Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Mike Pence shows his balls are small

He backs down from his stance on Religious exemptions for businesses.

Weak willed,gutless weasel. Shoulda thought about that before you signed the (IMO, good) legislation.

They were making noises that he might run for president. He just lost my vote.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Darwin missed him, but got his wife instead

Here is a hint, just in case you need it:

Your GPS is a GUIDE. Look outside the car.... pay attention.

Man drives car off of partially demolished bridge. 

I know this bridge. I live sorta nearby. You gotta go around 4 sets of orange and white signs and 2 sets of Jersey barriers to get to where he fell off the end of the bridge.

It's been closed since fall of 2009 or so.

I'm sorry the Mrs. died. Shoulda been him, if only for stupidity. Dying while trapped  in a burning car isn't the end I'd wish for anyone.

But seriously, you gotta TRY to get to where he did in order for this to happen.

One wonders.

Oh, and update your GPS maps occasionally........ the bridge had been closed since 2009....

Good to see the courts are finally putting limits

on Police behavior.

Court indicts Alabama policeman for throwing 57 year old Indian man to the ground.

I'm not sure of the "Indian" part had anything to do with it, but I suspect it did. Either way, if he can't behave better than that, he should be in jail. If it were you or I there would have been no doubt...we already would have been incarcerated. Police should be given a small amount of latitude and benefit of doubt. But not Carte Blanche.

Nice to see that there are limits.

Like Adam Lanza only with a plane.

Psychotropic drugs and all.

Mass murder. Only with a plane instead of a gun.

"explanations for Lubitz's actions are that he may have stopped taking his medication so it would not be detected in any medical tests"

Seems that each of the latest mass murderers were, just before their "final episode", on SSRI type pscychotropics.

How many others are we NOT hearing about because they failed to make the high enough death count.....or didn't use an "assault weapon" or a plane to commit mass murder?

It's not an uncommon issue, apparently...some folks have bigger issues than others....

More here


Perhaps this is why Harry is retiring?

Yeah, this makes more sense than the "Exercise machine band breaking" story too.

I mean, he's lain down with so many pigs over the years.....


Sunday, March 29, 2015

Welcome NAMBLA members?

So everyone is up in arms about the whole Religious Freedom Restoration Act which passed here in Indiana. This was an act of legislation passed in response to those weasley little assholes who sued the bakery in Colorado just because they HAD to have a cake made by a Christian baker in order to validate their lifestyle.  ("We're Here, We're Queer, get used to it!....Tell everyone my lifestyle is OK and show me it is allright"). They CHOSE to try to force this business make 'em a cake....Why?

Why do these people fall for the media hype that mischaracterizes the (not so) new law as discriminatory. Most of the commentary shows they haven't even read it. It isn't anti gay. It is actually anti-government-led coercion.

Thing is, a private business SHOULD be able to discriminate against anyone and everyone they please. Private. Business. Not Government Business.  No one forces you to spend your (private) money at any business. You get to choose. Don't like the stance that Chick-Fil-A has on gay marriage? Take yer money elsewhere. Dislike Kroger's choice to not ban concealed handguns in their stores? Good. Buy at Sav-Mart down the road. No one forces you to spend your money at places which have a philosophy at odds with yours. Conversely, we get to support those businesses whose decisions or stances we approve of....we get to support those we choose and not support those we don't. (So why should we force businesses to do business with people who's lifestyle choices are at odds with the business owner's beliefs?)

All this law does (BTW, it mirrors the same FEDERAL law put in place 21 years ago) is protect those who would choose, because of a religious objection, to not do business with people whose lifestyle or other choices the business owner finds objectionable.

The sad part is the law even has to exist.....I, as a private business owner, should be able to and allowed to discriminate against anyone or any group I should choose to. Anyone.

If I should decide that I hate to see single women walking/travelling alone...unsupervised by a male, and I choose not to serve them, that is my business. Jews? nope no protection for them, or Muslims, or Christians. Gays? Yeah, my choice. Blacks? Whites? Eastern Asians? Chinese or Japanese or Koreans? Yeah, if I don't want their business, I should be able to exclude 'em. South Americans? Gotta keep them out. If I don't want to do business with Europeans, (or folks with European ancestry? )My choice. No one forces them to do business with me, and I should be able to exclude any or all of them I so desire.

I mean, already we have those businesses who discriminate against me based on my gender or choice of lifestyle....they ban firearms in their places of business. Ever watch a man try to get into a "Women only" gym? (yet, oddly, women can't be banned from men's gyms...why is that?) Why should a business that is privately owned not have the right to determine who they must serve? That's like saying you have to let anyone that wants to walk through your (privately owned) yard.....or that the State can force you to go to a church . We just can't discriminate against the currently favored group or the one who makes the most noise.

If the rest of the public should choose to also not do business with that place that discriminates, well, they'll go out of business. And if not, well, then there is an under-served segment of the market...someone else can open up a competing business and say "(lifestyle choice or religion) welcomed!" and they will have a captive market...Perhaps the first business will then go out of business.

Would you do prefer to shop at a mall which included and welcomed NAMBLA members or Registered Sex Offenders or one which excluded them? Especially if you had young children? Which one would you prefer to shop at? They, too have made lifestyle choices. Should businesses be forced to welcome them? Bake and decorate a cake celebrating the molestation of a child? Perhaps a rape? Lifestyle choices, remember? Celebrate diversity, and all that. How about murderers? Or those who promote murder? KKK members? Again, lifestyle choices. How about if they asked for a cake which celebrated a lynching?

(and NO, I am not suggesting that Gay/Same Sex Marriage folks are equivalent to murderers or to NAMBLA members, Child Molesters or KKK members. I am using these examples because to some people, the Gay lifestyle/Same Sex Marriage is as repugnant as Child Molesters or KKK is to the rest of us. Again: NOT equivalent in my mind, so stop with the outrage over that, please) 

Now, to be clear: I don't really care (unless you are  NAMBLA member or a child molester or a murderer or rapist) what your lifestyle choices are. In my business we accept all denominations: $1, $5, $10,$20, $50, $100...We are all inclusive and non discriminatory: AMEX, VISA, MasterCard, Discover, (Diners and CartBlache and JCB too!) I really don't care who you have sex with (as long as they are consenting adults) who you worship (or how) as long as such ceremonies don't hurt others and are legal.....I could give a shit what gender(s) you claim, or how you present them.

But for Klaatu's sake, people: If a business doesn't want your business, go somewhere else. Don't whine. Don't sue. Just go somewhere else. Tell everyone you know that this business didn't want  your money. Let them choose to buy there or not. If you can get enough people to protest or boycott that business, then they'll either apologize and change their ways....or go out of business. If you can't get enough support, then your cause may not be that important.  Protest out front if you wish (that First Amendment  thing) but respect their FA rights too. Just because YOU think your behavior is ok doesn't mean everyone thinks it is ok. You may have the freedom to do what you want, but your fellow citizens don't have to condone it . Accept it, yes. Approve of it, no. And if they won't validate your lifestyle, then deal with it and move on. Spend your money elsewhere. Or take a long hard look at yourself.

And just in a sorta related areas, there is THIS. The (job) market has spoken. The (retail) market will as well.

Thought for the week:

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
– Heraclitus

Saturday, March 28, 2015

My grandfather always said:

That one really good measure of someones character is how a person treats someone who they think is lower on the social order than they are... I.E. say how a CEO treats a waiter or a bank teller..

Friday, I had a person prove how low their character really is. First he trashed my employee, then when I stepped in, as a manager, he attempted to trash me.  When I asked him to leave, he suggested that he would speak to my supervisor. He was dismissive and insulting and downright rude and referred to both of us as "minimum wage drones". I explained that I was also the owner of the business, and he could complain all he wished, but he was still leaving.


His demeanor changed entirely.  Having had no idea that I was the owner, he assumed he could rant and rave with impunity. When he realized he couldn't slam someone "lower" than him, he became all servile and such.

Too late, brother, go find somewhere else.

Friday, March 27, 2015

commercialism:

Seems that Willie Nelson is gonna market his own brand of weed. And accessories. And, of course, T-shirts and such.

Willie's Reserve. Good branding.

And, apparently stores. Like a Whole Foods of weed.


I can just hear the commercials:



good riddance:

Harry Reid says he won't run for re-election.

Now, if only we can convince about 10 others to do the same, then we'd have a fighting chance....

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Yeah, I'd like to know more....

This should make you angry:

But, if this is as it appears, then I'd also like to see the officers charged. And terminated. and jailed.


Papers, please?

Realize that this was not a port of entry, but an "internal checkpoint". I dislike the idea of the internal checkpoint, but once the officer had asked the question regarding citizenship, then the rest is an illegal search. They had no cause to stop anyone, and just because the dude didn't grovel cooperate is no reason for any of the treatment shown on the videotape.



Anyone got more details?

And lest you say, "gee. all he had to do was answer a few questions".....remember, he was inside the borders, at an illegal checkpoint, and that pesky Constitution says he DIDN'T have to answer.

It is a short step from here to "Your Papers Please". And a very sharp slope downward.

Found HERE

When people have had enough:

So when the (mostly white?) patrons of restaurants won't take their Sunday brunch being interrupted because some black activists are concerned about (black) thugs being detained (and when they resist, being shot) by police for acting like thugs, then what happens?

Those activists get chased out of the restaurant by angry white people who are tired of the bullshit and harassment and double standards...that's what.

 "White lives matter too!"

People, especially law abiding white people who aren't racist are beginning to tire of the bullshit. They are tired of being called racist and tired of having their "White Privilege" shoved in their faces...They are (mostly) not racists, and their "Privilege" happens because they are hard working, law abiding folks who don't squander their money or their opportunities...and they know it. They know they aren't the issue, but the Black community and society is

The backlash is coming. This is but the opening steps.

Ain't it?

.




Found here

Monday, March 23, 2015

Stupidity

So I am at a gunshow....behind a table,  as I had just offered to give a friend of mine who is a knife vendor a break so he can go to the bathroom and get something to drink as he is by himself....

Now, he has 5 tables, each covered with 2 or more with display cases full of KNIVES. (His banner reads "Brads Knives"). Not a firearm on any of the tables. Just various high end knives.

Up wanders Cletus and his friend:  Cletus says "I'm looking for a black chromed (nitrided?) bolt group for an AR"

Brad looks at me. Looks left and then right at his tables full of knives. "Dude, all I sell is knives".

Cletus says "So you can't help me then?"

"nope"

Cletus moves off in a huff.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Don't shoot

'Cause white lives matter....

You didn't hear about this one in the media, did you?

Why not? What is different? Does a white guy who isn't a Ghetto thug not matter to the media? Or don't they want to face the facts?

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Please stand by









My computer is experiencing greater and/or lesser technical issues. Posting my be light and/or nonexistant as access to a non -Windows 8 machine is limited.

 I will have to wait for software from the manufacturer...and possibly a new hard drive. We shall see.






Wednesday, March 18, 2015

So all the FanBois are all atwitter:

GLOCK is going to bring us a firearm that nearly every other manufacturer has had out for years!!!!

I mean, yeah, GLOCKS are nice guns. They lack a decent safety, are more prone to ND's than any other gun, and their triggers feel like mush and have half assed resets. But they are GLOCKS!

No, really, I just don't understand the pants wetting happiness that the GLOCK fanbois are having....Is it because your favorite manufacturer is finally giving you what you have been asking for for years? Finally providing you a product you could have purchased from S&W four or more years ago, or Taurus a few years before that (or maybe KAHR a few years before that)? Or is it that you can finally get a moderately unsafe firearm for easier concealed carry (except that you'll have to have an uncomfortable Kydex IWB holster to carry it in)? Or that you can carry a 9mm pistol with 6 rounds in a package that is 96% of the size of a 1911 derivative* (which comes with real safeties) that carries the same number of rounds....only in .45ACP?

Just kidding folks, I am glad you get to finally carry a concealed single stack and can finally not feel left out by your manufacturer. Because GLOCK!

* This is not an endorsement of Kimber pistols, merely used as a comparison

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Time

So the other day I was preaching preparation to a person.

Preparation: Have a few cans of food, a method of cooking it, and a means of staying warm (and alive) if the power goes out for a week or so. Try to have enough food for at least a 2 week period, etc.

So they asked me how to get started. I suggested buying 1 or two extra cans a week until they have 5 cans per person per day stashed. Hide it under a blanket or a board at the bottom of a closet if no other storage is available.

Then one of them asked me.....what if things go really bad....Not just weather elated (ice storm, tornado, etc) but really bad...War, or civil unrest, etc....

You still have the food. You still have the means to cook it.

And most of all, you have TIME...... TIME to prepare. Time to plan. Time to realize what is happening and make other plans....Time to deal with the immediate situation while everyone else is starving and cold. Time to succeed when everyone else is failing around you.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Transparency

Yeah, right:

The White House is removing a federal regulation that subjects its Office of Administration to the Freedom of Information Act, 

So when it is ummmmm....inconvenient to have all that transparency and openness, a Presidential Administrtion can decide to just ....well, make itself exempt from a law?

No, Barry, that isn't how it works.

Not done

So the ATF got caught, and (temporarily) abandoned the idea of banning a type of common ammunition.

They backed off from that.

But further review shows that they are considering banning much more ammo.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Or maybe just the blood of some bureaucrats every so often to keep the others in line....Tree of liberty and all that.




Sunday, March 15, 2015

Watching the Nascar Pre-Race

I see that NASCAR has re-instated Kurt Bush....They should never have suspended him in the first place.

Where was the assumption of innocence?  Some vengeful Bimbo Patricia Driscoll tried her best to trash his reputation. The Courts and Law Enforcement took the time to investigate and found that:
"After a thorough consideration of all of the available information about the case, it is determined that the admissible evidence and available witnesses would likely be insufficient to meet the burden of  establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Busch committed a crime during the September 26th incident,".  This is the incident where she came to his trailer after they had broken up and where she claims he smashed her head into the wall....but she didn't know to report it until after over a month had passed...and the supposed bruises had had time to fade (she's 35 years old, not some 17 year old girl,...."Didn't know"? Really? A professional adult woman was unsure as to what to do when there is an act of domestic violence?)

The courts are willing to presume his innocence until it could be proven otherwise. Sadly, NASCAR couldn't do the same. NASCAR owes Kurt Busch  a apology. And he should sue that vengeful bitch Ms.  Driscoll for damages.She did her best to tank his career, waiting until just before the start of the season to bring these allegations to the courts and (especially) to the press...

If only he'd have had the option of telling his team , NASCAR,  and his sponsors (especially Chevrolet) to piss off and go elsewhere for a ride. 

And now, at least, every other male knows to take real care with Patricia, lest you get on her bad side, and your job and reputation become a target for her to destroy in vengeance.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

If only

.





PI day

3.1415.....just wait until 9:26:53. Only happen once in yer lifetime. Iffen I had time I'd raise a glass.

enjoy if you can.

'm off to get some work done. 

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

ATF blinks on M855

Re: Green tip M855/SS109 ammo ban:

"Accordingly, ATF will not at this time seek to issue a final framework. After the close of the comment period, ATF will process the comments received, further evaluate the issues raised therein, and provide additional open and transparent process (for example, through additional proposals and opportunities for comment) before proceeding with any framework."

At.This.Time.

Watch 'em. Carefully.


Well, that sucks. Thanks Para-USA and Remington

I called Para today, seeking parts for my LDA carry 3" (sorta not quite a 1911). I needed a recoil spring.....

On hold for 15 minutes.

When the service agent answered, he listened to my issue, and then apologized.

No parts available. Seems that since the company was bought by Remington, they have zero parts inventory. (this is a guaranteed for life product. I expected it to be the life of the firearm, not the life of the company that produced it....) He did say that once things settle down, they expect to have parts available sometime this summer...maybe.

His alternate suggestion: Buy a recoil spring assembly for the equivalent Kimber 3" pstol. Said it should work. Of course, that also means that I have to pay for it.

Y'know, quality control issues aside, I like the Para LDA products. But whoever is in  upper level management just can't seem to make the company do things right.

Oh, well, I can only hope that once things settle with Remington that they will have parts and they will (as promised) honor the warranties.


Monday, March 9, 2015

DST

So one of my staff showed up for work today looking like ...well, like shit. Tired, bags under her eyes, dragging around, generally not herself.

"Are you sick?" I asked?

"Nope, Daylight savings time really gets me."

"Really? It's only an hour" I replied

"It's not the hour loss, it's the staying up 'til 2 AM to set the clocks forward that gets to me" she answered.


Yep, she's blonde.

Is the only option, then

A revolution?

Fighting in the streets and drumhead courts-martial and such? Ropes and lampposts? Killing our country to save it? Or is it already dead?

'Cause we no longer have a Republic. We are no longer a Democratic Republic. Your vote no longer counts. The rule of law is no longer what governs us, and is no longer what limits and controls those in power.

Benjamin Franklin was correct. "A Republic, if you can keep it". We haven't kept it.......our fathers and their fathers (and, perhaps, their fathers) allowed the rot to begin..... and the following generations allowed it to continue. I am not so sure that my generation and those that follow me can even stop it, much less reverse it.

Perhaps we need to chop it down and let a new tree grow from the stump.

Socialist spending:

Seems that Germany can't meet it's NATO commitments, should it become necessary:

The bulk of Germany's air force is currently grounded. Only 42 of 109 Eurofighters are currently ready for service, while 38 of 89 Tornado fighters could take to the skies. Earlier in the week, problems with Sea Lynx helicopters currently serving in the EU's anti-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa became public knowledge, months after the issue was first identified. As for Germany's fleet of C-160 transport planes, just over half - 24 of 43 - are in service;

This is what happens when the State chooses to spend all of it's money on social programs and none on defense. (Sorta like what is happening here is the US (warning: DNC PROPAGANDA ), only the Germans started a few years earlier).  Some call it the "Peace Dividend" except that that works only as long as there is peace...

The lessons of the (pre) Korean War fiasco, wherein military budget cuts had grown so huge that the Navy and Army were unable to do the job when Truman called on them to blockade North Korea and turn the tide of the invading NK army......UNABLE to do the job because of massive budget cuts years before.

Germany is seeing this today. as will other countries who have chosen to let their Military wither on the vine while spending that money on Social programs.  In about 3 more years, we in the US may find that our Military is reduced to a "Paper Tiger" force, unable to do the job we will call upon them to do because there is no money for training and equipment.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Paging George:

Paging Mr. George Orwell:




Telescreens? I mean, we already have 'em on our computers....so why not? 

The sad part

Is that she is allowed to vote.The fact than anyone would write such an article (and not as satire) should mean that she is automatically proscribed from voting.

Not saying that everything is wrong, but really, when your entire article can be boiled down to "men bad, Patriarchy, and women better".... it is sad. Even sadder that this is published in the WSJ.

I'll not get into the whole "women work from emotion rather than logic" argument, nor the fact that women's motivations change as they grow older, from childbearing years to post menopause.....to the illogic they exhibit though their cycles, etc.

Instead I'll just find it sad that a once prestigious publication like the Wall Street Journal would even publish such an article, for any reason.

Even "because Patriarchy".

Watching the Pre-Race show

before the Las Vegas NACAR race, I gotta say that I am embarrassed for Michael Waltrip. Not only is he a failed has-been racer (but one still worthy of respect for his accomplishments) but he is now played as a complete fool by whoever is paying his salary. He is no longer respected by the racers and their support staff, but obviously no longer by NASCAR officials nor the producers. He voluntarily plays the Court Jester and the Fool.


Best explanation of Daylight Savings time yet

I mean, it makes as much sense as any other explanation.

Go HERE. to find what I am talking about.

Just a reminder:

About 10 days ago, the Obama administration GAVE AWAY 3+ BILLION DOLLARS of your money to private insurance firms. Gave.It.Away......Illegally.

And it was only because of the Internet that you even heard about it.

The Big Media didn't tell you....Not a single TV news organization... NBC, not CBS, not ABC...not even FOX. ...no major newspaper told you either...Not the Times, (NY nor LA) not the Tribune. Nor the Register, nor even the WSJ. Certainly not the Christian Science Monitor.

It was the interenet. That last open, unregulated means of communication. Invented by AlGore, it has brought freedom of communication to nearly everyone in the US and Canada.

Until, of course, the Feds start to change that.



But I digress. Back to my original topic.  I have to ask, where are our legislators? Why aren't they stopping Barry from his illegal acts? He can't isn't supposed to give away billions of US government (which means ours, BTW) dollars to private firms without the advice and consent of Congress. IN fact, it takes and act of legislation that BEGINS in the HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES to spend money like that. And yet our Congress just looks the other way and lets him act....

WHY IS THAT?


Saturday, March 7, 2015

Day 4986.5 of winter:

It appears that we will, for the first time this winter, be above freezing today.

Which is good, as we are nearly out of firewood....

And running low on C2H5OH..

Rumor has it

That later tonight, Brian Williams will be telling us about his experience with J Bowie at the Alamo.

Apparently it was harrowing.

Philm at 11. 


Congratulaions (again) to Brigid

Seems that Kirkus Reviews has (again) honored her literary work.

And to think that before she was famous, she stayed at our home and shared our table. (and Barkley the floor)....

SO... Green Tip already decided: M855 not on new Regulation Guide

And, apparently the "comment period" is just for show?

And, again, it is not the Legislative branch that makes laws, but the Regulatory branch....

ATF has been working on a ban of AR-15 "green-tip" ammunition for quite some time and has already issued the ban in its new, 2014 Regulation Guide. For reference, ATF Regulation Guides come out approximately every ten years.

Now I haven't seen the reg book, but if this is true, it would appear that the ban is already decided....and, as people have said, If Barry and the DNC can't get rid of our firearms, they'll get rid of our ammo.

The ATF doesn't care about your input and comments, they KNOW what is good for us. And they will regulate until they get it right...

Again, BallotBox and SoapBox don't appear top be working.....I hate the thought of the other option, but it seems closer and closer every day...

PLEASE PASS THIS FORWARD: MAKE SURE OTHERS KNOW THAT THE ATF HAS ALREADY CHOSEN....


ETA: ATF: "OOPS! Our bad. Ignore this, not what it seems. Yeah, we got caught, but we will find a way to hide it fix this" Just go about your business and let us do what we will, Citzen.  

Friday, March 6, 2015

not surprising, really:

Democrats vow to protect Boehner's speaker position.

I mean, really, they couldn't ask for a more compliant Speaker.....He gives them everything they want, he folds everytime they object to legislation, and , really, acts as of they were paying him. There is no upside to another Speaker, unless his name was Nancy Pelosi....

179 years ago

The boys at the Alamo fired their last shots and went hand to hand.

They lost the battle, but they accomplished what they set out to do: To delay Santa Anna and his army so that Fannin and Houston could mass an army to meet them.

There are no good ways to dies, but the Texians at the Alamo did it in a way that made their deaths worth something.

Heroes are often victims of circumstance...some ride to the occasion and become heroes, others do not and remain victims., but these men made  a choice, and, if they they lost their stand, they still won a war. .

If you have never been to the Alamo, you might be surprised at how small it was....

IMO, this should be a National Holiday.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

So how is it

that in today's marvelous age of information, including entire cable channels devoted 24/7/365 to weather forecasts, with nearly 3/4 of our population possessing smartphones (some even subsidized by taxpayers!!!) with nearly instant access to fairly accurate weather forecasts, that some several + hundred vehicles can end up stranded in bad weather?

I mean, I knew 2 days ago that the chance for snow, ice, sleet and freezing rain was going to be high for most of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. And none of those states were even on any of my travel plans. I live several hundred miles north of there. (and I don't even have cable). 

How can people be so stupid as to travel into an area that is forecast (with a fair amount of certainty) to have very bad weather that will likely make travel difficult and even dangerous?  I see it happen several times a year, and it isn't getting better....

I know most people travel around in Condition White, but really....

The onliest ones.

"But I Am a Cop!"



So on my way home, I stopped at the Post Office in a very small town to check the P.O. Box.  I stop about twice a week to check on it.

As is Federal Law, I disarm, leaving my carry gun locked in the car (or truck). I believe the requirement that I disarm to get my mail is illegal and unconstitutional, but the courts disagree, so I follow the law.

As I am coming into the Post Office, my holster empty (and coat pulled over it) , I encounter the Chief of Police of that small town. He is in civilian clothes and I realized that the car I had parked next to in the lot was his personal car. I smile and raise my hand in greeting.

He looks at me and says "Hi", and then waits while I fish out my key and open the mailbox. I retrieve my mail and then turn to see what he wants...

Now this Cop is, actually, generally a decent sort. He does his job, seldom has an attitude, and is a decent guy most of the time... I have interacted with him several times over the years. His officers use our range twice a year to practice and before their certification testing (which is another good story for another time). He knows I carry, and have a permit.

"Got a question for ya, B" he says. "Do you carry here in the Post Office?"

"Nope," I said, "Federal Law, ya know.....not worth losing my permit over...plus there is the whole prison thing...".

"You wouldn't just be saying that, would you?" He asks.

"Nope, I am serious. No heater today...not in here......In the car".

"Mind if I check?"

"Actually, yes....Got a warrant?"

"No. Was just curious"

"Probable cause?"

"No"

"Then I decline to be searched" I said with a smile..."Fourth Amendment, you know"

We stare at each other for a moment, then I step between him and the door and then ask...."You on duty? Or on the way home?"

"On the way home".

"Ah, so you are here as a civilian then, not on Police business"

"Yep, if you want to look at it that way.".

"But you are carrying," I point out pointing at his Glock in a OWB holster..."In a Post Office....Isn't that a felony?"

"I'm a cop" he says, and brushed past me and left....

Interesting, Innit?

Y'know

I am 50 years old, more or less, and For about 40 years of my life, this country was more or less what they taught me it was supposed to be, pretty much a the founding fathers set out to make when they created the Constitution.

But in the past 10 or 12 years, the post 9-11 world has changed this country greatly. Bush (W) and his like gave us the Patriot act, which led to the ever more voracious NSA, the DHS, and an ever greater surveillance state.

Along come Barry O and the effective abandonment of the rule of law, the limits on the Executive.....and the failure of both the Judicial Branch and the Legislative to limit him.

I fear the country that I grew up in is gone....that the country I was taught about has ceased to exist......that the Constitution, that document that specifies a set of rules which made this country the destination of so many freedom loving people and protected the freedoms of it's citizens...is gone forever.

There has always been some small erosion, but it never seemed to amount to much...the country was strong, the freedoms like bedrock, the laws sacrosanct. No more. The erosion has undermined our freedoms and the rules that protect it. And our legislators and the courts are refusing to help keep that rule of law alive....

I fear we shall have nothing soon. That there will be a collapse in the not too distant future, leaving us a smoldering heap of liberalism like England, or, to a lesser extent, Australia or France. A weak country, that cannot support itself and cannot last.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Remember:

"We can't drill our way out of this crisis"

Yeah, right. This shows us just how (either lying or incompetent, pick one) our current president and his advisers are.(but you knew that already)

US RUNNING OUT OF ROOM to put oil...inventories highest in 80 YEARS

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Peter asks:

A really important question:

“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed;  if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.  There may even be a worse case.  You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”


Read the whole thing: I blogged about the issue already, but you need to re-read it.

I mean, Barry GAVE AWAY 3 BILLION dollars. Gave.It.Away. He did so without the consent of Congress Gave away YOUR (borrowed) money to private firms.

And you, and I, and those we elected to represent us have done nothing to stop it. 

The Republicans cave (again)

Tell me again why we bother to vote these limp-dicked weasels into office?

I mean, they caved (again) on the spending bill for the DHS...no immigration language. SO after all their rhetoric, they gave Barry what he wanted.....again!

Yeah, the Ballot Box is looking like a dead end here.....'cause apparently your vote doesn't count.

To those Representatives:
Look: you folks hold the power of the purse. YOU CONTROL the budget. You decide what gets funded.....and what doesn't. Without your funding bills, the Senate is powerless to fund government. You should have stood fast....you should have done WHATEVER is necessary to stop Barry's amnesty plans. Spending bills don't originate in the Senate...they originate in the HOUSE.

You have failed and betrayed those people who voted you into office....again.

Or it may be that you whored sold yourselves to the current administration.

Your legacy will be one of failure, spinelessness and cowardice.....and betrayal.

I hold you all in contempt.

You really do need to read

Read THIS....all of it. Read it again. Ask yourself WHY IS THIS TRUE? Why has NO-ONE brought this up in the media and trumpeted it loudly?

(And then, again, would most of your fellow citizens care?)

Where are the legislators....those (you know, ELECTED) House and Senate members? WHY are they not STOPPING this? Why can unelected bureaucrats make laws for the rest of us? Government by regulation isn't constitutional. WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WE ELECTED TO make laws?

How do we stop it? Apparently the "Ballot Box" isn't working, so what is left? You are reading this, and (hopefully) the link above, but things are still happening, so the "Soapbox" isn't working either.....

I don't like what is left. At all.

Who has possession?

So those tapes .....The IRS  backup tapes that contain the emails from Lois Lerner.......Who, exactly, has possession of them? Are there copies? Is there a chain of evidence? Are there measures to prevent editing of those emails?  How would we know if there isn't? Again, who is in control of the evidence?

Can anyone subpoena the recipients emails to check to see if there was editing of the IRS copies? Is anyone checking to see? Or is all of this just a "smoke and mirrors" campaign in order to show people that Something Is Being Done?

Will we find that there are missing items? Maybe a missing 18-1/2 minutes?

Monday, March 2, 2015

Yeah, you gotta wonder

Just where were those IT folks who had possession of the IRS backup tapes that contained Lois Lerner's emails? I mean, for at least over a year, they had to know, and they kept quiet.

I mean, we are supposed to believe that these IT folks never read a newspaper, or a blog, read an online newspaper (yeah, right), never heard it on FaceBook, never watched a news show.....

Sure, Tell me another story.

I didn't believe the story then, and I don't believe it now.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Strange:

Shannon Watts's child attends a university that has (and has had for a while) concealed carry.

Odd, that

Seeing as how she believes that "drunk college-age daughters" shouldn't be trusted with guns.....

On that House retreat on DHS funding?

A bit of an explanation HERE.

If true, then it is another example of why we need new leadership in both the RNC and the House and Senate Republicans.

By whatever means necessary, if it comes to that....Boehner and his ilk are giving the country away one small piece at a time. They, apparently, have neither a plan nor the backbone to implement one should they find one.

We elected them to do a job, but they are either unwilling or unable to do it.