Blog

THE GUN CONTROL ‘COMPROMISE’ THE LEFT WILL NEVER ACCEPT

My Townhall Debut Thanks to some nice encouragement from prominent social media presence, author, and attorney Kurt Schlichter, I submitted and had my first column published by Townhall.com, one of the most esteemed internet opinion venues. They host the columns of geniuses like Thomas Sowell, so I hope some of that rubs off! So-called “Gun Safety” advocates don’t really care about public safety, and it’s easy to prove that all they really fear is an armed populace who opposes their political agenda. Here’s the deal: They could have the “Universal  [...]

KNOT GOOD MARKETING? How Well Does the Firearms Industry Do it?

Every Vacation Day Carry? I'm a fan of good marketing.  I loved Mad Men and I admire the fictional genius of Donald Draper.  I’m probably not the only one who likes to play armchair ad-man now and then.  Still, I admit it’s a lot easier to criticize after the fact than to create a good marketing campaign from scratch. For example, a Facebook meme revealed that decades ago A&W root beer hamburger stands tried to compete with the McDonalds Quarter Pounder(tm).  Proving that some things are more important that price and quality, they offered more (1/3 pound  [...]

MORE NRA… plus How Inventors Can Cut Patent Costs

Why Even I Shouldn’t be an NRA Director The above was going to be my newsletter title, but we’ll get back to business after a couple of months of NRA Snafu news. Here’s a quick update: The reason I shouldn’t be a Director is probably exaggerated, but being a Director is good for business and PR in this industry, and it would benefit me. That’s not who you want for directors. We’ll get into it later, but Directors should care only about ensuring good corporate governance, and not how decisions affect their personal bottom line. Last month’s news I broke  [...]

SAVE THE NRA: D-WAYNE THE SWAMP

Innocent until proven guilty – and I don’t have all the facts. Breakin' up... ...is hard to do? But... fair or not, it’s time for Wayne to go.  The NRA is far too important to our nation, to our rights, and to our industry to risk its well-being and very existence simply for the sake of ensuring fair treatment of one of its employees.  If by the time you read this Wayne LaPierre has resigned his position, I’ll salute him for doing right by the organization he has served for three decades – and I’ll let go of all the  [...]

HOW TO FIX THE NRA

Should the Faces be bigger than the organization? (photo courtesy of Tom Gresham - guntalk.com) I might actually have been a gun rights nut before I was a true gun nut.  Before I became part of this industry in 2002, I had been the lead plaintiff and a legal strategist on a concealed carry civil rights case in Oregon that achieved a partial victory even with hostile judges.  I got a lot of mentoring from a “no-compromise” organization that continually criticized the NRA. I’m an NRA member and recognize the immense value and leadership the  [...]

HOW TO PROTECT “COOL”…

HOW TO PROTECT “COOL” TWO FAMILIAR WAYS TO PROTECT PRODUCT DESIGNS, PLUS A THIRD WAY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF AND CAN UNDOUBTEDLY AFFORD. Everyone wants a patent. It’s perfectly logical to want to protect a new product.  Technical innovations help set you apart in a crowded marketplace and a patent prevents anyone else from offering your innovation for 20 years. But let’s be honest, not every new product has patentable technical innovations.  Sometimes, what makes a successful product isn’t how it works or what it does, but how it looks.  Style sells,  [...]