Mattel's Tommy Burst

I was flipping through YouTube and found this bit of nostalgia. TV Party has an article and more old commercials. All I can think is that the PC crowd would shit if something like this showed up on TV today. These are a bit before my time but I would have loved this stuff growing up. It's effing neat.



And here's another. I didn't have one of these but my cousin did. Like I said effing neat and I still want one.

Getting Fired

That's magazine. And yes it's a slow blogging day but at least I didn't post the trunk monkey with a shotgun video.

Holy Gun Pr0n!

H/T Traction Control

Obama and the 2nd

Brian Doherty, over at Reason tell us "Why the 2nd Amendment is safe under President Obama—for now."

I don’t doubt that Obama and Holder have little respect for gun rights. Obama’s pandering during the campaign was almost certainly insincere. But what is politically important is not whether he meant it; it’s that he thought he had to do it in the first place. He even had to run ads in such potential swing states as Ohio and Pennsylvania aimed at countering NRA ads that tagged him as an enemy of gun owners.

That indicates what Obama—and his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel—has at the front of his mind: the Democratic Party’s institutional memory of its own personal gun-related tragedies of 1994 and 2000 (and maybe even 2004).

Interesting. Go read the whole piece.

Blagojevich goes under the bus

Illinois Governor Blagojevich is now out on his butt. The fact that he's one of Bloomberg's twits gives me a bit of satisfaction but ya know I get the feeling this has less to do with his corruption [I mean this IS Illinois/Chicago] and his clumsiness in application than the fact that said corruption and clumsiness embarrassed a certain Chicago alumni.

We beg to differ...

This ad, sponsored by the Cato Institute, will be appearing in the New York Times, Roll Call, the Washington Post, and other outlets. Obama has been claiming that there is no disagreement that we need to do something to cure the economy. Over 200 economists lent their names to this ad which begs to differ. Consensus huh? Sounds familiar.
H/T to Neal Boortz

Here's a security system for you...

WPXI.com

In Uniontown PA an 82 year old man's house was broken into for the second time. The assailants beat him up and took his money. As they fled he got his gun and shot at them. Apparently he missed. State Trooper Thomas Broadwater said

it may be time for Plummer to consider a security system.

Broadwater...he had a security system. I'm just sorry he didn't have it at hand when his assailants forced their way inside his home.

Arizona Daily Star

In Arizona this guy's "security system" certainly worked...well at least partially.

The employee shot one of the would-be-robbers, an 18-year-old, who ran outside into the parking lot where he collapsed and died. The other robber ran away, and police are still looking for him...

But gun control works...doesn't it?

The Berkshire Eagle

In 1998, Chapter 180 of the Acts of 1998, reputed to be the "worst gun laws in the nation", were passed. During the 10 years since passage, there has been an 84 percent drop in licensed gun ownership from 1,500,000 to around 240,000. During the same period, Wallace cited crime statistics which indicated that there was a 67 percent increase in firearm related homicides, 236 percent increase in assault related hospital discharges, 331 percent increase in firearm related Emergency Room visits and 590 percent increase in gun related outpatient observations.

I have an idea that James Wallace, Executive Director of the Gun Owners Action League, is wasting his time. Gun Control advocates got exactly what they intended in the People's Republic of Massachusetts: an 84% reduction in legal gun ownership. They won't be satisfied until the number is 100% and they're not about to let anyone reverse that "success story"?.

Just annoy him...

My son and I were listening to Rush and discussing President Obama. I'm a right leaning Libertarian but my son, at 12 years old, is a hard right conservative. Hell, he campaigned for McCain/Palin. Anyway my 7 year daughter butted in and told us "I have a plan. Annoy Obama enough and he'll resign." If it were only that easy.

Economic Stimulus

Boston.com has this graphic that shows the distribution of the "Economic Stimulus" passed yesterday.

H/T to Bob Parks

What goes around...

In April of 1968 I was seven years old. On April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis and all hell broke loose across the country. Curfews went into effect and school was cancelled. My father pulled out his single barrel 12 gauge, loaded it and left it on the piano in the living room so it was at hand. He left it there while he and Mom where away at work. My brother, 16 at the time, and I were left at home. My brother’s friend from down the road was visiting. We were sitting in the Den. My brother was showing his friend the shotgun and bragging of what he would do if trouble came around. Then I jumped about two foot straight up after he pulled the trigger. The hole in the rug, and floor beneath, was about two inches from his friend’s foot. No one was hurt, and amazingly no one shit their pants. There was a sure and certain knowledge that someone was in big trouble when the parents got home and saw the rug. Brother and friend filled the hole with plastic wood and spun the rug so the hole in it was hidden under the sofa. The shotgun was returned to the piano, and I was threatened with all sorts of dire outcomes if I told. I didn’t. I didn’t have to. He didn’t reload the shotgun. What goes around…

There ain't no loophole

From the Richmond-Times Dispatch comes this on the so called "gun show loophole".

The “loophole” in question refers to the fact that individuals selling guns from their own private collection do not have to — either within gun-show venues, or in the parking lot, or in their own homes.

Gun-control advocates often muddy the issue by referring to “unlicensed dealers” at gun shows, of which there are indeed many. They sell holsters, flashlights, hunting knives, T-shirts, books, gun safes — even jewelry. But an unlicensed dealer who sold guns as a business would invite felony charges under federal law.

Gun-control advocates also suggest, albeit with scant evidence, that gun shows supply a significant share of the weapons used in crime.

Federal data indicate otherwise. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics report, “Firearm Use by Offenders,” only about 1 percent of guns used in crimes come from gun shows. In fact, most crime guns — 57 percent — come from just 1 percent of licensed dealers.

Ending the "loophole" is all about forcing all sales through an FFL so they can be tracked and controlled. It has not a damn thing to do with "crime guns". Go read the whole thing.

Too easy...

This idiot wants the Assault Weapons Ban reinstated and is aiming to run for the U. S. Senate. This is almost too easy. Go here to find out how to let him know how you feel about it.

H/T David

A Solzhenitsyn Quote

Go read it here.

And what did you expect.

Eric Holder gets approval from the Judiciary Committee and Arlen Spector. Did anyone truly expect anything different from Arlen Spector? Arlen and RINO trash like him have turned their backs on friends and are bending over for the enemy. There may be a few conservative Republicans left but the party is quickly becoming an adjunct to the DEMs and we are well and truly fucked until those few conservatives assert control of the party or something better comes along.

UPDATE: And Elsewhere...
Over in the House 177 Republican, the whole kit and kaboodle, along with 11 Democrats voted against Obama's "Stimulus Bill". It didn't do much good but THEY did their job. Now if SOMEONE over in the Senate would grow a set and do the same maybe we could at least do some damage control until the midterms. That actually would be several SOMEONES.

A 40-Year Wish List

Congress is poised to pass a 825 billion dollar "stimulus package" to fix the economy. So go read this bit over at WSJ and tell me where the stimulus is? The editorial is titled "A 40-Year Wish List" and that about says it all.

• $2 billion for child-care subsidies
  
• $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
  
• $400 million for global-warming research [Why more research. I thought we already had a consensus?]
  
• $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects
  
• $650 million for digital TV conversion coupons [I've always thought of TV as a luxury. Go buy your own converter box or do without]
  
• $30 billion for fixing bridges or other highway projects.
  
• $40 billion for broadband and electric grid development, airports and clean water projects
  
• $1 billion for Amtrak [Just nationalize it already]
  
• $600 million for the federal government to buy new cars [Drive the ones you got for another year]
  
• $7 billion for modernizing federal buildings and facilities
  
• $81 billion for Medicaid
  
• $36 billion for expanded unemployment benefits
  
• $20 billion for food stamps
  
• $83 billion for the earned income credit for people who don't pay income tax
  
• $6 billion to subsidize university building projects
  
• $6 billion to expand broadband Internet access
  
• $16 billion to repair public housing
  
• $6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes
  
• $79 billion in state fiscal relief
  
• $4 billion for state and local law enforcement funding
  
• $20 billion for health information technology
  

I'm sure with 600+ pages of bill this is only a sampling of what's in it. The infrastructure projects will arguably stimulate the economy, but based on the sample pushing a social agenda and paying off political debts are sthe primary intent not stimulus.

SarahPac

I didn't vote for John McCain. He's a RINO of the worst sort. I voted for his running mate, Sarah Palin. If you feel the same go sign up at SarahPac.

Oh and Dick, Amen.

"Smack!"

Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

A Celebration, of sorts

If you're within striking distance of Raleigh North Carolina read this.

Join with hundreds of fellow patriots as we celebrate the
2nd Amendment of our Constitution and demand an end to the infringements of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

February 4, 2009
2:00 till 6:00pm.
Raleigh, North Carolina
W. Jones St, from Salisbury St to Wilmington St,
facing the State Legislature.

And if you plan to come read the simple requests below.

Rules of Engagement
In order to maintain compliance with applicable regulations, some "Rules of Engagement" will be in effect.

1 - Firearms: No firearms will be present, concealed or otherwise.
2 - Dress code: No paramilitary style clothing, no uniforms, no hunting gear. Dress normally. Remember that the media usually tries to portray pro-gun advocates as dangerous kooks. Dont give them anything to work with.
3 - Signage: Some signs will be made available, but you are welcome to bring your own. Keep them clean - you know what I mean. I have no intentions of having signs printed or manufactured. Hand made signs are more effective and personal. So the number of signs available will depend on how many I can personally make in the time available. I will have blank posters and markers/pens for anyone who wishes to make their sign on location. Verbage can be stern and blunt but not provocative. Again, remember the media will be looking for something to highlite on their reports that reinforce the bigotry against gun owners.
4 - Flags: American flags are always appropriate so bring them large and small. Gadsden flags are also appropriate. Do not bring any others. Do not bring any American flags that have been descecrated with symbols, words or imagery. American flags will be flown right-side-up.
5 - Press Spokesman We will have at least one designated press spokesman present. I ask that no one speak with media reporters but to refer them to the spokesman. Once again, dont give media the opportunity to use you and your words in a negative manner.

Ten Things They Can Do To Save The Planet

Over at Big Hollywood, Iowahawk is at it again with his Ten Things You Can Do To Save The Planet, A Go-Green Guide for the Hollywood Community.

I personally like #5, Don't Reproduce, but even if they do that favor to the World they're still wasting oxygen. Oh wait, #10, Commit Suicide, addresses that one.

And yes I'm still pissed Gran Torino wasn't nominated.

QotD II: Marx was right...NOT that one.

And since I'm posting quotes...

He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don't let that fool you. He really is an idiot.

Groucho Marx

I think this one oddly appropriate with our current political leadership. Case in point: Obama's energy policy. This will apparently subject us to California style emissions standards and investments in include money for investments in renewable energy, conservation and a better electric grid. God forbid we are dependent on foreign oil. What I missed was his support of more use of our domestic oil resources.

And by the way from I've been reading it looks like his "stimulus" package is just an excuse to push through funding for the DEM's pet social projects like Planned Parenthood. Ya know, after that media appearance the DEMs might want to lock Pelosi in a closet so she'll shut the hell up. Can anyone say EUGENICS. Actually I kinda like Tam's perspective on the whole thing.

Though broadly similar in its end result, this is obviously more humanitarian-sounding (and, incidentally, a lot more expensive) than my "Let The Poor Irresponsible F____ers Starve If They Don't Stop Making Babies" plan.

Go get it from the source. I damn near fell off my chair when I read it.

QotD

I seem to remember finding this quote on a dormitory door some years ago. I liked it then and like it now.

Profanity is the crutch of the ignorant, but every once in a while you've got to talk to one of those ignorant motherfuckers.

There was no attribution. If someone does know who said it, I'd be interested.

Heh, Heh!

I saw this photoshopped picture of Al Gore over at Pascal Fervor's site then remembered this cartoon by Lee Adam Herold and well this is the result. I think they work rather well together as a natural progression.

"Arguably Treasonous"

Go here to see Jon Stewart taking aim at the Right for their lack of support for the Obama Administration. I ain't posting it here. He calls Rush Limbaugh "arguably treasonous" for saying he hopes Obama fails. If that's the case then there are a shitload of liberal pundits, bloggers, and politicians who were "arguably treasonous" over the last eight years since they not only said they wanted Bush to fail but did everything in their power to see it happen. For my part there are a few things I hope Obama utterly fails at: gun control, "fixing" the economy, shifting the War on Terror from a military model to a law enforcement one, "fixing" up my family's medical care, and others I've not thought of yet, but will. Jon if that's "arguably treasonous", then OK, I'm "arguably treasonous". I can live with that label. At this moment this is still a free country and I can say what I damn well please short of "yelling fire in a crowded theater" or the functional equivalent. What a schmuck.

H/T to Big Hollywood

Gun Rights Examiner

The National Gun Rights Examiner column is written by David Codrea. Local Gun Rights Examiner columns are written by others including GRNC President Paul Valone. The columns deal present issues of interest to politically active gun owners and those who should be. If you haven't read them I've linked to them on my sidebar. Go take a look. It's important that we support these efforts in any way we can.

Heh, Heh, They Said...

H/T to Radley Balko who freely acknowledges his "12-year-old, locker room sense of humor." Me, I got no excuse.

Bullet Permits, Part Deux

Oh boy did I call this one.

From GRNC

Whitley Proposal "Unofficially" Heard By Durham Council

REV. WHITLEY ADDRESSES COUNCIL INFORMALLY AFTER MEETING

We advised you earlier that the Durham City Council had cancelled the committee hearing on the "bullet ownership bill" being bandied about by Acorn Community Organizer, Rev. Melvin Whitley. Well, being masters of subterfuge, Mayor Bill Bell and the council did the next best thing. They heard it anyway, but unofficially and after the formal meeting.

In the spirit of keeping it off the record, Mayor Bell said in the Durham Herald-Sun on Jan. 23, that he "at least wants to put a request to Durham's General Assembly delegation to 'let them figure out whether they can or can't support it.'" As was noted in Paul Valone's column on the examiner.com Bell is a member of "Mayors Against Illegal Guns."

Mayor Bill Bell is arrogant. The rest of the council isn't much better. But you know I think North Carolina has an open meetings law.

I found an explanation of North Carolina’s Open Meetings Law at the Citizen Media Law Project. The Open Meetings law

requires that the official meetings of public bodies be open to the public. The law defines an "official meeting" as a gathering of a majority of members of a public body "for purposes of conducting hearings, participating in deliberations, or voting upon or otherwise transacting the public business" of the public body.

The law defines a "public body" as

any elected or appointed authority, board, commission, committee, council, or other body of the State, or of one or more counties, cities, school administrative units, constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina, or other political subdivisions or public corporations in the State that (i) is composed of two or more members and (ii) exercises or is authorized to exercise a legislative, policy-making, quasi-judicial, administrative, or advisory function. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-318.10(b).

So let’s see. The City Council, including Mayor Bell, met in an informal meeting after the formal meeting to hear the Rev. Whitley’s proposal. Mayor Bell said he “at least wants to put a request to Durham's General Assembly delegation to 'let them figure out whether they can or can't support it.'" So decisions were made at this informal meeting to take an action. Can the City Council have an ”informal meeting” where they deliberate on whether to take an action? Might that be a violation of North Carolina State law Mayor Bell? Or maybe that’s a question that should be asked to the North Carolina Attorney General? Hell, I don't know. What I do know is that the Durham City Council, and Mayor Bill Bell has once again shown its disrespect for the political process and its citizens by giving us a clear "fuck you."

Gun control nonsense...

Stephanie Gutmann wrote this blog entry/editorial, posted in the UK Telegraph. It is a pretty good piece on Carolyn McCarthy and why the "Long Island Massacre", in which her husband was murdered, is not the best example of why we need gun control.

...but if a few other passengers had had concealed handguns, Ferguson wouldn't have been allowed to stroll calmly the length of the train car, selecting targets like some kind of connoisseur of killing.

Ferguson, the shooter, reloaded three times. When he stopped to reload for the fourth time he was wrestled to the floor by passengers. Had they the means, Ferguson would have never made through he first magazine. I know all about grief over the murder of a family member. I chose to blame those responsible rather than the object used. She's not that bright. On the other hand can you imagine a successful campaign for the banning or licensing of tire jacks?

H/T to Michael Bane

Credit Where Credit is Due

I was over at Hecate's Crossroad and saw that she had posted links to all all of the Gun Rights Examiner Columnists on her sidebar. I thought that was a excellent idea and did the ssme. I don't know how many others have done the same but I'm giving credit to she who gave me the idea. Thank You.

"I Pledge…"

...to avoid looking like a brainless twit, oops, too late!



And from Iowahawk, another funny.

My pledge is to do my best to avoid self indulgent assholes like this whenever possible, except the chick from Buffy. Sorry, gotta draw the line somewhere.

H/T to Xrlq

Meat.

Watch CBS Videos Online

To quote Mad Mike "FUCK, YEAH!"

BTW Mad Mike is the author of Freehold, The Weapon, Better to Beg Forgiveness, Scope of Justice, Targets of Opportunity, Confirmed Kill, and the forthcoming Contact With Chaos. He also co-authored The Hero with John Ringo. All are damn good books. Scope of Justice, Targets of Opportunity, Confirmed Kill are Avon Books. The rest are available from Baen Books. I like Mike's books alot. Most books I get from the library. His I buy.

New Gun Rights Examiner Columnist.

Grass Roots North Carolina President Paul Valone is now writing a column for the Charlotte Gun Rights Examiner. He's done great work protecting our gun rights with GRNC. Go take a look. You won't be disappointed.

Happy Birthday Mr. Browning

Of the few guns I've been able to accumulate, I'm very fond of my Browning Hi Power. I wouldn't have it but for John Moses Browning. For a list of what gun owners have to thank him for see the list over at Tam's place. Happy Birthday Mr. B.

McCarthy's pissed and that's a plus

Representative Kristen Gillibrand [D-NY] got the appointment to fill Hilliary's term in the Senate. She got a 100% rating from the NRA, but the GOA only gives her a C [Leans Our Way: occasionally]. After reading SayUncle's comments on the appointment I'm inclined to admit Gillibrand is better than I expected. Any one that gets that reaction from McCarthy has to have something going for her. And maybe McCarthy will run against her in 2010 and learn to her detriment that running at the district level is a long way from running statewide.

Target Rich Victim Disarmament Zones

I've heard college campuses called "victim disarmament zones" I like to refer to college campuses as "target rich environments". Anyone can run amok and who knows how many will die before the police can take the shooter down.

Here in North Carolina we have weapon on campus laws that essentially prohibit anyone but law enforcement and other state actors from having weapons on campus. We haven't had a Virginia Tech style massacre yet, but it’s coming. When that day comes the school administrators and politicians will look to blame everybody but those truly responsible; themselves. They've created within their hallowed halls a test site for gun control. No one can legally possess guns on a school campus but the authorities. CCH permit holder are prohibited from carrying on school campuses. Students and staff should be perfectly safe.
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In North Carolina we have the excuse that it's "the law", but in Virginia the only thing that prevents students and staff from protecting themselves with a firearm are policies. The State of Virginia doesn't prevent adults from carrying on campus but University policies prevent anyone from carrying a firearm on campus for self-defense. Attempts to force a change in these policies through the legislature were opposed by the school administrators and failed. So how's that working out for you?"

The answer?

Va. Tech stabbing suspect charged with murder.

A female student was stabbed to death by a male student. He decapitated her. Police were on the scene within a minute. Seven other students witnessed the incident. Police were on the scene within a minute and still couldn't do jack except clean up the mess and assign blame. That is not a negative reflection on the police. They did their best. They did their job. It is a negative reflection on the University. There were seven people present who might have intervened to save her life IF they had the means. She might have saved her own life IF she had the means. And they didn't have the means because you bastards wouldn't let them. I can look at myself in the mirror. Can you?

UPDATE: It took the campus cops four minutes to arrive. Four minutes on a college campus?

Action Obama!

Funny and a clear indication that someone has way too much time on their hands.

H/T to SayUncle who got it from Mad Man

A Question?

Apparently, I got flagged for objectionable content. I can't imagine why. As I understand this anyone can flag anyone without providing a reason and no feedback is given to the flagged blogger unless the person who flagged them chooses to post a comment. I know I use colorful or profane language that might offend and one man's political speech is another man's hate speech. I guess my question to other gun bloggers out there is whether this is common on blogspot and should I be concerned?

Academy Award Nominations

The gits snubbed Gran Torino. Not one nomination in any category. Must have been too much for those sensitive souls.

Pinch me please

I fell asleep on the sofa with the television running and woke up to a early morning [0158 hours] rerun of Oprah and some Obama love gushfest "he's going to take us to a place we've never been before..." "magic of leadership" Obamaworship. Maybe I'm still asleep and it's some surreal nightmare. Pinch me please. They're not thinking. They are freaking emoting. Keep building him up people! It's kinda like the housing/mortgage bubble. It's gonna burst and boy is it going to be ugly when it does. Turning the twits off now and going to bed.

Man shot during West Side home invasion

Chicago Sun Times

A man was shot by a resident of a home he was allegedly invading on the West Side late Sunday.
About 10 p.m., a man in his 20s was allegedly committing a home invasion and a resident inside the home at 4453 W. Cortez St. shot him, according to a Harrison District police lieutenant.
Charges were pending Monday morning against the man shot, who was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in an unidentified condition.
Police have not ruled out the possibility that the shooter would face charges also.

In Chicago a homeowner shot a man who was “allegedly” trying to break into his home. The home breaker survived and taken to local hospital. Charges were pending so that pretty much deals with the “allegedly” part of this. What is interesting to me is this bit, “Police have not ruled out the possibility that the shooter would face charges also.” I guess he should have been a good little lamb, let the scumbag do what he wanted, and let the police clean up the mess.

...to tears

H/T to Tam who got it from SayUncle who got it from here.

It's Snowing...

...in Durham North Carolina. A Yankee would probably laugh at the amount of snow we have but it all goes to hell in a handbasket as soon as the locals hit the road.

New Law Could Keep Books Out Reach For Children

You have to wonder if the elected officials even consider the unintended consequences of their actions when they pass laws like this. There were fears this law requiring lead testing would put used children's clothing dealers out of business. Now it looks like it might force public libraries to ban children from the stacks because some older books have lead in the ink. No public library is going to be able to afford to test its books with the cost of testing a book between $300 and $600, and I'm not even addressing the issue of retail book stores. How hard is it to THINK a bit before you pass legislation?

Choose Wisely

Most People in the U. S. don't realize how important getting the right President is. Sure, the President gets blamed for a lot of things that he or she can't control. The Prez does not control the stock market or the Federal Reserve. But the reality is that the Founding Fathers, having no real previous experience of democracy or a republic and having lived under a monarchy thier whole fucking lives, created a temporary king to run a country. They were at heart monarchists. They just didn't like the current one and didn't want to make it hereditary.
So every few years we elect a king. Since people like consistency, we tend to elect the same king as many times as we can get away with. And the king, especially in any sort of emergency, has a lot of power. They don't alawys, or even most of the time, have enough to fix things right away. But they've got a lot of power.
Including the power to totally screw things up...
...When you choose a king, forget most of the reasons you think you should vote for the king. Mostly, the king can't do much about the economy but ruin it. They can't make you richer or smarter (although they can manage the reverse). If you want one suggestion, think about all the contingencies under which that king may hold your lives in his or her hands. And choose wisely...
John Ringo, The Last Centurion, Baen Books, 2008, p.38-9.

Well today Barak Obama gets sworn in, and for the next four years, for better or worse, he IS the President. Now we get to see if those who voted for him chose wisely...

I tried being reasonable...

That's about how I feel right now except in addition to being pissed off I'm tired. No blogging tonight. Going to bed. G'night.

Where else but from LOLCats?

Repeal the 22 Amendment?

I heard this and thought it had to a joke. It's not. Filed by José Serrano [D - NY].

Text of H. J. Res. 5: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second...

Do ya think the Dems may be getting just a little bit ahead of themselves?

Gran Torino [2008]

An M1 Garand, a Colt .45ACP, some trash guns, Clint Eastwood and wow.

Appaloosa [2008]

I watched Appaloosa this afternoon. It's based on a Robert B. Parker novel I haven't read. Ed Harris directed and starred in it. It had lots of neat guns [8 gauge double-barreled shotgun. Boom! ow! shit!] that actually fit the time period portrayed so they did their research. But it was all in all a standard western. It wasn't a bad movie it just rubbed me the wrong way. the plot is a standard plot. A town is being harassed by an evil rancher. The Rancher, Jeremy Irons, murders the sheriff and his deputies when they try to arrest a couple of his men who murdered a man and his wife. The town hires Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen to replace the sheriff. At the request of Harris the town council bans guns inside the town. Harris' first act as sheriff is to challenge three thugs in the saloon. when they refuse to surrender their guns he and his deputy shoot them down. So I get to choose between the thug rancher or the thug lawmen to root for and can't really give a damn for either. Renée Zellweger plays the love interest [I'll watch her in almost anything] and the dynamic between her, Harris, and Mortensen is interesting but not enough to overcome the rest of the movie. Oh well maybe someday Tom Selleck will make another western.

Dear Mr. Obama

On the way home last night I heard some talk radio guy doing what he was paid to do...talk. I don't know his name. He's one for a couple of hours on Saturday night and I don't generally listen at that time. He was asking the audience what they would say to Barak Obama if they were invited to the Inauguration Ball and got 15 seconds with Obama. What would you say? His thought was "be vigilant". It got me to thinking and the best I could come up with was "don't fuck it up". We have a working republic that has lasted for over two hundred years. That in itself is amazing. Our constitution has survived despite the best efforts of power hungry politicians to mess it up. So Mister President Elect, please see if you can manage to not undo what our forefathers built for us.

Politics as usual.

Neal Boortz gives us this bit on President Elect Obama keeping his campaign promises. THIS is going to rebuild out ecomony? THIS is change? No. This is politics as usual in Washington DC. This is paying off those people whose votes you bought. The fact that you're paying them off after the fact is simply coincidence.

$3.836 billion for rural water and waste grant and loan programs

$6.2 billion to help low-income families reduce their energy costs by weatherizing their homes and make our country more energy efficient

$400 million to help state and local governments purchase efficient alternative fuel vehicles to reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions

$6 billion for broadband and wireless services in underserved areas

$650 million to continue the coupon program to enable American households to convert from analog television transmission to digital transmission

$400 million to replace the 30 year old Social Security Administration's National Computer Center to meet growing needs for processing retirement and disability claims and records storage

$3.1 billion for infrastructure projects on federal lands including improvements to visitor facilities, road and trail restoration, preservation of buildings of cultural and historic importance, rehabilitation of abandoned mines and oil fields, and environmental cleanup projects

$400 million for ready-to-go habitat restoration projects

$850 million for hazardous fuels removal and other efforts to prevent wildfires on public lands

$1 billion for 21st century classrooms, including computer and science labs and teacher technology training

$66 million for formula grants to states to provide services to homeless children including meals and transportation when high unemployment and home foreclosures have created an influx of homeless kids

$2 billion to provide child care services for an additional 300,000 children in low-income families while their parents go to work

$30.3 billion to extend health insurance coverage to the unemployed, extending the period of COBRA coverage for older and tenured workers beyond the 18 months provided under current law

$500 million to rehabilitate and improve energy efficiency at some of the over 42,000 housing units maintained by Native American housing programs

$1 billion to help low-income families pay for home heating and cooling at a time of rising energy costs

Attention Hu-Mans

There's this really funny piece over at Iowahawk. What are you still doing here. Go! Go! Read! Read!

To the Guy Who Mugged Me...

Ok I've seen this in a couple of places now but I just can't resist posting it myself. This was a Craigslist posting out of Georgia. It has since been flagged and removed. What a shame.

To the Guy Who Mugged Me Downtown (Downtown, Savannah)
Date: 2009-01-06, 3:43AM EST

I was the white guy with the black Burberry jacket that you demanded I hand over shortly after you pulled the knife on me and my girlfriend. You also asked for my girlfriend's purse and earrings. I hope you somehow come across this message. I'd like to apologize.

I didn't expect you to crap your pants when I drew my pistol after you took my jacket. Truth is, I was wearing the jacket for a reason that evening, and it wasn't that cold outside. You see, my girlfriend had just bought me that Kimber 1911 .45 ACP pistol for Christmas, and we had just picked up a shoulder holster for it that evening. Beautiful pistol, eh? It's a very intimidating weapon when pointed at your head, isn't it?

I know it probably wasn't a great deal of fun walking back to wherever you'd come from with that brown sludge flopping about in your pants. I'm sure it was even worse since you also ended up leaving your shoes, cellphone, and wallet with me. I couldn't have you calling up any of your buddies to come help you try to mug us again.

I took the liberty of calling your mother, or "Momma" as you had her listed in your cell, and explaining to her your situation. I also bought myself some gas on your card. I gave your shoes to one of the homeless guys over by Vinnie Van Go Go's, along with all of the cash in your wallet, then I threw the wallet itself in a dumpster.

I called a bunch of phone sex numbers from your cell. They'll be on your bill in case you'd like to know which ones. Alltel recently shut down the line, and I've only had the phone for a little over a day now, so I don't know what's going on with that. I hope they haven't permanently cut off your service. I was about to make some threatening phone calls to the DA's office with it. Oh well.

So, about your pants. I know that I was a little rough on you when you did this whole attempted mugging thing, so I'd like to make it up to you. I'm sure you've already washed your pants, so I'd like to help you out. I'd like to reimburse you for the detergent you used on the pants. What brand did you use, and was it liquid or powder? I'd also like to apologize for not killing you and instead making you walk back home humiliated. I'm hoping that you'll reconsider your choice of path in life. Next time you might not be so lucky.

If you read this message, email me and we'll do lunch and laundry.
Peace!

- Alex

I saw this first at Sipsey Street Irregulars.

The literal human shield

Why throw yourself on a grenade to save your buddies if you can throw a terrorist on it instead?



A friend of mine at work showed me this video of the IDF facing off against some Hamas terrorists. Its not from the current conflict but is still hoot. Yah, my sense of humor probably needs work.

The video and some commentary are located at Elder of Ziyon

SWAT team searches gun-rights supporters

OCRegister

Steven Greenhut wrote

At the board meeting today, Orange County deputies searched gun-rights supporters, especially those wearing CCW buttons, according to those who attended the meeting. Although Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said she would let the permits expire rather than revoke them, her real disdain for freedom is shown by the presence of the SWAT team and the heavyhanded searches of law-abiding residents who wanted to attend the board meeting. Did the sheriff really think that gun supporters are somehow dangerous. I’ve been to gun shows and gun events and have never felt safer.

I don't know the law in California and whether a CCW permit allows you to carry in public buildings, but my feeling was that this wasn't about law or courage as much as sending a vindictive little message on the part of the sheriff. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is the sheriff who unilaterally decided to cancel all CCW permits in her county. When the shit storm hit she altered her plan to simply refusal to issue new permits and allowing the others to expire. I'm not sure what legal recourse permit holders have except to wait for election day and send a message of their own.

Jihadi Pigeons :)

Reuters

Actually geese were to blame so no pigeons were injured. I also understand there were no fatalities and all were rescued. Oh and to the pilot: damn good work.

RIP: Patrick McGoohan

Patrick McGoohan passed away on January 13, 2009. I saw him most recently as Longshanks in Mel Gibson's Braveheart. He did a good cold hearted bastard. But I remember him mostly for the role of John Drake in Secret Agent aka Danger Man and The Prisoner. Secret Agent was a good solid espionage series to which the passage of time hasn't done any harm. The Prisoner was just a serious mind fuck.

RIP: Ricardo Montalban

Ricardo Montalban passed away on January 14, 2009. Montalban was one of those faces I saw a lot of on television growing up. Mostly I remember him for three things: Fantasy Island, the Star Trek episode Space Seed as Khan Noonien Singh, and then his reprise of that role in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. I can't really say I have fond memories of Fantasy Island but Space Space Seed and Wrath of Khan will always be favorites.

More BS from the Left

ForeignPolicy.com

I saw this somewhere else recently but can't remember where, but its a new meme from the antis where our "lax gun laws" get blamed for the violence in other countries. But it's not really a new approach. States like New Jersey and New York have been doing it for years. It holds about as much validity in either case.

There are nearly 7,000 gun shops along the southern U.S. border, about three for every mile. They sell thousands of hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, AK-47s, and "cop killer" guns and bullets that cut through Kevlar body armor. The weapons quickly flow south, again with barely a nod from U.S. Border Patrol.Apparently drug runners buy all their hardware out of gun shops along the U. S./Mexico border.

Any rifle round short of a .22 long rifle, will penetrate a Kevlar vest. So any deer rifle is a "cop killer" gun and any rifle round is a "cop killer" bullet.

I won't say that illegal weapons don't cross the U.S. border but I venture to say they don't come from gun shops or gun shows. If the Mexican Army is out-gunned by the items listed in this article they have more problems than a U.S. gun ban will solve, and it's always easier to blame someone else than take responsibility yourself. I've read that units of the Mexican Army are working hand in hand with the cartels. I think it likely that the true source of these weapons is Mexico itself. Maybe if Calderón would take a little of that $400 million we're giving him and spend it on his military rather than letting it fuel the corruption in his government his country's problems would ease. To paraphrase P. J. O'Rourke giving money to Mexico is a lot like giving whiskey and car keys to a teenage boy. Oh and by the way Ms. O'Neil if you could tell me which gun shops are selling those items I and a lot of other gun owners would greatly appreciate it.

H/T to David Codrea

Man Shot in Robbery Attempt

NWI.COM

Man shoots, kills suspect in Hammond robbery attempt

A 38-year-old man and his girlfriend were exiting their sport-utility vehicle in the parking lot of McTavern's bar in the 7400 block of Indianapolis Boulevard when two people attempted to rob the couple, according to a Hammond police news release.

The owner of the vehicle took a handgun from the SUV and shot one of the suspects in the chest, the release states. The shooting victim died at the scene before Hammond Fire Department personnel could provide further treatment and he could get to a hospital.

No loss.

Obama's Treasury pick didn't pay taxes

Rutland Herald

Geithner failed to pay self-employment taxes for money he earned from 2001 to 2004 while working for the International Monetary Fund, according to materials released by the committee Tuesday.
He paid some of the taxes in 2006, after an IRS audit discovered the discrepancy for taxes paid in 2003 and 2004. But it wasn't until much later - days before Obama tapped him to head Treasury late last year - that Geithner paid back most of the taxes, incurred in 2001 and 2002. He did so after Obama's transition team found that Geithner had made the same tax mistake his first two years at the IMF as the one the IRS found he made during his last two years there.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., dismissed the events as "a few little hiccups," and said he was "not concerned at all" about the impact.

Apparently it's a "common" mistake and was unintentional. Another case of different rules for different folks or is Obama's administration going to ever so ethical just like Pelosi's House?

TSA Holster Snafu

I thought this was kinda interesting. It may be old news to some of you but its new to me. What it amounts to is if the weapon is not fully seated in the holster, you put the stupid ass padlock on the holster, then you seat the weapon...you get a bang. this problematical in an aircraft cockpit. The potential arises every time an armed pilot leaves the cockpit since they are not allowed to take the weapon out of the cockpit with them. Kinda silly but this is the TSA and that kinda defines them don't it.



SOURCE:Flight International
DHS watchdog confirms holster problems for armed pilots
By John Croft

Concerns voiced by federal flightdeck officers over poorly designed
holsters for their hand guns have been validated in a recently
issued report by the Department of Homeland Security's office of
inspector general (OIG).

Potential issues with guns in the cockpit were highlighted in March
when a US Airways pilot, armed as part of the Transportation
Security Administration's federal flightdeck officer programme,
accidentally fired his handgun while his Airbus A319 was on the
approach to Charlotte Douglas International airport in North
Carolina after a flight from Denver, Colorado. The bullet pierced
the left side of the cockpit and fuselage but did not cause any
damage to the flight critical systems. None of the passengers or
crew was hurt.

Although DHS officials will not confirm that the OIG investigation
was linked to the US Airways incident, the scope of the project - to
find out if the design of TSA-issued locking holsters used by the
federal flightdeck officer programme increases the likelihood of an
accidental discharge of a weapon in an aircraft cockpit - would
appear to link the two.

"We examined the holster and observed that its design renders the
weapon vulnerable to accidental discharges if improperly handled,"
says the OIG. "In a darkened cockpit, under the stress of meeting
the operational needs of the aircraft, a pilot could inadvertently
discharge the weapon by failing to ensure it is properly seated in
the holster, securing the trigger lock, and then pushing the weapon
inward to secure the holster snap."

Investigators also found that it was possible to fire the gun while
inserting the hasp, or trigger lock, into an "incorrectly seated"
weapon. "Using a scale, we determined that only 6-7lb [2.7-3.2kg] of
lateral pressure on the padlock was sufficient to induce a
discharge," the report says.

The OIG recommends a weapon locking system that is "simple and
forgiving" and suggests the TSA should discontinue the use of the
current locking holster and consider other methods for federal
flightdeck officers to secure their weapons." The DHS declines to
discuss the programme due to security concerns.

...and so it begins

H.R.45 - Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009

SayUncle provides a summary of the bill’s wants.

1. Require licensing for anybody that owns a gun.

2. Would require photographs and a thumbprint

3. Would require passage of a test that covers:

(A) the safe storage of firearms, particularly in the vicinity of persons who have not attained 18 years of age;

(B) the safe handling of firearms;

(C) the use of firearms in the home and the risks associated with such use;

(D) the legal responsibilities of firearms owners, including Federal, State, and local laws relating to requirements for the possession and storage of firearms, and relating to reporting requirements with respect to firearms; and

(E) any other subjects, as the Attorney General determines to be appropriate;

Note that “any other subjects, as the Attorney General determines to be appropriate;” bit. So the AG can, at the snap of his fingers make it either harder or easier to get a license. "Whim" is the word I was looking for. The AG's whim.

...and here’s Sebastian’s list of bits and pieces in the bill.

It is a bill that mandates licensing, registration and safe storage for handguns and semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines. It also provides for inspection, so you surrender your fourth amendment rights by being licensed. It also requires reporting of Lost and Stolen firearms, and you must inform the federal government if you change addresses.

Sebastian notes this bill has no cosponsers and probably little chance of passing, but the antis are, if nothing else, persistent. Whatever losses they've had the past are not going to deter them. They see the Obama win as a validation for their position and they’re pushing it. It time to push back and drive a stake through this abomination’s heart.

GOA Alert against Holder

Here is the GOA alert against Eric Holder as AG.

Here's a defensive use for ya.

Which brings me another story. A couple of years ago my wife returned home and was herding the kids into the house when she noticed the back door was ajar. She hadn't left it that way and I was at work. She assumed foul play, and secured the kids in the van. She THEN went into the house and collected "her" .22 and loudly yelled that she had a gun and her husband had taught how to use it. She told me later that she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see a male running out the back door. She fired once, blew the glass out of the screen door, and missed. He kept running.

She shot at him as he fled and missed. She went into the house when she could have easily drove away, taking both herself and kids out of harm's way, and called the police. I'm of mixed feelings as to whether I should be proud, sorry that she missed, glad that she missed or simply bang my head against the wall. the older I get the more I lean toward head banging.

My wife should carry. She won't carry on her person without a permit and won't get one because of the hassle.

I do know this. If we have occasion to call for a deputy's assistance we get a call from their dispatcher shortly before his/her arrival asking my wife to put her gun away.

A lesson of sorts

My wife considers the Buckmark "her" gun. I took it to the range several months back to shoot and clean it. I put it back into the box and returned it to her. Last night we had a crisis that required that she travel a couple of counties over while I watched the kids. She called me and asked why her gun was unloaded. I told her because she didn't load it. She asked "since when do you leave a gun unloaded?" My response was "since always if I'm not carrying it. I had a loaded weapon when I left the range it just wasn't that one. If it's "your" gun you need to make sure its duty ready." If you depend on anyone else to do it you're going to be shit creek.

The American Republic

I'd never seen this before I saw it posted at The Smallest Minority. It's a very good primer on political systems and offers a valid argument for the American Republic as the best of all.
H/T Kevin

Define ‘aggression’

Vin Suprynowicz's take on the current ass kicking Israel is giving Hamas. It's worth a read.

Libertarian, my ass.

When Bob Barr was in the House he was the sort of guy you put up with just because he was a fellow traveler on some issues, ie, guns. He lost any credibility when, if I remember correctly, he went on a bender about WICCA. I considered it no loss when Georgia kicked him to the curb. Then I noticed he was making noises as a civil libertarian. I figured he must have had a one on one with the big guy and gotten religion. Then the Libertarian Party selected him as our Presidential Candidate and, well, I voted for Palin. Now that scum sucking piece of political opportunist trash has written in support of Eric Holder and pretty much confirmed my opinion of him. With due credit to Tam, Libertarian, my ass.

A New Circus Comes to Town

P.J. O'Rourke's take on the new Obama Administration is a hoot. Below is my favorite quote.

Speaking of "witch," am I the only person who experienced an unexpected surge of warm fellow-feeling for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when Hillary was named secretary of state? I wouldn't wish dealing with her on my worst enemy, who'd be Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

I think about the next four years of Hillary's dutiful efforts at global peacemaking, and I hear a chorus of voices echoing around the world--from Israelis and Palestinians, Iraqis and al Qaeda, Taliban and NATO troops, Pakistanis and Indians, Sri Lankans and Tamil Tigers, Georgians and South Ossetians, Colombian soldiers and FARC guerrillas, Hutus and Tutsis, Congolese rebels and other Congolese rebels--all saying, "Thanks, but we'd rather be killed by each other than nagged to death by you."

Hilliary has always struck me as a stone cold bitch. She will do anything as long at it's to her or her husband's advantage and if forced to a choice she'd kick Bill under the bus. This is going to be interesting.

Holder Nomination

A pdf of the NRA's letter to the Judiciary Committee on the Holder nomination.

It limits itself strictly to Holder's failings on the Second Amendment and I'm not sure we could expect more. That doesn't mean I don't want more. It something, at least.

H/T David Hardy

Sacrifice My...

The problem with Obama talking sacrifice is he doesn't mean himself. People in the seat of power rarely suffer the consequences of their policies. He won't have to submit to nationalized health care. He won't have to pay the cost of these billion dollar "bailouts" and "investments" that will push us from recession to depression. Gun bans won't put his family at risk because they can't defend themselves from thugs. Sacrifice is for us not him. When a politician talks of sacrifice I reach for my wallet and hope that its still there. One day soon I fear it won't be.

H/T Gateway Pundit

George gets a reprieve

MSN.com

George, a 140 pound lobster, captured off the coast of Newfoundland found his way to a Boston restaurant where after 10 days of unjust imprisonment he was discovered by those twits at PETA and rescued. PETA be damned. I might have had a momment of remorse as he dropped into the pot but I'd have gotten over it. He wouldn't have. George would have been one boiled, buttered, and digested crustacean.

Then I saw that PETA has a new campaign. Fish aren't fish anymore. They're "Sea Kittens". Heh! Sea Kittens. I woulda had another suggestion for them had they asked. How bout we call 'em "lunch". Besides fish are ugly damn things. They look much better battered and fried.

Tam hit the nail on the head.

It is a fish. Omnivores will eat anything they can run down, outwit, or beat wrestling, two falls out of three. Fish fall into that category. Case closed. Yum.

The Ballad of Roger Young

This version was sung by Jim Reeves. I had this on an 8-track too many years ago to count. Then tracked it down on vinyl. I've never been able to find it on CD. I'd heard it before I read Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers for the first time. This was the recall music for the corvette Roger Young. The lyrics are here.

Here is the Wikipedia entry for Roger Young.

Today in History

1776 - Thomas Paine's Common Sense is published anonymously as a pamphlet. In Common Sense Paine made the argument for independence from British rule.

...but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil."

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

H/T James R. Rummel

Safe Link

James R. Rummel links the Secretlivesofscientists’s Weblog which points to Safelink Wireless. The site's FAQ fails to answer one question I have.

WTF?

I'm an embarrassment to Barack!


I only scored 17 on the Obama Test

Damn! I knew I should have lied about the personality test.

Solutions

Mike Beard of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has this New Year's resolution.

Let us make one more New Year's resolution: to have a heck of a lot of fun pushing the Obama administration, the new Congress and our state legislators to seek creative solutions to the tired old problem of gun violence. It is our duty as citizens. Happy New era!

Here's my somewhat simplistic but, I think creative, solution to gun violence. Get a gun. As long as good people have guns and display a willingness to use them, bad people with guns won't be a problem...for long. There Mike, that's my solution to "the tired old problem of gun violence."

Twit.

Thanks to the pistolero

A Brady Bunch Wish List

I saw this over on the High Road. It's a Brady Campaign wish list to the Obama Transition Team. This is the kind of crap we have to look forward to for after January 20.

Gun ban list revealed!

Via Maddened Fowl

Over at Buckeye Firearms Association they provided a list of what guns the Dems propose to ban. The list comes from Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's uber AWB bill H.R. 1022 that sat and died during the previous session. There is also the reauthorization of the old AWB, H.R. 6257, introduced by Rep. Mark Kirk a Republican out of Illinois, and it has its own list. Illinois seems to be a common theme with gun control lately. Kirk's three co-conspirators, I mean cosponsers, were also Republicans. McCarthy's bill gives the AG the power to determine what is an assault weapon and what isn't. That's a power I'm sure we all want the prospective AG, Eric Holder, to have. Neither of the bills were new and I'd seen them elsewhere, but both bills, I'm sure, will be reintroduced in the new session. Both go to show that we have enemies on both sides of the aisle. Obama is receptive to gun control and the anti's think they have us on the run. That either exists give us warning that we have a lot of work to do.

Skin Flynt Wants Bailout :)

Via Conferate Yankee and CNN

Larry Flynt wants a 5 billion dollar bailout for the porn industry.

Hahahahahaha! No.

Rats in the Toilet

Holy scuba diving rats. Read this and give it some thought as to what you would do. Me? First inclination: ventilate the toilet. Rats ewwww! Second inclination: flush. My wife would have shot the furry little git and then made me replace the toilet.

Thanks Og.

Bullet Permits...No Thank You.

From the Raleigh News and Observer

Ammunition proposal is focus of lobbying

DURHAM -- An effort to get Durham officials to seek legislation that would require people buying ammunition to first obtain a permit has touched off a lobbying campaign by both supporters and opponents.

The Rev. Melvin Whitley of Durham has been lobbying to get what he calls the "Bullet Ownership Bill" on a list of legislation sought by Durham officials in the coming legislative session.

Among the bill's provisions: required permits for buying ammunition and a prohibition on ammunition purchase by several classes of people, including convicted felons, drug addicts and the mentally ill.

In December, Whitley presented his bill to a City Council work session, at which the council agreed to consider putting it on Durham's legislative wish list.

Grassroots North Carolina, a group that bills itself as supporters of Second Amendment Rights on gun ownership, has sent an alert to its members, asking them to send letters of opposition to Durham City Council members. And folks who support Whitley's proposals are sending the council letters, too.

Durham officials were scheduled to discuss the proposal today along with other requests for legislation, but the meeting has been canceled.

Here's the GRNC Alert on the Reverend Whitley's scheme.

In effect Whitley wants to require permits or licensing to purchase ammunition statewide ala Illinois. You guys that think "that's just Durham" are dead wrong. The intent here is to go statewide.

GRNC is a very effective guns rights organization. I hope the Council sees this as a no win issue and is backing down but wouldn't put it past them to try to schedule a last minute meeting on this one so as to limit the opposition present. The fix on the Durham end may already be in. We are, after all, the ONLY county in North Carolina where residents are required to register their handguns. By all means call members of the Durham City Council and let them know how you feel, but call your State Representatives and let them know you oppose this harebrained product of am anti-gun zealot's befuddled mind so that maybe it will die in gestation.

No on Holder

Over at Mike Vanderboegh's Sipsey Street Irregulars and David Codrea's The War on Guns they're hitting the NRA pretty hard on their not opposing the nomination of Eric Holder as AG. Sebastion over at Snowflakes in Hell argues that the NRA would be wasting "political capital" to fight the nomination since his approval is a foregone conclusion. Better to save that capital for another fight.

I gave up on the NRA quite awhile back. I've seen them sabotage local grassroots gun groups at the state level because they know best. Their compromise has cost us dearly over the years. They seem more interested in their power than our rights. Enough. Its time to put up or shut up. We can't afford to give up anything else. The antis will see a loss as weakness, but they'll see refusal to fight as weakness too. It's better to fight.

Can He Lead?

Senator Obama started to run for the Office of President almost as soon as his feet hit the floor int he Senate. And now it seems to me that he already begun the campaign for his second term. This isn't about improving the economy. It's about buying votes. Will President-Elect Oba,a ever take time to actually lead?

Palin Interview

Over at Big Hollywood are parts of an interview with Sarah Palin. I hope the media's response to her during the election and the continued attacks haven't permanently damaged her chances for political office outside Alaska. Go. Listen. It's interesting.

Rise

My taste in music is odd. Most of what I like is something that was in the soundtrack of a movie that I liked. I hear Beethoven's Choral Symphony I think of Die Hard. The Man Come's Around by Johnny Cash? I first heard it during the final episode of the first season of The Sarah Conner Chronicles. The view from the bottom of the pool showing the HRT guys getting tossed in beaten, bloody and, well yeah...dead, with that playing did it for me. I developed a taste for the Kodo Drummers after hearing them on The Hunted [1995]. The sword fight on a bullet train between a samurai and ninjas worked for me. The drums rocked! The Cruxshadows' Winterborn? That's on John Ringo's play list of what he listens to as he writes. The song was on the soundtrack of a movie as well but the movie sucked. The song did not. I heard Rise when I was watching Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, 2nd Gig. It's the opening song. The song and imagery stuck. I don't know what the composer was trying to communicate with it and don't care. My take on it was duty and responsibilty. I liked it and still do.

Oh yeah. Lots of guns in the anime. Lots of violence. No Nazis.

Zen Marksmanship?

I was watching Rambo IV on DVD the other day. There was a scene where Rambo is taking some Christian Missionaries up the river and they are stopped by river pirates. Rambo kills the two pirates with a quick draw and double taps to each. I wanted to see how Stallone was holding the handgun while he offed the bad guys so I rewound and then slowmoed forward. And then I saw it. He had his eyes closed. When he fired he had his eyes closed. He had his freaking eyes closed. So what is this...Zen Marksmanship?

So Sylvester...do you ever actually shoot any of those guns you own but don't think anyone else should have?

Movies...Good Ones.

So Tam, told us what she liked in a movie and Og gave us a riff on same...so here I go.

I like movies. I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian household [it didn't take]. I didn't see many until at sixteen I got a car and a job and started sneaking off to afternoon movies…lots. What makes a good movie: guns, swords, rayguns, cannon, violence, spaceships, bug hunts, guns, women [clothing optional], explosions, ass kicking, special effects, car chases, more guns.

I like good guys offin’ bad guys of any "ideology”: Nazis, Commies, Red Coats, terrorists, bureaucrats. I’ll watch anything with John Wayne in it even the bad ones. I like John Woo, John Ford, and Sam Peckinpah. I like John Travolta, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, and Tom Cruise in anything they make as long as they fucking die painfully by the final scene.

I like movies that choke me up like Legends of the Fall. Ya know like when the family is reunited at the end after they shoot down the bad guys. I watched An American Carol the other night. I liked the bit where they off the ACLU zombies but Patton opening up on the singing left-wing academics [the functional equivalent of Nazis] with a BAR could only have improved it.

Actually my favorite movie of all time is The Quiet Man. No guns. No dead bad guys. But there is one kick-ass fist fight between John Wayne and Victor McLaglen. Oh yeah, Maureen O’Hara is in it too. That’s enough for me.

Clueless

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.
P.J. O'Rourke

I use to have this quote as my signature on my work email. Until some PC twit complained. My supervisor exclaimed you can possibly believe this? He wouldn't understand. The complainant worked in the Human Recourses Department. I looked back without saying a word with a slight cock to my head. Explaining would have been a waste of time. By either nature or education, some people are sooooo fucking clueless.

A Matter of Taste

At times I have a very dark and odd sense of humor. As evidence of that I offer you this cartoon by Lee Adam Herold at Chopping Block. Butch is a serial killer. Herold has to be one sick perverted soul. Oh I'm sorry make that one sick perverted funny soul. Herold has periodic bouts of the cartoonist's equivalent of writer's block but he's publishing again now.

"The New Second Amendment: A Bark Worse Than Its Right"

We get this at SENTENCING LAW AND POLICY.

To date, the lower federal courts have ruled in over 60 different cases on the constitutionality of a wide variety of gun control laws.
.....
The courts have upheld every one of these laws. Since Heller, its Gun Control: 60, Individual Right: 0.

I am very pleased someone else is noticing that lower courts so have have been consistently willing and eager to uphold any and every modern gun control law despite all the sturm und drang about the Heller ruling.

It's too early to gloat butthead. The lower courts are where the game begins not ends. It's the Appellate Courts and above where the final interpretations will be made much as it was with Miller. My prayer is that this time the decisions will be in our favor and the judges will actually read Heller before interpreting it. .

Pelosi Changing House Rules

From Newser

The bitch is stacking the deck. Even with a majority in the House she's afraid of a fair fight.

And maybe what Obama wants won't matter one damn bit.

S.D. high court rules man's cursing at cops was free speech

From First Amendment Center

Apparently in South Dakota cussing at the police is protected free speech. Painful I would suspect...but still free speech.

District targets spots to establish gun stores

From dcexaminer.com

So how did this slip by the gun phobes in D. C.? A gun store in D.C.? Perish the thought.

The District is having to “turn our laws and zoning laws into pretzels” to accommodate the court’s “flawed” ruling, Ward 6 D.C. Councilman Tommy Wells said this week.

I'm sure those on so sensitive souls will be able to twist the rules again to keep those predatory gun dealers out of their city. I'm suprised they still have any.

The District has only one registered gun dealer, Charles Sykes, and he doesn’t do retail, only out-of-state transfers.

The things you do out of sheer boredom: Adobe Photoshop, a scanner, a copy of a Calvin and Hobbes book, a jpeg of a Glock , and there ya go.

AD: One Shot Gets Two

I happened across this on Youtube and thought I'd share.

It appears to me the first officer holstered his service weapon [a Glock?] with his finger on the trigger with predictable results.

I heard a story a few years back while I was in instructor training. A guy with a Glock holstered his weapon with his finger on the trigger and shot himself in the ass. He tried to holster the weapon again and shot himself again. He then flung the gun as far from himself as possible.

Finger off the trigger guys.

"I Hate Cops"

I was talking to a friend the other day and she said she hated cops. She quickly made sure I understood she was ok with policemen. The difference as she saw it was that policemen were professionals that went about their business with a respectful and evenhanded manner with a respect for the rights of their community’s citizens. Cops were policemen that thought it made them special and better than the average bear. I really can’t argue that. Cops, by her definition, are the one’s who give the profession a bad name. Their authority makes them cocky. These are the “Only Ones” David Codrea talks about. My pet peeve is those officers that classify non-police as “civilians”. This usually is with a tone that implies they are better and stand apart from those they serve. OR worse imply they rule rather than serve. I tell them we’re all civilians, and that when you forget that it all begins to fall apart. That attitude is the core of a cop saying “I’m the only one with sufficient training to handle this gun” just before he shoots himself in the leg.

Motorists' habits spur call for tax increases

We are driving less and burning less gas and the consequence is that tax revenues are down. So the FED wants to increase gas taxes to fund the cost of highways, bridges and transit programs. By 50% no less. No. If there is less use there shouldbe less wear and tear and less expense. It is not the FEDs responsibility to subsidize the highway contruction business with my tax money. Reprioritize the current slate of projects and get by with what you've got. Lets try something novel. cut unnecessary projects and spend less. Or better yet forgo the Congressional pay raise and put that money toward the roads.

Niven's Law

I found this on the acknowledgements page of S. M. Stirling's novel Conquistador

And a special acknowledgment to the author of Niven's Law: "There is a technical term for those who mistake the opinions and beliefs of characters in a novel for those of the author. The term is 'idiot.'"

What brought that to mind were the Amazon reviews of John Ringo's The Last Centurian. I'd classify it as hard right. The negative reviews tended to critize Ringo personally rather than the book.

Oh, and for those of you who aren't aware, Steve Stirling writes damn good books. His Nantucket trilogy and Dies the Fire series are favorites.

Chain Gang Girls

Chain Gang Girls (2007)
In Japan's toughest maximum-security female prison, the inmates outnumber the guards by 100 to one, and if Prisoner 42 hopes to survive her sentence she needs to stay clear of the vicious guards and the even more dangerous prisoners. This facility was designed just to hold the country's most ruthless criminals, and the population is ready to explode into a riot at any minute in this thriller set inside the rarely-seen Japanese penal system.

I like Japanese films but I'll admit a lot of them are guilty pleasures because they're really strange. Reaaally strange. Methinks this will be no different.

LEO in need of training

Via David Hardy at Of Arms and the Law

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this in-car video of a Georgia Deputy's traffic stop. That department's instructor in the tactical and legal use of a firearm should be hiding his face in shame, and I hope the Captain who wrote the letter of explanation to the victim...excuse me, driver of the vehicle includes a boot up the ass of Deputy Fife as part of the corrective action mentioned in the letter. For some reason I kinda doubt it.

The Test is Pass/Fail

Joe Biden said that Barak Obama would be tested his within his first six months in office by some foreign crisis. I don't think the Israel vs Hamas bitch slap really qualifies but this just might. Putin seems intent on reintegrating the former Soviet States into the former Soviet Union. The shit appears to be set to hit the fan around January 20th by design. That indicates to me that Putin has already judged the fiber of Obama and found it wanting. It will be interesting to see if Obama can do more than spout platitudes like he did during the invasion of Georgia. What President Elect Obama needs to understand this that this test is pass/fail.

Police Say Officers Shoot 3 Over New Year Gunfire

Via The War On Guns we get this story out of and 19ActionNews.com in Columbus Ohio.

So a police officer comes up on a twit firing his gun into the air. He orders him to stop and drop the gun. Twit does not and the officer shoots him in the arm. In Columbus Ohio this happened three times on New Years Eve. Three twits brought in the New Year by firing their handguns into the air. The result was a man shot in the leg, another shot in the hand, and a woman shot in the leg. I’m not going to comment on the appropriateness of the officers taking the shot. I wasn’t there and in the end it’s a judgment call and the police aren’t going to give a journalist enough information for us to read and make that judgment.

I will say this. Down here in North Carolina police are taught to shoot center mass. Don’t wing ‘em or shoot the gun from their hands. If the situation calls for deadly force you shoot ‘em center mass. If you aren’t justified in using deadly force you don’t fire at all. The three twits should be thanking God they are still breathing and where hit only in the hand, arm, and leg. This story isn’t so much about the officers deciding to shoot but their marksmanship and that’s really fricking scary.

Big Head Press - Free Comics

I found this website a couple of years ago and more or less forgot about it. They had an adaptation of L. Neil Smith’s The Probability Broach which encouraged me to find and buy the hard copy. The Probability Broach is a favorite of mine as is Smith's The Nagasaki Vector. Vector had me laughing my ass off the entire read. Smith writes novels about libertarian utopias. I consider myself a libertarian, a right leaning one, but a libertarian. And that’s another post. Utopias are nice to read about, a nice dream, but…ain’t gonna happen in this universe. In Smith’s later novels the message started to overpower the story but I still liked his novels.

Back to Big Head Press. Smith has written two original graphic novels which are available online and free at this site. There are also other titles, some by long time writers in the comics field like Steven Grant and Mike Baron. All are as well done as anything you can buy in your local comics shop. None have a single superhero in ‘em. If you prefer hard copy [reading a comic book online is a royal pain], well, they’ll sell you that too. The Probability Broach is also still available at the site and it's still free. Please go check ’em out.

Make Up Your Fricking Mind!

From Telegraph.co.uk we get this flip flop. I doubt they'll admit it. It was global warming now it's climate change. That allows them to shift as need be according to political needs. I wish these ass... scientists would make up their minds.

On another sorta related note several years back Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, and Michael Flynn wrote Fallen Angels. They posited that the only reason we hadn't had a new ice age was the pollution in the atmosphere.

That government, dedicated to saving the environment from the evils of technology, had been voted into power because everybody knew that the Green House Effect had to be controlled, whatever the cost. But who would have thought that the cost of ending pollution would include not only total government control of day-to-day life, but the onset of a new Ice Age?

It's available for free at Baen's Free Library.