Levi's?? Really??

Well, I guess I'm through wearing Levi's.  It appears that they're going gun-free.

Levi Strauss & Company, the 163-year-old denim company, has announced (or rather "clarified") its policy for possessing firearms while shopping in its stores.

You can go read all the yada-yada at the link above, but here's a link to Levi's statement.

 Providing a safe environment to work and shop is a top priority for us at Levi Strauss & Co. That imperative is quickly challenged, however, when a weapon is carried into one of our stores. Recently, we had an incident in one of our stores where a gun inadvertently went off, injuring the customer who was carrying it.

That's fine. If Levi's doesn't want guns in their store, that's their right.  And, I'm through wearing Levi's.  That's my right.  I guess I'll be wearing Wrangler or Lee from now on.

Gatlinburg

Like many of you, I'm watching the fires in Gatlinburg, praying for people, hoping that this national treasure survives the inferno.  Pigeon Forge, from what I'm able to learn, is pretty much gone.  Lost to the flames.

Then, clicking around, I see that some of our leftist friends have a whole 'nuther take on the tragedy.

That's just one example.  Here's another.

Really?  That's our inclusive, diverse Democratic Party?  And they wonder why their politics were rejected by half the nation? I think it's easy to see.

Hat Tip, Irons In The Fire.

Tips on Defending a Room

This is a really quick video that will give you some good tips on defending a room, or a doorway in the event of a life-threatening situation.  This was taken from Facebook, by user Circa.



It's short and quick, but it should give you some ideas

More Leftist Idiocy

The ambulances hadn't even finished rolling when leftist politicians started trying to politicize the senseless tragedy on the Ohio State campus yesterday.

Like, for example, the Lt Governor of California:

My thoughts are w/Ohio State this AM. We cannot let an average of 1 school shooting/wk be the normal in America. Too many lives are at stake
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 28, 2016

Or, the latest Democratic vice-presidential pick.Senator Tim Kaine

 Deeply saddened by the senseless act of gun violence at Ohio State this morning. Praying for the injured and the entire Buckeye community
10:52 AM - 28 Nov 2016

There was no school shooting yesterday, and the only gun play was one young officer protecting life.  Yet, politicians want to jump in before they know anything and try to advance a political agenda.  That's what we call "dancing in the blood".  Both Newsom and Kaine have shown us that they are reprehensible, wanting to jump to judgement before they know the facts of a situation.  That is poor leadership, poor judgement, and embarrassing to their constituents.

HERO!

The Ohio State University officer who stopped the stabbing attack yesterday is being hailed as a hero.

An Ohio State police officer was being hailed a hero for his quick reaction after killing a man a minute after he drove his car into a crowd and then stabbed multiple people Monday.

He did good, no doubt.  In the area on another call, he immediately responded to the threat and neutralized it.

"The officer encountered the individual by 9:53 — the subject was neutralized by 9:53," Drake said, underscoring how quickly events unfolded.

As a veteran officer, I hope that this young cop gets some help with the emotional trauma.  He did exactly what he was trained to do, did it well, took care of his duty.  What he went through will weigh on him for a while.  I hope he comes through it okay.

OSU (Not An) Active Shooter

The internet lit up this morning with reports of an active shooter on the OSU campus.

Of course, the usual suspects went crazy trying to politicize the event.  They soon found themselves beclowned, like this guy.

Well, Shannon, you're an idiot.  You tried to get ahead of the news cycle and you beclowned yourself.  As it turns out, the guy didn't use a gun at all.  He used a car and what is being described as a butcher knife.

An Ohio State University student was shot dead by police after he plowed into pedestrians with a car and then stabbed multiple people with a butcher's knife at the OSU campus in Columbus this morning, officials said. The scene is now secure, officials said.

Of course, in this age of political correctness, the perpertrator is described thusly.

The suspect was identified as Abdul Razak Ali Artan, an OSU student, officials said at a press conference this afternoon.
Officials said Artan was in a car alone when he struck about eight pedestrians. The motive is not known at this time, officials said.

This murderous scum is reportedly a Somali student, and a permanent resident.   You can draw your own conclusions about his motives.  I've read that he is Muslim and was burning up facebook about the treatment of Muslim students.

The attacker, (Muslim, Somali) is now at room temperature due to the quick action of a OSU police officer who did the only shooting done today on the OSU campus.

It was not an Active Shooter situation.  It was Islamic terrorism.  The radical Islamist has now achieved ambient temperature after being shot by a good police officer.  We should be accurate in our assessments.   And, we shouldn't call it an active shooter situation unless there is actually an active shooter.

My prayers, of course, go to those victims who were simply going about their business when this Islamist terrorist decided to strike.  And, my eternal mirth goes to those idiots who couldn't wait for the new cycle to figure out what was happening and beclowned themselves by being both inaccurate and politically motivated.  Guys like Shannon Watts are both idiots and assholes.

The Meltdown Continues

In the pre-dawn hours before work, I've been reading about the continuing meltdown of the American left.  It's amazing to me.  I started with this one, the depression of an American literary critter from Brooklyn.  She's got all the letters behind her name, but she's never been to America.  She writes about a road trip that she recently took from Brooklyn to Michigan.  She saw some TRUMP signs.

I want to throw up because we’re supposed to quietly and politely make house in this killing machine called America and pay taxes to support our own slow murder and I’m amazed we’re not running amok in the streets, and that we can still be capable of gestures of loving after lifetimes of all this.

The angst in tht sentence is remarkable.

Then we go to that other side of the country, in a little town called San Francisco.  The author describes himself as a conservative who happens to work in a law firm downtown

It has gotten worse. My colleagues, lawyers all, informed and smart and good people almost all (I know, cue the guffaws) are reporting “massive voter suppression” in 33 states. Massive vote tampering, etc. (Fake news might actually be a real problem). A very handsome, elegant, black man with an impeccable British accent is reporting hostile glares and Uber discrimination on the streets of San Francisco! An Indian women is afraid of internment camps and trying to come up with an escape plan. The worst was a lawyer reporting to our boss that he had purchased a gun “to protect his minority friends”. Is this acceptable workplace behavior? Instead of firing him, the boss, a minority, advised him to “keep on his meds”.

Keeing up on the meds seems like a good idea.  If these reports are true, then we're watching both the left coast and the right coast melt down.

Then we come to a voice of reason, Dr. Helen, who wonders, in an article of the same name,  Maybe Their Mental Health Wasn't That Good Before the Election.

We all know that the people seeing these therapists are mainly left-leaning types who probably tend to be less happy in general. According to some research, liberals are less happy in general than conservatives, and have a harder time when politics don't go their way:

She continues.

 If liberals are more emotionally troubled than conservatives, then maybe these dippy therapists like William Doherty and the other 3500 enablers in the article at The Economist are exacerbating liberals' depression and other emotional issues by writing or signing "a manifesto against the rise of the bullying tactics of 'Trumpism.'" Instead of blaming Trump for all their problems, maybe they should model better coping skills.

Oooh, damn, therapists as enablers.  That's gotta hurt.  Dr. Helen has, I believe, the bona-fides to make such a diagnosis.    Good coping skills are valuable in the political world.  Especially if your worldview is that the winner is a racist, sexist, misogynist, xenophobe.  I know that I needed coping skills for the past eight years, when I was convinced that the president was a racist, communist, Manchurian candidate bent on destroying America.

Turkey Gumbo

It's Sunday, the last day of the Thanksgiving holiday  and PawPaw is cleaning up leftovers, getting ready for work tomorrow and the coming Christmas season.

So, at daylight, I took the turkey carcass from the fridge and dropped it in a big stock pot.  The smoke in the bones will add a lovely flavor to the stock.

As the leftover turkey boiled, I added some salt and pepper and dropped a stick of butter into the pot. Then I started chopping onion and bell pepper, and cut up some good pork sausage.  Sauted everything, then made a roux.  The basic gumbo recipe is here.

Turkey gumbo is an old tradition in these parts.  It lets us make use of the last bit of meat from the Thanksgiving turkey and gives the flavors another pallet.  It's something different, and very, very good.  Right now, the gumbo is resting in the crock pot, blending and maturing.  In another hour I'll make a big pot of rice and expect the children and grandkids over here shortly after the noon hour.

Turkey gumbo.  It's what's for lunch.

The Recount

Back during the campaign, Hillary Clinton said that Donald Trump's statement about accepting the results of the election, was "horrifying.  You can hear her words, below.



Now, she's joining a recount of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.  Three surprise states that Trump won.

Jill Stein claims that she isn’t trying to favor one presidential candidate over the other, but only wants to assure a fair process. That is nonsense. The states she and other liberal activists have chosen to challenge are not those where the race was closest. How about New Hampshire, which Hillary Clinton won by around 2,700 votes? Or Nevada, which she won by a little over 26,000? Even Minnesota was a whole lot closer than Pennsylvania; with its notoriously lax ballot security, Minnesota could be fertile territory for questioning election results.

Stein is being notoriously hypocritical.She doesn't want a fair process, she wants an outcome that advances the Democratic agenda.  She may have run as a Green Party candidate, but she's a Democrat, shot through to the core.

Hillary is also a hypocrite, refusing to accept the results.  Unlike Hillary's characterization of Trump (horrifying), it's simply her naked pursuit of power.  She lost and she knows it, but she insists on pursuing this course, simply because it keeps her name in the news cycle.  Hillary Clinton is truly a loathsome creature.  America will be a better place when she can no longer affect the news cycle.

We'll see how this turns out.  Most reasonable folks doubt that it will change the outcome, but it's one more reason why no one should ever trust Hillary Clinton.  She lies.  She lies constantly in a naked pursuit of power.

Saturday, Running My Ass Off

Just after posting the joyous news about Fidel meeting his maker, my second son's family came by.  I was expecting them.  I took them to the airport where they passed through TSA and boarded a plane for Disney World, taking the grandkid to the land of the big mouse.

Then off to the range.  Belle and I stopped at a gas station in Woodworth, LA for gas station food.  For those of you who aren't familiar, gas station food has pretty much replaced the little diner in most small towns.  Every gas station in every small town has a grill and a fry-station, and they do breakfast and lunch.  It's pretty durned good food, too.  Belle had fried chicken livers and fried okra, while I went more conventional with chicken strips, french fries and a biscuit.

Oh, yeah, gas-station food is what's happeing in the Small Town South.  Yeah, there are tables in the place and we ate sitting down, with napkins and everything.  If you haven't eaten gas station food, you've never lived.

Then, off to the range, where we talked about the upcoming Louisiana State Championship and did some practicing to keep our eye on the target.

Big Mark on lane 1, Sinister Sal on Lane 2

Cajun Greg on Lane 3, Squirrel Girl on Lane 4.

Squirrel Girl is my daughter, Cajun Greg her husband.  Squirrel Girl has been her nickname since she was in diapers.  My father tagged her with that one day when she was walking around the house, chattering like a squirrel.  "She chatters just like a squirrel," the old man said "we're going to call her Squirrel Girl."  And, she has been, ever since

And, of course, Blue Eyed Belle, calling the line.  We all take turns being a range officer, so that everyone gets a chance to shoot.  Belle recently got her Rangemaster Pin from the association, so she's a certified Rangemaster.  Even though Thorn Valley is a small club, three rangemasters will come in handy with the State Championship coming up.

And, while we're at it, one more plug for the event.

Planning continues, and it's not that far away.  It'll be here before we know it.

Fidel Castro Dead?

What wonderful news.  It's not being reported widely yet, but it is news that would bring rejoicing to many Cuban refugees.

It will be interesting to see if anything changes.  Fidel's brother Raul has been running the place for the last couple of years, but Fidel himself was a murdering, torturing, bastard who kept the country under his thumb for years.  The last of the old-style communist dictators, it's a shame that his death didn't come at the end of a rope.

Cuba Libre!

Ruger Hammers

Recently, TALO Distibutors came out with a special edition Ruger New Vaquero, the CFDA edition.  Evidently, the major change is a hammer with a shorter hammer spur.  Some CFDA shooters say that it is the same hammer used in the Ruger (old) Vaquero, which had a shorter hammer spur than the current editions.

So, I had to go drag out some Rugers to measure the hammers.

Top to bottom. Ruger Super Blackhawk, Ruger New Vaquero, Ruger (old) Vaquero

Sure enough, there is a measurable difference in those three hammers. I measured them all from the face of the hammer to the end of the spur with my reloading calipers.  The Super Blackhawk on top is an 87-series manufactured in 2000.  The hammer measured at 1.306.  It, of course, is the wide-spur hammer.  The middle revolver is a New Vaquero, made in 2014.  That hammer is the longest, at 1.340.   The bottom revolver is my (old) Vaquero, a 55 series, manufactured in 1993.  That hammer is the shortest of the three, at 1.180.

Parts of the CFDA community is abuzz about the new configuration.  We have yet to see if the different hammer makes a difference in competition but I'll bet that we'll be hearing more about this new revolver as the spring competition season cranks up.

Detail Cleaning

Back about 2012 I stumbled upon an Airweight in a pawn shop.  More specifically a Smith and Wesson Model 38, the classic snubnose revolver both beloved and hated of revolver lovers.  Beloved because it's so light, almost the perfect pocket pistol, and hated because it's so light, recoil is intensified.  Whatever, it was on my bucket list.

I bought it, shot it a few times, qualified with it, then dropped it in my pocket where it has been almost a constant companion for the past four years.  I didn't clean it much, because I didn't shoot it much, but lately, I've noticed that the action got a bit stiffer.  I figured an accumulation of pocket lint and other goodies had worked its way into the action.

I don't know how to detail strip a J-frame, never bothered to learn.  I have that most valuable of assets, a kid that knows how to detail strip a J-frame, so yesterday after lunch, I asked the question that all fathers learn to ask.  "So, you want to teach me how to strip a J-frame?"

"Sure, Pop" he said, so we set up under the patio, and I got the cleaning gear.  He took off the grip, looked into the fiddly bits, and exclaimed "OhmyGod".

Then he unscrewed the side plate screws, tapped off the side plate, and asked "Have you been carrying honey in your pocket?  Maybe spilled Pepsi at some point?"  Evidently, the accumulation of pocket lint, gun oil and solvent make the interior workings of the little levers and springs something special to clean, so we got out a can of carb cleaner to help with the de-greasing.

About ten minutes later, it was done.  The interior of the frame was spotless, all the springs and levers had been de-funked.  A few drops of oil, judiciously applied, and the fiddly bits replaced.  A quick function check, and the trigger of my Model 38 feels much nicer.  Very much nicer indeed.

Thanks, son.  The old man appreciates it.

Riches

Sitting here in the pre-dawn, I am reminded to count my blessings.  For most of the long history of humanity, most people have only wanted three things.  Good shelter, available food, and clean water. For millennia, those were the basics.  Humanity struggled for those things.  Now, they're reasonably available.  I also have electricity, when man learned to harness electrons and move them to our benefit, the whole world changed.  Lights, power, education all followed in dramatic leaps.

Refrigeration, probably the most important invention of the 20th century, let us store food, let us reduce disease, let us maintain our homes at comfortable temperatures.Even today, a sizable portion of the Earth's population lacks refrigeration.

Just outside the house, I have a automotive power.  Personal automotive power.  I am able to use those to traverse distances in hours that would take my ancestors days to move across.

On a more personal level, I have the love of a good woman.  I have a family that is stable, productive, and self-sufficient.

And, on a totally different level, after the excess of yesterday, I realize that I have an abundance of ham.  Left-over ham, for sandwiches, for omelets, for snacking, for eating with eggs, for cooking in beans.  What man is not blessed who has ham that must be weighed by the multiple pounds?  Truly, I am rich beyond words.

Thanksgiving Cooking

We've got the crew coming over in an hour or so, and we're cooking for the Thanksgiving meal.  Some of you might remember that Milady bought me a smoker back in the spring of 2014.

As nice as it is for smoking meats, one benefit of this thing is that we can use it as an additional oven.  No smoke, and crank the heat up.  I got started an hour ago, with a smoked turkey that I bought last week.  All it needs is to be heated, so I cranked the heat up and put it in the smoker with no smoke chips.  In another hour, I'll put two small hams for heating.

So, with the smoker regulated to 350F, I'll have a turkey and two hams getting ready with yet another shelf available if someone brings something that needs to be heated.  This leaves Milady's in-the-house oven available for her use.  She'll be baking rolls and a bread pudding.

We'll say grace about noon, and prepare to consume the traditional Thansgiving meal.  Turkey, ham, dressing potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, and yams.  With yeast rolls, and assorted desserts for afterwards.

I wish all my friends and readers a very happy Thanksgiving.  It is my sincere hope that your holiday is as joyful as mine.  I truly believe that I am the luckiest man in the world.

Louisiana State Championship

I am pleased to announce  the upcoming first ever, Louisiana State Championship of Cowboy Fast Draw.

Natchitoches, LA (Nack-a-tish) is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase.  Founded in 1714 as part of French Louisiana, Natchitoches celebrates history, with architecture, plantation homes, restaurants, shops and businesses along Front Street, the heart of the the town, overlooking the beautiful Cane River.  In addition to the standard hotels, Natchitoches boasts a selection of wonderful bed and breakfast establishments.

Contestants will be shooting on Front Street, an old brick street that is the heart of the city.

If you're looking for a destination steeped in the history of the United States, it's hard to overlook Natchitoches.  We intend to bring a weekend of shooting, laughter, history, fun, and fellowship to Cowboy Fast Draw, and we hope that you are able to join us.

More information will be forthcoming as we get closer to the date, but we hope that you make plans to attend.

Corruption

Hot Air is reporting that the US Attorney in New York,  Preet Bharara is indicting the top aides to NY Governor Andrew Cuomo on corruption charges.  Mr. Bharara is an indepentend US Attorney who apparently has no ties to either party.

 Remember that Preet owes no loyalty to either party and is absolutely relentless. When he detected corruption in the state legislature in 2014, he launched a lengthy investigation which resulted in former Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver – arguably the most powerful Democrat in the state – being sent to prison. He followed that up by sending the state’s senior Republican to keep him company behind bars.

Mr. Bharara is also the guy who is going after Anthony Weiner, and has said that he smells corruption in the New York offices of the Clinton Foundation.

Bharara is the guy who is currently going after Anthony Weiner… an investigation which produced all sorts of interesting information. And in August he announced that he was investigating corruption at the New York offices of the Clinton Foundation. 

Mr. Bharara conducts his business close to his vest, so don't look for any news over the next several weeks.  If he says he's investigating Clinton, there is every reason for him to keep his progress quiet.  He's rather make his arguments in front of a grand jury than in the public arena.  That's the way that corruption investigations are supposed to work.  If he makes his case, it may not matter what the Trump administration has said about prosecuting Clinton.

Squall Line

The radar this morning shows a rather dramatic squall line moving through Louisiana preparatory to the holiday festivities.  The map is pretty accurate, I'm under the pretty colored parts right now.

This is a good thing as we have't really had much rain in the past 60 days, the forest is dry, and our parish is currently under a burn-ban.  That will probably be lifted soon as everything is getting drenched.  PawPaw will work inside this morning, getting ready for tomorrow.  The squall line is supposed to pass about noon with clearing skies behind it.  That will let me do some prep work outside.

Just about 6:00 this evening, some fellows from the church are coming over to get an introduction to Cowboy Fast Draw.  I'm really looking forward to that.

If I don't see y'all between now and then, y'all have a good Thanksgiving.

Ed McGivern

One of the legends of fast draw and revolver manipulation, Ed McGivern was a showman, a shooter, and an excellent shot.  Five shots on a bullseye target at 50 feet in 9/20th of a second.  All five holes can be covered wit a 50 cent piece.



Just Damn!

Reality Check

Over the past two weeks, we've heard all the arguments, we've seen all the angst.  It's time for a reality check.



We didn't vote for Trump because we love him, we voted for Trump because we were tired of progressive bullshit.  Hate didn't elect Donald Trump, people did.

There's a great blog post sweeping the internets, and I'd ask my progressive friends to go read it.  It talks about poverty, the erosion of the middle class, the hollowed out towns, and the realization that the progressive agenda simply doesn't serve our needs.

Then, go watch Representative Trey Gowdy's speech on truth, liberty, and political persuasion.



It speaks directly to values, and why name-calling never works as political persuasion.

I Remember

On this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

I was in the 5th grade, in Ms. LaCour's class in elementary school.  School let out early that day.

No, I didn't understand what was happening, but I remember being a bit perplexed.  All the adults were crying, and lots of the parents of my friends had been recalled to alert status at the local Air Force base.

Trump and the Media

It appears that our president-elect held a sit-down with members of the national media yesterday.  They thought they were coming to talk about access to the new administration.  They were wrong. Some say it was like standing before a firing squad.

The mainstream media is having trouble catching up with reality.  They preen, they slant the news, they try to make a case for their preferred narrative.  We've all seen this image that cropped up during the election.

The thing is, most Americans do't need the media much.  We get our news in ways that are vastly different from the way our parents got news.  Actual paper newspapers are struggling. The explosion of digital media has changed the way that we get our news.  Some of it is from mainstream sources, but we're able to filter out the nonsense and get our news more quickly and with more revelance.  We don't have to sit and listen to an hour news show.

Trump doesn't need the traditional media.  Like millions of Americans he can turn to social media to get his message out.  A little scripting, a little fore-thought, and he can put it up on YouTube.  Like this.



Tell me again why Trump needs CBS, or NBC, or CNN, or any of the other traditional media?  He doesn't need to give press conferences, he can take his message directly to the people.

Pork Loin

A pork loin is one of my favorite "covered dish" recipes because it is so easy.  There's really nothing to it.  I'm taking one to the church tonite, and while we're waiting for Milady's carrot souffle to bake, we've got time to talk about pork loin.

Pork Loin

One whole pork loin.  That picture above was about eight pounds.  It don't matter, just go buy some pork loin.  Put it in a baking dish and season it.  I use Tony Chachere's, but any good salt/pepper seasoning will do.  Make sure that when you put the loin in he baking dish, you put the fat cap on top.  During cooking, that fat will melt down through the meat, keeping it moist.

Bake covered at 360 for four hours.  I bake mine in the oven, and it works out just fine.  After four hours, take it out, uncover and let it rest for a half-hour, then slice and move it to your serving dish.

I'm taking this one to the church.  I've covered it with aluminum foil and it's resting on top of the warm stove to keep it warm unti we're ready to leave.  Milady is baking a carrot souffle, which is wonderful baked in a dish, but I'll have to wait on that recipe.  I don' have a clue how she does that.

One-Liner Headlines.

This morning's headlines from Hot Air.

DREAMers fear deportation under Trump.  As well they should.  We elected him to fix immigration.

How Trump could end America’s new feudalism.  As well he should.  We have neither lords nor nobles.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is Democrats’ worst nightmare. He might return the rule of law to the United States.  That scares the hell out of a lot of people.  Especially those who have been lawless over the past several years.

Keep crying wolf about Trump, and no one will listen when there’s a real crisis.  Aesop was supposed to be cautionary.  Pay attention.

Refusing to serve customers you don’t agree with is suddenly cool again. No it's not, and conservatives should demand prompt, courteous service.  Make them play be the rules they set.

Beware of False Prophets

As we move past the election season into the holiday season, we note that the progressives among us are in mourning, following the usual stages of grief.  We've seen the shock and the denial, we've seen the anger.  When you combine the constitutional end of Obama's presidency with the shocking (to some) loss of the Clinton campaign, it's a double-whammy to the left-wing of the party, both the end of the Obama era and the repudiation of Clinton by middle America.

But, what we're seeing at the beginning of the Thanksgiving week is fairly disturbing.  For middle America, this kind of thinking is not only disturbing, it's heretical.  Twitchy captures it.

I'm not sure that I know where to begin, except to say that this poor soul is tragically misguided.  Donald Trump is a temporary leader, just as Barack Obama is a temporary leader.  Presidents come and presidents go.  One of the time-honored traditions of a president who leaves office is to retire gracefully into private life, leaving the workings of government to the newly elected leader.    I hope that president Obama follows that tradition and enjoys his retirement.  There are some that say he might be active, fairly soon, but I hope that he enjoys a long, quiet retirement for the good of the country.

But, whether Obama leaves the political debate, or stays active as a political force, it is misguided to assign him status as anything but a past president.  There is only one person who ever walked the earth, died, and was resurrected.  He is Jesus Christ, the savior, the king.  He is our blessing and our hope.  Those who would ascribe Diety to any mortal are in error, and in danger of losing their mortal souls.

For myself, I ascribe this week as Thanksgiving week, a uniquely American holiday.  After Thanksgiving, I'll begin my personal Christmas season, with all the symbols, all the joy, and all the hope of the infant Christ.  I will, of course, pray for those who are misguided, who lack hope, and seek eternity.

May the peace of our Lord be with you all.

That One Rifle Cartridge

We were sitting around the club yesterday, discussing Old West stuff.  The visual idea of the single rifle cartridge in a revolver belt came into discussion.  We've all seen it.

I had read somewhere, years ago, that the single rifle carrtidge in a revolver belt was a counting device.  When the pistolero felt behind him for extra ammo, he knew that he had a particular number of cartridges left in the belt.  Probably six, or one full reload.

One of the fellows, Sinister Sal, said that he'd like a rifle cartridge to put in his belt, so I volunteered to make some.  

Those are dummy rounds, but just exactly what I used to shoot in my Sharps rifle.  .45-70, with the big Lee 459-500-3R bullet.  With a case full of Ffg, a grease wad, and a calm day, that load would group just under an inch at 100 yards when I did my part.  These, of course, are dummy's with no primer nor propellant.  They should do just fine as cowboy props.

White Beans

We've talked about red beans and rice in these pages, it's a Cajun staple, served across Louiisana in various ways.  As in all good recipes, the cook is able to make minor adjustments, add spices or subtract to make the dish uniquesly his or hers.  Beans are economical, a good way to feed a crowd cheaply.

Today we explore a variation.  White beans.  And, rather than the stove top, I use a slow cooker.  This is not a recipe you make in one day.  It can be done sooner, but if you want beans tomorrow, start today.

White Beans

2 lbs great northern beans (dry)
2 lbs smoked sausage
1 quart chcken broth
Salt and Pepper.

Prep.
In your slow cooker, put two pounds of beans and one quart of chicken broth.  Let them sit all day.  The beans will soak up the chicken broth.  After they've soaked six or seven hours, chop up your sausage and add it to the mix.  Add salt and pepper.  Plug in the slow cooker, set it on low, and go to bed. The next morning, the kitchen will smell like heaven.

Serve over rice for lunch.  The beauty of this kind of cooking is that it takes very little actual cooking time.  I started these on Saturday morning, about 10:00 I washed two pounds of white beans, put them in the cooker, then covered them in chicken broth.  Maybe five minutes work.  Along about dark I cut up my sausage, added salt and pepper, and plugged-in the cooker.  Another ten minutes.  Then I went to bed and let the slow cooker do its magic.  Along about noon today, I'll make a pot of rice.  Total cooking time, 24 hours.  Total cook time, less than 20 minutes.

Thorn Valley Invitational Video

A great video, almost 20 minutes, produced by Miss E, the official photog of the Big Thicket Bushwackers.  Invitationals are small shoots, not sanctioned, where several clubs get together for a weekend of shooting, laughing, talking, eating.  There's nothing much to win but bragging rights, but in our invitataionals we have state champions, national champions, and world's finalists on the line.

One thing that we do during the invitationals is to experiment with different shoot formats.  In ours, we did Doubles (two targets at a time), 5-Card Draw (shooting seated from a card table), and a regular match.



Thanks, Miss E.  We applaud your efforts.  You help us get out the word.

Preparing the Battle Space

Preparing the battle space is an ancient concept of tactical importance.  We see it over and over again in places like Thermopylae, Waterloo, El Alamein, San Jacinto, Gettysburg.  Preparing the battle space resonates though history.  You let the enemy think he is winning, right up until the moment of his defeat.  It's taught in military schools today and the concept is simple.  Trade space for time, move the enemy where you want him to be, Defeat him.

Political conflicts are much like military conflicts.  You have to prepare the battle space.  If you look at last week's surprising result, it appears that the battle space was prepared perfectly (who thought that Michigan and Wisconsin would become battleground states?).   There was lots of work done by lots of people to make that happen,

Reading Joe Huffman, I am sent to Francis Marion, who gives some insight.

While I’ve never considered myself much of a right winger, being more of a libertarian bent, I have found myself increasingly pushed and marginalized by the “enlightened and progressive” amongst you into the same camp with all sorts of deplorables, regardless of where they lived and what they called themselves. Nationalists, alt righters, anarchists, constitutionalists and so on and so forth all made for strange bedfellows but an effective team. Working on the premise that the enemy of my enemy is my friend we have all found common ground. We have you to thank for that. By pushing, badgering, harassing, marginalizing and insulting us on a regular basis you created something new. And it crushed you at the ballot box.

So, here's the deal.  Everything changed last week.  For better or for worse, everything changed.  Change can be good, or it can be distressing.  But, insulting people never helps.  If anything, the level of hateful rhetoric has ratched up since last Wednesday.  We're all racist, sexist, homophobes.  Oh, and fascist and misogynist. Did I mention racist?  Yeah.

We don't much care if California votes blue (although I mourn for my brethren in the red counties), or if the popular vote is simply an illusion in presidential elections.  The rules haven't changed since 1789.  The electoral college should come as a shock to no one.  And, the vast majority of us aren't interested in changing the rules.  We're not going to abolish the electoral college.That battle space is prepared, and has been for a long, long time.

But, you're right when you say that change is important.  All of us deplorables have learned how to pull together for a common goal. It is a shocking result.  But, the opposition should know by now that insulting us simply doesn't work.  Racism is now officially dead, homophobia is now officially dead.

I'll close with this thought from the earlier quoted article.

So retreat to your safe spaces, grab your adult colouring books and put on a happy face my special snow flakes because regardless of whoever/whatever you are and regardless of what nation it is you reside in, we, the deplorables, are coming for you.

Don't panic, be cool.  We're not coming to hurt you, we're coming to convince you, to lead you to the light.  Freedom is a wonderful thing.

Cry-In?

Colleges and universities are having "cry-ins" and therapy sessions for students who are traumatized over the election of Donald Trump.  Seriously?

Around the nation, students are turning to the tools of toddlers as a bizarre form of therapy in the wake of Donald Trump's election last week. Colleges and universities are encouraging students to cry, cuddle with puppies and sip hot chocolate to soothe their fragile psyches, an approach some critics say would be funny if it weren't so alarming.

Great Jumping Jehoshaphat on a stick.   College is not a place to coddle crybabies.  College is a place to demand rigorous thinking, to challenge assumptions, to explore options and to meet standards.  I believe that if I were a college administrator and my students came to me with a request for a "cry-in", I'd schedule it, but I'd invite military recruiters to attend.

It's time to grow up, children.  Grow up quickly.  Your country needs you.  Crying ain't going to help.

Sanctuary Cities

It looks like the Democrats are hunkering down and trying to defend a failed social program that they call Sanctuary Cities.  This is a program whereby the Democratic mayors of Democratic strrongholds intend to defy the political will of the nation on immigration.  For the last several years, they've shielded undocumented migrants illegal immigrants from federal laws designed to protect our borders.  This is a tactic that is doomed to fail.

Emanuel also shrugged off Trump’s call to cut funding."I would say to the president-elect, that the idea that you’re going to penalize Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia -- these are the economic, cultural and intellectual energy of this country," Emanuel said in a radio interview. 

The law as I understand it is fairly settled.  Nixon threatened to withhold federal funds when he instituted the 55 mph national speed limit, and Reagan used the threat to raise the drinking age.  If Boston, New York, Los Angeles, et al, want to buck the federal system, then they should be prepared to lose their money.

Personally, I think that it would be an exercise in federalism.  Take the federal dollars out of the cities and see how long they can continue to provide services out of their own local tax bases.  So, shortly after the inauguration, Trump should cut the federal funds to those cities who defy federal law.  If, after a year or so, the cities are doing well, we will have conducted a tremendous experiment in local government.

So, go ahead, Mr. Emmanuel.  Run Chicago with local money and we'll see how that works out for you and the city of Chicago.  It should be quite an interesting experiment.

No Real Value?

Oh, the butthurt is strong in this article.  Unlike the previous post, that merely wanted to abolish the Electoral College in favor of a popular vote, Lawrence Samuel in the Washington Post argues that it is time to abolish the states entirely, in favor of a single, national government.

Regional differences have drastically dissipated over the course of the past 240 years, turning the once radical proposition of the “United States” into an anachronism that now has little or no real value.

His argument is simple:  Cut out state government.  Keep federal and local government.   While he doesn't explicitly say it, abolishing the states would also abolish the Electoral College.

And, like the previous article, as soon as he can pass it through the Congress and get 38 states to commit seppuku, then we'll abolish the states.  Of course, the name United States would no longer apply, but that's a simple matter.

Good luck with that plan.

Senator Boxer Introduces Legislation

It seems that Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced legislation to amend the Constitution and abolish the electoral college.  Well, of course she does.  She's still grieving over the election.  Searching for reason, hoping against hope.  Still, if she can pass it through a Republican Congress, then it only needs be adopted by 38 states before it can become law.  Does anyone see a problem here?

That's a good idea, Babs.  We'll get 38 states to give up their influence in presidential elections.  I'm sure that states like Louisiana, Montana, Rhode Island, Maine, .... (do I need continue?) will happily give up their influence in favor of large population centers.

Yeah, right.  I'm sure that everyone is going to line up to make this change.   Isn't Babs retiring this year?  In my mind, her retirement is a whole lot better idea than abolishing the electoral college.

Safety Pins

I understand that there is a thing going around, where people wear safety pins to show support for the vulnerable people in our society.

After the election of Donald J. Trump, fears are growing that segments of his base may physically or emotionally abuse minorities, immigrants, women and members of the L.G.B.T. community. As a show of support, groups of people across America are attaching safety pins to their lapels, shirts and dresses to signify that they are linked, willing to stand up for the vulnerable.

Nice gesture, but kind of silly.  You see, for the past three decades I've been wearing a safety pin ever working day to show support for the vulnerable.

I'm wondering if the left is trying to appropriate a portion of my culture?  I thought that cultural appropriation was a bad thing?  I guess it's nice that they're supporting the vulnerable.  Perhaps they should go down to the police academy and fill out an application.

Poor, Poor Lena

Evidently there is this celebrity named Lena Dunham.  I may have seen something of her act as I was flipping channels, but it was so lame that I skipped past it.  Anyway, there is a celebrity named Lena Dunham.  Evidently, she said that if Trump won, she would move to Canada.

Lena Dunham has said she plans to move to Canada. “I know a lot of people have been threatening to do this, but I really will. I know a lovely place in Vancouver and I can get my work done from there.”

Now, of course, she's back-tracking.  When people call her on it, she sounds indignant.

“And for those demanding I move to Canada based on something I said when this man seemed like a steak salesman with a long shot at the presidency: stay busy reveling in your new regime,” she said in a Friday post.

Well, Lena.  Revel in your ..... no, I'm not going to call you names.  But, my Dad always taught me that if you say you are going to do something, perhaps you should follow through.

Or, as my redneck friends used to say; "Don't let your steamboat mouth overload your rowboat ass."  In the long run, Lena Dunham (like those other celebs on the list) are exactly, irrelevant to my existence.  Whether they go or stay is completely irrelevant.

Racism In The Modern Era

I'm tired of being called a racist by people that don't know me.  Really, it's lost its sting.

Apparently, because I voted for Donald Trump, I'm now a racist, a sexist, homophobic, and a misogynist. Well, okay then.

There is no way to respond except to declare that I'm not.  And to declare that those who think me to be those things are woefully mistaken.  Francis Turner makes the argument much more eloquently than I could.

Bluntly when you’ve been called a bigot by the media and the left and you know you aren’t one, the chances are pretty high that you’ll discount the claims that others are the same. Especially when the same people also make the same false claims again and again. The activist who cried “racist” is meeting the same result as the boy who cried “wolf”.

And that's a fact. While I admit that Donald Trump has his faults, in my opinion his faults pale in comparison to his opponent's faults.  In fact, one could make the argument that if you voted for Hillary Clinton, you decided that extreme carelessness with national security matters, and endemic corruption on a global scale were not a deal-breaker.  If you've voted for Hillary Clinton you have decided that the rule of law only applies to lesser mortals and that the elite are immune from ethical and legal concerns.

But, I'm not going to make that argument.  My liberal friends don't deserve that argument.  What my liberal friends need to understand is that the election is over, and the angst and anguish they are feeling are part of a normal greiving process.  I myself felt it in 2008 and 2012.  Not because I was a racist, birther, but because I believed that everything he wanted to do for America was utterly wrong.

I'm willing to listen to arguments based on fact, logic, and reasoning.  I'm not willing to be called names.  Being called names is both repulsive and counter-productive.  After almost a year of name-calling, and losing the argument, perhaps my liberal friends are learning that lesson.

We can only hope so.

Time To Upgrade

At last weekend's invitational shoot, Thorn Valley was bedeviled by equipment problems.

Our timer system is an older version that we've used for several years, and the accumulation of several years shooting and the normal obsolescence of electrical devices combined to bite us squarely in the butt.  Thorn Valley was embarrassed, frankly.  We had worked hard over the course of several weeks to spiff the place up, we had run new Cat 5 cables, we had thoroughly tested the system, we had convinced ourselves that we were golden, then almost from the first shot, we were plagued by gremlins.

Great food, great venue, great weather, great competitors, and we were frustrated by old equipment.  We can't allow that to happen.  It's time to upgrade.  So, after the match was over, we held an impromptu club meeting and decided to do whatever is necessary.  Thorn Valley is getting new stuff.

The shoot was a success.  The competitors were gracious about our problems because every club is at one time or another beset by these problems, Still, we wanted to do a better job.  To hold a better match.

We'll be ordering new timers, lights, etc, in the next week or so.  It's time for an upgrade.

The Winners

Pictures are starting to come from our photographer, Miss E, of the Big Thicket Bushwackers.  PawPaw was busy being a host, and didn't have time for photography this weekend, and we are indebted to Miss E for her talent and ability.  We love you, Miss E.

Let's start with the important folks.  The Youth.

L-R.  Madame Talks A Lot 5th.  Rooster Newton 4th, Akarate Zach 3rd, Wyatt Earp 2nd, and Dash, 1st.

Madam Talks A Lot is out of the Lone Star Gunslingers.  Rooster Newton is from the North Texas Society of Gunfighters.  Akarate Zach is the home town boy from Thorn Valley.  Wyatt Earp is from the North Texas Society of Gunfighters, and Dash is from the Big Thicket Bushwackers.

The youth are important, but the ladies add style and grace to our organization.

L-R, Madam K 5th, Blue Eyed Belle, 4th, Marshall's Daughter 3rd, Scarlet Bandit 2nd, and Plain Jane 1st.

Madam K is from the Lone Star Gunslingers.  Blue Eyed Belle is the den mother for the Thorn Valley Shootist Society.  Marshall's Daughter is from the Lone Star Gunslingers.  Scarlet Bandit is from the Big Thicket Bushwackers, as is Plain Jane, who is also the reining National Champion.

And, last, the menfolk.

L-R Moon 5th, Levi Younger 4th, Red Rock 3rd, Dealing Dale 2nd, and Whiplah, 1st.

Moon is our resident curmudgeon from Thorn Valley.  Levi Younger is out of the North Texas Society of Gunfighters.  Red Rock, Dealing Dale and Whiplash are all from the Big Thicket Bushwackers.  Whiplash is also the reining Oklahoma State Champion.  The Bushwackers are one heck of a club.  When they start point out the various champions, it's amazing that anyone else gets to the winner's bracket.  But, they're gentlemen and ladies all.  Good friends, and part of our local CFDA family.

It was a heck of a weekend, and I wish we could do it all over again this weekend.

The Popular Vote

I said last week that it looked like Hillary Clinton had won the popular vote, but we don't elect presidents by popular vote.  There are very good reasons to have the Electoral College, and we won't review the civics lesson right now.  If you don't understand the difference, do a little research and get current on how we elect a president, then go punch your high school civics teacher in the nose.

However, on the morning of the day after, all the popular votes had not yet been counted.  Google is no help, but it appears that Donald Trump has won not only the electoral college, but also  the popular vote.  As the various local registrars and the state officials clarify their counts, it appears that Trump has won both elections.

The latest numbers I'm seeing come from 70News. As the absentee ballots are counted and the states continue to finalize their numbers, it looks like this.

Trump popular vote 62,972,226
Clinton popular vote 62,277,750

Those numbers are just a footnote, and if anyone has any other data, feel free to chime in the discussion.  But, the electoral vote count has firmed up, and it looks like this:

Trump electoral votes  306
Clinton electoral votes 232

With 538 electoral votes pending, that means Trump has over 56%.  Of course, any number over 270 electoral votes is a win.  The electoral college will meet to decide the race on December 19, with the new president inaugurated on January 20th for a peaceful transfer of office.  The United States has peacefully transferred this office 45 times since our founding, and it is our privilege and joy that this should occur.

Thorn Valley

We had a great weekend, filled with shooting, good friends, good food, laughter, catching up with long-distance buddies, and everything that I love about the Cowboy Fast Draw Association.

Thorn Valley Shootist Society hosted our second Invitational Shoot this weekend out at the Rustic Sky Horse Camp in Melder, LA.  Rustic Sky Horse Camp is an equestrian destination and is the home range of Thorn Valley.

Thirty eight shooters from four states descended on the camp with family members for a weekend shooting.

Great brunch of people, great venue, great weather.  We were plagued by gremlins in our equipment this weekend, but we're making plans to fix all that.  The club is already making plans to fix those equipment problems, and we'll have those sorted out in the coming months.

Education

Jarlsberg nails it today.

Yeah, I had to teach a whole lot of high-school civics classes this week to ostensibly educated people.

Wore Out

Worked at the range today, spiffing things up, re-wiring targets, setting up tables.

PawPaw is tired, but it's all done.  I think we're ready for our guests.

A good night's sleep, and a weekend of shooting awaits.  This is going to be fun.

Oh, happy Veteran's Day to all you veterans.

Unity, or Diversity

Which is more important; Unity or Diversity?  Good question.

I am reminded of my very first tank crew a diverse bunch of folks.  My driver, a young private named Smiley, happened to be a black kid from Georgia.  My loader, was another young kid, a white boy from Idaho.  My gunner, Sergeant Rivera, was a Hispanic from Puerto Rico.  I myself, the tank commander, was a young officer from Louisiana.

Oh, we were diverse.  No Yankees on my crew, but my platoon sergeant, my mentor and subordinate, was from Brooklyn.  He crewed his own tank, of course, but his crew and my crew often bantered during down times.  Sergeant Rivera would regale us with stories of his native island, the dusky ladies. The loader talked of lily-white Pocatello girls, the driver talked about the gals from Georgia, and I told tales of the Cajun gals from Avoyelles parish.  We were soldiers, and young.  Talking about girls filled the hours.  The things we discussed would now be called misogyny, but young men talk about girls.

But, as diverse as we were, we all pulled together to do the job at hand.  Whether it was changing a thrown track, pulling a blown powerpack, or running a multiple engagement, we were one crew.  United in our task.  We all pulled together for the common good.

Diversity is a lot of fun, but it can never be a political (or military) philosophy.  When it comes time to get the job done, we all need to pull together as Americans.  When we pull together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.

Let Freedom Ring.

**Recollection:** One day Sergeant Rivera was regaling us over the tank intercom with tales of his exploits with Puerto Rican womanhood.  I happened to look down and saw my company commander striding across the logger site with a grim look on his face.  Rivera's tale was being broadcast on the company net.  Needless to say, the ass-chewing I got was comprehensive and legendary.

Rivera had to report to the Battalion Commo sergeant for a remedial class on the proper use of a tank intercom system.

Secession?? That's Treason!

I'm old enough to remember when secession was considered treason.  Just over the past several years, as a matter of fact, when President Obama would offer a half-baked program or Democrats would insult an entire demographic, some wags would talk of an entire state leaving the country.  Remember?  Oh, no, the libs cautioned.  Secession is treason. Unconstitutional. Unconscionable.

How quickly the worm turns.  It seems now that Donald Trump has been elected, some wags in California are thinking of leaving.  Good Times.

The group leading the charge, Yes California Independence Campaign, assembled long before Trump’s surprising victory. Its aim is to hold a referendum in 2018 that, if passed, would make California an independent country.

Like many Americans, I thought that we had decided the issue of secession back in the late 1860s.  Those of us who actually took American history in high school might remember studying  that unpleasant time,  Those of us in the South call it the War of Northern Aggression.  Others call it something else.

But, yet, if California wants to secede, I'll sit back and joyfully watch them debate the measure.  If nothing else, it will be amusing to catalog the arguments.

Let Freedom Ring.

A Near Thing

As I look at the voting reports from the various states, I'm reminded why we have the electoral college.  A president is selected by the states, not by the popular vote.  Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.  There are still states who haven't tabulated their totals, but it appears that she won the popular vote by some 303,000 individual votes, nationwide.

What matters is the Electoral College, which turns a national race into 50 individual state races, and in those battleground states, it was a near thing.  In Wisconsin, the difference was about 107,000 votes.  In Florida, the difference was about 120,000 votes.In Pennsylvania, about 68,000 votes, if my stubby-pencil math holds true.  Point being, less than 1% of the vote in those three states mattered.  Donald Trump is our president-elect because he did a better job at getting his message out than Hillary Clinton in those crucial states.

The flip side of the coin is that Trump lost Virginia by some 185,000 votes.  If he had made his case just a little better, he might have flipped Virginia. It was a near thing in several states.  As it turned out, Trump won the states that he needed to win, and Hillary lost the states she needed to win.

There is a powerful lesson here in electoral politics.  Don't assume that you have a state in the bag.  It's not yours until you earn it.  You've actually got to show up and make your pitch.

Another lesson to learn from this cycle is that we're all living in an era of instant communications.  Every one of us carries a video camera and a digital recorder.  If you insult someone, it's going viral and everyone that you have insulted will hear about it in minutes.  Lots of "deplorabbles" voted against Hillary.  If you or your supporters call me a racist, or a homophone, or a misogynist, I'm probably not going to vote for you.  Insults don't sway people.  Insults cause people to double-down on their dogma, whether they are right or wrong.

I'm glad Trump won, but I admit that it was a near thing, and that Hillary Clinton did convince a lot of people to vote for her.  She won the popular vote.  Here in blood-red Louisiana, it wasn't nearly so close, but I know and work with people who voted for Clinton.  I don't want to insult those people, I want to persuade them that there is a better way.  I want what is best for them, too, and while we might disagree on our politics, it's important that we all thrive.

Let Freedom Ring.

Microwaves?

Not the ovens, the communications capacity.  ARS Technica talks about microwave transmission in today's world.  For an old geek,, it's cooler than hell.

My dad was an old Bell System long-lines expert and he worked on microwave communications technology back in the '60s and '70s.  He worked with microwave systems for 40 (sometimes 60) hours per week, and knew it inside-out.  Yeah, the old man was a geek, with a deep, detailed knowledge of communication technology.  He helped during the switch over from microwave to fiber optic tachnology.

Just before we lost him in 2007, I was driving him on south McArthur Drive and he saw a new microwave tower that he had never seen.  He had me pull over to study it.  "I don't know who it belongs to" he said, "but they are pushing some serious wattage through it."  He waved me back onto the roadway.  "I always thought that microwave would make a comeback.  It has a lot of advantages that most people don't realize."

Just as an aside, back in the '70s, one of the kids was reading the comics and talked about Dick Tracy's wrist phone.  The old man told us that one day, portable, personal phones would surpass and supplant the standard telephones that we had in our homes.   We all looked at him like he was crazy.

Trump Win Sparks Protests

It seems that some folks are upset at the outcome of the election. The search string "Donald Trump protests" give about a half-million returns.

They're pissed off in California, and we hear the wailing lament "He's not my president."

Even in the depths of my despair, lo those years ago, I knew that Barack Obama was president.  Even in my angst, I acknowledged that he had won, fair and square.  I detested his politics and his administration, but he is the President.

Now, the liberals despair and try to deny the truth.  It would be laughable if it were not so pathetic.

I expect children to throw a temper tantrum, and I admit that I understand what they are feeling.  The difference is that I'm an adult.  It's not my intention to insult them, but to remind them that elections are won and lost, the sun will still come up in the morning, and will set in the evening.

So, to all those feeling disaffected, I say this.  Calm down, it's going to be okay.  You may have to actually go out and get a job  You probably won't starve to death.  Very few people do.  Your rights will be protected and your life will go on.  The pendulum has swung just a little bit, the adults are in charge.

It's time to make America great again.

We Did It

PawPaw went to sleep last night about the time the polls closed.  Awoke this morning to a stunning revelation: the American people have repudiated the establishment.  We elected a man to the presidency who has never held elective office.  May God have mercy on our souls.

Hillary isn't toast yet.  She's retired, for damn sure, but the over-riding question is whether she'll be held accountable for her crimes in a court of law.  That's important to me, personally.

But, the American people did what American people do.  We elected a person who owes nothing to the political establishment.  As I type this, the MSM is on in the living room, and the media is taking a collective dump.  They're horrified and they're not sure how to react to this news.

It's a new day, and the sun will rise in another hour.  We'd better get busy.

The Blue Dog

George Rodrigue was a Louisiana painter or some renown.  He painted landscapes and family gatherings, great scenes of Louisiana rural life.  He generally included a blue dog in each of his paintings and that blue dog became a trademark.

In the 110th Congress, a group of conservative Democrats (can you imagine such a thing) would caucus together to try and promote their interests.  They adopted the name Blue Dog Caucus.  One wag said that they "had been choked blue by the liberal Democrats".  Two Louisiana representatives, Billy Tauzin and Jimmy Hayes were members of the coalition, and one of those reps, (Tauzin, perhaps?) had a Rodrigue painting in his office.  The visual image of the blue dog was a natural fit for the conservative Dem caucus.

When I got to the polls today, the lines were manageable.  Talking with the commissioners, they said that it had been steady all morning.  They're expecting a larger turn out late in the afternoon when folks get off work.  As I finished voting, they handed me a small sticker, and I had to laugh aloud.

Heh!  There is Rodrigue's blue dog on my sticker.  Sure, he's a symbol of conservative Democrats, but more importantly, he's a symbol of Louisiana.  We love the blue dog down here, regardless of his politics.

Election Day

The hollerin', and arguin' and speechifyin' are over and election day is upon us.  In Louisiana, the polls open in about ten minutes.  PawPaw hasn't voted yet, but before lunch I'll pull the levers.

Schools are closed today locally because so many schools are polling places.  Louisiana normally votes on Saturday to accommodate the schools, but presidential elections are on Tuesday, so PawPaw gets to watch grandkids today while the parents work.  That's not a bad deal for PawPaw.  I'll get to enjoy the grandkids.

Louisiana has what some call a "jungle primary".  We let any-damn-body run for any-damn-office they want to run for, regardless of party affiliation.  The top two vote-getters meet in a runoff election election later.  Our Senate race today has some twenty-odd aspirants.  None of them is going to garner a solid majority, so sure as hell we'll have a runoff   But again, party affiliation really doesn't mater in a Louisiana primary.  You've got to make your pitch to the voters, and we might have two Republicans face each other in a runoff, or two Democrats.  You never know.  Today, it looks like we might have a traditional runoff when the votes are counted.  John Kennedy(R) seems to be leading the pack with Foster Campbell (D) nipping at his heels.  This could get intereting, but I don't see Louisiana returning a (dD) to the senate.

After voting, the grandkids and I will hang out around here until lunch, then we'll get a bite somewhere and head for the range.  We've got work to do, and as long as I have free labor, I'm going to use it.

If you haven't voted yet, go vote.  It's important.

New Badge

It seems that the FBI recently got a new badge.

Sounds about right to me.

Janet Reno Dead

Just about the time that we heard that Comey had once again beclowned himself and the Bureau, we also learned that Janet Reno had passed on to her just rewards.

Reno, of course, was the first female Attorney General, presiding over, (to her eternal disgrace), the debacle at Waco that killed innocent women and children.  The crime?  The Branch Davidians were suspected of having illegal weapons on the compound.

We recall that Reno "took responsibility" for the debacle, but kept her job.  When someone takes responsibility for a major debacle under the Clinton Crime Family, no one loses their job or suffers any repercussions.  Seemingly, killing Americans is okay if you work for the Clintons.

I will not mourn Reno's death.

Iron Age Beer

Turning away from the frustrating political scene, we see this interesting article where archaeologists have unearthed a grave site containing beer.

A team of researchers worked with a brewery in Milwaukee to recreate an ancient beer from remnants of the alcoholic beverage that were found at an Iron Age burial site in Germany, reported Milwaukee Public Radio (WUWM). Though the acidic soil had dissolved the skeleton, archaeologists found metal weapons and a cauldron at the burial site.

 The cauldron, which dates back to between 400 B.C. to 450 B.C., was full of an ancient mead when it was buried, according to study leader Bettina Arnold, an archaeologist and anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

The scientists analyzed the cauldron and found that it held mead.  Through their analysis and working with brewers (this is Milwaukee, after all) established a recipe to recreate the brew. Beer, of course, is one of the oldest lubricants of our civilization, stretching across cultures and centuries to advance human civilization.  I can't recall one serious ancient society that hadn't learned to brew beer.

While I don't drink beer as much as I used to, I celebrate beer for it's salubrious nature, its contribution to civilization, and its adaptation to various cultures.  Beer exists because God loves us, and wants us to be happy in His creation.



Indeed, Tuck, indeed.

Comey's Disgrace - Redux

So, in a Sunday afternoon letter to Congress, Jim Comey, the disgraced head of the FBI tells Congress that Hillary is pure as driven snow.  She's clean as a whistle, and ready to assume the presidency.

FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers Sunday the agency hasn’t changed its opinion that Hillary Clinton should not face criminal charges after a review of new emails.

Thinking individuals don't believe that Hillary is innocent, but you can bet that's the way her supporters will interpret it.  She didn't do anything wrong, and she's glad to be cleared of wrongdoing.  They believe that she's the savior of the modern era.  It's all a simple misunderstanding.  She didn't intend to be extremely careless with state secrets.

If other reports are to be believed (and who can believed these days) there are still several other FBI investigations plodding along, waiting to see if she gets elected.

It boggles the mind.  There are several things that bother me about this investigation.  First, how does any agency review over 650,000 emails in eight days and make sense of what they're reviewing?   In the 192 hours, they would have to read, digest, discuss and evaluate 3385 emails per hour.  I'm not saying it can't be done, but it certainly stretches credulity. My credulity in particular.

Second, how does Comey's recommendation square with reports that Clinton had her maid printing out classified information?

Jim Comey's disgrace is now not about whether or not Clinton is eventually tried, convicted, and imprisoned.    But, Hillary is central to this story.    Comey has now instituted a two-tiered system of justice in the US, where the politically connected get a pass, while the lesser mortals are jailed.  That is his eternal disgrace.  Second, he inserted the Bureau twice into a political race without a satisfactory conclusion.  Everybody is frustrated with him, for no good reason.  He hasn't told us anything that we didn't know before, except that Clinton will get away with it.

If I ever have the opportunity, I'm going to piss on his shoes and tell him that it's raining.

Sunday Morning Cooking

I've got a chicken boiling on the stove, and sausage cooking in a black dutch oven.

Who-ee, the temps are cooling, and PawPaw is making a big jambalaya for Sunday lunch.

Jambalaya is a south Louisiana comfort food, designed to feed a bunch of people economically.  With rice, chicken, sausage, onions and bellpepper, in a couple of hours you can have enough food to feed a big gathering.  If you've been lucky in the hunting woods, you can use game.  Venison sausage and duck makes a great jambalaya.

Back when I was rabbit hunting with beagles, rabbit jambalaya was a staple around the house.  Today, I'm using more pedestrian ingredients.  A big ol' chicken and good smoked sausage.  I'll probably cook two versions today.  One spicier than the other for those who don't like the spice.

Uf you need a step-by-step, I put one up here in 2013.