Mattes's Musings by KC2GIK

It seems the more horrible shootings occur in this country the quicker we are to point fingers. Politicians continually promise to come together only to retreat to their own talking points. People keep asking the same questions and we get little answers. When are we going to come back together to solve this problem? Not anytime soon. People say they offer "common sense solutions" to these problems but nobody ever agrees on the definition of common sense so we just keep spinning in circles. My defense of the Second Amendment is based on my true belief that without it, all the others will fall away. I have never did or never will own a gun, but know people whop do. I unfortunately know someone who was murdered by a gun. You would think my views would change, here's why that's not the case.. An "assault rifle" wasn't used, it was a handgun. Secondly I am a firm believer of good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns. It amazes me the people who bemoan p...

My makeshift 2 Meter setup besides my bed The antenna is a simple mag-mount on my bed One of the routines I missed most  when we  moved down to Cape May was talking on 2 meters. My old setup included an outdoor antenna  which did ok getting into the local repeaters and even doing a little simplex work. It worked great especially since my bedroom was on the second fl;oor! Although my signal was spotty at times. I did a lot of simplex work with local hams as well. It was a sad day when the 2 meter antenna came down in Woodcliff Lake. I had been off HF for a year already u p there because of all kinds of complications . Months after we settled in Cape May members from the Cape May County ARC came to try to get me on the air with a whip HF antenna, which annoyed my dad because the wire was hanging out the window and the antenna was hanging of the fence which is belongs to out neighbor. When I ask him ifd it was OK his reply was, "Do you plan to contact Mars?", I ...

Dear Assemblyman Andrzejczak, I just want to e-mail a quick note in support of your bill A-2196 with regards to craft breweries in the State of New Jersey. Requiring craft brewers to provide a tour before serving their product is an unnecessary burden on them. It requires staff to take time out to show people the operation when they could be serving customers. It also requires paperwork that truthfully is rarely reviewed and doesn't provide insight into the brewery's operations. On a personal note, I have met you through Cape May VFW Post#386. I moved down here two years ago and have m et many wonderful people like yourself and Kart and Kurt Hughes, owners of the Bucket Brigade Brewery in Cape May Courthouse. What you may not know is I am very much a fire buff. I grew up in Woodcliff Lake in Bergen County and was involved in emergency management. I also supported the local fire department. Right before I moved down to Cape May the chief, who I ha...