Got some stuff planned that'll keep bloggage to a minimum

the next couple of days, so I'll try to give a fair pile of stuff now. Starting with
Arizona is spending $1.25 million to build bridges for 250 rare red squirrels so they won’t get hit by cars crossing the rural road. The money is being spent, officials said, because cars kill about five of these squirrels each year.
Federal grant money. Which means the feds take it from us for crap like this.


While the feds are too busy to actually DO anything about illegal aliens, like enforce our borders, they're busy spending our money on this:
ICE chief John Morton — the same man who signaled last month that he may refuse to process illegal aliens sent to him by Arizona law enforcement officials — has already eliminated 50 detention facilities. This despite a DHS inspector general report released last spring exposing the federal government’s bipartisan failure to expand detention space capacity to end the dangerous game of illegal alien “catch and release.”

Instead, among the p.c. makeover measures under consideration or about to be made by Obama’s ICE agency in the next 30 days:

– “Softening” the physical appearance of privately contracted detention facilities with “hanging plants.”

- Giving illegal alien detainees e-mail access and free Internet-based phone service.

- Abandoning lockdowns, lights-out, visitor screening and detention uniform requirements.

- Serving fresh veggies and continental breakfast and providing Bingo sessions, arts and crafts classes, and, yes, movie nights.
They're planning to sue Arizona for enforcing federal laws, but they think this crap is important...


The Coast Guard does a good job of search and rescue; but it is a government bureaucracy, which leads to crap like this:
Sixteen barges sat stationary today, although they were sucking up thousands of gallons of BP's oil as recently as Tuesday. Workers in hazmat suits and gas masks pumped the oil out of the Louisiana waters and into steel tanks. It was a homegrown idea that seemed to be effective at collecting the thick gunk.

"These barges work. You've seen them work. You've seen them suck oil out of the water," said Jindal.

So why stop now?

"The Coast Guard came and shut them down," Jindal said. "You got men on the barges in the oil, and they have been told by the Coast Guard, 'Cease and desist. Stop sucking up that oil.'"

A Coast Guard representative told ABC News today that it shares the same goal as the governor.

"We are all in this together. The enemy is the oil," said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Dan Lauer.

But the Coast Guard ordered the stoppage because of reasons that Jindal found frustrating. The Coast Guard needed to confirm that there were fire extinguishers and life vests on board, and then it had trouble contacting the people who built the barges.
Apparently the idea of sending someone to look on the barges for extinguishers and vests didn't occur to the Coasties.


Well, that's interesting:
Police use the onset of summer to issue fines to women found wearing make-up and nail polish, or figure-hugging clothes. Veils are tightened to stop showing so much hair, with light, nearly transparent head-coverings a particular target. Men deemed to be 'harassing' women while driving are also stopped.

In a television interview marking the anniversary of his re-election, Mr Ahmadinejad said he did not approve, and that the police actions were "designed to create tumult".

"The government does not agree with this behaviour and will respond to and control it as much as it can," he said. "It is an insult to ask a man and woman walking on the steet about their relation to each other. Nobody has the right to ask such questions."
First thought: things are getting so ready to blow completely that Ahmadogcrap wants to lower the tension, and thinks this will help.


Ann Coulter on the SC Senate primary:
They're hopping mad, these liberals, but it's not clear what their theory of the crime is. Before accusing Republicans of committing a dirty trick, apparently no one asked the question: "OK, but what was the trick?"

The key to Greene's victory, you see, is that he got more votes. How do liberals imagine Republicans pulled that off? Mesmerize the Democrats into voting for an idiot? If Republicans could do that, John McCain would be president.


This time I'll send you directly to Theo for the cartoons. Note: parts of his site may be NSFW.


Why does this not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling?
Seventeen Afghan military officers and enlistees have gone AWOL from a Lackland AFB language school over the past 18 months, the Air Force said Thursday.

Just what happened to the foreign troops isn't clear. The Air Force said the cases were given to the Department of Homeland Security once the officers and enlistees disappeared.


Why aren't they going to court? Because it would make trouble for Obama, and most of our major media is in the tank for him. That's why.


I'll say it again: 'zero-tolerance for weapons' isn't about safety, it's about covering the ass of bureaucrats. And giving them even more control over the kids and their families.
These were those miniature, 1 inch plastic soldiers of which some number usually come poised in various shooting positions. And THAT violated the school's weapons ban? How insane is that?
Not insane at all, if your aim is to protect the education bureaucrats from having to think, and give them more control over people.


And finally,
And now, I must get to it.

Remember the cast-bullet loads I tried in the M1 Garand?

Last time went to the outdoor range I finally remembered to take the tripod and set up the Chrony: in my rifle, 35.0 grains of IMR4895 over a 150-grain gas-check bullets equals an average 1950fps. No function problems, and the only sign of lead fouling I've ever found was a couple of specks on the piston face.

I'm going to keep messing with this over time, see if tweaking it will tighten groups a bit. But for what I started this for, a light load for when I can only get to the indoor range, it works fine.

One piece of good news

DISCLOSE has been yanked, at least for now
Following a rebellion by two important factions of rank-and-file House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has pulled a campaign-finance bill opposed by a broad coalition of special interest groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Not saying this lightly: God-damn these nannies,

there's not one damned thing they won't screw with. All for your own good, of course.
But increasingly, some educators and other professionals who work with children are asking a question that might surprise their parents: Should a child really have a best friend?
...
“I think it is kids’ preference to pair up and have that one best friend. As adults — teachers and counselors — we try to encourage them not to do that,” said Christine Laycob, director of counseling at Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School in St. Louis. “We try to talk to kids and work with them to get them to have big groups of friends and not be so possessive about friends.”

“Parents sometimes say Johnny needs that one special friend,” she continued. “We say he doesn’t need a best friend.”
I declare that, in the name of diversity and progress, we should line these bastards up, yank out every other one and hang them.

It's all for the public good. Truly, in this case.

Yeah, seems that when Obama speaks of 'bipartisan' and 'open',

he means "Do what I want and it's bipartisan" and " 'Open' means you'll find out about it eventually."
PHOENIX – Governor Jan Brewer said she was stunned and angered to learn during an Ecuadorean television interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the Obama Administration had decided to sue Arizona over its recently passed anti-illegal immigration law, SB1070. Video of the interview can be seen at Governor Brewer’s Arizona Border Security Information website:
www.azgovernor.gov/AZBorderSecurity.asp

Secretary Clinton announced during the interview on June 8th that President Obama has directed the U.S. Justice Department to “bring a lawsuit against the Arizona law.”

“This is no way to treat the people of Arizona,” said Governor Brewer. “To learn of this lawsuit through an Ecuadorean interview with the Secretary of State is just outrageous. If our own government intends to sue our state to prevent illegal immigration enforcement, the least it can do is inform us before it informs the citizens of another nation.”

This after her meeting a couple of weeks ago where
Brewer said Obama agreed to send staffers to Arizona “in a couple of weeks” to discuss using more federal resources to tighten the border, including allocating 1,200 National Guard troops and $500 million more in funds for border protection and law enforcement.

“He assured us that the majority of those resources would be coming to Arizona,” Brewer said.

She added, “I am encouraged there is going to be much better dialogue between the federal government and the state of Arizona. I hope that that’s not wishful thinking; I hope that that’s positive thinking.”
Apparently when Obama says "I'll send staffers to discuss matters" he means "I'll talk to lawyers about suing you."

ANYBODY who trusts ANYTHING Obama says anymore is either a fool or foolishly optimistic.

On the 'surveillance cameras to check insurance(and gather

information on you for mining/sale) mess, the Speaker of the House doesn't want to talk about it:
House Speaker Chris Benge has refused to answer questions posed by The McCarville Report Online about Governor Henry's plan to install highway traffic cameras to catch vehicle owners without the required insurance.

Benge's spokeswoman, Jennifer Monies, responded to TMRO's repeated questions today with, "I am sorry, but the Speaker does not have a comment on either question."
Well, he damn well needs to have some; he's supposed to be a public servant, not a private citizen talking about personal matters.

Further note on the crap going on here, here. In the second we find this:
"Brad Henry is not even involved in this," Switzer told The Oklahoman's Randy Ellis despite the fact that the entire purpose of the Meacham meeting was for Switzer and others to advocate the InsureNet system to spot vehicle insurance scofflaws for inclusion in Henry's budget. It was included as a revenue measure by Henry after Meacham's meeting with Switzer; bids have been taken by the Department of Central Services but a contract has not yet been awarded.
In a pig's backside the governor wasn't involved; he had to know something about it to 'include it as a revenue measure'.

Before I head out to do some stuff before it gets melt-hot,

I bring you:
Pandering:
Bags are to be put over scores of surveillance cameras in parts of Birmingham with large Muslim populations, after local objections.

Safer Birmingham Partnerships (SBP) said 216 cameras were put up, including hidden ones, mainly in the Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook districts.

The cameras were financed through a counter-terrorism fund, but the SBP said they would tackle all crime.

Councillor Salma Yaqoob said people had lost faith in the authorities.
A lot of people have had problems with cameras everywhere for years; but a majority-muslim district gripes, and "Oh, we'll cover them up!"


A bit more fiddling with history:
Jean-Pierre Azéma, a respected author of more than a dozen works, said he was concerned that inconvenient truths about France's wartime past were being played down amid a surge of patriotism around de Gaulle's June 18, 1940 appeal from London.

He said the fervour around the anniversary risked talking up de Gaulle's achievements when the real man of the hour was Winston Churchill.
Speaking of de Gaulle, from what I've read he made himself such a pain in the ass, and actual threat in some cases, that Churchill later wanted him to have a fatal accident.


From what I've read, Playboy actually has a decent article here. Kind of amazing.


One more example of Obama minions who cannot understand the difference between 'act of war' and 'criminal act'.


The parts that jump out at me:
Another World is Possible, Another US is Necessary.
and
And I am thinking of how the US needs to change in order to make that world possible.
"The world should change, but the US HAS TO CHANGE", etc. Always what it comes down to with these people, isn't it?


As Tea Party protests pop up in places like Moscow, Tel Aviv and the Hague, Americans may question whether the Tea Party platform can cross international and cultural borders. For activists outside the U.S., the answer is a resounding “yes.”

“I think the message of the American Revolution is global. The message of natural, unalienable rights, the message of opposition to tyrannical government — that’s not just well-known, that’s universal,” Boris Karpa, organizer of the Israeli Tea Party, told The Daily Caller in an e-mail. “As you know well, many countries have based their founding documents on the U.S. Declaration of Independence or other American documents.”

Although several international organizers had never even heard of the Boston Tea Party until U.S. protests brought the events of 1773 back into the spotlight, they now wear the Tea Party badge proudly as an example of American exceptionalism worth emulating.

“This [Tea Party] title is ideal for Russia,” Max Kronos, organizer of the Moscow Tea Party, told The Daily Caller in an e-mail. “This event has forever gone down in history — in Russia, such events have not happened.”


I'm so very glad I never jumped on the Lieberman bandwagon.
The federal government would have “absolute power” to shut down the Internet under the terms of a new US Senate bill being pushed by Joe Lieberman, legislation which would hand President Obama a figurative “kill switch” to seize control of the world wide web in response to a Homeland Security directive.

Lieberman has been pushing for government regulation of the Internet for years under the guise of cybersecurity, but this new bill goes even further in handing emergency powers over to the feds which could be used to silence free speech under the pretext of a national emergency.


I don't care if he was stoned, anybody stupid enough to do this needs to be removed from the gene pool.


And from Theo, just because I like them:

I have got to get by CCIZ more often

"Terry Pratchett is an elegant, witty author whose works reference, well everything. That his books are multi-layered enough to be enjoyed by kids but also by adults is the reason he is a great writer. Of course because Pratchett has created a fantasy world he’s an intellectual light-weight to the scribbling classes but fuck them! Pratchett will be seen as one of the great writers of the C20th and beyond (make us an Igor quick Dr Venter!). I’m sure he is not studied much in English Lit departments but then they do study James Joyce who was an obscurantist bollocks artist. They also study that utter cunt D H Lawrence. I once flicked through “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”. I got more of a stiffy with the Argos catalogue."
This was brought on by a piece of idiocy by a idiot named Rod Liddle which starts
Here is one of life’s little conundrums: what is the correct procedure to follow when you see a grown-up reading the work of JK Rowling or Terry Pratchett on a train? I usually end up kicking them surreptiotiously under the table, then apologising profusely, or “accidentally” smacking them in the head with my luggage.
The gentleman opines that he would have about the same reaction as I would to this jackass:
...and if I was assaulted for that “crime” by Mr Liddle there would be a hoicking up the bracket and indeed elsewise that would make me the stuff of CCTV legend. Liddle would wind-up dictating his mindless drivel by blinking Morse Code from a care-home for the chronically spackered.

Reminds me of some of the idiocies I read years ago from 'thinkers' about Robert Heinlein's works.

Gee, law schools play word games to screw people over

for money; whoda thunk it?
The law graduates posting on these sites know the score. They know that law schools pad their employment figures—96% employed—by counting as “employed” any job at all, legal or non-legal, including part time jobs, including unemployed graduates hired by the school as research assistants (or by excluding unemployed graduates “not currently seeking” a job, or by excluding graduates who do not supply employment information). They know that the gaudy salary numbers advertised on the career services page—“average starting salary $125,000 private full time employment”—are actually calculated based upon only about 25% of the graduating class (although you can’t easily figure this out from the information provided by the schools). They know all this because they know of too many classmates who didn’t get jobs or who got low paying jobs—the numbers don’t jibe with their first hand knowledge.

They know the score now. But they didn’t know it when they first applied to law school. They bought into the numbers provided by law schools. The mission of these sites is to educate, to warn away, the incoming crop of prospective law students—to save them from becoming victims of the law school scam.

A testimony to the P-51

A flying threesome of P-51D's locked wingtip-to-wingtip, looping and spiralling and turning and flat-hatting it over the airfield. If you have never had a trio of Merlins in full song come roaring only a couple hundred feet over your head, you don't know what you're missing. If I found out that the only way for me to keep those 1650 cubic-inch V-12s running was to drive down to the Gulf and hand-paint pelicans with crude oil using a bucket and a brush, I'd do it.

Obviously some Aussie police departments have taken care of all real crime

and have far too much time on their hands; time to cut the budget.

Idiocy pointed to by Theo

Such a start to the day....

The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating eight lawmakers who held fundraisers within 48 hours of a major House vote on a Wall Street reform bill or received substantial donations from business people with a financial stake in the bill, according to congressional sources and letters.
A: Guys, we don't give a rats ass what party you belong to; you do crap like this, we want you out.
B: Considering what Charles Rangel has gotten away with- for one example- the OCE isn't a real impressive group.


I keep hearing praise of Gov. Christie of NJ, and on financial matters he sounds good. But all the current "I want to see him running for President!" noise, I got curious about his stand on the 2nd Amendment, and could find damned little; I may just be looking in the wrong places. Found this:
Hannity: “Should every citizen in your state be allowed to get a licensed weapon if they want one?”

Christie: “In New Jersey, that’s not going to happen, Sean.”

Hannity: “Why?”

Christie: “Listen, with the Democratic Legislature that we have, there is no way those type of things –”

Hannity: “Would you support it?”

Christie: “Listen, at the end of the day, what I support are common sense laws that will allow people to protect themselves. But I also am very concerned about the safety of our police officers on the streets. Very concerned. And I want to make sure that we don’t have an abundance of guns out there.” He then finally extricated himself from the issue and turned the focus back to the economy.
This on Wiki(yeah, I know, but it's among what I could find):
Christie has said that he supports strict and aggressive enforcement of the state's current gun laws.[44] He however supports the Second Amendment's right to bear arms.
Anyone know of specifics of his stand on the matter? What I've been able to find is NOT encouraging; that 'abundance of guns' quote is very troubling, and how you can square supporting NJ gun laws with 'supporting' the 2nd, I'm not real sure.


Mentioned before, I don't generally watch political speeches; sounds like I didn't miss much last night.


So a former governor of OK, about as corrupt as they come, is getting rich working with Pakistan. Just bloody wonderful.


Lynne Stewart is a traitor, and should be in that cell for the rest of her life.


This crap is not the Hope! and Change!! we're looking for, dammit.

Now that the little birds have flown, I need to try to clean the sparrow nests out of the carport drains; see you later.

Further reason, if you needed it, to dump PayPal

I mentioned them being on the other side here; here's the followup:
On Monday, after what Geller says was a storm of protest, PayPal backed down.

Geller said she received a phone call from PayPal early Monday morning informing her it had all been a “misunderstanding.”

“They called me back and said it was a misunderstanding and we’re all good,” Geller said. “They obviously received an overwhelming response.”

“I have a pretty big soap box, but what are the little guys supposed to do?”
Especially when EBay and PayPal seem to have no problem with supporting islamists who call for murder and hate(the real thing):
In the meantime, as PJM’s Richard Fernandez reported earlier, Revolution Muslim was still being served by PayPal. Revolution Muslim is a site which, among other things, called for the murder of South Park creators Matt Parker and Trey Stone for depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit and has a picture of President Barak Obama as Adolf Hitler.

“I got called a hate site and yet Revolution Muslim threatens death to the Comedy Central producers and they still take PayPal,” she said. Geller added that the DVDs of Imam Anwar al Awlaki, a jihadist cleric who has been linked to Major Nidal Hasan, the alleged Ft. Hood shooter, are for sale on eBay and can be purchased using PayPal.

So, PayPal came crawling back because of all the publicity; Geller has gone to GPal anyway. Good for her; damned if I'll use PayPal again after this.


PJM made repeated requests for comment to PayPal which were not returned. In fact, we were given a non-working phone number as the number for a spokesperson.

PJM also made multiple attempts to contact former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who is running on the Republican ticket for governor of California. PayPal is owned by eBay.
Hey, Whitman, you'd better go ahead and talk to them; we want answers, and we're not going to go away.

So the PC Police and anti-smoking weenies have struck again

And taken a tip from Stalin to do it.
The face is instantly familiar, the two-fingered salute unmistakable.

But are these actually the same photograph of Sir Winston Churchill?

In the original photograph the war leader has his cigar gripped firmly in the corner of his mouth.

But in the other image - currently greeting visitors to a London museum - his favourite smoke has been digitally extinguished.
And- of course- NOBODY knows who was responsible, oh no!

Some more rain during the night,

and the sun's peeking through now. Hopefully allowing some drying out today.

In other news, some people in government may finally be getting the hint that the PRC isn't our friend.
And last month, at the Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing, a Chinese flag officer launched a three-minute rant that stunned the 65 or so American officials in the audience. Everything that is right with U.S. relations with China is due to China, said Rear Admiral Guan Youfei. Everything that is wrong is Washington’s fault. According to Guan, the United States sees China as an enemy.
...
“Admiral Guan was representing what all of us think about the United States in our hearts,” a senior Chinese official told the Washington Post. “It may not have been politically correct, but it wasn’t an accident.” Chinese flag officers do not launch into polemical speeches at tightly scripted events, such as the once-a-year Strategic and Economic Dialogue, and it was reckless for American officials to assume, despite everything, that Admiral Guan was speaking only for himself.


NASA says around 2013 the sun is going to give us a whack. They think a bad one.
Senior space agency scientists believe the Earth will be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes “from a deep slumber” sometime around 2013, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.


They've found huge mineral deposits in Afghanistan; the left predicts doom because this is a horrible thing.


Two Somali football fans have been killed by Islamic militants after being caught watching World Cup matches.
...
A spokesman for the group, Sheikh Mohamed Abdi Aros, said the rest of Somalia should respect their ban on the World Cup – the first to be hosted in Africa – and focus instead on "pursuing holy jihad".


The chick who claimed she was fired for being hot... You've blown it, dumbass.
She griped that Lorenzana has been "ridiculed and attacked . . . by media pundits."

But "pundit" Peyser was more than happy to hear of Allred's rant.

"I'm flattered that my words were sufficient to draw Gloria Allred, like a truffle-sniffing pig, out from California to represent this lady," Peyser said.

"I'm getting an avalanche of mes sages, e-mails, voicemails from people who are saying, 'Bravo!' and that this woman [Lorenzana] is a publicity whore."
I didn't buy this in the first place; a bank is going to fire a woman because of her looks? In this day of "You discriminated against me!!!" lawsuits?


Couple of dumbass teachers just had to crap on some kids who decided to join the military; problems ensue.


This is a strange one:
A armed couple was arrested tonight after they tried to enter Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base in an SUV full of weapons and ammo.


Gov. Jindal got tired of waiting for Obama and the EPA to make a decision:
Eight weeks into the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of the Mexico, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has told the National Guard that there’s no time left to wait for BP, so they’re taking matters into their own hands.

In Fort Jackson, La., Jindal has ordered the Guard to start building barrier walls right in the middle of the ocean. The barriers, built nine miles off shore, are intended to keep the oil from reaching the coast by filling the gaps between barrier islands.
Well, since The Lightworker & Co. would rather talk and play games than make a decision...

I think the first lifestyle change that should occur

is throwing every nanny-state socialist bastard in the White House and Congress out the door. More preferably a window.

Most preferably after the tar and feathers are applied.

And let it not be forgotten that the bastard signing this is still smoking.

About the days weather,

Marty pointed to this picture.

You can see where the storms were developing southwest of here, one after another, and training over the same ground. For hours. One area northeast of me a few miles got a measured 11"; my area about 7-8". Still sprinkling off & on, but- very happily- the stuff ran off fairly quickly in most areas.

I stand corrected: now it's raining fairly hard.

Long time ago, when dad was stationed in northern OK, I remember a day & night that has the same feel as this. I remember Mom was worried as hell because Dad was out in it doing search & rescue work. The National Guard had brought a bunch of deuce-and-a-halfs out for assistance, but some of the roads even those couldn't get through; a lot of farm families spent the night in the upper story of the house, or on the roof or in the loft in the barn.

The heavy stuff has currently stopped, though I still hear thunder.

Dad was worried about the sheriff; he had a bad habit of finding out someone was in trouble and diving in without thinking through the risks, and in this case that might be 'diving in' literally and fatally. But they got through the night with nobody dead. Couple of people wound up spending the night in a tree after they tried to drive across a flooded bridge, but nobody dead as I recall. That was the first time I got a lesson about what moving water could do; a guy tried to drive a semi over a bridge with about 18" or so of fast-moving water over it and it washed the tractor and trailer off; can't remember if he was one who spent the night on top of the vehicle when it got stuck, or if he's one that made it into a tree.

In any case, this day was quite wet enough for anybody.

Sometimes the NRA really ticks me off

This is one of those times

Added: yes, I know they're a single-issue organization; still annoys me

And, by the way,

Happy Birthday, Army

235 years

Hehehehehe......

About Democrat Rep. Bob Etheridge's apology,

Moe Lane sees it as an "I got caught so I'm sorry" type. There's also this bit:
No matter how intrusive and partisan our politics can become, this does not justify a poor response. I have and I will always work to promote a civil public discourse."
Ahem. THEY ASKED YOU A FREAKIN' QUESTION, YOU BASTARD; just a bloody question. And you have to throw this 'intrusive and partisan' crap in to try to excuse yourself.

Some of the lefty blogs and news weenies are making a big deal out of the guy saying "We're just students!" while being assaulted by Etheridge; guess what, guys? Some jerk's acting like that, I'm not giving him my name either; and this guy sounded scared to death. He asked a representative a question and gets assaulted, he was probably scared what would happen later if he gave his name. And bloody shocked that Etheridge would act this way.

For a while there I was wondering how long a cubit is...

Between about 0430-0445 this morning and noon some areas in central OK got 11" of rain. Flooding, flash-flooding and general misery. If I remember correctly, at one point some parts of every interstate highway in the central OK area was closed due to high water.

After noon, in this area at least, it broke down to sprinkles to light rain(like the light rain right now, dammit), giving the water some time to run off. My garden is made of an area outlined with concrete blocks and filled in to raise and level it; there was so much water at one point this morning it pushed three of the blocks over. I was able to set them back up, and after it'd stopped for a while scoop up some of the dirt that washed out, but I'm still going to have to get a couple of pickup loads of topsoil to fill in what could not be saved.

The Brits aren't the only ones with these problems

...While the British have upgraded their standard issue assault rifle, the SA80, and their squad automatic weapon, the L86A2, and other infantry weapons over the course of the last 50 years, little to no attention has been paid to either finding a new sidearm or purchasing newer versions of the L9A1. Meanwhile, the companies that produce the L9A1 offer upgraded, more modern Hi-Power models. Thus, aside from a few special ops units, the majority of British officers are stuck using well-worn, beat-up 9mms that are not aging well. Reliable weapon though it may be, a 30 year-old pistol that has been issued to, and used by, dozens of officers, and spent a lot of time outdoors, is not going to be as reliable as a newer sidearm. Troops are often wary of using such equipment, knowing that a malfunction or a jam in an old handgun could very well cost them their lives in combat.
Back in the 1970's, when I lived in Lawton, knew several people at Fort Sill. One told me one evening that ALL the 1911A1 pistols in their armory, with the sole exception of those used by the shooting teams, were so old, worn and loose that they rattled like maracas if you shook them; some had barrels so shot-out they couldn't hold a bucket-size group at twenty feet.* Money was tight enough that replacing/renovating sidearms had a very low priority.


Pointed to by the gentleman in the handbasket.

*Mind you, despite having many years- in some cases forty- total use with all-too-often lousy care, every one of them would go bang when the trigger was pulled; he still loved them for that.

Ok, this goes all the way into assault

by a congressman, Democrat Rep. Bob Etheridge of North Carolina, against people who dared to ask him a reasonable question. Whacking the camera, laying hands on the guy asking the question...

I'd have called 911 and reported him. And seen if I could file charges; there is NO EXCUSE for this kind of crap.

Added: here's the view from both cameras.

It just flat sucks outside

It started raining- heavily- around 0500 here, and hasn't stopped. Flooding all over the area, lots of road closings. From the radar, it looks like the storms keep forming a little southwest of here and rolling northeast, dumping all over as they go. Depending on what area you're in, anywhere from 2-6" in

I live on a high area, and there's standing water in spots in my back yard, which I think I've seen once before.

First-class mess. Flash-flood and flood warnings over a big swath of the state running from southwest to northeast, and the panhandle. Street flooding and all that fun stuff; I'd hate to see what the river looks like through the downtown area right now.

Yesterday was an anniversary

Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Dave says How many of you are old enough to remember when you thought "he's insane"?

On June 12, 1987 I was 27 years old. And I thought Reagan was bonkers, with this speech.
I was 29, and I thought something along the lines of 'Bleep-DAMN, I'm glad I voted for him!' And it amazed me how many people had the same reaction as Dave; I wondered "How can you say you believe in freedom, in the individual, and NOT want that damned wall down?"

I still don't have a real answer to that. And I'm still glad I voted for him.

Both times.

Wow, I wonder why they'd do that...

Late Wednesday night, the FAA created a "no-fly zone" over a large area in the Gulf in order to, uhm, secure the safety of cleanup workers or something.
and add to that,
Update: In the comments, GulfCoastBamaFan observes that the GIS (Geographical Information System) data related to the spill is now unavailable:

Damn, almost like they don't want people to know about something

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Found here.

And how much you want to be he won't try it at some point?

Tam had a post on movies,

and I commented on some books they could make into movies that would be effing WONDERFUL if they actually stuck to the story. She said
"Oh, pleez jeezus, I would spend all my money for a ticket.

Are you *%($#ing listening, Hollywood? I would murder people in their beds to see a good big-screen adaptation of Counting The Cost."

Hell, yeah. I'd buy a ticket for me, my daughter, my friend the gunsmith and son. And buy the disc. Maybe two, one for a gift.

But it wouldn't win at Cannes, or be praised by the usual suspects, so the chances of someone in Hollyweird actually having the brains and determination to do it... low. Very low.

Saga of the 15-22

Nothing bad to report. Either they had a lot of bugs in the early ones and I got one of the buggiest, or it was simply a lemon. In either case, I've now got about a thousand rounds through this one and the only failures to function I can blame on either not having the top round in the magazine in proper position(round popped to vertical instead of feeding), or a couple of brands not having quite enough oomph or something to cycle the action. Odd, that; it's fired Eley Sport and some other subsonic stuff with no problem, but a couple of brands this one just won't work with.

Remember the Remington Golden Bullet problem? I found a box of old stuff, between 2-3 years old, buried under some other stuff and tried some of it; functioned perfectly in this rifle. But the stuff made since? Not so much.

When I got this rifle I wiped out the bore with Eezox, and wiped the bolt and rails clean with it, left it open to dry and haven't touched it since. It's been roughly a thousand rounds through, so today I opened it up. Bolt face:Inside the receiver:
Fairly filthy with .22 fouling, most of which wiped off with a damp patch(trying Strike Hold this time). Not nearly as dirty as this AR15*, but standard 'not cleaned in a while' .22-level.

I found a BSA .22 scope stuck in a corner(found on sale somewhere) and stuck it on for testing ammo. Now I need a calm day at the outdoor range so I can try this at 50 and(hopefully) 100 yards. Want to try the Fed Auto Match in the Martini, too, see if the promise of that one group holds up.


*That's the dirtiest I've ever seen. The second-dirtiest firearm for me was a Marlin model 75 sold cheap because it wouldn't function. Reason it wouldn't was, from the looks of it, whenever it started getting sticky they'd just spritzed some oil- motor oil, from the smell- in and kept going. That's the only .22 I've ever had to actually soak the works in solvent to clean: grey sludge caked on/in EVERYTHING inside the receiver. Kind of wish it was still mine, as after cleaning it was a very reliable and very accurate little rifle.

I have to note that this scope kind of sucks. Big problem is that it's VERY picky about eye relief: get just a touch too far back and everything outside the center of field gets blurry. REAL blurry. But it holds zero, so I'll give it a try for this.

On this voter intimidation case, the fix is in;

problem is, thanks to the new media, people are actually finding out about it. Crap like this:
After sending the response, Coates and Robert Popper met with Rosenbaum and the then acting assistant attorney general for civil rights, Loretta King. People familiar with the discussions describe “two days of shouting.” The trial team now knew that DoJ political appointees were serious about undermining the case by using whatever arguments they could dream up, including First Amendment concerns. The team prepared a detailed memo dated May 6 explaining the factual and legal basis for the case. In 13 pages, the attorneys meticulously analyzed the law and the facts and rebutted any notion that the First Amendment could insulate the Panthers. The memo made clear that Rosenbaum’s and King’s arguments for dismissing the case were spurious. Rosenbaum and King, for example, argued that legal precedent involving protestors at abortion clinics would undermine the case. The trial team pointed out, however, that these cases were either inapplicable or actually supported the issuance of an injunction when there was a significant government interest (such as the protection of voting rights) at stake.
...
The arguments continued after the May 6 memo was submitted. During one meeting in a conference room on the 5th floor of the Main Justice building, Coates became so exasperated he threw the memo at Rosenbaum who had admitted not reading the trial team’s detailed briefing on the issues.
Basically, "I don't have to read your brief, I don't want to be confused with facts!"
Really ought to read it all, this crap is important.

From Mark Steyn, two politicisns who deserve each other

Anyway, a couple of years back, Michael Ignatieff, a professor at Harvard and previously a BBC late-night intellectual telly host, returned to his native land of Canada in order to become prime minister, and to that end got himself elected as leader of the Liberal party. And, as is the fashion nowadays, he cranked out a quickie tome laying out his political “vision.” Having spent his entire adult life abroad, he was aware that some of the natives were uncertain about his commitment to the land of his birth. So he was careful to issue a sort of pledge of a kind of allegiance, explaining that writing a book about Canada had “deepened my attachment to the place on earth that, if I needed one, I would call home.”

Gee, that’s awfully big of you. As John Robson commented in the Ottawa Citizen: “I’m worried that a man so postmodern he doesn’t need a home wants to lead my country. Why? Is it quaint? An interesting sociological experiment?”

Indeed. But there’s a lot of it about. Many Americans are beginning to pick up the strange vibe that, for Barack Obama, governing America is “an interesting sociological experiment,” too. He would doubtless agree that the United States is “the place on earth that, if I needed one, I would call home.” But he doesn’t, not really: It is hard to imagine Obama wandering along to watch a Memorial Day or Fourth of July parade until the job required him to. That’s not to say he’s un-American or anti-American, but merely that he’s beyond all that. Way beyond. He’s the first president to give off the pronounced whiff that he’s condescending to the job — that it’s really too small for him and he’s just killing time until something more commensurate with his stature comes along.
Read it all.

And I'm beginning to think that we should interpret 'professor at Harvard' or 'Harvard grad' as meaning something along the lines of 'wants to destroy the country' or 'the enemy'.

Hey, Moron O'Donnell, if you need more convincing,

Turns out, the Jews in Israel are already there.

JEWS were expelled from what is now Israel in roughly the sixth century BC and again in the second century AD. Though the population scattered to all corners of the globe, a religious and traditional connection to Israel remained in the Diaspora.

But skeptics have long questioned whether the people who daven in Brooklyn have any real ancestral link to those early Jewish people.

The studies, then, are like a genetic coat of arms.

“It seems that most Jewish populations, and therefore most Jewish individuals, are closer to each other [at the genetic level], and closer to the Middle Eastern populations, than to their traditional host population in the Diaspora,” Israeli geneticist Doron Behar, author of the Nature study, told the BBC.

This was already known from histories, but here's you some actual genetic evidence. So shut the hell up.