Enunciation Is A Good THing

Good enunciation is a wonderful thing.  This, on the other hand, just leaves us scratching our heads.

I guess someone will decipher that for us, but the but the noise to signal ratio is real high on this one.

New Bottle

 Running errands today, I went by Southbound Spirits to see what they acquired this past week.  

During Prohibition, there were six distilleries allowed to produce medicinal alcohol for the trade.  One of these was Old Forester.  Because it was medicinal, and available by prescription only, it was bottled at 115 proof.  Old Forester is still a brand, and they have released a bottling that celebrates their production during Prohibition.

I'll add this to the collection.  I'm sure that we'll hve a gathering over here during he holidays, and this might be interesting to bring out during the celebration.  Or, it might be rot-gut.  We'll find out soon enough.

Beautiful Weather

 After weeks of crappy weather, one hurricane after another, we're finally blessed with cool temps, moderate breezes and gentle sunshine.  It's been glorious outside.

As such, I'm spending time outdoors.  Piddling in the shop, with the doors flung open, letting the place air out.

Belle ad I are driving back to Teas tomorrow, to eat at her favorite restaurant.  While we're in Jasper, we'll go by the Cowboy Church there and fellowship with those people.  They are having a Saturday event, a Western Trade Days, and a team-roping clinic.  Some of us from our tiny Cowboy Church are driving over to meet those folks.  Maybe we can pick up some pointers and figure our how to grow our church.  We feel like we're doing fine, but it never hurts to see what works for other folks.

Louisiana is still in a constitutional crisis.  The Governor believes that we're still stuck in Phase 2.1 (he calls it Phase 3, but we know better).  The legislature believes that they ended the emergency orders last week.  The Governor has sued the Legislature and the Courts will decide.  I'm sure that a District Judge in Baton Rouge is scratching his head, wondering what law applies, and knowing that whatever he decides will be appealed.  In the mean time,   In the meantime, I'm seeing a hole lot less people wearing masks than I saw a week ago.  Louisiana is making up it's mind, regardless of what the government says.  It's an interesting time, and it's intriguing to watch the various players.

Y'all have a great weekend.  I think I'm going outside to play.

Sen. Ted Cruz Rips Twitter CEO a New One

PawPaw don't Tweet.  I don't know that I have ever had an account, but it looks to me,, as it appears to Ted Cruz, that Twitter is trying to silence any news that reflects poorly on Democrats, especially Joe Biden.

There is no doubt that Big Tech is in the bag for Biden, and it would do them well to start paying attention before the FCC breaks up Big Tech like it broke up the Bell System back in the 70s

Wednesday Zeta Update

It looks like Zeta is coming ashore today as a Cat 2 hurricane.  It will focus on southeast LA and the New Orleans metro area.  Because this one is a fast-mover, it will be mainly a wind event, but they haven't posted potential storm surge numbers yet, and we all recall that it was storm surge the killed New Orleans during Katrina.

I don't expect much impact on my acre.  We had a rain band moving through earlier, but the wind shouldn't get over 10-15 mph.  Just a gentle breeze.  The folks in New Orleans are n for a ride, though and we'll keep them in our prayers.

Philly Burns, 30 Officers Inured.

It appears that police shot a black man yesterday, who threatened them with a knife and repeatedly ignored orders to drop the knife.

Of course, the rioters have never heard of the 21-foot rule that is taught in police academies all over the country.  There is more to come out, but I'm betting that the cops did it right.

Governor Edwards Pitches A Hissy Fit

 It seems that the Legislature, in issuing their petition to end the public health emergency order, has caused the Governor to throw a fit, not unlike a three-year-old who gets his hand slapped.  The Governor has now filed suit, claiming, among other things, that the law is unconstitutional.  From the Governor's Facebook post.

.In addition to the fact that getting rid of the mitigation measures that have proven to slow the spread of COVID and save lives is reckless and dangerous, the law being used is blatantly unconstitutional. 

This is a classic separation-of-powers clash, and the governor is being petulant. His argument of the Legislature relying n an unconstitutional law is laughable, because it is the same law that he relied on to initiate the public health order in the first place.  For the record, let me print the law as found in the state website.

§768.  Termination of declaration of public health emergency

A.  The state of public health emergency shall continue until the governor finds that the threat of danger has passed or the disaster or emergency has been dealt with to the extent that the emergency conditions no longer exist and terminates the state of public health or emergency by executive order or proclamation, but no state of public health emergency may continue for longer than thirty days unless renewed by the governor.

B.  The legislature, in consultation with the public health authority, by a petition signed by a majority of the surviving members of either house, may terminate a state of public health emergency at any time.  This petition terminating the public health emergency may establish a period during which no other declaration of public health emergency may be issued.  Thereupon, the governor shall issue an executive order or proclamation ending the state of public health or emergency.

It's the same law.  If the governor is correct that it is unconstitutional, then the entire series of emergency orders he issued are also unconstitutional.

No man is above the law.  The governor should immediately comply with the orders of the legislature. 

UPDATE TO ADD:  The American Spectator has a good piece on the Louisiana Constitutional Crisis.  Go there and read the whole thing.

Tracking Zeta

I'd like to cancel my subscription to the Hurricane of the Month Club. 

It looks like this one is going to miss my acre.  The plots are starting to firm up, but it seems to he heading for the New Orleans/Baton Rouge corridor.

We'll know more in the next couple of days, but it's expected to make landfall on Wednesday.

Masking Illegal In Louisiana

 The Louisiana House o Representatives have ended the emergency health proclamation in Louisiana,  It's over.  By Law.  The proclamation is here:  It says that the public health emergency is order is over, and was over at the time it was delivered to the governor.  It also prohibits the governor from issuing another public health order until seven days after he proclaims the current health emergency over.

The Governor doesn't want to talk about it.  He's pissed, and being petulant.  But, there is currently no public health order in Louisiana.  And, there won't be until a week after the governor gets over his childish attitude and make a decision.

But, what all this means is that wearing a mask in public is now illegal again.  This is the public masking law.  R.S. 14:313.

It will be interesting to see how Louisiana reacts to their petulant governor.

Zeta?

 It looks like we have a new storm swirling inthe Fulf.  Tropical storm Zeta.  According to the National Hurricane Center.

Lovely, just friggin' lovely.

Louisiana House Nullifies Governor's Emergency Order

 The Louisiana Constitution gives the governor broad powers to declare an emergency, to respond to natural disasters.  In this case, Louisiana has been under one emergency order after another in response to the Covid crisis.  Many think that the Governor's order goes too far.  The legislature called themselves into session to address several issues, among those, to address the governor's covid restrictions.

The legislature wanted input to the process to address constituent concerns..  The Governor was unwilling to negotiate with the legislature on the Covid response, saying that he was unwilling to give up those powers necessary to address the emergency.

So, the House invoked a never before used clause in the state constitution.  That, basically, the legislature can petition the governor, requiring him to rescind all emergency orders.  This fail-safe was put into place in the unlikely event that a tyrannical governor imposed emergency powers to the detriment of the people.

Republicans are invoking a never-before-used process outlined in state law that allows a majority of House lawmakers to nullify the governor’s public health emergency declaration — and all restrictions tied to it — with a petition.

 House Speaker Clay Schexnayder said Edwards refused to address legislative concerns about his virus rules “in any substantive way.”

“The Legislature will make no apologies for simply standing up for the people we collectively represent,” Schexnayder, a Gonzales Republican, said in a statement. “The House has exhausted every available legislative remedy and has been left with no other option but to exercise its legislative right to terminate the governor’s emergency order.”

This was the Right Thing for the legislature to do.  However, it bring us a number of interesting questions.  I'm sure we'll see them addressed i the coming days. 

Fun Fact Friday

 In October 1965 in the comic strip Peanuts, we found Snoopy, the beagle who belonged to Charlie Brown challenging Manfred, Baron von Rictofen, to a duel over France.

Snooy, of course, was flying his Mark 1 Doghouse.

It never went well for Snoopy and he found himself in the same problem that many of the Red Baron's opponents found themselves in .

Curses!  Foiled agin.

Eventually, a singing group made a hit single about the beagle's duel.

It's Friday.  Y'all have a great weekend.  Belle and I will be traveling this weekend, and I'll catch up with y'all later.

Laphroiag 10

 Out running errands this afternoon, I stopped by a new liquor store, Southbound Spirits, who has recently opened in Pineville.  Pineville, my current home town, was dry as a bone during the decades following the Second World War.   Recently, the city was forced to put the matter to a vote, after a petition was launched, that forced the matter to be decided by a vote, and the citizenry voted to make Pineville wet.  Very wet.  The First Baptist Church was not amused.

So, we've had one established smoke shop add liquor and spirits to their inventory, and now Sourhbound Spirits.  I stopped by to check inventory.   Every liquor store has to carry certain items.  Certainly Jack Daniels and Jim Beam, and J&B Scotch, and Johnny Walker.  But, good scotch is hard to find in a tiny market, and I was quite intrigued to find that they had a fair collection on the wall.  Ardbeg and Glenfiddich, and Glenmorange were present, along with Irish whiskeys such as two presentations of Jameson, along with Keeling.

Talking with the proprietor, she mentioned that she wanted to fill the niche for Schotch and Irish drinkers, and we swapped ideas.  To show her that I was serious, I picked up a bottle of Laphroiag 10, the only one she had in the shop.  Laphroiag is a heavily peated Scotch, a representation of Islay whiskey, sold in the US at 43% ABV (86 proof)

This will be my first foray into heavily peatedd whiskey, and I'm intrigues to see what it is all about.  From what I've heard, it is sometimes an acquired taste, but for other it is ecstasy at first taste.

I know my way around a bourbon bottle, but I have very limited experience with Scotch, and that is mainly highland whiskeys.  It comes highly rated by the snobs, but we'll have to see for ourselves

They didn't have any Lagavulin, but we'll work on that.

Thursday Thoughts

 Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination passed another hurdle this morning when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to pass her to the Senate floor for the final vote.  Senate Democrats, in a childish snit, refused to participate.  Judge Barrett will get her vote early next week.

The Louisiana legislature continues to play silly games over the Covid response in the State of Louisiana.  T he Governor posted earlier today that the state has the lowest positivity rate of any in the South, but he maintains that we need to stay under his Emergency Order thumb.  By my count, we have now been under emergency orders for seven months.  

It's interesting to see how the maks mandate is working.  If you go to a box store, the mandate is in full throat, but if you go toa  smaller retail, they may, or may not, care about the mandate.  The churches have for all practical purposes, dropped the mask requirement.

Everyone I know has Covid-fatigue.  We're tired of this crap.  It looks like a never-ending saga, yet the Legislature here i Louisiana could end it tomorrow  Yet, they refuse to do so.

The Lyster Bag

 My introduction to Army field sanitation came in June, 973 at Fort Knox, KY.  We got water from a canvas bag that had been in use since 1910.  Let me introduce you to the Lyster Bag.

Purification of drinking water by the use of liquid chlorine was developed in 1910 by Major Carl Rogers Darnell, Professor of Chemistry at the Army Medical School. In the same time period, Major (later Col.) William J. L. Lyster (1869-1947) of the Army Medical Dept. used a solution of calcium hypochlorite in a linen bag to treat water. Lyster's method became the standard for U.S. ground forces in the field and in camps, implemented in the form of the Lyster Bag (also spelled Lister Bag).

 The bag had spigots around the base for filling canteens.  I saw my final Lyster bag in 1998, long after they had gone out of general use.  Our Battalion Sergeant Major had one, in which he had fitted a shower head to the bottom of the bag. The shower head had a pull-rope valve. We would hoist a convenient Private into a suitable tree to affix a block-and-tackle, then fill the bag with water,   Taking a shower in the field is a simple pleasure not to be overlooked.

Drinking Water

 Drinking water is important to troops in the field, and it's important to hurricane survivors who might not be able to access water during their recovery.

Grandson Quinton is working at a FEMA warehouse on Camp Beauregard.  He was put on orders ater Hurricane Laura and has been  there ever since, pushing supplies to the folks who need it.  Tarps MRE's and drinking water.  It's honest work, and they're paying him.

Today, he came home with a little carton of water, what they're pusing out to the hurricane relief effort.  It's a one-liner carton o water, bottled in Georgia.

That didn't surprise me much, as I'm sure that lots has change in the 20+ years since I retired.  What was interesting was the expiration date on top of the carton.  Best used by December, 2031.  That's right.  Over ten years in that carton.

In 1973 I ate C-rations that had been packaged in 1946.  Those pork patties had been dead longer than I had been alive.

When I was in the black-boot army, we used to get water our of something we called a water buffalo.  I would not walk past a water buffalo without filling my canteens.

That is an M149 Trailer, Water, 400 gallon, affectionately known my soldiers of my era as a water buffalo.  The Army has changed a bit over the years.

Tropical Storm Epsilon hangs

So, we have Tropical Storm Epsilon churning the fishes in the Atlantic and the weather-weenies are extatic.

If there is a named storm called Zeta, these guys will be like Jeffrey Toobin on a Zoom call.

Troy Aikman and Joe Buck On Hot Mic

Two announcers were recently caught talking about politics on a hot mic during an Air Force flyover during an NFL game.

What these two bozos don't realize is the amount of coordination and timing that is necessary to prep the planes, get airborne, and hit the target exactly on time.  It's a training mission, plain and simple.

The other thing these two bozos don't understand is that their lack of respect for the armed services and the country in general is precisely the reason that I don't watch the NFL any more.  For all I'm concerned, the entire NFL, from the owners  on down, can get on the unemployment line and earn an honest living.

Seen on Facebook.

 I guess I never thought about it like that.  According to the definition. Sporting purposes, you ask?  Oh, yeah, we could have great sport with that.

Robert Burns, Revisited

 The great Scots poet, Robert Burns said, and I paraphrase: "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

That's where I am today.  I had my Monday planned, and a friend called, and I am compelled to provide assistance.  It's not a big deal, but it needs attention.

In a few minutes, I'll get started getting busy to do a favor for a friend.

In the final analysis, that's what we are put on earth for.

We Voted

 Belle and I were out running errands yesterday afternoon, and took a few minutes to g vote.   Early voting for the presidential election started on Friday, and Belle and I took the opportunity to fulfill our civic duty.  There was a broad range of candidates on the ballot, from President to Justice of the Peace.

PawPaw may have committed a misdemeanor during the process.  It was not until I was in the voting booth that I recalled that I was carrying a handgun. The one down-side to the law is that there are places where carrying a handgun is prohibited.  And I carry so frequently that I sometimes forget that I am carrying.   Luckily, concealed means concealed, and there was no reason to break concealment during the short time I was in the polling place.

Belle and I will finish our coffee and shortly after daylight, move out too the kitchen in the shop to prepare the Sunday feast.  Today's menu includes crawfish etoufee.  We have already started a small portion of beef tips in gravy for those who might eschew shell fish.

Y'all have a blessed Sunday.

Update to add:  DaveS asked for the recipe for crawfish etoufee.  It's here in the archives.  Bon apetit!

PawPaw Gets Trolled

 A troll showed up on this post, where I was talking about the bureaucrats who want to take the joy out of Thanksgiving.  The comment is laughable, and I thought I'd share it here, then critique it.

Anonymous said...

Sincerenly hoping you and yours catch it, suffer tremendously for a while, then succumb to it. Shut the hell up about things you know nothing about.

Thanks Anonymous, for those kind wishes.  Like many of your ilk, wishing death on other people is very illuminating and instructive.  As far as "shut the hell up about things you know nothing about", we could all wish that Faucci had done the same thing.  He admits freely that at the beginning he knew little or nothing about the "novel corona virus".  It was novel, remember?

I've been blogging here since 2005 an get very few trolls.  I have to admit that I was both amused and interested when I saw your trifling comment.  I'd rather be free, thank you.  Free to live my life and experience joy each day.  Free from government intrusion, free from bureaucrats who think they have an edict to run my life.

I have done the research, and I can say with some authority that I know a way for your to never catch covid.  1) Find a clear plastic bag big enough to fit around your head.  2) place it over your head and duct-tape it around your neck.  3) be still for a couple of hours.  I guarantee you won't die from Covid.  But, you'll probably be counted as a Covid death.  I don't recommend this, you understand, because I want you to live a long and joyful life.

In the meantime, you are welcome to drop by and join us for the Thanksgiving feast.  I promise that we won't talk politics or epidemiology unless you bring it up, but I caution you that I normally have several medical professionals around our feat table.  Have your facts in order or you'll leave here intellectually crippled.  We don't suffer fools gladly.

The Midget Speaks

 Remember Tony Faucci, that fellow who runs the... I forget... what's the acronym?   He's the infectious disease expert who led us astray on lock downs.  Yeah, that guy.

Now, he says that Thanksgiving is a risk for spreading Covid.  Yeah, okay.

Given the fluid and dynamic nature of what’s going on right now in the spread and the uptick of infections, I think people should be very careful and prudent about social gatherings, particularly when members of the family might be at a risk because of their age or their underlying condition… You may have to bite the bullet and sacrifice that social gathering, unless you’re pretty certain that the people that you’re dealing with are not infected.

Doc, you have had nine months to solve this puzzle, and frankly, we're not a whole lot closer than we were when you began your prognosis.  You have managed, almost single-handedly to change America from a vibrant, freedom-loving beacon of hope into a scared, over-cautious nanny-state.

I am going to celebrate Thanksgiving.  I"m going to smoke a big ol' bird, probably cook a ham, and spend time with the trimmings.  I'll give thanks to my Lord, and enjoy the company of family and friends.

I would remind Doc Faucci about another great American tradition, one that has fallen out of favor among polite company.  Tar and feathers.  These used to be applied to overly talkative bureaucrats who didn't know when to sit down and shut up.  Perhaps it's time that we resurrect that tradition.

Early Voting Begins

 Early voting (in-person voting) begins in Louisiana today.  Belle ad I intend to vote later today or tomorrow, but this morning I fulfilled my duty and had a long talk with my mother abut the sample ballot and what my thoughts are on the many, varied candidates and proposals that we'll be deciding on.

My mom makes up her own mind, but she asks me anyway.  She is a reliable Republican, and takes a keen interest in her voting  I don't try to sway her vote, but I try to give her my best guess.  

I'm happy to do it, and I enjoy talking with my mom.  I'm glad that she values my opinion.

Lever Carbies

 Regular readers know that I spent some time several years ago experimenting with handgun cartridges in lever carbines, specifically, in the .357 magnum.

Junior and I did some work in this regard, and if you follow the links, yo can see it here, and some more here.  Suffice it to say that both Junior and I regard the .357 magnum as perfectly capable for deer-sized game out to about 100 yards, especially when fired through a lever carbine.  

As it turns out, the Lucky Gunner recently revisited the question, with better equipment than either Junior or I had, and came much to the same conclusion.  In both cases, the .357 and .44 magnum showed the same energy at 100 yards from a carbine as the same rounds showed at the muzzle when shot from a 4" revolver.

The video below is interesting, if only because it tells me what I've known of years, that a handgun cartridge fired from a lever gun is potent medicine indeed, with the proper ammunition.

It is good to see our early work validated.

Senate Judiciary Cmte to Vote to Subpoena Jack Dorsey

As I was watching C-Span this morning, I saw Senator Ted Cruz talking about a story that the New York Post broke yesterday.  Evidently, Twitter and Facebook are blocking the story those platforms.

The story seems to center around Biden family corruption.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  I wonder if Biden had put a "lid" on his campaign today?

Sen. John Kennedy questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett

Louisiana's very own John Kennedy has a fascinating conversation with Judge Amy Barrett.  They talk about, among other things, the 4th Amendment, federalism, and chinchillas.

I think that Judge Barrett is going to make an outstanding JUstice.

Boudin, and Comments

TechieDude says in comments: 

I'm overdue for an order. Thanks for reminding me. BTW, there is nothing on this earth like Boudin, Andoullie, or even the smoked sausage that comes from cajun country. Anything you see in stores here, or anywhere else, is a cheap imitation. They have "boudin" at Kroger, but it's disgusting white. Totally wrong color. Looks like weisswurst. Probably all rice.

Guillory's Specialty Meats sends boudin and other Cajun delicacies across the US.  My son, who lives in Roswell, NM, regularly orders boudin shipped to him.  Guillory's can also ship other meats.  Call them at  (318) 484-2999 and they'll tell you all about it. Ask them about their tasso and andouille.  They make the best tasso in the world.  Tasso is a heavily seasoned, smoked pork loin.  Belle keeps a couple of pounds around to put in her purple-hulled peas, or navy beans.  Guillory's also makes a chicken/jalapeno sausage that I like on a bun, or in a gumbo or jambalaya.

I have an order in for tomorrow.  Grandson has been jonesing for egg rolls, and Guillry puts a Cajun twist on egg rolls.  So, tomorrow at 4:00 pm I'm picking up a doesn't egg rolls.  Half with regular boudin, half with smoked jalapeno boudin.

I don't feel like cooking tonite, but all this talk about food has me hungry for a big jambalaya.

Boudin for Breakfast

  ​Boudin, [budɛ̃], or more properly, boudin blanc, is a mixture of beef, pork, spices and rice stuffed ina  sausage casing, cooked and served either as part of a meal, or as an hors d'oeuvre. Found in creole or Cajun cuisine, it is a staple in this area.  Normally, we can find it at gas stations or meat markets.

There are as many variations to this sausage as there are cooks that make it, and many aficionados locally can identify the origin of the boudin  by taste.  Locally, we use Guillory's Specialty Meats as our local butcher shop, and when I shop there, I'm apt to purchase a length of boudin along with the remainder of the order. Boudin is sold fully cooked and ready to eat, but I like to put mine under a broiler for five minutes on each side to crisp the casing and give it some "snap".

I bought some boudin yesterday and prepared it because grandson Quinton had asked for it.  This morning I found some leftover and ran it in the microwave to consume for breaksfast.

Leftover boudin.  It's what's for breakfast.

Sen. Kennedy questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett

I like Senator John Kennedy.  He's one of my two Senators from Louisiana, and he manages to use humor and common sense while getting into the meat of an argument.  Here, he questions Judge Barrett, drilling down on her judicial philosophy with style and grace.  It's nearly 30 minutes, but it i a fascinating example of two great minds holding a conversation.

Good stuff.  I think that Judge Barrett will make a wonderful Supreme Court Justice.

Listening to the Confrimation

 Listening to the confirmation of Judge Barrett, I am struck by the questioning of Mazie Hirono, (D-Hawaii).

T his woman is a complete and total idiot.  Her questions make no sense.

The people of Hawaii made a huger, regrettable mistake in electing this woman.

Count Packing?

 With the death of Justice Ginsberg and the inevitable (and totally legal) nomination of Judge Barrett. the left has gone crazy, (crazier?) claiming that the President is packing the Court with conservatives.  There are two problems with this argument. First of all, the Court is not packed with conservatives.  Right now, there are only two reliable conservatives on the Court.  Justice Stevens, and Justice Alito.    The two newer Associate Justices, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, are too new to know if the will opine conservatively.

We will learn, over time, if Gorsuch and Kavanaugh are conservatives.  The other Justice touted as conservative is the Chief Justie, John Roberts, who is a closet liberal.  He has screwed conservatives more times than I ever wanted to count.  He gave us Obamacare not once, but twice.  I hold him in great disdain, and as I've said here before, if I ever get the chance, I'll spit on his shoes.

We know who the liberal Justices are.  .  Kagan, Sotomayer, and Breyer.  They vote lock-step.  I also count Roberts in this crew.  So, right now, I see the Court as a wash, with four liberals and four conservatives.

Court packing is an old term that came during the term of FDR.  He famously threatened to put a bunch of new liberal justices on the Court, increasing the population to fifteen or more.

Jude Barrett, by every indication, is a fine choice to replace Justice Ginsberg.  I think that the timing is unfortunate, because she doesn't deserve the treatment to with she will be subjected.

But, the current media narrative that the Democrats and media are promoting that Trump is packing the Court is plainly and transparently ridiculous.

2nd Hand Lions Seed Salesmen

A favorite scene from one of my favorite feel-good movies, 2nd Hand Lion.

Re-watching this scene, I realized that they are wearing my favorite hat, the Diamond Jim.

If it's good enough for Robert Duvall, it's good enough for me.

Biden Loses His Mind

 The doddering old fool is spouting nonsense, but what else is new?  Now he is claiming that a sitting president should not appoint a Supreme Court Justice while he is in office.  And, he's claiming that President Trump's appointment of Judge Barrett is unconstitutional.

“The only court-packing is going on right now. It’s going on with the Republicans,” Biden told reporters Saturday in Delaware. “It’s not constitutional what they’re doing. We should be focused on what’s happening right now.”

You would think that after six terms as a sitting US Senator and two terns as Vice President, Mr. Biden would have a good working knowledge of the US Constitution.  You'd be wrong. 

And, the Senate has options.  They can choose to confirm Judge Barrett or they can choose to delay confirmation.  That is solely withing the constitutional powers of the Senate.  As it turns out, they intend to begin the confirmation process later today. 

Joe Biden is absolutely wrong on this issue.  President Trump can continue to exercise the powers of the presidency until at least Jan 20, 2021 at noon.  If the court-packing Democrats don't manage to setal the election, he will continue to exercise those powers for an additional four years.

BIDEN & HARRIS visit battleground state AZ - No One Shows

The local reporter seems a bit confused.  Biden and Harrish sowed up in Phoenix for a campaign event and no one showed up.

Can you imagine President Trump holding an event and no one showing up?

We still have to vote.  Early voting starts October 16th in Louisiana and you can bet I'll be there as soon as the polls open.

Pulled Pork

 Yesterday, I decided to cook a pork butt and we ate it today.  My recipe for pulled pork is just about as easy as it gets.

Late in the afternoon, drop a boston butt into a slow cooker.  Season with your favorite seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's), pour a beer over it, and set the slow cooker to low.  Ignore it all night.  When you get up the next morning, drain the grease, pull the bone, which should come out clean, and tear the meat with forks. Take out the big pieces of fat and discard. Use your favorite barbecue sauce, and put it all back in the slow cooker fill lunch. We prefer Sweet  Baby Ray's sauce, but use what suits you.  After putting the shredded meat in the sauce, I normally put it all back int he slow cooker until the guests arrive.

A five-pound butt will cook down and feed seven adults, but your mileage may vary.

today, we served it as a sandwich, with chips and Cole slaw.  After lunch, I made the ladies a dessert drink I call the Colorado Bulldog.  In a tulip glass, add ice, then one ounce of Irish Cream, one ounce of coffee liqueur, and one ounce of cola.  Fill with milk and stir.  Serve with a straw.

I've been playing with liqueur recipes.  I have Irish Cream nailed, but the coffee liqueur needs a little work.  It's ain't bad, but it ain't right, either.

Shooting Down a Lost Drone and why Dogs Tilt their Heads - Smarter Every...

This is a coll video about how your ears work to resolve direction and elevation.

It's also about problem solving.  Early in the video he has a problem and tells his son, "Go get a rifle."

This tells me several things., but mainly that he has taught his children basic gun safety, and he is confident enough that he knows his son also knows to get ammo, and the proper ammo for whichever rifle he selects.

It's interesting, and now I know why a dog cocks his head when I talk to him.

Well, That's Done

 Delta came across the house as a strong tropical storm, not the Cat 1 hurricane we were expecting.

This morning before daylight, I still have power and internet service.  The wind has quit howling, it's down to a gentle breeze, and the rain has devolved to a steady drizzle.  Every hurricane is different, and this one turned in to a rain event.  We probably got 12 inches of rain over the past 36 hours. 

For many people over the coming days, this will turn into a flood, and all the rain drains out of the hills, swells the creeks and bayous and as the backwater stacks up, the flooding begins. The Calcasieu, the Ouiska Chitto and the Vermillion won't crest for a couple of days, and the crest will flow toward the Gulf.

When Belle and I bought this place, one of he first things I checked was the elevation.  If this place floods, a whole lot of people will be treading water.

But, as I type this, Delta is moving off to the north, where over the next day or so, she'll turn into a rain event for the Tennessee valley.

Prep Contunues

 I learned in the Army that right up until contact, there is always something else you can do to improve your position.  Dig your hole a little deeper, find some overhead cover, check your frontal obstacles.  Keep working right up until the contact arrives to make your position as strong as possible.

Hurricane prep is the same way.  I've been walking around this morning seeing what I've forgotten or neglected.  

I was checking data ad found a map of the storms that have hit Louisiana this year.

TS Christobal came though in early June.

TS  Marco came ashore in August as a weakened tropical system.  Basically, it fizzled.

Hurricane Laura came ashore several days later causing major damage across western Louisiana.

TS Beta came across Louisiana as a weakened tropical storm. Honestly, I don't remember much about it  It was a rainstorm.  We're used to rain in Louisiana.

Now, it's Hurricane Delta.  We're watching it like a hawk watches a field mouse.

Here we go again.  There are two schools of thought on this storm.  One school is panicking, the other school is wary, but hopes it won't be so bad.  

Right now, I'm peckish.  It's time for some biscuits and gray.

Here Comes Delta

 Six weeks ago, on August 27th, we got hit by Hurricane Laura.  The eye-wall passed abut 50 miles west of my humble abode, but we experienced Category 1 conditions here.  I was lucky, but many of my friends and neighbors were not. Many people were out of electricity locally for more than a week.  The crews did a herculean job of restoring services, and I applauded their efforts.

It looks like we're in for round two.  The track of Hurricane Delta has firmed up.  It looks like it's coming ashore somewhere near Cameron, LA sometime tomorrow, probably as a Category 2 storm.  This time the track is a tiny bit to the east of Laura's track, which means that it's coming right up through here.

There will always be a tiny bobble or wobble, but as of this morning, the track is not good news for people who were hit hard six weeks ago.

That red dot with a 1 in it?  That's my buddy Mark's house.  Just north of there, under the track near Alexandria, that's my house. It will come across me either as a weakened Cat 1 or a strong tropical storm  The difference between the two is a nit-pick.

We'll be okay.  I have full faith that this is just another opportunity to show resilience and strength.  The one up-side is that much of our infrastructure has been rebuilt.  It should be stronger than it was six weeks ago. We'll see.

I don't wish anything bad on anyone, but I'm praying that it turns sooner rather than later.  The sooner it makes the turn, the more easterly the track will become, and they always wobble a bit before landfall.

God's will be done.

Tracking Delta

 This thing looks like it might run over us, again.  A second major storm for Louisiana in the space of several weeks.  Between the Covid, our dumb-ass governor, and the hurricane season, 2020 has been a total disaster since March.

Now, this thing is cranked up and my home sate is right in the bullseye.

Thankfully, there is some of my prep work from Laura that I never un-did.  That's a blessing, but there is still some prep that I need to do, so I'd best but on my shores and go do it.  If by some miracle, this thing passes us by, that would be a great thing, but at this point, it looks like Saturday will be spent in hunker-down mode.

I'd best get busy.

Watching Delta

 I've been watching Hurricane Delta all day, wondering what's going to happen.  We really won't know anything for another day or so, but this is a major hurricane, with winds now at about 140 mph.  The track is uncertain tonight as I type this, the track is uncertain, but all the models have it hitting Louisiana on Saturday.

And, I have an invitational shooting event planned for this weekend.  Is it going more east, or more west?  No one has a clue, but one thing I know is that I know is that southwest Louisiana really doesn't need another Cat 3 hurricane.  Some of the models have it taking the same track as Laura, and that would be a horrible scenario.

I don't wish anything had on anyone, but we really don't need  another major hurricane right now.

A New Hat

 Over a year ago, I bought a new hat, a Stetson Diamond Jim.  It's a hat that suits my style.  Straw for cool wearing in hot, humid Louisiana.  It has a pinch-front crease, which I like because I eschew the Cattleman's crease.

It's a little dressy, and I've worn it a lot.  Past Saturday, Belle and I were our-and-about, and she remarked that my hat was beginning to get a bit more character than she liked. I agreed that it was getting abit ratty, and that I should perhaps order a new one.

Shepler's is still open and I put one on order this morning.

I would love to own an El Presidente, a premium dress hat made of 100% beaver felt, but every example I've seen comes with that damnable cattleman's crease.  If they offered it in a pinch front, I'd order it in a minute.  I suspect that I am going to be forced to find a custom hat maker to get what I really want, but I'm not familiar with who I can trust.

Suggestions?

Monday Morning

 Monday morning, and the coffee is brewed.  Grandson Quinton has left for work, and Belle is puttering around getting ready to start her week.  I have a laundry-list of stuff to get done, but laundry isn't on the list.  We're hosting and invitational shoot this weekend, and we're in the final prep stages for that event.

President Trump has Covid.  It looks like he should get out of the hospital soon and continue his convalescence I haven't heard anything about the First Lady.  My prayers go with her.

First thing on the list today is to pay bills.  I'm still one of those old dinosaurs who writes out the checks,  and puts them in the mail.  My kids tell me that there are better ways to do that, simpler, ore convenient, but I still write checks.

Friday I was in the yard inspecting the water meter.  Down on my knees, and it wasn't until I stood up that I realized that I had put my right foot into a bed of fire ants.  Fire ants, for those of you unaware, are an invasive species that have plagued the South since the 1960s.  When disturbed, they attack with a vengeance, and their bites form little painful blisters  In the vast majority of cases, they are painful, uncomfortable and not life-threatening.  I'm okay, but they seemed to have attacked my right foot more than anywhere else.

Colion Noit Takes Down Congressman Cedric Richmon

Colion takes down our token Democrat in the Louisiana Congressional delegation. Cedric Richmond.

Richmond represents New Orleans, a city known for local corruption, bad governance and other disasters.  Currently, New Orleans is known for being a massive, festering infection pit of Covid.  In this interview, Richnond demonstrates that he is woefully ignorant of 2A issues, woefully ignorant of basic gun safety, and woefuly ignorant of the current law on gun topics.  Of course, he represents New Orleans.

Reflections on Freedom

 Since March of 2020, the state of Louisiana has experienced the greatest contraction of freedom since Reconstruction.  In  the opening months of 2020 we were woefully ignorant of something we now call Covid-19.  Since then, we have learned a lot about the China Virus, and we have allowed our governments to enact, often by executive fiat, restrictions on our personal freedom and economic freedom that would have been unthinkable at that time.  

Since then, we have accepted as common-place certain aspects of this pandemic that are absolutely anathema to a free people.  The idea that we should wear masks in public like common bandits.  The idea that we should not congregate in public, the idea that certain businesses are "essential" while others are not.  The idea that private venues should have occupancy limits far below their they were designed to accommodate.  

Somehow, the State Fire Marshal has become the primary enforcement arm of the pandemic response.  Whether by design, or mission-creep, that office is the one primarily responsible for the contraction of pubic freedom i Louisiana.

Our governor, John Bel Edwards bristles at the idea that the people have elected representatives  that have oversight and the ability to curb these excesses.  And, our legislature, to its enduring shame, has failed to constrain the power of the governor.  They are seeking the wrong solutions.  The question should not be how to respond to Covid-19, but how to restore freedom to Louisiana.  

At this stage, the proper response to governing a free people should be to educate, not dictate.  To these ends, I recommend the following:

• The Legislature should immediately end the public health emergence.
• The Legislature should immediately limit the office of the State Fire Marshall to regulating those things that are currently or were recently ablaze.

The Governor would be able to continue to educate the public, but not dictate a response. 

Louisiana has many problems right now.  A decking tax base, outflow migration, a  struggling education system, poor roads, and a crushing budget problem. Yet, the Governor seems to eno all of this.  It's time to open Louisiana  and restore freedom.  

 I've been playing around with liqueur recipes, and I think I've found an Irish Cream recipe that I like. I wanted something simple, with no exotic ingredients that could be found easily at almost any local grocers.  After searching through numerous YouTube recipes, I think I may have found one that suits me.

PawPaw's Irish Cream

Ingredients:

1 can (14 oz) Eagle brand condensed milk

14 oz half-and-half

1 T Hershey's chocolate syrup

1 T good Mexican vanilla extract

1 T good local honey

28 oz Jameson's Irish Whiskey

Prep:

In a bowl, mix it all together.  I started with the Eagle Brand and used that can to measure the half-and-half and the Jameson's.  Makes 58 oz, at 20% ABV.  It's a tiny bit boozier than store-bought (which is 17.5%) but you can adjust that if you'd like.

To Choose A President

 It's interesting the way we choose a President, and have done so or over 200 years.  The rules are plain to see in our Constitution.  A state chooses a set of electors who then elect a president.  We call this the Electoral College.  If the Electoral College cannot decide on a president; if the vote is tied, the responsibility to elect the president then devolves to the House of Representatives.

And here is Nancy Pelosi's quandary and worst nightmare.  Under both Article II, Section I, and the 12th Amendment, when the responsibility to elect a president falls on the House of Representatives, the vote falls not to individual electors, but to the state delegation as a whole.  Each state gets one vote.

If my count is correct, the Republicans hold 26 state delegations.  This, under the current scenario, Should the election be thrown into the House,  Nancy Pelosi may preside over an election that gives Donald Trump a second term.

The irony is delectable.