11 July 2009

Classic old stuff


There's just something about a Single Action, mod 1873. This is a reproduction I picked up last week and there's just something magical about the way this wheelgun fits and sits in the hand. Classic.



I snapped this picture at the gunsmith shop in Old Salem, NC last month while I was there for a conference. I could have spent a ton more time with the two 'smiths talking guns, but there were a lot of interlopers there who didn't know the difference between a rifle and a shotgun and it would have been quite difficult to have a meaningful conversation. The 'smiths had a fantastic long rifle sitting on a table and after asking if I could pick it up, I was treated to the pleasure of a holding a piece of art that was not only beautiful to look at, but was well balanced and pointed naturally. I really wish I could have had the opportunity to put her through her paces but alas, it was not to be.

Classic. You can see a few more of these pics here if you're interested.

08 July 2009

Catching up

I realize it's hard for many of you to believe, but other things were taking place over the weekend other than the pedophile's funeral.... I'm not saying Jackson wasn't an incredibly talented artist and singer. Or that he wasn't a trend setter for nearly a generation of music. But the fact is the dude was just flat out messed up.

But I digress....

Here in Big D, there was another tea party - and this one drew approximately 37,000 people. On the news, all you could hear were crickets, particularly since the tea parties don't follow the media's templates of angry white men mad at (the first!) black president.

For example, take a look at this video of Senator Cornyn catching a LOT of grief for his vote on the stimulus package from the tea party crowd in Austin.


Say what you want about Cornyn - I disagreed with his vote then and I disagree with it now - but the good thing about Cornyn is that he is at least man enough to show up to a crowd that he had to know was going to be somewhat hostile - and take his medicine. He's not going to tell you what you want to hear just because you want to hear it. I asked one of Cornyn's staffers what his vote would be on the hinted at "2nd" stimulus package and the answer was a resounding "against". Sadly, the same can't be said for the bulk of the remaining trolls in Congress....

But the point is, the Tea Party movement has nothing to do with angry white men and everything to do with an out of control government. A government that is more and more refusing to listen to the people it governs, and that goes across party lines and you're just as likely to see a Republican official catching hell for fiscal irresponsibility as you will a Democrat.

On another front, the messiah and his family are overseas on yet another government paid vacation, giving away the farm to anyone who will take it. In the meantime, China continues to crack down on its citizens, the deposed president of Honduras is busy making all sorts of noise and chumming up with punks like Chavez, Ortega and Castro, and unemployment continues to go thru the roof.

But hey, Obama and crowd are living large on the government's dime and life is good, right?


Yeah, that's one of the Obama girls, sporting "the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's famous symbol as her father prepared for three days of G8 talks in Italy." I can't tell you how surprised I am to see that the Obama girls would be sporting hippy t-shirts, are you?