She's Dumb, She's Ugly, She Deserves The Back Of A Strong Mans Hand...

So we must be talking about Miss England. The dogfaced moslem chick the Brits crowned to make nice-nice with islam.

"The Prime Minister told MPs last month that moderate Muslims were not doing enough to tackle extremists in their own community.

Miss Kohistani said: "Tony Blair addressed Muslims in particular, telling them that they need to sort out the problem within. That was a huge stereotype of the Islamic community."

Huh? Asking people to control their own is a sterotype? How's that? Oh, you mean because all moslems pretty much feel the same way about killing and maiming and destroying stuff just for the barbaric hell of it, and to suggest that there remain some who do not is sterotypical of an actual species of human. Which, no matter what they say, moslems are not.

Gotcha babe. Shit. I just called the flatchested, hooknosed dogfaced chick "babe". Must be the new meds.

Getting The Feeling That Moxie Isn't A Spurlock Fan

Morgan Spurlock, that is. No, it isn't the name of something cowboys use to keep their bootheels attached, but the moron who gave us Super Size Me. The West Virginian that received an award from the NY International Fringe Festival. Since I haven't seen SSM, I cannot comment on the quality of the work, but of course someone consumming 5000 calories a day of freaking ANYTHING will gain weight if it isn't worked off. Duh.

But to loons, this is an epiphany.

Next up, the jerkwad spends time in the can to see what it's like to spend time in the can. Prison is different, he says, and can't you just wait for the NEXT award to be handed out to this idiot on a shoestring.

Mox says FX contacted her about participating in one of the 30 Days episodes, and it's good to see that she turned them down. So go see what she's all on about.

Apologies, Etc...

But I couldn't get this picture out of my head and needed an antidote. Blame Cookie for forcing me to go soft-core.

Stop The ACLU Blogburst Thursday

The ACLU thinks that parents have no right to know if their pregnant underage daughter is seeking an abortion.

vs. America

80% of Americans think that parents have the right to know if their minor daughters are seeking an abortion. (CBS News Poll July 13-14, 2005)
________________________________________________________________

The ACLU believes anyone, for any reason at any time should be allowed to abort a child.

vs. America

75% of Americans believe that there should at least be some restrictions on abortion. (CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll June 24-26, 2005)
________________________________________________________________

The ACLU opposes abstinence education.

vs. America

96% of American parents with children under 17 want their kids taught that abstinence is the best approach to sex.
93% of American parents with children under 17 want their kids taught that having sex leads to disease and pregnancy.
85 % of American parents with children under 17 want abstinence to be taught with at least equal emphasis as contraception receives.
79% of American parents with children under 17 want their kids taught that teen sex leads to harmful psychological and physical effects. (http://www.heritage.org/research/welfare/bg1722.cfm)
________________________________________________________________

The ACLU has fought to have constitutionally-sound displays that include the Ten Commandments removed from public property.

vs. America

75% of Americans believe that the Ten Commandments should be displayed on public property. (CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll June 24-26, 2005)
________________________________________________________________

The ACLU is on record as supporting polygamy.

vs. America

92% of Americans think polygamy is morally repugnant. (The Gallup Poll May 5-7, 2003)
______________________________________

And there's more of Religion versus the ACLU, so stop by and see for yourself. While it IS true that we've learned a great deal in the 4000 years since various religions began undertaking the task of explaining the mysteries of the universe, there are as many quack "scientists" as nutbag preachers. How else do you explain Al Gore's belief that he knows anything?

"They Shot The Wrong Lincoln"

"In addition to supporting Democrat Joe Lieberman over Republican Alan Schlesinger in Connecticut, President Bush is supporting the Democrat over the Republican in Rhode Island, too. In the Republican primary, Bush supports Lincoln Chafee — who votes with Bush on the important issues less often than Sen. Lieberman does — over the only actual Republican in the race, Stephen Laffey.

Apart from Bush, the only person who hasn't figured out that Lincoln Chafee is a Democrat is Lincoln Chafee. As the expression goes, if Chafee switched parties, the average IQ on both sides of the aisle would go up.

Chafee is everything the Democrats like to claim Republicans are, which we are not and they are: silver-spoon morons who get ahead on the basis of family connections (for example, Ned the Red Lamont in Connecticut).

The only reason Chafee calls himself a Republican is that he believes that everyone above a certain income level is required by law to do so.

He learned this from reading "Doonesbury" and watching "The West Wing" while studiously ignoring blindingly obvious facts like: Sens. Teddy Kennedy (inherited millions), John Kerry (married millions — twice, lucky guy), Sen. Herbert H. Kohl (inherited millions), John D. Rockefeller (inherited millions), Mark Dayton (inherited millions), Dianne Feinstein (married millions) and aspiring senator Ned the Red (inherited millions). All Democrats.

In addition to the Democratic trait of having absolutely no idea how wealth is generated, Chafee's other Democratic characteristics include:

— supporting gay marriage;
— supporting abortion;
— opposing the war in Iraq;
— opposing tax cuts.

Stop complaining about taxes — just live off your trust fund like a normal person! Taxes, I note, have virtually no bearing on someone who is not currently earning an income but living off incomes earned generations ago by better men than he."

Ann's efforts are posted here even when she forgets what "politics" truly means. That's okay, though. She's tall, blonde, and skinny. So is Lisa who just smacked me upside the head, which means that's enough for now.

Talk Show Host Michael Graham...

Has been in the crosshairs of ever so unfriendly islam for daring to speak the truth. If you haven't been made aware of the latest Beantown Folly, then it's high time you gave it a look see.

When Mosques Attack!

"As you heard on the show, and may have read in the Boston Herald, the Islamic Society of Boston has issued a subpoena of my personal phone records, show notes and other materials related to our on air conversations regarding Menino's Mosque. The subpoena came one week after a threatening letter from the ISB's attorney warning me against discussing the issue on the air.

And, as you heard on my show, my answer to the ISB both times has been "Kiss My Burkha."

However, I've received a surprising number of emails from Bostonians who haven't heard about the taxpayer-subsidized mosque being built in Roxbury by a group with disturbing links to Islamic extremism. Here's an excellent overview of the story and its long history, including the current status of the various lawsuits resulting from this clear violation of the First Amendment by Mayor Menino and the Boston City Council.

Oh, and if there's anyone with the ISB wondering if the threats and subpoenas are going to shut me up, I have one suggestion for you: Ask CAIR."

In The Works

For quite some time, my life has been one experiment after another as I deal with "middle adulthood". For the past 2 months I've been driving Miss Daisy's, and while I've met over a thousand seniors during this period I still don't feel that I know enough about them to comment. It's hard work. Not digging-ditches hard. Threading a needle hard, and when I've learned more I'll say more. Last night I took a break from getting involved as more than a bystander and I knew this had to happen because I don't give good bystand. An 80-something woman was playing a piano and quite well so I moved closer to better appreciate the music. She had but two other listeners, another elderly lass and her 40-something son, so she smiled at my approach and asked me to join in as the three of them sang to her rendition of Impossible Dream.The full force of my lungs can knock a birdcage from it's perch so I responded with a toned down Don Quixote and since I'm nothing if not a ham it was a verse or two before I realized the piano had gone silent and the only singer was myself.

They are so very starved for entertainment that it doesn't take much to convert them from participants into an audience. My voice is what it is but it is loud and within several minutes the listeners had grown by several more until by the end of Lancelot's Theme it had reached a score. This was late, terribly late for them in so very many ways but 9'ish of the PM is slumber time for most of the residents and I was glad for that. They moved to physically restrain me after I'd given it the best shot I had at that hour, and I'd have hated to displease a throng because the want and need of so relatively few was a palpable thing. Any more and the guilt would have frozen me to the spot until my vocal cords went fray, but I extricated myself as gently as possible and bid them good evening. I've seen drug addicts as their eyes lit upon a fix, starving men as the smell of food reached them, and this was as intense.

More than interesting.

We Get Letters

"The numbers are out and not good. We've got the lowest hit rate of any force over 5000, and that means any big city. You know why too."

Yes. The infamous NY trigger spring. Makes it bodaciously difficult to get off a fast shot and since fast shots are what police generally take a lot of, then an approximate 10% hit rate is what is going to happen. Received the above in an email from an aquaintance on the NYPD referencing the 2004 FBI report that ranks NYC among the lowest of all large police departments with regards to accuracy. Not at the range, in the streets. The politicians decided upon the much heavier NY trigger in order to do away with spray & pray, and a great many of the smaller officers can't squeeze a 12 lb trigger and hit a damned thing except the sky and the ground.

The overall average continues to hover around 82-85 percent, and since 2005 saw more shots fired and more misses than ever, and 2006 is looking even worse, NY might very well wind up missing the intended target somewhere in the neighborhood of 92% of the time.

Ouch.

Every 13 Seconds An American Uses A Firearm In Defense Against Criminal Attack...

4,033,415

Gun defenses since January 1, 2005.

91.7% of these times, the gun was NOT FIRED. The criminal was not WOUNDED, or KILLED.

73.4% of the time the attacker was a stranger.

79.7% of the time the defender used a concealed firearm.

83.5% of the time the attacker initiated the use of force and was repelled. This of course disproves the liberal clarion call to become a victim, that having a gun means having it taken away from you. So on the contrary, having a gun means that close to 9 out of 10 times you will survive an attack.

From whence these facts and figures?

Florida State University. Estimating that 2.5 million events of defensive gun use occurs every year, with the vast majority...91.7% as shown above.... requiring no discharge of any weapon.

If you don't already own one, aquire a firearm. Something you can afford, but something of enough caliber to assure survival should you be in the 8.3 percentile that must needs use the firearm. This means .40 caliber or above, except in the case of the .357 Magnum.

Choose fromWinchester Ranger-T, Federal HST, Remington Golden Saber, Eldorado Starfire, Double-Tap, Buffalo-Bore, or Speer Gold Dot ammunitions. Select one of the above according to which performs the best in your gun. Practice with inexpensive full metal jacket ammunition of the same weight, and once every two or three months re-evaluate your primary munitions. This means shooting off the old stock then replenishing it anew.

Pay NO ATTENTION to the "experts" that write for gun magazines. Their job is to sell advertising. Keep it simple, and practice whenever you can. And remember that Ma and/or Pa Kettle chase the goblins away nearly 84% of the time so don't go spending tons of money on some asinine Defensive Handgun Course. These are primarily for fat old retired guys who are one Big-Mac away from a stroke, and instead of paying careful attention to what might REALLY kill them, they plunk down thousands of bucks to have bang-bang guru's "teach" them how to repel boarders. They get a certificate for their trouble, something to nail on the wall so actual dyed-in-the-wool gunsters can laugh at them behind their backs after seeing such idiocy hanging in the den.

If you really want to sharpen your combat reflexes remember one thing and one thing only. Attention to detail. You either have it or you do not have it. Having it means no one has to tell you that featuring a waistline 10" bigger in circumference than your chest is a bad thing. Not having it but being halfway intelligent means you can learn to pay more attention to the here and now, not some mythical tomorrow where you cap away half a dozen screaming ninja's without breaking a sweat because some conman in a baseball cap and ever-so-tacticool vest taught you how to dance with a pistol.

Eventually aquire a 12 or 20 gauge shotgun to compliment your handgun. Or, a .223 or .308 caliber longarm but NOT with military grade ammunition. Choose one of the many good offerings for civilian use that EXPANDS upon striking a soft target. You want to make the biggest hole possible, and shouldn't care about penetrating barriers but SHOULD CARE about stopping an aggressor dead in his tracks.

We're not Europe, although they're discovering just how swell this multiculturalism deal works, too. Leftwing forces have created a sub-culture of welfare criminals, from the 20% minority that commits 80% of the violent crimes. The police will not defend us. Liberal politicians want us beholding and weak.

Arm yourself and fight back. If the vast majority of people with absolutely no training can do it then so can you. And once again just for the gipper, pay the fuck attention. That'll save your ass should the shit hit the fan far more often than all the seminars in the world from those who practice turning stale and stupid cliches into words of wisdom. This is not rocket science. Stay armed and alert and shoot to kill any motherfucker who decides that the Kennedy's and Kerry's and Pelosi's were right and distributing the wealth is a grand thing so your stuff should belong to him. If you happen to be female and run into a man who wants to add you to his list of I-fucked-the-bitch-to-watch-her-cry, then draw on the son of a bitch and if he doesn't run like the frenzied coward he truly is, then shoot him dead.

If you are either afraid of guns or so bad with them you just know you'd never be able to shoot anything, then go into politics. The government will provide you with armed men to watch your six. For free.

Crazed Moslem Declares Himself A Terrorist...

...Then proceeds to mow down infidels, and here is what SF Mayor Gavin Newsom has to say:

"These are the things, these are so senseless. They're utterly inexplicable. They're impossible to rationalize."

No, your honor, sorry. Nothing about this is inexplicable. The man was on a declared jihad and tried to kill as many infidels as he could. The last 5500 times the world has seen the face of terrorism, it was the face of an islamic killer doing what his religion demands of him. There is NO militant islam, merely islam. They strive to convert or murder us all, and the one's who do not actively participate aid and abet the one's who do.

In San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and other of our larger city's, the law enforcement response is of course to worry about the safety of other moslems after such a tragedy, and not in doing their sworn duty to serve and protect. These men and women are traitors of the worst ilk. The very people paid to protect us have deserted us, all of us, and it's long past time to call the spade a spade and identify them as the enemy as well as 6th century barbarians who's main purpose in life is to destroy our way of life.

They tried to disarm us and we fought back. We demanded our legislators pass Castle Doctine laws that "allowed" men of good will to defend themselves and their families, but more states need to join with the free people of America and enact similar laws. The fight for freedom has once again called upon you and I to do what is necessary to protect our way of life. Forget the police, the courts, the politicians, except to demand that they lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.

In a free city within a free state, bystanders would have shot this terrorist dead before the toll reached so staggering a number. In Florida, it is permissable to use deadly force to save the life of another, or prevent a felony or kidnapping. In California...as well as Texas...a citizen must first run like hell before fighting back, and said citizen's defense must be a measured one or he will be prosecuted then face a civil suit as well.

Demand Castle Doctrine. Demand Walking In Another's Shoe's. Demand an end to litigation by felons and the family of felons. Islam has declared war and since the police cannot or will not help, it will soon be up to each and every one of us to fight back.

And to god-damned hell with protecting mosques whenever one of theirs kills one of ours.

Lemas

In hi-speed/low-drag circles the debate goes on. But, it can be categorically stated that there is really but one bullet to look for when the deed needs doing.

Lemas. For that one special shot.

Chortle & Snort

"Yesterday, members of the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus (BLAC) met with the press to complain about classifying individuals by race and/or ethnic origins."

Well Golly Of COURSE I Believe Everything I Hear...

"Good morning. Obviously, my name is Mary Lacy, and I am the elected district attorney for the 20th Judicial District.

There are a few people out there that look tired this morning, and there are a few people that look tired back here. You guys have been working pretty hard overnight.

I'm asking you this morning, let us do our job thoroughly and carefully. The analysis of the evidence in this case continues on a day-by-day and hour-by-hour basis as we speak.

What I can and very much want to share with you is a deep appreciation for the hard work, total cooperation and dedication of many individuals and agencies across this country and in Bangkok, Thailand."

FAST-FORWARD...

"The Colorado prosecutor who got conned by a creep claiming to be JonBenet Ramsey's killer admitted yesterday officials didn't check out his shaky story until after they'd blown $10,000 flying him back from Thailand.

Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy also acknowledged that critics wanted to see her "tarred and feathered" after John Mark Karr's DNA failed to match stains on the slain 6-year-old's underwear.

But Lacy said authorities went after Karr because the DNA "surreptitiously" snagged from him wasn't adequate for testing - and because in e-mails to a Colorado journalism professor he spoke of seducing another young girl.

"We also consulted a forensic psychologist," Lacy said. "It was his opinion that this person was dangerous." She added: "I think we did a good job for the community."

TRANSLATION...

Darn and drat. I had my chance at more than 15 minutes of fame and blew it. Oh well. Tomorrow's another day. Say now, if I re-focus my attention on the Father, I betcha...

Nothing Says Classy Bling Quite Like Nickle

S&W K-22 Circa 1958...Click the pic for the full view

.357 Magnum Thunderheads

230 grain bullet at 900 fps. Semiwadcuter design with a soft tip for minor expansion. For the heavy and slow crowd who don't like them newfangled dum-dums.

For woodwork, I like the Double-Tap 200 grain hardcast that leaves my 3" GP-100 at 1215 fps or thereabouts. Or...Buffalo Bore's 180 grain lead flatnose at 1350. Either will discourage up to a 400 pound blackie, and there's a swamp rat here who says the DT 200 grainers are hell on gators.

Checking Out The Carnage In Lebanon...Photos We DON'T SEE

Yes. The neighborhood self destructed. I'd ask for a caption contest but not enough folks want to have it known that they stop by so what's the point.

Was sent to me from an AP link that I lost, so sorry, AP.

This Just In...

NY's Senator Chuckie Schumer wants to spend $2 billion to renovate the UN building.

The same $2 billion could be used to erect two state-of-the-art sports stadiums, or one helluva museum. Or any number of worthwhile ventures that would rake in tons of cash for the city, and not COST tons of cash in perpetuity.

The place is getting run down, no doubt about it.

But 2 billion dollars? For new offices for Kofi's boys?

Will some major outlet please tell the American people that Schumer wants to force us to pay that kind of money for that kind of organization.

Much obliged.

More Fun With Wilson, And Valerie And Bush Lied...

August 29, 2006 -- "IN this very space, in early October 2003, I offered my best guess about how journalist Robert Novak came to learn a minor fact - that soon blew up into a major would-be scandal - during a conversation with someone who worked for the Bush administration.

The minor fact was that Joseph Wilson, a former diplomat and Clinton administration official, had been sent to Africa by the CIA to investigate reports of Iraqi efforts to acquire uranium at the suggestion of his own wife, who worked at CIA.

What the hell were you doing sending Wilson over there? I imagined Novak saying. Wilson worked for Clinton!

Administration official: We didn't send him there. Cheney's office asked CIA to get more information. CIA picked Wilson.

Novak: Why the hell would it do that?

Official: Look, I hear his wife's in the CIA. He's got nothing to do. She wanted to throw him a bone.

The day that speculative dialogue appeared in this paper, I received a private e-mail from Novak. Thanks to a computer meltdown in years since, I don't have a copy of that e-mail, but I recall Novak said something like "I'm sure you know that I can't say anything about the facts of the case, but I just wanted to say that was a very good column you wrote."

The get-Wilson cabal of leftist fantasy was made up primarily of political honcho Karl Rove, deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley and vice-presidential aide Scooter Libby - all of whom had spent years at daggers drawn with the State Department and, therefore, with Armitage. As one White House official told me, "Rich wouldn't have given Scooter a glass of water on the road to Hell."

For those of us obsessed with the case, it isn't exactly news. Indeed, I thought back in October 2003 that Novak's source was probably Armitage because a) Novak said his source was "not a partisan gunslinger" - Armitage to a T - and b) everybody in Washington knows that the only thing Richard Armitage loves more than Colin Powell is a reporter's off-the-record phone call.

Still, the revelation is a blockbuster for one reason: It comes in a book co-authored by David Corn, whose column in The Nation and blog have been central clearinghouses for the notion that everybody and his mother in the Bush administration should be tried and convicted, then drawn and quartered for the monstrous evil of deliberately exposing the uniquely delicate secret-agent woman Valerie Plame to all but certain murder.

Corn has put a stake in the heart of one of the foundational theories behind the "Bush Lied" lie - after having spent several years promoting that very theory.

So here we are, more than three years after the publication of the Novak column. No one's come forward with the proof that Valerie Wilson was a covert operative. Special prosecutor Fitzgerald brought no charge on that matter, despite his outrageous and unseemly claim, during his notorious press conference announcing the indictment of Libby, that Plame's identity was "classified" - a word that in this context has no legal meaning."

Fun stuff. Not for poor Scooter Libby of course, who must expend a great deal of personal resources to defend himself against Fitzgerald's attempt to find someone guilty of something. Read all of Podhoretz's column before it goes away and he reverts to his usual whinging self.

PostShot: In my old blog I featured a similar imaginary conversation between Novak and an unknown administration official, and I do so avow that none of it was ripped off from J-Pods work.

I mean, come on now. Who writes better dialogue anyway.

The "New Saladin" Confesses To An Oops

"In a TV interview in Beirut Sunday, Nasrallah admitted second thoughts about the wisdom of capturing the two Israeli soldiers, an incident that triggered the war: "The party leadership never expected a response on such an unprecedented scale and volume [by Israel]," he said. "Had we known that what we did would lead to this, we would certainly not have embarked upon it."

For a roundabout way of eating humble pie, this was not bad for a man whom Western media have portrayed as the latest Arab folk hero or even (as one U.S. weekly put it) a new Saladin.

Why did Nasrallah decide to change his unqualified claim of victory into an indirect admission of defeat? Two reasons.

The first consists of facts on the ground: Hezbollah lost some 500 of its fighters, almost a quarter of its elite fighting force. Their families are now hounding Nasrallah to provide an explanation for "miscalculations" that led to their death.

Throughout southern Lebanon, once a stronghold of Hezbollah, pictures of the "martyrs" adorn many homes and shops, revealing the fact that many more Hezbollah fighters died than the 110 claimed by Nasrallah. What angers the families of the "martyrs" is that Hezbollah fighters had not been told that the sheik was starting a war to please his masters in Tehran, and that they should prepare for it.

The fighters found out there was a war only after the Israelis started raining fire on southern Lebanon. In fact, no one - apart from the sheik's Iranian contacts and a handful of Hezbollah security officials linked to Tehran and Damascus - knew that Nasrallah was provoking a war. Even the two Hezbollah ministers in the Lebanese government weren't consulted, nor the 12 Hezbollah members of the Lebanese National Assembly. The party's chief policymaking organ, the Shura (consultative assembly), hasn't held a full session since 2001.

The "new Saladin" has also lost most of his medium-range missiles without inflicting any serious damage on Israel. Almost all of Hezbollah's missile launching pads (often placed in mosques, schools and residential buildings) south of the Litani River have been dismantled.

Worse still, the Israelis captured an unknown number of Hezbollah fighters and political officers, including several local leaders in the Bekaa Valley, Khyam and Tyre.

The second reason why Nasrallah has had to backtrack on his victory claims is the failure of his propaganda machine to hoodwink the Lebanese. He is coming under growing criticism from every part of the political spectrum, including the Hezbollah itself.

Last week he hurriedly cancelled a series of victory marches planned for Beirut's Shiite suburbs after leading Shiite figures attacked the move as "unmerited and indecent." Instead, every village and every town is holding typical Shiite mourning ceremonies, known as tarhym (seeking mercy), for the dead.

Nasrallah has tried to rally his base by distributing vast sums of Iranian money through his network - by the end of last week, an estimated $12 million in crisp U.S. banknotes. But if Nasrallah had hoped to buy silence, if not acquiescence, he is being proved wrong. Some Lebanese Shiites are scandalized that they are treated by Iranian mullahs as mercenaries, and see Nasrallah's cash handouts as diyah (blood money) for their dead. And a dead man whose family receives a diyah cannot claim the status of "martyr" and enjoy its prerogatives in paradise."

Make no mistake about it; winning is easier than the aftermath. Nasralla won the hearts and minds of leftwingers the world over, but logistically lost the actual war. Not that this matters to the folks who are always in the process of re-writing one history or another, because hey, it's his problem and another liberal hero will arise to take his place should he continue to falter. That's the problem with backstabbing loons. You're only as good as your last kick to Israel or America's groin.

Guns And Crime

Yes, gun sales are up, and coupled with the black abortion rate that's finally catching up to the amount of gangbangers available to kill, steal, and rape, reported criminal activity will probably continue on something of a downward spiral.

But nature and that vacuum enter the fray and hispanics don't have nearly the amount of abortions, so don't look for that particular trend to continue. More people are willing to defend themselves in states that have, Texas aside, long been devotees of the 2nd Amendment, but this is more than ever becoming a process of location-specific violent crime.

The safer venues will get safer while the big cities become more dangerous because big cities and legal weapons do not go hand in hand. Big cities will respond by taking a page from Great Britains manner of not declaring a homicide a homicide until the perpetrator is caught and convicted. Some already do so, and while the total number of victims remains the same or rises, the statistics lie just as statistics are supposed to do.

Just remember that simply because a criminal leaves for greener pastures he or she doesn't stop being a criminal. It's logical to presume that such scum will not attempt to prey on those capable of defending themselves, but there's plenty of room for new recruits in the cities that refuse to allow law abiding citizens the right to protect home and hearth.

Even liberals understand this, hence movies such as Escape From New York.

Thanks to Patrick for the fodder, and click the above link to see more.

DeLay's Old Seat Said To Be Leaning Democratic...

And the projected winner is:

"Dr. Sekula-Gibbs. (is) a clinical assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine and teaches at Ben Taub Hospital. She has published and lectured on topics including skin cancer, smoking, dangers in tanning beds and nail salons, infection control, Tourette syndrome and the effects of emotion on the skin."

Not that I put much credence in the liberal media's polling results, as they've pretty much predicted a Democratic sweep come November. Just as they did before the 2004 election and were touting Kerry as the clear winner on election night. This is intended to drive conservatives away as they lament that their candidate stands no chance so why bother. But it's a double-edged sword that can also keep the loons abed as well, as they come to the conclusion that their vote isn't necessary. Sorry, but I just don't believe the country is that stupid.

But, as far as Sekula-Gibbs is concerned, the GOP has given the babe over $3 million to help with her write-in campaign, so even though Texans have long since raised the white flag and all but returned the Alamo to Mexico, Gibbs appears to be a Democrat in name only. Then again, maybe they're all just itching to know the effects of emotion on the skin.

For Once And For All

To the stupid gun writers who proclaim that short barreled guns MUST use lighter bullets.

The Speer SB (short barrel) 230 grain Gold Dot Hollowpoint. Please take a look at how relatively slow those velocities are. Most of the big name ammunition manufacturers are working on similar products for compact firearms, so of course you CAN carry your bigbore loaded with bigbore ammo.

So if at all possible, stop passing along bad information simply because you're too lazy to do the research necessary to make helpful recommendations.

And to the myriad of emailers stumped because of all of the bad scoop out there; sorry, we do the best we can but nobody reads this stuff and everybody reads Guns & Ammo, or American Handgunner where they find advertisements disguised as essays. American Handgunner in particular presents just about the worst information that is humanly possible, as all they wish to do is pimp for whichever gun and/or ammo manufacturer is taking out the most ads. Smith & Wesson could come up with donkey feces in the shape of a handgun, and as long as it carried the Thunder Ranch logo, Handgunner would be frothing at the ass to rave about it.

Nightlights

From left to right:

PT's, Trijicons, Meprolights, in otherwise total darkness.

Nightsights are not obligatory, and there are quite a few good shooters who do just as well without them, but they should be a consideration. Someday soon I'll probably do a feature on the do's and dont's, the whys and why-bothers.

Hint: Click for a bigger picture that sheds more light on the subject.

Prosecutors Will Not Charge Karr With JonBenet Murder; DNA Not a Match

BOULDER, Colo. — "Prosecutors abruptly dropped their case against John Mark Karr in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, saying DNA tests failed to put him at the crime scene despite his repeated insistence he killed the 6-year-old beauty queen."

What abject jerkwads. The words from the DA still ring in my ears, as she breathlessly praised her team for their tireless efforts in bringing the killer to justice. Not that any of us expect lefties to do much of anything right, but for the love of Christ these are trained professionals. Typical gullible liberal assholes.

The Worst Book Cover Ever

Ah, pics, at last.

This is the cover for Steve's...Hog On Ice...book.

Doesn't quite scream Vanity Press as much as I thought it would, but close.

I mean, the bulletholes are, well, square.

In all honesty, I've never seen a more hideous cover that wasn't intended to be so. And remember, I really like guns. If Anne Rice came out with a new novel featuring a gun on the cover I'd at least look at it twice.

Will await the Amazon ranking. As he did when panning others, but as is the case with all writers, okay, NOT Anne Rice, I sincerely hope it is a smashing success.

I'd review it if he sent me a copy. Hell, I might buy one and review it anyway.

So Lets Have A Look At The Car That Reuters Claims Was Hit By 2 Israeli Missiles...

Powerline has pictures of the Reuters vehicle in question, and I'd post them here but Blogger is too frigged to permit such goings on this evening.

The entry hole could be from a projectile. But the lack of additional damage tells me it was not an explosive device that made the hole and that Reuters is once again full of shit.

End of story.

Fearless Forcaster: Giants And Jets Season Prognostigatorium

It's that time again. Football season begins to rear it's ugly head, and as a born and bred New Yorker it is therefore my duty to predict the success or lack thereof the NY teams will have this year.

The Giants have a good coach, an improving young quarterback with all the skills in the world, and an All-Star running game. Their defense is above average and this makes them one of the elites of the National Football League.

12-4. Advancing to the second round of the playoffs, they lose a close game and miss the Super Bowl by a Manning mistake. Because he's simply not there, not yet, even though the team itself is one of the top 5 or 6 in all the league.

Final Overall Ranking: 5

The Jets have a rookie coach, a creaky quarterback, and no running game. Their defense is below average and this makes them one of the not ready for primetime teams of the NFL.

6-10 if Pennington has anything left. 8-8 if he's truly back. 4-12 if he falters badly in trying to return from more surgeries then Pamila Andersons breasts. Yes, quarterbacks are THAT important, especially when there isn't a good, let alone star running back to be found anywhere on the roster. They miss the playoffs, and towards the end of the season the fans are screaming for them to lose more games in order to get a better draft pick, but they win just enough to place them in the middle of the first round. Head Coach Mangini gets a honeymoon season to see what the team is made of, dislikes it from top to bottom, then begins building them in his own image.

Final Overall Ranking: 24

Excerpt Of Ahmadimeadozen's Letter to Germany...

"...just imagine where Germany would be today in terms of its eminence among the freedom-loving nations, Muslims of the world and peoples of Europe, if such a situation did not exist and the governments in power in Germany had said no to the extortions by the Zionists and had not supported the greatest enemy of mankind."

You really don't need to read, see, or even scan the whole thing. Iranian President Ahma is insane. Clinically insane. The man wants all Jews to be dead Jews. People of good will the world over understand this simple fact, and are aghast at the thought of so lunatic an individual posessing a nuclear weapon.

Then why is it that our lefties love the guy? They despise Jews, as well? They feel his hatred for America and Israel is well founded? THEY hate the Jews? THEY hate America?

Beg pardon?

All of the above?

Copy that.

"Survivor" Format Taking Hits

"...do white men and women, young or old, in good, middling or bad shape, stand up well against those people who are usually depicted in mass media as mysterious, stupid, exotic, disordered or more akin to animals in their physicality?"

Um, nope. Not really. Especially when one considers the fact that Caucasions outnumber Negroes in western countries, but Negroes outmnumber Caucasians on the sporting field. Anyone NOT knowing that there's a difference is either blind or a liar or a liberal. And guess what? Then producers of Survivor are praying that the whingy left makes as much noise as possible to stir up excitement for a sagging format. And they'll deliver on cue because they can't help themselves. Not when it comes to defending a cherished falsehood.

Bobby Abreau Watch Continues Even As Clueless Joe Wrecks Rodriguez...

Even after a mini-micro slump out west, Abreu is still doing rather well:

Batting .368 with an on-base-percentage of .477 after 27 games is world class, especially considering the fact that he plays for manager Joe Torre who loves to trifle with the batting order to protect his favorites, regardless of how it effects other players who are performing well.

The whole Alex Rodriguez drama would come to an abrupt end were Torre to drop him to 8th or 9th in the batting order. Then keep him there, buried behind the more productive hitters. For 2 weeks if necessary. The pressure would abate and he could concentrate on getting his swing back to normal. But instead, Clueless Joe moves him to the 2-hole and that of course makes things even worse.

History, only about 140 years of it or so, has shown that when your cleanup man is 1 for 21 but remains healthy he needs a change of scenery. Especially in NY. A well rested Bernie Williams could slide into the 4-hole and drive pitchers crazy for two or three weeks, until Rodriguez gets his act together or Sheffield and Matsui return from the DL. Bernie cannot play a full season anymore, this is true, but in spurts is as good as he ever was.

The pitching staff is drooping as a pitching staff does come late August, and the hitters have to take up the slack. Everywhere but in NY where JT still believes it to be 1960 when all one needed to do was to tell the players to suck it up and all would be well.

The Con Remains On

"...AIDS prevention has always been handicapped by politics. Nobody believes we all have AIDS, but many have bought into the "Everyone is at risk" nonsense that clearly works against targeting those truly at risk.

The entire science of epidemiology depends on identifying risk factors to ameliorate them. Epidemiolgoy got its start when London physician John Snow determined that cholera cases in his city clustered around a single water pump - and proceeded to end the epidemic by simply removing the pump handle.

Snow was lucky he didn't have to deal with activists carrying signs reading: "Water doesn't cause cholera; ignorance and prejudice cause cholera!"

Fewer than 39,000 Americans were diagnosed with AIDS in 2004 (latest data available), and fewer than 16,000 died from it. That's about one in 770 and one in 1,875 respectively. Fact is, almost everybody is safe from AIDS.

But of course, the focus of the Toronto conference is on international AIDS, which we all know is wiping whole continents off the map.

For example, a high Ugandan official said that within two years his nation will "be a desert." ABC News Nightline declared that within 12 years "50 million Africans may have died of AIDS."

Problem is, those predictions were made in 1986 and 1988.

Yet Uganda's population has doubled since 1985. Nightline's 50 million dead by the year 2000 proved to be 20 million in 2005, according to the U.N. estimate. Further, "In sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the largest burden of the AIDS epidemic, data also indicate that the HIV incidence rate has peaked in most countries," says the 2006 UNAIDS Report.

Since 1985, when Life magazine blared in huge red letters: "Now No One Is Safe from AIDS," activists have fought furiously against the idea that AIDS targets those who engage in particular behaviors. Yet, more than two decades later, AIDS in this country remains overwhelmingly a disease of homosexual males and intravenous drug users.

Yet the United Nations itself has historically grossly exaggerated the world AIDS threat. In 1998, it estimated that 12 percent of Rwandans aged 15 to 49 were infected; now it says it's only 3 percent. Whoops. On the other hand, other agencies had estimated a horrific 30 percent of Rwandans were infected. James Chin, a former U.N. official who made some of the earliest global HIV estimates, says such concocted figures are "pure advocacy."

Former President Bill Clinton told conference attendees that "It's difficult to imagine how the world can grow unless we tackle AIDS." In fact, population growth is fastest in areas hardest hit by AIDS.

As for the bizarre assertion that AIDS remains yet to be tackled, UNAIDS reports that 1.3 million people in low- and middle-income countries received antiretroviral therapy in 2004, up from a fifth that number in 2001. Donated blood is now screened in even the poorest countries. The level of AIDS testing and education in poorer nations has skyrocketed.

And worldwide AIDS spending, which averaged $1.7 billion in 2002-2004, reached $8.3 billion for 2005 and is slated to hit $10 billion in 2007.

The size of that pie, and the desire to have a slice of it, is all you need to know to understand how the Toronto conference could attract a stunning 24,000 attendees who have been rightly labeled "the AIDS industry." Nevertheless, insists UNAIDS, that $10 billion isn't nearly enough.

Even the current AIDS budget swamps spending on malaria and tuberculosis - which together kill about twice as many people each year as does AIDS. Antiretroviral therapy for AIDS cures no one - and, where it costs $300-$1,200 per year in the Third World, TB can be cured with $65 of medicine. And malaria in Africa and Asia can be prevented for a pittance by spraying DDT - yet environmental activists and the European Union have essentially blocked its use in areas that most need it..."

Clue #1: If you see Slick-Willy around there's a scam being run. AIDS is a homosexual/drug-user problem, and NOT something we need worry about, but that bit of unvarnished truth singles out one of the loony left's most favored minority, and the truth isn't coming out of Blowjob Bill's mouth anytime soon.

The diseases without a star are killing people at an alarming rate, but the money is going to HIV. Case closed, Katy bar the door, and don't let it hit you in the ass because that's the real world where lefties control the media and tell us all the news we need to make a decision just as they would.

Updated Chronograph Results For .357 Magnum And .40 S&W

To keep everyone up to date on what's new, improved, or old but we haven't looked in for a time, Crazy Jay has been working overtime in cranking out velocity tables.

PMC Eldorado Starfire

150 grains, .357 magnum

Velocity from a 4" Ruger GP-100: 1237 fps average of 6 shots.

180 grains, .40 caliber S&W

Velocity from a 4" Glock 23: 1016 fps average of 10 shots
Velocity from a 3.5" Glock 27: 978 fps average of 10 shots

Federal HST

180 grains, .40 caliber S&W

Velocity from a 4" Glock-23: 1062 fps average of 10 shots
Velocity from a 3.5" Glock-27: 1011 fps average of 10 shots

Winchester Ranger T

180 grains, .40 caliber S&W

Velocity from a 4" Glock 23: 996 fps average of 10 shots
Velocity from a 3.5" Glock-27: 959 fps average of 10 shots

Not much of a difference in the .40 cal loadings, but it should be noted that the PMC .357 magnum offering is a very mild shooting cartridge, as is evidenced by the relatively low velocity. The expansion in ballistic gelatin is approximately .8" with 13 inches of penetration, making it a premier self-defense round.

We've Been Down Due To: Server Error

And don't know how long it will take for Blogger to right itself. Several of my favorite blog sites are experiencing the same response, and this makes me glad that they've not "punished" Messenger yet again for inappropriate shenanigans.

UPDATE

Can edit but not view the editing, so it's possible you out there might be seeing this. If so, then VIVA OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT!

Sunday Bicycle Update

As predicted, LGF leads 23 to 5, after presenting this offering.

Beaten To The Punch...

Was preparing a "BUSH LIED PLUTO DIED" feature until stumbling upon the following:

"Bush Kicks Pluto Out Of The Solar System"

"Bush’s big astronomy buddies announced this week that Pluto’s planetary status has been officially revoked, and it is no longer welcome in the solar system. Such is the price of dissent in this day and age.

On the bright side, three “dwarf planets” have been admitted into our celestial community – three new additions to Bush’s Galactic Coalition of the Coerced and the Bribed. One can only wonder what kind of deal he struck with all those poor, naive little dwarves. No doubt it involves stealing their oil.

However, I can’t help but question the timing of the whole thing. It’s just a little too coincidental that three whole planets appear out of their cosmic deep freeze now, simultaneously, without any sort of advance warning, and so close to the November elections."

And the similarities were just too much so go and read the Blame Bush! version.

Trials Of A Blade

15 months and the thing looks brand new, or close to it. A Kershaw Blur that I've abused but refuses to give up the ghost.

Sorry about the horrid picture. Am fiddling with some new editing software that is as glitchy as it is poorly made.

Don't waste your time and money on The Printshop Pro 20. It's balky even with a Pentium 4 and a gig of memory. I'm weary of spending money on photoware that fails to deliver, so if anyone knows of a basic freeware that's halfway decent I'd be obliged.

Sunday Sports Spot

Jared Lorenzen. The Pillsbury Throwboy. About 6' 5", and 300 pounds. Competing for, and close to winning, the job as NY Giants backup quarterback. He'd be great for mop-up duties. Cannon for an arm, and can obviously take a serious hit without wilting.

And how many other QB's can hand the ball off to a running back, then block for him? The coaching staff is enamored with the idea of someone handing the ball to Tiki Barber, and instead of getting out of the way, actually knocking down a defender in the process.

Someone with football genius would turn this into a new NFL fad. A throwback to a time when the QB was just another 6 footer toting 200 pounds who could also block. It'd be a refreshing change from the agile QB who can sling bb's from sideline to sideline, but lacks the height to see over the rushers and get the ball down the middle of the field.

Besides; Who wouldn't root for someone called the Pillsbury Throwboy?

NFL Prospect Profiles:

ANALYSIS

Positives: Big-boned with a thick, solid lower body … Shows quickness in his pass set and an outstanding arm, especially when he throws off his front foot … Stands tall in the pocket under pressure, but will not hesitate to run with the ball, keeping his shoulders square to break arm tackles … Shows a nice touch in the short-area tosses and scans the field well to search for his secondary targets … Shows agility and balance in the pocket and despite his size, shows the ability to elude and avoid the pass rush … Tough to tackle one-on-one due to his size.

Negatives: Has had weight control issues throughout his career (has made a concerted effort to lose weight, dropping 25 pounds prior to the 2003 season, but put 15 pounds back on since) … Not really a "take charge" type in the huddle (gets moderate respect from his teammates) … While he has an outstanding arm, it is only evident when he throws off his front foot (too often he throws off his back foot, resulting in him chucking the ball and negating his timing) … Holds the ball too long through his delivery, resulting in unnecessary hits in the pocket … Has nice touch on short throws, but struggles to lead his man or get the ball over the receiver's shoulders on deep tosses … Needs to vary the speed on his passes (tends to throw a very hard ball) … Struggles to complete passes when forced to throw on the move … Needs to read defenses better, as he will throw too many balls into traffic … Looks like he is throwing the javelin on his long ball … Does a poor job with game management … Has had fumble issues in recent years, resulting in a temporary benching … The new system installed at Kentucky in 2003 asked him to make more reads, and he struggled in this area, increasing his turnovers (interceptions and fumbles).

The Good People Of Maryland Truly Hate Those Evil Assault Weapons...

senate bill 494

1 AN ACT concerning

2 Firearms - Assault Weapons - Ban

3 FOR the purpose of making it a misdemeanor to transport an assault weapon into the
4 State or to possess, sell, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, or receive an assault
5 weapon; providing that certain persons and acts are not covered by certain
6 assault weapons provisions; providing certain exceptions to certain crimes;
7 authorizing a law enforcement unit to seize and dispose of assault weapons
8 under certain circumstances; making it a misdemeanor to use an assault
9 weapon or a certain magazine in the commission of a felony or crime of violence;
10 providing certain penalties; defining certain terms; and generally relating to
11 assault weapons.

But what precisely IS an Assault Weapon?

"...a firearm that is any of the following specific assault weapons or
their copies, regardless of which company produced and manufactured that assault."

Ah yes. When in doubt use the word to describe itself. Marylanders enjoy living in a state that doesn't merely disregard the 2nd Amendment, but the entire concept that the Founding Fathers went to war for. Standing armies that are permitted to possess weapons unavailable to the people were considered an unacceptable evil. Of course they never envisioned modern weapons systems, but the reason "assault weapons" are feared is not because law-abiding folks would use them to harm other law-abiding folks. A new category of citizen was created by the leftwing establishment. A type of citizen that will vote to elect only them. The beasts who would kill us, sheltered by their enablers.

Of course we shouldn't be capable of removing them en masse. Who'd be left to vote Democratic? Frightened seniors and hairy-palmed wankers living in their parents basement?

AIDS At 25...

...And killing more people than ever. But however, kindergertners...to whom the liberals provide free condoms to learn about and practice with...remain untouched by the killer virus.

Now if they'd only focus on gays, they too might soon be rid of HIV.

Africa? Unprotected sex means a man proving he's a man. Check back in another 25 and see if anything has changed.

The Bikini Turns 60...

And still very nice indeed.

Ralph Peters On Israels War At Sea...

"...Since 1970, Israel has faced 80 significant maritime attacks. Interdicting weapons destined for terrorists requires constant vigilance: A few years back, a single vessel, the Karine-A, had 50 tons of arms and explosives on board. Originating in the Persian Gulf, that shipment was addressed to Fatah, the Palestinian "good guys." (And, of course, when Israel stops a smuggler on the high seas, the United Nations treats it as an act of piracy.)

Israel's navy has to be on watch 24 hours a day, every day of the year. And then it goes to war with the rest of the Israeli Defense Forces.

The navy deserved better coverage than it got during the Lebanon fighting. Beyond the missile hit on the command ship, the service turned in a spunky, effective performance, enforcing a blockade in cooperation with the air force and landing SEALs behind the lines.

One successful commando raid on Tyre saved dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Lebanese lives by going ashore to take out Hezbollah rocket commanders - instead of simply bombing the crowded apartment block where the terrorists had set up shop on the second floor.

The navy also destroyed Hezbollah rocket launchers on shore and provided intelligence to the other services. It was the only IDF arm that delivered more than it promised.

Now there's a cease-fire. For the Israeli navy, that just means going back to an average of 11 missions a day and protecting Israel's lifeline to the world."

Gag Order Just In Time...

...To keep the Boulder authorities from looking like bigger jerks than they already are...

"Prosecutors in JonBenet Ramsey's decade-old murder are poring over eight photographs that John Mark Karr's brother says prove he was in Georgia at the time of the slaying - even though he is not pictured in them and there is no time stamp on them.

Michael Karr gave authorities pictures after they flew to Norcross, Ga., on Tuesday. Investigators grilled Michael and his wife for four hours, his attorney, Gary Harris, told The Post.

Relatives insist John Karr took the pictures at a family Christmas party in Atlanta in 1996, meaning he couldn't have been in Boulder when JonBenet was killed on Dec. 26 that year.

Although John Karr does not appear in any of the images, Harris told The Post that all the relatives who were at the party insist he was there and was behind the camera.

"They all remember him being there," Harris said.

"He never missed a Christmas - not once. In 1996, John was there with his wife. They always had Thanksgivings and Christmases together."

The photos were not dated, but Harris said it was clear they were from 1996 because they feature Michael Karr's baby, who was born 13 days before Christmas that year.

They also gave investigators a thank-you note that John Karr's then-wife, Laura, wrote to Michael and his wife, Reneau.

"We had a great time," Harris said the note read, insisting the "we" meant Laura and John Karr.

A source at the Boulder District Attorney's Office told the Daily Camera newspaper that DA Mary Lacy ordered investigators to track down relatives after reports circulated of family members insisting Karr had been with them at the time JonBenet was killed.

Prosecutors had learned of Karr's name just five days before he was arrested in Thailand and confessed to the murder. They had no DNA evidence linking him to the case, a source told the Daily Camera, and appear to have focused on Karr as a suspect because he had told others of elements of the crime that had never been made public.

Investigators so far have been unable to place Karr in Colorado at the time of the killing, but have contacted a man who claims to remember seeing a man resembling Karr at the Boulder bus station in the early-morning hours of Dec. 26, 1996, the Rocky Mountain News reported.

The revelations came as a Boulder County judge issued a gag order forbidding all authorities from publicly discussing the case."

The Ace In The Hole...

George Will:

"...In the first three months of this year, Japan scrambled fighter jets 107 times in response to what were assumed to be Chinese spy planes provocatively close to Japan's air space. A Chinese submarine has made an incursion into Japan's territorial waters, and the two nations are disputing whose waters cover disputed oil and gas reserves in the East China Sea. Surely it is time for Japan to end the dissonance between its necessary behavior and its constitution's text, a contradiction that can complicate policymaking and produce national paralysis.

This matters to Americans because East Asia matters. (Its share of global GDP is projected to be 27 percent by 2020.) And because rising China and demented North Korea complicate regional security. And because the list of economically formidable nations that are without virulent anti-Americanism and are eager to collaborate with America is short. The list is: Japan."

The Japanese remain our dogs of war. China, as well as N. Korea, is painfully aware of this. What the yellow peril counted on was the modern Japanese propensity for pacifism. What the yellow peril forgot was the Japanese history for war.

Loon Quote Of The Month

"There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution"

Spotlight On: Anna Diggs Taylor

The federal judge who decided earlier this month that the Bush administration's warrantless-surveillance program was unconstitutional.

AKA: Saviour-Flavor of the month for the lunatic left. The soon to be overturned Taylor is a 74 year-old lefty who considers herself an African-American. No, she is not from Africa, but her lineage includes negro ancestry.

Longtime friend and lover to the American Civil Liberties Union, and lifetime despiser of all things American.

Teddy Thinks The President Is Not Permitted To Nominate...

...Anyone he goddamned wishes to...

"I have had the honor of serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee for 43 years, during which I’ve participated in confirmation hearings for all the justices who now sit on the Supreme Court. Over that time, my colleagues and I have asked probing questions and listened attentively to substantive responses. Because we were able to learn a great deal about the nominees from those hearings, the Senate has rarely voted along party lines. I voted, for example, for three of President Ronald Reagan’s five Supreme Court nominees.

Of course, an examination of a nominee’s views may cause the Senate to withhold its consent. That is what happened in 1795 to John Rutledge, who was given a temporary commission as chief justice by President George Washington (while Congress was in recess) and was then rejected by the Senate several months later. In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon’s nomination of G. Harrold Carswell was derailed when the Senate learned of his segregationist past. At that time, I explained that “the Constitution makes clear that we are not supposed to be a rubber stamp for White House selections.” That was also the Senate’s view in 1987, when its rejection of Robert H. Bork’s extreme views led to the unanimous confirmation of the more moderate Anthony M. Kennedy. The Senate’s constitutional role has helped keep the court in the mainstream of legal thought.

But the careful, bipartisan process of years past — like so many checks and balances rooted in our Constitution — has been badly broken by the current Bush administration. The result has been the confirmation of two justices, John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr., whose voting record on the court reflects not the neutral, modest judicial philosophy they promised the Judiciary Committee, but an activist’s embrace of the administration’s political and ideological agenda.

Now that the votes are in from their first term, we can see plainly the agenda that Roberts and Alito sought to conceal from the committee. Our new justices consistently voted to erode civil liberties, decrease the rights of minorities and limit environmental protections. At the same time, they voted to expand the power of the president, reduce restrictions on abusive police tactics and approve federal intrusion into issues traditionally governed by state law.

The confirmation process became broken because the Bush administration learned the wrong lesson from the failed Bork nomination and decided it could still nominate extremists as long as their views were hidden. To that end, it insisted that the Senate confine its inquiry largely to its nominees’ personal qualities."

Guess the much-vaunted, though invisible, Privacy Clause that the old drunk rants about doesn't apply to folks he dislikes. Terrorists, on the other hand, can enjoy the full protection of make believe rights. Gotta love this son of a bitch for his consistency. Then hate him for virtually everything else.

Sunday's Evil Moslem

Sunday Clouds AND Water

Sunday's Clouds

Sunday's Bicycle

Best CCW Bottomfeeder?

Walther P99 in .40 caliber. When price isn't an object, BUT you want a lower bore-axis, faster trigger reset than can be found in a Sig.

For some, it noses out the Glock 23 by a hair. For $100-150 more, it should.

Longevity? Too soon to tell. Customer service? Spotty. Aftermarket add-ons and one-ups? Still scant in comparison to the Glock.

Get one, shoot the shit out of it, then add to the data base.

When Size Doesn't Matter At All...

Say hello to my not-so-little friend.

Colt Python. 6" barrel.

Look up "smooth" in any good dictionary. Then ask them why no pic.

When Size Doesn't Matter All That Much...

A S&W 686p is just the ticket.

When You Absolutely Positively MUST Go With A Lightweight...

Some of my posts have been disappearing. Then reappearing. Some with the pics, others without. No big deal.

Anyway, an S&W 337pd weighs in at less than 11 ounces.

Yes, it kicks. One of the very few guns where it is actually advisable to shoot with the weak-hand grasping the strong-hand by the wrist. Some have had better luck controlling recoil in this manner, but as always, your mileage may vary. $750-800 out the door, and after the first round exits the pipe you've just taken $250-300 from the value, so it IS worthwhile to try various methods of taming this little beast before taking a big hit in the wallet.

A strong, reliable, and with the right ammunition, deadly weapon that is perfectly suitable for use with +P fodder.

Have the pockets in a pair of pants reinforced, then a cheap nylon holster sewn in. Vi-Oh-La (French talk), you've got one helluva concealed carry piece.

A Good Belt

Not necessarily a relatively pricey specimen from the Beltman, but something that has a certain degree of stiffness and can handle an inner or outer waistband holster. $59.95 before shipping gets you an entry-level trouser catcher, and they are flexible, durable, and a favorite of CCW'ers. Lots of stiffer and less expensive belts can be found at nearly any sportsmans wharehouse type website, or you could just go to Wal-Mart and get a $11 Dickies and be done with it. But let's face it. The bulkier and gaudier and more expensive belts share the same attraction as do holsters. They cry out...Look At Me, I Carry A Gun...just like those horrid tactical vests that bad trainers wear when teaching the art of the concealed draw.

Careful There, Europe...

You'll dislocate a shoulder patting yourself on the back...

"...Until now, the EU's role in the Middle East has largely been limited to providing aid and trying to play the honest broker in the volatile region's many conflicts.

But the Centre for European Reform's foreign policy director, Mark Leonard, said that the presence of a large number of European troops not only reinforced Europe's credibility with regional players, but could also mark the beginning of a new "strategic" role."

The single reason most of the EUrinals are taking ANY steps towards "peace" is to calm their islamic communities by protecting poor Lebanon against the evil Joo.And as far as this "large number" of European troops goes, we're assuming Mr. Leonard converted the actual number into it's metric counterpart. Whatever that might be. 25 countries committing a total of perhaps, perhaps, 10,000 truck drivers, nurses, cooks, radiomen, translators, and negotiators is not even a drop in the bucket to accomplish the task of disarming Hezbollah, but the EUrinals had to do something before Paris started burning again.

Enough With The Fairy-Art!

From Diary Of The Mad Pigeon. A true wingnut, and that goes out with all due respect.

Would You Care For A Little Whine With That Rice...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 — "The State Department is investigating whether Israel’s use of American-made cluster bombs in southern Lebanon violated secret agreements with the United States that restrict when it can employ such weapons, two officials said."

Way to go, Condi.

Oldies And Their Goodies

From The Cookshack...

"Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting.

Well for example, the other day I went into town and went into a shop. I was only in there for about 5 minutes. When I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.

I went up to him and said, "Come on son, how about giving a senior a break?" He ignored me and continued writing the ticket.

I called him a Nazi. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires.

So I called him an old dog . He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.

Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes The more I abused him, the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, I didn't care. I came into town by bus. I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired."

The New Survivors

Looking at works of art always sends me to a state of ethereal well being, and it'll be some time before I can summon the bile for a decent rant. So have a look at the John Podhoretz take on the new Survivor experiment:

"Survivor: Has-Been": In a desperate effort to save both their careers, Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise face off in a 39-day duel. Cruise is joined by teammates John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and Chick Corea in an epic battle against Gibson's squad - Pat Buchanan, Louis Farrakhan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Helen Thomas. In a staggering twist, they will be judged by a panel of Jewish psychoanalysts.

Algerian Girl

A closeup of the face in Algerian Girl speaks volumes without over emphasizing the trivial. Practiced boredom is an art with young women and this effort comes close to bringing it to life.

Harem Girl

Bridgman did steller work when his subjects weren't facing the viewer. But have them gaze back atcha and the expression was prosaic or downright goofy. Harem Girl is sad, or contemplative, but far from charming.

An Eastern Veranda

Also of Bridgman. Always made me think of Arabian Nights. But for my taste he never got the facial expressions down pat. I'm looking for one in my collection where I thought he almost nailed it and will try to show you what I mean.

The Messenger

Frederick Arthur Bridgman studied under Gerome, and became one of the first American Orientalists. I think. It's been a long time and I'm not in the mood to Google. The Messenger is evocative of Gerome's style, and I thought to include it as a header for this blog but it's just too, too moslem. Today's moslem. Which is far different than the culture I found fascinating when young.

Almeh With Pipe

Another of Gerome's efforts. The expression on this girls face is so saucy a very young version of me fell in love with her. Enough to frame a poster beside an old desk that held nothing but a typewriter and a box of paper clips.

Slave Auction

Jean Leon Gerome was a typically aloof Frenchman who romanticized life and death as if he was a god fiddling with the lives of his creations. Patrick featured a painting of his in a cock-tale, that evoked memories of this painting, a replica of which still hangs in a Manhattan apartment of mine.

The guy could draw the absolute shit out of a canvas. Maybe some time I'll talk about where one might still be witness to such goings on.

While You Were Sleeping...

Those whacky Box O' Truth guys were updating. This time around, the CZ-52 was put through it's paces.

"Many folks have expressed an interest in the CZ-52 pistol.

This pistol qualifies as a C&R pistol, and is very inexpensive at this time."

How inexpensive is inexpensive? How about the ammo? What's that you say, providing pertinent information is beyond their capabilities as they remain ignorant idiots?

Got me there.

So what round does the CZ-52 fire?

"Probably the most interesting thing about this pistol is the caliber, 7.62 X 25. This is a bottlenecked, .30 caliber round, that shoots a 90 grain jacketed Ball at around 1,500 fps.

As a result, it is a big penetrator.

We saw evidence of this when we shot a Kevlar helmet. It punched right through, when other pistol calibers would not."

No, you dolt. Other munitions proved insufficient. You were comparing hollowpoints to full metal jackets. Nothing about the calibers was determined one way or another. Moron.

"...bigger bullets do a better job of tissue disruption than the small .30 FMJ."

Then why the love affair with .223 and little 7.62's like the AK's fire? Could it be that some rifle ammunition contains more gunpowder than handgun ammunition? And that smaller rounds do a good job when jacked up to high velocities? Do you even KNOW that handgun ammo is designed to stop a man, and that there are revolvers pushing these bullets with such speed that they are more powerful than a 30.06?

With all the money you make from Box, you couldn't even BORROW a Casull, or a .460, 0r .500?

Okay then. We offer a new feature I'm calling: FINISHING THE BOX, in order to make some sense of the rantings from this blithering idiot:

A decent CZ-52 will run you $150 or so out the door. About 150,000 or so of the mid-1950's variety made it to the states and because of the weird round they never flew off the shelves. Never, EVER dry-fire one, as the firing pin is cast metal and will crack after about 20 or 30 pulls. The rest of the gun is reliable, and surfing will find brand name manufacturers offering 90 grain fmj's @ 1600 fps. Not cheap though, but I'm looking for the best pricing (7.62 X 25 Tokarev's are $15 per box of 50 and are good for nothing but target prctice. WWB 9 mm goes around $9 per 100, so there's no reason to 52-it save for preference and joy). The real fun is in reloading for this pistol, as home-rollers are having tons of fun with lightweight bullets zipping along at magnum velocities. There are also drop-in 9 mm barrels to make the CZ-52 suitable for self-defense purposes, especially for those who are recoil sensitive or do not roll their own.

The gun is heavy (32 ounces unloaded and feels like more) and clunky for it's caliber. The gun fires an expensive bullet you won't find on Wal-Mart's shelves. Some of these CZ's were rumored to have come from the factory with North Korean barrels, or rollers, or perhaps both, that were inaccurate as well as being made of pot metal, so if your 52 doesn't group 3" at 25 feet you might want to sell it before it kabooms. The decocker can be a problem too if a gun has seen a lot of service, so be careful.

But they remain cool as hell and fun to play with. Get a good one, reload or drop in a 9 mm tube and have some cheap giggles and grins. Just bear in mind that there are reasons they remain so cheap. If you're not into fiddling and want something as inexpensive to play with and not to hang over a mantle, then fork over the same cash for a Hi-Point. Sure they are ugly but the manufacturer will replace them in a flash if you get a lemon, so there's no reason to go unarmed, or settle for a crappy commie gun.

And as always, NEVER, EVER, believe much of ANYTHING found at this nitwit's site. He and his chums are dead from the neck up and pass along bad information gleaned from used car salesmen posing as weapons experts. Aside from that, and disgustingly fat and doughy along with poor sanitation habits, he and his ilk do take reasonably good pictures.

PostShot: No, I do not know if he is a crossdressing female that is with child. It might just be mantits, poor hygeine, low to non-existant self esteem, and abject obesity. Yes, however. He DOES look pregnant, but stop emailing me because I cannot be certain.

DoubleTap PostShot: My kabooming a CZ-52 happened quite recently and might have something to do with the reluctance to give the weapon the A-OK.

Cox & Forkum On Profiling...

The Wonders Of Technology

Since it's been raining on and off for the past several days, my internet access has been severely curtailed. 3 drops of water per hour and Cox Cable dumps the signal, and one soon tires of messages from Blogger to the tune that there's no link to the net so try again.

And again. Once more for good measure? Publishing is one thing and fact checking another. It's not that I've lost or haven't been able to publish my fill. As long as I take the time to pound away with the mouse the thing eventually works. But referencing and editing has been near to impossible. The email piles up, I scramble to authenticate something that someone has passed along, and for nearly a week now have been scrambling my brains as well. Checking the comment section has also been nigh on to improbable, but the French sigh it well, so kay sera sera.

It's the beginning of hurricane season, how could ANYONE forget the anniversary of Nagin's Folly, so I'm not expecting smooth sailing for a while. But we'll endeavor to persevere.

Sacrifice? Who, Us?

"In the 20th century, more than 16 million Americans were inducted into the Armed Forces using Selective Service during time of war. Over a million more were conscripted and honorably served during the peacetime draft of the 1950s. But since June 30, 1973, no American has been impressed into military service.

Those draftees were much more than cannon fodder. United with military professionals, American conscripts won World War II, occupied Western Europe and Japan, and laid the groundwork for eventual victory in the Cold War.

The important variable was not military experience, but commitment, maturity and skill. When the industrial and moral might of the United States was unleashed against her enemies, the unshakable will of the American people really did conquer the world. Not so today. As pundits proclaim a third world war, America frets over Tom Cruise, Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson.

Five years ago, when the United States was attacked and 3,000 civilians murdered, Americans were ready to fight back. Instead of seizing the moral force offered to him, our president ordered us to shrug.

So we did.

In 2003, the United States pre-emptively struck Iraq without a plan to maintain postwar order. Shrug. In 2004, military generals repeatedly requested additional forces for their assigned missions. Shrug. In 2005, the Army Reserve's commanding general said that his force was broken. Shrug. In 2006, the Mexican Army started throwing its weight around on America's porous border, getting into several skirmishes with local law enforcement. Shrug.

And on Tuesday, the Marine Corps announced the recall of up to 2,500 former Marines back into active duty.

Ya think it might be time for a draft? Shrug.

Apparently, the Canadians will have to invade for the draft to ever be used again.

It's not just the civilian leaders. Much of military doesn't want the burdens of training draftees, arguing that volunteers are more motivated and professional. (They also aren't troublesome in unpopular wars, such as the current one.) The brass see a signature on the dotted line as a necessary safeguardagainst sagging morale.

To remedy personnel shortages, policymakers in the Defense Department prefer to hire seasoned rogues from Blackwater, construction workers from Kellogg, Brown & Root, and even cooks from India and Bangladesh. With the Pentagon's budget big enough to count as one of the world's 20 largest economies, any personnel shortage can, theoretically, always be solved with money. Six-figure salaries for mercenaries make it easier to fight whenever we please, rather than deal with the inconveniences of an apathetic populace.

The Pentagon's approach might be wrong, but Congress is be too cowardly to ever impose a draft against the military's will. In October 2004, the House of Representatives voted 402-2 against a bill to restore mandatory service. Ironically, one of the two dissenting votes came from Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pa.), who acquired both fame and infamy in later months for his emotional denunciations of the war in Iraq.

The insurance policy of Selective Service has failed. Most in the military think that Americans are unwilling to accept the calling of a draft, so they accept the shortages while screaming for reinforcements. Unfortunately, surveys indicate that they are right: A 2003 USA Today poll found that 52 percent of Americans eligible for conscription would either seek a deferment or simply not serve.

So let's save ourselves some money and dissolve the Selective Service System. At least then we could deal openly with our societal aversion to sacrifice. The posters at post offices have become a dangerous façade."

David J. Danelo, a former Marine captain and Iraq war veteran, is the author of "Blood Stripes: The Grunt's View of the War in Iraq" and the editor of "U.S. Cavalry on Point." He can be reached via his Web site, danelo.com.

When Rome began relying on far too many mercenaries...

Things went to shit. But it's true that personal sacrifice is anathema to our society in general, and to even THINK of instituting some sort of selective service sends soccer-moms a'screaming, so what's a nation to do?

Start learning how to surrender. And I'm serious. The days of Americans pitching together to save the world are long gone, and we can only rely upon our technology for so long. We need boots on the ground and we get women holding up check-in lines at airports because they refuse to hand over their makeup. And instead of tossing them in a holding cell to demonstrate just how serious this all is, we coddle them.

Because we've become a nation of coddlers and nanny's. We bitch about the price of gas but drive 2-ton beasts that proclaim our obvious wealth and success. We want security but only if the other guy mans the wall. We want criminals in prison but don't want prisons. In our largest cities we want the police to camp outside our doors because we can't protect ourselves since handing over our weapons, and we're supposed to protect Europe and Asia and the Middle East?

The same "us" who after being invaded by illegals decided that the best way to handle it was "If you speak English, press 1..."?

The experiment was a noble one, but it's over. We need to get serious about starting a real U.N., one where like-minded countries can band together to face the moslem scourge because we've no longer the will to defend ourselves let alone others, but that isn't happening. Ever.

The soccer moms won and we lost. Time to get over it and await the next attack from our avowed enemies with the hope that perhaps we'll survive.