Yes, Obama wants to destroy the 2nd Amendment;

he just doesn't have to balls to try to do it openly.

On April 16, 2009, President Obama emerged from a meeting with Mexico’s President Calderón to announce his support for the “Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in Firearms” treaty (CIFTA) ...he promised to push the treaty through the Senate quickly as a means of curtailing the border violence and arms trafficking in Mexico’s current drug wars

I recommend this excellent analysis. It’ll scare the 125gr. outta ya.

-NONE of the proposed gun controls are likely to pass by themselves through Congress. If the treaty is enacted they don’t have to — they become law when the treaty is ratified.

Which is just the kind of backstabbing crap we expected from Obama & Co. If you haven't already, time to call/write the congresscritters, especially in the Senate.

Look this over: "Not reliable enough to consider" or

"We didn't do it, so it doesn't count"?
A Washington state biosurveillance firm raised the first warning about a possible outbreak of swine flu in Mexico more than two weeks before the World Health Organization offered its initial alert about a public health emergency of international concern.

Both federal and international health officials had access to the warning from Veratect. Later e-mails calling attention to the company's subsequent report that the disease was possibly spreading in Mexico were sent to 10 officials of the Centers for Disease Control, said Robert Hart, the company's chief executive.
...
CDC officials in Atlanta said they were aware of Veratect's claims and had not been working with the company.

"We have nothing to add about their claims," said CDC spokesman Llelwyn Grant, adding the CDC and other public health agencies had plans in place to deal with a flu pandemic and responded rapidly once they became aware of the Mexican outbreak.
Which is the critical point: 'once they became aware'. Some good reason to pass up checking this out? Expense, maybe?
Earlier this year, Hart said Veratect gave free access to its Web site to the CDC and WHO on a trial basis.
So they got it free, not cost then.

First thought would be standard CDC arrogance: "It isn't information WE found, so it should be ignored." Back when I first became interested in viruses, among the books I read were a couple by CDC scientists; I can't remember the titles offhand, but let's just say they didn't exactly come across as concerned with the thoughts or opinions of anyone who didn't have advanced degrees. That they approved of. From the right schools. I understand those folks are busy, but to be given a "Something odd is happening" heads-up and apparently ignore it... Not good.

Here's another interesting part:
Others, however, cautioned the use of data mining to track a possible disease outbreak was untested and a number of questions about its effectiveness remained unanswered.

"This approach is not yet vetted," said Dr. Marguerite Neill, an infectious disease specialist at Brown University and a spokesman for the Infectious Disease Society of America. "It is an interesting idea, but we haven't used it before."

Neill said the problem with using information picked up through data mining was determining whether it was just an indication of a routine disease outbreak or something much more serious.

"It needs to be put in a clinical or epidemiological context," she said. "I'm not sure Veratect can do that."
Uh, doc? They're in the business of providing information; it would be your job to decide if it's a problem or not. And it would be your job to put it in a clinical or epidemiological context; they're just providing the information they dig up. Maybe I'm being overly critical on this, but that comment 'we haven't used it before' would seem to indicate more of the 'WE didn't think of it/do it, so it's not really something to consider' attitude. Which really sucks.

Unrelated to the above thoughts is this:
Veratect's warnings came as President Obama prepared for his a trip to Mexico, arriving in Mexico City on April 16. The White House said Thursday an Energy Department staffer who was part of the advance team for Obama's visit is suspected of having contracted swine flu in Mexico and transmitting it to his family in Maryland. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the man, who was not identified, never got within six feet of the president.
Unless he sneezed, of course...

And if you didn't already know what a dipshit Jimmy Carter is,

this should get the point across:
But none of us wants to own an assault weapon, because we have no desire to kill policemen or go to a school or workplace to see how many victims we can accumulate before we are finally shot or take our own lives.

Carter, you are a miserable bastard. You sucked up to Arafat and seemed unable to find a dictator you didn't like, you're part of the reason we have the problem we do with islamist terrorists, you crapped on Israel, and you're crapping on gun owners. Tell me, Jimmy, do you include the M1 Carbine as one of those surrounded-by-an-evil-aura 'assault weapons'? How about a M1 Garand? Or a 1903 Springfield? All battle rifles in their day, the nannies want to ban them; are you for that? Or have you some particular firearms in mind that are only good if you 'desire to kill cops and kids in school'?

You were one of the worst Presidents this country had to suffer through, and I see that you haven't improved with time. Just go away, Carter, and stop causing problems and spreading lies.

Ok, this officially sucks

I USED to have a corkscrew

At Med-Fair friends gave me a bottle of the mead the wife had begun brewing, and said bottle's been sitting waiting for a good evening. Which this is. Which leads to

WHERE'D THE DAMN CORKSCREW GO?

I'm trying to refrain from the Zed method, but I'm getting pissed at this point.

Update: Success! No, I didn't find the damn thing; it's amazing what you can do with a knife, isn't it?

And the stuff is good.

Range day

Smith & Wesson Victory ModelThese were made as part of the Lend/Lease program in WWII, when the Brits needed arms(as I recall, this was about the time when they made a plea to the US for people to donate any working firearms, with the promise that they would be returned after the war*). Built on the K frame, double-action revolver, 5-screw, marked * 38 SMITH & WESSON CTG * on the right side of the barrel and ‘United States Property’ on the topstrap. It also has British proof marks on the barrel, on the frame and over each chamber of the cylinder. And, the ‘MADE IN USA’ on the right side of the frame apparently not being good enough, a little tiny stamp that says ‘Not English Make’ on the barrel and receiver**.

According to the book, S&W made a British service revolver prior to these "(K-200, S&W Pistol #2) - "Pre-Model 11" to be precise, then began making them with a 'V' prefix in the serial number, leading to 'Victory Model'. It also says the normal barrel was 4", so this being 5" is unusual. The 'United States Property' stamp makes it early Lend-Lease. Continuing the oddity, it says the original hammer block was a shoulder on the rebound slide that fitted against a shoulder on the hammer; after a fatal accident in which they found that could fail if dropped, some were modified by milling a slot in the sideplate for a sliding hammer block and a modification on the rebound slide to fit it(same hammer block design they still use). This one has a piece fitted to a slot in the sideplate, but it doesn't slide; the upper end can flex out, but the lower is fixed. Unless I'm not understanding something, this doesn't match the description, so I've got some digging to do.

If you’re not familiar with it, the .38S&W preceded the .38 Special; shorter case of slightly larger diameter, slightly larger diameter bullet. The version the Brits used to replace the .455 Webley was originally called the .380/200: .38 caliber, 200-grain round-nose cast bullet at about 650feet per second. I’ve read that it had a pretty good record as a fight-stopper. Later, when it was decided the cast bullet didn’t meet the Geneva Convention specs, they went to a 172-grain jacketed bullet, which had a much lesser reputation. It’s worth noting that there was a .38S&W 200-grain load here in the US called the ‘Super Police’.

According to the book, there were several different finishes used, from polished and blued to a few parkerized. Issue grips are noted as being smooth walnut; this one has what appear to be commercial grips, so probably changed out at some point after it made its way back to the US.

One thing I’ll point out on the loads: pistols set up for the 200-grain load will shoot low with lighter bullets; the 145-grain, for instance, having a higher velocity, leaves the muzzle faster. Conversely, pistols made for the lighter bullet will throw the 200-grain quite a bit high; it being in the barrel longer, recoil has more time to raise it before the bullet exits.

I did some digging around a couple of years ago and found some load information that was supposed to duplicate the .380/200. Lyman makes a mold that throws a 200-grain round-nose bullet, so

DISCLAIMER!!
I tried this load out, and it worked for me; doesn't mean it will for you. Try it at your own peril; if you blow something up, it ain't my doing.

I wound up using the recommended 2.4 grains of Unique. The bullet, as-cast and lubed with Lee Liquid Alox, is seated to an overall length of 1.93" with just a slight crimp, which puts the bullet base right at the top of the powder column. My Chrony shows this going right about 650 feet per second ten feet from the muzzle, which does indeed duplicate original ballistics so far as I can tell. I've tried it in a Enfield MkII, a Webley MkIV and now this; all were originally designed for the .380/200, and all shot this load right to point of aim.

Speaking of which, this beast shot like you'd expect a Smith & Wesson to. I tried it at ten yards single-action, and it placed the Lyman bullets in nice tight groups(tight as I could hold, anyway) right where aimed. Up closer, some fast two-shot drills went right where they should. The action's a bit tight; I'd say it was carried a lot but not fired much. The single-action pull was light and clean, just like it should be.

I also tried some 148-grain wadcutters, as-cast with Liquid Alox over Unique, and they produced very nice groups, about 3" below point of aim.

So I've got a physical piece of an interesting period of history to care for and use. And wonder how it came back to this country. Since a pair of the smooth grips would probably cost a disgusting amount(if I could find any), I think I'll get a piece of walnut from the garage and do some work when the weather allows and make a set. Not only will they be closer to original, I can shape them to fit my hand a bit better.


*As one more example of the trustworthiness of socialist governments, after the war the Attlee government had all the privately donated arms rounded up, put on a couple of old freighters, taken out to sea and the ships sunk. Too bad they couldn’t have put him and his ministers on the boats before they went down.

**I’ve seen a couple of Webley MkIV revolvers produced during the war with ‘WAR FINISH’ stamped on the frame; even with the rush, they wanted it known that this less-than-wonderful finish was NOT representative of their normal work.

A Marine's words to her family

We are not your sons and daughters, whom you must protect and defend. We are your sword and your shield. We are men and women who volunteer to place our lives on the line so you do not have to. We do not decide when or where we will be sent. We go. You are our advocates, not our parents.

We trust you to care for our families, to hold our jobs, pay for our equipment, salary and medical care and yes, to honor our sacrifice. We trust you to vote for good political leadership, to speak out against bad policy decisions and to demand public accountability. However, we do not count on you to explain the honorable character of our service. We are ennobled by the very fact we serve.

Like Kevin says, read every damn word.

I do wonder how Olbermann and Steward would like it

if investigators started digging into everything in their lives? Debts, property, arrests, contacts, the whole works? As the man says, if they can screw with a plumber for daring to ask a real question(which said 'journalists' didn't have the balls to do), why can't their lives be dug into? And reported on?

Whining Evil Party politicians and the President admitting

'might be harder to get information' when we have to ask the terrorists nicely for what they're up to.
Hispanic Democrats are furious and demanding an apology over an image wedged in a new GOP web video on terrorism that shows members of the Hispanic Caucus sitting at a table with President Obama.

“On behalf of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), we write to demand an apology for the inclusion of the picture of the CHC meeting with President Obama in the video on your official website entitled “Do You Feel Safer?,’” the CHC wrote in a letter being sent to Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), whose office created the video.
"You showed us with President Obama in your nasty video! How dare you!" Shut up, butthead.

In a strikingly defensive explanation of his stance on Bush-era anti-terrorism tactics, President Obama on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that the harsh interrogation techniques he has banned might have yielded useful information, but that he was nonetheless willing to rule them out on moral grounds.

...He conceded that "it may be harder" to get information, but what "makes us, I think, still a beacon to the world is that we are willing to hold true to our ideals, even when it's hard, not just when it's easy."
Translation: "Even whenif the terrorists kill a bunch more Americans, I think it's worth it to remember that we behaved well while questioning those who knew what was going to happen."

God help us.

Doesn't this sound an awful lot like "You don't want to waste a

crisis"?
There are a million more where these came from. The underlying theory was pioneered by Joseph Goebbels:

If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.

Goebbels continues:

The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

A couple of thoughts about the "The Gummint Did It!"

conspiracy morons. Brought on by the idiocy noticed by Rachel.

First, have you noticed that it's almost always the US? One commenter does accuse the Mexican government(which would make it unquestionably the Mexican flu, but I digress) releasing it to save itself and consolidate power, but for every one else, it's primarily us to suspect:
Then again, governments of the world have routinely engaged in crimes against humanity, haven’t they? The U.S., for example, dropped nuclear bombs on civilian populations in Japan. Israel rained white phosphorous on Palestinians, Hitler exterminated countless Jews, and Americans fired millions of rounds of depleted uranium rounds into targets in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unleashing a viral biological weapon in Mexico City is no great leap beyond what governments have already done to achieve their goals.
although you'll notice this clown made a very nice moral comparison between us, Israel and the fucking Nazis. We used a pair of nukes to end a war, saving God knows how many lives that would've been lost in an invasion: War Crime. We used DU shells(DU having, as I recall about the same radioactivity level as granite) to take out enemy armor: War Crime. Israel used standard smoke round which use WP to make smoke: War Crime. We're just as bad as the Nazis who murdered millions. Fuck you, Mike Adams, you miserable little boob.

And this comment she found:
The US regime invests heavily in bioweapons warfare - why should we not suspect them ?

Whatever happened with the strange Anthrax released in the US - it was found to be weapons grade Athrax from an American military bioweapons lab ; why should this be any different - a cultured swine/bird/human virus weaponized by the American regime and deliberately released.

I only give 30% probability to this being deliberately released by the American regime ; however by all means they should be considered to be one of the main suspects behind this swine/bird/human weaponized virus. (this weaponized swine/bird/human virus shows up one week after Obama and Air Force one and his 3000 strong Secret Service entourage visited Mexico City…)
All the proper progressive bullshit: the US 'regime', the accusations of bioweapons research(y'know, like vaccines and such? When it was the Soviets weaponizing smallpox and plague?)

Which leads to the second: Aside from the general idiocy, does this clown and all his little buttmonkeys not think that, did we wish to wipe out a large portion of the planet population, we couldn't have put something together with a bit more oomph than this? I'll be he doesn't worry at all about the damned islamic terrorists trying to get nukes and bio-agents, but that damned America, it needs to be stopped!

I was going to hit the outdoor range today, but:

It rained again last night, so that on top of all the rest the last few days will make the place a marsh.
Chance of more rain the next few days. 30% today, but I've seen that turn into "Toad-floater storms are moving into the area" with no warning, so. Especially with 70% chance tonight.
I need groceries.
So that means maybe the indoor range to try a couple of things out, then shopping.

At least this is not looking for clothes or shoes, both of which I loathe. Grocery shopping means finding what you need and putting it in the cart; clothes and shoes involves trying stuff on and looking(especially at shoes) and thinking "They what HOW MUCH? For THIS?!?" And I need some new black dress shoes, and yes I have been putting it off. And will continue to do so for a while longer. In the meantime,

Federal Felony To Use Blogs, the Web, Etc. To Cause Substantial Emotional Distress Through "Severe, Repeated, and Hostile" Speech? More wonderfulness from the morons in Congress.

Apparently the 9th Circuit's ruling on the 2nd Amendment wasn't really news. In the minds of our professional journalists, anyway.

Why is it that every time someone is for 'social justice' and connnected bullcrap, they're either a socialist or commie? Or, considering the proper definition, a fascist? And don't like Israel? And all too often are a professor or other 'professional educator'?

So the popular new statement is that Harry Truman was a War Criminal! I'm sure, soon as they figure a way to whack at the US, they'll get around- finally- to declaring Franklin Roosevelt, too. Which will just display fully what a bunch of freakin' loons they are. Like a lot of politicians, there are some solid reasons to be pissed at Truman, so garbage like this is just insane. If he hadn't decided to use the bomb, the casualties our troops would have taken(let's ignore the Japanese dead and wounded for now) in the invasion would have been horrendous; as one of his advisors said, 'When it comes out you had a way to end the war without this, and didn't use it, the people will call for your impeachment; and they'll be right to.' His hanging in the street, for that matter; you try explaining to a couple of million families that their father/husband/uncle/son is dead or crippled because the President thought using this bomb on the enemy 'just too nasty'. Especially since the enemy had been murdering prisoners of war, committing atrocities left and right and- we know for fact- was planning to murder EVERY POW the moment the invasion started.

But that doesn't matter to morons like Stewart, and I'm sure there are others who agree with him; much better to have a lot of American dead than some of the enemy. Especially if saving our guys would mean something so horrible as putting a bug in a box with the bad guy.


The kind of people Obama will push for the Supreme Court.
-Dean Kagan has taken positions that are disturbingly out of the mainstream. For example, driven by her view that the “don’t ask; don’t tell” policy adopted by a Democrat Congress and President Clinton is “a profound wrong–a moral injustice of the first order,” she argued that it violates the First Amendment for the United States to withhold funds from colleges that ban the military from recruiting on campus. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected this view.

-It is also unclear that a Justice Kagan would be an adequately independent check on executive excesses. She has argued in favor of greatly enhanced presidential control over the bureaucracy, which is concerning in light of President Obama’s unprecedented centralization of power in the White House.
...
-Judge Sotomayor’s personal views may cloud her jurisprudence. As Judge Sotomayor explained in a 2002 speech at Berkeley, she believes it is appropriate for a judge to consider their “experiences as women and people of color” in their decisionmaking, which she believes should “affect our decisions.”

-Only just recently, in Ricci v. DeStefano, Judge Sotomayor was chastised by fellow Clinton-appointee Jose Cabranes for going to extraordinary lengths to dispense with claims of unfair treatment raised by firefighters. Judge Sotomayor’s panel heard a case raising important questions under Title VII and equal protection law, but attempted to dispose of the firefighter’s arguments in a summary order, until called out by Judge Cabranes. The Supreme Court has agreed to review the case.
...
Judge Wood’s judicial views have on occasion been far outside mainstream legal thought and appear driven by her personal policy views. In NOW v. Scheidler, she wrote an opinion applying RICO – a statute designed for mob prosecutions – to prevent pro-life activists from engaging in protests. The Supreme Court reversed with Justices Ginsburg’s and Breyer’s concurrence. NOW v. Scheidler, 537 U.S. 393, 402 (2003).

-Judge Wood has betrayed a consistent hostility to religious litigants and religious interests. For example, Christian Legal Soc’y v. Walker, 453 F.3d 853, 867 (7th Cir. 2006), she would have voted to allow a public university to revoke the student organization charter of the Christian Legal Society because it declined to extend membership to homosexuals.

And let's not forget Roxana Saberi, one of the results of the 'smart diplomacy' we've got going on.

And now, to the stores.

Does the State Department think Texas IS a foreign country?

Along with this little note:
Secretary Clinton is already the most traveled Secretary of State in a new Administration. The Secretary’s trips have included her inaugural trip to Asia, the Middle East and Europe, Mexico and across the border to Texas, the Hague in the Netherlands, Europe with President Obama, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago with President Obama, and to Iraq and Kuwait.
Are the people who put this together this friggin' stupid, or are they telling Texas that they already consider it foreign?

Things thrown away

for amazing reasons. Like "It won't start/turn/make a hole, so I'll just buy a new one."

I fully understand the situation on some items; it can very well cost more to fix something than it's worth, sometimes more than a new one costs(especially electronics). But some things...

While back Dad saw a small tiller/cultivator sitting at the curb, and a guy working in the yard. Asked about it: "It won't start. Yeah, it's yours, take it away." Dad grew up in a small town, born in the '30's, and the idea of tossing something like that, without bothering to try to fix it, just drives him nuts. He knew I didn't have one, but he'd probably have grabbed it anyway on the theory that, if he could make it run, somebody would be able to use it.

Repair took a grand total of maybe ten minutes. The choke was stuck in the closed position; got it loose, poured in some gas and it lit off. Gave it to me: "I think it'll run, but if not maybe you can find the problem." Which I didn't have to, as he'd already done it. I poured in some pre-mix, primed it, yanked the cord twice and off it went. No, not literally, I was holding onto it. The throttle is a bit sticky, which will be no big deal to take care of; and it does a fine job of tearing up the dirt.

Now, this wasn't a high-dollar item, but still: rather than spend a little time and dirty hands messing with it, the guy was tossing it and going to spend somewhere between $100-200 on a new one. Works out great for me, but kind of amazing.

In case you haven't heard of the Southern Poverty Law Center,

here's a fine example of why you shouldn't trust their declarations on 'who is a hate group':
A student group that bills itself as "America's right wing youth movement" focused on countering radical multiculturism, socialism and mass immigration is causing a stir on a growing number of college campuses across the country.

The ultra-conservative political group Youth for Western Civilization is currently organized on at least seven university campuses. According to its Web site, the group hopes to inspire Western youth on the "basis of pride in their American and Western heritage," counter and ultimately defeat "leftism on campus" and create a social movement in which a right-wing subculture is an alternative to what it calls a "poisonous and bigoted" campus climate.
Agree with them or not, just another bunch speaking their minds, in a climate where that takes some nerve. But, from the nannies,
Officials at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which identifies and tracks hate groups in the U.S., told FOXNews.com that the YWC is not currently on its list, but some of the group's views are "suspect," including the notion that Western civilization is somehow superior.
Yeah, nothing superior about our culture compared to one that, for instance, sells little girls into marriage. And punishes women who've been raped with death("You disgraced the family!", etc.). Naw, nothing better here. We're actually arguing about homosexual marriage, whereas Iran just executes homosexuals; obviously, they're as enlightened as we claim to be!

Gee, another Obama nominee who's a proven

liar; anybody surprised?
However, when he was interviewed by a television crew the next day about a $120,000 fine, Sims denied concealing any records or having any personal involvement in the case. He also claimed no records linked him with the case.

“I didn’t conceal anything, so you’re absolutely wrong on that,” he said. “I was not fined $120,000. As a matter of fact, it’s interesting because there is nothing in the court record at all involving me personally. I never was involved in that at all. There’s nothing—nothing regarding my conduct. I didn’t conceal a thing. I did order the release of documents after they were discovered, but I never concealed anything.”
Liar, liar, pants ought to be flaming like napalm on an ammo dump.
But Washington state court records flatly contradict Sims.

“The office of Ron Sims, King County Executive” was listed as the respondent in a January court ruling. Writing for the majority in Yousoufian v. Sims, Justice Richard Sanders said requested information was withheld from the plaintiff and fines should be levied.

“The unchallenged findings of fact demonstrate King County repeatedly deceived and misinformed Yousoufian for years. King County told Yousoufian it produced all the requested documents, when in fact it had not,” the opinion said.

“King County told Yousoufian the information was located elsewhere, when in fact it was not. After years of delay, mispresentation, and ineptitude on the part of King County, Yousoufian filed suit; nevertheless, it would still take another year for King County to completely and accurately respond to Yousoufian’s original request, well past the purpose of his request, the referendum on public financing of a sports stadium.”

The ruling also noted that “the trial court found King County could have complied with Yousoufian’s PRA [Public Records Act] request within ‘five business days’ following Yousoufian’s initial request.”
Yep, he'd fit right in with the Hopey!Changey!Transparent! Obama administration.

If you have kids, try to make sure this crap

is not what their teachers are spewing:
A high school teacher who doesn’t realize that federal law applies to the whole country, including New York. A high school teacher who took what New Yorkers Against Gun Violence said about the law at face value, and who pretty clearly hasn’t researched the topic at all. This is what’s teaching the next generation? God help us.
There's video.

Chief Ed Flynn's words

in a slightly different context:
My message to my troops is if you see any Jews on the streets of Berlin, we’ll put them on the ground, take their property away and then decide whether they have a right to it. Maybe I’ll end up with a protest of Rabbis. In the meantime, I’ve got serious orthodoxy with access to Talmuds. It’s irresponsible to send a message to them that if they just study it openly no one can bother them.

I'll bet Obama & Co. have no idea what's wrong

with their statement:
"The president believes the Second Amendment creates an individual right, and he respects the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms," an official said in an e-mailed statement. "His administration is committed to protecting the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport and use guns while stopping firearms traffickers and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and others prohibited from owning them."
For someone who likes to be noted as a 'professor of constitutional law', his belief that the 2nd Amendment 'creates' an individual right is downright scary. Not only is it flatly wrong, but if he believes the amendment creates the right, then he believes another amendment can take away the right. Or, if it's a 'created' right, then it doesn't really have the protection of the rights he actually believes in, whatever they are.

No, we don't trust him. At all.

I used an oil filter wrench once...

What I hate about tetanus shots isn't the shot;

that's just a sting. What I hate is how sore my arm is probably going to be in the morning.

Doc said no sign of infection, so the cleaning/antiseptic routine did the job. Swelling's way down, so should be back to normal in a few days.

Speaking of infections, I heard the news about Specter. Read where someone said "This is bad because the Stupid Party needed the numbers." How bad do you need a number who cannot be trusted not to stab you in the back at any opportunity? Good riddance to the slimy little bastard. He just proved that staying in that office means more to him than anything else, which means he has no business there.

A couple of things

One, why did he White House Military Office decide to spend all the damn money to do this in the first place? I mean, if they're so concerned about pollution(two F16s and a jumbo jet?), and saving money(you know what it costs to run each of those per hour?), WHY? And, if you're going to do something like this in New York City, how could the people involved be so effing stupid as to actually forbid letting people know what was going on?
An FAA spokesman, Jim Peters, defended the event, calling it "a planned, pre-approved military flight over New York to take photos." He said it was "pre-coordinated with everyone involved, including the city."

Except that an FAA memo specifically warned officials that if they released information about the flights to the public or the press, they'd be violating the law.

It even cited a specific statute.
And don't you just love the 'military flight' being used over and over? Kind of like they think saying that will cover for the idiocy of this?

Globular Warming hypocrisy and lies, a twofer.

And the flu scare is really all the Evil Republican's Fault; was there ever any doubt?

Just as a general "Should I?" on a tetanus shot I called the doctor's office yesterday; for some reason, when asked when I last had one, the answer "Uh, a fair while back, I'm not sure" didn't satisfy them. So after work I an supposed to get a needle in the arm. Which just makes me so happy. Sore, but the swelling's down further and no sign of nastiness. And since work involves typing, that helps. So to work I go.

Among reasons for term limits,

and just throwing a lot of these corrupt jerks out of office, are things like this:
That complaint would have required action of some form — even a cursory investigation before dismissal. But the rules changed in 1997.

Under a change that was adopted that year, outside groups and private citizens were barred from actually filing complaints with the ethics committee. Now, only individual members of the House of Representatives can file a complaint with the Ethics Committee against a fellow member.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the result: The number of complaints (and, therefore, the number of investigations) dropped substantially.

And who was the mastermind who pushed through the change, so that outside groups and private citizens could no longer file complaints with the House Ethics Committee?

Why, none other than Murtha himself.
These bastards specifically work to make it as difficult as possible for the peasants back home to trouble them over their actions, and trade favors back & forth to help each other hide from/cover up/dump actual, you know, investigations and such on their actions. Like so many in the House not wanting to really go after Rangel for his tax corruption; "Why, he might be able to do me a favor someday, and it's only a little tax cheating; what's the big deal?"

A short collection, then I'm done for the day

First, AP admits- without actually saying so, of course- that their definition of 'assault weapons' is based on cosmetics.

Second, further in the article, note this excuse for not covering a rally for the troops:
Unfortunately, the truth was simpler than that: We didn't cover it because the people in charge of assigning our weekend reporters didn't know about it.

It was not the fault of the organizers, who sent several e-mails about the rally to various people at the newspaper. It was ours, because even though the notices weren't sent to the right place, the folks who received them failed to make sure they got to the assignment editors. So the story didn't get assigned.
Our professional media at work.

Third, Secretary Napolitano apologized to the American Legion:
A DHS official tells ABC News that the secretary met personally with Rehbein and issued a mea culpa. The official said Napolitano told Rehbein that "the report was poorly written. It didn't pass the standards of an internal review and therefore it shouldn't have gone out the door."
And yet it did. Isn't that interesting?
When pressed about how such an oversight could have occurred, the senior DHS official said that because of the massive size of the department -- more than 220,000 employees -- "sometimes things slip through the cracks," and that new internal processes have now been put in place to make sure such a mistake doesn't happen again.
Considering earlier reports that people in DHS had specifically noted some problems- hell, called for it to be reviewed- I call bullshit on 'slipping through the cracks'. Especially when the crack seems to have opened just in time for slandering people attending/supporting/calling for the tea parties.

Last, since I'm sure you're all wondering about whether or not my finger has fallen off, the answer is no. It's still sore, but the swelling is down, the color is better, and there are no odd streaks or odors indicating infection. So as of this time I appear to have avoided extreme levels of unpleasantness(including listening to "You did WHAT?" from a doctor or nurse).

My only question for the Italians is: Why no rifles (updated)

or shotguns?
Separately Sunday, the captain of an Italian cruise ship said his security staff fought off a pirate attack in the region Saturday with pistols and a water hose.

Commander Ciro Pinto told Italian media the ensuing gunfight damaged the ship, but the 1,500 passengers were unhurt.
First off, good for the captain and crew: wish I could offer some of you a beer. Or some wine. What goes best after a hearty session of 'Repel Boarders'?

Second, a lot of cruise ships have skeet shooting available, so just add a case each of buckshot and slugs, just in case...

Third, I repeat what I once wrote: add some rifles to the ships armory, and have a lottery: "Attention all passengers: as pirates appear to be approaching, we can offer a unique opportunity for those interested. All who wish a chance at shooting pirates go to the main deck to enter the drawing for shooting positions."

Update: seems it was an Israeli security group that did the shooting. "Why no rifles?" still stands; now I want to know what pistols? I mean, something standard like 9mm, or something exotic like Desert Eagles?

Surprise, surprise, Pres. Obama DID

screw around with the hostage rescue. From the second linked piece:
And, let me comment on time-late: In that the SEAL's quick response-- departing ready-alert in less than 4 hours from Norfolk-- supposedly surprised POTUS's staff, whereas President Obama was miffed not to get his "cops" there before the Navy. He reportedly questioned his staff, "Will 'my' FBI people get there before the Navy does?" It took the FBI almost 12 hours to put together a team and get them packed-up-- for an "at sea" rescue. The FBI was trying to tell him that they are not practiced to do this-- Navy SEALs are. But, BHO wanted the FBI there "to help," that is, carry out the Attorney General's (his) orders to negotiate the release of Captain Phillips peacefully-- because apparently he doesn't trust GW's military to carry out his "political guidance."

The flight of the FBI's passenger jet took a little less than 14 hours at 500-some knots to get to Djibouti. BOXER'S helos picked them up and transported them out to the ship. The Navy SEALs were already there, staged, and ready to act by the time POTUS's FBI arrived on board latter that evening. Notably, the first request by the OSC (On Scene Commander) that early Friday morning to take them out and save Captain Phillips was denied, to wit: "No, wait until 'my' FBI people get there."

When the Obamites whine that "He hasn't said he's going to ban

your guns, you're just stirring people up for nothing!", point this out:
OBAMA: Well, first of all, we did discuss this extensively in our meetings. I have not backed off at all from my belief that the gun — the assault weapons ban made sense.

And I continue to believe that we can respect and honor the 2nd Amendment rights in our Constitution, the rights of sportsmen and hunters and homeowners who want to keep their families safe to lawfully bear arms, while dealing with assault weapons that, as we now know, here in Mexico, are helping to fuel extraordinary violence — violence in our own country, as well.

Now, having said that, I think none of us are under any illusion that reinstating that ban would be easy. And so, what we’ve focused on is how we can improve our enforcement of existing laws, because even under current law, trafficking illegal firearms, sending them across a border, is illegal. That’s something that we can stop.
Remember him telling those people in a town meeting that "I don't want to take your guns, I don't have the votes"? He was lying that he didn't want to, telling the truth that the only thing that would prevent him trying was not having the votes.

And from his little buddy Calderon:
...If we manage to detect weapons sold illegally in the United States in violation of this law on the control of weapons exports, or if, in the United States, they can have — probably move forward on a good registry of armament or on the prohibition of certain massive sales of weapons, for example, to a hunter or to a common citizen — we know that these people do not usually buy hundreds of rifles or assault weapons or grenades — if we can move forward in those areas, I do believe that security both of the United States and Mexico will improve because those weapons are pointing against Mexican people and Mexican officials today.
Yeah, we need a 'registry of armament' just like that in Mexico; we all know how well that's worked. And lumping 'rifles or assault weapons or grenades' together; no, no blurring of lines there. And let's just ignore the fact that if you ordered a case of AR15 or whatever firearms you'd be contacted by the feds; oh, no, we buy hundreds at a time ALL the time, don't we? And grenades, of course, for when the fishing is slow.

Calderon, screw you. I'm sick of you blaming my country for all your problems, and we don't need you deciding that we need to be registered and licensed.

I had things to write about yesterday, but in a demonstration of grace

remarkable even in one of my dexterity, I managed to ram a small screwdriver into the ball of my left middle finger, grazing(as in 'tearing a small piece from') the index finger enroute. Which led to some use of words, what seemed an amazing amount of hemorrhage, and while washing the injury and letting it bleed a bit(as if I had a choice), the realization that lunch had been a while back, and various orders along the lines of "I will NOT pass out, I will NOT pass out."

Which I did not. The injury was dried, antisepticed(yes, that is a word; I just used it) and bandaged, and food was ingested. However, said middle finger is sore, the ball swollen, and it makes typing less than efficient. So the intended stuff will come later.

In the meantime, we've got solid overcast, high humidity(temp is down a bit, at least) and the threat of severe storms and or periods of heavy rain through tomorrow. Joy, joy. Rain wouldn't be bad, but the severe stuff we could do without.