New Glasses

I've worn glasses since the 8th grade and every-so-often I need a new prescription.  That happened a couple of weeks ago and I picked up the new specs an hour ago.

I can see again, as long as the font is fairly black, and the lights is fairly good..  This is good stuff.

Infanticide

I'm going to leave this right here so that I can find it later.  We have a partial list of some of the Democrats who yesterday voted against giving medical aid to infants who survive an abortion.

Elizabeth Warren
Bernie Sanders
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kamala Harris
Amy Klobuchar
Cory Booker

As these folks crank up their presidential campaigns, we should have them explain their vote.  Exit question:  If everyone has the right to appropriate medical care, at what age, exactly, does that right begin?

May God have mercy on their souls.

Disgrace

Senate Democrats today voted against a bill that would require medical professionals to provide medical care to born-alive infants.

Senate Democrats blocked passage of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act Monday night in what President Trump called "one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress." The final vote was 53-44, seven votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a legislative filibuster.

I am aghast.  The Senate Democrats are now in favor of infanticide.  I would note that the presumed and announced presidential candidates are all on record for voting in favor of killing this bill.

May God have mercy on their souls.

Great Job, Colorado

It appears that Colorado has lost its mind.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) will sign a measure to award his state’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, moving a countrywide coalition one step closer to circumventing the Electoral College.

So, if the nation votes for Candidate A, but Colorado votes overwhelmingly for Candidate B, the electors from Colorado will ignore the will of the state, and vote for the other candidate.

There are so many problems with this scheme that I won't belabor them here.  But, if the citizens of Colorado are okay with their vote being totally negated, I guess it's okay with me.  This seems like huge Democrat butt-hurt from the last election, and I can't imagine that any pol in Louisiana would dare propose such an idea.

Tar, feathers, some assembly required.

A Cautionary Tale

From Prager U, a cautionary tale about socialism and Venezuela.



Maduro is still jailing journalists who report on his catastrophe of a country."

As one wag said:  "You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out."

Remember When

This AP photo brings back memories.

A Kuwaiti helicopter herds Iraqi prisoners of war, arms in the air, across a stream in southeastern Kuwait, Monday, Feb. 25, 1991, as Operation Desert Storm continues. (AP PHOTO/STR)

Twenty-eight years ago, we ejected Iraqi forces from our ally, Kuwait.  Many Iraqi units fought bravely and tenaciously, but many others surrendered almost immediately because we had severely disrupted their command, control and logistics chain.  Some units hadn't eaten in days and had little in the way of food.  We had destroyed their will to fight and surrendered en mass.

As an old soldier, I hope those guys made it, and enjoyed a pleasant, productive, and peaceful life.

Hat Tip, PJMedia.

Cypress and Steel

The state tree of Louisiana is the Bald Cypress.  We use it for lots of things because it is naturally bug-resistant and moisture resistant.   Cypress is great for Louisiana, because of its unique properties.

We like stainless steel in Louisiana as well, because of it's rust-resistant properties.  So, when we were designing trophies for Louisiana State, it was simply natural to combine those two materials.

This is the prototype and I think it looks pertty good.  Many thanks to Brother Fred for the leg-work and daughter-in-law Kim for the vector art work.

The Mothball Fleet

Interesting article over at Popular Mechanics.

The U.S. Navy won’t bring back decommissioned ships as a way to grow the fleet. The ships, decommissioned from the Navy after decades of service, are rusting away at a number of “mothball fleet” locations across the United States. Navy officials have concluded it would be too expensive to bring them back and they would offer too few capabilities to make them worthwhile.

Lots of interesting photos from the Philadelphia Naval Yard, and I don't doubt that these ships aren't cost-effective to use as warships.  They all seem to be floating, and there is a heeluva lot of steel in the water.  I wonder if they could be re-fitted for other uses?  Or, if they'll eventually be broken up for scrap?

Of course, I'm no sailor-man, but the photos were interesting.

Smollett Arrested

The news is everywhere.  Jessie Smollett has been indicted and arrested.  The charge, as I understand it, is Disorderly Conduct - False Filing.  It's a Class-4 felony (whatever that means).

At this point, Smollett has a presumption of innocence, although from what I've seen, his defense has a tough row to hoe.  Smollett has been very vocal in his victim-hood, and the interviews are all over the internet.  They are not going away.  Everyone has seen them.  This has been a very public item.

But, now Smollett is charged and we can draw a curtain across this whole tawdry incident.  Smollett has rights and we should let the system take care of the details.

Busy, Busy

I'm so snowed under with work, and Cowboy Fast Draw, getting ready for Louisiana State, and prepping for retirement, I didn't have any time to post today. 

I'm not ignoring y'all, I swear,  I've got a couple of big projects percolating, and it's going to get better.  They tell me I'm over the hill, but from what I remember about driving, and gravity, when you crest a hill, you pick up speed.

In another month or so, this is going to get damned interesting.  Stand by.

Space Force

I see that President Trump has signed a declaration to form a Space Force.  Evidently it will be a sub-unit of the US Air Force.  Much like the Marine Corps is a part of the Navy.

I have not had a chance to think this through.  I hope that the Pentagon has.  It adds another Joint Chief and another undersecretary, plus I assume a bunch of worker bees.

I wonder what the uniform will look like?  Also, some wags are noting that there is no Air in Space,  so why should it be part of the Air Force?

Postmodern Education

It seems that researchers are blaming YouTube on the Flat Earth phenomena.

Despite steps taken to counteract problematic material YouTube is still a hotbed of hoaxes and fake news -- a problem that's become so prevalent the site recently announced it is changing its AI in a bid to improve matters. But now the scope of the problem has really come to light, as new research suggests that the increasing number of Flat Earthers can be attributed to conspiracy videos hosted on the site.

I thought we settled this in the 16th century.  Of course, postmodern education has nothing to do with the idea that the Earth is flat.

Respect

Is someone disparaging the Guru?  That's not a good idea.

I started my journey with handguns about the same time that the Colonel published his book, The Principles of Personal Defense.  It was a bible, a handbook, a clarion of the Modern Technique.  It is still relevant today, and the techniques that Cooper taught are still being taught worldwide.

Jeff Cooper was a forward-thinking person who espoused what was at the time, the very best he could offer, and he was not above reviewing other techniques and taking the good while discarding the frivolous.  But, if we distill his writings and teachings, what he truly espoused was mindset.  The mental activities that must occur before a fight to put one in the proper thinking for mayhem.

Are there better handguns than the 1911?  We can debate that.  Is the Weaver stance still relevant today?  It's certainly a good tool to have in your tool box.  Are there better tools available today?  Well, science, technology, and man's understanding moves forward.  The automotive world still stands on the breakthroughs that Henry Ford delivered.  The world of physics still studies the theories of Newton.  In every field of human endeavor, we stand on the shoulders of the people who came before us, and in the world of handguns and practical pistol-craft, we still stand on the shoulders of Jeff Cooper.

Cold, Wet, Sunday

It was a cold, wet Sunday in central Louisiana.  Belle ad I cooked in the shop as we do every Sunday, but this today all the kids were elsewhere, so it was just Bell and I, ad an old friend, Jerome.  Belle cooked a chicken pot pie, homemade, from scratch, ad we enjoyed it for lunch

Afterwards, sitting around the coffee table, I poured a dram of Monkey Shoulder to try.  This is my first go-around with Scotch, and I have to say I found it quite entertaining.  I got hints of vanilla and butterscotch, along with a fruity sensation that reminded me of cooked pie filling.  Very interesting indeed.

That glass is not a proper Glencairn, but a nice tulip shaped glass I found at Dollar Tree.  It works well for nosing whiskey, and at a buck apiece, if it gets broken I don't cry.

We're inside now, prepping or the workaday Monday that will soon be uponn us.

Who Is This Idiot?

I don't watch a lot of current TV.  Belle and I generally watch History, DiscoveryID (All Crime, All The Time), and Travel channel.  When this story broke several weeks ago about some guy named Jessie Smollett, I admit that I had no frame of reference.  Evidently, he's an actor on some show, and he is not a Trump supporter.  Go figure.  Hollywood generally doesn't support President Trump.

The story I saw was that he hand been attacked by two MAGA hat wearing assailants  Another hate crime by Trump fascists.  It was all too set-piece, too scripted.  I've been a cop for over three decades and have a very finely tuned Bullshit Detector.   When I first heard this story, my BS detector beeped faintly, like a metal detector who is first homing in on an object.

The Chicago police department, doing their jobs, started running down leads.  They identified some "persons of interest".  Interviewed same persons.  Held them at some length doing what good investigators do.  As it turns out they are two brothers of Nigerian descent, who work on the same show as Smollett.

My BS Detector went into immediate overdrive.  H had to mute it.  About the same time, Smollett lawyered-up with a guy who is reputedly the best criminal defense attorney in Chicago.

Smollett still has a presumption of innocence, and I'll bet that the 5th amendment protections will factor in his defense strategy.  He doesn't have to talk to the police, and he should have invoked that strategy from the very first.  If he hadn't made the very first report, he wouldn't be lawyered-up now and most of the world would be blissfully ignorant of who he is.   But, NOOO!  He had to be relevant.  He had to stage some street theater.

I"m just saying.

Clearing The Way

Minefields a bitch.  They cost lives ad they slow down an advance.  Every sodier hates minefields, and the engineers are always searching for better ways to clear a gap through a minefield so that troops and equipment can cross safely.  Some of those methods include overpressure, a large explosion over the minefield to sympathetically detonate the mines buried.  It's quite impressive to see.

GRAFENWOEHR, GERMANY 01.23.2019 - U.S. Soldiers with the 91st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, detonate a mine clearing line charge fired from their M1 assault breacher vehicle at the Camp Aachen training area, Grafenwoehr, Germany, Jan. 23, 2019. 

More on line charges here.

Collusion

Liz Shield knocks it out of the park with her Morning Brief this morning, regarding McCabe's stunning admission yesterday.

So "Andy's office" told Scott Pelley of "60 Minutes" that he and some of his derp staters wanted to nullify the duly elected President Trump via the 25th amendment and claim Trump was unable to fulfill his duties as president because RUSSIA...

 As of today, the number of people indicted or pleading to treasonous collusion with RUSSIA is ZERO. After two years, not a single person has been busted for anything related to RUSSIA or working with RUSSIA to steal the election.

 I'll be glad when Mueller makes his report and it turns out that this whole RUSSIA collusion thing is a big nothing-burger.   The Deep State was pissed when Trump was elected and they were really pissed when he fired Comey.  What they fail to remember is that Hillary would have fired Comey too, and would have been fully justified in doing so.

 

The Deep State

It seems that no less than formed FBI big shot Andrew McCabe has confirmed that the DOJ discussed a coup against President Trump.

On Thursday, CBS News anchor Scott Pelley said former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told him that Department of Justice (DOJ) officials met to discuss whether or not to remove President Donald Trump from office in the wake of the president's firing of FBI Director James Comey. This news confirmed conservatives' worst fears about a Deep State working against the duly elected president.

I wonder how they intended to "remove" him from office?

How Great Thou Art

One of my very favorite old hymns.



I honestly didn't know that Vince Gill could play the guitar.  He's one of my favorite singers, but I didn't know he could play.

Prager U on Health Care

Prager University puts out a range o videos on a rage of topics.  This one on health care.  It's worth a watch.

Wednesday Moving Around

I had a couple of doctor's appointments today.  Nothing spectacular, but my sawbones wanted to draw blood in morning and see me in the afternoon after the labs were done.  No surprises, I'm probably going to live another six months.

But, because I'm going to lose a huge amount o sick leave when I retire, I decided to take the whole day as sick leave.  And I had a ball.

Went to drink coffee with a friend, early, then made it over to the office so the vampires could take their samples.

Then drove out to Pollock to see my graphic artist.  Visited with the mayor, and old friend, and visited with my sons, who were putting in a shower at the city splash-pad.

Thence, to Wally World, where I bough a doze roses, a box of chocolate, and a card to take to Belle at work.  Valentine's day is tomorrow, but I'm ahead of the curve.

Thence, to Picadilly, where I met my mother for lunch.  We had a good visit, and got caught up o family stuff.  We live 12 miles apart, and I see her three or four times a year, and she's okay with that.  At age 85, she's busier than many of my younger friends.

Thence to the Doctor's office, where he told me I was a fat man. and that he'd see me in six months.  As a result, I went to  local liquor store and perused their selection of Scotch Whiskey.  I'm not a Scotch drinker, but I thought maybe it was time to give it a try.  After mush consultation with the somelier, I decided on a bottle of Monkey Shoulder.  It's not a single malt, but I am assured that it will help pave my way into the world of Scotch whisk(e)y.

Now, if you'll pardon me, it's time to relect on the day.

They Are Eating Themselves

It's starting to get ugly on the left.

Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake.

Louisiana State Poster

The Louisiana State Championship of Cowboy Fast Draw is 2 months out.

We're getting ready.

Deal? Or No Deal?

It looks like congressional negotiators may have come up with a deal acceptable to all sides.  Politico reports that such a deal was reached last night.  Details are still fuzzy, but we'll see what happens.

The tentative deal includes $1.375 billion for physical barriers — a type of fencing that resembles the “steel slats” that Trump has specifically called for, according to a congressional aide briefed on the talks. It includes a total of 55 miles, which is just 9 miles shy of Trump’s last budget request.

It's a start, I guess.

Brother Fred's Knives

Bother Fred is a church elder, a CFDA shooter, a trusted friend and a knife maker.  I ran into him an hour ago and he showed me two knives that he has recently finished.  They're daggers, and they're beautiful.

My photography does not do justice to them.  The handle on the left one is holly, and the handle on the right is sycamore.  The one on the left is made from a flat bastard file, and the one on the left is made from a half-round file.

Beautiful, just beautiful.

Sunday Cooking

Younger so was visiting this weekend ad Belle decided to cook his favorite, Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes, green peas, and white gravy.  We started cooking, and I suddenly recognized that Belle had bought enough meat to feed a regiment, which is about what we feed on a normal Sunday for lunch.

Of course, he had to go over ad see what was going, on, so he was pressed into service.  Chicken fried steak is a labor of love, ad with the three coatings, (flour, egg wash, and panko crumbs) Belle needed more than two hands.  So, we set up an assembly line.

Before long, we had them rolling through the coatings, the into the oil.

When they were done we put them into a slow cooker to keep them warm while the guests assembled ad the rest of the meal was prepared.

We fed sixteen family members for lunch today, and there is a little left over in case one of us gets peckish toward evening.

Saturday Shooting

We hosted the cub yesterday as we do ever other Saturday, and after the practice was over, youngest son asked how many guns we use for CFFA shooting.  I told him that honestly, I hand't counted in a several months, but I haven't bought any guns in the past year.So, we drug them out for inventory purposes.

These are used solely for CFDA shooting.  They are all in .45 Cot, used exclusively with wax bullet ammunition.  While I own other single action revolvers in other calibers, Belle and I decided when we started that we would never own, any standard ammunition in .45 Colt, specifically because we don't want any accidents.  If anyone family or friend wants to shoot a heavy revolver, we'll find a suitable range and drag out the .44s, but in this caliber, it's wax bullet ammo ony.

Having said that, here are the family's competition guns, currently in use.

BottomL Ruger (old) Vaquero.
L-R Traditions Liberty Model, Taylors & Co, Cattleman, Traditions Rawhide, Ruger New Vaquero, Ruger New Vaquero, Cimarron El Malo, Cimarron Model P, Stoeger Hombre

This represents a range of guns commonly seen on any CFDA range nationwide, and there is something there to suit anyone.  We tell new shooters to find a club ad try as many guns as they possibly can before they make a decision on a specific model.  Belle has tiny hands, I have larger hands, and minuscule differences in frame size and grip size have a huge effect on how a gun fels ad performs in competition.  We let anyone try any of our guns before they make up their minds to buy a specific model, and we're fortunate that we can have the different models that we have.

Plain Spoken

I like this guy, Sheriff Judd out of Polk County, Florida.

Elizabeth Warren, Paleface.

I swear, the Democrats are imploding; wracked in their own hubris.  As Michael Walsh celebrates at PJMedia.

As I mentioned in our Live Blog the other day, almost lost in the news of the Democrat meltdown in Virginia, and the success of the president's State of the Union speech in front the Harridan Handmaiden's Caucus and its denture-sucking leader, Maerose Prizzi, was this astonishing and richly satisfying end of the national political career of that unctuous phony, Elizabeth Warren of Oklahoma, Massachusetts, but not the Cherokee Nation:

This week has been richly satisfying, with all the hubris and machinations of the Democrats coming to light.  And, as I remember from my military career, the old maxim, Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake. 

We've always known her motive: self-advancement and self-enrichment. Perhaps, like every other lunatic Democrat, she began to believe the party-line nonsense that race, ethnicity, and sex were simply social constructs, and subject to the whim of the individual. Perhaps, as a member of the Party of Science, she thought that family lore and jokes from her pee-paw about "high cheekbones" were dispositive. Or perhaps she's just a fraud; which conclusion would Occam's Razor dictate?

I'll take Fraud for $200, Michael.  The woman is a fraud, plain and simple.

The Green New Deal

Everyone says that it is a total absurdity, but no one has seen it until today.  Nancy Pelosi yesterday said:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) slammed the proposal Wednesday, saying, "The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they're for it right?"

Hell, Nancy, she's taking a page out of your book.  You remember telling us about the Affordable Care Act "You gotta pass it to know what's in it."  It seems like your young freshman, Occasional Cortex is following your play book.

But, the freshman socialist did publish it today, even if it is a bit of an unworkable hot mess.

On Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) unveiled her much-vaunted "Geen New Deal," and it's even worse than you expected. Among other absurd things, it calls for abolishing cows, nuclear energy, and airplanes, "upgrading all existing buildings in the United States," guaranteeing "high-quality health care" for all Americans.

Abolishing cows? And airplanes?  Oh, it gets better.  Things like guaranteed jobs for people who want to work and guaranteed financial security for those who don't.  This thing is starting to sound a lot like prison.  This is not a serious policy proposal, but I never expected a serious policy proposal from this bunch.  They're Democrats.

Generally, they would be laughable if they weren't so pathetic.

What Is It With Blackface?

The Dems in Virginia are having problems.

Now, the Dems in the Carolinas are having problems.

Evidently, in the '70s and '80s, it was fashionable to have your picture taken in blackface.

I went to college in the '70s, but I don't remember yearbooks.  But, evidently, they were a thing in college.  And, they reflect the era that we lived in.  Little did we know that everything we did during those heady college years would be considered a mortal sin when viewed through the lens of social acceptance today.

When everything is a crime, everyone is guilty.  In large part, the Democrats sowed the whirlwind, and now they can reap the tornado.  I really don't feel sorry for them.

Single-Payer Ain't Happening

All those Democrats who ran on the promise to socialize health care (Medicare For All) have a huge problem, not because it is unworkable (which it is), or too expensive (which it is), or because Republicans oppose it (which we do).    The larger, more politically important problem is that Nancy Pelosi doesn't want it.

Pelosi adviser Wendell Primus detailed five objections to Medicare for All and said that Democrats would be allies to the insurance industry in the fight against single-payer health care. Primus pitched the insurers on supporting Democrats on efforts to shrink drug prices, specifically by backing a number of measures that the pharmaceutical lobby is opposing…

If the linked article is correct, then Medicare For All is a non-starter.  The Democrats don't want it and the Republiicans don't want it, and it's simply another pie-in-the-sky talking point to help young socialists get elected. 

Seen On The Book of Face

Booker Shows His Ass

Senator Cory Booker, the failed mayor of Newark, NJ and now a senator from that same state, continues to show his ass on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a 2020 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, asked Trump judicial nominee Neomi Rao if she considered homosexual relationships to be sinful. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) immediately called Booker out on this line of questioning.
Booker seized on Rao's 2008 article opposing the Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas, which decriminalized homosexual activity. He then directly asked her, "Are gay relationships in your opinion immoral?"

That's a dumbass question and totally irrelevant.  The lady is being considered for a judicial post, and judges don't weigh-in on sin.

"I am not sure the relevance of that," Rao responded.

And properly so.  If Cory wants a dissertation on sin or morality, I would refer him to the New Testament. I would also invite him to come sit in on some church services. 

Cory Booker is an ass.  It's time to start treating him as such.

Dems Block Bill Prohibiting Infanticide

Things are getting more and more surreal.  As Hot Air points out.

Just how surreal have things gotten in Washington these days? For one solid yardstick, look no further than the attempt by Ben Sasse to obtain unanimous consent for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in the Senate last night. The crux of the bill is fairly simple. If a baby is born alive, even in the case of an attempted abortion, and is breathing outside the mother’s body… you can’t murder it. It’s a bill designed to prevent infanticide. Surely, even in the current climate of political hysteria, that’s one thing we can all agree on, right?

Uhh, no.

 Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington objected to the bill on the floor, preventing it from receiving unanimous consent…

well, okay.  It should have gone to a full vote, and let everyone cast their vote.  It would be real interesting to see who is in favor of killing live human beings.

Yeah, I Believe So

Have Democrats overplayed their hand on abortion?  I believe they have, and although I haven't commended on it, I tend to agree that they've tried to go a bridge too far.

In New York and Virginia, Democratic state governments are working to loosen restrictions on abortion late in pregnancy, far past the stages at which fetuses can survive after birth. The controversy over this expansion of abortion rights presents an opportunity for the anti-abortion movement to make the point that every abortion—no matter when it is performed—ends a human life.

I've followed this casually, simply because I don't think that I will change any minds.  But, I listen to conversations around the break rooms and what I'm hearing is that most people in conservative Louisiana are sickened by the idea of late-term abortions.

It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.

Working on Trophies

With Louisiana State 10 weeks away, it's time to get hot and heavy on trophies.  We're building our own, from cypress that has been bologna-cut to show grain and bark.  We got them from the sawmil this week and this morning we gave them  preliminary sanding, to remove saw-marks.  Now, they're drying on a wire shelving unit.

I have them stacked for maximum airflow, and hopefully they'll lose some of the moisture they're carrying so that next Saturday we can appy a coat of poly and start sorting them.

Spartacus Announces

I see that the liberal senator from New Jersey has announced for the presidency.

That's three reasons NOT to vote for him.  He's liberal, he's a politician, and he's from New Jersey.

He'll siphon liberal votes away from Camel Harris, who I see is coming out against revenge porn.  Based on some of the rumors floating around, this stance makes a lot of sense.  Sometimes we have to connect the dots to make sense of the news.

This presidential cycle could get very interesting.