Selling Bibles

 We learned yesterday that Donald Trump has partnered with Lee Greenwood and he's selling bibles.  Reportedly, these bibles have, in addition to the scripture, the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

The left is, predictably, melting down.  Fox New covers some of it here. Claims of hypocrisy, mocking the scripture, it's all on plain display.

Let me tell you something about evangelical Christians.  Come closer.  We are all sinners.  Each and every one of us.  We are all sinners.  We fall short of the glory of God., We're okay with that, in ourselves and in each other.  We're not perfect and we don't pretend to be. We simply try to do better every day, and the guidebook, the road map for that journey is God's word.

Will I buy a Trump bible?  No, I have my bibles.  I consult them regularly.  And, during this HOly Weekend, I am grateful that He lived, and died, and rose again.

The left's meltdown is both predictable and somewhat sad.  The Lord works in mysterious ways and if someone buys a Trump bible out of sheer curiosity, or simply as a political collectors item, I pray that they read it and take solace from it.

Good Friday

This is the weekend when Christians celebrate the holies day in the Christian calendar.  The day when many prophies became facts and Jesus demonstrated his dominion over death.

As such, Belle and I are prepping for a weekend of celebration, with family. It's a joyous event.  Tomorrow we host her siblings, and on Sunday, my side of the family.  Of course, we're cleaning today, and even the dog got a bath.

Belle's choice of stove is electric, and we cook mainly on a glass top stove.  It has many features we like, and even though I prefer a gas stove, this is her choice. What impressed me when we unboxed the stove was that it came with a small bottle of cleaner, Bar Keepers Friend, as the recommended cleaner.

I was familiar with this stuff from my bar tending days.  At the turn of the century, I had a side gig as a weekend bar tender at a small honky-tonk that served the redneck and creole community in rural Natchitoches parish.  We used Bark Keepers Friend for cleaning in that joint.

Belle is telling me that we need to make a run to town, so I'd best sign off.  We hope that all of you have a blessed and joyful Easter.

Frivolous

 Watching a video about classic cars, I am reminded that we had to roll the windows down with a handle, and we had vent windows, which I truly miss, but my first car (a 1960 Ford Falcon) didn't have a radio.  I bought the car from my father, who acquired it from my grandfather, and the old man considered radios frivolous.

So, because I needed tunes to sustain my mellow, I went down to Radio Shack and purchased a 9v transistor radio.  something like this.

Hanging from the rear view mirror, tuned to the local station, that little radio gave me the tunes I needed to set the tone for the evening.  Plus, it served as a turn-and-bank indicator that I could use to coordinate my turns, so as not to distress the young lady sitting beside me on the bench seat.  I don't even remember if that car had seat belts.

Bad Idea

 Fox News is reporting that there is a "migrant influencer" who put up some videos telling migrants how to take over a home and claim squatters rights.

That might work in places like California, where squatters have rights. In other places, it is a horribly bad idea.

If I came home from a vacation and found anyone in my house, claiming squatters rights, it would throw me into a level of pissed-off rage that might start to subside after the Sheriff showed up to drag out the bodies. If I decided to call the Sheriff.  I know people with excavators and it's a whole lot less paperwork.

I'm just sayin'.

The Election

 We're not down to the wire yet, but it is getting closer.  As the Democrats try to prop up Joe Biden, they are getting increasingly desperate in their larfare against Donald Trump.  And, like many of us, the majority of people have made their decision.

The Democrats are hoping that something sticks, and that Trump is actually convicted of a crime sometime before the election.  I don't think that even a conviction will matter. I know it won't mater to me.  If Trumps name is on the ballot, I'll pull the lever for him.

I am reminded of a quote from a past Louisiana governor, who said that the only way he could lose the election was to be found in bed with a dead girl or a live boy.

I'll tell you plainly that I'm bot sure if I'll be voting for Trump or against Biden.  I'm not giddy about the idea of another Trump presidency, but I am absolutely horrified at the idea of a second Biden term.

Rescue operation underway after Baltimore's Key Bridge collapses

Just wow.

Prayer

 There is an old saying, "Be careful what you pray for, you might get it."

Many of us are watching the debacle with Donald Trump in New York, where the state Attorney General is trying to seize assets.  The deadline is today for Trump to post a huge half-billion dollar bond or risk seizure of his property.

But, it isn't as simple as all that.  Trump is a landlord.  He has responsibilities to his tenants, to keep the lights on, to keep the hallways swept, to pay the doorman at the front door. Running a commercial property is not as simple as it sounds.  The AG cannot simply turn off the lights and lock the doors.  If she seizes the property, she will have to run the business.

I'm no lawyer, but I an amazed that this case has gotten this far.  It's a commercial fraud case without a single victim.  No one lost money.  All of the parties to the contracts were happy with how the contracts played out.

The Disconnect

Some cool facts about "gun control". It is fun to watch the actors when their mind realizes what they are saying.

Eugene

 Let me tell you about Eugene, and police work in the early 1980s, Names have been changed to protect the ignorant.

When I started police work in 1980, there were no computers.  The sheriff's office still had a teletype machine. When a person was arrested, and fingerprints taken, we took those prints on cards with printers ink.

At the time, I was working as a Probation and Parole officer out of the little office in Natchitoches, LA.  One day, in court, a fellow stepped up for arraignment and pled straight up guilty to a Simple Burglary. That took the Court by surprise, so the judge read him his right, giving him the full Boykin reading, making sure that he understood what was happening. Our defendant was a black male in his mid 30s.  No one locally had ever heard of him.

Then the Judge asked him a question. "Have you ever been in trouble?"

"No, sir."

"Ever been to prison?"

"No, sir."

The judge gave him the standard sentence at that time for Simple Burglary.  Three years DOC, which was suspended and the was placed on three years supervised probation.

The judge pointed at me.  "See the probation officer."

I took Eugene to my office, got some basic information, took fingerprints and a mug shot and told him to go home, I'd be around to see him. I dropped the intake packet on a steno's desk and went about my duties.  Just another day as a Probation officer.  About a month later, I got a Criminal History from the state police.  We called it a "rap sheet", and Eugene was clean.  No criminal record in Louisiana.  So far, so good. I had seen Eugene a couple of times.  He wa living with a woman in Natchez, LA, and looking for work.

Natchez, LA is a little village in Natchitoches parish. About 700 souls, the main economic activity is agriculture and poverty. There ain't much happening in Natchez.  They do have a mayor and a part-time city marshal, one convenience store and a honky-tonk.  Plus a Section 8 project and numerous run down rental houses.

Several weeks later, I was going through my mail and found a rap sheet from the FBI.  It seems that Eugene had misled the Court.  He had been in prison in seven other states across the US, and had been convicted of no less than 12 felony offenses,  I wrote a memo to the Judge and attached a copy of Eugene's rap sheet. Before the week was out, the Judge had issued a warrant, citing clear misrepresentation during the sentencing phase, and ordering me to lock up Eugene pending re-sentencing.

The next morning, I was out looking for Eugene.  I went to his address and talked to a woman there who told me that Eugene had left about an hour or so, heading toward the store, where he hoped to catch a ride to look for work. I didn't mention the warrant.  It didn't seem pertinent. Driving out, I happened across the town marshal, a young black guy named Willie.  We exchanged pleasantries, Willie told me that he was looking for someone who had just stolen a 16 foot extension ladder from a house, Willie pointed down the road, and I could see men standing on a roof, patching the shingles.  Someone had stolen their ladder while they were on the roof.

I told Willie I'd keep my eyes peeled, and, by the way, I had a warrant for Eugene. I made a couple of loops through town, talking with residents, and decided to cross the one bridge in town, that connected Highway 1 and the Old River Road.  As I turned on to the bridge, I saw Eugene, about mid-span. He was looking to the south, and was holding a 16 foot extension ladder. How lucky can you get?

I called Willy on the radio, and told him that I was about to put the habeas cuffus on Eugene, and he could find the ladder on the bridge. I'm sure the guys on the roof appreciated it.

Later that month, the judge re-sentenced Eugene, giving him six years in prison, and cautioning him not to return to Natchitoches.

15 Days

 I am reminded that it has been four years since we started that "15 Days To Slow The Spared" bullshit..I was at a shoot in Oklahoma when we got the news that schools in Louisiana had been cancelled for the remainder of the year.

A generation of school kids had their education stunted and they might never recover.

States across the Union explored a totalitarian form of government, some lesser, some greater.  In Louisiana, our Dem governor went totally authoritarian, killing business and personal freedom. The medical profession went totally berserk, suppressing alternative ideas and debate, to the detriment not only of treatments, but also the trust of the public.  The old Hippocratic caution of "First, do no harm" was cast to the winds. The medical profession probably killed as many as the disease.  We'll never know.

Businesses shuttered, lives lost, education hammered, all from what seems to have been a lab mistake, if not actually an evil plan from the CCP.  I believe in my heart that Fauci knew that it came from a lab, and did everything in his power to make sure that the truth was suppressed.  Because he funded it with US tax dollars.

I could go on in this vein for hours.  It's the cautionary tale from this decade.  Which reminds me, I need to pick up some ivermectin.

Finished

 That commercial Mauser 98 that I bought several months ago is finished.  I didn't have to do much to it, and I was taking my time, but it is finished and it's time to pass it along.

It's been gone through and it ha a new Vortex scope.  From here, it's up to grandson to sight it in and get ready for its next evolution.  I believe that the rifle is sound, and the 6.5 Swede is absolutely sufficient for our local whitetail deer.  Now, it's up to him to make it his own.

Sidecutters

My dad called them sidecutter pliers. As opposed to diagonals or slip joint pliers. I own other pliers, but this is the set I grabbed this morning when I wanted to loosen an oil cap on a lawnmower. 

After the chores were, I was pondering how long these pliers have been in my life.  I own other pliers, of many stripes, for several different jobs, but this is the set I grab when I just need a simple tool for a simple job.

That journey took me down memory lane, when I was a young student, recently married to my departed wife.  We lived in a crappy little apartment in the student ghetto just outside of the college and she wanted me to change an electrical outlet. I went down to the old DeBlieux Hardware in Natchitoches, LA and purchased an outlet, a screwdriver, and that set of pliers.  All this in the spring of 1974.  It's now 2024, so I've had these pliers for 50 years.  The outlet may still be in that wall, both the screwdriver and wife are long gone, but I still have those pliers.

Bloodbath

 It appears that the corporate media has once again mischaracterized the comments that Donald Trump made over the weekend.  Speaking to a rally, he said that if Chana is allowed to build cars in Mexico and sell then in the US, it would be an economic bloodbath.

Of course the media immediately twisted his words to report something much more sinister.  Because that is what they do.

One wag is now telling folks that on voting day, there will be landslides in all 50 states.

We can only hope.

Back Hone

 We successfully navigated the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Ara (MSA).  Like most of the rest of the traveling South, we roared into Houston on Thursday and immediately upon getting into the downtown area, noticed that the traffic slowed to 2mph. Houston is the 5th largest metro area in the US, and the lack of planning shows.  Why anyone would think that it is a good idea to put an interstate highway through the downtown area of any town is a mystery.

Back in the day, Texas tried to make a loop around the Houston metro.  The old FM 1960 was a good attempt that was soon overtaken by commerce.  Then Texas DOT decided that adding lanes was a good idea, as opposed to going out of town and building a new road that would take the interstate traffic around the metro area. That decision invariably led to the situation we have today, where two interstates come together in the shadow of the skyscrapers and a third freeway takes you toward the rapidly growing bedroom communities toward the southwest. In fact, Houston traffic is a damnable nightmare.

They are making the same mistake between Winnie and Beaumont to the east. Adding lanes simply creates construction zones, and I know for a fact that they have been working on I-10 through Beaumont for at least the last five years. They cannot add lanes fast enough, They should abandon the attempt. Eternal construction zones are not the answer.

This is not so much to get "down" on Texas DOT. They seem to spend a lot of money on roads, and they do tend to mitigate their disasters. When you cross the Sabine River into Louisiana you can see the result of a series of unmitigated disasters Don't get me started on the bridge in Lake CHarles, or the I-10/I-12/Airline Highway debacle in downtown Baton Rouge.

Quit building interstates through netro areas.  Build then around metro areas.

Texas

 The club arrived i Texas last ight and came out swinging at the bracket match.   One of our shooters won the Master Gunfighter bracket.  Another of our shooters took first place i the Sheriff's bracket.  I'm proud of both of them, ad they will have a chace to excel again tomorrow when we start the main match.  The Friday matches are generally considered a warmpip for the main match, which begins tomorrow.

TicTok?

 The big news today is that the US House passed a bill requiring the Chinese overlords who run  TikTok to divest their US holdings or be banned in this country.   The bill is going nowhere in the Senate and Biden won't sign it, so that's that. The bill is going nowhere.

We all know that social media is a festering hell hole, but it has a few good uses.  I get most of my entertainment and news from YouTube.  I use Facebbook to keep up with the goings-on at the church and to keep track of my Fast Draw friends.

I have never used TikTok, nor Twitter (Now X).  But, I know that being an "influencer" is a thing now, and some of it provides a pretty good living to some folks.  One of these days we might decide that social media is more of a liability than an asset, and the market will decide.

Congress really needs to stay out of this argument.  There is that whole 1st Amendment thing, and I'll fall on the side of fee speech before I fall on the side of government regulation. Let Freedom Ring

Texas

 One of the major competitions in Cowboy Fast Draw each year is the Texas State Championship.  Texas State was the first completion that Belle and I ever attended, back in 2016.  It's time for Texas State again, and Belle and I are headed to Texas tomorrow.  This year it will be held at the George Ranch Historic Park in Richmond, TX, just outside of Houston.

The shoot will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday, drawing some of the best shooters in the country.  Our local club will be well represented, with seven (7) shooters in attendance.  

If you happen to be in the Houston area this weekend, come on out to the George Ranch and see what Cowboy Fast Draw is all about.

We Voted

 Louisiana's presidential primary is March 23d, but Belle and I will be otherwise engaged, so we decided to vote today. Louisiana has in-person early voting which we find very convenient, so when we were in town today running errands, we went by the poll.

Ten minutes, easy-peasy, we were done.

I was surprised how many folks were on the ballot for the Republican nomination.  There are lots of names that I had never heard of, and only one who stood a snowball's chance. We checked the lever for Trump and got out of there.

Red Beans and Rice is on the menu for today.  I put them on last night, and they are bubbling happily in the Crock pot.  In another hour I'll put on a pot of rice, while Belle makes a cornbread.

Chimichangas

 I'm sure that they are called other things in other places, but around here we call then chimichangas.  Basically, a fried burrito, they give you a little opportunity to put some Tex-Mex on your plate.  Belle knew that we had some shrimp in the freezer, and she wanted chimichangas, so I went to the store, bought some tortillas and queso blanco velveeta, and beat it back to the house.

I de-headed those shrimp, then peeled them and put them in a bowl with some taco seasoning.  Got my veggies going, onions and sweet peppers, along with some smoked paprika and some ground chipotle pepper.  While that was simmering, I grated a block of pepper jack cheese, then added the shrimp to the veggies to heat.

Then, I took a tortilla, added the shredded pepper jack and a healthy portion of shrimp and veggies.  Rolled it like a burrito and secured it with toothpicks.  Set aside, rinse, lather, repeat.  Till the totillas were gone.  Then, I heated oil in a Dutch oven.

While I was waiting for the oil to come up to temp, Belle took that velveeta, put some in a small bowl and ran it in the microwave to melt.  Then she added some diced jalapenos to give it a little bite.

When the oil got to 350, I gingerly dropped the chimichangas into the hot oil, just long enough for the tortilla to crisp and take on a nice golden brown.

If you want a video tutorial, Cowboy Kent gives all the tricks of the trade.

A buddy dropped by aboug lunch time, and he said they were pretty damned fine.

Ordering Optics

 Hunting season is by-and-large over for most of the US.  The fish are biting, and it seems that some stores are running sales on scopes.  It's a good time to buy.

This morning, between checking the various parts of the Sunday meal (pulled pork and potato salad), I got online and started looking for a deal on a scope.  The Clackamore Mauser needs glass.  Sure enough, I found a deal at MidwayUSA and ordered an optic. It will be here in about 10 days and we will get it mounted and set up for grandson in time for him to get comfortable with it before next deer season.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check on the pork, and put a couple of eggs on to boil for the potato salad.

TTAG, Please

 The Truth About Guns is running a story that Louisiana is becoming the 28th state to recognize permitless carry of firearms.  That is only partially true.

It is true that our legislature recently passed a bill negating the need for a permit to carry a concealed firearm.  It has been signed and will become effective on July 4, 2024.  Persons who wish to have a permit can still apply for one, but there is no legal requirement to have one in the state.

This is a win for the "constitutional carry" folks, but the truth is that Louisiana has never required a permit to carry a gun. We are one of a very few states where open carry has always been legal. Since the state joined the Union in 1803, open carry has been legal in Louisiana.  And, it has never really been a problem.

When I would read about other states where open carry was not legal, I would wonder how they hunted? It's hard to conceal a Browning A5, or a Remington 700.

Frying Eggs

 Taking a break after lunch (baby back ribs and potato salad, btw), I sat down at the computer to watch a few short videos and algorithm put me on some videos on frying eggs.

Really?  There are people mystified about how to fry and egg? I learned to fry eggs the minute after I learned to fry bacon.  Probably at age nine or ten. A hot pan, steel or cast iron, a little oil, and crack an egg into the hot oil. Leave it alone for a bit, it's fine.  When the egg is mostly done, turn it over, or not. Either way.

Seriously, do that many people have trouble cooking an egg?

The Wheel of Justice

 It's an old lawyers meme.  "The wheel of Justice grinds exceedingly show, but it grinds exceedingly fine."

Well, it seems that the Alec Baldwin moment that led to the death of producer Halyna Hutchins is still rumbling around the courts.  And, we learn today that the armorer has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in that case.

A jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed, 26, after three hours of deliberation, finding she was ultimately responsible for the live rounds on set, one of which killed Hutchins when it was fired from a gun held by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal. 

We talked about this several years ago, and my mind hasn't changed.  The question that remains is if the wheel of justice will grind on Mr. Baldwin himself?

The Wednesday After

 Super Tuesday was yesterday and it appears that former president Trump walked away with it. He doesn't have enough delegates yet to cinch the nomination, but he's close, and it appears his main rival, Nikki Haley, will suspend her campaign later today.

Biden won his primaries too, so it seems that we are going to have a rematch.  Biden is giving his SOTU address tomorrow and it will be interesting to see if he can string together enough cogent sentences to complete a major speech.

The Louisiana presidential primary is on March 23rd, with early voting beginning on March 9.  Belle and I will go vote one day next week.  I truly like early voting because our weekends are generally busy and our polling precinct is a hassle to get in to.  Early voting is very easy and we have done it that way for the past several elections.

Busy Tuesday

 The sun isn't up yet, and the laundry is on.  I have 200 rounds of revolver brass tumbling in the tumbler. I have an appointment at 9:00 to get new tires on the van. And, Belle reminds me that it is my turn to figure out what we're having for lunch.  Something quick and easy after I come back from the tire store.  And tasty, it has to be tasty.

I'm thinking salmon croquettes for lunch.  With french fries since the oil will be hot, and why not?

Then there is prep for this weekend's shoot.  The club is hosting a jackpot shoot on Saturday. We've invited other clubs, and we have to be prepared for the guests.  The ladies are plotting and planning for the lunch that we will serve.  I'm on the hook for two pork butts, cooked and pulled for Pulled Pork sandwiches. That is about as easy as it gets.

Stepping out on the back porch, I see that it is raining. Perfect. That's all I need.

I need to remember that we have a meeting at the church tonight.  Just another thing to think about on a rainy Tuesday.

9-0

 In a unanimous decision today, the US Supreme Court ruled that Colorado cannot exclude Donald Trump from their presidential ballot.  As reported by PJMedia:

"The judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court therefore cannot stand,” the justices wrote. "All nine Members of the Court agree with that result."

The full opinion can be found here. 

Perjury

 I was a cop for 37 years.  I spent a lot of time in a courtroom. I have testified in hundreds of felony cases and several civil cases.  I never lied to the court, in any regard.  Not the smallest white lie.  It was too important that my testimony be absolutely verifiable truth. Not only for the wider moral principle, but because if I was ever caught in a lie, it would damage every case prior that I had testified in. 

During my testimony, there were times when I had to admit that I bade a mistake; that I botched it. We are all human and we all make mistakes.  Yet, it is important to make those admissions to protect the veracity of prior testimony.  Because, if you are ever unveiled as a liar, everything that you testified to prior can be called into question.

I'm sure that you all have been following the debacle that is unfolding in Georgia, where the prosecutor Fani Willis may have perjured herself during a recent hearing about her relationship with her paramour. It may seem a little thing to worry about when an affair began, but the answer hinges on veracity.  If the Court rules that she lied about this, then every case that her office has prosecuted becomes rife for appeal.  She may be disqualified from this case, she may be disbarred.

The Ninth Commandment, handed down from God, says that we should not bear false witness.  It is a sin against God.  Fani Willis may soon learn the reason that truth is very important.