Recently Read

Ricochet Joe by Dean Koontz

It's not a novel. At most it is a long short story. Joe suddenly finds he has a power that enables him to locate and destroy the evil infesting his town. By the time you really get into it, it's over. It was OK, but I'm not sure it was worth the two bucks it cost on Amazon. If you are a Koontz completest, you'll have to read it. If not, you lose nothing by taking a pass.

It's not a shooting war, but it is a civil war

But it’s not guns that make a civil war. It’s politics.

Guns are how a civil war ends. Politics is how it begins. - Daniel Greenfield

Also...

That’s the basic issue here. Who decides who runs the country? When you hate each other but accept the election results, you have a country. When you stop accepting election results, you have a countdown to a civil war. I know you’re all thinking about President Trump. He won and the establishment, the media, the democrats, rejected the results. They came up with a whole bunch of conspiracy theories to explain why he didn’t really win. It was the Russians. And the FBI. And sexism, Obama, Bernie Sanders and white people.

It’s easier to make a list of the things that Hillary Clinton doesn’t blame for losing the election. It’s going to be a short list.

A really short list. Herself.

The Mueller investigation is about removing President Trump from office and overturning the results of an election. We all know that. But it’s not the first time they’ve done this.

The first time a Republican president was elected this century, they said he didn’t really win. The Supreme Court gave him the election. There’s a pattern here.

Trump didn’t really win the election. Bush didn’t really win the election. Every time a Republican president won an election this century, the Democrats insist he didn’t really win.

Now say a third Republican president wins an election in say, 2024.

What are the odds that they’ll say that he didn’t really win? Right now, it looks like 100 percent.

What do sure odds of the Dems rejecting the next Republican president really mean? It means they don’t accept the results of any election that they don’t win.

It means they don’t believe that transfers of power in this country are determined by elections.

That’s a civil war.

It's not a shooting war, but it is a civil war. RTWT.

It's What They Do...

So, about those 11 shootings in the first 25 days of January 2018 ...

The stats were provided by Everytown for Gun Safety. Everything from their name to the words out of their mouths are lies. Why should this be any different?

Very Nice

Priceless Sword Discovered in Ceiling at Kasuga Taisha Restored

Recently Read

1824: The Arkansas War by Eric Flit

This continues Flint's alternative history of the American frontier started in 1812: Rivers of War. If you read and liked the first one, you will like this one. Patrick Driscol and his companions have founded their own nation in the Arkansas territory. Elements in the United States want them destroyed and the large population of freedmen and escaped slaves returned to slavery. Lets just say it doesn't go well for the bad guys. Flint is very good at alternative history. It's well thought out. The historical character are true to themselves. Flint don't cut anyone any slack. And the story isn't boring talk, talk, talk. There is some of that. This is as much about the politics and action. Can't be helped. I want another in this series, but Flint has pretty much wrapped it up in two volumes so... Highly recommended.

That's Funny

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I'm not a big anime fan. What I do like tends toward movies rather than series. I love the Studio Ghibli films and anything by Mamoru Hosoda. The anime series I like are Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Noir, Erased, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I'd heard good things about Fullmetal Alchemist but never had a desire to look at it. On a whim the other night I looked it up and found Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and watched an episode. I got hooked. Brotherhood is almost a page for page adaptation of the manga and works well. I even purchased the soundtrack, then started to watch the original adaptation to see what the differences were. When I get hooked, I get hooked. In my opinion, Brotherhood is the better of the two, but both are good. There are enough differences between them that you won't be bored by either.

Current Events

Businesses vote with their feet too...

California Democrats want businesses to give half their tax-cut savings to state

...and I expect to see more relocating out of California. Also a poor strategy for the mid-terms but what do you expect from clueless Democrats.

Recently Read

1812: Rivers of War by Eric Flint

This another novel I read on it's original release. It labeled an alternative history of the American frontier. I'd call it an alternative history of the latter half of the War of 1812. It's as good as anything written by Flint. If you haven't read it, do.

A Brother's Price by Wen Spencer

This is another I read some years back. Here we have a world at a early to mid-19th Century level of industrialization where there is one man for about thirty women. The usual gender roles are reversed and society has adjusted to the adult females in a family sharing a husband. The novel itself has the style of a standard romance novel. It's interesting and recommended.

Bill Whittle: Our Corruption Coma

Whatever

Day One of shutdown brings fiery rhetoric, but solutions remain elusive

I remember shutdowns during the Clinton and Obama Administration. They impacted me not at all even though those Democrat paragons organized those shutdowns to inconvenience taxpayers to the full extent possible. I doubt Trump will play such games. The clear message of this shutdown is that Democrats place the welfare of non-citizens over citizens. Strange that? Also whatever. [UPDATE]

Government Shuts Down, Nation Descends into Riots, Looting and Cannibalism

Huh? Seventeen government shutdowns? That goes to show how much impact they had on anyone outside the Beltline.

No Blogging

Dealing with family issues. Twelve plus hours int he Emergency Department last night with both wife and daughter. Maybe later.

I Can See Him Doing That...

Snow in Durham, North Carolina...

...and, yes, that's my finger.

Current Events

Recently Read

The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon

I thought I'd read all of t he Outlander novels then I found this. Lord John and Jamie join to carry out a task in Ireland. It takes place while Jamie is at Helwater. I really wish Gabaldon would finish the nest novel. This one was excellent.

Tell me his position on gun control...

...and I'll tell you how much I care.

Candidate for Illinois attorney general robbed at gunpoint

This answers that one.

He will undertake unique, progressive solutions to the spread of gun violence, including going after gun manufacturers and the NRA whose sole vested interest is to sell more guns.

Figures, it's Chicago. Glad no one was hurt.

Unless you are a politician concerned about one upping the President

Tucker Carlson on Trump’s ‘Shithole’ Comment: ‘Trump Said Something That Almost Every Single Person in America Actually Agrees With’

Lately, it is a three ring circus...

...just not the way they meant.

Heh

If You Don't Like a Law...

If You Don't Like a Law...

Legislative powers are the power to make and repeal laws. Those powers are not vested in the executive branch, which includes the president and, more relevant to this discussion, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recently announced that he will no longer follow an Obama-era policy of not enforcing federal laws against marijuana. Some states have repealed their own laws against marijuana, but marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and will stay that way unless Congress legislates otherwise. - Glenn Harlan Reynolds

I'll Not Hold My Breath [Bumped]

Bovard cites plenty of evidence of FBI/DOJ wrongdoing over the years. Senior Administrators/Staff knew about it and have done nothing. Maybe Trump will, but Sessions came out of that culture. These prosecutions take place because the victims dared to resist the government and an example must be made. I hope to be surprised. I doubt I will be.

Cliven Bundy-FBI debacle: Another example of why the feds need to be leashed

[UPDATE: 1/8/2018]

Charges against rancher Cliven Bundy, three others are dismissed

This is fine, but until prosecutors and agents get hosed for this kind of conduct, it will continue.

What does it say that the Bundys case was not only dismissed, but dismissed with prejudice, which means the government can’t reopen it. What does it say that it was an Obama appointed judge who did it? How bad was the government’s misconduct in the case, and if it was that bad, maybe the protesters had some justification for shaking their guns in the tyrant’s face? - Sebastian

Recently Read

Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham

A naval task force from 2019 is dropped through time into U. S. forces head to Midway in 1942. I read this when it originally came out but not since. If you favor alternative histories, this is for you. Recommended.

A Necessary Clarification...

...by the Federal Courts.

Temporary Mental Hospital Hold is Not a Firearms Disqualifer

She Should Have Stayed in North Carolina

NYC woman shoots ex-boyfriend after he kicks open her door—and she’s taken into custody. Here’s why.

New York City, that's why.

Now That Was Unexpected

Recently Read

Yes, I've been reading alot lately.

"...And Then There Were None" by Eric Frank Russell

I've read this novelette by Russell more times than I can remember. The same is true of the novel he expanded it into, The Great Explosion. If you haven't read either you've missed a treat. The general plot is that when a faster than light drive was discovered the misfits of Terra took the opportunity to depart. Now, four hundred years later the Terran Empire is attempting to bring them back into the fold with mixed results. It is a classic for a reason. The links above go to free versions of both. Enjoy.

Recently Read

1636: The Vatican Sanction by Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon

The latest chapter in Flint's 1632 saga. This chapter continues the story of Sharon Nichols, her down-time husband, Pope Urban VIII, and the Wild Geese as they battle for the heart and soul of the Catholic Church. It meets the standard of quality I've come to expect from any book in this series. If you like the series, you'll like this book. If you haven't read any books in this series you'll have to start with 1632. The series is not one to jump into mid-series. Recommended.

Recently Read

Slow Train to Arcturus by Eric Flint and Dave Freer

I picked this book up when it was originally published in 2008 and it didn't grab me at all. I read one chapter then got distracted by something else. I did intend to give it another try but then something else and something else. Nine years later I picked it up again. Good book. It reads more like Freer than Flint and reminds me of Eric Frank Russell's The Great Explosion, which I also need to read again. . Aliens investigating a colony ship approaching their star meet up with various human societies that have evolved during the four hundred year voyage. It doesn't go so well. Like I said, good book. I 'm sorry it took me so long to read it.

It's Snowing...

...and everybody is going bats#&t. It's just snow guys even if we are in the South.

The picture is off my cellphone and is crap.

For the Hell of It

ATF Proses New Rule on Bump Stocks

Another House aide agreed that ATF's presentation made it clear that the agency is unlikely to push for a new regulation. This aide said the feeling at the agency is that current law is clear enough, and that it would be difficult to impose a new regulation limiting access to bump stocks in a way that's consistent with U.S. law.

Apparently, being consistent with U. S. law is no longer a problem.

Application of the Definition of Machinegun to “Bump Fire” Stocks and Other Similar Devices

A Proposed Rule by the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau on 12/26/2017

ATF: the Agency of making [shit] up as they go.

If you think there is no such thing as a slippery slope...

...I suggest you look at California. Actually, in California, it's more of a cliff.

California Ushers in 2018 with Ammunition Control

Happy New Year