Almost always happens somewhere this time of year

Anniversaries of disasters always bring bad stuff back to mind. The edge dulls over time, and the stresses of the mix of fear/anger/fight-or-flight/amazement/wonder don't strike as hard as before.

May 3rd was the eighth anniversary of the 1999 F5 tornado that travelled through, smashing everything in its path and killing anyone who couldn't get out of the way and wasn't under enough shelter. Wrote about it a couple of years ago, with some of the specifics. A mile wide on the ground at its greatest strength, one of those natural forces that demonstrates every so often just how small our efforts generally are in comparison.

What a lot of people don't realize is what an outbreak happened that day. Something like seventy tornados were noted by either radar indications or ground reports. As I recall, there was one they think was another F5, but that one had a much shorter path and was out in the boonies, doing very little damage.

Thanks to lots of warning(the weather weenies here are pretty good at tornados and severe thunderstorms) from radar, stormchasers and- soon as they could get into the air- choppers tailing it, the death count was far smaller than it could have been. A similar strength storm
hit the town of Woodward(and other places) on April 9, 1947. From the NWS records:
The tornado that would strike Woodward began near Canadian, TX. Moving northeast, it continued on the ground continuously for about 100 miles, ending in Woods County, Oklahoma, west of Alva. The tornado was massive, up to 1.8 miles wide, and traveled at forward speeds of about 50 miles per hour. It first struck Glazier and Higgins in the Texas Panhandle, devastating both towns and producing at least 69 fatalities in Texas before crossing into Oklahoma. In Ellis County, Oklahoma, the tornado did not strike any towns, passing to the southeast of Shattuck, Gage, and Fargo. Even though no towns were struck, nearly 60 farms and ranches were destroyed and 8 people were killed with 42 more injured. Moving into Woodward County, one death was reported near Tangier.

The violent tornado (F5 on the Fujita Scale) unleashed its worst destruction on Woodward, striking the city without warning at 8:42 pm. Over 100 city blocks on the west and north sides of the city were destroyed with lesser damage in the southeast portion of the town. Confusion and fires reigned in the aftermath with over 1000 homes and businesses destroyed, at least 107 people killed in and around Woodward, and nearly 1000 additional injuries.

No radar to warn, no local meteorologists familiar with the history and terrain of the area. Something like that hitting the same path as the May 3rd storm would have killed hundreds. As it is, the damn things can form and drop so fast that even with Doppler radar and all the other fancies, they can surprise everyone.

Greensburg, KS took the hit this time. Some dead, a lot more injured, and much of the town destroyed. I say 'some dead' because they won't have a final count for days, most likely; takes time to search through a mess like that. And, just to add to the joy, NWS says:

A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK...INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY
 OF LONG-TRACK AND VIOLENT TORNADOES...ARE EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE
 CENTRAL PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE
 DEVELOPMENT OF A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK OVER PARTS OF
 THE CENTRAL PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

 THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE

        CENTRAL KANSAS
        CENTRAL NEBRASKA

 SURROUNDING THE HIGH RISK AREA...THERE IS ALSO A POTENTIAL FOR VERY
 LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND STRONG TORNADOES FROM SOUTHERN SOUTH
 DAKOTA SOUTHWARD INTO WESTERN OKLAHOMA AND THE EXTREME EASTERN TEXAS
 PANHANDLE.

Not going to be a good night for a whole lot of people.

Taurus Total Titanium Tracker

in .45acp













I posted on this revolver once before, but since I had a chance to shoot one of these the other day, and I think it's a fine piece, decided to show it again.

It's about identical in outside dimensions to a K-frame S&W revolver, with the frame, barrel and cylinder being forged of titanium. The barrel and each chamber has a stainless steel liner(to take the pressure and hold rifling), and the lockwork is steel. The combination gives a revolver holding five rounds of .45acp that weighs the grand total of about 1.5 pounds. The steel versions have a vented barrel, and I believe some of the titanium models in other cartridges are vented also.

Since it fires a rimless cartridge it uses a steel moon clip to hold five rounds. Five instead of six means the cylinder can be that much smaller in diameter, which means a smaller frame, so smaller AND lighter for easy carry. These clips are not as heavy and stiff as those used in some other revolvers, so for fast reloads I'd think something like a speedloader carrier to set them into.

The grip is a ribbed, soft rubber that both fits to your hand very well and does a good job of soaking up recoil, the latter being a Good Thing in a pistol this light. Sights are fixed.

The action on those I've fired have all been very smooth with a light, clean single-action pull. Double was a bit heavy; I'd imagine it would lighten up much like a S&W revolver, though you'd have to make damn sure you didn't scratch the titanium surfaces inside.

I'm told they don't make this model any longer, which is a pity. It's light, well made, of a size that will fit a lot of hands, in a serious cartridge, and quite accurate. For something to carry on hikes, or as a concealed-carry piece it would work nicely.

I think it started when 'Band of Brothers' came out,

it got worse when CMP announced they had Carbines, and now that they're taking orders it's worse.

In this case, I'm speaking of the prices for Carbine parts. Just for the hell of it I went over to Evilbay and searched 'M1 Carbine', and while some things are reasonable, DAMN!, some things are flat amazing.

The clowns in Congress aren't helping, either, since every time someone like Schumer opens his mouth and starts talking, people decide to get spares or stock up. Which isn't helping the ammo situation, either.

By the way, something I found that may be handy for others with those short little rifles:
The chargers for Carbine magazines come in two forms, the early with the magazine adapter attached and the later with a separate adapter. If you've got some, you know that after a few uses the little brass tab on the end- that keeps the cartridges from getting out until you push- breaks off. I found that the brass insert from AR15/M16 chargers is a little longer, and just a touch wider. You can trim just a tiny strip off the sides with scissors, shape a new tab(I use my dremel) on one end, and it'll replace the brass insert in the Carbine charger.

Dammit, I can't make the Shoot

Been looking forward to the Nation of Riflemen Shoot down in Dallas since Kim announced it. But it's official, I ain't gonna be there. Things at work are FUBAR, and- barring a miracle- I can't get the days for it.

I wish I believed in lotteries, I'd walk to the store and buy tickets.

Oh yeah, the Left just loves free speech

as long as nothing is said they don't like. Such as information about the Goreacle that upsets them.
Shortly after the story made headlines, popular liberal blogs Daily Kos and Huffington Post, laid out their plan of attack. A blogger called NeuvoLiberal wrote on Daily Kos, "please post any specific (action oriented) ideas you have for fighting back…. We'd like to target every person out there that is spinning in various rightwing and other outlet for this kind of smear job (the damage is done before you wake and smell the coffee)."

Over at Huffington Post, bloggers Dave Johnson and James Boyce issued another call to action: "Al Gore is a hero. Even heroes need help - join us, add to the comments, let's find out everything we can about these guys and stop them in their tracks. Now."

Got that? Say something that makes their 'hero' look bad, and they want you shut up. 'Course, if you've followed damn near any story that touched on their prickly little sense of "You fascists don't get to criticize us without being destroyed", you already knew that. This is just another example if it.

Vegans are freakin' insane

That's a blanket statement, based on the few I've met. Known some vegetarians, some of them are nuts, but just about everyone I've ever met who was vegan was also a socialist(or socialist-leaning at the least) nanny-state type. Through Sondra, found this piece of idiocy:
Jade Sanders, 27, and Lamont Thomas, 31, will get an automatic life sentence for the death of their 6-week-old infant, Crown. After being fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice, he weighed only 3 1/2 pounds when he died.

Nothing but soy milk and apple juice. For a newborn.

Attorneys representing Sanders and Thomas told jurors the first-time parents did the best they could while adhering to their vegan lifestyle.
...
The couple's attorneys said they didn't realize their baby, born at home, was in danger until minutes before he died.

Bull-SHIT they 'didn't realize the baby was in danger'. When you feed a baby only that, and it KEEPS LOSING WEIGHT, the baby is STARVING TO DEATH. And when there are soy-based formulas available, there is no excuse- period- for this garbage.

And I'll tell you something else: if the baby needs formula(and unless there was a medical reason not to, why weren't they breast-feeding?) and the only formula that worked had some banned-by-vegans ingredient, you give it to the baby anyway. Because that baby's life if MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR GOD-CURSED DIETARY PURITY.

If it weren't so early, I'd need a drink.

Rosie O'Donnell has been called an idiot,

but I don't think that quite fits. I think she's a malicious, vile, disgusting example of a human being who may actually be too stupid to understand the implications of what she says.

Or maybe Raging Dave is more accurate in his description.

On top of that we have that sorry, worthless excuse for a man Senator Reid(Traitor-NV) and his buttmonkey Pelosi(Tyrant's asskisser-CA) who are quite willing to betray their country for political advantage. Which, from some stuff Michelle Malkin dug up, is almost certainly connected to this crap. As one guy says here,
Saw your article on the crackdown. Although it's speculation on my part, I think my own vet background provides me enough experience to make the determination that the reasons for this are the armed forces member responses to Harry Reid's comments and anything said or done by other elected Dems. I'm sure after receiving a slew of criticism that was identified as originating from any service man or woman, they contacted DoD and angrily issued complaints.

Undoubtedly true. These are some of the pimples on the ass of humanity who did everything they could in the 2000 election to have troops' absentee ballots thrown out; would it surprise anyone to find they went bitching to the politicians and lawyers in uniform because some of those peasants in the military service dared to criticize the Holy Democrats?

I didn't think so.

Like the Emperor says, "Lamppost, rope politician: some assembly required".

It shouldn't be considered the 'new, aggressive' approach:

it should be considered the old-fashioned, effective approach.
"Some of them were trying to get the heavy machine-gun up a small hill to engage us," Lt Denton said. "Capt Staley used the 30mm gun to take out the two guys who had taken off, and then we fixed on the ones with the heavy machine-gun. They were huddled around a large boulder and we shot them. We put as many rounds around it as we could, because if they got to it they could cause us trouble. But they never had a chance to set it up."

Seriously, why and when did 'hunt the bastards down and kill them' become a 'new, aggressive' approach? It's what should have been happening all along.


Found through Our Lady of the Thong

And further on official thugs

A police officer and a former officer pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter in the shooting death of a 92-year-old woman during a botched drug raid last fall. Another officer still faces charges in the woman’s death.
...
Former Officer Gregg Junnier, 40, who retired from the Atlanta police force in January, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation and making false statements. Both men are expected to face more than 10 years in prison.

This is in the Kathryn Johnston mess in Atlanta. And from Balko:
We now know that Kathryn Johnston fired only a single bullet, through the door as police were trying to break in. They responded with a storm of bullets, which apparently both wounded Johnston and the officers themselves. When they realized their fatal error, they planted cocaine and marijuana in the woman's home. They then pressured an uninvolved informant to testify to having made controlled buys at Johnston's home to cover their tracks.

The New York Times is now reporting that the officers have told federal investigators that their behavior was not out of the ordinary. That corruption, planting evidence, and giving false testimony are routine at APD. That's not surprising. The only way these officers could think they'd get away with all of this is if they were operating within a system that routinely allows for—or even encourages—such behavior. APD's focus on arrest numbers and professional rewards for the big bust apparently incentivized such short cuts.

Now, substitute 'guns' for 'drugs', and this is the kind of thing the former 'diplomat' in the previous post thinks should be done. Gah, I need a drink.

Speaking of jack-booted thugs and statist swine,

The disarmament process would begin after the initial three-month amnesty. Special squads of police would be formed and trained to carry out the work. Then, on a random basis to permit no advance warning, city blocks and stretches of suburban and rural areas would be cordoned off and searches carried out in every business, dwelling, and empty building. All firearms would be seized. The owners of weapons found in the searches would be prosecuted: $1,000 and one year in prison for each firearm.

Clearly, since such sweeps could not take place all across the country at the same time. But fairly quickly there would begin to be gun-swept, gun-free areas where there should be no firearms. If there were, those carrying them would be subject to quick confiscation and prosecution. On the streets it would be a question of stop-and-search of anyone, even grandma with her walker, with the same penalties for "carrying."

And where does this wondrous piece of shit come from? Why, from a liberal(in the modern sense) jackass who seems to think a police state is a wonderful idea. Since we'd all be 'safe', you see. Let's see, at the bottom of the piece it says "Dan Simpson, a retired diplomat, is a member of the editorial boards of The Blade and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Oh, joy, he is/was a diplomat. You know, one of those types who seem to think the UN should control all. Who says "And before anyone starts to hyperventilate and think I'm a crazed liberal zealot wanting to take his gun from his cold, dead hands, let me share my experience of guns."

Mr. Simpson, got news for you: you ARE a 'crazed liberal zealot'. You prove it by your own words. Your willingness to trash various parts of the Constitution(which, as a diplomat, I would've thought you'd have sworn to protect it. Or is that only something the lower orders in the military and such do?), your contempt for those who don't agree with you show it.

And take note of this:
The "gun lobby" would no doubt try to head off in the courts the new laws and the actions to implement them. They might succeed in doing so, although the new approach would undoubtedly prompt new, vigorous debate on the subject. In any case, some jurisdictions would undoubtedly take the opportunity of the chronic slowness of the courts to begin implementing the new approach.

Got that? Only the 'gun lobby' would have a problem with warrantless searches, with all the other crap he proposes. And if this were proposed, and 'some jurisdictions'(Chicago, you think?) sort of jump the gun and start doing it, this jackass seems to think it's just fine for state/local governments to ignore the Constitution and the law in hopes that the law will change and take them off the hook for violating it.

I know people who dislike guns who would be flat horrified by this. And everyone should be, because a police state like that described will ALWAYS find something else that their widened powers should be used on. Think of the crap Bloomberg and Daley & Co. would like to make us do, and then imagine them with this kind of power to force you to do it.

Dammit, this kind of crap makes me want to put some more ammo aside. Just in case.

Kim & Family may like the weather there,

but it's a damn good thing they got out.
In the last edition of The Illinois Shooter, we reported on the activities of a shady taskforce known as the Chicago Anti Gun Enforcement (CAGE) unit. This elite squad, operated jointly by the Illinois State Police, the Chicago Police Department, and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, supposedly exists to identify illegal gunrunners. However, information gained by the ISRA makes it clear that the CAGE unit is targeting law-abiding citizens, not criminal gunrunners.

Thanks to a ruling by a liberal federal judge, the CAGE unit now has the name of every single person in the United States who, since 1992, lawfully purchased more than one handgun in the period of a week. The CAGE unit also has all the makes, models and serial numbers of those guns. In essence, the Chicago Police Department is now registering guns and gun owners nationwide.

The terms 'jack-booted thugs' and 'statist swine' come to mind.

All right, NRA, this is the kind of thing those millions of members pony up for; are you going to go after their ass or not?

I tend to think this IS what some people in the White House think

"I'd just like to reiterate the White House's absolute contempt for you barely literate morons who ask me questions," Dana Perino told the reporters. "On a personal note, I'm starting to believe that Tony Snow's illness was simply his body protesting be subjected to such idiocy. Now, what are your questions?"

and

"Representative Dennis Kucinich recently issued articles for impeachment of Cheney. He seemed to dissappear right after, but later he was found standing on Cheney's lawn in a blue coat and wearing a red pointy hat and he would not answer our questions. Do you know why?"

"Because lawn gnomes don't talk. Any other questions?"

"With visionaries like Sheryl Crow concerned about global warming, shouldn't the White House take a tougher stance?"

"Once again, I want to remind you that celebrities are exceptionally stupid people," Dana said. "I know you reporters think they're smart, but that's because you are very dumb yourselves. This is an issue of science, and thus you should all stay away from it because there is no chance of you even understanding the slightest thing about it. Remember when I tried to explain a chart about greenhouse gases to you? Many of you started crying."

Better go read it all. Before the monkeys get him.

Haditha update

My work schedule has, let's say 'gone to hell' so I haven't had much time for anything. But I did get a chance to check the Emperor's thoughts on things, and found this post, leading to this article about the case.
Although the prosecutors said they needed more time to prepare their cases, there is much more to the story than that NewsMax.com has learned, and it paints a shocking picture of a prosecution that should never have been pursued.

In a nutshell, the case exploded when an intelligence officer dropped a bombshell on prosecutors during a pre-hearing interview when he revealed the existence of exculpatory evidence that appears to have been obtained by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and withheld from the prosecutors.

Think about that: not withheld from the defense, which is bad enough, but withheld from the prosecution. 'Interesting' isn't quite the word.

Check it out, and pass it around.

The American Hunters and Shooters Association

is 'The Brady Ban-Guns Group' by another name

And has former BATFE agents in house. Who tell bullshit stories to the media about- among other things- ammunition. And MSNBC quotes him without bothering to mention he's part of an gun-ban group.

Which makes
MSNBC dishonest( I say 'dishonest' because I don't think there's a chance they didn't know);
This former agent either an idiot or a liar, and considering the group he's a part of I'd bet on the latter;
and Oliver Willis a wanker(but you knew that already).

There are some people who need- BADLY to be reminded

of two things. First, that the 1st Amendment applies to ALL, even when they say something bad about Islam and second, This crap ain't gonna be tolerated:
Imam Fouad ElBayly, president of the Johnstown Islamic Center, was among those who objected to Hirsi Ali's appearance.

"She has been identified as one who has defamed the faith. If you come into the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it deliberately, the sentence is death," said ElBayly, who came to the U.S. from Egypt in 1976.
...
Although ElBayly believes a death sentence is warranted for Hirsi Ali, he stressed that America is not the jurisdiction where such a crime should be punished. Instead, Hirsi Ali should be judged in a Muslim country after being given a trial, he added.

"If it is found that a person is mentally unstable, or a child or disabled, there should be no punishment," he said. "It's a very merciful religion if you try to understand it."

At least, it won't be tolerated by the non-pc people who think your belief system is a plague upon the earth. Which it is. And if you and your buttmonkeys think she'd be somehow abducted and taken to some place where you have power, have five words for you: Ain't No Way In Hell.


Found thanks to His Majesty

Oh, damn!

Look at this! And this! And most of all, this!

Dammit, I need two things: first to know I'll win, then to buy a lottery ticket.

It's that time of year,

when God's vacuum cleaner starts dropping the nozzle about the place, and storms with a generally bad attitude start dropping chunks of ice on us. Some storms yesterday evening/last night out west, with some damage from tornados. Tomorrow afternoon/evening there's a fair chance of severe stuff in southwest OK, lesser chance here(about 30%); tomorrow night into Tuesday evening it goes up to 60% here. At least as far as the current forecast goes.

Ever had to wear a helmet to go outside to check for damage? It's an interesting sound, hailstones bouncing off it.

Next time someone starts the 'We should license guns

just like we license cars' crap, borrow the words of Lawdog. I've used some of these points in arguments before, but Dog covers just about all of it. Very well.

Once again, the UN proves what a bunch of

pains in the ass they are. Got this in an e-mail a couple of days ago:

SKS’S ARE SOON TO BE A THING OF THE PAST BASED ON TREATRIES BEING SIGNED BY YUGO AND THE UNITED NATIONS GET THEM NOW THIS LOT MAY BE THE LAST

Oh, joy.

Because, of course, it's MUCH better for the rifles to be sold on the black market and the money pocketed by politicians and UN officials the rifles to be destroyed, than that they be imported to these here United States and actually used by us.

Bastards.

The White Truck of Happiness came today

and left me something good.













Which when opened proved to hold smaller cans of happiness













Yeah, that'll last a while.