That stuff will get you killed on the streets!

Great write-up from Mike Seeklander of USSA, breaking down why competitive shooting is good training for combat applications.

Why listen to me? Consider my background. Competitive experience: I am a card holding GM in USPSA, Master in IDPA, and a Master in the NRA classification system. I have done well in pretty much every major match and have more than 10 years competing against the best shooters on the practical shooting circuit. Combative experience: I am a former Marine with combat experience (if Desert Shield/Storm counts as combat!). I have local and federal law enforcement experience, including more than 10 years as a full time instructor or lead instructor a portion of which I was in charge of the Federal Air Marshal (FAM) firearm-training program during the FAM buildup after 9/11. I have had the privilege of working with some of the best Military and Law Enforcement Instructors in the United States, and I credit all that I submit to you in this article to folks I have worked with and learned from. What should this mean to you? It means I have done my homework in both arenas and can hopefully offer some insight into how “practical shooting” translates to quality training for combative purposes.

If you're one of those Tactical Tommy-types that doesn't believe that getting the gun out of the holster and putting rounds downrange isn't a tactic, click on the link above and read on. It's a PDF document.

Great tits cope well with warming

Well, tell me something I didn't know.

A little shooting fun

Here's some vids from today's match at Johnson County. Started a bit chilly, but warmed up to a pretty nice day on the range.

NPS taking public comments

If you spend any amount of time in National Parks like I do, you'll take advantage of the comment period offered by the NPS now.

SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior, through the National Park
Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service, proposes to amend
regulations presently codified in 36 CFR part 2 and 50 CFR part 27,
which provide guidance and controls for the possession and
transportation of firearms in national park areas and national wildlife
refuges. The proposed amendments would update the regulations to
reflect current state laws authorizing the possession of concealed
firearms, while maintaining the existing regulatory provisions that
ensure visitor safety and resource protection such as the prohibitions
on poaching and limitations on hunting and target practice.

Please take advantage of this opportunity and let the NPS know that you support this consideration.

Exploding Whale

Unintended consequences....

3 gun

Video from the first ever 3 gun match in Afghanistan. What I find most entertaining, other than the shooting, of course, is that this shooting competition (which is exactly like anything you'd find back here stateside) has not been deemed to "get you killed in real life".

That should make the tacti-cool timmies quiver in their britches.

Fuel Choices, Food Crises and Finger-Pointing

I frankly can't believe this article was published in the New York Times.

The idea of turning farms into fuel plants seemed, for a time, like one of the answers to high global oil prices and supply worries. That strategy seemed to reach a high point last year when Congress mandated a fivefold increase in the use of biofuels.

As usual, when the Federal Government gets involved, they screw it up. Can anyone tell me, with the exception of the military, ONE thing the government does better than private industry? ONE thing?

So, what seemed like a splendid idea to save the environment is turning into a giant cluster fuck. Farmers who once upon a time grew other food stuff, like rice or soybeans are flocking to the government subsidies to grow corn for ethanol. As a result, guess what? There are now food shortages all over the world.

In some countries, the higher prices are leading to riots, political instability and growing worries about feeding the poorest people. Food riots contributed to the dismissal of Haiti’s prime minister last week, and leaders in some other countries are nervously trying to calm anxious consumers.

But hey, we're saving the environment, so it's all good, right??

Another unintended consequence of this ridiculous policy is that as the ethanol summer blends come online, gas prices are going to go up up up as the refineries across the country make the switch to the new blend. And then, to add insult to injury, your gas mileage is going to go down down down. Over the last 3-4 years I've noted a decrease between 1 and 3 mpg once the summer ethanol blend kicks in. So I have to make more frequent stops to fill up the truck, costing ME more money.

As if that weren't bad enough, all of your basic food costs rise. Cattle eat corn for food. Chicken eat corn for food. So your beef, poultry, milk, eggs, and butter all are going to, and already have, increase in price. Since there are less farmers growing soybeans, rice, and wheat, all of your food costs associated with those products are higher too.

This is the perfect example of how our government (or any government for that matter) is more likely to hurt you than help you; no matter how "well intentioned" the program is. As the Gipper once said - we need to realize that government is the problem, not the solution.

Sadly, it would appear that once again, those wonderful creatures representing us in Washington refuse to let the facts get in their way.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, called the recent criticism of ethanol by foreign officials “a big joke.”

And until enough of US let those morons in Congress know what we think, it's going to do nothing more than to continue spiraling out of control.

But hey, we're saving the environment so it's all good, right?

California to tax beer??

Well, now they've done it. Obviously, California doesn't know who it's messing with by proposing this tax on beer.

Taking gun rights away, giving aid to illegal aliens is all well and good - but mess with JR's beer??

California is getting ready to float off into the Pacific.

Yeah, JR has that kind of power if he can only get his motherboard to stop smoking.

But seriously - California's messing with the wrong fella here by picking on something this near and dear to JR's heart. I wouldn't be surprised to see him come up with a plan for Texas to invade and take over the once great state of Cal-i-forn-i-A.

Shooters giving a little back

Here's a little bit of background from the folks who were involved down in the Austin area:

I wanted to share a video of what happened at our local club this weekend. We have a USPSA shooter that is also a Marine that was injured in the Iraq war - his name is James Gill - He comes to many matches in the area and shoots very well - you never hear him complain that with one leg one eye he is having a hard time - NO - he shoots outstanding and has a great attitude. One of Austin's shooters and club member here at the Bullet Hole - Huston LaClair decided that this young man deserved something more than our friendship since he gave up so much to protect our freedoms! Huston got together an impressive list of Company's to donate and discount products to help this shooter shoot open division - he really wanted to shoot open but was having a hard time getting the massive funds together at one time to get started. In the end - Huston was able to gather up a New Grandmaster from STI and Dave Dawson - Tuned and ready - Shooter Connection donated a top of the line range bag with mags and the CR Speed complete rig with holster - Dillion 550 loader and all the goodies needed to reload!! 2000 Brass from Starline and 4000 Bullets from Magnus bullets and Zero! There are so many other things given you will need to watch the video! - Remember - he had no idea this was going to happen!

Clinton lied..... again?

Now, it's enterly unremarkable that the Hildabeast lied. Every single one of us knows that she lies, cheats and decieves every time she opens her mouth. From something as mundane as whether or not she was shot at by snipers in the Balkans or in pretending that she actually has ever had to answer the red phone at 3 AM or pretending that she actually went to a recruiter for the Marines (or was it the Army; depending on who is telling the story....) or how she earned $100,000 off of a $10,000 investement or how the billing records from the Rose law firm mysteriously wound up in her office.... the Hildabeast has a long and documented history of lieing her ass off - and that's a lot of ass.

To me, what is remarkable is that of all papers, the New York Times ran this story. Once upon a time, you'd be hard pressed to find ANYTHING negative about the golden family known as the Clintons.

Now the story I really want to see talked about on the Sunday morning news shows is this one: Watergate-Era Judiciary Chief of Staff: Hillary Clinton Fired For Lies, Unethical Behavior

Jerry Zeifman, a lifelong Democrat, supervised the work of 27-year-old Hillary Rodham on the committee. Hillary got a job working on the investigation at the behest of her former law professor, Burke Marshall, who was also Sen. Ted Kennedy’s chief counsel in the Chappaquiddick affair. When the investigation was over, Zeifman fired Hillary from the committee staff and refused to give her a letter of recommendation – one of only three people who earned that dubious distinction in Zeifman’s 17-year career.

Why, you ask???

“Because she was a liar,” Zeifman said in an interview last week. “She was an unethical, dishonest lawyer. She conspired to violate the Constitution, the rules of the House, the rules of the committee and the rules of confidentiality.”

You have to read the entire article to see the levels that the 27 year old Hildabeast stooped to, but suffice it to say, it's pretty bad.

So again, no surprise her royal thighness lied - all of us know she's pathological - it's remarkable that the Times picked it up.

Get Some!

I admit I got a little chubby going when the minigun goes off.

I'm betting it's (at least) one of these:

You Want To Rope A Deer?

As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I originally imagined.

Worth a read, because I learned many new things about deer.

Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head - almost like a pit bull.

They bite HARD and it hurts.

Who knew?

After 1968 riots, Baltimore 'not worth it' for some residents

I think I'd have left after about 1000 riots, personally.

South Park Studios

In case you were planning on being productive, here's something to help stop that nonsense. All the South Park episodes online.

You're welcome.

Poor Hillary

Looks like the vast right wing conspiracy has struck again, making poor little Hillary tell a tall tale.

I'm sure that none of our regular readers is surprised by this - but hey, it's fun to watch her royal thighness get caught yet again having a casual relationship with the truth.

D.C Just Can't Wait

Looks like DC just can't wait for the Supremes to rule, or maybe they are afraid they will lose and want to do as much damage as possible before the ruling.

Supremes Hear D.C. v. Heller

I've started listening to this and the guy representing D.C. is already tap dancing 5 minutes into the hearing. Give it a listen here:
rtsp://video.c-span.org/archive/sc/sc031808_2amendment.rm

Woman files lawsuit against AMR because passenger next to her masturbated while she slept

So do you call this a hijacking? Hijerking? It semens to me that there's a seed of truth to this story, but it also comes as a surprise.

Besides, it's just a little heir gel.

And don't call me Shirley.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Pimp Daddy invited thegirl and me to ride on a "float" in the St. Patrick's Day parade on Greenville Avenue in Dallas. It's been a few years since I'd even been to the parade, but the chance to ride in it was too much to pass up. Heck - we didn't go shooting so we could be there. Here are a few pics from the event.

First, here's the float. It's more of a truck with some crappy decorations, but hey.



















This is our host.


















Um...boobs.


















More boobs.


















Not boobs!

You're probably catching on to the theme here, so here's some more scenery.










Needless to say, it was pretty much a hoot, and I'll be back next year!

Coming soon to a country near you!

How's this for a headline?

The Burqa Gets a Makeover

I shit you not dear readers. ABC is running a story on how a Norwegian clothing designer is designing a new series of burqas. You know, the wonderful head wear that all women must wear in a muslim country.

For example, this lovely ensemble:



There's a rub, though. Norway isn't an islamic country. Yet.

Would someone please tell me why a woman who is not a muslim would wear one of these garments? Because as the story says:

The designers reportedly say they are aiming their collection at Muslims and non-Muslims.

Could it be that non-muslim women would have to wear this oppressive garment in order to not face the wrath of the religion of perpetual outrage? I mean, as we all know - islam is THE religion of peace, and there would really be no reason for a non-muslim to comply with any of their prehistoric rules and customs....