Welcome to Five of Four.”
Since Exurban Kevin already beat me to the Star Trek punch, I will make a suggestion to the President –
Since you seem to be quite skilled at purchasing DVD’s, have your aids pick up some Sesame Street, Electric Company and Villa Alegre DVD’s. Then sit down with your daughters and learn how to count in Spanish the way that the residents here at Casa Diablo Grande did when we were five or six years old.
