300

Yeah, here at the Tattler we're all jacked up to see the movie 300. To see what the actors did to turn into Spartans, check out this link.

I think Porta's Cat would like this place.

Check out the 300 test:

25x Pull-up +
50x Deadlift @ 135# +
50x Push-up +
50x Box Jump @ 24” box +
50x Floor Wiper @ 135# (one-count) +
50x KB Clean and Press @ 36# (KB must touch floor between reps) +
25x Pull-up
300 reps total

The Kegulator

I was doing some research on Ajax technology (web stuff), and found an actual useful demonstration of it. The Kegulator allows you to input certain criteria for your next party, and tells you how much beer, ice, and cups you'll need, based on the amount of beer you anticipate will be consumed.

You're welcome.

Shotguns banned

Yep, you read that right folks. SHOTGUNS. Evil semi-autos in the Socialst Repubic of Illinois.

Chicago gun owners had until Feb.12, 2007 to remove newly banned firearms from Cook Co. or turn them over to police.
There is no grandfather clause to exempt firearms owned before the board expanded its ban to include semi-auto shotguns that have the capacity to hold more than five rounds; how many 2" shorties will your semi-auto hold?

Scratch another state off the list of places I will ever visit. Any state that doesn't recognize my right to defend myself is a state that won't be getting any tourism dollars from me.

H/T The Cathouse.

Springtime in Texas

Man, does it get any better than this??

Started a bit brisk this morning, but warmed up to very comfy 70ish degrees. Got some yard work done I've been putting off; trimming trees and that kind of thing. Broke out a nice robusto sized Punch cigar, got my tree trimmer chugging away and took care of business.

When I was done with my work, I dug up a nice bag of mesquite wood chips, started a little bbq action and grilled up an absolutely fantastic steak that I'd had marinating all day with some soy sauce, olive oil, liquid smoke, garlic salt and Cajun spices. Finished the Punch while I was grilling away and watched the dogs play in the backyard.

I realize that technically it's not yet spring, but what a glorious day.

Life if good.

The Great Global Warming Swindle

'So the fundamental assumption, the most fundamental assumption of the whole theory of climate change due to humans, is shown to be wrong.'

What? Not all scientists agree that the sky is falling ever so rapidly because mankind is destroying the Earth?

Surely they will all be killed as heretics; all the while, the legitimate cause of Global Warming - Al Gore opening his massive pie-hole - continues to be a more serious global crises... Just imagine the overall drop in surface temperature if he'd just shut his mouth?

Coincidence, yeah, that's it

Hmmm, let's see. Someone goes on national television claiming the Russkies killed, via poison, Alexander Litvinenko.

This guy claimed that:

"A message has been communicated to anyone who wants to speak out against the Kremlin: 'If you do, no matter who you are, where you are, we will find you and we will silence you — in the most horrible way possible.'"

Shortly thereafter, he's shot in front of his house.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

A little weekend giggle

Enjoy this classic from one of the greatest movies of all time. Have a great fantabulous weekend.

Texas Declaration of Independence

Sorry Texicans we'd be if we weren't to represent on Texas Independence Day. Man, I wish we were a country again...

The Unanimous Declaration of Independence made by the Delegates of the People of Texas in General Convention at the town of Washington on the 2nd day of March 1836...

Happy Birthday, Texas!

Postbulletin.com: Hunting with assault rifles? Zumbo was right to scoff

And no sooner do I post on how ALL gun owners should unite to a common cause, here comes another misguided, so-called "hunter" who advocates the "middle ground," which is so eloquently illustrated thus:

I know the whole "slippery slope" argument, that any infringement on our rights to own a handgun, assault rifle or howitzer could eventually lead to the repeal of the Second Amendment. I know that hunters are a minority in this country -- and a dwindling minority at that.

But do I think my right to own a shotgun or rifle is in danger? Not at all -- because I have confidence that the majority of non-hunting Americans will ignore the yelling from both sides of the gun-control issue, choosing instead to find that middle ground in which people will be allowed to hunt, shoot recreationally and defend themselves, if necessary, with firearms.

Yeah, but what firearms? Single-action revolvers? Black powder muzzle-loaders? Bolt-action sniper hunting rifles?

From whence comes this ridiculous mentality, you might ask? How could someone be SO uninformed, SO ignorant, SO misguided? He is a Fudd of single mind and singular focus. A Minnesota Fudd. Witness:

On Wednesday's Opinions page in the Post-Bulletin, I participated in a pro-con debate about gun control. I strongly defended the rights of hunters, but I fully expect that the response from the gun community in southeastern Minnesota will be largely negative -- because I admitted there are too many handguns and assault weapons on America's streets.

The rights of hunters. Nevermind the rights of citizens. Nevermind law-abiding citizens who wish to defend themselves as they see fit from the criminal element that possesses firearms in spite of laws to the contrary. It's not about you lowly plebeian masses. It's about...the elite, the Illuminati of gun owners. It's about...The Hunters.

By the way, I do hunt. Poorly, and mostly birds, but I do hunt. And squirrels - I forgot them. Oh, and coyotes. I use a shotgun for birds, a .22 rifle for squirrels, and my AR-15 for coyotes. Oops. An evil black rifle for hunting. Yes, so get OVER it. I also use that same carbine for 3-gun matches. I have scary black guns for USPSA and IDPA competition and self-defense. I even have a scary black plastic-stocked shotgun for the same purposes. NONE of these weapons meets the Fudd definition of "sporting" firearms. Does that mean I can't have them, or don't have the right to own them?

Molon Labe.

--King Leonidas of Sparta

One last time: the Second Amendment to the Constitution does not protect your right to hunt. That is merely incidental. It protects your right to keep and bear arms - any type of arms, irrespective of some imbecile's opinion on what is a "proper" firearm.

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.

--Benjamin Franklin

Getting Zumboed

Here's a nifty little post that pretty much lays it on the line for all of you that believe hunting and other shooting sports don't have anything in common. The premise of this article is that there are hunters who are somewhat elitist when it comes to what types of firearms are "proper." Given Jim Zumbo's recent boo-boo in revealing his true colors and his opinion on this very topic, this site points out a simple fact: if anyone bad-mouths any firearms, they risk losing all firearms.

This article goes a long way in illustrating why it's important for all gun owners to stick together. For a hunter to bad-mouth sporting arms, or a sport shooter to bad-mouth hunting arms, well, it's a losing proposition.

By the way, did you know the recent H.R. 1022, introduced by Carolyn McCarthy, would ban virtually ALL semi-automatic long arms, including shotguns and hunting rifles?

Hello? Are you paying attention now?

Obama for Prez?

Good God man. As if the proposed AWB in Congress wasn't bad enough, take a look at how bad it could be with Obama as Prez...

Obama Positions on Gun Control:

• Ban semi-automatics, and impose more restrictions on other types of firearms possession;
• Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons;
• Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms;
• Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.
For the rest, check out Bane's blog....

But I can tell you. It ain't good.

American Badass Rulon Gardner survives small plane crash

A lot of us here at the Tattler had the pleasure of meeting Rulon when one of my best friends brought him to a party last year. His life is nothing short of amazing and I feel fortunate for having a chance to visit with him.

In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he ended the 13 year international win streak of the Russian Greco-Roman wrester, Alexander Karelin, and brought home the gold medal. This was one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

In 2002 he was stranded while snowmobiling in Wyoming. He fell into water while trying to walk out, and suffered from hypothermia. He suffered from frost bite and was close to death when he was found. He was told he would lose both of his feet, but made a remarkable recovery and ended up only losing a middle toe on one foot. He even continued wrestling.

In 2004 he was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle and sustained serious injuries, but recovered.

Last week he was flying with two friends in a small airplane that crashed into Lake Powell in Utah.

"The plane went from 150 mph to none in about 2 seconds," Gardner told CNN early Monday morning.
Authorities are uncertain of the exact location of the crash, but the three men swam for more than an hour in 44-degree water before reaching shore and then spent the night without shelter, according to the release. "It takes only about 30 minutes for someone swimming in 44 degree water to start suffering the effects of hypothermia, so the fact that they swam in it for an hour, not to mention surviving the plane crash and the night without fire or shelter, is pretty amazing," said Steven Luckesen, a district ranger at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. "If these guys were a cat with nine lives, they just used up three of them."

Nothing surprises me in regard to Rulon. He is a true American Badass.

Hey it's the weekend!

So of course we were pulling the trigger today. Heckuva day in North Texas, probably the best range day, weather wise, in quite some time.

For your viewing pleasure, here's me, JR, and Dan on a couple of stages. And yes, that's JR shooting a real gun. First Dan came to the Dark Side, and now JR is within its grasp.

Oscars Schmoscers

Yeah, so what if the Oscars are on tonight. I don't think I've watched one of those in at least a decade. And tonight's host - has Ellen EVER been funny? Whatever.

Anyway, stole this concept shamlessly from Outlaw's blog.

Name the best military movies ever.

Drumroll please......

In no particular order, here's my top 10 picks:


Patton

A Bridge Too Far

Apocolypse Now

The Dogs of War

The Dirty Dozen

The Final Option

The Wild Geese

The Boys in Company C

Full Metal Jacket

The Great Escape

I'm sure there are more that I've left out - but hey, let's hear yours.

The 416?

You know, soldiers have been bitching about the M16/M4 platform for almost longer than I have been alive.

It seems that for every round of bitchin', the higher ups always say "they just didn't clean the damn thing well enough!"

Here it seems that HK has come up with a viable solution - to replace the existing gas system with one that's more reliable, easier to clean, and easier on the weapon's parts - and of course, it's a no go with the Pentagon bureaucracy.

There are some of these new uppers out on the market - Cowboy Blob has picked one up; perhaps we can get a good range report from him as he puts the new upper through its paces.

I've never used my AR's in combat - but from what I've seen of ARs in all sorts of different environments and configurations - from massive humidity and rain in the woods on the Gulf Coast to gusting fine dust in Wichita Falls - ARs either work - or they don't.

I had one that I couldn't get to function no matter what I did to it. JR took that upper and it works just fine in his AR. My new Bushmaster has functioned perfectly to this point, but I've probably only got 500 rounds or so through it - but as of now, it's doing just fine.

If these new uppers prove to be as reliable as we're hearing, I wouldn't mind having one myself....

Now isn't this ironic

I think we can safely say that this is massively ironic on the part of the Mexican government to protest that Americans were 10 yards on the Mexican side of border.

One can assume they see nothing wrong with sending millions of illegals into our country... but hey, 10 yards inside Mexcian terriorty and Houston, we have a problem!

Chippendales won't face charges

LUBBOCK, Texas-
Police shut down a sold-out show at Jake's Sports Cafe on Feb. 16, saying a Chippendale with his pants open thrust his hips in a woman's face. The dancers were accused of performing a sexually oriented show without the proper permits.

Scott Stephenson, owner of Jake's Sports Cafe, said he was plans to invite the all-male troupe of shirtless, beefcake dancers back.

I'm sure all the fat, single, forty something women in Lubbock can't wait!

McCain = jackass

Thinking of voting for that jackass McCain? I mean, if you were stupid enough to support someone who is soft on terror, weak on border security and who practically killed the 1st amendment with his buddy Feingold then you're an idiot.

This article, H/T to Outlaw 13, shows that not only is John McCain a jackass, he's a piece of shit too.

U.S. tourist breaks mugger's neck

Get some!

This story just warms my heart. Here you have a group of retirees minding their own business, on vacation enjoying their golden years, and all these 3 stupid punks saw was a busload of opportunity and easy money. Surprise!

Jim Zumbo, Staples Stock Clerk

Hi-frickin'-larious.

I must be living in a vacuum. Grant tells me that the use of 'box cutters' have a rapidly growing following among stockmen, especially office supply workers. I had no clue. Only once in my life have I ever seen anyone using one of these dangerous utensils.

Two clowns shot dead at circus

Sic Semper Comedicus!

They were probably scary clowns.

The Dog

Well, considering we've had nothing but shooting oriented posts as of late, I figured it was time to post something a less testosterone filled for our readers of the female persuasion.

Here you see Remi - who's about as big as she's gonna get; probably pushing 55-60 pounds if I were to make a guess.



Thus far, any early promise she showed as a huntin' dog have pretty much gone down the drain. And at long last I'm ok with that. To be honest it pretty much pissed me off when we'd go to work on her retrieving and she'd retrieve perfectly for a coupla times and then "poof" no more retrieving whatsoever.

If she starts to show some promise and interest in it as she gets out of her adolescent stage, we'll start working on it again, but for now we're just working on her being a good girl and a good member of the family - sitting, staying, and coming when she's called. Most of the time she does pretty well at that.

As you can see in the picture, she's still very much in that chewing stage, although in her defense, she can go a lot longer without adult supervision. I think she's up to about 45 seconds now.

All in all, she's a great dog, jumps up in bed every morning and licks my face to wake me up and there's really not many better things in life than that.

You want more shooting?

This was a stage called "The Maze" from this past weekend's 3-gun. I enjoyed this one a bunch too - lots of trigger time...

Showing there's more than one way to skin a cat, here's the Sarge running the same stage - keep in mind that he has a scope on his rifle, and I don't - I figured that the amount of time I'd spend trying to find the front sight from where he engaged the 3rd, 4th and 5th array could be made up by me moving up and hosing from a lot closer. Since this was a 32-33 round stage, I had to reload once - and the Sarge used his spiffy 40 round mag to get around it. All in all, a fun one.

USPSA match

Some videos of your intrepid reporters at the Tattler. Got everyone except the little Girl...

Here's Dan the man:



And our loyal webmaster JR (without tripping, I might add - good show!)



And finally, yours truly during an ugly run.... but hey, I was tired!

Dzumbo Follow-up

Remington's done the right thing. Make sure you respond appropriately with your next purchase.

Remington to Sever Sponsorship Ties with Jim Zumbo

Madison, North Carolina – As a result of comments made by Mr. Jim Zumbo in recent postings on his blog site, Remington Arms Company, Inc., has severed all sponsorship ties with Mr. Zumbo effective immediately. While Mr. Zumbo is entitled to his opinions and has the constitutional right to freely express those opinions, these comments are solely his, and do not reflect the views of Remington.

“Remington has spent tens of millions of dollars defending our Second Amendment rights to privately own and possess firearms and we will continue to vigorously fight to protect these rights,” commented Tommy Millner, Remington’s CEO and President. “As hunters and shooters of all interest levels, we should strive to utilize this unfortunate occurrence to unite as a whole in support of our Second Amendment rights.”

We regret having to terminate our long-standing relationship with Mr. Zumbo, who is a well-respected writer and life-long hunter.

Only one correction: he might be a life-long hunter, but he is no longer well-respected.

Hunting With Jim Zumbo

Hey - wanna see what happens when you piss off gun owners? Click on the link above and see.

The back story is that Jim Zumbo went off on a personal rant about how scary-looking rifles like AR-15s and AK-47s don't belong in hunting venues, and should be banned from public hunting lands.

This ignorant tirade in an otherwise pro-gun publication, sponsored by a firearms manufacturer was what we in the corporate world call a CLM: Career-Limiting Move.

Since Outdoor Life has closed Mr. Zumbo's blog, I'll present you with the text below. I can't say what Jim Zumbo was thinking when he wrote this silliness, but I'm sure he thought the Second Amendment only applied to hunting, and not the right to keep and bear arms. I bet he knows better now.

Assault Rifles For Hunters?
As I write this, I'm hunting coyotes in southeastern Wyoming with Eddie Stevenson, PR Manager for Remington Arms, Greg Dennison, who is senior research engineer for Remington, and several writers. We're testing Remington's brand new .17 cal Spitfire bullet on coyotes.

I must be living in a vacuum. The guides on our hunt tell me that the use of AR and AK rifles have a rapidly growing following among hunters, especially prairie dog hunters. I had no clue. Only once in my life have I ever seen anyone using one of these firearms.

I call them "assault" rifles, which may upset some people. Excuse me, maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity. I'll go so far as to call them "terrorist" rifles. They tell me that some companies are producing assault rifles that are "tackdrivers."

Sorry, folks, in my humble opinion, these things have no place in hunting. We don't need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them, which is an obvious concern. I've always been comfortable with the statement that hunters don't use assault rifles. We've always been proud of our "sporting firearms."

This really has me concerned. As hunters, we don't need the image of walking around the woods carrying one of these weapons. To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let's divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the praries [sic] and woods.

Seriously, have you ever seen anything as ignorant from an allegedly pro-gun writer? Adios, Zumbo...we hardly knew ye.

Knock Knock!

Really enjoyed this house clearing stage at the 3 gun match yesterday.

‘McMissile’ moment lands mother in jail

Hey, Big D...

"I guess we inadvertently merged back in front of her," Fowle said. "She apparently took that as some sort of aggressive maneuver on our part."

The next thing they knew, Fowle said, Hall was pulling up in the emergency lane and "chucking a big, supersized McDonald's cup at us." It flew diagonally across Ballin and onto Fowle. "It was gross and sticky and got all over me and the front of our car, the dashboard and the windshield," Fowle said.

There are 2 sides to every story:

Hall, whose family was driving from North Carolina to New York for a family party, saw the situation differently. She said she had never driven that route and was trying to keep up with her father's truck when Ballin cut in front of her the second time, causing her to swerve onto the shoulder. She said she was worried because her [in-labor, pregnant] sister's bulging belly almost slammed into the dashboard.

Hall's next move was wrong, she said, but she felt provoked.

"It was past me ignoring him. I'm not going to lie; I was cursing him," she said. "I took the McDonald's cup. I tossed it over my car."

Sounds like he had it coming. But here comes the LAW to the rescue:

Elsasser argued in court that had Ballin been hit by the drink, he might have gotten into a serious accident with injuries. Hall also was found guilty of reckless driving, assault against Ballin and assault and battery against Fowle. For her conviction on those charges, the jury recommended she be fined $1,000.

Instead a fine and community service, she got 2 years in prison for a felony. Hopefully, the judge will step in at sentencing.

Shooting Goodness, Indeed...

It promises to be a fine day, with lots of rounds downrange.

Shooting goodness

Yep. I think tomorrow's gonna be fun. Yessir, I do.

They'rrrrrrrrrre Baaaaack

H.R. 1022: To reauthorize the assault weapons ban, and for other purposes.

Please let your Congressmen know that they support this bill at their own political peril.

By the way, I'd start buying hi-cap mags now.

Police: Woman ties up lover, drinks his blood

The next time a homeless 24 year old chick asks to tie you up in bed, you should really think of the possible consequences.

Consider that your public service announcement for the day.

He was able to break free, run out of his home, but Sutton reportedly followed with a pickaxe, police said.

Yup, better think long and hard about the whole getting tied up by a young vagrant thing...

Happy Valentine's!

Just a shout out to all our faithful readers on this Valentine's Day!


Hope it's a great one!

Fightin' words

3 words:
Country Ass whuppin'.

There's still plenty of folks who know how to give one of those; and that's a good thing.

It's come to this?

Truly one of the more disgusting, sad, and pathetic newspaper articles I've read in awhile...

The New Braunfels City Council gave final approval to rules limiting the size of coolers on the Guadalupe and Comal rivers and banning alcohol at several riverfront parks.
After listening to dozens of residents Monday night, mostly in opposition to the rules, the council voted 4-3 to limit tubers on the Comal to one six-pack-size cooler each and those on the Guadalupe to a 12-pack-size cooler.

It's a sad day in Texas indeed.

Some more shooting fun

That was a little turn and burn classifier stage that seems to be all the rage for USPSA lately. Was fun running it with carbines...



Here's a longish stage that probably could have been put together a bit better, but I'll take what I can get. In this one, we shot it with the pistol beforehand as well - but were running backwards. No one seemed really inclined to want to do that with a long gun...

And finally, here's some pistol action. Did I mention it was freaking cold??

Runnin' N Gunnin'

Cowboy Blob is not the only one posting carbine vids anymore!! Here's a fun run N gun stage from today.

Did I mention it was freaking COLD!? Gads I'm still cold. Pistol stages posted later, YouTube is being finicky...

Other things you can do with SPAM

This trooper has the right idea!!

Our guys kickin' some ass

Well, well. Our media wants to blame our government for its intelligence failures, but the sword cuts both ways, fellas.

Looks like our guys in Iraq had a pretty good day of kicking ass and taking names. Don't just take the Jawa's word for it, CENTCOM has the news as well.

Way to go fellas, keep it up.

Anna Nicole Smith collapses, dies at 39

Anna Nicole Smith is dead. She went from being one of the hottest pieces of ass on the planet when she modeled for Guess? Jeans, to one of the biggest pieces of ass on the planet. Her pictorials in Playboy were just awesome. I spent several minutes at a time enjoying them. I hate to admit it, but I even loved tuning into her reality show for no other reason than to witness the train wreck. In 2004 she hooked up with Trim Spa and dropped what looked to be a couple of hundred pounds. She looked damn near as hot as she did 15 years earlier. I'll miss her, not only for her gigantic jugs, but for the, well okay I'll miss her gigantic jugs. Rest in piece, Anna. You will be missed.

Shooting Video

Here's the video from our last USPSA Match in January. About 15 minutes worth.

A little ray of sunshine

You know, after what seems like forever since we've had a run of decent weather around here; rain promised for this weekend; the liberals pissing me off; the news media REALLY pissing me off; the Cowboys still don't have a head coach; the Rangers are probably going to suck ass again this season; etc. etc. etc. I thought I'd post a little bit of cheer since we've been so serious around here lately.



There, I feel better already.

The good Sgt. responds

Apparently, the Sarge who had posted a fantastic column on Blackfive last week has had some of the liberals among us doubt his words. He has responded, full on today, and it's an awesome tribute to our fighting men who are out there protecting our country. Here's a sample:

B5:

Some get it, some don’t, some never will. I accept that I am a pariah among some of my countrymen, and a quaint anachronism to others. I will not hold ignorance against them.

And the answer Lefties is “no,” I don’t work for the Heritage Foundation in any sort of cubicle (as was claimed by “Waiting” in the comments section of the post), National Review Online, the Limbaugh Letter, nor am I Ann Coulters’ personal bodyguard (but what a cool job that would be, and if she is looking for someone, I will be available soon), an intern for Scooter Libby, the web master for a conservative website in my mom’s basement, or a GOP Fundraiser.

And having seen comments by “walrus” and “jbk” from the Comments Section and the certain fact that they have zero f’ing clue and they obviously haven’t walked a mile in my boots at 8600 feet up the side of a mountain wearing 65 pounds of body armor and equipment, I assure you two ass-clowns that the 107 millimeter Russian rockets that flew at me a couple of days ago were quite real, as was the outgoing 120 millimeter mortar counter battery fire. I can also assure you that I am a real staff sergeant and that I am really here in Afghanistan.

If you two oxygen thieves would like to join me over here, feel free. I’ll be waiting with a stack of sandwiches and a bat.

For Robert from the Comments Section, and this is the last time I will reference it; The Democrats voted for this little “illegal” war in Iraq, if they had big cajones, instead of little “finger in the wind, what does Code Pink think today” cajones, they would have voted their party line and said “no” to the president despite what they already knew about Saddam. And I seem to remember Teddy “the swimmer” Kennedy calling our little action in Afghanistan a “quagmire” after about 8 months of fighting here. Oh, and the Taliban don’t own Southern Afghanistan. They can’t even cop a squat without taking a JDAM to the chest. Been there, done that.
Before I get really started though, let me say a heartfelt “thanks” to all who are out there supporting me and the other soldiers just like me. We never really get a chance to say thanks to all of the Americans out there who stand behind us and who put the “home” in homecoming. Your deeds are worthy of more medals than I will ever earn. If I ever decide to run for office, or I need bail money, I know that there are those out there who are listening and making their voices heard.

I am just a guy in the Army trying to do a job. I am not over here to build this nation, and I said as much. I am here to help train the Afghan Army, so they can build their nation by making it safe for the Afghan people to do so. If the effects of my mission extend to helping make Afghanistan a better place, then what a great side effect that would be. But war-fighting remains the mission of the armed services, so that is what I expect we will try our best to do.

It gets better:

When CNN shows tape of snipers shooting at my comrades, I get pissed off. I know what the content of the video means to the insurgents fighting us. It gives them hope and the will to hang on just a little longer, make more plans, plot and scheme to kill and destroy more. They hang on because they know that you won’t hear about the stuff I just told you about my area of operations, but CNN will put a rush to get the “breaking news” of sniper activity on the air. And that makes it more dangerous for you, the people at home, because this enemy knows no boundaries. They showed us that on September 11, 2001.

And better:

No matter what the liberals say or do though, they will never change the ground truth that the people here and in Iraq know; that the American Soldier is the only soldier in the only Army in the world that, regardless of where we deploy or whichever foreign country we find ourselves in, people run toward us and not away.
The American Soldier knows the secret of why this is. Do you Liberals know? It isn’t because we bring candy for the children.

It is because we bring freedom…..

Lookit her go!

This video has many firsts. Trix was shooting a gun with no dot for the first time in months. Trix also managed to get through this stage without cursing like a sailor - a first in many moons as well....

Life's looking merrier for an earless terrier

...this puppy found himself abandoned because he suffered the misfortune of being born with no ears. He was born with skin covering the whole of his head - with no outer ears or earholes. Instead of the floppy ears which his breed normally has, he has tiny earflaps sticking out.

What do you call a dog with no ears? Nothing. He's not going to come to you anyway!

Hall of Heroes

In my continuing battle against the evils of our established news media, I present you with these heroes - because otherwise, many of you would never hear of their valor. Instead, our media would rather tell us how many car bombs went off today and how poorly the President is doing in the polls...

Regardless, here is but one - of many - Citations you will find here.

Read them all and remember that we are winning this war, regardless of what drivel you hear from the New York Times.


James H, Coffman Jr.
Colonel, U.S. Army
Distinguished Service Cross

Citation:
For exceptionally valorous conduct while assigned as the Senior Advisor to the 1st Iraqi Special Police Commando Brigade during a lengthy battle on 14 November 2004 in Mosul, Iraq, during which the unit likely would have been overrun were it not for the courageous leadership of Colonel Coffman and the one Commando officer not wounded. At approximately 1030 hours on 14 November, Colonel Coffman moved with a Commando Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to reinforce a Commando platoon under attack at the Four West Police Station in Mosul. As the QRF neared the besieged platoon, it came under intense rocket-propelled grenade, mortar, machinegun, and AK-47 fire by a large insurgent force. Over the next four hours, the enemy repeatedly assaulted the Commandos' position, at times culminating their attacks twenty meters from Colonel Coffman's location. With all but one of the commando officers killed or seriously wounded by the initial enemy fire, Colonel Coffman exhibited truly inspirational leadership, rallying the Commandos and organizing a hasty defense while attempting to radio higher headquarters for reinforcements. Under heavy fire, he moved from Commando to Commando, looking each in the eye and using hand and arm signals to demonstrate what he wanted done. At one point, an enemy round shattered Colonel Coffman's shooting hand and rendered his M4 rifle inoperable. After bandaging his hand, Colonel Coffman picked up AK-47s from Commando casualties and fired them with his other hand until each ran out of ammunition. With the assistance of the one remaining Commando officer, Colonel Coffman redistributed ammunition among the uninjured commandos until he had only loose ammunition that he loaded by placing magazines between his legs and using his one working hand. Throughout this period, he repeatedly demonstrated exceptional courage and an extraordinary example to the commandos as they repulsed attack after attack by the enemy. Four hours after the start of the battle, a second Commando element arrived and Colonel Coffman guided them to his position. Even after their arrival, he continued to direct the fight, refusing to be evacuated until the enemy was defeated. Shortly thereafter, attack helicopters also arrived, followed closely by a Stryker Brigade QRF, and Colonel Coffman used Iraqi radios to direct air strikes and to provide vital information on the location of enemy and friendly forces. After supervising the evacuation of several dozen wounded Commandos, Colonel Coffman led a squad-sized element to the Four West Iraqi Police Station, fifty meters ahead of the Strykers, to make contact with the Commandos still in the station. After they linked up, the Strykers moved forward, and attack helicopters engaged the buildings occupied by the enemy, following which Colonel Coffman returned to his original position to ensure that all of the Iraqi casualties had been evacuated. Only then did he consent to be evacuated for surgery for his own serious wound. During the fierce four-hour battle, twelve Commandos were killed and 42 were wounded. Twenty-five enemy were killed and many dozens more were wounded.

Her royal thighness....

Feel the love. I only hope that the Hildabeast can't find out who was responsible for this sign - because if so, I'm sure he's a dead man.

Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring

I hope the filthy little rodent is right this time.

Al Gore Is a Greenhouse Gasbag

And that's from someone who loves him - the Gieg.

Who's Gieg you ask? Only someone who's been working at an Ivy League college for a few decades. Teaching what you ask? The Gieg teaches Geology, and how the planet's geology has been affected by climate over the course of the Earth's history.

He has described Al Gore’s documentary as “a political statement timed to present him as a presidential candidate in 2008.” And he added, “The glossy production is replete with inaccuracies and misrepresentations, and appeals to public fear as shamelessly as any other political statement that hopes to unite the public behind a particular ideology.” This from a guy who voted for Gore in 2000 and says he’d probably vote for him again.

The Gieg gets right to the point:

The Earth has been warming, he says, for about 20,000 years. We’ve only been collecting data on that trend for about 200 years. “For most of Earth history,” he says, “the globe has been warmer than it has been for the last 200 years. It has only rarely been cooler.” Those cooler periods have meant things like two miles of ice piled over much of what is now North America. Nothing to be nostalgic for.

Pay attention here, a little science for you, dear reader:

The professor hits a button on his computer, and the really long-term view appears — the past 650,000 years. In that time, the Earth’s temperature has gone through regular cycles of rise and fall. The best explanation of those cycles was conceived by a Serbian amateur scientist named Milutin Milankovi´c. Very basically, Milankovi´c said this: The Earth’s orbit around the sun is more or less circular, but when other planets align in certain ways and their gravitational forces tug at the Earth, the orbit stretches into a more elliptical shape. Combined with the tilt of the Earth on its axis as it spins, that greater or lesser distance from the sun, plus the consequent difference in solar radiation that reaches our planet, is responsible for long-term climate change.

That's right folks - REGULAR CYCLES. Well before there was the internal combustion engine, the Earth was heating and cooling, all on its own.

I'm sure some of our older readers will recall that the big climate scare in the 70s was that we were going to all freeze to death in a new ice age.

Gieg .... points out that within his lifetime, there was a three-decade period of unusually low temperatures that culminated in the popular consciousness with the awful winter of 1976-77. Back then, scientists started sounding the alarm about a new ice age.

A common thread among the global warming savants is that the ice caps will melt (like the ones on Mars are doing right now all by themselves...) and then raise the level of the world's oceans, flooding millions of people out of their homes.

Well, the Gieg pretty much lays that one to waste too.

“Sea level is rising,” Giegengack agrees, switching off the sound. But, he explains, it’s been rising ever since warming set in 18,000 years ago. The rate of rise has been pretty slow — only about 400 feet so far. And recently — meaning in the thousands of years — the rate has slowed even more. The Earth’s global ocean level is only going up 1.8 millimeters per year. That’s less than the thickness of one nickel. For the catastrophe of flooded cities and millions of refugees that Gore envisions, sea levels would have to rise about 20 feet.
“At the present rate of sea-level rise,” Gieg says, “it’s going to take 3,500 years to get up there. So if for some reason this warming process that melts ice is cutting loose and accelerating, sea level doesn’t know it. And sea level, we think, is the best indicator of global warming.”

Read it all.

How to shut down a major city

I can think of a couple of things about these two shitbirds.

1. If they had managed to shut down traffic in DFW, instead of Boston, there would have been a lynch mob waiting for their sorry asses when they got out of the pen. JR would have been leading the mob.

2. There's just something about smelly, rasta haired, punk assed white boys that makes me want to just beat the snot out of them. I don't know what it is, but I surely do.

Don't think it can happen here?

This outstanding public service announcement (copied shamelessly from Xavier's site) should be an awesome example for us all. Don't think for an instant this couldn't happen here. Think Democrat President (oh, wait, they're sensitive about being called Democrats, right? Well boo freaking hoo; they're damn sure NOT democratic) but anyway, think Democrat President, Democrat Congress. If the Republicans don't pull their heads out of the asses, we're hosed and something like this young lady talks about will be our new reality.

Tampon Shooter Blowgun

That's right, kids. Tampon Crafts - for any time of the month!

Inspired by marshmallow shooters, this air-powered tampon gun turns your feminine hygiene products into high-flying projectiles. Have a shootout between rival tampon brands, or use it as a fun alternative to paintball. The tampon shooter has a range of 10 to 20 feet depending on your ammo and lung capacity. The matching bandolier lets you carry a full “clip” (i.e., box) of 20 tampons, so you’ll never be caught short in the heat of battle.

Who knew you could have so much fun with feminine hygiene products?

Tired?

Stolen shamelessy and without remorse from Blackfive. Read it all.

This tirade comes to us from a Sgt. who's been overseas protecting our sorry arses:


Things that I am tired of in this war:

I am tired of Democrats saying they are patriotic and then insulting my commander in chief and the way he goes about his job.

I am tired of Democrats who tell me they support me, the soldier on the ground, and then tell me the best plan to win this war is with a “phased redeployment” (liberal-speak for retreat) out of the combat zone to someplace like Okinawa.

I am tired of the Democrats whining for months on T.V., in the New York Times, and in the House and Senate that we need more troops to win the war in Iraq, and then when my Commander in Chief plans to do just that, they say that is the wrong plan, it won’t work, and we need a “new direction.”

I am tired of every Battalion Sergeant Major and Command Sergeant Major I see over here being more concerned about whether or not I am wearing my uniform in the “spot on,” most garrison-like manner; instead of asking me whether or not I am getting the equipment I need to win the fight, the support I need from my chain of command, or if the chow tastes good.

I am tired of junior and senior officers continually doubting the technical expertise of junior enlisted soldiers who are trained far better to do the jobs they are trained for than these officers believe.

I am tired of senior officers and commanders who fight this war with more of an eye on the media than on the enemy, who desperately needs killing.

I am tired of the decisions of Sergeants and Privates made in the heat of battle being scrutinized by lawyers who were not there and will never really know the state of mind of the young soldiers who were there and what is asked of them in order to survive.

I am tired of CNN claiming that they are showing “news,” with videotape sent to them by terrorists, of my comrades being shot at by snipers, but refusing to show what happens when we build a school, pave a road, hand out food and water to children, or open a water treatment plant.

I am tired of following the enemy with drones that have cameras, and then dropping bombs that sometimes kill civilians; because we could do a better job of killing the right people by sending a man with a high powered rifle instead.

I am tired of the thousands of people in the rear who claim that they are working hard to support me when I see them with their mochas and their PX Bags walking down the street, in the middle of the day, nowhere near their workspaces.

I am tired of Code Pink, Daily Kos, Al-Jazzera, CNN, Reuters, the Associated Press, ABC, NBC, CBS, the ACLU, and CAIR thinking that they somehow get to have a vote in how we blast, shoot and kill these animals who would seek to subdue us and destroy us.

I am tired of people like Meredith Vieria from NBC asking oxygen thieves like Senator Chuck Hagel questions like “Senator, at this point, do you think we are fighting and dying for nothing?” Meredith might not get it, but soldiers do know the difference between fighting and dying for something and fighting and dying for nothing.

I am tired of hearing multiple stories from both combat theaters about snipers begging to do their jobs while commanders worry about how the media might portray the possible casualties and what might happen to their career.

I am tired of hearing that the Battalion Tactical Operations Center got a new plasma screen monitor for daily briefings, but rifle scope rings for sniper rifles, extra magazines, and necessary field gear were disapproved by the unit supply system.

I am tired of out of touch general officers, senators, congressmen and defense officials who think that giving me some more heavy body armor to wear is helping me stay alive. Speed is life in combat and wearing 55 to 90 pounds of gear for 12 to 20 hours a day puts me at a great tactical disadvantage to the idiot, mindless terrorist who is wearing no armor at all and carrying an AK-47 and a pistol.

I am tired of soldiers who are stationed in places like Kuwait and who are well away from any actual combat getting Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay and the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion when they live on a base that has a McDonald’s, a Pizza Hut, a Subway, a Baskin Robbins, an internet café, 2 coffee shops and street lights.

I am tired of senior officers and commanders who take it out and "measure" every time they want to have a piece of the action with their helicopters or their artillery; instead of putting their egos aside and using their equipment to support the grunt on the ground.

I am tired of senior officers and commanders who are too afraid for their careers to tell the truth about what they need to win this war to their bosses so that the soldiers can get on with kicking the ass of these animals.

I am tired of Rules of Engagement being made by JAG lawyers and not Combat Commanders. We are not playing Hopscotch over here. There is no 2nd place trophy either. I think that if the enemy knew some rough treatment and some deprivation was at hand for them, instead of prayer rugs, special diets and free Korans; this might help get their terrorist minds “right.”

I am tired of seeing Active Duty Army and Marine units being extended past their original redeployment dates, when there are National Guard Units that have yet to deploy to a combat zone in the last 40 years.

I am tired of hearing soldiers who are stationed in safe places talk about how hard their life is.

I am tired of seeing Infantry Soldiers conducting what amounts to “SWAT” raids and performing the US Army’s version of “CSI Iraq” and doing things like filling out forms for evidence when they could be better used to hunt and kill the enemy.

I am tired of senior officers and commanders who look first in their planning for how many casualties we might take, instead of how many enemy casualties we might inflict.

I am tired of begging to be turned loose so that this war can be over.

Those of us who fight this war want to win it and go home to their families. Prolonging it with attempts to do things like collect “evidence” or present whiz bang briefings on a new plasma screen TV is wasteful and ultimately, dulls the edge of our Infantry soldiers who are trained to kill people and break things, not necessarily in that order.

We are not in Iraq and Afghanistan to build nations. We are there to kill our enemies. We make the work of the State Department easier by the results we achieve.

It is only possible to defeat an enemy who kills indiscriminately by utterly destroying him. He cannot be made to yield or surrender. He will fight to the death by the hundreds to kill only one or two of us.

And so far, all of our “games” have been “away games,” and I don’t know about the ignorant, treasonous Democrats and the completely insane radical leftists and their thoughts on the matter, but I would like to keep our road game schedule.

So let’s get it done. Until the fight is won and there is no more fight left.

-D

Dogs -- and ducks -- no longer welcome in many bars, diners

He put up his sign barring pets last summer after the duck incident.
'She got mad and put the duck in her car,' Rogel said. 'And I'm looking out the window ... and there's the duck flapping around and crapping all over the place. Like I really want that in my restaurant.'

Great. Now who's gonna pick up the bill?

Practice Practice Practice

The weather has sucked so bad lately I've been dry firing a bunch. Got bored and took some film of me practicing reloads last night. Felt nice and smooth - I've been working on eliminating any extra movement that isn't needed and it's starting to show...



Now, if JR would post the videos from today's match (hint hint) then we could see the reload in action!

The Life of Riley

Hi, this is Riley. He's my new buddy.

My Girlfriend and I rescued him from a local shelter. He's about 10 weeks old, a yellow Lab/Shepard mix.

John Kerry - Traitor

Giving aid and comfort to the enemy used to be considered traitorous. Today, it's Dixie Chick chic for the asshats in the Democrat Party. Kerry claims that we are to be faulted for looking at the world from our own perspective. I suppose he'd like us to look at the world through our enemy's perspective and just start blowing up innocent women and children at the drop of a hat?

Here, Kerry is giving an enemy of our state his autograph. Nice, huh?




Click on the link and watch the video. Another reason to thank God that John Kerry doesn't have the word President in front of his name.

Cleanin' time

Well, what's a shooter to do when the weather's not co-operating and you can't get to the range....

I broke down today and stripped down the Rock Ranch for the first time since the beginning of October. I figure that's pretty close to 3,000 rounds. Shot a bit in October, took most of November off, a bit in December and somewhere in the 700-800 round range this month so far. Getting ready to start picking it back up with lots more rounds downrange in the near future; hopefully starting tomorrow! I'll probably get about 1500 rounds downrange this month (depending on how much practice time I can squeeze in tomorrow after the match) and start hitting at least 2,000 rounds a month in February.

Anyway, at my practice session last weekend the gun was starting to get sluggish and with the cold weather hanging around I needed to pull the slide glide off the pistol and put something a little lighter on for lube.

As you can see, the gun was pretty grungy.





Here's the inside of slide - icky!



You can see just how grungy the top and bottom halves are. This is part of the beauty of slide glide. Whatever magic it works, it keeps the weapon lubed while pushing the dirt and gunk away from the parts of the gun that are rubbin' together.



Wanna see something really nasty? Check out the barrel.



Since it's been a while since I've cleaned the pistol, I broke out the extractor, firing pin, and firing pin stop.



I then proceeded to wipe down and get rid of all the gunk throughout the weapon, and used some Q-tips and a squirt of WD-40 to clean out the extractor and firing pin channels. I don't use any solvent, nor do I clean the inside of the barrel at all. There have been several studies done that have proven to me that practical shooting can heat up the barrel to extreme levels and that the best thing to do is just leave the barrel alone in order to not damage the riflings. As a result, I rarely, if ever, clean out the inside of the barrel. If it starts getting really really bad, then there's a solvent that I can dip the barrel in, partially made up of peroxide that will clean any gunk out of the barrel without damaging it.

Here's the two halves all nice and clean and ready to go back together.



Before putting the pistol together, I lubed up the halves with a combination of some heavy motorcycle racing oil and a little bit of FP-10 and slide the gun back together. Probably the next time I take the gun apart to clean it - in March most likely - I'll put some more slide glide back on it and be ready to rock and roll.

Final picture - looking all sparkly clean - for the moment anyway. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the opportunity to dirty the gun up some more.

Scientist develops caffeinated doughnuts

Science has invented doughnuts filled with caffeine. Bohannon says he's developed a way to add caffeine to baked goods, without the bitter taste of caffeine. Each piece of pastry is the equivalent of about two cups of coffee.

You had me at doughnuts.

Clerk convicted of trafficking fake Viagra

He faces up to 95 years in prison.The government said Hassan sold a counterfeit Viagra mixed with ingredients such as gypsum, a primary component of wallboard.

Man, that's a stiff penalty, and hard time. Seems like it'd be hard to keep that up for long.

Wait - gypsum?

Scary Gun!

As I promised earlier in a comment thread about gun grabbers, here's my AR outfitted with the newest in evil features: the vertical foregrip.
Why'd I get it? Because gun-grabbers don't like it. Let's go down the checklist on this death-dealing bullet hose, shall we?

Detachable, 30-round magazines - Check.
Pistol grip - Check.
Collapsible stock - Check.
Vortex Flash Hider - Check.
Bayonet lug - Check.
Heat-dissapating foregrip - Check.
Vertical foregrip - Check.

I mounted a flashlight to it last night, too. All I need is a grenade launcher. :)

There it is, ladies and gents: the violent "assault" weapon so feared by the protectors of children and, um, criminals. The only problem is this: it's semi-automatic. It only fires one shot for each pull of the trigger.

Just like the not-as-scary Ruger Mini-14, which functions exactly the same, uses the same ammunition, but doesn't look as scary. The Mini-14 is equally as lethal as that scary-looking thing above. But the gun-grabbers don't want it - it looks like a hunting rifle.

Just proof that it's feel-good legislation, and does NOTHING but produce sound bites for the rabid liberal press.

Molon Labe.

Now isn't that ironic?

Don't know about you, but personally I found it incredibly ironic that on the same day that Barack Obama told us all about having Universal Health Care within 6 years, Ford Motor Company posted its largest loss of all time. The tag line is that FoMoCo did so poorly because they make "gas guzzling SUVs and trucks", but if you read between the lines you'll find out why they're hurting so bad.

Obama and the rest of the Democrat candidates want to give all of us average Joes the same kind of medical benefits that have run Ford and the other American car giants into the ground.

How much do you or I have to pay to get heart work done? This GM worker paid not one penny of his $160,000 heart surgery. Not. One. Cent. As a result of these cradle to grave policies, GM, Ford, and most likely the other American car companies are phasing out their medical care, as you can see in these older articles.

Those Democrats. You gotta give it to them; they have a great sense of timing.

Too bad we're the only ones pointing it out.

And Van Halen Will Rock

I give this about a 10% probability of actually happening, and estimate a lifespan of, oh...15 minutes.

Roth, who unceremoniously parted ways with Van Halen in 1985, told the music magazine's Website eight months ago that getting him and his former hair-band brothers back together would not be "rocket surgery."

That boy gives the Roths a bad name...

MN congresswoman can't keep her hand off Bush

How's that for a headline?

Moral Authority?

Please, just put me out of my misery now. Two more years of this crap and I'm going to be ready to shoot myself in the head.

"I wrote this book to remind people what the Clinton administration meant to us and the world," McAuliffe said, adding that the Clinton years showed how to "restore moral authority."

The Clinton years restored our moral authority? I'm not sure about ya'll but I remember some little side issues of the Clinton years like blue dresses, firing the travel staff, Paula Jones, stealing everything that wasn't glued down from Naval ships o' the line, crooked deals, pardoned terrorists and on and on. Yet McAuliffe has the gall to suggest that her royal thighness will restore the country's moral authority?

As has been pointed out by other folks much wiser than me, the liberals all would have us believe that history started today. Yesterday never happened.

Black Caucus: Whites Not Allowed

To me, what is most infuriating with those of the liberal persuasion is their never ending hypocrisy.

They won't let me own a gun, but it's OK if their bodyguards are carrying.

They will insist that I drive some piece of shit electric car to save gas while they are flying across the globe in their private jets.

They will insist we need to come up with alternate methods of energy, but won't let windmills be built where they can see them.

They will mercilessly ride you into the ground for taking note of someone's physical issues, but will also mercilessly harass Rush for being fat or Donald Trump for having a crappy comb over.

They will run you out of town if you make an off the cuff remark at an old timer's birthday because in his youth, the old man supported segregation. However, they will do nothing to someone in their own party who was an actual card carrying member of the KKK.

That's at the crux of this story. Imagine, for just a moment, if there were a white caucus that refused, under any circumstances, to allow a black congressman in. How long do you think that would go on before the white caucus was run out of town by the media and the liberal elites? I mean, just imagine that the positions were reversed here:

Cohen said he became convinced that joining the caucus would be "a social faux pas" after seeing news reports that former Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr., D-Mo., a co-founder of the caucus, had circulated a memo telling members it was "critical" that the group remain "exclusively African-American."

Damned hypocrites, and the shame is that no one calls them on it because to do so (in this case) would lead you to be called a rascit. Only in America.

Coffee anyone?

I've never been a big coffee drinker. To me it's like drinking hot mud. However, I just might take it up if these shops come to Texas!

We would never see JR again of course. He's already a coffee addict. Can't imagine what this kind of store would do to his psyche.

Google Maps

This application is obviously written by men. Otherwise, someone would've stopped this and asked for directions...

Big. Brass. Balls

In flight video of the Royal Marines rescue attempt that went down with guys strapping themselves onto Apaches to rescue a fallen comrade.

Gun Grabbers return

I'm sure it's no coincidence that we get a Democrat Congress and within a few weeks, states start up attempting to ban private firearm ownership again.

Let it be known to anyone in Maryland, you can kiss goodbye any money that you would ever make from me driving through, visiting, or essentially doing anything in your state. If enough people out there let Maryland here their voices we can maybe get this bullshit turned around.

Make no mistake, the anti-gunners are out there and they are emboldened by the Democrat return to power in Washington.

Accused Robber: I'm Sorry

Remember the post a couple of weeks ago about the burglar who got his ass handed to him by the homeowner? Here's the followup story. That fresh can of whoop-ass must've been good:

Anderson was hospitalized with a broken nose, collapsed lungs and a damaged liver, and he didn't wake up for six days, NBC 5 reported. Anderson said he admits that if he did what police said he did, he deserved what he got.

And there it is - let that be the lesson.

Michael Yon is back

Here's Yon's latest dispatch from Iraq.

I think the most telling thought about the entire affair is right here:

I tell them to bring those nice cameras to Iraq and snap away; if they don’t photograph this war, practically nobody else will.

What does that tell you about our wonderful media? There's lots of people out there who want to blame our government for the current state of world affairs. I blame the media because they have failed us more than anything else I can think of; and continue to fail us to this day.

First Big Match, coming up!

The stages from the first big match of the year have now been posted, and as usual, looks like a lot of fun!

Lots of high round count stages with lots of movement required. A few gimmicky stages that look to be entertaining, but at least nothing like last year's Hellaports which I absolutely hated!

I've got 2 months to get my ass in shape and start hitting the range for some serious practice - hopefully the stinkin' weather will co-operate!

Cookie Monster Searches Deep Within Himself and Asks: Is Me Really Monster?

They don't call the vampire with math fetish monster, and me pretty sure he undead and drinks blood. No one calls Grover monster, despite frequent delusional episodes and obsessive-compulsive tendencies. And the obnoxious red Grover—oh, what his name?—Elmo! Yes, Elmo live all day in imaginary world and no one call him monster. No, they think he cute. And Big Bird! Don't get me started on Big Bird! He unnaturally gigantic talking canary! How is that not monster? Snuffleupagus not supposed to exist—woolly mammoths extinct. His very existence monstrous. Me least like monster. Me maybe have unhealthy obsession, but me no monster.

We're on a Sesame Street roll here...

Thanks again to JR.

photo of the day: Austin shuts downtown after dead birds discovered

More on those bird deaths in Austin. HI-larious.

Hat tip to JR.

More signs of dhimmitude

From Jihad Watch/Dhimmi Watch:

Dhimmitude is the status that Islamic law, the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims, primarily Jews and Christians. Dhimmis, "protected people," are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur'an's command that they "feel themselves subdued" (Sura 9:29). This denial of equality of rights and dignity remains part of the Sharia, and, as such, is part of the law that global jihadists are laboring to impose everywhere, ultimately on the entire human race.

It would appear that a group of muslims arrived late to their assigned check in time.

Northwest said the pilgrims failed to check in one hour before their transatlantic flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Detroit was scheduled to depart, as is required. The passengers arrived in Frankfurt via a charter flight from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and mistakenly believed they were cleared to board the Northwest flight, but were not.

However, once the confusion was rectified, the group was placed on the soonest available flight and apologized for the delay. Story over, right?

Wrong.

The January 7 incident was taken up by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which welcomed the airline's apology, but said the group wanted clarification and compensation.

So, what we have here, are a group of muslims. They showed up late to check in. As a result, they were denied entry to the aircraft and placed instead on the next available aircraft. And now NW airlines is going to have to PAY them becuase the group was late? What's next?? All muslims fly for free? All muslims get to fly first class only? All muslims to the front of the line? Heaven forbid a muslim have to wait in line with the rest of us infidels.

I hope NW sticks to its guns and doesn't give in to the political pressure put on it by the asshats at CAIR. I'm not counting on it, but it would be nice.

Inflation has best showing in 3 years

It's Bush's fault!

The slowdown in inflation translated into more spending power for Americans. The government said average weekly earnings for non-supervisory workers rose by 2.1 percent last year, after adjusting for inflation. That was the biggest gain in nine years.

Wait - that's good, right?

Inflation-adjusted weekly earnings had fallen for three straight years, a development that Democrats argued in last fall's election campaigns showed that President Bush's economic policies were not working for the middle class.

Oh, guess not.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes rose by 4.5 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.642 million units, raising hopes that the worst of the housing slowdown may be coming to an end.

Wait, that's good too, right?

The report on the Consumer Price Index offered good news on that front, showing that core inflation was rising at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the final three months of the year, just half of the 2.8 percent rate of increase turned in during the July-September quarter. It was the best showing of the year.

And that's good too, right? Well, what about fuel cost?

For all of 2006, energy costs rose 2.9 percent, a significant slowdown after an increase of 17.1 percent in 2005 and 16.6 percent in 2004. That price moderation occurred in recent months. After advancing at a 22.8 percent annual rate in the first six months of 2006, energy costs fell at a 13.4 percent rate in the final half of the year.

Hmmm...

Repeat after me: "GLOBAL WARMING! IRAQ!" It seems to be all that's left for the Democraps to complain about. Be prepared to hear it a lot.

Now THAT's LOW!

Was surfing around the Military.com website, which is a pretty outstanding resource of military videos and found this gem.

All I can say is that is freaking low.

If you're at work, turn the sound down as there is some, shall we say, adult language. ;)

Reminder

Even if you don't have muffs, you can usually find something at the range to use as hearing protection, like this guy did.

Global Warming - Texas Chilling

What's wrong with this picture?

That's right - it's my car here in Texas, with snow, sleet and ice on it.

This was my drive to work today:

And do you think the weatherman knew this was going to happen? Of course not - this sort of stuff was going to be waaay SOUTH of us. I'd love to have a job where I can be wrong all the time, and still make tons of money.

Of course, the schools are closed, mass panic has ensued, and wrecks are everywhere. Big fun down here in Texas!

Shocked I am!

Really. I'm shocked. To think that the people in the Middle East were fighting one another some 5500 years ago just shocks me to no end. Really, it does. I mean, there was no George Bush, no Zionist state, no foreigners messing around in their business. Yet somehow one group of people managed to completely wipe out an entire city-state.

I'm waiting for someone to explain this to me because I really thought that the only reason there has been a state of war in the Middle East has been Western meddling, the founding of Israel and our own lust for oil....

Annoying ads can be effective

I was on Yahoo Groups earlier, and was once again assaulted by one of those dancing silhouette ads. Yeah, you know exactly what I'm talking about - either some goof in a suit shaking his ass, the 2 cowboys performing some sort of brokeback line dance, or the morons dancing on the rooftops. After seeing too many of these things, I decided to consult the Internets to see if I was just being a crabby old man, or if others were as sick of these things as I am.

On a blog called MyOpenWallet, visitor "J.D." added his comments to a post about the ads: "I hate these ads. I intentionally avert my eyes so that I do not know who runs them."

That's funny, because that's what I do, too. I wouldn NEVER buy anything these ads are selling. Just like I won't buy anything from Southwest Kia or Southwest Hyundai ("we wanna see ya in a Southwest Kia!"). Yeah - local TV ad featuring Bill Dickason (great name for a car salesman), where they promise "if you can find a better deal in Texas, I'll just give it to ya!" WTF does THAT mean?

But I digress. Back to hating these silhouette ads. Another quote:

The lowermybills dancing ads are the most ANNOYING ads ever made. Yes, I now know the company but I HATE them -- would never, EVER think of using them.

Note the quote. Yes, we know the companies now (because they're SO damned aggravating), but we would never think of buying from them. So what's the purpose of effective advertising? I'd say it's getting people to buy your product. Want some insight to the geniuses that devised these things?

Coffin said the ads were done in-house, not by an ad firm. As for the many blog-posters that don't see a connection between boot-scooting cowboys and mortgage quotes, "All the dancing you see is really a celebration of saving money," Coffin said. "At least that's how we see it."

Right.

SHOT show

So, what'dya do when you're stuck indoors thanks to nasty weather and terrible DFW drivers??

Check out these pictures from the SHOT Show! Some really cool images here...

7 New Wonders of the World

Well, what'dya think the "new" 7 wonders of the world should be?

I voted for:
The Acropolis, Chichen Itza, The Colosseum, The Great Wall, Petra, The Pyramids, and Stonehenge.

Tactical Tommy Goes to the Store

This is a reprise of the story printed back in 2004. I figured with mall ninjas and all, it was a good time for a redux, this time with hyperlinked references for the uninitiated. Origin: Over at The High Road, there's a nut that goes by "alduro," who's the author. Check out parts II and III.

As I was leaving my house I stuffed my Glock 10mm "man gun" Mexican-style in my pants. My backup is a fully customized 1911 with all the IPSC add-on options in my $500.00 leather pancake holster custom made by Belgian Monks who have devoted their lives to silence and holster making. These are the ones used by SEAL Team 6, which I used to be a part of but all records of my activities were destroyed in a fire "accident".

I put on my Royal Robbins photographer vest to match my pants while wearing a T-Shirt underneath reading "from my cold dead hands." That way, nobody can see what I'm packing. I had my Centennial .38 Special in my ankle holster, just like the gun rag guys carry. Lastly I had my "Covert Sniper" I.D. Card in my wallet with my "Concealed Weapons Permit Badge". I was ready for anything.

I drove my "bug-out truck" to the 7-11 for some beer, 'cause you never know. It is a performance-styled Subaru BRAT with 4 cylinders of ground pounding fury.

I pull up to the 7-11 store and notice a nefarious looking girl scout eyeballing me from the back of her mother's SUV. A likely cover.

The mother returned to the truck and went for the keys in her purse, but I knew from my years of combat-honed instincts that she was actually making a furtive movement for an offensive weapon.

I attempted a tactical shoulder roll, but fell flat on my face, kind of flopping on the pavement to avoid any incoming rounds and to make it look like I meant to do that. The store owner called 911 which is good, because I then did a roll and attempted to draw my Glock.

Unfortunately, since I did not have a holster, the gun "went off" and the bullet creased my weener. But I was prepared for that and bit down on a 9mm casing to take my mind off the pain as I dove for the garbage barrel. That's when I noticed the girl scout shouting something to her mother who began to take cover. I knew they were closing on me so I drew my trusty custom 1911 Wilson COMBAT....I knew that they would be impressed with that. I then duck walked to the front of her SUV but my gut kinda got in the way and I fell on my ass, which caused me to swallow my 9mm casing.

I then tried to roll to my right, but didn't want to scuff my holster, so I just threw myself into a telephone pole, but I landed on my right side anyway. So I fired one shot towards the woman's SUV to pin them down as I recovered my wind.

Before the mother knew what was happening, I charged her and I threw my groin into her knee. I knew that as I vomited on the ground in front of her that I had interrupted her OODA loop, and I had the advantage now. As she ran screaming for the girl scout (I knew she was going for backup) I made for my super-charged BRAT tactical truck. I jumped into the driver seat, forgetting that I had left my rare Israeli contract AR 15 Bayonet on the seat (honed to a razors edge). I could handle it though, half my ass is an implant from war wounds. As I attempted to start my truck, police and paramedics arrived on the scene. My truck would not start and instead backfired once and caused the police to taze me. At this point, I tactically soiled myself while in convulsions. My custom 1911 then fell out the window, but I still had my Centennial .38. I knew then that I had to take out the woman with the purse.

So I aimed my revolver at her, at which point the first police officer fired once striking me in the chest. Fortunately, I was wearing my level III-A body armor. I didn't want to hurt the cops, they had obviously been duped by the evil temptress who was now embracing her partner in crime and crying to the police in the background - I knew it was a ruse.

I pulled out my concealed weapons permit badge and showed it to the officer who shot me and yelled out "I'm one of you guys!!!" He continued to cover me, and ordered me to drop my .38 so I laid it down. After all, I still had my bayonet attached to my ass. The cop walked toward me, and upon reading the badge maced me right in the eyes. Fortunately, my Oakley shooting glasses stopped most of the spray and I was able to rip free of the Taser cords easily. It only cost me one nipple...easily replaced. I dove for the passenger side of my truck and began to run zig zag for a ditch. Unfortunately, the bayonet sticking out of my ass slowed me down. I knew it would have to be hand-to-hand now. I knew the cop couldn't take me when I saw he merely carried a Glock 17, not a man's gun. So I immediately threw my eye into his right hook, followed by a knee into his mag light. As I lay thrashing on the ground, I took the heel of my Bates enforcer boot and kicked at the cops ankle. I knew from my classified experiences in Tajikistan that once I broke his ankle, the cop would fall down and I could "stun kick" him in the head, knocking him out but not hurting him.

Apparently the cop had also been to Tajikistan, because he side-stepped me and struck me in the back with his ASP baton, but my trauma plate absorbed it. I then drew my Benchmade auto knife and was promptly tazed again, but I was ready for it this time and only wet myself a little bit.

Next thing those cops knew, I was unconscious. That'll teach 'em.

Clock ticking on Dems' 100-hour agenda

"So while the House has been in session for almost 48 hours since the 110th Congress was sworn in Jan. 4, the clock on Pelosi's Web site says only 17 hours 48 minutes have elapsed.
'We're just counting the legislative hours,' Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill explained."

Looks like the Speakerette suffers from a common Democrat malady - selective memory. That, and it appears she's reserving the "100" hours for hogging the floor for as long as they can.

Some things change. Politics don't.

MALL NINJA!

He's got a MySpace! Check it out: http://www.myspace.com/tacticalsecurityenforcer

Coyote killing contest prompt howls

Coyotes caused an estimated $47 million in damage to the cattle industry in 2005, according to the USDA. Sheep losses topped $10 million in 2004.

Coyotes are bad, mean, dirty, noisy, and reproduce like bunnies. I live in the city, and have greenbelt/creek behind my house. I was awakened just this week by a pack of coyotes running down the greenbelt. It's an unmistakable sound, and kinda creepy. I've seen coyotes in busy intersections right here in town, running around unmolested.

So, anyway, there's a coyote killing contest going on in Montana this weekend, offering up a $6000 purse. Even the USDA's Wildlife Services division kills about 80,000 coyotes a year. Sounds like a good plan to me - kill varmints, get paid. It's a win-win deal, if you ask me.

Except for one thing: someone's going to be upset.

"You kill some coyotes and six months later it's as if you didn't kill any at all. What are they accomplishing other than just being barbaric?" asked Brooks Fahy, executive director of Predator Defense.

Predator Defense? WTF? Do they represent lions, sharks, coyotes, and gators at murder trials? I think Brooks deserves to see what a coyote can do to the family pet.

Gene mutation may raise the risk of alcoholism

The gene mutation involves a cell structure called the mu-opioid receptor. In previous studies, this receptor has been shown to bind beta-endorphin, a pain-relieving chemical the body releases in response to alcohol intake and other stimuli.

Spare me the techno-babble, Poindexter. I believe this makes me a superhero. I could be one of the new X-Men. My new mutant name is Filtro - I have the power to convert beer to urine. Beware, evil-doers!

Texas Pizza Chain to Accept Pesos

In a just world, the INS/ICE would roll in on this place and ask everyone to prove that they are legal citizens, or legally in this country.

This is nuts. If you're here legally, then I don't care if you've got green skin and 3 eyes. But this pandering to illegals is killing us by the death of 1000 cuts.

Report: Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Dead

Tell Saddam we said hi. I wonder if President Ahmacrazyguy is going to make a power play?

1911 Porn

Picked up this S&W 1911 a few weeks ago; added a Smith Alexander mag well and a pair of green Ergo Grips from Dillon. I'll add a decent set of sights; most likely a pair of Dawsons.

I have yet to shoot this beauty, but as you can tell in the picture, she's loaded up with slide glide and ready to roll. Range report once I get some lead downrange.

The Rules on Islamic Wife Beating

Just in case you were wondering what the rules for these primitive savages are. Bunch of mud-eating, hut-dwelling, goatherd primitives. Welcome to Islam!

Damn that sucked

In a fitting end to a crap ass season, the Cowboys go down in flames tonight in Seattle.

They played exactly like they played all year. Penalties at BAD times, mental mistakes that cost them 5 points - Glen's fumble into their own end zone and Romo's fumble at the field goal - and a worthless mouthpiece of a reciever who dropped two key 3rd down conversions. Again. Defensive breakdowns. Again. Roy Williams is a helluva hitter. But he can't cover worth a shit. Put 10 pounds on the guy and let him play linebacker next year....

This game was damned painful to watch. On the positive side, I think with 3 easy steps, the Cowboys can be on the road to success:

1. Get rid of Jerry Jones.
2. Get rid of Parcels.
3. Get rid of TO.

Gotta watch those Texas Cheerleaders

I think we can consider ourselves lucky that a killing wasn't involved here. You know how those Texas Cheerleader moms are.

Fat women causing problems

Well, it's now officially a trend. Fat women aren't just overwieght, they are a safety hazard!!

Last month, we had an American Airlines flight diverted to Nashville because a reportedly large woman was having flatulance problems.
Now, we hear of a report where a "large" woman trapped a group of spelunkers for 12 hours after she "fell in a "splits position" and couldn't get back up."

How'd you like to be the fellow to grease her up and lift her out, eh?

"We used liquid paraffin to grease the surface area and a pulley to lift her," Mr Gerstner said."

It's yet another example of a PC world gone crazy. Rather than stick by their guns and not let the fat lady go on the tour - as they advised before she started, they gave in, stating that "he told Johannesburg's Independent newspaper that the tour guide also told the woman that she should reconsider before she reached the tunnels. "The woman was extremely offended. We will have to be a lot more stringent with people," he said."

Anyway, keep your eyes out for those "problem" patrons!

First female Beefeater appointed

A woman has become the Tower of London's first ever female Beefeater.

I seriously doubt that.

Utah risks loosing its best teachers

Before they change the title of the article, yes, that's an actual headline.

What they don't understand is that, if they only maintain the current course, mediocre teachers will be all that are left in this state.

Looks like it's too late.

9 Body Parts You Didn't Know Had Names

Read this, or I'll poke you in your glabella.

JR sloshing around in the mud

Here's a little vid of JR working his way through a field course this weekend. Not too shabby for an old man.