Wisconsin?

 State Supreme Court races are normally as interesting as planning commission meetings, but somehow, this race in Wisconsin is being hyped as the harbinger of doom for the Republic.

I don't get it. Democrats, after their ignominious defeat in November, are searching for their muse, their path from the wilderness, and Republicans are having a good time watching them try.  But, this race has garnered a bunch of attention and a whole lot of money. It seems that this race, like all races, will be based on turnout and whoever gets more voters to the poll will win. That is all political races.

I would think that there are far more important races, like the congressional special elections in Florida.  Those might flip the House to the Democrats, or make it harder to sustain a majority later.   Maybe I'm not looking at it in the right vein, but a SUpreme COurt seat in Wisconsin?  I really don't get it.

Gun SHopping

 I stopped by the local gun shop today to look thru his used gun rack. Specifically J-frame Smiths.  He had one used Model 640 at over MSRP, and one Model 38 Airweight for over $900.00.  I told him that I had seen a lot of things in my time, but I had never seen a $900.00 Airweight. I am  not going to pay over MSRP for a used gun, it ain't happening.

I've been jonesing for another J-frame.  I gave my last one away after a cerakoting and rebuild, and my daughter-in-law fell in love with it. It rides with her now. The model I'm looking at is the Model 60 3". In .357 Magnum, it might be quite a handful, but I like that longer barrel and the adjustable sights. And, I can get it for less than the local shop wanted for the used 640. I may have to order it closer to BAG day.

Well, How About That?

Reading the news this morning, I was on an article abut ICE detainees being housed in Louisiana, specifically  Mahmoud Khalil, that asshole who has been stirring up Columbia University.  So, I started Googling around, and found an article that tells us where the facility is located.

Turns out, it's Jena, the hometown of my lady, Belle. From the article.

Since last week, Khalil — a Syrian-born Palestinian and permanent U.S. resident— has been locked up in the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, a privately-run immigration lockup with an average daily detainee population of nearly 1,200.

So, I turned and asked Belle, who is sitting on the couch.  "Yeah,", says she. "That place is behind our old house on a little road that winds through the country and eventually comes out at Olla, LA.  There ain't noting out there but pine trees." 

I know generally where she is talking about and it is just about as remote as you can get and still be where sunshine can hit you. It may not be in the middle of nowhere, but you can see nowhere from there.

That is interesting.  When ICE wants to send someone to purgatory, it is my wife's hometown.

Do The Maintenance

 I took my EDC out today, took all the ammo out of the mag, and decided to give it a good cleaning and lube. I carry a SW Shield in 9mm, but haven't shot it in a year or so.  Carry lots, shoot seldom.

I was amazed at how bone-dry it was, and how much dust and grit was in the innards. A half-hour with rags and oil and I feel a lot better about it. It's ready now for another period of carrying. I really need to get out to the range and do a little.  But life and winter got in the way. I also have a .22 carbine I need to shoot.  We'll make plans for both of those to go to the range, one day next week.

Signal Timeline

 Much ado about the Signal timeline, with more details leaking out.  Goldberg is trying to do as much damage as he can before becoming entirely irrelevant.  It seems USAToday has a timeline of the chat.

According to USAToday, Pete Hegseth revealed at 11:44 am that an attack would be ongoing.

Two hours later, at 1:45 pm, the attack occurred.

Okay, we are just seeing a summary, so we don't know exactly what had been revealed.  If it was a deep, dark secret at 11:45, within two hours, the Houthis knew that they had been attacked.  It was no longer a secret.  Everyone knew.  Even if the Houthis were plugged in to the chat, I doubt they could have done much in two hours.    Talking about national security on Signal is probably a bad idea, and including a leftie journalist is a terrible idea.  I'm sure that the principals have learned a good lesson from this debacle.

I'm reminded of the greatest national secret ever kept.  When the Allies invaded Normandy on June 6, 1944.  Ike and his generals kept it a secret until the evening before, but when the paratroopers started landing, even the Nazis suspected that something was happening.  By daylight, they know what was happening. Military secrets don't last long when the bombers or missiles are overhead.

Signal

 It seems that there is this app called Signal.  From what I've learned, it is an encrypted app that lets users send reasonably secure messages over the interweb.  It seems that it is also approved for government work.

Recent news indicates that a group of Trump officials was using the app for a test chain, and somehow a rabid left wing reporter got included on the chain.  Of course, he waited till the most inopportune moment to reveal that he was party to the messaging, and the Democrats lost their minds.

When we learned years ago that Hillary was running a server out of a broom closet, the Republicans list their minds.  Fair enough.  What goes around comes around. It appears from testimony, this most recent brouhaha revealed no classified information, unlike Hillary's broom closet server.

Oh, the Democrats are outraged, as we might expect and this should serve as a learning opportunity for Hegseth, Gabbard, Radcliff and others. The interweb is a poor place to discuss government matters. To misquote Shakespeare, "Get Thee to a SCIF."

How this rebid lefty reporter got added to the chain is a bit of a mystery, and I'm sure they will sort it out.  But the happiest guy in Washington today is Chuckie Schumer, because the heat is off him for a little while. 

Prices

 I was forced to go the big Wal Mart today, something I am generally loathe to do.  While in there I went by the dairy case and checked egg prices.  Roughly $5.00 a dozen for the large white eggs.  If you want brown, organic, pasture fed eggs, be prepared to pay a bit more.  For myself, we are still eating eggs from a neighbor, so I passed on any eggs.

Fuel has come down a few cents.  Your standard 87 octane ethanol blend is $2.41.9 at the Murphy pump in the Wal Mart parking lot.  These prices are in central Louisiana this morning.

Not too bad, maybe with time, it will come down another 50 cents.  That would be nice.

Irony

 Sent by Termite.

And, they are planning it all on X, which is run by... Elon.  I'm getting my popcorn ready for March 29th.

Declaration

 A top Houthi official says that "we are at war with America".  I don't know if that constitutes a formal declaration, but if I were he, I'd be careful with my verbiage.

The Houthis have been messing with our boats, and a cursory study of history shows that the US is generally hostile when a foreign power touches our boats.  Ask Japan how that worked out for them.  Or, recall that the whole "shores of Tripoli" thing was about our boats.

Many say that Iran is pushing the Houthis to touch the boats.  I admit that I am torn about the Iranians'.  I had a dear friend, back in the 70s, who was an Iranian army officer.  He was in the Shah's army, back when the Shah ran the place.  He was a professional officer and a good friend.  He was funny as hell, had a good sense of humor, with a lovely wife and young daughter.  We had much in common.  Professional, kind, generous to a fault, I learned a lot from him.  He hated communists.

But, I digress.  If he is still alive, he did not fare well under the Mullahs.  The Houthis claim that they are at war with us, and I'm not sure what legal status that places upon us.  Not that we care.  Don't touch our boats.

ProActive

 I was listening to the news, and just heard that the Molotov-tossing, spray-painting leftie lunatics are planning a day of protest against Tesla on March 29th. Over 500 protests at dealerships all over the US.

It's time to get proactive.

If I owned a Tesla dealership, I might be hiring some Roof Koreans. It worked in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots. Armed men with shotguns on the roof of a building tends to calm down protests in a big way.  Let them protest peacefully, but the first guy that waves a Molotov gets a wad of double-ought in the chest. If you are in the protest near that guy, you may have to deal with flyers, and the fact that he just dropped the firebomb at your feet. That is a motivator for retreat,

I'm just saying.

Here We Go

 President Trump today signed an executive order that will dismantle the Department of Education.

President Carter cranked it up in 1979, and it has been a huge drag on the education center ever since. I beleive that it will take and act of Congress to fully dissolve it, but there are lots of things the administration can do to hasten that end.  I mean, if a department has no staff, is there any reason to keep it?

Dolphins

 This is a cool photo.  Dolphins near the SpaceX capsule in the Gulf after it touched down.

The chyron says that the dolphins are celebrating.  I doubt it. They are probably wondering, "Where the hell did this come from?"

Overreach

 I haven't been paying attention to the judiciary lately.  I'm retired and other folks are tasked with that function.  I'm no lawyer, but I can read English, and from my limited understanding, the Supreme Court is responsible for the supervision of the lesser federal courts. To my way of thinking, that puts John Roberts squarely in the supervisors role.  It seems that he has abdicated that role.

It seems that a number of unelected, lifetime, local district judges think that they can tell an elected President what to do. Some folks are agreeing.

We’ve had a federal judge order President Trump to rehire 30,000 federal employees he laid off. We’ve had more than one order him to spend money which violated an executive order he’d given.

And over the weekend, one of the silliest and most corrupt judges in America, James Boasberg of the federal district court in Washington, D.C., actually ordered the Trump administration to turn planes around that were in the process of deporting Tren de Aragua gang members to a prison in El Salvador.

I agree and understand that the federal judiciary has a role in upholding the rule of law.  We are a nation of laws.   But, courts have jurisdictions and federal district courts have limited jurisdiction. I fail to see how a lower court judge thinks that he can tell an elected, sitting President how to do his job.

After this latest kerfuffle, President Trump posted, in a moment of peeve, that this judge should be impeached.  Chief Justice Roberts is quoted as saying that impeaching a federal judge is "inappropriate".

Perhaps impeaching a federal judge is inappropriate, but it is also Constitutional.  It's written right there in the document. What might be appropriate is for Chief Justice Roberts to exercise his supervisory role and instruct his lower courts on something called judicial restraint. If John Roberts is concerned about the reputation of the Courts, perhaps he should start by reining in local judges who want to assume the role of President.

CBP Home App

 The Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) has launched a new app for migrants.  It's designed to make it easy for illegal immigrants to self-deport.  Linky Here.  President Trump says that if an illegal immigrant uses the app to go home, they may be able to later return to the United States legally.

I think it is a great idea, and I'm simply boosting the signal.

Alleged gang members deported from US arrive in El Salvador mega prison ...

So, this happened over the weekend.  Tom Holman and crew scooped up a bunch of illegal alien gang members and deported them to the mega-prison in El Salvador. The warden in that prison doesn't play.

They got haircuts and deloused, and a hard bunk.  I didn't notice a lot of swagger among the detainees. They know that life just got real hard. As an old prison hand, this video warms my heart.

Home Safe

 We made it home safe, getting to our acre sometime around 8:00 last eve. It was a great weekend, spending time with our shooting family. 

That may seem like hyperbole, but the Cowboy Fast Draw community is a close-knit bunch, focusing on safety and fun before competition. In most cases, the competition is stiff, but a shooter will generally call a rule violation on themselves, or if there is a question about fairness.  I've seen individual matches stop and reset if the shooter that is ahead feels like he or she may have gained an unfair advantage.

I had a problem rear its ugly head this weekend, something the CFDA call a "boot shot". That is when a shooter trips the trigger before the gun has cleared the holster. We shoot wax bullet ammo, and have deflectors on our holsters, so it generally causes no injury, but we still consider it a safety violation. It caused me to lose three matches this weekend. I need to re-work my draw so that I can stay off the trigger until the gun is level. We go fast, but shooting the floor is considered un-cool.  I need to work on that, and I'll start that proto

Catching up on the news, I see that the Midwest and Deep South suffered major tornado damage this weekend, with upwards of 40 souls lost. That is both a community an individual tragedy, and I'll pray for the hand of a loving God to sooth the hurting.

Texas State

 Belle and I are in Richmond, TX for the Texas State Championship of Cowboy Fast Draw.  We shot a minor match today, to warm up, but we'll be back tomorrow morning for the main match. We're shooting in a big arena at the historic George Ranch, southwest of Houston.

It's nice, but not as nice as the place where we will shoot Louisiana State in May.

After driving in Houston traffic, I feel like I have been ridden hard and put away wet.  We're at the hotel now, and I don't think I"ll sart another engine until tomorrow.

Update

Remember earlier this week, we talked about a truck my son has bought?  It turned out both of them got an old fixer-up.  I have no doubt these two will get these old trucks running.

Uncertainty

 When I was in graduate school, I took an economics class, Decision Making Under Uncertainty.

There is no certainty in the business world.  The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.  But, there are ways to minimize uncertainty  Basically, when things don't change.  Stability tends to minimize uncertainty.

Here comes Trump, with a mandate to shake thigs up  Tariffs, border policy, DOGE. Things are changing daily, sometimes hourly, and the market responds. The market hates uncertainty, which is why it so volatile. Those of us who played the long game recall that the DOW was below 1000 until 1972 and didn't crack 10,000 until Microsoft and Intel were listed in 1999.

All that is happening right now is short-term volatility based on uncertainty.  Play the long game and you will be fine.

Campus Jihad

 So, in the wake of anti-Semitic activities at Columbia University, it seems that ICE has arrested one protestor, a Syrian on a student visa, and is holding him in a facility in Louisiana.

That seems a bit harsh, moving him to Louisiana, but I'm okay with it. Other students are planning walk-outs in support.

I taught at the college level for a couple of years, Into to Law Enforcement, very basic stuff. I was never faced with protests, but I was asked once how I would deal with a student missing a test.

"That is simple", I replied. "If you miss a test, you get a zero for that test.  The only excuse I will accept is if I happen to look out the classroom window and watch you get run down by a garbage truck.  But, I will also require documentation from the emergency room that treats you."

If students want to protest, let them protest.  It is their right.  But, I would schedule a major exam on those days to help them choose.

Egg Prices

 At the grocers today.

It's an advertised sale price, but they are coming down.

Watching The News

 Watching the news, and I am flummoxed, confounded, dismayed at the Democrats lack of a plan.  All they have is vitriol and profanity.

Instead of bemoaning an ungovernable bureaucracy, they are on the side of the bureaucrat.

Ratner that being outraged at government waste, they are infuriated at the guy pointing out the waste.

Rather than promoting a strategy, they are trying to defend failed strategies.

I'm willing to let them rant and curse and cray.  It makes good TV, and we should never interrupt an opponent who is making a fool of himself.

Old Trucks

 Elder son was looking for a towing tuck. Something that he could hook to anything and bring it down the road. Not a daily driver, something that he could use when he needed capacity.  

He landed on a 1977 Ford F600.  It has a gasoline engine, the 330 CID carbureted industrial engine.  Manual transmission, dual-range rear end, flat bed, with a PTO winch.  The engine starts and the running gear will get it down the road. According to his research, it is rated at 8 tons.  It ain't fast, but it us heavy.

I haven't seen it yet, but it will be interesting to see how this project turns out. 

Spring Fling Jackpot Shoot

 Our club hosted its Second Annual Jackpot Shoot this weekend.  22 shooters from Louisiana and Texas were able to make it.  We broke the entry fees down and divided them between the winners. Nothing like going home with a little jingle in your pocket.

IT was a great time and I'm glad that everyone had a good time.

Y'all don't forget to "spring forward" tomorrow.

Bonded

 Bonded whiskey, or bottled-in-bond is a category of whiskey with certain legal criteria.  A bonded whiskey must be made by the same master distiller in the same distilling season, must be barreled for four years in a bonded warehouse, and must be bottled at 100 proof.  The word BONDED on a whiskey bottle means something.

The Buffalo Trace distillery has a line of economy whiskey called Benchmark.  lower-shelf stuff. And yes, it comes in a Bonded version  I picked a bottle up today. $19.99 for a 750 ml bottle.

We'll crack this one open for Happy Hour this afternoon.  I'll bet that it will make a good mixer with Coke.

Friday Prepping

 We are hosing an invitational shoot tomorrow, and prepping for our guests today.  Sweeping, strightening, hauling off trash, PawPaw is fully engaged.  Catching the news during breaks. Belle is at the grocers, getting some pork butts for me to cook later.  Pulled pork is the main attraction for the menu tomorrow, and those things take time.  Not much bother, but they do take time.

I have to run an errand later on, mainly to pick up lunch.  During the Lenten season, the Knights of Columbus do a fish fry ever Friday and we're going to pick up a couple of plates.

I hear Belle in the driveway, so I'd best look like I am busy.

Anniversary

 Most historians agree that by the time you are reading this (about 7:30 am), the fighting was over, and the cleanup had begun.  Some non-combatants were found in the chapel. Some historians believe that a small group of Texians were captured alive and were later killed on orders of Santa Anna.

Most historians agree that Santa Anna interviewed Susanna Dickenson before allowing her to leave San Antonio.

The fight for Texas independence would culminate in a swampy field outside what is now Houston, TX on April 21, 1836.

Sour Grapes

 Congressional Democrats really showed their asses last night.  During Donald Trump's address to the joint session, they couldn't stand up and applaud for cancer patients,  or the Riley family.  Rep Al Green was ejected from the floor for causing a disruption. The entire display was simply sullen and juvenile. They hate the President, so no one else should be happy, either.  It's quite disingenuous.

I didn't watch the speech, only catching highlights on the morning news, but it seems as if the Dems are a sullen lot. If I have time later this week, I'll write my Dem congress-critter a note, telling him to remove his head from his ass and start representing the people 

In the meantime I have life to live, so I'd best get on with it.

Milking Goats

 Having an afternoon cocktail, and surfing YouTube, I was watching Mike Rowe milk goats, and I was reminded of the time I milked goats for a few months.  Well, one goat, at least.

When the kids were small, we had a hobby farm, and with the cows, and later the horses, we had a few goats, mainly to control the brush.  Goats are hell on brush, especially the kind of brush that has stickers. For example, a goat will eat a rose bush right down to the roots.  Ask me how I know that.

Anyway, during what I call our Earth Mother stage, we had a few goats.  One of them, a sweet little doe with floppy ears.  A nubian.  Someone told us that she would make a great milk goat.  So, we bred her for milk.  About that same time, an infant was born down the bayou who did not tolerate cows milk.   We arranged a swap with the parents so that we would trade one days supply of goat milk for one days supply of cows milk.  They were milking a nice Jersey cow.  This worked out for a while, and we were overloaded with milk.  The infant thrived, and we did too.

If you have never made biscuits with milk straight off the doe, you don't know what you are missing.  Goat milk is naturally homogenized, that is, the bitter fat does not separate from the milk.  Anytime you make biscuits with 20% butterfat, the biscuits are magical. So are the pancakes, and any other bread you might like to bake.

Mardi Gras

 It's Tuesday, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras.  Across Louisiana, couriers are roaming the countryside, begging for chickens, rice and veggies to make a big gumbo. In New Orleans, the festivities are ramping up to a fever pitch that will culminate at midnight, when the parties will be over and the Lenten season will begin.

Heavy weather across much of Louisiana night dampen the parades, but it certainly will not dampen the festivities.

Belle and I will stay, for the most part, on our little acre today.  We will leave the reveling for the younger set. Even though we don't participate, we are with them in spirit.

SSA

 I was in town this morning and head to swing by the Social Security office to take care of a little business.  What a clusterfuck.  Evidently, you need an appointment to get anything resembling prompt service.  The office had eighteen (18) numbered windows for customer service, and there were no more than a dozen of us waiting.  They were using exactly two (2) of those windows for customer service.  After an hour-and-a-half, I simply left.  Had other things to do.

I'm busy the rest of the week, but I'll call them when things calm down and make an appointment.

I ought to DOGE their asses.