John Woo: Red Cliff [2008]

If you don't mind subtitles and like a good historical/war epic take a look at John Woo's Red Cliff. Two factions ally to battle against the evil warlord trying to reunify the Han Empire.

Woo's Hong Kong made The Killer, A Better Tomorrow, Bulllet in the Head, and Hardboiled are top notch films. I also liked his Hollywood efforts: Hard Target, Face/Off, and Broken Arrow. Windtalkers and Paycheck sucked. Red Cliff is a return to the quality of his older films. I've not seen the edited version released in the US, but this four hour plus the two disc International version rocks.

The man needs...

...glasses but I'm not sure how much that'll help with his head up his ass.

H/T to Tam.

New Off Shore Drilling? Don't Hold Your Breath.

The Obama Administration is considering opening some off shore areas to drilling. That’s a good thing, right? Bullshit. It won’t happen until 2012 after the Department of the Interior studies the matter. It’s a campaign ploy. If he gets re-elected in 2012 Interior will nix the idea and that will be that. The man lies with every breath he takes and anyone that falls for this one deserve the unnatural sex act that follows.

It's a prank.

Do you really think this would have gotten past any school's zero tolerance police?

I think dueling...

...is a fine tradition that should be resurrected. So apparently does James Cameron. Cameron wants to...

call those [AGW] deniers out into the street at high noon and shoot it out with those boneheads.

Looks like he's got a lot of people willing to take him up on it. Me, I just want the popcorn concession.

The Media Eye Chart

Go take a look. It's over at Roberta X's place. It pretty much nails the current media bias against "right wing militia" right on the head. If any of these twits could look beyond the SPLC for their "experts" I might give them a bit more credit.

Heh!

Dogs and cats living together!

H/T to Radley.

Benelli MR1 Self-Defense Rifle

A friend of mine at work mentioned that Benelli had a new rifle, the MR1, in 5.56 using standard AR magazines. I've always liked their shotguns and, at least in appearence, it's not your standard AR knock off but at $1300 it's a bit out of my range. Looks nice though.

The State of the Gun Blogosphere

Steve PW Johnson of The Firearm's Blog on the current state of gun blogs. Mine's at the bottom in the directory under Political Gun blogs. Neat.

Dog Catches Police Car

The way I see it that makes it his.



H/T to Radley.

Seriously?

Cincinnati Ohio is suffering an increase in homicides so...

Police arrested one man in the crowd, Tony Halston, 27, of Price Hill, because he threatened to shoot an officer "to see how long it would take police to show up,” court documents allege.

So sarcasm is illegal in Ohio?

H/T to Radley.

A Kel-Tec .380...

...goes boom. Riverdog's Kel-Tec P3AT seems to have had an ammo problem. Fortunately he got off with minor injuries. Hope he can get the gun fixed.

Mike Grell

I think I've been clear on how much I like Mike Grell's work. Here's a nice illustration by Grell. It comes from his latest Jon Sable Freelance mini series Ashes of Eden. It is highly recommended and available free online at Comic Mix or in print at your local comic shop.

The illustration is NSFW.

We the Government

H/T to the Cajun.

Eviction Notice

I wish. The problem is that while 76% of Americans as a whole may disapprove of Congress, local constituencies keep sending the same bastards back. So Pelosi can give us the finger with impunity because the twits in her district like her and keep sending her back.

From John Cox

Sorry there was no post yesterday.

Life occasionally rises and kicks me in the rear. Yesterday was such a day. I'll try to do better.

Yellow Claw #1

Another nice example of Joe Maneely's Art. Yellow Claw was published by Atlas and lasted only four issues. Maneely only did the first issue. Sorry I don't have a better scan of the cover. Even with the quality of this scan the man's talent is clear. Enjoy.

Maneely's Ringo Kid here and here.

Quote of the day - part 2

I don’t care if we have to rescind this bullshit through the courts, elections, legislative tomfoolery or outright violence, but this travesty will not stand. It is my responsibility as a father and duty as a free man, and I am proud to bear it.

Hell yes!

H/T to Kevin.

Over at the Wall Street Journal...

...is a summary of the deals Pelosi and her enforcers made to force passage of Obamacare in the House. I shouldn't be suprised. Looks like politics as usual. I am angry that those gits in Congress passed that horror even when it was clear a majority of Americans opposed that bill. They sold my children's birthright with its passage so hell yes I'm angry.

Thanks to Clair.

Quote of the Day

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! - Patrick Henry, 23 March 1775

Seems oddly appropriate doesn't it.

Thanks to Tam for the reminder and Bob Owens for the complete speech.

The Day After...

Free Will and Destiny

Bill Whittle on the day after.

Obamacare: The House Vote

How North Carolina Representatives voted.

Rep. George Butterfield [D, NC-1] - Aye
Rep. Howard Coble [R, NC-6] - Nay
Rep. Bob Etheridge [D, NC-2] - Aye
Rep. Virginia Foxx [R, NC-5] - Nay
Rep. Walter Jones [R, NC-3] - Nay
Rep. Larry Kissell [D, NC-8] - Nay
Rep. Patrick McHenry [R, NC-10] - Nay
Rep. Mike McIntyre [D, NC-7] - Nay
Rep. Bradley Miller [D, NC-13] - Aye
Rep. Sue Myrick [R, NC-9] - Nay
Rep. David Price [D, NC-4] - Aye
Rep. Heath Shuler [D, NC-11] - Nay

At this point I don't care how the Democrats voted I wan them all gone. They didn't vote against the health care power grab. They voted to keep their seats come November and they could do so safely as long as enough of thier party members votes aye. That's not nearly good enough. November can't come soon enough.

Heh!

Over at Alphecca:

Obama's self portrait

Done Watchin'

I wonder if any of those twits in Congress ever watched this growing up?



Guess not.

Thanks Thirdpower

Battlefront #2

Battlefront #2 was published by Atlas Comics, the precursor to Marvel Comics, in 1952. There's interior art by Jerry Robinson but it's the cover art by Joe Maneely that I like. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Nothing to say, nothing to blog...

...just waiting to see what happens on Obamacare.

If you as a police officer...

...have a problem with a citizen recording you in the course of your official duties, as the their actions are not directly interfering with you doing your job, then you are probably doing something you shouldn't be doing. Most officers I know swore an oath when they took the job. Reread the part about the upholding the Constitution.

H/T to Firehand.

Civil Society

The Toledo Blade, after two incidents where convenience store clerks defended themselves and their customers with deadly force, states:

Being robbed at gunpoint is frightening, and we do not presume to judge, as police would say, the righteousness of either shooting. But it must be remembered that robbery is not a capital crime, and it's only by chance that no one other than the would-be robbers was injured
…..
And even if it's true that an armed society is a polite society, we wonder how much collateral damage people will be willing to accept in an arms race to achieve civility through the barrel of a gun.

Instead, it seems to us that when deadly force is used as a first response rather than a last resort, civil society suffers.

If someone take a gun into a store or a bank or even a school and makes demands at the point of a gun the message is clear. I will kill you if you do not comply. Often as not when these incidents happen the perpetrators kill anyway. So to whoever the jackass is that wrote this editorial it is not about property. The gun the robber brought into the equation makes it about life. Neither the clerk nor the customer standing by can assume the robber won’t use the weapon. In fact it best to assume the robber will even if they get what they want. A simple Google search on “clerks killed in robbery “ got me 822,000 hits and yes I know that doesn’t mean we had that many clerks murdered by shitbirds carrying out robberies. It does mean we've had more than we should have. Here are six hits off the first page.

• New college scholarship to honor slain 7-Eleven clerk
  
  
• Clerk killed in robbery remembered by hundreds of mourners
  
  
• Longtime Store Clerk Killed In Robbery
  
  
• Package Store Clerk Killed in Robbery Attempt
  
  
• Clerk killed during robbery
  
  
• Clerk killed in robbery at gas station

These clerks didn’t have the means or opportunity to defend themselves and died. Would it have different if they had a weapon? Opinions differ but if I have to choose between the clerk, customer, or robber then the choice is clear. the robber votes when he pulls out his weapon and points it at the clerk. The links above show what often happens when the robber votes. I'd rather the clerk win out. We’re all better off in the end if the robber is the one that leaves in a bag.

We won't ever have what the Toledo Blade considers a civil society. Anyway, I'd rather live in a polite one.

Thanks to David and the pistolero.

Daniel Boone RIP

I know he played Disney's Davy Crockett but I grew up watching Daniel Boone. He was Daniel Boone. Fess Parker has died at the age of 85. Damn.

Yes, she is that arrogant

Watch this video.

When doctors refuse to accept the government health care Pelosi and her gang will just try to pass a law to make them. I fully expect a mass retirement of health professionals if this monstrosity becomes law. It may not happen immediately but it will happen.

I won't go as far...

...as Firehand but after this promise I'd damn sure vote for him if I lived in his state.

Legal pot grower defends self

A medicinal pot grower in Washington exchanged gunfire with robbers on Monday. They had a shotgun and he had a .22 caliber pistol and another handgun of unknown caliber. He was slightly wounded but sent at least one of robbers to Intensive Care. He didn't have much luck with the .22 but the other handgun did the job quite well.

H/T to David.

Among the firearms...

...used at the Pentagon and Las Vegas Courthouse shootings were firearms confiscated by Tennessee law enforcement agencies then later sold by those agencies to gun dealers for resale. This isn’t an uncommon practice. We the people get nice gats to buy and the police departments get funds to purchase other equipment. This Associated Press article implies that this is a bad thing and that maybe if the guns had been destroyed the shootings wouldn’t have taken place. The fact that at some point they were in the hands of the police is immaterial. The shooters obtained guns and would have regardless of where they originated. The guns would not have been those guns but the shootings would still have taken place and those that died would have still died. The implication that guns are bad and those police departments who sale confiscated weapons are failing in their duty to the public is simple opinion masquerading as news. Nothing new here after all it did come from the Associated Press.

Zoning Board bars church from meeting in private homes.

I'm not particularly religious. I don't attend regularly and am not a member of any congregation. The Gilbert, Arizona Zoning Board seems to have a problem with a church having meetings in private homes. It apparently against the rules. Much of my childhood was spent not only in the main church building but in the home of members for "prayer meetings". It may be the church in question is new and does not have a church building. Makes no difference. The local government needs to butt out. Where I worship, as long as it's not public property and the property owners have no problem with it, is my business not government's. I hope the Oasis of Truth church takes the bureaucrats to the cleaners.

Ceres by L. Neil Smith

The complete novel online over at Big Head Press.

Obama's Latest Healthcare Proposal

Now that's a day...

...I'll celebrate. Maybe we can go national with it?.

The Utah House voted 64-0 Wednesday to commemorate the Utah-born inventor on Jan. 24, 2011, the opening day of next year's legislative session. It will come 100 years after Browning invented the 1911 .45 automatic pistol, which became the official sidearm for the U.S. military.

H/T to David,

I picked up copies of...

...The Crucible of Empire by Eric Flint and K. D. Wentworth and The Threateners [Matt Helm] by Donald Hamilton.

Watching...

My arm hurts. I think it’s a pinched nerve under my shoulder blade. Hurts like hell. So I lack motivation to do much more than watch movies this weekend.

• Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day – I wasn’t all that impressed by the original. I basically see both as a damn good collection of performers in search of a director. By the way Julie Benz rocks.
  
• Invictus – Clint Eastwood directed it and that enough as far as I’m concerned.
  
• Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog – I’ve watched it before and find it as entertaining the third or fourth time as the first.
  
• Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant – It's watchable and enjoyable but at the same time nothing special.
  
• Ichi – A Japanese action flick about a blind swordswoman. In the same vein as the Zatoichi movies. Good stuff.

The Mighty Obama...

...has struck out.



Well not yet but I have hopes.

Via Bubba

The solution to the DOE...

...shotgun purchase.

Instead of buying shotguns for the Department of Education, why not just buy Air Soft rifles at a fraction of the cost and then convert them?

H/T to Uncle.

Chick-fil-A

The time for talk on health care is over...

...and the science is settled.

Uh huh. FUMPOS.

H/T to Bob.

Send Rifles and lots of ammo

Over 500 Nigerian Christian men, women, and children, murdered by their Muslim neighbors. The Nigeria military showed up after the fact and made a few arrests. My solution? Send rifles, and see how the gentlemen with the edged weapons like that.

TX: Woman Takes Shot at Peeper

In Texas a woman saw a male in her front yard exposing himself. She went to the door and fired a shot into the ground near him. He fled. It was not the first time he had been seen in the neighborhood peepng into windows. Hopefully it is now the last.

She should have aimed higher and tried to shorten him by a inch though that may be giving him too much credit.

The Searchers

Sung by Tex Ritter



Here's The Sons of the Pioneers version from the film which I actually like better.

You're Expelled! Blam!

The Department of Education is in the market for 27 Remington 870 Police model shotguns. Huh? Why does the Department of Education need shotguns? Building security? Education police? Every other Federal Department seems to have them. Gotta enforce those zero tolerance policies. Just wondering?

H/T to Firehand

WI: Home Run

An 18 year old came home to find a burglar in the house while his parents slept upstairs. Hwe grabbed a baseball bat and lit into the burglar. The burglar escaped with hits to the head, neck, and knee. While they're fighting the burglar yelled he'd been laid off. the kid told him to get a job. The mom commented after the fact...

They're hollering about socio-economics and I'm thinking this is insane

No, insane would have been waiting for the police, and your kid did good.

A friend sent this to me.

I ended up humming the tune all freaking night long while I made a list.



Thanks Casey.

No Fishing?

Obama and the environmental wackos have apparently targeted commercial and recreational fishing. Fishing bores the crap out of me [If I can't shoot at it...] but this just strikes me as really screwed up. This is one area I've always thought where conservation of resources was handled fairly well. I don't think an Executive Order for the benifit of the environemtnal wackos whose idea of conservation is no is a postive step. So maybe if you agree you should contact your Congressperson and tell them how you feel and, as always, how you intend to vote.

Heh!

Over at deals.woot! somebody's posted a SW Sigma in 9mm for sale. The seller notes that it's legal in California then...

if its legal in california, its pretty much legal anywhere.

Heh! Sad isn't it.

MYOB

Harrison Ford likes to fly. He likes to fly so much he'll hop in his plane and fly to whatever location floats his boat to buy a cheeseburger. Why not. His money. His plane. His life and nobody else's damn business. Except some twit at carbonfootprint.com has made a big deal over how irresponsible that is considering the environment and global warming and shit like that. Bill Whittle has some words on the subject here. He's much more eloquent than I. Me, I think Mr. Ford just needs to tell Dr. Wendy Buckley of the aforementioned website to shove her carbon footprint up her ass.

I almost forgot...

...that the Oscars are on tonight. I think I'll celebrate by watching something else.

Quote

I was reading this post by Bore Patch and recalled this quote.

Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any
man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains.

It's been attributed to Winston Churchill but it's been around in one variation or another for a lot longer than Churchill.

Navy's Rail Gun Test

...they fired a projectile with a velocity of 8,270 feet per second. That's an amazing 5,640 mph, and the gun is only firing at a third of its potential power.

That is awesome! Now we need a spaceship to put it on.

Video here.

H/T to Uncle

I heard all the health care horror stories...

...pulled out by the Democrats during President Obama's health care theactrical the other day. Here's my health care story.

My mother fell on Wednesday. She was trying to put her coat on when she lost balance and when to the floor. Fortunately my daughter was there at the time and called me. Before I reached the house Mom had used her medalert button to call for EMS. I beat them there. She wasn’t in pain but at 88 years old we decided a trip to the local emergency room was the safe thing to do. The paramedics showed up and agreed and Mom was off to the hospital. Once there we found she had no broken bones but they did discover her potassium was way too high so they kept her until they could get the level down. It looks like the antibiotic she was on combined with some of her regular meds to cause the problem. This also contributed to the fall. I’m very happy with the level of care Mom got at Duke Medical Center. Mom’s back at home today. Her current insurance is Medicare with a supplemental policy through her former employer. I’m uncertain she would have gotten the same level of care in the public systems of UK, Canada or potentially Obamacare. I know the level of care Mom got this time and in the past. I rather the twits in DC not fuck up a good thing up.

I'm not the most reverent person (note language above) and I don't carry my religion on my sleeve for the world to see. If Mom had not fallen we might not have known about the other problem until too late. I like the idea that a higher power was at protecting one of his faithful servants (Mom, not me) rather than dumb luck and I'm thankful.

Teenager builds gauss rifle

A Russian teenager has designed and built a Gauss rifle. The Russian military has expressed interest and asked to test the weapon. Here in the US the kid would have already been expelled for violating his schools zero tolerance weapons policy and ordered into counseling.

H/T to the Duck.

Another zero tolerance moment...

A five year old in Washington is expelled for making making a gun with his hands. When questioned Dr. John Irion of the Yakima School District said...

When students are at school they should be concerned about learning….safety shouldn't be a concern at school, we have a zero tolerance policy

The five year formed his hands into the shape of a gun you fucking twit. He didn't bring a gun to school and try to off the jackasses running the show. I know it's easier to default to policy than think but Dr. Irwin you work in a school. I assume at some point in your career you actually taught students. The students in your school have a right to expect more from you. Maybe what we need is a zero tolerance policy toward this kind of high-handed bureaucratic stupidity.

H/T To John Lott.

Another zero tolerance success story.

A seventh grade girl in Kentucky was given a tab of Adderall by another student. The girl wanted nothing to do with the drug and gave it back. Granted, she didn't turn her classmate in but the reward for just saying no? The girl was suspended for five days because she touched the drug. Had she turned her classmate in the result would have bee the same because she touched the drug. The school administration you see had no choice because it was their policy. Zero tolerance is what you get when bureaucrats are too cowardly to examine the facts and make an informed decision.

Quote of the Day

From Doctor Zero

Citizen access to firearms has reduced crime rates time and again, but this is more than a matter of practicality. It’s a question of principle. The people of an orderly nation surrender the business of vengeance to the government, replacing it with the rule of law. They cannot be expected to surrender the right of defense. The right to protect yourself, and your family, from injury and death is an essential part of your dignity as a free man or woman. Without the First Amendment, you are a slave. Without the Second, you are a child.

H/T to Phil.

Al Gore coming to Duke University

Former Vice President Albert A. Gore Jr., who received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of environmental causes, will give the 2010 spring Duke Environment and Society Lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 8.

Sponsored by Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, the free public lecture will take place in Page Auditorium on Duke’s West Campus. Tickets are required for admittance. Ticket and event information are available online at www.nicholas.duke.edu/deanseries.

Just in case you have an interest in the subject matter here is how you can get tickets.

The Cruxshadows

Quicksilver

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter...

...by Seth Grahame-Smith



I was scoping out the library and noticed this title. It'll do until Baen puts out Larry Correia's next. A movie is already in the works.

Why Are Gun Control Advocates Assholes?

I'm not a coffee drinker and if I were Starbucks' product is too expensive for my wallet on a continuous basis but I damn well will buy something from them this Saturday just to show my appreciation for their neutral stance on the gun issue and to thumb my nose at these assholes who just don't get it.

H/T to Sebastian.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Eight

I was a late comer to Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I had seen the campy, crappy movie and thought little of it. So I let the first season come and go. At some point in the middle of the se3cond season I caught an episode, was hooked, and followed it and Angel to their eventual conclusions. Like a lot of genre television companion novel and comics books popped up. I was never attached to the novels. I looked at and never felt the need to read or collect. The art was generally nice but the stories didn’t really meet the expectations created by the series. Then came Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Eight, a comic book. It continues the adventures of Buffy and the gang and is every bit as good the the original series. Joos Whedon oversees the production and I suspect the creative process of the series has been transferred to this new format. What was originally planned as 24 issues is now up to issue 33 and I understand a ninth season is planned. It’s good stuff. Yeah, I’d like to have the series come back to television but the likelihood was always akin to a snowball in hell. This will do and though the format has limitations they are less than you would think and you don’t have to worry about the lead actress opting out. The comic is published by Dark Horse Comics and the back issues are available in trade paperbacks.

Romney and Letterman discissing Sarah Palin

“Now what about that Sarah Palin," says Letterman, who had to apologize for an off-color joke about the former Alaskan governor's daughter last year. "She’s not ready to be president, is she?”

She’s terrific,” Romney rapidly replies to derisive audience laughter. “She really is! She’s terrific. She’s got energy, passion – by the way, you know, be careful what you say about her.”

Letterman says he knows.

Romney adds with a smile, “She has a rifle, you know.”

That's funny.

The transcript...

...of oral arguments in McDonald v. Chicago. Gura and Clement were on their game. Feldman not so much. David Hardy thinks we got a majority. I'm hopeful.

Arguments for McDonald v. Chicago...

...are before the Supreme Court today. From everything I've read it looks like we've got a good chance, the best chance in years, to have the 2nd applied to states and municipalities. I hope and pray that this is so, but there's always that pesky law of unintended consequences. It's especially prevalent in the judicial areana.

The Story In Yor Eyes

I’ve been looking at the BBC series Life on Mars on DVD the last couple of weeks. God bless Netflix. In the second season at the beginning of the fourth episode I heard a song that I liked and went on a hunt for it. First stop was the official website. They kindly provided a list of the tunes in each episode with one slight problem. The song on the DVD was not the song they had listed. Dead end or so I thought. I was talking to a friend of mine at Books Do Furnish A Room and let him listen to the song. Almost before the music began he nailed it: The Story in Your Eyes by the Moody Blues. Good stuff.

Mousetrap

Worthless lying...

Lawmakers sometimes must enact policies that, even if unpopular at the moment, will help the public, Pelosi said in an interview being broadcast Sunday the ABC News program "This Week." "We're not here just to self-perpetuate our service in Congress," she said. "We're here to do the job for the American people."

Welcome to the nanny state. Guess who's applying for the job of chief nanny?

Oh, and Tam was right. The word you were searching for, Madame Speaker, was "on" not "for".