What keeps Obama safe could protect the rest of us

Okay, this isn't really fair of me to do this, but Mary Mitchell makes it SO EASY. I've blogged on dear Mary before, because, well...she's insane. As in syphilitic insanity, as in stark-staring, raving, foaming at the mouth, bug-eating mad. But I digress.

Let's examine the backdrop - the South Side Chicago neighborhood of Barack Obama.

When I pulled up near Obama's house, though, I immediately noticed a drastic change in the neighborhood.

Concrete barricades now guard both ends of Obama's block, while metal barricades, like the ones used to hold back crowds during parades, are lined up on Hyde Park Boulevard.

Whatever you do, keep moving.

Secret Service, sheriff's deputies, Chicago Police officers and plainclothes officers are scattered throughout the area.

Sounds like Checkpoint Charlie, doesn't it? Here's where the fun begins:

Frankly, I felt like I had just entered the safest zone in America.

For the first time -- in a long time --while on the South Side, I didn't worry about leaving my car parked on the street or about walking back to it several hours later in the dark.

Obviously, law enforcement is doing what needs to be done to ensure a presidential candidate's safety.

But it does make me think.

Obama's neighbors have been forced to give up certain of their personal freedoms in order to ensure his safety.

Here's the scary part, now: she's okay with this. She is willing to give up YOUR freedom for HER safety. Isn't that nice?

There's no telling how many guns would be taken off the street in gang- and drug-plagued neighborhoods if police were to set up roadblocks and search everyone going into those areas.

For those of you who argue that what I am proposing violates basic civil rights, forget it.

Okay, enough picking on Mary, because she's not the one who scares me. I mean, we know she's a lunatic already. What's really scary for me this Halloween week is this: it's how many otherwise rational, sane people agree with her. Granted, it's not a majority by a longshot, but it does demonstrate a well-worn maxim: some people will believe anything. What's worse, some of these people are voting, some of them for the first time in their lives. You need to get up off your complacent butts and vote, people. Do it now, or you'll have people like Mary Mitchell making decisions for you.

Pass it on, Obama in his own words

So.....

Turned 40 today. Have I achieved dirty old man status yet, or am I still a lowly pervert?

You will be assimilated

And if you don't toe the "Obama as savior" line, you get cut off from future interviews and contact with the candidates.

It would seem that the Obama campaign has no room for the tough questions...

In this interview, Biden gets asked some legitimate questions. Notably, the reporterette asked Biden if he thought that Obama's "spread the wealth around" comment was Marxist in any way.

Instead of answering the questions, Biden dodged. And after the interview,

Biden so disliked West's line of questioning that the Obama campaign canceled a WFTV interview with Jill Biden, the candidate's wife.

"This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election," wrote Laura K. McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign.

So much for freedom of the press, eh? Either you agree with the Pravda line, or you're cut off.

Say what you want about the Bush administration, but I still recall seeing that hag Helen Thomas at Bush White House briefings.... Not to mention the rest of an overly hostile press.

I wonder if that's the kind of change we all want?

Taking aim at Obama's stance on gun control

If Obama were the true messiah we're led to believe by the traditional media, I would still never vote for him due to his lack of respect for the 2nd Ammendment.

Any policitian who would disrespect the 2nd Ammendment will disrespect the rest. We already know that a Congress controlled by Pelosi and Ried would bring back the fairness doctrine, effectively butchering the 1st Ammendment. Is there any doubt that a Democrat controlled Congress would push for more limits on the 2nd Ammendment with a liberal Democrat in the White House?

John Lott offers some insight into Obama's gun control past and if for no other reason, we simply cannot afford to have Obama as the next President of the United States.

No major-party presidential nominee has ever had as strong and consistent an anti-gun record as Obama. Here is a politician who supported a ban on handguns in 1996, backed a ban on the sale of all semiautomatic guns in 1998 (which would encompass most guns sold in the country), and advocated banning gun sales within five miles of a school or park in 2004 (a virtual ban on all gun stores). He also served on the board of the Joyce Foundation, the largest private funder of anti-gun research in the country.

This evidence should be sufficient, but I have yet another reason to be skeptical. I knew Obama during the mid-1990s, when we were both at the University of Chicago Law School. Indeed, when I introduced myself to him, he said, "Oh, you are the gun guy."

I responded, "Yes, I guess so." His response, as I recall it, was, "I don't believe that people should be able to own guns."

When I said it might be fun sometime to talk about the question and his support of Chicago's lawsuit against gunmakers, he simply grimaced and turned away, ending the conversation.

Raccoon 'burglar' evades Dallas police, wreaks havoc in Kessler Park home

With the raccoon only three feet from him, Officer Ek fired his Taser. The stun gun's prongs struck the raccoon in the back, and Officer Ek held the trigger for several seconds to deliver the voltage.

But the raccoon kept running, past Officer Ek and back toward the front of the house. Finally, it darted into the living room fireplace and up the chimney, apparently where it had first entered the house.

That'll learn him.

Crime in the big city, folks.

Hunters and Shooters Give the NRA an "F" | American Hunters and Shooters Association

The American Hunters and Shooters Association has recently come to my attention. I read the article I've linked to in the title, and responded with a comment. It's interesting to note that none of the articles I've seen on the site have any comments. When I submitted mine, I got this:

Your comment has been queued for moderation by site administrators and will be published after approval.

I'm holding my breath. And my feedback for this pack of liars? Let's just say that I expressed to them that I remained unconvinced that Barack Obama has the best interest of gun owners at heart. Here's their stance on the Second Amendment:

Under the Constitution and laws of the United States, gun ownership is a protected right. But it is a right that when exercised requires the utmost in responsibility and vigilance.

In formulating AHSA legislative policy the AHSA Board of Directors will always weigh the common sense interest of hunters and shooters against basic safety and security interests of our community at large. In this way a rational, well thought out approach to firearms policy will be developed and promoted.

Hmmm. "Common sense" gun laws. Where EVER have I heard THAT before? Moreover, they want to ban the .50 BMG "sniper" rifle (their words, not mine), give the FBI access to NICS, and close the "gun show loophole."

But they're pro-gun. Riiiight. They're completely anti-NRA (whom I hold little allegiance to, but at least they're mostly honest with their protection of gun rights), and spend too much time trying to discredit them. Hmm. One of the most powerful pro-gun lobbies in Washington is a bad guy? It's almost like the Brady Campaign isn't even trying to hide their motives anymore.

It walks and talks like a duck, folks. Quick, better shoot it!

Aliens to appear tomorrow

I guess I can tear up those credit card bills now. Apparently, we're going to be visited by aliens at noon tomorrow, according to Blossom Goodchild. Apparently, Blossom's mommy and daddy ingested lots of dangerous narcotics before giving birth to her.

I thought I'd share the website, because I love to see the follow-ups after ET fails to show up.

How to shoot better, Part 1

Posted this on one of our local shooting forums today and thought I'd also share it here, in an attempt to make the world a better place....


I've tried to explain to other folks before and thought that posting some concepts here for discussion would be helpful.

So, to kick off the discussion, I'll start with this thought:

Things I wish I'd learned earlier in my shooting career.

I. Calling the shot.

I've been calling the shot for the last year or two. I really, really wish I'd focused more on doing this 5-10 years ago. It would have saved me a LOT of grief!!

For those not familiar with the term, calling the shot means knowing, with certainty, where the bullet went the instant you broke the shot.

I preach time and time again that shooting well in a match is not about shooting FAST. It's about being efficient. Remove things from the way you shoot a stage that are not necessary and you're left with the fastest way that YOU can run the stage. Watch Robbie Leatham shoot - the guy can barely walk without limping or gimping his way across the stage - but because he has NO wasted movement, his times continue to be competitive and at or near the top of the heap.

Calling the shot is just another way of being efficient. You lose a significant amout of time trying to either watch the target when you shoot to look for the bullet holes, or leaving a position and having to go back for that last piece of annoying steel you thought you'd hit. At a recent practice, we had a shooter who was clearly losing at least a half a second per shooting position watching the target to confirm his hits. 1/2 a second X 4 shooting position = 2 seconds that he would have lost on that drill, if it were a stage in a match. 2 seconds per stage on a 6 stage match = 12 seconds....

How many of us have lost a match by time a LOT closer than 12 seconds??

I was once taught that we should engage an array of targets with a uniform cadence - which was clearly a step ahead of double tapping the targets. However, the better way to engage an array is target by target and to pull the trigger as fast as you can see the front sight and call the shot on each target as it's presented. If you're shooting an array on cadence, and the targets are all presented with varying degrees of difficulty, then you are always going to be shooting some targets too fast and other targets too slow, which is a great way to tank a stage. Now, if the targets are all in a line, and all wide open, then by all means there should be a clear cadence at play, but how many times in a match are we presented with that kind of challenge?? (It goes without saying that your transitions between targets should be as fast as you can possibly do it without over-running the A zone/down Zero zone of each target...)

So, how do you learn to call the shot, you ask??

Here are a couple of drills I have found useful.

Bill Drills, triple 6's and all you can get. (You can search online for a description of each drill. If you can't find it, let me know....)

Each of these 3 drills will have you shooting as rapidly as you can call the shot on a single target for multiple shots. If you haven't yet learned to call your shot, you'll get plenty of time to watch the slide cycle back and forth on these extended shooting episodes. The goal on each of these drills is not to just waste ammo into the berm. WATCH the front sight closely. Watch it lift out of the notch in the rear sight and watch it settle back down in the notch. With practice, you CAN do it!

The day before a big match, I like to go to the range and blow through a couple hundred rounds or so, and will always include several of these drills, making sure my eyes are focused on the front sight - and an added benefit of the drills are that you will get in the groove of the timing of your gun and your match ammo as well.

To be completely honest, I do not call my shots 100% of the time. Probably the best match I've shot this year has been the Texas Limited. I probably called my shot on every shot; short of 3-5 shots - and each of those were D zone hits... On matches where my focus is not so in tune, then of course that number is not anywhere near that high.

So, learn to call your shot, it'll help you speed up your stage times without doing a single thing faster or changing anything else about the way you shoot.

The Hokey Pokey. In Shakespearean Iambic Pentameter

My daughter's a smart kid, and she's a senior in High School, taking AP English. Let's face it, learning Shakespeare can be tedious at best, and learning the intricacies of iambic pentameter can pretty much do anyone in. However, her English teacher hit on something that I thought was downright brilliant: learn by participation. Yes, the whole class was broken up in groups, and they learned and recited the Hokey Pokey (don't act like you don't know it), but adapted for the topic at hand. I present to you:

O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from Heaven's yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the Poke -- banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about.

-- William Shakespeare

Try it at home. It works. 'Tis frickin' brilliant.

Tales from the teleprompter...

The Dallas Morning News Sucks

I'm going to cancel my subscription to the Dallas Morning News today. Why, you ask? Because they're too stupid to leave the comics alone. You read that correctly - the comics.

Does anyone honestly read newspapers for news anymore? I can go online and get news as it happens. Reading yesterday's news is almost silly. It's not like I'm waiting on the Pony Express to deliver 2-week-old news, but it's close to it.

I subscribe to the newspaper almost exclusively for the comics. The funnies. Once upon a time, you could read comics without magnification, and they were all in color. Up until this week, the DMN had a "comics" section, with 2 full pages of comics in color, and 2 full pages of comics in monochrome.

I sat down this morning (in the smallest room in the house) and went straight for the comics section, only to find it missing. I looked on the front page for a clue - nothing. Finally, realizing that the DMN had actually done it, I looked in a section named "Guide Daily," which features all sorts of useless information ("Maximize your gym bag's limited space 8E"), concert information, etc., and there they were: buried on page 11, smaller than ever, and not a single one in color.

At the bottom of page 1E is a little note from the DMN: "We have trimmed our lineup of comics, puzzles and advice columns that appear in "GuideDaily. blah, blah, blah..."

You suck, Dallas Morning News.

I'll tell you what just happened

We got screwed.

Again.

Entertaining...

Wait... I thought Congress fixed it?

Wow, with Congress spending $800 BILLION (at the very least, I gaurantee you it will be more) of OUR money on *fixing* the financial market's mess, you would have thought Wall Street would have responded by going up today, eh?

At some point, enough is enough. When the vast majority of the American people are able to shut down the website and phone lines of Congress letting them know of our displeasure with the bailout bill and Congress STILL votes to do so, when does enough become enough?

Utterly ridiculous.

The research story you won't see

New York Times
Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending
By STEVEN A. HOLMES
Published: September 30, 1999

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''

Demographic information on these borrowers is sketchy. But at least one study indicates that 18 percent of the loans in the subprime market went to black borrowers, compared to 5 per cent of loans in the conventional loan market.

In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''

Under Fannie Mae's pilot program, consumers who qualify can secure a mortgage with an interest rate one percentage point above that of a conventional, 30-year fixed rate mortgage of less than $240,000 -- a rate that currently averages about 7.76 per cent. If the borrower makes his or her monthly payments on time for two years, the one percentage point premium is dropped.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, Fannie Mae is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings.

Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify for a mortgage. But they add that the move is intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home owners who tend to have worse credit ratings than non-Hispanic whites.

Home ownership has, in fact, exploded among minorities during the economic boom of the 1990's. The number of mortgages extended to Hispanic applicants jumped by 87.2 per cent from 1993 to 1998, according to Harvard University 's Joint Center for Housing Studies. During that same period the number of African Americans who got mortgages to buy a home increased by 71.9 per cent and the number of Asian Americans by 46.3 per cent.

In contrast, the number of non-Hispanic whites who received loans for homes increased by 31.2 per cent.

Despite these gains, home ownership rates for minorities continue to lag behind non-Hispanic whites, in part because blacks and Hispanics in particular tend to have on average worse credit ratings.

In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed that by the year 2001, 50 percent of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolio be made up of loans to low and moderate-income borrowers. Last year, 44 percent of the loans Fannie Mae purchased were from these groups.

The change in policy also comes at the same time that HUD is investigating allegations of racial discrimination in the automated underwriting systems used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to determine the credit-worthiness of credit applicants.

In a cursory search of current news stories on the Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae "crises" on the Time's own website, I found a couple recent stories. Strangely enough, even though they easily could have conducted some research into their own archives, not a single word about the Clinton administration's role was mentioned.

State of Fear

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 777 points Monday, its biggest single-day fall ever, easily beating the 684 points it lost on the first day of trading after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

That's right - the WORST ever!! Except for one little point. As of today, it's not.

In October 2002, the NASDAQ dropped to as low as 1,108.49 - a 78.4% decline from its all-time high of 5,132.52, the level it had established in March 2000.

To put some perspective on it, the Dow dropped 6.9% today.

On October 19, 1987, the stock market crashed. The Dow dropped 508 points or 22.6% in a single trading day. This was a drop of 36.7% from its high on August 25, 1987.

Again, the market dropped less than 7% today...

One of the books I would suggest that everyone reads is Crichton's State of Fear. He does a fabulous job of explaining how our media manipulates the news to create a constant state of panic and fear. Exactly what we're seeing today. Are the financial markets hurting? Clearly. But the worst ever? Not quite.

Shocked, I am!

The House of Representitives actually did the right thing today and voted down the ridiculous bailout bill.

They must have been hearing volumes of mail from their constituents that the thought of the government taking over the mortgage industry was not a good idea. At all.

I firmly believe that if this ridiculous bill were voted on this time last year it would have passed. But only a little more than a month out from the election? That's much too close for comfort for those running for re-election.

I think this could very well be a foreshadowing of the election. Nancy Pelosi couldn't even get all of her Democrats on board. Obama couldn't lead. Bush continues to serve out his (very) lame duck term.

As of the writing of this post, you STILL can't get onto Congress' website. We, the people, have virtually overwhelmed the Congress critters and for once, they did the right thing.

Religion of Peace update

I know you'll find this hard to believe, but it would appear that a couple of followers of the Religion of Peace were out to take out another airliner...

If you'd just read the first paragraph or two, however, you might not make that connection:

German police arrested two terrorist suspects on board a Dutch airliner Friday, minutes before it was due to take off from Cologne-Bonn airport for Amsterdam. A police spokesman said a Somali man aged 23 and a 24-year-old German born in Mogadishu were escorted off the KLM Flight 1804 at 6:55 am (0455 GMT).

The arrests came a day after police appealed to the public to help track down two missing Islamists, one of them a German convert, who were suspected of membership in a terrorist group called the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), often described as a successor to al-Qaeda.

Police said they were pursuing about 20 leads related to Eric Breininger, a 21-year-old German, and Houssain al-Malla, a 23-year-old Lebanese, were last seen in the zone along the Pakistan-Afghan border. Police suspect they might have secretly returned to Germany.

Seems like some pretty good intelligence work there, but what would I know....

More pics from the mud bowl

Great picture of Dave, gun in full recoil... Now if I could just figure out what's up with that face he's making when he shoots!



Picture of yours truly - the gun started out unloaded on the table, great picture caught right after I'd loaded the mag and am starting to rack the slide....



Cool picture of Greg - the Animal - on many levels. You can see how deep the mud was, the fierce look of determination, and then check out the brass. Two pieces in the air, and the camera caught the next round being loaded into the chamber - pretty cool!



And finally, here's the blog father showing some great finger and muzzle control - this is how you should do it, boys and girls.

Now THAT's funny

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Avast, ye scurvy dogs. Today be "International Talk Like a Pirate Day." Look alive, ye bilge rats, get yer fingers outta the bunghole, scrub the poopdeck, and hoist that there mainsail.

Wanna see a real man's yardarm?

Arrr!

More MudBowl 2008

This video of Catfish pretty much sums up our 2008 Open/L10 Nationals experience this year. This was our 4th stage of day 1, and after rolling through the first 3 stages pretty quickly in spite of the rain, we had to wait behind 2 full squads before we could shoot this one. Yeah, that is 2 hours standing in the pouring rain to shoot. Kinda takes the wind out of your sails just a bit. But we still had a great time - there's nothing quite like putting on the same soggy, smelly cleats 3 days in a row and standing ankle-deep in mud! Can't wait 'til next year...

Mud Bowl, part deux

Snapped some pics from this year's USPSA nationals - and yeah, it was pretty damn muddy.

Here's The Girl....



And JR....



And yours truly after the first stage, last day...

Now that's class

Looks like one of Dallas' own has stepped in the mierda once again.

In a video posted on YouTube, Howard is shown on a football field at a charity flag football game. As the national anthem plays in the background, Howard approaches a camera and says: “‘The Star Spangled Banner’ is going on right now. I don’t even celebrate that (expletive). I’m black.”

Yep, that's right, folks. The same America that has given this moron the opportunity to make millions of dollars playing basketball is the same America that he feels compelled to spit on.

What an asshole.

Nicholas

After a long day at work, one resplendent with hate, ignorance and stupidity, I was ready for someone else to serve my dinner. Of course, the restaurant I chose was packed and noisy. Most of the noise came from squealing children whose parents, equally as tired as I, were content to let them caterwaul at will.

During the course of the meal, I had glanced around, taking notice of the sociological experiment that is the restaurant. There was an Asian family there, the kids in elementary school, still enamored with Star Wars as evidenced by the light saber. Another family had a small child who didn't much care for his high chair, and was sharing his displeasure with everyone within earshot. There was an older couple, sitting with each other on the same side of the booth. I only noted in passing the three women and a little boy in a booth just behind and to my left. The little boy looked tired, resting on his mom's shoulder, and he had an abrasion above his left eye - it looked as if he'd fallen and bonked it pretty well.

Dinner went on, with the predictable botching of the order, constant aggravation of the noisy restaurant, the irritation at paying too much for food, the continual remembrance of the day's events; people acting mean, petty, and selfish. Grown men and women taking offence at the slightest thing, all adding up to what has too often become the norm: just wanting some quiet, away from the meanness and burdensome routine of the daily grind.

I paid my bill, and as I handed the check to the waiter, the 3 ladies with the little boy stood up.

I glanced, thought nothing, then heard, "what's your name?"

I blinked, taken aback, because the little boy on his mom's shoulder had raised his head, and looking at me, asked again, "what's your name?"

"My name's Jim. What's yours?"

"Nicholas." And he put out his hand to shake mine.

"It's very nice to meet you, Nicholas."

And that was it. Children are here to remind us that we're not as important as we like to think we are, and that more often than not, we need to stop and appreciate those around us, and take a moment to make new friends.

It's been a very good day.

Gone Fishin'

Several of us are off to Tulsa for the USPSA L10/Open Nationals. Wish us luck.

For those of you who are Twitterers, follow "jimbob_texas" for updates. I'll have my BlackBerry with me, and will provide Twitterberry updates as the days go by.

Hasta la vista!

Jesse at USPSA nats

Here's a nice little video of JR's favorite shooter!

USPSA nationals

Here is a great link to a local news story about the USPSA nationals in Tulsa going on right now.

In addition, here's another great resource for the biggest shoot of the practical shooting year.

Rev. Jesse Jackson hospitalized for stomach pains

Ladies and gentlemen, when you're chronically full of shit, this is what happens.

Home Run

I like me some Sarah Palin. After listening to her tonight, I was struck by how well she delivered the speech, likely written by a stranger, but delivered by her. She was nothing short of brilliant. She's an excellent public speaker, very graceful, yet disarming. She's honest to a fault, and has the family to prove it.

That was impressive, and pretty much seals the deal as far as I'm concerned. I'd drink a beer with her any time. Hell, I'd even buy it.

Even John McCain liked it. That was a great speech.

Someone

Has way too much time on their hands....

Gustav

Here's a little bit of advice to those folks livin' in NOLA.

Get the hell out of Dodge now. And just like Katrina, you've got no excuse if stay and take your chances...

Editor? We don't need no stinking editor...

Ah, the lovely folks at AP have screwed the pooch again. Check out this story just posted:


And the key error, right here:

The convention, a marquee event meant to send presidential candidate Dick Cheney into the fall campaign with a burst of energy and good feeling....

Cheney, huh? I didn't realize he was on the ticket!

And these are the same people we're supposed to trust with important details, eh?

Sarah Palin

The next Veep is a MILF, and so's his wife.

Gotta give John props with respect to the women in his life...

SUV kills 2 adults, 2 toddlers

From the other JR.

WEST, Texas — A man, woman and two tots are dead after they were hit and killed by a sport-utility vehicle on an Interstate 35 frontage road in Central Texas.

The Texas Department of Public Safety says the accident happened just before 10 p.m. Thursday about 15 miles north of Waco near the town of West.

They said the man and woman were walking with a baby girl and a boy, age about 2, after their car apparently stalled on the two-way frontage road. DPS Cpl. Charlie Morgan said a sport-utility vehicle apparently crested a rise and slammed into the family from behind, hurling their bodies about 100 feet.

The DPS identifies the dead as Brandee Thorpe, 20; Austin Fontenot (FAHN'-teh-noh), 2; and Kinzee Fontenot, 1; all of Hillsboro; and Gregory Howell, 25, of Robinson. Their relationships are unclear.

The driver of the SUV was interviewed, but no charges are filed.

Well, if this isn't from the WTF department, I don't know what is.

I guess SUVs are now stalking and killing people, not the drivers.

Look! A monkey!

Just for you, JR!

Obituaries - Vallejo Times Herald

The Aguilar family apparently has issues.

Dolores Aguilar
1929 - Aug. 7, 2008

Dolores Aguilar, born in 1929 in New Mexico, left us on August 7, 2008. She will be met in the afterlife by her husband, Raymond, her son, Paul Jr., and daughter, Ruby.

She is survived by her daughters Marietta, Mitzi, Stella, Beatrice, Virginia and Ramona, and son Billy; grandchildren, Donnelle, Joe, Mitzie, Maria, Mario, Marty, Tynette, Tania, Leta, Alexandria, Tommy, Billy, Mathew, Raymond, Kenny, Javier, Lisa, Ashlie and Michael; great-grandchildren, Brendan, Joseph, Karissa, Jacob, Delaney, Shawn, Cienna, Bailey, Christian, Andre Jr., Andrea, Keith, Saeed, Nujaymah, Salma, Merissa, Emily, Jayci, Isabella, Samantha and Emily. I apologize if I missed anyone.

Dolores had no hobbies, made no contribution to society and rarely shared a kind word or deed in her life. I speak for the majority of her family when I say her presence will not be missed by many, very few tears will be shed and there will be no lamenting over her passing.

Her family will remember Dolores and amongst ourselves we will remember her in our own way, which were mostly sad and troubling times throughout the years. We may have some fond memories of her and perhaps we will think of those times too. But I truly believe at the end of the day ALL of us will really only miss what we never had, a good and kind mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. I hope she is finally at peace with herself. As for the rest of us left behind, I hope this is the beginning of a time of healing and learning to be a family again.

There will be no service, no prayers and no closure for the family she spent a lifetime tearing apart. We cannot come together in the end to see to it that her grandchildren and great-grandchildren can say their goodbyes. So I say here for all of us, GOOD BYE, MOM.

It's gone from the obits page on the original link, but the Internet never forgets...

And you thought the beach volleyball girls were hot?

Wow - I can't wait for beach volleyball cheerleading to become an Olympic sport.

Ducks

If it smells like a duck, looks like a duck, flies like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a chicken.

Or at least that's what you would get out of reading this story.

Let's see, you have an alleged muslim.

You have an alleged pound or so of cyanide.

An alleged muslim using an almost identical name online allegedly threatened to kill non-muslims.

As a coincidence, I'm sure, the Democrat convention is going to take place just down the street from where the alleged individual allegedly died.

Yet somehow, we are not supposed to call a duck a duck.

Odd, isn't it?

FCC Commissioner: Return of Fairness Doctrine Could Control Web Content

I've had a series of posts recently on "when liberals are in charge"....

Well, here's another prime example.

There’s a huge concern among conservative talk radio hosts that reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine would all-but destroy the industry due to equal time constraints. But speech limits might not stop at radio. They could even be extended to include the Internet and “government dictating content policy.”

S.F. pushes legislation to promote good health

Let's nuke San Francisco. In addition to banning the sales of cigarettes in pharmacies, the nanny city has dictated more laws that are good for you.

The supervisors also voted to require chain restaurants to post nutritional information, including calories and fat content, on menus. This follows the creation of a program to recognize restaurants that don't use trans fats and an idea by Mayor Gavin Newsom to levy a fee on retailers of sugary sodas.

The board is also taking up legislation to dramatically curb where smokers can light up, including prohibiting puffing in taxis, lines for ATMs and common areas of apartment buildings. And Newsom wants to close some streets to cars on select Sundays so people can jog, hula-hoop and lay out their yoga mats on the pavement.

What's next from City Hall? A mandate to eat your broccoli and hit the treadmill 30 minutes every day?

Dirty Harry must really be pissed right about now.

Remember - liberals know what's best for you, and this is what happens when you let them run your government. California will destroy this country from within, mark my words. Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein are just the beginning. You Californians need to wake up, grow a set, and get rid of these granola-eco-yoga-cycle-green fascists before it's too late.

Severely burned man rescued from utility pole in Dallas

Here's one from the shallow end of the gene pool.

A man who climbed to the top of a utility pole today in an alleged effort to steal copper had to be rescued after he was jolted by a high-voltage wire and burned over 50 percent of his body, officials said.

I may not be a smart man, but I know what 7000 volts is.

Live TV coverage of the 1 1/2 -hour rescue showed the man's shirt in tatters, his jeans mostly burned away from his body. His skin looked red and he appeared to be in extreme pain as rescue personnel eased him down a fire truck's extended ladder.

That's a good summary: pain. Extreme pain.

I'm guessing Darwin will triumph sooner or later.

UPDATE: He died from his injuries.

Rhonda's Cans

Listen closely to the background comments, if you can hear around the insane cackling...

The concept of this stage was to have you place the appropriate color can on the same color stick. Watch what happens when she throws the green and yellow cans after they hit the ground....

Also watch the fingers of the RO who runs out of fingers for each penalty shot fired with the wrong color can on the wrong color post; which really got me giggling, as you can tell.

The Democrats doing what they do best

Looks like they're waving the white flag here in Texas.... Doing what they do best - cutting and running.

A husband's revenge

This guy has some big brass balls, for sure.

It's Not Easy Being Green

I have had it with "green."

Don't let the kids read this tirade. There will be bad language. I am 50 years old now, and I'm entitled to some swearing, an entitlement I will exercise in this post. If you don't like it, change the channel NOW.

I was just scrolling through my hundreds of FiOS channels in search of something worth my time, when I stopped on a show titled,

Emeril Green

where Emeril Lagasse, the erstwhile Boston Yankee so-called Louisiana chef, will teach you how to cook "green."

Yes, how to be a "green" cook. I am SO tired of the term "green," that it can't begin to describe the color of bile that I puke up when I see crap like this. GREEN cooking? What - has Emeril been grilling Bigfoot filets and Spotted Owl breasts over moon rocks for the last decade or so? Has he been cooking with coal or diesel fuel? Has he been cooking over a short-block Chevy engine? Has he used cattle methane straight from the ass to combust his truffles?

Break. I need a break. Green this, green that. I saw an ad for a "green" CAR DEALERSHIP the other day. They're "green" because they use recycled water for their landscaping. I plan to contribute to their efforts and poop on their grass one night very soon.

There's some moron in my very own neighborhood who's purchased a CONVERTIBLE Smarte Car. A car that 2 drunken teenagers could flip over barehanded. But these vehicles are cool now, because they're GREEN, in spite of the fact that a collision with a Harley would total those French POS-mobiles.

Naturally, politics have gone "green." Algore has repeated a lie often enough that some people, some companies, some communities have begun to actually BELIEVE that shit.

Let's be perfectly clear, people, and I need you to hear me five by five: "Green" is a marketing campaign. It's the latest bandwagon to get you to buy horse manure, snake oil, cold fusion. It's the latest gimmick to get you to buy garbage you wouldn't have bought a mere year ago, simply because it says "green."

It's religion, and an apostatic one at that. Do NOT fall for this nonsense. The dogma that you're being fed via the news, propaganda, marketing and politics is crap that's "greener" and better for your lawn than the truth. Yesterday's hippies are now capitalizing on their newfound legacy, and selling you crap because they're "older and wiser" and you kids have squandered our precious meager natural resources.

Emeril Green? Gimme a break.

Cimarron Canyon

Today at the range with temps at or near 100, I couldn't help but think of my lunch stop hiking up the Cimarron Canyon last week. Temps were probably only in the 70s next to this little waterfall and it was absolutely splendid. The water was crystal clear and cold and the solitude was marvelous.

Mt. Greenie

11,271 ft.

Highest point in New Mexico attainable in a vehicle. The trip up and down was quite a bit of fun, I've gotta say. And the view at the top was awesome.

5,000 gallons of molasses spill on Texas highway

Good thing this didn't happen in the winter. Bonus: it's in Sugar Land!

News Flash: D.C. Idiots Don't Understand English

Apparently the fools running DC can't understand a simple court decision.

Google Trends: ǝlƃooƃ noʎ ʞɔnɟ, Jul 13, 2008

I just noticed an interesting #1 Google trend (follow the link above). It says, "ǝlƃooƃ noʎ ʞɔnɟ." What an interesting trend, indeed.

Winning the Energy War

This is an expanded version of a little thing I sent in to Senator Cornyn's website; perhaps it will show up there as well at some point in the near future. In the meantime, here you go....

All that is required to win the energy war that has been raging in this country since the 1970s is to defeat the radical environmentalists.

Think about it.

Every policy, law and regulation that is keeping us from becoming energy independent has its origin with the environmental movement.

The United States sits on more resources than we could use in the foreseeable future in the form of oil, gas and coal deposits. Add nuclear and emerging technologies into the mix and our reliance on foreign governments that may or may not support the United States would be over.

Yet we are not allowed to mine the resources that we are in fact, sitting on, thanks to the environmental movement. Between the moratorium on offshore drilling that was signed into law in the 1980s, and President Clinton's proclamation in 1996 making 1.7million acres in Utah a national monument and therefore putting off limits billions of tons of clean burning coal - the United States is fighting the energy war with both hands tied behind its back.

Thanks to public reaction to the 1979 movie The China Syndrome, we have
limited the construction of nuclear power plants. Thanks to "do as I say, not as I do" liberals like Teddy Kennedy, we can't build windmills in areas that might ruin the cultural "viewscape." Environmental regulations make it impossible to build oil refineries to the point that we haven't had a new refinery built in the United
States in decades. It makes you wonder just whose side the environmentalists and their lackeys are on because clearly they are not on the side of the American people. It is crystal clear that we are on the cusp of a growing energy crisis yet we as a country are handcuffed at every turn as we search for either existing energy supplies or new sources of energy whether that is nuclear, wind, or water power. To an outside observer, it would appear that the environmentalists want nothing more than to return to the Jeffersonian ideal of an agrarian nation of yeoman farmers.

In order to regain our energy independence, we must turn back the tide of radical environmentalists who would have us believe in manmade climate change. Common sense should dictate that while climate change is real, man has nothing to do with it. Ice ages have come and gone without the internal combustion engine. Global warming is taking place on Mars and mankind has yet to set a foot there. More pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere during a large volcanic explosion than all of mankind's history, from day 1. Yet somehow, the radical environmentalists and their willing accomplices in the media will have us believe that in a little over 100 years, the internal combustion engine is to blame for any climate change we are currently experiencing.

Again, proving that common sense is not so common, let's think about this. We all know that weathermen can't predict with any degree of certainty what the weather will do this weekend. In fact, here in north Texas, we're lucky if they can predict what it's going to do this afternoon with any accuracy! Yet many of these same people who can't tell us what's going to happen 5 days from now will have us believe
that they know for certain what will happen 50 years from now. Am I the only one that sees a problem with this?

And let's look at the expense our economy is paying for "going green". Hybrid cars are great, right? No one ever seems to say anything (with the exception of Car and Driver) that after you pay the premium the dealerships are putting on hybrid vehicles, you'd have to own the car several decades to balance out the cost savings. No one points out that the batteries are going to wind up in a landfill
somewhere. Everyone knows that batteries, even rechargeable ones, die over time. What kind of environmental mess is THAT going to make?

The ethanol gas lobby that is forcing "green" ethanol down our throats adds additional expense to an already tight gasoline market for a gas product that performs at least 10-15% worse than a non-ethanol based product. So you end up using more gas and paying more for it at the pump all so we can feel good about the environment. Governmental entities across the country are spending billions upon billions of dollars to purchase "green" equipment that doesn't work as efficiently or as powerfully as gasoline powered equipment but hey, at least we can all feel good about ourselves, right?

What's the answer? I am surely not advocating strip mining or irresponsible drilling. There have been enough technological advances in the last 30 years that make both prospects environmentally conscious and safer than they were 3 decades ago. (Again, apply common sense. Do you really think that Exxon wants another Valdez? To do so would kill their company in today's climate.) Drill responsibly for oil and natural gas. Mine responsibly for coal. Build nuclear power plants. Develop new technologies that are economically feasible and practical. Deregulate the energy business to the point that they can work to explore and produce additional power supply for the country. Build new refineries. Think about what that would do to job growth alone, not to mention our energy woes! We're the United States of America for God's sake! We put a man on the moon in about a decade of trying, do you really think we can't solve our energy issues if we put our mind to it? But in order to do all of this, we need to stop the hoax that is the
environmental movement and refuse to be bullied by their tactics.

Take away the illusion that leftists are the only ones who *care* about the
environment. I am as avid an outdoorsman as any environmentalist I know. Unlike most of them, who only pretend that they can survive in the outdoors without their A/C and running water, I know (because I've done it many, many times) that I can survive and thrive in harsh environments from deserts to mountains to swamps, thickets and timber. I love to be outdoors and view the natural environment as something to be treasured and enjoyed. But I also understand that in order to
protect and support this thing that is the United States of America, we have to defeat the environmental movement that will have us believe that a field mouse is more important than the survival of our society.

Defeat the radical environmentalist movement, and we are well on our way to winning the energy war.

Survival of the Sudsiest

George Will has an excellent column that tells us civilization has depended on the creation of beer.

Like we needed to be told that.

To avoid dangerous water, people had to drink large quantities of, say, beer. But to digest that beer, individuals needed a genetic advantage that not everyone had -- what Johnson describes as the body's ability to respond to the intake of alcohol by increasing the production of particular enzymes called alcohol dehydrogenases. This ability is controlled by certain genes on chromosome four in human DNA, genes not evenly distributed to everyone. Those who lacked this trait could not, as the saying goes, "hold their liquor." So, many died early and childless, either of alcohol's toxicity or from waterborne diseases.

In other words, those of us alive today owe our survival to our ancestor's ability to drink beer!

So, go have a beer and celebrate humanity, will you?

Shock Bracelet Considered For Airline Passengers, Border Control -- Homeland Security

This has to be one of the most outrageous things I've heard of in quite some time.

In order to enhance the security of air travel and to help manage illegal immigration, the Department of Homeland Security has solicited a proposal from a Canadian security company to develop a passenger stun bracelet.
Like the pain collars featured in the classic Star Trek episode The Gamesters of Triskelion, Lamperd Less Lethal's electro-muscular disruption (EMD) bracelet is intended to incapacitate wearers on remote command.

I cannot even fathom that this would be legal, much less allowed by the public. It's being marketed as a tool to aid passengers in the airport, and as an anti-terrorist device. The potential for abuse is monstrous.

The stupidity of PC

In yet another sign of the coming Apocalypse, it's now considered to be racially insensitive to use the term "black hole". You heard that right folks, a scientific term that refers to "the invisible remains of a collapsed star, with an intense gravitational field from which neither light nor matter can escape" is now a rascist term.

Sadly, this little incident took place in Dallas County - which just again proves my point that idiots are running the County, but what do I know.

County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.

Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole."
That prompted Judge Thomas Jones, who is black, to demand an apology from Mayfield for his racially insensitive analogy.

You can't make this stuff up, folks.

FISA set to pass, finally

Finally, the Dems running Congress are set to pass the FISA bill that has been stalled for quite some time. It has been held up over concerns the liberals had over being able to sue telecommunication companies that are assisting the government in tracking down terrorist activities.

Even though the Dems in Congress have finally come to their senses and are working on passing the bill, it would appear that Senator Cornyn's opponent still thinks its a bad idea. You've got to ask yourself just who Noriega is protecting. I think it's safe to say that since 9/11 we have had no other terrorist attacks on American soil, at least in part due to FISA working. Like his liberal bretheren in Congress, you have to wonder just who's side Noriega is on.

We've said it before and I'll say it again. Put liberals in charge of National Security and we all lose.

Back yard critters

Been reading Blackfork, Robert's blog, and all his pics of wildlife reminded me of this picture I snapped in our backyard on a wet day this past winter. Not the best picture in the world, but I was happy to get this big boy on film and had to run and find my camera to catch him....

When liberals rule the world - Clusterbombs, part deux

In May, JR wrote about a group of 3rd rate countries who'd all gathered together to ban cluster bombs.

A month later, we get another lesson on what happens when liberals are in charge.

Faced with growing international pressure, the Pentagon is changing its policy on cluster bombs and plans to reduce the danger of unexploded munitions in the deadly explosives.

The policy shift, which is outlined in a three-page memo signed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, would require that after 2018, more than 99 percent of the bomblets in a cluster bomb must detonate.

Limiting the amount of live munitions left on the battlefield would lessen the danger to innocent civilians who have been killed or severely injured when they accidentally detonate the bomb.

OK, I don't have too much of a problem with this. If the new guidelines don't interfere with the ability of our military to accurately and reliably deliver the bombs, then like I said, it doesn't bother me.

However, Senator leaky Leahy (D-Vt), is not happy. Apparently, he doesn't like the fact that the United States is the sole world superpower and would like to create a more even field for our enemies to fight on. Stating that the new policy is "a step back", Leahy goes on to say:

"Now the Bush administration's 'new' policy is to wait another 10 years," said Leahy, calling it "another squandered opportunity for U.S. leadership." He said that in wake of the international treaty agreement, the Pentagon's plan to wait another decade before requiring the 99 percent detonation rate cannot be justified.

So, you put liberals in charge of our national security and this is the kind of crap that happens - you can count on effective weapon systems to be killed off leaving us to fight with one hand tied behind our backs.

Have no doubt - when liberals run our national security, we lose.

Happy Birthday, U. S. A.

Plasma, LCDs blamed for accelerating global warming

Need a little pick me up on this 4th of July?

Read this tripe!


In the latest bit of global warming (or is it now climate change?) hysteria, your flat paneled TVs are now being blamed for a rapid increase in the deterioration of our environment.

A gas used in the making of flat screen televisions, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), is being blamed for damaging the atmosphere and accelerating global warming.

Wow, sounds serious!

But there's a catch. You see, just as with the rest of the global warming hysteria, there is not one shred of evidence that proves this ridiculous point.

Levels of this gas in the atmosphere have not been measured, but scientists say it is a concern and are calling for it to be included in any future emissions cutting agreement.

So, they have no idea how much of this gas is in the atmosphere, but they KNOW it's causing a problem.

The scientist (spit, hack, spit) who is raising the alarm about this new, powerful gas has this to say:

"We don't know what's emitted, but what they're producing every year dwarfs these giant coal-fired power plants that are like the biggest in the world...."

Now, I know I'm only a historian, but even I can figure out that if you DON'T KNOW WHAT'S EMITTED, then how in the hell could you know that *they* are producing more pollutants than a giant coal-fired power plant. Are we to be so stupid as to believe that plasma TVs - which are only in a portion of American households - are creating as a by product of their production, more pollution that coal power plants which can be found all over the entire world?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

What a retard.

And oh yeah, have a happy and safe 4th of July.

"We Won't Try to Pry Guns Away"

Some people just don't get it. Vis-a-vis Miss Lori Jefferson Foster of Dallas:

We won't try to pry guns away

Re: "Rejection of ban triggers new debate – Some use decision to fight other arms laws; others laud support for 'reasonable' restrictions," last Friday news story.

For those of us who believe that common sense gun laws can save lives, last week's ruling may have a very positive upshot. For years, the gun lobby has used fear to thwart efforts to pass sensible gun laws, arguing that even modest gun laws will lead to a complete ban on gun ownership.

Now that the Supreme Court has struck down the Washington, D.C., ban on handguns while making it clear that the Constitution allows for reasonable limitations on access to dangerous weapons, this slippery slope argument is gone. Life-saving proposals like requiring Brady background checks on all gun sales and limiting bulk sales of handguns can be debated without the distraction of: "You're trying to take away my gun."

We'll accept that gun bans are unconstitutional, but you'll have to accept that the Second Amendment now guarantees reasonable restrictions on guns.

Lori Jefferson Foster, Dallas

This, I'm afraid, is the next battle, one of inches. The gun-grabbers will now hyper-focus on nit-picking (wow, 3 hyphenated phrases in one sentence). I still don't know what a "common-sense gun law" really is, because if people had common sense, they'd leave the guns alone. Why are people like Ms. Foster demonizing guns ("dangerous weapons" - ooooh)?

I have an idea - let's make it illegal to commit murder, rape, robbery, theft, and other um, crimes. And let's make it illegal for felons and children to buy guns. What's that you say? All that's already illegal? Hmmm. Common sense dictates that it's not the weapons, it's criminals. What's a criminal? Someone who disregards the law.

Now, let's look at what criminals are willing to do: ignore laws, and break them while committing crimes against law-abiding citizens like you and me. What is a law-abiding citizen to do? I know - call 911! After all, in a life-or-death situation where seconds count, it's worth waiting several minutes for the police to arrive. After all, someone has to fill out a report, right?

Okay, so if the police don't follow you around all the time, seriously, what are you to do? Protect yourself? Heaven forbid! Say it ain't so, Lori!

Let's talk common sense. Why do you have a fire extinguisher in your house? Do you plan on burning your house down? No, you try your best not to start a fire in your home, but if you do, you'd at least have a fighting chance to stop it before you waited several minutes for the fire department to arrive, wouldn't you?

I don't carry a gun because I expect to shoot someone. I use common sense. I avoid places where I'm likely to have to defend myself, first. I'm aware of my surroundings, and I don't act or look like a target. However, if a criminal is still motivated enough to come after me or mine, I need to be able to prevent him from forcing his will on me. Common sense dictates that I be able to stop this criminal, and I have that inalienable right to do so.

This is the crux of the Second Amendment. I have a God-given right to protect myself, and no government may take that away. Moreover, the Second Amendment makes provision for me to protect myself with a firearm. I shouldn't have to defend that right.

Common sense tells me that more gun laws aren't going to help anything. Go find another windmill to tilt after, Ms. Foster. You're doing it wrong.

Feds consider euthanizing wild horses in West

OK, the mere thought of this, is one of the sickest things I could ever imagine.

Understand, I am not a horse person. I did not grow up on a farm. Nor am I a cowboy wanna-be. But the thought of some government-eco-nazi-bean-counter drafting a plan to take wild horses and put a bullet behind the ear is just repulsive and truly forces me to ask the question: Why?

We are talking about 33,000 horses. ACROSS 10 WESTERN STATES! Are you kidding me? Break out a map and look at the Western United States. Now imagine 33,000 any thing's there. You won't exactly be bumping into each other. Try 33,000 aircraft carriers? Nope, plenty of room left over. How about 33,000 skyscrapers? We could do that and another 100,000 and still not feel it. I know, think about this. How about 33,000 Mall of Americas? Still just a drop in the bucket. You have to get to the Grand Canyon size objects, to get close. I'm sorry, a horse is much smaller than that.

The state of Nevada is 110,000 square miles in area. That would be 3 horses standing on every single square mile of state. AND YOU STILL HAVE 9 MORE STATES!!! Are you starting to see a problem?

And yet, we have the bunny-huggers protesting deer hunting, sport fishing and Olympic archery. But hey, put one into ole' Trigger, pass me the shootin' iron, Tex!

This is simply killing for financial reasons. Don't ever say that deer hunting is somehow unfair and barbarian. The deer has more chance than a horse in a pen. An animal that acts more like a puppy than a man-eating lion. But hey, to save a few bucks, kill'em all.

And who is doing their books. It's costing the US Government 26 MILLION dollars to care for 30,000 horses per year? I need a job at that ranch. What kind of feed are they using? And remember, these horses are wild! They take care of themselves! All of this because the cattle ranchers have a lobby. Because ranching is big business and can afford to make us believe that 33,000 horses somehow represent a threat to our way of life and sure starvation.

Unfortunately, our history is repeating itself here. After WWI, the Army decided it was going to become a mechanized force and put down their faithful companions by the hundreds.

What's next, the Dept. of the Interior euthanizing Border Collies and Golden Retrievers because they shed too much? Because they pooped on your lawn? Gotta stop those pesky varmints before things get out of control. Is the BLM going to play "Whack a Mole" with every new litter of puppies? Think of how much money it would save the taxpayers.

This is disgusting! That's the only word that comes to mind: Disgusting.

Why I carry a gun

JR (the other one) points out just why we carry.

GRANITE CITY, Ill. — Police and FBI agents captured an ex-convict suspected of killing eight people in two states as he smoked a cigarette outside of a southwestern Illinois bar Tuesday night, a bar employee said.

Nicholas T. Sheley, who was the subject of a multistate manhunt after authorities linked him to the deaths of eight people in Illinois and Missouri, was arrested around 7 p.m. outside of Bindy's, a Granite City bar, said bartender Katie Ronk...

Said punk has been taking jaunts around the country randomly killing 8 people he came in contact with.

What the bulk of civilized society has yet to realize - or perhaps we should say, forgotten - there are bad people out there who don't conform to polite society and the only person who's going to save your booty is going to be you.

That sound you hear

is a pin drop. Otherwise known as the news media's unbiased reporting on the war. Seems to me the media's been pretty damn quiet about the war as of late. Seems to me I heard that the number of deaths in the war is approaching the number of deaths you'd see annually due to training accidents.

And yes - EVERY soldier killed is a tragedy, so don't give me any BS about not giving a damn.

Seems to me reports of suicide bombings are down. IED attacks down.

Why is it we don't hear of the good stuff I wonder?

Why don't we hear about things like this happening:



I know good and well why we don't see images like this from Iraq. And so do you.

Take this one and pass it on. Don't let the media's unbiased (and yes, I have to spit when I say that) reporting stop this story. Despite what we don't hear from the media, our troops are doing great things. Don't let that story go untold.

More on Heller

It’s really quite simple: gun control legislation did not reduce violence. Secondly, people started actually reading the text of the second amendment of the United States Constitution. Thirdly, ‘laws allowing concealed weapons proliferated - with no ill effects.’

To put it more succinctly; the idea that outlawing guns makes society more safe was proven wrong, this while Americans started to realize that, just perhaps, the US Constitution actually means what it says.

Who would have thought it could be that simple?

No comment from me required.... H/T to McBane for the link!

June 26, 2008

This is a great day for America.

Cops. Heh.

Had a great weekend of shooting fun. Wichita Falls Saturday for some USPSA action. DPC Sunday morning for some steel action. A little visit to the local cigar shop, and then a drive down into Dallas Sunday night for some IDPA fun. That's the way to spend your weekend!!!

Sunday night, at DFW gun range, we had a great turnout for the IDPA match. There were several brand new shooters there as well as some more experienced guys that have been around for awhile and then some folks somewhere in the middle, who have been out a handful of times and are starting to look familiar. After working the timer with one of the new shooters - a tiny young lady - and watching her struggle to control the pistol - I passed off the timer and took her over to the safe area to help her out.

I explained the fundamentals of the grip and stance and tried to get her a little more comfortable with the pistol she was shooting. I probably spent 10 minutes or so with her before I ran out of time and had to get back to work at the match. I had noted that one of the other shooters - a local cop - had followed us in to the safe area and was watching everything I was telling this young lady. I could tell from the look on his face that he disagreed with about everything that I was saying, but I just ignored him as I'd seen him shoot and wasn't really that impressed with anything he had done. As soon as I left, he took the opportunity to jump over to the gal and I suspected that he was busy spending some time telling her that I had no idea what the hell I was talking about since I was just a civilian and that she'd be better off listening to him. Whatever.

We finished the match, and I was back in the safety area with another new shooter - a young man this time - helping him with the same issues I had pointed out earlier. Since he was shooting a nice 1911, that was absolutely bone ass dry, I ended up spending some time with him about proper lube and cleaning of his pistol as well. About that time the young lady I had helped earlier walked in with her boyfriend and then another couple that had come with them to watch. We started talking about what kind of gun she should buy for herself since she was shooting a borrowed gun that night. I told her the same thing I tell all new shooters - buy a Glock, M&P, XD, or now even the new Ruger SR9 - whichever one fits their hands the best and is in their price range. The young lady told me that "the guy, that cop, had showed her his sig suey something" gun - to which I said, you mean a Sig Sauer??? Yeah, that was it - the cop let her fondle his Sig and told her what a fantastic weapon it was, that SWAT uses it, and SEALs use it blah blah blah and that the gun felt perfect to her.

I said, "hon, whatever you do, do NOT buy a Sig." To which her friend replied "told you, they're all going to say this that or the other is their favorite and no one will agree on anything."

I finally lost what patience I had left in dealing with this particular officer and just flat out told the girls - "look - why don't ya'll go look at the scores from tonight's match and tell me who you should be taking advice from, OK?" The room got pretty quiet all of a sudden and I just walked out to help with clean up after the match.

I usually don't ever talk that kind of smack to anyone but my friends. But this particular fellow touched a nerve with me. He displays the typical attitude that some (not all) law enforcement officers display. That they are the only people who know anything about firearms because they've been "trained". While us lowly civilians don't know squat because we don't have to go through a "rigorous" training program and annual qualifying.

The fact of the matter is - and this is based on a decade of watching - is that the vast bulk of law enforcement officers don't know jack about guns. They don't know jack about muzzle awareness. They don't know jack about trigger control. They don't know jack about how to shoot. In fact, if you come to my range and tell me you're a cop, I'm going to watch you like a hawk, and watch you closer than I'll watch a "civilian" because my personal experience has shown me that chances are, you're going to scare the hell out of me.

Now, there are a handful of officers that I've come across that DO know how to shoot - and bless them, most of those guys try hard as hell to get their law enforcement brethren up to speed - but the fact is, they are a very, very small minority in the police community.

And oh yeah - I kicked this guy's ass by 45 seconds in a 5 stage match. For those of you who aren't familiar with IDPA scoring, that's what you call an ass whipping.

MyFox Dallas | GRAPHIC VIDEO: 'F--- Victims' Families'

I don't even know where to start.

Some people (animals) require shooting. Some people (animals) require execution. Some people (animals) don't deserve to die with dignity. Here's a fine example of why public executions, lynch mobs, vigilante justice, vengeance and hatred all have existed. This is the very worst of our society, and these animals deserve to be killed slowly, painfully, and without mercy or remorse.

I'd feel no worse about shooting a rabid coyote. Check that - at least coyotes serve a purpose in the ecosystem. These shitbags are beneath contempt.

GI Bill

Lone Star Times has a good summary of the latest version of the GI Bill that was approved by the House.

Senator Cornyn was on the right side of the issue, insisting on transferability and voting against the bill in the Senate because of it. The Senator commented today on the House vote and called out his opponent to support the House Bill; after his opponent shamelessly used Memorial Day as a political ploy against Cornyn.

Folks, I think we have to come to the conclusion that the Presidency this election cycle is really not going to be all that good, regardless of who wins. In which case, we're going to need a strong conservative base in the House and Senate to foil the will of the next President on items like gun control, global warming, and liberty. Get out there and support your local conservative House and Senate members and let them know where you stand. Cornyn's a good guy and we need more folks like him in Washington to make sure that the next President can't destroy what's left of our individual freedoms.

What to Expect Next Week | SCOTUSblog

...Two opinions remain: Rothgery v. Gillespie and the case many of our readers our waiting eagerly for, DC v. Heller. Two justices have not yet written in the sitting: Souter and Scalia. As both of them have only written five total opinions thus far, it seems quite likely that these two are the outstanding authors, barring some sort of vote-switching. Based on the tenor of oral argument, it is widely expected that the individual rights view of the Second Amendment will prevail in the guns case, which means that it appears that Justice Scalia may well be writing the opinion for the majority, leaving Rothgery to Justice Souter. It remains a possibility, of course, that if Justice Scalia is the author, his opinion commands only a plurality.

Looks like next week it is, but the SCOTUSblogger cautions against trying to predict the court.

There is only one decision day next week on the Court’s official calendar: Monday, June 23, when the Court’s public session will begin at 10 am eastern. However, as the Court has done for the past two weeks, it’s certain that the Court will sit on one or more additional days later in the week. Based on past practice, if the Court holds one additional opinion day, it will likely be the Thursday (June 26) as it did last Term. If it holds two additional opinion days (which is more likely, given that ten opinions remain), the added days will likely be Wednesday (June 25) and Thursday (as it did in the 2005 Term).

(Of course, the Court isn’t required to finish by June 26, but it has concluded the Term before July every year for the last decade. Monday June 30 is also a possible last day, but is unlikely because the Court internally plans on finishing each Term during the fourth week of June.)

Boy Killed When Falling Shotgun Fires

I don't mean to diminish or enlarge the tragedy, but I'm afraid something doesn't meet the sniff test here.

Authorities believe the shotgun was standing in a corner when it somehow fell and went off.

Anyone familiar with a shotgun that goes off without someone pulling the trigger? The story doesn't say what sort of shotgun it is, so could a slam-fire have happened, or what?

Big John

Senator Cornyn came out with a light hearted and entertaining video at the GOP convention a week or so ago. Since that time, the libs have been attacking the video in one way or another. This proves my point once again that probably the worst thing about the entire liberal movement is that they don't have a sense of humor. At all. And who wants to be around someone who is perpetually outraged??

Second, this brings to mind the internet email that was passed around a while ago; and I think it's a valid point today - the libs don't like cowboys. They don't like what they stand for, they don't like what they'll stand up to, and they don't like the image of a man who can take care of things himself without having to rely on his mommy (or the government) to solve his problems. In part, that email went like this:

When I was a kid, cowboys were my heroes.

Well, I mean the ones in the white hats, not the black hats, who were usually the bad guys.

What were common attributes of these legendary cowboys?

Here are a few:

They were never looking for trouble.

But when trouble came, they faced it with courage.

They were always on the side of right.

They defended good people against bad people.

They had high morals.

They had good manners.

They were honest.

They spoke their minds and they spoke the truth, regardless of what people thought or "political correctness," which no one had ever heard of back then.

They were a beacon of integrity in the wild, wild West.

They were respected. When they walked into a saloon (where they usually drank only sarsaparilla), the place became quiet, and the bad guys kept their distance.

If in a gunfight, they could outdraw anyone. If in a fist fight, they could beat up anyone.

They always won. They always got their man. In victory, they rode off into the sunset.

In our new touchy feely era, men aren't supposed to be like this. They're supposed to be in touch with their emotions, their feminine side. And it's largely the reason we are in the mess we're in today.

While not claiming to be a cowboy myself - For instance, I don't own a cowboy hat, can't stand horses, and have no idea where my one pair of cowboy boots are - I think Washington DC would probably be a lot better off if more cowboys were in office than the career politicians that reside there today, but that's just me.

Man accidentally kills himself while trying to rob a Grand Prairie home

A little bleach for the old gene pool.

Cameron Sands, 19, of Fort Worth kicked in the door of the house and then shot himself in the stomach as he pulled a gun out of his pants to shoot the homeowner, Grand Prairie police said. The homeowner was not injured.

Ta-da!

We're on HDNews!

It's your humble bloggers, running around with guns in our hands.

Call of Duty - PAY ATTENTION.

There is much awesomeness in this video.

Boobies.

Four Teenagers Are Stabbed After Northeast Peace Festival

Peace on you.

Brought to you by Washington, D.C.

Market Hall Gun Show

After getting rained out at the match in Greenville yesterday - honest to goodness, SERIOUS rain at the range, high, hot and dry at home - JR and I decided to hit the Market Hall gun show. As we've posted here before, Market Hall has really dropped off as a great show. Compared to the big Reliant Center show in Houston, Market Hall is about 1/3 as big and there seems to be a preponderance of beef jerky and airsoft guns.

There WERE some interested things to see. Notably, JR and I both truly appreciate the attire most women seem to wear at gun shows. I don't know what it is, but ladies that go to gun shows are usually showing off their finer assets; and speaking for myself, I'm deeply appreciative.

There was one dealer who was selling NIB "overstocked" DPMS AR flat top carbines for $619 with a gas block in front and no front sight and $635 or so with a front sight. They were a good $275-$300 cheaper than other similar ARs at the show and I'm kicking myself for not picking one up. I did manage to pick up some mags for a rainy day, some AR mags (both .223 and 9mm) and a couple of 10 round McCormick power mags for my 1911 that I'll use next month at the big ProAm match in Tulsa.

Seems there were a bunch of hoodlums out as well in their gang colors or wearing shirts that said things like "gangster forever" on them. Why those turds are let into the gun show is beyond me - I know why they're let in - no one wants a lawsuit saying that said poor little hoodlum was discriminated against on the basis of his appearance, but still, I'd kick those cretins out in a heartbeat, lawsuit be damned.

It also seems as if there is more flat out disinformation fed to potential buyers by salesmen who have no idea what they are talking about. Dealers talking about this gun or that gun and given a minute, you can tell that they have no clue about what they're talking about and only know what they've read in the latest edition of Guns and Ammo - where no gun writer has ever met a gun he didn't like. My point is, if you're looking for a new blaster, and you aren't sure what you're looking for - ask someone who shoots. Alot! It's clear that there are "gun people" who can tell you every tiny detail about every gun ever made. And then there's those of us who shoot. When it comes to picking a gun - especially one for self defense or competition, pick carefully who you get your info from!

And I'll add a word or two on gun show etiquette. Take your stinking finger off of the trigger. Do not pick up guns off the table or carry guns around with your booger picker wrapped squarely around the trigger. I can't tell you how many guns JR and I had pointed at us either by passers by or folks at the tables with fingers squarely on the trigger with no thought given to where the gun is pointed.

I've seen 2 or 3 ADs at gun shows over the years with "unloaded" guns. I'd really rather not see one up close and personal because some idiot isn't paying attention to what he's doing.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 233rd birthday to the US Army!

Hulk Movie Suck.

Finally, a movie review that even Catfish can read.

Critic remember Ang Lee version. Ang Lee version slagged off. Yet rubbish new Hulk film make that look like Citizen Kane. Critic exit cinema miffed. Film take away two hours of critic's life. Critic not get time back. Ever. Rarrrrr.

Take a moment to read the whole thing. It's a hoot.

District of Columbia v. Heller

Well, another session of SCOTUS goes by today, but no news of the Second Amendment. We learned of the Supreme Court's ruling regarding the detainees at Gitmo, but not about DC v. Heller. Pity.

I think it's ironic that enemy combatants are enjoying Habeas Corpus, much like U.S. citizens, yet we sit here and wait to hear whether they'll affirm rights we were given over 200 years ago.

Nonetheless, I'm cautiously optimistic that the 2nd Amendment will be affirmed, and that an individual right to keep and bear arms will finally have the endorsement of constitutionality via the Supreme Court. Perhaps Monday, June 16, 2008 will be a very good day.

Cindy Sheehan, your 15 minutes are up. Go home now.

I just giggle every time I see this picture.

Rumor Confirmed! Cuisinart Ice-Cream Maker Includes Long Rumored Sprinkle Dispenser

Aside from (almost) buying 1000 bullets, I don't know if I can think of a better way to spend $84.31.

...the company has released the Ice-45 Mix-It-In Soft Serve Ice-Cream Maker that includes not one, but three different topping dispensers! (A move that even supposed ‘Cuisinart insiders’ didn’t see coming.) Of course while many users were also hoping for a built-in hot fudge reservoir on the new model, it seems those rumors were just wild speculation, and for the time being we’ll just have to settle with third-party solutions like a double-boiler on the stove.

I swear to you, I never knew such devices existed.

Gladiator Gay

This Academy ad from today's Sunday paper is gayer than Elton John's fanny-pack.
 

"C'mon, Tom - pull me!"