Saturday, February 06, 2016

Nice weather in February means yard and other stuff

And all that's done for the day, study time



































But they can feel you up, molest your kids, and steal your stuff.

Government oversight officials informed Congress on Wednesday that the Transportation Security Administration continues to operate in disarray, failing to record basic security details for thousands of employees and not tracking official IDs and badges that allow access to the most sensitive areas of an airport.
All of it is bullshit; there's not one piece of this that can't be shown as a serious security threat.

But then the TSA has always been about security theater, not actual security.


DHS isn't just a bunch of abusive jerks,

it's an actual threat.
Just before that Christmas Day attack, in early November 2009, I was ordered by my superiors at the Department of Homeland Security to delete or modify several hundred records of individuals tied to designated Islamist terror groups like Hamas from the important federal database, the Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS). These types of records are the basis for any ability to “connect dots.”  Every day, DHS Customs and Border Protection officers watch entering and exiting many individuals associated with known terrorist affiliations, then look for patterns. Enforcing a political scrubbing of records of Muslims greatly affected our ability to do that. Even worse, going forward, my colleagues and I were prohibited from entering pertinent information into the database.
Some of these people WANT the terrorists to succeed in getting in and making attacks.


Unintended consequences, the rare-earth edition.



Friday, February 05, 2016

Ah, Friday night. And after a day spent partly with a chainsaw,

time to relax and study. 
At least you can, I've got to do the shoulder stretches.  Ow.






































And one of the idiot Fusion Centers strikes again

The report includes several "visual indicators" to help police determine whether they're dealing with "extremist and disaffected individuals." These range from images associated with specific political groups, such as the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, to a more generic patriotic symbol, the Gadsden flag—a famous Revolutionary War banner featuring a coiled rattlesnake and the slogan "Don't Tread on Me." One of the "indicators" is a slightly altered version of a picture popular with fans of the Grateful Dead; the guide does not note this potential source of confusion, describing it only as "common sovereign citizen imagery."

Although "some or parts of these symbols are representative of patriotic and American revolutionary themes," the report says, "they are often associated with extremism." There is little effort to apply even that much nuance to the individual symbols. The Gadsden flag is associated with several political movements, such as the Tea Party protests; it has also been adapted by apolitical subcultures, such as the fans of U.S. Soccer. But the bulletin simply declares that it is "commonly displayed by sovereign citizen extremists."
Once again, have a bumper or window sticker some clown at DHS doesn't like and you're marked as a dangerous radical.

One more reason to get rid of DHS.  And these fusion centers.




I'd say the gentleman is fed up

As with any deliberate attempt to marginalize any given group, the demonization of the straight male identity starts in early childhood. The classroom has been feminized. Children are demanded to sit quietly for prolonged periods of time, and almost any form of physical activity that tends to be enjoyed by boys, even Tag, are being banned from schools all over the west. So you have a classroom filled with kids with a lot of energy being asked to sit still. The ones that can’t comply to that, which again, is a common masculine trait, are branded mentally ill and medicated. ADHD, while I won’t say it’s a fake disorder, since people who actually have it benefit greatly from treatment, has been over diagnosed to ridiculous levels. It’s to the point that a disorder that has a rate of prevalence of 1–2% (According to the ICD-10 guidelines, which I prefer since the DSM-V tends to be biased towards diagnoses) is being diagnosed to up to 20% or more children in certain areas, of which 3/4 are boys. Given the tremendous variance among states within the US (Anywhere from 5 to 16%) it’s pretty clear this diagnoses is mandated not by the medical community, but by the educational system.
That's the beginning.  Good piece, go read.


Got this in the mail today, and it indicates several things:
The Oregon State Police have low standards for acceptable behavior.
They don't think the commoners should be allowed to hold them accountable, because "You don't know what we're dealing with!"
The courts need to make damn sure the cameras in ALL the cars are always working, if they think the actions of our troopers clearly did not violate established procedures or tactics


So OSHA is following the lead of other agencies: "We don't have the authority to do this, but let's see if we can get someone to do it anyway."

Obviously they have too much money and too many personnel if they have this much free time, so their budget should be chopped.


Thursday, February 04, 2016

Appears to be a serious civil rights win

and the commissars of the People's Republic of Maryland must be crapping bricks.
In our view, Maryland law implicates the core protection of the Second Amendment—“the right of law-abiding responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home,” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 635 (2008), and we are compelled by Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010), as well as our own precedent in the wake of these decisions, to conclude that the burden is substantial and strict scrutiny is the applicable standard of review for Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment claim. Thus, the panel vacates the district court’s denial of Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment claims and remands for the district court to apply strict scrutiny. 

And Branca notes
In brief, the court’s 2-to-1 majority concluded first that the guns and magazines banned by the FSA fall within the scope of the Second Amendment, and second that:
Strict scrutiny, then, is the appropriate level of scrutiny to apply to the ban of semi- automatic rifles and magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
This appears to be pretty big.  Full article at the link includes the court opinion.



Best explanation I've heard of the 'short-barreled rifle and shotgun' crap in the NFA

The National firearms act of 1934 originally lumped in handguns with full auto firearms.  It is clear that the Roosevelt administration wanted to subject pistols and revolvers to the same draconian regulations and taxes that machine guns were finally subjected to.   Congress simply would not go along.  It was a step too far for even the heavily Democrat Congress of 1934.

Once you understand that licensing of handguns to the point of prohibition was the major target of the legislation, the reason for including short barreled rifles and shotguns becomes clear.    What is the point of banning handguns if any person can buy a rifle or shotgun, a hacksaw, and make a functional pistol in fifteen minutes from that rifle or shotgun?





And SJWs wonder why other people consider them PC-brained idiots

Or just idiots, take your pick.
According to a piece in the totally logical social-justice blog Everyday Feminism, it is racist and offensive to wear toe rings or bangle bracelets in almost any situation.

Yep. According to the article’s author, Aarti Olivia, wearing these kinds of jewelry amounts to an appropriation of South Asian culture.


And
For a galling example of this, look no further than the University of Oregon’s student union, which recently considered removing Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” quote from the wall of a campus building. Why? Because the famous statement only references one kind of diversity—skin color—and is therefore not inclusive.

Yes, it is totalitarian

With a smiley face pasted on, but still totalitarian.
But social justice warriors have turned these causes into malignant self-parody. Their feminism frets over men sitting with their legs apart on public transit, seeks dissent-free “safe spaces,” and cries oppression at concern about obesity’s health risks. Their transgender advocacy demands respect for customized gender identities with personal pronouns that may change on a whim and crucifies a devoutly progressive filmmaker for a “transphobic” joke which presumes that that female characters are anatomically female. Their anti-Islamophobia trashes feminist critics of conservative Islamism and victim-blames journalists murdered for publishing Mohammed cartoons.






Wednesday, February 03, 2016

Further CherryBalmz testing

Hit the range the other day, and to continue this and give my right arm/shoulder some shooty time, I took the Officers Model with conversion along.  It's been sitting unfired for a little over three months, so if the stuff was going to dry up that should've given it some time to do so.

100 rounds of Remington bulk-pack through it with no problems, everything still smoothly sliding along.  No cherry scent I could detect, but it still worked.


The secondary purpose of this, giving the repaired joint a workout, went well.  I wouldn't want to pull out a magnum as yet, but for .22 and a few 9mm, no problem.  Should be able to try with a centerfire rifle soon, though I'll stay with low-recoil stuff for a while yet.

Professional Journalism

In a note to readers, Intercept Editor-in-Chief Betsy Reed wrote that Thompson attributed quotes to people who say they had never been interviewed, could not remember being interviewed or couldn't be found. He created fake email accounts purportedly from some of these sources and lied to his editors.
...
Thompson claimed he spoke to Scott about the shooter. Scott allegedly told Thompson that "Dylann was normal until he started listening to that white power music stuff" and "he kind of went over the edge when a girl he liked starting dating a black guy two years back."
...
During their investigation, editors for the Intercept spoke to members of the Roof family, who said they had never heard of a cousin named Scott.

In another story, about Black Lives Matter activists being blocked from a Donald Trump rally, Thompson invented quotes and people. He gave the full name of one of his sources, who told the Intercept that she was not at the rally, was not a Trump supporter and never spoke to Thompson. The Intercept also couldn't verify the existence of a BLM activist who allegedly provided a quote to Thompson.
That line of Insty is 'a Democrat with a byline', and it does seem to fit.

Tuesday, February 02, 2016

I know the socialists would love it, but for everyone else: (Updated)

Does this really seem like a fine European system to copy?
“We have the problem that – now I’m mainly talking about the public [state] media – we have a closeness to the government. Not only because commentary is mainly in line with the grand coalition (CSU, CDU, and SPD), with the spectrum of opinion, but also because we are completely taken in by the agenda laid down by the political class”.
Worse than the mainstream, government controlled and poll-tax funded media in Germany just agreeing with the ruling coalition, the stations actually took orders on what was and was not to be reported on. He said:
“…the topics about which are reported are laid down by the government.
“There are many topics that would be more important than what the government wants. But they, of course, want to deflect attention away from what doesn’t happen. Yet what doesn’t happen is often more important than what does happen – more important than gesture politics”.
Yeah, wouldn't you totally losing faith in the media. when the media is in the .gov pocket this way?

Same reason a lot of the journalists we've got wonder why people don't trust them?
I cannot remember who it was, female journalist telling how she told a bunch of people that 'telling the truth is my job, and they laughed at me!  It was very hurtful.'  She truly did not understand why they laughed.  Probably still doesn't.

Added: thanks to Arthur, it was Diane Sawyer



A Homeland Security spokesperson said that "the numbers in these reports never look good out of context,

but they are a critical element in the continual evolution of our aviation security."
And just what 'context', I am moved to wonder, would make this look better:
...airport screeners failed to detect explosives and weapons in nearly every test that an undercover team conducted at dozens of airports.

According to a report based on an internal investigation, "red teams" with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General were able to get banned items through the screening process in 67 out of 70 tests it conducted across the nation.
Yep.  Somehow 'context' would make this seem less a near-complete failure by the Touching Special Areas people to do their job.

Dump the whole damned bunch and let the airlines/airports handle it.




Whether the "More taxes!" people will admit it or not, in the end,

it's not some corporation or whoever that pays, it's people.  And most of them aren't rich, and can't afford it.
4  The tax isn’t borne just by the traders.  The tax is shouldered by the American public.  The tax will make it more expensive for producers and consumers to manage risk.  That cost will be passed directly on to the market.  It might only be .05-.20 cents on products that have exposure to grain. When you think about all the grocery products that have exposure to grain, the tax adds a lot of money to the average grocery bill quickly.


'Free healthcare and education!' my ass; they're damn well paying for it.  Through the nose.


No, it doesn't


It's disheartening that an avowed socialist is a viable candidate for president of the United States. Socialism is a dead end. For hundreds of years, it has failed everywhere it's been adopted. The enthusiasm of our youth for the candidacy of Bernie Sanders is a symptom of our failure to educate them, not only in history, government and economics, but also basic morality.



Syed Hamid Husain, may you have good company in Valhalla

A chemistry lecturer known as ‘The Protector’ died saving his students by firing back at Taliban militants during a deadly attack on their university that left 30 dead and dozens injured today.
...As militants stalked the campus, executing targets one by one, assistant chemistry professor Syed Hamid Husain, 32, ordered his pupils to stay inside as he confronted the attackers.

The father-of-two opened fire, giving them time to flee before he was cut down by gunfire as male and female students ran for their lives.
What more need be said?


Monday, February 01, 2016

Well, the thing in the back yard that really needed to be done

was done yesterday.  And I have no injuries, new or re-*, to show for it.  This is Good.  And the "Anybody want a chainsaw puzzle?" saw fired right up to cut it all up.

Today was, as of two days ago, supposed to be colder and wet; now it's 64 with some rain tonight.  Which gives the day to get some of the "I'm out of this stuff" shopping done.  No range today, that'll have to come later.

Without going into details I have a couple of things I've been working on I'll be writing up as I can.

Now I'm going to go look at the news, and hopefully not break anything.





*This, of course, does not count the moment of "Oh crap!", or the "I'm going to look this over from more angles- again- to quiet the stomach flutters" moments.

Sunday, January 31, 2016

I have not been entirely out of gunny stuff the past while

It's just been difficult: having a right arm you can't do too much with means it's difficult- at best- to work a loading press, among other things.  Lessons learned:
I had enough ammo for general left-handed practice during this time.  If I hadn't, it'd have been .22 only for handgun(there was very little rifle practice).

I should've bought a good left-handed holster before the surgery.  The one I've been using works, but something more solid would've been better.  There is a money factor there, good holsters ain't cheap.

For the first while, when I could hit the range again, it was easier to practice with a revolver; reloading it is every six rounds, but trying to reload a magazine at the time... nope.  Should probably have invited daughter to dinner, and "While you're here, could I get you to stuff ammo into all these magazines?"

That modern ammo allows you to shoot without having to scrub the firearm out every time, is a wonderful thing.

Working back up to carrying, drawing and firing right-handed is going to take some time; the PT has helped a lot, but this is a different set of movements than the standard they use, and you can feel every bit of it.

If I'm careful I can use the press a bit now; not for long at a time, and only the single-stage; the progressive requires more muscle, and that's not happening yet.

Last time at the range I used a .22 rifle right-handed for some offhand practice; to say I've slipped in skill is an understatement.  Dry-firing practice is called for, which'll help get the shoulder back into shape as well(back to the bit about drawing above).

And now I'm going to get some more of the built-up yard stuff done before the weather turns cold again.

And if anyone's surprised,

they haven't been paying attention.
An organised campaign to undermine Britain’s fight against terrorism can be revealed today.

Islamist activists linked to Cage, a group known to sympathise with terrorists, are using coordinated leaks to mainstream news organisations, including the BBC, to spread fear and confusion in Muslim communities about the Government’s anti-terror policy, Prevent.

Investigations by the Telegraph reveal that several widely reported recent stories about Prevent are false or exaggerated – and many of the supposedly “ordinary Muslim” victims are in fact activists in the campaign, known as Prevent Watch. The stories include a claim which became a cause célèbre for Prevent’s opponents – that a Muslim schoolboy from London was “interrogated like a criminal” for using the phrase “ecoterrorism” in class.

The boy’s mother, Ifhat Smith, who took the story to the media, presented herself as a traumatised ordinary Londoner. She is in fact an activist in the Prevent Watch campaign and a key figure in the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which believes in replacing secular democratic government with Islamic government.


"Yes, I know the Constitution is a problem in this argument, so let's just ignore it and do something."  Democrat bigot politician at her best.


Of course progressives give progressives a pass on their racist past.  And you suck and want people to die if you bring it up.
5. Drum’s claim rings particularly odd considering that today’s progressives routinely invoke the very same original progressives as their inspiration. When Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination in 2008, he held a rally at the University of Wisconsin, where he proclaimed, “Where better to affirm our ideals than here in Wisconsin, where a century ago the Progressive movement was born?” Is it really so ridiculous to point out that those very same original Wisconsin progressives wanted to keep people like Barack Obama out of the country, never mind the Oval Office?