JS Online:Editorial: There is a middle ground

Here we go again. The NRA's convention is in Milwaukee. The local news has an op-ed piece on "reasonable gun control," and couches it in phrases of civility and good-natured "can't we all just get along" rhetoric. Then they spoil their "reasonable" approach with an insipid statement like this:

What we do have a hard time buying is that military-style, semiautomatic weapons are essential to the right to hunt. Yet in backing a federal ban on such weapons, we find ourselves accused of trying to outlaw all guns. These rapid-fire weapons are a favorite of organized gangs and mass killers and a peril to law officers. So as we see it, the NRA's successful lobbying to lift that ban aids the bad guys.

One more time: the Second Amendment to the Constitution does not guarantee a right to hunt. It guarantees a right to keep and bear arms. It's real simple. As for those dastardly military-style semi-automatic weapons, keep your stinkin' hands off mine. I don't need a reason for having one. I have a right to have one. You don't have a right to take it away. End of debate.

Now go enforce the laws we already have too many of.

Do You Know What This Picture Is?

A friend of mine sent me this email. I found very interesting. I looked it up on snopes and confirmed that it is true. This is just sickening.

The email pretty much says it all.

I thought this might just interest some of y'all.. I think it's noteworthy!
Obviously, it's a picture in a cemetery. What cemetery and whose grave? Yes, it's sadly the grave of Casey Sheehan. After two years, and a DOD payment of $250,000 life insurance to the "Peace Mom", she has not had the time or bothered to have a headstone placed on this young hero's grave, and she doesn't even have to pay for one. The DOD will provide one: "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) furnishes upon request, at no charge to the applicant, a government headstone or marker for the grave of any deceased eligible veteran in any cemetery around the world. For all deaths occurring before September 11, 2001, the VA may provide a headstone or marker only for graves that are not marked with a private headstone. Flat markers in granite, marble, and bronze and upright headstones in granite and marble are available. The style chosen must be consistent with existing monuments at the place of burial. Niche markers are also available to mark columbaria used for internment of cremated remains."
She can find time to protest on at least 3 continents, get arrested various times, go on vacation in Hawaii, have photo ops with the Marxists in Venezuela but can't seem to find the time to properly mark her son's grave.
oh yea - Cindy Sheehan recently treated herself to a brand new Volkswagen Beetle convertible. She still can't be bothered to order a grave marker for her son.

Pink Taco Restaurant Name Causes Stir

Nearly half a dozen people in the upscale city recently expressed their objection to the name, claiming it's a derogatory slang term for a portion of the female anatomy.

These are the same people who objected to some restaurants and other businesses in the past that included "The Bearded Clam", " We Have Crabs", "The Red Snapper", "Bunghole Liquors", "The Hot Spot", "The Promised Land", "Meat Pockets", "The Finger Hut", "Joe's Crab Shack", and "Jack in the Box".

Restaurant spokeswoman Lisa Perez said the company's name comes from one of its menu items.

I am sure the place will be a big hit with the lesbian community. They love to eat out.

New addition to the Catfish Family

Two months ago, I had to put my 7 year old hunting buddy, the most wonderful dog I've ever owned, down. She had bone cancer and I wasn't about to put her through months of chemo and amputation - she was too good of a dog to have to deal with that.

Today, we have a new pup to fill some very big shoes. As it stands now, she's scoring high on cuteness factor. Time will tell on the rest, but we're sure going to give it a good shot.

Here's a couple of gratuitous puppy pics.

I will, of course, post updates as we get into the training program!

Florida alligators kill 3 women in a week

Omigosh. This is worse than the bird flu. It's a gator epidemic.

As a general rule, I tend to avoid vacation spots where the wildlife CAN EAT YOU.

"You just don't think of your daughter dying from an alligator,” Ms. Campbell's mother, Dawn Marie Yankeelov, told the newspaper.

To say that quote is obvious would be...well, too obvious.

However, this might help:

Gary Goodrich, Ms. Cooper's brother-in-law, told the newspaper that officials said her purse was found near the water and drugs may have played a factor.

Thank goodness for the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission:

Florida residents are warned not to swim in heavily vegetated areas, feed wildlife or walk pets near the water, especially between dusk and dawn when gators are more active, Mr. Morse said.

Seems to me it's not the wildlife that needs conservation here...

Bears Eat Monkey in Dutch Zoo

Now, if you want to get my money, I expect something in return. Those Dutch have legal prostitution, legal drugs, and in the entertainment trifecta, monkey-eating bears. If they didn't talk so funny, I'd consider going there.

Wonder if it tasted like chicken...

Name that ship!

Hloy Siht!

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

My life as a grammar/spelling nazi is over.

Charlie's Angels

It's been awhile since we've done a dedicated 'gun post' and this is one that I've been contemplating for a while.

Today I'll talk about a pet peeve of mine when watching new (and sometimes experienced) shooters move. Largely, I blame it on Hollywood, but there's some blame to go around to the gun rags as well - most of which may know a lot about guns, but not much about shooting. I love seeing a picture of some gun rag author talking about how controllable the recoil is on a given pistol, and the picture shows the gun in full recoil with the muzzle pointed straight up in the air, but I digress.

Today we will discuss about something that we have affectionately termed "Charlie's Angels". Charlie's Angels is where you move from point A to point B with the gun pointed straight up in the air, ala the old Charlie's Angels posters. It looks something like this:

Inevitably, the same people that do this also have their trigger finger wrapped squarely around the trigger, just like the Hollywood movie heroes.

I'll be blunt. Don't do this. There are several reasons.

1. The threat, or the target, will practically never be above your head. They are going to be somewhere in front of you, if you are paying attention. By pointing the gun in the air, you are wasting valuable time that you do not have to waste in either a gunfight or in a match. It's a bad plan.
2. What IS likely to be above you are people you care about if you are in an office building, or a home with 2 stories. If you have an AD with the gun pointed above your head, that's a bad thing if you're at an office or home environment, not to mention outdoors in an urban setting like where our range is. Gravity being what it is, the round will HAVE to land somewhere, and Mr. Murphy says it will hit something you'd rather it not hit. It's a bad plan.
3. If you happen to trip and fall while moving from point A to point B, and your gun is pointed up, it's awfully easy to wind up pointing the gun at your own head and having an AD while you're trying to catch yourself on the way down. If you trip and fall into a barricade, the gun will hit you in the head or face. It's a bad plan.
4. If a bad guy happens upon you with your gun pointed at the ceiling, it's a simple matter of physics and control to push the pistol into your face, keeping the barrel pointed up, while his other hand is either shooting you, cutting you, or hitting you in your now unprotected belly. It's a bad plan.

The gun is either in the holster, or it's pointed downrange. Period. This is assuming that you, as a responsible shooter, have absolute control over your trigger finger. If you don't, then you don't need to be carrying a gun. I cannot tell you how many times authors on this blog have slipped, tripped, or just fell on their own accord (JR) while running with a gun in their hand and have not had an AD.

Here's a better example of a low ready, or ready gun (whatever you want to call it) that will serve you much better than Charlie's Angels:

If I need to from this position, I can take the shot. I am also in very little danger of having my gun taken away from me or controlled by an opponent. If I am unfortunate enough to slip, fall, or have an AD, the round will have very little chance of striking me. If you're moving more than 3-4 steps, you can take your weak hand off the gun and haul ass - but your strong hand and the gun will stay essentially in the same position you see here.

If you're pointing the gun up when you move, I really hope you stop doing it. And you damn sure won't be doing it when I'm the Safety Officer or Match Director. If you want to shoot yourself, do it on your own time.

Claude Lelouch: Rendezvous

This is amazing. I can't believe in all my years, that I am just now seeing this. The video is 10 minutes long and worth watching all the way through. The driving is fantastic, but hearing the Ferrari's V12 sing is even better.

On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris. The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine, through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.
No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit. The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets.
Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground until a DVD release a few years ago.

MUSIC CITY USA DUKEFEST!

Speaking of Hillbilly White Trash.

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Don't miss the "Mullet Contest", "Redneck Bikini and Camel Toe Contest", and the ever popular "Pickled Pig's Foot Eating Contest". Sign up early to get your camping spot!

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Ex-Teacher Still Jailed After Strip Video

Hot for teacher? Damn straight.

A Tennessee teacher is being held without bail after she allegedly sent a strip-tease video to her former student.

Video may not be safe for work. No nudity, but unbelievable hotness and gratuitous ass shaking.

The video was allegedly shot after Rogers was arrested and remanded to her own custody for using a MySpace Web site to contact the boy.
Rogers spent six months in jail for having sex with a 13-year-old student was arrested in April, for violating probation by apparently communicating with the victim.

Hillbilly White Trash: The Ecosystem grows

We're hot stuff now. We're brand-new members of the Hillbilly Ecosystem. Yeee-haaa!

Ariz. Posse to Round Up Illegal Immigrants

Now this is what I call a pretty smart move. Since it's quite obvious the Federal government is going to do nothing to stop the flood of illegal immigrants into our country, the State of Arizona passed a law making it illegal to smuggle humans across the border.

The law made human smuggling a state crime in Arizona - it was already a federal crime - allowing local law enforcement agencies to arrest suspected smugglers. It was meant to crack down on smugglers, but under a disputed interpretation, County Attorney Andrew Thomas argues the law can be applied to the smuggled immigrants themselves.

Once again, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is making headlines:

"I'm going to catch as many as I can and throw them in my jail," said Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "And the jails are not that nice."

Why is it that a little Sheriff out in the desert gets it, but the fat cats of both parties in Washington don't?

As you would expect, some lousy, flea bit, slip and fall lawyer has threatened suit against the Sheriff, but the Sheriff's not backing down:

"I get sued when I go to the toilet. You think I'm worried about it?" he said. "If they think I'm going to slow down because of these threats, I've got news for them - I'm not going to slow down. I'll do more of it."

The whining is endless, with illegal - no - I mean, undocumented immigrant's rights groups stating that "every act like this contributes to the angst and anger and desperation in our community...." waaah waaaah waaaaaah. I suppose that our angst and anger that the horde of illegals crossing into our country creates doesn't mean anything, right?

I really don't give a shit, if it hurts the feelings of the illegal immigrant community and fortunately for the citizens of Maricopa County in Arizona, neither does the Sheriff. Now if only we could get something like this going here in Texas....

Man charged in dildo assault

A 37-year-old man remained in police custody Tuesday, charged with a violent assault against his former girlfriend. He has testified that his only weapon was a dildo.
"It lasted 10 to 15 minutes, max," he told the court. "I didn't hit her with anything other than a dildo."
He also suggested the woman may have had bruises from before the assault. "She doesn't tolerate much because of anorexia."

We're a Large Mammal

It's been a while, but we're back in the ranks of Large Mammals in TTLB's ecosystem. We're presently ranked #708 of all the blogs tracked there (which is most of them). Not too shabby for a little Texas blog.

I still think they're measure of average visits is WAY wrong (we get about 1200 visits/hits a day - they say only 40), but I'll take what I can get.

Moussaoui recants testimony

Moussaoui to Judge: "I changed my mind. I don't want to go to Federal PMITA prison."

Judge to Moussaoui: "Suck it."

It's Bush's Fault!

Wall Street barreled higher Friday, sending the Dow Jones industrials up 138 points to a new six-year high

Oh, wait. That's good when the stock market goes up, isn't it?

The Dow rose 138.88, or 1.21 percent, to 11,577.74, its best showing since the Dow reached its all-time high of 11,722.98 on Jan. 14, 2000.

I guess terms like "best showing" and "all-time high" are good, right?

I'm sure there's a reason why this is due to the Democrats, but they're too busy blaming the Administration for everything that's wrong in the world.

Ocho

Wilson has maintained his innocence since being charged in the crime.

What this news article doesn't talk about is the victim's family, the prosecutors, and the investigators on the case. They watched the execution, too, and talked about the incontrovertible evidence that led to this monster's conviction.

Jackie Wilson, 39, was condemned for taking Maggie Rhodes to a field on November 30, 1988, and raping and suffocating her. Wilson then drove over the girl's body.

Not one single tear was shed in that room. This guy apparently died a liar, still in denial of the crime he committed.

Wilson's DNA was found on the girl's body. His fingerprints were found on the apartment's broken bedroom window and Rhodes' hair was found in and on the underside of the car Wilson was driving.

The girl was 5 years old, taken from her bedroom in Arlington, TX.

There's one less monster in the world.

Pharaoh's Phallus Phound

Evidently, King Tut's weiner was believed to be missing.

There was speculation that it had been stolen and sold to a private collector. There are people who do collect such things.

Yes, they're called "wives."

In any event, it was there all along. I don't suppose Tut will be making any Enzyte commercials soon...