The Brass Catcher, Part II

Because I tried the one I made for the Carbine, and it worked.  Reasonably.  But it needed to be a bit bigger to work well on the Garand.  So:

Started with the same stuff, 1/16" spring wire*.  Used the same basic design as the Carbine catcher: the box is longer, and the arms are longer and fit further down on the forend.
The wire, shaped

 How it looks naked

 After lacing some netting to it

Using one piece of wide velcro over the legs to stabilize them, and two velcro straps to hold it in place; worked well on the both rifles so far, and with the longer arms on this one(more distance between straps) should be more stable.

Actually, looking at things, I could probably make the Carbine version with the box a little shorter.  However, right now I'm not going to mess with it.  And hopefully can try the Garand version out soon.


*Back when I was smithing I picked up a number of ten-foot pieces of this stuff from my favorite salvage yard; it's been handy for a whole lot of things.  Springs, awls, small screwdrivers and so on.

Not appetizing,

especially for a Sunday morning, but what happens when you get careless:
Found at RS McCain

And no, no idea what the sniper used.


Yeah, interesting map.  With the usual PC crap added.
The next largest grouping of people in the United States by ancestry are those who claim to be English-American.
Predominantly found in the Northwest and West, the number of people directly claiming to be English-American has dropped by 20 million since the 1980 U.S. Census because more citizens have started to identify themselves as American.
With another dose of that:
The surprising number of people across the nation claiming to have American ancestry is due to them making a political statement, or because they are simply uncertain about their direct descendants. Indeed, this is a particularly common feature in the south of the nation, where political tensions between those who consider themselves original settlers and those who are more recent exist.
Translation: "If you don't call yourself a '-American', you're making a political statement or don't know where you came from."
Reply: 'Screw you, Jerreat, you PC-brained bigoted twit.'
Let's see, what hyphenated-American should I call myself?  The Cherokee, or Scot, or English, or Irish?  Answer is, I don't:  I AM American.  And you can kiss my ass.

You'll notice there's not listing for Scots, either. 


On September 18 USA Today, in a front page story, reported the following: "Newly uncovered IRS documents show the agency flagged political groups based on the content of their literature, raising concerns specifically about 'anti-Obama rhetoric,' inflammatory language and 'emotional' statements made by non-profits seeking tax-exempt status."
Not only have ABC, CBS and NBC not reported this story they've flat out stopped covering the IRS scandal on their evening and morning shows. It's been 85 days since ABC last touched the story on June 26. NBC hasn't done a report for 84 days and CBS last mentioned the IRS scandal 56 days ago on July 24.
But we're supposed to trust
This agency, and the ones who won't do anything about this, and
The news media that don't bother with reporting this.


I repeat: our President and John Effing Kerry want to give arms and air support to the associates of these people.


Are .gov schools a form of child abuse?  Looks like it.


A racially-inspired islam-connected attempted mass murder... not exactly big news to the major media, is it?

And that's all I've got for now.

Why are schools gone to hell? Largely because of the idiots in charge of them

A 12-year-old boy was suspended from a Coventry middle school after his parents said he brought a small gun keychain to school.
Joseph Lyssikatos said the keychain was in his backpack at Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School on Thursday when it fell out. A classmate picked it up and started showing it to other students.
A teacher confiscated it and before Joseph knew it, he was suspended.
Because screwing kids around on crap like this is evidently far more important than, y'know, teaching.
According to data provided by the state Department of Education, only 68% of students in Joseph’s class are “proficient” in math.  Just 26% achieved “proficient with distinction” on the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) tests conducted last year.

Howzabout suspending a bunch of school brass and 'teachers' from their pay until the scores go up?

“Having a tactical vehicle will not only provide warrants execution

with the equipment to assist in performing their jobs but will provide an overall safety arch,” Suell reportedly wrote to commissioners.
Because Dallas County So REALLY needs a MRAP to serve warrants.

Honest.


At this point, my first thought is "If you're stupid enough to use this stuff, then go somewhere and die where you won't mess with anyone else during the process." 
I'm seriously sick of farging morons who'll do anything to get high.


And what is YOUR PTA up to when you're not looking?


I don't want to hear one more outraged word from Democrats about people of different opinions being 'uncivil'.


Last for the morning, it needs to be made plain to those clowns in Sodom on the Potomac that the day they try this is the day lampposts start acquiring decorations.

The results have been interesting,

so the data gathering will continue

Gabriel Gomez, one more "I support the 2nd Amendment, BUT-"

politician.
“To the professional political critics, I simply offer this: volunteer for the Navy or for the other armed services, successfully go through SEAL or other special forces training,” he offers. “Then you will be fully qualified and prepared to fire as many assault weapons with unlimited high capacity magazines as you desire.”
Screw you, Gomez.  Same thing I've said about McCain: for your service, thank you.  That service does NOT mean you get away with this kind of Only Ones™ garbage.

And he's from the PROM; surprise, surprise.

And our President wants to give weapons and air support

to the friends and compatriots of the walking garbage that did this.

But don't worry, John Effing Kerry will see that they only go to the terrorist groups he vets as being 'not a problem'.

Keith is a commenter from across the pond,

and left something in the post noting 10% of Brit court cases being "You don't have your television license!".  I'm going to borrow parts of it:
They come in a series of about 4 letters, and begin with the BS that an investigation has been started, then threatening a house search - to see if I can receive live TV broadcasts, then telling me what I can expect in court.
A house search.  In case you have a TV and no license.

No tv?  You're safe?
In Ireland, the dot guv has been trying to force everyone to buy a TV license on the basis that they might want to watch RTE (their profligate state propaganda broadcaster - just as unionized and full of job demarcations and other restrictive practices as the BBC) on a computer or a phone.
"Well, you have a phone, don't you?  A computer?  HA!  Then you might watch a program, and you must buy a license!"

And, even more scary
...and there isn't a tv to be seen, plus they have my internet records...

How screwed it Britain?

Not sure if this is just plain idiotic, or downright scary, or both.
The court did not have much time to hear his case, or anyone else’s. That day, 560 others would have been prosecuted for not paying their dues to the BBC. Now it has risen to 700 a day, accounting for an extraordinary one in ten of English court cases.
Ten percent of court cases.  For not paying off the BBC...


At this point I don't think Reid's just rabidly partisan, I think he's also freaking nuts.
When the Senate held a non-binding test vote on repeal last March, the vote was 79 to 20. The majority favoring repeal included all 45 of the Senate's Republicans and 34 Democrats. The Democratic opposition to the tax was particularly notable given that three years earlier Democrats voted unanimously to impose it.

So Reid would not reject a repeal provision if the House attaches it to the continuing resolution, right? Wrong. At a news conference today, Reid simultaneously denounced the tax — he quite pointedly called it "stupid" — and pledged that he and his fellow Democrats would fight an effort to repeal it in the continuing resolution.
There was something in the news about a year ago, a bunch of Democrats from states where businesses make medical devices went pleading to The Lightbringer to carve out some exemption, because they'd finally realized what this idiocy was going to do to those employers in their states.  Now a LOT of them are realizing how it'll hit the makers and everybody who needs the stuff; but Reid...   This count as Hope! or Change!! ?


Also from the slimy bastards in Congress, "We don't want to be treated like the commoners, we demand special treatment!"


Translation: "We tell Assad 'You must do this!', and if he doesn't we'll shake our fingers at him and use Stern Language."
At this point Assad and Putin have finished tearing up the lawn and are raiding the garage at the White House.


So Elijah Cummings is willing to literally have blood on his hands.  Hey, but getting Issa and anyone around him killed wouldn't have been a big deal right?  He's a Republican, and the people around would've fallen into the  'making omelet' category, right?

Sportsman's Guide is having an ammo giveaway

over here.

That New York cop stealing the pro-2nd sign? Link in 3rd piece fixed

The city's claiming 'public property'. Lawyer calls bullcrap and speaks of suit.
When asked about the manner in which the officer caught on camera removed the sign, kicking it and snapping its post, Murphy was slightly evasive.
 
“I did ask the police chief if there was any damage to the sign and he said no,” she said, but later admitted that the “support beam” may have been slightly damaged as the officer tried to loosen it.
Uh huh.


Hell, we knew that when he screwed the Poles and Czechs on the missile-defense systems to make Putin happy.


Alice Robb is a tool; and, far as parents of boys are concerned, part of the enemy.


Speaking of the enemy, it's confirmed: the kids were on private property, NOT at the bus stop.  And the school threw them out anyway.  Everyone involved in this decision should be named in the suit.
And note this:
... The children were suspended for possession, handling and use of a firearm. On Tuesday, that offense was changed by school officials to possession, handling and use of an airsoft gun.
"We'll just change the charges around until we find something we think we can sell."
And when the HELL did it become the business of a school to charge kids for what's owned AT HOME?


Amazing what War on Drugs bastards will use as an excuse to throw privacy out the window, isn't it?

More moments in history

As in "They just found this in bloody ITALY, but we're supposed to believe we know all about the past?"

And pyramids?  In Italy?  Yep.

I repeat: there is so much we don't know, haven't found, and that's in a settled country with- in historical terms- modern history.  What the bleep don't we know, will never know, about the really distant past?

Range day, M1 cast bullet experimenting

In my ongoing(slowly, but going) experiment with cast bullets in the Garand, today I was able to hit the outdoor range and try some things.

In lots of digging around for information, what I've found is that most Garands operate best with heavier cast bullets, 180-220 grains.  Yeah, some of you are screaming right now, but let me cover this:

The Garand was designed around 150-grain ball at ~2800fps.  Cast bullets, including with gas checks, are a LOT softer than that standard jacketed bullet, and you're driving it at a lot lower velocity.  So you can go to that heavy a bullet without putting strain on the system.  What you have to do is juggle a few things(in no order of importance):
Bullet diameter
Bullet velocity
Gas port pressure
Standard bore for the M1 is .308; with cast bullets you normally size them at least .001" larger than the bore, depending on the particular gun and bullet/powder you might go up to .003" larger. 
You cannot push a cast bullet anywhere near as fast as a jacketed.  So you need enough pressure to make the bullet perform without pushing it too fast.
With a gas-operated rifle, if you want the action to cycle there has to be enough pressure at the gas port to do the job.  Which is where the general Garand rule 'No bullets above 180 grains, no powder slower-burning than 'X'* allowed; violate either of those and you wind up with port pressure being too high, and you can wind up bending the operating rod.  Bad enough on its' own, and can damage other things.

My original try was using the same 150-grain flatpoint bullets I load for .30-30.  It took 35.0 grains of IMR4895 powder to make the action cycle reliably.  Worked great, reasonable accuaracy but nothing to get excited about; good enough for shooting at the indoor range(30 yards) when couldn't get to the outdoor.  So over time I've fiddled with some different bullet weights and diameters.  A while back I picked up a Lee mold to throw a 30-caliber 200-grain gas-check bullet, and finally got around to casting some and making up two groups:
One sized to .309 and lubed with whatever I had in the sizing press(Lyman Gold in this case), and
One sized .311 and lubed with Lee Liquid Alox.
Different lubes because the largest sizing die I have for the Lyman press is .309, and I have a Lee .311 die setup that fits on the loading press.

The starting recommendation I read was 30.0 grains of IMR4895 and work up from there. 

Some testing at H&H gave me some results to work with: 30 grains will cycle the action far enough to eject the empty, not enough to pick up the next round, for one, and probably the .311 bullet will work best.  Put some together with 31 grains, and it chambered the next round sometimes, but didn't know if due to not quite enough energy or possibly the brass catcher dragging on the op rod(I hate losing brass**) So today took a set of loads out to try at 50 yards with a nice, solid bench:
HXP brass, 31.0 grains, .309
Federal brass, same powder and bullet
HXP brass, 31.5 grains, .311
Federal brass, same
And, just to try, some Korean PS brass with the 31.0 and .309 bullet.

Results:
This rifle doesn't care for Federal brass, at least with cast bullets.
The PS worked a bit better, but nothing wonderful.
Rifle likes HXP brass.  A lot.
Rifle also likes the .311 bullet diameter.
31.5 will sometimes fully cycle the action, usually for the last 4-5 rounds
The scope I'm using runs 1/4" per click at 100 yards for adjustments; at 50 yards it took 32 clicks elevation to bring the groups from about 3" low to even with the bull.  Not surprising, velocity is a good 800fps*** or more below that of ball.  And- as I've seen in other rifles- the cast bullets hit a bit to the right.

Here's the HXP/31.0  load

Here's the HXP/31.5

Especially with me shooting, not bad at all.  I'm going to up the charge by 0.5 grain in the next batch, I think that'll give enough pressure to reliably cycle the action, and should still have the bullet moving at safe(as in 'no nasty fouling') cast velocities.

Next time I'll hopefully be able to set up the Chrony, and will shoot at 100 yards.  I'm looking forward to it.

And, to forestall a question, I just wiped the bore with a couple of damp patches(with the homebrew CLP) and there's no sign of lead fouling.  I'll pull the gas cylinder later and check the piston.




*I can't remember that offhand, and I'm too lazy and tired to go look it up.
**I used the catcher I made for the M1 Carbine; works, but would need to be made a bit differently to fit the Garand properly.  I've got a free-standing one I made for the outdoor range that avoids that.
***No chance to chrono the loads; the range was BUSY today.

It's only 'rewriting the history' if the history

wasn't known before.
Archaeologist and professor Martti Pärssinen from the University of Helsinki has made a sensational find: he found signs of a unknown ancient civilisation in the Amazonian area, unearthing several unique artefacts, including entirely new forms of ceramics.
Very interesting.  But this kind of thing has been pointed to before.

Couple of years back I ran across this book*, and things like this are what it's about.  Lots of information that's been around but has been either ignored or classed as 'unproven/distracting/go away' by various people for various reasons.

Amazing both what we don't know, and what we do know that's not talked about/taught.




*This is the updated book, which I just found at the library the other day; reading to do.

Stuck on Guns, and Stuck on Stupid

Pretty much.
In which we are informed that all we have to do to live in Peace and Harmony is
Dump the Consitution(old document, conflicts  with 'common sense'),
and believe that if guns were gone, Peace Would Prevail.

Which conclusion would surprise the hell out of the people living in pre-firearms days.


Speaking of stupid(and corrupt, and dishonest), Harry Reid sucks on multiple levels.

Here's a new optic for you

Remington 2020 Digital

Looks interesting.

Found thanks to Ogre on Bookface; and why I didn't have him on the blogroll already, I don't know.

If you're a friend/adviser to the President, the terrorist thing's not a problem

on campus, it would appear.
They've got a list of some of his past activities, but leave out a big one: they were building bombs to blow up a dance at Fort Dix, and more for outside to kill emergency responders when they screwed up and blew up their own building and friends.  But since they were only planning on killing soldiers, cops and EMTs, that's not a big deal to the university.


And Kerry will sign the treaty today.  Obama's way of saying
A: "I agree with you" to the UN, and
B: "Who knows, if this is signed maybe I can do something with it later."
Letter from Corker to The Lightbringer includes
“The ATT raises significant legislative and constitutional questions.  Any act to implement this treaty, provisionally or otherwise, before the Congress provides its advice and consent would be fundamentally inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution, law, and practice,” said Corker.
Which I think is a fancy and polite way of saying "Try to shove this in with an executive order and there'll be impeachment charges filed.


DHS is urging American malls to step up their security in a move that is being hailed as a "grandstanding and cynical cover your ass" exercise.

No really. What exactly do they expect mall owners to do?

So like if this happened in the US Obama and DHS can say, "Hey, we told them to 'take steps' or something."
Ass-covering, nothing more.  "Hey, just because we let the terrorist sneak over the border/in on 'compassionate grounds/screwed up, WE'RE not responsible for all those bodies!"
One more reason not to go to the mall, especially since the company that manages all of them around here has them marked 'no carry'.
Because WE'RE not to be trusted, and the mall cops will save us all if the terrorists do pick the place.


Lerner wants immunity before testifying.  I will pass on saying exactly what I think of that idea.


And Cruz is still speaking.  I don't know if they can pull it off, but at the least they can make it as painful as possible for every dirtbag pushing Obamacare.  Either party.  Make them put their damned name on it.

The level of enviroweenie fail in this is off the scale Updated

German consumers already pay the highest electricity prices in Europe. But because the government is failing to get the costs of its new energy policy under control, rising prices are already on the horizon. Electricity is becoming a luxury good in Germany, and one of the country's most important future-oriented projects is acutely at risk.
...
This year, German consumers will be forced to pay €20 billion ($26 billion) for electricity from solar, wind and biogas plants -- electricity with a market price of just over €3 billion. Even the figure of €20 billion is disputable if you include all the unintended costs and collateral damage associated with the project. Solar panels and wind turbines at times generate huge amounts of electricity, and sometimes none at all. Depending on the weather and the time of day, the country can face absurd states of energy surplus or deficit.

If there is too much power coming from the grid, wind turbines have to be shut down. Nevertheless, consumers are still paying for the "phantom electricity" the turbines are theoretically generating. Occasionally, Germany has to pay fees to dump already subsidized green energy, creating what experts refer to as "negative electricity prices."
On the other hand, when the wind suddenly stops blowing, and in particular during the cold season, supply becomes scarce. That's when heavy oil and coal power plants have to be fired up to close the gap, which is why Germany's energy producers in 2012 actually released more climate-damaging carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than in 2011.

If there is still an electricity shortfall, energy-hungry plants like the ArcelorMittal steel mill in Hamburg are sometimes asked to shut down production to protect the grid. Of course, ordinary electricity customers are then expected to pay for the compensation these businesses are entitled to for lost profits.
Wheee!  Ain't that green energy freakin' WONDERFUL?

And a real interesting thing:
It is only gradually becoming apparent how the renewable energy subsidies redistribute money from the poor to the more affluent, like when someone living in small rental apartment subsidizes a homeowner's roof-mounted solar panels through his electricity bill. The SPD, which sees itself as the party of the working class, long ignored this regressive aspect of the system. The Greens, the party of higher earners, continue to do so.
Wealthy liberals screwing poor people so the liberals can feel virtuous; sound familiar?

Speaking of which,
Still, the government is pressing ahead with wind expansion, and the plans are breathtaking. By 2020, offshore wind turbines are expected to generate up to 10 gigawatts of electricity, theoretically as much as eight nuclear power plants. To attract investors, the government has created the best possible subsidy conditions, so that operators will be paid 19 cents per kilowatt-hour of offshore electricity, or about 50 percent more than from land-based wind farms. The government has also assumed the liability risk for the wind farm operators. If anything goes wrong, taxpayers will bear the cost.


And this is about what you'd expect from the clowns:
In the current election campaign, the parties are blaming each other for the disaster. Meanwhile, the federal government would prefer to avoid discussing its energy policies entirely. "It exposes us to criticism," says a government spokesman. "There are undeniably major problems," admits a cabinet member.
And Deity knows they can't deal with criticism while people are freezing in the dark...

Added:
I don't know much about electronics, but this sounds like absolute bullshit to me:
TV viewers can also save a lot of electricity, albeit at the expense of picture quality. "For instance, you can reduce brightness and contrast," his booklet suggests.

"Oh, election fraud is a myth,

nothing to it.  Understand?"


Snork... "I'm your best fundraiser, where's my stuff?"


"What?  Pushing myself to utter exhaustion time after time might not be a good thing?  Really?"
...“I see pushing my body to the point where the muscles destroy themselves as a huge benefit of CrossFit,” he said.”

What does CrossFit’s founder, Greg Glassman think of this?

“It can kill you,” he said. “I’ve always been completely honest about that.”

Which kind of idiocy is enough to make you think elbow-bending lifts at a bar are a superior form of exercise.


So start making prosecutors personally liable for damages when they do crap like this; that'll start cooling it off.


Here's another fix just waiting to happen: fire every idiot involved in this, and make it plain that, in the future, any more such stupidity will carry the same penalty.


Translation: "Since this hit the news and people are pissed at us, we really don't want to try to take this to court; so we'll just say "We did everything right" and hope it goes away."
Proper response: "The door is that way, you dirtbags; no more public paycheck for you."


I always thought that '1 in 4 women is raped' was a load of crap; I was right.

The next stage of the Experiment

Data points below

And I nearly forgot the crimson elements:

I've had the Crimson Trace grips on my carry pistol for three years or so;

and I finally had to put new batteries in.  Not bad.

Especially considering I've left it on except when doing sights-only practice; that's a LOT of on & off, both shooting and demonstrating them to people.

Added: It uses two CR2032 batteries, which are rated as 3v.  I checked the old with a volt/ohm meter, and they still show 3; but they sure weren't putting that out to the laser.

Yeah, that's the kind of thing you expect

from special-ops types.
And well done, sir.


Once more, we're supposed to trust the .gov why?

Meanwhile, in the real war on women*,

Top Afghan policewoman killed months after predecessor's assassination 

Lt Nigara, who joined police force in early 1990s, becomes latest victim of Taliban violence against prominent women


The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has offered election integrity group True The Vote its tax-exempt status in what appears to be a bid to keep the group from proceeding with discovery on its lawsuit against the agency, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.
...
The IRS granted the tax-exempt status on Friday night and then filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit all in the same document. True The Vote is accepting the tax-exempt status, but will file a counter motion to continue fighting the other counts of the lawsuit against the IRS. Those other counts deal with civil rights and privacy issues and could lead to the IRS being forced to turn over more documents heading into full discovery.
And why might the IRS be worried about discovery, hmmmm?


Top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin has been given an ultimatum: dump serial-sexting hubby Anthony Weiner, or get out of Clintontown. 

“Huma has a choice to make,” a close associate tells New York magazine. “Does she go with Anthony, or does she go with Hillary?”

Abedin’s decision over whether to leave the “Clinton bubble,” where she’s seen as Hillary’s most trusted aide, has emerged as “the biggest question among Hillary’s circle” as the former Secretary of State mulls a 2016 run for the White House, the magazine reports.
Ace notes "Imagine any other circumstance in which a boss intruded into the marriage of her employees like this," which is exactly true.  But it's Hillary Clinton doing it, so they'll see no problem.




*As opposed to the bullshit thrown out by the Democrats and socialists(I know, I repeat myself)

Well-done, sir!

According to The Globe and Mail, the 60-year-old woman was being mauled in her garden when the as-of-yet unidentified man heard her screams. Officials say that the man took up a spear, likely made for boar hunting, and stabbed the large cat several times. The mountain lion ran off and the man was able to procure help for his injured girlfriend.
Spear against a cougar; that took an amount of balls.

And the obvious questions arise: Who made it?  Cold Steel or custom?  What wood for the shaft?  Inquiring minds want to know.

So, not only do we get death panels,

there should be politically-based death panels for the 'unbelievers'.
And- surprisingly!- all the places she'd had on social media have disappeared.  It's almost like she didn't want anyone other than the True Believers™ to hear that.


If some student had disrupted him with such language, think he'd be saying he 'believes in the religion of foul language'?


A: Pipkins shouldn't have been trying to help himself to other peoples' lives.
B: The family of the deceased is bitching that he 'wasn't warned', 'should have been warned', etc.  I'd have thought the previous jail time would've warned him that such actions as burglary have bad consequences.
Especially in Texas.


Surprise!
Applicants face strict background checks, including criminal history, a full psychological evaluation and a medical exam. They must pass a test on firearm laws and safety.

Each weapon is then registered by the police during a home visit. Police take bullet patterns, test bullets and cartridges so bullets can be matched if the gun is used in a crime. A license lasts five years, after which applicants must go through the whole process again.

In spite of these laws, the country does have periodic mass shootings by people thought to be mentally ill.

Yes, please, tell us exactly who they are

“This has been one of the strangest weeks I’ve ever had in Washington,” Wallace said. “As soon as we listed Ted Cruz as our featured guest this week, I got unsolicited research and questions, not from Democrats but from top Republicans, to hammer Cruz.”
We need to know who the cowardly chickenshit little clowns are.

Ringo thinks the zombies are inevitable

due to "You don't think some nerd will do this?  Are you insane?"

Yeesh.  I may have to get that suppressor for the .22.

Oh wonderful, another English boob who wants to 'fix' us

Preferably so we're as neutered as the Brits now are.
The annual toll from firearms in the US is running at 32,000 deaths and climbing, even though the general crime rate is on a downward path (it is 40% lower than in 1980). If this perennial slaughter doesn't qualify for intercession by the UN and all relevant NGOs, it is hard to know what does.
Etc.  Once again, take a total number, ignore suicides, self-defense killings, killings by police, just throw out a number and say "The UN should take over.  For their own good.

A really telling quote:
But no nation sees itself as outsiders do. Half the country is sane and rational while the other half simply doesn't grasp the inconsistencies and historic lunacy of its position, which springs from the second amendment right to keep and bear arms, and is derived from English common law and our 1689 Bill of Rights. We dispensed with these rights long ago, but American gun owners cleave to them with the tenacity that previous generations fought to continue slavery. Astonishingly, when owning a gun is not about ludicrous macho fantasy, it is mostly seen as a matter of personal safety, like the airbag in the new Ford pick-up or avoiding secondary smoke, despite conclusive evidence that people become less safe as gun ownership rises.
Yeah, you 'dispensed' with it; how'd that work out?
Britain's violent crime record is worse than any other country in the European union, it has been revealed. 

Official crime figures show the UK also has a worse rate for all types of violence than the U.S. and even South Africa - widely considered one of the world's most dangerous countries.
That's from 2009; last I heard, it's no better now.  Earlier?
The Government's latest crime figures were condemned as "truly terrible" by the Tories today as it emerged that gun crime in England and Wales soared by 35% last year.
Criminals used handguns in 46% more offences, Home Office statistics revealed.
And, taking a look for a link, there's Thirdpower to the rescue with both links and another example of people who'd love Porter's idea getting caught in lies and slanders.  Again.

And that's not counting the slight problem with gun ownership having gone WAY up while our crime rates- outside hellholes like Chicago and Detroit that have the kinds of laws Porter approves of- are dropping; doesn't fit the become less safe line, does it?

Mr. Porter:
You think the UN has problems now?  Nothing to what they'll have if they try this.  I promise.

Just because you're happy to be a EUnuch 'dispensing' with inconvenient(for the masters) rights, doesn't mean everyone else is.  We're not, and we won't be.

The fact that you lie about the numbers doesn't help your case either.  Nor the fact that what was once one of the most peaceful societies on earth is now one of the most violent.  And playing with the numbers to try to hide it.

No, the UN is not going to 'tame' us, or 'fix' us.  We've got our testicles and ovaries, and we're keeping them.

Let me remind you of something else, which Kevin pointed out to your fellow idiot Piers Morgan(who apparently thinks knowledge passes by osmosis through a family, or something):
In the UK, they surrendered guns that were not banned.  Here in America when we think something is about to be banned, we buy every one we can get our hands on, and everything we think might get banned along with it.
All your idea would do is make Obama the second greatest firearms and ammo salesman of all time.

So piss off, Mr. Porter.

Sincerely,
Firehand

It's defiitely urban camo

And the carpet company got bent out of shape about it.


There seems to be an awful lot of this kind of crap going around.
Days after the shooting, none of the officers has been questioned by officials or investigators from a special panel that was convened on Wednesday.

Members of the Containment and Emergency Response Team (Cert) are typically debriefed "right away, at the very least the following day" after an incident, a Capitol Police source said.
And this is after they were ordered to stand-down during the shooting; interesting.


On the Banana Republic situation,
“The Vast Majority of IRS Employees Aren’t Corrupt”

So, if the vast majority aren’t, what proportion is corrupt? Thirty-eight percent? Thirty-three? Twenty-seven? And that’s the good news? The IRS is not only institutionally corrupt, it’s corrupt in the service of one political party. That’s Banana Republic 101.


That is one big damn lizard.


Some very nice pics of the moon.


I'll modify Kevin's statement: she can kiss my ass.
'Special privilege for REAL journalists', bullshit.

Additional data located,

appended to The Experiment so I don't lose track of it:

terrible, unfortunate situation; interesting way to describe

such a monumental screwup that got someone killed, and should have gotten every moron involved fired.
The family of a man killed in a barrage of gunfire during a SWAT raid at a home southwest of Tucson has settled a lawsuit with four police agencies involved in the operation. 

The $3.4 million settlement with the family of Jose Guerena will end a two-year legal battle between his wife, Vanessa, and Pima County.
Lots of wording that boils down to "We'll NEVER admit we screwed up, we'd rather pay a lot now than have everything dragged out in public.  Especially with a jury involved."


Why isn't the media still screaming about him?  He's black and an Obama supporter and not a conservative or tea party member, why else?



Yes, I'm mostly back.

Ever hear of Allan Brauer?

My, the things that happen while I'm tied up.
May your children all die from debilitating, painful and incurable diseases. — allanbrauer (@allanbrauer)

I'm being attacked on Twitter for wishing one of Ted Cruz's pubic lice to experience the pain her boss is inflicting on Americans.
— allanbrauer (@allanbrauer)

And who is he?
A reminder: He’s the communications director for the Sacramento Democrats. Well, for now at least.

Democrat Party catches heat, initial reaction: blame it on Ted Cruz.

Realize just how well that's going over, get rid of Brauer.

Next time some idiot starts on that 'conservative's war on women' crap, point them to Brauer's history.  And that he is/was a Democrat Party guy.
And point out that if some Stupid Party official had a habit of calling women 'cumrags', we'd be hearing about it for days.  Every broadcast, every leftist blogger and news weenie.

Wishing for children to die a painful death: no big deal if you're a Democrat Party clown it seems.

May your children all die from debilitating, painful and incurable diseases.
From Allan Brauer, the communications director of the Californicated Democrat Party, yet.

The party response?  "Hey, him saying this might take heat of that bastard Ted Cruz, so it was a bad thing to say."


Fits right in with Professor David Guth, who said of an Obama supporter murdering people The blood is on the hands of the #NRA. Next time, let it be YOUR sons and daughters. Shame on you. May God damn you.
He then bitches about his 1st Amendment rights not being respected.  Apparently because telling him what you think of this is censorship or something.

Still busy, but some things you just want to say something about.

Hell, some of them were spitting on the bodies before they were cold

During the second portion of a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing about Benghazi Thursday on Capitol Hill, the majority of Democrats on the Committee left the room and refused to listen to the testimony of Patricia Smith and Charles Woods. Ms. Smith is the mother of Sean Smith, an information management officer killed in the 9/11 Benghazi attack. Charles Woods is the father of Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, who was also killed.
About what we'd expect of the same people who've tried to cover up Gunwalker from the beginning; what do they care about dead bodies?


'I can see Putin's shoeprint on Obama's behind from my house.'


Still busy.  Also still wondering why a dog will walk past a freshly-filled water bowl to drink out of a half-empty birdbath.

And to think that when Huma Abedin's history with the Brotherhood was brought up,

it only incited accusations of racism and etc. from the Usual Suspects.
Gee, I wonder why?
The Washington Free Beacon reports that a senior Muslim Brotherhood official who, until fairly recently, was employed by the William J. Clinton Foundation, was arrested in Cairo on Tuesday and charged with inciting violence. 

The official, Gehad el-Haddad, had been serving as one of the Muslim Brotherhood’s top communications officials. In that capacity, while the Muslim Brotherhood controlled Egypt, he “push[ed] the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamist agenda in the foreign press, where he was often quoted defending the Brotherhood’s crackdown on civil liberties in Egypt,” according to the Free Beacon. 

El-Haddad served the Clinton Foundation in Cairo as “city director” from August 2007 to August 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile. This period overlapped with his service to the Muslim Brotherhood.

I'm not dead yet

Things to see, people to do, etc.

More later.

Makes it seem like he IS on the other side, doesn't it?

Less than a week after 9/11, our President gives the ok to ARM THE FRIGGIN' ENEMY.

But only 'vetted' groups, of course.

Which means only the ones who'll take a while to start using them on us.


Anybody else see a problem with this?
“We don’t have concerns with that. We have concerns with the fact if the person has any metal under their clothing,” MacDougall said. A former CATSA employee, who, until recently worked as a frontline screener, tells QMI: “We were never allowed to ask anyone with a veil to lift it. It is their religion.”


A pretty good piece on Nanny Bloomberg(which, from the sound of it, ought to be Il Duce Bloomberg), which ends with this:
Bloombergism at the city level is creepy but undeniably effective. But Bloomberg­ism at the presidential level would require scaling up Bloomberg’s political methods in a way that would be utterly unworkable, or else frightening, or possibly both. Residents of New York, and most cities, care far more about ends than means. American citizens care a great deal about means. Bloombergism is the sort of thing the Constitution was designed to prevent.
Yeah, if by 'effective' you mean 'he rules as he chooses, and screw that Constitution thing.'


Jay G is escaping from the PROM!
Suggestions as to what should be the first thing he buys after leaving?


Finally, life has called, and the machine needs maintenance; bloggage will be spotty for a couple of days.

Another case of academics trying to rewrite the Constitution and history

The people have the right to keep and bear arms in a state militia.

And someone provided Insty with the names:
United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination
by John J. Newman (Author) , John M. Schmalbach (Author)

Makes you wonder what else Newman and Schmalbach changed to suit their political preferences, doesn't it?

About that 'real journalist' law being pushed:

Fuck you, Whitehouse.
...The bill simply adds extra protections against being forced to testify about sources for established reporters and freelancers with a “considerable” amount of publishing experience. It also allows a judge to make a declaration as to who’s a journalist and who’s not in an attempt to build the shield as wide as possible.

“All we’re doing is adding privilege to existing First Amendment rights, so there is, logically, zero First Amendment threat out of this,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, (D) of Rhode Island.
To borrow from the lady,
Congress shall make no law ...or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;
You see anything in there about except as a judge or politician shall deem ?
I don't.

Every politician who votes for this should be considered in violation of oath of office and thrown out of said office window.  Except, if it be a ground floor office, they shall be conducted to a third-floor office for said defenestration.

Anna Shireman-Grabowski, you're just a spoiled brat demanding attention

Destroying a 9/11 memorial was definitely a way to get it.

The giveaway:
The emails filling my inbox indicate that this was not a productive way to start a dialogue about American imperialism. Nor did I imagine that it would be. Please understand that I am grappling with my complicity in the overwhelming legacy of settler colonialism. Part of this process for me is honoring the feelings and wishes of people who find themselves on the other side of this history….
Translation:  "This is about ME and my FEELINGS!"

By the way, the tribe says you're full of shit.  And your fake Indian co-conspirator, too.
“We didn’t know anything about this and if we had we certainly wouldn’t have sanctioned it,” he said in a statement to The Addison Independent.

… Steven said there’s no evidence that the field is an Abenaki burial site. And even if it was, the flags would be a welcome presence.

“Our burial sites honor our warriors and their bravery,” said Stevens. “Putting flags in the earth to honor bravery would not be disrespectful.”

A series you ought to read

Massad Ayoob has a column at Backwoods, and he's done a 20-part series on the Zimmerman case.  To say 'LOTS of information' is a serious understatement.

A short and disgusting digression into WWII history

Admiral Morin on his way back from the first party given by 307 Battalion, at which human flesh was served and eaten, discussed the matter with Major Matoba, and asked him whether he would be so kind as to bring along a little liver next time an eneny pilot was executed by 308 Battalion, which was under Matoba's command.  It was, doubtless, pursuant to the admiral's request that Cadet Sakabe, in the Battalion Order quoted above, had been instructed to remove the liver from Flight-Lieutenant Hall's body after execution, although in fact it was removed by a medical officer named Teraki, as Sakabe was not sufficiently experienced.
The Knights of Bushido, page 238.

In another diary, kept by a member of the Fujita Force, the following entries appeared:
  13 Feb.  For security reasons, all inhabitants of the town were killed and all their                           possessions confiscated.
  17 Feb.  Because 90% of the Filipinos are not pro-Japanese, Army Headquarters                            issued orders on 10th inst. to punish them.  In various sectors we have killed                     several thousands (including young, old, men and women and Chinese). Their                   homes have been burned and their valuables confiscated.
Page 259

Not a book to read if you get queasy easily

The IRS doesn't follow its own rules in other ways, as well; (updated)

anyone surprised?
A review of the IRS Office of Appeals, which resolves disputes between the agency and taxpayers, found officials did notalways follow proper procedures when dealing with taxpayers or their legally designated representatives.
...
“Neither we nor the IRS know with any degree of precision how well the IRS is complying with direct contact provisions,” the auditors wrote.
But we're supposed to trust them.  Including with all our medical information.  Right.


Hey, Texas DPS and Austin PD, you do realize you're asking for some serious lawsuits?   Not to mention the costs of the court challenges and all?


Back when the Shepard case was in the news, I made comment somewhere about there being information that didn't fit into the Preferred Narrative; caught hell from various homosexual and correct-thinking people for not just buying into the PN.  Now all this is coming out.  Including something that troubles me greatly, from the linked article:
Not everyone is interested in hearing these alternative theories. When 20/20 engaged Jimenez to work on a segment revisiting the case in 2004, GLAAD bridled at what the organization saw as an attempt to undermine the notion that anti-gay bias was a factor; Moises Kaufman, the director and co-writer of The Laramie Project, denounced it as “terrible journalism,” though the segment went on to win an award from the Writers Guild of America for best news analysis of the year.

There are valuable reasons for telling certain stories in a certain way at pivotal times, but that doesn’t mean we have to hold on to them once they’ve outlived their usefulness.
Bold mine.  I present to you a prime cause of why people don't trust the media, haven't for years: "It's ok to use lies and/or untruths and/or spin the story in false ways if it serves the Cause, but we have to be willing to bring out the whole truth when that need is past."

Yeah, that's doing great things, isn't it?


I cannot imagine what the muzzle blast is like from firing that thing.  Especially with the happy-switch on.

Question: Lots of SWAT teams have gone to something like this instead of a sub-gun.  Wonder if they're liable for hearing loss to people- especially children- when they use one to kill the family pet due to Holy Procedure?
Update:
Sigi says THIS is a real gun.
9" barrel, in .308.
I don't have earplugs and muffs good enough to deal with that.


Dog hit on road.  Fatally injured, but FAR more important than putting it out of pain is "What about my FEELINGS?  What about some child who might see?"
Language warning.  And well-said.


Hey, why would Rangel(Corrupt Dirtbag-NY) care?  He won't pay any real penalty.


"What?  'No boots on the ground promise'?  That was then."

'A few low-level employees in Cincinnati' my ass Part-

hell, I forget at this point.
Yet another reason for her silence has been unearthed by a 2011 email released by the House Ways and Means Committee in which the woman who claimed she had done nothing wrong admitted that the tea party was not only targeted, but targeted at her direction, in response to the Citizens United case that so outraged President Obama because it reaffirmed the free-speech rights of those who oppose him.

In the February 2011 email, Lerner advised her staff — including then-Exempt Organizations Technical Manager Michael Seto and then-Rulings and Agreements director Holly Paz — that a tea party matter is "very dangerous" and something "Counsel and (Lerner adviser) Judy Kindell need to be in on." Lerner added: "Cincy should probably NOT have these cases."
And this criminal is still collecting a paycheck, of course; they've got to have as many ways as possible of keeping her quiet.


And this time the NYPD professionals managed to hit two bystanders with three shots; missing the target completely, of course.

Because Only Ones are the only ones who can be trusted with guns.  Or something.


Up in Colorado, the Governor is probably wondering if selling himself to Bloomberg was such a good deal.
I do have to wonder myself: was he a cheap whore, or did he get call-girl pricing?
2) During the same period of time, Hickenlooper was in regular telephone contact with Michael Bloomberg, even though Hickenlooper would later claim -- dishonestly, it seems -- he had no direct contacts with Bloomberg. 

3) During the same period of time, according to the public record, full-time lobbyists hired and paid by Bloomberg had total and unconditional access to Hickenlooper and his staff...in fact, drafting the Democratic strategy of ignoring Colorado constituents and railroading the vote.



Why?  Because if you don't have armed agents, and preferably a SWAT team, you're not one of the cool .gov operators(to misuse that word horribly).


Remember, Morse and Giron actually worked pretty hard to get their asses thrown out of those taxpayer-supplied offices:
Recall advocates in Colorado Springs were lucky that John Morse elected to make himself unpopular with almost every conceivable group. “There’s something for everyone with John Morse,” Luke Wagner of the Basic Freedom Defense Fund told me. Indeed. Morse irritated not just gun owners, but also the legalize-marijuana movement, rural Coloradans, independent taxpayers, and women’s advocacy groups. To his surprise, Morse’s imperious behavior awoke a parade of formerly apolitical Coloradans, many of whom were dismayed by the manner in which they had been treated by a group of politicians who had, in the words of Victor Head, the 29-year-old plumber and political novice who beat Michael Bloomberg’s machine, “made their minds up already.”


25 problems for people who move north of Florida.
Ref #1, there was a couple I met years back who'd moved to Oklahoma from California.  Southern, at that.  October arrived, and the first real chilly snap, causing the lady to state "Coat?  We don't have coats, we're from California!"

Seasons can be a bitch, it seems.

How many gun bigot/hoplophobe talking points can you find

in this?
I see most Coloradans support modest gun control, and gun extremists issuing threats of violence,
and modest proposals to regulate guns,
and the gun lobby(which in this case was three guys pissed at being told to shut up by said politicians),
and the gun lobby’s agenda is eliminating too many lives,
and then those politicians must argue that the gun lobby is taking away others’ freedom from guns(is that like that 'freedom from having feelings hurt' right I've heard about?)
and, in a single paragraph I'll quote entirely
In short, if the gun lobby is going to keep using demagoguery to prevent a constructive discussion, then that demagoguery must be combatted with an appeal to another way of life — one in which the gun is no longer unquestioningly worshiped as a holy talisman.
Sir, my firearms are not holy; the targets are.

Miguel has a more detailed takedown of this mess over here.  Thirdpower commented as well, but for some reason the comments at Salon aren't coming up, so I can't say anything on that.

Results have been interesting, NSFW experiment

continues.  Data points are below