As Tim Blair puts it,

"As more European newspapers reprinted the cartoons, what started off as a row between Denmark’s press and its Muslim population has grown into a full-blown “clash of
civilisations”.
No; that would require two civilisations. "

Oh, God, I've GOT to get over here more often!

AK vs. AR, with a little MN thrown in

Julian Bond is a friggin' idiot, AND a fool

And a number of other things, but I'm trying to be polite, here.

I first heard about this on radio today, Sean Hannity came on and mentioned it, then had as a guest some clown("Civil Rights Activist") defending Bond. Hannity did something that makes up for some of the ways he irritates me; he asked the clown if HE thinks Bush is a Nazi, and kept after him until he actually answered the question.

Which took a while. This idiot kept going off on "Bush lied", "Bush this", etc., but after telling everyone how Bond is a wonderful man, "I've known him for years, we're losing what we've worked for because of Bush" and so forth, Hannity hit him about seven times with the same question and demanded an answer, and he finally said "Yes, Bush is a Nazi". This was after having accused him of some crime(kind of busy, didn't hear all of it) and when Hannity asked for proof clown says "I'll show the proof when I need to". Which means "I have no proof of ANYTHING, but I'll make these charges anyway because I'm used to getting away with crap like this and how DARE you make me answer?!?"

Wankers.

And the Carnival is up!

Considering the crap happing around the world, just in time, too. Right here.

To be serious about this,

Look at the damn things. Just basic cartoons. No anvils falling on heads or whatever.

























Then look here. Calls for death and destruction, calls for atrocity, over the bloody cartoons.

In one book of The General series, Raj Whitehall looks at what some people he's fighting have done and says something like "A bunch of f#(*@!@)! vandals that have never grown up!". I think that about covers it. Their holy book says they should be ruling the planet, no worship other than that of their deity should be allowed, and they should kill anyone who they think doesn't fall on their face fast enough. And they believe it. Put any PC "that's just a few radicals, they don't really mean it" crap out of your mind. They do mean it. They can't stand the idea that their way hasn't swept all before it, and lots and lots of them would be happy to kill you and your family and your little dog, too, if they thought it would help them bring their "House of Peace" to rule the world.

Few days ago I found this over at American Digest about the way a lot of people seem to want us to lose the Terrorist War. I know these people are out there, but I might as well try to understand the thoughts of a bug on a rosebush as to try to understand that state of mind. Do these people not realize that they'll only have the three options, convert, dhimmi or death? Is it that they just cannot believe it? Or do they hate themselves and western culture so badly that they're willing to suicide?

We're in this, people, and those three options are the only ones the other side will give us. Either we win, or we get to pick one. That's assuming they allow a choice, of course; looking at some of the history I've been reading, I doubt they will.

Update:
Everyone else is stealing this showing this from Boortz, so,

"Muslim outrage huh. OK ... let's do a little historical review. Just some lowlights:

• Muslims fly commercial airliners into buildings in New York City. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslim officials block the exit where school girls are trying to escape a burning building because their faces were exposed. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslims cut off the heads of three teenaged girls on their way to school in Indonesia. A Christian school. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslims murder teachers trying to teach Muslim children in Iraq. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslims murder over 80 tourists with car bombs outside cafes and hotels in Egypt. No Muslim outrage.
• A Muslim attacks a missionary children's school in India. Kills six. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslims slaughter hundreds of children and teachers in Beslan, Russia. Muslims shoot children in the back. No Muslim outrage.
• Let's go way back. Muslims kidnap and kill athletes at the Munich Summer Olympics. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslims fire rocket-propelled grenades into schools full of children in Israel. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslims murder more than 50 commuters in attacks on London subways and busses. Over 700 are injured. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslims massacre dozens of innocents at a Passover Seder. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslims murder innocent vacationers in Bali. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslim newspapers publish anti-Semitic cartoons. No Muslim outrage
• Muslims are involved, on one side or the other, in almost every one of the 125+ shooting wars around the world. No Muslim outrage.
• Muslims beat the charred bodies of Western civilians with their shoes, then hang them from a bridge. No Muslim outrage.
• Newspapers in Denmark and Norway publish cartoons depicting Mohammed. Muslims are outraged.

Dead children. Dead tourists. Dead teachers. Dead doctors and nurses. Death, destruction and mayhem around the world at the hands of Muslims .. no Muslim outrage ... but publish a cartoon depicting Mohammed with a bomb in his turban and all hell breaks loose."

Ok, is anyone surprised CNN has no balls?

Or NBC?

Anyone?

I didn't think so.

Unless you suffer a permanent overdose of estrogen,

I can't imagine most women finding this crap a surprise. But then I have a hard time believing the amount of 'advice columns' like this.

Ladies, do you actually need some columnist to point out that telling your lover his equipment doesn't measure up will piss him off? Or that he doesn't give a rat's ass what Nick and Jessica or whoever the hell are up to? Good God, do YOU really care?

Found this through Rob; go check out his take on the matter.

Ok, here's mine

Various people have been posting on M1 rifles lately, and Publicola had his Carnaval de la Garand- along with the other neat M1 stuff he puts up- so I thought I'd put up another shot of mine.


















Yeah, it's not a real good shot; I'm going to take it outside one day so I'll have more even light. In any case, it's a Springfield made rifle, the serial number says late December 1943 for the receiver. The stock may or may not be the original, it's got the 'P' proof mark on the underside of the grip, but no other cartouche remaining, it's been refinished at least once in the past. When I got it, it had a 1950-something barrel that was salt & pepper pitted. Still shot pretty well, but...

I had part of an M1 parts kit, including what appeared to be a brand-now barrel, also 1950's. So it went to the gunsmith for replacement. Yeah, I'd rather have done it myself, but I have no action wrench or headspace gauges. That done and function tested, stock work.

Didn't want to remove a lot of wood, so I went through a real cleaning and degreasing of the wood, which took about a week. Then I just gave it a light sanding to take off the worst of the rough spots; this stock has had a lot of use, but it's sound, and once the old crud was off/out, it turned out to have a real pretty grain. All I've done as far as finishing has been to rub in a couple of light coats of Tru-Oil finish; I've been holding off on further. I found some interesting tips over at the Fulton Armory site,(I recommend you look it over, they've made a lot of good information and links on the M1 and M1A available), and I think I'll try it. They say a coat of Minwax Natural Stain to seal the surface, then Minwax Tung Oil Finish; it's supposed to give the appearance of the military finish while sealing and protecting the wood better. I get a chance I'll try it and see.

Wood cleaned up, I went to the trigger. Fulton has their Garand Information Place which links to 'How-To Guides for the M1 Garand', including a very good guide on smoothing out the trigger. Note I did not say 'lightening' the trigger; because of the design this system needs a minimum of a 4.5lb pull, lighter than that is not safe. Period. Not a big deal, as I've found the biggest problem with a trigger is not weight(unless it's real heavy) but a clean break, and the M1 trigger can do that very well. They also have the standard warnings about working on triggers, and I'd suggest you read them carefully. This is a remarkably strong system with a safety you'd have to work at real hard to make fail, and remarkably easy to smooth up, but if you try to make the trigger lighter than it should be, you ARE asking for trouble. That said, their instructions worked very well for me. The trigger had been a bit rough and had some creep; after the cleanup and lubing, it breaks right at 5lbs and clean, no roughness or creep. Much better.

The front sight/gas tube assembly did not fit tight on the barrel, and it only takes a tiny bit of play to mess with accuracy, so on recommendation from some folks who know the matter I tightened it up. The assembly slides onto the barrel from the front, and the barrel has three splines machined into it, splines inside the front ring of the assembly matching up. I took a punch and my 2 oz hammer(yes, that is 2 ounces; wouldn't trade it for anything) and very lightly peened both edges of the top spline, and the outside edges of the other two. I emphasize very lightly; you want it to need a bit of tapping into place with a mallet and wood block, but you don't want to have to beat it into place. I got it a bit too tight, so I took a riffler file(small, curved file, very handy things) and reduced the peened surfaces just a touch, which gave me a perfect fit.

These things definately improved accuracy(quite happy), but one other thing made the difference. With the M1 the stock is one unit, the receiver/barrel/forend/handguard is another, and the trigger group locks them together. Over time the wood where the floorplate bears can compress a bit, which means things aren't locked in place as well as they should be, which means things can shift just a fraction when you fire... You can glass-bed to get the fit of everything as perfect as possible, but not having some good illustrations of exactly where & how, I didn't want to mess with that right now. I've done it on bolt-actions, but I knew what I was doing there. Happily, easy way to see if this will help. You know those imitation credit cards you get in the mail with applications? I save them; good for mixing epoxy on, coasters, and spacer material. Carefully selecting a card in a tasteful blue color that seemed the right thickness, I cut two shims, stuck them on the stock(non-permanently) and assembled. Much tighter lockup, and the next trip to the range showed an improvement.

So this here's my Garand, and it's one of my favorite rifles to shoot. With it's weight and gas system recoil is no problem with standard ammo, and I've been getting quite good accuracy. I've got some tips on handloads, so when I can I plan to pick up some Sierra match bullets and IMR4895 powder and see how they work.

I have to point out one of the joys of shooting it: being around people who haven't seen one fired before. Since Band of Brothers not as many are surprised by it, but you do get comments after the empty clip ejects: "Hey, something came out of your gun!" Even better when the clip lands on your hat brim; extra points if you slowly reach up, grab it, look at it, shake your head and sadly say "I wish it'd stop doing that".

Add-on: I almost forgot to mention books. There are lots of books on the M1 out there, from history to accessories to shooting. One that covers the development and teething problems very well is Book of the Garand by Julian Hatcher. If you've got access to the tooling, it has very nice illustrations of how the Marine Rifle Team touched up the trigger on this beast.

More on 'Buy Danish'

Michelle Malkin has a bunch of links to Danish products to look for. Also tasteful photos of gentle, tolerant Islamist jerks burning flags and pictures of Bush because their feelings are hurt that they cannot command the world.

This should get interesting.

Oh yeah, it was Bush and the Fed's fault

those people died and were stranded in NO. Never mind people in other areas getting along, never mind anything but IT WAS BUSH'S FAULT!!!

Except...

Over at Wuzzadem, there's this interesting piece. Remember the people who drowned in that nursing home? " A ranking Louisiana health official turned down federal offers to help move or evacuate patients as Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, a newly released document shows. ... Two days before the Aug. 29 storm, HHS was told by the state's health emergency preparedness director that the help was not needed, according to an e-mail released Monday by a Senate panel investigating the government's response to Katrina."

So, let's see, a mayor who ignored his own damn emergency plan, a governor so busy playing games she couldn't make a decision, a police chief so apparently crooked and stupid he couldn't get the job done, an offer to evacuate people on the last train out of town turned down, and now we find the incompetent bastards turned down an offer to evacuate patients two freakin' days before the storm hit. And the lies and ass-covering and rights violations and bullcrap since...

At this point, unless the people down there throw every one of these clowns out of office(I'm hoping the folks who had their arms stolen, especially the lady, get their ten pounds of flesh from every jackass involved, from the mayor and chief down to the officers and National Guardsmen who helped), screw sending money down there to rebuild. I'm sick of this crap coming out and the vile people involved still standing there with their damn hands out.

Yeah, I'm pissed. People died, often miserably, and these bastards just keep playing games.

Jeez, like I need another reason to buy those cookies.

The Danish butter cookies. They're good. And now, buy getting a can(or two) I can help to piss of Wahabi BPMs by screwing with their boycott of Danish goods.

Short version if you haven't heard about this crap, some Danish cartoonists did cartoons of Muhammad and a Dane newspaper printed them. Queue up the outraged screaming of Islamist weenies all over, demanding the cartoons destroyed, the cartoonists and editor and Danes in general fired, destroyed, etc., for having the temerity to not do what they're told by their Islamist masters. So some countries have announced boycotts of Danish goods, so some folks have said, "Let's buy Danish!". Which sounds like a fine idea on several levels.

To get the idea across to these clowns: People? There's this thing called 'freedom of speech' in much of the western world. It exists to various levels, and some PC-minded idiots are constantly trying to limit it in the interests of 'fairness' and 'sensitivity'(by their standards), but it is a good thing. Whether the Koran allows for it or not. You don't like it, and we don't care. Freedom of Speech includes, HAS to include, people you don't like and ideas you don't agree with or it isn't. The most of us like it. We put up with assholes who call themselves artists putting a crucifix in a glass of urine and founders of this country being insulted and denegrated; and WE can point out- loudly- that Che' was a murdering cowardly buttmonkey to castro and that Islamist rule is a blight on mankind and that said artists ARE assholes.

And, no matter how much you scream, it means we do NOT have to live by your rules. Lair can do 'Ask Mohammed' to his hearts' content, Chris can do Team Infidel and Steve can say "Tell me I'm not wonderful. I'm sitting by the pool with my Koran, half in the bag, smoking tobacco, drinking beer, cooking swine, and listening to a Jew play the piano." and wonder about the level of wife-beating appropriate- according to the Koran- for burned toast. Anyone who doesn't like it is free to say "That's not nice or sensitive!" and they're free to reply "Bite me".

And it's been pointed out before, every time you call for nukes in D.C. or smallpox in Kansas City, you really, really don't know what you're messing with. This First Terrorist War has been played with great restraint on our side. Piss us off enough, and 'restraint' will become "Well, we don't have to kill all of them". And while you may think we wouldn't use, for instance, nukes in any case(I think you're wrong), do you really, actually believe that people like Putin and Chirac won't? They've proven in the past what they'll do if it'll maintain their power and prestige; they will wipe a city and then demand their foot be kissed for acting 'as necessary'. Iran has actually caused Chirac to speak of how France can and will use their nukes 'if needed', you think a former KGB bigshot would be any less willing?

But that's off the subject, which is "We can say/speak/write/draw what we want, and if you don't like it that's too bad. We'll keep doing it, and if you think a few casual beheadings and torturings will stop it... well, there are some who'll wimp out, but in the end there's an awful lot of people who'll come after you. And won't stop.

So you can kiss our collective ass, grow up, and act as civilized beings, which means understanding that everyone isn't going to live the way you tell them to. No matter what Mohammed wrote.

Remember the bunny-huggers the bear ate a while back?

Was over at The High Road and found this post on the finding of the bodies, and the killing of the bear. Interesting reading.

One thing that catches me is the fact that the bear, which almost got the pilot who reported the incident and went after the rangers, did not put on any threat display or warnings; he was moving quietly and fast. He was hunting, not showing. As someone said, an animal that's putting on a show doesn't want to fight; one that's not intends to kill. And with the rangers, four men on alert for trouble, the damn thing got to within 20 feet before one happened to spot him; three guesses what would have happened if that guy hadn't looked back?

Guy I used to work with spent time in Alaska at an Air Force base out in the boonies, I can't remember the base name. He told me there were two big rules about going outside the fence: first, in winter it was a court martial offense to go outside the fence alone, since if you got hurt you'd probably be dead before anyone found you and second, in every group that went out at least one man would be armed. The bears never forgot they're the apex predator up there. While he was there, two guys went camping and never came back. Turned out they'd pitched camp near a bear trail without realizing it. They found the camp torn up, but never found either of the men. Never found the bear/s, either.

More tool box

Range box, this time. This is the basic; contents added to as necessary:


















Set of files
2oz. hammer
brass & steel punch set
screwdriver w/assorted bits
breakdown cleaning rod
precision screwdrivers(also known as damn little ones)
set of hex keys(not visible, under the files)

The rod is part of a Swiss cleaning kit for .30 cal machineguns


















Rod w/jag end, handle, bore brush, chamber brush, bottle of good oil, extra bottle for grease or whatever, and a small mirror. Picked it up from (I think) Cheaper Than Dirt for about $5.

With this I can file a sight, drift a sight for windage, loosen/tighten screws, which for the most part is all I try to do at the range. If I'm shooting corrosive-primed ammo, I add in a bottle of GI bore cleaner and a bag of patches; that way I can run a couple of wet patches through the bore while it's still warm, then dry and oil it.

Ideally, I'd have a good full-length cleaning rod along instead of a jointed, and when I don't forget it I do, but this way I've always got one along. And the hex keys were added after the previously mentioned M1 sight incident.

Like I said, the basic kit, contents vary according to what's on the schedule at the time.

Armor update

While back I wrote a bit on modern body armor. Remembered something I'd read about an updated version of scale, found it here at Anarchangel.

Neat stuff

The carnival I didn't mention

because of the company and general busyness, I present

The Carnival of Cordite (entirely) .45 Caliber Version!

General thoughts

Week or so ago was on my way back from the range and was listening to the Sean Hannity show. Not my favorite, but sometimes interesting. Had James Carville on, interviewing him about a book he just had published; basically "How Democrats Can Take Over Again", whatever the actual title was. Now, I have never, never liked Carville. He's always struck me as an abusive, insulting bully who treats anyone who either disagrees with him or won't be driven guided by him as being too stupid to pour water out of a boot. Listening to him, two thoughts occurred: first, I still don't like him and second, I felt a certain amount of pity. At the risk of sounding like Rush, he kept hammering, over and over, that the Democrat party just isn't getting the message out, isn't staying on the message, isn't actually making people understand what they think. Hannity asked if it was just possible that people did understand those things and didn't like them? and Oh, no, couldn't possibly be that.

Is there any possible way that anyone could NOT understand their message? What, they haven't called for impeachment and filibustered and threatened and insulted enough, maybe? If the image of John 'effin Kerry calling for a filibuster on the Alito vote, from a bloody resort town in Switzerland doesn't get the message across, what will?

Connected to that, remember the Dixie Chics and the crapstorm they pulled down on themselves? Thought you would. I wonder if it ever occurred to those geniuses that if they'd made their statements here in the U.S., before a local audience, that the reaction wouldn't have been as bad? People would still have been pissed, but not the way they were by these twits waiting until they were in a foreign country with a presumably sympathetic audience to mouth off. 'Course, then they got to pose naked on a magazine cover and whine about how they were having their freedom of speech abused, so maybe they really didn't care.

Og is a lucky man. He doesn't just have back trouble, he gets a chance to be hurt in a more interesting way while having it worked on.

He's got a post up on his Dad, and how he misses him. Reading it made me think of mine. I'm lucky, both parents still kicking and showing signs of continuing to do so for a good while. I'll read something like this, and think- again- of just how damned easy I've had it compared to him. Grew up in a small town in southeast OK with his sister(she's still around, too). Woodburning stove in the kitchen which was his job to light winter mornings before he did his chores(and if he hadn't cut and prepared the wood the night before, he had to do it now), chores, clean up and breakfast, then school. Then afternoon chores and a job when he got older. You wanted to go somewhere you walked or- if lucky and had one- rode a bicycle or maybe caught a ride from someone with a car or truck who was going the right way. He's worked damn hard all his life, and earned every bit of whatever he & mom have. Yeah, I've had some nasty crap over the years; what really pisses me off when I think about it is how, when I actually did have it so much better in so many ways, I didn't take advantage of the chances I had. Sometimes it brings up the hope that someday your kids don't come up with something like "Just how did you mess up so bad?" or something. Overall they've turned out well, but it's hard to compare some of what I've done and not done with his life and not feel I've really messed up in some ways.

In any case, he & Mom are still around, and we can still talk and work on things, and for this I'm damn glad.

Speaking of tool boxes, which Og and others have been, I've almost always had some tools in the vehicle. For quite a while it was a small metal box, about 5x5x12". I'd wire-brushed it and painted it to get rid of the rust, and had some loose wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, a roll of electrical tape and a battery terminal cleaner. This last item in particular came in very handy over time, sometimes for myself and sometimes for others. When second child was on the way we had my Ford Courier pickup for transport, and needed bigger. Guy we knew had a Pinto station wagon in the driveway that wasn't running be which he swore would run, and offered to swap it for some help with yardwork around his house. Trade done. He towed it to our house, I got it running, and it mostly kept up for about two years(worth a post all its' own). The one thing it kept doing was, for some reason, the battery cables would crud up just enough that you'd come out, turn the key, and it wouldn't start. Out came the box and ten minutes later you're moving.
Fast forward some years. I was divorced, we were both in better vehicles, and I only put the box in the truck when I was taking a trip. Until one day on the way to work I stopped at the store, and when I came out it wouldn't start. I'd come back from out of state two days before and the box was, happily, still in, and it was dirty posts, so I made it to work on time. From that day, there has always been a toolbox in the vehicle. Now it's one of the low, arch-top ones about 15" long by 8" wide by 4" high. Right now I'm not going outside to dig through it, but as I recall it contains:
pair of Vise Grips
wire cutters
electrical tape
mixed cable ties
screwdriver with multiple bits
shorty screwdriver with reversible phillips/straight bit
tire valve tool
spark plug gapper
12" thin-wall steel pipe for extra leverage
battery terminal cleaner
pocket knife
roll of flux-core solder(just got left in there)
set of standard and metric combination wrenches.
And yes, it's stuffed. Right next to it is a flat box containing a 3/8" ratchet, 1/4" ratchet and a mix of standard and metric sockets, most on socket holders with a few small ones loose. You know, the odd sizes that on rare occasions are the only damn things that fit? And fitted in under them is a four-way lug wrench.
Crap, lest I forget, a set of hex keys. So far the only time I've actually needed these was at the range, when it turned out that none of the bits in my screwdriver set fit the lockscrew on my M1 front sight. Very glad to have them.
Not nearly as complete as what a lot of folks carry, but it's taken care of a lot of problems over time, my own and relatives and folks I've found broken down for some minor thing. Sometimes I have to take something out of the truck box to use, but it goes right back in there. Which is why when a guy in the Wal-Mart parking lot couldn't get his battery out(buggered screws for the side-connecting battery) I had the Vise Grips that could get a grip on the head and break them loose.

You know what's also handy to have along? Paper towels. A roll of them. Don't leave home without. And baby wipes. Especially if there's a baby around, but even without.

I think I'm done for now