Busy weekend

that involved a trip, helping Dad take care of some stuff- including jacking up and blocking one corner of the back deck- and hitting the range with him, which I don't get to do often. A while back he'd picked up a Marlin 39A Golden Mountie, a .22 lever-action with an old Sears scope on it, and hadn't had a chance to fire it before. That is one sweet-shooting rifle, and it had no problem breaking clay pigeons at 100 yards. Odd thing: the hammer and lever on this rifle are chrome or nickel-plated, only one like that I've heard of. Salesman's sample, maybe? And his S&W Model 657 is also something I lust after. A very nice trip to the range, heat and all.

Being back behind the keyboard, I shall now run over a few news items that catch my eye before I head out to take care of a bunch of stuff. Starting with
Remember when one of the lectures we received was how nasty man was the only creature that practiced war? That we should be more like the chimps?
South Bend Seven says out loud something I was thinking: the recent studies on organized chimp warfare make it clear that 90% of infantry tactics are older than our species:

http://southbend7.blogspot.com/2010/06/c…

The chimps are shockingly sophisticated. They’ve got “move swiftly, strike vigorously and secure the fruits of victory” down pat.

Y'know, I think this was one of the things that got the Gauls in a lot of trouble when they met disciplined troops...
You know what makes me optimistic about this video though? The lack of discipline in the riot cops. They charge down the street like a pack of rabid Gauls. It's nice to know that when riot cops advance they scatter about like school children instead of staying in formation, shoulder to shoulder, like trained professionals. That's the kind of thing it may come in handy one day to know.


Among the reasons why people like Barney Frank and Charles Rangel should be horsewhipped.


My caption would be "Anybody ELSE got something smartass to say?"


Just wonderful, the kind of people modern liberals like to align themselves with:
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced Israel as a “genocidal” government on Sunday as he hosted Syrian President Bashar Assad on his first visit to Latin America.

Chavez has drawn close to Syria and Iran, and cut ties with Israel last year to protest its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

“We have common enemies,” Chavez said, describing them as “the Yankee empire, the genocidal state of Israel.”

A wonderful take on Prince Harry throwing out the first ball:
His windup was a little weak, like a rookie reliever with Rickey Henderson on first, but his delivery was good, especially when compared to the current denizen of the Oval Office.

This is perhaps unsurprising, since Harry has experience throwing hand grenades while Barry can't even pitch a convincing tantrum.


What, you expect consistency from places like Firedoglake?
Yesterday left-wing extremist Blue Texan at Firedoglake erupted in outrage at the right's relatively mild reaction to the death of former Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd. See, "Conservatives Trash Robert Byrd While His Body is Still Warm." Check the link. For reminding folks of Senator Byrd's disgraced past as an Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, Blue Texan writes, "As always, the right remains a paragon of class."

But back in January, Blue Texan attacked former GOP Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott as "chummy with racist hate groups." See, "Senate Majority Leader was Affiliated with White Supremacist Group."

Words fail.

Screen caps below.


Finally, a close from Theo: