Rep. Laura Richardson(NSD-CA, no surprise) thinks she

and the other politicians are very special; from her HR367:
Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any person from knowingly carrying a firearm in, or within 250 feet of an entrance to or exit from, a building or structure, or at, or within 500 feet of, any other place, where a Member of Congress is performing an official and representational duty or engaging in campaign activity as a candidate for federal, state, or local office, if there are visible at such distances signs which clearly and conspicuously state that a Member will be present and the time the Member will be present. Specifies exceptions, including pursuant to the express written permission of the Member or the chief of police of the locality involved.

Requires a 10% reduction in funds a state would receive for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for a fiscal year if the state fails to have in effect by the specified compliance date laws and policies that similarly prohibit individuals from knowingly possessing firearms near a venue at which an elected or appointed state or local official is performing an official and representational duty or campaigning for public office.

Part of the findings includes "Fear of gun violence at events where elected representatives are performing their official or representational duties has a chilling effect on our democracy." If you were driving down the street in front of a building where a Congressman was campaigning and you had a loaded firearm in your car, you would be in violation of this law if it were to be passed.
As I recall, this was the kind of bullshit thrown out with the 'not having a gun within 1000 feet of a school' law some years back; the fact that if you lived within that distance of a school or were driving by you could be arrested for having a gun was properly declared idiotic. And this really goes into the idiotic category, PLUS the threat of "If you don't pass a state law that does the same for state/local officials, we'll take money away from you".

No Lawyers has a roundup of the Good, Bad and Ugly current legislation affecting firearms, including HR308 from McCarthy, on which bill SiH has a breakdown of how it's pretty much a total ban on any magazine OF ANY KIND that holds more cartridges than the gun bigots like. Including actual antique firearms who have a nasty 'high-capacity' tube magazine.

I filled the bird feeder out front maybe 45 minutes ago,

and the little buggers- between eating and spillage- have already emptied the buffet.

In other news, we're sitting under a winter storm watch from about 1800 tonight to the same tomorrow, mostly snow and strong winds in this area. I don't know if it's the weather shifting or something else but some of my joints are bloody awful the last couple of days. And I get to look forward to clearing snow off the walk and driveway tonight & tomorrow, with it being damn cold the next few days. Wonderful.

I do have some emergency stuff that stays in the truck all the time; Sportsman's Guide had a sale on some Brit surplus stuff a couple of years back and I got a belt/suspender set that has two ammo pouches and two big pouches in the back; small first-aid kit, water, a MRE(or two), space blanket and such fit in it nicely. And there's always a flashlight or two in the vehicle, and a light axe, and a tow strap. Some paracord. And the bigger aid kit that stays in the truck, which has some burn gel and general stuff. Only problem is that in the kind of weather predicted you'd have to stick that frozen bottle of water inside your coat to melt. Damn, that'd suck.

At the moment I've got a pot of stew started, it'll be simmering for the afternoon. And I may make some banana bread; friend gave me a family recipe that's not as sticky as most(sorry, can't share it; she'd strangle me). I've got whiskey, so no repeat of trudging to the supplies store in the blizzard that happened Christmas a year ago(it's emergency supplies, shut up). I need to give the stew a stir, and find some ibuprofen and see if it helps the aches.

By the way, reading the various news of how Obama & Co. are dealing with the mess in Egypt & surrounding countries, anybody else feel like sending him a bag of peanuts? Jimmy Carter II, indeed.

Few years ago, just before his first deployment,

son gave me a gen-u-wine Army ACU boonie hat. Very handy, and wore it a lot to keep the sun out of my eyes(and sometimes the rain). Until Security Staff(Jr.) got hold of it and chewed a big damn hole in it.

While here on leave at Christmas he gave me a worn-out ACU cap. I cut a suitable piece out, used some wash-out fabric glue to roll the edges over and then tack the patch in place while I stitched; came out pretty well.
I love it when a fix comes together.

I present, without further comment,

what I consider a fine example of PC idiocy at work.

How to give crooked bankers a stroke:

“I want to see the loan note where it says I owe you money, or else I’m contacting my lawyer and halting payment on my mortgage.”

First part of the story here, second here(where the quote is from).
And something else on the subject here.

If you ever get to Africa,

do not tick off the spotted kitties.

"Keep your finger off the trigger

etc., dumbass.
The official said investigators are still piecing together how Stenroos pulled off the alleged hoax, which sparked a dragnet that inconvenienced thousands of people after police shut down a large swath of Woodland Hills in search of the supposed gunman.

The source added that Stenroos' protective vest showed obvious signs of having been struck by a bullet, and the officer also suffered bruising on his chest. Detectives later raised questions about whether the officer shot himself accidentally and then fabricated a story or concocted the whole scenario.


Second, if you're going to report something to the police, it might be nice if you knew what the hell you were talking about.
According to Kirksville Police Chief Jim Hughes, a passerby stopped a Kirksville Police officer and said they had seen an individual acting erratically in a truck in the Wal-Mart parking lot shortly before 2:30 p.m. The passerby believed the individual had a gun to his head.
...
The individual was talking on a cell phone at the time of the incident. It's likely that is the object the passerby identified as a gun.


Ah yes, Axelrod says Obama has been right on top of this for two years. Personally, if you believe Axelrod you probably have a loose grip on reality overall.

Gun show today, I think I'll go look around.

Yes! The Obamanomics Explanation

Sounds like the Atlanta PD still needs to perform

some serious housecleaning.
One of the men said members of the Red Dog unit pulled over his vehicle and forced him to pull down his pants on the side of the road in broad daylight, as officers conducted a search for drugs. No drugs were ever found, passenger Brian Kidd said.

Kidd told Philips that his roommate, Shawn Venegas, was also subjected to a body cavity search that left him feeling uncomfortable.

"One of the officers actually stuck his hand down into Shawn Venegas' pants," said attorney Mark Bullman.

Kidd said it was too much for him to bear.
Just to be pedantic, putting his hand down your pants isn't a cavity search; idiotic thing to do, sounds like a real violation(in more ways than one), but if it didn't involve digits and internals, it wasn't a cavity search.

As to the serious housecleaning,
Two of the three officers involved in the stop were also named in the infamous Atlanta Eagle bar raid that the city recently settled. Co-counsel on the traffic stop case, Dan Grossman, was the lead attorney in the Atlanta Eagle case.

“I’ve heard many stories from citizens who were stripped in public by Red Dog,” Grossman said.
Then why the hell are they still doing this? It's already cost the taxpayers to settle the previous case, and these idiots apparently didn't get the message that this isn't acceptable behavior?

Really? Combat ops in 'Stan are ended?

Really?

Think we'll hear the screaming we heard over a carrier crew putting up a 'mission accomplished' banner?

Me neither.

This would be damn handy if you have a Garand

Found the plans here, along with some other neat stuff

Update on Mayor Tony Chavonne of Fayetteville's

'Heroes homecoming'. It seems Mr. Mayor is trying to cover his tracks and change things around.

Number one, did these same people protest when Rosie O'Donnell

did her little bit of imitation Chinese? If not, then shut the hell up?

As to the crap that inspired this post:
"I want an apology at the very least," said New York Assemblywoman Grace Meng, a Queens Democrat. "Making fun of any country's leader is just very disrespectful for someone who says he is a proud American."
Madam, I'm a proud American, too; and I insult and make fun of communist dictators at every opportunity. For that matter, we have a long history of making fun of foreign leaders. So screw you.

Egypt is getting really interesting right now

from what's coming out. Remember I mentioned if we could set up some kind of system to go around a government block on internet access, or at least keep cell phones going? Might be a time to try, assuming the current administration would actually want to.

Oh, by the way, Quaker House?

Fuck You. With a syphilitic camel dick.

And you too, Mayor, for your part in this.

He probably could’ve smoked a few more of the bastards,

but he was having trouble getting down the narrow aisle between seats with his GIGANTIC BALLS says Sondra; and she ain't woofin'.
A retired Indian Gorkha soldier recently revisited those glory days when he thwarted 40 robbers, killing three of them and injuring eight others, with his khukuri during a train journey. He is in line to receive three gallantry awards from the Indian government."
Damn.
“They started snatching jewelry, cell phones, cash, laptops and other belongings from the passengers,” Shrestha recalled. The soldier had somehow remained a silent spectator amidst the melee, but not for long. He had had enough when the robbers stripped an 18-year-old girl sitting next to him and tried to rape her right in front of her parents. He then took out his khukuri and took on the robbers.
“The girl cried for help, saying ´You are a soldier, please save a sister´,” Shrestha recalled. “I prevented her from being raped, thinking of her as my own sister,” he added. He took one of the robbers under control and then started to attack the others. He said the rest of the robbers fled after he killed three of them with his khukuri and injured eight others.
I'd bloody imagine they did.

This is a wonderful time to once again post something I found a few years ago:

Speaking of dumbass politicians who think they deserve

special considerations,
Defying those who assert the right to bear arms at town halls, Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) Wednesday introduced strict new gun-control legislation that would bar people from taking firearms to public events attended by elected federal officials.

The bill would create a 1,000-foot gun-free zone around the event - not just around the lawmakers as King originally proposed...
I wonder if he's going to go along with that other jackass politician who wants Reps to get special consideration from TSA, too?

Two things from No Lawyers

First, a new gun blog:
Tired of false promises of thoughtful reflection about the issue of guns and gun violence?

Tired of the misperceptions and the culture of gun violence in America?

Tired of misrepresentation of facts and the censuring of posts that don’t support a given agenda?

Then it’s time for some Uncommon Gunsense.

Comments here will be unmoderated, post what you can’t get posted on other blogs


Second, Lautenberg has introduced three bills dedicated to his favorite project of disarming us peasants.

S.32 : A bill to prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] (introduced 1/25/2011)
Cosponsors (9)
Committees: Senate Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/25/2011 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

S.34 : A bill to increase public safety by permitting the Attorney General to deny the transfer of firearms or the issuance of firearms and explosives licenses to known or suspected dangerous terrorists.
Sponsor: Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] (introduced 1/25/2011)
Cosponsors (8)
Committees: Senate Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/25/2011 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

S.35 : A bill to establish background check procedures for gun shows.
Sponsor: Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] (introduced 1/25/2011)
Cosponsors (10)
Committees: Senate Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/25/2011 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

In another fine example of what some 'journalists' will do

to trash someone they have a dislike for, read this. Short version: The Enquirer ran a hit piece on Todd Palin; bunch of 'journalists' piled on; story demonstrated to be bullcrap and yet the people who covered for John Edwards for a long time can't bring themselves to apologize. Or even report that the original story was crap.

Note that Mr. Palin hasn't done squat to these people except for being happily married to Sarah, and the chance to hurt her was all they needed to throw this slime. Meghan Casserly, at Forbes, you suck. Your only consolation is you're only one of a big bunch of sorry excuses for reporters involved in this kind of garbage.


Back to all the socialists trying to protect Piven from the consequences of her words and actions, a couple of comments at Insty:
UPDATE: A reader emails:

Just a quick thought on your Piven updates. The phrase “Hooded protesters. Molotov cocktails” made me initially think “that is doubly despicable, Priven & Ehrenreich are also Klan supporters”?

They don’t have a problem with the Klan’s choice of means, anyway. And reader George Wilson emails: “The ‘tyranny’ is the fear that a molotov cocktail might not be a match for Desert Eagle .50 or an AK-47.” Yes, there’s nothing more tyrannical than someone who refuses to be intimidated.
One of my thoughts in this:"They encourage riots and bloodshed and destruction, and they wonder why we buy ammo? Or probably they know why we do, and it scares them."


Standard National Socialist Democrat method: it's not possible to be against Obama pushing socialism on us, oh no, you only oppose him because he's part black. And Moran probably thinks we call him a bigoted fool because we want people to starve or something.


Reading history or watching Mythbusters? You decide! How did they decide on this pot-launching catapult for smuggling?


John Moses Browning's anniversary(pbuh) was a few days back, and now Utah makes an interesting suggestion for a State Gun.


So the clown who 'reported' that Hawaii's governor said 'there is no Obama birth certificate' now says "He didn't say that." Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? He would go on the air and say the Gov said this when he actually didn't? On a subject like this?


What? All the glaciers aren't melting after all? And we don't know everything? Wow! Next someone'll claim AGW didn't cause Pakistan to flo- oh, wait.


And what NYEffin'C does to 'protect the public' instead of, oh, catching actual criminals or something.

On the subject of the Chinese deliberately insulting the US

at a US State Dinner, does anyone actually believe this wasn't planned? Something along the lines of "You will play this song. If anyone does know what it is, and the President protests, here are the excuses and apologies, but I am wagering not one of them will have any idea."

And it wouldn't surprise me to find that there was a line somewhere about "Perhaps Mr./Ms. X will know, but I believe they will work with us."

Like Insty says, the country is in the very best of hands.

A clown named Ehrenreich comes to Pivens' defense,

but doesn't accurately refer to what Piven called for; apparently actual words didn't fit the image she wanted to push. The apologists version:
So perhaps economically hard-pressed Americans aren't wusses after all. They may not have the courage or the know-how to organize a protest at the local unemployment office, which is the kind of action Piven urged in her December essay, but they stand ready to shoot the first 78-year-old social scientist who suggests that they do so.
What Piven actually said:
"An effective movement of the unemployed will have to look something like the strikes and riots that have spread across Greece in response to the austerity measures forced on the Greek government by the European Union, or like the student protests that recently spread with lightning speed across England in response to the prospect of greatly increased school fees."
Y'know, those riots and strikes where in which people have been murdered, private and public property destroyed, Deity alone knows how many injured. THOSE riots and strikes, that somehow have little resemblance to 'a protest at the local unemployment office'.

And who is Ehrenreich, who comes to the defense of Piven?
Along with her colleague Frances Fox Piven, Ehrenreich is an Honorary Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America.
So one socialist lies to protect another; anybody surprised?

And yeah, I think they are scared; they're realizing just how badly they've pissed people off, both by the action they called for and by their screaming "I'm being threatened by him actually READING MY WORDS ON THE AIR!!!"

Since a place had to stop at last night had the tv on

I did catch a few bits of the speech on tv, and it reinforced my decision not to watch such crap. Best thing I've seen this morning about it:
He said it in the prepared text and in the speech itself:

The bipartisan Fiscal Commission I created last year made this crystal clear. I don’t agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. And their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it – in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes.

(emphasis added).

You got that? When you are allowed to keep your money, that is considered “spending” by the Federal Government. Because in reality all of the fruits of your labor belong to us, the government.
Whereas spending billions of dollars of other peoples' money to pay off union clowns through the method of building trains is good.


Right now, I'd guess the Gov of Hawaii is wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. Curiouser and curiouser.


I wonder if he was actually aware of the inconvenient(to the unions he's paying off and government regulators) parts of this?
President Obama in the State of the Union cited Bruce Randolph School in Denver as a shining example of educational success.
...
Notably, a key factor in the school’s success was a move to ditch the rules of teachers’ unions.

In 2008, the teachers there voted to reject unionization. Prior to that, the school had formed a “autonomy” agreement freeing it from local red tape and union rules.
Hmmm. School tells the union to piss off, gets cleared of a lot of BS rules and actually teaches kids; somehow I don't think that's quite the thought points he wanted to push.


Aside from that, I've got nothing.

"You people are endangering me! How dare you

actually quote my words!"
So, if you quote some left-wing clown like Piven- actually read her words on the air so people know exactly what she says and teaches- that's not tolerable. But you can lie about the guy who quoted her, and that's ok...

And in case you haven't seen what she speaks in favor of,

So the miserable little commie bitch says she wants this to happen here(let's not forget that people are dead in this mess), you're not supposed to draw attention to what she says because 'it creates an 'overheated emotional atmosphere':
Does lofty, serious, intellectual sociology involve looking at evidence and analyzing it rationally? Linking the Tucson massacre to hot political rhetoric was a rash mistake made by demagogues — you want to talk about demagogues?! — demagogues who were slavering over the prospect of a right-wing massacre that would prove politically useful.

We call on Fox News to take steps to control the encouragement of violence that has run rampant in recent months.

Fox News? And do you also call on The Nation, which published "Mobilizing the Jobless," by Frances Fox Piven, the article Glenn Beck brought to the attention of his large audience? Piven called for riots. She wrote:

An effective movement of the unemployed will have to look something like the strikes and riots that have spread across Greece in response to the austerity measures forced on the Greek government by the European Union, or like the student protests that recently spread with lightning speed across England in response to the prospect of greatly increased school fees....

When did Glenn Beck call for violence? Back to the sociologists' letter of outrage:
And, by the way, us unlettered types aren't fit to critique the words of Professor Piven, etc. ad bullshit.

These people are not only spoiled brats, they just flat cannot STAND the fact that they don't have control of the news anymore; that this here internets lets people spread the word about what they actually do and say, that cable tv lets people see exactly what they stand for.

And these clowns claim to not understand why some of us make plans for 'just in case' and have some stocks of supplies and ammo. It's because of what they want to happen, would like to cause to happen.

Hey, NAACP dumbass: we can't comment on it

if we've never heard about it, you ever consider that?
In 2005, John McNeil rushed to the aid of his son who had been threatened in the family's backyard by Brian Epp with a knife. When McNeil arrived on the scene, Epp charged toward him. McNeil pulled his gun and fired a warning shot into the ground. But Epp kept coming until McNeil ended the situation with a single shot to the head. In 2006, McNeil was convicted of felony murder despite a police investigation that found the shooting to be self defense, eye witness testimony backing up that claim, and character witnesses testifying to the ill-temper of Epp.
To the NAACP: whether you believe me or not, fact is we don't give a rats ass what color his skin is; we do care that this appears to be a really nasty case of someone being wrongly convicted of a crime. And if we'd known about it before, we'd have yelled about it before.

Remember the 'probes' that cleared the CRU & Co.

on the Climaquiddick e-mails? Seems a lot of people have problems with the probes; I wonder why...
They criticised the brevity of the appraisal panel report, at “a mere five pages”, and said both investigations should have been more open to the public.

The committee also said the emails review “did not fully investigate the serious allegation” relating to the deletion of emails and instead relied on a verbal reassurance that the messages still exist.

Though the committee was split over the credibility of the inquiries, an amendment put forward by Labour MP Graham Stringer which said that they had not been independent was voted down by members.

He said Lord Oxburgh appeared to have a “conflict of interest” because of his links to green businesses while the Emails Review panel included a former Climate Research Unit scientist.
Who do these people think they are, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi?



The NYEffin'Times cooks the numbers to get what they want you to believe. Anybody surprised by this needs a rest.
New York Times readers, however, ought to hesitate before scurrying to speed-dial their Congress reptiles and demand an end to this preventable epidemic of gun ownership. To begin with, that repeated phrase "9 out of 10" has a euphonious ring, but Blow's data is simply inaccurate. I was unable to find any U.S. homicide statistics in the source cited, the United Nations Small Arms Survey, which for the most part discusses the proliferation of guns in places like Timor and Yemen. According to the Department of Justice, the percentage of homicides for guns in the U.S since 1977 has risen slightly from 62% to 68% -- less than seven out of ten, not nine out of ten.

More importantly, although these figures may be interesting for certain analyses, they don't tell us much about societal violence. Incredibly, Blow never addresses the obvious relevant figure: the overall homicide rate. He is able to claim that the U.S. is in "a league of its own," with a country sphere at the top of the chart, only by basing his analysis on an irrelevant statistic -- "percent of homicides by firearms." A homicide is a homicide, whether it's done with a Glock or a garden hose.
Yes, but if you actually go by the overall number, the US is shown to be a lot safer than these people want you to know. Including a lot safer than places with the kind of personal disarmament laws the NYE'Times pushes.



Remember Barney Frank(Corrupt Jerk-MA) and the other National Socialist Democrats denying Fannie and Freddie needed any new rules because things were just wonderful under Raines & Co.?
Freddie’s problems arose in 2003 when it disclosed that it had understated its income from 2000 to 2002; the company revised its results by an additional $5 billion. In 2004, Fannie was found to have overstated its results for the preceding six years; conceding that its accounting was improper, it reduced its past earnings by $6.3 billion.

Mr. Raines retired in December 2004 and Mr. Howard resigned at the same time. Ms. Spencer left her position as controller in early 2005. The following year, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, then the company’s regulator, published an in-depth report on the company’s accounting practices, accusing Fannie’s top executives of taking actions to manipulate profits and generate $115 million in improper bonuses.


One more "Taxes need to be raised!(on other people)" celebrity:
Consider what Baldwin wrote in the Huffington Post four years ago in a piece he titled Tax Cuts and the Republican Legacy:

These tax cuts are not only to make Bush's wealthiest supporters richer, they are intended to hurt less powerful Americans by killing many of the social programs they depend on. That is the legacy of this Republican-controlled Congress. To hurt those who aren't wealthy enough to write Bush-Cheney a big check. I urge all Americans to keep that in mind during this election cycle. A Republican-controlled Congress is killing important social programs that we all depend on, so that Bush's friends can avoid paying a reasonable share of their taxes. ....

So, according to the News, Baldwin might be claiming residency in the Hamptons to evade New York City taxes. But four years ago, the "30 Rock" star encouraged people to give generously to Democrats in the midterm elections so that Republicans could be ousted from Congress and taxes raised.
As I recall, Baldwin was the jerk who went on a national show during the Clinton impeachment and said that in a proper country one of the people in charge of the impeachment AND HIS FAMILY would be dragged into the street and stoned to death.


Gee, so those nasty Israelis aren't actually the big obstacle to peace? Whoda thunk it.


Having had an actual nights sleep, I now have to go out and do some shopping, thus preventing the Security Staff from biting me for running out of their rations. Back later.

Only reason I'm posting on this is I'll forget to if I don't do it n ow

Huffman has a post that includes this on the subject of bullet penetration:
Penetration less than 12 inches is too little, and, in the words of two of the participants in the 1987 Wound Ballistics Workshop, "too little penetration will get you killed."
Sounds good. But it reminds me of something in the Ayoob book I read. Can't dig it out right now but it goes something like
Saying "A bullet HAS to penetrated 'X' inches as a minimum" has problems. Say you shoot an attacker with a .45; the bullet penetrates the chest, expands to about .65" and stops just under the skin of the back, stopping the attacker cold. According to the 'must penetrate at least' numbers that bullet is a failure because it 'only' penetrated 10.5 inches.

No deep thoughts right now, just something I was reminded of.

I mentioned I've been working part-time at the place

I retired from; has good points, but it's also been a very good reminder of why I was so glad to leave.

The other day was a good one: worked day shift, and about two hours before got off the supervisor called, the lady working hoot shift had car trouble and he didn't have anybody else to ask, could I double-back and work that shift? That means get off, go home, take care of some house stuff and dinner, get about two hours sleep and then back to it.

Only reason I'm still awake is so I can go to bed at a normal human hour to try to keep my systems somewhat sorted out.

"I didn't mean what I actually said;

why won't you believe me?" says been-in-DC-far-too-long Lugar.

Uncle pointed to a new blog

Gunpoliticsny.com. Good way to keep track of what crap is coming out of Bloomberg's brain, including this:

Mayor Bloomberg is giving his speech right now on his “major” gun control initiative. The main points are:

1. Enhanced background checks, get mental health records from states.
2. No private sales, bogus “gun show loophole.”

Plus:

He supports the McCarthy magazine bill.

He’s laying all the blame on Congress for not doing anything about his agenda. He also avoided trashing the NRA.

Ever notice how, if guns are in any way to be used as an excuse, these 'champions of individual rights' have no problem with 'turn all your medical records over to the cops to be searched'?

This sounds like Bob Fletcher should be prosecuted

for a number of things, starting with(not in any order of importance)
Just weeks into the new Ramsey County Sheriff administration, we finally know why former sheriff Bob Fletcher ignored Minnesota Data Practices requests for the 78 Terrorism Information Briefs he boasted about preparing and disseminating since 2005.

"They never existed," Randy Gustafson, the new public information officer for Sheriff Matt Bostrom, said in a telephone interview on January 19. "It is a very big lie."
view counter

But that's not the only thing Fletcher falsified in this 2009 budget report to the Ramsey County Board, according to Gustafson.
Continuing to
Olding, who left his post a week after Fletcher was gone, didn't respond to the Daily Planet's requests for an interview. His 2009 salary, according to this searchable database on the Pioneer Press website, was $92,380.52.

Just how that public money was spent, and exactly how many people worked underneath Olding, remains unknown.
and ending with this, which particularly caught my eye:
The previous administration didn't exactly make it easy for Gustafson to transition into his work with the public. When he got to his new office, there were no files, papers or outstanding records requests left for him to learn from.

"Inside of the office there were zero pieces of paper," he said.

As the days go on, the suspicious history they're unearthing is a bit of shock, Gustafson said.
This caught my attention due to past history; in my former career it came to our attention that it was common that a sheriff who lost his reelection bid would be followed out by some of the dispatchers and deputies, and they'd all steal or destroy records before they walked out. Not just personal stuff, but LE records on arrests, criminal history inquiry records, all kinds of official documentation. Sometimes just to be shitty because they lost, sometimes to hide things they'd done; extremely unprofessional at the least, criminal at the most. Still pisses me off to think about it, and I still think those who do such things should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. If Fletcher & Co. did this, that's exactly what should happen to them.

Ref Kevin's post on When Animals

Attack, Dad once told me of a day, when he was a kid, when a guy who'd been squirrel hunting came stumbling into town looking like he'd lost a fight with a lumbermill bandsaw. Somebody took him to the doctor, and after he was stitched up and bandaged the "What'n hell happened to you?" question was asked.

He'd been sitting under a tree when he heard leaves being shuffled to his rear. Carefully turned his head to see, and there was a bobcat cub playing in the leaves, and getting closer. "I've always wanted a bobcat to raise as a pet," thinks he, and when it got close enough he grabbed it.

It grabbed back. And wouldn't stop grabbing.

His final words on the subject were "Somebody tells you he can lick his weight in wildcats, you call him a damn liar, I couldn't even whoop a little one."

Why Canada is on the list of places I would not live

People firebomb your home while you're inside, you use a gun to run them off, and you get arrested. For a start.
His collection of seven guns, five pistols and two rifles was seized, along with his firearms licence. Mr. Thomson said he lives in fear that his attackers will return and has taken to arming himself with a fire extinguisher.
Which will do fuck-all good if the clowns come back. And, say, hit the house from two sides this time.
From the clowns at the Niagara Regional Police Service,
“If the public are wondering can you run out of your house and [fire a handgun at an intruder], the bottom line is, according to the laws of Canada, no, you can’t,” said Constable Nilan Dave of the Niagara Regional Police Service, which charged Mr. Thomson. “That’s why the courts are there, to give a person an opportunity to explain their actions.”
Hey, Constable JackassDave: people firebombing your home WITH YOU INSIDE is attempting murder; where the hell you get this 'at an intruder' crap, I have no damned idea. I'm sure you'd be happier if he'd simply sat inside waiting for you bastards to show up and save him, but since that might've involved his death, that's not really a good idea. No matter what you think, you worthless excuse for a lawman.

...will not support any Republican candidate during the primaries who attacks Palin

Hey, Stupid Party HQ and all 'R' people thinking of running for the Oval Office: you'd better pay attention to this.
Palin is not just another potential Republican candidate. Palin is someone who has endured attacks by the mainstream media, entertainment establishment, and left-blogosphere second to no one currently active in Republican politics.

Palin's political and economic survival under this assault is why Palin's supporters in the Republican Party are more motivated than those of any other potential candidate.

And it is why people like me, who currently are open-minded as to the field of potential candidates in the absence of knowing who will run, will not support any Republican candidate during the primaries who attacks Palin. (Yes, the Lombardi Rule still takes effect after the primaries are over.)
Whole thing here.

We keep getting closer and closer

to Hammer's Slammers

From the writings of Rep. Steve Cohen

via Iowahawk

And, to start off your weekend early,

Deer roping
and
The Attack Squirrel

Borrowed from Borepatch

We've all seen what happens when you combine crazy gun laws with possibly politically motivated government. A bunch of folks took this kind of personally. People have been asking what they can do.

TJIC himself has been pretty gracious about the whole thing, saying that he's in good shape (so far) and recommending that people toss another sawbuck in the plate on Sunday if they want to help the world out. Fine advice for all of us.

But +5 Insightful to Top Of The Chain, who brings a wicked smaht idea:

So last night after I buycotted a graphic novel from Heavy Ink, TJIC commented on the previous post with this.

Btw, if comic books aren't your thing, I own and run a second business: SmartFlix.com.

Sign up for Combat Pistol University

http://smartflix.com/store/video/6303/Combat-Pistol-University

... or Gunsmithing University:

http://smartflix.com/store/video/6614/Gunsmithing-University

...or one of the others:

http://smartflix.com/store/universities

So instead of entertaining yourself with the latest Spiderman, Batman, etc., you can get yourself some practical knowledge from a variety of subjects.

The idea isn't a boycott, it's a buycott - support business that you like. I look and see all sorts of shooty goodness there, including this:

oday the M1 is enjoying a resurgence as a long range match rifle through the DCM program and the recent availability of imported surplus rifles. If you own a M1 Garand or it's magazine fed brother the M1A you'll want this course so that you can truly understand how your rifle functions, be able to totally strip it and reassemble it down to the last part and perform basic repairs. You will even understand how that mysterious clip feed system works and how to adjust it. Improving accuracy is also discussed. The differences and similarities internally between the M1 and the M1A are shown in detail.

This video was added to our catalog on January 01, 2000 in Firearms::M-1 / Garand.

As you see, they're helpfully tagged for your browsing convenience. Other tags include AK-47 and 1911 (by God). And there's a nifty Amazon-like Wisdom-Of-Crowds thingie, which helpfully points out:

Customers who rented this DVD also rented

• Rediscovering The Old Ways: Fire
• Practical Shooting For IPSC & IDPA
• AK-47 Armorer's Course (covers AKS/MAK90/AK47)
• 3GM - Shooting Techniques of the Grand Masters
• Building The M1 Garand Rifle

So take a moment to browse over to SmartFlix. There may just be something there for you - if so, order it. Post it on your site.

And to the point of this post - let's drive so much business his way that Governor Patrick will want to break ground at the new SmartFlix World Headquarters.


The original here

Apparently Obama and the State Department are so in love

with the idea of communists taking over countries that they're STILL trying to get Zelaya back into Honduras. Like there's nothing better to worry about than pushing a small country to let a Castro wannabe back in to screw things up even more.


I think the Evil Party weenies are kind of panicked by the vote the repeal Obamacare, and it shows. I think it's not just the vote passing with a far greater margin than the vote to enact it, I think it's that a whole bunch of Stupid Party politicians actually held to their promise to have a vote and put everyone on the record; I think that scares hell out of the EP, and explains a lot of the "Thsi is just a gesture" and "It won't pass in the Senate so we won't even vote on it" noise. If Reid is so certain it won't pass and was actually worried about time, he'd just schedule the vote and get it done; if he's so confident the people actually love the bill he'd WANT the EP Senators to be on record voting for it again. That he's so solid on "I won't let it come to a vote" says he knows how ticked off people are about it and does NOT want EP Senators on the record as voting for it a second time.


Article on the revolt/revolution going on in Tunisia; one of the interesting things there is the same thing that's happened in other places, including Iran: the use of cell phones and internet to bypass the usual communication channels. You realize that we could help some revolutions go by putting some kind of phone repeater system up so the government could not cut these communications? Drive the tyrants nuts, wouldn't it?


Since the call for civility we have seen
A Democratic congressman compare republicans to Nazi’s and refuse to apologize at first then finally did.

A liberal talkshow host made oral sex jokes concerning the Republican Female Lt. gov of Wisconsin on the air.

A second lib talker fantasized on air about murdering Rush Limbaugh.

and on the Joy Behar show Sarah Palin was referred to as a Nazi and blamed her for the Tucson Massacre

We could go on but it’s kinda late as I’m writing this.


This is just too damned icky(I know, but the word fits) to deal with right now. But between a lot of idiots pretending to be parents and celebritutes like these being looked up to by kids, what do we expect?


Well, the only surprise here is it took this long; I'd imagine the investigators and prosecutors office were crapping bricks every time Dupnik opened his mouth.


BATFE once again decides to legislate. Because the Scary Black Shotgun doesn't meet someone's standard of 'sporting'.


Blackfive once wrote about his past experience with troops from different countries in bar fights, and said the Aussies were just plain bad news; that appears to be an understatement.
He was awarded a Medal for Gallantry in December 2006 for his courage under fire in Afghanistan's Chora Valley in the same battle in which Sergeant Matthew Locke, who was killed in action during 2007, won his MG. During that fight, according to comrades, "RS" tore a Taliban fighter off his back like an insect, stood on his throat and shot him dead.

By the time the battle was over about 60 Taliban lay dead from small arms fire, hand-to-hand combat and close air support.
He's about to receive the Victoria Cross for more recent actions.


Yeah, he was screaming "You must die!" and chopping the door down because he just wanted to scare him. Yeah. In most of the US, outside of the PRs, Mr. I Want To Scare You would've assumed ambient temperature due to severe ballistic poisoning; wonder what'll happen to him if convicted? For that matter, while I believe that arms ownership is heavily regulated in Denmark, no idea what level of freedom you have to use one in self-defense; so if he'd had a firearm, would this be a (fG)British-level 'shoot the man trying to kill you and you'll go to jail' situation?


From Jay G on the situation in the PROM:
Second thought: I've actually had folks e-mail me about this same sort of scenario. "Aren't you afraid your opinions will get you in trouble in MA?" It's something I've struggled with, because as the above story shows, they can - and will - revoke your ability to legally exercise your Second Amendment rights for exercising your First Amendment rights. I expect the ACLU to be all over this case any time now - if this is not a clear and egregious example of the government infringing on this man's First (and Second) Amendment rights, then we have no rights in this country.
...
There's that "suitability" again. For any reason whatsoever, the licensing authority in your town of residence can decide that you are no longer suitable and revoke your MA LTC. You will have to surrender your firearms, handing them over to an FFL who will most likely charge you for the service until you can find suitable homes for them. At best you can apply for an FID card which will allow you to own shotguns and low-capacity long arms - those are "shall issue" - but any handguns and "high capacity" semi-automatic rifles are gone (and some folks consider the Ruger 10/22 to be a "high capacity" rifle).

They point to his blog postings as evidence that he is unsuitable - hogwash. What he wrote is distasteful to some - advocating the assassination of members of Congress immediately following a senseless shooting is in poor taste IMHO - but it's not treason. It's not inciting violence - he does not advocate the shooting of congress critters, he makes (what I assume to be) a tongue-in-cheek assessment that care needs to be taken to avoid collateral damage. It's in poor taste, that's for certain - but a threat? Hardly. There's nothing threatening involved.


Back to the subject of abortion; was looking at other posts at Borepatch and ran into this:
So determined are they to have a girl that they recently terminated twin boys conceived through IVF. The couple said it was a traumatic decision but that continuing to have unlimited numbers of children was not an option.

If their test case fails, they said they will go to the US to conceive a girl.

The couple, who cannot be identified, conceived three boys naturally.

The woman, in her thirties, said she loved her sons but would do anything to have a daughter. She admitted she was obsessed with having a daughter and that it had become vital to her psychological health.

The man said, "After what we have been through, we are due for a bit of luck. We want to be given the opportunity to have a girl."
I'm going to pass on the other things I could say; for now I'll just note
You DID 'have the opportunity', asshole; nature and your combined genetics said "No". That you're willing to keep getting pregnant and keep aborting those nasty boys until you get what you want...


And finally, where would you think a forecast like this might come from?
Temperature
3 in 10 chance of a mild start
3 in 10 chance of an average start
4 in 10 chance of a cold start

Precipitation 3 in 10 chance of a wet start
3 in 10 chance of an average start
4 in 10 chance of a dry start

Summary: There is an increased risk for a cold and wintry start to the winter season.

Looking further ahead beyond this assessment there are some indications of an increased risk of a mild end to the winter season.

If you thought this
you'd be wrong.

A couple of state Senators had words for the COP and

councilmen on their calls for registration; including that it would be really nice if the COP worried more about catching illegal aliens, like the one who used a AR15 to shoot an officer a while back, instead of wanting to screw with honest people who own such firearms. Which sounds like a good idea.

I would also note, for Chief Citty and the Councilmen, that an illegal alien CANNOT LEGALLY BUY A FIREARM OF ANY KIND, so even if their registration idea was law it wouldn't have stopped him since he got the thing illegally anyway.

Of course, that would mean dealing with inconvenient facts that don't support what they want to do, so I doubt they'll pay attention to it.

In the PROM*, as the commenter says,

...with Freedom and Liberty for All.*


*Offer does not apply in MA.




This is among the reasons why 'may issue' and letting the local LE head have complete say over who can and can't have(or keep) a firearms license of any kind is garbage.


*To those who may not have seen it before, People's Republic of Massachusetts . Also works for Maryland which is at least as much a hellhole for people who actually believe in those founding documents.

In which Japete demonstrates, once again, that facts

really don't matter to her. And her friends & minions.
I am just amazed that you guys are trying to rewrite commonly held American views on what happened during the awful period with the KKK and civil rights.
'Commonly held views'. She doesn't dispute the facts(I guess she's grown tired of having her ass handed to her when she does), she's seriously bent out of shape because the facts pointed out don't match up with the 'commonly held views' she wants to push.

Whole thing here, found thanks to Robb


By the way, didn't Condoleeza Rice mention her father keeping loaded guns handy to keep the night riders away? Of course, that would 'alarm' Japete horribly if you brought up

Further reason why NPR should be defunded

Borrowing from Tam's post,
As it turns out, prior to the show, a blogger of my acquaintance received the following email:

From: Matthew Baskin mdbaskin@gmail.com
To: XXXX
Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 1:32:22 PM
Subject: NPR show On Point needing progressive gun guest

Hi Mr. Blogger,

My name is Matthew Baskin and I work for the NPR program On Point with Tom Ashbrook. I’m writing to ask if you’d be able to speak as a guest on Monday, January 17. We’re looking for a gun owner and 2nd Amendment supporter who is not opposed to the forthcoming McCarthy bill re: limiting magazine capacity. I’d be very grateful if you could put me in touch with any gun owner who is not opposed to regulation. Let me know if anyone comes to mind. Thanks very much.

Best,
Matthew Baskin

Which just goes to point out the Totally Unbiased nature of the debate.
Not looking for opposing views, not for any kind of real debate, oh no, they ONLY want a gun owner and 2nd Amendment supporter who is not opposed to the forthcoming McCarthy bill.

And, of course, no mention that it would also ban a lot of firearms, including antiques; that would not fit the narrative.

I'm wondering if the cold has frozen some brain cells(that they really can't spare)

in some people? It might explain some things. For instance,
A bit back, Congressman Steve Cohen was going on about getting a carry permit after the Tucson shooting. Now, he’s actually sponsoring the ban on standard capacity magazines. Also, he likens those that support repeal of Obamacare to Nazis. This guy’s fun to watch.
I guess he wants a carry permit but one that'll only allow substandard-capacity mags. And he didn't get the "You're not supposed to talk that way" memo, either.
Speaking of which, there needs to be a "You should not change what I actually said, especially when people actually KNOW what I said" memo:
The New York Times did this earlier, deleting Obama's line about whether incivil debate caused the Tucson shooting -- "It did not," Obama said, fairly directly, contradicting the New York Times' Narrative.
...
And now High Priestess of Advanced Dementia With Paranoid Complex Joan Walsh of Salon is pressed into the great duty of fixing her god's words so they agree with the prophecy.

Here's what Obama actually said:


Ah, MTV: no music videos except for very late night/early morning, and now this. As if another reason was needed not to watch it.


I don't write much on the subject of abortion. Whatever way you think on it, it should be a basic standard that clinics and doctors that perform them have to meet the standards for conduct, cleanliness, etc.; apparently PA didn't really care about those things:
The only exception to this live-and-let-die policy was supposed to be for complaints dumped directly on the department’s doorstep. Those, at least, could be investigated. Except that there were complaints about Gosnell, repeatedly. Several different attorneys, representing women injured by Gosnell, contacted the department. A doctor from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia hand-delivered a complaint, advising the department that numerous patients he had referred for abortions came back from Gosnell with the same venereal disease. The medical examiner of Delaware County informed the department that Gosnell had performed an illegal abortion on a 14-year-old girl carrying a 30-week-old baby. And the department received official notice that a woman named Karnamaya Mongar had died at Gosnell’s hands.

Yet not one of these alarm bells – not even Mrs. Mongar’s death – prompted the department to look at Gosnell or the Women’s Medical Society. Only after the raid occurred, and the story hit the press, did the department choose to act. Suddenly there were no administrative, legal, or policy barriers; within weeks an order was issued to close the clinic. And as this grand jury investigation widened, department officials “lawyered up,” hiring a high-priced law firm to represent them at taxpayer expense. Had they spent as much effort on inspection as they did on attorneys, none of this would have happened to begin with.
This is disgusting stuff.


Speaking of disgusting, Rep. McCarthy's new gun/magazine ban bill includes some little surprises, like

We have the final language of the McCarthy Bill, as introduced in Congress. A key aspect to this proposed law, which I have not touched on before, is perhaps the most important aspect of it:

(v)(1)(A)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), it shall be unlawful for a person to transfer or possess a large capacity ammunition feeding device.

The law begins with the default presumption that it is illegal to possess a “large capacity ammunition feeding device.” That you possessed the magazine prior to the ban would be an affirmative defense to the charge in court that you possessed a magazine with 11 rounds or more. You could be arrested and charged for possessing one, and be forced to prove in court that you owned it prior to the ban.
...
Remember when they call for “common ground,” and “common sense,” they want you in prison. They are at the height of their disingenuousness when they use this kind of language in the debate. If I were a lawyer, and I was your lawyer, I’d suggest the safe thing to do is throw all your magazines that hold 11 rounds or more in a river, along with your Henry Rifles, if you wanted to be completely safe from prosecution persecution in the even this bill were, God forbid, to actually pass.
And I've no doubt McCarthy would love to see people in prison simply for not being able to double-solid-swear-PROVE they owned a magazine before this piece of crap went through.

And please note that yes, this would ban a lot of rifles such as the Henry(the originals as well as reproductions), which is- from the gun bigot point of view- an 'improvement' on the Clinton AWB.


Ah, the wonders of the People's Republic of MA: the COP can suspend your firearms license because
Police Captain Robert Bongiorno said that Corcoran’s firearms license was suspended on the grounds of “suitability,’’ pending the results of an investigation into whether a comment Corcoran allegedly made online was intended as a threat in reference to the Jan. 8 shooting in Arizona that left six people dead and 13 wounded.


Eeek. This is a nasty flaw indeed, Kel-Tec better fix it fast.


More later, I need food.

Well, bleep

This will be at the level of the Maunder Minimum of 1675 -1715.

This would NOT be good

Awww, it's so cute

when they have babies

Oh HELL yes

Well, if Rep. Jackson Lee isn't the dumbest,

she's definitely in the running. Jeez, what a load of fertilizer.

However you stand on the Obama birth certificate stuff,

this does not help matters.
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie suggested in an interview published today that a long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate for Barack Obama may not exist within the vital records maintained by the Hawaii Department of Health.

Abercrombie told the Honolulu Star Advertiser he was searching within the Hawaii Department of Health to find definitive vital records that would prove Obama was born in Hawaii, because the continuing eligibility controversy could hurt the president's chances of re-election in 2012.

Donalyn Dela Cruz, Abercrombie's spokeswoman in Honolulu, ignored again today another in a series of repeated requests made by WND for an interview with the governor.
As I recall, Abercrombie said a while back that he'd seen the original birth certificate; now this?

About that 'more friendly language' in politics,

would help if these clowns actually believed in it.
That photoshopped image ran in a Hispanic newspaper in Georgia and depicts our newly elected governor as Hitler. Of course the governor is Republican and the article quotes a Democrat state lawmaker. Seems they ain't too happy with Mr Deal's position on illegal immigrants.

Take a minute today and call/write your Senators and Rep

and ask them to look into what Codrea has been calling Project Gunwalker. I've mentioned it before, but the problem is greater now(as if' that's possible) because at least some of the Senators contacted just don't seem too interested, which is disgusting.

More at Sipsey Street, where Senators Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Charles Grassley of Iowa are specifically named as being contacted, and, well,
Folks, this has been a frustrating morning. Senate staffers who have been completely briefed on the Project Gunwalker scandal over the last few weeks are deliberately not answering their phones. Others, including Charlie Harmon, the chief of staff of Saxby Chambliss, the U.S. Senator from Georgia, told one of his constituents, "We're on it." Yet, when pressed about the urgency of the matter, said "these guys need to get a lawyer."

No, Charlie, right now they need a Senator with a spine and a pair to do his damn job. The agents need a Senator to COME TO THEM. There are ongoing investigations, the main thrust of which, in my opinion, is to cover up the circumstances of Project Gunwalker and the death of Border Patrol agent Terry. To volunteer to go to the press during an ongoing investigation can end their careers or put them in jail themselves. Yet some are willing to do so, if forced by the inaction of your elected senators and representatives. The tools that the agency, Main Justice and the White House have at their disposal to shut these agents up are many and powerful. These guys need whistleblower protection NOW.

So Kevin had words with a socialist(who probably calls herself

a good liberal) and conversation ensues. Go read. I'll just point to one particular bit:
We elect the people whom we believe to be the most competent, people who are supposed to have our best interests in mind (ideally), and we elect them so that they may govern the masses.
?
Bleep.
Lady, Deity-DAMNED if I've ever voted for someone to 'govern the masses'; I elect someone who's supposed to represent me. People who want to govern in that way want to rule us, and us nasty conservative/libertarian types do not hold with that. It makes us think of tar, feathers and ropes.

Have you noticed that wen an awful lot of liberals defend Sarah

Palin, they can't simply say "What you're doing is wrong" or something of the sort? Nooo, they have to throw in all kinds of caveats and "She's stupid and a Republican" crap to note just what good liberals or progressives or whatever they are, but they're above the nastiness enough to defend her anyway.

I'd have a lot more respect for them if they could simply say "Hey, blaming her for 'X' is incorrect, and idiotic and just wrong" and stop there.

What's that line somebody came up with, "Palin isn't a politician, she's a Rorschach blot"?

I'm going to start this with one of the more pisses-me-off things

I've seen in a while: at the MLK Day observance, the NAACP just had to show its contemptThat's George Washington they couldn't stand to look at.


Don't know about you, but I don't generally drink that much whiskey at a time; I have this problem with unconsciousness and alcohol poisoning.


Besides the fact that NOBODY should hold an office for that long, one of the changes I want to see is a bill proposed to end all pensions for members of the House and Senate, and no pension for the President; you want to stay in office, you should not forever get a pension paid for by the public for having stayed there.


Theo had this posted:
Ever seen anything like that before?


Well, Mumbles, got news for you: 'fine young man' and 'poor judgement' do not go together with 'dealing drugs while working for the Mayor'.


Damn. Hope somebody takes the critter in.


No. NO. HELL NO.
Federalized security screening at airports has been such a success that President Obama wants to apply the same government "expertise" to the realm of online commerce and commentary. The White House cybersecurity adviser joined Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Jan. 7 to announce what amounts to a national ID card for the Internet.
A: Anybody who says the TSA and airport screening is a sales recommendation is a moron.
B: I want the GOVERNMENT to control my access?
C: The chances for abuse are scary as hell.


And last, a slightly different viewpoint on 'fascism' vs. 'communism':

Comrades! This cat was troubled for a while by the question of why do we, the Progressives, despise Fascism, even though it is so similar to Communism. True, many of the rank-and-file members of our glorious community are too busy raising awareness to educate themselves on the details of what they are denouncing. But the community organizers ought to know — and yet, Fascism is recognized as an evil regime. This seemed unfair until suddenly I understood...

Fascism is evil — a "cheap imitation" — because it does not go far enough. Indeed, although not a free marKKKet, it still leaves much industry and commerce in the private hands (even if those are the hands of government cronies). This makes it nicely inefficient economically (and thus producing less light- and noise-pollution), but nowhere near as great as Communism.

And I do now have a new pc; much faster than the old. And looks like I had the important stuff backed up(yay!) and what wasn't won't be too much of a pain to put back together.

River rescue as sex toy ditches rider

That got your attention, didn't it?
A bizarre decision to ride an inflatable doll down a flood-swollen Yarra River blew up in a woman's face yesterday when she lost her latex playmate in a rough patch.

The incident prompted a warning from police that blow-up sex toys are "not recognised flotation devices''.
Ya think maybe?

Bleep.

Bleeping bleep-of-a-bleep.

Go read. And Sergeant Blanton? We ever meet, I'll buy drinks.

City Councilmen Sam Bowman and Pete White: proof that gun bigots

reside in Oklahoma, too:
Oklahoma City councilman Sam Bowman made it clear at Tuesday's city council meeting where he stands on gun control. He favors it. Especially when it comes to assault rifles like the kind used last summer in an ambush that wounded city police officer Katie Lawson.

Bowman's stance and applause for Police Chief Bill Citty's call for registration of assault rifles got councilman Brian Walters standing up for the 2nd amendment. "I wanta commend our chief for not only the courage to step forward on this but to make such a statement," proclaimed Bowman who called them knock off military M-16 type rapid fire assault guns. "There's no place for that kind of weapon in our civil communities."
By the way, Chief Citty is the clown who announced a couple of years ago that he wants tighter rules and regulations on the sale of firearms and the registration of those firearms," Citty said.

Oh, but it's not an attack on the 2nd, oh no:
Bowman contended he's not attacking the 2nd amendment. "I would hope this would have nothing to do with the argument about 2nd amendment rights to bear arms. It's not about the right to own a weapon to protect your own home."
I'm very sure you HOPE it's not seen as the attack it is, but we see what you're doing and saying. And note the new goalpost: the right to own a weapon to protect your own home. "No, it's not an attack on the 2nd Amendment, it's just wanting to change what it means."

As to White,
City Councilman Pete White supported Bowman and Chief Citty. "Chief Citty needs to be complimented for the courage that it took to even bring that up," he said in referring to Citty's weekend comments calling for registration of such assault rifles.
So we've got a police chief and two councilmen who're first-class gun bigots who don't think we should be allowed to own guns that scare them, but will settle(for now) for registration.

I think we need a new COP and some new councilmen at the next election.

Speech and anti-gun astroturf, all in one post

First, words for all the lefties decrying nasty speech:
Last week, the left quickly blamed the right for the national tragedy of a shooting spree by a madman who never watched Fox News, never listened to Rush Limbaugh and likely did not know who Sarah Palin is.

Fortunately, the American public rejected out of hand that idiotic notion that the right was responsible.

Rather than apologize, the left wants to change the tone of the political debate.

The left suddenly wants civil discourse.

Bite me.

The left wants to play games of semantics.

Bite me.

The left wants us to be civil — after being so uncivil for a decade.

Bite me.
...
Lefties were too busy celebrating the 2008 election to listen.

When people protested lefties made vulgar remarks about tea-bagging and giggled.

So screw you and your civil discourse.

I don’t want to hear it.

I have been screamed at for 10 years.

It’s my turn now. I am not going to scream back. But I refuse to allow anyone to dictate what I say or how I say it. I refuse to allow the same foul-mouthed, foul-spirited foul people who dumped on me to now try to tell me what I may or may not say.

My free speech matters more than the feelings of anyone on the left. You don’t like what I say? Tough.
As they say, read the whole thing.


As to the astroturf, remember the American Hunters and Shooters Assn.? That was a front group for Helmke & Co.?
The answer, would obviously be this person is not an unknown blogger, but a false flag; someone flying under the banner of being pro-Second Amendment while in truth being no such thing. Google shows the truth:

So it would seem that Tracee Larson is previously associated with the false flag operation American Hunters and Shooters Association. This woman has no credibility as a pro-gun spokesman, and it’s quite likely the NPR interviewers are aware of that. It’s also likely that perhaps Helmke either got to pick his opponents here, or it was arranged to be softball interview. What better people to use on the pro-gun side than Bob Levy, who endorses magazine restrictions, and Tracee Larson, who is an AHSA shill flying a false flag.

Had a chance to shoot a new something today

a Marlin 39A lever-action .22. Similar to this picture of the new production


Differences:
Owner believes is is a 1950's production
No checkering
Missing front sight hood
And at some point a previous owner installed a Lyman receiver sight, one with target adjustment knobs.
Ok, just found a much more similar picture:
This one had most of its bluing intact, and from the marks either wasn't used much or was very well-cared-for; the action was actually a touch tight still. That long barrel & mag tube would probably make Rep. McCarthy soil her undies, as it holds, as I recall 18 .22lr cartridges; that's a lot of levering to empty it. And see that knob on the side of the receiver? Unscrew it and the rifle separates, the action coming apart in left & right sides(left holds the bolt, right holds the lever & trigger & stock). Very tight lockup, no wiggle at all.

This was indoors at H&H this morning, so not the most helpful of rest & lighting for trying to check grouping, but if I did my part it kept all of two magazines worth in a 3" bull at 30 yards, what it'll do from a solid rest with better light would be interesting. I love aperture sights, and I become more fond of them with every passing year, the one on this was a compact unit that didn't spoil the lines and gave a very nice way to aim.

I would love to grab it and run like hell borrow such for further testing; maybe I'll get the chance later. A fine old rifle, it was.

The electric car future?

In its obsessive desire to promote the virtues of electric cars, the BBC proudly showed us last week how its reporter Brian Milligan was able to drive an electric Mini from London to Edinburgh in a mere four days – with nine stops of up to 10 hours to recharge the batteries (with electricity from fossil fuels).
I'll let you read the piece for the 1830's tech that beats that time; my own comment is:
I checked, and London to Edinburgh is 332 miles, roughly the distance from my house to a friend's house in Waco, TX. In my truck, doing a little over 60 for best mileage, I can make that trip in 5-6 hours(depending on how often I stop to get rid of excess liquid or if I stop at Cabela's on the way). So the electric Mini took FOUR FREAKIN' DAYS, with NINE refueling stops... And let's note that the vaunted windmill 'green' energy isn't much available(especially when it's really cold) so they're still dependant on coal, oil, gas or nuke plants for electricity; but they still think these battery-powered roller skates are the future?

I've said it before, I'd love to find some fuel or form of energy generation that would make the oil ticks once again the lords of nothing more than the world's biggest litter box, but we ain't got it yet. And windmills and other 'green' energy(since the eco-jerks refuse to even consider nukes green) won't make up what we need, whether they like to admit it or not.

Bleah. I've got to go computer shopping, among other things. In a vehicle that uses gas but won't need refueling during the running around.

Attention Guardian: the only possible response

is 'No. HELL no. And screw you.'

Free speech can’t exist unchained. US politics needs the tonic of order<>

Didn’t guys named “Benito” and “Adolph” say much the same thing in the last century?
Why yes, they did. I think Lenin and Stalin & Co. were big on it, too.

You want some really good EUnuch values?
Foreigners are always surprised by the US's capacity to speak right but somehow not do it. Washington must contain more wisdom and talent than anywhere on earth, yet it contrives the disaster zone that is American foreign policy. This is normally put down to such impediments as the US constitution, the silent majority, sheer bigness and freedom of speech.

Today's culprit is freedom of speech, or at least the speech of the American right and its broadcast cheerleaders.
Let's put it more bluntly: fuck you, you statist asshole. That Constitution you hold in such low regard, we're rather fond of it and part of the reason is the restrictions it places on the government, which is why we- unlike you- still have actual freedom of speech. Of course, YOU consider that a bug, not a feature.

Free speech is a Hobbesian jungle. It requires a marketplace where the trade in information, ideas and opinion has a framework of rules, including rules that maintain fair and open competition. Most will be voluntary, but others need enforcement.
Translation: we should, like the Brits, have government censors telling us what speech is allowable.

I repeat: Screw you, Jenkins, and your little dreams of government control of speech.