Truth:

I fully expect

That Ms Ford will now disappear back to wherever the Democrats dug her out of, only with a pocket full of cash and other prizes (Plus the GoFundMe which is reputed to be near $1 million) and that the Dems will dump any contact with her...She will be abandoned, having done the job they used her for.

Unless, of course, she meets Vince Foster. 

I find it disturbing

That the military and our government are just now realizing that this is a problem....that the manufacturing base that is so necessary to fight a war (which, hopefully we don't have to do again) of any large scale no longer exists in this country Raw materials are one thing, the ABILITY to manufacture things from those raw materials is another.... ...and we don't control many of the sources of raw materials, anyway.

Should large scale conflict happen, especially with the Chinese, how long can we wage war without the electronics and other products that the CHINESE exclusively produce? Yes, the Japanese and the Malaysians and the Singaporese can take up some of that slack, but they are in, essentially, the Chinese backyard. How long will they last? Even if they do, how will we transport those components they produce (and we DON'T) from them to us?

Global manufacturing is a great idea...as long as everyone is at peace. But the military is about defending the citizens of this country and taking the fight to the enemy should that be required....and they need the tools with which to do so

How much of that manufacturing...of chips, other electronics, exotic smelting and refining, chemical processes, etc has left our country because of taxes and, especially, our environmental regulations? How much because our trade practices made it easier and cheaper to outsource? How do we get enough back under our control and security to make us able to defend ourselves (much less wage offensive war) for an extended period?

"every Blade of Grass" is, indeed, a thing. But that only works so well, for so long.  Real weapons of war take more infrastructure and more manufacturing. Remember: In WWII, the real reason the US (and it's allies supplied by the US) was the ability to produce more weapons and tools of war faster than the opponents...More ships, more guns, more ammunition, more fighter planes, more of the tools of war for soldiers to use. We OUT-MANUFACTURED our enemies as much as beat them man to man. At the end of the day, no matter how valiant the fighter is, he needs guns, and food, and clothing, and the other tools of war to wage war. An empty rifle is just a club, and a fighter jet without missiles is just a fast plane. ...a submarine without torpedoes is just a boat that submerges.

Pretty much the truth:

Roberta has it in a nutshell.

HERE. 

All this hoorah hasn't really changed much. I doubt if it influenced any votes one way or another. The Dems weren't gonna vote for Kavanaugh no matter what.

For folks who think the way the DNC tells them to support the Democrat party , Kavanaugh is the Devil. For those with a working brain, there is doubt of that. 

Big trial in Chicago

Coming to a culmination.

Some cop shot some black teenager who was high on PCP and wandering the streets terrorizing people.

Cop drove up to the scene and in less than a minute, shot the teenager 17 times. Teenager was carrying a knife. I don't see where the cop had reason to shoot at all, but I wasn't there. But he was black, so the professional agitators have something to work with....

I'm glad I don't have to decide this murder charge. Look up LaQuan McDonald.

But the city, both the police AND THE BUSINESSES are girding for protest, riots, and looting. Schools (public and private) have contingency plans for closing as soon as the verdict is announced.... Same same businesses...not just retail, but manufacturing has shutdown plans, or, if they can't shutdown, have plans for limited operations with their staff staying....Behind secure fences and locked doors. They expect riots or other unrest....They are realists.

It'll happen no matter what the verdict is. Bet on it.

And it won't be folks from the north side. Southsiders...Bet on it. One officer I know says that they are praying for heavy rain the day of, and the day after, the verdict is announced. 

Women always deserve to be believed

And they don't lie about things like that.

Except when they do. Which is, I think, more often that one might think.

SOME women lie abut many things. Somme act as if they are still in 7th grade.

But don't tell the #MeeeTOO!movement. It might undermine their credibility.

Via Kenny

Does this lack of news surprise you?

I mean, you don't hear much about this on the Liberal media, do ya?

Seems that Kanye West pissed off the entire SNL crowd as well as the managers of the show. 

Most interesting:

Another viewpoint on the Kavanaugh debacle.

He might well be right, however.

Gonna have to give that some cogitation though. 

classic fascism:

But they claim that the Conservatives are the fascists...

Yet it is nearly always the DNC supporters that do these things.

Really classy folks. 

The really sad part

about this whole attempt at obfuscation and delay until after the midterm electons deamnd for an FBI investigation is that we are expecting the FBI to do an impartial investigation, without letting politics interfere......which, sadly, we can no longer believe might happen....not since the whole pre election failure of the FBI to do any real investigation on Hillary Clinton, and the post election antics (supported by FBI management) of Peter Strozk and his compatriots and other incidents that have thrown the while Fidelity,Bravery, INTEGRITY, motto of the FBI into doubt.

Neither side will ever believe, at least not in your or my lifetime, that there is any reason to believe that the FBI will be impartial in any evidence gathering about such a politically charged allegation with such powerful consequences.

I have known several FBI agents. Most were not the sharpest knives in the drawer....not steely eyed lawmen, but they were honest, decent, thorough investigators, who ferreted out and reported FACTS.

Sadly, not so anymore. Those agents have retired years ago, and I have no doubt that they were embarrassed by the actions of the current FBI agents (and, apparently, FBI management) in the events before and after the election of 2016. 

Will either side be willing to believe that the investigation onto Kavanaugh and Ford was conducted without an agenda? I can't honestly say that it will be.

What say you? 

In a just world

Kavanaugh could sue Ms Ford for Defamation and win such an award for her trashing him with unproven (and likely unprovable) statements.

Jury awards ex-Army colonel 8.4 million dollars from blogger who defamed him. 

The parallels of the two cases are many.

One can hope. I mean her GoFundMe is at or near a million bucks.

A most interesting point

HERE

Interesting, Innit? 

Just to stir trouble:

Forget Chevy vs Ford (Dodge, actually, is the correct answer, BTW)

Forget GLOCK Vs 1911 (Y'all know my answer to that one).

The real question we have here today, the one that matters,  the one that chooses where you stand, what your lifestyle is, the one that makes us all take sides in life and choose our friends and all that....The one that defines WHO YOU ARE and WHAT YOU STAND FOR....:















Creamy or Crunchy peanut butter? Smooth or chunky?

I'm withholding revealing my choice at this time, but please, feel free to say your preference in comments.

Triggered....

I'm still not sure if she really felt threatened or if she was just trying to make trouble....or was truly batshit.

So I am in Home Depot shopping for supplies for an improvement project at the shooting range this weekend.....

My shopping list is on the back of a used NRA 50 foot Slow Fire pistol target (hey, I needed paper, and if there is one thing that a range has plenty of, it is used targets, right?)

This woman is walking down the aisle, sees the target and asks if it is a "gun target".

"Yes, ma'am.". I reply.

"Are those BULLET HOLES!!!!(eleventy)?"

"Yes, Ma'am"...."it's a used target.....recycling you know"...

She actually complained to management...that I (or the target, at least) made her feel "unsafe"... Who were very unsupporting of her "feelings" (and polite to me),  but who did assist me in finding everything on the list to get me (and really, I think, her) out of the store as quickly as possible.

I was tempted to ask her if the fact that I was carrying a pistol under my shirt was important to her, but the poor employees at Home Depot were stressed enough from dealing with her, so I didn't let her know...although it would have been fun to see if her head exploded from anxiety or something....... Plus that could be taken as "brandishing", so I didn't......

But really...A paper target makes one feel threatened? 

50 BILLION

So in the last weeks of fiscal 2017, assorted government agencies spent the last money in their budgets.

50 Billion dollars. In less than 2 weeks. If they don't spend the money, they lose it. So they spend it.

Fifty Billion in arcade games, unneeded autos, shuffleboards, advertising, Fidget spinners and paddleboards.

Even TheDonald's office flushed their budget before they lost it.



Remember that next time they claim budget cuts will destroy their ability to do their jobs. 

A thought:

Re: the Kavanaugh "investigation" by the FBI.

What can they come up with, and write a report about, in a week? (what can they really investigate, period, that hasn't already come out and been testified to?

And the biggest issue: Can we trust a politicized FBI to be fair and honest and truthful? If we could say that about the FBI, and trust them, Hillary would have been in jail before the election.

Remember:

In Chicago the motto is "Vote Early, Vote often.

Early voting has started.

Expect busses to be lining up at cemetery entrances soon....

lunch flying

So, the dude who let me fly his '66 182 is 82 years old and has been having issues rolling the plane up the ramp into his hangar some days. (the 182 weighs 1600 lbs empty and, while it rolls easily, can be a bit of a chore to move up the ramp when full of fuel)

So, when I was talking with him after we had put the plane away, he said he wished he had a method of hooking his towbar to the front of his garden tractor that he uses to mow the grass around his hangar so he could let the tractor do the pushing (apparently, he told me today, he slipped last winter and banged himself up pretty good in the fall)

"Not a problem" I said. "Lets see the tractor".

So I got a tape measure and measured the front frame rails and made a sketch and went back to my shop.

I made him a plate to fit the front frame rails and a bar he can hook to his towbar which will allow him to use the tractor to push the plane up the ramp. Simple to cut a bit of scrap metal and tack it together with the welder. I figured it was the least I could do since he wouldn't let me pay for the fuel we used last time.... I'm a pretty good fabber if you don't mind that it ain't pretty....

Today, he was at the hangar, so I was able to meet him out there to test fit the plate and mark some holes in the frame so I could finish it up and full weld it together. A pretty nice piece of design, considering I made it from the pieces I had available, if I do say so myself.

As it was about 11:30 when I got there and it took about 40 minutes to mark the holes and fit everything else, he asked me if I wanted to have some lunch.

"Sure, where would you like to go?"

"Rochester" he replied. "I know a place". (About 55 miles away from where we were)..."Up for a flight?"

Since I didn't have any plans that afternoon that I could not change, I agreed.

We pushed the plane out of the hangar and preflighted and I started to get into the right seat.

"You don't wanna fly?"

So I climbed into the left seat and started the engine.

Winds were 210 so we used 18 and I flew us to Rochester. about a 30 minute flight. I've been there before, so it was a sorta familiar route. He has a Garmin 430 and an I-Pad with ForeFlight, so navigation was easier than paper charts. First time I have simply taken off and flown without a real flight plan though.

3500 feet and MAN that is a nice, easy to fly airplane. Climbs at over 1000 FPM with just the two of us, and cruises at a bit over 140 knots (He is still breaking in the new powerplant, so we didn't cruise at over 65%).

Winds at RCR were 180 at 12 gusting 15 so I chose 110 as the runway (110/290) and I did a straight in approach as there was no one else in the pattern. Did a nice, if not great crosswind landing and taxiied to park on the grass near the restaurant, which is near, but not on the airport property.

Lunch was good, and we walked back to the plane, preflighted, and taxiied back to the end of 11.

Took off and climbed to 4500 feet and set course back to home.

AWOS said winds were 250 when we were 20 miles out, 240 at 10 miles out, so I began setting up for a downwind for 27, but then were at 220 at 5 miles, so I instead entered the downwind for 18 and did a bounced landing due to a slightly late roundout and gusty wind at touchdown. Added a bit of power and stabilized and then set it down....Not my best landing, but not too bad either. Not a hard bounce, but still, a bounce.

Taxiied in and pushed the plane into the hangar.

Since everything fit right the first time, I will finish welding the pieces and do a bit of grinder work on the edges and such and then paint it this weekend. He will have a towbar and a more or less permanent hitch to hook it to. No more slipping and falling on a slippery ramp when he is by himself....at least not when pushing the aircraft back into it's hangar.

I should have it done when he gets back from his trip next week.

He still won't let me pay for even my share of the gas though. I did buy lunch.

As Aaron puts it....1.1 and 2.

I gotta find one that I can buy.

Not without a keeper

So, despite trying to NOT watch the Ford/Kavanaugh debacle, the media has pushed it into my face.

Radio, TV, even the internet.

However, if there in one thing that this debacle has shown it is that at lest some of the women who inhabit the DNC are exactly what many men think they are. Helpless, tiny, foolish, easily controlled, and duped creatures who should not be allowed out without a keeper to make sure they are safe......

Formation training

The Geese are forming up into Vees, teaching the adolescents how to formation fly, and retraining those older members as well.

'Tis a month or so early, but they seem to know something....Perhaps we are in for an early winter. 

Y'know

I wish the media could learn the difference between "Flood" and "Flash Flood".

The flooding in the Carolinas due to the rain from the hurricane is not a "flash Flood". It is a "Flood".

Flash flooding is when the water rises rapidly in a f=riverbed or other waterway due to accumulation of rainwater from a large area funneled through a very small waterway or streambed....generally with a downhill component. mostly caused by a thunderstorm or downpour, often miles away. Water can rise by FEET in a matter of minutes.

A flood, like the folks in the Carolinas after this last hurricane, is cause by too much rain falling faster than it can drain off. This water does not rise at nearly the same rate.....and it is, generally, predictable. Often, it is hours or even days to rise to flood level. I strongly doubt that anyone with more than three working brain cells is surprised at the areas that are flooding in the Carolinas....further I doubt that the rates were anywhere close to more than inches per hour.  If you are trapped by the flooding there, then you are apparently not paying attention.

But, to the news folks, any flood is a "Flash" flood.

But there IS a difference. 

Have ya noticed?

The Left, when talking about Kavanaugh, keeps using the term "Reproductive Rights" when they mean "Abortion".

Why can't they say the word? Are they afraid of it? Afraid of turning women off by using a word that mean "Killing Babies"?

Look: I think that Roe V Wade was bad law.

No, I don't think abortions should be illegal. Not at all, although I don't like them....I do believe in a woman's right to choose. The right to choose whether to be a mother or not and care for a child for 18+ years.  (Now lets make things equal, and let MEN decide whether they want to be a father and support a kid for 18 years as well.....But that is another argument for another time....)

But it was bad law, because the Supreme Court should have sent the decision back to the States (that whole 10th amendment thing, you know....).
But it is law, and I really doubt that the Supremes will do anything to change it.

I really believe that the Left is afraid of Kavanaugh for other reasons.  The abortion fearmongering is just a tool to influence women's emotions against him.

And they will do nearly anything to keep him off the court, as we have seen.

I think it is just the beginning

Is he guilty? Or being framed?

I dunno.

Sex with a minor? Bad. If true.

And, oddly, this seems to happen to people who get crossed up with the Feds.

Just like if the local police can't find anything to hang you on, but they are sure you are guilty, they "find Kiddie porn on the hard drive on his computer" after executing a search warrant.....(odd how that is always easy to find and un-encrypted, isn't it?)

Sadly, after all the other things our Federal Law Enforcement have done lately, I don't trust them anymore when they say a high profile person is guilty of anything. 

And that's the point:

Every survivor of an attempted rape can tell you the exact date, time, persons present, etc., when the rape or attempted rape happened. They can tell you the color of the carpet, the drapes, the walls....

Yet Ford can't remember..... Anything. Odd.

Read

I find it interesting

That so many women are willing to rally behind a person with a claim of a crime 30 years ago, simply because she, like them, is a woman.

While I don't know what happened 35 (ish) years ago (I say (ish) because we don't have an exact date because the  accuser is (so far) hazy on the date of the alleged incident), and neither do you. I find it interesting that they are all so quick to pre-judge the people involved.... simply because one is a woman.

I don't know either of the persons involved....I can't make a judgement. I can say that this appears to be agenda driven, and very similar to other somewhat dubious and shady claims put forth previously against other judges that the Democrats have opposed....a person comes out of nowhere at the last minute making an accusation that cannot be proved (and therefore, since it is hard to disprove a negative, is difficult to disprove).

Is Kavanaugh guilty of that which is is accused? I dunno? Is Ms Ford lying? Again, I don't know.

Her timing and 30+ years of silence seem.....suspicious. That does not, however, make her a liar.
Having said that, Kavanaugh has 65 women willing to testify as to his exemplary behavior.....and, as we have been told over and over, that many women don't lie about such things....

I do know that the double standard of the folks on the Left is a glaring issue.

Credibility:

Even women (and even LIBERAL WOMEN, at that) don't find Ms Ford credible.

Even the Huffington Post's OWN POLL finds this lack of credibility (Page 9).

I mean, if the Dems can't carry the Huffpo crowd.....

Death threats

She claims she has received them.

Maybe she has.

How? Telephone? Emails?

Carrier pigeon?

If the first two, then there is a record and those folks can be traced.

Is the investigation happening? Are the local Police checking her story? Are the checking the phone and/or internet records and traffic? Can anyone verify her story?

'Cause it seems like every time someone claims that they are getting "Death Threats" that no one ever follows up.

Odd, innit? 

When all else fails...

You can "Bork" the candidate.

And, if that doesn't work, You can, you know, use the "Thomas" gambit.

I think Peter has the right of it though......Where has this woman been for the past 30+ years? Why did they not come forward when Judge Kavanaugh was nominated for previous judgeships in lesser courts?

This is politics at the dirtiest level. 

It wasn't even worth the $29.00 per day....

Back from my trip. 'Twas an enlightening and educational trip, if not terribly productive...
But, I drove a thousand miles in a Nissan Versa.
Jesus, how can a car company make such a pile of Suck and Fail fit into a compact car?

I mean, I knew I was renting a small car....and I expected it to be somewhat underpowered.

And I got what I paid for in that regard.

The nice parts that I can say about the car is that the doors did open and close and the engine did start every time I turned the key...It did come with 4 tires that rolled.

The locks, however, seemed to choose to lock the doors at random times and under random conditions. We never left the car without having the keys in hand or at least one person staying in the car to make sure we were not locked out.

The seat? There was no place in the adjustment envelope where I could find any comfortable position. I mean, seriously, the ergonomics of the entire car were terrible. I seriously doubt that they could have made it worse if they had tried. My riding mower has better ergonomics, both in the seat and in the controls. Even the front passenger seat was torture after a half hour of sitting.

The acceleration, when the transmission computer chose to shift the gears in a sequential manner  was...adequate. Notice I said "shift in a sequential manner"....this did not appear to happen most of the time...

The suspension and steering seemed to have been designed to allow both understeer at high speeds and oversteer at low speeds....My Kubota tractor handles curves better.

One wonders how they can sell these cars if they allow the buyers to test drive before purchase. 

I'm thinkin' I would have peed myself just a bit....

Notice her tiny voice when she is informed of her issue.  I'd probably have been even less calm at that point in my training.....

She was scared but handled it pretty well.

I'd probably have pissed my pants. I give the young lady pilot credit for her composure. Once the initial shock wore off, she was pretty calm.



And whoever owns and maintains that aircraft,,,,be glad it was a 17 year old girl. I'd have beaten 'em for renting me an aircraft where the MAIN GEAR was in that bad of shape....Beaten them badly.

Just as an FYI

If you have a Menards in your area, and shop there because of their 11% rebate, but prefer to buy from Home Depot, or if Menards does not have what you are looking for..

Anytime that Menards (or, I am led to understand, any competitor) offers a rebate, Home Depot will give you a gift card for that same 11% if you make that purchase at a Home Depot in the same area as the competitor.

I often buy lumber from the Home Depot instead of Menards because the quality is (generally) better.....And since HD will match the rebates.....

Just though some of y'all might find this info useful. 

Yep, that's the one

Flew a 1966 182 yesterday. Airframe was nearly as old as I am.  Owner was a friend of my latest CFII.

I LIKE it.

Pretty sure that's what I am gonna buy. Still looking, but.....

Decent load, decent fuel consumption, fast enough (who doesn't want a faster airplane?) but also pretty decently low approach speeds. Feel was not too heavy (Much lighter than the Arrow) and yet the heavier airframe made it feel smoother too.

Cruise was about 137 (at ~5000 ft), approach at final with 20 degrees of flaps was 70 knots. (And, I think, with practice and more flaps, that could could be a LOT lower). Feel at cruise was really smooth.

I flew it for a while, just getting the feel for it, then went an airport that has very little traffic...Normally. ...
5 planes in the pattern when we arrived!..... I entered at the end of the downwind after circling a bit to let one plane land and leave some space in the pattern for me, then followed the other four planes in and did a low pass just to get the feel of it at approach speeds. Back around the pattern and then I did a really nice landing (wind was variable at 4 so it was fairly easy) and then a taxi-back and takeoff.

Stayed in the pattern and did a second landing just like the first. Was gonna do a crosswind landing, but there wasn't enough wind to make it worthwhile, so we went back to the home airport, where the wind was 220 at 5 so I landed on 18, with another greaser (hard not to with that airplane in those wind conditions).
Put the plane away and the owner, who is 85, wouldn't let me pay for gas or anything....("do this for some other "kid" when you buy a plane") so I took him to lunch. He does want a towbar  and a bracket for it for his small tractor, so I might just weld one up for him....

All in all, I liked the 182. Decent speeds, decent approach, and (with trim) I did not find the nose to be too heavy on final or flare. Yes, you need more trim than a 172 or even an Arrow, but very, very doable. More flaps might have helped, but I was following the advice of the owner, who was sitting next to me.

And, guess what? My latest issue of Trad-A-Plane just arrived last night!

DO you remember?

I do.

I remember the day.

The carnage.

The....not fear, but horror. The deaths of innocents.

Do I blame ALL muslims? No
But I do realize, that there are those of that religion that hate the West. And others of that religion that support those that would kill me and my fellow countrymen simply because we are not Muslim....Unbelievers.....And believe  that any muslims who would associate with us are as bad as we are....

I will never forget.
I especially will never forget those in power who would have us forget, or who try to minimize the act, the attack....

But, in the end, I will live and simply remember.

I've asked this question

Just not as well, nor as clearly:

Where is the crime?

How long is the Fishing Expedition gonna go on?

Especially without a real crime to investigate and, especially, PROSECUTE. ('Cause that is what Mueller is, a prosecutor).

Expect the Liberals to cry "Kenneth Starr!!!!". But there, there was an actual crime that was being investigated. Not so here, just a bunch of innuendo in this case. 

Gunshow todae

Prolly be bizzy all day.

I expect attendance to be big, as it is a rainy dreary day.

If you used to wear Levis

And are tired of their SJW posturing.....

I highly recommend Texas Jeans Company as an alternative.
Good Jeans. Well made. Wear well. Comfortable. Priced fairly.

And MADE IN AMERICA. (Oddly, in North Carolina)...which no other major brand (not even Carhartt) is anymore.

I moved from Levis a few years ago..... while I liked Levis, I grew tired of their Social Justice Posturing.  So I switched. And I've been happy with my new brand.

Yer big boys and girls, buy what you want....But if you are considering switching, check out Texas Jeans Company. 

Bandit has passed.....

Burt Reynolds has died .

To me, he will always be the actor in "Smokey and the Bandit".....Of course there is "Deliverance" and "the Longest Yard" as well. 

I always figured the next epidemic

to spread across the world would be "Airborne".

'Twas, apparently not that big of a deal this time.

Another endorsement

I now hold a "Complex" endorsement.

I did it with a Piper aircraft. Which flies OK, it just isn't the aircraft I would choose to buy.

"Complex" isn't really that big of a deal, actually. Just more to do at takeoff, climb, descent and landing. Pretty simple though.

Damned fast, that Turbo Arrow, what with no gear and no struts causing drag. 

Said no man ever:

So I am at the Dr's office. I like my doctor, I really do....

I had an issue which caused a bit of pain, and we discussed the level of pain it caused.

She said that women experience pain and deal with it better than men, so a 10 for a man is like a 6 for a woman

"Not true", says I.  "While we may handle it differently, men simply deal with it". Women can't handle the pain of a fight, or an injury as well as men". Putting a number on it isn't a good comparison. Most women can't handle the level of pain that men can and keep going.

"Oh yeah?" she asked. "explain"....."Women handle childbirth...a greater pain than you can ever imagine".

"I cannot ever experience the pain a woman undergoes giving birth, but it can't be that bad, either."

"how do you figure?" she asked.

"Women often choose to have another child after their first one....it can't be as bad as say....getting kicked in the....er....jimmies."

"how can you compare the two?

"Well, again, women often choose to have a second, or third or even more children...If it were as bad as you say, after the first birth experience, no man would ever touch you again......But you often choose to have another child."

"So?" she asked

"No man ever stands there and says "Gee, I think I will ask someone to kick me in the testicles again"

We moved on to other areas of discussion after that.

The more I fly Piper products...

The more I like Cessna's engineering.

So I have flown a Warrior and 2 different Arrows....One Turbo and one not.

And I gotta say that there is no one thing that is terribly bad on any of 'em, but SO many things, switches, electrical busses, controls, fuel selector (WTF is wrong with a "Both" position?), etc. are just....less than ideal, at least in my mind. Kinda half assed, if you will.

They fly ok, but I don't like the "feel", especially on approach. And I HATE the way they sink when the power is pulled back.

But hey, to each their own. Some folks like'em. I think, however, that I will start with a Cessna.

I mean, this is like Glock V 1911 (1911 for me)....pretty much a preference thing. 

Odd:

The press that couldn't wait to trash him, denigrate him and dig up dirt on him when he was running for president against their chosen lightbringer candidate now cannot wait to praise John McCain now that he is safely dead.

But hey, he has good attendance at his funeral, if only so most of the attendees can check out his corpse and make sure he is really dead.

Hopefully you can backorder them....

O'Reilley's auto parts

HERE.

I have 2 on order, but they are backordered until 1985. October 27th, I believe.



Someone has a sense of humor

Well now, isn't this an odd thing......

Read

I find such coincidences somewhat odd, don't you?

Remember, the Feds have "Not been able to examine" the weapons used in the Vegas massacre yet.....

Gah!

I am growing tired of having to share the road with people who are less intelligent than week old lettuce, less situationally aware than an overripe tomato, and have the nervous response time of wilted broccoli. This makes for bad drivers...

And that is, of course BEFORE they start driving while using a cell phone to distract them and block fully 50 percent of their peripheral vision.

'Tis a good thing I am not subject to Road Rage....Just Sayin'. 

And I thought the Gun Fora were bad

I mean, anyone can buy a gun, all you need is money.

But I was trying to do some research on airplanes for a possible purchase and ended up on several airplane forums ....

Damn.

I mean one might expect some level of disagreement, but the thing is, there is a minimum level of intelligence required to be a pilot, right?
Right?

The same infighting, the same unreasonable defense of one brand over another, the same unreasoning hatred of the "other" brand... the same illogic, the same defense of what that person had purchased...

I mean, you can substitute 1911 for Cessna and Piper for GLOCK and see nearly identical arguments (and then sub Mooney for FN to get the REAL argument started)

And the rumors and untruths repeated by people that have never experienced that product,  But they know it is true because they heard it from a friend of a friend of a cousin of the brother of the guy who shares the next hangar over....

I guess, no matter what the forum topic, people are people.
And topic discussion fora are really not reliable sources of data. The same level of noise to signal exist there as well.

McCain dead

He were a senator, and was a prisoner of war after being shot down in Vietnam....

As for the Eulogy:
(My Momma taught me that if I can't say something nice, to say nothing at all):










.
I do hope his passing was painless and quick. 

Public service announcement

Just in case you ever think of it....

DO NOT step on the carpet tack strips in stocking feet.

I was pulling them up  to putting down new flooring the phone rang...so I stopped what I was doing and answered the phone.

Upon returning to the job at hand......I stumbled and recovered with one foot upon said tack strip.

Yikes, that hurts.

No major damage, but holy shit those things are sharp. 

Point of view:

So was talking, along with a few others,  with two gunsmiths today....one professional, one a gifted amateur.

The amateur and I were discussing gun oils and CLP type products.

Most were acceptable to him for the purpose to which most people use 'em. Cleaning and preventing rust, and lubrication.

Then one other person brought up WD-40....

The amateur gunsmith stated that that was the worst product he had ever seen. The pro stated that loved it....Most of us turned and stared at him:

Then he smiled and said fully 20% of his work would go away if folks stopped using WD-40 as a cleaner and lube...."It "gunks" up more guns than even 3-In-One oil.".....the first thing he does with most malfunctioning firearms ts strip 'em and clean 'em with a solvent bath and a brush.... Fixes about half the issues.

Best to choose a product intended for the use to which it is intended, I guess....

The police are the problem

In Chicago, according the the folks on the South Side. Especially those folks who listen to the activists.....

"They are killing all those people"

Of course, "those people" shot 48 folks this weekend...and the police shot no-one in that time frame.

And of those shootings? 'twasn't whites, or asians, nor native Americans, nor even mexican immigrants doing the shooting either.... .

But it isn't the fault of the black people. They tell us so, so it must be true.

It's all Whitey's fault. And the white police especially.

Darwin missed

Both father, and Son.

What kind of an idiot waits that long before leaving in the face of a forest fire? Waits until the fire is on the road? Especially when there is only one way out?

Video shows father, son driving through forest fire in escape from mountain

Damned lucky there was someone with a boat to take 'em to safety.

I hope the insurance company denies their claim for the car.....

Gheah

So, after flying to meet Aaron for lunch yesterday, I met some other members at the Range and pulled some video cables yesterday...through conduit. 10 video cables through 250 ft of 2" plastic conduit.

I had engineered things such that I would be able to pull straight up....using my legs more than my arms. (I was the youngest and in best shape so they guided the cable from the other end as it went and I did the pulling)

And we used plenty of wire pulling lube.

100 (more or less) squats later, the wire was pulled through the conduit. the last 30 feet was a lot of resistance (a long sweep bend that we simply could not get any lube into, so lots of friction)

All was well last night and this morning. I was actually surprised at how well I felt (I don't normally do TEN squats in a day, much less a hundred(ish) with resistance. Pretty much no stiffness when I arose from my slumber.... No pain other than normal aches and pains. Old friends, as it were.....My legs were fine, my calves and ankles were good....I had expected my forearms to hurt, as gripping the rope was something I no longer do on a regular basis...But no

Then, around noon, it began to hurt. Calves, thighs, glutes.  I can barely hold a covefffe cup in my hands

I normally walk about 12,000 steps a day. I might make 8K today. Maybe.

Where did I put the 'Vitamin I" ?

This gettin' old is a bitch. I may have to have to crack open the bottle and have some liquid muscle relaxer later, over ice.

Low clouds and haze

But that did not stop either of us, just delayed us a bit.

I met Aaron of the Shekel about halfway for lunch on Sunday. He's out of the greater Detroit area and I am out of NW Indiana....so we each flew about 90 miles.

I had to delay departure for about a half hour due to visibility issues at KOEB (our destination). But other than the last 20 miles or so, it was awesome. Vis was +5 Miles all the way... I flew east-northeast at 5500 feet, 500' (more or less) below the clouds with flight following from South Bend (and then Kalamazoo) approach. At Sturgis, MI I had to descend because the wall of clouds went up to about 10K and the bottom was a little below 4000. So I flew my last 20 miles at 2500 feet MSL. Approach was standard downwind entry.

Oddly, moments after  I called my base to final turn for Rwy 25 at OEB, Aaron transmitted his "10 miles out" call. Couldn't have worked it out much better. I got to watch him do a very smooth touchdown. I don't even think he chirped the tires.

Other than parking at the wrong parking area, it was perfect...but we both needed that half mile walk after flying for most of an hour anyway.....

The restaurant wasn't the best, but it was good enough. The food was decent (Bacon, Mushrooms, and Swiss burgers) (Plus Tater Tots!!) and the service was attentive. Sadly, until now, Aaron and I had only met in meatspace once. It was cool to talk to him in person. We had a great time chatting, and then, because he was looking at less-than-ideal weather moving into his area sooner than planned, he did a preflight and taxiied to the runway and took off. (I wondered why he did rwy 22 until I too left shortly thereafter).

After he did his departure and turned for home, I preflighted and fired up the rental 172 and taxiied out and also was confused by the signage, and I too found myself taxiing to the end of 22.....Which wasn't a big deal 'cause the winds we 16 at 4, so it was an acceptable departure runway.

'Twas bumpy on the way back, and a bit of a headwind (which, in a 172 is not a minor consideration!) so I used a bit more RPM's than I normally do. Not quite "Full Rental Power", but more than the recommended 70% throttle...

I arrived at home just in time to change clothes and go to the range to meet some other members where we cut and pulled (manually) 10 pieces of 250 feet of video cable. Which pretty much wiped me out.

But again, I am reminded that I need a faster airplane....and not a rental, either. Maybe an R182? I dunno.

I will let Aaron post the pics, he has the better software to clean 'em up, but here are 2 so you can see what a dashing airman he is....



Plus, of course, a pic of the proverbial (but more expensive than that) "$100 hamburger".

As always, click to embiggenify

Heh

Here. Might wanna swallow first though. 

I tell ya, it's the culture:

There area LOT of folks on the South Side of Chicago that are decent...who just want to live their lives and have a bit of fun and a decent life.

But there is a subset that are violent....that just don't care.

Friday into Saturday there were over 25 people shot....40 so far this weekend in that paradise of Gun Control and Democratic rule.

And Oh! the Irony!...3 shot at a "Peace Picnic".

THis doesn't happen in other neighborhoods where the Demographics are of a different sort.

Yeah, it is an uncomfortable fact that no one wants to face, but it is true.

Cries of "Raciss" will be ignored with derision. I'm just pointing out the facts here.  

And Political Dubble Stadardz

Seems that John Brennan required the Beghazi veterans, those me who fought to save all of the folks that were attacked when the "Rebels" rioted and killed the ambassador....Yeah, those folks...

Yeah, he made 'em all sign Non Disclosure agreements or be fired.

And, oddly enough, was the promoted by Barry the First to Director of the CIA.

First he claimed they had no need to talk about the incident.

Then he denied forcing them to sign the documents.

Odd, that. And now he thinks his continued security clearance is a Right?

Seriously? He claims that losing his security clearance is a violation of his First Amendment rights? What about those folks he silenced (and got promoted for silencing them)? Or are there two standards?

We all know the answer....If he has his security clearance, lots of folks will hire him to "consult"....If not, he is unemployable.

Dubble Standardz

If a white man said "Vote for me because I am white" then the cries of racism are loud and strident.

But it is, apparently, OK for a black woman to say " it disgusts” her seeing black people holding signs for “these Asians” and not supporting “their own people.” "...

Racism, in any form, is wrong.

But it is odd how the standard is different, isn't it? Negroes can be as racist (and are, generally) as much as white people.

Unless, of course, you are a Democrat...

And there you have it:

So, I mentioned an issue with the training department at the NRA....
Which was discussed at the monthly meeting at my club last night.

This opened the door to discussion of the NRA and the services they (allegedly) offer. And the discontent in a hundred members who are angry at the NRA.

I was, quite frankly, shocked at the amount of anger and discontent directed at the NRA organization...

There were complaints about failure to follow up with Life insurance (2 incidences...one 2 years old now and still unresolved) and complaints about gun insurance (one member STILL has not gotten any response ...not even an email or phone call, despite having put in a claim after a house fire 9 months ago.....and repeated emails, phone calls/voicemails, even a registered letter for his claim on the 25 or so firearms that were destroyed in a house fire)...But, as he pointed out, they have people call him weekly to ask for more money....

At this point, the club is investigating alternatives for insurance and is seriously considering cutting ties with the NRA after a 48+year association with that organization. The only reason we can see for continuing is the discounted insurance ... And those of us who have cautioned patience and waiting and not acting rashly.....

It appears from the discussion last night that everyone who has dealt with the NRA has come to the same feeling...that the NRA is openly working only for the NRA, not the members. That it sees the members only as a profit center, and that it's mission is to squeeze as much money out of that membership,  rather than serve their interests or promote the shooting sports.

There was a lot of talk about GOA and Second Amendment Foundation, and the fact that those organizations have done more in the courts for Gun Rights in the past 10 years than the NRA has done in the past 30....(on the other hand, I pointed out that the NRA has done significantly more in the political arena with our legislators )...Still, the discontent was there, and came to a head

Where does YOUR club get it's liability and other insurance to operate?
Please, feel free to email me if y'd rather not say so in comments. (TheMiddleoftheright@Gmail)

Aretha

Has passed.

Damned good performer.

I hope it was peaceful and quick. 

Not on a watch list:

So can we trust anyone?

Police are SURE that it was terrorism....But so far, no name admitted. And, of course "Terrorism" but no one says "Islamic".  But the failure to give a name tells the story, doesn't it?

Are the police in the UK that inept? Or are there that many "Lone wolves"? Or what?

And it is, again, just a matter of time until this sort of thing happens with bigger vehicles (again) with a greater loss of life (again).

So far, it hasn't happened here. in the US....yet. I think it is because, legal or not, our immigrants HAVE to assimilate (even just a bit) and we don't make it easy...so only the smart ones get into this country...and smart people don't waste themselves killing or injuring only a few people....

Hey, it's a start:

But this single firing won't fix the FBI's image. There are a LOT more folks that are not living up to (or even TRYING to) the FBI's ideal.


FBI official Peter Strzok, who played a lead role in both the Russian meddling and Hillary Clinton email probes but became a political lightning rod after the revelation of anti-Trump text messages, has been fired.

Remember, he was part of the team that did their best to exonerate Hillary Clinton's mishandling of Classified (and higher) documents via her unsecured private email server.

No bias....We know because Strozk himself said so....

Looks like she is about to take the last curtain call:

Aretha Franklin's Death Is 'Imminent' as Source Confirms 'She Has Been Ill for a Long Time'

The "Queen of Soul" is apparently dying. 

Coincidence....

Interesting that Ms Omarosa Newman chose to reveal the recording she made .....

Just before her book is scheduled to be released.

Coincidence?

Think the publicity will drive book sales? 

22 and a big donation

So we had a Hunter Ed class at the range on Saturday.

"Twas good. The Indiana DNR gives us the materials and a class outline and allows us some leeway to teach.

Kids were attentive, interested, and pretty motivated. We instructors like that.

And, afterwards, had a man who was there with his son, come up and offer our Lead Instructor 5 (five) $100 bills as a donation,...because "I've taken this class over the years with all of my kids, and this was the best and most intereting".

22 attendees, and 22 who passed the test and got their cards issued by the Indiana DNR.

Hopefully 22 more informed kids who will be better, safer, more ethical hunters.

Interestinger and interestinger

HERE

Think about the scenario postulated.

What else makes sense?

Just about had it

With the bureaucratic assholes in the NRA training division.

It is sad what happens when you give a small man a little power.

This might be the break from the NRA for my club.

Someone in the NRA needs to realize just what kind of people they are hiring. . 

But shootings are down by 20% over last year!

Except that there were 12 people killed and over 70 shot....Mostly non whites.

And it is, of course, ALL WHITE PEOPLE'S fault.
Even though, it isn't white people that are doing the shootings, nor white people that are the victims. over a hundred thousand young people (white) attended the Lollapalooza concert....and yet there were no shooting (and almost no arrests!) at that concert...over 3 days....

And it isn't white people in those communities that "Didn't see Nothin' " and who fail to cooperate when questioned about what they saw.... ,nor is it whites who believe that the police are the enemy (Because they enforce laws and arrest black people when they break those laws) and who won't help fix the problem. Who protest every time the police DO try to stop the violence and enforce the laws.

But is IS non whites who insist that they need more of those hated police (right now, anyway) to stop the shootings...And it is whites (especially wealthy ones) who are blamed for the failures of the non-white communities.

Odd, that. No one is willing to look at the real problem...culture of black urban peoples.

Yeah, pointing this out makes me a racist in many people's eyes..... I no longer care.

ETA: It isn't a melanin level, it is CULTURE. 

Stealth mortgage on your home....

How healthy are the public pension funds in YOUR state?

Something to think about:

HERE

(As a rule, the bluer the state, the more difficulty the state has in funding and/or meeting the obligations of the pension funds.)

Might be something to consider. 

Ghost guns? OMG!!!

Thing is, I've had these files for YEARS. (And, I am told by folks that I know (REALLY REALLY well ...Like all my life, IYKWIM) that this blueprint makes for a functional AR receiver. (I  have one set of prints that supposedly will accommodate an M-16 fire group, and the dimensions for those parts too, but I've never tried them.)

HERE ...available on the Internet for everyone to see..... (ETA: this is made from stacked sheet metal plates. all you need to do is cut them and drill them. Precision, yes, but average Joe garage level work)

And that receiver is, of course, unserialized....a  "Ghost Gun"as it were.

I also have blueprints for a Sten gun (never made one, that would be a fully auto one and I'm not gonna go to jail) although I am reliably informed by others that those prints make a functional firearm)....

And also a Grease Gun.

One cannot stop the signal.

One wonders.....

Darwin? or Murder?

I mean, Jesus (not the landscape guy,  the Jewish carpenter)... How can folks be this stupid?

Dry ice left in car leaves 1 dead, 1 in critical condition:

And again, Socialism fails when no one can pay for it....

Or, as Maggie Thatcher said: When you run out of other people's money.

Canada gives up on Universal Basic Income. 

It appears Norway is also gonna give up on that wonderful Socialisitic program. 

Of course, several DNC led cities in Califronia, and other larger cities around the US(also led by Democrats) can't seem to understand that failure means...failure.....are gonna make it work, if they Just Try Harder....

'Cause if there is one thing the Democrats seem to do well, it is to throw more money at a failed concept....."Beat that dead mule until it starts moving"....Especially when they can use someone else's money....

Aye, and there's the rub:

A perfect example:

HERE

Words are one thing....action is another.

When it gets serious, you'd better be serious..and able to back up your words. 

Monday thought to start the week:

But seriously, put down the drinks first. (don't say I didn't warn you)

HERE

'Tis a gorgeous day here

Mid/high 70's, decent humidity, mostly cloudy.

Too bad I am unable to enjoy or appreciate it. 

Big changes in small aircraft

For me, at least....

So I flew an Arrow for the first time Wed.  'Twas a different experience.

Now, previously I had flown Cessna products.

But I wanted to get my Complex endorsement, and this is the only plane at the flight school with retractable gear and a constant speed prop.

Now, learning the systems isn't that hard. Nothing too complicated about any of the systems, really. Gear is pretty straightforward, as is the propeller and its's controller.... (apparently, some folks have a hard time figuring out the prop?....It is pretty simple,and works like every other governor I have seen, except the prop is controlled instead of a throttle).

Thing is, Pipers are VERY different from Cessnas.....I'd rather have flown (and landed) a Warrior or something first, rather than the (relatively) massive change to the Arrow and learning how to control all those systems as well as learning to land in an aircraft with an entirely different approach profile.

I'd have cancelled this lesson except that they are very busy at the school, and getting a time slot is difficult enough right now....So I took it, even though my mind wasn't really where it needed to be. I probably should not have flown, but I did alright. Plus I had an instructor to keep me out of trouble and coach me...

All told, I did OK. 3 landings, and really, once one gets used to the different attitude on approach, it wasn't that hard....Although it is easy to get behind the aircraft when one is not used to the different checklist.

1.4 and 3.

Why not take charge of your own survival?

So the Duck Boat tragedy is, indeed, a tragedy.

But nearly all the survivors have the same story.

"No one told us to put on our life preservers" (video with ad)

WTF?

If the boat is swamping...taking on water in high waves.....put yer life preserver on, or at LEAST have it in your hands.

"Keep your seats" was the order...
Fuck that. My kids would be in life preservers, and I'd have on in my arms, at least.

I hate to say this, but Darwin visited here. 

Light blogging ahead

Got WAAAAAY too much going on.

I got no brain to spare for this. Way too much stress goin' on. I only go so many neurons, and none to spare at this time.

Check out the folks on the sidebar, they are better than I at spreading info and knowledge anyway.

Back when I can.

It'll all work out, one way or another.

If ya got a minute though, send good thoughts my way. 

1.0

Yep, I jnow, I am sounding like a broken record.

Took the love of my life up Wed. evening for a quick sightseeing trip along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Beautiful day, smooth air, nearly "Forever Clear" and unlimited ceiling. About as good as it gets, flying weather wise.

'Twas fun. For both of us.

And I did a just about perfect soft field landing (on a hard runway) with 9 knots of quartering crosswind...hardly a bump.

I think she'll fly with me again.

5Guys afterwards, so it was a good evening.

1,0 and 1,

Night landings

So I was 6 months out of currency for night landings. (It can be difficult to get an aircraft late enough, as sunset is pretty late this time of year, and the flying school closes at 7 pm).

I fixed that last night.

One of the crew at the flying school was gonna be flying until about 10PM,  I arranged for him to call me when he was about 20 minutes out, met him at the ramp, and did 3 night landings before we put the plane away.

Total time for 3 full stop landings and the associated taxiing and pattern:
0.2.

The pattern was empty, winds were calm, so I did one takeoff on 36, transitioned to the left for landing on 9. Full stop...took off again and did a transition to 18, full stop, went around the pattern from 18, then transitioned to 27  for my last one and turned off at the appropriate taxiway (this was the shortest path) and taxied back to the school.  Pretty much cloverleafs.

I remember night landings to be harder. This time they were fairly easy.

So now I got my 3 for the next 90. 

More light makes it better

So, having worked with another couple of range members to replace the lights in the indoor range, but not yet having had a chance to try shooting with the new lighting (the old lighting consisted of 6 500 watt quartz halogen fixtures for 12 lanes,....there were shadows and the fixtures had become.....tired) I chose Monday to spend an hour at the indoor range, as the outdoor range was about 94 F and VERY humid. Plus I had to wait there for the Fed-Ex dude to show up with a package for our in house FFL.

Anyway, I did slow fire at 50 feet.  Had the range all to myself. No distractions.

Wow, The new light fixtures make a great deal of difference. There is about twice the amount of light, and with 13 point sources instead of 6 (one in between each shooting point plus the ends) there are nearly no shadows. At times, with the old lighting, it could be difficult to see even .45 caliber holes in the target...no longer.

Plus, better lighting means better sighting.

 The first two are a string of 9 (each) ....1 in the pipe and 8 in the mag. Pace was about 1 round per second.

The first one is one handed

 the second is a Weaver stance.

This one was 2 mags, at a slightly faster, but not rushed, pace....Weaver.

I'm happy with those targets.


All in all, I like the results the new lighting make on my shooting. Much easier on these older eyes.

I must say though that that was the DIRTIEST WWB ammo I have ever used.
Seldom am I moved to clean my Para 7.45 1911 after only a hundred rounds...But today was one of those days. 

I'm thinkin'

That his ears are still ringing.

I bet that was loud. 

Plus, who pays for the windshield? 

WTF do they expect???

These are Wild Animals, not cute furry pets. The fact that they are caged in a zoo does not change their nature.

They need to eat, and, if not fed, will hunt for their food.
They hunt, and kill, other animals.
They are predators, doing what predators do.

NEW ORLEANS -- Eight animals have now died after a jaguar escaped from its habitat at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. CBS affiliate WWL-TV reports an alpaca and fox died Sunday, the day after the male jaguar killed four alpacas, one emu and one fox Saturday morning.

To expect any other behavior is to show your ignorance. 

Keep pushin' that story

While the Media keeps pushing the "Russia hacked the DNC in an attempt to "influence" the 2016 elections" meme during the stories about Trump's meeting with putin, they leave out an important bit of data: One fun fact that they leave out is that no one has examined the DNC server to see what, if any, evidence might point to the accusation that it is the "Russsians".

Neither the FBI, nor the NSA has been allowed to examine the server. The DNC has refused to allow ANYONE to examine it. Nor has it been kept in a secure location, so it is useless as evidence now.

We only have the word of the DNC that it was the "Russians" that did this.

Odd that, despite there being such an outcry that there was a crime committed the DNC refused to allow any investigation, innit? 

On the one hand

This idiot was pretty much out of line and should have been told by friends to shut up....perhaps a bit too much hops and barley?

On the other hand, He's being charged with a Hate Crime....which is pretty stupid. Where are HIS Free Speech rights? He had an opinion, and even if it was in bad taste (or just flat out bigoted and wrong) he too has a right to speak, even if his opinion is bigoted and, frankly, stupid.

While I would like to see folks show some pride in the US if they are American Citizens, they too have the right to Free Speech, even if that is a t-shirt that others find distasteful.  Good with the Bad and all that. Either we have Free Speech or we have "RightThink". Which is it?

So I ask you, why does this drunken idiot guy not get to speak his mind without being arrested for it? Just because some chippie posted her video on Social Media? Because everyone has the right to prove they are an idiot by speaking, don't they?

I mean, he might have been intimidating (and an ass), but until he laid a hand on her, she had no cause to charge him. Perhaps he was as offended by her shirt as she was by his words.....
And nowhere in our Constitution do I see anything that says you don't have a right to an opinion or not be offended.

This is why I worked to get it.

My pilots license, that is....

Met my parents at the Airplane rental hangar yesterday about 4 pm.

We did the chores, fired up the 172 and flew around a bit, looked at their house (what we could see of it, they have a lot of trees) then flew along the Lake Michigan lakeshore for about 20 miles and looked at the beautiful beaches.

Then we flew to Rochester for dinner.

(Rochester is far enough away from our homes that we would normally not drive there for dinner, bust since we were flying at 105 knots, we could get there in a reasonable amount of time).

Someone got smart, and there is a well-mowed grassy area and a path off the paved taxiway that planes can use to taxi and park across the street from a nice little restaurant.

It was a nice dinner with my parents, and a nice flight.
Skies were a bit hazy, but the views were awesome, and the company was good.

I greased both landings, one at RCR and one back at my home airport. (yeah, the winds were light and favorable, but still).

All in all, a great evening and a nice reward for me, having struggled to gain my Private Pilot license.

Plus, I got to show off a bit.

This is why I wanted to fly, at least in part....To go places and see things and get there faster with friends and people I love to be with.

I shouldn't really complain, but if other parts of my world were different, it'd be a perfect life right now. but overall, I'm pretty content.

Very Good Advice

If you are a member of a club, you should read this.


Lessons from the Annals of Club Management

Really Really good advice if you are involved in any Social or Civic club. 

So....

Equal protection under the law...right?

When will Peter Strozk be imprisoned for  failing to answer question posed by Congress?

(And, for that matter, one would wonder Lying to Congress as well)

Isn't it interesting

That, after years of the DNC types ignoring court orders, and DNC affiliated heads of Federal agencies being allowed to ignore or dismiss court orders...Especially when it comes to investigations into the practices of their members.....or when ignoring those orders benefits their cause.

Yet now, these same folks are insisting the the Trump Administration follow the courts orders to reunite the kids taken from their (criminal) parents be reunited with them....

Odd how they think that the courts have the power to rule when it benefits them, and not so much when it doesn't....








(and, again, are we gonna "reunite" all those kids taken from their parents when their (US Citizen) parents were arrested for crimes and incarcerated??? Who is gonna pay for those huge expansions to the prisons and jails for schools and playrooms? I mean, all US citizen arrestees get separated from THEIR children.....How come illegal border crossers get special treatment?)

Y'know...

I'm no economist.
I don't understand international trade interactions and how they interact to make the economy work better or worse as they change.

But I DO know that China needs the US as a customer more than the US needs China as a customer.

Without the US as a buyer for Chinese goods, China's economy falls on it's face.

Now, it could be that I'm wrong......I welcome (sane, polite, somewhat well thought out and not ranting)  comments which will show if I have made a mistake in my thinking.

But I do think that, if the US stays the course, China falls on it's face without us as a consumer of their products.

Then they will play our game (They will, of course, cheat all they can, because Chinese Culture, but they will play. And then the US will be in a better position. but I repeat myself) go apeshit over the looming additional tariffs TheDonald intends to impose on the PRC. 

200 rounds of .45 ACP yesterday.

32 rounds at a time.

Heat of the day, 15 pushups, 50 yard sprint,,,no sunglasses, as fast as I could squeeze the trigger and change magazines...

And I still hit the 6" gongs at about 90% at 15 yards.

Man, that is work.

But if it Ever Happens, it ain't gonna be in a nice airconditioned lane at a range with bottled spring water and at whatever pace I want, when I am calm and with a low heart rate and low blood pressure. SO I do what I can to simulate the physical.

And the SIG 1911 never even had a hiccup. Ran perfect.

Cross Country

a short one.

I had the plane from 10-1.

So, I planned a trip from VPZ to MGC to watch the parachute jumpers, but when I got there, there weren't any at that time.....So I did a touch and go, and then set course for RCR.

Flew there, with Flight Following from South Bend, and then did a full stop landing and taxied to a parking spot on the grass to check out the restaurant across the street....but, being Sunday, they were packed full of post church folks.

So I taxied back to the ramp and went in to use the bathroom.

At the ramp was a couple of airplanes and one of them was a 337 Skymaster, which have always interested me.

When I came out of the bathroom, the owner of the 337 was waiting to use the plumbing. We started talking and he showed me his aircraft. (He had stopped in and met some friends for lunch at that same restaurant)

I think I want one. Odd airplane, but pretty nice. His was pressurized, and he claimed 220 knots at 20K Feet. (which is pretty fast, but he also said that that makes for high fuel consumption....like 30 GPH). But he did say that at 170 or so at 10K, it is only 20 GPH, so that is doable...

He also said he can carry 6 people, or 4 people and weekend baggage....With full fuel. Which makes that a decent aircraft for my expected needs.

Might be that I will have to get a twin endorsement soon as well.

Overall, it was a good flight. Winds were negligible at 3500 and 4500 respectively, and the traffic was not bad at all. Even SB approach frequency wasn't too busy. I guess everyone flew yesterday?

as Aaron says....1,7 and 4. 

She had it coming.....

She was wearing a short skirt and was provoking that response....

Oh, wait,

I mean, really?

Wearing a hat is enough for a physical attack?

Funny how Free Speech, no matter how offensive, by the Left is always OK... but a conservative??

Found Via Clayton Cramer. 

I find it sorta amusing

That the one community, the main demographic RESPONSIBLE for the "gun Violence" issue in Chicago.....

The culture wherein NO One ever talks to police, or in any way helps them solve a crime....

Whose lifestyle fuels the market for drugs, that in turn fuel the drug gangs who are most responsible for the shootings....

The folks whose neighborhoods are where the Drive By shootings happen at least weekly, if not nightly....

Are the folks who are going to protest "Gun Violence" by shutting down a major Chicago Freeway....

The Gun Violence issue doesn't happen in the neighborhoods of those folks who they are inconveniencing.

But the protesters blame everyone but themselves and their lifestyle and culture.

Kinda sad. 

Finally!

Private Pilot.

Man, that whole escapade was a BITCH. Oral exam, then the Checkride. 9AM-3PM... no break for lunch 'cause we were racing thunderstorms coming from the west. Hot and humid, just to make things interesting with comfort and thermals to add to the fun.

But I did it.

Got my Temp certificate, and I am Official.

Now a Complex endorsement and a High Performance, and I think I will buy a 182....and spend more time learning and earning IFR.

Remember....

Why we celebrate the Fourth Of July......For those that don't know, it is a Holiday called Independence Day....The day the 13 Colonies declared that they were a nation in their own right, no longer under the rule of the King of England. Self Rule.....

They chose their destiny, not some overbred Monarch who wasn't even sure where the lands were and who knew nothing about the people living there.

This was the day that began the greatest nation on the planet. The Constitution, which enabled it to be so, came later, but this was the day those many years ago when that nation began. A nation which became the destination for freedom-loving peoples from all over the world....The day the United States of America....That great Republic, began.

Take a minute to raise a glass to those men who signed that document, who signed the document and, in doing so, "“mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor,” ....some  of those men did lose some or all of those.


Now go enjoy your beer, hotdogs, and fireworks.

But remember. And be glad you live here. 

Isn't it interesting

How the Democrats are all for Activist Judges when that activist Judge is a Liberal, and blatantly "Legislates from the Bench"  FOR liberal causes....

But they absolutely oppose any Supreme Court Justice nominee who might have an opinion on anything they oppose. Who might apply, you know, the LAW, as written, or the meaning of the Constitution to cases brought before the Court.

Odd disparity, doncha think?

Or is it that the Dems just care about their causes over the rule of law? 

Grandkids and such...

So apparently, there was indeed more than just grandkids discussed in the meeting between Loretta Lynch and Former President Bill Clinton.....

You know, that "accidental" meeting in Phoenix, where they just accidentally ran into each other and had an "Impromptu" meeting (in a plane that had already been cooled and was ready for occupancy.....)
 Where they claimed they discussed only their Grandkids and such....and it was only coincidence that 2 day later the Justice Department (headed by Lynch) decided to NOT charge Hillary Clinton with mishandling of Classified Information.

Odd how those coincidences happen, innit? We know that's what happened 'cause that's what they told us....

OR:

Page 203 of IG Report says Loretta Lynch-Bill Clinton tarmac meeting was planned via Secret Service, FBI.

Who you gonna believe?

Bangin' my head here

and gettin' nowhere.

Kinda frustrating.

Well

After the election in Mexico, I think we need to begin building the Border Wall on an expedited basis.

Leftist, leftist aaaand a Leftist.

Of course, if we can find the water, a moat would work as well....

But at this point, we now have every reason to increase Border Security. 

Truth:

Ain't it though?

Found at Kenny's place.

Odd that we will do more examination of our Judges than our Presidents, ain't it?