Friday, October 17, 2008
So it's officially- as much as the Feebs will do it- labelled an honor killing
Found this at Keyboard's place:
Almost a year after two teenage girls were found dead — allegedly executed by their father — in the back seat of a taxicab in Texas, the FBI is saying for the first time that the case may have been an "honor killing."
Sarah Said, 17, and her sister Amina, 18, were killed on New Year's Day, but for nine months authorities deflected questions about whether their father — the prime suspect and the subject of a nationwide manhunt — may have targeted them because of a perceived slight upon his honor.
The usual suspects are whining that it shouldn't be called that, it might 'stigmatize the islamic community' and so forth. I would like to inform CAIR that muslims murdering their daughters and wives- many, many documented cases around the world- is what 'stigmatizes' your beliefs. Be nice if you did something to stop that garbage.
Almost a year after two teenage girls were found dead — allegedly executed by their father — in the back seat of a taxicab in Texas, the FBI is saying for the first time that the case may have been an "honor killing."
Sarah Said, 17, and her sister Amina, 18, were killed on New Year's Day, but for nine months authorities deflected questions about whether their father — the prime suspect and the subject of a nationwide manhunt — may have targeted them because of a perceived slight upon his honor.
The usual suspects are whining that it shouldn't be called that, it might 'stigmatize the islamic community' and so forth. I would like to inform CAIR that muslims murdering their daughters and wives- many, many documented cases around the world- is what 'stigmatizes' your beliefs. Be nice if you did something to stop that garbage.
As the man says, the Obamessiah people are officially
insane:
Absofreakinlutely amazing.
I'm listening to Fox, on which an Obama spokeshole is claiming that the McCain campaign "didn't vet Joe the Plumber."
They must be terrified.
So terrified that they come up with crap like this. Let's see, Barack Don't Ask Me REAL Questions Hussein Obama is in the guys neighborhood. Asks for questions. Guy asks a question and The Obama slips and tells the truth about what he is. And the McCain people should have vetted him?Absofreakinlutely amazing.
This definitely counts as 'Law Enforcement-
Sorry Excuse For:
He runs into a member of one of the groups, and they tell him outright that the group has their eye on him, will get even, he is dead meat, etc.. He requests from his supervisor an emergency transfer. With one of those the person and family are moved immediately, to a good distance, and given new identities (down to a credit history under their new names, so no one can trace them that way).
His supervisor handles it as an ordinary, voluntary, transfer. As in, it'll take weeks for approval, if we do approve, you can be transferred nearby, no new identity. In the meantime other reports are coming in. An informant who shared a cell with a prison gang leader reports that he saw a list of men marked for "hits" and noticed the agent's name on it. Etc., etc.. It becomes apparent that not one, but two groups well-known for killing people are both out to kill him.
The transfer is not modified. It's still voluntary, agent is in one duty station and would like to move to another for personal reasons, and HQ will process when they feel like it.
It's kind of amazing. If nothing else, how the hell do these clowns expect to get people to volunteer for this kind of amazingly dangerous work, when they know they'll be crapped on for it down the line?
He runs into a member of one of the groups, and they tell him outright that the group has their eye on him, will get even, he is dead meat, etc.. He requests from his supervisor an emergency transfer. With one of those the person and family are moved immediately, to a good distance, and given new identities (down to a credit history under their new names, so no one can trace them that way).
His supervisor handles it as an ordinary, voluntary, transfer. As in, it'll take weeks for approval, if we do approve, you can be transferred nearby, no new identity. In the meantime other reports are coming in. An informant who shared a cell with a prison gang leader reports that he saw a list of men marked for "hits" and noticed the agent's name on it. Etc., etc.. It becomes apparent that not one, but two groups well-known for killing people are both out to kill him.
The transfer is not modified. It's still voluntary, agent is in one duty station and would like to move to another for personal reasons, and HQ will process when they feel like it.
It's kind of amazing. If nothing else, how the hell do these clowns expect to get people to volunteer for this kind of amazingly dangerous work, when they know they'll be crapped on for it down the line?
Ok, this is interesting
and might become very interesting:
API is disturbed by the way many have reacted to the story on Mrs Obama’s call. Many have shown us by the way they have behaved towards API that they only think of their own interests because they have demanded that the audio recordings should be released immediately. We understand that the tapes should be released, but those who have demanded the release of the tapes seem not take into account that API may become a suing target.
The Recordings:
API has recordings of the conversation between API and Mrs Obama (Shocking development: Mrs Obama decides enough is enough: “My husband was born in Hawaii and adopted by his step father, does that make him unpatriotic; she asks”, on a direct telephone to API., and we confirm that the audio will be released to the public. In the last 24 hours, API has been consulting legal advisers on the way forward in order to avoid being sued by the Obama camp. API has realised that the contents of the tapes if made public may change the political atmosphere in America for ever, especially in the next few days.
Due to enormous reactions received, API now understands the impact of the statements made by Mrs Obama. The American people have reacted in a way we in API would never have expected............
...
A number of Americans who are die-hard Obama followers have tried their best to intimidate API using all kinds of threatening methods when they call in and when they email us. They are implying that API is planning to destroy Obama’s chances to become the next US President. API does not have a direct interest in the US Presidential elections and we want Obama supporters to understand that. However, when someone who may become the next first lady makes such comments as in the story we have published, the public have the right to know. Intimidation directed to the publishers of the story is not the answer.
API is disturbed by the way many have reacted to the story on Mrs Obama’s call. Many have shown us by the way they have behaved towards API that they only think of their own interests because they have demanded that the audio recordings should be released immediately. We understand that the tapes should be released, but those who have demanded the release of the tapes seem not take into account that API may become a suing target.
The Recordings:
API has recordings of the conversation between API and Mrs Obama (Shocking development: Mrs Obama decides enough is enough: “My husband was born in Hawaii and adopted by his step father, does that make him unpatriotic; she asks”, on a direct telephone to API., and we confirm that the audio will be released to the public. In the last 24 hours, API has been consulting legal advisers on the way forward in order to avoid being sued by the Obama camp. API has realised that the contents of the tapes if made public may change the political atmosphere in America for ever, especially in the next few days.
Due to enormous reactions received, API now understands the impact of the statements made by Mrs Obama. The American people have reacted in a way we in API would never have expected............
...
A number of Americans who are die-hard Obama followers have tried their best to intimidate API using all kinds of threatening methods when they call in and when they email us. They are implying that API is planning to destroy Obama’s chances to become the next US President. API does not have a direct interest in the US Presidential elections and we want Obama supporters to understand that. However, when someone who may become the next first lady makes such comments as in the story we have published, the public have the right to know. Intimidation directed to the publishers of the story is not the answer.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Went to the range
to get the bad taste of politics out of my system, and to try a couple of loads. Specifically, I wanted a load that would closely duplicate the factory 185-grain Gold Dot 45acp load. The factory stuff is damned expensive, so having something very close to practice with would be rather nice.
Couple of days ago I looked at the Alliant Powder site and, lo and behold, they had some loads for that specific bullet. Since I A: had some and B: it gave higher velocity I went with Unique.
I have to mention, I've always had two problems with Unique: it didn't feed very smoothly through my powder measure, and it burned fairly dirty. Why use it? Because there are a couple of older cartridges it's one of the most recommended powders for, and because it tends to give good accuracy in them. Last time I got a bottle I noticed the new bottles are marked 'Cleaner Burning'. And it is, noticeably so. It also flows through the measure better than the previous version; whether the two are related, no idea, but I'm glad of it either way.
Yes, I did drop the charge from the load shown, using 8.0 grains. I loaded two full loads in my pistol(16 rounds) to try. Well, it felt indistinguishable from the factory loads, and the shots went right where they were supposed to. No signs I could spot of high pressure, so I'll make up some more and, next time I'm at the outdoor range, use the Chrony to check velocity(along with the other stuff I need to test).
I love it when something actually works the way you want it to.
Couple of days ago I looked at the Alliant Powder site and, lo and behold, they had some loads for that specific bullet. Since I A: had some and B: it gave higher velocity I went with Unique.
I have to mention, I've always had two problems with Unique: it didn't feed very smoothly through my powder measure, and it burned fairly dirty. Why use it? Because there are a couple of older cartridges it's one of the most recommended powders for, and because it tends to give good accuracy in them. Last time I got a bottle I noticed the new bottles are marked 'Cleaner Burning'. And it is, noticeably so. It also flows through the measure better than the previous version; whether the two are related, no idea, but I'm glad of it either way.
Yes, I did drop the charge from the load shown, using 8.0 grains. I loaded two full loads in my pistol(16 rounds) to try. Well, it felt indistinguishable from the factory loads, and the shots went right where they were supposed to. No signs I could spot of high pressure, so I'll make up some more and, next time I'm at the outdoor range, use the Chrony to check velocity(along with the other stuff I need to test).
I love it when something actually works the way you want it to.
I wrote to both my congresscritters this morning
telling them what I think about the current results of the Pork, Payoff and Bribes Bill. Yes, I was polite. No, I do not write 'The Honorable' in the address or any other of that bullcrap; they're our EMPLOYEES, dammit, since when am I supposed to crawl when I speak to them?
I just got a canned response from Coburn, basically "We had to act or the world would end." So I just sent asking him why, if it was so damned important, they had to lard all the bribes and payoffs and pork into it?
You know, this is just freakin' disgusting, on a level hard to find words for. Countrywide Dodd and Fannie Mae Frank, complicit in causing the problem, corrupt, and still in Congress with their hands all over this crap. And further in our pockets. And the excuse we still get is "We had to act NOW!!!"
Lampposts, ropes, politicians...
Oh, saw part of the Glenn Beck show last night. There was a segment with a retired FBI weenie talking about how the government is 'monitoring the internet to keep an eye on 'militia' types who may cause problems after the election'. You ever wondered if a lot of us are on a list, I think you can end your doubts.
Beck asked him if the FBI(mentioned as the agency primarily involved in the monitoring) could be trusted not to let politics shape their actions, and the weenie informed him 'of all the agents I knew over my career, none of them would do that'. WHich means, considering what's come out over the last few years, he either worked only with paragons of virtue, he's blind, or he's lying.
Can we add bureaucrats to the list? Not nearly enough lampposts, but there's always trees, and cranes...
I just got a canned response from Coburn, basically "We had to act or the world would end." So I just sent asking him why, if it was so damned important, they had to lard all the bribes and payoffs and pork into it?
You know, this is just freakin' disgusting, on a level hard to find words for. Countrywide Dodd and Fannie Mae Frank, complicit in causing the problem, corrupt, and still in Congress with their hands all over this crap. And further in our pockets. And the excuse we still get is "We had to act NOW!!!"
Lampposts, ropes, politicians...
Oh, saw part of the Glenn Beck show last night. There was a segment with a retired FBI weenie talking about how the government is 'monitoring the internet to keep an eye on 'militia' types who may cause problems after the election'. You ever wondered if a lot of us are on a list, I think you can end your doubts.
Beck asked him if the FBI(mentioned as the agency primarily involved in the monitoring) could be trusted not to let politics shape their actions, and the weenie informed him 'of all the agents I knew over my career, none of them would do that'. WHich means, considering what's come out over the last few years, he either worked only with paragons of virtue, he's blind, or he's lying.
Can we add bureaucrats to the list? Not nearly enough lampposts, but there's always trees, and cranes...
That hijacked Iranian ship?
Something I hadn't heard before about it:
[Russian sources claim she] was an enormous floating dirty bomb, intended to detonate after exiting the Suez Canal at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and in proximity to the coastal cities of Israel. The entire cargo of radioactive sand, obtained by Iran from China (the latter buys desperately needed oil from the former) and sealed in containers which, when the charges on the ship are set off after the crew took to the boats, will be blasted high into the air where prevailing winds will push the highly dangerous and radioactive cloud ashore.
That would be remarkably nasty. And fit right in with Ahmadogcrap's threats.
[Russian sources claim she] was an enormous floating dirty bomb, intended to detonate after exiting the Suez Canal at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and in proximity to the coastal cities of Israel. The entire cargo of radioactive sand, obtained by Iran from China (the latter buys desperately needed oil from the former) and sealed in containers which, when the charges on the ship are set off after the crew took to the boats, will be blasted high into the air where prevailing winds will push the highly dangerous and radioactive cloud ashore.
That would be remarkably nasty. And fit right in with Ahmadogcrap's threats.
I have been taken to task for daring to write about
Elsa the Lion turning out to be less than a storybook happy-ending story a while back, in the comments. Including:
I cant see why you had to write this story.About elsa the lion she was doing what any lion woud do to feed her young cubs when she can not hunt,on her own and you shot her. Shame on you
Yeah, God forbid I actually take note of a problem with an idea. But, of course, I am a Nasty Gun-Clinging American:
But you are from the US the gun country shoot anything and anyone.
Yeah, corpses everywhere and holes in the neighbor's houses, that's me.
Nothing in this world is perfect and even the best of intentions can go awry. The wild animal population needs our help and support! Not people like you who could probably find a negative thing amidst an almost perfect bed of roses!
Well, the roses don't crawl out of the bed and chase me with their thorns, but overall I find them pretty pleasing. And he's stuck on 'people like you!' It seems that simply by writing about this incident, I have become a Destroyer of Wildlife and All That is Good; kind of like writing about Barack I Hate Plumbers Obama makes you a racist, I guess.
I wasn't going to post about this until I got another comment today, including the above and this gem:
Maybe when we can fully appreciate all forms of life(including people like you), maybe then we can find hope in saving ourselves!
No, of COURSE I have no consideration for other forms of life. Otherwise I'd be a enviroweenie animal-rights squirrel(oops, there's that specie-ism again) who thinks writing about a people-munching lion is equivalent to wanting them all shot. Geez.
Ah well, I need to check the muzzle-loader out. Just in case I have a chance the next while to go out and whack Bambi.
I cant see why you had to write this story.About elsa the lion she was doing what any lion woud do to feed her young cubs when she can not hunt,on her own and you shot her. Shame on you
Yeah, God forbid I actually take note of a problem with an idea. But, of course, I am a Nasty Gun-Clinging American:
But you are from the US the gun country shoot anything and anyone.
Yeah, corpses everywhere and holes in the neighbor's houses, that's me.
Nothing in this world is perfect and even the best of intentions can go awry. The wild animal population needs our help and support! Not people like you who could probably find a negative thing amidst an almost perfect bed of roses!
Well, the roses don't crawl out of the bed and chase me with their thorns, but overall I find them pretty pleasing. And he's stuck on 'people like you!' It seems that simply by writing about this incident, I have become a Destroyer of Wildlife and All That is Good; kind of like writing about Barack I Hate Plumbers Obama makes you a racist, I guess.
I wasn't going to post about this until I got another comment today, including the above and this gem:
Maybe when we can fully appreciate all forms of life(including people like you), maybe then we can find hope in saving ourselves!
No, of COURSE I have no consideration for other forms of life. Otherwise I'd be a enviroweenie animal-rights squirrel(oops, there's that specie-ism again) who thinks writing about a people-munching lion is equivalent to wanting them all shot. Geez.
Ah well, I need to check the muzzle-loader out. Just in case I have a chance the next while to go out and whack Bambi.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
This about says it all
This moron thinks that taxing the life out of someone building a business is 'spreading the wealth around'. Spoken like a socialist politician who's never had a damn thing to do with a business in his life."Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?" the plumber asked, complaining that he was being taxed "more and more for fulfilling the American dream."
"It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success too," Obama responded. "My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody ... I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."
I don't think I've said this before, though I thought it: this man is flat-out dangerous to this nation.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Yeah, it's fall
Cool, solid overcast, and a mix of fog and/or very light rain all day. And I think most of the night. Which makes it nasty outside, but a good night for sleeping it was.
And the stuff helped the friend plant- and the stuff that wasn't in the ground yet- should like it.
Times past, I'd have headed for the woods on a day like this. However, between work, time and distance that isn't an option most days. Does make baking and such a more comfortable, though.
And that's the extent of my brilliance today. Except I'll pass on another dog story:
My parents used to have a West Highland Terrier; think of a Scottie, white and smaller. Very nice dog. Got along with everyone, cats no problem, with one real dislike.
Skateboards.
She detested them. If she heard or saw one coming down the street, she hit the fence. If she was inside, and there was no one to let her out, she’d run through the house to the doggie door in back to get out, then clear around the house to bark at it.
Well, years before this Mom & Dad had a deck built on back of the house. Except for the hottest weather it was a comfortable place to sit, and Dad extended the roof over a bit to cover an area he leveled with patio blocks for the grill. The one drawback was cats. Stray pregnant females would home in on the place and set up housekeeping under the deck to have their litter. Dad spent a lot of time taming the mom & kittens so he could find homes for them(there was a BIG problem with stray cats for a couple of years).
So one day Mom’s in the bedroom folding clothes, Dad’s out back sitting watching the latest mother & litter play on the deck and the dog’s in the living room. Then she hears it.
Skateboard wheels. Coming down the street.
At this point two of the kittens are rolling around, and the other four & mom are sitting grooming, about two feet in front of the back door.
Cricket(from past experience) jumps up, looks out the window and heads for the back.
Dad is watching the felines when the dog came through the door at a dead run and scattered cats like pins in a kids bowling set and never broke stride. She shot off the deck and around the house to deal with the hated skateboard, leaving five cats in various poses of “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?”
Damn, the things that happen with no camera rolling.
And the stuff helped the friend plant- and the stuff that wasn't in the ground yet- should like it.
Times past, I'd have headed for the woods on a day like this. However, between work, time and distance that isn't an option most days. Does make baking and such a more comfortable, though.
And that's the extent of my brilliance today. Except I'll pass on another dog story:
My parents used to have a West Highland Terrier; think of a Scottie, white and smaller. Very nice dog. Got along with everyone, cats no problem, with one real dislike.
Skateboards.
She detested them. If she heard or saw one coming down the street, she hit the fence. If she was inside, and there was no one to let her out, she’d run through the house to the doggie door in back to get out, then clear around the house to bark at it.
Well, years before this Mom & Dad had a deck built on back of the house. Except for the hottest weather it was a comfortable place to sit, and Dad extended the roof over a bit to cover an area he leveled with patio blocks for the grill. The one drawback was cats. Stray pregnant females would home in on the place and set up housekeeping under the deck to have their litter. Dad spent a lot of time taming the mom & kittens so he could find homes for them(there was a BIG problem with stray cats for a couple of years).
So one day Mom’s in the bedroom folding clothes, Dad’s out back sitting watching the latest mother & litter play on the deck and the dog’s in the living room. Then she hears it.
Skateboard wheels. Coming down the street.
At this point two of the kittens are rolling around, and the other four & mom are sitting grooming, about two feet in front of the back door.
Cricket(from past experience) jumps up, looks out the window and heads for the back.
Dad is watching the felines when the dog came through the door at a dead run and scattered cats like pins in a kids bowling set and never broke stride. She shot off the deck and around the house to deal with the hated skateboard, leaving five cats in various poses of “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?”
Damn, the things that happen with no camera rolling.
Monday, October 13, 2008
As somebody said, significant hemorrhage takes the fun out of things
Smaller amounts, not as bad. At least when it's not my blood. And for a change it was not I losing blood.
Went out to visit some friends don’t get the chance to see very often and, while there, helped plant some trees. They bought this house about two years ago and he’s been very big on planting both trees and roses. Some have done fairly well, some not so much; the weather this past winter didn’t help matters. So, went to Lowe’s to help him pick up some potting soil and they had their remaining trees on sale, so…
Six trees and nearly twenty berry bushes later(also on sale), back at the house, there was one tree that’d been loosened up in the pot badly enough thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and get it in the ground. So dug the hole. Which took more than you might think; about two or three inches below the surface there’s a thick layer of clay, actually had to break it up with a pick and then scoop it out to get the hole deep enough. Finally got that done, put some organic matter in the hole and soak it, put in the tree and fill the hole up, then soak it well. Now comes the post, to hold the tree upright in this wind while it settles in and roots. So he got a t-post and the driver and began hammering.
If you’ve never worked with one of these, the driver is basically a section of pipe with a heavy cap welded on one end and a handle on each side. Slip it over the top of the post, drive it down, lift and repeat; lots easier than using a hammer for these.
Well, the ground was hard enough that he was having to really slam it down to get the post in, and had only gotten it in three or four inches when- in one of those “Damn, how’d THAT happen?” accidents- he lifted the driver just a bit too high, which naturally means the thing moved a touch toward him, the bottom edge rose clear of the post and as he drove it down the far side hit and the driver pivoted over and slammed into his head.
I was figuring the best way to tie the tree when he said a word(I promise, it was not “Shuckins”) and hit the ground. It took a minute to figure out exactly what’d happened, since I hadn’t seen it and he was concentrating on pain. Then he took off his hat and we discovered the bleeding, so I told him to stay down with his daughter for company(“Daddy’s ok, he just needs to rest.” “Daddy booboo?” Etc.)
Get inside, “Do you have a first-aid kit?” His wife was on the phone- that was a call that ended quick- and she grabbed a towel and out we went. Apparently the “There’s a bit of hemorrhage, but not much” didn’t really help. “Hemorrhage?!?” “Just a little bit, he banged his head.” She didn’t exactly leave a vacuum behind, but there was a bit of a swirl.
Let me note, the wife is a nurse specializing in pregnant women and newborns; a damn good one. But she says herself that she doesn’t deal well with family and other problems, like head injuries. So after getting him in and cleaned up a bit, she was worried enough to demand a trip to the ER. So an entourage of the wounded, the wife, the daughter(not quite three) and me loaded up. Happily the daughter doesn’t get freaked out, so my job in the event was to
First, park the car after dropping dizzy husband and wife at the door,
Second, bring child in,
Third, keep her out of the way and as happy with things as possible. Which I hadn’t done in quite a while, but I remembered how and she did quite well.
So it was determined that while he may have damaged one of his five remaining brain cells, there didn’t seem to be any serious damage. So while wife was being informed as to what specifics to watch for over the next couple of days, I took kid to car and brought it to the door, and all went back to the house. Shortly thereafter I had to go home and get some sleep before work(this is being written at o-dark-thirty in the morning), and as of last word the injured is doing fine. Though his head is going to be sore for a while.
By the time I got home I was able to get about two hours sleep before having to be at work at the proverbial oh-dark-thirty. But I do get to sleep tonight.
And how was your day off?
Went out to visit some friends don’t get the chance to see very often and, while there, helped plant some trees. They bought this house about two years ago and he’s been very big on planting both trees and roses. Some have done fairly well, some not so much; the weather this past winter didn’t help matters. So, went to Lowe’s to help him pick up some potting soil and they had their remaining trees on sale, so…
Six trees and nearly twenty berry bushes later(also on sale), back at the house, there was one tree that’d been loosened up in the pot badly enough thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and get it in the ground. So dug the hole. Which took more than you might think; about two or three inches below the surface there’s a thick layer of clay, actually had to break it up with a pick and then scoop it out to get the hole deep enough. Finally got that done, put some organic matter in the hole and soak it, put in the tree and fill the hole up, then soak it well. Now comes the post, to hold the tree upright in this wind while it settles in and roots. So he got a t-post and the driver and began hammering.
If you’ve never worked with one of these, the driver is basically a section of pipe with a heavy cap welded on one end and a handle on each side. Slip it over the top of the post, drive it down, lift and repeat; lots easier than using a hammer for these.
Well, the ground was hard enough that he was having to really slam it down to get the post in, and had only gotten it in three or four inches when- in one of those “Damn, how’d THAT happen?” accidents- he lifted the driver just a bit too high, which naturally means the thing moved a touch toward him, the bottom edge rose clear of the post and as he drove it down the far side hit and the driver pivoted over and slammed into his head.
I was figuring the best way to tie the tree when he said a word(I promise, it was not “Shuckins”) and hit the ground. It took a minute to figure out exactly what’d happened, since I hadn’t seen it and he was concentrating on pain. Then he took off his hat and we discovered the bleeding, so I told him to stay down with his daughter for company(“Daddy’s ok, he just needs to rest.” “Daddy booboo?” Etc.)
Get inside, “Do you have a first-aid kit?” His wife was on the phone- that was a call that ended quick- and she grabbed a towel and out we went. Apparently the “There’s a bit of hemorrhage, but not much” didn’t really help. “Hemorrhage?!?” “Just a little bit, he banged his head.” She didn’t exactly leave a vacuum behind, but there was a bit of a swirl.
Let me note, the wife is a nurse specializing in pregnant women and newborns; a damn good one. But she says herself that she doesn’t deal well with family and other problems, like head injuries. So after getting him in and cleaned up a bit, she was worried enough to demand a trip to the ER. So an entourage of the wounded, the wife, the daughter(not quite three) and me loaded up. Happily the daughter doesn’t get freaked out, so my job in the event was to
First, park the car after dropping dizzy husband and wife at the door,
Second, bring child in,
Third, keep her out of the way and as happy with things as possible. Which I hadn’t done in quite a while, but I remembered how and she did quite well.
So it was determined that while he may have damaged one of his five remaining brain cells, there didn’t seem to be any serious damage. So while wife was being informed as to what specifics to watch for over the next couple of days, I took kid to car and brought it to the door, and all went back to the house. Shortly thereafter I had to go home and get some sleep before work(this is being written at o-dark-thirty in the morning), and as of last word the injured is doing fine. Though his head is going to be sore for a while.
By the time I got home I was able to get about two hours sleep before having to be at work at the proverbial oh-dark-thirty. But I do get to sleep tonight.
And how was your day off?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Had a question at an old post about the Remington 512,
Specifically asking about mounting a scope, and if you'd need a gunsmith.
WARNING: I am not a gen-u-wine, officially certified gunsmith: this is what I've picked up over time. This is one of those "Do it right the first time, or not at all" things, so if you're going to try it, make sure you've studied it, that you understand exactly what you're doing, that you get/get access to the proper tools, and that you take the time to do it right.
First off, the gentleman is asking for a relative in India. I have no idea what, if any, regulations there are on parts like this(scope bases, drill bits, taps, rings, scopes) being shipped to India; if he buys them locally, no problem(tap and bits shouldn't be any problem, so many of them COME from India nowadays). If he needs to order them, the company should be able to help him figure it out. India being a friendly country, I doubt any problem, but check to be sure if you’re sending them to him. (Gun Parts has a one-piece base for this rifle, the same one I used on mine)
As to whether needs a gunsmith, depends on what tools he has access to and if they feel up to trying this. At the base level, it’s pretty simple:
Remove the barrel/receiver from the stock.
Clamp it in a suitably padded vise and make sure it’s absolutely square and level in both axes, preferably on a drill press table, or milling machine table.
Set the base/s in place and lock them somehow so they’re square and level.
Use a punch to mark where the holes need to be drilled.
Remove base/s and drill the holes.
Thread the holes.
Clean out thoroughly, all cutting oil and chips.
Install bases.
Like a lot of things, basically straightforward. The trouble comes in keeping everything right at each step. Here it's critical to
Keep the receiver level
Make sure the base/s are level/square and do not move while marking the drilling spots
Make sure the drill does not wander while drilling
Do NOT drill too deep
Run the tap straight while cutting the threads.
You really need a drill press and vise; they make both squaring & leveling and drilling a LOT easier and more precise. For a centerpunch to mark the spots for the drill to bite, there are punches made just for the purpose: different diameter shafts with the punch point in the center. You find the one that will just fit inside the holes in the base, set it in the hole and tap to mark the spot. You can take a pin punch, carefully grind a centered point on the end at a very shallow angle, then carefully grind the diameter(belt sander or grinder) so it’ll barely fit the hole and use it. Or,
You can use the scope base for a drilling guide: level the receiver, set the base in place and clamp it so it cannot shift out of place and use the bases as a guide for the drill. If you do that, be careful; many of the bases are aluminum and relatively soft, and you can damage the side of the hole if the bit is just a touch off center. I have heard of gunsmiths using superglue for this instead of a clamp; clean the top and the bottom of the bases absolutely clean and then glue on square and level; after the glue sets drill the holes.
He’ll have to set the press so the hole depth is just deep enough; one thing that cannot be fixed(short of a new barrel, really) is drilling through into the chamber.
Generally, screws for mounts are threaded 6x48, a small, fine thread and not to be found at most tool places(they can be found at Brownell’s or Midway). They’re easy to break, so use lots of cutting oil and go slowly, in a ¼ to 1/3 turn and then back up. Make one turn at most, then all the way out and clean chips from the hole, relube and go back in. You can chuck the tap into the drill press and use that as a guide to help make sure the tap goes in exactly vertical.
If he has some shop skills and can take it slow and careful, he can probably do it himself. If he has any doubts at all, find a gunsmith. With the right tools and experience, a simple job for the smith.
Please note, this is a very short & dirty ‘how it works’, not an in-depth how. If he’s interested in more details, I’d recommend the Gunsmith Kinks books from Brownells. Lots and lots of tips from gunsmiths on just about everything from mounting sights to bluing to trigger and stock work. And I make this sound possibly worse than it is, but understand that with a scope base you really have no wiggle-room: if you have it a little to one side or the other, the scope will be off-center and that's bad. If you're using two-piece bases and they're not aligned exactly, the rings won't be in line and that's bad. If you get one hole in the right place and your mark for the second turns out to be a little off, that's bad. I've done this job a couple of times and practically sweated blood at some points, checking and rechecking to make sure it was right.
His other question was any scope I'd recommend. You want to start a LONG argument(assuming the moderators don't kill it), go to any gun board and ask that question. My opinion:
For general use on a .22, get either a 4x or, if you want a variable, a 3-9x; for anything but a match rifle that's plenty of magnification. Go with a known brand(Weaver, Bushnell, Tasco and such), and you shouldn't have any problems with it. Most scopes will have either a 1" tube or a 30mm; make sure you get the rings to match.
WARNING: I am not a gen-u-wine, officially certified gunsmith: this is what I've picked up over time. This is one of those "Do it right the first time, or not at all" things, so if you're going to try it, make sure you've studied it, that you understand exactly what you're doing, that you get/get access to the proper tools, and that you take the time to do it right.
First off, the gentleman is asking for a relative in India. I have no idea what, if any, regulations there are on parts like this(scope bases, drill bits, taps, rings, scopes) being shipped to India; if he buys them locally, no problem(tap and bits shouldn't be any problem, so many of them COME from India nowadays). If he needs to order them, the company should be able to help him figure it out. India being a friendly country, I doubt any problem, but check to be sure if you’re sending them to him. (Gun Parts has a one-piece base for this rifle, the same one I used on mine)
As to whether needs a gunsmith, depends on what tools he has access to and if they feel up to trying this. At the base level, it’s pretty simple:
Remove the barrel/receiver from the stock.
Clamp it in a suitably padded vise and make sure it’s absolutely square and level in both axes, preferably on a drill press table, or milling machine table.
Set the base/s in place and lock them somehow so they’re square and level.
Use a punch to mark where the holes need to be drilled.
Remove base/s and drill the holes.
Thread the holes.
Clean out thoroughly, all cutting oil and chips.
Install bases.
Like a lot of things, basically straightforward. The trouble comes in keeping everything right at each step. Here it's critical to
Keep the receiver level
Make sure the base/s are level/square and do not move while marking the drilling spots
Make sure the drill does not wander while drilling
Do NOT drill too deep
Run the tap straight while cutting the threads.
You really need a drill press and vise; they make both squaring & leveling and drilling a LOT easier and more precise. For a centerpunch to mark the spots for the drill to bite, there are punches made just for the purpose: different diameter shafts with the punch point in the center. You find the one that will just fit inside the holes in the base, set it in the hole and tap to mark the spot. You can take a pin punch, carefully grind a centered point on the end at a very shallow angle, then carefully grind the diameter(belt sander or grinder) so it’ll barely fit the hole and use it. Or,
You can use the scope base for a drilling guide: level the receiver, set the base in place and clamp it so it cannot shift out of place and use the bases as a guide for the drill. If you do that, be careful; many of the bases are aluminum and relatively soft, and you can damage the side of the hole if the bit is just a touch off center. I have heard of gunsmiths using superglue for this instead of a clamp; clean the top and the bottom of the bases absolutely clean and then glue on square and level; after the glue sets drill the holes.
He’ll have to set the press so the hole depth is just deep enough; one thing that cannot be fixed(short of a new barrel, really) is drilling through into the chamber.
Generally, screws for mounts are threaded 6x48, a small, fine thread and not to be found at most tool places(they can be found at Brownell’s or Midway). They’re easy to break, so use lots of cutting oil and go slowly, in a ¼ to 1/3 turn and then back up. Make one turn at most, then all the way out and clean chips from the hole, relube and go back in. You can chuck the tap into the drill press and use that as a guide to help make sure the tap goes in exactly vertical.
If he has some shop skills and can take it slow and careful, he can probably do it himself. If he has any doubts at all, find a gunsmith. With the right tools and experience, a simple job for the smith.
Please note, this is a very short & dirty ‘how it works’, not an in-depth how. If he’s interested in more details, I’d recommend the Gunsmith Kinks books from Brownells. Lots and lots of tips from gunsmiths on just about everything from mounting sights to bluing to trigger and stock work. And I make this sound possibly worse than it is, but understand that with a scope base you really have no wiggle-room: if you have it a little to one side or the other, the scope will be off-center and that's bad. If you're using two-piece bases and they're not aligned exactly, the rings won't be in line and that's bad. If you get one hole in the right place and your mark for the second turns out to be a little off, that's bad. I've done this job a couple of times and practically sweated blood at some points, checking and rechecking to make sure it was right.
His other question was any scope I'd recommend. You want to start a LONG argument(assuming the moderators don't kill it), go to any gun board and ask that question. My opinion:
For general use on a .22, get either a 4x or, if you want a variable, a 3-9x; for anything but a match rifle that's plenty of magnification. Go with a known brand(Weaver, Bushnell, Tasco and such), and you shouldn't have any problems with it. Most scopes will have either a 1" tube or a 30mm; make sure you get the rings to match.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Yesterday morning I decided to hit the range. And it was good. And then I came home. Which was so-so as I was short on time. And when I tried to take care of some online stuff, McAfee was updating(which seems to take bloody forever lately) and when it finishes it’s started causing things to slow down. So aside from posting about Fenris, accomplished squat electronically. In any case,
I had the chance to shoot one of these the other day
The Swiss G96/11*. Interesting history as to how this model and the 7.5x55 cartridge came about, found here at Swiss Rifles, including:
It was determined that the 89/96 could easily be converted (Model 1889s could not) to handle the new cartridge by re-barreling the rifle.
The action is a straight-pull bolt; when you pull the handle back it pivots at the rear to unlock the action, the bolt head is rotated to unlock and the bolt comes back to the stop. Push forward and it strips a cartridge from the magazine and feeds it into the chamber, the bolt head rotates to lock the lugs into their recesses, and at the end the handle pivots in and locks everything. The bolt head extends a lot way from the body, which is why the receiver is so damn long. Which makes cleaning interesting: I’ve got a 36” Tipton carbon-fiber rod, and with a long jag on, cleaning from the breech, when the handle hits the receiver the jag is just sticking out the muzzle, not far enough to get the patch out. Need a rod either a bit longer or with a smaller handle to push a patch all the way through. Yes, I had to clean it; small price for shooting it.
Back to the results, when I did my part this was the usual group using ball:
With the sun at a different angle to remove the glare in the rear sight, I think I might(probably in my dreams) have been able to tighten that up a bit. Even if I couldn’t, that’s still a nice group from a almost century-old rifle. Note that I was aiming at the target below this one: right about 6.5-7" above point of aim, which should indeed put it dead on at 300 meters. Recoil was a light thump; the rifle weighs enough and the stock is shaped such that it’s not bad at all. MUCH more pleasant than the 1903 Springfield with ball(I’m going to get either a slip-on recoil pad or fit one to replace the steel buttplate when I take that to the range, as after twenty rounds my shoulder is unhappy with me).
I took along some of the cast-bullet loads I’d made up for my K31 and tried them out:
Not bad at all. I do blame the vertical stringing on me; I was getting a bit tired at this point. Interesting contrast here is that with the K31 the rear sight has to be set to 500 to bring this bullet into the black at 100 yards; with the G96/11 the sight at the lowest- 300- setting places the same load dead-on. Maybe the longer barrel gives a bit more velocity; if I shoot this again I’ll try to take the Chrony along to check it.
Personally, I’d like a deeper, square-bottom notch on the rear; when the sun is hitting the sight from a frontal angle it makes for a somewhat fuzzy notch with the standard ‘u’ shape(there will be no comments tolerated about my being fuzzy). Overall, a very well-made, accurate firearm.
And, I find that Interordnance has the G96/11, the G11 and the K11 right now.
I took the M95 Steyr along to try at 100 yards. I have no ball ammo for this one, just the cast-bullet loads I made up. If you remember, the last time I tried this thing out it was something like a foot high at 30 yards, which was just amazing. Happily things are dropping enough that at 100 the point of impact is only about 8” high. No great groups to show off. This thing has the aforementioned tapered-to-a-rounded-point front sight and combined with the sun and the rear notch, I had trouble sighting precisely. The action is fast and smooth(another straight-pull design), has a strange trigger(long first stage that gets heavier as you go, then a fairly clean, heavy second stage), and the rear sling swivel is on the left side of the wrist, just right to be under your fingers. Which makes me wonder how they settled on the various features. Why not move the swivel a bit back so it’s out of the way? Why have such a heavy spring in the trigger? Why that !*#*^& tapered front post instead of a taper to a flat-top like the Swede Mauser? And why have the battlesight set so damn far for a carbine? All this must have made sense to somebody, but I have no idea why.
Side note: the clips you load the Steyr with will often drop out the bottom of the magazine well as you chamber the last round. If they don’t it’s not a problem: the empty will be pushed out as you load the next. If some don’t drop, and you want them to, squeeze the sides in just a touch and try it again.
And the reason I don’t have any 8x56r ball? Last time I saw any at a show it was $8-10/box of ten, in clips. Not worth that much to me.
*I thought it was a G11. But after looking at the comparisons a Swiss Rifle, it does appear to be a 96/11.
I had the chance to shoot one of these the other day
The Swiss G96/11*. Interesting history as to how this model and the 7.5x55 cartridge came about, found here at Swiss Rifles, including:
1889/96s were converted to 1896.11s buy replacing or modifying the following:
A new barrel was added.
Already fitted the the barrel were new front and rear sights.
A pistol grip was grafted onto the stock of the rifle.
The new rifles were also fitted with 6rd magazines, similar to the 1889/1900 pattern magazine, minus the reinforcing ridge, although the magazine did include a bolt hold-open feature for when the magazine was empty.
A new trigger-guard was fitted to accommodate the new magazine.
The action is a straight-pull bolt; when you pull the handle back it pivots at the rear to unlock the action, the bolt head is rotated to unlock and the bolt comes back to the stop. Push forward and it strips a cartridge from the magazine and feeds it into the chamber, the bolt head rotates to lock the lugs into their recesses, and at the end the handle pivots in and locks everything. The bolt head extends a lot way from the body, which is why the receiver is so damn long. Which makes cleaning interesting: I’ve got a 36” Tipton carbon-fiber rod, and with a long jag on, cleaning from the breech, when the handle hits the receiver the jag is just sticking out the muzzle, not far enough to get the patch out. Need a rod either a bit longer or with a smaller handle to push a patch all the way through. Yes, I had to clean it; small price for shooting it.
Back to the results, when I did my part this was the usual group using ball:
With the sun at a different angle to remove the glare in the rear sight, I think I might(probably in my dreams) have been able to tighten that up a bit. Even if I couldn’t, that’s still a nice group from a almost century-old rifle. Note that I was aiming at the target below this one: right about 6.5-7" above point of aim, which should indeed put it dead on at 300 meters. Recoil was a light thump; the rifle weighs enough and the stock is shaped such that it’s not bad at all. MUCH more pleasant than the 1903 Springfield with ball(I’m going to get either a slip-on recoil pad or fit one to replace the steel buttplate when I take that to the range, as after twenty rounds my shoulder is unhappy with me).
I took along some of the cast-bullet loads I’d made up for my K31 and tried them out:
Personally, I’d like a deeper, square-bottom notch on the rear; when the sun is hitting the sight from a frontal angle it makes for a somewhat fuzzy notch with the standard ‘u’ shape(there will be no comments tolerated about my being fuzzy). Overall, a very well-made, accurate firearm.
And, I find that Interordnance has the G96/11, the G11 and the K11 right now.
I took the M95 Steyr along to try at 100 yards. I have no ball ammo for this one, just the cast-bullet loads I made up. If you remember, the last time I tried this thing out it was something like a foot high at 30 yards, which was just amazing. Happily things are dropping enough that at 100 the point of impact is only about 8” high. No great groups to show off. This thing has the aforementioned tapered-to-a-rounded-point front sight and combined with the sun and the rear notch, I had trouble sighting precisely. The action is fast and smooth(another straight-pull design), has a strange trigger(long first stage that gets heavier as you go, then a fairly clean, heavy second stage), and the rear sling swivel is on the left side of the wrist, just right to be under your fingers. Which makes me wonder how they settled on the various features. Why not move the swivel a bit back so it’s out of the way? Why have such a heavy spring in the trigger? Why that !*#*^& tapered front post instead of a taper to a flat-top like the Swede Mauser? And why have the battlesight set so damn far for a carbine? All this must have made sense to somebody, but I have no idea why.
Side note: the clips you load the Steyr with will often drop out the bottom of the magazine well as you chamber the last round. If they don’t it’s not a problem: the empty will be pushed out as you load the next. If some don’t drop, and you want them to, squeeze the sides in just a touch and try it again.
And the reason I don’t have any 8x56r ball? Last time I saw any at a show it was $8-10/box of ten, in clips. Not worth that much to me.
*I thought it was a G11. But after looking at the comparisons a Swiss Rifle, it does appear to be a 96/11.
A Fenris story
Fenris had three reasons to like it when his pack stopped by my booth: a place to rest, water to drink, and Scotch eggs.
Take a hard-boiled egg, wrap it in sausage, roll that in bread crumbs, then bake until done. That’s a Scotch egg. And he loved them. My ex and daughter help out at the booth(long history there), the ex always makes some, and when Fenris started coming by the ex began setting a few aside, so he could have one or two each day. Oh, yeah, he remembered that.
Last year there were no eggs on Friday. Late in the afternoon they came by and, since were on their way out, just stopped out front to talk, and I noticed Fenris looking over the table with an odd expression(if you don’t think animals can have an expression on their face, you haven’t really looked). The chihuahuas were in the booth, but he didn’t pay much attention to other canines(“You are not worthy of my attention”) so it wasn’t that. It finally hit me what the trouble was; I leaned over the table and said “Fenris, there are no Scotch eggs today.” Oh, God, the look he had. “There’ll be some tomorrow, and some are just for you.”
“But what about TODAY!? I was looking forward to it all DAY!”
“None today, but you get some tomorrow.”
That was one seriously disappointed critter.
Next day they came by for a usual stop, and soon as I saw them coming got an egg out. Fenris came to the end of the table and I told him “Yeah, we’ve got it for you today!”
“WHERE?”
Tossed it to him and chomp-chomp, it was gone. Much happier. He got another before they left, and made it known we were forgiven for Friday.
Another comes to mind:
Fenris was one of the worst beggers I’ve ever seen. Take a 100+ pound wolf, in fine health, and imagine it managing to look hungry, downright starved, at you. “You’ve got food, and I’m starving, can I have a bite?” Etc. He was also sneaky. One Sunday we had a jar of cookies on a table, and Cassie- the daughter of the human part of the pack- took off the lid.
Fenris was sitting just behind her left leg, watching. Waiting.
She lifted the lid, took out a cookie.
He tensed just a touch.
She took out a cookie and held it aside as the replaced the lid.
And he reared forward and up and snapped off the entire cookie outside her fingers.
He’s sitting licking his chops when Cassie looks around and says “Hey!” And he just looked at her, “Do it again.” Pretty much a command. But he didn’t get the next one.
Take a hard-boiled egg, wrap it in sausage, roll that in bread crumbs, then bake until done. That’s a Scotch egg. And he loved them. My ex and daughter help out at the booth(long history there), the ex always makes some, and when Fenris started coming by the ex began setting a few aside, so he could have one or two each day. Oh, yeah, he remembered that.
Last year there were no eggs on Friday. Late in the afternoon they came by and, since were on their way out, just stopped out front to talk, and I noticed Fenris looking over the table with an odd expression(if you don’t think animals can have an expression on their face, you haven’t really looked). The chihuahuas were in the booth, but he didn’t pay much attention to other canines(“You are not worthy of my attention”) so it wasn’t that. It finally hit me what the trouble was; I leaned over the table and said “Fenris, there are no Scotch eggs today.” Oh, God, the look he had. “There’ll be some tomorrow, and some are just for you.”
“But what about TODAY!? I was looking forward to it all DAY!”
“None today, but you get some tomorrow.”
That was one seriously disappointed critter.
Next day they came by for a usual stop, and soon as I saw them coming got an egg out. Fenris came to the end of the table and I told him “Yeah, we’ve got it for you today!”
“WHERE?”
Tossed it to him and chomp-chomp, it was gone. Much happier. He got another before they left, and made it known we were forgiven for Friday.
Another comes to mind:
Fenris was one of the worst beggers I’ve ever seen. Take a 100+ pound wolf, in fine health, and imagine it managing to look hungry, downright starved, at you. “You’ve got food, and I’m starving, can I have a bite?” Etc. He was also sneaky. One Sunday we had a jar of cookies on a table, and Cassie- the daughter of the human part of the pack- took off the lid.
Fenris was sitting just behind her left leg, watching. Waiting.
She lifted the lid, took out a cookie.
He tensed just a touch.
She took out a cookie and held it aside as the replaced the lid.
And he reared forward and up and snapped off the entire cookie outside her fingers.
He’s sitting licking his chops when Cassie looks around and says “Hey!” And he just looked at her, “Do it again.” Pretty much a command. But he didn’t get the next one.
I wrot to my Rep., Mary Fallin, and this was the response I got
to my "Why the hell did you vote for this crap?" letter:
The last few weeks have been a very challenging time for our nation and financial markets as we in Congress and on Main Street have debated about what action, if any, is required to stabilize our national financial system. While we have turned the page on the first chapter of this crisis, our economic problems require a long term fix, and there are surely many more challenges ahead.
We've turned the page into a horror novel.
I share the anger and frustration of all Americans over the current financial crisis. The fact that we have been forced to pass a government intervention of this magnitude is a testament to how great the scope of this problem truly is. I am optimistic, however, that the actions taken in Congress and the deliberate and careful process by which the final economic rescue plan was produced will help to eventually stabilize our economy.
'Deliberate and careful process?!? That mess we witnessed with Congress and the White House yelling "The sky is falling! Give us a blank check OR WE'RE DEAD!" ?
The first hastily drafted version of this bill, presented to Congress on September 29 and voted on that same day, was flawed. It did not contain market reforms, nor did it adequately protect the use of taxpayers' money. I opposed it on these grounds. Like many of my colleagues, however, I understood something needed to be done to keep our economy from further market and job losses.
That you opposed that mess was good. However, anymore, when a politician says 'something needed to be done' I want to put a Claymore on my wallet.
As the week following that vote progressed, I joined my colleagues in pushing for the addition of market reforms that were included into a new and improved version of the rescue package. Raising the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's insurance cap from $100,000 to $250,000 was an important step in protecting Americans' savings and small business assets. Additionally, the suspension of "mark to market" accounting rules will add a degree of stability to this volatile climate. While these changes in no way made the new bill perfect, they did mark an improvement over what we saw earlier.
Oh, yeah, LOTS of 'market reforms'. With Chris Countrywide Dodd and Barney Fannie Mae Frank leading the way instead of being the targets of FBI investigations. Real confidence-builders, those. And anyone who thinks this abortion that came out of the Senate was 'more carefully crafted'(I'm assuming that's what she means by 'new and improved version') than the original House version... unless, of course, overlooking all the additional looting added into it makes it look 'new and improved'.
These improvements, combined with a clear need to act decisively, convinced me to offer my support for this new bill. Inaction was not a choice. Although Oklahoma has been fortunate to have a stronger economy than the rest of the nation, the implications of an economic collapse and its potential impact on every American family could not be ignored.
How about 'action to strip out all the pork'? How about 'action to strip out all the bribes to businesses and politicians'? Why couldn't we see THAT action in this mess? THAT kind of 'acting decisively'?
The calls I got from the Fifth District only reinforced that notion. Many in business and banking called to discuss the tightening of credit for business expansion. Families called, worried about the difficulty of getting car and home loans during a credit crisis. Municipalities and universities were concerned over the lack of sale of bond issues to finish or begin new projects. Oklahoma's State Treasurer expressed his concern for teacher pensions, which he estimated would suffer a $42 million loss, along with over $15 million in expected losses to the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement Fund.
Which means you had to vote for something that would loot billions out of our pockets to pay off the aforementioned politicians and their supporters? Wonderful solution, that is.
If the instability in our markets is not aggressively addressed, it will affect the economic security of almost every family and business in Oklahoma. It is for that reason that I decided, in what is surely one of the most difficult decisions I have made while in office, to support the revised economic rescue package.
Therefore deciding that the aforementioned looting of our pockets was worth it. Instability that could have been addressed WITHOUT all the payoffs and bribes. As if all the money taken out of our pockets to pay bribes and buy votes WON'T affect our economic security. As if the Treasury Secretary being given all kinds of neat authority won't screw with things. Yeah. How about 'aggressively addressing' this crap, dammit?
This plan is the first step towards economic recovery, but it is hardly the last. Looking forward, we must seek additional measures to ensure the taxpayers are never placed in this position again. Congress will retain oversight of the process, and I will work to make sure new safeguards are put in place to prevent future problems. Fixing things is not enough. We have to permanently end the bad practices that caused this mess in the first place and punish the bad players in the marketplace.
Yeah, we're hearing about all the 'next steps'. Like the treasury secretary and all the new powers he's been given to play with, and the increased socialization of our nation. And more and more screwing with our lives by corrupt politicians.
And I do not use 'corrupt' lightly. As Scalzi wrote the other day, all those 'sweeteners' written into the Senate bill are properly called 'bribes'. Which means every Senator or Rep. who changed their vote based on them is properly called corrupt, as they were bribed to change their vote. I have no idea if there was something there that helped change Fallin's vote; I'm speaking in general. If she did change it based on one of these 'sweeteners', then she's a corrupt as the rest.
More and more, either a meteor or the rope stand seems like a real good idea.
The last few weeks have been a very challenging time for our nation and financial markets as we in Congress and on Main Street have debated about what action, if any, is required to stabilize our national financial system. While we have turned the page on the first chapter of this crisis, our economic problems require a long term fix, and there are surely many more challenges ahead.
We've turned the page into a horror novel.
I share the anger and frustration of all Americans over the current financial crisis. The fact that we have been forced to pass a government intervention of this magnitude is a testament to how great the scope of this problem truly is. I am optimistic, however, that the actions taken in Congress and the deliberate and careful process by which the final economic rescue plan was produced will help to eventually stabilize our economy.
'Deliberate and careful process?!? That mess we witnessed with Congress and the White House yelling "The sky is falling! Give us a blank check OR WE'RE DEAD!" ?
The first hastily drafted version of this bill, presented to Congress on September 29 and voted on that same day, was flawed. It did not contain market reforms, nor did it adequately protect the use of taxpayers' money. I opposed it on these grounds. Like many of my colleagues, however, I understood something needed to be done to keep our economy from further market and job losses.
That you opposed that mess was good. However, anymore, when a politician says 'something needed to be done' I want to put a Claymore on my wallet.
As the week following that vote progressed, I joined my colleagues in pushing for the addition of market reforms that were included into a new and improved version of the rescue package. Raising the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's insurance cap from $100,000 to $250,000 was an important step in protecting Americans' savings and small business assets. Additionally, the suspension of "mark to market" accounting rules will add a degree of stability to this volatile climate. While these changes in no way made the new bill perfect, they did mark an improvement over what we saw earlier.
Oh, yeah, LOTS of 'market reforms'. With Chris Countrywide Dodd and Barney Fannie Mae Frank leading the way instead of being the targets of FBI investigations. Real confidence-builders, those. And anyone who thinks this abortion that came out of the Senate was 'more carefully crafted'(I'm assuming that's what she means by 'new and improved version') than the original House version... unless, of course, overlooking all the additional looting added into it makes it look 'new and improved'.
These improvements, combined with a clear need to act decisively, convinced me to offer my support for this new bill. Inaction was not a choice. Although Oklahoma has been fortunate to have a stronger economy than the rest of the nation, the implications of an economic collapse and its potential impact on every American family could not be ignored.
How about 'action to strip out all the pork'? How about 'action to strip out all the bribes to businesses and politicians'? Why couldn't we see THAT action in this mess? THAT kind of 'acting decisively'?
The calls I got from the Fifth District only reinforced that notion. Many in business and banking called to discuss the tightening of credit for business expansion. Families called, worried about the difficulty of getting car and home loans during a credit crisis. Municipalities and universities were concerned over the lack of sale of bond issues to finish or begin new projects. Oklahoma's State Treasurer expressed his concern for teacher pensions, which he estimated would suffer a $42 million loss, along with over $15 million in expected losses to the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement Fund.
Which means you had to vote for something that would loot billions out of our pockets to pay off the aforementioned politicians and their supporters? Wonderful solution, that is.
If the instability in our markets is not aggressively addressed, it will affect the economic security of almost every family and business in Oklahoma. It is for that reason that I decided, in what is surely one of the most difficult decisions I have made while in office, to support the revised economic rescue package.
Therefore deciding that the aforementioned looting of our pockets was worth it. Instability that could have been addressed WITHOUT all the payoffs and bribes. As if all the money taken out of our pockets to pay bribes and buy votes WON'T affect our economic security. As if the Treasury Secretary being given all kinds of neat authority won't screw with things. Yeah. How about 'aggressively addressing' this crap, dammit?
This plan is the first step towards economic recovery, but it is hardly the last. Looking forward, we must seek additional measures to ensure the taxpayers are never placed in this position again. Congress will retain oversight of the process, and I will work to make sure new safeguards are put in place to prevent future problems. Fixing things is not enough. We have to permanently end the bad practices that caused this mess in the first place and punish the bad players in the marketplace.
Yeah, we're hearing about all the 'next steps'. Like the treasury secretary and all the new powers he's been given to play with, and the increased socialization of our nation. And more and more screwing with our lives by corrupt politicians.
And I do not use 'corrupt' lightly. As Scalzi wrote the other day, all those 'sweeteners' written into the Senate bill are properly called 'bribes'. Which means every Senator or Rep. who changed their vote based on them is properly called corrupt, as they were bribed to change their vote. I have no idea if there was something there that helped change Fallin's vote; I'm speaking in general. If she did change it based on one of these 'sweeteners', then she's a corrupt as the rest.
More and more, either a meteor or the rope stand seems like a real good idea.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
A sad note today
Fenris, the wolf who always came to Med-Fair, died the other day.His people are taking it about like you'd expect.
Damn, I'm gonna miss him.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Let's see, all kinds of things out there
Some people may be playing games with American Carol showings. Trying to depress ticket sales figures? Trying to keep people out by messing with ratings listings?
Google needs a new slogan: "Don't be Evil: Let Us Do It!"
Saturday Night Live notes crooked Evil Party politicians and connections: video disappears(mostly).
And, thanks to a suggestion in comments, it's not my hat: it a ACU Tactical Pet Bed.
Yeah, it's not much, but I'm short on time
Google needs a new slogan: "Don't be Evil: Let Us Do It!"
Saturday Night Live notes crooked Evil Party politicians and connections: video disappears(mostly).
And, thanks to a suggestion in comments, it's not my hat: it a ACU Tactical Pet Bed.
Yeah, it's not much, but I'm short on time
Monday, October 06, 2008
The machinery of civilization
Insty notes something about it here, which got me thinking. I've come to the conclusion(long time ago, but it kind of coalesced now) that to an awful lot of people that machinery just appears from somewhere. Kind of like food appears in the grocery store.
I once worked it out for someone. They thought getting rid of all the nasty coal and gas and oil-fueled power plants would be just wonderful, somehow doing so would force clean, abundant alternate sources to appear(the Pure Effing Magic effect). So I asked them if metals would be needed for society to continue? Machines and tools and so forth? Of course, they said.
So how are you going to make them? The metals, and the tools?
I don't think that'd ever really occurred. How DO you make them?
Ok, so at the most basic level, metal tools, that means forging them. Will coal be allowed as a fuel for the fire? No? Too dirty? So back to the original. Charcoal.
Charcoal?
Yep. Over time whole sections of forest were cleared by the charcoal burners, turning trees into forge and furnace and cooking fuel. One forge might not use that much, but a bunch? Not to mention the furnaces to refine metal from ore, and recycle steel and brass and copper(to mention a few); say goodbye to a LOT of trees. What? Can't allow that? Well, then, considering that you cannot name one alternate energy source capable of replacing oil and gas and coal(not going into nuke plants right now), in efficiency and cost and space in the next ten years(at least, barring a miracle-level discovery) let alone right now when you turn off the currently operating plants, we're screwed. If you did allow charcoal you'd have to log off most of the forest on the continent to keep a metals industry of any size going.
Which connects to, I wonder if a lot of the enviroweenies have really thought about what the effect is on people in third-world countries when they try to deny them coal or whatever-fired power? That means cutting trees and drying animal crap for fuel; the latter is not exactly fun, the former means cutting trees and spending a lot of time each day to get the fuel just to cook food. I know the real nutcase level greenies have a solution: let die off(or kill off) so much of the population that the nasty humans are no longer any real influence on Mother Gaia; but for the less genocidal/homicidal types, what the hell do they THINK people are going to do? Solar panels won't cut it, wind won't cut it(either one on any real scale), and the greenies break out in hives at the thought of dams, so the question becomes WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THESE PEOPLE TO DO? They want the machinery of civilization, badly. And they get really, really pissed when you tell them they can't have it, to stay in their quaint little villages and be happy.
I once worked it out for someone. They thought getting rid of all the nasty coal and gas and oil-fueled power plants would be just wonderful, somehow doing so would force clean, abundant alternate sources to appear(the Pure Effing Magic effect). So I asked them if metals would be needed for society to continue? Machines and tools and so forth? Of course, they said.
So how are you going to make them? The metals, and the tools?
I don't think that'd ever really occurred. How DO you make them?
Ok, so at the most basic level, metal tools, that means forging them. Will coal be allowed as a fuel for the fire? No? Too dirty? So back to the original. Charcoal.
Charcoal?
Yep. Over time whole sections of forest were cleared by the charcoal burners, turning trees into forge and furnace and cooking fuel. One forge might not use that much, but a bunch? Not to mention the furnaces to refine metal from ore, and recycle steel and brass and copper(to mention a few); say goodbye to a LOT of trees. What? Can't allow that? Well, then, considering that you cannot name one alternate energy source capable of replacing oil and gas and coal(not going into nuke plants right now), in efficiency and cost and space in the next ten years(at least, barring a miracle-level discovery) let alone right now when you turn off the currently operating plants, we're screwed. If you did allow charcoal you'd have to log off most of the forest on the continent to keep a metals industry of any size going.
Which connects to, I wonder if a lot of the enviroweenies have really thought about what the effect is on people in third-world countries when they try to deny them coal or whatever-fired power? That means cutting trees and drying animal crap for fuel; the latter is not exactly fun, the former means cutting trees and spending a lot of time each day to get the fuel just to cook food. I know the real nutcase level greenies have a solution: let die off(or kill off) so much of the population that the nasty humans are no longer any real influence on Mother Gaia; but for the less genocidal/homicidal types, what the hell do they THINK people are going to do? Solar panels won't cut it, wind won't cut it(either one on any real scale), and the greenies break out in hives at the thought of dams, so the question becomes WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THESE PEOPLE TO DO? They want the machinery of civilization, badly. And they get really, really pissed when you tell them they can't have it, to stay in their quaint little villages and be happy.
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