So how does the Federal government work?

I woke at five to get ready for an Appleseed shoot, looking forward to roll up my sleeves and volunteer to help people become a Rifleman and teach and discuss the American Heritage that I enjoy.

After coffee and gruel I was on the road with my books, notebooks, equipment, one twenty-two target rifle with a GI web sling and wearing sunglasses from Hawai'i against the morning Sun in all its glory. I stopped and picked up lunch and water in Monroe at the Safeway. Then I drove to the range and found the gate closed, and the range disassembled, completely.

Okay, the berm is still there, but no overhead cover, no target stands up, no nice place to shoot. I was greeted by the property owner and he told me that the Feds had shut him down until all the legal hassle is over - which could be never. So the idea that law biding citizens can get together and shoot safely is done at that location -- I expect they will be coming for all of us soon enough. And I am sure they will come at us one at a time, this range, this shooter, this time.

Your tax dollars at work, what a waste of money. Do write the White House, your Senators, your Congressional Representative and your Governor, your local representative and speak up at church. And I was so ready to give up my weekend for safe shooting skills sharpened smoothly. Well, attending church, cutting grass, cleaning the house, riding the motorcycle (is that next?), and shooting on the range at Fort Lewis for my own darn fun.... take that President Obama, one would think you don't love me anymore.

If I am gone...

My mother writes instructions for when she is gone, I explain to the patrons that I need some good writing about how important libraries are in the institutions to help recruit staff, everyone in some little way is preparing for when they are gone but the need is still there. One of the men says to let the inmates run the libraries, they can do it. And they do it at the camps, whatever library is there is a combination of inmate interest and activity and some staff person that has a key to the room where the library is. It is much better than nothing, but the Washington State Library doesn't give up its collection to the inmates nor Department of Corrections, they try to recruit new staff and run the library well with supervisors opening the doors and shifting staff from other institutions to maintain some service. Still, the library is really closed, there isn't any depth when the institutions were reduced to one FTE per library. As the inmate said "Closed Libraries suck!" with all the anger you don't want to be the focus of...