Saturday, July 23, 2011

Oh, Bleepin' Deity, you'd think these clowns could get their anthrax story straight...

Department lawyers created a stir in recent days, first by filing court papers that appeared to undercut the FBI's finding that the late Army scientist Bruce Ivins was the killer. The filings said Ivins had no access in a secure lab to the sophisticated equipment to produce the anthrax powder.

Four days later, the lawyers abruptly revised that statement to say he lacked access in his lab to a specific machine that could dry wet anthrax.

“I think it creates a great deal of problems for the government,” said Paul Kemp, who represented Ivins before his 2008 suicide.

Friday, July 22, 2011

I'd wondered about the true worth of the fancy

and expensive running shoes; looks like my doubts may have been justified:
In a paper for the British Journal Of Sports Medicine last year, Dr Craig Richards, a researcher at the University of Newcastle in Australia, revealed there are no evidence-based studies that demonstrate running shoes make you less prone to injury. Not one.

It was an astonishing revelation that had been hidden for over 35 years. Dr Richards was so stunned that a $20 billion industry seemed to be based on nothing but empty promises and wishful thinking that he issued the following challenge: 'Is any running-shoe company prepared to claim that wearing their distance running shoes will decrease your risk of suffering musculoskeletal running injuries? Is any shoe manufacturer prepared to claim that wearing their running shoes will improve your distance running performance? If you are prepared to make these claims, where is your peer-reviewed data to back it up?'

Dr Richards waited and even tried contacting the major shoe companies for their data. In response, he got silence.

So, if running shoes don't make you go faster and don't stop you from getting hurt, then what, exactly, are you paying for? What are the benefits of all those microchips, thrust enhancers, air cushions, torsion devices and roll bars?

The answer is still a mystery. And for Bowerman's old mentor, Arthur Lydiard, it all makes sense.

Today is the daughters birthday

Once upon a time she was in diapers, then looked like this

and then this
and now she's got her own house, and work and critters. They do grow up.

Things to know for homesteading

10. Tools, chainsaws, buckets, mauls… you need a whole lotta’ shit to reduce materialism. Go figure.
11. The closer you are to “carbon neutral” the more ridiculous the concept will seem.

The rest of the list is here

I am forced to deal with the fact I've become a wuss

It's not just the half-shot knees and some other joints; it's the heat. I just don't handle it as well as I used to. Yeah, it's anywhere from 101-105 lately, but I'm wearing pants or shorts and a shirt. The troops are in heat at least this high, often more, with a considerably less comfortable style of dress. To borrow from a couple of messages from the son his first time in Iraq:
We weighed my body armor today, 90lbs, thats with full battle load of ammo, shoulder guards, side plates, and other useful items.
The useful items?
Camelback attached to the back, starts out the day with 6lbs of ice and 2 liters of water; lasts about four hours, then back to the water bottles.
Gerber multi-tool
550 cord
camera
candy for the local kids
carabiner
lighter
spare lenses for the goggles
a cloth gaiter to pull up and filter out some of the dust.
Plus:
Add about 3lbs for the helmet and 8 for the m4, plus whatever else you carry like a flashlight, machine gun ammo, etc. and the weight jumps up there quick.
The area they were in when he sent that: daily highs 120-125F. The infantry walking with what were sometimes considerably more of a load for long distances over lousy terrain.

Getting old sucks.

An interesting bit of "We're done for"

So, person to person, I don't know about you, but I'm weary of being ruled -- not governed, mind you; governed is in the rear-view mirror, and fading -- ruled by a gaggle of metrosexual car salesmen, slovenly ward heelers, and soi-disant intellectuals that can't operate an apostrophe, never mind something substantial and commendable like a dry cleaners or a brothel.

Found thanks to Kevin

Oh, God, if this is true then we should skip the tar and feathers (updated)

and go straight to hanging, drawing and quartering:
Phil Jordan, a former CIA operative and one-time leader of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Intelligence Center, claims that the Obama administration is running guns to the violent Zetas cartel through the direct commercial sale of military grade weapons:

Jordan, who served as director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Intelligence Center in 1995, said the Zetas have shipped large amounts of weapons purchased in the Dallas area through El Paso.

Robert “Tosh” Plumlee, a former CIA contract pilot, told the Times he supported Jordan’s allegations, adding that the Zetas have reportedly bought property in the Columbus, N.M., border region to stash weapons and other contraband.

“From the intel, it appears that a company was set up in Mexico to purchase weapons through the U.S. Direct Commercial Sales Program, and that the company may have had a direct link to the Zetas.”
This is even worse than Gunrunner and Gunsurfer and whatever the hell else we previously knew about.

If true, we're talking about a BUNCH of high-rankers at State, including Clinton, being involved. And if she claims that she 'knew nothing about this', then we're in the same situation as Holder: if you didn't know, then you've no damned business in the position you're holding. And if you did...


Update: The question is asked, what if this is pure disinformation to try and distract from Gunwalker & Co.?

Of general interest,

311.945 miles per hour on a motorcycle. Damn.


I doubt these were Black Widow bites; they're generally considered pretty painful. Something else, but I doubt BW.


So TSA doesn't just steal your stuff, they steal your money, too, while they're molesting you.


O'Keefe has had some stings running on Medicaid offices; major media ignores- as usual- and liberals scream "LIAR! EDITED!!" as usual to defend.


And that's it for now

Well, this isn't exactly a surprise

The first part of the article covers the events on the video. It's about 3/4 of the way through the article that we find these interesting tidbits about Officer Steroid:

Canton’s internal affairs unit has investigated 16 complaints involving Harless dating back to 2000.

He was reprimanded in one 2003 case. Harless and another officer were exonerated of using excessive force, but were given a letter of reprimand for not activating the in-car video camera at the scene per department policy.

SIXTEEN IA investigations in 11 years. That's one and a half a year, or roughly one instance every 9 months. Unfortunately there's no information on whether there were 16 exonerations, 16 convictions, or whatever. It is very interesting to note that Harless has been officially reprimanded for not turning on the dash cam - as well as having at least one excessive force claim against him already.

This guy's a bad cop, and the Canton PD has known about it for a while.

Added: Lawdog expresses his opinion; it's about what you'd expect.

Looks like Norway is finding out the hard way Updated

that being nice to jihadi-minded people does not get good results.
Car bomb, and somebody in a police uniform opening fire on a bunch of people at a youth camp. And the cops are saying they fear bombs at the camp. They're trying to decide if the two attacks are connected.

Update: looks like may not have been a RoP type after all. Surprising. I do have to wonder about possible follow-on attacks by such, considering the situation up there.

Added: there's some odd things floating around about the apparent dirtbag; assuming he wasn't simply a flake-brained nutcase, it's going to take a while to find out anything solid. I have to add: the Norwegian government has bent over backwards to avoid talking about crimes involving muslims in the past; if there is indeed a jihadi connection I don't doubt they'd do everything possible to ignore/downplay it. Link

Creepy Van Guy is better than TSA

Ten reasons

I've been thinking about that sorry excuse for a lawman

caught on tape committing committing egregious offenses against Good Practice, Good Sense and making terroristic threats.

I've mentioned before that Dad spent a lot of years wearing a badge; I grew up around state, county, city and federal cops(not many federal). The vast majority were good people; some had about as much give as a plank of hickory, but you didn't have to worry about them being honest, or fair. Comparing that to far too many cops today, it's discouraging*. Then something occurred to me: where'd they come from?

Most of these guys were from small towns or medium-size cities originally; places where if a officer behaved badly, most people wouldn't have any problem going to the chief or sheriff or- in the case of OHP- the area troop headquarters and saying something about it. You may be a deputy/officer/trooper and have a job to do, but by God! that didn't give you some privilege to treat people badly! and they WOULD talk to someone about it. Also, they'd grown up being taught that thing called 'manners'; it can be amazing how use of that(apparently mysterious to many) thing can calm things down.

I have to wonder if some of the current problems are a combination of training problems("You will Take Charge of the situation, even if you have to be an asshole to do it!"), attitude problems when they come into the academy and maybe not having grown up with that smaller-town attitude?

I once had a roaring argument with a guy about some of what I saw as idiocies in OHP training; close order drill, military-type crap. He insisted that this stuff was 'necessary to teach discipline', etc. I said it was time-wasting crap: these guys are going to spend the majority of their time working traffic, working accidents, dealing with local citizens and occasionally taking part in a manhunt and such, and the time wasted on marching drill could be much better spent on driving or shooting or first-aid or 'how to actually get along with people' training. Neither of us gave an inch, and I still think marching drill for a Highway Patrol officer is a bloody waste of time. Any other officer, for that matter. Why are you spending time on military-type unit training for people who have to be able to work by themselves most of the time? If they go onto the tac team later on, they'll train as a team; unless/until then, marching drill? And do you really want your cops thinking in military terms? I don't; that's not supposed to be their damned job, and things tend to get messed up when they think it is.

I fully appreciate that, when you walk into a mess, you have to get in control of it; when your attitude takes a mildly troublesome situation and turns it into a real confrontation with you, you've just created a bigger problem for yourself than previously existed, AND caused everyone witnessing to have thoughts of "Why did he have to act like that? These cops are nasty!" Which causes problems down the road for everyone else with a badge. Witness the mess in the video; that guy took what should have been, at most, a "Sir, could I see your license?"-type contact and turned it into a real mess. That- hopefully- will cost him his job, and ought to at least get his partner a new anal orifice reamed without benefit of anesthetic for just standing there and doing nothing to get things under control, or keep them from getting that bad in the first place.

Just some thoughts on the matter.

Just ran across this on the current situation: the city tried to play "We'll let you off if you promise not to sue us" and got the proper response. Plus Mr. Hardy has a thought that's really interesting, that the city may have stuck its collective organ in a pencil sharpener by the offer:
1. I'd think they would have skipped that offer, since it sounds uncommonly like extortion to me. We will drop criminal charges if you give us something of monetary value....(does sound that way, doesn't it?)

2. In a §1983 claim, the person who violated rights is of course liable. The problem is always with proving liability of the City or other governmental unit. The ordinary respondeat superior (the principal is liable for the acts of his agent) doesn't apply, you have to show that the city itself did something that makes it liable. This usually takes the form of arguing insufficient training, or an extensive list of violations so long that violating a right becomes unwritten policy. (And the loss rate here is high). Or ratification -- the city did something that retroactively endorsed the violation, essentially. If you give your agent a bonus for his illegal acts, or a commendation, then you become liable for them.

I wonder if the city's plea offer isn't ratification of the violation. The arrest was the officer's problem, but the prosecution is theirs. They demand something of value from the victim -- specifically, a release from liability for the officer and the city -- as a price for their dismissing. The principal has used its power in order to protect its agent from liability for wrongdoing.


*When you've sat in a car with four or five long-service officers, 15 or 20 or 25 years, and listened to them talk about the attitude problems of the younger officers, it makes an impression.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

We interrupt the current broadcast to bring you a word from Rat

I flat love reading about discoveries

like this:
Near the South Sandwich Islands, a British territory that straddles the Southern Ocean and the south Atlantic, scientists found more than a dozen huge underwater volcanoes, some of which tower 2 miles above the ocean floor. The expedition's leader, volcanologist Phil Leat, who is working with the British Antarctic Survey, says the volcanic cluster is unusually dense and active. "We weren't expecting to find so many undiscovered volcanoes here," he says.
...
Leat says the formation's conical shapes and cratered summits are signs of recent eruptions, meaning that almost all of these volcanoes are active. "This is the only place that's this active in the whole of the Antarctic Ocean," Leat says. The tallest of the newly discovered volcanoes has a summit that lies just 160 feet below the surface (less than twice the ship's length). Another eruption might be enough for this volcano to break the surface and become an island, adding to the South Sandwich chain to which the underwater giants belong.

Maybe he was a good cop once, but now

he's the kind of asshole who should not be allowed to wear a badge.


Found at Arms and the Law

Further reason not to piss off the customers, current

or potential:
True Story: Back in the days when one had to pass an interview with il Commendatore to purchase one of his roadgoing automobiles, which he only soiled his hands with to generate funds for his racing team, one Italian industrial magnate got rejected for his purchase by Enzo as an ill-bred parvenue and thus not worthy of owning a prancing horse. Thus rejected, Ferruccio Lamborghini said “Screw you! I’ll start my own sports car company!” And so he did

So if you're somewhere in the parts of Africa where lions roam,

pay attention to the phase of the moon:
A lion is most likely to eat you just after a full moon, research has shown.
...
The discovery, from an African study of 500 lion attacks, could explain the full moon's place in folklore as a harbinger of evil or disaster, and its association with werewolves and vampires.

Scientists studied records of nearly 500 lion attacks on Tanzanian villagers between 1988 and 2009.
It doesn't mention of maned cats of other nationality share this timing.

By the way, that's 'nearly 500' attacks in one country over that period; any guesses of the actual total across Africa?

Aside from a troll who came by for a while, the most upset comments I've had over the years of this blog was when I wrote about the bad table manners of Elsa the lion & Family; I wonder if taking note of this'll upset the bunnyhuggers again?

After-Action Report from Dealer Days

at H&H.
Went this morning; lots of dealer reps with lots of stuff. And you can try them out; buy a ticket for $4(or 3 for $10), give the rep the ticket and sign the list and you get the firearm, a target and five rounds to take out on the range. Here's what I tried:
SiG 1911-22
Same size as a full-size 1911A1, not quite the weight. Very good trigger, shot very nicely. The sights had neon lime-green dots that showed up quite well.


Uberti Schofield:
The one at the shop is nickel-plated, and in .38 Special. With that weight, .38 ball ammo had very little felt recoil, shot nicely. The grip shape is such that I had to roll it back in my hand for my thumb to reach the hammer, or- with a two-hand grip- use the left thumb to cock.


Kimber Solo:
This is a single-stack 9mm, very short, slim and light. Uncertain about it due to the trigger; it's considered single-action and has a thumb safety, but the trigger is a cross between a true single-action and a double, not much weight but a fair amount of travel. And I could not tell when it would break. Probably something you could get used to with some practice, but if you're going to have a thumb safety, why not a proper single-action break? 'Course, that's my opinion, you may well like it.

STI Shadow
True single-action semi-auto, sub-compact 1911 size, the one I fired was 9mm. Aluminum frame, a little thicker than the Solo and a few ounces heavier. I liked it. Very clean trigger, fit the hand well. If I had that much disposable cash, I'd get one. If it had the bobtail on the frame it'd be even better for a CC pistol, but still very nice.

Lots of other stuff on display, shotguns, rifles and pistols from a bunch of companies. One other thing I'll pass on, saw a guy coming off the range with one of the Taurus mare's leg- pistol? rifle?- things,

and asked what he thought; the one he'd fired was .44 Magnum, and his comment was "Try it out and you'll probably save yourself $500."

Bullet sale, and a postal match

Midway has a blemished bullet sale; rifle and handgun.


Mr. Completely has the current e-Postal Match up.Link

Two things this morning:

First, I have a hard time believing the fire department in someplace like San Francisco does not already have any equipment or training for cold-water work.


Second, I'm really sick of someone dismissing information entirely because "It came from Faux News!" They can't point out where the information is actually wrong or something, but that they assume that's where you got it, or heard Fox did a story on it, is all it takes in their mind to dismiss it entirely.
But Media Matters and such is considered an unimpeachable source of information...

Link

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

One of the people Leahy wanted confirmed

to get his 'cooperation' on investigating Gunwalker?
To recap, James Cole is no stranger to serious misconduct occurring during his alleged “watch.” Cole was the “Independent Consultant” stationed at AIG by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before, during and after the financial meltdown of 2008. Despite his oversight responsibilities, Cole looked the other way as the AIG Financial Products Division in London ran the corporation off the rails, ultimately driving the international economy off a cliff. The cost to US taxpayers of the AIG bailout was more than $150 billion.

Fast forward to January 2011. After President Obama installed Cole at DOJ as the Acting Deputy Attorney General through a recess appointment, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Oversight & Government Reform Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-California) began asking Cole’s office for information about F&F. On January 27, Grassley wrote to ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson, requesting information. Four days later, Grassley again wrote to Melson about reports that whistleblowers on F&F were being silenced, stating “Rather than focusing on retaliating against whistleblowers, the ATF’s sole focus should be on finding and disclosing the truth as soon as possible."
...
Grassley, of course, has crossed swords with Cole before. Through 2010 and into 2011, Grassley blocked Cole’s confirmation in part because Cole had failed in his oversight at AIG. In June, however, Grassley withdrew his objection to Cole in exchange for information from the DOJ about F&F (Just for now, let’s ignore the dubious practice of forcing Congress to exchange votes for information from executive agencies about wrongdoing). Cole was then confirmed on June 27, and shortly after the vote, DOJ turned over documents about F&F to the Senate.

In the documents, Grassley discovered that Cole had been informed about F&F in March by Melson and had participated in concealing the details of the operation from Congressional investigators.
...
Let's recap:

Cole ignored or failed to recognize financial risk at AIG for years (while collecting a hefty fee).
Grassley blocked his confirmation as Deputy Attorney General.
Using a recess appointment, President Obama appointed Cole to Deputy Attorney General in December of last year, and Cole took up his position at DOJ.
Cole’s office at DOJ withheld information from Congress about F&F at ATF, a program that allowed thousands of firearms bought in the US to fall into the hands of criminals in Mexico.
In a deal with Democrats, Grassley agreed to allow a confirmation vote on Cole in exchange for access to information from DOJ about F&F.
Upon receiving that information, Grassley learned that a DOJ official partially responsible for withholding F&F details from Congress was … Cole himself.
And if you don't believe Leahy knew, well, I've got some bridges I'd like to sell you.

In my list of obscure quotes that tell me someone's been

reading/watching the same stuff I do, in addition to "Not in these trousers" and "Whales do to have wings!", I can now add "Bring me my fighting trousers!", possibly preceded by "No, those are my time-travel trousers."

And ifr you think UN Peacekeeping missions are a mess

think what they can do with this bullcrap:
A special meeting of the United Nations security council is due to consider whether to expand its mission to keep the peace in an era of climate change.

Small island states, which could disappear beneath rising seas, are pushing the security council to intervene to combat the threat to their existence.

There has been talk, meanwhile, of a new environmental peacekeeping force – green helmets – which could step into conflicts caused by shrinking resources.
The UN can't keep the bad peacekeepers from stealing, extorting and running prostitution rings(not to mention not actually helping peace- ask Srebrenica); so just exactly what- other than giving itself even more power over other peoples lives- they intend to accomplish here?

Ah, some clues:
However, small island states in the Pacific, which face an existential threat due to climate change, have been pushing the council to act for years(bullshit, but they still push it).

"The security council should join the general assembly in recognising climate change as a threat to international peace and security. It is a threat as great as nuclear proliferation or global terrorism," Marcus Stephen, the president of Nauru, wrote in a piece in the New York Times.(AHA! So we need to ACT RIGHT NOW, even if we don't know what we're doing!)

"Second, a special representative on climate and security should be appointed. Third, we must assess whether the United Nations system is itself capable of responding to a crisis of this magnitude."
"We need someone in power! Right now! So if we decide we need someones' national treasury looted to pay us off for what we claim, they can do it."

Only way Government Motors will sell many of these

is if the gummint forces people to buy them.
Its most recent EN-V (Electric Networked Vehicle) is called the Jiao and it offers far more than just a diminutive size to future drivers. The Jiao can be programmed and set up on a grid to perform autonomously.

The Jiao travels up to 25 mph and is supposed to be uncrashable due to an onboard collision avoidance system. GM says they'll run about $10k apiece.
Makes sense from the Socialist-in-Chief's point of view: can't go very fast, can't go very far, takes control out of your hands and allows the government to control how/where/when you go somewhere.

Did you know that the real reason Rev. Wright

was a problem for Obama(still is) is that he's a 'angry black man'? Being a Jew-hating racist and a socialist, no, that's no problem.

Becuase in science the Consensus is FAR more important

than asking troublesome questions. Right?

I mean, where would we be if people kept insisting on finding actual answers instead of going with the consensus in the sciences?

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The mail anthrax attacks:

even more followup. Back in March I ran across a piece that noted the man accused of carrying out the attacks was, well, just 'accused'; there was no actual proof he did it, no confession. Now we have this:
The Justice Department has called into question a key pillar of the FBI’s case against Bruce Ivins, the Army scientist accused of mailing the anthrax-laced letters that killed five people and terrorized Congress a decade ago.

Shortly after Ivins committed suicide in 2008, federal investigators announced that they’d identified him as the mass murderer who sent the letters to members of Congress and the news media. The case was circumstantial, with federal officials arguing that the scientist had the means, motive and opportunity to make the deadly powder at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md.

Now, however, Justice Department lawyers have acknowledged in court papers that the sealed area in Ivins’ lab — the so-called hot suite — didn’t contain the equipment needed to turn liquid anthrax into the refined powder that floated through congressional buildings and post offices in the fall of 2001.
...
Earlier this year, a report by the National Academy of Sciences questioned the genetic analysis that had linked a flask of anthrax stored in Ivins' office to the anthrax in the letters.
...
In excerpts from one of more than a dozen depositions made public in the case last week, the chief of USAMRIID's bacteriology division, Patricia Worsham, said the lab lacked the facilities in 2001 to make the kind of spores in the letters.

Two of the five letters, those sent to Democratic U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Thomas Daschle of South Dakota, were especially deadly because they were so pure that they floated with the slightest wisp of air.

Worsham said the lab's equipment for drying the spores, a machine the size of a refrigerator, wasn't in a contained lab.

"If someone had used that to dry down that preparation, I would have expected that area to be very, very contaminated, and we had nonimmunized personnel in that area, and I would have expected some of them to become ill," she said.

In its statement of facts, the government lawyers also said that producing the volume of anthrax in the letters would have required 2.8 to 53 liters of the solution used to grow the spores or 463 to 1,250 petri dishes. Colleagues of Ivins at the lab have asserted that he couldn't have grown all that anthrax without notice
.
Damn, you think maybe?

So. It could be argued that the DoJ is saying this to protect the government from the lawsuit mentioned in the article; in which case they've opened up the "So if he couldn't have made it in the lab, where the hell DID he make it? Did you somehow manage to miss a whole friggin' lab somewhere? Or did he dismantle it right under your noses?" mess all over again. And they've also opened the "DID he do it?" question.

What a bloody mess.

I should note, if you read the comments at the end of this article, you'll find an awful lot of 9/11 truther idiocy floating about, along with "The Bushitler did it to get rid of the Democrats!" stupidity. Ever notice how he was simultaneously evil genius enough to set up various things, but- in this case for instance- the intended targets are still walking around using up oxygen?

Project: loose forend

Was looking at a Marlin 1894 carbine, and noticed it had a loose forend. Not a 'you can feel a slight motion if you put some torque on it' thing, a 'it will rattle if you shake the gun' loose forend. Something to fix!

Box o' Truth has a nice piece on using JB Weld to bed the action of a rifle into the stock, and this is just a variation on that. You can use actual bedding compound, or I've heard of people using regular epoxy after mixing chopped-up fiberglass in to thicken it, but for something like this JB works quite well.

Process went like this:
Pull the screws to free the magazine tube(one, and when you tilt the tube out the spring WILL launch the plug if you don't watch it) and forend(two, one on each side of the metal cap).

Pull the tube, which lets you remove the cap and forend. This rifle uses a piece that dovetails into the barrel(top arrow in the pic below) , that's what the two screws go into, and it may be loose(this one was), so watch for it to fall somewhere.

Use something for a resist so the glue won't stick where you don't want it to. I use Johnson Paste Wax, the furniture polish that comes in the yellow can. Wipe a coat EVERYWHERE the epoxy MIGHT come in contact: in this case, the magazine tube, the piece that fits in the dovetail, the dovetail, the barrel, the cap, and the socket in the front of the action where the back end of the forend fits(bottom arrow).
And the two screws! Do NOT forget them, as their being permanently locked down might be a bit of a problem. Let that coat dry, then do a second, just to be sure. Also be sure that you get it all the way into any corners, like those of the socket. You might want to put a coat of wax on the outside of the forend just to help cleanup, but make damn sure you don't get any on the ends where you want the JB to stick.

Mix the JB. If you then let it sit for 15 minutes or so, it'll thicken enough that it will stay where you put it, not run into possibly embarrassing places. When it's ready, use something like a popsicle stick to put some into the socket, mostly around toward the outside; when you put a little pressure on, the stuff will spread around. Then I set the mag tube in place and slid the forend down into the socket. Then put the dovetail piece- ah, found it, it's called the forend tip tenon- in place in place. Put some JB on the front of the forend where there should've been a lip to fit the cap, and slid the cap on. Put the mag cap in place and put the screw in to hold the tube in place, then push the cap & forend back to set them in place, then put in the screws.

At this point you'll likely have some JB that's squeezed out; I've found that a cloth with some wax on it, or an oily cloth, will wipe it off nicely. When that's all done, put it down and leave it for three hours. A little more probably won't hurt, but give it at least three; you want the stuff to cure enough that it'll be fairly solid, not still soft enough to pull out of shape.

Time's up. Pull the screws. The tube tilted out with no problem, but the forend cap was stuck enough that I took a brass punch, set it in one of the screw holes, pointing toward the muzzle, and tapped it lightly; the cap popped loose. The mag tube and forend were not stuck, but the stuff had filled in well enough I had to wiggle things slightly to get the tube and forend off.

I don't know if someone in the past had messed with it, or if it was a sloppy job at the factory, but there was very little of the tenons left on the forend; that's fixed now. Here's the back end,
and here's the front. Which doesn't show quite as well.
If there's anything that needs trimming you can do it now(carefully) or let it still till the next day so the stuff will be cured completely. I'm letting this cure before I do that.

That's it. Pretty straightforward, and about the only way to mess it up is to forget to put wax on something or use the epoxy when it's still fluid enough to get somewhere you don't want it.

I do believe the NSD Wasserman(isn't that a test

for a venereal disease?) Schultz done pissed off Rep. West:
Look, Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district!

I am bringing your actions today to our Majority Leader and Majority Whip and from this time forward, understand that I shall defend myself forthright against your heinous characterless behavior……which dates back to the disgusting protest you ordered at my campaign hqs, October 2010 in Deerfield Beach.

You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!

Steadfast and Loyal

Congressman Allen B West (R-FL)
Oh, I like this man

What stupid politicians do instead of something

Otis Rolley said he would, if elected, propose a $1 per bullet tax on all bullet purchases in the city. The idea was part of an overall crime plan he unveiled Tuesday.
...
"This is not a revenue enhancement tool," Rolley said of the tax idea. "It's a 'make it difficult for you to buy bullets in the city' tool."
LinkYes, because everyone knows that evil people bent on mayhem are very careful to buy their ammo through legal outlets and pay their taxes. Just like they obey the 'felons can't possess firearms' laws and 'robbery and rape and murder are illegal' laws.

Gee, does he actually mean 'bullet' and the rest of the cartridge is somehow taxes separately at the previous rate? Or does he just not know what the hell he's talking about?

Friggin' moron.

Know what'd be funny? If this idiot were elected and got this passed, and Gura & Co. showed up to sue the city for making it prohibitively expensive for lots of honest people to get ammo for the arms they have the right to possess.

First: look through the damn peephole, or just don't

answer the door. Second, why the hell wasn't he either in prison or a mental facility for the terminally confused?
Byars was arrested last night. Records show a criminal history first beginning in 2009. Three separate charges ranging from assault to throwing body fluids on a government worker to throwing objects at a vehicle were filed against him in the past two years. Each time, Byars was given a suspended sentence and competency hearings. But he never went to prison. The most recent suspended sentence was given to him last November.


On the subject of a lousy excuse for law enforcement, how the hell did this guy get his pie into Parliament? I can see three possibilities:
The security is so incompetent they let the guy in;
Security was told to let the guy in with it;
Some member got it in for him.
If first or second, people need to be fired. If the last, the one responsible needs to be thrown out of Parliament.


Added:
An elite team of computer technicians assembled by the Obama administration to protect Pentagon networks from cyberattack shockingly includes a former Clinton official who "lost" thousands of archived emails under subpoena and who more recently left the Department of Homeland Security under an ethical cloud related to her qualifications, WND has learned.

The administration in May quietly hired Laura Callahan for a sensitive post at the U.S. Cyber Command, a newly created agency set up to harden military networks as part of an effort to prevent a "cyberspace version of Pearl Harbor."

The move raises doubts about the administration's vetting process for sensitive security positions. In 2004, Callahan was forced to resign from Homeland Security after a congressional investigation revealed she committed résumé fraud and lied about her computer credentials.

Investigators found that Callahan paid a diploma mill thousands of dollars for her bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in computer science. She back-dated the degrees, all obtained between 2000 and 2001, to appear as if she earned them in 1993, 1995 and 2000, respectively. She landed the job of deputy DHS chief information officer in 2003.
'Vetting process'? She worked for Clinton, 'lost' e-mails that might have been a problem and it appears can be trusted to do what she's told by her masters; she DID pass the Obama vetting process!

A guy is 86 years old and loves to fish.

He was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say,

"Pick me up."

He looked around and couldn't see any one. He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again,

"Pick me up." He looked in the water and there, floating on the top was a frog.

The man said, "Are you talking to me?"

The frog said, "Yes, I'm talking to you. Pick me up.

Then, kiss me and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen.

I'll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because you will have me as your bride."

The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front breast pocket.

Then the frog said, "What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said?

I said kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride."

He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said,

"Nah, at my age I'd rather have a talking frog.


Stolen without hesitation from this guy

Dealer Days at H&H

this Thurs-Sat.

Ah, the health nazis, NO level of interference in other people's lives

is enough to suit them.

DeSaulnier, you're nothing more than one more nanny-state dirtbag who wants to control other people's lives. And you really ought to remove yourself from any position of power.

Of course, there are enough idiots in Californicated to allow you into office in the first place; I'm sorry for the people whose businesses you'll screw up, but I hope the idiots who voted for you suffer for it.

Monday, July 18, 2011

A couple of quotes that seem appropriate to current conditions:

From Codrea:
"Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption for authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters."

From Mamet:
Contemporary Liberal sentiment endorses the abrogation or elaboration of law to ensure that NO one suffers, but the first and most important task of law in a democracy is not to right individual wrongs, but to ensure that no one suffers because of the state. And the simple, tragic truth is that this may be accomplished not by a Czar or committee, or by reorganization, or by accession to office of the Benevolent or Wise, but only by limiting the State’s power.

Something else that cannot be forgotten about Gunwalker:

It wasn't just Phoenix:
Once again, "Fast and Furious" was merely the Phoenix branch of a much larger operation -- a NATIONAL POLICY -- mandated by the DOJ at the behest of the White House.

Remember that things done in a bureaucracy, any bureaucracy, are done according to policy and areas of operation and responsibility. Dallas, where the weapons which the Feds say were found at the scene of the Zapata murder, is NOT in the area of the Phoenix Field Division. It IS in the area of the Dallas Field Division.

So I asked some long-time ATF agents this question: "What coordination is required when a case straddles FD's AOs? Is one FD allowed to proceed with investigations in another's AO without coordination or handing it off?"

One answered tersely: "No investigation without notifying the affected other division."

Said another:
Cross division cases are rare. The SACs hate losing the glory and hate poaching. If there is a cross division operation, I guarantee you BOTH SACs are read in and up on the details it would be highly -- I repeat highly -- outside policy to operate in another division without the bosses' approval.
"The bosses' approval" refers to national ATF headquarters.
And that cannot be forgotten. And is one reason DoJ & Co. are so busy lying and stonewalling the investigators.

Oooooh, let the flopsweat REALLY break out!


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley today pressed Attorney General Eric Holder about the Justice Department’s unsatisfactory responses and lack of cooperation with an investigation into the highly controversial Operation Fast and Furious. A letter sent by the two lead investigators highlighted testimony indicating internal disputes within the Justice Department and a statement from the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that the Justice Department is attempting to protect its political appointees

“It was very frustrating to all of us, and it appears thoroughly to us that the Department is really trying to figure out a way to push the information away from their political appointees at the Department,” ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson said of his frustration with the Justice Department’s response to the investigation in a transcribed interview.
.
Oh, that's good. And it gets better.
The Department should not be withholding what Mr. Melson described as the ‘smoking gun’ report of investigation or Mr. Melson’s emails regarding the wiretap applications,” wrote Issa and Grassley. “Mr. Melson said he reviewed the affidavits in support of the wiretap applications for the first time after the controversy became public and immediately contacted the Deputy Attorney General’s office to raise concerns about information in them that was inconsistent with the Department’s public denials. The Department should also address the serious questions raised by Mr. Melson’s testimony regarding potential informants for other agencies.”
So Melson told the committee of at least one specific report and his e-mails that DoJ did not hand over to the committee as ordered, and- if I'm remembering right- denied even existed, or said "We can't find anything like that" along with "The dog ate it." It would probably be simpler for Grassley and Issa to just say "You do realize, at this point, that we know when you're lying to us, don't you? Or we will find out when you do? So maybe we should just drag you down here and put you under oath, would you like that?"

From the LA Times article:
Melson said the Justice Department repeatedly thwarted his attempts to tell investigators about the failures of Fast and Furious, which was run out of the ATF's Phoenix field office. When the ATF reassigned managers in Phoenix, he said, "the department resisted" his offer to tell Congress about the changes. Melson said he was told not to issue any news releases about Fast and Furious and was instructed not to brief rank-and-file ATF agents about the growing scandal.

When Grassley sought to meet with Melson this year, the Justice Department blocked that interview too, Melson said. "This is really just poking [Grassley] in the eye," Melson said he told Justice Department officials. "He's going to get it through the back door anyway, so why are we aggravating this situation?"
Because they're scared to death of the consequences and want to stave it off as long as possible? Hoping the friendly media and GFW clowns in the House and Senate will have more time to try to save their sorry asses?
You know, sooner or later a bunch of these people are going to be sitting in front of the committee and be placed under oath; it's going to be interesting to see how many are willing to commit perjury or otherwise try to conceal.

A quote

Now let's be clear: I have no space for bigots in my life. Every person should be judged as an individual, not as a class. I went through some serious soul searching on Mtali over that. But to force people to have the "right mindset" is more heinous than any ignorant bigotry, because it is intentional destruction of free will.
Kenneth Chinran
The WeaponLink

Oh yeah...

I wonder how Bonnie Raitt and Carlos Santana

and all the other musicians and actors who just LOOOOOVE Castro excuse this?

Or do they just ignore it, like they do the racism and filthy hospitals for the commoners?


LinkIt should be noted by all proper government-hating ingrates(i.e. 'people who want to be left the hell alone') that the FDA should not be forgotten when compiling the list of agencies that need to be seriously cut back. If they've got time and money for this crap, then they've got an excess of both. And personnel, too.
No, I'm not forgetting the dirtbag politicians who passed this crap and who fail to rein in these bastards.


Speaking of bastards, the House decided we can be allowed to buy 100-watt incandescent bulbs for a year longer. But the bastards still want us to be forced into using those damned fluorescents. As Claire asks, if the amount of mercury is so small and "Don't worry about it!", why this list of how to so carefully clean up after one breaks?


Ah, the Only Ones:
Two policemen are recovering after they were shot by fellow officers as they tried to arrest a man on child pornography charges outside a crowded move theatre.

The incident happened as undercover officers tried to apprehend the unarmed man in the parking lot as he left a screening of Harry Potter in Plainville, Connecticut.

The officers opened fire after Eric Gothberg, 45, suddenly reached for his waistband after resisting arrest.

One policeman arriving as back-up was hit by a bullet in his arm. Another was injured by shards of glass.
They did manage to hit the suspect once, in the foot, during all this.
Only THEY can be trusted to possess firearms; remember that.
Speaking of which,
According to a 2010 Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report, DHS employees had 243 firearms lost or stolen between 2006 and 2008. Of those, 64 were lost because of circumstances beyond DHS's control — such as during an assault on an agent or officer — or despite having the weapons secured in safes or lock boxes.

But 74 percent, or 179 guns, were lost "because officers did not properly secure them," the report said. Officers left them in restrooms, vehicles and other public places, according to the OIG report.


"Please don't sue us again! Will figure something out!"


Note that while Mayors Against Guns is trying to keep honest citizens from having arms, they've got some pretty dodgy characters as members of their group. Child porn? Hey, Nanny Bloomberg, how does this sit with your "We know what's good for you" attitude?


Finally, to the people in the parking lot at the grocery store: I get that you ran into a friend, and you're glad to see each other, but could you MOVE YOUR ASSES out of the geometric center of that lane intersection so people can get by? It might even keep the kids from getting run over.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Among the reasons it was so damn lucky the Germans

ran so many- primarily Jewish- scientists out before the war began: they were able to build crap like this
as it was; if they'd had the foresight to keep those researchers in Germany, or grabbed them from other countries before they could escape to Britain or here...

This thing had a 800mm- 31.5"- bore, fired a 5.25 ton HE or 8.25 ton AP shell up to 29 miles for the HE, 23 for the AP, muzzle velocity around 2700fps. Damn.

The good thing about this? Hitler & Co. had people and other resources tied up with crap like this instead of working on other things. As was they developed the first tv-guided bomb and a lot of other things, so any oversized time-consumer like this was a Good Thing for us.

You, Dumbass! Yes, you, the one taking the exit

from 44 southbound to eastbound. Y'know, it's generally considered a good idea, after finish the actual curve part, to at least attempt to accelerate beyond 37mph BEFORE you enter the highway. C'mon, you moron, you're out of the scary curve and have pretty straight road ahead of you!
From here(where the bastard is currently blogging from Brazil)



From here
And they should have checked with Frank, first

From here


Newspeak:
Gun Collection Arsenal of Weapons
Swamp Delicate Wetlands
Illegal Alien Undocumented Worker
Synthetic Fiber Cruelty-Free Materials
Well-protected Heavily Armed
Righteous Narrow-minded
Coerced Theft Taxes / Your Fair Share
Gun Confiscation Commonsense Gun Control
Stump Removal Powder
Illegal Hazardous Explosives
Unborn Baby Nonviable Tissue Mass
Socialism Equal Access to Opportunity
High Crime Area Multicultural Community
Marxism Fairness / Social Progress
Self-Employed Upper Class / "The Rich "
Big Government Scheme Progressive, Change
Bums /Welfare Leeches Homeless or Disadvantaged
Scoped Deer Rifle Sniper Rifle
Higher Taxes Investment For the Future
Socialized Medicine Healthcare Reform
Conservative Extremist, Judgmental, or Hater
Homeschoolers Truants
Criminal or Lazy Good-For-Nothing Victim or Oppressed
Standard Capacity Magazine High Capacity Magazine
Church-going Religious Zealot
Employer or Land Owner Exploiters / "The Rich "
NRA Members The Gun Lobby
Semi-Auto (Grandpa's M1 Carbine)
Assault Weapon
New Taxes and Higher Taxes Fiscal Stimulus
Chinese Mercury-Laden Light Bulbs Mandated Eco-Friendly Lighting
Say again? Same Sex Marriage
Undocumented worker
Mr.President
From here



Now this would really suck:

Also from the Feral guy; he was on a roll:




Getting raped? Be sure to arm yourself with a smartphone - because the White House will soon have an app for that.

Kimber J. Nicoletti-Martinez, director of multicultural efforts to end sexual assault at Purdue University, has some design suggestions:

“Maybe people could add more components to it to ask people to confront their beliefs,” about what causes sexual assault, she said—like building an app that resembles Angry Birds. “Is there some kind of bird you can fling against misogynistic attitudes?”

Sigh.

Isn't there some sort of device that would fling heavy metal projectiles at high rates of speed directly at, and hopefully through the vital organs of, your attacker?

(Radical idea, I know, but I suspect it could be very effective.)
Why yes, I would think so...

and




After the 'managing threats' link the other day Tam provided, RNS reminded me of two more, these from Xavier, well worth reading:
Recognizing threats
Standing on the X


From here

Just some links today; it's hot, my back hurts, I'm pissed at DC(so what else is new) and that's it for now.

I should probably note that Jane Fonda

doesn't like it when people remember things she's done and won't shut up about them.
Especially when it costs her money.


Bottom line, this has gone on far too long, this spreading of lies about me! None of it is true. NONE OF IT! I love my country. I have never done anything to hurt my country or the men and women who have fought and continue to fight for us.
Really, Fonda? So those pictures with NVA troops and on the NVA antiaircraft gun were all pre-Photoshop fakes? All those things you said on film and otherwise on the record, you somehow didn't actually say? Truly?

You're a despicable sort, aren't you?