mASS BACKWARDS has a note on just what the nation of Mexico required from an American living in Mexico to get a work visa:
"During that six months our Mexican and US Attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition to my US passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same except hers did not permit her to work.
To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized originals (not copies) of my:
1. Birth certificates for Barbara and me.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.
4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.
5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.
6. A letter from The St. Louis Chief of Police indicating I had no arrest record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in good standing."
7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on earth" letter. It was fun to write. All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized. It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and Spanish on the right."
But Fox & Co. are demanding that Mexicans be allowed to enter the U.S. and work at will with no restrictions.
I repeat, Fox & Co. can kiss my ass. And if our government doesn't get real serious about stopping this crap, then all of them- R's and D's both- need to be kicked the hell out of those offices and replaced with someone who will.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
This is one of those "I heard it at the shop" things
Went into a local store (Outdoor Outfitters if you must know; nice place and nice people) and, having discovered they carry the Hornady TAP 12guage I wanted, wound up in the conversation with a gentleman looking at a pistol. He was looking for something for in the home and had little handgun experience, and was looking at a- to put it bluntly- POS semi-auto in .380 because it was inexpensive cheap. Talk went round about different pistols and I finally asked if he'd considered a good revolver? Talk turned to the good points of one and the counter guy pulled out a S&W hammerless .38 Special. Which the guy really liked. He was still looking around and didn't buy today, but I think he had a better perspective on what to look for.
During the course of all this the salesman mentioned what they'd been hearing about a "certain female politician" who, if winning the White House, had a New Brady Bill planned(he didn't say where the info came from and I didn't ask). Included in the plans were:
Any firearm with a muzzle velocity of more than 2200fps restricted to law enforcement & military only.
Any firearm with a magazine capacity of more than six rounds, LE and military only, handgun AND rifle.
If you wanted to keep your firearms at home you would have to have a government-approved(i.e. expensive and heavy) safe properly installed and inspected; and if this passed you can bet there'd be a note that the authorities could enter your home any time to 'inspect' your home for 'safe storage and compliance'.
If you couldn't afford/didn't want the above, you could only store your arms at a licensed gun club.
That's what they'd been hearing from people. I assume that also included in this would be some federal licensing scheme for gun owners(expensive and difficult as possible) and federal restrictions on concealed carry. Unless, of course, you're like Schumer and Feinstein and Boxer and company and are more important than common citazens and need a special permit to carry and keep at your home without the safe, etc.
I tend to believe it; it sounds like the kind of crap Clinton & Co. would like to ram down our throats. It also brings us something I was thinking about after this, which connects to the 'what is your trigger?' question. Lots of people have planned to have some no-paperwork firearms and ammo hidden away for dire emergency. I only have one problem with that outside of natural disaster/terrorist attack scenarios; if you're doing is so you'll still have a gun after a government ban? If you have a firearm or two hidden away but you're not able to shoot it or let anyone else know about it because the minions of government will show up with a SWAT team, then we're screwed. Not just gun owners, everybody. If it hits that point of control & intrusiveness, then the 4th Amendment as well as the 2nd and probably the 1st- at minimum- will have been trashed, and EVERYBODY is screwed. And we're into the real serious "Not is it too soon to shoot the bastards, but too late?" question.
And it will get very, very messy and nasty.
During the course of all this the salesman mentioned what they'd been hearing about a "certain female politician" who, if winning the White House, had a New Brady Bill planned(he didn't say where the info came from and I didn't ask). Included in the plans were:
Any firearm with a muzzle velocity of more than 2200fps restricted to law enforcement & military only.
Any firearm with a magazine capacity of more than six rounds, LE and military only, handgun AND rifle.
If you wanted to keep your firearms at home you would have to have a government-approved(i.e. expensive and heavy) safe properly installed and inspected; and if this passed you can bet there'd be a note that the authorities could enter your home any time to 'inspect' your home for 'safe storage and compliance'.
If you couldn't afford/didn't want the above, you could only store your arms at a licensed gun club.
That's what they'd been hearing from people. I assume that also included in this would be some federal licensing scheme for gun owners(expensive and difficult as possible) and federal restrictions on concealed carry. Unless, of course, you're like Schumer and Feinstein and Boxer and company and are more important than common citazens and need a special permit to carry and keep at your home without the safe, etc.
I tend to believe it; it sounds like the kind of crap Clinton & Co. would like to ram down our throats. It also brings us something I was thinking about after this, which connects to the 'what is your trigger?' question. Lots of people have planned to have some no-paperwork firearms and ammo hidden away for dire emergency. I only have one problem with that outside of natural disaster/terrorist attack scenarios; if you're doing is so you'll still have a gun after a government ban? If you have a firearm or two hidden away but you're not able to shoot it or let anyone else know about it because the minions of government will show up with a SWAT team, then we're screwed. Not just gun owners, everybody. If it hits that point of control & intrusiveness, then the 4th Amendment as well as the 2nd and probably the 1st- at minimum- will have been trashed, and EVERYBODY is screwed. And we're into the real serious "Not is it too soon to shoot the bastards, but too late?" question.
And it will get very, very messy and nasty.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
And some good news on 'Stand Your Ground'
This bill has been passed by the state Senate and is on the Governors' desk.
Had you heard about the miners trapped in Tasmania?
Tim Blair has been following this. Apparently when an earthquake caused a cave-in, these two were somewhat protected by a cage. They've drilled a hole to get food and water to them(and Ipods for entertainment) and they now have a boring machine cutting a rescue tunnel.
Deep-hole mining; that's a job I don't know if I could do, even without the threat of earthquakes.
Deep-hole mining; that's a job I don't know if I could do, even without the threat of earthquakes.
A friend sent me this,
and now I've seen it various places(curses, they beat me to it!)
As the friend said, "Look at his hat!"
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
May 3rd, seven years later
May 3, 1999, we had a bloody awful tornado outbreak. If I remember right there were seventy-some tornados in Oklahoma that day & evening with several big ones. The one that got the most attention, and still does, is the one that started near Chickasha in southwest OK, came northeast and just about wiped a couple of towns, turned east just south of Oklahoma City, went through Moore, then northeast again through(mainly) Midwest City, continued through a town called Stroud and finally broke up and went away.
One of the things that made it famous was it was the first time the National Weather Service stormchasers were able to get their doppler radar trucks(two of them) in position to get windspeed readings on a F5 tornado. Official reading 319mph. Of course they said there's a seven mph error factor, so it could have been as low as 312 or as high as 326. In any case, it was bad.
My family and acquaintances came through ok. Couple of people I know at work lived in the Midwest City area and took home damage; I and the ex and kids live in the northwest side and it missed us completely. I'd been at the forge most of the day, and in the afternoon I finally stepped back, stretched, got a drink and for the first time that day actually looked at the sky and felt the air. And decided I should put the fire out and turn on something to check the weather. Cut the fire off, put what I could away- some stuff had to cool off- washed up, turned on the tv and got a drink. I came out of the kitchen about ten seconds before the broadcast showed the monster touching down. Wasn't that big at first, but it grew. And grew. I called the kids to make sure they were ready just in case, and watched it progress. One of the things that made this much less lethal than it could have been was the fact that both on the ground and in the air the NWS and at least three tv stations and a radio station or two had chasers following the thing from the time it touched ground almost until it disappeared.
So people could listen to and watch the progress, and head for their holes or in the case of drivers get the hell out of the way. It was heading for southwest OKC when I called a friend who lived down there to make sure she was aware; she was, and getting her closet ready to hide in. Now, a regular closet wasn't going to mean a damn thing to this beast, but seeing as she was already worked up I didn't say that. I did tell her that I didn't think it'd hit her area; big funnels often make a right turn at some point, and I thought it might(my crystal ball was working that day). It skirted about 1.5-2 miles south of her- too damn close, she later told me in as close to profanity as I ever heard her get- and headed for Moore. Note: one of my forecasting aids was the dogs. They were scared to death of severe storms, and either hid or, if you were outside, stuck to your legs and wouldn't move away, but today they were in the middle of the yard playing.
So we watched it move along, video from ground and air both(one news chopper had been following it so long they had to land and refuel) as it got bigger. To give you an idea, at its' widest on the ground it was right at one mile across; on doppler radar the circulation in the storm creating it was six miles across. And the choppers followed it as it went through the cities like a vacuum through a dirt spill on the floor. Block after block of houses became clean foundation slabs surrounded by rubble, and right in the middle of this I got a phone call that I at first thought was a guy from work. Went like this:
"Are you ok?"
me "Yeah, I'm fine"
pause. " I think I got the wrong number. Where are you?"
"I'm northwest OKC"
"What's it doing there?"
"Little wind, little rain, that's about it."
"Well, I'm in Midwest City in the storm cellar with eight neighbors and three dogs, and it sounds like hell outside."
We talked a minute, then he said he had to call the one he'd intended to and hung up.
So it stomped and tore its' way through and left the metro area. Further out, a couple of guys from a radio station were in a hurry to get home; a wind gust blew them into the drainage ditch along the turnpike and both saved their lives and gave them a ringside seat as the thing destroyed the Stroud mall. And then it went away.
We lost some people, only a few; wasn't that long ago there would have been hundreds from a beast like this. Lots of property damage and lots of property destroyed. Bear safe company dealer had a picture he used for quite a while of a foundation swept clean except for the safe standing there; the owner had bolted it down properly and it hadn't budged. But most everything else in the path just went away.
And everybody came out. People looking for neighbors, people for miles around coming to help. People loaded injured in their trucks and took them to the nearest hospital, often on four flat tires from all the metal and glass in the streets. Very little in the way of looting reported, probably because the scum that would think of it realized that if they got caught the least they could expect was a royal ass-kicking.
About two weeks after I had to drive through the area on NE 10th street, and what it looked a lot like was some pictures I've seen of an area after either a major bombing attack or an artillery barrage that walked through; they damn sure couldn't have done any more damage.
Every time I think about this I remember that phone call.
Oh, and there's a severe thunderstorm watch area over most of western OK. It's that time of year.
One of the things that made it famous was it was the first time the National Weather Service stormchasers were able to get their doppler radar trucks(two of them) in position to get windspeed readings on a F5 tornado. Official reading 319mph. Of course they said there's a seven mph error factor, so it could have been as low as 312 or as high as 326. In any case, it was bad.
My family and acquaintances came through ok. Couple of people I know at work lived in the Midwest City area and took home damage; I and the ex and kids live in the northwest side and it missed us completely. I'd been at the forge most of the day, and in the afternoon I finally stepped back, stretched, got a drink and for the first time that day actually looked at the sky and felt the air. And decided I should put the fire out and turn on something to check the weather. Cut the fire off, put what I could away- some stuff had to cool off- washed up, turned on the tv and got a drink. I came out of the kitchen about ten seconds before the broadcast showed the monster touching down. Wasn't that big at first, but it grew. And grew. I called the kids to make sure they were ready just in case, and watched it progress. One of the things that made this much less lethal than it could have been was the fact that both on the ground and in the air the NWS and at least three tv stations and a radio station or two had chasers following the thing from the time it touched ground almost until it disappeared.
So people could listen to and watch the progress, and head for their holes or in the case of drivers get the hell out of the way. It was heading for southwest OKC when I called a friend who lived down there to make sure she was aware; she was, and getting her closet ready to hide in. Now, a regular closet wasn't going to mean a damn thing to this beast, but seeing as she was already worked up I didn't say that. I did tell her that I didn't think it'd hit her area; big funnels often make a right turn at some point, and I thought it might(my crystal ball was working that day). It skirted about 1.5-2 miles south of her- too damn close, she later told me in as close to profanity as I ever heard her get- and headed for Moore. Note: one of my forecasting aids was the dogs. They were scared to death of severe storms, and either hid or, if you were outside, stuck to your legs and wouldn't move away, but today they were in the middle of the yard playing.
So we watched it move along, video from ground and air both(one news chopper had been following it so long they had to land and refuel) as it got bigger. To give you an idea, at its' widest on the ground it was right at one mile across; on doppler radar the circulation in the storm creating it was six miles across. And the choppers followed it as it went through the cities like a vacuum through a dirt spill on the floor. Block after block of houses became clean foundation slabs surrounded by rubble, and right in the middle of this I got a phone call that I at first thought was a guy from work. Went like this:
"Are you ok?"
me "Yeah, I'm fine"
pause. " I think I got the wrong number. Where are you?"
"I'm northwest OKC"
"What's it doing there?"
"Little wind, little rain, that's about it."
"Well, I'm in Midwest City in the storm cellar with eight neighbors and three dogs, and it sounds like hell outside."
We talked a minute, then he said he had to call the one he'd intended to and hung up.
So it stomped and tore its' way through and left the metro area. Further out, a couple of guys from a radio station were in a hurry to get home; a wind gust blew them into the drainage ditch along the turnpike and both saved their lives and gave them a ringside seat as the thing destroyed the Stroud mall. And then it went away.
We lost some people, only a few; wasn't that long ago there would have been hundreds from a beast like this. Lots of property damage and lots of property destroyed. Bear safe company dealer had a picture he used for quite a while of a foundation swept clean except for the safe standing there; the owner had bolted it down properly and it hadn't budged. But most everything else in the path just went away.
And everybody came out. People looking for neighbors, people for miles around coming to help. People loaded injured in their trucks and took them to the nearest hospital, often on four flat tires from all the metal and glass in the streets. Very little in the way of looting reported, probably because the scum that would think of it realized that if they got caught the least they could expect was a royal ass-kicking.
About two weeks after I had to drive through the area on NE 10th street, and what it looked a lot like was some pictures I've seen of an area after either a major bombing attack or an artillery barrage that walked through; they damn sure couldn't have done any more damage.
Every time I think about this I remember that phone call.
Oh, and there's a severe thunderstorm watch area over most of western OK. It's that time of year.
And while I have a moment, before I leave my soapbox,
behold the bullshit ongoing in the Duke 'rape' case. I put it that way because at this point there is not one solid piece of evidence that I've heard of that proves these guys did it. Note: if they DID in fact rape her, they need to be hung up by the short & curlies for a while. For a start. However...
The 'They're accused, they're guilty!" crap has gone on far too long. Between feminist nutcases and the 'blacks are always victims' groups, it seems we should dispense with those little extras like 'innocent until proven guilty' and 'fair trial' and just get around to hanging them.
God, what a load of crap.
The 'They're accused, they're guilty!" crap has gone on far too long. Between feminist nutcases and the 'blacks are always victims' groups, it seems we should dispense with those little extras like 'innocent until proven guilty' and 'fair trial' and just get around to hanging them.
God, what a load of crap.
Darfur
has been a bloody mess for quite a while now. The 'official' notice of the ongoing genocide and general rapes, murders and slavery have been noted for what, three years now? Various people and groups have been screaming about it for that whole time, and basically all that's happened are words. LOTS of words. And, of course, the U.N. is right in the middle of it throwing words and hints of disappointment and so forth.
But now, it is a Cause! It has been Noticed! For George Clooney and Barak Obama have taken notice! And they're speaking out and urging Action! Right Now!
Which does bring up the question "Where have you been for the last couple of years or so, jackass?
Oh yeah, protesting Bushy McChimplerburton and his Evil War, yeah!
I've been sick of these clowns for a long, long time and they just seem to like making the nausea worse. There've been a number of articles in various papers and whatever talking about it, and urging 'action'. Usually unspecified 'action' but it needs to be done now! Oh, and who's at fault? Why, Bushy McChimplerburton, of course! Never mind that even most of these jerks admit he's actually tried to do more than anyone else in a national leadership, HE HASN'T DONE ENOUGH! 'Course, if he found a couple of divisions of infantry with nothing else to do and dropped them into the place with orders to clean it up, whatever it takes, these same jerks would be calling him a racist and a murderer, etc., for acting without(among other things) 'international agreement'. Which is code for "The UN should be in charge!", which would mean nothing would be done except the spending of lots of money and the exhalation of lots of greenhouse gases from many bloviating officials and politicians.
One of the various things that really pissed me off about the mess in Kosovo was a cartoon in some paper(from Europe somewhere, mind you) showing some guy reading the paper; the headlines were about the reported mass murders, etc., and this guy is saying "This is terrible! When are the Americans going to do something?" The God-cursed European powers wouldn't do squat, the U.N. blue helmets were basically acting as speed bumps for the idiots on both sides, but WE are supposed to take care of it. All under the wise guidance and control of the U.N. and European leaders, of course.
It's been mentioned before, but you know what would really set these people off? Arms. Get a boatload of small arms and ammunition and some people to train and send it to the people being murdered and raped and enslaved. Give them the arms and knowledge to protect themselves. The ANSWER commies and the 'peace activists' and the U.N. and all the usual politicians here would scream like a raped ape and give birth to masses of kittens. But something would get done. And the people being trampled would be doing it for themselves. Which is actually what would scare the above-noted usual suspects the most.
There is no easy answer for this, and the crap level is in large part due to the inaction of the U.N., etc., so far. Much better and easier to talk and talk and talk over piles of bodies and lines of people in chains than to actually do something, right?
But now, it is a Cause! It has been Noticed! For George Clooney and Barak Obama have taken notice! And they're speaking out and urging Action! Right Now!
Which does bring up the question "Where have you been for the last couple of years or so, jackass?
Oh yeah, protesting Bushy McChimplerburton and his Evil War, yeah!
I've been sick of these clowns for a long, long time and they just seem to like making the nausea worse. There've been a number of articles in various papers and whatever talking about it, and urging 'action'. Usually unspecified 'action' but it needs to be done now! Oh, and who's at fault? Why, Bushy McChimplerburton, of course! Never mind that even most of these jerks admit he's actually tried to do more than anyone else in a national leadership, HE HASN'T DONE ENOUGH! 'Course, if he found a couple of divisions of infantry with nothing else to do and dropped them into the place with orders to clean it up, whatever it takes, these same jerks would be calling him a racist and a murderer, etc., for acting without(among other things) 'international agreement'. Which is code for "The UN should be in charge!", which would mean nothing would be done except the spending of lots of money and the exhalation of lots of greenhouse gases from many bloviating officials and politicians.
One of the various things that really pissed me off about the mess in Kosovo was a cartoon in some paper(from Europe somewhere, mind you) showing some guy reading the paper; the headlines were about the reported mass murders, etc., and this guy is saying "This is terrible! When are the Americans going to do something?" The God-cursed European powers wouldn't do squat, the U.N. blue helmets were basically acting as speed bumps for the idiots on both sides, but WE are supposed to take care of it. All under the wise guidance and control of the U.N. and European leaders, of course.
It's been mentioned before, but you know what would really set these people off? Arms. Get a boatload of small arms and ammunition and some people to train and send it to the people being murdered and raped and enslaved. Give them the arms and knowledge to protect themselves. The ANSWER commies and the 'peace activists' and the U.N. and all the usual politicians here would scream like a raped ape and give birth to masses of kittens. But something would get done. And the people being trampled would be doing it for themselves. Which is actually what would scare the above-noted usual suspects the most.
There is no easy answer for this, and the crap level is in large part due to the inaction of the U.N., etc., so far. Much better and easier to talk and talk and talk over piles of bodies and lines of people in chains than to actually do something, right?
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
What's my trigger point?
Over at The High Road there've been a couple of posts over the last while asking "What is the point/what is the act that sets you off?", as in at what point would you tell the government rep that shows up at your door to go to hell?
I'm thinking about that because it hit me at the range yesterday. I was putting away the .30-30. It's an old Model 94, with damaged bluing on the right front and bottom front of the receiver. My parents gave it to me when I was 14. In the years since I've fired something on the order of a richeous buttload of ammo through it. I once tried out one of the side-mount scope setups, I fiddled with things to the irritation of my dad("It works fine now!") but it's always been mine. After all that, now it sits with the original rear sight removed and a filler block taking up the dovetail, a Williams aperture sight on the receiver and the front bead replaced with a post. When putting the post on, I tapped on the bead base and the whole sight came off; it seems there was a touch of solder at the very front and the very back and nothing in between, God knows why it didn't pop off while shooting at some point. So clean and tin and drag the torch in the house and resolder it... My son fired it a lot, starting when he was so light he had to put the rear beanbag between the butt and his shoulder, and had to move it back so he could reach far enough ahead to cycle the action all the way.
And it hit me as I looked at it; if someone came for it, I'd fight. Politician or some poor bastard in uniform, I'd fight. If the clowns in D.C. or the state capitol and their minions decided that peasants like me could not be trusted with such a thing and came to take it, that's it. The anger that washed over me at the thought was fearsome. There's a big difference between theoretical discussion of something and something grabbing you by the guts and saying "THIS IS IT".
This is not the only thing that would by the line for me; it's the thing that, in most recent history, has brought home to me that there is a line that cannot be crossed without violence. That is a fearsome thought; it makes hormones flow and emotions spike. And it should. It's like the rage I felt against the murdering shits that attacked us on 9/11 and have been murdering people around the world before and since. It's the fury at being told by some slimy politician- all too often grown up in wealth and privilege and never having had their hands dirty in work- that you don't know what's best for you, and "us smart people, those deserving of authority, will take care of the thinking for you. It's looking at what happened to some kid and thinking "If someone touched my kid that way, their only two choices would be prison or grave", and meaning every damn word.
This is a nation of laws, and yet we keep seeing politicians being and using people who think the laws don't apply to them; who think that the Constitution is something to be stretched and cut and folded and chopped to fit what they've decided is appropriate for the current world("After all, can't let that outmoded thinking get in the way of progressive ideas, now can we?"). I truly believe that the reason some people want the citazen disarmed is not because of crime concerns, it's because they fear trying to push some of their crap through if people have an actual way to draw a line and say "No. Step over this line and the Restoration War starts."
It's not a pleasant line of thought, and putting some of this down scares me a bit. Hell, it scares me a lot. But it's something that has to be looked at and dealt with.
And trying not to think about it won't work.
I'm thinking about that because it hit me at the range yesterday. I was putting away the .30-30. It's an old Model 94, with damaged bluing on the right front and bottom front of the receiver. My parents gave it to me when I was 14. In the years since I've fired something on the order of a richeous buttload of ammo through it. I once tried out one of the side-mount scope setups, I fiddled with things to the irritation of my dad("It works fine now!") but it's always been mine. After all that, now it sits with the original rear sight removed and a filler block taking up the dovetail, a Williams aperture sight on the receiver and the front bead replaced with a post. When putting the post on, I tapped on the bead base and the whole sight came off; it seems there was a touch of solder at the very front and the very back and nothing in between, God knows why it didn't pop off while shooting at some point. So clean and tin and drag the torch in the house and resolder it... My son fired it a lot, starting when he was so light he had to put the rear beanbag between the butt and his shoulder, and had to move it back so he could reach far enough ahead to cycle the action all the way.
And it hit me as I looked at it; if someone came for it, I'd fight. Politician or some poor bastard in uniform, I'd fight. If the clowns in D.C. or the state capitol and their minions decided that peasants like me could not be trusted with such a thing and came to take it, that's it. The anger that washed over me at the thought was fearsome. There's a big difference between theoretical discussion of something and something grabbing you by the guts and saying "THIS IS IT".
This is not the only thing that would by the line for me; it's the thing that, in most recent history, has brought home to me that there is a line that cannot be crossed without violence. That is a fearsome thought; it makes hormones flow and emotions spike. And it should. It's like the rage I felt against the murdering shits that attacked us on 9/11 and have been murdering people around the world before and since. It's the fury at being told by some slimy politician- all too often grown up in wealth and privilege and never having had their hands dirty in work- that you don't know what's best for you, and "us smart people, those deserving of authority, will take care of the thinking for you. It's looking at what happened to some kid and thinking "If someone touched my kid that way, their only two choices would be prison or grave", and meaning every damn word.
This is a nation of laws, and yet we keep seeing politicians being and using people who think the laws don't apply to them; who think that the Constitution is something to be stretched and cut and folded and chopped to fit what they've decided is appropriate for the current world("After all, can't let that outmoded thinking get in the way of progressive ideas, now can we?"). I truly believe that the reason some people want the citazen disarmed is not because of crime concerns, it's because they fear trying to push some of their crap through if people have an actual way to draw a line and say "No. Step over this line and the Restoration War starts."
It's not a pleasant line of thought, and putting some of this down scares me a bit. Hell, it scares me a lot. But it's something that has to be looked at and dealt with.
And trying not to think about it won't work.
New Orleans is officially the Stupid AND Corrupt City
Today we find that "Mayor Ray Nagin unveiled a new evacuation strategy for New Orleans on Tuesday that relies more on buses and trains and eliminates the Superdome and Convention Center as shelters."
You know, kind of like the plan they had BEFORE Katrina? The one that this corrupt, sorry clown threw out BEFORE the hurricane hit? The trains the mayors office TURNED DOWN the use of? The places the OLD plan said shouldn't be used as shelters? Etc.?
Several things here: That this clown was reelected; that the election pitted two faces of the same corroded coin; that the media seems to be letting him get by with this 'new strategy' crap; put all of it together, and I don't give a crap anymore how much of history is tied up in that damned city. If, after a disaster of this level, with the corruption and incompetence shown, they can't clean house by voting the bastards out, then to hell with the place. Not one more bleepin' dime of our tax money do I want to see wasted down there. Oh, and who's he facing in the runoff? "First, however, Nagin faces an election runoff. His challenger, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, the son of former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu, got 29 percent to Nagin's 38 percent in the April election." Gee, 'Landrieu', where have I heard that name before? Oh, yeah, his sister Mary.
God help the state of Louisiana.
You know, kind of like the plan they had BEFORE Katrina? The one that this corrupt, sorry clown threw out BEFORE the hurricane hit? The trains the mayors office TURNED DOWN the use of? The places the OLD plan said shouldn't be used as shelters? Etc.?
Several things here: That this clown was reelected; that the election pitted two faces of the same corroded coin; that the media seems to be letting him get by with this 'new strategy' crap; put all of it together, and I don't give a crap anymore how much of history is tied up in that damned city. If, after a disaster of this level, with the corruption and incompetence shown, they can't clean house by voting the bastards out, then to hell with the place. Not one more bleepin' dime of our tax money do I want to see wasted down there. Oh, and who's he facing in the runoff? "First, however, Nagin faces an election runoff. His challenger, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, the son of former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu, got 29 percent to Nagin's 38 percent in the April election." Gee, 'Landrieu', where have I heard that name before? Oh, yeah, his sister Mary.
God help the state of Louisiana.
Ref Commie Day for Illegal Aliens
Didn't go find any local marches or search out any of the weenies; went to the range, then took care of stuff around the house. According to local news, there were a number of mexican restaurants closed so their employees could go march.
Did hear an idiot with MechA on Sean Hannitys' show, basically saying the U.S. screwed up the northern & southern American continents, that's why people try to come here and it's OUR responsibility to make everything right; we are(of course) a RACIST NATION, etc., etc., and our borders should be open to ANYONE who wants to come here. Friggin' idiot.
Michelle Malkin has a collection of reports here, here, here; and notes idiocy by the NY state government here. Isn't it interesting that the media somehow doesn't 'report' on the anti-American and commie-loving actions of these clowns?
Enough to piss off the Good Humor man.
Did hear an idiot with MechA on Sean Hannitys' show, basically saying the U.S. screwed up the northern & southern American continents, that's why people try to come here and it's OUR responsibility to make everything right; we are(of course) a RACIST NATION, etc., etc., and our borders should be open to ANYONE who wants to come here. Friggin' idiot.
Michelle Malkin has a collection of reports here, here, here; and notes idiocy by the NY state government here. Isn't it interesting that the media somehow doesn't 'report' on the anti-American and commie-loving actions of these clowns?
Enough to piss off the Good Humor man.
Monday, May 01, 2006
It's almost too bad the Germans didn't invade Switzerland;
There'd have been a hell of a lot less of them after the attempt
Range report, K31
To an extent you could sum it up by the above statement
First, let us sing the praises of range day! The sky was clear, the temperature cool, the wind light and the birds were singing. Including a mockingbird sitting on the range house tv antenna not ten yards from my position, who kept singing throughout. And there I was, with a sixty-some-odd year old military rifle in fine condition which, thanks to the Framers, I have the noted right to own. It's good.
Ahem. First a couple of notes. I was using the Swiss surplus ammo with, I believe, 174-grain FMJ bullets. Second, remember I said the front sight was set in a diagonal dovetail?
So windage means, instead of moving the sight left or right, you drift it forward or back. Why this method I don't know, but it works well. The muzzle crown is deeply recessed:
well-protected from getting dinged in the field. And it has an unusual trigger:
What you see is the trigger, the sear is the vertical bar and the horizontal link at the top both holds things in place and provides the pivot for the sear, and the coil spring provides the tension for the works. You pull the trigger, the trigger pivots on its pin at the bottom of the sear as the sear pivots on the pin with the link, which pivots around the pin at the back which is part of the receiver; the sear slides down to the first stage stop, then a little more pressure pulls it down through the second stage. Sounds odd, but it works very well.
I say again, very well. First, to see if the sights were roughly on, set up a target at 50 yards and fired three:
Ok, no complaints there, and no need for the second target I'd stapled up. So over to the 100 yard line.
First three at 100:
Ok, fire four more:
For me, with iron sights, that ain't bad a'tall. They grouped a bit to the left, so drifted the sight back(back means 'left' on this, remember), fired a couple, tapped it back just a touch more, and everything from then on was nicely centered.
I fired a little over thirty rounds, and very much wished this range allowed setting clay pigeons up on the backstop; this rifle would be a wonder at busting them. Last four I fired from a sitting position, elbows resting on knees:
The circled holes are the ones fired, the one real high and real low are from something else(no, I won't talk about it right now). The one out of the bull was a called flyer, sight drifted a touch just as I fired. If that's not good enough for you, shut up. For me, from a little-practiced position with a new rifle and iron sights? I'm pretty damn happy.
So, 1. good sights, easy to see
2. very good trigger; first stage long takeup, second breaks clean at about 3 or 3.5 pounds
3. I'd call it mild recoil, no worse than a .30-30 in a Winchester carbine
4. it looks a bit awkward, but it handles very well. I put my right thumb along the top of the grip behind the cocking piece, angle & thickness is such that I could not comfortably wrap it around
5. very good accuracy.
6. forgot to add earlier; Og, yes, it is as slick an action as you've heard. Doesn't show as well in just sitting and cycling it. But fire a shot and it's just pull-push and the next shot is ready. Very quick, very smooth.
If you wanted to scope one of these, there's one problem for a standard mount: it ejects like a Winchester lever gun, straight up and back, so a scope has to be offset to the side. Personally, I think I'd rather go with one of the 'scout' mounts that fit into the rear sight base. Stick a long-eye-relief scope in that and you're good to go. I think that would be a very good setup with this rifle.
Overall, Kim's right; if you don't have one of these, you should try to get one. I could wish the surplus ammo was not as expensive, but there are commercial loads out there with reloadable brass for decent prices, so if you planned to shoot a lot the stuff for reloading is available. This rifle, which(as previously mentioned) came from AIM Surplus, is well worth the money. There are a number of dealers with them, and no, I'm not listing all of them; buy a copy of Shotgun News and check it out. Or fire up the search engine of your choice and check around.
And now, I've got firearms to clean and a stock to prepare for refinishing. Or at least to take down and get ready for refinishing.
Range report, K31
To an extent you could sum it up by the above statement
First, let us sing the praises of range day! The sky was clear, the temperature cool, the wind light and the birds were singing. Including a mockingbird sitting on the range house tv antenna not ten yards from my position, who kept singing throughout. And there I was, with a sixty-some-odd year old military rifle in fine condition which, thanks to the Framers, I have the noted right to own. It's good.
Ahem. First a couple of notes. I was using the Swiss surplus ammo with, I believe, 174-grain FMJ bullets. Second, remember I said the front sight was set in a diagonal dovetail?
So windage means, instead of moving the sight left or right, you drift it forward or back. Why this method I don't know, but it works well. The muzzle crown is deeply recessed:
well-protected from getting dinged in the field. And it has an unusual trigger:
What you see is the trigger, the sear is the vertical bar and the horizontal link at the top both holds things in place and provides the pivot for the sear, and the coil spring provides the tension for the works. You pull the trigger, the trigger pivots on its pin at the bottom of the sear as the sear pivots on the pin with the link, which pivots around the pin at the back which is part of the receiver; the sear slides down to the first stage stop, then a little more pressure pulls it down through the second stage. Sounds odd, but it works very well.
I say again, very well. First, to see if the sights were roughly on, set up a target at 50 yards and fired three:
Ok, no complaints there, and no need for the second target I'd stapled up. So over to the 100 yard line.
First three at 100:
Ok, fire four more:
For me, with iron sights, that ain't bad a'tall. They grouped a bit to the left, so drifted the sight back(back means 'left' on this, remember), fired a couple, tapped it back just a touch more, and everything from then on was nicely centered.
I fired a little over thirty rounds, and very much wished this range allowed setting clay pigeons up on the backstop; this rifle would be a wonder at busting them. Last four I fired from a sitting position, elbows resting on knees:
The circled holes are the ones fired, the one real high and real low are from something else(no, I won't talk about it right now). The one out of the bull was a called flyer, sight drifted a touch just as I fired. If that's not good enough for you, shut up. For me, from a little-practiced position with a new rifle and iron sights? I'm pretty damn happy.
So, 1. good sights, easy to see
2. very good trigger; first stage long takeup, second breaks clean at about 3 or 3.5 pounds
3. I'd call it mild recoil, no worse than a .30-30 in a Winchester carbine
4. it looks a bit awkward, but it handles very well. I put my right thumb along the top of the grip behind the cocking piece, angle & thickness is such that I could not comfortably wrap it around
5. very good accuracy.
6. forgot to add earlier; Og, yes, it is as slick an action as you've heard. Doesn't show as well in just sitting and cycling it. But fire a shot and it's just pull-push and the next shot is ready. Very quick, very smooth.
If you wanted to scope one of these, there's one problem for a standard mount: it ejects like a Winchester lever gun, straight up and back, so a scope has to be offset to the side. Personally, I think I'd rather go with one of the 'scout' mounts that fit into the rear sight base. Stick a long-eye-relief scope in that and you're good to go. I think that would be a very good setup with this rifle.
Overall, Kim's right; if you don't have one of these, you should try to get one. I could wish the surplus ammo was not as expensive, but there are commercial loads out there with reloadable brass for decent prices, so if you planned to shoot a lot the stuff for reloading is available. This rifle, which(as previously mentioned) came from AIM Surplus, is well worth the money. There are a number of dealers with them, and no, I'm not listing all of them; buy a copy of Shotgun News and check it out. Or fire up the search engine of your choice and check around.
And now, I've got firearms to clean and a stock to prepare for refinishing. Or at least to take down and get ready for refinishing.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
My will
Was watching some show on some terrible disease with the wife the other night and I told her "If anything ever happens to me, I don't want to be kept alive like a vegetable, with some machine and a bottle keeping me alive. That ever happens, I want you to pull the plug."
So she got up, unplugged the tv and threw out my beer, the bitch
So she got up, unplugged the tv and threw out my beer, the bitch
Well, well, a variety of news
Found this over at High Road:
"On April 20, Governor Brad Henry (D) signed House Bill 2696, sponsored by Representative Trebor Worthen (R-87). This important legislation will eliminate any threat of restrictions being imposed on lawful uses of firearms or ammunition during a state of emergency. HB 2696 passed the House overwhelmingly with a vote of 94-1, and unanimously in the Senate with a vote of 46-0.
On April 25, HB 2615, the “Stand Your Ground Law,” passed the Senate with a vote of 39-5, and will now go back to the House for concurrence. HB 2615, sponsored by Representative Kevin Calvey (R-94), recognizes that the citizens of Oklahoma have the right to expect absolute safety in a place that he or she has a right to be.
So that's one down and one to go. I found out that my state Rep voted against 2615, and I have sent a note asking him why, we'll see if I get an answer.
Checked my rain guage this morning, and total from the time the rains started to then was a touch over two inches. That's the most rain we've had since late last October if I remember right. It won't get us up to norms, but it'll make a hell of a difference in lake and pond levels, and with the greenup this'll kickstart, should cut the wildfire risk for a while.
Thanks to Tex at Whacking Day, we have a wonderful illustration of something besides cartoons that annoys the hell out of islamist fascists:
And you jerks want to either kill someone like this or stick her in a burkha? You've got problems, boy.
Hadn't looked there in a while, but at IMAO they had an excerpt from Tony Snows' first press conference:
Also for the jihadi types, from Cowboy Blob:
I wonder if they're jihadis from New Orleans? They're living out of a trunk like the dickhead who cheated friends of mine out of money.
Oh well. I've got ammo loaded and targets packed, and I get to hit the range tomorrow to shake out the K31 among other things. Later, folks.
"On April 20, Governor Brad Henry (D) signed House Bill 2696, sponsored by Representative Trebor Worthen (R-87). This important legislation will eliminate any threat of restrictions being imposed on lawful uses of firearms or ammunition during a state of emergency. HB 2696 passed the House overwhelmingly with a vote of 94-1, and unanimously in the Senate with a vote of 46-0.
On April 25, HB 2615, the “Stand Your Ground Law,” passed the Senate with a vote of 39-5, and will now go back to the House for concurrence. HB 2615, sponsored by Representative Kevin Calvey (R-94), recognizes that the citizens of Oklahoma have the right to expect absolute safety in a place that he or she has a right to be.
So that's one down and one to go. I found out that my state Rep voted against 2615, and I have sent a note asking him why, we'll see if I get an answer.
Checked my rain guage this morning, and total from the time the rains started to then was a touch over two inches. That's the most rain we've had since late last October if I remember right. It won't get us up to norms, but it'll make a hell of a difference in lake and pond levels, and with the greenup this'll kickstart, should cut the wildfire risk for a while.
Thanks to Tex at Whacking Day, we have a wonderful illustration of something besides cartoons that annoys the hell out of islamist fascists:
And you jerks want to either kill someone like this or stick her in a burkha? You've got problems, boy.
Hadn't looked there in a while, but at IMAO they had an excerpt from Tony Snows' first press conference:
"First off," Tony stated, "I'm already a hundred times the journalist of all you hacks added together, so, instead of answering your moronic queries, I'm just going to state everything you need to know and you'll jot it all down and report that. Are we clear?" "Mr. Snow, we need--" a reporter started to say, but then screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. "Now, one thing you need to know," Tony said, "is that I can now shock you through your press passes. This wasn't my idea; it was done by Homeland Security. Now, on to politics. While there are many troubles in Iraq, it's going much better than you shills report. Progress is being made daily. With Iran, many options are being looked at, but nothing has been decided on. Finally, the Democrats are all morons and you waste time reporting on anything they do or say. I think that covers everything." "What about how Karl Rove will be--" A horde of screaming demons crashed through the ceiling, grabbed the reporter, and flew off. "It should be mentioned," Tony said, "that questions about Karl Rove will cause screeching demons to come after you. That's out of my hands." "And there are also reports that secret police are taking away anyone who questions the White House," a reporter stated. "What is your reaction?" Some men in black ran into the room, grabbed the reporter, and dragged her away. "Next question," Tony said in a bored voice
Also for the jihadi types, from Cowboy Blob:
I wonder if they're jihadis from New Orleans? They're living out of a trunk like the dickhead who cheated friends of mine out of money.
Oh well. I've got ammo loaded and targets packed, and I get to hit the range tomorrow to shake out the K31 among other things. Later, folks.
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