A while back I took note of some of Obama's connections

with Bill Ayers, among others. Well, some of the worshippers just found it, it seems, and left comments, among them:
Guilt by association and innuendo. Real nice hit piece you've worked up here. Maybe the Clinton campaign would like to link to you from their campaign site.
and
And just who is "WE" that don't want Obama as president? - would that "WE" be Racists People?! - John McCain is Racist So my guess is you're going to vote for him. Or perhaps you feel obligated to vote for Hilary just because one of your "WE" is a woman. Or would the "WE" perhaps be prejudice people? -- you're fine working with blacks and having them as neighbors and talking to them, but as far as one becoming President, you can't stand the idea.

'Innuendo' my ass. The man has a long association with the terrorist and his supporters, from the information available a quite friendly relationship. Which shouldn't surprise us, considering his long association with a church that seems to have a definite hate of the U.S. I just love it that you consider taking note of facts to be a 'hit piece'. Bite me.

And to Anonymous, posting insults and defenses of terrorists:
Got news for you, Guido, calling somebody 'racist' isn't the club it used to be. Precisely because of bullshit like this from people like you. Could hardly give a rats' ass less what color Obama is, it's his stand on things and what he wants to do that makes him a disaster-in-waiting for this country. And the show he's put on since the beliefs of his church came out: he's lied and played lawyer with words just like Bill Clinton over that, and it tells us a lot about him.

Ayers is a terrorist who's made it quite plain over decades that he's happy to be one. The only reason he's sort-of downplaying it now is that he figures it'll help Obama if he does.

And if you think I carry any brief for either of the Clintons, you have great big rocks in your head. The fact seems to be that both the Clintons and Obama have no problem at all associating with and/or giving aid to people who hate this country, as long as they think it'll buy them votes or give them access to people with money and/or influence. You may not bite me, but you can kiss my ass.

Now, Dad's in town and there's a gun show, so I'm off.

Clayton Cramer is running for office

That'll give a bunch of people heartburn. And they're the right people to have it, too.

Here's his blog post with a link to the campaign website.

It looks like State Senator Rice

is running by the Kaine method: say "I support your 2nd Amendment rights, despite what I've said/done in the past."

I actually got an answer to the e-mail I sent to his site a while back. Aside from the "I hope you'll vote for me" stuff, here's the response:
Thank you for your email inquiry about gun rights.

I believe that government has no business in your gun closet or in your bedroom. Just as I believe the 2nd Amendment guarantees the right of American citizens to bear arms, I also believe the Constitution assures Americans of the right to form civil unions and women of their right to choose abortion during the earliest stages of pregnancy.

What the-? First, this is they guy who "... stated he (1) supported the assaults weapon ban, (2) believed the sale of military semi-autos to civilians should be curtailed, (3) civilian semi-automatic firearms should be restricted, (4) supported the registration of all firearms, (5) supported registration of all handguns, and (6) all firearms owners should be licensed." But now the 'government has no business in your gun closet'? Gee, what could account for such a change? And do I trust it?

No.

Second, why throw in civil unions and abortion in answer to a straightforward question on the 2nd? I guess trying to say "I support these, so I support you, too." Except we damn well know that doesn't work.

Range day

Partly for fun, partly to try out some loads. I wrote a while back about trying some cast bullets, sized to .309, in the M39 and getting surprisingly good results for bullets undersize for the bore. What I was trying with it was some bullets a bit more matched to the bore. But first, I tried some practice loads in .30-06 in the 1903A3.

I mentioned before the good things in general about light loads, but nowadays there's another: several years ago I banged up my shoulder in an accident(not motorcycle) and now there's only so many full-power loads it can take. Especially with the steel buttplate on the A3. So the load lets me shoot it a lot more with much less pain.

This load is the RCBS flat-nose gas-checked 150-grain bullet designed for .30-30, sized to .309". To put the shots at point of aim I had to set the rear sight to the 500 yard mark, which put it dead-on at 50 yards:


There's almost no recoil, and noise is low. Moved to 100 yards and got this with the first five rounds:

I moved the rear sight up one more click, which I think corresponds to 550, and that moved them up into the black:
The one that landed high & right I'm calling on myself.

Overall, for up to 100 yards this is a really nice practice load for this rifle, much better results than I really expected. Apparently that bullet and the 2-groove barrel really like each other.



On the 7.62x54, I picked up one of the Lee sizer setups for .311 to try out. This bullet, as cast, mikes at .310 very consistently, so I knew this wouldn't resize the bullet; but it would seat the gas check. So I ran 20 bullets through it and loaded them with the same load as before. 50 yards:

100 yards

Result, not really any improvement over the same bullet sized to .309. So, for better results with this I guess I'll have to get a mold for an appropriate bullet.

And we're supposed to believe they didn't know

why?

WASHINGTON -- Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

...
At the time, the Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Iraq.

The lawmakers are not named in the indictment but the dates correspond to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California. None was charged and Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said investigators "have no information whatsoever" any of them knew the trip was underwritten by Saddam.
...
"Obviously we didn't know it at the time," McDermott spokesman Michael DeCesare said Wednesday. "The trip was to see the plight of the Iraqi children. That's the only reason we went."

Um=hmmm. Yeah. Considering what these clowns have been caught at before, and the news the other day about that dirtbag congressman helping terrorists attack the government of Colombia, is there any actual reason we should believe them?

Also, ref the stuff that turned up the other day, anyone want to bet that Sen. Kennedy & Family & Assoc. didn't at least know of it?

Found by Sondra. Who is currently on my list 'cause she didn't note my birthday like she does for some people.

They just won't learn

that it's not the object, it's the action:
Mr Hogan-Howe warned that it was “simply wrong” for judges to turn a blind eye to the legal requirement and that “very heavy sentences” were essential for deterring teenagers from carrying weapons.

He said: “The big issue for me is getting the guns out of society. There will always be gangs and criminals but today it is the fact that they carry guns which makes them truly intimidating. If we can get the guns out of their hands then we will make our society safer.

“The message the criminal justice system sends out about the serious consequences that flow from possessing a firearm is an important part of deterring people from carrying guns.”

You're on an island, with handguns already banned, etc. Stop worrying about the object, WORRY ABOUT WHAT THE CRIMINALS DO.

But it's so much easier to blame an object, isn't it?

Ok, if we can't get a rope

we at least need the tar and feathers. There is flat no excuse for this garbage:
A military strike three weeks ago killed Raúl Reyes, No. 2 in command of the FARC, Colombia's most notorious terrorist group. The Reyes hard drive reveals an ardent effort to do business directly with the FARC by Congressman James McGovern (D., Mass.), a leading opponent of the free-trade deal. Mr. McGovern has been working with an American go-between, who has been offering the rebels help in undermining Colombia's elected and popular government.(bold mine)

Mr. McGovern's press office says the Congressman is merely working at the behest of families whose relatives are held as FARC kidnap hostages. However, his go-between's letters reveal more than routine intervention. The intervenor with the FARC is James C. Jones, who the Congressman's office says is a "development expert and a former consultant to the United Nations." Accounts of Mr. Jones's exchanges with the FARC appeared in Colombia's Semana magazine on March 15. This Mr. Jones should not be confused with the former Congressman and ambassador to Mexico of the same name from Oklahoma.

Bodily violations and used books

Not at the same time, of course.

The violations occurring due to my going to the doctor today(which I dislike) for a physical(which I hate): a needle in the arm to draw blood- not a big deal- and a finger stuck into a part of me that doesn't like that(damn right that's a big deal. To me, anyway*).

So far the general consensus is that I do not have a fatal case of the galloping whatevers, but due to my recent birthday the doc informed me that I really should have a colonoscopy. Which I am looking forward to with such anticipation that I may leave town. What makes it worse is that I was informed that
A: they do sedate you for it, and
B: thus it is not considered a good idea to drive yourself.
Which means I have to ask someone for a ride there & back, and I hate asking anybody to do that. Aside from the general, it means they'll have to sit around for a couple of hours.

Which reflection made me think of books, which reminded me that I need to replace my set of The General, which I sent to the son in Iraq as reading material. So I looked at Amazon and DAMN! They don't have most of the series new, and some of the used carry descriptions like '22 used and new from $9.95'. For a damn paperback. So it'll take a while longer. Last time I checked the used bookstores around here, and one big one in Fort Worth, they didn't have any of them, and Barnes & Noble and Borders don't seem to have them, either. Drake's one of my favorite authors, and some of his stuff you just cannot count on finding used- if anybody turns loose of one it's to give it to someone- and finding them new can be spotty. Dammit.


*As I told a girlfriend one time, "If I ask you to bend over, at least there's going to be some pleasure involved for both of us; but that is just downright uncomfortable."

As if we didn't already have some reason

to distrust these people.

Now home after an Easter visit with family,

I went to Theo's place and- among other things- found more reasons it's painful to read about Britain nowadays.
When Garry Varley assaulted and threatened to kill the landlord of his local pub, two policemen heard him do it.

And yet it took the force five months to charge him – and hours after he was given bail, he returned to the pub to fulfil his promise.

Varley stabbed Steven Galsworthy to death and then walked back to the same police station he had been released from hours earlier.

Then we have
Crime is rising faster in the countryside than in towns and cities, official figures show.

Since Labour came to power, the 13 counties classified as "rural" have seen the sharpest increases in violent offending and criminal damage.

Violent crime rose by 119 per cent in country areas between 1998/99 and 2006/07 - compared with a national increase of 108 per cent.
...
Offences of violence in Gloucestershire and North Wales have more than trebled - increasing by 235 per cent and 207 per cent respectively.

In Cambridgeshire, the number of drug offences has risen by 80 per cent - almost double the national increase.

The total number of recorded crimes in Dyfed-Powys has shot up by 22.5 per cent, almost four times the national increase of 6.2 per cent.
As to why?
A total of 550 police stations have closed their doors for good over the past decade. Of those which have survived the cull, only one in eight is open round the clock.

And in a truly idiotic piece of work,
Gordon Brown was facing a growing Labour revolt last night over the Government's "pathetic" treatment of Gurkha veterans.

More than a dozen Labour MPs are calling for an end to the "arbitrary" rule which bars retired Gurkhas from taking British citizenship if they left service before 1997.
...
"Every member of the public I speak to understands the service Gurkhas have given this country. To make the right to stay based on such an arbitrary date is just so pathetic that it makes me very angry indeed."

She pointed to the fact that around 2,000 immigrants every day are given National Insurance numbers, which allow them to live and work in the UK.

Yet experts believe only 7,000 more Gurkha veterans would settle in Britain if the laws change.

Yeesh.

Let's see, fix the problems by
A: putting criminals in jail and keeping them there; make sure people know that IT WILL HAPPEN.
B: Let people both own arms and use them in self-defense; it'll make a world of difference.
C: Someone has put their ass on the line for the country? THEY CAN COME IN. Period.

And how likely do you think it that any of those things'll be done?