OK, it's been a long day

and I'm in a foul mood. So allow me a brief moment of sarcasm, will you?

I saw this title of a story about Obama's administration and couldn't help but add a word:

Obama Administration Still Full Of (ass)Holes

Ok, I feel better now.

We now return you to your regular broadcast.

I admit it

I giggled. A lot. After reading this article.... So much for Obama uniting the world behind us, eh? I thought the whole point of the O-messiah's new tone was to unite our European allies behind us??

Barack Obama: President Pantywaist - new surrender monkey on the block

President Barack Obama has recently completed the most successful foreign policy tour since Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. You name it, he blew it. What was his big deal economic programme that he was determined to drive through the G20 summit? Another massive stimulus package, globally funded and co-ordinated. Did he achieve it? Not so as you'd notice.

Then came the dramatic bit, the authentic West Wing script, with the President wakened in the middle of the night in Prague to be told that Kim Jong-il had just launched a Taepodong-2 missile. America had Aegis destroyers tracking the missile and could have shot it down. But Uncle Sam had a sterner reprisal in store for l'il ole Kim (as Dame Edna might call him): a multi-megaton strike of Obama hot air.

"Rules must be binding," declared Obama, referring to the fact that Kim had just breached UN Resolutions 1695 and 1718. "Violations must be punished." (Sounds ominous.) "Words must mean something." (Why, Barack? They never did before, for you - as a cursory glance at your many speeches will show.)

President Pantywaist is hopping mad and he has a strategy to cut Kim down to size: he is going to slice $1.4bn off America's missile defence programme, presumably on the calculation that Kim would feel it unsporting to hit a sitting duck, so that will spoil his fun.

Watch out, France and Co, there is a new surrender monkey on the block and, over the next four years, he will spectacularly sell out the interests of the West with every kind of liberal-delusionist initiative on nuclear disarmament and sitting down to negotiate with any power freak who wants to buy time to get a good ICBM fix on San Francisco, or wherever. If you thought the world was a tad unsafe with Dubya around, just wait until President Pantywaist gets into his stride.

I really don't know that I could have said that any better myself.

Setting the tone

So we've got a hostage situation off the coast of Somalia. An American flagged ship was attacked and boarded by pirates, something that has been a rarity in the past.

However, I can promise you those days are over. For you see, dear readers, the Obama administration's refusal to do anything but "monitor" the situation is telling other folks who might be inclined to hurt American interests that it's a freebie.

Think about it. We have a lifeboat without power, floating in the sea. Nearby is an American Man-O-war - the destroyer USS Bainbridge - "observing".

You basically have an unarmed lifeboat holding off one of the most powerful ships in the world in the middle of the ocean. Can someone tell me why?

I'll tell you. It's the same thing we saw from Carter and Clinton when they were in power. We dare not make any agressive movement for fear of hurting someone else's feelings around the world. You should think about that the next time you plan an overseas trip. Because the American government is telling the world that it will not get involved and come to the rescue.

And in the meantime, the American hostage is on his own. He's already tried to swim away, only to be recaptured.

Bill Clinton did the same thing in the same part of the world with the infamous Blackhawk Down. Commanders on the ground called in for armored support and the Clinton administration turned it down. Didn't want to appear too agressive.

And this is only going to be the beginning, because Obama is proving himself to be quite weak, and afraid to take action. The only question left now is how many American lives Obama's inaction will cost us.

More Goebbels

I've blogged a couple of times on our new propaganda ministry coming out of the White House. Keeping that theme alive, the Obama White House has come out with a statement claiming that Obama's bow to the Saudi King wasn't a bow at all.

"It wasn't a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he's taller than King Abdullah," said an Obama aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

This is a flat out lie. Period, end of story, full stop.

Watch the video for yourself:



At 54 seconds into the video, the King extends ONE hand. At 55 seconds into the video, Obama is CLEARLY bowing to the King. Both men are shaking hands with one hand each. You can see the King's left hand at his side and glimpse Obama's hand by his leg. Obama's head is lower than the King's, and the King is looking DOWN at Obama. At 58 seconds into the video, Obama steps closer to the King, apparently grasps the King's hand with both of his, and lowers his head in a friendly nod.

Interestingly, a columnist in the Saudi-backed Arabic paper Asharq Alawsat also took the gesture as a bow and appreciated the move.

I'm sure we'll see more out of the propaganda ministry as Obama's term in the White House continues. If they will lie about something as ridiculous as this, what else are they lying about?

It was a freaking embarrassment to have Bush holding hands with the Saudi King, but at least the Bush White House didn't try to range lawyer their way out of it.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Texas Legislature mulls bill to allow concealed handguns on college campuses - SMUDailyCampus.com

Submitted for your consideration: the pussification of the college student, proliferated by the liberal college newspaper and the likewise predictable college professor.

Professor Rick Halperin said he was most concerned with the educational classroom environment for students.

"Classrooms are not a place people should live in fear of deranged classmates breaking in and shooting or even their fellow classmates holding weapons on them," Halperin said. "Classrooms are not target ranges."

Here's the problem: liberal college professor is scared of guns. It then (il)logically follows that guns are bad. People who have guns, by extension, are also bad.

It makes my head hurt to have to reiterate, but here it goes. Again.

The facts about concealed handgun licensees: they're educated regarding concealed carry laws, and they're carrying handguns LEGALLY, with full knowledge of the consequences of doing otherwise. They are fingerprinted and on file with the State and Federal government. They're held to a higher standard by law enforcement by virtue of this. They're law-abiding citizens who are capable of defending themselves. In short, they are the least likely members of society to risk incarceration by acting irresponsibly with a firearm.

Criminals disregard laws - that's pretty much the definition of "criminal." The lunatic at Virginia Tech was a criminal. He was not deterred by a no-gun policy on campus. Quite the contrary, in fact - it's what allowed him to conduct his insane rampage. The police arrived too late, because they can't be everywhere. Who's ultimately responsible for your safety? That's right - you, and nobody else.

The anti-gun logic? Ooh - that's an oxymoron. Let's just appeal to emotion, because, well - guns are scary. Don't take responsibility for protecting yourself? Goodness, I hope you don't have one of those dangerous fire extinguishers in your homes. In the wrong hands, they can put an eye out.

I earnestly loathe those who would try to convince you that your safety lies in the hands of someone else. It's disingenuous at best, and downright criminal at the worst.

Wilkinson Sword: Mow the Lawn

I LOL'd. H/T to Cowboy Blob.

Spring cleaning

Heading out to my car after work, I spied this little fella cleaning off after a hard day's work of whatever it is he was doing.



I managed to get quite a few pics of him floppin' around in the bird bath - you can see them here.

Hooray! It is National Cleavage Day!

From a Twitter buddy:


I'd like to know why I wasn't informed of this important day sooner. In order to keep our image of sharing useful information, I offer the following from the article:

To get great cleavage, you need two things - a good bra and a good chest. Push-up bras typically give the best cleavage and often have a low cut, plunge center to best show off cleavage. If the straps can cross over at the back, this will also give a little more lift and better cleavage. For a more lifted and rounded cleavage, a balconette bra is also a great option.

It's good to have options, huh?

Locked in Car, Woman Calls 911

A 911 dispatcher in Kissimmee, Fla., helps a woman get out of a locked car. Her advice? Try the lock. We're told this is no April Fool's joke.

It's still an awesome 911 call. Insert blonde joke here.

Hillary’s Assault on the Second Amendment

Here's an interesting read. You may recall the Secretary of State's comments recently that implied that Mexico's running gun battles between druggies and federal police is the fault of the United States. She pointed out that she believed that firearms were being smuggled into Mexico from the U.S., presumably because of our "lax" firearm laws. From the cited article:

The guns that are sold in the United States, which are illegal in Mexico, get smuggled over our border and arm these terrible drug-dealing criminals so that they can outgun these poor police officers along the border and elsewhere in Mexico. So we've got to help out here. We can't stand by and say, Well, you know, you guys just do the best you can, when we, unfortunately, are the market for drugs, when a lot of the money is laundered in the United States back into the hands of the drug kingpins, and when the weapons have come from our country. So I think recognizing the co-responsibility is just stating the obvious.

This is the second article I've read that point out the glaringly obvious errors in the position that the United States is the source of smuggled firearms. It seems that everyone has overlooked a simple fact: the government of the United States sells firearms to the government of Mexico. What's a more readily-available source of firearms? Privately smuggled firearms, or the cache of weapons available to a corrupt government, or perhaps the fact that other sources exist for black-market military-grade weapons?

William Hoover, assistant director of field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, argues that no such volume of American-made weapons are headed south. Says Hoover, “The investigations we have, that we see, for firearms flowing across the border don’t show us individuals taking thousands of guns a day or at a time flowing into Mexico.” His claim is buttressed by the fact that Mexican authorities have refused to provide U.S. law-enforcement officials with the serial numbers of weapons confiscated from drug cartel members—a likely indicator that the weapons were obtained not from American gun shops but rather from illegitimate sources elsewhere.

It might escape notice that full-auto firearms, rocket launchers, grenade launchers and grenades are not readily available to the U.S. buying public. So where did these firearms come from? Venezuela, I'm looking at you. Why would the drug cartels finance a smuggling operation when they could easily (and cheaply) buy weaponry from other sources?

So why all the hyperbole blaming the U.S. for this problem? Surely the Obama administration doesn't have an anti-gun agenda, does it?

Ah, Spring In Texas

We just got hammered by a hail storm. It was by far the biggest hail I have ever seen first hand. I haven't looked at my truck yet, but I'm sure it is beat to hell.

Sure been quiet 'round here....

And good reason for it. Several of your fearless scribes here at the Tattler have been absent and out of pocket for the past several days shooting the annual Double Tap Championship.

What a weekend!

I was fortunate enough to shoot with the match staff on Thursday - in absolutely wonderful weather. And then mother nature stepped in and hit us hard, square in the gonads. Friday was probably the worst day on the range I've ever had. Cold, with temps in the 30s, rain - HARD - and a hellacious north wind. All I could think of was "thank God I'm not shooting today."

Saturday was not much better. We woke up to scrape snow off our cars and then had to deal with biting, frigid weather for the bulk of the day. Again, thank God I was done shooting!!

Sunday was 200% better, and actually quite pleasant.

The neat thing about working this match is that you get to observe, up close and personal, some of the best shooters in the world - folks like Travis Tomasie and Emmanual Bragg. And then you also get to see some awesome local shooters, like our own Grandmaster, Adam Popplewell - and his out of control comp.



I know I'll be back again next year and ready to roll.

For the rest of the match pics, take a look here.

Ahhhhhhh..... good times

Waco USPSA

Had some fun at Waco today, both with the gun and with the camera...


Definitely re-gripping the gun here! Peace out!



Here's the future of our sport, fellas. Also known as Scott and mini me.



The Dukester hitting a reload.

Aging Charles Manson captured in prison photo

Well, time heals all wounds, I guess. Unless you've carved a swastika into your forehead, that is.

Any bets on whether Manson's gotten mellow in his old age? Yeah, probably not.

Bra maker has an eye for breasts - UPI.com

Ran Yusheng, 90, who retired from bra making last year, said in the run-up to the opening of his new online store that he learned the art of bra making when he was 20 years old and soon discovered that he had a knack for it, China Daily reported Friday.

"I just looked at her breasts and then I could make a bra suitable for her," Ran said.

And that worked for 70 years. All bow to the master.

So....

we've got a continuing problem with the economy. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Added to the mix, Iran now says it's a space and nuclear power as their nuclear program continues unabated. And Russia is flexing its muscles in our hemisphere. We also seem to find ourselves in, at the least, a diplomatic spat with China in the south China Sea.

But hey, don't you worry about a thing. Our man in the White House is on top of it. Seems he spends Wednesday nights dancing the night away and is heavily courting socialites in the White House, making sure he's up on the latest styles in and around the beltway.

Sure glad he's on top of everything going on in the world to the point that he can waste time preparing for his book tour when he gets out of office. Man, I feel safer already!

"You want me to do WHAT?"

Over the last year I have either thought or said those words out loud countless times. I have collapsed in a sweat-soaked heap on the floor wondering if I was going to puke, die, or both. I have stumbled to my car with my legs barely responding to my instructions. I have gone back to work red-faced and shaking so badly that I scared my coworkers. And I love it. Welcome to Crossfit.

A co-worker sent me a link to Crossfit Plano (www.crossfitplano.com) – he told me to check out the crazy people and their workouts. I had heard of Crossfit from a shooter’s forum (http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=59221) and it sounded interesting, so I contacted them to see how to get started. On Saturday, February 16th 2008 I showed up at 8am for their Elements class to get familiar with the fundamentals, then I was invited to stay for the Suffer on Saturday class to see what Crossfit was all about. Here is the posted workout from that day:

Suffer on Saturday:

"Resentment" - Have to rename this "The Deceiver" as it was much harder than it looked. No one started the second round today!

2 Rounds for time of:
Row 500m
1 Rope Climb (3 climbs from the Ground)
25 Box Jumps - 24"
25 Ball Slams - 20 lb
25 Kettlebell Russian Swings - 32kg
25 Pull Ups
25 Push Press - 65 lb
25 Wall Ball Shots - 20 lb
25 Knees to Elbows
25 Overhead Squats - 65 lb
25 Thrusters - 65 lb
25 Burpees
Muscle Ups - 5 (Sub 25 Pull Ups and Dips)
25 Hang Dumbell Squat Clean - 35 lb
50 Foot Walking Lunge

Staying true to the name, I suffered. A lot. I thought it would never end. I had no idea what I was doing (and of course everything was scaled for me), but one of the trainers stayed right there with me to help and to keep me going. I left the gym, went home and slept for 3 hours. Days later I was still walking like a drunken Frankenstein and couldn’t raise my arms above my head. Two weeks later I joined Crossfit Plano.

Years of mainstream gyms, aerobics classes, kickboxing and entire collections of workout DVDs that I could recite word for word bored the hell out of me. Almost 5 years of indoor soccer was really fun, but earned me an ambulance ride to the emergency room and a large collection of medical braces and bruises. Only one year of Crossfit, plus a gradual change in eating habits (www.zonediet.com), and an introduction to ZHealth performance training (www.zhealth.net) has done what years of traditional exercise and dieting failed to do. I feel better, look better and have made a permanent change in my life that I can live with. No more yo-yo diets and gaining another 10 pounds while my sprained ankle heals. No more feeling deprived or guilty for eating (and, very important to me as a beer connoisseur, drinking) the things I enjoy. No more dreading the boredom of the same old workout. I believe this is what they call a life-changing experience.

Besides the touchy-feely stuff above, here are the facts. I have lost 30 pounds over the last year, which translates into a total loss of about 14 inches measured over 8 points along my arms, legs and torso. A year ago I couldn’t do a single regular push-up – now I can do 15+ in a row. A year ago I couldn’t do a single pull-up – now I can do 3+ kipping pull-ups (http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_Kipping1-Concept.wmv) in a row without an assisting band. (Guys, I can hear your eyes rolling already – bite me, I’m a girl, this is much harder for us, as much as I hate to admit it). I didn’t even know what a deadlift was a year ago – I hit my PR (personal record) on the deadlift of 200 pounds last month. I can back squat and front squat my body weight. I’ve almost mastered the intricacies of the snatch (http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/cfj-nov-05/snatch.wmv), and in the last year I have done more handstands, cartwheels and tumbling than I have since 5th grade. Being out of your element, out of your comfort zone, isn’t a bad thing, really – you never know when life will surprise you and that will come in handy. Crossfit isn’t about mastering a single lift or exercise, it is about being competent and efficient across a wide range of physical skills. From the main Crossfit site: "[Crossfit] delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist”. This is Crossfit. And I love it.

Just one more tax cheat

telling us how we should live our lives.



Nice.

173 years ago today

a small band of brave men gave up their lives at the Alamo. Robert has been blogging the Texas Rev for the past couple of weeks - head on over and see what all the fuss about being a Texan is all about.