The closet

I’ve posted about this in the past:

Some may ask, “So what do you think now?  Don’t you see that we can’t come out of the closet?  Look what happened to you!”

Yes, it’s risky.  Yes, if you stick your head up high enough it’s likely to get “wacked.”  But what’s the alternative?  If you won’t fight now when the worst they can do is get you fired (I have evidence a political opponent gave PNNL a tip about me–and I think I know who it was) then who among you will take a stand when they are going door-to-door taking your guns?  Or when they are rounding up the Jews/Christians/homosexuals/whoever?  Taking a stand now is far, far less risky and far more likely to succeed than if you wait until the thugs are knocking down your door.

Get out of the closet and do something today.  If nothing else support me as I fight the bigots who demand we stay in the closet.

Quote of the day–Nancy Amos

You’ve got to be kidding. They said Joe was dishonest? Joe is the most honest person I know.

Nancy Amos

Termination report released

As predicted there was no repsonse from PNNL.  They (both Richland and Battelle in Columbus) spent a lot of time reviewing the site but in the end they did not have any factual corrections to make.

Check out http://www.pnnl.info.  There is a link on the main page to What You Should Do.  Check it out.

Barb and I are going hiking now.  Internet and cellphone access again tonight sometime.

In other news–the NRA got back to me

I sent an email to the NRA about their recent article and got back a response directing me to their “General Counsels Office”.  I sent them a link to my Terminate Report website.

I love it when the timing of things works out just as if you had actually planned it that way.

I can’t believe the timing

Barb and I got back into civilization tonight and found, after some difficulty, an Internet connection.  Much to my surprise I found this email waiting for me (magazine and writer name deleted for now):

—–Original Message—–
Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2005 6:21 AM
To: JoeH@boomershoot.org
Subject: an interview with XXXX magazine

My name is XXXX XXXX and I am a freelance writer for XXXX magazine.
We are working on a story about people who got fired for blogging. If
you were fired for blogging (it was unclear from the one post I saw on
another website) would you be interested in doing an interview? If so,
email me back with your name, age, where you live, what you wrote that
got you fired and where you got fired from.

Thanks.

This is a national magazine everyone with two or more functional brain cells has heard of.  I wrote them back saying I would be glad to be interviewed and will send them the news release when it goes out tomorrow afternoon.  I also put my previous employer on the Bcc: line.

Quote of the day–Dow Scott

Joe dishonest? Joe is so honest, it gets him in trouble.

Dow Scott

Quote of the Day–Anonymous

It kind of makes me nervous; I mean you are probably the best engineer I know. What’s to stop them from firing any one? It doesn’t make any sense… You are one of the most ethical people I know.

Anonymous co-worker at PNNL to Joe Huffman upon hearing Huffman had been fired.

Termination report

A few minute ago the last of the FOIA requests went out and I sent the following email to my former employer:


Subject: Corrections?

 
I have created a new website, XXXX, that might be of interest to you.  Before the news releases are sent out on Monday afternoon I am giving you an opportunity to make any factual corrections.

Please send all corrections, complete with documentation, to XXXX before 12:00 PM PDT Monday July 25th.  Only email to that address will be accepted.  All responses will be posted on the web site.

 
And since the picture below seemed to play a significant role in the investigation that lead to my termination I am including a copy:
 
—-
Joe Huffman

A few people have seen a preview of the site.  Here are some of their comments:

I’m shaking with rage. Bastards.

-Kim du Toit-

Jesus H. Christ.

-Neaderpundit-

I thought PNNL’s mission was to support the Constitution–not destroy the lives of those who exercise the rights it guarantees.

-Lyle Keeney-

 

You can get canned for practicing free speech in support of one’s right to self-defense. What’s next? Get canned for blogging about the war? Gay marriage? Religious freedom?

-Stephanie Sailor-

New Jersey gun rights activist

 

This is the point in the story where the audience comes to understand, if not condone, the antagonist turning into a mad scientist.

-Sean Flynn-

And then head off on vacation. Good move. Pay cash. Watch out for Black Helicopters.

-Sean Flynn-

 

Does your life insurance cover getting knocked off by your former bosses?

-Lyle Keeney-

 

Be careful. Don’t get shot in some dark alley.

-James Huffman-Scott-

 

They honestly had no clue that you are so fastidious in your operation. This kind of evidence is very clear and easy for even a layman to understand.

-Permission Pending-

Quote of the day–Eric Engstrom

Computers and the internet are a far bigger problem for the government than they are for the individual.

Eric Engstrom
October 2003

Institutionalized bigotry

According to these guys I imagine I exhibited all the symptoms of someone about to go postal, except for one.  The one missing was supplied by PNNL–by firing me.  How many other civil rights activists exhibit the same “symptoms”? 

Some type of obsession, e.g., weapons, other acts of violence, romantic/sexual, zealot (political, religious, racial), the job itself, neatness and order

Performance Problems, including problems with attendance or tardiness [I am a night person and I, and others, would arrive late and leave late]

Access to and familiarity with weapons

Being fired, laid off or suspended; passed over for promotion

As I read this web page I and others who advocate for the rights of gun owners, should never be hired in the first place.  There is a word for this–bigotry.

American Rifleman article

I got a call from a fellow shooter about an hour ago.  He asked if had read the latest American Rifleman magazine.  “How recent?” I asked.  “I just got it in the mail today.”  “Definitely not.  What’s up?”  He told me and I ran out to the mailbox to find my copy of the magazine.

The article is titled “If You Hunt or Own a Gun… You’re Fired!”

The URL associated with this article http://www.nra.org/URfired is broken.  Does anyone have a URL that works?

Update: Here is a scanned version of the article:


Click on the picture to see the full sized article.

Update2: The related info just keeps coming in.  I just got an email with a link to this:

Guns in the Workplace:
State Laws v. Employer’s Rights
Duration: 3 hours
Cost: $169

Changes in state concealed weapon laws have created additional burdens on employers. Workplace shootings nearly doubled from 2002 to 2003, increasing from 25 to 45 incidents. The number of employees killed in these shootings rose from 33 to 69. A recent study found that workplaces with policies that permitted guns were five times more likely to experience homicides than those that prohibited weapons.

Get the information and resource you need to ensure a safe and weapon free workplace. Learn why your workplace needs to address weapons in the workplace, changes in state concealed weapon laws, model policy and guidelines and best practices for enforcement.

Update3: An email from a friend:

I seriously question this assertion;

“A recent study found that workplaces with policies that permitted guns were five times more likely to experience homicides than those that prohibited weapons.” Where can that be verified?

My response:

There is a pretty good chance it’s true. But almost for certain it includes armed robbers having their I.Q. reduced to zero from lead poisoning under the category of “experienced homicides” at a workplace. They aren’t lying, they just don’t distinguish being unjustified, justified, and praiseworthy homicide. Another point to be made is that workplaces at high risk are the ones that are most likely to allow firearms–hence it’s not the cause and effect they want to imply that results in homicides. Instead it’s homicides are likely hence firearms are allowed.

If I wanted to spend enough time on it I think I could find the statistics. But I don’t think it’s worth the effort at this point.

Update4: Another item from the August 2005 issue of American Rifleman:


And editorial by Wayne LaPierre.  Click on the picture to see the full sized article.

The Second Amendment reset button

Kim du Toit says, “I’m starting to feel just like I used to feel back in South Africa.” and says he will stop blogging until further notice.  Og wonders if it’s time to press the reset button (see this also).  And Kevin at Smallest Minority has similar opinions about our current political situation.  My blogging about gun rights resulted in me getting fired (PNNL refused to say exactly why but examination of my web logs indicates that was a big component).  So is it time for the villains to acquire acute cases of “lead poisoning”?  Francis at Eternity Road says no.  If you haven’t read it yet then read my essay on this topic from (I think) 1997.  Basically I’m on the no side as well.

That does not mean that I think one should just “take it”.  In fact I am of the opinion you should never just “take it”.  You must always make the enemies of freedom pay a price for their transgressions or you embolden them.  When Hitler took Poland without consequences the stage was set for further evil to occur.  That doesn’t mean you need to fight your battles immediately or on their turf.  The Russian took a terrible initial blow from Germany but then defeated the aggression by using the harsh Russian winters to their advantage.  As one of the comments to Og’s post explains, use cunning.  And we have lots of legal means at our disposal to inflict damage on our enemies.

Many years ago Symantec and I had a disagreement about a contract.  According to their filings with the SEC a company they just bought out (Zortech) owed me between $20K and $50K.  I requested an audit as per the terms of my contract.  They said, literally, “It’s too much work.  We refuse.  Go ahead and sue.  You cannot win because we will drag out in court ‘forever’.”  My lawyer said, “It will cost you a minimum of $100K to see this through to the end with no guarantees that even if you do win you will get attorneys fees awarded.  Think long and hard before going down that path.”  Of course I didn’t go down that path.  But I didn’t let it stand either.  In the end I legally (barely) helped (they made lots of enemies) inflict about $30 MILLION in damages on them by doing battle on turf (in time and space) of my chosing.  I had sources inside Symantec that said discussions went to the ‘highest level’ about what to do about me and they did nothing because any action they would have taken would have increased their losses.  I paid a price for fighting that battle but they paid a much, much, heavier price than if they had honored the contract.

The racist laws of the South were overcome primarily via non-violent actions.  The British were thrown out of India through non-violent actions. Compare our present situation to the situations of those people!  What is our status compared to what theirs was?  And some people think it’s time to start shooting?  If you think so then you are someone only has a hammer in you toolbox and thinks every problem to be solved is a nail.  Think a little smarter.  You are much smarter than a sucide bomber so don’t act like one.  And especially remember these words from Abby Hoffman, “The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it.”

Most everything is here

I unpacked all the boxes I received from PNNL the other day.  Almost everything appears to be there. They even returned an almost empty shampoo bottle and an empty baby food jar that once upon a time had some change in it.  The first box I opened had the following items in it which I figured would be a high priority item to retain “for evidence” or something.  A 100 yard target and a 500 yard target:


Click here for a high resolution version.


500 yard target.  Click here for a high resolution version.


100 yard target.  Click here for a high resolution version.

The second box I opened had the items I most wanted right away–my Boomershoot hat and HP-48 calculator.  And shortly thereafter I found my collection of books on improvised explosives such as Ragnar’s Guide to Home and Recreational Use of High Explosives which I also thought might be something they would want to hold on to. 

It’s possible there is something I have forgotten about but right now the only thing I didn’t find was some paperwork for applying to Oregon for a Concealed Carry License.  That was in the filing cabinet they claimed they didn’t have a key for.  If I don’t get it it’s not a big deal.  I think I have copies here anyway.

Now I have several garbage sacks filled with Styrofoam peanuts to give to UltiMAK.

They really don’t like me

I received my personal belongs from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory yesterday.  I haven’t opened everything up yet–I’ve been way to busy with other stuff.  But it’s clear they really don’t like me.

In addition to taking three weeks to ship me my stuff they overloaded two of the boxes and they were falling apart on receipt.  Add in they didn’t send me my performance reviews (and some other favorable material) it’s pretty obvious they don’t want me to be having any happy days anytime soon.

One more post then I’m going off to the range soon to put some holes in some cardboad of my own.

See also:

I was fired yesterday
Update on being fired
Termination report delayed
What did I expect?
No performance reviews

Update: It doesn’t appear anything was damaged by the poor packing.

No performance reviews

I looked through every single page of the “personnel file” PNNL sent me.  No performance reviews to be found.  So they don’t want me to be able to show the good stuff about my time there to anyone?  What else could be the motivation?

They did apologize for not sending my personal belongings in a timely fashion.  They said it was because they couldn’t find the key to a filing cabinet and they were “awaiting a locksmith“ (for three weeks?).  I gave the key to my boss when they suspended me and told him what it was for.  And I told him that inside the filing cabinet are keys to “everything else“ which includes some computers and cupboards.  [heavy sigh]  I guess I shouldn’t expect competence from them.

I was sent a travel report to sign so I can get $175 back in out of pocket expenses for the trip I took to Albuquerque back in April.  I was thinking I might have to complain about that.  But they caught it on their own–after three weeks.

What did I expect?

I received a FedEx package from PNNL today.  It purported to contain my personnel file.  But neither Barb nor I could find any of my performance reviews in it.  The one thing I really wanted.  I’ll look again tomorrow when I have some more time.  Barb said, “So what did you expect?  Did you really think they would give you what you wanted?“ 

As far as the policy and procedures manual they said one doesn’t really exist.  It’s on line and “access is limited“.  How convenient.  They say, “You didn’t follow the rules.  You’re fired.“  I ask, “What were the rules?“  They answer, “We aren’t telling.“

I had a very, very busy day today.  Daughter Kim was having a convergence of crisis’s and I spent nearly the entire day helping with her problems.  Things are mostly under control now.  She really needs to find better friends.

Tagged by the Book Meme

I got tagged by reasonablenut who in tagging me said , “Joe of Boomershoot fame, just because I’m dying to know what kind of shit that guy reads”.

Hmmm… Okay.  I’m not sure it’s all that interesting but here it is:

1. Total Number of Books I Own.  [groan]  The book shelf behind me is full.  The bookshelf to my left is full and overflowing.  The bookshelf were I used to work is full (they still haven’t sent these books to me).  There are boxes in the garage with books in them.  There are books in boxes in my van which I brought back from Richland a few days ago.  There is a stack of books on the nightstand next to our bed.  I have no idea.  Hundreds?  Maybe a thousand?

2. Last Book I Bought.  It’s been a while because I’m so far behind on my book reading.  I think it was a big pile at a used book store.  It included several books on explosives including a couple on detonation theory and practice (which are at my old office at PNNL), American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us Dresden : Tuesday, February 13, 1945 Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War, and probably some others which I forget at the moment.

3. Last Book I Read. The last couple books I completed were probably some on explosives detonation.  I’m currently in the middle of That’s Not What I Meant! (a book on how conversational style makes or breaks relationships),  Emotional Intelligence : Why It Can Matter More Than IQ and the germs book from above.

 4. 5 Books That Meant a Lot to Me.  How about seven?  In no particular order: Stranger in a Strange Land, Atlas Shrugged (this is my son’s favorite book), Atheism the Case Against God, Gun Control: Gateway to Tyranny Death by “Gun Control”, The Rape of Nanking, and Unintended Consequences.

 5. Tag 5 People.  Musings of the Commando KumquatSilens Refero Lamentari, Periodic Journal of my wanderings, and Mindless Bit Spew. Yeah, I’m wimping out with only four.

Termination report delayed

I was going to release my report on the investigation which lead to my recent termination at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) but a friend suggested it might be to my advantage to wait.  They had some very good points so I am holding off for a while.  Also the report isn’t really complete without my personnel file.  I have requested that and will include it before I release the report.  All of you who have the URL to the current report please continue to keep it private, hold off on the letters to your congress critters, the press releases, etc.  The end result will be better for everyone if things are done correctly.  That will take some more time.  How much time is an interesting question…

It turns out although it’s been two weeks since I was terminated they still haven’t sent my personal belongings from my old office.  One has to wonder what the reason for that is.  Is it because it just isn’t very high on their list of priorities?  They are very short on office space so it’s not like they don’t have at least some motivation to clear it out.  One amusing possibility which crossed my mind is that they fear it is booby-trapped (it’s not–or at least not that I know of).  The only thing I really want out of there right away is my Boomershoot hat and even that isn’t that big of a deal.

Another thing I requested in my letter to PNNL was a copy of the policy and procedures manual.  Someone recently paraphrased Ayn Rand’s famous quote and told me they viewed PNNL’s policies in the same light–something to be enforced as desired to crack down on people they wanted to get rid of.  I don’t remember it being quite that bad although I remember discussing things with others that just didn’t make sense, things that you couldn’t really avoid doing if you wanted to do your job in an effective manner.  I’ll have to wait and see if they will even send it to me.  It is my understanding they are required to send me my personnel file but I’m not so sure about the policies and procedures manual.  And in any case there may not be any requirement on how long they wait before they send anything to me.  If my personal belongings are any indication it could be weeks.

Their warped view of reality

Maryland just initiated a state program to license retired police officers to carry concealed handguns, making Maryland one of the first states to implement new federal laws expanding gun rights for retired and off-duty officers.  Idaho (YEAH!) and Arizona were ahead of them as might be expected.  The governor, Robert Ehrlich, was a supporter of the change and said this:

 “This is good public policy that will make a safer state, which is why I am very proud Maryland has led.”

But a barking moonbat gun control advocate had this to say:

     Leah Barrett, executive director of the gun-control group CeaseFire Maryland Inc., said allowing officers to carry a gun anywhere at any time is “essentially dangerous.”
    “We have too many guns in this country and too many people carrying them,” she said. “Accidents happen.”

While cleaning out my room in Richland yesterday (I’m all moved back to Idaho now) I found my copy of the JPFO booklet Do Gun Prohibitionists Have a Mental Problem?  Of course Ms. Barrett is a walking, talking example of a mental problem but I’ll post a few items from the booklet later today to help you identify the specific problems you see in these fruitcakes.

Forget the food and the sleep

A friend invited me over for dinner last night.  It’s been nearly a year since I was last there.  The timing was excellent after the bad day I had yesterday (which my friend was unaware of until I arrived).  My future at PNNL is on hold/in-question because of my blogging and I needed a distraction.  I wasn’t really hungry even though I didn’t eat lunch.  I did eat and enjoyed the meal before we retired to the living room.  Mostly we talked about kids, movies, computers, and technology.  It was 2:00 AM before we both ran out of steam and I came back to my room.  I answered a couple emails and tried to go to sleep.  It wasn’t possible.  I couldn’t think about anything but the situation at work.  Sometime after 5:00 AM I finally fell asleep for a couple hours.  I woke again and lay in bed where I still am.  Barb called a couple times to check on me.  I’m okay.  No appetite and I haven’t eaten anything since dinner last night.  I’m just not interested.  She doesn’t have an appetite either and jokingly said it was a good way to lose weight.

I finished deleting and editing all my blog postings that were causing the problems.  I suppose it’s possible I missed something but unless they give me a list I can’t really know for sure.

I’m going to start looking for a new job.  This is a very unpleasant position to be in and I don’t want a repeat of some sort in the future even if this episode turns out okay.  Barb’s employer has wanted her to work full time for years and the recently asked her again.  So even if I take a big cut in pay Barb can take up a lot of the slack.