Monday, October 31, 2011

You'd think people would learn

and prepare for when Momma Nature deals harshly with the infrastructure which makes their lives comfortable.

I mean, seriously. If you need electricity  to keep your home from freezing, have a spare method besides a fragile electric grid which can be damaged by ice and snow and wind. If you need electricity to keep your food from spoiling, same advice. You can get a generator for less than $500. That is likely about  the cost of the contents of your freezer and fridge. And what will it cost if you have to have your home fixed because your pipes freeze? (yeah,  insurance will (maybe) cover it, but you are still out the deductible.) End result, cheaper and less hassle to have the genny and a few gallons of gas. Personally I am thinking of buying one of these so that Midwest Chick can have some power until I get home and start the Lister diesel generator. I already stock both gas and diesel in fairly large quantity.


Which brings me to:

IF YOU KNOW that a significant storm is coming (and who in the US could fail to be aware of the fact, as the east coast based media trumpeted the fact for several days) FILL UP your gas tanks on your vehicle. Fill up your gas cans too. BEFORE the storm hits. Before the electricity that operates the gas pumps fails. Bother to prepare. Bother to think farther ahead than your next bowel movement.

For gods sake people, stop being sheep. Learn to take care of yourself (and your family), even if just for a few days. I'm not saying you should be prepared for the "Zombie Apocalypse" (but if you were, then you'd not have any issues with a mere power outage), but a little thought and preparation will take you a long way.If you have an all electric house, then you might want to plan for some other way to heat it, like a Kerosene heater or something, and maybe have some alternate method of cooking food, like a Coleman stove. 

Must be a "blue" thing. Seems like the less "blue" a state is, the more they are able to deal with things and the more they have preps to deal with issues like the above linked storm.

Have you checked your preps for the winter? Car stuff? Storm and blizzard preps? Power outage preps?

I have. I'm good for (no kidding) power outages of 40+ days, if I stretch it, more like 75.  I got food for longer than that. I don't expect you to have that kind of prep, but you SHOULD have some, say a week's worth or more. If you have them, then ya oughta check 'em.

If you haven't checked 'em, you should. Srsly

So what is the difference

Between those "occupy ______" folks who want to take your hard earned earnings, those goods which you purchased with your hours of hard work (and the position in your related field of endeavor which you worked hard to earn, be via hard work post school or just plain hard work and perhaps ability, or a combination thereof) and the folks who would redistribute your wealth into their pockets via the threat of force...say a mugger or a house theif or a carjacker or whatever?

Both would take your hard earned...(and by hard earned, I mean earned with hours of your life)..possessions for their own, without giving any value in return. They both want, essentially, something for nothing. And they would take your possessions (and therefore steal hours of your life) with no remorse, only because you have it and they don't, and they think that It Isn't Fair! that you have so much and they have less......

Come to think of it, it is only a matter of degree between them and our current president and his crop of sycophantic followers (and fellow liberal socialists democrats, but I am being redundant) and the "Occupy xxxyxxxxyy" folks.

Except, of course, that the folks in power want to give your money away to others of their choosing....(with an appropriate cut) in order to Do Good. (or their definition of Good).

Anywhere there was real civilization, they'd be incarcerated (and branded) as thieves, and treated accordingly.

Happy

Halloween
All Hallows Eve
Samhain
All Saints Eve
Last harvest/Blood harvest
Ancestor night
Feast of the Dead



Ah, WTF....eat yer candy this evening after having yer parents check it *.


Or whatever.





*( The poisoned or boobytrapped candy is actually only Urban Legend. There have never been verified reports of actual poisoned candy handed out on this holiday) But You Can't Be Too Careful.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

On the way to the

gunshow in Nappanee:

Text from people in car 15 miles ahead:

"slow down coming into Walkerton
Speed Racer just got pulled over for speeding."

We did, and arrived just as he got his warning ticket..

The Town Policeman was decent, and acted as a "peace officer" rather than an asshole cop. All he wanted was to keep his citizens safe, not to generate revenue or to measure his dick against someone else's.

He was, apparently, impressed with the amount of firepower worn by the occupants of the scofflaw vehicle.

If you haven't been to the Nappannee gun show, you should try to make the one in the spring of 2012.

Besides, the restaurant nearby has Bacon by the pound...per person. I ate my $8.99 worth (it's a buffet). Watched Og eat his share too.

Almost bought an Argentine contract 1911 from 1932, but the seller and I were unable to find a consensus on value. Was tempted by several Garands, but found no joy.

Spent the rest of the day with Brigid and friends. Food, (and more food) (did I mention food?) adult beverages, and great conversation. You should be so lucky. Sometimes you just gotta stop and smell the bacon roses.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Dangerous

This idea is dangerous. Seriously dangerous...

While I, (and no doubt every other person who will read this today) would like to be able to carry any time, anywhere, in any state, THIS is very dangerous. Are we willing to support this even though it undermines the very Constitution which we revere and which we hold up as a sacred document? One whose second amendment we regularly quote in order to protect our rights to carry? Is the 10th any less important?

Once we begin chopping away at parts of that document which is what separates this country from all others, we erode the foundation of what makes this country great. Want to change the Constitution? No problem. Do it the right way. Hold a Constitutional Convention, get enough states to vote for it, and DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.

The 10th amendment is in the Constitution for a reason. And if we pre-empt this for concealed carry, what is to prevent us from preempting in for other, more nefarious reasons?

Look: this is, at best, an end run around the Constitution....Legislation which will end up being, in the near future, the thin end of the wedge..and one which is supported by a significant group...Gun owners. But what happens next? What other things will this enable the feds to force states to swallow? Yeah, Roe V Wade was a wedge too...and this will be another. One that opens up cracks which we really don't want to have opened up any farther. There are (currently) limits to the power of the federal Government. Put in place for a reason.

What if, soon, we decide that other licenses shall cross state lines? Doctors and layers and such, maybe no big deal...Cosmetologists and such, who cares, really....Prostitutes? (hey, I really don't care, but many folks would). After all, they are licensed in Nevada, so why can't she (or he?) ply their trade in Atlanta? (I mean, openly...maybe advertise and such).

Look, I think that California and Illinois and their ilk are way stupid, and folks who live there are dumb to do so because of their laws. I chose where I live based upon many things, and CCW was/is one of them. But if the people of the state choose to live where the laws are what they are, and don't elect folks to change their laws, then they like their state enough to live where the laws are the way that they like them. And the Feds don't get a say.

Otherwise, eventually, there will be no states, just one happy federal government run giant state. Federal folks making decisions for all of us, no local control.

And I really don't want to see how THAT would turn out.

While we may be headed that way already, I don't want to do anything to facilitate that day. Especially not when they are going to get us gun owners to aid and abet their precedent setting legislation.

Just say no. Say it loudly. Call your Reps and congressmen (and women) and tell 'em "NO".

He was....MEAN

Or something.

Jesus. I can't believe that we let the Mexican government decide how our Border Patrol folks act..

Or that the jusdge hasn't been ridden out of town on a rail, wearing a new suit of tar and feathers.

Or just plain had his ass kicked up around his ears.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

yeah, I wish

That I could get the government I control to buy a book that I had published...using YOUR money.

The fact that he is getting away with this makes me yearn for November of 2012.

I'd leave 'em

As smoking piles of rubble. No bases for us? No bases for you, either.

All of 'em. Nothing useful, nothing but scorched earth.

But then again, I get like that when people act like Maliki is acting.

Ungrateful bastards.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Update on the Helicopter ride

So in answer to the question of why the 'copter waited for 45 minutes or so last Sunday AM, here is the scoop.

So some kid got a 'copter ride early Sunday morning for broken legs. Maybe very badly broken legs, but broken legs nonetheless. Even with a broken back, they transported one of the victims to a local hospital by ambulance.

Again: I am not a doctor.Nor am I an EMT. (although, last Halloween I did go to a party as Dr Feelgood...)

But I fail to see how any of the injuries from a drunken car crash, especially broken legs and ankles, is a reason for a whirlybird ride.

But whether the helo ride was justified or not, there is no way that the 44 minute wait was a good idea.  

I always was under the impression that a 'copter ride was for circumstances where every second counts....like when you had a 4" pipe through your abdomen and were bleeding to death internally....and the 'copter brought you to the waiting surgical team...or when your melon was so badly injured that you needed a neurosurgeon as soon as possible so it didn't explode or something like that...Not mangled legs.

Or am I missing something here?

And what kind of friends sit outside the car while you lay trapped inside?

Monday, October 24, 2011

Missed opportunties

39 years.

Bummer.

The link is SFW, but the rest of the site is DEFINITELY not.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

"Occupy

Vulcan "

HEH

Question for the EMTs...

 Note: I am NOT an EMT, nor a Doctor, and I am NOT trying to pass judgement on the below referenced professionals....I would assume (and hope!) that they know more about emergency care and transport than I do.....But I do have some questions:

Sunday, 10/23/11
05:25AM: I wake up hearing an unusual disturbance across the street. Look out and there are lots of emergency vehicles in a (more or less) circle around a field. I have seen this before: Someone is going to get a helicopter ride to a hospital.

05:43 AM: Helicopter wakes me up as it lands across the street: this has happened before as the field is convenient for Lifeflight copters to get into and out of.

06:10 AM: ambulance arrives (presumably) with patient.

06:54 AM: Lifeflight helicopter takes off.

Question: Does the 44 minutes on the ground loading the patient not negate the "Golden Hour" when you have at least a 20 minute flight time (even by air and with priority routing) to a Level One Trauma Center?

I mean, on a Sunday morning, I could have driven 3/4 of the way to the nearest Level One Trauma Center in the time they spent loading the patient before taking off (without lights and sirens and just driving normally) . Add in the flight time, and I could have the patient at the same place in the same amount of time. Possibly less.

Seriously. And that is assuming that they went to a Level One center. A Level Three center is much closer and likely faster by ground ambulance.

Generally the time between ambulance arrival and helicopter departure is like 10 minutes MAX. Not so this time.

As the 'copters engines were shut down, I could hear the laughing and joking going on by the assorted crews. No real sense of urgency.

Now, while I really don't want to criticize the emergency responders (and I must point out that I do not know the nature of the injury) I do have a few questions:

If the injury is serious enough to require a whirlybird ride to a trauma center, why no rush to get the patient there? Why spend all the time on the ground?  I was serious about being able to drive most of the distance in the time that they sat, with the patient, on the ground. I don't know what the cost is for a helicopter ride, but it has to be HUGE. (I also need to point out that I don't know the details of the incident, but it looks strange from here)

If there was no rush, then why the 'copter? If the 'copter was needed, then why the delay?

Enquiring minds want to know, and all that.....

Interestingly, Ambulance Driver has a comment on this subject as well

A bad day

at the range beats a good day at work...Hands down.

( we didn't want to limit our options)

Spent a portion of the afternoon at the range. Tried out some different combinations of powder and bullet for the .380 loads for Midwest Chick's Sig P238 (and, incidentally the TCP) and figured out that 3.15 grains of 231 with a 100 grain jacketed round nose closely duplicates the factory load from Winchester (white box bulk).

It would seem that I (and Para) have fixed the issues with the stainless LDA Carry. It shot BEAUTIFULLY, with no issues. Yet. We shall see.

My full size 1911 ran, as usual, flawlewssly.

All in all, I changed 350 rounds of reloads in .45 ACP to smoke, noise, and brass.

It Was Good.

I also re-shot the Traction Control postal match targets with the Ruger MK III...this time without the excess caffeine.  While the timing of my range trip made for a lot of sun in my eyes, I was able to shoot a slightly better score:

(Click to embiggenate)

 Yeah, 85. Not what it could have been, but then again, I have been lazy and have not been keeping my paper-punching skills as sharp as they could be.... Amazing what I can do when I am not overly-caffeinated and shaking like a chihuahua without a sweater on a -20F day.


 The weather was Perfect. 2 knot wind,  67 degrees....I sorta felt guilty 'cause I should have been doing more productive things in preparation for winter, but the range was calling and I REALLY needed some recoil therapy.

Sometimes ya gotta just say "fuckit".

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Fuckin' A.

Ya know, I get excoriated when I suggest that it is time, perhaps, to consider the idea of voting from the rooftops....

But if you read this, and don't think so, then perhaps it is too late for you.

If you don't understand why I feel this way, then either you are a sheep (and therefore part of the problem), or you have the intelligence of a rutabaga.

While the government is slowly bringing up the heat, we are sitting in the water basking in the nice temperature....

And I really don't know what to do besides taking real action. Going rogue.

WTF else do we do to stop this?

I'm open to suggestions. The aforementioned option is Not Good. There has to be something better.

Else someday, the history books will show the steady progression of the demise of the United States as we know it, just as the now show us the demise of Germany beginning in the thirties.

I hope that I am not around to remember when this nation was something to be proud of, rather than what it is turning into: The Socialist Peoples Republic of the United States of Amerikka.

More here.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

I was right

It was the quiet before the storm.

Today sucked.

Karma balances, always.

On average though, the last two days balanced out to normal, so I guess it isn't too bad.

Likely there are millions of people in this world who would take my place in a heartbeat and who would love to have my issues...

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Oh the Irony

This story kinda pegs the Irony-Meter, doesn't it?

Seems that the folks at Occupy Wall Street DON'T LIKE HAVING THEIR WEALTH REDISTRIBUTED....

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Sucks to be them.
Having someone take something that isn't theirs???? that they haven't earned?
Jesus, that must piss them off.

"it's quiet....too quiet"

Today was one of those rare ones.

Everything (for me) went right.....

I fixed a piece of equipment: The part, which arrived today, was the right one, first time. The engineer who designed the machine actually had a clue as to what it takes to service equipment, and designed the part and how it fitted with others well. No cut fingers, no cursing, (except for "damn, that was easy").

People have been (today at least) unfailingly polite. Held doors for me, did not cause me grief while driving (no cutt offs, no sudden stops, weaving, etc.). No one tried to kill me while we were  driving on the same roads.

I got compliments which I really did not deserve on the conduct of my employees...(they are good, but not great enough to deserve the effusive praise heaped upn them by two separate customers...I guess that we just excell compared to others?).

All in all, today was much better than the previous ones. Strange, but weird.



I am waiting for the axe to fall.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

DUH

Apparently, even the children in the Obama Administration are learning about reality, and economics.

Read.  Follow the links.


Interesting. If this will fail, then the premise for ObamaCare cannot be far behind, can it?

It is sad that he lost his job

But, the way I see it, "Don't want none? Don't bring none".

Watch the video. He retreats. They follow. He defends. Excessive force? Perhaps. But they attacked him and pursued EVEN WHEN HE RETREATS. His actions are, IMO, defensive. Self defense. He is guilty of no charges in this incident.

Bet they (the women who slapped, then pursued him) think twice now before jumping the counter ever again. As do all the folks in the restaurant. A lesson hard learned. But those are the ones that stick the best.

Why does this sort of shit always happen in the "hood?

Found HERE

"cause we gotta

keep all the voting blocks minorities happy!"

Even if it means that we have to make up a reason for a museum or something......

Gotta equal things out...can't have all the parks and monuments be for the evil white man

Saturday, October 15, 2011

It occurred to me today

When driving past our own "occupy ____________" demonstration, and reading the signage that was displayed by the not so terribly bright looking attendees, that I could have likely reduced the average unemployment and increased the average IQ of the town by several points if I had only had a noose made of monomolecular wire and a means to tighten it...


I'm just sayin'

These people are their own worst enema enemy.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Well whaddya expect?

They gotta feed all those guns that the ATF helped smuggled over the border.

I mean, it is the USA today, with a known bias, but still....

all those stimulus jobs

each one created at a huge cost...often hundreds of thousands of dollars for each one created..

Yet the Justice Department is doing its best to remove jobs from Tennessee.

"Never ascribe to malice what can be blamed on incompetence." Or something.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Just in case

you still have doubts as to the veracity of the glowball warmening movement's scientists liars propaganda ministers spokespeople, you should go over to Real Science and see what the truth is.

Unless you are one of those folks who really wants to believe in glowball warmening. As a religion, rather than a science....

You know, like those Pastafarians....It's not for me to judge. One religion is as good as another, logically....and when you have no science, but only faith to back your belief, then you can't denigrate those who believe otherwise.

Monday, October 10, 2011

It is said

that were Satan to take over heaven, he'd have no choice but to take on God's characteristics.

Conversely, if God were to ever take over Hell, he'd make a damned good Devil himself.

So it is with the folks who govern our nation today.
A generation ago, THEY were the protesters, Staging Sit-Ins and occupying buildings and protesting the Way Things Are....and agitating for Change.

They too had all the answers.


These are the same people today who work in our government, at least some of them....who make the rules which shape our nation and our society and our existence.....those same things that this current generation of protesters are protesting against. What made them not effect the "changes" which they wanted 15 or 20 or 25 or even 30 years ago?? Experience? Knowledge? Laziness? Why did those college educated, highly intelligent leaders choose not to do what they wanted to happen 20 or 30 years ago when they were protesting in the manner of their children today? The issues of the protests 30 years ago are still in existence today, mostly.

I wonder what the current crop of "Occupiers" will do (and think) 30 years from now, when their actions and the society which they have made will be the subject of protests and complaints and "occupation"?

High in the low 70's....

Went out and shot in the morning. It was a PERFECT day for shooting. a mild (very) intermittent breeze , but mostly calm. I'd have rather spent the day at a longer range (say 200 yards or even farther) shooting a big bore rifle, but instead spent my limited time shooting for the E-Postal match hosted at Traction Control this month.

Excuses: I had Way too much coffee. I knew better than to have more than one cup before going to the range, but we lingered over breakfast (cornmeal waffles folded around scrambled eggs with ham) and generally took our time leaving for the range. So I ended up drinking 3 cups, which did little for the steadiness of my hands. Also the sun was in my eyes.....or something. But seriously, the coffee did not help. If I am ever gonna have a duel, best to do it without coffee, or I am likely to miss my opponent entirely....

Arriving at the range, (total trip time 4 minutes, takes longer to back down the driveway than to drive to the range from our home) there was NO ONE else there. Not a soul except for the denizens of the forest...Birds, squirrels, chipmunks and a somewhat somnolent raccoon who watched us from the shadow under the bowling pin range. (he didn't bother us, so I left him alone too....Live and let live and all that).

First order of business: I had to measure off 25 feet in order to make a paint line in the grass at the specified distance. Luckily I had some upside down marking paint in the veehikle left over from a previous job....

We opened up the supplies barn and got two target backers, loaded them onto the target holders, and stapled two targets for practice.....It had been a few weeks since I had been on the range with the .22 pistols. And not for a long time had I used them at 25 feet. Generally I either shoot them indoors at 50 feet or outdoors at 25 yards....So felt that I needed at least magazine or two from each firearm. for a bit of familiarization...

(Pic from the 25 yd firing line bench)

First off: the Buckmark. I like this firearm, and sometimes use it for Bullseye matches. It is my backup to my Ruger/Tac-sol setup which is my favorite....Anyway, my groups looked more like shotgun patterns than targets, so I passed that firearm off to Midwest Chick, and tried the 1911. Same thing. My hand (and the end of the barrel) was wavering around like a young boy trying to piss his name into a snowbank..... Neither grouping was even worth scoring...

Ok, I took a bit of time, and gathered myself. Walked around a bit. Flexed my fingers and loosened my shoulders. Took a few breaths. Loaded the Ruger. Took a few more breaths....

Walked up to the firing line and sighted through the Milllet Red Dot (BTW, with no magnification, what class does this go into? Scoped or open sights?) and watched the 1 MOA dot wander around all over the target. Lowered the pistol and tried again to gather myself.

Took aim again and shot 5 shots, re-acquired the other target, squeezed off 5 more, changed mags, dropped the bolt, aimed at the lower left target, squeezed off 5 more shots, aimed at the lower right one and repeated the process. Then I moved to the other target paper and did it again.

Waited for Midwest Chick to finish, cleared the line, checked open slides/mags out etc., took the pistols back to the bench, and went to see how badly I had done. (all scores are upper left, upper right, lower left and lower right)

17, 19, 16, and 19 for a ....(carry the three) 71!

and the other target: 17, 16, 19 and 19....71!

Ok, I CAN do better. I will.

Next targets : Same dance. Took more time, used two hands.

lessee here: 22, 16, 16, and 17 ...71! (WTF?)
and : 20, 18, 16, 18....72!

Hmm. I may NOT be able to do better than this. Not today.

OK: One more time:

Took my time, tried to control the shake (but it just wasn't happening...who was the asshole who ordered the extra two cups of Hi-Test? And who was the fool who drank it? Feed him to the lions....or something!)

OK: We have a 17, a 13 (WTF?) a 23 and a 21. for a grand total of.....74!

I took a few pictures, shot a few through the TCP, and packed up and went home.



Maybe next week I'll be smarter and NOT drink myself into the shakes drink more than one cup of java in the morning before heading to the range.




71, 71, 72 and a 74.Average 72. Not good. Not terribly bad, but not as good as I can do. I'm not gonna claim this as a score, but just as practice. Maybe next week, if the weather holds, or maybe some afternoon this week I can get out there when not over-caffeinated and shoot a decent score.

But bad morning at the range beats a good day at work hands down, doncha-know And I at least gave you confidence you won't be lowest score..

You should follow the link to the E-postal match page and print out some targets and try it yourself. It is fun, costs nearly nothing (except for time and ammo) and see how you do....

I'll be back soon and show how I can do in a non-over-caffeinated state. 

Sunday, October 9, 2011

So even if there is no reason

And you have no ties to anyone who might be a threat....no religious or other affiliations to any groups who might be a threat....If you are a LONE WOLF,  They might just have a reason to suspect you.


They can still watch you.

Note this passage: "Indeed, while Mueller claimed the FBI had never once used the “lone wolf” provision, but that US citizens with no actually ties to terror groups pose a “serious national security threat” and would need to be targeted more. Olsen concurred with this sentiment, adding that such people are “probably the greatest challenge that we face.” The two also agreed that Congress needs to give them even more broad surveillance powers, citing the popularity of Android-based smartphones."

Perhaps I should get an IPhone then? 

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Hertz has Gutz

Seems that they fire people who break their rules...Even when religion is involved.

Muslim or no, they make 'em follow their rules. Do your praying on your time, not the companies' time.

Or hit the road.

No special treatment for any religion. Good. Everyone must follow the same rules.

Next time I rent a car, it'll be a Hertz car.

No Fair!

Seems that the Justice Dept. is pissed that the truth is coming out about Holder. And his lies.

GOP is not playing fair by showing all those memos about Fast and Furious and Gunwalker.....That show that Holder should have a nose like Pinocchio.

Truth is a terrible thing if you are a politcian...Especially if you are a dishonest one. Even worse when you work for aforementioned dishonest politician....You'll get tossed under the bus at the first inkling of scandal.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Why Red States have no use for FEMA

If, that is, they even bother to show up when they might be needed, and the tragedy isn't too small for them to be bothered with.

Here is why. Notice that FEMA showed up late, and generally only got in the way.

Maybe it is only Blue states who need to have their folks treated like cattle, and where the victims are more like sheep than men and women....

My area has had its share of small tragedies. Yet the community deals just fine without outside help....And especially without outside interference supervision and management by 'professionals". (I live in a fairly conservative area, even though the state went for Obama last election). People helped in the aftermath of the last storm. People helped people they didn't even know. The biggest stumbling block was communicating who needed help and where it was needed. Once people knew what/who/where, it just happened. (and, actually, most folks were helping themselves, so the actual amount of help needed was, per capita, small).

FEMA is no doubt needed for earthquakes and hurricanes and such. Maybe. It always seems that they arrive late, and reduce what efforts are existing to chaos.

In Flyover Country the Midwest, it seems that the people deal with their issues better than other Blue places.

Via Borepatch

lying and the lying liars who are more equal than other liars

Scooter Libby got 30 months in prison, a fine of $250K and was forced to resign from all of his jobs.....And disbarred. All for lying to federal investigators (Wikipedia link) in the Valerie Plame case

Roger Clemens got indicted and is currently facing trial for lying to congress regarding Steroid and other performance enhancing substances.

Neither persons actions caused the death of another US citizen or other person. Not even one between them.

Eric Holder has been caught lying about his involvement with Fast and Furious and Gunwalker.

     "House oversight committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley       sentHolder a letter in May 2011 asking for details about Project Gunrunner, the ATF operation that sent thousands guns to Mexican drug cartels. Tax money may have been used to purchase the guns Grassley and Issa, "have urged Holder to cooperate and turn over subpoenaed records that would reveal the scope of the government coverup." In October 2011, documents were released that indicated Holder was sent memos in regards to Project Gunrunner in 2010, contradicting Holder's sworn testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in which he said he was unaware of Gunrunner until April 2011. In response, Lamar Smith, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to President Obama, requesting the appointment of an independent special counsel to investigate whether Holder committed perjury by lying to the committee while under oath"

Liar liar.... Pants on fire .

Seems they caught him with his pants down....

Do ya figure he'll be indicted? It'll be good for the Obama administration's re-election if he is...

If not, the we would have to wonder why he isn't. If it was good enough for the other two, then it should be good enough for a hand picked loyal syncophant Attorney General.

My bet is that Obama tosses him under the bus shortly.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Yeah, right

In case you haven't heard the list of demands from the folks doing the sit in protest at Wall Street, You should go and read them. Come back when you are done laughing.

Back? Ok

Here's the thing. In the real world, they would not survive a second. Living wage? that's been tried. The fact is that your wage is dependant upon, among other things, demand for your particular skillset and the ease with which you can be replaced. You get paid less if you can be replaced by anyone and trained in an hour or two....and if your skillset is not in demand (Transcendental Studies or Women's Studies or Philosophy or the like) then you don't earn much. Doctors? They get paid a bit more
cause they are harder to replace....

Free health care? Sure, when you pay for it. Until then, kiss my ass. I'll take the (presently imperfect) system we have now, thanks. Besides, monopolies have always made things better for the consumer....right?

Demand three: Something for nothing....to many people have a free ride now. Want things? earn 'em.



Demand five?  Pipe dreams. If you want to make it work, then get busy and find a real alternative to fossil fuels. Of course then you'll have to work hard at school and college to actually learn things so you'll be able to do some research....

Demand #6? We'd be able to spend money on infrastructure if we weren't paying for all those freeloaders already.

#7: yeah, we all need to return to Mother Gaia....and to keep the Earth pristine....or something. Again, we gotta pay for it. Easy to spend money that belongs to other people isn't it? Not like any of the protesters are taking time off a a job or anything....Oh, and BTW, Nuclear power IS alternative energy..So are those Dams you hate so much. powered by falling water. water lifted by the action of sind (which is caused by the sun) and the heat from the sun.....So Hydropower IS really Solar Power...But then again, Coal and oil is just ancient solar power stored underground if you look at it right...So where is your beef again?

Whine demand number 8. Define what you want. Likely, even if you get it, you won't like it. I'd bet that the men supported this 'cause they thought it might give them a chance with the hot man-hating lesbian couples in the protest group. Fools.

#9....yeah, that'll work. See also the issues we have with illegal immigrants right now. I actually don't mind the idea as long as we can imprison those who break our laws....and check the entrants for health and such...and as long as they get no benefits that they do not (there is that word again) pay for.

#10 I can sorta agree with. Maybe everyone who votes can end up with a semi permanently purple finger like they did is Iraq or Afghanistan or whatever....

#11: Sure, then after you do that, who'll ever lend money again? Who'll ever be able to borrow? Nice idea, if yer stoned.

#13. Sucks to have bad credit, doesn't it? Next time, pay your bills. Besides, if you have #10, you really don't care about # 11 when you can't get a loan anyway....

#13. Yeah, sounds good, doesn't it. Until your "nay" vote gets your arm broken after work....

Look folks, I was once this idealistic...Then I grew up and learned to drive and such.....These kids are indeed idealistic, but not very realistic. They have (obviously) no experience and it is obvious that they would not like the world that they are asking for. They would not survive the end result. What they want is Communism, pure and simple. But people are not as decent as they think.Some are smarter, some are not. Some are lazier, some are more industrious. They want everyone to be equal. Which is a nice dream, actually except for the people in the dream, who are about as imperfect as we can get.  The issue is that the system we have now (sorta) rewards the harder workers and the more gifted, and lets the rest find their own level. Their system (and, I believe the similar one espoused by the liberals democrats socialists (but I repeat myself) in our government) removes all incentive to work. History is rife with the detritus of the failed systems that used similar philosophy.

Jay has some good thoughts on these folks...So does Og. (we'll go into business there, my friend) but I like the suggestion of ASM826 best. 

I'd bet big bucks that they'd not last a year. Especially not once daddy stopped their trust funds...

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Rumor

It is said that Steve Jobs, of Apple fame, has dies at age 56.


RIP man. You made significant changes in the world. For the good. And that is, IMHO, one of the best the best epitaphs a man can have.

ISad

Dija ever notice

That this is always happening in "blue" cities?

Make no mistake, the ever escalating expenses of running a city (with government unionized employees) is making it hard for all municipalities. "red" places are having issues as well.

But all of the top 9 financially strapped municipalities are not hotbeds of conservatism...

Coincidence?

You decide.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

About fucking time

That this happens.

If this were you or me, we'd be in jail for "lying to congress".  Among other things.

I wonder

Who is printing up these stickers....


And where I could buy a few hundred?

Monday, October 3, 2011

Range report: Taurus TCP

So I bought a Taurus TCP to replace the Kel-Tec that I broke....Last week at the gun show, I tried out a bunch of small, polymer handguns.....I tried the S+W Bodyguard, but I really didn't want the laser. I tried out the Diamondback (not polymer) and it was too heavy... I wasn't gonna get another Kel-Tec, and there were no other small .380 pistols that I saw.... Except the TCP.- Slightly larger than the P-3AT, it had nearly all the features that I wanted. Small, light, decent (for a compact pistol) sights...Concealable enough for a jeans pocket or a lapel pocket in a suit. Thin enough to conceal easily. .380 (which is marginal, but hopefully enough should I need it) rather than .32 or .22.  Pretty much what I was looking for..

So I bargained with one of the sellers and purchased a TCP.  (The bargaining also included another pistol which may be in a later post, but I digress)....

Disassembly for cleaning is similar to any other small pistol of the type. Pull a pin, slide the side off of the frame, lift out the recoil spring from the slide, and lift out the barrel.

Fit and finish on this pistol is good. The slide is tight enough, and the barrel to slide fit is fairly tight. No sharp edges or mold lines to deal with. The texture on the polymer is good, allowing a decent grip. The grip is slightly longer than the pistol it replaced, making for a better grip with only my pinky finger floating free. The slide has adequate texture to allow for easy action. The slide edges are well rounded and the sights are low profile enough to prevent snagging on a pocket.

Trigger is good. Long, but decent. (Say about 7 lbs). Not what I'd care for in a normal carry pistol, but for the type of carry I expect this to be used for, it's just about right. One thing that separated this pistol from the others in it's class is that that it is not a Double Action, but feels more like a LDA from Para. (but not really, either. It's just a light single action with a long trigger pull).

Range time was good. I liked the longer trigger guard. Previously, I had often banged the front of my trigger finger onto the trigger guard when shooting the Kel-Tec, but this pistol has a slightly longer trigger guard to prevent that from happening. At the range, it made a huge difference after 50 rounds or so.

Target shooting at 21 feet was good. With the long trigger, I tended to shoot low for the first few shots, but once I got over that, I found that I could shoot  decent groups. A bit more practice and I think that I can tighten things up a bit. Here's a target after a few magazines to get used to the point of aim.


The lower flyer in the 5 ring is my bad trigger squeeze. (and yes, I had the target upside down) I found that after 5 shots rapid fire, the pistol moves around enough in my hand that I end up using way too much trigger finger. Have to work on that......I finally got the groups down to less than 4 inches......

Reliability was good. no failures to feed, no failures of any kind, actually. Federal bulk FMJ in both flat nose and and round nose fed flawlessly as did Hornady Critical Defense. All in all, I shot 154 rounds of assorted ammo through this small pistol. And my hand didn't hurt at the end of it, unlike the pistol it replaced. Now all I have to do is shoot another 350 or so rounds, and if this pistol works as flawlessly as it has so far, I'll trust it enough to carry when I need a small concealment pistol.


Overall, this is a good pistol. Not a great one for long range sessions, not a wonderful target pistol, and not especially powerful. Yeah, I'd rather carry my 3 inch Para in .45 ACP when possible (or a full size!), but that isn't always easily accomplished in some social situations Nor is it worth the trouble to deal with the issues of others attitudes regarding firearms. The .380 in your pocket is, however, better than the .45 under the car seat or on your bench at home when you are in the bank or at the store....if you happen to need it. 

I'd recommend this pistol to anyone needing or wanting a small light polymer pocket pistol. 


(note to the FTC: I paid my own hard earned samolians for this device. No one offered me any incentives to do this range report. All you folks in the Federal Trade Commission can go screw yourselves. Piss off...Go find someone else to hassle. Kiss my ass.)