Last Day

 It's the last day of 2022, and I'm not sorry to see it go.  This year has been a wild ride.

Belle always celebrates the New Year with a traditional fest.  Pork, cabbage, and black eyed peas.  Cornbread.  Because it falls this year on Sunday, we aren't sure who will show up, but we never know who will be here on Sunday.

Today, she is at a funeral in her hometown of Jena, LA.  An old classmate died.  I stayed back to get some stuff done, and while I was at it, I made a gumbo, because lunch will be here soon and that turkey we smoked for Christmas needed to be used up.  It seems like Christmas was a month ago.

The changing of the calendar is a time for reflection, and I remember wondering during the millennial celebration if I would live to see 2020.  But, I hope each of my readers has a happy, prosperous 2023.

That Sounds About RIght

So, this tow truck driver in Detroit goes to buy a junk car, but it's a set-up and he is approached by a thug with robbery on his mind.  Not so quick.  The tow driver was armed.

Detroit has its problems, but one less thug ain't much of a problem.  

Suspect in Custody

 Fox News is reporting that a suspect is in custody for the murder of four students in Moscow, Idaho.

MOSCOW, Idaho – Authorities have a suspect in custody in the Nov. 13 murders of four University of Idaho students, a law enforcement source told Fox News Digital.

That is good news. I know that this case was complex, requiring the resources of several agencies, and I'm glad that it is closer to resolution.  Perhaps as we learn more, the families will begin to find closure.

Russian Generals

 Evidently, 2022 has been tough on Russian generals.  They are resetting the actuarial tables. Insty notes the latest casualty, some guy who ran a tank production plant.

Wiki has a page that details the list of unfortunate Russian flag officers who met untimely or otherwise mysterious deaths this year.

One might wonder if Putin is practicing Arkancide.

Freedom Of Speech

The 1st Amendment of the US Constitution says:

 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

That seems rather straight-forward, but even in the most straight-forward of ideas, people get confused, so we have to have lawyers sort it out.  It seems that the Ninth Circuit is asking the Supremes to limit speech.

Ninth Circuit Judge Urges Supreme Court "Not to Give Any First Amendment Protection for Racist Hate Speech"

I know that no right is absolute.  There is an old canard that you can't shout FIRE in a crowded theater.  I've heard that all my life, and wondered if the theater was actually on fire?

First World Problems

 There is no doubt that the commercial airline industry is a complicated, highly automated industry that generally provides service to a wide range of customers all across the US.  It is also true that it is highly dependent on the weather, If one hub shuts down because of weather, the ripple effects are felt everywhere.  If several hubs shut down, it becomes a catastrophe. That is where we have been over the past week.

Not to fear though.  The Biden administration is on it.

  “Thousands of flights nationwide have been canceled around the holidays. Our Administration is working to ensure airlines are held accountable,” Biden tweeted, urging customers who were affected to visit the Department of Transportation’s website to see if they are entitled to compensation.

I would not, for the record that old Joe is currently sitting his scrawny ass in St. Croix.  He flies private on our dime. As does Pete Buttigieg, our current transportation secretary.  Pete has proven his deep understanding of incompetence several times.  He demonstrates it regularly, from the problems last year, through the supply chain problems, during the impending rail strikes, Pete embraces incompetence at every golden opportunity.

Commercial air travel is a complicated, highly automated industry  composed of thousands of different vendors providing hundreds of discrete products and services, all of which has to mesh perfectly for even one plane to get off the ground.  When it occasionally works as advertised, it is a testament to the unsung labors of thousands of people, from the pilots who fly to the guy who pumps out the latrines. When the weather conspires against us, people start calling in sick or unable to get to the airport, and schedules start slipping, the hole thing grinds to a halt in short order.

It's a first world problem.

Internal Calendar

 I have to keep reminding myself that it is Tuesday.  My internal calendar is all screwed up and for some reason, I think it is Monday again.

Christmas is over and we approach the New Year, which will be here pretty quickly.  I admit that I am approaching it with some trepidation.  It is filled with opportunity, and hope,   I'm fixing to bail off into some family duties that I'm not sure I want to be involved with, but which by necessity must be done.  A wise man (I think it was Sam Clements) once said that "There is not much education in the second kick from a mule", and that's where I think I may be headed.

God's will be done.

Yo-Yo Ma, Alison Krauss - The Wexford Carol (Video)

Christmas Morning

 As is our tradition, Christmas morning is quiet here on our little acre.  Belle and I hosted a big celebration yesterday so that family can spend Christmas day with their kids.  We cooked big, with turkey, ham, dressing sweet potatoes, pies, cakes, candy, etc.  The one thing we forgot was the green bean casserole, but no one asked about it.

By my count, we fed 22 yesterday.  My Mom showed up, and we were proud to see her.  She is 89 and still getting around.

This morning, Belle and I are reveling in our sloth.  I have some yeast rolls proofing and the turkey carcass is in the stock pot, prepping for a gumbo later this week.  Closer to moon, I will get out the leftover ham and dressing.  I'll pop the dressing into the oven, and pan-fry the ham to heat it.  Belle will make some sliders with the yeast rolls and ham.

I hope all of y'all had a very Merry Christmas.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 Waiting patiently for leftovers.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Canon (Official Music Video) [HD]

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Low Recoil Hunting Rounds

 Surfing a bit this morning over coffee, I found this article at the American Hunter on low recoil hunting rounds.  Of the list, I have some experience with three of these rounds.  I agree with the author in his evaluation of the rounds I know.

.30-30 Winchester.  Once considered a whiz-bang flat-shooting cartridge, in the late 1800s, it was soon eclipsed by other cartridges.  Even so, it continued to serve American hunters. Pushing a 170-grain bullet to 2200 fps, it was the cartridge against which all others were measured.  It was chambered in light lever rifles like the 94 Winchester and the Marlin 336.  I still have a couple of .30-30 carbines.  My youngest grandson hunts with one I gave to his Dad many decades ago.

7mm-08 Remington.  In 1980, Remington standardized a wildcat cartridge that was a favorite of the metallic silhouette game.  It was a 7mm bull3t stuffed into a necked-down .308 Wim case.  I owned one in the late 80s in a Remington Model 7.  Fantastically accurate, very manageable recoil, For some reason, that barrel like the 139 grain Core-Lokt bullet, so that is what I fed it.  I lost that rifle during a divorce and I still mourn for it.

,25-06 Remington.  Wildcatted by Adolph Neidner in the 1920s, it was not standardized until 1969.  It's a necked-down .30-06 and pushes a .25 caliber bullet.  My load pushes a 117-grain bullet to 3000 fps.  I have called the .25-06 the best cartridge in North America for medium game, and I still believe that.  Every rifle I have shot in this caliber is capable of MOA accuracy if the nut behind the trigger is does his part.  My family has four of these rifles, two Savages and two Ruger 77s.  It's a great cartridge and certainly deserves to be in this list.

6mm Creedmoor.  A relative newcomer, it is necked down from its larger brother, the 6.5 Creedmoor.  I have no experience with this cartridge, but from looking at the ballistic charts, I have no idea what this one would do that the .243 wouldn't do.  The answer might lie in barrel twist.  The Creedmoor uses a 1:7 twist while my old .243 has a 1:10. The Creedmoor will stabilize heaver bullets.  Out past 300 yards that may help, but I won't shoot at fur over 300 yards.

.350 Legend.  I don't know what Winchester thought it was doing when it blew out a .223 case and fit a 9mm bullet to it. It was designed for those states that don't allow bottleneck cartridges for hunting.  It shoots a light-for-caliber 9mm bullet at 2200 fps which seems rather anemic.  Until you look at the .30-30 Win.  It will fit in an AR platform, which has a certain appeal.  It would also make a dandy ultralight bolt action with a low power scope, for stalking the woods and brushy lanes around my home range.  I admit I want one but have so far resisted the urge.

What Manner of Bullshit

 What manner of bullshit is this?

The Army, Navy, and Coast Guard effectively de-emphasize gender in an integrated environment,” the academic report from the University of Pittsburgh says. “Instead of saying ‘ma’am’ or ‘sir,’ recruits in these Services refer to their drill instructors using their ranks or roles followed by their last names. Gendered identifiers prime recruits to think about or visually search for a drill instructor’s gender first, before their rank or role."

I admit that when I was a recruit, I addressed my drill instructors as "Drill Sergeant" and any officer as "Sir".  Female officers would be addressed as "Ma'am"" but like unicorns I didn't actually see a female officer until long after I myself was commissioned.

When I ran a training company, I still referred to my Drill Sergeants as such.  They had earned the right to wear the hat, and deserved that modicum of respect.  But, I would never allow a junior enlisted person to address me as any way but Sir. I seldom worried about that because my NCOs maintained a level of discipline that brooked no such nonsense.

Perhaps it is good that I am long since retired.  I doubt I could stand the level of bullshit that exists today in my Army.

Oh, Canada

I'm not sure how old this video is, but it popped up on my feed, so here we go.

It seems that our neighbor to the north, the dominion of Trudeau, has banned a number of firearms. Very dangerous firearms.  Including "one" called the Buttmaster.  I put that word in scare quotes because there is only one.

Tucker explains.

Brrr Cold

 The polar vortex made it down here in the early hours and the temps started dropping precipitously.

The rest of the county may be accustomed to these temps, but we in central Louisiana are not.  We will survive it, like we survive everything else.  Right now, it's Brrr Cold out there.

On Bond

 It's being reported everywhere that Scam Bankrupt Fried has been released from a US Court on bond.  $250 million bond.  His parents had to put up their home as security,   He has been ordered to live with his parents, surrender his passport, and obtain mental health treatment among other things.

That's fair, I guess.  He is ignorant innocent until proven guilty and is certainly eligible for bond. His momma can cook him vegan meals.

His butt-ugly girlfriend has turned states evidence.  His investors are mightily pissed.  He would do well to stay indoors, listen to his lawyers and maintain a low profile until this whole thing blows over.  And, I suspect it might well blow over.  He's too politically connected to have a single-tired justice system put him away for a long time.  This one will be interesting to watch, but he is out of jail for the time being.

Christmas Prep

 Family is coming in from out of state, and we're in our semi-final prep.  Is anyone truly ever ready?  

Juvat asks in comments:

I want to try that gumbo recipe. It's just the Mrs and I. How many servings does that make?

I'm not sure.  Eight or ten, depending on your serving.  But, the thing about gumbo is that it freezes well.  Many of us believe that it is better on the second day.  Justin Wilson used to recommend that  you let the whole gumbo cool, put it in the fridge and re-heat it on the second day.

At any rate, we're prepping for the holiday and blogging might be spotty at best.  I'll check in when I can.  Y'all have a Merry Christmas.

 

Lock Time- Visualized

Winter Solstice

 Today is the winter solstice.  No, it's not the shortest day of the year.  We still get 24 full hours.  But, due to the magic of physics and planetary orbital mechanics, we turn the corner, and the daylight hours start getting longer tomorrow. 

It's also my half-anniversary.  Belle and I were married on the summer solstice.  And, no, not out of any weird Druid predilection. She was a practicing RN and I was a street cop.  That year our work schedules combined so that we were both off on a particular Saturday.  Just another coincidence of life.

More particularly, today is the first day of Winter.  And, if you look at the weather map, you'll see that there is a big winter storm moving across the US to punctuate the idea of winter.

I feel like it's time to make a gumbo.  So, if you will excuse me...

That Time Again

It appears that I have made another trip around the sun.

Christmas Weather

 It looks like we are in for a deep chill on Christmas weekend.  Predicted temps will set records.

I mean, seriously, they are predicting 8F for Friday morning, which is causing everyone to be in panic mode.  And,it looks like it is going to hang on over the weekend.

Friday won't get above freezing at all, but at least we will be in double digits.  Saturday and Sunday will begin the thaw, but most folks in central Louisiana are simply not equipped for such cold.  In short, it's going to get interesting.

I hope the weather weenies are wrong, but hope is not a plan, so I'm going to start getting ready right now.

Rainy Days and Mondays

 Yeah, that's what it's doing today.  Cold, rainy, the weather is not fit for man nor beast.

Yet, ;we have things to do, to get ready for the festivities later this week.

Hopefully, we will get done early and ensconce ourselves in a warm dry place.

Cultural reference here.

Pietta in 9mmP?

 Pietta  is an Italian gum makes, making many replica firearms from the late 1800s.  We in Cowboy Fast Draw, and indeed the other Old West shooting sports, use a lot of Pietta firearms.  They are fairly historically accurate.

There is a rumor floating around that Pietta is going to start chambering some of their single action revolvers in 9mmP.  I don't see the new offerings in the catalog, but the rumor is fueled by this flyer.

We can argue that the 9mm is probably the most common centerfire handgun cartridge in the world. Everyone I know owns at least on 8mm.  Indeed the gun I carry on my hip every day is chambered in what Jeff Cooper called the "Europellet".  That does not diminish its popularity.

It seems a bit odd to see a single action revolver chambered in 9mm, but I hope they sell a lot of them.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 He loves his chew toys

Landmarks

 Every community has them.  SIlly little landmarks that remain for decades.

My Dad bought some land in Deville, LA during the late 80s.Going out to the property we noticed a local landmark near the property, a lawn chair hung in a tree, near the road.  Probably blown up there during a wind storm, it has remained for at least three decades.

I stopped this morning on the way out and took a photo.  For posterity.

I don't know how long it will continue to be there, but it was there an hour ago.

Does your community have any weird little landmarks?

Plundering Around

 Belle and I were plundering around in the backwoods of Deville, LA this morning.  Doing maintenance on some family property, checking systems, and getting it ready for winter.  At lunch, we decided to go to AWs Drive In, an old standby lunch spot in the woods of northeast Rapides Parish.

AW's has been around since forever.  I recall when I was in high school, think 1969, the place was an old standby then.  Just a little drive=in out in the country, serving fast food, drinks, and shakes.  These days it is under different management, AW himself being long retired, but the crew soldier on, feeding the county folks who need vittles.  They have a Facebook page.

Belle opted for the standard hamburger basket, while I went with the steak burger.

The new management seems to be carrying on just fine.  Belle said that her burger was tasty, and my steak sandwich filled an empty spot.  Our ticket came to a single $20 bill.

It's not that I'm advertising AWS as much as calling attention to the little out-of-the-way places that do yeoman's work every day feeding people.  These little joints are all over the country, and we need to support them.

Shocked, Shocked I Say

 I always thought it was an odd coincidence that the Covid pandemic erupted from the very city in which the Chinese study such things.  What are the odds?  Of course, we were called conspiracy theorists

Turs out, it seems that our suspicions, on purely common-sense grounds, may have some basis in fact.

 Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee are alleging in a newly released report that there are "indications" that COVID-19 could be tied to China’s biological weapons research program and "spilled over" to the general human population during an incident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. 

I mean, c'mon man.  China has a bioweapons program with a research lab in Wuhan.  What are the odds that a global pandemic started there, with a virus that they were studying in the building? 

I know that science entails risk, but a prudent approach might be to weigh the risks of a global pandemic against whatever benefit might result from knowing a little bit more about a virus that might wipe out every person on the planet.

The evidence is becoming more and more compelling that the Covid pandemic was not so much a tragedy as much as it was an horrific crime against humanity. The challenge now is to bring those people to justice.  Those in China may be out of reach, but there is also evidence that much of this research was funded by sources in the United States. Those people should answer for their crimes.

Nothing Much Wednesday

 It's been raining since last night at dark, a bug cold front moving through.  As a result, I haven't done much today.  I've got the lazies, a state of mind where you just don't want to do much.  I did clean my EDC piece, a SW Shield. That little gun goes everywhere I go, and when I'm busy it gets dragged through all sorts of things.  It's cleaned and oiled and back in the holster now, so I guess that's a good thing.

I may break our the sharpening stone and work on the kitchen knives.  It's just that sort of day.  

Priorities

 It's easy to tell where the priorities of the White Hose fall.

Yesterday there was a huge celebration over the signing of a bill that codifies the right to marry.  I thought we settled that discussion in 2015 with the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.  It was a huge party, with the Washington glitterati dancing on the lawn.  Good for them.

No sane person has been worried about same sex marriage since 2016.  I happen to believe that marriage is a contract between a man and woman, signed by God.  Of course, I still believe in outmoded concepts of what describes a man or a woman.

My pastor sometimes says that if God doesn't soon address the popular culture in the United States, then He owes an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah.  That always draws a chuckle from the congregation.   

But, I suppose the left, after having suffered a stunning defeat in the Dobbs decision. felt a need to codify same-sex marriage before some challenge to Obergefell arose.

Because, you know, same-sex marriage is more important than the border crisis, or inflation, or dealing with Putin, or fuel production, or unrestricted immigration, or any of the other issuers that grind on the middle class.  Or for that matter, rooting out corruption,

Goblin Down

 The headline tells the tale:

Las Vegas carjacker shot dead by victim who grabbed another robber’s gun

I might read the rest of the article, I might not. 

Arrested

Fox News is reporting that Sam Bankrupt Freid has been arrested in the Bahamas. I notice that the Bahamas seem to move faster on political lawbreakers than we do here in the US.  This fellow's crime is financial, but no one can deny that he has strong political connections, especially in the US.  It will be interesting to see if any US charges are filed, and how quickly he might be extradited.

The Age of the Lie

 David Solway, at PJMedia makes the case that we are living in the age of the institutional lie, where people in power tell blatant, bald face lies to further whatever personal of governmental objectives that are currently in fashion.

I have noticed this myself.  To wit:

Anthony Fauci denying the lab leak theory, when he himself was funding corona virus research at a lab in Wuhan, China.

Dickhead Mayorkas telling us that the border is secure when all evidence to the contrary is plainly evident.

The idea that the 2020 election was both fair and secure.

The social justice crew telling us that there are more than two genders.

That laws to ensure election integrity (see Georgia) are Jim Crow 2.0/ 

Fifty-one intelligence officials telling us that the Hunter Biden laptop is Russian disinformation.

I could go on, but why bother.   They are liars and theives, and that's why we need to take back the country.

RICO?

 Instapundit links to a Washington Post article detailing the upcoming move to silence witnesses as the House republicans begin to investigate the pay-to-play schemes of the Biden crime family.

"The Washington Post, which revealed the powwow, described it as Biden family ‘allies’ planning an offensive to blunt any investigation into the Bidens’ alleged multimillion-dollar influence-peddling schemes. . . . Morris’ plan could easily be taken as a declaration of all-out war on potential witnesses against Hunter Biden.”

Witness intimidation is still against the law.  It's not like we have a two-tiered system of justice in this country. 

Epic Musk

 Not only is Elon Musk the new owner of Twitter, but he is also most prodigious troll.

Today, he selected his pronouns.

I wonder what he has found in the files, and which bomb will detonate next

The Twitter Files

 So, Mr. Musk is releasing internal files that show how the company conducted themselves to shadow ban conservative thought.   That is not, in-an-of itself, a 1st Amendment violation. What may be a 1A violation is how the government, through its alphabet agencies, pressure Twitter to do so.

As interesting as these revelations are, we have to ask ourselves what it means?  Twitter itself was profoundly changed during the Musk takeover, but will there be any repercussions for the government agencies? I doubt it, unless Twitter starts naming names.  Not the agency involved, but the functionaries involved.  When we learn that Agent Schmedlap did something that violated the 1st Amendment, then we can prosecute Agent Schmedlap.

It's not enough to know that the FBI pressured Twitter to do certain things.  We need to know who in the FBI pressured Twitter to do those things.  When Agent Schmedlap's career is ruined and he is serving time in a federal prison for civil rights violations, the word will get out to the rest of the agency.

If that doesn't happen, then none of this matters.  They will have gotten away with it.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 He isn't dead, just mapping by the pool.

Bad Jokes

 Yeah, yeah, I know.  It's Saturday night and I've had a drink, but this headline reminds me of some very bad jokes.

Hearing Aids May Help You Avoid Dementia, Study Finds

That's a wrap!  I'm going to finish this cocktail and go to bed before I regret something I might blog. 

Top Gunn

 Today, the Cross Branded Peacemakers met for the final time this year.  It's our annual awards banquet, where we award our top club shooters for the year.

The Peacemakers have ten (10) monthly matches.  Placement in each match is awarded top gun points, and the folks who have the most points at the end of the year are recognized.

First, the Ladies

L-R 1st, Two Step Cookie
2nd - Blue Eyed Belle
3rd - Squirrel Girl

Next, the Men

L-R 1st, Bailey Boy
2nd - Big Bill
3rd - Vovo

And, Finally, our Fastest Time Award.  This is for the man and woman who records the fastest time during a club match during the competition season.   We don't care what you did in practice.  It has to be a recorded score from a monthly match.

Fastest Time
Men - Bullet Bob, 0.335
Ladies - Two Step Cookie, 0.681

That wraps the competition season for the Cross Branded Peacemakers.  We'll start over in January 2023.

Sinema Swaps

It seems that Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema is leaving the Democrats and will register as an Independent.  This leaves us with 49 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 3 independents.  The other independents, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Angus King of Maine, caucus with the Democrats to give them their majority.

We don't know yet where Sinema might caucus.

Played Again

 It seems that the Biden administration got played again today by Russia in the international prisoner swap.  We're trading a convicted international arms dealer for a WNBA player who doesn't like the US.  While, of course, a Marine veteran languishes in a Russian jail.

Just another example of the Biden crew not having their priorities in order.  

Community Standards

 I have a small YouTube channel.  Videos of the grandkids, and the dog, and Cowboy Fast Draw.  The videos are purely amateur, have poor production values, are solely for my personal amusement, and are not monetized. Most of what is on there is nonsense.

This morning over coffee, I clicked on YouTube to watch the news and was notified that I had a video removed for some violation of their Community Standards.  So, I played along and learned that it is a video I posted over five years ago, a short reel of grandson Zach shooting Cowboy Fast Draw in the back yard.

Zach was fully clothed, in the back yard, expertly manipulating a revolver.  From my review of the reel, he was 15 years old at the time.  Somehow, this violates the nebulous Community Standards of YouTube, and the video was removed.

I will take this as a badge of honor.

Californians Move to Texas FINALE | Episode 6: Return To California

Episode 6, the finale

Lest We Forget

 A date that will live in infamy.

There is a sailor being buried today who died during the attack.  His remains are finally identified and he is going home.

Common Attribute

 One of the most common attributes of the human condition is that we are all born, and we all die. The actuarial tables that the insurance companies keep are a tribute to that fact.  We are all going to die.  SOme earlier, some later, but the grave (or the urn) awaits us all.

However, if you are a Russian business critter in Putin's Russia, the actuarial tables are a bit skewed, and people are noticing.

Heck, Wikipedia is keeping a list.

I'm sure it's all just coincidence.

Recruiting Shortfall

 Our military is in a tough spot right now, and following 20 years of unrelenting deployments and active combat, I understand that.  But, the leadership isn't helping things.  While they are talking about kicking out members who haven't had the covid vaccine, it's no wonder that the services are short-handed.

This screen grab from Fox News.

Lloyd Austin needs to get his head our of his ass.

They Are Going To US AR-14s?

We were talking about his in the shop last week.  There were several AR variant rifles that didn't make it.  The AR-1, for example.  Several others that didn't see the light of day, when Eugene Stoner was designing rifles for Armalite, a division of Fairchild.

But, I see this morning a headline that some jazzbo is threatening to shoot up a Catholic center with "new AR14 rifl3s".  Yeah, here is the headline.

'Janes Revenge' Abortion Zealots Threaten to 'Shoot Up' Catholic Newman Center With 'New AR14 Rifles'

Mayhem aside, I'd like to know where they intend to buy new AR14 rifles, because I'd like to buy a couple.  The AR14 was going to be a semiauto hunting rifle chambered in .30-06 and other calibers. But, it never went into production, so I doubt that there are any new ones floating in the market.

Ian tells us all about it.

Rolling the Gold

 That's what we always called it.  Rolling the Gold to identify ourselves as police officers. There was nothing nefarious about it.  In the presence of an officer you did not know, you identified yourself to put him or her at ease.

Evidently, the rules have changed.  It seems that the Chief of Police of Tampa was recently pulled over by a Pinellas County Deputy for a minor infraction.  She identified herself as a police officer and was allowed to proceed. When I say minor, she didn't have a license tag on her golf cart.  That is minor.

I never liked giving traffic tickets, so when I rolled out the citation pad, the time for talk was over.  In my time as a road cop, I probably never wrote more that two dozen tickets.  I made a bunch of traffic stops, but I didn't write many tickets.  If everything seemed reasonable, I'd let the violator go.

But, in this case, it seems like something that broke the camel's back. This violation seems so minor that it should not even have elicited conversation at the station coffee pot.

Coincidence?

 It's no secret that the EU has warned Elon Musk about tieir content moderation policies.

It's also no secret that French President Macron was in New Orleans on Friday.

Yet, somehow, it is a surprise that Elon Musk had a "surprise tete-a-tete" with Macron in New Orleans.

A surprise meeting between French President Macron and Elon Musk happened Friday in New Orleans. On the agenda was a “clear and honest discussion” about Twitter. Just days ago, a top European Union official warned that Musk must do more to protect users from harmful content.

Macron may have been surprised, but I doubt that Musk was.  The man didn't get to be a billionaire by happenstance. There are coincidences in life, but I doubt this was one of them.

Happy Sunday.

 Couple of things.

Jonathan, the tortoise, is celebrating his 190th birthday.  That's cool.  190 years.  And, he doesn't look a day over 180.

Toyota may be bringing the Land Cruiser back to the US.  I bet it won't be an EV.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 

Two Things

 First, the Air Force get a new bomber, the B21 Raider.  It looks a lot like the B2, but form follows function, and what we know about stealth technology drives the design.

I wonder what the purpose of the grand unveiling was.  Certainly, Russia and China knew we had it. Did the unveiling support a larger strategic purpose?  Or was it just grandstanding to prop up the Biden administration?  One wonders.

Speaking of bombers and politics, it seems that Elon Musk is carpet-bombing the Democrats with his release of internal Twitter docs that show unholy alliance between the DNC, the FBI, and Twitter on suppression of free speech.  I have no problem with a private company deciding what to cover or not to cover, but when the government gets involved, the First Amendment comes into play.

Those 50 former and current intelligence officials should be metaphorically drawn and quartered, their carriers ended, their pensions forfeit.  Those un-named FBI officials, likewise.  The Constitution is too important to allow the government to violate it for political purposes.  Any government functionary who violates it on this basic level should be stripped of all protections.

Forensics

 I caught a glimpse of this at Instapundit, then followed the link to Tam's place.  Clicked over to the Daily Beast about a cold case that suddenly had gotten warm again.

An unspent .40-caliber round discovered between the bodies of two young girls found dead on an Indiana hiking trail in 2017 led investigators to their alleged killer half a decade later, according to a probable cause affidavit unsealed Tuesday.

 A forensic examination showed the still-live bullet had been “cycled through” a Sig Sauer P226 owned by Richard Matthew Allen, who was charged last month with murder in the deaths of Delphi teens Libby German and Abby Williams.

I read through the article, and it didn't tell me how the girls had died, but a single .40SW cartridge was found between the bodies. Examiners say that they can match to a gun owned by the suspect.  They can show that it was cycled through the action.  I'd love to see that report.

Lunch

 I had to run to Guillory's today for some tasso, and I looked in their cooler for ideas for lunch.   A pair of little stuffed pork chops caught my eye.  Stuffed with pepperjack cheese and wrapped in bacon.  I asked the butcher and he said about 45 minutes in a 350 oven.  That sounded reasonable.

I had a few potatoes I needed to use, so when I got home I peeled and sliced them, then made an easy au gratin sauce to pour over them.  I put them in the oven about fifteen minutes before the pork chops.

Belle thought it was pretty tasty, and my belly is full, which was the whole idea of the exercise.

Credit Mobiliere

 So, if you've been paying attention at all, you have heard of Sam Bankman-Fried, who had a crypto company and a side-hustle of hedge fund.  He was also the spawn of a couple of well-known Democrat donors, and he himself gave a lot of money to Democrats. This guy was the darling of the liberal elite, because he gave away a plot of money and espoused all the correct liberal memes.

Then one day it all came crashing down.  His company funds got tangled up in his side-hustle and his investors lost all their money.  Now, he's doing an apology tour, telling anyone who will listen that he never had the intent to defraud.  Never mind that his investors were defrauded, it was just an accident.

Kind of like the Alec Baldwin defense.

Sam is a well-connected Democrat.  Very well connected.  I would be extremely surprised if he ever sees the inside of a jail.  High profile Democrats don't go to jail.  Unlike us lesser mortals for whom the laws were written.

Not Much Thursday

 It's the first of December, and this month, like every other month, I took my don-driving buddy to do his banking, and his grocery shopping, and to run some errands.

Came home, made some lunch, and checked my email and the web. Nothing much happening today.  I am neither amused nor outraged.  If I were a younger man, I might be tempted to get into trouble, but whereas I have the knowledge, the wherewithal, and the time, I simply don't have the energy.

Maybe something interesting will happen tomorrow.

Plenty of Reasons

 Early in November, the nation was gripped by the drama coming out of Moscow, ID, where four students were killed in their beds.  The nation wants answers, and the parents want closure, and I understand all that.

Megan Fox looks at four reasons why the police have not publicly named a suspect or made an arrest.  

1) The crime scene is amazingly complex.  I have spent hours doing crime scene for a single murder in a fairly pristine crime scene.  I cannot imagine what a four-murder scene would be like to work.

2) Small town police departments don't often see this type of crime.  This isn't a criticism of the police in Moscow, but the simple fact is that they don't work this type of crime very often.  They know the theory, but putting it into practice takes experience.  They want to get it right, so they called in help, from the Idaho State Police and the FBI.  This is common practice.

3) Thanksgiving happened.  Moscow is a small, college town.  Many students left town after the murders, and the Thanksgiving break put many more out of town.  Investigation like this need basic, shoe-leather work.  Knocking on doors, taking statements, interviewing people.  When everyone leaves town, it gets more complex and slows everything down.

4) Don't let the killer know what the police know.  You don't want to publish a profile or release a name until you have the suspect in cuffs.  Save it for the arrest warrant. The last thing the investigators want now is more publicity.  There will be plenty of time for that later.

 “For the sake of the families who just lost four beloved children on the cusp of their adult lives, this is a developing story that should be handled with extreme care. Already, just nineteen days into the investigation, the parents are starting to question the forthrightness of the police and their emotions are raw going into the first holiday season without their children. It would be helpful for them if the true crime die-hards didn’t fan the flames of upset for clicks and views. I’ve spent the day going over the facts of this case and to me, it’s looking like very good police work in a very difficult situation.”

They are going to catch this guy.  It's just a matter of time.  I once worked a murder that took 22months between the deed and the arrest, then another year before the conviction.  We all have to be patient.

That's Brazen

 First, they steal a car, then use it to crash into a gun shop to steal guns.  That is fairly brazen.  From the local TV station.

ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) - Alexandria Police detectives are investigating the burglary of a gun shop on Jackson Street that happened early Tuesday morning after a vehicle crashed into the building.

Around 6:50 a.m., APD arrived at The Gun Shop on Jackson Street in reference to a vehicle crashing into the building. The vehicle was identified as a 2017 Infinity Q80 SUV, previously reported as stolen. The suspect drove the vehicle into the business and went inside, stealing several firearms from The Gun Shop.

The woman who owns that shop is an acquaintance, and I bet she is livid.  I know that she had crash posts in front of her shop, and I'm trying to figure out where they crashed the building.  I'll bet that she is about to spend more money on crash barriers.

Boudin

 Boudin is a south Louisiana thing, a meal in a casing.   Normally a rice mixture, the meat inside can be pork, or beef, or poultry.  Even seafood.  But, normally pork.

Belle sent me to thr grocers this morning.  She wants to make brisket poboys later today and I was sent to get ingredients.  On the way home I had "a craving flung on me", so I stopped at Guillory's Specialty Meats for a bit of boudin. Guillory makes a solid, workman-like boudin.  Not the best I've ever tasted, but certainly a nice boudin.  And, it's just on the way home.

I like to put my boudin on a cookie sheet, or a black iron skillet and run it under the broiler for a few minutes.  Turn it over and run it back under the heat.  This crisps the casing, and it will snap when you bite it.

This works as an appetizer.  Belle had a link or two, I had a link or two, and I suspect that the pup got a taste as well.   We'll make poboys later, but in the meantime, it's boudin as a late breakfast.

Lame Ducks

Joe knows that he doesn't have the votes in the lame duck session between bow and January to enact any sweeping legislation, but that is not keeping the left from fantasizing about it.

Rp Jim Clyburn (D-SC) has determined that legal gun purchases are racist.  More specifically, they conflate with slavery. It's a ridiculous argument coming from a ridiculous man. I don't know what the people of South Carolina were thinking when they elected this buffoon.

Tucker: It's hard to believe this is real

Speaker

 Who is going to be the House Speaker?  Kevin McCarthy is the House minority leader, but that doesn't mean that he has the 218 votes necessary to take the gavel.

From Instapunit:

“McCarthy launched his effort to be House speaker earlier this month in a closed-ballot vote by his conference. At the time, he only earned 188 of the 218 votes necessary to become speaker, with 31 votes going to his surprise challenger: House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ). Biggs is one of the dozens of Republicans who have refused to support McCarthy’s speakership bid. That opposition, combined with a less-than-stellar turnout by Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections, is jeopardizing McCarthy’s chances of securing the gavel.”

Other foks are noticing. 

While it is just like the Republican Party to make things ridiculous like this, I’m not sure we’re going to get there. It may be more than enough to simply scare Kevin McCarthy into not being a squish. For those who think this is pollyannaish, understand that McCarthy’s majority will be so slim that he can’t afford any hiccups. He will need all of the cooperation he can get.

McCarthy needs to make peace with the Freedom Caucus. 

Trending News

 It seems that Alyssa Milano is getting a ration of crap for the tweet she posted about  trading her Tesla for a Volkswagen.  Because she hated Musk.  Or something.

Everyone knows, or should know, the history of the Volkswagen.  It was the People's Car of the late 1930s German government.  You knw, the one that Hitler ran?

That aside, I owned two of them.  The first, I bought off the ad-hoc lot on the parking lot of the PX at Fort Knox.  Paid $500 for it.  Drove it for three years as a work car/hunting car, so my wife could use the family sedan.  When I left Fort Knox, I put it back on that same lot and got my $500 back.

Bought my second one when my elder son  needed a car.  Fixed it up and he drove it to school and work.

The VW Beetle was a great little car.  Nothing fancy, but a lot of fun to drive.

I don't have a problem with Milano learning her history, and I don't have a problem with the VW Beetle.  If I could find a nice example today for $500, I'd probably buy it.

Smoked Turkey Gumbo

 We have a smoked turkey every year for Thanksgiving, for two reasons.  First, because everyone expects it and second, because I want a gumbo.  On Friday, I took that turkey carcass and all the leftover bits and put it in a stock pot.  Boiled it for an hour or so to make stock, then took the bits out, peeled the meat from the bones and let the stock cool before I put everything away and cleaned up my mess.

This morning I put that turkey stock and the meaty bits back in that stock pot and put a low fire under it.  Then, I cut up some good smoked sausage, browned it in a skillet, then drained it and that sausage went into the gumbo pot.  I used the drippings from the sausage to make a roux,   Added it to the pot, then sauted some onions and poppers with a little garlic 

It's on a low fire now, bubbling happily.  About 11:00 I will put on a pot of rice.

Gumbo is an inflation fighter.  I already had the leftover turkey, with the onions, peppers and sausage, I figure I have about $10 in that pot, and I'll feed a dozen people at lunch.  That less than a buck a plate.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 

At The Liquor Store

 I dropped by the liquor store today to pick up some wine for Belle.  I found it and took it to the counter where I encountered a fresh-faced young man at the register.

Him: "Anything else?"

Me: "What you got?:

Him: "We have everything."

Me: "Let's see.  Ardbeg Dark Cove?"

Him: "No."

Me: "Bruichladdich Port Charlotte?"

Him: "No"

Me: "Well, I guess you don't have everything, right?"

To be fair, I didn't expect him to have those, but if he had, I would have bought a bottle.

Scaup

 My father called them Butterballs. other folks called them Blue Bills.  The lesser scaup is a duck species native to North America.  They are diving ducks.

The last time we got into a flight of scaup was a day much like today.  A front moving through, low clouds scudding at treetop height.  A misting rain.  Dad and I were in a blind in the Catahoula swamp and as daylight broke, the scaup started flying.  We knocked down our limits in about 15 minutes of shooting, collected the ducks and were walking out of the lake as the other hunt3rs were coming in.  This was pre-1980.

I tell you all this because not 15 minutes ago, I was drinking coffee on my back porch and a flight of scaup came over, looking at the lake that is in the center of our subdivision.  They made two passes, then departed to the northeast, probably headed for that very same lake that Dad and I hunted in all those years ago.

But, it is time for me to get busy with my day, and shooting ducks has no part in it.

This And That

 A Headline

Biden Education Official Says Democracy—And Everything Else—Is White Supremacy

My Thoughts

 WHen everything is "whte supremacy", nothing is "white supremacy".

Suspect Shot

 It seems that another upstanding citizen tried to harm a police officer and got shot for his trouble.  In this case, the suspect will survive to explain his actions before a court.  According to the local station:

Louisiana State Police has taken over the investigation. LSP investigators shared in their initial report that at around 12:30 p.m., APD received a complaint that a man was running into traffic on Rapides Avenue. When an officer got to the area, they came in contact with the man, identified as 34-year-old Jason Shackleford.

According to LSP, Shackleford then initiated a lengthy physical altercation with the officer. During the physical altercation, LSP shared that Shackleford “gained control of the officer’s baton and began choking the officer from behind with the baton.” That’s when the officer fired his gun and shot Shackleford.

Shackleford was transported to a local hospital for treatment. In its update, LSP shared that he was last listed in stable condition. The officer was also transported to a local hospital for treatment, but has since been released.

 Choke an officer, catch a bullet.  It sounds to me like a good shoot.

You might recall that earlier this week, we covered another incident where a suspect tried to disarm an officer and caught a bullet for his trouble. There seems to be a pattern here, and the street idiots need to take both these incidents as object lessons.

Happy Thanksgiving.

 While enjoying the moderate temps outside an hour ago, I heard squawking overhead and noticed a big flight of snow geese headed south.  Which prompted me to open an ap and look at the surface map.

It looks like we are in for some rain later today.  But that's okay, too.  The turkey and the ham are in the roaster, Belle is puttering around in the kitchen, and I have a good roof overhead.  Lots to be thankful for.  Family will show up in a couple of hours, and the feast will be amazing.

The big decision I have now is when I'm going to cook the traditional after-Thanksgiving gumbo.  This evening after the party subsides, I will break up the turkey carcass and drop it into a big stock pot.  That smoked turkey will lend an amazing flavor to the stock, and I'll use that as a base for a gumbo either on Friday or Saturday. I really enjoy the after-Thanksgiving gumbo.

Belle is banging pots in the kitchen, so I suppose I should go see what I can do to help.

Thanksgiving Prep

 The day before Thanksgiving, and we're prepping.  Belle has lots on her list, and by default, I have a list too.  I'm not sure how many people we are going to feed tomorrow, but 20 is a good working average. This is why I built the shop, so that we can entertain a crowd in comfort.

Whatever you may think about the traditions and history of Thanksgiving, it is a time to share with family and friends, to give thanks to our Creator and to enjoy a little time with people we don't see as often as we would like.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

What Is The Play

 Something interesting is playing out.

It seems that CBS News now believes that the Hunter Biden laptop is real.  And the evidence on it is damning.

More from Fox News here.

One week after the Republicans flipped the House, and gave notice that they would start investigations, the liberal news organizations now believe that the laptop they dismissed as fake two years ago, now shows the corruption of the Biden family.

Leslie Stahl owes Donald Trump a big, fat apology.  If the laptop is real, then both Hunter and The Big Guy face a host of influence peddling charges.

Gavin Newsome is ecstatic.

Officer Involved Shooting Rapides Parish

On 11-06-22 a deputy with the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office was involved in a shooting following a traffic stop.  The Sheriff of the parish, Mark Wood, asked the Louisiana State Police to conduct a critical incident investigation.  The investigation is not concluded, but the Louisiana State Police has released what they call a Critical Incident Community Briefing to keep the community informed on the status of the investigation.

The briefing is below. It shows the incident from the perspective of the cruiser's dash camera, the officers body camera, and the perspective from a citizen cell phone.

On November 20, 2022, Colonel Lamar Davis of the Louisiana State Police provided an update to the initial briefing.

This investigation ain't over yet.

Back In Service

 My old Model 38, the Smith and Wesson Airweight is back in service.  I found this gun in late 2011 or early 2012, a pawn shop find.  Originally a nickeled aluminum revolver, I bought it very used and it became a pocket gun.  I've always been enamored of J-frame pistols.  A blast from the past.

Here is the old girl as she came from the pawn shop, wearing Herrett grips.

A couple of years ago during routine service, we found some problems with the nickel finish.  It was starting to peel.  My Smith mechanic recommended that we refinish the frame, and I put it on the back burner to fighure out what I wanted to do.

After a couple of years, grandson Zach is now a cerracote gguy at a local AR manufactory.  He took the frame in and stripped it, then coated it with what he calls Armorers Black.  My Smith mechanic was in town today and he reassembled the gun.  I wanted to keep the cylinder and crane nickeledd, with a black frame, to make it a bi-color.

It's back together now, with a new set of cocobolo grips.  This revolver has a pinned barrel, so I know that its date of manufacture pre-dates 1982.  In 1982, SW dropped the pinned barrel as an unnecessary production step.  The revolver is at least 40 years old, and is ready for another 40 years of service.

Chicken Fried Steak

Family is in for Thanksgiving, and the grandkids are out of school, so we'll be cooking all week.

Belle decided today that she wanted to cook chicken fried steak.  Our recipe is a lot like Kent Rollins, with one simple change.  Instead of double-dipping his beading, ours is a three-step process.  First dredge the seasoned meat in flour, then the eg wash, then we dip them in crushed saltine crackers.

About an hour before we cook, I'll put saltine crackers in a gallon size zipper bag, then roll them with her roller until they are a powder.  

Then, the process is seasoned meat (salt, pepper, garlic powder), into the flour dredge, then into the egg wash, then into the crushed saltines.  It gives us a better crust.  Below, Kent Rollins lays it out for you.

With mashed potatoes, cream gravy, and baby lima beans.  

The Labor Gap

 Our governor, the execrable John Bel Edwards (hack, spit) is trumpeting what he believes to be a touchstone in his damnable administration.  It seems that Louisiana has achieved an unemployment rate of 3.7%.  What John Bel doesn't tell you is exactly how many folks in Louisiana have left the labor force.  It's huge.

What he is not trumpeting is that Louisiana's Labor Force Participation rate is currently at 58.5%.  That tells us that  41.5% of the labor force is not participating at all.  Generous rounding tells us that 60% of the population is being dragged down by the other 40%.

John Bel can crow about these numbers, but the simple fact is that over 40% of our labor force is not working, not looking for work, or is living in the labor force black market.  Combine that with our out-migration and you have a recipe for disaster.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 

Old Masters

 There is an interesting discussion on the Fast Draw Facebook page.  It seems that some of the newer shooters have discovered someone named Elmer Keith.  Heh!

I've been reading Elmer Keith since the 1960s.  His expertise on big-bore handguns was legendary.  The fact that he was able to simultaneously talk Remington and Smith and Wesson into building the .44 Magnum is one of the coolest tales ever told.

There is a great link here about how he pulled it off.

Ain't This Interesting?

 House Republicans are set to launch a deep-dive into Hunter Biden.

Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to look into Donald Trump.

And, I just saw that some of Jeffrey Epstein's contacts are going to be made public.

This shit is fixing to get real.

Get It Done, Chuck!

Chuck says that he wants a comprehensive immigration bill.

Well, who is stopping him?  He still has a Senate majority, and until Jan 3rd, San Fran Nan still has a House majority.  Who is stopping them?  The simple truth is that they do not want to fix the problem.  They only want to talk about it.

In Comments

 In reference to the Trench post yesterday, Steve asks in comments:

If you don't mind, would you share pictures? Steve

Sorry, Steve, I didn't think about taking photos during the dirt work.  But, it's rather straight-forward, and YouTube is awash in trech videos.   In the past I have used what we locally call a Ditch-Witch, which uses a gasoline engine to cut a trench 6" wide and maybe 3' deep.  This machine was smaller.  It cut a trench 3" wide and a max depth of 18".

I didn't go that deep.  I only cut to just below sod depth.  Maybe six inches max.  Then, I installed 1" PVC with the ethernet cable inside.  Then, used a sweeping curve to come out of the ground and take the cable into the shop.  I then used some strapping to secure the conduit to the building, cut a hole in the wall, and used some Great Stuff to seal the conduit into the wall.  Then, hooked the router t the ethernet cable, plugged it in, and let it go through its opening ceremony.  Voila!   The shop has internet.

Digging Trenches

 I went to Homey Depot this morning and rented a trencher.  Spent the morning digging a trench from the house to the shop. Then, burying the outdoor, burial rated ethernet cable in a PVC conduit.  I'm up to the shop now, and have made the curve our of the ground.  Awaiting second son, who will be here in an hour of so, and we'll finish the installation in just a few minutes after he arrives.  He does this sort of thing for a living, and I want his judgement on where to cut the hole in the wall.

This past Monday, I got a call from my ISP.  Earlier they had said that running internet to the shop was un-possible.  Now, they have decided that it can be done.  They have the work orders approved and want to schedule the installation.  I told them Never Mind.  I wanted to throw money at them, but they could not do it, so I took matters into my own hands.

Digging trenches is not a lot of fun, but it's done now, and we're almost there.

Trump Ammounces

 He's back, seeking the Republican nomination.

I admit I have mixed feelings about it.

Cold and Clammy

 We got up early this morning and went to the hospital where Belle had a follow--up.  Got done under two hours, and went to breakfast.  Back at home now, and the weather is miserable.  40-ish, misting rain, if I were in Kentucky, I'd predict snow.

So, we're doing what any rational person would do, making a big pot of deer chili.

Yeah, it has beans in it.  This ain't Texas chili, this is my chili.

Majority? Not Yet

 According to sources, NBC is projecting that the GOP has won the House majority, although by a very slim margin.

Officially, NBC News says the House majority is undecided at this point. However, the Daily Caller also projected that Republicans will flip the House, and have a 219-216 seat majority.

Meh!  At this point, I'll wait until the ballots are counted. 

Attempted Flight

 A local inmate decided to try his luck jumping off the 3rd floor parking garage after a court session.

At approximately 11:38 am, an inmate being transported from 9th Judicial District Court downtown back to Detention Center 3 attempted to escape by jumping off the third floor parking garage.

According to the initial reports, the inmate, who was handcuffed and shackled, broke away from deputies loading the transport van with inmates returning from court and ran to the corner of the garage.  As deputies approached the inmate giving him verbal commands to get on the ground,  the inmate jumped over the side of the parking garage, landing on the sidewalk at Johnston Street  at Foisy Street.

Deputies were on the street and witnessed the inmate landing on the sidewalk.  The deputies responded and quickly assessed his injuries and called for RPSO Medical Staff and Acadian Ambulance. 

The inmate was alert and conversing when Acadian Ambulance arrived and transported him to a local hospital.

Corrections Security Investigators say his incident is still under investigation.

We don't do Catch and Release in Rapides Parish.

Trailer Maintenance

 I own a little 5X10 trailer that I use for light loads, and it hasn't moved in several (five?) years. I pulled it out yesterday and noticed that the tires are dry-rotted.  So, this morning is trailer maintenance.  New tires, squirt a little grease in the wheel bearings, make sure the lights work.  I'll need the trailer later this week, so it's time to make sure it is road-worthy.

I've hosed everything down with penetrating oil, and giving it a half hour to seep in.

If you use a trailer every day, or once a week, you see things when they crop up.  If you let the trailer sit behind the shop for five years (and I think that is about right) the maintenance comes due all at once.

I could tell you horror stories about folks who let trailers sit for years, then expect them to work in the run up before a major event, like a hurricane.  It never ends well.  I'm trying to avoid a bad ending here.

None Of The Above

 I see that the Senate race in Nevada has been called with Democrat Cortez-Masteo defeating Republican Adam Laxalt by a slim margin.  Candidate None Of The Above won 1.2% of the vote.

The Senate race in Arizona has also been called, to the benefit of the Democrat.

At this point, it really doesn't matter what happens in Georgia.  The Democrats will control the Senate for the next two years.  Good Luck to Hershel Walker, but his race is now officially a side-show.

With 435 seats in the House, and 25 still not decided, I see no reason for Pelosi to start packing her office yet.  Long counts favor Democrats.  She may well retain her speaker post.

It is time for the Republicans to take a hard look at their leadership, their messaging, and their strategy for winning elections.  Ronna McDaniel, Mitch McConnel, and Kevin McCarthy should either step down of be driven from leadership.  They failed spectacularly.  It's time for the Republicans to take a deep breath and reassess everything.

Make no mistake.  I am not accusing anyone of cheating.  The Democrats are winning, and they are dragging the US down the tubes.  The Republicans need to come up with better leaders, better candidates, and a better strategy.  What they are doing now is not working.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 Harassing the cat is his second favorite occupation.

Whazzup Wit That?

 Newsmax is reporting that Democrat Mark Kelly (D-AZ) has prevailed in his race over Republican challenger Blake Masters for the US Senate

I didn't think that they were finished with the vote count in Arizona yet. The governors race is still undecided.

I'm just sayin'.

Learn to Count

 Like many of us, I want free, fair elections where every American gets to cast a ballot and have it counted. I want every American to have faith that the electoral process works, and that it accurately reflects the cumulative will of the voters.

The election was over on Tuesday, and this morning, Friday, we still don't know who won in three key races.  Arizona and Nevada have not finished counting the votes.  We may not know the final tally until next week.  This reflects utter failure on the part of the vote-counters in both Arizona and Nevada, and does not engender confidence in the process.  It should not take more than 24 hours to count the vote, and many places do it a whole lot faster.

When this debacle is over, and the votes are finally counted, the election officials in Arizona and Nevada need to scrap whatever process they are using, and go to Florida, or Texas, or even New York, and learn how tose sttes conduct and election.  Because, plainly, what they are doing now does not work.

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Happy Birthday, Jarheads

 On this day in 1775  the Continental Marines were established, recruiting in Tun's Tavern, Philadelphia. 

Georgia

 Finished running errands this morning, got some lunch and sat down to look at the political climate.

It appears that the Republicans will take the House by a slim majority.  We don't know how slim, but it looks like the GOP will win the house.

Politico tell sus that 97 Senate races are decided.  49 for the Red, and 48 for the Blue.  Georgia is in a runoff between Warnock and Walker.  Utah and Arizona are still counting.  If Arizona and Utah split, it boils down to Georgia.  If Utah and Arizona go blue, it boils down to Georgia.  If Utah and Arizona go red, it still boils down to Georgia.

I would not want to be a voter in Georgia for the next month.

Counting The Votes

 I fondly remember the 2000 presidential election.  I was dating a woman who supported Al Gore, while I supported George W Bush. We were both frustrated when the election hanged on the chads in Florida and it was Too Close To Call.  Florida has since cleaned up their act, and votes are counted quickly.  We knew who won in Florida within five hours of the polls closing.

But, this morning after the election, we are still awaiting totals from Arizona, Georgia, and a number of other states.  For example, the US House races still outstanding.

And, the US Senate

Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, or some in between, we need to do better.  People need to know who won, and dragging it out doesn't help to engender confidence in the process.  Arizona and Georgia really need to clean p their act, along with several other states.  We should know who won an election by daylight the next day.