here; now Ahab notes the study showing that the claims for microstamping of ammo are also the product of the backside of a hyena.
Two different methods were designed to evaluate the ease with which lasermachined micro-characters could be intentionally defaced or obliterated. In the first method, the firing pin for an AMT “Backup” 380 Auto semi-automatic pistol was held perpendicular to a household sharpening stone and rubbed back and forth for 30 seconds. The second method involved placing the firing pin for a Sig Sauer P229 semi-automatic pistol on its side on an anvil and rolling it back and forth while lightly peening it with a ball peen hammer for 15 seconds. The firing pin was then stood on its base and the tip was peened for an additional 15 seconds.
…
Finally, both defacement/obliteration methods demonstrated that the microcharacters could easily be intentionally destroyed with the firing pin removed from the firearm.
Go over and read up when you can.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Yeah, I've heard the news about Ted Kennedy(Hypocrite-MA)
No, haven’t written about it before. Yes, I’ve got a confession to make.
I’m not changing my opinion of him because of the tumor. No “A great statesman, a great American” bullcrap*. I think he has been a hypocritical, corrupt, disgusting example of a liberal/socialist politician. Pushing the death tax when his own fortune has been carefully sheltered from it, trying to ban guns while paying private security- ARMED- to cover himself and family, pushing tax increases while sheltering the family money from them, playing the ‘alternative energy’ game while trying to prevent any scheme that might bother his view, playing the big women’s rights champion while often treating women as disposable chips to play with. He left Mary Jo Kopechne in a car in the water to die because it was 'inconvenient' for him to find a phone and call for help; anyone else’d have had a criminal conviction and probably have spent years in prison for leaving her to die, but a father more concerned with power and money than lives managed to protect him of the consequences of his actions. As a man, I think he sucks. As a politician, I think he’s done real damage to this country.
That does not mean I should feel pleasure at this announcement, or satisfaction. But I have to admit that when I first heard ‘Sen. Kennedy’ and ‘seizure’ my first thought was “maybe this’ll get him out of that office.” Not a good thing to think, it's a consequence of the fact that I can't think of a good thing to say about him. I know this is hard on his family, but I just can't find any sympathy in me for him.
* I bleepin' hate it when somebody dies and, immediately, people who made it plain for years that they thought the deceased was a crooked, stupid, drunken etc. turn up making speeches praising all the 'fine qualities' they had in life.
I’m not changing my opinion of him because of the tumor. No “A great statesman, a great American” bullcrap*. I think he has been a hypocritical, corrupt, disgusting example of a liberal/socialist politician. Pushing the death tax when his own fortune has been carefully sheltered from it, trying to ban guns while paying private security- ARMED- to cover himself and family, pushing tax increases while sheltering the family money from them, playing the ‘alternative energy’ game while trying to prevent any scheme that might bother his view, playing the big women’s rights champion while often treating women as disposable chips to play with. He left Mary Jo Kopechne in a car in the water to die because it was 'inconvenient' for him to find a phone and call for help; anyone else’d have had a criminal conviction and probably have spent years in prison for leaving her to die, but a father more concerned with power and money than lives managed to protect him of the consequences of his actions. As a man, I think he sucks. As a politician, I think he’s done real damage to this country.
That does not mean I should feel pleasure at this announcement, or satisfaction. But I have to admit that when I first heard ‘Sen. Kennedy’ and ‘seizure’ my first thought was “maybe this’ll get him out of that office.” Not a good thing to think, it's a consequence of the fact that I can't think of a good thing to say about him. I know this is hard on his family, but I just can't find any sympathy in me for him.
* I bleepin' hate it when somebody dies and, immediately, people who made it plain for years that they thought the deceased was a crooked, stupid, drunken etc. turn up making speeches praising all the 'fine qualities' they had in life.
Monday, May 19, 2008
And in the category of 'Pandering to Enviroweenies and Foreigners,
the winner is:
OBAMA!
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
May I break from my usually somewhat restrained language for a moment?
Fuck you, Barack Hussein Obama. And the clapped-out horse you rode in on, and your terrorist friends, and everyone everywhere who thinks we shouldn't do those things. Who the HELL do you think you are, telling us we have to change our lives to make other countries happy? Telling us we have to seek the approval of other countries? You miserable, pandering, suckass little politician. Ignoring the little fact that the countries using your socialist formula are in the hole(one reason they're pissed at us), one reason we have problems with oil is clowns like you who don't want us to exploit our OWN reserves. And then you whine about the cost of oil and say that YOU can SAVE us!
If I'd had any doubt you were a standard-issue leftist politician, and should be kept the hell out of the White House, this idiocy removed it.
OBAMA!
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
May I break from my usually somewhat restrained language for a moment?
Fuck you, Barack Hussein Obama. And the clapped-out horse you rode in on, and your terrorist friends, and everyone everywhere who thinks we shouldn't do those things. Who the HELL do you think you are, telling us we have to change our lives to make other countries happy? Telling us we have to seek the approval of other countries? You miserable, pandering, suckass little politician. Ignoring the little fact that the countries using your socialist formula are in the hole(one reason they're pissed at us), one reason we have problems with oil is clowns like you who don't want us to exploit our OWN reserves. And then you whine about the cost of oil and say that YOU can SAVE us!
If I'd had any doubt you were a standard-issue leftist politician, and should be kept the hell out of the White House, this idiocy removed it.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Remember the doctors who are asking kids about
guns in the home and so forth? Well, it's worse(big surprise, right?) in Britain:
Imagine a country where strangers have the right to ask intrusive questions and store the answers on a database.
Where everyone from police officers to leisure-centre staff can demand: "Tell me who you feel close to?"
They will also have been trained to ask questions about sexual behaviour, family life, religion, secret fears, weight and "sleeping arrangements" at home.
Incredibly, thousands of Government and council apparatchiks in Britain became entitled on April 1 to ask such questions of anyone under 19.
This horrifying invasion of privacy has begun, almost unnoticed, because the Government has cleverly presented it as being in the interests of "child protection".
Big chorus now: "IT'S FOR THE CHILDREEENNNN!"
The questions don't need a parent's consent since any child over 12 is deemed responsible enough to grant permission for an interview.
Well, isn't that convenient?
Any child not achieving the Government's five "outcomes" - being healthy, staying safe, enjoying life, "making a positive contribution", and achieving " economic well-being" - is now defined as having "additional needs".
In other words, they can define a kid having a fight with brother or sister, or being told to behave 'or else!' by the parents as having 'additional needs'. Which means the Big Nanny can step in.
How did this idiocy come about? Margaret Hodge announced the ECM agenda in 2003, just after Tony Blair ignored his friend's unsavoury history as leader of Islington Council during one of Britain's worst child-abuse scandals and, to widespread protest, made her Children's Minister.
Hodge claimed the ECM was justified by the case of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie who was abused and murdered by her guardians.
As the reporter who exposed paedophile rings in Islington's children's homes and, later, the blaming in neighbouring Haringey of an innocent social worker for Victoria's death, I was mystified.
I knew the problem was never lack of paperwork on children at risk, but too many stupid people reading it - and failing to act.
So, on April Fool's Day, the very effective Child Protection Register was abolished.
In its paternalistic zeal, however, New Labour replaced the register with the Integrated Children's System.
Let's see: incompetent socialist politician with connections, instead of being canned, gets put in charge of program that can screw with lots of peoples' lives. Yeah, that makes sense.
Further along, we find out just what professionals will be able to do thisintrusive bullcrapinterrogation:
In an effort to develop a more "common" approach, anyone from a sports coach to a playgroup worker is allowed to question a child, as long as they've been on a three-hour training course.
There is a risk that the interrogators could include people who may derive a perverse thrill from asking children personal questions about bathing, dressing and "changes to their body".
Allowing so many people to probe into children's personal lives is also a threat to this country's long-treasured right to privacy.
Right to privacy my ass, it could put their bloody LIVES at risk.
And, as always, comes one of the rusty hammers government uses:
"The association of ECM with Victoria Climbie and the use of expressions such as 'safeguarding' and 'at risk' have stifled essential debate - after all, who could possibly be against protecting children?" said Dowty.
She believes we should refuse to comply. But how strong will families need to be, if by opposing the scheme, they risk being accused of negligence - or worse - towards their children?
Yep. "Well, you don't want your child to answer questions? What are you hiding, then?" Etc.
Back when my kids were small we found out that one of their teachers was asking them- and other kids in class- questions about their home life, parents, etc. They were told to tell said teacher, next time she asked, that "My parents told me not to answer questions like this. And if you ask them again, they want to meet with you and the principal and ask why." I can't remember exactly how the ex put her part of it, but it did help get the point across that this bullcrap would not be allowed to continue. But here you've got the bloody government giving anybody who's taken a three-hour class permission to ask these questions. Talk about ripe for abuse... and that's besides the general matter of "Don't you morons have anything better to do? Like get the hell out of peoples' lives?"
Imagine a country where strangers have the right to ask intrusive questions and store the answers on a database.
Where everyone from police officers to leisure-centre staff can demand: "Tell me who you feel close to?"
They will also have been trained to ask questions about sexual behaviour, family life, religion, secret fears, weight and "sleeping arrangements" at home.
Incredibly, thousands of Government and council apparatchiks in Britain became entitled on April 1 to ask such questions of anyone under 19.
This horrifying invasion of privacy has begun, almost unnoticed, because the Government has cleverly presented it as being in the interests of "child protection".
Big chorus now: "IT'S FOR THE CHILDREEENNNN!"
The questions don't need a parent's consent since any child over 12 is deemed responsible enough to grant permission for an interview.
Well, isn't that convenient?
Any child not achieving the Government's five "outcomes" - being healthy, staying safe, enjoying life, "making a positive contribution", and achieving " economic well-being" - is now defined as having "additional needs".
In other words, they can define a kid having a fight with brother or sister, or being told to behave 'or else!' by the parents as having 'additional needs'. Which means the Big Nanny can step in.
How did this idiocy come about? Margaret Hodge announced the ECM agenda in 2003, just after Tony Blair ignored his friend's unsavoury history as leader of Islington Council during one of Britain's worst child-abuse scandals and, to widespread protest, made her Children's Minister.
Hodge claimed the ECM was justified by the case of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie who was abused and murdered by her guardians.
As the reporter who exposed paedophile rings in Islington's children's homes and, later, the blaming in neighbouring Haringey of an innocent social worker for Victoria's death, I was mystified.
I knew the problem was never lack of paperwork on children at risk, but too many stupid people reading it - and failing to act.
So, on April Fool's Day, the very effective Child Protection Register was abolished.
In its paternalistic zeal, however, New Labour replaced the register with the Integrated Children's System.
Let's see: incompetent socialist politician with connections, instead of being canned, gets put in charge of program that can screw with lots of peoples' lives. Yeah, that makes sense.
Further along, we find out just what professionals will be able to do this
In an effort to develop a more "common" approach, anyone from a sports coach to a playgroup worker is allowed to question a child, as long as they've been on a three-hour training course.
There is a risk that the interrogators could include people who may derive a perverse thrill from asking children personal questions about bathing, dressing and "changes to their body".
Allowing so many people to probe into children's personal lives is also a threat to this country's long-treasured right to privacy.
Right to privacy my ass, it could put their bloody LIVES at risk.
And, as always, comes one of the rusty hammers government uses:
"The association of ECM with Victoria Climbie and the use of expressions such as 'safeguarding' and 'at risk' have stifled essential debate - after all, who could possibly be against protecting children?" said Dowty.
She believes we should refuse to comply. But how strong will families need to be, if by opposing the scheme, they risk being accused of negligence - or worse - towards their children?
Yep. "Well, you don't want your child to answer questions? What are you hiding, then?" Etc.
Back when my kids were small we found out that one of their teachers was asking them- and other kids in class- questions about their home life, parents, etc. They were told to tell said teacher, next time she asked, that "My parents told me not to answer questions like this. And if you ask them again, they want to meet with you and the principal and ask why." I can't remember exactly how the ex put her part of it, but it did help get the point across that this bullcrap would not be allowed to continue. But here you've got the bloody government giving anybody who's taken a three-hour class permission to ask these questions. Talk about ripe for abuse... and that's besides the general matter of "Don't you morons have anything better to do? Like get the hell out of peoples' lives?"
Hmmm, maybe there are reasons Obama is so sensitive
of any whiff of 'appeaser' being attached to him. Things like this:
On May 14 Barack Obama held a private meeting at Macomb Community College with Hassan Qazwini. Qazwini is the leader of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. Debbie Schlussel describes Qazwini as Hezbollah's most important imam and agent in America.
Obama's meeting with Qazwini came to light because of a brief report in the Detroit Free Press (with the photo above) deriving from Qazwini and his mosque. The Obama campaign has not itself posted any news account or press release regarding the meeting on its Obama News page. A Google News search on "Obama Qazwini" shows that news of the meeting has essentially remained a closely guarded secret.
Gee, why would the media want to keep this secret? After all, it shows the Obamessiah meeting with the enemies of this country, without preconditions, to talk...
Well, maybe that's why.
Mark Steyn has a bit to say on the sensitivity here.
On May 14 Barack Obama held a private meeting at Macomb Community College with Hassan Qazwini. Qazwini is the leader of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. Debbie Schlussel describes Qazwini as Hezbollah's most important imam and agent in America.
Obama's meeting with Qazwini came to light because of a brief report in the Detroit Free Press (with the photo above) deriving from Qazwini and his mosque. The Obama campaign has not itself posted any news account or press release regarding the meeting on its Obama News page. A Google News search on "Obama Qazwini" shows that news of the meeting has essentially remained a closely guarded secret.
Gee, why would the media want to keep this secret? After all, it shows the Obamessiah meeting with the enemies of this country, without preconditions, to talk...
Well, maybe that's why.
Mark Steyn has a bit to say on the sensitivity here.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
How the hell do some of you live in the Seattle area
when this crap is considered 'good thought' by the papers?
The narrative we're given about Munich is entirely in hindsight. We know what kind of man Hitler was, and that he started World War II in Europe. But in 1938 people knew a lot less. What Hitler was demanding at Munich was not unreasonable as a national claim (though he was making it in a last-minute, unreasonable way.) Germany's claim was that the areas of Europe that spoke German and thought of themselves as German be under German authority. In September 1938 the principal remaining area was the Sudetenland.
Ok, I can see you could think that. If you ignore all the people who were waving warning flags and screaming about what was about to happen. And so forth.
But who else is a Hitler? If you paste that label on somebody it means they are cast out. You can't talk to them any more. And it has gotten pasted on quite a few national leaders over the years: Milosevic, Hussein, Ahmadinejad, et. al. In particular, to apply that label to the elected leaders of the Palestinians is to say that you aren't going to listen to their claims to a homeland. I think they do have a claim. So do the Israelis. In order to get anywhere, each side has to listen to the other. To continually bring up Hitler, the Nazis, the Munich Conference and “appeasement,” is to try to prolong the stalemate.
Awright, dumbass, here's a hint: when someone is speaking of wiping an entire people out of existence, that makes them a Hitler. You might consider that in the future before you write crap like this.
The narrative we're given about Munich is entirely in hindsight. We know what kind of man Hitler was, and that he started World War II in Europe. But in 1938 people knew a lot less. What Hitler was demanding at Munich was not unreasonable as a national claim (though he was making it in a last-minute, unreasonable way.) Germany's claim was that the areas of Europe that spoke German and thought of themselves as German be under German authority. In September 1938 the principal remaining area was the Sudetenland.
Ok, I can see you could think that. If you ignore all the people who were waving warning flags and screaming about what was about to happen. And so forth.
But who else is a Hitler? If you paste that label on somebody it means they are cast out. You can't talk to them any more. And it has gotten pasted on quite a few national leaders over the years: Milosevic, Hussein, Ahmadinejad, et. al. In particular, to apply that label to the elected leaders of the Palestinians is to say that you aren't going to listen to their claims to a homeland. I think they do have a claim. So do the Israelis. In order to get anywhere, each side has to listen to the other. To continually bring up Hitler, the Nazis, the Munich Conference and “appeasement,” is to try to prolong the stalemate.
Awright, dumbass, here's a hint: when someone is speaking of wiping an entire people out of existence, that makes them a Hitler. You might consider that in the future before you write crap like this.
If I had a young daughter today,
there'd be a bunch of rules she'd probably hate. And I wouldn't care.
1: Mom and I will choose your clothes. We don't care what's 'popular' or what some idiot celebritute wears and wants to sell to you. Period.
2: If we had cable, there would be a whole bunch of channels blocked from the kids. Including
Nickelodeon. You are NOT watching that crap. Period.
That's what's immediately on my mind. I do have friends with young kids, and I worry about them. So, among other things, I'm going to help the dads work out something effective and quiet to deal with idiots who think acting like a gang-banger, a pimp or dressing like a prison bitch around their kids is cool.
Let's see, best way to dispose of bodies.....
1: Mom and I will choose your clothes. We don't care what's 'popular' or what some idiot celebritute wears and wants to sell to you. Period.
2: If we had cable, there would be a whole bunch of channels blocked from the kids. Including
Nickelodeon. You are NOT watching that crap. Period.
That's what's immediately on my mind. I do have friends with young kids, and I worry about them. So, among other things, I'm going to help the dads work out something effective and quiet to deal with idiots who think acting like a gang-banger, a pimp or dressing like a prison bitch around their kids is cool.
Let's see, best way to dispose of bodies.....
Here's why I generally detest 'true believers'
in politicians:
...Come on! He's lying! Don't lie! I mean, I know you've been having an unimaginably powerful experience with millions of people buying the things you say, but don't get cocky. We do still have our lie detectors, and we can reactivate them if we get in the mood to. Don't push us. Keep the magic alive.(bold mine)
Which means that if he keeps them in the right mood, they won't 'reactivate' their lie detectors. Because if they do it'll end the 'magic'.
Geez, people, this is the kind of thing you hear from religious zealots about their deity. Or about the Anointed One of the deity. Which, considering a lot of what's happened around Obama, pretty much covers it. And someone who feeds that- and feeds off of it- I do NOT want in the Oval Office.
...Come on! He's lying! Don't lie! I mean, I know you've been having an unimaginably powerful experience with millions of people buying the things you say, but don't get cocky. We do still have our lie detectors, and we can reactivate them if we get in the mood to. Don't push us. Keep the magic alive.(bold mine)
Which means that if he keeps them in the right mood, they won't 'reactivate' their lie detectors. Because if they do it'll end the 'magic'.
Geez, people, this is the kind of thing you hear from religious zealots about their deity. Or about the Anointed One of the deity. Which, considering a lot of what's happened around Obama, pretty much covers it. And someone who feeds that- and feeds off of it- I do NOT want in the Oval Office.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Speaking of 'least repulsive Democrat',
Sebastian brings us this from McCain's speech:
4:35: McCain says he supports the banning private sales, and campaign finance reform
4:37: McCain says he doesn’t support regulating sales between people within the same family.
4:40: McCain says his support of regulating private sales doesn’t detract from his support of the second amendment. Can’t say I agree with that one.
4:42: McCain reminds everyone that Obama wouldn’t sign onto the brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn the DC gun ban in Heller.
4:42: The theme seems to be “I suck a little, but my opponents suck more.”
This is so encouraging, I may have to puke. And THIS is what theStupidRepublican has managed to produce. And tells us is a 'GREAT candidate!" And who many Stupid Party(why pretend otherwise?) politicians expect to 'save them' in November.
Did I mention puking?
4:35: McCain says he supports the banning private sales, and campaign finance reform
4:37: McCain says he doesn’t support regulating sales between people within the same family.
4:40: McCain says his support of regulating private sales doesn’t detract from his support of the second amendment. Can’t say I agree with that one.
4:42: McCain reminds everyone that Obama wouldn’t sign onto the brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn the DC gun ban in Heller.
4:42: The theme seems to be “I suck a little, but my opponents suck more.”
This is so encouraging, I may have to puke. And THIS is what the
Did I mention puking?
I forgot to add Microlon to the sidebar
after the Great Bloggered-Up Template Change.
They're there now. I've had very good results from the Gun Juice, and the engine treatment seems to be holding up well on the bike(truck to be treated soon, I hope). And they support the troops.
They're there now. I've had very good results from the Gun Juice, and the engine treatment seems to be holding up well on the bike(truck to be treated soon, I hope). And they support the troops.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
In light of past comments, there's word for Fire from Security Staff:
.................................................Watch it, lady.............................
Speaking of disgusting news and politicians-
which generally go together- we have the following:
Kim speaks to the Republican Party weenies who are panicking and hoping for McCain to save them. The latter is also proof of either clinical-level delusion or just flat-ass stupidity.
On McCain, I heard some parts of his speech in which he basically promised to do whatever it takes to make the Evil Party happy, and screw you if you don't like it. Isn't there a way to spray for life forms like this?
The Ontario 'Human Rights Tribunal' is full of shit. And should be hauled out and shot. Along with the greedy little bastard who brought the suit.
Sondra points out that Schwarzenegger is a moron. Of course, that fits him in well with the CA state government:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today defended his plans to borrow against future profits from the state lottery to help close a $15.2 billion budget deficit, arguing that the state’s fiscal crisis is so deep that cutting spending alone is not a viable option.
It's a viable option if you actually cut fat and bullshit, but the term 'fat chance' comes to mind.
She also takes note of the kind of rhinos that are behind people telling the Stupid Party to kiss their ass. AND have such a large level of disgust for the Evil Party:
By a vote of 149-141, the Democrat-controlled House rejected a measure that would have given the Pentagon $162.5 billion to keep the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan running through next summer, slightly below President George W. Bush’s request.
A large group of anti-war House Democrats voted against the funds. That, coupled with 132 Republicans voting “present,” meaning neither “yes” nor “no,” killed the measure for now.
This is known as 'too chickenshit to vote against', you miserable cowards.
Further evidence that Obama is a thin-skinned lightweight. Along with a lot of the other members of the Evil Party.
Blech. In the words of Quint, it's enough to piss off the Good Humor man.
Kim speaks to the Republican Party weenies who are panicking and hoping for McCain to save them. The latter is also proof of either clinical-level delusion or just flat-ass stupidity.
On McCain, I heard some parts of his speech in which he basically promised to do whatever it takes to make the Evil Party happy, and screw you if you don't like it. Isn't there a way to spray for life forms like this?
The Ontario 'Human Rights Tribunal' is full of shit. And should be hauled out and shot. Along with the greedy little bastard who brought the suit.
Sondra points out that Schwarzenegger is a moron. Of course, that fits him in well with the CA state government:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today defended his plans to borrow against future profits from the state lottery to help close a $15.2 billion budget deficit, arguing that the state’s fiscal crisis is so deep that cutting spending alone is not a viable option.
It's a viable option if you actually cut fat and bullshit, but the term 'fat chance' comes to mind.
She also takes note of the kind of rhinos that are behind people telling the Stupid Party to kiss their ass. AND have such a large level of disgust for the Evil Party:
By a vote of 149-141, the Democrat-controlled House rejected a measure that would have given the Pentagon $162.5 billion to keep the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan running through next summer, slightly below President George W. Bush’s request.
A large group of anti-war House Democrats voted against the funds. That, coupled with 132 Republicans voting “present,” meaning neither “yes” nor “no,” killed the measure for now.
This is known as 'too chickenshit to vote against', you miserable cowards.
Further evidence that Obama is a thin-skinned lightweight. Along with a lot of the other members of the Evil Party.
Blech. In the words of Quint, it's enough to piss off the Good Humor man.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
And if you want another reason why people don't want to cooperate
with the authorities- especially feds- read this:
Essentially, ATF is saying to Adventure Outdoors (and all FFLs in general) that our time is more important that your livelihood. Because that’s what we’re talking about here - the method that the owners and employees of this gun shop use to put food on the table is at stake, but ATF thinks that the cost of losing two special agents for a day “outweighs any benefit to Adventure Outdoors”.
Read the whole thing. After, as Kim says, putting breakables out of reach.
Essentially, ATF is saying to Adventure Outdoors (and all FFLs in general) that our time is more important that your livelihood. Because that’s what we’re talking about here - the method that the owners and employees of this gun shop use to put food on the table is at stake, but ATF thinks that the cost of losing two special agents for a day “outweighs any benefit to Adventure Outdoors”.
Read the whole thing. After, as Kim says, putting breakables out of reach.
When seconds count, the police are a
long damn time away. And some of the people involved don't care if you die.
"You're emotional, you're desperate and you call for help. Then what happened?" asked Phil.
"Nothing," Sheila said.
In fact, Sheila's 911 ordeal dragged on for almost three hours - through call after call.
Sheila: "They just keep on saying they en route, they en route, but they ain't came. It's been a long time. And he keeps calling me, threatening me."
911: "Alright, I see where you've called, and I'm gonna update them and let them know what all you've told me. OK?
Sheila: "Yes, ma'am."
Back when I was a dispatcher, I knew of times there was simply no one available, everybody was tied up. But I also knew of times when some 911 operator didn't really get excited about disturbing some officer with, you know, an actual hazard situation. And sometimes, like this one, you've got an operator who really doesn't care. In any of these cases, you're on your own.
"You're emotional, you're desperate and you call for help. Then what happened?" asked Phil.
"Nothing," Sheila said.
In fact, Sheila's 911 ordeal dragged on for almost three hours - through call after call.
Sheila: "They just keep on saying they en route, they en route, but they ain't came. It's been a long time. And he keeps calling me, threatening me."
911: "Alright, I see where you've called, and I'm gonna update them and let them know what all you've told me. OK?
Sheila: "Yes, ma'am."
Back when I was a dispatcher, I knew of times there was simply no one available, everybody was tied up. But I also knew of times when some 911 operator didn't really get excited about disturbing some officer with, you know, an actual hazard situation. And sometimes, like this one, you've got an operator who really doesn't care. In any of these cases, you're on your own.
About that lion-country walking stick,
The blade is about 6", the whole thing was forged from a piece of 5160 coil spring stock. You can't see, but there's a hole drilled through and a brass pin through to lock things together.Used to have a bigger one(longer and wider, more triangular in shape) but it went to a new home. It was a lot more refined looking, more polished, this one I left with a dark finish.
McCain..... Damn
Kevin was right when he said “McCain is the least offensiverepulsive Democrat running for President”; but damn.
Was listening to Rush yesterday and he had some bits from a couple of speeches McCain made. Pure enviroweenie pandering(carbon credits, etc.) and, in one, the most excited I think I’ve heard him sound, came from crapping on Bush. It’s a pretty bad sign that the Republican candidate has more emotion for dumping on a Republican President, and more willingness to go after him, than after the Democrats.
Kim had his sticker, “I love my country more than I hate McCain”, but the more this guy opens his mouth, the more I wonder just how much difference we’d wind up with between him and Obama or Clinton? Yeah, I know, syphilis vs. advanced cancer, but damn…
Have you considered that possibly the best thing that could happen to this country would be for a tornado or meteor strike to take out all three of them at a debate or something? We’d have to start over with new candidates. Which might- MIGHT- actually get us someone who we wouldn’t have to plug our noses and ears in order to vote for.
Was listening to Rush yesterday and he had some bits from a couple of speeches McCain made. Pure enviroweenie pandering(carbon credits, etc.) and, in one, the most excited I think I’ve heard him sound, came from crapping on Bush. It’s a pretty bad sign that the Republican candidate has more emotion for dumping on a Republican President, and more willingness to go after him, than after the Democrats.
Kim had his sticker, “I love my country more than I hate McCain”, but the more this guy opens his mouth, the more I wonder just how much difference we’d wind up with between him and Obama or Clinton? Yeah, I know, syphilis vs. advanced cancer, but damn…
Have you considered that possibly the best thing that could happen to this country would be for a tornado or meteor strike to take out all three of them at a debate or something? We’d have to start over with new candidates. Which might- MIGHT- actually get us someone who we wouldn’t have to plug our noses and ears in order to vote for.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
So not only do they tick off local agencies,
they can't get along with each other.
In the five years since the FBI and ATF were merged under the Justice Department to coordinate the fight against terrorism, the rival law enforcement agencies have fought each other for control, wasting time and money and causing duplication of effort, according to law enforcement sources and internal documents.
There've been bits and pieces about this coming out over the years, including FBI having fought like hell, from what I've read, to keep ATF from being stuck in with them. According to this, local agencies get the amusement of seeing two groups of feds threatening to arrest each other at crime scenes. Sometimes while they're each busy trying to take it away from local or other federal authorities.
"If you're working with one agency, you have to walk on eggshells if you mention the other," said Jeff Kirk, former commander of the Kokomo, Ind., police bomb squad, who has written to Congress about the issue. "Frankly, after all these years, I'm really tired of this alphabet soup fight."
Damn.
Found through the Boomershoot guy.
In the five years since the FBI and ATF were merged under the Justice Department to coordinate the fight against terrorism, the rival law enforcement agencies have fought each other for control, wasting time and money and causing duplication of effort, according to law enforcement sources and internal documents.
There've been bits and pieces about this coming out over the years, including FBI having fought like hell, from what I've read, to keep ATF from being stuck in with them. According to this, local agencies get the amusement of seeing two groups of feds threatening to arrest each other at crime scenes. Sometimes while they're each busy trying to take it away from local or other federal authorities.
"If you're working with one agency, you have to walk on eggshells if you mention the other," said Jeff Kirk, former commander of the Kokomo, Ind., police bomb squad, who has written to Congress about the issue. "Frankly, after all these years, I'm really tired of this alphabet soup fight."
Damn.
Found through the Boomershoot guy.
As the gentleman asks, if it was sold at a show with no paperwork,
then how the hell is ATF claiming to have traced it?
What's more, Robbins noted that the ATF was able to trace the SKS rifle used to gun down Liczbinski to a gun show in Fayettville, N.C. He said that because it had been bought at a gun show, the owner did not have to undergo a background check - another proposal that's been blocked by the gun lobby.
Like the gentleman, I smell bullcrap.
What's more, Robbins noted that the ATF was able to trace the SKS rifle used to gun down Liczbinski to a gun show in Fayettville, N.C. He said that because it had been bought at a gun show, the owner did not have to undergo a background check - another proposal that's been blocked by the gun lobby.
Like the gentleman, I smell bullcrap.
There's a shirt that says "Yes, I have a truck. No, I won't
help you move." I think I'm going to get one that says "Yes, I have a chainsaw. No, I won't help trim your trees."
Friends had some limbs that had been damaged or killed by the ice storm on the big elm in front, one of which was right over the driveway, so yesterday hauled the pruning pole and ladder(had to go back for the rope later) over to deal with it. Most was easy, but the big one...
It was a little wider than the length of the bar, and the only way to cut it without climbing into the tree(hell NO, I wasn't gonna do that) was by cutting on one side, then going- very carefully- to the other and cutting the rest so gravity could end the matter.
Which worked right up to the point, on the other side, when the limb shifted and grabbed the bar. Hard. Which sent me home for the rope, so we could get it over the limb, then over to the truck, to pull enough tension to free the bar. Which worked. Did a bit more cutting, then while I took a break friend took the saw and asked 'want me to cut some more?'. By this point the answer was 'no', because I knew there was very little holding that limb up, and friend has very little experience with such. I don't have a lot, but I know some warning signs to watch for: and when this did fail it was going to come down fast. So I said "Let me look at it from the other side" and walked around. VERY little was left, and between the tension of the rope, gravity and the wind I couldn't understand how-
Crack
"MOVE!"
Which he did. Just the one 'crack' and then wham when it hit the ground, the butt leaving a dent about 3-4" deep in the ground. Damn.
After that just cleanup and dinner- provided by friends- and then home. I've had just about enough of trees for a while.
Friends had some limbs that had been damaged or killed by the ice storm on the big elm in front, one of which was right over the driveway, so yesterday hauled the pruning pole and ladder(had to go back for the rope later) over to deal with it. Most was easy, but the big one...
It was a little wider than the length of the bar, and the only way to cut it without climbing into the tree(hell NO, I wasn't gonna do that) was by cutting on one side, then going- very carefully- to the other and cutting the rest so gravity could end the matter.
Which worked right up to the point, on the other side, when the limb shifted and grabbed the bar. Hard. Which sent me home for the rope, so we could get it over the limb, then over to the truck, to pull enough tension to free the bar. Which worked. Did a bit more cutting, then while I took a break friend took the saw and asked 'want me to cut some more?'. By this point the answer was 'no', because I knew there was very little holding that limb up, and friend has very little experience with such. I don't have a lot, but I know some warning signs to watch for: and when this did fail it was going to come down fast. So I said "Let me look at it from the other side" and walked around. VERY little was left, and between the tension of the rope, gravity and the wind I couldn't understand how-
Crack
"MOVE!"
Which he did. Just the one 'crack' and then wham when it hit the ground, the butt leaving a dent about 3-4" deep in the ground. Damn.
After that just cleanup and dinner- provided by friends- and then home. I've had just about enough of trees for a while.
Animal stuff
noted by Bruce. First, I never knew there were penguins at the North Pole!
Oh, wait...
Second, advise for action if attacked by a mountain lion:
Officials have advised walkers and hikers to take precautions. They suggest people avoid taking outings alone, especially between dusk and dawn, and carry a walking stick.
I have the perfect stick for this. It's six feet long and has a steel spearhead on one end.
A few years back some friends went on a hiking trip in a national forest area along the Texas/Mexico border or TX/NM(Can't remember which), and found signs in the campground warning to watch out for the cats. They asked a ranger about it and were informed there had been several attacks over the last couple of years. Of course it was a 'no firearms' area. Got to tell you, folks, in a place with bears or big kitties, I'd have something noisy on my belt or under my jacket, orders from the Forest Service be damned.
Oh, wait...
Second, advise for action if attacked by a mountain lion:
Officials have advised walkers and hikers to take precautions. They suggest people avoid taking outings alone, especially between dusk and dawn, and carry a walking stick.
I have the perfect stick for this. It's six feet long and has a steel spearhead on one end.
A few years back some friends went on a hiking trip in a national forest area along the Texas/Mexico border or TX/NM(Can't remember which), and found signs in the campground warning to watch out for the cats. They asked a ranger about it and were informed there had been several attacks over the last couple of years. Of course it was a 'no firearms' area. Got to tell you, folks, in a place with bears or big kitties, I'd have something noisy on my belt or under my jacket, orders from the Forest Service be damned.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
M1 Garand and target loads
A while back I picked up some of the military 172-grain boattail match bullets for .30-06: I wanted to put together some target loads, and dug around for recipes. One thing I consistently found mentioned was 46.0 to 47.0 grains of IMR4895, everyone who mentioned this load raved about accuracy. Tried it, and- depending on brass- the best I could get was about 4" at 100 yards. Which sucks from a rifle that'll put Greek or Korean ball into 2.5".
More digging, and looking in the Lyman manual, decided to try the low load they showed for that range, 43.0 grains of the same powder, as a starting point. Shazam! 1.5 to 2" groups as long as I do my part. And, while the M2 ball hits about 2" high(proper for that ammo and rifle), this load hits dead-on point of aim.
And it does it with more than one brand of brass. You can never tell what will or won't work in a particular rifle until you try it.
More digging, and looking in the Lyman manual, decided to try the low load they showed for that range, 43.0 grains of the same powder, as a starting point. Shazam! 1.5 to 2" groups as long as I do my part. And, while the M2 ball hits about 2" high(proper for that ammo and rifle), this load hits dead-on point of aim.
And it does it with more than one brand of brass. You can never tell what will or won't work in a particular rifle until you try it.
I haven't sent anything to Burma
for precisely these reasons:
Burma, a former British colony, was once the rice-bowl of South-East Asia, but in 1962 a bunch of generals took over with a misty-eyed plan to impose on their 50 million people the "Burmese Way to Socialism".
Their brand of politics was of the kind still distressingly popular at RMIT and Victoria University, and produced exactly the misery it's inflicted from Cuba to Russia.
...
Two days before Cyclone Nargis hit, India's Meteorological Department warned the junta's minions it was coming, and where.
But Burma's state-owned media, one of the crudest propaganda outfits I've seen, issued no mass alerts. Indeed, illegal Voice of America broadcasts probably did more to warn Burma's civilians to take shelter than did Burma's own radio station
...
Even now, the junta is killing people with its paranoia. Disaster assessment teams and helicopters from the United States have been blocked from coming in to prepare a huge rescue, and foreign aid teams not already in-country had their applications for visas stalled and aid shipments stopped.
Foreign journalists, whose reports would help raise appeal money, have been banned.
The UN is now "intensely" negotiating with the junta to let in aid workers and ease customs regulations on aid - literally begging the junta to let the world save its people.
...
Why hand cash to thieves? I've seen for myself, on one of my trips to Burma, military heavies in shades openly demand bribes from Australian aid workers who were giving blankets to disaster victims.
In Mandalay, I saw a Red Cross ambulance, given by Japan, refitted for use as a taxi for military officials. The junta even today charges import duty on foreign donations.
With such tyrants in charge, the toll from Friday's cyclone - already horrific - can only keep rising.
...
Lots of people are dead, and lots more will die because they're 'governed' by a bunch of socialist idiots who care more about power- theirs- than lives. Which leads to this:
So slow has the junta been to let in help, that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, founder of aid group Medicins Sans Frontieres, suggested the UN Security Council adopt a resolution allowing aid to be flown into the country by force. China, naturally, is against such interference in the affairs of its "friend".
You can discount China: even without their influence, can you imagine the UN- the people who helped bring about the bloodbath in Rwanda, and would rather see people murdered, raped and enslaved in Sudan than actually do anything(and shits bricks at the very idea of arming the people being killed)- actually using force in Burma?
Fat friggin' chance. Among other things, the head of the UN is too busy trying to silence speech that might upset muslims(doesn't seem to mind interefering there) to do anything other than give speeches and ask for money.
Please note at the first of the article they go to town on the Goreacle:
THE vultures are circling over Burma's dead. Hey, isn't that fat one Al Gore?
Sure is. And - flap, flap, plop - there he lands, the first to go picking over carcasses for scraps to feed his great global warming scare campaign.
Found thanks to Sondra.
Burma, a former British colony, was once the rice-bowl of South-East Asia, but in 1962 a bunch of generals took over with a misty-eyed plan to impose on their 50 million people the "Burmese Way to Socialism".
Their brand of politics was of the kind still distressingly popular at RMIT and Victoria University, and produced exactly the misery it's inflicted from Cuba to Russia.
...
Two days before Cyclone Nargis hit, India's Meteorological Department warned the junta's minions it was coming, and where.
But Burma's state-owned media, one of the crudest propaganda outfits I've seen, issued no mass alerts. Indeed, illegal Voice of America broadcasts probably did more to warn Burma's civilians to take shelter than did Burma's own radio station
...
Even now, the junta is killing people with its paranoia. Disaster assessment teams and helicopters from the United States have been blocked from coming in to prepare a huge rescue, and foreign aid teams not already in-country had their applications for visas stalled and aid shipments stopped.
Foreign journalists, whose reports would help raise appeal money, have been banned.
The UN is now "intensely" negotiating with the junta to let in aid workers and ease customs regulations on aid - literally begging the junta to let the world save its people.
...
Why hand cash to thieves? I've seen for myself, on one of my trips to Burma, military heavies in shades openly demand bribes from Australian aid workers who were giving blankets to disaster victims.
In Mandalay, I saw a Red Cross ambulance, given by Japan, refitted for use as a taxi for military officials. The junta even today charges import duty on foreign donations.
With such tyrants in charge, the toll from Friday's cyclone - already horrific - can only keep rising.
...
Lots of people are dead, and lots more will die because they're 'governed' by a bunch of socialist idiots who care more about power- theirs- than lives. Which leads to this:
So slow has the junta been to let in help, that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, founder of aid group Medicins Sans Frontieres, suggested the UN Security Council adopt a resolution allowing aid to be flown into the country by force. China, naturally, is against such interference in the affairs of its "friend".
You can discount China: even without their influence, can you imagine the UN- the people who helped bring about the bloodbath in Rwanda, and would rather see people murdered, raped and enslaved in Sudan than actually do anything(and shits bricks at the very idea of arming the people being killed)- actually using force in Burma?
Fat friggin' chance. Among other things, the head of the UN is too busy trying to silence speech that might upset muslims(doesn't seem to mind interefering there) to do anything other than give speeches and ask for money.
Please note at the first of the article they go to town on the Goreacle:
THE vultures are circling over Burma's dead. Hey, isn't that fat one Al Gore?
Sure is. And - flap, flap, plop - there he lands, the first to go picking over carcasses for scraps to feed his great global warming scare campaign.
Found thanks to Sondra.
It seems Bloomberg(Tyrantwannabe-NY)
has problems with more of the Constitution than the 2nd Amendment:
Lawyers for Mayor Bloomberg are asking a judge to ban any reference to the Second Amendment during the upcoming trial of a gun shop owner who was sued by the city. While trials are often tightly choreographed, with lawyers routinely instructed to not tell certain facts to a jury, a gag order on a section of the Constitution would be an oddity.
Gee, ya think?
Miserable bastard, isn't he?
Lawyers for Mayor Bloomberg are asking a judge to ban any reference to the Second Amendment during the upcoming trial of a gun shop owner who was sued by the city. While trials are often tightly choreographed, with lawyers routinely instructed to not tell certain facts to a jury, a gag order on a section of the Constitution would be an oddity.
Gee, ya think?
Miserable bastard, isn't he?
Stephen King holds shovel,
keeps digging. Be sure to check out the comments, which include a quote in which King follows standard liberal method: accuse people of saying something they didn't and defend yourself from that.
Gee, I guess instead of reading the books we sent over, the son & others are just looking at the covers, while taking a break from patrolling, ambassadorial work, maintaining equipment(however do they do that without manuals?), etc.
Gee, I guess instead of reading the books we sent over, the son & others are just looking at the covers, while taking a break from patrolling, ambassadorial work, maintaining equipment(however do they do that without manuals?), etc.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Range day, further test on the plastic bullets
I wrote about here. While I was out I took the opportunity to try these at 50 yards. Being as how I had already put the chronograph up and did not want to dig it and the tripod back out I have no velocity numbers, so that'll have to come later.
The first batch had the same 5.0 grains of 2400 I tried before:
The top two are the first sight adjustment(had to raise the rear a fair amount), the others were all fired at the same setting. I don't know if the two off to the right are from me or the load, or possibly from a gust of wind: with a projectile this light and velocity this presumably low, I don't think it wouldn't take much to drift them off.
I had ten of those loads, and I'd loaded five with 6.0 grains:
Those grouped tighter, but this isn't enough testing to decide if this load is better(more testing needed, damn...) With the extra grain there was still zero recoil, as in the rifle didn't shift at all.
For small game or varmints, I think this would do a pretty good job out to maybe 50 yards(need to get some more water jugs to try), and, as mentioned before, if you wanted to introduce the kids to a 'big' gun with low noise and recoil, these would make very nice loads.
Let's see, try them in .30-06, .308... I wonder if they'd work in 7.62x54r or .303?
The first batch had the same 5.0 grains of 2400 I tried before:
The top two are the first sight adjustment(had to raise the rear a fair amount), the others were all fired at the same setting. I don't know if the two off to the right are from me or the load, or possibly from a gust of wind: with a projectile this light and velocity this presumably low, I don't think it wouldn't take much to drift them off.I had ten of those loads, and I'd loaded five with 6.0 grains:
Those grouped tighter, but this isn't enough testing to decide if this load is better(more testing needed, damn...) With the extra grain there was still zero recoil, as in the rifle didn't shift at all. For small game or varmints, I think this would do a pretty good job out to maybe 50 yards(need to get some more water jugs to try), and, as mentioned before, if you wanted to introduce the kids to a 'big' gun with low noise and recoil, these would make very nice loads.
Let's see, try them in .30-06, .308... I wonder if they'd work in 7.62x54r or .303?
Thursday, May 08, 2008
A good article on self-censorship
due to 'sensitivity'. Often another name for 'fear'.
In a thrillingly ironic turn of events, a shorter version of the very essay you are now reading was originally commissioned by the opinion page of Washington Post and then rejected because it was deemed too critical of Islam. Please note, this essay was destined for the opinion page of the paper, which had solicited my response to the controversy over Wilders' film. The irony of its rejection seemed entirely lost on the Post, which responded to my subsequent expression of amazement by offering to pay me a "kill fee." I declined.
In a thrillingly ironic turn of events, a shorter version of the very essay you are now reading was originally commissioned by the opinion page of Washington Post and then rejected because it was deemed too critical of Islam. Please note, this essay was destined for the opinion page of the paper, which had solicited my response to the controversy over Wilders' film. The irony of its rejection seemed entirely lost on the Post, which responded to my subsequent expression of amazement by offering to pay me a "kill fee." I declined.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
And for an example of people who do NOT qualify as sheepdogs,
take a look at this:
About a month ago I got a call from a reporter for the Arkansas Times inquiring about my research into paramilitary drug raids. He'd been reporting on a raid in North Little Rock involving a 40-year-old man named Tracy Ingle. When he told me the story over the phone, I was floored, even given all the abuses and mistakes I've reported and read about over the last few years. What makes the case especially egregious is not that the police may have gotten the wrong home, that they shot a man, or that they were covering it up or going silent. We've seen all that before. What's mind-blowing about this one is that they've continued abusing the poor guy, even after it should have been clear for some time now that they made a mistake.
I'll bet every one of these people would state loudly that "I AM a sheepdog!" So would the people in their department who seem to be hellbent on screwing the victim, rather than have the people who screwed up held to account. Got news for you, guys: you may have qualified at one time, but this puts you in the 'feral dog' category, and that's not a good thing to be.
About a month ago I got a call from a reporter for the Arkansas Times inquiring about my research into paramilitary drug raids. He'd been reporting on a raid in North Little Rock involving a 40-year-old man named Tracy Ingle. When he told me the story over the phone, I was floored, even given all the abuses and mistakes I've reported and read about over the last few years. What makes the case especially egregious is not that the police may have gotten the wrong home, that they shot a man, or that they were covering it up or going silent. We've seen all that before. What's mind-blowing about this one is that they've continued abusing the poor guy, even after it should have been clear for some time now that they made a mistake.
I'll bet every one of these people would state loudly that "I AM a sheepdog!" So would the people in their department who seem to be hellbent on screwing the victim, rather than have the people who screwed up held to account. Got news for you, guys: you may have qualified at one time, but this puts you in the 'feral dog' category, and that's not a good thing to be.
Yeah, it's spring
I know this because I'm sitting here listening to
the rain outside
the wind
the tornado sirens
and the near-PSH on the tv weather warnings.
It started(the current twister) west of me, went northeast and doesn't appear to be on the ground anymore, just some very high wind gusts.
You know you grew up in this part of the country when you hear 'tornado warning' and go through the following sequence:
Where is it?
Which way is it going? Which is followed by either
Head for a 'fraidy hole or
Sit back and continue with what you were doing. With the news on, of course.
Used to have a neighbor who was originally from NY, and it drove her nuts that we'd hear 'tornado' and go out to look for it, instead of hiding.
Yankees....
the rain outside
the wind
the tornado sirens
and the near-PSH on the tv weather warnings.
It started(the current twister) west of me, went northeast and doesn't appear to be on the ground anymore, just some very high wind gusts.
You know you grew up in this part of the country when you hear 'tornado warning' and go through the following sequence:
Where is it?
Which way is it going? Which is followed by either
Head for a 'fraidy hole or
Sit back and continue with what you were doing. With the news on, of course.
Used to have a neighbor who was originally from NY, and it drove her nuts that we'd hear 'tornado' and go out to look for it, instead of hiding.
Yankees....
I have one question for the guy who wrote this article
pointed out by Michelle Malkin: why the HELL didn't you prosecute these people?
Gee, maybe the Stupid Party is finally
getting the message. Although I have doubts they've got enough brains to know people really mean "Don't act like the Evil Party and keep growing government and ripping us off. We MEAN IT."
Let's see, great unhappiness for a few years now, lots of people telling them 'knock it off', and they just keep going. Then people telling them, flat-out and repeatedly, just what they think of border security and McCain sucking up to the Evil Party, and being ignored. And insulted. And now, "Oh my, we have a problem!"
Several weeks ago I got one of those "You have been a strong supporter for years(the hell I have), now we need more of your money" letters with a 'survey' the NRCC sends out. I left the money at $0, and sent it back with a letter telling them exactly why I wasn't sending them a damn penny. I doubt they paid attention; they were too busy pushing pork and sitting around saying "Of course they'll vote for us, they have to." Not taking note of the question that "If you're acting just like the Evil Party, why should we vote for you, you morons?"
Let's see, great unhappiness for a few years now, lots of people telling them 'knock it off', and they just keep going. Then people telling them, flat-out and repeatedly, just what they think of border security and McCain sucking up to the Evil Party, and being ignored. And insulted. And now, "Oh my, we have a problem!"
Several weeks ago I got one of those "You have been a strong supporter for years(the hell I have), now we need more of your money" letters with a 'survey' the NRCC sends out. I left the money at $0, and sent it back with a letter telling them exactly why I wasn't sending them a damn penny. I doubt they paid attention; they were too busy pushing pork and sitting around saying "Of course they'll vote for us, they have to." Not taking note of the question that "If you're acting just like the Evil Party, why should we vote for you, you morons?"
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Word from the son
So far, so good. Apparently it's hatching season, as there are lots and lots of little(4-6") camel spiders all over the place. And he spotted a hedgehog the other day, which was unexpected.It seems the big spiders have a habit of seeking shade, and if they find your shade they try to stay in it. Which means they follow you. Which caused a couple of people to think "IT'S CHASING ME!" Hilarity and loud noises followed.
I told daughter about that, which led to this exchange:
Her: Our troops. Scared of spiders.
Me: Everybody has something they're spooked by.
Her: True.
Me: He said one guy shot one twice, and was yelling "It won't die!" because it was still twitching. So I said he should tell them these are zombie spiders.
Her: He could tell them they're nocturnal, too. Then you'd wind up with sleep-deprived nervous troops.
Me: Hmmm... Sleep-deprived nervous troops looking for zombie spiders. What could go wrong?
He should have leave soon, it'll be nice to see him.
How to relax after work
There’s a ‘big trash pickup’ one day each month. You’ve planned to move this stuff from the back yard to the curb a day or two before, decide to do it yesterday because it’s supposed to rain today & tomorrow, so it goes like this:
Get home, check on dog, change.
Start hauling limbs and stuff around.
Halfway through, notice there’s a couple of branches that’ve grown- a lot- and are too close to the lines, so…
Out comes ladder, loppers and saw.
Spend time waving in breeze in trees, cutting limbs and getting them to ground.
Climb down, haul the last of the old and the new stuff out front.
Find some more stuff that needs to go.
Look for dog. Did she go out? No, she’s snoozing under that bush.
Notice part of yard needs mowing, do that.
Decide some weedeating needs to be done before rain, drag the ‘eater and cord out.
Realize A: I’m hungry and B: it’s later than you thought.
Put everything away.
Make dinner.
Realize that plan to ride bicycle to library and auto parts store is out, use motorcycle.
Get all that done, go online and find that Stephen King is not only a so-so author, he’s an arrogant little pissant. Probably gets along very well with John Effin’ Kerry.
That leaves about an hour to work on a reloading problem, after which to hell with everything else, get cleaned up, get a drink and then go to bed. I STILL haven’t finished watching Hot Fuzz, the disc of which I bought a freakin’ month ago.
That was yesterday, this evening considerably slower since I got all that crap done. So I shall now proceed to load up some more of those plastic bullets for further testing.
Get home, check on dog, change.
Start hauling limbs and stuff around.
Halfway through, notice there’s a couple of branches that’ve grown- a lot- and are too close to the lines, so…
Out comes ladder, loppers and saw.
Spend time waving in breeze in trees, cutting limbs and getting them to ground.
Climb down, haul the last of the old and the new stuff out front.
Find some more stuff that needs to go.
Look for dog. Did she go out? No, she’s snoozing under that bush.
Notice part of yard needs mowing, do that.
Decide some weedeating needs to be done before rain, drag the ‘eater and cord out.
Realize A: I’m hungry and B: it’s later than you thought.
Put everything away.
Make dinner.
Realize that plan to ride bicycle to library and auto parts store is out, use motorcycle.
Get all that done, go online and find that Stephen King is not only a so-so author, he’s an arrogant little pissant. Probably gets along very well with John Effin’ Kerry.
That leaves about an hour to work on a reloading problem, after which to hell with everything else, get cleaned up, get a drink and then go to bed. I STILL haven’t finished watching Hot Fuzz, the disc of which I bought a freakin’ month ago.
That was yesterday, this evening considerably slower since I got all that crap done. So I shall now proceed to load up some more of those plastic bullets for further testing.
Monday, May 05, 2008
On the subject of the UN- again- the question is asked
How bad does the UN have to get?
I’ve argued before that, for many Lefties, intentions seem to matter more than outcomes. But how bad do the outcomes have to be before intentions are no longer an excuse? What has to happen before people face up to the real UN (or EU or IOC or whatever) instead of fantasising about some abstract one?
I’ve argued before that, for many Lefties, intentions seem to matter more than outcomes. But how bad do the outcomes have to be before intentions are no longer an excuse? What has to happen before people face up to the real UN (or EU or IOC or whatever) instead of fantasising about some abstract one?
I don't care if Obama claims to only know him 'casually',
his long-time association with this bastard, and his defenses of it, should tell you a lot. Insty points out this post with the photo."Guilty as sin, free as a bird, it's a great country" is one of the Ayers quotes in the top clipping. Miserable little bleep.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
A link I forgot to add back to the blogroll
after the, ahem, 'accident' a few months ago: Havaria Information Service, or as Tim Blair once noted, 'All the trouble in the world'.
Some thoughts following up on 'On Combat' Updated
Got this in a comment from Saladman:
I have a concern, though. It seems to me that the ethos of the policeman as warrior is in direct conflict with the ethos of the police as the public, exemplified in Robert Peel's principles of policing. (http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2008/04/police-are-public-and-public-are-police.html)
And the same for his idea of sheepdogs, sheep and wolves. I get what he was expressing, and there's a great deal of truth to it. (I'm not so sure there's a hard line between his sheep and sheepdogs when you start considering civilians who provide for their own defense.) But when I hear people talking in the real world now about being a sheepdog, as often as not there's an arrogance or an elitism present that I would not expect to find in someone truly and firmly in the sheepdog category. Specifically including some police officers, unfortunately.
Not sure what to do about it, just something I've been thinking about.
Thoughts well worth working on.
As to the first, he's got a different definition of 'warrior' in this context than people tend to use. I can't get to the book right now to look it up, it was something like 'someone willing to take risks to protect others'(found it, it's added at the end). Much different from what you see in magazines with articles like "XXX-City SWAT: Street Warriors!" and the attitude of some who like to kick doors at every opportunity and generally treat anyone not carrying a badge as either the enemy or subhuman. Or both. An officer can definitely hold the Peel's Principles and be considered a 'warrior' in that respect.
On the second: though he mostly mentions LE and military in the book, he does say in the intro "Or perhaps you have chosen to be a martial arts practitioner or an armed citizen, seeking to defend yourself or your love ones in their hour of need?" I think he does consider those citizens as sheepdogs, I do think that since he primarily wrote this book for LE and military, that's what he concentrates on.
And yeah, you're right: some people will take any possible method to consider themselves superior to everyone else. In some cases it's probably just a bit too much pride: a man should be proud of a job well done, but as various religions and wise men have pointed out over time, too much pride can be a bit of a problem. And you will run into some who'll claim a title they may not have the best of claims to: I've known a few LE officers who were far more of feral dog or borderline(on the wrong side) wolf than sheepdog, but if they'd read this book or heard the description at the time they'd have loudly claimed that description. Usually as a way of either defending themselves or pushing the line of "All I go through to protect you, how dare you not kiss my ass?" We've got the bad ones as well as the good.
Thinking about it, there's a definite case to be made for using 'shepherd' instead of 'warrior': the shepherd is/was often alone, day and night, watching and tending and protecting the flock. After all, what was David in the beginning? A shepherd with a sling. And you know what he did.
* found it, as follows:
Page 176, Chapter 5, Modern Paladins Bearing the Shield
I use the terms “warrior” and “warriorhood” throughout this book. When you think of a warrior you might think of a Zulu warrior, an Apache warrior, or some other historic model, and while there are many models for a warrior, I use it to mean those who are willing to sacrifice themselves to defend others, those who move toward the sound of the guns, and those who continue in the face of adversity to do what needs to be done.
The warrior alone advanced toward interpersonal aggression and he is the only sane, rational creature who has any chance of functioning and even thrivingin the toxic realm of combat. The degree to which he can understand, master and function in that realm is the degree to which he will survive and accomplish his mission.
There are some people who do not like the term warrior, but if you are in a war are you not a warrior? Do we have a war on crime? Is there a war on drugs? Are we now engaged in a war on terrorism? Are there people who wake up every morning determined to send you home to your family in a box?
If you are in a war then you are a warrior. On a battlefield, there are warrior and there are victims. Decide now which one you are.
I have a concern, though. It seems to me that the ethos of the policeman as warrior is in direct conflict with the ethos of the police as the public, exemplified in Robert Peel's principles of policing. (http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2008/04/police-are-public-and-public-are-police.html)
And the same for his idea of sheepdogs, sheep and wolves. I get what he was expressing, and there's a great deal of truth to it. (I'm not so sure there's a hard line between his sheep and sheepdogs when you start considering civilians who provide for their own defense.) But when I hear people talking in the real world now about being a sheepdog, as often as not there's an arrogance or an elitism present that I would not expect to find in someone truly and firmly in the sheepdog category. Specifically including some police officers, unfortunately.
Not sure what to do about it, just something I've been thinking about.
Thoughts well worth working on.
As to the first, he's got a different definition of 'warrior' in this context than people tend to use. I can't get to the book right now to look it up, it was something like 'someone willing to take risks to protect others'(found it, it's added at the end). Much different from what you see in magazines with articles like "XXX-City SWAT: Street Warriors!" and the attitude of some who like to kick doors at every opportunity and generally treat anyone not carrying a badge as either the enemy or subhuman. Or both. An officer can definitely hold the Peel's Principles and be considered a 'warrior' in that respect.
On the second: though he mostly mentions LE and military in the book, he does say in the intro "Or perhaps you have chosen to be a martial arts practitioner or an armed citizen, seeking to defend yourself or your love ones in their hour of need?" I think he does consider those citizens as sheepdogs, I do think that since he primarily wrote this book for LE and military, that's what he concentrates on.
And yeah, you're right: some people will take any possible method to consider themselves superior to everyone else. In some cases it's probably just a bit too much pride: a man should be proud of a job well done, but as various religions and wise men have pointed out over time, too much pride can be a bit of a problem. And you will run into some who'll claim a title they may not have the best of claims to: I've known a few LE officers who were far more of feral dog or borderline(on the wrong side) wolf than sheepdog, but if they'd read this book or heard the description at the time they'd have loudly claimed that description. Usually as a way of either defending themselves or pushing the line of "All I go through to protect you, how dare you not kiss my ass?" We've got the bad ones as well as the good.
Thinking about it, there's a definite case to be made for using 'shepherd' instead of 'warrior': the shepherd is/was often alone, day and night, watching and tending and protecting the flock. After all, what was David in the beginning? A shepherd with a sling. And you know what he did.
* found it, as follows:
Page 176, Chapter 5, Modern Paladins Bearing the Shield
I use the terms “warrior” and “warriorhood” throughout this book. When you think of a warrior you might think of a Zulu warrior, an Apache warrior, or some other historic model, and while there are many models for a warrior, I use it to mean those who are willing to sacrifice themselves to defend others, those who move toward the sound of the guns, and those who continue in the face of adversity to do what needs to be done.
The warrior alone advanced toward interpersonal aggression and he is the only sane, rational creature who has any chance of functioning and even thrivingin the toxic realm of combat. The degree to which he can understand, master and function in that realm is the degree to which he will survive and accomplish his mission.
There are some people who do not like the term warrior, but if you are in a war are you not a warrior? Do we have a war on crime? Is there a war on drugs? Are we now engaged in a war on terrorism? Are there people who wake up every morning determined to send you home to your family in a box?
If you are in a war then you are a warrior. On a battlefield, there are warrior and there are victims. Decide now which one you are.
Trees! Ladders! They're EVERYWHERE!!
Ahem. Sorry 'bout that.
Just got back from visiting my parents, and what was the big thing Dad needed help with? At tree that needed cutting. Up high. Oh joy.
No, nobody fell out, or performed a self-field-amputation. Just some fun time in a tree with a chainsaw. Got some of it done, more will be done next time I make it down.
And how was your weekend?
Just got back from visiting my parents, and what was the big thing Dad needed help with? At tree that needed cutting. Up high. Oh joy.
No, nobody fell out, or performed a self-field-amputation. Just some fun time in a tree with a chainsaw. Got some of it done, more will be done next time I make it down.
And how was your weekend?
Friday, May 02, 2008
A bit more on cleaning corrosive-primed ammo
Very Helpful Commenter, who once sent some very nice information on how he moved the front sight and cut down the barrel on a SKS, had mentioned that he had had such good results in his black-powder guns with 1000 Wonder Lube, he'd started using it after this ammo. The other day he sent this:
I took my M-N 91/30 to the range the day after I emailed you and shot forty rounds of "Com-Bloc" corrosively primed ammo through it. I also shot forty rounds of 1943 SA MkVII through my unissued #4 Long Branch Enfield. I wiped the bores with wet patches when I got home, then wiped the bores with a flannel patch coated with 1000 Wonder Lube. This morning I examined the bores on both of 'em to find no rust, just shiny rifling. Same with my .50 TC Hawken that I put 125 shots through last Sat. Every shot was with a 1000 WL patched round ball and 50 grains of 3f Goex, my target load of choice. Again, no rust, just shiny rifling. BTW, no wiping between shots, the last one loaded as easily as the first.
I'm going to have to get some of this stuff to try.
I took my M-N 91/30 to the range the day after I emailed you and shot forty rounds of "Com-Bloc" corrosively primed ammo through it. I also shot forty rounds of 1943 SA MkVII through my unissued #4 Long Branch Enfield. I wiped the bores with wet patches when I got home, then wiped the bores with a flannel patch coated with 1000 Wonder Lube. This morning I examined the bores on both of 'em to find no rust, just shiny rifling. Same with my .50 TC Hawken that I put 125 shots through last Sat. Every shot was with a 1000 WL patched round ball and 50 grains of 3f Goex, my target load of choice. Again, no rust, just shiny rifling. BTW, no wiping between shots, the last one loaded as easily as the first.
I'm going to have to get some of this stuff to try.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
'On Combat'
by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Loren W. Christensen
If you are in a war, you are a warrior. Is there a war on drugs? Is there a war on crime? Is there a war against terrorism? Are you confronting and containing aggression as a peace officer at home, a peacekeeper in some distant land, or a warrior combating terrorism around the world? Or perhaps you have chosen to be a martial arts practitioner or an armed citizen, seeking to defend yourself or your love ones in their hour of need? Are there people who wake up every morning determined to send you back to your family in a box?
Then you are in a war and you are a warrior.
I picked this up at the library a few days ago, and it’s, to put it mildly, a fascinating book. Too much so for me to go over chapter heads and such and give the idea. I will note the four sections:
Section I: The Physiology of Combat: The Anatomy of the Human Body in Battle
Section II: Perceptual Distortions in Combat: An Altered State of Consciousness
Section III: The Call to Combat: Where Do We Get Such Men?
Section IV: The Price of Combat: After the Smoke Clears
and I’ll give a quote from Section II, on the distortions of sound that occur in- among other things- gunfights:
In Loren Christensen’s book, Crazy Crooks he tells of one documented case in which
One dumb crook became confused when he did not hear his pistol fire. He turned the gun around and peered down the barrel to see if there was an obstruction; it was clear. Dumbfounded as to why it did not go bang, he squinted down the barrel even harder and pulled the trigger again.
Now, THAT’S sound distortion.
They’ve got a previous book you may have heard of, ‘On Killing’, that’s also excellent. Definitely recommended reading for anyone, military, police or just plain citizen, who wants to understand- and prepare for- the stresses of combat. Kevin and a number of others have recommended it, and they're right.
If you are in a war, you are a warrior. Is there a war on drugs? Is there a war on crime? Is there a war against terrorism? Are you confronting and containing aggression as a peace officer at home, a peacekeeper in some distant land, or a warrior combating terrorism around the world? Or perhaps you have chosen to be a martial arts practitioner or an armed citizen, seeking to defend yourself or your love ones in their hour of need? Are there people who wake up every morning determined to send you back to your family in a box?
Then you are in a war and you are a warrior.
I picked this up at the library a few days ago, and it’s, to put it mildly, a fascinating book. Too much so for me to go over chapter heads and such and give the idea. I will note the four sections:
Section I: The Physiology of Combat: The Anatomy of the Human Body in Battle
Section II: Perceptual Distortions in Combat: An Altered State of Consciousness
Section III: The Call to Combat: Where Do We Get Such Men?
Section IV: The Price of Combat: After the Smoke Clears
and I’ll give a quote from Section II, on the distortions of sound that occur in- among other things- gunfights:
In Loren Christensen’s book, Crazy Crooks he tells of one documented case in which
One dumb crook became confused when he did not hear his pistol fire. He turned the gun around and peered down the barrel to see if there was an obstruction; it was clear. Dumbfounded as to why it did not go bang, he squinted down the barrel even harder and pulled the trigger again.
Now, THAT’S sound distortion.
They’ve got a previous book you may have heard of, ‘On Killing’, that’s also excellent. Definitely recommended reading for anyone, military, police or just plain citizen, who wants to understand- and prepare for- the stresses of combat. Kevin and a number of others have recommended it, and they're right.
The further story on the bears
The two grizzly at the zoo have in their enclosure a pool and a long canal. The slightly smaller one found a sport bottle somene either dropped or threw in and was having a ball with it: tossing it, slapping it around and so forth. He chased it all the way to the end of the canal where it fell in. And he jumped in after.
While he was playing with it, the other took notice and came trotting over with a "What you got?" look on his face. Which led to him sliding in and trying to take it. Upon which the smaller one stuck it into the drain pipe in the wall.
It took him two tries, but he held it in his teeth to get it there, then shoved it in with a paw. The bigger one shoved him out of the way and took a look.
It really seemed to tick him off, as he jumped on the other. They argued a minute, then he looked again and spent the next five minutes digging in to try and pull it out, taking looks, and trying again. Finally gave up.
I'd never have thought one of them would do something like that, but he did.
While he was playing with it, the other took notice and came trotting over with a "What you got?" look on his face. Which led to him sliding in and trying to take it. Upon which the smaller one stuck it into the drain pipe in the wall.
It took him two tries, but he held it in his teeth to get it there, then shoved it in with a paw. The bigger one shoved him out of the way and took a look.
It really seemed to tick him off, as he jumped on the other. They argued a minute, then he looked again and spent the next five minutes digging in to try and pull it out, taking looks, and trying again. Finally gave up.I'd never have thought one of them would do something like that, but he did.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
I've mentioned I don't like working on ladders,
I also don't like working in trees with a saw. Especially when the wind is blowing like God turned on the sandblaster. But the limbs in question needed to come down, and I had time, so...
Happily I did not have to plead with the dog to call 911, especially since she was so comfortably stretched out in the grass, front paws crossed, watching the boss sway and saw and drop things. And then I noticed some of the guttering on the house had the nails pulling out, so I dug up the cordless- which needed charging, of course- and the gutter screws I picked up a while back and moved the ladder over to take care of that, and scoop out all the crap that had collected in it since it had sagged a bit and wouldn't drain as it should.
I'd rather clean guns, really dirty ones, than do that stuff.
Happily I did not have to plead with the dog to call 911, especially since she was so comfortably stretched out in the grass, front paws crossed, watching the boss sway and saw and drop things. And then I noticed some of the guttering on the house had the nails pulling out, so I dug up the cordless- which needed charging, of course- and the gutter screws I picked up a while back and moved the ladder over to take care of that, and scoop out all the crap that had collected in it since it had sagged a bit and wouldn't drain as it should.
I'd rather clean guns, really dirty ones, than do that stuff.
Not having small kids around I'm not familiar with
the up & coming slutettes, so it was in a post at SondraK that I found this.
First, the photographer ought to have a boot up her ass for suggesting and pushing it.
Second, her parents left her with this idiot? After being around show and fashion business for years?
Third, they let her watch Sluts and the City?
Damn.
First, the photographer ought to have a boot up her ass for suggesting and pushing it.
Second, her parents left her with this idiot? After being around show and fashion business for years?
Third, they let her watch Sluts and the City?
Damn.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A few interesting things
When the dirtbags who charged you start asking for a plea bargain, you know- and they know- they've screwed the pooch.
Leslie Fish, who I mentioned a while back, is putting together a CD titled 'Lock and Load', with Oleg Volk doing the cover. I want a copy.
Uncle asks again "Why are anti-gun activists so violent?"
As I was reading the Bible in my office, I reflected on all the childish name-calling by the professor. It was then I realized that a partial gun ban is necessary. Specifically, I concluded that liberals cannot be allowed to own guns, much less carry them on our college campuses. If they cannot control their emotions enough to engage in rational debate, they cannot be expected to handle a firearm responsibly. Handguns were not made for people with shaking hands and raised voices. They were made for those with self-control.
He also notes that Barack H. Obamessiah is now coming out of his closet on gun control. And- big surprise- lying while he does it.
And the gentleman at Random Nuclear Strikes is posting disgusting photos from Boomershoot. I have no doubt that some of the otherdirty bastardslucky people who were able to make it will post more.
'Night, all.
Leslie Fish, who I mentioned a while back, is putting together a CD titled 'Lock and Load', with Oleg Volk doing the cover. I want a copy.
Uncle asks again "Why are anti-gun activists so violent?"
As I was reading the Bible in my office, I reflected on all the childish name-calling by the professor. It was then I realized that a partial gun ban is necessary. Specifically, I concluded that liberals cannot be allowed to own guns, much less carry them on our college campuses. If they cannot control their emotions enough to engage in rational debate, they cannot be expected to handle a firearm responsibly. Handguns were not made for people with shaking hands and raised voices. They were made for those with self-control.
He also notes that Barack H. Obamessiah is now coming out of his closet on gun control. And- big surprise- lying while he does it.
And the gentleman at Random Nuclear Strikes is posting disgusting photos from Boomershoot. I have no doubt that some of the other
'Night, all.
Another "We didn't actually investigate
before we kicked in the door" raid. But at least nobody's dead.
Brooklyn Park police were looking for a meth lab, but they found a fish tank and the chemicals needed to maintain it.
And a few hours later, when the city sent a contractor to fix the door the police had smashed open Monday afternoon, it was obvious the city was trying to fix a mistake.
...
"Ohmigod," Adams said as she recalled police breaking down her door and flashing the search warrant. "I just kept saying to them, 'you've got the wrong house.' "
Police soon realized that themselves.
Then we read the obligatory "From a cursory view, it doesn't look like our officers did anything wrong," said Capt. Greg Roehl.
Oh, of COURSE not.
Roehl said the drug task force was acting on a tip from a subcontractor for CenterPoint Energy, who had been in the home Friday to install a hot water heater.
"He got hit with a chemical smell that he said made him light headed, feel kind of nauseous," Roehl said.
The smell was vinegar, and maybe pickling lime, which were clearly marked in a bathroom Mr. Adams uses to mix chemicals for his salt water fish tank.
"I said, 'I call it his laboratory for his fish tanks,' " Mrs. Adams said, recalling her conversation with the CenterPoint technician. "I'm looking at the fish tank talking to this guy."
Isn't it just wonderful? Especially followed by this:
Police say there was no extended investigation, just an interview with the subcontractor.
"Everything this person told us turned out to be true, with the exception of what the purpose of the lab was," Roehl said.(my bold)
Just friggin' amazing. It says the victims are looking for a lawyer, and I hope they sue the ass off these people.
And I wonder what they'd consider an 'extended investigation': maybe actually looking at the house and, I don't know, investigating before they got a warrant and kicked in the door? And if one of the officers had misjudged or just slipped and killed or crippled one of the victims, we'd still be hearing the "It was a terrible tragedy, but the officers were following procedures" excuse that almost always gets trotted out.
Brooklyn Park police were looking for a meth lab, but they found a fish tank and the chemicals needed to maintain it.
And a few hours later, when the city sent a contractor to fix the door the police had smashed open Monday afternoon, it was obvious the city was trying to fix a mistake.
...
"Ohmigod," Adams said as she recalled police breaking down her door and flashing the search warrant. "I just kept saying to them, 'you've got the wrong house.' "
Police soon realized that themselves.
Then we read the obligatory "From a cursory view, it doesn't look like our officers did anything wrong," said Capt. Greg Roehl.
Oh, of COURSE not.
Roehl said the drug task force was acting on a tip from a subcontractor for CenterPoint Energy, who had been in the home Friday to install a hot water heater.
"He got hit with a chemical smell that he said made him light headed, feel kind of nauseous," Roehl said.
The smell was vinegar, and maybe pickling lime, which were clearly marked in a bathroom Mr. Adams uses to mix chemicals for his salt water fish tank.
"I said, 'I call it his laboratory for his fish tanks,' " Mrs. Adams said, recalling her conversation with the CenterPoint technician. "I'm looking at the fish tank talking to this guy."
Isn't it just wonderful? Especially followed by this:
Police say there was no extended investigation, just an interview with the subcontractor.
"Everything this person told us turned out to be true, with the exception of what the purpose of the lab was," Roehl said.(my bold)
Just friggin' amazing. It says the victims are looking for a lawyer, and I hope they sue the ass off these people.
And I wonder what they'd consider an 'extended investigation': maybe actually looking at the house and, I don't know, investigating before they got a warrant and kicked in the door? And if one of the officers had misjudged or just slipped and killed or crippled one of the victims, we'd still be hearing the "It was a terrible tragedy, but the officers were following procedures" excuse that almost always gets trotted out.
Plastic bullets: an experiment
No, not the bullets you load into a pistol case and fire with primer alone, a plastic bullet that you load with a light powder charge and shoot. I read about these in a post at The High Road, looked up the site and decided to get a bag to try out.
They're some kind of hard plastic with a copper gas check on the base, .30 caliber, weigh 19 grains and are .660" long. The company had no load information, and the guy at THR said he'd tried them in a .308 with 'a few grains of Bullseye'. I decided to try them with 2400: I've had good results with it and it goes through a powder measure a lot more smoothly than Bullseye tends to.
DISCLAIMER
This is completely new territory, I just picked a powder I thought suitable and a weight to start with. I make no guarantees for my own loads on this, or anyone trying them.
I mean it, dammit.
I decided on 5.0 grains and loaded ten rounds of .30-30. The plastic body extends slightly out past the gas check, so you'll have to bell the case mouth a touch so as not to shave any off, same as with cast bullets. I seated these so the gas check was just a touch below the mouth, then did just enough crimp to close the bell, not enough to actually crimp onto the bullet. Was able to try them today, on the 30-yard range at H&H, target below:
Not a hugely impressive group, but I will note that this was iron sights on a range where the target line is a bit dimly-lit, and only a forend rest. I think with better light I could have held them to a tighter group.
Noise was low, which you'd expect with that load in a rifle, and recoil was pretty much non-existent, no more than a .22. For introducing a kid to a .30-caliber rifle these would work very nicely, give them a chance to handle a 'big' rifle without worrying about recoil. And a bag of 100 runs $5, so cheap bullets for light practice loads. Not bad.
Added notes:
The gas check itself runs right at .308" on the several I checked with a caliper: the body of the bullet right above the check considerably larger, ranging from .311 to .314.
Cleaning was standard, a couple of patches with bore cleaner wiped through, then a couple of dry.
They're some kind of hard plastic with a copper gas check on the base, .30 caliber, weigh 19 grains and are .660" long. The company had no load information, and the guy at THR said he'd tried them in a .308 with 'a few grains of Bullseye'. I decided to try them with 2400: I've had good results with it and it goes through a powder measure a lot more smoothly than Bullseye tends to.DISCLAIMER
This is completely new territory, I just picked a powder I thought suitable and a weight to start with. I make no guarantees for my own loads on this, or anyone trying them.
I mean it, dammit.
I decided on 5.0 grains and loaded ten rounds of .30-30. The plastic body extends slightly out past the gas check, so you'll have to bell the case mouth a touch so as not to shave any off, same as with cast bullets. I seated these so the gas check was just a touch below the mouth, then did just enough crimp to close the bell, not enough to actually crimp onto the bullet. Was able to try them today, on the 30-yard range at H&H, target below:
Not a hugely impressive group, but I will note that this was iron sights on a range where the target line is a bit dimly-lit, and only a forend rest. I think with better light I could have held them to a tighter group.Noise was low, which you'd expect with that load in a rifle, and recoil was pretty much non-existent, no more than a .22. For introducing a kid to a .30-caliber rifle these would work very nicely, give them a chance to handle a 'big' rifle without worrying about recoil. And a bag of 100 runs $5, so cheap bullets for light practice loads. Not bad.
Added notes:
The gas check itself runs right at .308" on the several I checked with a caliper: the body of the bullet right above the check considerably larger, ranging from .311 to .314.
Cleaning was standard, a couple of patches with bore cleaner wiped through, then a couple of dry.
Monday, April 28, 2008
One last thing before I say goodnight
Go read this: The View From Gate 14.
And, as always: Why do we do this when you know I am not a terrorist, and you know I know you know I am not a terrorist? Why this costly and harassing kabuki when we both know the facts, and would agree that all this harassment is the government's way of showing "fairness," of showing that it will equally humiliate anyone in order to show its high-mindedness and sense of justice? Our politicians congratulate themselves on this as we stand in line.
...
Here's some comfort for him, for all Democrats. In Lubbock, Texas – Lubbock Comma Texas, the heart of Texas conservatism – they dislike President Bush. He has lost them. I was there and saw it. Confusion has been followed by frustration has turned into resentment, and this is huge. Everyone knows the president's poll numbers are at historic lows, but if he is over in Lubbock, there is no place in this country that likes him. I made a speech and moved around and I was tough on him and no one – not one – defended or disagreed. I did the same in North Carolina recently, and again no defenders. I did the same in Fresno, Calif., and no defenders, not one.
I have to wonder, does the Republican Party, the bigshots on the national level, have any real idea just how close people really are to getting a big pot and starting the tar heating?
And, as always: Why do we do this when you know I am not a terrorist, and you know I know you know I am not a terrorist? Why this costly and harassing kabuki when we both know the facts, and would agree that all this harassment is the government's way of showing "fairness," of showing that it will equally humiliate anyone in order to show its high-mindedness and sense of justice? Our politicians congratulate themselves on this as we stand in line.
...
Here's some comfort for him, for all Democrats. In Lubbock, Texas – Lubbock Comma Texas, the heart of Texas conservatism – they dislike President Bush. He has lost them. I was there and saw it. Confusion has been followed by frustration has turned into resentment, and this is huge. Everyone knows the president's poll numbers are at historic lows, but if he is over in Lubbock, there is no place in this country that likes him. I made a speech and moved around and I was tough on him and no one – not one – defended or disagreed. I did the same in North Carolina recently, and again no defenders. I did the same in Fresno, Calif., and no defenders, not one.
I have to wonder, does the Republican Party, the bigshots on the national level, have any real idea just how close people really are to getting a big pot and starting the tar heating?
I've been listening today to the words of Obama's preacher,
and that he's been sitting in the congregation for twenty years nodding his head to this guy, and had him as his 'spiritual advisor', makes it even more plain: we do NOT want this clown in the Oval Office. Preferably not even as a visitor.
Zoo: The Pictures
Some of them, anyway
Took more than I'd thought, but missed a few great shots, mostly because some critter wouldn't hold still. Among what I did get:
The standard-issue meercat pose
made famous on that Animal Planet show. Which I don't watch. Yeah, they're cute, but you can get overloaded on that.
"It is spring, human, look upon my handsomeness you featherless twit."
This sucker was walking around and displaying for at least ten minutes. And when we saw him from another angle a while later, he was still at it. Either the hens weren't buying, or he was bragging.
In the Oklahoma Trail section, there're a bunch of native birds, and a lot of them were nesting
in this case a Killdeer. No, I don't know how they got that name.
Further along they had a couple of young (I'd say) grizzly bears. This one had found a sport bottle someone dropped or threw in, and was having fun with it.
He swatted and chased it clear down to the end and into the water
More on the bears later.
And we have the Bald Eagle
She was brought in a few years ago with about have of one wing missing. They treated her and made a place for her. It was pretty small, but it's not now: she's got a BIG area, which she patrols like a small velociraptor. Daughter saw her fed one day: there's a stump they put rats on, and she works her way around, peeks over the edge, then reaches up and snaps it up, then carries it off to feed. For an eagle unable to fly, it's a pretty good life.
Also in the 'local fauna' trail, a prarie rattler.
Along with Eastern & Western Diamondbacks, copperheads and a whole bunch of others. These didn't bother my friend much, but the herpetarium was another matter: she was a bit on the nervous side. Until we reached the damn big anaconda and equally big reticulated python. Which, in enclosures or not, were considered cause to get the hell out of the building.
Like I mentioned the other day, they've done a hell of a lot of work the last ten-fifteen years, everything from much better enclosures for the critters to some breeding programs that have gone very well. I think I'm going to enjoy having that entry pass.
Took more than I'd thought, but missed a few great shots, mostly because some critter wouldn't hold still. Among what I did get:
The standard-issue meercat pose
made famous on that Animal Planet show. Which I don't watch. Yeah, they're cute, but you can get overloaded on that."It is spring, human, look upon my handsomeness you featherless twit."
This sucker was walking around and displaying for at least ten minutes. And when we saw him from another angle a while later, he was still at it. Either the hens weren't buying, or he was bragging.In the Oklahoma Trail section, there're a bunch of native birds, and a lot of them were nesting
in this case a Killdeer. No, I don't know how they got that name.Further along they had a couple of young (I'd say) grizzly bears. This one had found a sport bottle someone dropped or threw in, and was having fun with it.
He swatted and chased it clear down to the end and into the water
More on the bears later.And we have the Bald Eagle
She was brought in a few years ago with about have of one wing missing. They treated her and made a place for her. It was pretty small, but it's not now: she's got a BIG area, which she patrols like a small velociraptor. Daughter saw her fed one day: there's a stump they put rats on, and she works her way around, peeks over the edge, then reaches up and snaps it up, then carries it off to feed. For an eagle unable to fly, it's a pretty good life.Also in the 'local fauna' trail, a prarie rattler.
Along with Eastern & Western Diamondbacks, copperheads and a whole bunch of others. These didn't bother my friend much, but the herpetarium was another matter: she was a bit on the nervous side. Until we reached the damn big anaconda and equally big reticulated python. Which, in enclosures or not, were considered cause to get the hell out of the building.Like I mentioned the other day, they've done a hell of a lot of work the last ten-fifteen years, everything from much better enclosures for the critters to some breeding programs that have gone very well. I think I'm going to enjoy having that entry pass.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Friend was in town, and hit the zoo Saturday
They've been improving the place a lot over the last few years. Entire areas rebuilt, new critters, new places for old critters.
Among the two new critters are a pair of grizzly, a pair of black bears and a 'Oklahoma Trail' that includes Mexican Red Wolves, coyotes, bats and a mountain lion. Some pictures taken, I'll try to post some of them later.
My daughter talked me into getting a pass, which means I can go back any time for the rest of the year. I'll be making use of it.
Among the two new critters are a pair of grizzly, a pair of black bears and a 'Oklahoma Trail' that includes Mexican Red Wolves, coyotes, bats and a mountain lion. Some pictures taken, I'll try to post some of them later.
My daughter talked me into getting a pass, which means I can go back any time for the rest of the year. I'll be making use of it.
Today's dose of liberal condescension
is found here. Take a look at it. A couple of excerpts:
After succeeding at that, they then settled the American Frontier, suffering Indian raids and fighting for their lives every step of the way. And the Southern frontiersmen never got over their hatred of the East Coast elites and a belief in the morality and nobility of defying them. Their champion was the Indian-fighter Andrew Jackson. The outcome was that a substantial portion of the new nation developed, over many generations, a rather savage, unsophisticated set of mores. Traditionally, it has been balanced by a more diplomatic, communitarian Yankee sensibility from the Northeast and upper Midwest. But that latter sensibility has been losing ground in population numbers--and cultural weight.
and
Barack Obama seems to be so leery of being identified as an urban Northern liberal that he's running away from the most obvious explanation of his association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and former Weatherman Bill Ayers: after Obama graduated from college he became an inner-city organizer in Chicago, and they were natural allies for someone in a situation like that.
and
We routinely demonize organizations like the United Nations that we desperately need and which are critical to missions like nation-building in Afghanistan. On foreign policy, the realism and internationalism of the Eastern elitist tradition once kept the Southern-frontier warrior culture and Wilsonian messianism in check. Now the latter two, in toxic combination, have taken over our national dialogue, and the Easterners are running for the hills.
and
In Bush there seems little trace left of the Eastern WASP sensibility into which he was born and educated, and which explains so much of his father's far more moderate presidency.
You get the picture.
After succeeding at that, they then settled the American Frontier, suffering Indian raids and fighting for their lives every step of the way. And the Southern frontiersmen never got over their hatred of the East Coast elites and a belief in the morality and nobility of defying them. Their champion was the Indian-fighter Andrew Jackson. The outcome was that a substantial portion of the new nation developed, over many generations, a rather savage, unsophisticated set of mores. Traditionally, it has been balanced by a more diplomatic, communitarian Yankee sensibility from the Northeast and upper Midwest. But that latter sensibility has been losing ground in population numbers--and cultural weight.
and
Barack Obama seems to be so leery of being identified as an urban Northern liberal that he's running away from the most obvious explanation of his association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and former Weatherman Bill Ayers: after Obama graduated from college he became an inner-city organizer in Chicago, and they were natural allies for someone in a situation like that.
and
We routinely demonize organizations like the United Nations that we desperately need and which are critical to missions like nation-building in Afghanistan. On foreign policy, the realism and internationalism of the Eastern elitist tradition once kept the Southern-frontier warrior culture and Wilsonian messianism in check. Now the latter two, in toxic combination, have taken over our national dialogue, and the Easterners are running for the hills.
and
In Bush there seems little trace left of the Eastern WASP sensibility into which he was born and educated, and which explains so much of his father's far more moderate presidency.
You get the picture.
A not-bad article in the BBC news on firearms ownership
and the US. Couple of points they don't seem to get, but overall not bad.
At the moment, there is an effort being made to overturn a ban on some types of weapon in Washington DC.
Among those dead against this plan - those who claim it would turn the nation's capital into the Wild West - is a lanky black man (he looks like a basketball player) called Anwan Glover.
Anwan peeled off articles of clothing for our cameras and revealed that he had been shot nine times.
One bullet is still lodged in an elbow.
His younger brother was shot and killed a few months ago.
Anwan was speaking to us in a back alley in north-east Washington. If you heard a gun shot in this neighbourhood you would not feel surprised.
is followed by
Why is it then that so many Americans - and foreigners who come here - feel that the place is so, well, safe?
I could wish they'd noted that it's in DC, with the handgun ban and extreme restrictions on rifles & shotguns, that that Anwan got shot to pieces, and his brother killed; it's in the 'Wild West' areas that this crap very rarely happens. For the reason that- along with a better social situation in general- the good people are armed and won't put up with the crap that happens in DC.
They end with this:
It is an odd fact that a nation we associate - quite properly - with violence is also so serene, so unscarred by petty crime, so innocent of brawling.
Virginia Tech had the headlines in the last few days and reminded us of the violence for which the US is well known.
But most American lives were as peaceful on this anniversary as they are every day.
Don't you just love that they talk about A story of an inability to get to grips with violence. in the US in the same article in which they note
I have met incredulous British tourists who have been shocked to the core by the peacefulness of the place, the lack of the violent undercurrent so ubiquitous in British cities, even British market towns.
Sounds like, with all our problems, we're not the ones showing an 'inability to get to grips with violence': we're just doing it in ways they don't approve of.
At the moment, there is an effort being made to overturn a ban on some types of weapon in Washington DC.
Among those dead against this plan - those who claim it would turn the nation's capital into the Wild West - is a lanky black man (he looks like a basketball player) called Anwan Glover.
Anwan peeled off articles of clothing for our cameras and revealed that he had been shot nine times.
One bullet is still lodged in an elbow.
His younger brother was shot and killed a few months ago.
Anwan was speaking to us in a back alley in north-east Washington. If you heard a gun shot in this neighbourhood you would not feel surprised.
is followed by
Why is it then that so many Americans - and foreigners who come here - feel that the place is so, well, safe?
I could wish they'd noted that it's in DC, with the handgun ban and extreme restrictions on rifles & shotguns, that that Anwan got shot to pieces, and his brother killed; it's in the 'Wild West' areas that this crap very rarely happens. For the reason that- along with a better social situation in general- the good people are armed and won't put up with the crap that happens in DC.
They end with this:
It is an odd fact that a nation we associate - quite properly - with violence is also so serene, so unscarred by petty crime, so innocent of brawling.
Virginia Tech had the headlines in the last few days and reminded us of the violence for which the US is well known.
But most American lives were as peaceful on this anniversary as they are every day.
Don't you just love that they talk about A story of an inability to get to grips with violence. in the US in the same article in which they note
I have met incredulous British tourists who have been shocked to the core by the peacefulness of the place, the lack of the violent undercurrent so ubiquitous in British cities, even British market towns.
Sounds like, with all our problems, we're not the ones showing an 'inability to get to grips with violence': we're just doing it in ways they don't approve of.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
There are just different standards, you see...
Friend came up for Med Fair, stayed over Saturday night. I had to leave early Sunday for setup, which led to this conversation later:
Me: Did you leave a mess in the bathroom for me to clean up?
Her: ME leave a mess?!? You need to clean in there!
Me: It's clean, there's nothing growing in there.
Her: It smells!
Me: It's a bathroom, not the kitchen, bathrooms always smell different.
Her:.......(disgusted look)
Me: Did you leave a mess in the bathroom for me to clean up?
Her: ME leave a mess?!? You need to clean in there!
Me: It's clean, there's nothing growing in there.
Her: It smells!
Me: It's a bathroom, not the kitchen, bathrooms always smell different.
Her:.......(disgusted look)
Remember I mentioned that at times I'm sorry
we still don't have a whipping post in the town square?
This is one of those times. At the LEAST the miserable bastard deserves that.
This is one of those times. At the LEAST the miserable bastard deserves that.
Let's see: Obama has made his opinion clear on
people of religious faith and gun owners(like about 2/3 of the people in this state), that he wants to raise taxes, that he wants the government to 'take care of us'(after all, the government can spend your money more 'equally' than you can, so shut up and open your wallet!); he's spent twenty years sitting in the pews nodding at the words of a preacher who despises this country and his wife has made it plain that this is a mean, unfeeling country in her mind, so who does our governor endorse?
Obama, of course.
Both picked up superdelegate endorsements on Wednesday — Obama from Gov. Brad Henry of Oklahoma, who called him an inspirational leader who can unite the United States.
Obama's a uniter. He's 'inspirational'(except when he's not on a teleprompter, or actually admitting what he thinks). Etc.
I have only one question: just what did Obama promise Henry?
Obama, of course.
Both picked up superdelegate endorsements on Wednesday — Obama from Gov. Brad Henry of Oklahoma, who called him an inspirational leader who can unite the United States.
Obama's a uniter. He's 'inspirational'(except when he's not on a teleprompter, or actually admitting what he thinks). Etc.
I have only one question: just what did Obama promise Henry?
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Gee, wonder if she'll have trouble filling that order?
Unfortunately, there's a bunch of them out there: they haven't figured out that a man who can and will love, provide for and protect will not put up with being treated like an inferior being.
If this mess is for real
then Britain is screwed. As Kim says, a few weeks earlier on time and I'd think it was a prank. On the other hand, his commenters from Britain seem to think there'd be some bitching but everyone would roll over for it simply because their government doesn't five a flying crap what they think about it. Or anything else.
We'll see.
Update: it's in the Daily Mail, too, pointed out by Theo.
We'll see.
Update: it's in the Daily Mail, too, pointed out by Theo.
There's apparently something about a man in uniform
that brings out the stupidity in these clowns.
I'm not quoting the jerk, just pointing you that way so you can get the full flavor of his contempt. And idiocy.
One of the interesting things about this garbage is that Petraeus uses the language he does because if the spoke to some of these morons in Congress plainly, they- and their buttmonkeys like Cavett- would be having screaming fits because "He's not showing respect for Congress!" But he uses proper language- in a show where some of the morons are desperately hoping to make him look stupid- and they bitch and whine that he doesn't 'speak plainly'.
Arrogant, stupid, unknowing fools.
I'm not quoting the jerk, just pointing you that way so you can get the full flavor of his contempt. And idiocy.
One of the interesting things about this garbage is that Petraeus uses the language he does because if the spoke to some of these morons in Congress plainly, they- and their buttmonkeys like Cavett- would be having screaming fits because "He's not showing respect for Congress!" But he uses proper language- in a show where some of the morons are desperately hoping to make him look stupid- and they bitch and whine that he doesn't 'speak plainly'.
Arrogant, stupid, unknowing fools.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Friend just relayed this to me
From a friend in Europe:
"We in Denmark cannot figure out why you are even bothering to hold an
election.
On one side, you have a bitch who is a lawyer, married to a lawyer, and a
lawyer who is married to a bitch who is a lawyer.
On the other side, you have a true war hero married to a woman with a huge
chest who owns a beer distributorship.
Is there a contest here?"
"We in Denmark cannot figure out why you are even bothering to hold an
election.
On one side, you have a bitch who is a lawyer, married to a lawyer, and a
lawyer who is married to a bitch who is a lawyer.
On the other side, you have a true war hero married to a woman with a huge
chest who owns a beer distributorship.
Is there a contest here?"
Generally, I like to listen to Glenn Beck,
but on some things he ranges from 'Kind of Irritating' to 'Freakin' Jackass'. Lately he's been at bloody high 'Jackass' level over two things: oil and food.
Oil, he's tended to push things like "The Saudis are opening up their LAST FIELD! DISASTER IS COMING!" and, the one he's really been hitting the last week or so, "Food shortages! Food riots! Stock up NOW!"
I believe in being prepared, and that includes having enough non-perishables to carry you for at least a couple of days in case of weather or other disaster/emergency, but some of the "Get ready just in case of long-term shortages!" stuff reminds me of the people predicting collapse when the clock rolled over to 2000. You know, the people who found themselves with big piles of stuff that some of them had gone into debt to buy?
I fully realize there are problems out there, including the shortages of some things caused by the idiot bio-fuel programs. But I had to turn the guy off today, because I'm flat sick of hearing it.
Oh, the other thing that he's been saying for quite a while was "How much does gas have to cost before it really affects people?" I sent him a quick message on the line of "What the hell makes you think it didn't start affecting people a long time ago? At $2/gallon it affected people; at $2.50 it was worse, and at over $3 it's MUCH worse, so stop asking that stupid question." Now the bit is "How high does gas have to get before the economy collapses?", so maybe enough people hit him on the former to get the point across.
Oil, he's tended to push things like "The Saudis are opening up their LAST FIELD! DISASTER IS COMING!" and, the one he's really been hitting the last week or so, "Food shortages! Food riots! Stock up NOW!"
I believe in being prepared, and that includes having enough non-perishables to carry you for at least a couple of days in case of weather or other disaster/emergency, but some of the "Get ready just in case of long-term shortages!" stuff reminds me of the people predicting collapse when the clock rolled over to 2000. You know, the people who found themselves with big piles of stuff that some of them had gone into debt to buy?
I fully realize there are problems out there, including the shortages of some things caused by the idiot bio-fuel programs. But I had to turn the guy off today, because I'm flat sick of hearing it.
Oh, the other thing that he's been saying for quite a while was "How much does gas have to cost before it really affects people?" I sent him a quick message on the line of "What the hell makes you think it didn't start affecting people a long time ago? At $2/gallon it affected people; at $2.50 it was worse, and at over $3 it's MUCH worse, so stop asking that stupid question." Now the bit is "How high does gas have to get before the economy collapses?", so maybe enough people hit him on the former to get the point across.
Monday, April 21, 2008
I didn't know Bill "I am not terrorist scum!" Ayers
had a blog. No, I'm not linking directly to it. Since Gentleman Cuffy has saved us from having to dredge through the place, I'm linking to him. He's found such gems as:
We went underground after an explosion killed my girl-friend and two other close friends, and we decided to stay free rather get entangled in the criminal justice nightmare. We wanted to survive what we saw as an impending American fascism in order to fight the empire. We wanted to organize the armed struggle.
...
We were never “terrorists,” never attacking people to frighten or coerce them. The US forces in Viet Nam were terrorists. I’m not a tactician, however, and I think tactics always have to flow from the conditions you find, and the goals you have. When we destroyed property, symbolic targets of war and racism, an overwhelming majority of Americans opposed the war as thousands of Vietnamese were being slaughtered every week in our name. We were the anti-terrorists.
So blowing up places was not to 'frighten or coerce' people. Hmmmm, can I have a chorus of "Bullshit!"? And the plan to bomb the Army dance? Where many people would have been killed and injured? Doesn't that count as 'frightening or coercing' people?
The fact that so many want to cover up for this terrorist canker sore, and Obama had no problem with associating with him until people took active note of it, is just flat disgusting.
We went underground after an explosion killed my girl-friend and two other close friends, and we decided to stay free rather get entangled in the criminal justice nightmare. We wanted to survive what we saw as an impending American fascism in order to fight the empire. We wanted to organize the armed struggle.
...
We were never “terrorists,” never attacking people to frighten or coerce them. The US forces in Viet Nam were terrorists. I’m not a tactician, however, and I think tactics always have to flow from the conditions you find, and the goals you have. When we destroyed property, symbolic targets of war and racism, an overwhelming majority of Americans opposed the war as thousands of Vietnamese were being slaughtered every week in our name. We were the anti-terrorists.
So blowing up places was not to 'frighten or coerce' people. Hmmmm, can I have a chorus of "Bullshit!"? And the plan to bomb the Army dance? Where many people would have been killed and injured? Doesn't that count as 'frightening or coercing' people?
The fact that so many want to cover up for this terrorist canker sore, and Obama had no problem with associating with him until people took active note of it, is just flat disgusting.
Oh Britain, how you have
fallen:
While the French were flying six of the captured pirates to Paris to face trial, the British Foreign Office issued a directive to the once vaunted Royal Navy not to detain any pirates, because doing so could violate their human rights. British warships patrolling the pirate-infested waters off Somalia were advised that captured pirates could claim asylum in Britain and that those who were returned to Somalia faced beheading for murder or a hand chopped off for theft under Islamic law.
Captured pirates. Claim asylum. Thieves and rapists and murderers, and the Foreign Office is concerned about their welfare more than about the crimes they commit. Damn.
In 2007, 433 crew members were either taken hostage, assaulted, injured or killed by pirates. Three seafarers are still missing and presumed dead. According to the International Maritime Bureau, the anti-piracy watchdog of the International Chamber of Commerce, over the past 10 years 3,200 seafarers have been kidnapped, 500 injured and 160 killed.
To that I'll add "that we know of." In the case of smaller boats(awright, 'ships'), if they disappear nobody knows if they were murdered by these dirtbags or lost in bad weather or any of the other things that can kill you at sea(kind of like someone disappearing while diving or fishing and no body found; shark, drowning or what?)
I'll make a suggestion for the navies patrolling out there: pirates, if not shot in taking the ship, are to be given trial and, if convicted, hanged. Or stood on the rail and shot. If there are no hostages on the ship, give them one chance to surrender, and then sink them if they don't. It'd probably make a large dent in piracy pretty damn quick.
For that matter, cruise ships should have some kind of clearance to have some small arms, rifles and a light machinegun and crew trained with them, in any waters for defense of ship and passengers. Of course, idiots like the Foreign Office and various governments that shit bricks at the very thought of armedpeasantssailors not in their navy would have more painful bowel movements at the very thought; after all, better to have a bunch of kidnapped and murdered sailors and passengers than armed sailors and dead pirates.
Right?
While the French were flying six of the captured pirates to Paris to face trial, the British Foreign Office issued a directive to the once vaunted Royal Navy not to detain any pirates, because doing so could violate their human rights. British warships patrolling the pirate-infested waters off Somalia were advised that captured pirates could claim asylum in Britain and that those who were returned to Somalia faced beheading for murder or a hand chopped off for theft under Islamic law.
Captured pirates. Claim asylum. Thieves and rapists and murderers, and the Foreign Office is concerned about their welfare more than about the crimes they commit. Damn.
In 2007, 433 crew members were either taken hostage, assaulted, injured or killed by pirates. Three seafarers are still missing and presumed dead. According to the International Maritime Bureau, the anti-piracy watchdog of the International Chamber of Commerce, over the past 10 years 3,200 seafarers have been kidnapped, 500 injured and 160 killed.
To that I'll add "that we know of." In the case of smaller boats(awright, 'ships'), if they disappear nobody knows if they were murdered by these dirtbags or lost in bad weather or any of the other things that can kill you at sea(kind of like someone disappearing while diving or fishing and no body found; shark, drowning or what?)
I'll make a suggestion for the navies patrolling out there: pirates, if not shot in taking the ship, are to be given trial and, if convicted, hanged. Or stood on the rail and shot. If there are no hostages on the ship, give them one chance to surrender, and then sink them if they don't. It'd probably make a large dent in piracy pretty damn quick.
For that matter, cruise ships should have some kind of clearance to have some small arms, rifles and a light machinegun and crew trained with them, in any waters for defense of ship and passengers. Of course, idiots like the Foreign Office and various governments that shit bricks at the very thought of armed
Right?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Jimmy Carter was elected in the first Presidential election I could vote in. I was just getting really interested in some parts of the politics of this country, and I wasn't happy about his winning. Not that I was really happy with Gerald Ford, but I was even less thrilled with Carter.
Then came a whole lot of things that took me from not being happy with him to flat-out disliking him. Two things in particular:
The first was his attitude of "Don't blame me because a bunch of things I've done haven't worked out; if you had the right attitude, things would be fine." His willingness to believe every dictator and terrorist around and smile and make agreements with them- even knowing they'd break them- while, at the same time, crapping on our allies... A while back someone wrote that they thought Carter was the first 'process' President: didn't really seem to matter if the outcome was good as long as he thought the process was properly carried out. Which is one of the most idiotic things I can think of, but it fits*.
The second was the treatment of the Shah of Iran, and his actions leading to, during and after the Iranian Revolution and the hostage crisis. That's been gone over many times, I'm not going to review it here.
I'd not had any opinion of his wife, Roselyn, until one day back in the early 80's when I happened to change channels one day and she was on the 'Donahue' show(I was bored, so shut up). It was kind of amazing. She'd just started in on President Reagan, and the venom that came leaking out was shocking to me. Main line I remembered was her venting on the hostages being released just as Reagan was inaugurated and that it was generally accepted that the Iranian government figured Reagan would stomp on them, hard, in some way. She went on a tear about "Jimmy could have bombed or shot or something, but WE tried to do it the RIGHT way. And then Reagan came in and threatened people and messed things up." Not exact words, close as I can remember. It was just amazing.
Then Carter started working with Habitat for Humanity, which was a good thing. Then came Nixon's funeral and after that he seemed to be driven to DO SOMETHING. So he got in Bill Clinton's face, and George Bush's face. He started 'certifying' elections, as we saw in Venezuela he was on camera saying "This election was fair and open" while the other international observers were comparing notes on what a crooked election it was and their statement on it; from what I understand, they were seriously pissed at him for it. Which didn't matter, because he got his picture with another dictator who said what a fine fellow he was, and every jerk around the world who hates the US could point to Carter saying how we'd messed up the world, etc.
And now, on top of everything else, this clown goes to meet with terrorists. Despite damn near begging from various people not to. And he lays a wreath on the grave of one of the worst terrorists of modern history.
I don't have great hopes, but it'd be really nice if he was censured by Congress. And his passport yanked. Most likely won't happen, because Pelosi & Reid & Co.(Flying Monkeys Inc.) don't seem to have a real problem with what he's doing.
But this idiot needs some kind of a kick in the ass.
Thanks to Theo for the cartoons
*Lady I used to know had much the same mindset: she thought Carter was one of the greatest presidents we'd ever had because of 'all the international agreements he signed'. Didn't matter that they were generally broken right after- sometimes during- the drying period of the ink; I actually asked her if it bothered her that they'd been broken: answer was yes, but at least he did sign agreements. Freakin' insane.
Then came a whole lot of things that took me from not being happy with him to flat-out disliking him. Two things in particular:
The first was his attitude of "Don't blame me because a bunch of things I've done haven't worked out; if you had the right attitude, things would be fine." His willingness to believe every dictator and terrorist around and smile and make agreements with them- even knowing they'd break them- while, at the same time, crapping on our allies... A while back someone wrote that they thought Carter was the first 'process' President: didn't really seem to matter if the outcome was good as long as he thought the process was properly carried out. Which is one of the most idiotic things I can think of, but it fits*.
The second was the treatment of the Shah of Iran, and his actions leading to, during and after the Iranian Revolution and the hostage crisis. That's been gone over many times, I'm not going to review it here.
I'd not had any opinion of his wife, Roselyn, until one day back in the early 80's when I happened to change channels one day and she was on the 'Donahue' show(I was bored, so shut up). It was kind of amazing. She'd just started in on President Reagan, and the venom that came leaking out was shocking to me. Main line I remembered was her venting on the hostages being released just as Reagan was inaugurated and that it was generally accepted that the Iranian government figured Reagan would stomp on them, hard, in some way. She went on a tear about "Jimmy could have bombed or shot or something, but WE tried to do it the RIGHT way. And then Reagan came in and threatened people and messed things up." Not exact words, close as I can remember. It was just amazing.
Then Carter started working with Habitat for Humanity, which was a good thing. Then came Nixon's funeral and after that he seemed to be driven to DO SOMETHING. So he got in Bill Clinton's face, and George Bush's face. He started 'certifying' elections, as we saw in Venezuela he was on camera saying "This election was fair and open" while the other international observers were comparing notes on what a crooked election it was and their statement on it; from what I understand, they were seriously pissed at him for it. Which didn't matter, because he got his picture with another dictator who said what a fine fellow he was, and every jerk around the world who hates the US could point to Carter saying how we'd messed up the world, etc.
And now, on top of everything else, this clown goes to meet with terrorists. Despite damn near begging from various people not to. And he lays a wreath on the grave of one of the worst terrorists of modern history.
I don't have great hopes, but it'd be really nice if he was censured by Congress. And his passport yanked. Most likely won't happen, because Pelosi & Reid & Co.(Flying Monkeys Inc.) don't seem to have a real problem with what he's doing.
But this idiot needs some kind of a kick in the ass.
Thanks to Theo for the cartoons
*Lady I used to know had much the same mindset: she thought Carter was one of the greatest presidents we'd ever had because of 'all the international agreements he signed'. Didn't matter that they were generally broken right after- sometimes during- the drying period of the ink; I actually asked her if it bothered her that they'd been broken: answer was yes, but at least he did sign agreements. Freakin' insane.
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