Merry Christmas 'n all that

Right now it's cloudless and the sun shining down, and up to 21F. Which is a big improvement over thiswhich is how it looked at the worst. Out on the highways and open areas where the wind had full sweep visibility just about wasn't; the NWS site showed .06 mile at that time.

The official total out at the airport was 11" last I heard, but as I noted yesterday it was spotty; several areas of really heavy with surrounding areas anywhere from 3 to 6". Hell of a snowfall for this state at this time of year in any case. At one point not only was the H.E. Bailey turnpike closed from Oklahoma City clear to the TX state line, but Fort Sill was sending out vehicles to rescue people stuck on it. Just checked, the Bailey pike is still closed and so are the interstates in Central OK; as much as anything so they can get stuck/crashed/abandoned vehicles off the roadways.

Out in the front yard this morning, I've got this
If you look on the left center, see that bit barely sticking out? That's one of the mini rosebushes I pruned back a week or so ago. It's about 8-10" high. Mind you, the front had wind swirling over/around the house and drifting stuff in. But in the back yard, fairly open space in the middle, it's about 8-10" deep, up to just over the tops of my boots. Security Staff, on patrol while I shoveled,
left tracks around the perimeter in back, but there was not a track anywhere else. Considering that it's up to her belly, I'm not surprised.

It's supposed to get into the upper 20's today, that and sun will do a lot to improve the roads.

One good thing: last year I'd have been at the Department wondering if I was going to be able to get home. Or back to work today, likely. That's one reason I had absolutely no sympathy for those effing politicians whining about "I want to be home for Christmas!" Well, clowns, there's been a bunch of them I had to work; so shut the hell up.

I think I'm going to make some hot chocolate. And put some feed out for the birds.

It's tapering off now

According to what I can find, central OK received anywhere from 3" to more than 10", depending on just where you were.

I'm going to make one more trip out to sweep/shovel a bit, and that's it for tonight; I'll deal with more in the morning.

And Merry Christmas to all except the slimy corrupt little bastards in the Senate(my feelings of forgiveness, comfort and joy are very limited in some areas); you- and they- know who they are. Coal in their stockings my ass, they need a big nasty chunk- ah, let it go.

For now

Did DeMint whack the socialized medicine bill?

God, I hope so. And no, I'm not saying that lightly.

After all, if it does kill it it might save the disruption and smell of lots of politicians dancing a Tyburn jig from DC lampposts and trees.

Oh boy, the Globular Warming True Believers strike again,

and it makes the whole mess even worse:
The UK Met Office has released a large tranche of station data, together with code.

Only last summer, the Met Office had turned down my FOI request for station data, saying that the provision of station data to me would threaten the course of UK international relations. Apparently, these excuses have somehow ceased to apply.
Here's part of their statement:
The Met Office received the data information from Professor Jones at the University of East Anglia on the strict understanding by the data providers that this station data must not be publicly released. If any of this information were released, scientists could be reluctant to share information and participate in scientific projects with the public sector organisations based in the UK in future. It would also damage the trust that scientists have in those scientists who happen to be employed in the public sector and could show the Met Office ignored the confidentiality in which the data information was provided.
Ok, the obvious question is that if this is simply temperature data, why were they so damn scared of the idea of it being released? As I've bitched about before, one of the basics of the scientific method is that data and methods and so forth MUST be made available so it can be reviewed, and studied, checked for errors and argued about; but here are a bunch of scientists scared to death of the idea of this data getting out. WHY?

Three guesses.

And from a early review,
Meanwhile, even this extremely limited attempt at openness is not all it seems to be. John G-C has been looking at the code and running it against the data he has. What he has found is that prior to 1855 there was no southern hemisphere data and that when you run the Met Office's newly released code, this shows up as a gap in the graph of the average. But there is no such gap in the actual CRUTEM index. John's conclusion is that what we're looking at is not the actual code used in CRUTEM, but something written especially for public consumption. In light of the scorn that many programmers have been pouring on the quality of the coding standards at CRU, this might suggest that the original code was just too awful to make available for public inspection.
At one time the idea that an organization like this would be part of such garbage, I'd have laughed at. Not any more.

Talk about spotty,

they just said the 'official' total at Will Rogers Airport is 10". But you go a bit west to Mustang, 4".

The official amount thus far for Oklahoma City is 3"

of small, dry flakes that are blowing all over the place. Thus causing all interstates in the OKC area to be closed for now.

Seems like the biggest problem is visibility due to the stuff travelling horizontally; out in the open you can't see worth a damn. Oh boy, they just announced 'a huge 50-car pileup involving at least two patrol cars and an ambulance on I-40', but they didn't say WHERE on I-40. Wonderful.

If you've had to mess around in the stuff, you know that small, dry flakes don't shovel worth a damn, so I've concentrated on sweeping- and a little shoveling- to clear the front and back porch and the walk to the driveway. I'll try to do more later after the wind drops.

And that completes our update on the weather. Although if I run into that clown from Channel 4 who was loudly stating "At least 8 to ten inches of snow in the area, and there will be drifts EIGHT FEET DEEP!" for most of the morning, I may shoot him.

It's Christmas Eve, but since the Senate has seen fit to take a dump on us

this day, I'm going to make sure this quote the Idaho gent found gets around:
The right of a nation to kill a tyrant in case of necessity can no more be doubted than to hang a robber, or kill a flea.

A government of laws and not of men.

John Adams
(1735-1826)
Second President of the United States

Yes, this probably assures my place on some DHS or FBI list of subversives who quote those radicals of the past.

Seeing as how the words of the founders of this nation would have Napolitano wetting her pants, and her agency has already labeled military vets as people to be watched, I'll be in good company.

The Saga of the M&P15-22

I just heard a knock on the door and found a UPS guy with a box.

So it arrived on the 17th and it's back on the 24th; figure four-five days in transit back and they got to it and made the fix in a week, not bad.

Annoyance: "Repaired: Updated to latest spec."

Aaargh, that's the same thing they said before! So I think I'll write to them and ask just what the hell that means.

But they did throw in two new magazines, so that's to the good. But it'll be a few days before I can take it to the range; I don't care how much Tam likes realistic practice, I'm not going out shooting in this.

By the way, whichever of you bastards let Al Gore into the state,

I'm going to find you.

Some more on President Who Haven't I Bowed To? Obama

giving INTERPOL diplomatic immunity for damn near everything:

Actually, that last argument overreaches. American law does not consider people as “assets.” It does mean, though, that Interpol officers would have diplomatic immunity for any lawbreaking conducted in the US at a time when Interpol nations (like Italy) have attempted to try American intelligence agents for their work in the war on terror, a rather interesting double standard.
...
Interpol’s property and assets are no longer subject to search and confiscation, and its archives are now considered inviolable. This international police force (whose U.S. headquarters is in the Justice Department in Washington) will be unrestrained by the U.S. Constitution and American law while it operates in the United States and affects both Americans and American interests outside the United States.

Interpol works closely with international tribunals (such as the International Criminal Court — which the United States has refused to join because of its sovereignty surrendering provisions, though top Obama officials want us in it). It also works closely with foreign courts and law-enforcement authorities (such as those in Europe that are investigating former Bush administration officials for purported war crimes — i.e., for actions taken in America’s defense).

Why would we elevate an international police force above American law? Why would we immunize an international police force from the limitations that constrain the FBI and other American law-enforcement agencies? Why is it suddenly necessary to have, within the Justice Department, a repository for stashing government files which, therefore, will be beyond the ability of Congress, American law-enforcement, the media, and the American people to scrutinize?

In comments on this post Sigivald says it's nothing; INTERPOL can't really do anything. Problem is,
A: As noted, their office in the US in in the Justice Department, AG Holder in charge
B: Holder has shown every willingness to do what his progressive master wants, and screw the law
C: Suppose INTERPOL agents working with the ICC do arrest someone in this country; then what? Does anyone believe Holder & Obama won't try to work a 'compromise' of some sort that'll screw the citizen involved? When it'll gain them credit with their EUnuch friends?

What is boils down to is very simple: I do not trust anyone involved in this. Not Obama, not Holder, not the ICC weenies and EUnuchs who want to be able to drag people from here to there to be tried.

Ho, ho, freakin'

ho

A possibly venomous raptor

found in China; that'd screw up your day in the woods.

I think shotgun, #2 birdshot or #4 buck.

So we're supposed to be lenient to the terrorists;

yeah, THAT'S a good idea.
“Charging them and throwing them in jail is not the solution,” said Nihad Awad, national head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which approached the FBI on behalf of the families. “The government has to show some appreciation for the actions of the parents and the community. That will encourage other families to come forward.”
Bull Shit. I am sick to death of these clowns demanding we be 'understanding' and 'consider the community' when some dirtbags like these are captured.

And by the way,
Nawar Shora, legal director for the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee — who, with a representative from a Muslim group presented the award to Persichini — said the Arab and Muslim communities will accept any charges against the men arrested in Pakistan as long as they are treated fairly.

Yet he indicated that tensions could flare, depending how the government approaches a case. “If the FBI and the prosecutors say these were five Muslims and they were trying to commit jihad, and they throw out all of these incendiary religious terms, that’s different,” Shora said.
Fuck you, Shora. They are muslims, they are terrorists and it doesn't matter if you 'accept' the charges or not. Odd thing about the law here: it's supposed to disregard your feelings and 'acceptance' of the charges and go by the facts. So screw you.

'Tis the Season, ho, ho,

hoThe sleet has now changed to snow. How much? Make a guess; you're as likely to be right as the weather weenies. They've changed the forecast every little bit; one local weenie is declaring "A blizzard, arecord-breaking event, deep drifts, this snow will be with us for WEEKS!", etc. Weather Service is now saying 4-8 inches possible this area. In any case the streets and highways are getting bad.

Yuck.

Hey, Canada, if this is accurate, then you need to start heating

the tar yourselves; you've got your own Fast Food Rejects With Police Powers to deal with.

Well, instead of the blizzard the weenies screamed about for days

we're getting rain and sleet. Which, with the temp drop, means the roads are turning to glass.

But they can tell us the climate in 50 to 100 years, sure, uh huh.

I think the Foreman grill and more bacon is in order.

Gee, you think maybe Arnold was starting his bick suckup

when he gave The One an 'A'?
Facing a budget deficit of more than $20 billion, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to call for deep reductions in already suffering local mass transit programs, renew his push to expand oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast and appeal to Washington for billions of dollars in federal help, according to state officials and lobbyists familiar with the plan.

I'm going to put this bluntly: Fuck you, Arnold and fuck California. You got yourselves into that hole, and I'm not going to give you my money so you can keep digging it deeper. In fact, I'm adding a new category for you clowns: California Idiocy. Or maybe California Stoned. What's the best description of these fools?

After all, my expenses for some commodities are going up. And I haven't gotten to the tar yet.

And we can't forget the Safe Schools Czar that Obama stuck us with

Just what every 7th grader needs to know…
Obama’s Safe Schools Czar’s organization held teen conferences where not only did they talk about fisting and hand out fisting kits but they distributed needle handling instructions:

And to all of you who voted for our Guantanamo-closing President,

how's that hopey-changey working out for you?

I mentioned the Senate, but don't worry;

we'll get to the House, too. We'll just need a lot more supplies.

I repeat, every one of the corrupt socialist bastards in the Senate

should be dragged out of that taxpayer-supplied office and hanged by the short & curlies.

Hell, some of them should be hanged, period.

Those not hanged, tar and feathers, and a permanent trip home. Assuming where they came from will have the slimy little boils on the ass of our country.


Added: this is why Reid supposedly gave 'concessions' to McConnell:
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “I See No Reason To Punish Everybody This Weekend.” “I had one senator come to me and said that she hadn’t been home now in two or three weeks and it was not a good situation. … I see no reason to punish everybody this weekend.” (Sen. Reid, Floor Remarks, 12/09/09)
Awww, the poor little Senators were actually having to stay in DC instead of going home to party, isn't that just AWFUL?
Miserable, whiny, corrupt little bastards. Ropes. Lampposts.

Where Great Britain used to be,*

there's now all this.

And, as she points out, New York Effing City- with Nanny Bloomberg in the lead- working to follow (fG)Britain down the drain.

Now where was I?

Oh yeah, backstabbing politicians who won't stand behind people. Including people who gave away whatever honor they had left to try and shove The One's socialized medicine scheme down our throats. And speaking of honorless whores,
DeMint asked for the Senate to suspend its rules to consider his amendment, which would prohibit such deals in the future.

Ben Nelson voted against Jim DeMint’s amendment, but when he realized the Democrats already had the votes to kill it, he raced back up to the clerk and changed his vote so the final record shows Nelson sided with DeMint.

Unfortunately for Ben Nelson, I have obtained the actual factual roll call sheet.
Give it up, Nelson; we don't believe your "I didn't ask for all that money Reid left on the nightstand" and we won't buy this.


Back to The (Lying) One,
"Every single criteria for reform I put forward is in this bill." [...]

He said the Senate legislation accomplishes "95 percent" of what he called for during his 2008 presidential campaign and in his September speech to a joint session of Congress on the need for health-care reform. [...]

Obama said the public option "has become a source of ideological contention between the left and right." But, he added, "I didn't campaign on the public option."

OK, kids, let's go look for what he said on the campaign about health care reform! Here's a good one:
Following is a whole list of "I'm lying now about what I said then." And on the Washington Post failing to, oh, check any of this? in the comments we have He doesn't expect the Post to check. They didn't. And if any of them had tried, they'd have been fired.


Insty also pointed to a very strange partnership:
Dear Attorney General Holder:

We write to demand an immediate investigation into the activities of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. We believe there is an abundant public record which establishes that the actions of the White House have blocked any investigation into his activities while on the board of Freddie Mac from 2000-2001, and facilitated the cover up of potentially malfeasance until the 10-year statute of limitations has run out....

Sincerely,

Jane Hamsher
Firedoglake.com

Grover Norquist
Americans for Tax Reform
As he put it, Cats and dogs living together?


Where they came from and what we've got:
What Are We Left With?

The most blatant cynicism in recent American political history—a man who ran as a bipartisan who is the most partisan we’ve seen, a healer whose even flippant comments are designed to offend, a statist who assumes that the sheared sheep cannot stampede somewhere else, a reformer who trusts his honey-laced rhetoric can disguise Daley style-corruption.


This clown doesn't even rate as a RINO, with this kind of past; why the hell is she running in the Stupid Party?
Today, Linda McMahon has a new problem. From the Rust Belt has learned that, under McMahon’s leadership, the WWE’s Smackdown Your Vote project brought McMahon’s business into direct partnership with liberal youth organizations that got out the vote for Barack Obama and Democrats nationwide. These same organizations are now working to advance big government initiatives like ObamaCare and Cap and Tax, and one of them — Rock the Vote — has recently released a web ad encouraging teenagers and young adults to use their sexuality as a political tool to pressure others into supporting socialized medicine.


Just wonderful what winds up on the tree nowadays.


I'm not sure what to make of this, other than the VA system has some real problems. .


And why would anybody trust anything coming out of Jimmy Carter's mouth? Especially when there's a family member and an election involved?


Jeez. Such a load of crap for this close to Christmas.

Starting off- after the other stuff- with a bit on the idiocy of the green movement

It’s also worth noting that Carter stopped the development of the nuclear fuel recycling program, which meant that thousands of tons of highly radioactive waste had to be stored rather than reused.
...
So here’s the really aggravating part of Speth's preening self-congratulation about stopping the commercialization of breeder reactors: In an alternative universe where 200 fast breeders come online, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions would be about a third lower than they currently are. (Note that I am not considering the economics and subsidies of fast breeder reactors, just as Speth does not take the economics and subsidies of solar power, geothermal, or fusion power—which he favors—into account. In world where carbon dioxide is not rationed, burning coal and natural gas will be cheaper than any of the current renewable fuel alternatives.)

Consider that burning coal accounts for 36 percent of current U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Since 90 percent of the coal burned in the U.S. is used to produce electricity, replacing all coal-fired generating plants with zero-carbon electricity generation plants (say, nuclear reactors) would cut emissions by roughly 2 billion tons.­­­
Like Insty says, if these clowns want us to breathlessly swoon about the threat of CO₂, they need to start acting like it actually is a threat; which they refuse to do.


A nice piece on the enviroweenie 'people problem'. Easy to point out; problem is, the serious morons really would like to see most of the human race disappear, and they're not going to change.


According to rumors in the Bella Center, US President Barack Obama at about 11 PM, had impatiently asked to speak with Wen Jiabao in order to advance the discussion. But Obama had to wait. Wen, who, it was rumored, had rarely left his hotel room, could not be found. Finally, the US delegation located him in a room set aside for negotiations. A visibly furious Obama, according to reports, stormed into the room. “Are you now ready to talk with me, Premier Wen?” he was reported to have shouted. “Are you now ready? Premier Wen, are you now ready to talk with me?” What a scene for a US president.
Translation: "How dare you not speak with Us when I desire that you do?"


Actually, got things have to run out and do; more later.

Wow, honest citizens buy guns

and crime doesn't jump; whoda thunk it?

Further on Executive Order "Amending Executive Order 12425."

It grants INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) a new level of full diplomatic immunity afforded to foreign embassies and select other "International Organizations" as set forth in the United States International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945.

By removing language from President Reagan's 1983 Executive Order 12425, this international law enforcement body now operates - now operates - on American soil beyond the reach of our own top law enforcement arm, the FBI, and is immune from Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Now, think about the consequences of that; Interpol able to work in the US with US law enforcement having no say in the matter. And INTERPOL doesn't have to work according to the Constitution; isn't THAT just a little progressive dream?

Section 2c of the United States International Organizations Immunities Act is the crucial piece.

Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable. (Emphasis added.)

Inviolable archives means INTERPOL records are beyond US citizens' Freedom of Information Act requests and from American legal or investigative discovery ("unless such immunity be expressly waived.")

Property and assets being immune from search and confiscation means precisely that. Wherever they may be in the United States. This could conceivably include human assets - Americans arrested on our soil by INTERPOL officers.
Think about THAT crap: Interpol could arrest someone for whatever reason and you not only don't have the right to call an attorney, they could argue they have the power to take you out of the country for investigation and trial somewhere else and nobody can stop them. Isn't that a nice Christmas present from The Obama?

Which brings up the next part: that this could be a big step for Obama subjecting the US to the International Criminal Court:
However, in a Foreign Policy in Focus round-table in 2008, the host group cited his former foreign policy advisor, Samantha Power. She essentially laid down what can be viewed as now-President Obama's roadmap to America rejoining the ICC. His principal objections are not explained as those of sovereignty, but rather of image and perception.

Obama's former foreign policy advisor, Samantha Power, said in an early March (2008) interview with The Irish Times that many things need to happen before Obama could think about signing the Rome Treaty.

"Until we've closed Guantánamo, gotten out of Iraq responsibly, renounced torture and rendition, shown a different face for America, American membership of the ICC is going to make countries around the world think the ICC is a tool of American hegemony.

The detention center at Guantánamo Bay is nearing its closure and an alternate continental American site for terrorist detention has been selected in Illinois. The time line for Iraq withdrawal has been set. And President Obama has given an abundance of international speeches intended to "show a different face for America." He has in fact been roundly criticized domestically for the routinely apologetic and critical nature of these speeches.

President Obama has not rejected the concept of ICC jurisdiction over US citizens and service members. He has avoided any direct reference to this while offering praise for the ICC for conducting its trials so far "in America's interests." The door thus remains wide open to the skeptical observer.

No bloody kidding. Go read the whole thing, and then start spreading it around to everyone you can, and start yelling at the congresscritters. This is Obama & Co. making another step to get rid of the sovereignty of the United States, and it needs to be dealt with.

And when someone tells you bribery is 'no big deal',

that should tell you what his ethics are. And what his word is worth.

And a bit more on the Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings

and what he was pushing on the kids.

Awww, Nelson the Whore Senator(second after Landrieu)

wants to try to polish his reputation back up. Isn't that just precious?
Though he defended the exemption as a “fair deal,” he said he never asked for the full federal funding that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ended up granting his state. Nelson said he instead asked that states be allowed to refuse an expansion of Medicaid.
Oh noooo, he'd never ask for such a thing as his payoff...

Too late, Nelson. Your ass is gone, you two-faced bastard.

Something about the Battle of the Bulge I did not know

Little known are the missions flown by the glider pilots of WWII who brought in supplies to the 101st and the others defending Bastogne. These were one-way missions. The glider pilots knew that once they landed, they were there for the duration with the 101st for better or worse.

The Ninth Troop Carrier Command put out a call for about 40 volunteers to fly those glider resupply missions into Bastogne. Well over 100 volunteered. Several were killed in the missions, but the resupply effort succeeded bringing in badly-needed medical supplies, doctors, nurses, food, and ammo.
Found in the comments here, and found a bit here. Damn.

Now? We've got people in uniform prosecuting our commandos because a bad guy got a fat lip.

By the way, on the subject of McConnell,

I think it was he being interviewed on a local radio station about a week ago when the interviewer brought up something idiotic a Evil Party senator had said, and asked him about it; something like "What do you think of that?"

And his answer started off with "Well, I don't want to speak badly of a colleague..." At which point it was a good thing I wasn't there, because I'd have thrown something at the bastard. I am so God-bleeped SICK of politicians more worried about their 'colleagues' (who'll lie to them and stab them in the back and insult them) than they are about doing their damned job. Which, although they've forgotten, is NOT TO GET ALONG WITH THE ENEMY AT ANY COST.

Screw all of 'em.

Just one little meteorite at the right time...

And the Stupid Party, in the person of Sen. McConnell, does it again

Caves to the Evil Party, that is.

Oh, but he has a deal, he says! And Reid would never go back on a deal, now would he? Or maybe change a rule(remember Coburn a few days ago?) to dump the deal?

But McConnell and the other senators will get to be home for Christmas! Unlike a lot of troops and cops and firemen and other people who'll be working on that day BECAUSE THE JOB CALLS FOR IT.

Screw you, McConnell. And every chickenshit in the Senate with an 'R' after their name but no balls. It's your damned JOB to fight crap like this heath care takeover, All The Damned Way. Except you won't do it.

That Evil Party guy in Alabama who's going to the Stupid Party?

Interesting background.
Griffith is known for this statement from his 2008 campaign:

I think America's greatest enemy is America and its materialism. And I think that we have nothing to fear from radical Islam. We have nothing to fear from any other religion if we are strong on our own beliefs. I don't fear radical Islam.

Yeah, just what the Stupid Party needs, isn't he?

This would be really cool to see

And to those who keep going back: if it blows, say goodbye.
A rumbling volcano in the Philippines was on the verge of a major eruption today – but thousands of villagers living on its slopes are refusing to leave their homes.

Already, 40,000 people have fled the no-go zone around Mount Mayon, which oozed crimson lava during eerie scenes captured last night.

But around 3,000 residents, mostly farmers, remain – with some even returning after being evacuated up to three times by authorities.
And they need to do something! This snotty mountain is POLLUTING MOTHER GAIA!!
The emission of sulphur dioxide - an indication of magma rising inside the volcano - jumped to 6,000 tons per day from the normal 500, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Whoooo, Algore must be really pissed!

Back to Senator Slimy Reid(Just Plain Bastard-NV)

there's one provision that i found particularly troubling and it's under section c, titled "limitations on changes to this subsection."

and i quote -- "it shall not be in order in the senate or the house of representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection."

this is not legislation. it's not law. this is a rule change. it's a pretty big deal. we will be passing a new law and at the same time creating a senate rule that makes it out of order to amend or even repeal the law.

i'm not even sure that it's constitutional, but if it is, it most certainly is a senate rule. i don't see why the majority party wouldn't put this in every bill. if you like your law, you most certainly would want it to have force for future senates.
I can't remember where I first heard the idea that "If you want to pass some law, you'd better think about what happens when someone who doesn't like you is in charge." I wonder if Reid & the Evil Party have considered what happens when the Stupid Party has the majority and decides to do something like this; be real interesting when the Evil Party minions scream "WRONG! UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!" and the reply is "Then why did you back Sen. Reid doing this and have no protest? Now sit down and shut up."

I'm going to start off this morning with Sen. Dianne Feinstein(Hypocrite Democrat-CA, but you knew that)

and her 'strong desire to develop renewable energy':
Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation in Congress on Monday to protect a million acres of the Mojave Desert in California by scuttling some 13 big solar plants and wind farms planned for the region.

But before the bill to create two new Mojave national monuments has even had its first hearing, the California Democrat has largely achieved her aim. Regardless of the legislation’s fate, her opposition means that few if any power plants are likely to be built in the monument area, a complication in California’s effort to achieve its aggressive goals for renewable energy.
So Californicated has ordered obtaining a third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020 while Feinstein & Co. are busy making sure it can't happen. However could it be that CA is broke and going broker, I wonder?
Union officials, power industry executives, regulators and some environmentalists have also expressed concern about the impact of the monument legislation, but few would speak publicly for fear of antagonizing one of California’s most powerful politicians.
Which is a perfect demonstration of why it would probably be a blessing upon this nation for a meteor to hit DC when Congress is in session: clear out all the bastards(yes, we'd lose some good ones) and start over.


The DC cop who waved his sidearm around at the snowball fight is basically off duty while the investigation goes on. Either so stressed he wasn't thinking or a dumbass would be my first thought, as how the hell could he make it to detective without knowing that that was one of the worst possible actions to take in that situation?


Sen. Nelson(Chickenshit-NB) is taking lots of heat(not nearly enough literal) for his betrayal. He's whining that "I got big bribes for the state!" as an excuse(no, he doesn't have the balls to say plainly that that's what it is) and the Democrat party is defending him. This line stands out to me:
Nelson obtained increased federal funds to cover his state's cost of covering an expanded Medicaid population at what one Democratic official estimated at $45 million over a decade.
Which translates to "The Senate will rob other states in order to give money to Nebraska, and that's what bought me." And which also has so many people so damned pissed. That and Sen. Reid(Miserable Bastard-NV) openly admitting the other day that "That's how the Senate works, we bribe each other with other peoples' money." And basically saying that if your senator isn't trying to loot the rest of the country, he's a chump.


Speaking of bullshit coming out of Congress,
Several times during the cloture debate on Sunday, Democrats hailed a provision requiring insurance plans that cover dependents to provide benefits to children up to age 26. Democrat Sens. Ben Cardin and Tom Harkin both championed the unfunded mandate in their floor statements.
Got that? Your kids are still 'children' and you(by the time the bastards are done) will be required to cover them on your insurance up to 26.


Oh, Obama's done it now: his heroes the Castro brothers are pissed at him. They say he's 'arrogant and a liar'; as if we didn't already know that...


While we're trying to figure out how to deal with the dirtbags in Congress, let us not forget those who've gone before, who've been on the sharp end to protect this country and the cause of freedom:
...I asked him once, "How did you do it? How on Earth did paratroopers fight tanks, and hold out?"

"Oh, well, we just did what we had to do to stay alive."

"I always heard they put you guys in there without any winter gear?"

"All we had was bedsheets, white bedsheets, over our uniforms."

"Oh man. How did you do it? How did you deal with the cold?"

"Oh my Lord, that was the coldest I have ever been in my entire life. I will never forget that cold, as long as I live. On Christmas day, they served turkey stew. We were on the front lines, we'd have to go back one at a time. They'd fill our canteen cups with turkey stew, and by the time we'd get back to our positions, the turkey stew would be frozen solid."


And currently, people with a site watching 'the American Imperium' have discovered that President HopeyChangeypants isn't the savior they thought they were voting for; we TOLD you dumbasses, but you were all dazzled by his 'speaking skills' and such. Idiots.

Oh, and speaking of Obama, take a look at this, pointed out in Sondra's comments; from Melissa:
Text of 2c:
Here’s the text of 2(c), which this EO now has applying to INTERPOL:

(c) Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable.

An INTERPOL branch in the US now cannot be searched, it’s files are not subject to legal subpoena nor discovery. If any branch of government wants to keep documents out of the hands of the court system, just hand them over to INTERPOL until the smoke clears.
Now isn't THAT a comforting thought.


And finishing off with a very interesting possibility,
In its preliminary report this week, the UN’s relocation committees reported to the Secretariat that they are recommending Singapore as the proposed new venue, with a target for completion of the new headquarters of August 2015.
Well, hot damn! Yes, MOVE out of our country, you organization largely composed of tyrants and parasites!! Mind you, they'd probably want to keep the building and property there in NY(got to have other office space, y'know), but that can be dealt with. And if we get rid of enough of the chickenshits in Congress next year, we can make a good start at cutting our funding of said parasites.

Stuff to do, see you later.

Aw, crap! NOW I know what I want under the tree

Breda, I don't know whether to thank you or say "WHY NOW?!?"

I like the way she thinks, and didn't know this quote:

"Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience."
-- John Locke, 1690

I tend to think her method would be somewhat overly messy, and would settle for a simple Tyburn jig; but if came to it I'd come out of forging retirement to start making pike heads.

Sen. Nelson(Bought-Off Jackass-NB) says he's 'an independant-

minded sort of person. And I think that's demonstrated. I don't take my marching orders from a party or a group or any other entity'.
Uh, you demonstrated to the people who voted for you that they can't trust you. You sold out. And, while this may be a strange idea to you, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GET INPUT FROM THE PEOPLE WHO VOTE FOR YOU, MORON.

Oh, no, ol' Independant-Minded Nelson says he put together what I thought was appropriate, and I'm sorry that both sides didn't enjoy it. Yeah, you're just so sorry the people you sold out didn't appreciate it... Nelson, you're so full of shit your eyeballs are floating. And telling the voters who gather to express their upset "This is all orchestrated," Nelson said Sunday. "It's so thinly disguised ... it's almost laughable. is going to go over REAL well. Question is, are you playing games or are you such an arrogant politician you believe the crap you're saying?

Dana Milbank is a friggin' idiot

Let's see, Coburn says that 'It would be the answer to a prayer if someone isn't able to make it here to vote', and that somehow morphs to
It was difficult to escape the conclusion that Coburn was referring to the 92-year-old, wheelchair-bound Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) who has been in and out of hospitals and lay at home ailing.
Hey, Milbank, that's not what he said; and unlike so many of your cohorts on the left he's never called for someone to die. This bullcrap you're pushing says far more about your mindset than Coburns.

And next time you hear about how much crime numbers are improving

in Britain, remember this:
Date disclosed in a parliamentary answer showed that many crimes go unsolved by police, and even when offenders are identified, they are often dealt with by “out of court” penalties like cautions and fines.

In 2008/09, the detection rate for offences against the person – which include assault, wounding and grievous bodily harm – was 47 per cent, the lowest since 2000/01.

Of those offences that were detected and dealt with by the police, 31 per cent resulted in a caution.
That's for violent crimes, remember.
Someone who is cautioned does not have criminal record, although details are stored on a police database.
'does not have a criminal record'; want to bet that also means 'not on the official record of crimes' or 'not numbered in the official record of offenses'?

For sexual offences, the detection rate was 32 per cent, up on the previous year but down from 43 per cent in 2000/01. The caution rate for detected sexual crimes was 17 per cent.

For burglary, the detection rate was 13 per cent, the highest for a decade. But only 50 per cent of detected burglaries led to a criminal charge being brought. Six per cent led to cautions and the rest, 44 per cent, were “taken into consideration” with other offences.

Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, said the figures showed ministers are letting criminals “get away with it.”
Not only are criminals getting away with it, I'll bet you this is being used to cook the books(again? more?) to make things look better than they actually are.

Last month, it was revealed that more than half a million serial criminals have been let off with repeated cautions.
Yeah, that's working really well, isn't it?

Starting with, if this is the case, then the governor

needs to be hung by his short & curlies, too.


If I cared to have to listen to "The REAL scientists agree!" again, I'd send a friend this in response to her "The oil companies bought off all the deniers!" crap:
It should be foremost on the minds of many that the RealClimate.org webserver domain is funded by Fenton Communications, an eco media group. Further, our tax dollars pay the salaries of people like Dr. Gavin Schmidt of NASA GISS who has been (according to several post and comment times noted) using his taxpayer paid time at work to participate in that blog.
And let us not forget all the grants and other money funneled to the AGW weenies; think that doesn't have an effect on what they put out?


On the thieves, progressives(that may be a repeat) and general corrupt politicians in the Senate, from Steyn:

They’re allocating taxpayer dollars as if those dollars belonged to the senators. It borders on immoral. Just look at the way Senator Landrieu put her vote up for sale. Senator Nelson did the same.

You can't even dignify this squalid racket as bribery: If I try to buy a cop, I have to use my own money. But, when Harry Reid buys a senator, he uses my money, too. It doesn't "border on immoral": It drives straight through the frontier post and heads for the dark heartland of immoral.

Actually, you want to stay up with most of the breaking stuff on Climaquiddick, just go to Watts Up With That every day and see what they've found.


Chavez makes claims and threatens; nothing unusual.



Their candidate, the one they helped get elected to the highest office in the land, has only one offensive maneuver for those that disagree with him.

The Race Card.

I’m taking it that John Aravosis and the rest of the leftosphere doesn’t exactly like getting the same treatment they repeatedly heap upon the Tea Party folks.

They really hate it too that Rahm Emmanuel wrote a piece for the WSJ promoting Brownstien’s article.

Tis a pity that they’ll not learn a thing about flipping that card.
Hell, no they won't: it's one of their top offensive(in both senses) actions, too.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson: one more progressive

who doesn't care about facts that don't fit her narrative and wishes:
[The] declaration by the Environmental Protection Administration that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health is apparently a regulatory fraud. It was made after EPA regulators refused to consider a report from a leading EPA scientist rejecting the theory that emission of greenhouse gases causes global warming.

...And now the EPA has its own “Climategate.” It is in the report by EPA’s Dr. Alan Carlin who was—according to this July 16 letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson—subjected to a gag order. [letter here [PDF]]

The March 16, 2009 report by Dr. Alan Carlin says—among other things—that
“As of the best information we currently have, the GHG/CO2 hypothesis as to the cause of global warming, which this Draft TSD supports, is currently an invalid hypothesis from a scientific viewpoint because it fails a number of critical comparisons with available observable data. Any one of these failings should be enough to invalidate the hypothesis; the breadth of these failings leaves no other possible conclusion based on current data.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse(Slandering Liar-RI) opened his mouth

and then lied about what came out:

They are desperate to break this president. They have ardent supporters who are nearly hysterical at the very election of President Barack Obama. The birthers, the fanatics, the people running around in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups, it is unbearable to them that President Barack Obama should exist. That is one powerful reason. It is not the only one."

I approached (AUDIO) Senator Whitehouse following his speech on the floor, and his responses to my questions were puzzling, to say the say the least. Mr. Whitehouse said he stood by his speech, but would not admit that he was accusing anyone who was against the health care bill as racist. He did reiterate that birthers are part of the group that is against the bill and are attacking president However, when I asked the Senator from Rhode Island what he meant by describing those who do not support the bill as "aryan," he responded "No, I didn't say that....again, pay attention to the speech."

We are paying attention, you lying socialist whore; and we'll remember.
Pointed to by Insty, take a look at what he has to say.

And note that this kind of bullshit is why the BNP has made such gains in Britain: as was pointed out a while back, when people get sick enough of being called a racist and bigot and so on for honestly and openly opposing the progressive agenda, some will decide "Hell with this; if they're going to call me that no matter what I say or do, I might as well go with the BNP." I don't think it'll have the same effect here, but it could happen; and it'll be the fault of morons like Whitehouse if it does.

The threats to the Constitution

never stop, do they?

On the DC cop who pulled his gun at a snowball fight

Althouse is defending him due to the circumstances. I can say that here in Oklahoma, if a citizen with a CCW drew in such circumstances, he'd be in jail. And facing fines, maybe jail time, and having his permit yanked.

One of the things taught in the class here is that if you draw that weapon, THAT is using deadly force, which is only justified in some circumstances. Also, not just waving it about but- for instance- opening your coat to flash it is 'brandishing', which can also get you in serious trouble.

Unless the cop can demonstrate reason why he feared a serious attack...

This just in: Hookers upset with being compared

to politicians:
Members of the world’s oldest profession are infuriated by the relentless and invidious likening of their industry to the world’s second oldest profession. Word on the street, literally, is that hookers are prepared to exact an apology for the defiling of their good names.

Even those not well acquainted with the whoring business should be able to appreciate the asymmetry between a freely bargained for and mutually beneficial exchange, versus extorting taxpayer funds in the service of tyrants.

HAHAHA! McCaskill is remembered!

And WILL BE remembered come election time:

Oh jeez, Obama must have blown a circuit at this!

When Obama entered the room, there was no chair for him. Obama himself was reported as saying that there weren’t any seats…

…At the “accidental” five- nation meeting, Prime Minister Singh told Obama that international review of voluntary mitigation action was unacceptable as he was answerable to Parliament. Any international review of India’s voluntary mitigation actions would go against public opinion, he said.

Wen also had similar views, while Lula voiced concerns over imposition of trade barriers on developing countries under the garb of environment protection.

In plain words, "I answer to the people of my country, not you and not the UN; so piss off." Just Friggin' WONDERFUL! Hoorah for the PM of India for telling The One off.

Our chicken-hearted President may have abandoned them,

but the Iranian people aren't laying down and giving up:
Tens of thousands of Iranian mourners — many chanting protest slogans — joined the funeral procession Monday for the country’s most senior dissident cleric, who had described government crackdowns as the work of power-hungry despots.

Iranian authorities have barred foreign media from covering the processions in the holy city of Qom for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who died Sunday at age 87. But witnesses said many mourners shouted protest cries including “Death to the Dictator” in displays of anger against Iran’s ruling establishment.
A thought: the letter the Army sent to the Iranian government flatly saying "There are limits; and we're watching" is having effect.

Bunch of nervy Persians standing up, I'd say this is far from over.

So Obama, the Great Communicator doesn't want to be handy

if the Senate does indeed pass this unconstitutional piece of crap:
BTW the Obama's plan on spending Christmas in Hawaii. Guess he doesn't want to be in town when the Democrat Senate passes that healthcare bill which is nothing more then a giant lump of coal in America's stocking.
Yeah, nothing like a Fearless Leader to stand beside you when you screw other people, huh?

And, brought to you by the same people who'll condemn millions of kids

in Africa to malaria because "DDT is EVIL!!! Rachel Carson says so!", borrowing from Ace,
Lydia Baker of Save the Children said world leaders had "effectively signed a death warrant for many of the world's poorest children. Up to 250,000 children from poor communities could die before the next major meeting in Mexico at the end of next year."

Uh-huh.
Big surprise.

Well, maybe next year in Mexico, if you fly in more jets and use more limousines and consume more of the finest food and drink, that will finally save some poor child's life somewhere in the world.

Well, maybe not, but you're sure gonna give it the ol' Harvard try, aren't you?

Negotiators will now work on individual agreements such as forests, technology, and finance – but, without strong leadership, the chances are that it will take years to complete.

GODDAMMIT.
The sacrifice, people. I don't think you right-wing three-toothed squirrel-eatin' dumbasses appreciate the frustration here, and how hard this is going to be for our lefty 'negotiators.'
We're talking years, here. YEARS.

Years and years of this painstaking luxurious drudgery ahead of them. Yeeeeears of attending conventions in exotic locales and sucking cognac and caviar off seventeen-year-old hookers' inner thighs.
The bill eventually footed by wageslave scum such as yourself, of course. As it should be.

Michelle Malkin lists some of the bribes Reid & Co.

are paying with other peoples' money here; and has a letter to the Backstabber, Sen. Ben Nelson(Expensive Whore-NB):
What you leftist idiots don’t understand is this: I am forced to accept $35 for an office visit by a medicaid or medicare patient. I. Can’t. Afford. It. On that enforced wage, I can’t pay my nurses. I can’t pay my billing secretaries. I can’t pay my receptionist. I. Can’t. Survive. On. Obamacare. Get it?! I. Can’t. Pay. My. Nurses. On. Ben. Nelson. Wages. Get it? I hope so. You think I’m greedy? I went to medical school as a former nurse at age 36. I have over $180,000 dollars in student loans. I. Can’t. Survive. On. Obamacare. I hope this helps. I don’t make as much as you might think. And most
of what I earn goes to repaying my student loans. I love my little family medicine clinic in Friend. I love being a doctor in rural Nebraska. I love my patients and I love rural family medicine. But Ben Nelson sold me out. Thanks again for letting me vent. I’m not greedy. I don’t envy the wages of my blue-collar friends. But I can’t survive or pay my employees on Uncle Sam’s reimbursement rate for my services.
Which Nelson has proven he doesn't care about; he's too busy selling himself.

I repeat: I hope the people in Nebraska that he's sold out hang him by the short & curlies. Which needs to happen to a whole bunch of these clowns.

And speaking of whores,
The group’s YouTube posting asks: “What would you withhold from someone who opposes health care reform? Cookies, a Christmas gift, sex?”

Pretty racy for an organization whose mission is to “give young people the tools to identify, learn about, and take action on the issues that affect their lives, and leverage their power in the political process[.]”

I have to tell you, the George Foreman grill

does a great job on bacon; cooks it very well and collects the grease so it's easy to save for biscuits and corn bread

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHGH!

Full story here

Further reason to thinkknow the Brit and Scot governments

are full of crap. And untrustworthy. And socialist dirtbags. And- hell, with it, read:
The Lockerbie bomber had £1.8m in a Swiss bank account when he was convicted eight years ago, it has been revealed.

The Crown Office, Scotland’s equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service, has confirmed it refused to grant bail to Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi as recently as November last year because of concerns he might try to gain access to the money.

The existence of such a large sum in a personal account casts doubt on claims by the Libyan government that Megrahi was a low-ranking airline worker.
Gee, ya think MAYBE?

Kenny MacAskill, you are a miserable little bastard.

Crookedness? Maybe obstruction of justice in the Obama Administration?

Eeeeeeeeeh, could be[/Bugs].
No inspector general can unearth corruption without access to his office, computer or staff. An "administrative leave" putting an IG in that position has the same effect, for all intents and purposes, as an immediate firing. That's the basic logic behind former Inspector General Gerald Walpin's lawsuit demanding at least temporary reinstatement to his job as watchdog at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). New revelations about the case from two lawmakers indicate that there is good reason to suspect duplicity from those who helped force Mr. Walpin's overnight removal in June.

Question is, how much of this is simple overreaction

- at best- and how much is deliberate harassment?
Shooting groups are reporting a growing number of cases where officers in armed response vehicles and helicopters are swooping on people who are legally shooting.

In many cases, the shooters are arrested and have had their guns seized. They are sometimes locked up and have their DNA taken, before police accept their error.
'Accept their error' or 'decide they've caused all the trouble they can get away with'?

The problem has become so great, that the field sports' bible, Shooting Times, has launched an initiative – called the Campaign for Common Sense – to urge police to improve their dealings with field sports enthusiasts. The publication has also submitted a dossier detailing its complaints and proposals to a recent consultation by the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) on police firearm use.

The magazine's news editor, Selena Masson, said: "The police response is completely out of sync with what is actually going on. They send helicopters and up to half a dozen police vehicles, at astronomical cost to the taxpayer. They manhandle shooters, throw them in the cells and take DNA fingerprints, despite the fact that these people have permission and all the relevant documentation."
It's all that 'relevant documentation' that makes me consider this may be deliberate; there's no bleeping way the cops over there could not simply check that someone has their arms legally instead of going through all this crap. And it fits the pattern in Britain over the past years of making it as difficult and- in this case dangerous- as possible for someone to own arms.

And the official response so far?
Richard Crompton, chief constable of Lincolnshire Police and lead for Rural Affairs for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "Considering the popularity of shooting in the countryside, complaints of this nature are extremely rare. We have a very good relationship with the BASC but this issue has never been raised with us. I would be more than happy to discuss any concerns they have."
'this issue has never been raised'. Uh huh. Sure. You never heard anything about it until the media asked. Really.

Bullcrap. If this has been as big a problem as the information indicates, for you to have never heard of it- especially in an area where shooting is that popular- means you're either completely unaware of what's happening in your district, or- well, no other explanation. Unless you're lying, that is. And based on what's been happening in Britain, I have to seriously consider that this may be deliberate on the part of the police, and that you are a liar.

Yeah, I'm just about out of 'trust us' anymore.

Found thanks to Theo

Yeesh, if you know somebody who uses nose candy,

this would be a good time to tell them to stop:
Cocaine's a hell of a drug, and even more so when laced with another drug that's commonly used to deworm opossums. Federal agents have found that 69 percent of cocaine shipments seized entering the United States contain levamisole, a veterinary drug linked to serious weakening of the immune system in humans. Here's the real funny part: no one knows why.

This comes from a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the immune system condition, known as agranulocytosis. The paper tracks 21 cases from New Mexico and Washington State linked to cocaine, including one death, but cautions that many more cases have probably gone under the radar of public health officials.

Pointed to by Insty

God, how much damage have these clowns DONE

to the sciences?
One person in the nine-member Realclimate.orgteam -- U.K. scientist and Green Party activist William Connolley -- would take on particularly crucial duties. Connolley took control of all things climate in the most used information source the world has ever known -Wikipedia. Starting in February 2003, just when opposition to the claims of the band members were beginning to gel, Connolley set to work on the Wikipedia site. He rewrote Wikipedia's articles on global warming, on the greenhouse effect, on the instrumental temperature record, on the urban heat island, on climate models, on global cooling. On Feb. 14, he began to erase the Little Ice Age; on Aug. 11, the Medieval Warm Period. In October, he turned his attention to the hockey stick graph. He rewrote articles on the politics of global warming and on the scientists who were skeptical of the band. Richard Lindzen and Fred Singer, two of the world's most distinguished climate scientists, were among his early targets, followed by others that the band especially hated, such as Willie Soon and Sallie Baliunas of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, authorities on the Medieval Warm Period.

All told, Connolley created or rewrote 5,428 unique Wikipedia articles. His control over Wikipedia was greater still, however, through the role he obtained at Wikipedia as a website administrator, which allowed him to act with virtual impunity. When Connolley didn't like the subject of a certain article, he removed it -- more than 500 articles of various descriptions disappeared at his hand. When he disapproved of the arguments that others were making, he often had them barred -- over 2,000 Wikipedia contributors who ran afoul of him found themselves blocked from making further contributions. Acolytes whose writing conformed to Connolley's global warming views, in contrast, were rewarded with Wikipedia's blessings. In these ways, Connolley turned Wikipedia into the missionary wing of the global warming movement.

And Wikipedia is up the creek on this; this doesn't exactly help matters.

Unrelated to the above, but funny as hell,
Good thing she wasn’t in Valdez this week when the citizenry got buried under a record snowfall. We’re not talking about your ordinary little dump here. That was in Copenhagen, where world leaders were meeting to discuss what to do about global warming and the Bloomberg news service was warning that Barack Obama and the rest would “face freezing weather as a blizzard dumped 10 centimeters (4 inches) of snow on the Danish capital overnight.”

Valdez, Alaska got more than four inches per hour at the height of the snowstorm that began there Monday and ran through the week. By the time the citizens of Alaska’s only oil port finally caught a break, the snow was piled 5 feet, 8 inches deep.

Yes, you read right.

Five feet, 8 inches; over the head of your average American woman, up the nose of your average American man. The National Weather Service called it record.

So much snow that snow loads sunk one boat in the harbor while other owners try to keep up with snow removal.
...
History has been made in Washington, DC also. The snow has already broken the 1 day record for DC. The old record of 11.5″ on December 17,1932 is now in 2nd place since National Airport has over 15″ with snow still falling. This storm is now in 6th place all-time and the February 1983 storm total of 16.6″ may yet be eclipsed.
Ok, it's not funny for the people having to deal with this; it IS funny that The One returned from the glorious victory of his non-binding resolution in Copenhagen to this. And the "The World Is Burning!" weenies there being stormed on.

Where's Al, again?

A good piece on choosing a defense gun

over here.

Pointed to by James.

Why yes, a lot of the EUnuchs(and clowns from a bunch of other countries) are

a bunch of whiny, self aggrandizing, freeloading parasites

Had a comment in my post on the hypocritical Bill Gates

that A: called him various names and B: pushed a website that praises that Marxist tyrant Chavez.

It was deleted.

This may come as a shock, but raising hell about some jackass who makes a fortune(like Gates) and then plays socialist 'share the wealth' games with slimy politicians(like Gates) does NOT mean I have any tender feelings for commie dictators.

Added: If you haven't figured this out yet, if you want to make an argument in comments, that's fine; praising communists and socialists and insulting me is not. So I will continue to delete your comments- or maybe edit them to suit- when you do that.

The 'Justice' System of Philadelphia

Remember the bit in this post Friday on the guy who dared defend himself and girlfriend from a jerk who turned out to be related to cops? Well, it gets even worse:

Eight days later, on April 13, Westberry was surprised to see Eberhart and two special agents with the state Attorney General's Gun Violence Task Force at his front door. They asked to see his guns. An avid gun collector, Westberry had 40 guns, all legal, all registered and all locked up.

"I'm thinking they just want to verify the serial numbers, verify that everything I own is legit," Westberry said.

But they confiscated his guns and said that they had a warrant for his arrest.

Got that? His REGISTERED firearms were CONFISCATED as a result of this bogus arrest. Because the dude who sucker-punched him was related to cops, he was put through the ringer. And because his guns were registered, they were easy pickings for an overzealous cop with an axe to grind and a badge to hide behind.

And his chances of getting his stolen property(because realistically that's what it is) back? In MA? Probably about zero.

Note: corrected this, was pointed out I messed up in originally thinking it was in the PRM.

I'm going to ste- borrow a chunk of this from Correia,

because it's too good not to:
Al Gore screamed when he saw the evil snowmen rampaging. “They’re terrifying, what with their eyes made of coal. Coal is a leading cause of green house gases, just behind farting cows. However, I am glad to see that they are using biodegradable materials such as carrots for noses.”

Tim pimp slapped Al Gore. “Get a hold of yourself, man!” He thought better of it, and slapped Al Gore again, just because it was kind of fun.

“What can I do to help stop this terrible army of evil snowmen?” Al Gore asked. “Anything. Just please make them go away!”

“I need you to let global warming happen!” Tim said. “Rising temperatures will cause Stabby and his army to melt. We might not be able to save Christmas this year, but we can still save humanity. I’d rather be farming Greenland than impaled on a giant icicle.”

Al Gore grew quiet. “Uhm… well… that may be a bit of a problem…”

“What?” Tim cried. Outside the snowmen were building a siege engine.

“Yeah… that global warming thing. We… uh… we made it up… The data was all fabricated. I… uh… I just wanted to be important. And I used the money to buy a rockin’ private jet. You must have missed that thing with the e-mails.”

“But… but you won the Nobel Prize!” Tim gasped.

Al Gore laughed. “Are you kidding? Haven’t you been paying attention? They give those things out in Happy Meals now!”

***

From Chapter 7.

Sally Love-Interest screamed in terror as Tim stumbled into the mall. “Tim! You’re covered in blood!”

“Don’t worry, it’s from Al Gore,” Tim answered quickly. That Stabby sure lived up to his name.

Why I despise Bill Gates and some other hugely wealthy people

Because he makes speeches like this about why the death tax should be as high as possible, while
From all published accounts, Gates Sr. has it set up to give 90% of his wealth to a few pre-selected charities upon his death. The other 10% would go to individuals.

Now whether that remaining 10% would put any of those individuals over the $7M mark is unknown to me, but if he truly thought that giving the government 45% of the wealth you acquired throughout your life via the Death Tax, why would he have would he have his fortune split up like that?
Because he's one more fucking hypocrite like the late Swimmer Kennedy who thinks YOU should have to pay the death tax while HE'S busy hiding the money away in ways and places to keep it from being so taxed.

This just in: Sen. Nelson is an expensive whore,

just like Landrieu.

I hope this bastard gets hung by the short & curlies when he gets back to Nebraska.

About that mention of the wonderful 'pointing' in the Model M design

I mentioned a couple of days ago, here's the target in question:
The three big holes are from something else, ignore them(please!). The point of interest here is that tight cluster at the top of the 'shoot here' oval with two a little low. That's seventeen rounds at about ten-twelve feet, six of them fired as fast pairs from low-ready. In this case the light at the range was such I could get just a hint of 'bright' off the front sight, which helped.

Did I mention I really like this pistol?

Which brings me to something else. A while back Tam mentioned him, and it occurred to me that while I've read magazine articles and blog posts I'd never read any of Massad Ayoob's books. And I had a gift card for Borders. And they had a copy of Combat Handgunnery, so...

Very good book, but the part I want to concentrate on is his chapter that includes his advice on point-shooting. Two things here:
First, his advice is 'Don't'.
Second, an interesting difference from how he describes things and how I'd thought of it before.
I've mentioned before that the way I was taught(damn, that was a while back) was that at close range you had the piece close to you, moving it further out- and going to two hands as soon as possible- as range increased for greater accuracy, similar to what's shown in the pictures I posted here from Bill Jordan's book. I never thought of it as 'unaimed' fire, just 'fire without using the sights'. Ayoob, as I recall, described point-shooting as 'unaimed fire', with shots fired with the gun far enough forward that you can see it(especially the front sight), and reference it to the target as 'aimed fire'. Which got me thinking.

For all but the closest range- with the gun right at your hip- you can see it, way down in your field of vision(yes, I need pictures; later on, when I have someone to work the camera, I'll take some) which lets you reference it to the target, which by Ayoob's definition means you're aiming*. So I did a bit of messing with this: I started with a target about 5-8 feet out(this is a close-range thing), drew slowly and made a point of noting the pistol low in my field of view as well as the spot on the target I was aiming at, and fired. Repeat a bunch of times(I was using the .22 conversion for this to keep costs down, and also did a bunch of dry-firing).

Damn, working at it this way makes a difference! I could point-shoot fairly well before(when in practice at it, had been doing a lot less of it than in the past), but this made a definite improvement. By training to note the gun, it's position and the target when shooting slowly, you build the reflexes to do it without having to consciously think about it. Which means you're making aimed shots without looking with/over the sights at close range.** And my accuracy improved in this style of firing.

I do not argue, at all, Use The Sights. I do think that practicing point-shooting for very close and fast situations is something very good to do; having more tools in the box(tools that you've practiced using) is a Good Thing.

Something else: after reading Tam and others writing about the Super Kung-Fu Grip they learned from Jarrett, it rang a bell. Something I'd read about Jordan years ago popped up: a guy had a picture of him shooting on a timer pointed out that you could see the tension in his hand and arm, that his body was locked to support the shot(one-handed with a .357 Mag in something like 1/4 second, including draw!). Somehow, over time, I'd forgotten that. And in the book Ayoob makes specific point of the 'tight as you can' hold. So I started tightening up my grip; and yeah, that helps too. A lot, especially in rapid fire.


*Ayoob is very specific that you should always get the piece up far enough that the sights, mainly the front sight, is in your vision on the target. And I'm not arguing against that. I'm talking about close-up/low-light/fast situations.
**Repeating, whenever possible always use the sights, much better for a variety of reasons.

Doubletapper has a post on Chanukah

that contains this paragraph that strikes me very strongly:
When the Macabees went out to battle, they had no feasible chance of winning. Not only were the Jews fewer and weaker than the well-oiled Syrian Greek war machine, but amongst the Jews themselves, only a sparse few went out to battle under the command of Juda Macabee and his brothers. Thus the essential miracle of Chanukah was not the war victory, but rather the very fact that a few Jews realized that "things just cannot go on this way", they arose, and with immense faith in the Almighty, and in an act of incredible courage, declared war on the superpower of their day. Think of it like the movie the 300, except that the Jews didn't lose!*

The whole post is here.

*being picky, in real life the Spartans were, on the last day, fighting a holding action to give the rest of the Greek army time to retreat to fight another day, and they succeeded. It was a very real victory for which they paid with their lives. Which changes the point of the Chanukah story not at all, I just had to throw it in.

One of the dirtbag portions of the Health Care Takeover Bill

is the 'Cadillac tax' on, to put it plainly, 'insurance plans we think cost too much or benefit the holder too much'; with that decision, of course, being made by a bunch of corrupt politicians desperate to A: get more of our money and B: control our health care. Looking over at Megan McArdle's blog(I think she's a moron to want carbon taxes and that other crap, but that's another post) she has this post on these planned taxes. Among the things she points out.
The levy has been dubbed the Cadillac tax," but research shows it would likely affect a broad swath of Americans regardless of their income, which could indeed amount to the tax on the middle-class that President Obama promised would not happen under his administration. The tax is a growing source of anxiety for Huber and his co-workers, but also for Democrats in the House, who vow to strip the measure out of the bill in conference or consider bringing the bill down altogether.
'Amount to'? It IS one of the increased taxes- or in this case added taxes- Obama promised he would not enact. Which a lot of people said he was lying about when he made said promise(nice to be right, but-). But back to the point.

At the time, Obama said he did not want the tax to hit middle-class families, but when the proposal emerged from the Senate Finance Committee in September, it proposed charging insurance companies and a 40 percent excise tax for high-dollar, but not exactly gold-plated plans. The bill now calls for the tax to apply to plans exceeding $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families, for the cost of combining health savings accounts, medical, prescription drugs, dental, vision, etc.. The tax is charged to insurance companies, but it is widely assumed they would passed it on to employers.
They will, because they don't have a choice; they can't simply swallow that. Oh, and for anyone who says "They make too much money, force them to eat it!", well, not only do their profits go down- a LOT- but every pension plan out there that has money invested in those companies, which means every man and woman in that plan, loses(You want to be the one informing those people "Your pension just lost 'X' in value because of the increased government taxes on the companies you're invested in" ? And just how do you think they'll react? Which is a different post).

And if they're not allowed to pass that cost on? They'll probably cut the plans for the next year, or do something else that reduces the benefits and/or ups the costs.

This next paragraph contains something that just pisses me off no end:
Despite the politically powerful unions that oppose it, the tax is enormously attractive to government economists because it both raises revenue -- $149 billion over ten years -- and should depress the rate of health care inflation by discouraging companies from offering more generous health plans. The Joint Committee on Taxation and the CBO credit the tax as the largest factor in "bending the cost curve" and cutting the federal deficit, as the Senate bill is expected to do.
Just what the HELL business is it of these bastards what insurance plan I'm offered at the place I work? Who the FUCK are they to say "This is too good a plan, so we're going to tax it" ? This is nothing but a means of forcing companies to either cut to crappy plans people will want out of or to force companies to drop it altogether, forcing people onto the socialized medicine plan.

If the place where I work considers its employees valuable enough to offer a really good health plan and is profitable enough to afford such, IT IS NONE OF OBAMA'S BUSINESS, it is none of Pelosi or Reid's business. Hell, they ought to be happy, IF their actual concern is simply the health of those people. But this tends to prove that that's not their real concern; their real concern is government control of all health care and to hell with the people it screws. This is nothing but a way to, again, steal more money from people under color of law and to FORCE people onto a government-run health care scheme.

Christina Romer, a senior economic adviser to the president, predicted in October that the tax would encourage, "both employers and employees to be more watchful health care consumers." But research released last week by Mercer, an employee benefits consulting firm, showed that in addition to considering lower cost plans, two-thirds of companies polled said they would also raise health care costs for workers through higher co-pays and deductibles, regardless of whether the employee is a CEO or a line worker at a factory.
You man that line worker that Obama promised would face no tax increases under his benevolent rule? Who now gets to 'choose' a crappier health plan because the God-damned politicians and bureaucrats want more of his money? Gee, that's a winning idea, isn't it?