Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence - Yeah, whatEVER.

Let's allow the Brady Bunch to help us. Click on the link above, and use their very own form letter to send your message to your congress-persons and the President. If you're at a loss, here's my version:

Please don't listen to the outrageous lies of these people. Guns aren't the problem, and we've got more than enough laws. If that monster was willing to kill 32 people, he could give one whit about one more gun law.

You want to make a difference? Allow law-abiding citizens to defend themselves. If only ONE person had been able to legally defend himself against this lunatic, we'd be reading about how tragedy had been averted, not about how 32 people were mercilessly murdered without ANY defense whatsoever.

Monsters are amongst us. Are YOU going to be the person who keeps me from protecting myself (or more importantly) my loved ones from the predators that would take our very freedom?

I AM the voice of reason, and I AM the voice of the vast majority of Americans. Help us help ourselves.

SHOW those Brady Bastards how you feel about their stupidity. Get off your ass, and do something about it!

Imagine if students were armed

Larry Hincker is the Virginia Tech spokesman who practically pooped himself with joy this morning when the Virginia legislature struck down a measure to allow guns on campus. Minutes later, the tragic events of this day unfolded.

The link above goes to an editorial from last year, when another gunman managed to commit mayhem on the VTech campus. Larry was dumbfounded that anyone would even think of arming students. Quoth he:

Wiles tells us that he didn't feel safe with the hundreds of highly trained officers armed with high powered rifles encircling the building and protecting him. He even implies that he needed his sidearm to protect himself against the officers.

I'm pretty pissed at Larry right now. He represents illogic, ignorance, and a complete lack of compassion for the situation. Here's a prophetic quote:

The writer would have us believe that a university campus, with tens of thousands of young people, is safer with everyone packing heat. Imagine the continual fear of students in that scenario. We've seen that fear here, and we don't want to see it again.

I hope he's deeply ashamed of himself now. Let's see if he makes the news in the coming days. My guess is that he's laying low, mortified by his ignorant statements.

Guns don't belong in classrooms. They never will. Virginia Tech has a very sound policy preventing same.

Hey Larry - think the gunman that massacred 33 people today cares about your damned policy?

33 people executed in a gun-free zone, where police never took fire, nor did a thing to end the violence. So much for your "highly-trained officers" and their "high-powered rifles." ONE person with a handgun could've saved dozens of lives, but instead, the law-abiding citizens fell to one crazed murdered with the intent and desire to do harm. Congratulations on your gun-free zone, Larry. I hope you sleep well.

Virginia Tech - a Gun-Free Zone. ...Updated...

I mean absolutely no disrespect to any of the families affected by this tragedy. As the father of a college student, my heart goes out to you.

I just want someone to answer one what-if question for me: what IF a student in the dormitory that was attacked had been able to defend him/herself from this raging lunatic? Forget whether or not it were legal or not, because the gunman didn't pay any attention to the "No gun" signs on campus. Obviously, these were good kids that obeyed the laws and rules of the college. It's a pity.

In light of today's shootings at Virginia Tech, imagine the timing of this bit of legislation.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."

I hope old Larry gets the chance to choke on those words today. Safer, my ass. You take away the ability of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves from nutjobs who don't care one whit about the law, and what do you get? The other headline today:

1 Killed in Shootings at Virginia Tech

One 21 32 dead, 21 ?? injured.

Pull your heads out, people. Stop disarming the wrong people.

Army won't replace M4

Yes, we've found something that gets rid of the reliability problems of the M4/M16 and it's gas system.

No, we're not going to replace it with said system.

In an Army that appears to have as many lawyers on the front line as fighting men, this doesn't surprise me.

Instead of putting new tools in the hands of our warfighters who need them NOW, the Army instead is waiting for "the development of a new rifle firing an airburst round...." An AIRBURST round? Good God man.

Never mind that the 416 system, which we have discussed here before, would be a fairly inexpensive replacement for the existing M4/M16 rifles. Basically, all they would need to do is swap out uppers and you're ready to rock and roll.

But no, we're waiting for an airburst round. Crikey.

Now With Soylent Green!

Howzabout a little social experimentation? I dare ya.

Tiger Stripes

Here's the finished tiger striped 1911. Pretty cool, eh??

Specifics:
.45acp
Kimber stainless frame, with the frame cut to accept a ramped bbl.
McCormick slide
Barsto ramped bbl.
Heinie straight 8 sights, race cut
SV ambi safeties
Duracoat finish
All fit and completed by Larry up at Rock Ranch Guns.

These say it all

I'm speechless

How long till Jesse Jackson is on a plane to England?

I am utterly astounded that someone said this out loud; guess it goes to show you that when you can't be re-elected your options for speaking your mind are a lot more than they are otherwise.

Sad really. People being honest about problems without having to fear the PC police would sure save us a lot of grief and money.

Yeah, so?

Unless you live in a cave along the Pakistan border, you've likely been swamped with news coverage of Don Imus' little faux pas. Yeah, he called the Rutgers' ladies basketball team a group of nappy haired ho's.

And my thoughts were, and continue to be, "yeah, so?"

I mean, really folks. I was brought up to believe that if someone insults you, consider the source. If it's from someone you respect, then you've got a problem. If it's not, then who cares? And if it's from some old, hacked out, has been of a radio host who also happens to be an idiot, then who really cares what he thinks or says? What's his audience size anyway, a coupla hundred?

If you don't like the tripe that comes out of his mouth, don't turn on his show. End of story.

However, now it would appear that we've got at least a two week news cycle because you surely know that when he comes back on the air in two weeks everyone will continue to ask him if he's managed to properly apologize or not yet.

Between this jackass' comments, and the discovery of just who the father of Anna's baby is, you'd think nothing else was going on in the world.

Yet another example of a news industry that has failed us in every respect.

Run Fred Run

I really hope Fred Thompson runs for Prez.

On dealing with Iran:

If we retreat precipitously, the price for that betrayal will be paid first in blood and freedom by the Iranian people, the Kurds, the Afghanis, the secular Lebanese, the moderates in Pakistan and the Iraqis themselves. And America's word may never be trusted again.

More DFW muslim problems, or just paranoia?

On the afternoon of Feb. 25, Ms. Al-Homsi and a friend who could not be reached for comment, Aisha Abdul-Rahman Hamad, 50, of Irving, were spotted at Love Field wearing Muslim robes and camouflage pants and "acting suspiciously," the bulletin states. The surveillance video shows one of the women walking back and forth, apparently pacing off distances.

Pacing off distances? What?

"I'm a trained sniper and proud of it," Ms. Al-Homsi said in an interview Thursday after first refusing to comment on whether she has any terrorism ties. She then said no.

Ok - trained by who? And where? I know just about all of the training facilities in this neck of the woods and I feel pretty confident that none of the places I'm aware of would install that sense of verbiage. Instead of the word "sniper" you'd hear the word "shooter"... Regardless, I'd like to know where she was trained. So much for the press asking the right questions. Imagine for an instant, if you would, if her answer was Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, or Iraq. And if she was trained locally, I'd like to know because I can assure you that I'd give the facility a piece of my mind, and none of my business. In fact, the instructors I know have told me before on several occasions that there have been times they've been approached by people of a suspicious nature and turned them down.

And perhaps the most bizarre statement in the story:

... federal agents have talked to range employees about Ms. Al-Homsi, which is not uncommon of their clientele.

So, are they saying here that it's not uncommon for Federal Agents to ask about people that shoot at public ranges?? I don't know about you, but I find that little tidbit rather bothersome.

Imam prays at Texas Capital

You know, I could understand the quacks that supposedly represent us in DC bringing in some nut job imam to pray for them.

But HERE? In TEXAS?

Good Lord man, what's wrong with these people?

H/T to Lone Star Times.

And, why is this not all over the news with outrage? Oh yeah, I forgot, to complain against an imam who has terrorist sympathies is to be an islamophobe and therefore we shan't talk of it.

New additions to the 'fish family

Sorry for the light blogging of late!! Been busier than a one-legged man at an ass kicking contest....

I've got some new blasters to show you; the finished Tiger Striped 1911 that I'm fondling right now and a new big gun - Thumper. You've basically got 3-4 available choices in the .308 semi-auto variety - any guesses?

I'll try and get some pictures posted soon, and hope to do a range report on Thumper ASAP - there's a story going around the internets that it's possible to empty a full 20 round mag of .308 into a target at 50 yards in 3 seconds, with all shots hitting the A zone. Well, I'm gonna put it to the test....

Some random thoughts here:

- Will Rosie ever shut her pie hole?
- What the hell's the matter with the Supreme Court, saying that they can regulate greenhouse gases?? Where exactly is that in the Constitution?
- What happened to Great Britain? Used to be they'd lay waste to a whole country for capturing 15 of their sailors. I guess the sun has indeed set on the British Empire.
- Will Fred Thompson PLEASE get in the Presidential race?? Please!?
- Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that the Democrats in Congress are praying for a repeat of Vietnam?? Don't they want to win?

DTC 2007

Follow the link above to see all the great pics that Rob Robbins took of our squad at the 2007 Double Tap Championship in Wichita Falls. Some really good stuff there.

NIT Championship Shirts Have a Misspelling

West Virgina. I'm sure nobody would make fun of that.

A follow up for the good Congressman

I wonder if I will be granted a response??

Dear Dr. Burgess,

I wrote you on the 12th of March in response to reading your emailed reply, asking you what your position was on HR 1022. As of tonight, 3/29/7, I have yet to receive a response from your office.

I posted your original response, as it appears below, on my blog on the 12th as well, as you can see in this link: http://mysite.verizon.net/jimroth/2007/03/you-know-i-somehow-expected-more.html

I would really appreciate the courtesy of a response from your office. Considering that our blog is fairly popular amongst the shooting crowd, you can rest assured that your response will be read by a wide range of shooting enthusiasts from across Texas, including your District.

As I'm sure you can tell, I think that HR 1022 is an abomination that should never leave committee. But if it does, I'd like to know how you will vote on it.

Regards,

The Fish

Care and feeding of guns

Other than my infamous "nasty gun" post a while back, we really haven't much discussed the care and feeding of our pistols. Considering what happened to me at the Double Tap Championship this past weekend, I thought we'd dwell a bit on some basic maintenance items, and that is when to replace key parts of the pistol due to wear.

Everything I say will be based on the 1911/2011 platform, based on an annual round count of 18,000-20,000 rounds.

Using slide glide as my main lubricant, I'm able to get a minimum of 1,000 rounds between serious cleanings. Every 2,000 rounds, I'll break down the top end and pull the firing pin, extractor, and firing pin stop out and clean all the gunk out of the two channels.

Every 5,000 rounds, I'll change out my recoil spring. I personally like a recoil spring in the 16-17.5 lb range. Others like much lighter. It's personal preference, really.

I'll change out my firing pin spring annually. Mainspring annually. I'd like to never have to mess with the leaf spring that works the sear, disconnector and grip safety. Unfortunately, I've had to do that twice in the last 7 months; mainly because the part was too lightweight for the abuse that I was heaping upon it.

And that really has been it, up till now.

I need to set a maintenance schedule for the trigger components as well - the hammer, hammer strut, sear, disconnector and leaf spring. These components failed me miserably this weekend, costing me a decent finish to an otherwise great weekend of shooting. I just wasn't thinking that those parts would wear out, and I believe it was a little naive on my part!

I got to thinking that I've had the frame of my 2011 since about 2001. At a conservative guess of 15K rounds a year, that's 90,000 rounds through the frame. (The top end is newer, I've probably only got somewhere around 50K through it.) Add to the live fire a minimum of 10 trigger pulls for each live round; approximately 900,000 times I've pulled the trigger of that pistol since 2001. No wonder the damn trigger system broke!!

To keep it from breaking again, I plan to replace the components every two years. That should keep everything fresh, working fine and keeping the gun chugging along like it should. I think with proper maintenance and care, I can get at least another 50-75,000 rounds through the pistol with no problems....

So, when you start working on your maintenance schedule for your firearms, it's not just springs and lube!!

A Tale of Two Houses

Yes, it's true.

LOOK OVER THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING TWO HOUSES AND SEE IF YOU CAN TELL WHICH BELONGS TO AN ENVIRONMENTALIST.
HOUSE # 1:
A 20-room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house all heated by gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2,400.00 per month. In natural gas alone (which last time we checked was a fossil fuel), this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not in a northern or Midwestern "snow belt," either. It's in the South.

HOUSE # 2:
Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university, this house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on arid high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in winter and cools it in summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas, and it consumes 25% of the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Flowers and shrubs native to the area blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.

HOUSE # 1 (20 room energy guzzling mansion) is outside of Nashville, Tennessee. It is the abode of that renowned environmentalist (and filmmaker) Al Gore.

HOUSE # 2 (model eco-friendly house) is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas. Also known as "the Texas White House," it is the private residence of the President of the United States, George W. Bush.

So whose house is gentler on the environment? Yet another story you WON'T hear on CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC or read about in the New York Times or the Washington Post. Indeed, for Mr. Gore, it's truly "an inconvenient truth."

Sensationalism, commercialism and hypocrisy, all rolled up with an Academy Award. Ladies and gentlemen, Al Gore.

Shootin' Fools

Sorry we've been slow on the posts recenlty. We went shooting this weekend, to the Double Tap Championship in Wichita Falls, TX. Check out these great pics taken by our friend Rob Robbins. We got full representation for the Tattler at this match, and got Pimp Daddy in here to boot.
Big D
BradC
Dan
The Girl
Catfish
JR
The Pimp













As for a match report, well - it was dusty. Really, really dusty, and it played hell with a lot of guns. In fact, I think more guns just plain broke than any match I've ever seen before. In spite of that, we had about as much fun at this match as any in recent memory.

MyFox Dallas | Lone Star Adventure: Action Shooting

This is a reprise of a very positive news article that was done on our club in Dallas last October. The video had fallen off the site for a time, but we got a note from Richard Ray informing us that the video had been restored permanently. Look for The Girl (she's the cute one you see right when you get to the page), JR, and Pimp Daddy.

On top of it being restored to the site, Mr. Ray informed me that the video had gotten a LOT of hits, and it had been noticed at the station. He said it'd make it easier to do shooting sports stories in the future.

More of your tax dollars at work

I've been hearing ads all week for The Road Home program. It would appear that of the over 5.5 BILLION dollars we've already spent on the recovery efforts from Katrina, we - as in you and me Mr. Taxpayer - are going to fork over up to $150,000 per home owner to anyone who hasn't managed to drag their rear ends back to Louisiana yet.

I'll remind you the hurricane hit over a year and a half ago. And I'll also remind you that we have heard a plethora of sniveling and whining from residents of Louisiana who said they were shafted by the government. And from what I can see here, we are doing nothing but handing out money, hand over fist to these folks.

I really feel badly for the people that were effected by Katrina, I do. I know that there were and are lots of good folks who quietly went about their business after the storm, putting their lives back together.

For the rest of you, it's time to move on and get a life.

Insane.

And for those who like it in color

Nose art rocks

JR, Dan, Greg, and I were able to reach out and touch some history today. We got an up close and personal view of a B-25 and a B-17G. Let's just say it was pretty kick ass.

In Progress....

My buddy Larry up at Rock Ranch Custom Guns is putting together this masterpiece for me....

Kimber bottom end mated to a McCormick top end, with a ramped Barsto bbl, SVI ambi safeties and Heinie Straight 8 sights.

After seeing JRs blue paint job, I just couldn't take it, and ordered up this fantastic finish.





Larry's bringing the pistol down for the annual Double Tap Championship match next weekend. Now I hope I just don't drop it in the woods somewhere.

300, a review

How do you know when a movie has hit a nerve? Well, for starters, when the mainstream press has a massive conniption fit over a movie, for one. For another, when the thug in charge of Iran whines and snivels about how a movie unfairly treats Persians.

More on that later. Let's get to the good stuff.

I watched 300 with JR and Dan last night. Very entertaining flick. The CGI stuff is just utterly stunning. It is incredibly hard to believe that not one scene of this movie was filmed outdoors.

The movie, as you probably know by now, is loosely based around the battle of Thermopylae, which took place in 480 B.C. A small band of Spartans, 300, hold off a massive Persian army invading Greece for 3 days, giving the rest of the Greek city-states a chance to build up their armies and fleets and devise a plan to turn the Persians away.

There are many historical inaccuracies. Some are major omissions, others are fairly minor. None of them really change the overall perception of the battle as it has been told through history. The armor wasn't right; the Spartan's helmets were not the Corinthian style; none of the Spartans wore breastplates in the movie; the swords used in the movie were way off; the Spartans wore a waist length cloak; at the time of the battle, the Greek Lambda was not uniform on the Spartans shields, that came later, etc etc etc.... These were what I would consider fairly minor omissions and like I said, take nothing away from the tale.

The major omissions to me would be:
1. Leonidas was not fighting an illegal war, as is suggested in the movie. Yes, the Spartans were forbidden from fighting due to their annual games - BUT - Leonidas was allowed to take a token force of Spartans to the Hot Gates with the approval of Sparta as a whole.
2. Leonidas did not goad Xerxes into battle. Xerxes was bent on avenging the defeat of his father's armies at the hands of the Greeks; it was that simple. The intrigue that was alluded to in 300 is fantasy.
3. There were as many as 7,000 Greeks in total fighting the Persians, and not just the 300 Spartans and a handful of others. All the Greeks fought together for the first two days of the battle, and when it became apparent they were surrounded, the bulk of the Greeks retreated, leaving only the Spartans and the Thespians to die on the 3rd day.
4. No mention is made of the fantastic sea battles raging in the straits near Thermopylae. The Greek navy was able to hold off the larger Persian force, and inflict serious damage; further slowing the Persian advance.

But, all said and done, the movie is very good. The concepts of duty, honor, and glory are stressed throughout the movie, which is a large reason why the movie gets hammered by college professors secure in their ivory towers. Yes, Sparta was a very very inhospitable place if you were not a Spartan. The Spartans were renowned for their abuses and the violent lives they led. What this jackass refuses to admit is that the Spartans, for all their 21st century image problems, were the best heavy infantry the ancient world produced. One could probably argue with some success that they were the best heavy infantry - ever.

What the good professor also refuses to point out is that without the Spartans holding the pass, the Persians would have steamrolled into Greece and that would have been that. No Greek culture would have flourished. No democracy, philosophy, logic, art, nothing would have survived. Very likely, no Roman Republic would have been born under the iron thumb of the Persians. And, dear reader, very likely, we would not be here on the internets today.

What is also glossed over by the good Doctor is the psychological victory at the Hot Gates, won by the Spartans. Can you imagine when, a year later on the plains at Plataea, Persian survivors of the Hot Gates looked across the field and saw not a handful of Spartans, but thousands? Can you say pucker factor?

Unspoken is the fact that the Spartans in this movie are truly manly men. We detailed their workout regimen earlier, but rest assured - the physiques you saw in the movie are not painted on in the editing room. These guys are studs. There is no emotional conflict; unlike the 21st century castrato that the media would like us to be, the Spartans in this movie are unashamedly men. Other than one brief episode, they don't cry, they don't emote, they don't worry over "did I do the right thing!?" There is no inner conflict in them and they are not only proud of their ability to fight, they do so with vigor. In today's culture, that qualifies as borderline psychotic - and shouldn't we have been watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy anyway?

And finally, any time that you can get the psycho in charge of Iran pissy is a good day.

I'd like to know exactly how the film "insulted the Persian civilization." Please. Sounds to me like someone is having a bit of an inferiority complex - because like it or not, fellas, Xerxes was the high point of the Persian civilization and they've been going steadily downhill since then.

Gun Guys : Where Everyone's a Straight Shooter!

I'm not giving these jackasses a link, because they don't deserve traffic from my site. However, you DO need to take a look at GunGuys.com.

This is the most shrill, over-the-top bunch of gun-grabbing loonies I've seen in some time - yes, even more so than our pals at the VPC. They make no bones about where they stand: they want to ban all guns. They're such chickenshits, they don't allow for comments on their ridiculous articles. I'm sure it'd really torque their psyches to have to respond intelligently to intelligent discourse on their positions.

After reading only a couple of posts, I've hit bullshit bingo - they use every single tired phrase in the gun-grabber's catalog.

What's really sad is that these lunkheads represent a small portion of people who actually think like they do. An example? Sure, here you go:

A while back we gave kudos to a South Dakota paper for putting the list of CCW permitholders in that state online and searchable– the public has a right to know who chooses to endanger their communities by carrying a concealed weapons. The Roanoke Times in Virginia recently decided to do the same thing, but the gun guys unleashed their jackbooted thugs for some Jim Zumbo-style vengeance, and now the Times has foolishly decided that a pack of barking dogs should have more influence on their activities than keeping the citizens of Virginia safe from concealed weapons.

You read it right - those of us who choose to carry concealed weapons are apparently a danger to our communities. Isn't that charming? I hope that if one of these morons is being assaulted, raped, robbed, or murdered, that a CHL holder is there. We'll see if that changes their tune.

You know, I somehow expected more....

A few weeks ago, I took advantage of the House of Representatives' email system to politely voice my displeasure with HR 1022 - the new AWB - to my Congressman, Dr. Michael Burgess. Here is the response I got today - 4 paragraphs of blather.

You'll note that what it does NOT contain is the good Doctor's position on HR 1022.

Which is why I sent a follow up email asking for clarification on that little matter.

You know, somehow, I expected more of an answer from a Republican Congressman in a strongly Republican County...

March 12, 2007


Mr. Catfish
Denton, Texas

Dear Mr. Catfish,

Thank you for contacting me with your opposition to H.R. 1022,
the Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of
2007. I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter.

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-New York) introduced
H.R. 1022 on February 13, 2007. This bill would revise the
definition of a 'semiautomatic assault weapon' to include
conversion kits (used for converting a firearm to such a weapon)
and any semiautomatic rifle or pistol that has the ability to accept a
detachable magazine and includes specific characteristics including
a telescoping stock. H.R. 1022 would prohibit the transfer of such
a weapon except through a license dealer or state or local law
enforcement agency. Under this legislation the Attorney General
would establish and maintain a record of the make, model and date
of manufacture for any such weapon that has been used in relation
to a crime.

H.R. 1022 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee for
further review. While I am not a member of the House Judiciary
Committee, you may be assured I will keep your views in mind
should H.R. 1022 be brought before the full House for a vote.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate
having the opportunity to represent you in the U.S. House of
Representatives. Please feel free to visit my website
(www.house.gov/burgess) or contact me with any future concerns.
Sincerely,


Michael C. Burgess, M.D.
Member of Congress

My Journey to the Dark Side is Complete

First of all, please try to keep your voices down, because I don't want my Glock to hear (she's very sensitive).

Say hello to my little friend. After a very few additional purchases (holster, springs/basepads/followers/mag holder), I shall be driving this beautiful piece of machinery in USPSA. Try not to drool on it.

Thanks, Pimp Daddy!

Your tax dollars at work

Nice work, fellas!

Ha, Ha! The Brady Center Has a Conniption...

As you might expect, the Brady Campaign is practically apoplectic over today's appeals court ruling that struck down Washington, D.C.'s ridiculous handgun ban.

“The 2-1 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Parker v. District of Columbia striking down the District of Columbia’s handgun law is judicial activism at its worst. By disregarding nearly seventy years of U.S. Supreme Court precedent, two Federal judges have negated the democratically-expressed will of the people of the District of Columbia and deprived this community of a gun law it enacted thirty years ago and still strongly supports.

“This ruling represents the first time in American history that a Federal appeals court has struck down a gun law on Second Amendment grounds. While acknowledging that ‘reasonable restrictions’ to promote ‘the government’s interest in public safety’ are permitted by the Second Amendment, the two-judge majority substituted its policy preferences for those of the elected representatives of the District of Columbia. ”

Oh my goodness - you mean the constituents of D.C. have been deprived of a...a...a GUN LAW?!? That has to be one of the most singularly stupid statements I have ever read in my life. "Policy preferences?" What kind of gibberish is that? If I read the judgment correctly, this "policy preference" is actually an interpretation of constitutional law. That's what the judiciary does: they judge, based on the law.

Once again, the Brady Bunch simply demonstrates what a bunch of shrill, whiny gun-grabbers they really are. If they REALLY cared, they'd spend all their money trying to enforce existing laws, instead of trying to create new ones, and supporting unconstitutional ones.

Here's what's best about this whole case: The court struck down D.C.'s argument that handguns were limited to "militia." The people who pressed this case are those who live in high-crime areas (read: all of D.C.), who wanted to keep arms in order to protect themselves. This case is a resounding victory for the private ownership of arms, as expressed repeatedly by the Founding Fathers. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a private, individual, and inalienable right, and you can't be deprived of it.

If this DOES go to the Supreme Court, well, I can hardly wait. SCOTUS will very likely affirm this judgment, and then the gun-grabbers will have to come up with a new strategy. Mark my words: they will do their dead-level best to keep it from going to SCOTUS, because they know they will lose.

Come on Sarah - I double-dog dare ya.

Man fatally shoots alleged intruder

Note the politically-correct use of the word "alleged." Alleged my ass.

The men then allegedly forced Daniels into the bathroom, tied him up and proceeded to ransack the house, the sheriff's report said. While the alleged burglars were busy in other parts of the house, Daniels freed himself and got a 9 mm pistol from a cabinet, the report said.
'When the suspects returned to the bathroom, they found Mr. Daniels, now armed and in a shooting stance,' the report said.

Okay - any more questions about "Castle Doctrine?" I can't believe there's not a law on Texas' books already that protects victims of home invasion crimes from prosecution. If you've not yet contacted your congressperson, please do so today.

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.