257 Roberts: The Second Chance Cartridge

I'm putting this right here, for a variety of reasons.

Ask The Question

 I was watching an interview on Fox with Kristi Noem, the DHS Secretary.  She was telling Fox that DHS is making some changes in airport security, and one of those changes is that passengers will no longer be required to remove their shoes as part of the screening.

Fox asked her (and I'm paraphrasing here), but she said that she asked why removing the shoes is necessary, and evidently no one in authority had had asked that question.  The answer is that the tech has gotten better and that there is no real reason to have a passenger remove their shoes.

Luckily, I don't fly much.  I don't have to fly much.  I used to really enjoy flying pre-9/11, but the security theater after 9/11 made me more likely to schedule a colonoscopy than an airline flight.

The bigger point of the Noem interview is that no one had asked that question.  In my experience, the biggest function of leadership is to ask those questions.  "Why are we doing this thing?" If the answer you get is "We've always done it like that.", then you have a problem.

There may be very good reasons why an organization does certain things. Those reasons may be regulatory, or legal, or based in logic and reason.  But, if the worker bees cannot articulate good reasons, then it's time to look for alternatives.

At the very least, Kristi Noem is asking the right questions.

Random Thoughts

 So, I'm seeing where Trump, Bondi, Patel, et al, is saying that there is no Epstein list.  The guy was implicated in sex-trafficking, and his gal Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking, and there is no list?  No file of clients? If we don't know who the clients were, how can we be assured that sex-trafficking was happening?  I understand that the victims were young girls, but who were the Johns?  The administrations answers beg for clarification.

Now, I'm hearing a lot about that nutjob that the Democrat party nominated for mayor of New York.  Good for them.  Who cares?  I love nowhere near New York.  The one town I live near, I can't tell you who is mayor.  I just don't care.  Likewise for the mayor of any other burg in the nation. Mayoral politics are local politics, and I ain't local.  Or for that matter, the mayor of Buttcrack, NV or Armpit, MS.  Just don't care.

The calendar tells me it is Wednesday.  For some reason this week, my internal calendar is shifted.  It's out of sync.  Weird.  Thankfully, the tropics re quiet.  I've been checking the National Hurricane Center every day. Historically, August and September are the busy months.  I hope it is a quiet season.

Pancakes

 I love pancakes, both the kind you cook on a griddle and the kind you wear on your belt.

Remember that J-frame I got back on June.  Yeah, that one.  I needed a holster to carry it and I've always loved a good pancake holster.  I've worn kydex and the other synthetics, but what I wanted was a nice leather holster that was simple and comfortable.

So, I went over to Simply Rugged and bought a Sourdough pancake holster.  I had it border-stamped to give it a little class. They told me that it would be four weeks and it came in yesterday.

I put it on this morning, and honestly, it fits just like it is supposed to.  As a cop for 37 years I've worn a lot of holsters, either in uniform or plainclothes.  The very best just seem to blend with your attire.  You soon forget that you're wearing it.  It's just there, with no pinching or rubbing. It holds the gun tight to your body with little tension.  Wear a jacket or a large shirt and it just vanishes.

It's simply comfortable.

Pray for Texas

 I've seen a lot of things, but I've never seen anything like that.

I've lived through floods, but I've never seen one like that.

I admit that I am unfamiliar with that part of Texas, and totally ignorant of the hydrology in that area,, but from what I've seen, even long-term residents were surprised.  This thing was way outside the norms.

Pray for Texas.

Colion Chimes IN

Referencing the post below, and the idea that the NFA tax on suppressors and SBRs had been repealed, Colion Noir gives some thoughts on the development.

NFA Items

 With the passage of Frump's Big Beautiful Bill, some provisions are starting to come to light. It appears that the bill eliminated the excise tax on short-barreled rifles and on suppressors.  I'm sure that the provisions will flesh themselves out in the coming weeks, but I admit that I am intrigued.  The items will still have to be regulated, but that $200 tax is gone.

I am intrigued. I have long thought that a rimfire with a 12 inch barrel and a suppressor would be the cats meow for small game and varmints.  And, if what I'm hearing about the tax is true, then the price of such a firearm just dropped by $400.

I happen to own a Ruger 10/22 that would be a perfect candidate for such a project.  I admit freely that I am totally ignorant about the various vendors of suppressors.  I don't think that I am looking for total silence (I know that is a pipe-dream), but a marked decrease in decibels would be a treat.

What do you think?

A Little Math

 President Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill on Friday.  One of the things that bill dies is to reform Medicaid. Medicaid was originally designed for the po'folks, those who live below the poverty level.  So, lets do a little math.

Louisiana has approximately 4.6 million residents.  Approximately 18.9% are under the poverty line. By that metric alone, we should have about 869,000 on Medica.  With the Medicaid expansion under out last governor, we have about 1.5 million currently enrolled.   These are government figures, I didn't make them up, but it shows that Louisiana needs to do a better job getting people out of poverty.  And, it shows that there are a whole lot of people on Medicaid who aren't poverty stricken.

Other states have the same problem.  New Mexico, for example, has about 2.13 million residents, with about 375, 000 at the poverty line.   Their Medicaid enrollment is just over 985,000.  These figures are a quick Google, but probably pretty accurate.  New Mexico is a deep blue state, which might explain some things, but the Medicare enrollment is over twice the poverty rate.

July 4th

 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

Big,, Beautiful

 I am sick and tired of hearing about this Big Beautiful bill.  Either pass the sonofabitch or don't.  It's getting to the point where there is too much bullshit in it.

There should be a rule in Congress that any bill considered should be written in 12 font and be no more than two pages in length, written at a fifth-grade reading level.  If it makes sense, (like no tax on tips), everyone could get behind it. This rule would keep legislation focused and easily debated.

The budget may have to be a bit longer, but the vast majority of legislation could be short and sweet.  There is no reason for huge bills.