‘A Slander Against the Film’: Narrator Says Documentary Shown to NYPD Officers Isn‘t ’Anti-Muslim’

You can watch the film for yourself by clicking on the link below:

The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision for America

In some states if two (or more) criminals engage in a felony and someone dies as a result then the surviving criminal(s) can be charged with murder. This can result in strange cases where the intended victim successfully defends themselves with deadly force and a criminal is charged with the death of another criminal. This happens even though the criminal not only didn't inflict the deadly injury they had no injurious intent against their criminal comrade. They could have been 100 feet away driving the getaway car and yet they are charged with the murder of the masked guy with the gun in the bank.

But how are those numbers tallied in the stats? Will that justified homicide show up as a murder? Will it show up as both a justified self-defense killing and as an illegal murder? Or will it count as a justified homicide?

Does anyone know? Does anyone know how to find out?

This could make a (probably small) difference in some of the statistics we use when defending the specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms.

...

The peasants who told the fairy tales were superstitious people who were not critical thinkers, and it shows in the stories. Joan Peterson is like that: you expect at least a pseudo logical argument, but instead you get the weird ramblings of a woman with the critical thinking abilities of an 18th century peasant.

Ken
Comment to That is what I am afraid of.
[If the lack of critical thinking skills was something that common it makes me wonder how we ever made it out of the dark ages. And much more important is the answer to this question, "Is the prevalence of Peterson Syndrome evidence we are headed into dark age?" Freedom and enlightenment may have been just a short twinkle in the big picture of human history.—Joe]

...

Friend Jenn has moved house, both literally and on the internet.

Personally, I'd have titled the new blog katabasis instead of HedgeRoot. Orpheus only went to Hades for love, but she went to Massachusetts.
.

On her maiden voyage in 1952, the S.S. United States won the Blue Riband prize for fastest Atlantic crossing by a passenger ship, crushing the previous record set by the S.S. Queen Mary.  To this day she still holds this record: no other passenger liner was ever able to wrest it from her.  She averaged over 35 knots speed, crossing an entire ocean.

She was essentially constructed around her massive engines.  Designed for speed, her all-aluminum superstructure was at the time of her construction the largest aluminum fabrication effort ever under taken.

She's been mothballed in Philadelphia since 1996, nearly three decades since she was retired. 

 

You see, she was too slow.  The 19...

I am pretty sure that the U.S. military either issues combat knives to all infantry, or at least to some special operations units.  But I would like some sort of official evidence of this.  Can someone find it?

Okay, the reporter makes a few statements that reflect cringe-worthy ignorance. Still … this is a good report. And the last line (last paragraph if you read instead of listen) is just howlingly marvelous. Seems NPR is also coming to understand the nicely Outlaw concept of “law-abiding law breakers.” :-) Side note: This is the [...]

I use the Blue Force Gear Vickers Combat Application Sling (VCAS) extensively. In fact, I own more than 10 of them because I like how simple they are to adjust versus other slings and the quality is excellent. Because I use them so extensively, I was fascinated by this video that Blue Force Gear and [...]

Start with the fact that Obamacare will be imposing a 3.8 percentage point increase in capital gains taxes next year. Next comes the question of whether the Bush tax cuts will expire. If they do expire, the base capital gains tax rate goes up to 20%. In addition, there will be another 1.2 percentage points added for high income earners. Altogether, if the Bush tax cuts expire, the total capital gains tax will rise to 25%.

From the AP:

Bloomberg says Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin Dempsey and other Army officials "made it clear" to the city "they do not think a parade is appropriate now." . . .

All those rules requiring that work be done by unionized workers only had a small (I assume temporary) impact on the percent of workers who are unionized. From the WSJ:

The percentage of workers who belong to a union inched down to 11.8% from 11.9% in 2010, a decline the Bureau of Labor Statistics said left the rate "essentially unchanged." . . .

In 2011, the private sector added about 110,000 union members, pushing the total there to 7.2 million. In the public sector, membership fell by 61,000 as budget-strapped federal, state and local governments cut jobs.

Still, public-sector union members continued to account for more than half of the nation's total union members, and their membership rate of 37% remained five times greater than the private sector's rate of 6.9%. . . .

<br>.

See my article at WON http://www.womensoutdoornews.com/2012/01/if-you-cant-go-to-shot-fill-your-time-with-robotics-and-steel/

Last week it seems like everyone and their brother in the shooting world was at the SHOT Show! Sadly, I still have one more year before I can make it out to the show myself.  Luckily, there is no height limit bu...

Guns.com article: Why Do Concealed Carriers Carry Concealed?

My buddy Jonathan called me this week. I've known him for several years, we met on an internet gun forum (aka: Termite) and later realized that we lived just several miles apart. He wanted to help familiarize his teenage daughter with a revolver, so we went out to my private range to do a little shooting.

That's Jonathan and his lovely daughter, Nicole. She's a student at Louisiana Tech and wants to learn about revolvers. We began with a short safety course, talking about the Four Rules and instilling things like muzzle control and trigger discipline. Then we dry-fired a bit, got our eyes and ears covered, and started to learn the basics.

I've been struggling my way through The First Circle, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Oy.

Maybe I just need to go ahead and accept the fact that I'm not intellectual enough for these guys. In examining Libertarianism, years ago, I dutifully slogged through Hayek and Mises, Nozick and Garrett. Rothbard, LeFevre and Read, oh my! I assumed, naturally, that the fact none of it taught me anything or made me anything but sleepy was entirely my fault. If only I were smarter. If only I had more education. Secretly, in that part of my heart I keep from expressing while confessing my faults at Party meetings, I thought, "If only they were better writers."

I'm aware that the writings of academics are supposed to be turgid and opaque, because only thus may the reader confront and hopefully overcome his own faults. The Emperor's New Clothes are a marvel of dazzling beauty, if only you could see them. But such things are not for hoi polloi like me. The older I get, the less it bothers me.

Sometimes it's right out in the open, as with Atlas Shrugged. That book is a shibboleth for separating true Objectivists from false on...

Workman weighs in. [Read]

It appears that the powers to be have decided to x-ray Americans from every angle. If you get on a plane, train, or bus, or are sitting in your car and they do drive by scan, or if you are walking down the street and they scan you for a weapon. This of course is for your personal safety. Don't worry about the cell damage or potential cancer risks.

Drive-by Scanning: Officials Expand Use and Dose of Radiation for Security Screening

• It depends on how you define "practical": Wilson discusses allocating more gun money to "practical" pieces rather than collector arms in 2012, to which I replied "If you think that things are going to go all colander-on-the-face, then yes, an M4gery is worth a pile of K-22s and Colt Gold Cups. But if you're expecting civil order to remain relatively intact through a period of economic turbulence and inflation, collectables historically perform well in those periods, as people are desperate to turn fiat money into tangibles as soon as it hits their hands." And you can't shoot a looter with a Willie Mays rookie card or a Gibson Les Paul, but a 1912 97% NRA EXC Smith & Wesson Triple Lock is still a .44.
• 
  
• I want the Broad Ripple franchise for this.
• 
  
• ...

T-Bolt made me.

The key here is how the government defines colleges as being "too costly." Will it simply be tuition or the amount spent? Obviously public colleges cost much more than they charge. I also hate to think of how the federal government is going to determine quality. The article below also has a discussion about possible price controls. From Bloomberg Businessweek:

Saying “we just can’t keep on subsidizing skyrocketing tuition,” President Barack Obama proposed to have the government, for the first time, link federal aid to a college’s ability to control tuition costs and maintain education quality.

“We are putting colleges on notice -- you can’t assume that you’ll just jack up tuition every single year,” Obama said today at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “If you can’t stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers every year will go down.”

For institutions that control costs, the administration is proposing to increase campus-based aid to about $10 billion a year, up from $1 billion. The bu...

I'm finishing my third cup of coffee while piddling, waiting for a friend to show up so we can go shooting. He's got a college age daughter who has expressed an interest and we're taking her to my private range to familiarize her with handguns. I may try out my Airweight depending on how the session goes. I might not even take it out; we'll see. This is about her confidence and first steps, not about me.

I've got all my gear stacked and I'm going through the mental list in my head. In another half hour, we'll be heading to the range.

Sure the old diesels were a problem. Not so much with the new ones. Kia Rio review - TelegraphThe headline “eco” engine is a three-cylinder, 74bhp, 1.1-litre diesel, which achieves a remarkable 88mpg EU Combined consumption and CO2 emissions of 85g/km.Granted, it is in a car that probably can't pass US crash tests, but maybe it can. (The Europeans are getting more serious about safety. They do

Interesting.

The School District for the first time plans to buy more than 600 iPads for use in the majority of schools this spring. Another 800 iPads are expected to be in classrooms by next fall, all paid for with money from a state settlement with Microsoft.

District officials are enthusiastic about the possibilities presented by tablets, from students wirelessly sharing classroom work to replacing workbooks purchased each year with online “apps.” Other districts in Dane County and around the state are already experimenting with tablets.

In Madison, the popular computing device presents a “jumping off” moment for technology in classrooms that hasn’t happened with desktop and laptop computers, said Bill Smojver, the district’s director of technical services.

[...]

Principals have proposed using the tablets in a variety of ways. Sandburg Elementary, which is receiving the most iPads with 105, pla...

I am almost always happy to see it when candidates for the NRA Board of Directors try new ways to engage with NRA members. There are certainly enough empty seats on the Board, and there are many who you simply won’t ever have the chance to engage with if you don’t live in their state.

Anyway, David Coy put this together for his 2011 run, but I think it’s an introduction worth sharing this year.

I have to admit – I really, really love it when our opponents stab themselves in the back. It is no great surprise that the Germans had a word for that concept, but no matter how you cut it, watching anti-rights cultists destroy their own arguments with wanton disregard for the damage they are causing is hilarious indeed.

Speaking of, one of the few advantages of keeping at least half an eye on Twitter is that you occasionally find out about things before they hit the bigtime – for instance, when I read about some new "gun control" extremist organization called the "National Gun Victims Action Council" and how they were planning on boycotting Starbucks (yeah, because that ...

The more I realize, that no-one ever has been, or will be, as good as Thelonious Monk.


There has never been a better piano player certainly; nor a better composer of jazz music.


Why Monk isn't mentioned in the same breath as Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven, I simply do not understand.

Tweaking is for the experienced, for those who don't really need what is being tweaked all that much; or for those who have enough time and money on their hands to fix things (or have a professional fix things) when they inevitably screw them up.

General rule of thumb for almost everything...

The more things there are to adjust on a rig, the more things that:

1. Can be misadjusted
2. Can drift out of adjustment
3. Will go wrong

This can also be expressed as "there more there is to tweak, the more there is to fuck up".

It's not that you don't want adjustability; it's just that the more adjustable something is, the more you're going to need to adjust it... pretty much universally.

It doesn't matter what it is; guns, cars, stereo equipment, cameras, airplanes, motorcycles, bikes... anything mechanical, electrical, or in any way technical; the more there is to adjust, the more there is to screw up.

That's why stuff for amateurs usually offers limited adjustable bits, and limited ranges of adjustment; while stuff for professionals usually makes as muc...

Court Awards Attorneys’ Fees Against the City of Dearborn, Michigan for Violating a Christian Pastor’s Right to Freedom of Speech

Roomie's TV goes off at 0530. I go in and take advantage of the fact that it doesn't wake her up to do some channel surfing until it's breakfast time for Huck and Rannie, looking for blogfodder.

At 0600, I flip from the O'Reilly Report to the Rachel Maddow Show*. Spock now has a beard. Rachel does not. (But she should get one or people might start talking.)

Rachel Maddow: "...and meanwhile, Ron Paul is just gathering up all these delegates. What is he going to do with them?"

Me: "Build a moon rocket and threaten the world!"

(Incidentally, I found this photo of Rachel's bookshelf interesting.)

* I just can't bring myself to watch Fox & Friends. I swear to Vishnu, Fox's morning show looks like a parody of a conservative morning talk show you'd see in a dystopian Verhoe...

• Apparently, prospective customers of Colonial Penn life insurance trust Alex Trebeck a lot, and probably consider him a nice young man. Although, considering the target demographic, constantly repeating "...and I've been representing Colonial Penn for ten years..." is a questionable tack. "Ten years? I've been president of the mall-walkers club & neighborhood shuffleboard team longer than that!"
• 
  
• Saw a Newt Gingrich campaign ad. During the Rachel Maddow show. You'd have to open a Big Ed's Pig & Pit in Riyadh if you wanted to throw money away with less effect. (Either that or it's a clever ploy to reach GOP voters who monitor the enemy freqs. Newt is supposed to be the smartest guy in the room, after all.)
  
• 
  
• Bobbi's Theory of TV Products: If they offer to throw in a second one free, it is definitely garbage.
• 
  
• The forthcoming sporting contest in our fair city has local car dealers struggling to find a way to capitalize on it without actually speaking the trademarked words. One is offering a lucky customer a pair of tickets to "...

(Image source)

Sometimes Angels watch over us.  They watched over Kellie Pickler.  Her Dad was in and out of jail.  Her Mom wasn't there for her.

But her grandparents were.  She lived with them, and grew up, and became who she is under their wing. She grew up, a "normal" small town girl - church choir, cheer leading, basic growing from childhood to adult.  Without Mom or Dad.

But with her Grand Parents, and with an extraordinary talent.  Pickler hit the big time with American Idol, where Simon Cowell said that the should be singing Country.  Her ninth place finish gave her...

to protect Obama and others:

Sipsey Street Irregulars has learned that the Department of Justice, at the direction of the White House, has dumped more than 500 pages of documents including emails on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chaired by Darrell Issa tonight. Sources say that among these are at least one email on 15 December 2010 from then US Attorney Dennis K. Burke to Monty Wilkinson, aide to Eric Holder, informing the Attorney General office of the murder of Brian Terry and, later that day, of the seizure at the scene of Fast and Furious weapons. More shortly.

LATER: NPR was apparently the preferred outlet for the dump. Go here -- http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/01/27/146010135/emails-show-how-fast-and-furious-ambush-news-unfolded-at-justice-dept

They also have the emails posted. Holder is screwed. Of course the only reason they're doing ...

I recorded the last beer drinking session with Archie and transcribe it here:

My last will and testament, I leave you these: a box of mint-condition 1918 liberty-head silver dollars. You see, back in those days, rich men would ride around in Zeppelins, dropping coins on people, and one day I seen J.D. Rockefeller flying by. So I run of the house with a big washtub and... hey! Where are you going?  Anyway, about my washtub. I'd just used it that morning to wash my turkey, which in those days was known as ...a walking-bird. We'd always have walking-bird on Thanksgiving, with all the trimmings: cranberries, injun eyes, yams stuffed with gunpowder. Then we'd all watch football, which in those days was called baseball...


What?  Eh, why didn't you get something useful, like storm windows, or a nice pipe organ? I'm thirsty! Ew, what smells like mustard? There sure are a lot of ugly people in your neighborhood. Ooh, look at that one. Ow, my glaucoma just got worse. The president is a Democrat! Hello? I can't unbuckle my seat belt. Hello? There are too many leaves in your walkway...


We can't bust heads like we used to, but we hav...

Himself and I have quite the full weekend (yes, firearms are involved) so you get a couple of excerpts from one of my favorite movies:

Interesting observations.

They don't call it "The Sucker State" for nothing.

And looks like a darn fine idea for resistance fighters, too!

Newbie issue special.

Does the email from Wilkinson indicate the Attorney General committed perjury in his testimony before the committee?

"I can't remember my way to the john! What's my name? Why am I here? Did I forget to zip my fly? What's a fly?"

The Associated Press reports an outbreak of mass amnesia at the Justice Department!

In a letter to the committee, the Justice Department said that Wilkinson DOES NOT RECALL a follow-up call with Burke and that Wilkinson DOES NOT RECALL discussing this aspect of the matter with the attorney general. According to the letter, the department has been advised that Burke HAS NO RECOLLECTION of discussing this aspect of the matter with Wilkinson. (Emphases supplied, MBV.)...

There's a good number of folks that I met at SHOT 2012, and I'm going to take this opportunity to welcome everyone to the blogroll. I'll also use this time to add a few new blogs I've found since my last update (yeah, about that "once a week" thing...)

Folks I met at SHOT:

Richard from BlueSheepDog. Richard was my editor at Guns, Holsters, and Gear, and is just as nice in person as via e-mail. It was great to meet him and Randy in the press room - never underestimate the value of obsessively checking name badges to see if it's someone you know... :)

Alan Korwin from Gunlaws.com. Alan shared bread (literally and figuratively) with me at the gunblogger dinner during SHOT.

Destinee from FateofDestinee. Keep an eye on her - she's smart, funny, and is a breath of fresh air in the pro-gun movement. Her podcasts are engaging, entertaining, and informative.

Mr. Completely. I met Mr. C. in the press room the first day at SHOT, and one of the first questions he asked me ...

From the land of low “Gun Death” none-the-less.

A 15-year-old boy who died from “unspeakable savagery and brutality” was attacked by relatives who believed he was a sorcerer involved in witchcraft, a London court heard Thursday.

The victim, Kristy Bamu, was found drowned with 101 different injuries on Christmas Day 2010 in a flat in Newham, east London.

Good thing those Limeys banned guns and created an oppressive police state! Those things work AWESOME!

.(Please note: The fly in the photograph is not an employee of Carteach0, nor were any flies harmed in the testing of this product. The fly was strictly an uninvited guest, and does not represent the views of Carteach0 or it's staff.... meaning me.)Lasers are fun. There's just no way around that. As sighting aids on weapons, they are fun... useful, and sometimes downright necessary.

Love them or hate the fanboys, Magpul always puts out some innovative stuff. The 2012 Catolog is up for download here.

Apparently they used live ammo for many of the scenes in "Act of Valor." Cool beans. From the previous trailers, I'd just thought since they had SEALs in the film and plenty of Technical Advisors that actually know their shit, they just kept the CGI at a more realistic level. (h/t ENDO)

From the WSJ.
Remember Democrats coming to the defense of Obama's economic projections by saying that the worse the recession the stronger the recovery?

Also, only 28% of Americans think that the economy is getting better.

The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures the economic confidence of consumers on a daily basis, rose...

Is nagging the cause of the problem or is there something that causes the nagging? Do guys ignore requests because they don't care or do women nag because they want a certain level of control? From the WSJ:

Nagging can become a prime contributor to divorce when couples start fighting about the nagging rather than talking about the issue at the root of the nagging, says Howard Markman, professor of psychology at the University of Denver and co-director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies. For 30 years, Dr. Markman has researched conflict and communication in relationships and offered relationship counseling and marriage seminars. He says that while all couples deal with nagging at some point, those who learn to reduce this type of negative communication will substantially increase their odds of staying together and keeping love alive. Couples who don't learn often fall out of love and split up.

Research that Dr. Markman published in 2010 in the Journal of Family Psychology indicates that couples who became unhappy five years into their marriage ha...

Originally published at VolkStudio Blog. Please leave any comments there.

AppleseedInfo.org

This afternoon when I turned on the Toshiba it completely refused to reach out to the internet! And the problem seemed to be with the machine itiself- the wireless on/off switch on the face of the machine would not turn the connectivity on or off... This did not look good and I tried a few things to get it going to no avail. I even called the Toshiba tech support but because my machine is out of warranty, any work they attempted over the phone was going to cost me 50 bucks- not good!

So I left it and the BSU and I went to a movie. When I got home, I started Google searching for solutions and in a few minutes I found a forum that offered a couple solutions. The 2nd solution offered up actually worked! Sweet! I just saved myself 50 dollars! I have to admit I was pretty surprised to be able to resolve this by myself but I'm tickled by my results.

If only every problem in life could be solved with a Google search...

If you are a hunter in Ohio, please take a moment to answer the following 4 questions.

Blog reader Marc spotted this guy out and about somewhere in Maine today. This Subaru driving guy likely hasn’t taken a day off since 1967…… or more likely he’s employed in the medical field (they use endo as a prefix a lot there).

See ENDO on anything in your day to day travels? Peed “Everyday No Days Off” in the snow? Trampled out some crops spelling ENDO so it can be seen from space? send it in. I might not post everything, but worst case scenario i’ll keep record of it and possibly draw for a t-shirt or something.

The fact that this movie was filmed with DSLR cameras AND they used live fire basically puts it at the top of my list of movies to see.  I didn’t have time to go to the SHOT show this year, but I should have just flown in to see the advance screening of this movie which they would have let an industry guy like me into.  Oh well I guess I’ll have to wait until sometime after February 24th like the rest of you.

I don’t know how much LIVE fire they actually used, because in the above video it’s obvious that some of the scenes especially around the 1:13 mark are not live fire or the whole camera crew would have been dead.

If you haven’t seen the full trailer check it out – ...

We discussed here in February, 2010 how the Starbucks chain, when gun haters demanded that firearms be banned from their coffee shop premises, stood up and said no, they would follow the laws of the given state, and those legally carrying guns would be welcome.  My friend and colleague Dave Workman brings you up to date here: http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/nw-gun-rights-activists-coffee-up-as-starbucks-posts-profits . Be sure to read his links for background.

It seems than an anti-gun group has called for a boycott of Starbucks on this coming Valentine’s Day, February 14.  As Dave explains, many of us in the gun movement will be buying something at Starbucks on that day, just to make sure that Starbuck...

In my teens and twenties I was into archery. Back in junior high school, I was in the archery club, and brought my recurve bow with me to school on the bus. I suppose nowadays that would result in the local SWAT team being called out. Anyway, last month my 7 year old daughter expressed an interest in learning how to shoot a bow, so I got her a youth set from Three Rivers Archery. Naturally, if she was going to be shooting a bow I wanted in on the action.

However, when I strung the one bow I still had, a 55# draw Martin Howatt Hunter recurve, I realized that I was way over-bowed with it. I hadn't shot a bow for probably about 15 years and therefore, I'll need to work my way up to shooting a bow at that draw weight.

So, I picked up the current issues of Primitive Archer and Tradional Bowhunter magazines, as much for the ads as for the content. After considering several options I ordered a 40# Magyar Horse Bow from Seven Meadows Archery. Service from SMA was fast and I shortly had the bow in hand. The picture below shows it with the Martin.


...

Under 14 hours, which is a record.  No traffic delays at all, good weather, traffic streams going fast.

And Aqua Tean Hunger Force with the kids is awesome.  And Crash the Wondercat has rediscovered my lap.  That's awesome, too.

and every asshole behind these idiot rules; and who enforces them and screws their own troops over.

I shouldn't be surprised; they're also behind letting wounded troops die and putting the medics and flights in danger. All in the name of blindly following idiot rules.

More and more I lean toward the 'lamppost-rope-politician' formula, with the corollary 'lamppost-rope-fucking idiots in uniform and politicians in uniform'.

in the military; fits so well with the communist model he so loves


'The science is settled, all real scientists agree!" my ass.


Oh, Robb, you had to start that... Ok, in no order of importance:
Holland & Holland double in .470NE
S&W K32 Target Masterpiece
Barrett M82A1
AR15 with a piston upper in 7.62x39
on the last, I'm split between a Lahti 20mm, a Dragunov, and that shotgun(assuming it actually works and holds up)
Dammit, Owens had to remind me of the BAR and DeLisle...


The Fredericton, New Brunswick, PD should be ashamed of themselves. But then, if they were capable of shame th...

I do want to do a bit on government as a monopoly of violence and add the proper restrictions: government is the legal monopoly on aggressive violence.

That way crime and self defense are accounted for. And one can see the immediate dangers of a monopolistic collective that can legally beat you up, take your stuff, and toss you in the gaol.

Here's a little bit on the difference between American and German traditions on that idea. And instead of legitimate I went with legal as the legitimacy is derived from being legal.

Here's a bit on how the President just doesn't get America.

I don’t mean that Obama is crazy. What is so evident, however, is that he is so detached from reality. Even assuming Obama’s political goals, how he goes about expressing and implementing them proves that point. The issues and the America Obama described in the ...

Originally published at VolkStudio Blog. Please leave any comments there.

What am I doing here? No idea!

Originally published at VolkStudio Blog. Please leave any comments there.

She’s watching her friend’s photo shoot with morbid fascination…

Bleeding Cowboy Font …while it may not look like much to some of you, I wanted to do something new and different at a low-cost (FREE is always good).  It didn’t take as long as I thought it would take … Continue reading →

Sipsey Street Irregulars has learned that the Department of Justice, at the direction of the White House, has dumped more than 500 pages of documents including emails on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chaired by Darrell Issa tonight. Sources say that among these are at least one email on 15 December 2010 from then US Attorney Dennis K. Burke to Monty Wilkinson, aide to Eric Holder, informing the Attorney General office of the murder of Brian Terry and, later that day, of the seizure at the scene of Fast and Furious weapons. More shortly.

LATER: NPR was apparently the preferred outlet for the dump. Go here -- http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/01/27/146010135/emails-show-how-fast-and-furious-ambush-news-unfolded-at-justice-dept

They also have the emails posted. Holder is screwed. Of course the only reason they're doing this is to further the modified limited hangout, which now apparently includes Eric Holder. Remember, these are the emails ...

Of particular interest from the Dec. 15, 2010 email from Holder aide Monty Wilkinson to then-US Attorney Dennis Burke:

"I’ve alerted the AG…" [More]

This midnight Gun Rights Examiner report asks if the latest bombshell revelation has engulfed  Eric Holder.

Finally, we start to some professionalism from police LAPD detective arrested on suspicion of grand theft - latimes.com OK, the bad cop stole money from a drug raid. The good cop turned him in. The bad cop was on the job 27 years. "I am extremely disturbed and shocked by the arrest, but heartened by the actions of the detective who immediately reported what appeared to be criminal behavior," said

45 year sentence (16 served) for a crime he didn't commit. Jury Awards $25M To Man For Wrongful Murder Conviction � CBS ChicagoLoevy said Tuesday that police had “framed” Jimenez.“They strong-armed witnesses into falsely implicating [Jimenez], and when the real suspect turned up, they chose to ignore him because they had already built the case against the wrong guy,” Loevy said.They took away

This is a horror story. Man Held in Solitary Confinement 2 Years After DWI Gets $22M | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort WorthStephen Slevin was arrested in August of 2005 for driving while intoxicated, according to NBC station KOB.com. He said he never got a trial and spent the entire time languishing in solitary, even pulling his own tooth when he was denied dental care.22 Million will be paid, but my guess is

For those who know Atkins, yes, I have corrected the error of my ways and am now eating my veggies too.

3 cups spinach salad, 6 tablespoons Ranch dressing, and one small grilled steak and one grilled pork chop, cut up, equals dinner:

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I'm in awe about the strength you had to bury your son.  I think that would destroy me.

Et lux perpetual donna eis, Domine.  And save me from having to go there.

Amen.

or to be fired:
Students at the University of Wisconsin Law School were surprised at the end of the Fall 2011 semester when they received an e-mail from their Professor propositioning them. The e-mail asked students for their help in a private political project, while final grades in their classes had yet to be posted.
The professor, of course, sees no problem with this.

You're Screwed.

just doesn't cover it.

Damn.

Some new market research says Android tablets have now taken 39% of global market share. There are reasons to suspect that Nook and Fire tablets account for a bit more than half of that, but we’re still left with something of a mystery to explain.

We know why people are buying the Nook and Fire; they’re media-consumption devices tied to strong brands – book and movie viewers with web access as an additional draw. The mystery is this: Who has been buying the general-purpose Android tablets, and for what uses?

Somebody is buying them. We know this because retailers and distributors keep restocking newer models; if the sell-through percentage on the older ones was bad, that wouldn’t happen. There’s a lot of talk of “channel-stuffing” which ignores a salient fact: electronics retailers aren’t in business for their health. Carrying inventory costs money, and non-performing product categories aren’t cut a lot of slack these days. When you see vendor ...

Upside Down, Left To Right: A Letterpress Film from Danny Cooke on Vimeo.

The morning was busy, doc appointment, ortho surgeon follow up, followed by the yearly. . . knock, knock. . . mammogram! (I'm not a glutten for punishment, but all the visits were in the same medical facility which is a fair drive north for me).When I was done with all that, I was ready for company, so the truck was loaded up and off I went to meet Midwest Chick and Mr. B. for a bit.We each

We had a late Christmas present today--lunch with Brigid.  Oh yeah, there were gifts too.  You can read here what Himself and I came up with for Brigid--a perfume that will also work as an anti-jihadist repellant and various bits of lemony goodness, plus some homemade cayenne dark chocolate fudge. 

What she didn't mention is what she got for us. 

For Himself, a book called "American Industrial Machinery" by Wendel--a rare book that made his eyes light up when he opened the box.

And in the little shiny container, nestled in Kleenex, a pendant for me.  I'm still in awe.  An exquisite and delicate pendant of blues and golds, like the sky at noon over the prairie.  As beautiful as it is, the sentiment and the compliment that came with it means more--"I saw this", she said, "and thought that it was as beautiful and unique as you are."  I somehow managed not to go all girly-blinky, but it was a struggle.

We shared laughs, huffed her wrist for a while, an...

…it will be here soon.  No…it’s not zombies. With a new year, comes a new look, and Sass Brass & Bullets is getting a face lift. Check back soon for my newly re-designed website soon! Beth Filed under: Everything Else, Fabulous … Continue reading →

Interesting times. Plane had to do an abort landing because of cross winds. Got down on the second try after what appeared to be much religious conversion going on around me. I was whistling "Garryowen" and people looked at me like I was nuts. When we finally touched down, the cabin erupted in cheers. I just finished the chorus of Garryowen. As Churchill said, nothing is so exciting as to be shot at without result, or words to that effect. Miscommunication and poor assumptions caused pick-up arrangements to fail. Rented a car I didn't want to have to rent. Overnight accomodations failed for same reason, so it looks like a motel for Mrs. Vanderboegh's blacksheep son tonight. But still, I'm here. Will have more later. And if the fellow who gave me that Armor of God medal from the Pentagon gift shop wants to give me a call, my cell phone is still the same but I've lost your number. Short on blood suger, I'm headed out to get something to eat. May God bless you all who made this trip possible.

Robb Allen asks,

What 5 firearms would I purchase, should price nor practicality be an issue?

Well, I'm a practical kinda guy, but here's my list:

1) Single-shot falling-block type rifle. For me, this is a tossup between a Ruger No. 1 in a varmint caliber, or a Shiloh Sharps .45-110 Quigley. (Or, in AR15.com tradition, BOTH!)

2) A semi-auto combat-style shotgun. I'm not a shotgunner and I don't follow 3-gun so I'm not really sure what's hot right now, but I have only one scattergun in my safe at the moment - a Mossberg 590 pump. I'm open to suggestions on this one.

3) A 4" barreled Colt Python in Royal Blue with the roller-bearing action job. (Did anybody ever make a 5" version of this revolver?)

4) A really nice full-custom Browning Hi-Power, like ...

Allegedly it still works. It's a 4000-watt Trace inverter, that somebody just chucked out after an upgrade. Yeah, prices have come 'way down and all, but do you know what these things USED to cost?

I've got to do some research, since it didn't exactly come with a manual. But if I can get it online in the Lair it'll replace the inadequate 1500-watt RV inverter I'm using now, and also allow me to mount my old inverter in the Jeep as a sort-of backup power supply.

Whadaya think of me now, huh? Huh?

Conversations you don't hear every day...

“Are we talking about the penguin that just defecated on the floor?” state Senate President David Williams (R-Burkesville) asked.

“Actually, senator, I believe that’s your desk,” Stine replied.

A former California Highway Patrol officer was convicted Monday of first-degree murder for shooting her husband, collapsing in the courtroom when the verdict was read. [More]

And then there's this bit of responsibility acceptance:

When I grabbed it tight, it fired.

Who am I to argue? She's obviously more highly-trained than me. Except, when she's scared and needs it the most, she just doesn't think about "tactics from work."

Think of it as a "multi-agency tactical exercise." [Read]

Besides, "similar exercises have been seen in Miami and Boston."

Wonder what they're expecting...?

Got a smoking deal on a Tascam DR-08 digital audio recorder.  Look for a new episode once I have some content together in my head!

Looks like the legislature is considering giving the attorney general carte blanche to ban whatever ammo he or she wants. Also on the table is a proposal that would criminalize using a “defaced” firearm. But as is noted, the definition of that is so vague it could apply to a firearm that was refinished or subjected to ordinary wear or rusting.

Funny how other state legislatures seem to be able to define scratching off a serial number unambiguously, but Jersey can’t. They’ve been listening to the likes of Bryan Miller, who seems to have a goal to get more gun owners behind bars, for far too long.

TTAG has been promoting the Starbucks Buycott, which is greatly appreciated in terms of helping get the word out to a wide audience. One minor note, however: I’m not really on board with the paying with $2 bills. I’m not going to say it’s a bad idea, but nor do I think it’ll accomplish much in terms of influencing Starbucks. Corporate is the one that will make the decision about guns, and I can promise you what denominations people pay in isn’t among the things reported up through the chain of command. All paying in $2 bills is going to accomplish is making the person handling the money ask you for something else, or be annoyed they have to deal with an uncommon denomination. It’s not likely to percolate up to the decision makers. But Barron Barnett came up with a great variation on the two dollar bill idea that I think works:

Shove the 2 dollar bill in the tip jar. There will be 0 complain...

So the National Gun Victims Action Council FB page is overwhelmingly comprised of pro-gun comments (click “everyone (most recent)”). Also, how do they claim to have 14M members but only 140 FB fans?

An 11 year old boy should know well enough the consequences of brandishing a firearm in public at someone, so while I can certainly appreciate & understand the boys fear & tears, I have no sympathy for them.  To be crude about it, he ain’t so tough now.

So having ballooned back up to a 38″ waist and 190 lbs. at 5’8″ tall, I determined to do something about it:

1) drastically cut my daily caloric intake;

2) adopt an Atkins-style approach for what I do eat;

3) start exercising regularly again.

It’s been all of one week, and I’m both amused and delighted. This is fun, and I feel great! The kicker is, I’ve easily kept under my caloric goals all but one day this week. With the exception of a piece of chocolate cake that kicked me a tad over my calorie limit midweek, all I’ve eaten is listed in the post title (which I find hilarious). And I’ve not felt hungry.

Calories: I’m using the LiveStrong app on my iPhone to track calories and have my calorie count set for a 2-lb-per-week loss rate. That’s easily a third or fewer calories than I was eating (no more quick trips to Carl’s Jr., for example!) This thing is fantastic and makes it ridiculously easy to track what you eat.

Atkins:...

Make it a phone and I’ll buy one.

No, really:

Smartphones are constantly getting better at imitating compact cameras, but so far we haven’t seen many cameras that attempt to mimic smartphones. That changes today with the Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera, a 16-megapixel compact camera unveiled at CES. It’s a point-and-shoot camera that’s pretty much a smartphone without the phone. Powered by Android, the camera features a 3x (36-108mmm) optical zoom lens, a 3.2-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity, 720p video recording, and geotagging. The Android OS means that users can install and use Android Market apps on the camera (e.g. Instagram once it becomes available). It’ll be available starting in April for $300.

I might hold out for a different/better brand than Polaroid, and “16 megapixels” does not necessarily mean anything when those sensors are stacked on top of each other like tribbles, and a 6.5mm lens (am I reading t...

I really do not know what to make of a combat optic that not only has firmware, but also has a data port by which you can upgrade it.

On a more graspable level, however, that the same data port can not only be used to energize the optic by an external power source, but it can also be used to power other accessories from the optic’s onboard 3V CR123 battery. I have no idea if one would ever use a functionality like that, especially since the plug design is probably proprietary, but it certainly sounds interesting.

When it comes to actual functionality, though, the Browe Combat Optic apparently has a self-setting brightness feature that examines the light coming from the target, rather than the ambient light surrounding the shooter, and adjusts accordingly, as well as a vibration-based on-off switch, which seems like a fantastic idea for pretty much any battery-powered firearm accessory. Obviously, I cannot rationalize an optic that costs more...

...and that has created the public outcry to fire NYC police chief Ray Kelly over showing it to the policemen under his authority, and now has him apologizing for it as well.

The Third Jihad

Gun Shy recommends watching it now, before it is removed from youtube so that the readers can decide for themselves. The readers may also want to read the articles below.

Muslims call for NYPD chief to resign over movie

NYC police commissioner calls ‘Third Jihad’ film inflammatory, defends record with Muslims

Joan Peterson writes, "Rights of gun owners will be placed right along side of the rights of Americans to be safe from senseless shootings."

You have zero rights "to be safe from senseless shootings" or be safe from someone beating you with a baseball bat, or be safe from someone cutting your liver out with a sharpened credit card.

What you can reasonably expect is such criminals will be punished by our legal system.

Peterson thinking is so scrambled that I don't think she even understands the concept of a right but this time I think she said something refreshingly honest and almost profoundly revealing. She wants people to have same right to own a firearm as "to be safe from senseless shootings". That is saying she want you to have no right to own a firearm.

Thank you Brady Campaign Board Member Joan Peterson for finally saying what we have long claimed and you and your organization have long denied.

...

Seems that some of Romney's people think that if he loses Florida, they need to get rid of all this messy democracy and voters who don't do as they're told.




Because there is such a desperation by the so-called party elites, but that’s exactly what Gingrich is playing against.

And  that's why Newt's winning.  And so we get to the real problem with Romney and his staff.  Sure, he looks Presidential.  Sure, they're making all the Approved™ moves.  Yeah, they may be a little old, but hey - nobody says you can't get a nip her and a tuck there and be good as new!  Oh, wait ...

...

Remember when Gov. (the first around) Jerry Brown became known as Gov. Moonbeam?  I think Speaker Gingrich is about to become Speaker Moonstate:

Gingrich promised that “By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American.”

Gingrich, the former House speaker, told an overflowing crowd gathered on Florida’s space coast Wednesday that he wants to develop a robust commercial space industry in line with the airline boom of the 1930s. He also wants to expand exploration of Mars.

...

Gingrich is so confident in his vision in a lunar base that he said if the colony had 13,000 permanent American residents it should be considered for statehood.

Space travel is cool.  A permanent Moon base would also be cool.  I remember some years ago seeing a U.S. flag with a spiral galaxy replacing the fifty stars, and I liked it!  (The U.S. Senate chamber is going to need some serious enlarging to seat two senators from...

Little Johnny (or Suzy) is going to need something to carry their tactical sippy cup and Multicam pajamas in when they fast rope into day care. Thankfully, Fight and Flight Tactical has your pint sized operator covered with the Youth Utility Carry Kit (YUCK). The YUCK is a kid sized backpack that has every bit [...]

Here is something that is right in RobertaX's wheelhouse.  The Falkirk Wheel, what for moving the canal barges.  Up.  And down.

While I don't like to use them against Zombies, I do like them for semi suburban deer hunting.

This is kinda odd...  I own several Remington Model 11's all of a sudden.  They'd grown steadily, at $200 a pop or less.  I get one as a parts gun, then another falls in my lap, then another.  I'm not trying to get just this one type, it just worked out that way.

Thus... The only shotgun I own is a 12 gauge Model 11, and lots of backups. 

I was thinking of getting a pump gun, but I have so MANY Model 11s, what's the point? 

They are like commodities around here.  Like salt shakers.  Everyone has a bunch of those.  So many they might lost track of what they have. 

I am middling in it's use.  I'm not rubbish, but I don't write home about my mad clay busting skills.   I'd do more of it if there was a skeet/trap center nearer by, and thus be better at it.  My Boy Scout meetings as a kid were at a ...

The Mummy aka Bob Dole

Jim Geraghty (via his email morning Jolt) remembers history a bit better than Bob Dole does.

History will record that it was on January 26, 2012 that the Romney campaign high command looked at their tough spot in their battle against Newt Gingrich, and with a steely glint, exchanged knowing, grim looks, and nodded.

The command was given, “Unleash Bob Dole!” (He’s kind of like the Kraken [or the Cryptkeeper].)

Dole declared yesterday:

I have not been critical of Newt Gingrich but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late. If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on Republican candidates running for county, state, and federal offices. Hardly anyone who served with Newt in Congress has...

Much has been written about the end of the "Greatest Generation", that being those born between 1900 and 1925, those who saw, in their lifetimes, the titanic struggles of their neighbors in the Great Depression and World War Two, those who saw, in their lifetimes (if they lived through the War) the development of most of the technology that we...

Most folks are not old enough to remember the original "payola" scandal. The word Payola came from "pay to play" + the maker of the-then most popular jukebox, "Rockola". Aside from home vinyl records (45 and 33 rpm, with still quite a few 78s left over), you listened on (non-stereo) radio, played records (only stereo if you were a rich...

I already did.

Apparently, I ask too much:

It's not what I really wanted to ask him anyway.

Reality is stranger than fiction. And be warned in advance--this links to something really gross. [Read]

This isn't overcoming fear--there is no test of courage here.  This debases the concept of true courage, of truly overcoming fear to do what one must, and of paying an ultimate price if one fails.

Who wants fame and prizes that badly? What the hell is wrong with the people who would think up this degradation, the people who would produce it and the people who would do it?  What "contestant" with any sense of dignity wouldn't tell whoever expects him to go through with this to go to hell?

What kind of degenerates would squander freedom paid for with blood, powder, lead and steel on such disgusting and perverted exhibitionism, and can a "culture" that embraces this truly expect to survive?


From the network "family" that promotes "progressivism," naturally, and one that hasn't told it's viewers a damned thing about Gunwalker. 

As an aside, it's telling ho...

by Joe DeBergalis

With all the success of the gun rights movement in recent years, this might sound like a broken record, but 2011 was a banner year for gun rights. From the halls of Congress to state assemblies across the country, lawmakers heard the voices of gun owners loud and clear and enacted the legislation we were looking for.

In the state legislatures, the biggest win was the culmination of over a decade's worth of unrelenting work in Wisconsin, making Wisconsin the 49th state to allow its citizens some form of concealed carry. The victories kept coming throughout the year in Wisconsin with the passage of two pro-hunting bills and castle doctrine legislation.

Not to be left out, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Pennsylvania also passed castle doctrine bills. In Ohio a law respecting the right to carry in restaurants serving alcohol was enacted. And it became legal to use suppressors for certain types of hunting in Montana, while Washington fixed a longstanding error in its laws, which until now had allowed suppressors to be possessed but not used.

Florida added teeth to its preemption law which has been on the books since 1987. Local violato...

Just a small giveaway of 1 shirt this afternoon to see if you guys are paying attention.  If you are, I might do this more often.

If you don’t have Twitter already, i’m sorry but you’re either going to have to sign up or else opt out of this giveaway.

To enter follow me over at www.twitter.com/GunBlog and tweet exactly the following:

Follow @GunBlog and check out www.ENDOapparel.com for gun related t-shirts. #EverydayNoDaysOff

Rules:

• You must be located in the U.S.
• Do not create multiple accounts to enter (i’m sure none of you would anyway, but I have to mention it)
• Do not tweet the entry more than once

The Draw:

I’ll generate a random number on random.org later tonight ...

More from the 2012 SHOT Show…

What else do I love about SHOT? The people. SHOT Show is always packed with the grassroots heroes of our industry otherwise known as the gun and gear dealers, the many manufacturing and sales reps, and, of course, members of the media. You never know who you are going to run into. In a lot of ways it’s like a four day happy hour! Continuing with my favorite moments from SHOT, this post is all about just some of the über cool people at the show…

All the folks I have had the pleasure to meet from NRA News  are super nice. But just how far does “super nice” go when you’re stan...

Just so you know, SIG SAUER is giving away their shiny new P224 sub-compact.

Win the P224

It's always a good day when you can win a new gun...
That is all.

Heh. My Friday Gun Pr0n is just about to be eclipsed by the DGC...

FarmDad send me this one last night in Gunblogger Conspiracy chat:

Slaton man kills home intruder

One person is dead and two are in the hospital after a Slaton homeowner interrupted, and shot, a home intruder Thursday.

Fred Melcher, 69, was entering his home on the 1400 block of Lynn Street when he and Edith Ayers, 51, interrupted an intruder. Authorities say Melcher knew the intruder and believed he was being robbed.

"Knew the intruder" is wide open for interpretation. Could be someone who'd done work on the house, could be a neighborhood kid, could be someone he knew from work. In any case, the recently-reduced-to-room-temperature goblin was in Melcher's home uninvited and was redistributing Melcher's belongings. When confronted, he started shooting. There's precious little reason to believe this is anything other than a 100% good shoot.

Dead Goblin Count: 249
...

This is made of utter fail for our opponents Boycott:

Congratulations to the folks at NGVAC, you’ve likely succeeded in being salespeople of the year for Starbucks Coffee. If this number keeps going up, Starbucks isn’t just going to ignore you’ll, they’ll tell you to protest them again so they can see another boost in sales that day.

Yes, that’s 6600+ people, and the number just keeps going up. Last night it was at 5900.

We all probably recall the essay which outlined the distinction between the Wolves, the Sheep and the Sheepdogs, but every once in a while you run across someone that epitomizes that, and is able to articulate it in an interesting an engaging way.

This Dutch General is pretty obviously a sheepdog, and this kind of idea is certainly good to get in front of a TED audience. TED might be stuff that white people like, but that Video has 143,000 views. I watched this wondering what people like @CSGV and the “peace” movement generally think about statements like this?

Hat tip to Clayton Cramer for the video

Tam pretty much sums up my thoughts on what I had previously believed was a non-existent problem, of people making food out of aborted fetuses:

Meanwhile, Oklahoma is becoming a vanguard state in the struggle to ban the use of aborted human fetuses in food products to be consumed by humans, a problem heretofore unknown by anyone, save that narrow demographic consisting of insomniacs who own shortwave radios.

My god, it’s like the Age of Reason never even happened.

I’ve been pondering if our elected leaders have never really been all that bright, but we could count on dead tree media to politely hide the worst of the idiocy from us, or whether we’re really on our way to electing potted plants.

Careful cleaning those things. Not for the squeamish.

Blogroll round 2 done.

Packing Pretty, 24 year old NRA certified instructor who actually carries a pink gun.

Right here.

One of the Home invaders of the Petit family has been sentenced to death.

A U.S. man was sentenced Friday to die for killing a woman and her two daughters during a night of terror in their suburban home, a crime that halted momentum to abolish the death penalty in the state of Connecticut.

For those who don’t remember this crime.

Hayes was convicted in 2010 of raping and strangling Hawke-Petit and killing the girls. The girls were tied to their beds and doused in gasoline before the house was set ablaze; they died of smoke inhalation. Komisarjevsky was convicted of the killings and of sexually assaulting Michaela.

Of Course not all is bright.

Komisarjevsky joins accomplice Steven Hayes and nine other men on Connecticut’s death row. The state’s last execution in 2005 was the first since 1960, and Komisarjevsky will likely spend years, if not decades, in prison.

For those of us not intimately involved in the ca...

I’m sure the Kill the Jews Movement will be calling for re-enforcements this weekend.

U.S. Park Police are warning occupy protesters that they must stop camping at two Washington parks on Monday or risk arrest.

The National Park Service is distributing fliers to protesters Friday at McPherson Square on K Street and at Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue. The notice says protesters must comply with regulations that prohibit camping at those sites by noon on Monday.

They’re going to have to clear the park and gather up all the detritus to do this…you know there will be rocks and bottles, and possibly weapons concealed in camps wielded against officers.

Just watch, DC at noon is NOT the place you’ll want to be this Monday.

Spencer: Jihad Denial in New York

I told you if you came back, I was gonna kill you.

Anonymous St. Louis Woman
January 2012
Self-defense shootings to get closer scrutiny
[And she did kill him. She will not be charged.

From reading the article I am strongly inclined to conclude that while her actions were probably within the letter of the law she violated the spirit of the law, and acted immorally.

On the other hand if the backstory been that it was my daughter and she had been beaten by him for years (from the story above this is not known to be true), finally kicked him out, and had a restraining order against him at the time he broke in I would have been strongly inclined to handle it differently. Rather than giving the gun to the woman as the guy in this case did I would have had a strong urge to tell her, "I can shoot better than you. Close your eyes and plug your ears." Then I would have done my best to empty the gun into him before he dropped to the floor. At clo...

Obama, take note: In the immortal words of that visionary military genius, General "Buck" Turgidson, "Mr. President, we must not allow a spaceborne Lego figurine gap!"

Americans are going to be jittery about this, knowing that little thing is overhead, going "Beep, eh? Beep, eh?"

This is the chance to capture the imagination of a generation, Mr. President. You need to get out there and claim that we will put a Lego minifig on the moon by the end of the decade!

(H/T to Blunt Object.)

This is the most slippery of words, uttered by the most slippery of people as they try to turn our eyes from the charnal house of their philosophy.   

Sure, 50 million babies are dead from abortion since Roe v. Wave, but women now have the right to choose.

Sure, millions are jailed in the War on (some) Drugs, but we think that maybe we've kept someone from getting addicted.  Maybe.

Sure, Stalin killed millions in the Gulag, but he saved the Glorious Revolution.  Didn't he, Comrade?

Moldbug is at it again, about how the USA is a Communist Country.  I actually agree with him (I think, in the main), but am digesting his post - as indeed all his posts require digesting.  In the mean time, we need to be unflinching in how we view the World, and its history.  Unlike so many Progressives, we need to shun the slippery but, to see the past - and its actors - for what the...

Want to see how often a word is used in books by year?  Books.google.com has something called an Ngram Viewer that lets you see how often a particular word or phrase in used across the centuries.  There are some surprises: rifle appears surprisingly often in the seventeenth century, then falls off, coming up in frequency in the nineteenth century.  Of course, remember the limitations of those OCRed books--there are a lot of words that do not appear because the print was hard to OCR.

The other limitation is that the starting date of many series is used for publication date, even if the issue in question is centuries later (or even wrong).  For example, the Ngram for the word "feminism" had matches in the early seventeenth century but nothing until the twentieth century.  What are those early matches?  One is an error on the Latin word "feminis" in the ...

Where we're making stuff and selling stuff and moving it around and UPS drivers are dropping things off everywhere.

Why do I keep thinking back to John Brunner's The Jagged Orbit, set in what was then the future, where a semiliterate black man is President of the United States, and journalists throw softballs at him so that they don't make hi...

At SHOT Show, one of the things we got started on was building my gun for Limited-10. This is in conjunction with my sponsor Lone Wolf, who will be providing most of the parts for the top half of the gun. Because I’m shooting a Glock 21 in CDP, the Limited 10 build will also be on a Glock 21 frame so that I can interchange parts and mags between both guns. In fact, the guns will serve as backups for one another at matches – if the Limited-10 gun goes down, the IDPA Glock 21 will be its backup. And if the the IDPA Glock goes down, I’ll have a stock Glock top end for the L10 gun as well for backup. Two is one, after all.

The first order of business is to lighten the hell out of the slide. The slide pictured is a standard Glock 17 length slide, but for the L10 build, we’re going with a six inch slide. That’s a lot of metal on top of a plastic frame, and to make sure ...

The Kimber Sapphire Ultra II is a 3″ .45 ACP 1911, the slide of which has been coated a shiny blue using physical vapor deposition (PVD).

At SHOT Show one demographic was drawn to the Sapphire Ultra II. You guessed it: women. And how could we not be? A shiny blue 1911? Sign me up!

I’ve never been a big fan of the Ultra. Difficult to control and easy to limp wrist, the Ultra is not a gun suited for novice shooters. While putting the shiny blue coating on it certainly makes it pretty and kind of makes me want one, I wish they could have pimped a cool gun. For example, if they’d put the same coating on a Custom Eclipse II in 10mm I would buy it in a heartbeat, and then I would own the only one because no one else would be that ridic...

Sig is expanding their lineup of modular handguns with the Sig P250 in .380 ACP.

I know what you’re thinking, because I was thinking it too. “A 15+1 .380 that’s the same size as a 9mm? Why not just, I don’t know, carry a 9mm?” That was exactly what I thought, until I actually shot the Sig P250 in .380 at Media Day. Then it dawned on me that the little P250 in .380 was actually a neat little carry gun with an odd niche. Sure, it’s too big for pocket carry, but it has almost no felt recoil, a very smooth DA trigger, and was generally easy and pleasant to shoot. What it becomes then, is the new K-frame. There are a lot of people out there that want a gun but don’t want to become shooters – but they’ve taken a safety class and have decided the...

Are You In? — Barack Obama


Oh, dear!



I am SO not "in"!

Continued from: http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/the-burning-throne-episode-12-kuni-magatsu/

For those of you just tuning in, this is a weekly serial I’ve been posting. It is a journal from my monthly Legend of the 5 Rings roleplaying game that I play with a bunch of other Utah writers. Obviously, when it is a bunch of writers, you can’t just play a game. You’ve got to write it too.  

In this particular game, it was Tsuruchi Machio (played by Rob Wells) that started the fight by shooting at something suspicious in the trees. He then shot another guy after the cease fire, and was the one that tossed the sword into the bushes later that night. It works out later on though, when after Rob got kidnapped by birds (long story) I got to assign him the most annoying man in the world as his “yojimbo”.

Fourteenth Entry

From the journal of Hida Makoto, Crab Clan. 

The Brotherhood of the Paper Lantern faced its first serious test last night, and I’m af...

The Battle of Gettysburg, generally looked upon as the turning point of the Civil War, occurred over three days, July 1 – July 3, 1863.

The first day of Gettysburg consisted of a meeting engagement, in which fate favored the Union. Elements of A.P. Hill’s Corps ran into veteran Union cavalry armed with repeating carbines occupying a good defensible position on a ridge. Reinforcements arrived for both sides, but the Union forces which arrived first consisted of the best troops in the Union Army, Reynolds’ First Corps, including the renowned Iron Brigade. Nonetheless, the Confederate infantry eventually drove the Union forces back, compelling them to retreat to the next ridge line east of the town. The first day of the Battle...

Go to The Feral Irishman for the video here.  Needs a depilatory but certainly has it goin' on.

Guns.com article: Franchi's New Inertia-Driven 12 and 20 Gauge Affinity Shotguns (VIDEO)

Via Radley Balko:

Man gets Tasered, beaten despite having committed no crime. Federal judge finds that the force was excessive, and orders damages for pain and suffering in the amount of . . . one dollar.

We all understand the "tip-a-penny" insult, right?  Any questions here?


With apologies to Pete at WRSA:  Do you understand yet?

You be the judge.

I'm not proclaiming that Ian is actually Ezra Pound. But look at some facts.


*Pound was committed to an asylum for being an "intellectual crackpot." Ian could be mistaken for an intellectual, if the light was bad. H...

Arkansas: Passenger Gets $1 After Excessive Cop Tasering

The judge found payment in full of Kirby's $167 in medical bills covered his actual damages. The judge also ordered the city of Barling to revise its unconstitutional taser policy that allowed use of tasers against individuals passively resisting officer commands. On the question of pain and suffering, the judge found Kirby was only entitled to $1 in compensation.

"Although I concluded excessive force was used on plaintiff, I do not believe the evidence elicited shows the conduct was motivated by evil motive or intent or involved reckless or callous indifference to plaintiff's federally protected rights," Marschewski wrote. "At most, the evidence established that the defendants, in reacting to plaintiff's desire to leave the scene and failure to submit to their commands, failed to meet the situation at hand with an appropriate degree of force."

Oh, well then. As long as there was no bad motive, I guess it's okay. Thanks, Your Honor, I'm sure ...

Y'know what I hate? I hate stupid.

I've never owned a Glock. No special reason, I've just used 1911s as my main carry guns for so long that that's the way my hand curls. On those rare occasions when somebody's foolish enough to ask for recommendations on first guns, I suggest they look at Glocks. Took me a while to get over my antediluvian prejudice against "plastic guns," but they've clearly proven their chops as good defense guns and I have nothing to say against them.

And I've never read Barrett's book, and frankly couldn't care less about any kiss-and-tell about "unsavory" business deals. The law has gotten so all-encompassing that we're all criminals, one way or another. Do they produce a good gun? Will they sell it to me? Yes and yes, so next case.

I guess I'm just trying to say that I really, truly, genuinely and in every other way have no dog in this fight. But this is...

That's some state motto they've got for themselves there in New Jersey, considering:

Common hunting, target, and self-defense ammunition would be subject to ban under A588, along with BB’s, airgun pellets, and plastic airsoft pellets!

Additional legislation being considered (A1013) could land gun owners in jail for refinished or damaged firearms that might be deemed “defaced” [More]

I wish Sandy and Diane well, but I don't want to set foot there.

Goody. [Read]

Although I'd have probably sent Furious Mike a remedy more appropriate to what ails him.

And while I don’t pretend to give a damn one way or another about what happens to this Mirkarimi character, who as far as I’m concerned is hoist on his own petard and not likely to have an epiphany on individual liberty even if he manages to beat the…uh…rap, his predicament points to a disconnect between crime and punishment driven more by the political correctness he and his kind have demanded, enabled and enforced, than by public safety. [More]

Today's Gun Rights Examiner report notes a rat caught in a trap of its own making.

I was catching up on a show via Hulu last night, and was barraged with Obama 2012 ads. Mostly touting what a great job he has done with the economy and how the eeevil oil billionaires are lying about his record. (It was so annoying I had to give up. I put up with commercials on Hulu because it is free, but seeing the same one over and over and over again is too much. Especially when it is insane.

If I were a patient of one of these doctors, I sure would like to know that they are liars.

MADISON, Wis. (WTW) — The Madison School District has released additional sick notes given to Capitol protesters last year which show two more doctors provided the excuses the district deemed to be fraudulent.

Fifteen doctors who signed the notes have not faced sanctions from the state Medical Examining Board. The notes were written after hundreds of teachers called in sick last February, closing schools for four days.

At least there is one… good for CAFFEINATED POLITICS.

While the bill was contentious, and one that I would argue does not have solid environmental protections, the outbursts and foul language used by protesters in the gallery to make their point was totally out-of-bounds.  The wholy inappropriate cursing at Republicans, draping of a banner, and the pounding on assembly doors made the whole lot of them more buffoons than serious-minded citizens.

Something very unhealthy to democracy has been unleashed at the Capitol over the past year, and unless it is reined in it only has the potential to become more unwieldy and perhaps even dangerous.  What we are witnessing has nothing to do with free speech, but instead is just boorish behavior that makes everyone looks bad.

It is not just the protestors who are to blame, but also legislators who really must conduct themselves in a fashion that underscores the responsibilities they shoulder.

While I am very opposed to Governor Scott Walker and his position ...

A couple quick follow-ups to recent posts. First off, in comments to my Maxpedition Gearslinger Malaga review, commenter CSM asks

Could you post a picture of how you have the Malaga rigged with pouches and camera. Thanks

Ask and yea shall receive!

Malaga with pouch

That's the Maxpedition EDC pouch strapped to the front. It has slots for pens and pencils, interior pockets for business cards, and even a clip for keys. Put the pack down and it's easy access to the small things you need walking around.

...

One of the interesting things that I took away from SHOT Show was how similar, in many ways, the show was compared to other professional conventions I've been to in other industries. You're either standing at the booth all day long, or you're walking around the convention center checking out the competition, chatting up the folks that do business with you to see what's new and exciting, or walking around collecting schwag. Well, there's a lot of schwag at SHOT Show...

See this bag?

Media Day bag...

Looks pretty full, because, well, it is:

...

I love the Wall Street Journal and the fact that they can make almost any economic story interesting. For example, the leading gong salesman in the U.S. Yes, gongs.

When the economy was going gangbusters, salesmen were piling into gongs. Sales people seem to like making customers bang gongs to ease the pain of buying something they might not be able to afford.

“But as soon as the recession hit, bam! It stopped,” says Mr. Borakove. Gong sales shifted over to the meditation market. “Because when people go broke,” he says, “they get spiritual.”

Turns out there are a few folks in the gong business, and they aren’t joking about the spiritual aspect of gongs. Their top buyers now are yoga instructors and people who are buying “planet gongs,” probably related to the end of the world predictions.

The gong dealer says that Countrywide was a buyer during the subprime crazy selling days. This should be a warning sign. Any business that thought it was a good idea to buy a giant go...

Anti-gun San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi arrested for domestic violence, has guns taken. David notes the other ironies.

Watched The Big Bang Theory last night and the guy that used to be on Roseanne took his girlfriend to the shooting range. Seems she shot a lot back in her home state of Nebraska and off they went (show takes place in Cali). Then, he mishandled the gun, after joking about how video games gave him prowess at handling them, and shot himself in the toe.

But I was amazed that a sitcom would actually show a range trip. They even had eye and ear protection.

Since it ended with him negligently shooting himself, I wouldn’t call it winning. But going to a shooting range being shown as fun in a sitcom is something.

Murfreesboro officer faces termination for forging documents to steal a confiscated gun.

A less lethal 50 bmg

PolitiFact is turning out to be a farce. Yet, again. And again.

They can’t see life outside the tank they’re in.

I’m with Robb, I tend to gravitate toward functionality (i.e., carry guns, practical rifles, and some plinkers). But guns I want were price not an object and I was tossing all practicality out the window:

1 – GE Minigun. At six thousand rounds per minute and with only one pre-86 model that pops up for sale every once in a while at the price of about a quarter million bucks, I can think of no more efficient and expensive way to turn money into noise.

2 – 10/22 suppressed pocket rifle with a Norrell trigger pack, making it a machine gun. A much less expensive way to turn money into not so much noise. SQUIRREL!!!

3 – Tactical over under short barreled s...

Armed garden gnome.

More of the same name people. Really, it’s almost sad how far they’ve fallen. But at least their current rhetoric matches their true intent.

FedEx driver who joked about delivering a bomb at a military base charged with a felony.

The Rail Master Laser, a universal and less expensive laser for weapons.

A day by day account, keep scrolling.

After yesterday’s flashlight blogging, some recommended the 4Sevens Preon 2. Looks to have the same features but about half the price.

Talking about getting a gun in DC.

Heh.

The Violence Policy Center on blacks and guns

Yeah, pretty much.

Insult to injury.

Cops taser and beat man who broke no law. Judge awards damages for pain and suffering of $1.

The governor notes our legislature spends too much time worrying about gay cooties.

In VA, panel moves to remove one gun a month restriction.

Police Charge Canadian Blogger With Criminal Libel…for Criticizing the Police

In FL, a bill to allow soldiers, regardless of age, to get carry permits. But anti-gunners want to disarm soldiers.

Next, they may let 19 year old combat veterans buy beer.

Number crunching

Awesome

Sporterized M1903-A3

Trio

Bersa BP9

Magpul Lower

Ithaca makes an AR.

From SHOT: VLTOR

CMP garand

"Plaintiff by backing away or beginning to leave was not evading or resisting an arrest at that point, because there was no evidence of a crime or other basis for any arrest of plaintiff to be made," Chief US Magistrate Judge James R. Marschewski ruled. "At most the evidence established that the severity of plaintiff's conduct was the failure to comply with a command of an officer. While this may be a crime, defendants offered no proof of any such crime or its severity, and plaintiff was never charged with any such crime."

The judge condoned this action though by not holding the officers or department liable for their actions.  Instead of providing a punishment that would instill fear in those who would abuse the public while wearing a shield he issued the following judgement.

The judge found payment in full of Kirby's $167 in medical bills covered his actual damages. The judge also ordered the city of Barling to revise its unconstitutional taser policy that allowed use of...

I got tied up at work and in a meeting yesterday.  I meant to do some blogging when I got home but just couldn't find the strength to push out some free ice cream.  I'm pretty exhausted still from the long meetings I had the past couple days so I may not get around to writing any posts tonight.

In the meantime here's some videos that are well worth your time.  The first of which is explains in detail why I felt "Fake It" was fitting for Wednesday's ear worm.

CATO nails it as they oh so often do. (via RNS)

The second I found initially via Joe.

I have nothing t...

John over at No Lawyers only Guns and Money found this great video of Emily Miller
...

A lever action styled like an AR.

For some reason, that tickles my GOTTA HAVE THAT bone.

Very little assembly required.

Imagine what the Salem witch trials would have been like if we'd had television back then. Young, excitable teenagers suffering mysterious symptoms "beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease to effect" would have gotten on the Today show, and the attention and excitement would have caused more kids to get possessed by demons, and the Malleus Maleficarum would be at the top of the NYT best seller list.

Of course, we're way too sophisticated for that nonsense now. Now we call Erin Brokovitch.

At least the girls of LeRoy haven't fingered the social studies teacher as a witch yet. (And a good thing, too, because the gullible naifs of that pathetic township would probably have the poor biddy hanged by nightfall.)

Meanwhile, Oklahoma is becoming a vanguard state in the struggle to ban the...

It's time - wheels pointed towards home once again, and this time with the promise that this won't be going on too much longer.  I have posts queued for the day while I drive the 900 miles towards where hearth and home (and bacon) beacon.



It's a good day.

Remember when Saturday Night Live had the recurring skit with Gilda Radner as Rosanne Rosanadanna, who would mishear something, rant about it, then get corrected, and then finally, "Never mind."

National Review Online points to one of those moments: a hit piece by Reuters on Florida Senator Marco Rubio that was apparently so flawed that they kept correcting it, and correcting it, and correcting it.  The list of changes at the bottom keeps growing.  At the moment:

(Removes words "and at times has had difficulty paying his mortgage," paragraph 7; removes "he did not make payments on a $100,000-plus student loan" and instead states "he did not pay down the balance of a $100,000-plus student loan," paragraph 10; removes "he was caught up in an Internal Revenue Service Investigation" and instead stat...

Because they are made under conditions that would be unlawful for a U.S. maker.  Karl Denninger has a very depressing article at Market-Ticker about the conditions and wages of the workers building your cool Apple toys.  He quotes a former Apple executive to the effect that:

“We’ve known about labor abuses in some factories for four years, and they’re still going on,” said one former Apple executive who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of confidentiality agreements. “Why? Because the system works for us. Suppliers would change everything tomorrow if Apple told them they didn’t have another choice.”

What amazes me is how many trendy sorts gotta have the latest and greatest Apple products--and yet insist on "fair trade" coffee.

...

They aren't very good at it...unless you define "good" as making investments in companies that go bankrupt.  I first saw this over at Small Dead Animals:

State Of The Union, Jan 24, 2012;

"In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries."

State Of The Battery, Jan 26, 2012;

Obama-backed electric car battery-maker files for bankruptcy

A bit more detail from CNS News:

 ...

If you are at all interested in a scandal that makes Contragate and Watergate seem pretty small potatoes (hundreds of people were murdered because of Fast & Furious), Dave Hardy at Of Arms and the Law just keeps them coming, with links to the letters Rep. Issa (R-CA) keeps sending, pointedly reminding Attorney-General Holder that one of his officials is pleading the Fifth Amendment.  He certainly has that right--but essentially admitting that you may have engaged in criminal conduct when you are in charge of prosecuting criminals?  Is there a problem there?

...

Summers' memo that gives some insight into what the Obama administration was thinking on the economy is available here. Here is a list of important points in the memo.

The stimulus was about implementing the Obama agenda
Team Obama knows these deficits are dangerous
Obamanomics was pricier than advertised
Even Washington can only spend so much money so fast
Liberals can complain about the stimulus having too many tax cuts, but even Team Obama thought more spending was unrealistic
Team Obama wanted to use courts to force massive mortgage principal write downs
Team Obama thought a stimulus plan of more than $1 trillion would spook financial markets and send interest rates climbing

Pages 10 and 11 shows a list of what others have proposed for Stimulus amounts.
It provides another forecast about the unemployment rate would be over time with and without the Stimulus....

From the WSJ:

A candidate for public office in any contemporary democracy may have to consider what, if anything, to do about "global warming." Candidates should understand that the oft-repeated claim that nearly all scientists demand that something dramatic be done to stop global warming is not true. In fact, a large and growing number of distinguished scientists and engineers do not agree that drastic actions on global warming are needed. . . .

I am a hot food freak. I don't know why I've developed a superhuman tolerance to peppers (maybe because my biological father smoked a couple of packs a day and put Tabasco, peppers, and cayenne on everything), I don't know for sure.  I also like dark chocolate--a lot--and have purchased just about every 'mexican chocolate'-type candy bar out there.  But nothing suited, quite.  So I found a quick fudge recipe online and have made my own modifications.

So the original recipe is 12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips, 1 can of sweetened, condensed milk, walnuts, and 1 tsp of vanilla.  Here's my version:

6 ounces of 82% dark chocolate (small pieces or chips)
6 ounces of 73% dark chocolate (small pieces or chips)
1 can of sweetened, condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
1.5-2.0 Tablespoons, cayenne pepper
1 tsp habanero powder
blessing of cinnamon

In a non-stick pan melt the chocolate together with the condensed milk over very low heat with the cayenne, habanero, and cinnamon. When the chocolate is melted, fold in the vanilla.  Line a 9x9 pan with waxed paper and put the mixture in, even it out and let cool...

The same friend that taught me to cast is retiring from the hobby. For a number of reasons, age, health, and other responsibilities, he no longer has the time or interest. He brought me all his cast bullets. It took multiple trips. Dozens of boxes and containers of all sizes filled with everything you could imagine. Pure linotype .30 caliber rifle bullets, pure lead .44 caliber balls, 7mm sized and lubed, it just went on and on. Each one more obscure than the last.

I was generous with them, called my friends, gave away thousands, only kept those I thought I might load. When I was done, I still had boxes that had been identified as only suitable to be remelted. Last night I fired up the propane, put on all the safety gear, and made these.


There's no getting arou...

"So that is where we are, as far as I know. The committee may have a rabbit in their hat. In fact, if they've been doing what they claim to have been doing they should have a whole warren of embarrassing rabbits for Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano and the sitting president of the United States. If. . . Maybe. . . Or, the fix is in, which means they have decided to try to save their rotten system and not the country."

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt van Rijn

It is early on the morning I fly out to Mordor-on-the-Potomac. I awoke too soon from my sleep with this essay almost fully formed in my head, and so I present it you, gentle readers, as a follow-on to ...

Clinton: Done with the ‘high wire’ of politics. Really. [More]

Via Scott J, who speculates:

Before any of gunwalker can stick to her.

I wouldn't want to test the safety of my net from that height, either. But I also don't think we've "really" seen the last ...

More "gun control"... [Read]

Knox County prosecutors will not file charges against two off-duty Oak Ridge police officers accused of pulling a handgun on a motorist during an alleged road-rage incident last month. [More]

Why in the world not?

"We determined they acted reasonably," Gill said.

And...wait for it...

The officers' names have not been released.

But yours has, "Brock Estep, 31, of Knoxville."

I wonder what would have happened had outnumbered Brock been an HCP holder who thought he was the one being reasonable...? Sounds like he's not the...uh...only one these two are flipping off.

Nothing to see here, move on...

[Via Willia...

Vanderboegh at his best, performing an autopsy. [Read]

In a rational world, he'd be in an overflowing lecture hall educating rapt students who couldn't wait for the next class.

That and the publishers would be lining up.

I should be wanting in justice to their zeal and attachment, and to that of the inhabitants of the state in general, were I not to inform Congress, that they gave the earliest and most chearful attention to my requisitions, and exerted themselves for the army s relief in a manner that did them the highest honor. They more than complied with the requisitions in many instances, and owing to their exertions, the army in great measure has been kept together. [More]

I must have missed the story about the unions - another special interest group - have already decided to back whoever runs againt Walker, even though we don’t know who it will be or if there will even be an election.

No election date has been set and no opponent determined, but the Wisconsin Realtors Association has already endorsed Gov. Scott Walker in the expected recall.

While not surprising—the WRA has long backed Republican candidates for governor—the announcement this week has angered some Realtors who say that supporting the controversial governor is hurting business.

The WRA board had unanimously backed Walker during the last campaign and helped funnel more than $150,000 to his war chest.

by Chad D. Baus

In a media report Monday, January 23, City of Fremont Police Chief Tim Wiersma misstated Ohio gun law. In a Thursday phone conversation with Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine, Wiersma said he has spent the rest of the week answering phone calls and letters from citizens seeking to correct him.

In the WTOL (CBS Toledo) report on how one of his department's officers had two guns and five magazines stolen from his Toledo home, Chief Wiersma stated that he was more concerned about the theft because one of the guns had a larger magazine capacity than that allowed for civilian use.

From WTOL:

Fremont's Police Chief Tim Wiersma said it is a concerning crime because it endangers the public.

"The heightened concern is the bigger, larger capacity for the magazines. Police have a 15 round magazine, and the legal limit for a civilian is nine. So, there's six more bullets," said Wiersma.

...

Not only did they kill him off at the beginning of the movie, they didn’t even show it onscreen. Wolverine saying that Jean Grey may have killed Cyclops is the first hint you get dude’s even dead. Pretty crummy way for a superhero to go out.

Cracked – The 5 Worst Deaths Written for Great Characters (And Why):

What Really Happened:

[Cyclops actor James] Marsden was being unfaithful. He was cheating on the X-Men with another comic book franchise, Superman. He didn’t have much time on the set of X-Men: The Last Stand because he was cast in Superman Returns, which was shooting at the same time.

Rumors floated around the Internet that Cyclops’ death was intentionally bad, as Fox was upset over Marsden’s choice (Superman Returns was owned by another studio and helmed by X-Men 1 and 2 director Bryan Singer). While we are not ...

Evyl Robot on why you should choose any other gun, and how to carry it.

Portugal 10 Year Yield Passes 15% For The First Time, Is Where Greek 10 Year Was In August

And Greek bonds recently hit 415%.

My #1 blogdaughter is awesome. But you all knew that. However, she's outdone herself this time. She made me a cunning hat just like Mike's!

Thanks Nancy!

Jay-ne

Man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything.

That is all.

Commenter mrmacs sends in today's gun pr0n:

Nice Trio!

I'll let mrmacs describe them:

Franchi SPAS 12. 12 gauge semi-auto/pump shotgun with 8 + 1 capacity, fixed stock, 2 3/4 in. shells. No longer in production.

MSAR STG-223 semi-auto 5.56x45 bullpup rifle with Vortex StrikeFire scope. Switchable left/right ejection with proper bolt. US-made clone of the Steyr AUG. No longer in production. Purchased on Buy Ammo day.

...

Borepatch confesses he’s not in love with shotguns. He obviously thinks there’s some shame in that, so I thought I’d pitch in.

Me neither. Compared to rifles shotguns are heavy, kick more, and hold less ammo. As for ballistics I’m also not floored with them, and because of the weight of the payload and the fact that most shotguns use fast-burning powder more frequently found in pistols rather than rifles their recoil is PUNISHING with full-power loads.

As a new shooter I was lucky enough to know somebody who owned a Weatherby Rifle in .460 Weatherby Magnum, now this is one of the more powerful of the African Dangerous Game loads, and the Rifle was a safari gun, not a bench gun so while not feather-light, it wasn’t a gun you wouldn’t be able to lug across the veldt of Africa. It kicked, and was a challenge to shoot…but that rifle paled in comparison to a simple Winchester 12 Gage loaded with #00 Buckshot. Think abou...

So I guess Virginia is well on its way to scrapping one-gun-a-month.

he vote on Senate Bill 323, sponsored by Sen. Charles W. Carrico Sr., R-Grayson, was 8-6, with Sen. John S. Edwards, D-Roanoke, voting for passage with seven Republicans. Sen. Thomas K. Norment, Jr., R-James City, who was not present at the time of the vote, was recorded as abstaining. The vote came during a marathon five-hour meeting in which lawmakers took up a series of gun bills.

The repeal measure has strong support in the Republican-dominated House of Delegates, and Gov. Bob McDonnell has indicated he is inclined to sign the bill.

Awesome. Still my jaw dropped when I read this:

“The only group that this law currently prohibits is gun traffickers,” said gun-control advocate Andrew Goddard, father of Virginia Tech shooting survivor Colin Goddard. “Getting rid of the only law we have on the books … is not going to make that...

I had an hour to kill, so I laid my weary head down for a nap.  Sleep rushed upon me.

The Earth was doomed.  There was room on the ships for all the humans to escape, but animals would be left behind to die in pain and fear.

Leave my dogs, those loving creatures I rescued from the street and gave a home?

...

The Talmud

"Never expose yourself unnecessarily to danger; a miracle may not save you...and if it does, it will be deducted from your share of luck or merit."

From Cincinnati.com: State Rep. Ron Maag, R-Salem Twp., doesn’t think gun permit holders need to warn police officers when they have a gun, whether in a motor vehicle or walking down the street. Two things. One, cops are, or should be trained to assume that anyone that they pull over for ...

In Georgia, if you want to CCW you need a permit. To get that permit, you submit to a background check, get fingerprinted, and pay some money. Democrats are proposing a new law that would add a four-hour gun safety class to the requirements. Meanwhile, Republicans are going the other way ...

This is an extreme bum fight

Authorities say a 53-year-old homeless man was decapitated by another homeless man during what they believe started as a fight over food…According to witnesses, Leer jumped Webber and chopped at his head with a machete.
Leer has been charged with second-degree murder. Jail records do not list an attorney for Leer.

The simple yard implement the Machete has been a known weapon of war, genocide and other violent crimes that are not “Gun Death”. Also they’re so simple they can be built by hand out of simple raw materials that can be found anywhere.

At this point in Gun Shy's life, nothing would surprise me.

Iran arrests journalists, to execute bloggers

Via email from Brennan at work we get this story from "an award-winning writer". As Brennan pointed out, "Like all good gun-grabbers the writer knows that there is no such thing as a justified shooting, only 'extreme self-defense tactics', 'settling scores', 'vigilantes' etc."

Here is a sample:

What didn't grab the headlines, though, was that more citizens are settling their own scores with criminals.

…

The unabated crime spree even has more residents resorting to extreme self-defense tactics. In 2011, Detroit reported 34 justifiable homicides, according to Fox2 News Reporter Charlie LeDuff - a whopping 80 percent increase over the previous year.

…

This rush to arm and self-administer justice would not be encouraged or condoned under normal circumstances. But in the current lawless environment, it is easy to believe these options have broad public support.

Many residents are apt to nod their heads in approval, glorifying potential victims who get off th...

Another US-government (taxpayer) backed "green company" is in deep yogurt. Ener1, Parent of U.S. Subsidized Battery Unit, Seeks Bankruptcy - BusinessweekEner1 Inc., which owns a company that received a $118 million U.S. Energy Department grant to make electric-car batteries, filed for bankruptcy protection after defaulting on bond debt amid Asian competition.Of course, just the other day, we were

The Silicon Graybeard: A Little Techie History Interesting look at what we now take for granted: tunes on the road. Worth a look.

Spent shell casings and a blow torch used to create a picture of a famous person that was assassinated:

Obligatory deep meaningful “purpose” statement:

The materials I have chosen to use serve my purpose because of the blatant and emotionally charged response they evoke.  These mediums already have a strong  mental imagery that is attached to them.  Around the world they are still used to either help build dreams or destroy the dreamers.  My hope is that you will feel the agony and  then see the miracles that can arise from choosing to create rather than destroy.

Now that that’s over with…

According to the contact p...

This girl is about to make some bodies turn cold:

She even holds her bow at 45 degrees like a gangster.  Because of that I know Iza Privezenceva will regulate anyone that steps to her.

I wouldn’t want to be the camera man at 40+ seconds.  Iza should know better though because shes violating a cardinal rule of bow & arrow safety.

1. All bows are always loaded
2. Never let the arrow cover anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your strong hand from pulling back the string until your eyes are on target
4. Be sure of your target and what’s beyond it.

It’s pretty clear we have to ban high capacity assault quivers, and automatic assault bows.

Thoughts...

As I mentioned the other day, my post "Defending yourself, for those outside the gun culture" was a repost of something I wrote in another forum.

It received several responses, one of which was generally positive, but included these lines:

"I would hesitate to advise one to carry a gun only because many people do not fully understand the reality that if not prepared to use the weapon and possibly kill a human being, one risks having that weapon taken from then and used on them...


I am not up on current statistics but I believe from past classes that the statistics were pretty high on injuries and deaths from ones own weapon."

I wasn't going to do this, because as I said, this can be an emotional issue for many; and because of the huge infodump required.... But I really hate to see it when a fraud is unknowingly perpetuated by someone, who doesn't know any better.

To the point about injuries; actually the reference being made, is to a fraud perpetrated by gun control groups, and then repeated by a m...

In my last post I discussed Jared Silverman’s article, Rethinking Gun Control. I wanted to follow up on that with some recommendations on what a new Jewish American gun owner might want to buy after getting some training.

In my opinion, the most versatile gun that one can own for defense is a handgun, for the simple reason that it can pull double duty as both a home defense weapon and one that can be kept with you when you’re out and about. A gun is like a fire extinguisher, it’s only useful if you have one available (and know how to use it, of course).

Luckily for the modern American gun owner there is a wide choice of handguns available for self defense. For new shooters, I recommend buying one with the following characteristics:

1. Semiautomatic
2. Firing the 9mm Luger/Parabellum/NATO cartridge
3. Made of stainless steel or have a good rust-resistant finish

Semiautomatic pistols are those which fire one bullet per pull of ...

An impressive speech by the Netherlands' military chief:



I might disagree about the state having a monopoly on use of force, but it is certainly true that when there is no recognized legitimate state authority, violence often increases. Somalia is a reminder that the absence of a government does not need to a utopia, but the rule by the most brutal.

In essence, the general's speech is a longer version of Orwell's famous statement about us sleeping safely in our beds because rough men protect us.

...

I mentioned a few weeks ago that one slightly irritating aspect of the Redfield Accu-Range reticle was that it was set up with nice round MOA dimensions, unlike the Bushnell that it replaced.  I was looking through the scope again, now that it is mounted on the M1A, and I noticed something rather interesting.

The distance from the cross hair to the bottom of the circle is 2.19 MOA at 12x--not very useful--but the width of the crosshair lines in the circle is 0.19 MOA.  What that means is that from the bottom of the horizontal crosshair to the inside of the circle at the bottom (or from the edge of the vertical crosshair to the circle at the left or right) is 2.00 MOA.  This is actually a very useful number for rangefinding, because it simplifies the math.  At 4x, according to their charge, this distance is 5.08 MOA (suggesting that something is lost in rounding).

...

The following was sent to me by a long-time reader with the subject header “I HATE Flying.” But it says more than that. Thus my headline. What follows is all from reader JP: —– Hey Claire, Due to financial issues, I surrendered, and took a contract because I need the money. Part of the work [...]

My newest piece at Fox News starts this way:

During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama pushed for higher tax rates on what he called “the wealthiest Americans.” 

He declared: “Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes.” As usual, the president motivated the higher taxes with references to “fair play” and getting the wealthy to pay their “fair share” of taxes.

“Fairness” was the codeword of the State of the Union address, not the chronic problem of lingering high unemployment, something the president never even mentioned. 

Of course, Obama emphasized “fairness,” but his newest attacks on the wealthy not paying their “fair share” very conveniently comes right after Mitt Romney revealed that he has averaged paying a 14 percent tax rate over the last two years.

Unfortunately, some Republicans come across as confused about capital gains taxes. Romney pushes a weak defense . . . .

...

From Fox News:

With just weeks until the U.S. Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law, there are new calls for Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself from the case.
Her critics point to a 2010 case regarding a San Francisco health measure, in which then-Solicitor General Kagan's office filed an amicus brief touting the newly passed health care law.
In May 2010, after Kagan had been nominated to the nation's highest court, Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal sent her a memo outlining the cases in which she had "substantially participated." Kaytal specifically referenced the Golden Gate case, noting that it had been "discussed with Elena several times."
That's enough to convince Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow Hans von Spakovsky that Kagan shouldn't take part in the current health care case before the high court.
"I don't see how any ethical lawyer adhering to professional codes of conduct could not consider that they need to recuse themselves fro...

From CNS News:

Ener1--a company that manufactures batteries for electric cars, and that received $118.5 million in federal stimulus money, and that Vice President Joe Biden visited last year the day after President Obama’s State of the Union Address—announced today that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In last year’s State of the Union Address, delivered Jan. 25, 2011, President Obama set a national goal of having a million electric vehicles on the road in the United States by 2015—a goal that would be achieved, Obama said, by taking money out of the oil industry and “investing” it in new technology.

“With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels and become the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015,” said Obama.
...

She works late, hunched over a table, narrow, spread fingers splaying out thoughts while the last of the light straps around the strong beat of her heart. Outside lies a world forgotten as the words fly, sullen leaves and dead ashes swirling, branches stirring like water, drowning in the fading light.He works late, bent over a shop table, hands scarred and toughened by work, stitching, molding,

P.J. O’Rourke isn’t fooled. The American elites claim to represent the interests of the poor in order to credential their own class’s power grabs as a worthy cause, but their real attitude toward people who fail to perform satisfactorily in the meritocratic rat race is one of utter contempt and complete intolerance.

[P]oor people don’t have a lot of pleasures. Sure, they have more sex than progressive elites. But somehow, for poor people, the sex always ends up in illegitimate children or HIV or some bum of a boyfriend instead of leading to, as it does for elites, a Reichian release of primordial cosmic energy or the wonderful self-fulfillment and midlife reawakening of a new divorce. And, yes, the poor have drugs and a...

You know what happens when you play a country tune backwards? You get your girl and your truck back, you’re not drunk anymore, and your hound dog comes back to life.
—Elmore Leonard, Pronto: A Novel.

Someone from Yale conservative circles not more specifically identified was quoted as having remarked:

“When Ann Coulter calls you arrogant and hotheaded, you have a problem.”

Hat tip to John Brewer.

I don't understand why Demi Moore insists that her first name is deh-mee (accent on the meeeee) or how Cheech Marin (Mare - in) became Cheech Mar-een on the new show Rob.   *sigh* 

I remember when Kim duToit used to do a feature about goblins who earn their just desserts. I don't know of anyone that's doing that meme, but here's a little item I found.

It seems that some old coot in Pennsylvania was riding his bicycle and some young punks tried to rob him. Oops, wrong ole man.

The man was riding his bicycle about 11 a.m. on the Thun Trail near the Bertolet Fishing Dock in West Reading when the boys knocked him off his bicycle and pinned him against a fence in an apparent robbery attempt, police said.

Only problem with their plan, is that no plan survives the first contact, intact.

Two of the boys were assaulting the man when he pulled a handgun and shot them, police said.

Julias Johnson, a 16-year-old on probation, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other boy was taken to Reading Hospital with a single gunshot wound and is expected to survive.

Well, hell, that's 50%. I'm betting that the surviving boy will be charged with murder. That peculiarity in most codes where when you're committing a felony and someone dies, you're guilt...

In recent testimony, a Government witness invoked the Fifth Amendment in questions about Operation Fast and Furious.

Quagmire:

If the Fifth Amendment was written to protect Citizens from the Government, how can the Fifth Amendment be invoked by a Government body to protect the Government from its Citizens?

My Take:

Only the Citizenry, not the Government, can claim protection under the Bill of Rights.

Answer the questions, Sir.

I had the pleasure of meeting the one of the World’s most charming couple on a warm San Diego evening many years ago.  He and his wife were traveling from Coos Bay, Oregon to see the sights in Southern California and parts of Mexico.

In addition to supplying my then 18-year-old self with copious amounts of beer, the husband provided an idea.

50 Acres

50 acres may be something of a retirement site or something to leave to the grand kids to enjoy, but our evening’s host had a different view.

His quest was for 50 acres – but not necessarily 50 contiguous acres. He was acquiring at least one acre in each of the 50 States!

Seems like a mighty fine quest to me, too. I may just go for it!

Tips, recommendations, photos, et cetera will be graciously accepted.

 

I’m happy for him.

Hembree, 50, is on death row at Central Prison in Raleigh, N.C., but he’s not looking for any pity in the letter he sent to The Gaston Gazette.

“Is the public aware that I am a gentleman of leisure, watching color TV in the A.C., reading, taking naps at will, eating three well balanced hot meals a day,” Hembree asked in the letter. “I’m housed in a building that connects to the new 55 million dollar hospital with round the clock free medical care 24/7.”

He also asks if the public knows that the chances of his “lawful murder” taking place in the next 20 years, if ever, are “very slim.”

I’m making my way through Tim Pat Coogan’s The IRA, which is considered the definitive historical work on the Irish Republican Army. I’m only about a third of the way through it, which corresponds to the late 1940s-early 1950s, but the IRA comes off as a violent but incompetent group that was ineffective in achieving their goal of a united, independent Land of Eire.

The topic first came to my interest after I watched Michael Collins, which ends in the title figure’s death at the hands of the IRA (specifically, Jonathan Rhys Meyers character, so it could be said that Henry VIII killed Michael Collins). Collins had worked out an agreement with Great Britain which amounted to freedom for 26 of Ireland’s 32 counties, the remaining six being...

Ammoman has a new website.

Not to be rude/snarky/whatever, but about time! Good prices should not have to come at the cost of a substandard customer experience, but that often seems to be the case…

In any case, his prices are hard to beat, and now the website should be a lot easier to use, so give him a look. 

-->

Man that was a LONG day. Most of it was just running around like a Chicken with my head cut off with half a dozen things on my plate, with recruitment occurring just as I thought I could sit down and have a cup of tea.

I’ll spare the mundane details, but I will share this story. We got a supply of chemicals that for reasons of extreme paranoia were packed in several pounds of Vermiculite. Once the chemicals were removed I wanted to dispose of the box before a horrible mess could occur. Well at the time there was a Gas Tank dolly in the lab that I also needed to move, so I elected to haul the box on the dolly even tho they weren’t a good fit. Hey I just needed to get the box to the end of the haul where the tape gun was and I could seal all the mess inside. If I was careful…. You all see where this is going? Yep Several pounds of Vermiculite on the lab floor when I have lots of other things to do, and people tracking me down to ask me to do yet more things.

LOOOOONG day. Not a terribly bad day…just LOOOOOOOONG.

So I come home and the folks call me, had a nice convers...

Derek asked where they are, so here’s mine; I got it from the prize table at GBR2011.

...

Lots of spoilers. Awesome video.

...

All right, I have to come right out and admit it.  I don't much like shotguns.

There, I said it.

They're big and bulky.  They kick like a mule.  The ammunition weighs a ton: that's bad, bad Zombie juju.  Remember, zombies travel in hordes.

But here's the kicker - I can't hit a barn door with it, even standing inside the barn.  Not much fun there.

For all the talk I do about my modest marksmanship, Ican keep the groups serviceable with a pistol.  With some instruction and practice, I know that I can be a passable marksman with a rifle.  Now that I'll be able to spend time at the range (rather than driving between Atlanta and Austin on I-20), I may be able to take a run at that "Expert" badge that Dad earned back at Uncle Sam's Summer Camp.

But a shottie?  The clay pigeons, they mock me.  Actual pigeons laugh at me.  Fine, then - I'll get my fowl at the supermarket.

Sure, I know that the sound that a pump action makes as you rack the slide will make the home invader go we...

Yes, part of a threat.  From the National Secular Society:

A talk on sharia and human rights by NSS Council Member Anne Marie Waters' at Queen Mary University of London was cancelled at the last moment because of an Islamist who made serious threats against everyone there.

Ms Waters was due to give a talk on behalf of the One Law for All campaign on 16 January but before it started, a man entered the lecture theatre, stood at the front with a camera and filmed the audience. He then said that he knew who everyone was, where they lived and if he heard anything negative about the Prophet, he would track them down.

The man also filmed students in the foyer and threatened to murder them and their families. On leaving the building, he joined a large group of men, apparently there to support him. Students were told by security to stay in the lecture theatre ...

Now he is admitting that his claim that "his team offered several witnesses to ABC News to refute statements made by Gingrich's second wife in a controversial interview aired last week" was false.  Is ABC News scum?  Sure enough.  But Gingrich seems to have not only consistency problems, but serious accuracy problems as well.  R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., founder and editor of the American Spectator, knows Gingrich well, and indicates that he has as many skeletons in his closet as Clinton.


There are a lot of serious, movement conservatives out there who have very, very serious concerns about Gingrich's morals--and those co...

Periodic? Should be Thrice Daily!Click to enlargulate.H/t Sharon

this is one group of people changing names around. And they don't just want people to do what they say anymore:
What’s interesting is that their boycott is not based on the idea that they don’t want to be around gun owners while they enjoy their scones and frappuccinos, it’s actual goal is to force Starbucks to donate to NGAC. To end the boycott will require Starbucks ban all guns from its stores—and become a major supporter of policies to reduce gun violence. In other words, banning guns isn’t enough. They will demand that corporations line the pockets of the leaders of this group in order to end the boycott.
I don't even drink coffee, but on Feb. 14th I'll be at the Starbucks they built about a half-mile away, buying a drink.

being called out and called a number of unpleasant things(all of which fit).
I won’t begin this with letter with the salutation “Dear,” because I only have contempt for you, and the disgusting responses you gave to The Daily Caller when they asked you about the Congressional investigation into the Fast and Furious “gunwalking” international criminal conspiracy (see article for video--Examiner.com does not accomodate the html code to embed it here).
And it continues from there.



Second,
Blocked funding for ATF's planned shotgun import ban already paying dividends
Last November, the "Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science and Transportation/Housing/Urban Development Appropriations bills" omnnibus was signed into law. One provision of that law blocks funding for a ...

Even if Soros wasn't a leftwinger, he would undoubtedly be an Obama supporter simply because of how much money the Obama administration is sending his way. From the Heritage Foundation:

George Soros, a billionaire investor and major backer of President Obama, stands to reap a windfall from legislation promoting natural gas-powered vehicles. The White House unveiled a proposal on Thursday that would do just that.
The proposal would offer incentives for companies to buy and use trucks powered by natural gas. Obama announced the effort at a UPS facility in Las Vegas that received stimulus funding to buy natural gas vehicles and build a fueling station for them.
The proposal is remarkably similar to the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) Act.
One company that stands to benefit handsomely from the president’s proposal is Westport Innovations. The company converts diesel engines to be fueled by natural gas. Wall Street analysts predicted a boom for the company if the NAT GAS Act were passed. CNBC analyst Jim C...

Tax season will be an interesting one this year. As I have a feeling that people are going to be interested in seeing if they beat Mitt Romney (pay less than 15% in taxes) vs paying more.

One thing I am curious about, is whether Romney’s 15% tax return includes his Social Security tax. Why? Because I believe Social Security is just that, a tax. One that is only applied to the first $250,000 apparently.

I think we also need a tax credit called the “Militia Are Regulated Credit” (MARC) Act. If you document possession of a semi-automatic rifle chambered in one of the main calibers of our armed service, 1,000 rounds of ammo, a current CPR/First Aid certification you receive a $500 tax credit. Since you’ve helped make America safer, and reduced how much we need to spend on our military budget.

...

Guns.com article: Fox Deal Forces UFC to Gun Down Weapons-Related Sponsors

NRA-ILA :: Washington: Two Pro-Gun Bills Could be Heard in House Committee on Monday

Guns.com article: Review: Arsenal Saiga SGL 31 5.45x39 (VIDEO)

Obama is a inspects a reelection tool!

Mike expresses some concerns. [More]

Uhhh… isn’t that kind of the point?

High-risk surgeons can get caught in a “Catch-22” when trying to save a life: what if the patient doesn’t want extraordinary measures taken to keep living?

A new study from a UW-Madison surgical professor suggests advance directives, or “living wills,” don’t work in the surgical suite.

Dr. Margaret “Gretchen” Schwarze, assistant professor of surgery at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, discovered that only 50 percent of surgeons who do high-risk operations discuss advance directives with their patients before surgery.

An even higher percentage, 54 percent, of the surgeons said they wouldn’t operate if a patient had a directive limiting the use of life support in post-operative care, if the surgeon thought it was necessary for the patient’s survival.

The findings were published online first by the publication Ann...

Our government maxed out its credit line, so it raised the limit on its credit card, which we get to repay.

Update: America Has A $16.4 Trillion Debt Ceiling

Extrano’s Alley points to some new polling showing strong support for the Second Amendment and gun ownership among Americans. The poll also shows low support (30%) for ownership of semi-automatic firearms, but I’m not too pleased with how that was polled. They first asked about handguns, and then rifles and shotguns. They asked about semi-automatic firearms as a separate category, which probably greatly confused people into thinking it was something else other than ordinary rifles, shotguns and handguns. The vast majority of handguns sold today are semi-automatic, as well as large numbers of rifles and shotguns. It seems hard to believe support for ownership would be so divergent if people understood the question well.

A bill that allows any soldier, regardless of age, to be able to get a Florida Concealed Weapons Permit, has passed with a unanimous vote. Robb notes that means even the die hard anti-gun folks didn’t want to touch this one. Like I said, it’s hard for the anti-gun folks to find friends these days.

It’s amazing how many anti-gun people just can’t move on:

Many are smart enough to see through the fog of the National Rifle Association. Many understand that the Second Amendment mentions a “well-regulated militia” because the right to bear arms is only within that context.

It is mentioned only in the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights. Therefore its mention is purposeful and within this context when guaranteeing the right to keep and bear arms.

Nope, you lost this one. It’s done. Over. There’s no more debate. It’s not the National Rifle Association anymore, it’s the Supreme Court of the United States. There seems to be a concerted effort among our opponents to stick their heads in the sand and pretend they aren’t losing.

Clanton fans, still stirring up trouble 130 years later.

Seems to me owning/operating a brothel wasn’t that dishonorable in the Ancient West, but to some tightasses I suppose it’s a black mark against the Earps. Doesn’t tarnish my opinion of ‘em one bit. They were who they were. The Earp Vendetta Ride suffices by itself to vault them into legend, not to mention all that OK Corral stuff beforehand.

The details below the jump. Also, here’s a really interesting photo of Doc Holliday and some of the Earps. That’s the same kind of IDGAF stare you see in the classic photo of Andrew Jackson.

Young Doc: Older Doc: ...

Ever since my Walther PPS hit the market a couple of years ago, there were always questions as to whether or not Walther / Smith & Wesson would ever get around to increasing its caliber selection (currently 9mm and .40S&W caliber) to include the tried-and-true .45ACP.

At this point, though, the answer appears immaterial – Springfield Armory beat them to the punch:

Springfield Armory released the new XDS .45 with six shots and, at an inch thick, has the single stack magazine. Cashing in on the desire for smaller carry guns and adding the popular .45 to it is a good move.

The overall design looks remarkably like the PPS I carry almost daily, with the exception of a more-standard magazine release and takedown lever, and my 9mm variant can take 6, 7, ...

LAPD And Special Forces Conduct Military Maneuvers In The Skies Above Downtown LA

quote:

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The Los Angeles Police Department teamed with military special operation forces Wednesday evening to conduct multi-agency tactical exercises i>n the skies above downtown LA. Many questioned what was going on Wednesday night as a Black Hawk helicopter and four OH-6 choppers – or “Little Birds” – flew over the city, at one point hovering just above the US Bank building downtown and later flying low over the Staples Center as the Lakers played inside.
Someone could be seen sitting inside an open chopper with his legs hanging off the side…

…Similar exercises have been seen in Miami and Boston.

For the readers who are not familiar with the NDAA, below are some articles that are relative to the discussion:

...

Those who know me know that I am a utilitarian person by nature, especially when it comes to guns. I don’t all misty eyed and nostalgic for classic 1911’s and wheel guns and I’m the last person you want to own something of historic nature. Because Imma gonna shoot the damned thing.

That isn’t to say I don’t have… yearnings. I think we all do. However, my frugalness (read – broke ass) generally prevents me from spending money on things that would be more  akin to toys than real gear.

But what if it didn’t? What 5 firearms would I purchase, should price nor practicality be an issue?

#5 – Smith & Wesson Model 500

I’m a recoil junkie, and the thought of launching a half in projectile from a handgun makes me all tingly where my pants would be if I wore them.

#4 – A Tactilite 50BMG upper

Speaking of halves of inches, nothing quite ‘reaches out and touches someone’ than 14,000 ft. lb. of energy travelling at 2,800 feet per second. My shoulder aches at the thought, but it’s aches of joy.

#3 – Gyrojet

Three words. Rocket. Propelled. Bullets.

...

Because sometimes you might carry a different gun.  Different gun, different draw.

Well thought out and discussed.

I don't think I'll bring this to the attention of the HR team here next time we're discussing "Concealed Carry Tuesday".  It would just muddy the waters.

little people."
A new report just out from the Internal Revenue Service reveals that 36 of President Obama's executive office staff owe the country $833,970 in back taxes. These people working for Mr. Fair Share apparently haven't paid any share, let alone their fair share.
...
The Treasury Department, where Obama nominee Tim Geithner had to pay up $42,000 in his own back taxes before being confirmed as secretary, has 1,181 other employees with delinquent taxes totaling $9.3 million.


So is obeying the same insider-trading laws everyone else has to follow.


And while the above is going on, the military is getting cut. Last...

I’ve always known people who hunted. Always. And yet, I’d never been myself. I remember my grandpa always had a freezer full of venison, elk, and wild birds. He was hard-core. He carved a lot of walnut stocks, and I saw him turn a barrel or two on his lathe. I’m not sure what he was doing to those things, but he was cutting metal off of them one way or another. I loved that place. It always smelled like wood and metal and machine oil. He had a welder and every tool known to man in that little shed. He never looked too thrilled about us kids coming to his magical wonderland workshop though. Regardless, he sporterized more military rifles than I’ve laid my hands on, and wild-catted more calibers than most avid handloaders have dies for. This includes a rifle that started life as a K98, chambered in something he and his brother called “.375 J.B. Express”. I have no idea what that is, but it sure sounds cool! He had a Japanese Arisaka with the bolt handle bent over. He left behind a swath of project guns, some complete, some not started, and a few that were somewhere in between. He di...

It’s actually an old product, something that came out a couple of years back but this year at SHOT was the first time I was able to actually handle one and play around with it a bit, and I decided on the spot that I absolutely needed one for my zombie defense rifle.

A Ruger Number 1 in .303 Enfield (aka .303 British). This goes back to what I alluded to in the post immediately under this in that I don’t “get” black rifles. I understand their utility as a sporting and defensive arm, but I don’t understand why people will spend over a thousand dollars on a flat black people popper (thanks for the phrase, Tam) when we live in a world with beautiful rifles chambered in .303 British. I mean, imagine staring down the zombie hordes with one of these while wearing a pith helmet and sporting a glorious handlebar mustache. ...

Don’t say I never do nice things for you.

That’s the new lower for the Magpul branded S&W M&P15. Yes, it has the Magpul rollmark right there on the lower receiver, and no I don’t get all the hubbub. Of course, I’ll freely confess that I honestly don’t “get” rifles, but that’s a post for later on.

That’s right, the venerable 1911 platform has been updated by Sig to include a chambering in .357 Sig. Long time readers will know that in the past I have scoffed at this idea, but after thinking about it for a while, I’m not going to lie – I kind of want one. From Sig’s press release:

“With a year of celebrating the legacy of the 1911 under our belt, we felt it was time to introduce modern-day ballistics to the venerable pistol,” said Jeff Creamer, SIG SAUER Director of Product Management. “The .357SIG turns the old war horse into a race-ready thoroughbred.”

Initially, four models of SIG SAUER 1911s will be offered in .357SIG, two 5″ full-size guns and two 4.2″ carry models. Following their .45 Auto counterparts, these 1911s feature match-grade barrels, hammers and sears. Skeletonized triggers and hammers re...

Nothing warms you up like a hot barrel and 40lbs of unnecessary gear and armor.  My wallet said I needed to use the M&P15-22 today though.   That is the awesome benefit of having a sub-caliber training analogue of your primary weapon systems.  I didn't have a whole lot of .223 laying around, and I can't afford to go out and get a couple hundred rounds to burn off.  Thankfully I have a few

Back from some cold-weather carbine practice... I'm gonna edit some photos while I warm up.  Check back in a bit.

We all know that the police really aren’t there to protect us.  We also know where they are when seconds count.

Seconds ran out for 17-year old, Heather Catterton. And what were those precious final seconds like for her?  Her killer says they went like this.

According to the taped confessions, Hembree suffocated Catterton for 10 to 15 minutes. In that time he said he tried smothering her with his hand followed by a Walmart shopping bag. He ultimately stepped on her throat with his bare foot to make sure she was dead, he said in the recordings.

No candle for Heather either.

But at least they got him, right? Even though the police weren’t there to save Heather’s life, they at least brought him to justice.  Right?

Well they put him on trial.  He was convicted and sentenced to death. But tell me, does this sound like justice to you?

“Is the public awar...

I’ve only got a few minutes at lunch, so I need to keep this brief. (good thing I type 85 words per minute!) Since I’ve been spending more time watching TV lately (baby in my hands and I’ve got to do something) I’ve been watching more of the news punditry, and the stupidity is driving me batty. I can’t believe that I’m about to defend Mitt Romney of all people…

For the record, I’m not a Romney supporter. My issue with him is that I don’t think he is conservative enough, or at least he totally fails to articulate his belief in the philosophy if he is. I don’t like government healthcare and I don’t like gun control, two things Romney has in his past. I said it in 2008 and I’ll say it again now, electable in Massachusetts means unpalatable most everywhere else. I suppose I’m one of those Anybody But Romney conservatives they keep talking about, but I’d amend that to Anybody But Romney As Long As It Isn’t Newt Gingrich, because holy crap, that is a dude with some serious baggage.

That said, whoever gets the Republican nomination is a billion times better than Barack Obama.

But back to Romney, two things.

First, his 15% tax rate… I’ve been a professional a...

Guns.com article: Masterpiece Arms' MPA57SST: a MAC in 5.7mm (VIDEO)

Alright guys…you know what’s coming up in a couple weeks? Let’s see…there’s Groundhog Day, President’s Day, Mardi Gras, what’s that other day that happens every February? I can almost put my finger on it….oh yeah….it’s Valentine’s Day!! Let’s face it, … Continue reading →

No, I didn't make that headline up. Issa has flown off to Davos to hobnob with the international elites this weekend. That, at least, is what I'm being told. This is a marvelous turn of events for the New World Order conspiracists. Shortwave millennialists will be going nuts. Much is being made today in various places of Issa's latest letters to Holder here and here.

Here's the Daily Caller's story and interview with Issa....

“There is something so grotesquely hypocritical about the Romney campaign,” [Gingrich] said.

Heeheehee...

by Chad D. Baus

State Reps. Ron Maag (R-Lebanon) and Andy Thompson (R-Marietta) have introduced two bills that seek to reform, or "de-Taft," portions of Ohio's concealed carry law.

House Bill 422 seeks to repeal requirements that a concealed carry licensee inform an approaching law enforcement officer that the licensee is a licensee and is carrying a concealed handgun. According to rep. Maag, Ohio is one of only four states that have such a requirement. The idea for repealing the notification provision has been the subject of frequent discussion since last June, when Canton police officer Daniel Harless was caught on dash cam video threatening to execute a concealed carry licensee because he felt notification did not happen in time. The case against the CHL-holder were eventually thrown out of court, and Harless was fired.

The bill also removes a provision requiring licensee's to keep their hands in "plain sight" after the officer begins approaching and until the officer leaves, and also seeks to revise the definition of "unloaded" that applies to the offense of "improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle" so that loaded magazines or speedloaders wou...

Reader 1911A1 and GBC commenter Spike sent me this story:

Cops: Man, 65, kills teen who knocks him off bicycle

A 65-year-old man who was knocked off his bicycle by three teenagers on a Pennsylvania trail shot two of them, killing one, police said according to reports.

The Reading Eagle newspaper said the wounded teen, 16, was taken to hospital and the third, aged 15, was taken in for questioning and was later committed to a youth center.

Another story indicated that the three teenagers were trying to rob the man, and knocked him off his bicycle and started beating him to accomplish this goal. That's gun control right there, folks. A 65 year old man at the mercy of feral teenagers who would viciously assault him for the change in his pockets. Luckily, he took measures for his own safety and security and protected himself, so rather than bleeding to death on a bicycle trail somewhere, it was his attacker who suffered.

Gun control: Because a 65 year old man beaten ...

TSA said Rand Paul was “irate” in TSA dust up. But then video came out.

In NY, former prosecutor charged after firing gun, holding prankster at gun point.

Guess whose giving money to Obama? Wall Street.

Geez, didn’t realize how many people used my blogroll.

Update: First round down. More later. That kinda cuts into actual, you know, blogging.

Head to Brownells SHOT Show Featured Products page and you can use offer code “DMT” to get $20 off orders of $200 or more.

In Knoxville, police officers will not be charged in road rage incident. Seems you can drive a like a moron and flip people off and when they flip you off, you just pull them over and draw a gun on them.

WizardPC has a bleg for an every day carry light.

Shooting Illustrated has a review of the Brite Strike EPLI (Executive Precision Lighting Instrument). I’m interested in this one for a few reasons:

It’s small.

They out put of 160 lumens on high is pretty darn good.

And, most importantly, it takes AAA batteries and not the CR123 or other oddball and harder to find batteries. That is, it takes batteries I have laying around the house.

Anyone try one?

The anti-gunners and the press (but I repeat myself) are a bit upset that Obama didn’t bring up gun control in the State of the Union. Well, it’s not politically advantageous to side with losers and those who are on the wrong side of history.

Some interesting goings on in that little world. Some background: a post on who should be credentialed and lamenting the going of print magazines. Some more stuff has popped up that I found interesting. The trouble with blogs:

Bloggers are really good at ‘negative’ advertising and exercising that kind of power, but they have yet to master the ‘positive’ advertising in a meaningful way with the result being the industry doesn’t want to alienate bloggers in any way, shape or form, but a good number of the manufacturers and print journalism (because they are frequently, if not constantly, being approached by ‘bloggers’ wanting to become print writers) really, really wish they would just go away.

This is indeed true. Ask Zumbo or HS Precision. The online community can stir up an epic shit storm in about 2 hours that results in firings, boycotts, and everything else. But ...

Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright, after a spate of rapes in the community, encouraged women to get a handgun carry permit and fight back. Good for him. However, Councilman Michael Brown (D-ranged) wants him to stop doing that because:

I would say to continue to advocate for the instrumentalities of violence is contrary to a large group of people in this community,” Brown said during Monday’s meeting. “The fact that you see me standing up here, I represent that segment of this community, the community that often times you will find yourself dealing with in a negative manner.

Unless you’re saying you represent rapists, I’m kind of at a loss here. That or you’re a moron. Guns are not “instrumentalities of violence”, they are tools for stopping violence.

Anti-gun activist Josh Sugarmann: Disarm military personnel.

Some times the antis step so far out of the mainstream it’s funny.

Last month, we learned that Brittingham was out at Advanced Armament Corp, this after his lovely wife had been reportedly let go. Now, it’s reported that Freedom Group has fired the Operations Manager and will move production to New York.

Also of note, their blog hasn’t been updated in a couple of weeks.

Fat Chef, a reality show dealing with morbidly obese food experts.

At NRA HQ

A list of books for junior officers.

From Optics Planet’s Gear Expert Blog.

Mosin Nagant Stripper Clips

82 year old man shoots burglar, gets cool points for using a Tokarev (which the press can’t spell).

64 year old woman holds suspect at gun point with .38 revolver, does that posing for the press thing we just talked about.

Suppressors arrive on main street.

Say you use your gun defensively, to some fanfare from the press who wants to tell your tale. Great. But let’s reconsider posing with our guns for the press. I’m rather a fan of Tam’s rule of stop touching it. I think it’s better if we kept our guns where they belong, in the holsters. I’m certain the press goads people into such poses but, then, relative safety goes from 100% to some number less than that.

Explain to the eager reporter why as nicely as possible.

This isn’t the first time.

An AR-15 that takes Glock 21 magazines. Are pistol caliber carbines the new hotness again? That was so four years ago, I thought.

In Illinois:

The number of people licensed to own guns in Illinois jumped by more than 78,500 last year, possibly fueled by a belief the state was poised to legalize the concealed carry of weapons.

There ought to be a law.

Lawmaker proposes banning food made from fetuses, as though such a thing is really a problem.

We don’t win so much as they just lose. Also, ddbaxte in comments says:

I’ve said it several times before, we’ve got the best and the brightest on our side, and they’ve got people like that.

Heh.