You gotta love a young lieutenant. Feeling their way through the military system, not really sure how to prceed. Catching criticism from every direction, a sense of humor helps.
There is a YouTube short that captures it completely. I can't get it to embed, but you can see it here. She is making some point about Velcro, when a voice comes from the audience. Hilarity ensues.
California's long-serving senator, Dianne Feinstein has passed away at age 90. It will be interesting to see who Newsome appoints to replace her.
I will probably not attend the funeral, but I will send a nice note in favor of it.
I was looking though the gun locker the other day, and noticed something I didn't immediately recognize. My old Winchester 94. It's been a while since I had the old gal out, probably 10 or 12 years, so I took it out and marveled at it for a bit. I'd like to tell you that it is some old pre-64, but it's not. My version is what Winchester called the Antique. Mine was made, as far as I can tell, in 1965 and it has stamped parts. It's in .30-30, a quite common caliber for this rifle.
I made a couple of changes to it. I cut down the stock an inch or so, and added a recoil pad. I took out the old spring-leaf rear sight and added a Williams FP rear sight. Mine still has the original bead front sight. I added a saddle right because a single-point sling makes a lot of sense on a light carbine.
It's light, handy, and puts a 170 grain bullet where I want it at 100 yards. Obsolete by today's standards, it still fills a niche. The ammo is not as common as it once was, but it is still available and it is easy to reload for. Every manual has a page on the .30-30 and a variety of powers will make it easy to find something that works.
The little rifle has been cleaned and oiled, and now she is back in the case. I'll have to get her out to the range before long and have a little fun with a grand little rifle.
Fox News is reporting that San Francisco is experiencing a surge of small boat pirates. These goblins load up in small boats and prey on larger, more luxurious vessels.
Piracy is an ancient occupation. It's been around for centuries, and there is generally one proven method of dealing with it. Kill or capture the bastards. Those captured should be hanged, publicly, either from a convenient yardarm or at the waters edge. I would suggest that whatever authority runs the port there to immediately construct a gallows.
So, my buddy Joe sends me an email this morning, talking about happiness. And, he sends a link to a video. I'll link it here. At about the 12:00 mark it talks about Louisiana and the happiness index of its people. It turns out, Louisiana is a very happy place, but not for the reasons you might suspect.
Louisiana has its problems. Poor roads, a bad tax structure, Laughable government, yet we are ahppy, especially in the rural and poor communities. Why? Family and friends.
Belle and I decided seven years ago that we wanted out shop to be a place where family and friends could gather. To share a meal, to connect, to laugh and commiserate. It has a full kitchen and a half bath. It's a gathering spot. We "cook big" on Sunday and anyone is invited. We generally have between 6 and 15 people eating lunch on Sunday. We never know who is going to show up, and they never know the menu. My one caveat: If you don't like what we're cooking, Popeye's is just down the road.
As I think back, some of my happiest times were when I was dead-broke, raising kids. Someone wold call. "Hey, we are cooking crawfish. Bring something to throw in the pot and come on." or "I need some help. We're killing a hog. Tell your wife to make a salad, and come on." Louisiana knows how to party on the cheap.
Happiness isn't about possessions. It's about family and friends and community. It takes a little effort, but it's a choice. If you are not happy, make some changes. Make a big stew and invite some friends. Join and local church and get involved. Volunteer to help out a the high school concession stand. Learn to laugh. You can't be unhappy when you are laughing.
Reading the paper this morning, I see that there is a new ABC/WaPo poll that shows Donald Trump up over Joe Biden by 10 points.
I am reminded of an elections that happened here back in the 1960s. A local sheriff had good support, but he was hated by the local judge and DA. So, during the election, they indicted him over some bullshit misdemeanor, and convicted him, and the judge sentenced him to serve six months in his local jail.
The sheriff held himself as a strong law-and-order type, so he checked in to his own jail. There was a little holding cell near the front door of the jail and the Sheriff sat there during the day. Anyone could visit him. He sat in the cell and talked to people. Little old ladies, pastors, and others came to see the Sheriff. He answered their questions, talked and prayed with them, and allowed reporters to interview him.
Come election day, he was re-elected handily. 20 points over his nearest rival. All while serving time in his own jail. The voters saw what was going on and set out to make it right.
Back to today's poll. The voters see what is going on, and we just might elect a felon to the office of the President. The pollsters are stunned, and the Washington elite are soiling their pants.
Several sources are reporting that the search warrant for Bob Menendez house was conducted in June, 2022.
You need probable cause to get a search warrant. I've gotten several. You get the basics of the crime, then decide what you are looking for, then get a judge to sign a warrant. Then you execute the warrant. The results of the warrant either prove or disprove the probable cause.
This is September 2023. The warrant was executed in June 2022. They found gold bars and cash. Why did they wait so long to get the indictment? Bob Menendez lives in New Jersey. Why is the indictment out of the southern district of New York? Whazzup with that? Was Garland slow-walking this like he slow-walked the Hunter investigation?
If any of this is provable, Menendez should have been in jail a year ago. As the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, how many more gold bars has he accumulated over the past year?
