A Crowd

Estimating crowd size is difficult. There are several ways to estimate crowd size, but they're all inexact at best. Every rookie cop learns this fact when he's writing reports. You roll up on the scene of a bar fight and you see people in the parking lot. How big was the lot, how big was the crowd? You can go back and measure the parking lot later, but how big was the crowd of people? Were there a dozen? Fifty? A hundred? Lots of time, it's guess-timation.

There will be disagreement about how big the crowd was that showed up for the Washington D.C. Tea Party today, but some are estimating two million. Two million. That's a lot of folks to be hanging around the Capitol.

Via Glenn Reynolds, we post a picture taken by Mary Katherine Ham from the Newseum balcony in DC.



Are there two million people in that photo? I don't know.

Here's another from RightsPundit.



The Associated Press, ever in the tank for Obama, is saying that Tens of Thousands of people protested today. Yeah, looking at those pictures, I'd say that there was ten thousand people there.

Hopefully, Congress is listening. And watching out the windows.

**UPDATE** Blackfive is estimating a crowd of over a million.

Fox News is saying tens of thousands, but neither AP nor Fox is showing pictures of the crowds. Their shots are close-in shots of protest signs, not panoramic shots like I've posted above.

MSNBC calls the crowd "thousands" with a penchant for understatement that makes me wonder how they sustain any credibility at all. They aren't a news agency any more; they're a political propaganda organ, much like Pravda was during the Cold War.

CBS News (Commie Broadcasting Service) simply re-prints the AP blurb. Tens of Thousands.

CNN doesn't even bother to estimate the size of the crowd. Since Desert Storm, they've been useless anyway. I can't tell you the last time I watched CNN.

It's a big party, that's for damned sure.

Long Day

I went to work this morning at 7:00 a.m. and I got off tonight at 10:30 p.m.

I'm not saying that my job is particularly demanding, but there are a lot of hours in it.

I've got some leftover stew in the microwave and in just a few minutes I'm going to get in the shower. It's been a long day.

Calendar

My brother lives in Townshend, VT. Every year the community puts together a calendar, filled with birthdays and town meetings and anniversaries and they sell the darned thing as a fund-raiser.

Years ago, we submitted all the family information and each year we buy a calendar.

I'm sure that there are folks in Townshend who wonder who are all those folks that they don't recognize.



Still, it's very cool getting a calendar from a little town, far, far away. I got mine in the mail today and I'm very pleased with the small connection with family in the frozen north.

Oh, I almost forgot. Happy Birthday, Dianne.

Eight years

Eight years ago, at just about this time of the afternoon, I was standing in a jail dormitory, conducting a count. I was a shift Lieutenant at the parish jail, relieving my good friend and co-worker, so he could go home and get some sleep. It was a Monday night and he'd be there to relieve me at about 4:30 the next morning. The night wasn't particularly memorable. Counts, feeding, rounds, in-processing, the standard night shift. I don't believe that I released anyone that night.

I wasn't married, although I had met the woman who would later become my wife. My parents were on a well-deserved vacation to see the American West. This was supposed to be the last night of their trip. They'd get on a plane the next morning.

After the shift was over, I went home, kicked off my boots and took a shower. Fell into bed about six a.m. At about 8:00 a.m. the phone rang. A good friend was telling me to turn on the TV. Yeah, right. I hung up the phone and rolled over. Five minutes later the phone rang again. "Get your sorry butt out of bed and turn on the television. We're under attack!" I got up, turned on the TV and made coffee.

My parents did get on the plane that morning, but they were ordered off. All the air traffic in the United States had been canceled.

I was sitting on the couch, groggily wondering what was going on, watching the first tower burn, when I saw what was later identified as UA Flight 175 crash into the second tower. I sat straight up on the couch. I knew that we were at war.

My little house on Bayou Derbonne, in southern Natchitoches Parish was under the airways of a half-dozen airports. On a normal morning it was common to go outside and see a dozen contrails crossing the sky. Between commentaries, I'd step outside and look at the sky. Nothing. It had been years since I had seen the sky totally devoid of air traffic.

Sometime that morning, I got a call from my sister. My parents were stranded in Las Vegas. She was distraught, until I reminded her that Vegas has hotels and restaurants and if you're going to be stranded anywhere, Vegas isn't a bad choice. They got home a week later.

In the interim, I've changed jobs twice, moved twice, and gotten married. My life is a lot better than the folks who were caught in those towers that fateful morning.

I remember. I'm grateful.

It's been eight years.

Hot Water

Milady likes hot water when she showers and here lately the water heater has been tripping a breaker infrequently. It's an electric model as we live in an all-electric house. Tonight was the third night in as many weeks that the breaker was tripped.

Milady loves her hot water. PawPaw is fond of hot water showers also. I looked online and it looks like I can hie myself down to Lowes or Homey Depot and pick up a water heater for about $400.00.

I detest Home Depot, so that's not really an issue. I'll call around tomorrow and see if I can find a better price. On Saturday, I'll replace the water heater.

Hell.

At least it didn't wait until the opening morning of deer season before it went out.

Remember when?

David sent me some Chevy posters and I have to admit, they bring back memories.



Yeah, I remember carbs. The Holley 4-barrel was a big aftermarket item, along with Crane cams.



Yeah, I remember her.

Before and Now

Back about the turn of the century, Junior and I started a little e-zine called The Frugal Outdoorsman. We took file photos and posted them so that people would know what we look like.

A person emailed me some time ago and I realized that I don't look like that anymore. I'm the default picture taker around here, so I'm often behind the lens.

Here's the before picture.



Here's the now picture.



Damn! Ten years is rough on a fellow, isn't it?

I guess it's about time to change the file photos. Junior! You can steal it from here, or I can email you the photo. Your choice.

Labor Day

Labor Day, a day set aside to commemorate American Labor. I remember Labor Day picnics from my youth. Dad was a union member, a member of the CWA, Communications Workers of America. The union held a big picnic every Labor Day and we'd attend. Lots of folks would attend. There would be barbeque and dirty rice and salads and beans and big thick slices of garlic bread. It was a great party.

Those were the salad days for American unions. Not so much these days. Still, school is out of session today, so I'm off. And, it's a tradition to fire up the barbeque pit on Labor Day, so in a couple of hours I'll light the fire. Milady and I started plans to have a couple of friends over and cook some chickens. Those plans swelled, as they're apt to do, and I figure we'll have about 20 souls to feed this afternoon. I've got a pork butt in the slow cooker and I'll put several chickens and some sausage on the pit. With beans and 'taters and salad it should be quite festive.

Sunday Morning Dawg

We've got a fence around our back yard and the dog has free run. He likes to watch traffic along the road by laying on his belly and putting his chin on the ground.



He's in the center of the photo. Here's another, taken from much closer.



He's laying out there now.

Pawn Shop Crawling

My middle sister came in from Mandeville to spend the weekend at Momma's. She wanted to go pawn-shopping, so we went to my favorite shop to look around. There were six of us and the ladies gravitated to the silver. They picked up a few nice pieces of silver plate and one piece of sterling.

I had been in the same pawn shop this morning and was looking around the gun counter. I found a 12 gauge Remington 870 Express, magnum receiver, vent rib shotgun for $150.00 out the door. The counter guy threw in a soft gun case. It needs a good cleaning and oiling, but is in overall excellent condition. I feel like I hit the jackpot.

Tax-Free Weekend

Louisiana is in the midst of something called the Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Sales Tax Holiday, and I have a rifle on order. I ordered it two weeks ago and told the counterguy that I intended to pick it up this weekend.

I called him late last week and he told me that the rifle was backordered but that they expected it this week. I called him yesterday and he said that it wasn't in yet, but that hope springs eternal and he's hoping it's on the truck this morning. I'll check back with him later in the day.

Hunting is huge in Louisiana, a major economic engine:

Hunting is big business in Louisiana, with more than 250,000 estimated hunters spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on the sport. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that more than $200 million in hunting equipment was purchased in Louisiana in 2006. The FBI conducted gun checks on roughly 250,000 firearms purchased in Louisiana in 2008.

I know that I spend a fair chunk of my discretionary income on guns, ammo, hunting licenses. It's my hobby, although when I was younger my main hobby was hunting and now it's evolved more toward shooting. I still like hunting and go to the woods regularly, but nowadays the hunting aspect is more (for me) of a way to connect with my grandkids.

The hunting sports need new blood and there is a perspective that hunting is expensive. While everything costs money, I've always roughly equated hunting with golf. When you factor in the cost of clubs, green fees, cart rental, shoes and related accessories, the cost of the two games are roughly equivalent.

Still, there are ways to get into hunting that are fairly cost-effective. A .22 rifle costs about $100.00, a box of ammo costs about $10.00. If you don't want the rifle, a smallbore shotgun can be had off the used gun rack for $150.00. The basic hunting license costs $15.00. Public land is generally free to use and there is lots of it in Louisiana, but if you chose to use wildlife management areas, the basic ticket is another $15.00. (Don't get me started on requiring a permit to use public land... grrrr!).

You don't need camo. You don't need a 4-wheeler, you don't need lots of things that the stores want to sell you. Take a bargain shotgun, a pocket full of shells, and walk along a convenient creek-bank. Squirrel hunting is still a bargain.

Take a kid hunting this year. You'll have as much fun as he (or she) does.

Friday Football

This is a "turn around" post. I just got in from school, and in about 45 minutes I've got to turn around and go back. Tonight is Week One of Louisiana High School Football. High schools all over the state have been tuning bands, painting lines, practicing cheers and having pep rallies. In this season, as in all seasons, hope springs eternal.

Our coach has us playing some tough teams in the early weeks, before district play. Hopefully our boys will know that they're playing the big dogs and know that once they get to district-level teams the hard part is behind them.

I've worked at the High School for seven years and haven't seen a football game yet. There's lots to do during the game, and while I catch a few minutes of the action from time to time, I'm generally working during a game. If I want to see the team play, I go to an away game.

Ten weeks of football, then we start the playoff season. Starting tonight.

**UPDATE** It was ugly, it was nasty. Bolton lost to Peabody, 41-0.

Just damn!

Courtesy of SayUncle, we find a thread at the arfcom forums where a guy made a display for his store.



No, it's not a real cartridge. He calls it the 5.7mm Xpress and says it launches a 75 grain Hornady bullet at 7500 fps.

Life intrudes

Life intrudes on blogging.

I've just now come inside and kicked off my boots, checking email before heading back outside to distribute some RoundUp to the weeds. RoundUp is my friend.

However, I checked comments and found one that needed moderation. I like comments on my blog, read them all, consider them carefully. It's okay to disagree with me. It makes me think and reconsider my arguments. Comments are good, and not just the ones that agree with me.

However, there is one comment I'll always delete. Those with racist or profane language. They get clicked into the reject pile never to be heard from again. This is my little corner of the internet and I won't have commenters sully it with hate or profanity. Because I hold the reins, I'll delete any comments that don't comply with basic decency. What words am I talking about? Basically, George Carlin's list. Plus, any words that are racist. You know the one's I'm talking about. If not, comment and we'll see if I delete it. My choice.

Don't give me that Freedom of Speech crap. I've heard it. I won't let you cuss in my living room, and I'll delete inappropriate comments in my blog. Got it?

Still, everyone is free to comment. If you come in here and sully the place, I'll delete it. Fair enough?

Good.

Watermelon

I don't get to see my youngest grandchild as often as I'd like, because his parents jobs require that they live in flat, humid Florida. My daugher-in-law was born and reared in the Sunshine State and she has her dream job.

So, I go to her blog routinely and get pictures of the young'un. It's linked over on the sidebar too. More pictures await.

Here's a wonderful picture of the least one eating watermelon.



That's my boy!

Tuesday linkage

Lot of folks, with the ammo shortage of the past months (which I think we're coming out of) lament the shortage and think about beginning the craft of making their own ammunition.

They think it's expensive. They're wrong. A good basic reloading setup can be had for little more than $100.00, which you'll recoup when you load your first five boxes of ammo.

I wrote an article about a basic setup and you can find it here.

My buddy Junior, not to be outdone wrote a couple of articles about reloading in a tent, to include casting the bullets. The two articles can be found here, and here. He makes his bullets on a campfire and loads the ammo on a stump. It doesn't get much more low-tech than that, and people have been making ammo like that for over a hundred years.

There's not much to reloading if you pay attention to a few basic rules. It's a craft that's easily learned and most folks can learn by reading a good manual. As a matter of fact, my most basic advise to any new reloader is to buy a manual first and read it cover to cover. Don't buy anything else until you read the manual. After that, getting what you need is easy.

There's a great thread over at The High Road about getting into reloading. The thread is here and gives a lot of information that you might not find anywhere else, with links to suppliers.

If you reload long enough, you'll have several hundred dollars of equipment and supplies on your bench, but that's just for convenience. Good serviceable ammo can be made with very little outlay.

Throw the Bums out.

Rasmussen reports that if voters were given an opportunity to throw out the entire Congress, in one fell swoop, 57% would vote to fire Congress and start over.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% would vote to replace the entire Congress and start all over again. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure how they would vote.

Overall, these numbers are little changed since last October. When Congress was passing the unpopular $700-billion bailout plan in the heat of a presidential campaign and a seeming financial industry meltdown, 59% wanted to throw them all out. At that time, just 17% wanted to keep them.

The problem with a survey like this is that most people blindly vote for their incumbent who brings home the bacon. What they really mean is that they'd like to throw out everybody but their own congressman.

That's a damned shame.

Many congress-critters retire from office and some (like Ted Kennedy) die in office. They come to consider the office to be theirs and they like the power and prestige that attaches to being in Congress. They shouldn't like it so much.

For myself, I intend to vote against Alexander, Vitter, and Landrieu as soon as I have a chance. I consider all three of them worthless, for varying reasons.

We really should throw the bums out.

Hat tip, Alphecca.

AARP

From the Grouchy Old Cripple:



I loved that movie. Loved it.

Craft Distilleries

Courtesy of Say Uncle, I understand that Tennessee is going to allow something called a Craft Distillery.

Governor Phil Bredesen signed a measure to allow additional craft distilleries in Tennessee with potential for revenue and tourist development. Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) sponsored this measure.

Craft methods of distillation means everything is hand-made. Every brand, every bottling reflects the creative individuality of a single human being, working with small, hand-operated equipment: his quirks and insights, his special talents, his innovations.

Craft methods of distillation. Yeah. That's moonshine.

Daddy and Chester used to make moonshine at the body shop on Lee Street, back in the day. I understand that moonshining is legal now, if you're making it for your own use. I guess Gov Bredesenn is going to license moonshiners "for revenue and tourist development." Cool.

Still, it's moonshine. Those boys in Tennessee are good at making 'shine. So was Daddy and Chester, until the revenuers shut them down.

Research

I'm supposed to pick up my .30-30 Handi-Rifle next weekend and I'm doing research on pointed bullets in that caliber. Not surprisingly, most manuals tell me that I shouldn't use pointed bullets in that caliber because it's dangerous to load pointed bullets into a tubular magazine. With the point of a bullet resting on the primer of the next cartridge, recoil might set off a cartridge. That would be disastrous.

I understand all that and only use flat tipped bullets in my Winchesters. The Handi doesn't have a magazine. I can bend the rules a little bit in perfect safety.

I pulled down a Nosler reloading guide that someone gave me several years ago. In the .30-30 section, it told me that I should only use the Nosler 170 grain Partition. It's a round-nosed bullet designed for tubular magazines. Then, in a footnote, it told me that for more choices, I should reference the .30-30 data in the handgun section. Handgun section?

Darn right. There's three pages of data on the .30-30 with pointed bullets, referenced with a view toward using those bullets in the Thompson Center Contender. What amazed me was the powder selections they listed. The usual suspects where there too, stuff like Reloder 7 and IMR 3031, along with Varget and several others. A wealth of data on pointed bullets in the .30-30, from 125 grains to 170 grains.

But, the most accurate powder tested? IMR 4895. I happen to have an eight pound jug of that on the powder shelf.

This is going to be fun.

Sunday Morning Dawg

This morning we awoke to overcast skies and 70 degree temps. Autumn is in the air, this the last couple of days of August.

It's cool outside and the humidity is at about 90%. Milady might need a jacket for the church this morning. After waking for the past six months to the standard "eighty degrees before eight o'clock", the chapel might be chilly.

The dog often sits in the hall while Milady is dressing. Guarding the door, as it were.



We'll be on the way to church soon.

No Danny

It looks like Danny collapsed himself into a low pressure system. He's hammering New England with rain and 10-20 mph winds. He's not a hurricane any more, and not much of a tropical storm.

After encountering unfavorable conditions for development, Danny was absorbed into an extra-tropical low early Saturday morning. Danny continues to play a part in some rough weather across eastern New England where heavy rain and chilly 10-20 mph winds will continue into Saturday evening.

So much for Danny.

Hurricane season isn't over, and we should all continue to watch the weather, either on the internet, or TV, or radio. Whatever turns your crank.

But, this isn't shaping up as a particularly interesting hurricane season.

Saturday at the Lease

We loaded up this morning and I took four grandkids to the deer lease. I put out a salt block on the shooting lane (a huge pipeline) and installed a corn feeder. We met my brother-in-law and went with him to his stands and put out salt. Then we went to the camp, where he had a barbeque pit going. He had been out early and put on a couple of racks of ribs. I brought hot dogs and sandwich fixings.

I meant to bring a camera and take some pictures. Oh, well, maybe next time.

The boys chose hot dogs and sandwiches. We menfolk ate pork ribs, tater salad and beans. One thing about that lease. If you bring something, it'll get thrown on a pit and everyone shares the grub. I left the hot dogs on the cool end of the pit. The guys promised me they wouldn't be wasted.

I'm home now with one more errand to run, then I see a nap in my future.

Some states forbid the feeding of game animals. I probably spend a hundred dollars or so each year on corn alone. I feed all the wildlife that wants to use my feeder. I know for a fact that squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, deer and hogs use the feeder. There are probably a number of birds who slip in and get a couple of kernels of corn every day. I start the feeders in late August or early September and let them run until sometime in late February. By March in these latitudes, spring is coming on and the woods are starting to green.

I don't see any harm in using feeders and Louisiana allows it. I didn't shoot a deer last year for one of several reasons. I don't get out to the lease except on weekends and shortly after the opening of the season, the deer are pretty much nocturnal. Feeding them certainly doesn't hurt.

Honore?

The Peripatetic Engineer tells me of a rumor that retired LTG Russ Honore might run against David Vitter in the Republican primary for the US Senate.

I googled it and found an article from the Bayou Buzz.

In a breaking story, The Louisiana Weekly and Bayoubuzz.com have learned that the hero of Hurricane recovery, General Russell Honore is seriously considering entering the Republican Primary for the U.S. Senate seat against incumbent David Vitter. Honore, a Republican since the Reagan Administration and a registered Louisiana voter from his Zachary home, has spoken to friends and supporters in the last two weeks signaling that he is, according to one, "more than 50% sure that he will run."

That's interesting.

You might remember General Honore as the general who famously told a reporter, Don't get stuck on stupid." during a post-Katrina news conference.

Honore might be someone I could support.

Furniture

Milady's friend, Susan, was in need of a dresser, a chest of drawers.

Milady found one at the local action, a four-drawer chest. It looked kinda rough, but Milady sanded it down and refinished it. I got called in on the project to make a small repair.

It was rough as a cob when she started, but I think it turned out nicely.



There is some really pretty wood in that chest.

Humor

If you've ever worked in customer service, you know that the customer is not always right. Sometimes, the customer is wrong, dead wrong, totally and completely wrong.

I was surfing around and found a site that reports memorable customer exchanges.

Not Always Right. It's over 200 pages of craziness.

Enjoy. I'll be adding it to the blogroll.

Weird Hurricane Season

This is shaping up as a strange hurricane season. The last two named storm targeted... New England. If you look at the forecast cone for Danny, you'll see that he has a chance to hit Boston. It's on the western edge of the forecast cone.

Tropical Storm Bill, just eight days ago, hit Canada. Canada, of all places. Who'd a thunk it?

This is a weird year for hurricanes.

Melancon announces

Representative Charlie Melancon (D-LA) announced today that he'll challenge Senator David Vitter in 2010 for US Senator, according to The Dead Pelican.

Lovely. I'm no Vitter fan and I'm not a Melancon fan either. I'll have to vote in this race with one hand holding my nose.

Annoying

This sumbitch is just annoying. He's held up several banks and the FBI is looking for him. They're putting his picture on electronic billboards hoping someone spots him and calls it in.



I'm happy to do my part. If anyone sees this scumbag, call your local constabulary or the FBI. The FBI number is 423-282-8090. He's described as a white male, about 25 years old, 5 feet 9 to 5 feet 11, 170 to 175 pounds. He has short, reddish-brown hair and an unshaven goatee. He hasn't hurt anybody yet, but we need to get this idiot behind bars.

Now, if you look closely at the pistol, you might notice that the slide isn't far enough forward. The gun won't shoot like that. The specific condition is known as "out of battery" and can be caused by any number of things. It seems to be a Taurus, too, although that isn't a distractor. Taurus generally makes good pistols. All this shows is that this guy is a larger idiot than most. He's giving bank robbers a bad name.

Hat tip to Tam. Lets get this guy picked up quick. BOLO.

Quarter bores

I bought a Ruger last year in .25-06. It was one of those deals that's just too good to turn down. I played with it for awhile, got good accuracy, had fun with it, then gave it to one of my kids. I like the caliber, I really do.

For years, I've been jonesing for a .257 Roberts. The maximum overall length of the cartridge is shorter than a .308, which leads me to believe that the Roberts would fit in a short action, but everything I've read tells me that it'll just barely fit in a short action and if I want to seat 100 grain bullets out far enough to take advantage of case capacity that I'll have trouble stuffing it into a short action.

If I'm going to have to use the long action, I'd just as soon have the .25-06.

The plan is one project down the road. My next project is already in process, so this quarter-bore fixation will have to wait. What I plan to do is to find a good used Savage action in a pawn shop somewhere and build a rifle. A light, short, hunting rifle. Shilen makes replacement barrels for the Savage platform and I can get one in any number of chamberings.

I guess what I'll do is see what type action I can find at the best price. If it's a short action, I'll have it chambered in .250 Savage. If it's a long action, then I'll have to decide between the Roberts and the .25-06. At any rate, that's a decision for the late winter/early spring.

Dead

I understand that Ted Kennedy died. Senior senator from Massachusetts. Liberal Democrat.

Mamma always told me that if you didn't have anything good to say about someone, say nothing at all.

Condolences to his family.

Pork chops and rice

Slow day today on the news front. Our President is on vacation and he left the lunatics running the asylum. It was a busy day at work and I'm happy to be home. Every police officer judges a good day when he returns home safe at the end of shift.

So, my thoughts turn to supper and rifles. Two subjects near and dear to my heart.

Tonight, it's pork chops and rice with blackeyed peas and cornbread.

Milady seasons the pork chops, rolls them in flour and bakes them in margarine (oven-fried?). Then she takes them from the oven, sprinkles onions and bell pepper in the baking dish, adds rice and chicken broth and puts the chops back on top. She bakes the whole thing until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.



The blackeyed peas are cooked with tasso, a cajun salt pork.

Cornbread is just cornbread.

Add a glass of iced tea and you've got one of the finest Deep South suppers imaginable.

I'll think about rifles later, but quarter-bores are on my mind.

Canada Geese

Last winter we had a flock of Canada geese winter over on our pond.

This afternoon I watched a gaggle of Canada geese, six to be exact, fly over the neighbor's house and land in the pond. We've got a couple of resident grey geese who live here year round, but the Canadas are transient. Milady has a bottle of Grey Goose in the whiskey server, but I digress.

I wonder what's happening up north that those geese felt compelled to head south?

Lawmakers and the Public Option

The Washington Post puts up an admittedly unscientific poll this morning, but one that asks a question that lots of folks would like to weigh-in on.

Do you think lawmakers should be forced to use the public option if it's left in the health care reform legislation?

Oh, absolutely. I think lawmakers should be forced to be subject to any law that they legislate.

Right now, it's running about 83% thinking that lawmakers should be forced to use the public option. I'd like to expand that to everyone who draws a paycheck through Congress. Staff, aides, everyone who goes to work in a Congressional Office. Let's give them the opportunity to ride that donkey.

Sunday Morning Dawg

We awoke to mild temperatures in Central Louisiana this morning. 65 degrees on my back porch. Milady is completing the crossword puzzle on the back deck and the door is open, letting the cool fresh drafts into the kitchen.

The dog, who is normally on the wrong side of the door (whichever side he's on, he wants to be on the other side), has free run of the place this morning.

Here's a shot for the sisters.



In a few minutes I'll have to start moving, putting on socks and a better shirt for church. Yesterday was extremely busy, but I got a lot of work done. We did some mowing at the deer lease, then on the way home Milady called me and asked me to come to the local auction. She had made some purchases and needed the truck. We went to the auction, loaded her plunder and took it to the step-son's house. Then I came home and mowed the yard. Supper and bed, I didn't move until almost seven o'clock this morning. Decadence!

This afternoon, Milady has a project with friends Pat and Jerome. I'll be without adult supervision. Unless something pressing comes along, I'll probably gravitate toward the range.

Y'all play nice today.

Sales Tax Holiday

Louisiana is having a 2nd Amendment Sales Tax holiday during the Labor Day weekend. All guns, ammo, hunting and shooting paraphernalia will be tax-free (state tax) that weekend.

I ordered a rifle yesterday and told the counter guy I'd pick it up on the Labor Day weekend. For the past couple of years I've wanted a .30-30 Handi Rifle. I've got two Winchester 94's and I love to shoot them. They both wear Williams peep sights. One rifle is sighted for a load that duplicates the Remington green box 170 grain load and the other is sighted for my 311041 load. The bead front sights on those rifles subtend 6" at 50 yards, which is fine for general shooting, but doesn't generate a whole lot of benchrest accuracy.

I'm going to put a scope on the Handi rifle and load pointed (spitzer) bullets. I've always been curious about how well a .30-30 could shoot and I intend to find out. I intend to load some 130 grain spitzers, some 150 grain spitzers and play with loads a little bit. I'm sure that I'll run some of my 311041 loads through it too.

When I'm through satisfying my curiosity, it'll become a grandkid rifle. We can decide if it gets a low power scope or a Williams peep sight.

Friday update

It's Friday, and PawPaw is going to commence happy hour in about another hour. It's been a long week. I think I'll run down to AW's and get a couple of catfish plates.

Tomorrow morning I'm taking the tractor to the deer lease. It's time to put the bush-hog on the shooting lanes. I should get back in the middle of the afternoon.

Y'all have a good weekend.

Yo! Bill!

Hurricane Bill is a dangerous Cat 4 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. He's still five days from landfall, if he makes landfall at all. The only problem is that warm water fuels a hurricane and all the charts I'm looking at say that Bill is set to travel over warm water during the next 48 hours. There is a big bubble of warm water off our east coast and Bill is headed toward it.



We in Louisiana start worrying about a hurricane a couple of weeks, certainly a couple of days before it makes landfall. The folks on the east coast may not have seen a real hurricane in several years. In some places, several decades. From my decidedly unprofessional, amateur perspective, Bill might go ashore as far north as Massachusetts. Here's another map.



Ain't that a hell of a note? Bill's going to be one to watch.

Which reminds me. I haven't started the generator in a month or so. Momma's was started a couple of weeks ago. I better start laying in some gasoline. We might have a storm our self before this season is over.

Hummingbirds

Milady and I have hummingbirds. Zoomies. They spend more time fighting than anything else and this afternoon we had five zooming about the back yard, fussing and fighting over the two feeders we've got in the backyard.



This little gal has been staking out the territory and defending it against all comers. Sorry about the picture quality, but she's a little nondescript bird with a simple line of white on her tail. My Momma calls that coloration a petticoat. It's a dreary grey day outside, with rain drizzling. We need the moisture, but it plays hell with the color on the camera.



We're having great fun watching the birds.

Constitutional

There's lots of discussion today about whether or not ObamaCare is constitutional.

I say no, based on the 10th Amendment, but I would have said no if someone had asked me about President Johnson's Great Society. I'm a strict constructionists and a fan of the 10th Amendment. Along with the previous nine.

Gotta run to a funeral, but the constitutional question is interesting.

Hunter Ed

The grandson completed the Hunter Ed course this morning. There were about 80 students in the class, all ages from 10 years old to adults.

This shot from the shooting portion of the class. Hunter Education is very popular in this state.



Here's a shot of grandson doing the shooting portion. They were using Charles Daly shotguns. I thought that was interesting. Shooters had their choice of 12 or 20 gauge.



Both genders were well represented, with about a third of the class from the feminine persuasion. Lovely things all. I got permission to take this photo from a lady who was taking the course to hunt with her husband.



It was a morning well spent. Grandson is qualified and another hunter is in the fold.

Just lovely.

Obligatory Guy With a Gun Post

I'm sure by now you've all seen the pictures of the guy who showed up at the New Hampshire rally wearing a pistol. Carrying a sign. Minding his own business.

I'm also sure you've seen the pants-shitting hysteria from the news media. If you haven't, go over to Xavier's or Tam's blogs and read all about it.

It amazes me, truly amazes me that people get concerned when someone carries openly. I was raised in the Louisiana tradition that firearms were supposed to be carried openly, that if you chose to conceal a weapon you probably had a nefarious purpose. Our state Constitution embodies that concept in a stunningly simple article, and I'll quote the whole thing here for your edification.

Section 11. The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged, but this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed on the person.

Simple, no?

Working stiffs, people who hunted carried their weapons openly. Folks who carried for a living, like cops (for instance) and ranchers and farmers who might need a firearm carried openly. If you saw someone walking down main street with a firearm over their shoulder, it simply meant that he was heading toward the gunsmith in the next block. However, folks who hid their weapons probably had trouble in mind.

I know all about the recent ideas on concealed carry. The tactical considerations and the arguments on both sides. I also know about the pants-wetting scaredy-cats who get the vapors if they see a gun displayed publicly. I myself am as likely to carry a concealed weapon as I am to carry one openly. My choice, my option.

Milady and I were once at a function, and someone asked her if I were armed. Her reply was simple, "He's got his pants on, doesn't he?"

I remember once a conversation with a district judge from a rural parish. Someone was complaining about a guy on the street with a shotgun over his shoulder. The judges reply: "And? Is he hurting anyone with it? Leave him alone. This is still Louisiana and it's not against the law to carry a gun."

But, the guy in New Hampshire? So what? He's carrying openly. No big deal, no sweat. I think it's totally unremarkable. What I do find amazing is the reaction from the folks who think otherwise.

Hunter Education

I've been through three Hunter Education courses with my children. I sat through the fourth one, but didn't get a certificate because the instructor and I agreed that it would be redundant. I went through the last one in about 1995.

Tonite, my grandson starts the course. He's 12 years old and that's old enough to sit through the course. He'll pay attention, because he knows that PawPaw won't understand if he fails. He already knows the Four Rules and I'm confident of his safety.

It's time to bring a new generation into the fold.

Evil-Mongers

It seems that those of us who protest ObamaCare are evil-mongers according to Harry Reid, who coined the term recently.

“It was an original with me. I maybe could have been less descriptive,” Reid said. He also said, “I doubt that you’ll hear it from me again.” But a few minutes later, he couldn’t resist a sardonic little joke. “I feel I haven’t done anything to embarrass them,” Reid said of his children. “Except maybe call somebody an evil-monger.”

So, now protesters are evil. That's a big change from the line that dissent is patriotic.

Harry Reid seems to be a nasty, hateful little man. Who stands for re-election next year. If we're lucky, the good voters from Nevada will run his butt out of office. Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

Les Paul died

I learned today that Les Paul has died.

He was an extraordinary guitarist and influenced a lot of guitar design and a lot of guitar players. He'll be missed.



In the above video, he starts with "Birth of the Blues" and Chet Atkins joins him.

Forbes: West Point beats Harvard

That's not news, although I'm impressed that Forbes realized the caliber of education at West Point. The United States Military Academy is a magnificent educational facility, cranking out officers who fight our nation's wars and keep our nation's peace.

Cadets there know the meaning of Duty, Honor, Country. While they have stumbled over the years, they've never fallen and they continue to provide some of the most magnificently educated officers in the world.

Now, if they could just beat Navy.

Another windchime

Eldest son came over this evening with another windchime. This one is about twice as big as the first, and the sound is better. While the first one had a delicate sound, this one is a little louder.



The flatware is from the aunt's collection. The tea pitcher is one from Milady's collection, from a partial set she found at a flea market.

Looks good, doesn't it?

World Class Reporting

Via Michael Silence.

TVNewser has learned, and a CNN spokesperson confirms, that in his morning editorial meeting today, CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein asked his show producers to avoid booking talk radio hosts. "Complex issues require world class reporting," Klein is quoted as saying, adding that talk radio hosts too often add to the noise, and that what they say is "all too predictable." (Via BC)

Looks like they've decided to alienate a potentially large audience.

I understand that complex issues require world-class reporting and that's why I quit listening to CNN years ago. CNN quit being a world-class agency sometimes after Desert Storm. All they do is add to the noise, and they're all too predictable.

Long, hot summer

The Congress critters are out, beating the bushes to try to drum up support for Obamacares. They're getting an ear full.

Here's one video of Arlen Specter getting an ass-eating from a constituent.



It's a good ass-eating, too. Then Specter tries to say that he doesn't have to do these town hall meetings, that he doesn't get any extra pay, and the crowd rips him, reminding him who he works for.

This is the arrogance of entrenched Congressmen, either Representatives or Senators. I think that come the next election cycle, we ought to throw the bums out. Put them on the unemployment line. Then, in the next Congress, the first legislation taken up should repeal all pensions, payments, and emoluments for any living elected official.

Screw 'em and let 'em die hungry.

Wind chime

Several months ago, Milady took possession of some of her aunt's silver. Mismatched pieces that weren't really usable as a set, but had sentimental value as belonging in the family. She started agitating to do something crafty with them, so my son took them to his place to work with them.

My son is a metal worker, and on Saturday he unveiled the first of several wind chimes made from the Aunt's silver. I think they're well executed and fairly artistic. A cream pitcher, four relish forks and a stainless steel server. Some chain, and voila, you've got a wind chime.You can click on the picture for a bigger version.



I think he did a helluva job.

Sunday A.M.

My head hurts and my nose is running. Sneezing like a banshee.

No, I didn't make it to church this morning. I've got to take down some of the party stuff and clean up the aftermath.

Then, we're heading to Opelousas to help a friend move into an apartment.

Joy!

In other news, the dog doesn't seem too excited about much of anything. What I'm doing involves neither food nor his ball.



That pic is for the sisters.

Happy Hour

Milady and I do so much with the grandkids, we thought that tonight might be a good time to host a little happy hour for friends. Grandkids, or children of any stripe are particularly not invited.

We're going to chip and dip and have cocktails available. When I finished stocking the beer fridge today I thought that a picture might be appropriate.



Top to bottom, we've got Bud Lite, Miller Lite, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Guinness Draught, a couple of bottles of wine, and soft drinks for those who aren't drinking beer. There's bottled water in the crisper drawer. I've laid on a half-gallon of Crown Royal, a half-gallon of Bacardi Rum, and a couple of fifths of vodka. We're having everyone bring a favorite dip and a bag of chips. There's orange juic and Milady is freezing a gallon each of margarita and pina colada. That should be sufficient.

Festivities commence about seven. We'll continue until the police arrive to talk about neighbor complaints.

Slow Cooker liners

Last winter, I was working a basketball game at the high school. I wandered over to the concession stand and noticed that the ladies there were using some sort of liner in the slow cookers they used to heat chili and cheese.

I was intrigued. I love using my slow-cookers, but the clean up was always a hassle. Not with these liners. When the game was over, they took the liner out and gave the cooker a quick wipe. Easy Peasy.

Slow cooker liners. I love these durned things. Some folks tell me that they've been on the market for several years, but I didn't learn about them till recently. You've got to look for them, but those little blue boxes are in lots of stores. They've certainly changed the way I use a slow cooker. Look for them on the aisle with the zipper bags.

My only gripe is that I wish Reynolds would box them in boxes larger than four. If they made a big box of a dozen or so, I'd buy the big box.

Punch Back

That's what the White House is telling the Democratic Senators. "Punch back twice as hard." Good advise from a President who wants to heal the divide that separates us.

Looks to me like the only people doing any punching are the SEIU labor organizers in St. Louis.

I know that health care reform is one of the keystones of the President's agenda, but demonizing the opposition isn't the answer. Nancy Pelosi recently said that she thinks that we're Nazis. I'd be outraged if it weren't so laughable, but the very idea that she considers us anything other than the vocal opposition is disturbing.

There is a corollary to Godwin's Law that says that the person who first invokes the Nazi conparison on a web forum is automatically the loser. I'm invoking that law and declaring that on health care, Nancy Pelosi is the loser. I consider her a loser anyway, but her comparison of us to the jackboots is additional evidence that she isn't fit to represent anyone, much less be the Speaker of the House. Were I a Democrat, I'd be agitating for her ouster.

It's bad enough that the Republicans self-destructed when Bush was in office. Now I'm watching the Democrats commit political suicide.

It's Friday night and I intend to get into the whiskey. We've got a big weekend planned with Saturday and Sunday booked fairly solid.

Chain

We were in the woods a couple of weeks ago and my truck got stuck. Not bogged, but simply couldn't gain any traction on the wet grass of a pipeline we were scouting. Thankfully, we were reasonably prepared and had the truck moving in short order, but I realized at that time that I didn't own any chain.

Chain, of all things, is a durable good. Very seldom will anything happen to a chain that can't be fixed. The worst that might happen is that it might be lost, or stolen. I've bought a good supply of chain in my lifetime, and when I noticed that I was temporarily chain-less, I decided to do something about it.

I went today to my local hardware store after work. I've been trading with them for the past seven years and they've treated me fairly at every turn. I like a good hardware store. So, I went inside and asked the lady for 20 feet of chain. Nothing fancy, just some 1/4 welded link chain that I could put in the truck. And a couple of clevis for the end. When she rang it up, I almost had a stroke right there at the register.

Seventy dollars. Actually $71.70.

Just damn!

Guilty

How about that? Jefferson is guilty on 11 of 16 counts.

How's that for a culture of corruption?

Too well dressed

Babs Boxer, that nitwit from California, says that the recent protesters are too well dressed. Seriously.

I thought that dissent was patriotic.

It seems that the opposition is using Obama's own words against him and he's got his Health Reform Office trying to track the opposition. They want people to let them know when they get emails or other communications that "are fishy".

And, for Congressmen trying to get the word out, it seems that lots of folks are giving them an earful.

In other news, PawPaw went back to work this morning.

New Zogby/O'Leary poll

According to a new Zogby/O'Leary poll, an overwhelming majority of Americans support the right to bear arms.

An overwhelming majority of Americans (83 percent) support concealed-carry laws, while only 11 percent oppose them. A majority of Independent voters (86 percent), Democrats (80 percent), young voters age 18-29 (83 percent), Hispanic voters (80 percent), and those who voted for President Obama (80 percent) support the right to carry a firearm.

Those are pretty serious numbers.

In addition, that same poll asked about Supreme Court justices who might oppose the Second Amendment and the voter backlash that's likely to occur.

Fifty-two percent of American voters would oppose the re-election of any Senator who votes to confirm a Supreme Court nominee who does not believe in the right to keep and bear arms. Only 26 percent of voters would support such a Senator.

That's interesting.

With the confirmation of Judge Sotomayer on the docket, those numbers are some that our Senators might take counsel from.

Hat tip to Say Uncle.

Reading is hard

Reading is hard, according to Congressman Paul Hodes (D-NH).

Regarding critics who argue that lawmakers do not even read the bills they are voting on, Hodes said it’s not realistic to expect members of Congress to read every bill word-for-word, as Congress took more than 2,000 votes in the session that ended in December.

He said although he has read much of the legislation, staff summaries in many cases are thorough and accurate as to the major points. Attempting to read every word of every bill would be counterproductive, he said.

“I think you would slow down the business of Congress to a crawl and it would be hard to get done what needs to be done. It’s not necessarily the major problem with the way Congress functions.”

Slowing Congress to a crawl wouldn't be a bug, it would be a feature. How much more legislation do we need, anyway?

We need to run these idiots off. Reprehensible.

Shop rags

I am forever puttering around my garage, tinkering with this, fixing that. Whenever you're working around a shop, one of the things that is always in short supply is rags. Rags to clean with, rags to wipe your hands, rags to wipe down parts, to clean guns, to use for any manner of shop related work. I'm a frugal sort and I won't spend money on rags. Back years ago, I used old worn-out Curity diapers. Those things are like hen's teeth and expensive collectibles nowadays.

Tee shirts are a usable alternative and once a year or so I'll cut up a bunch of old tee shirts to make shop rags. Worn out, thread bare, stretched, stained, faded, they make great shop rags. I can get eight rags from each tee shirt. Four from the front, four from the back. Seven tee shirts gives me a stack of 56 shop rags and I'm good for another year.

When I go to Wal-Mart this afternoon I'll need to pick up some new tee shirts.

Long, hot summer

I see that it's becoming a long, hot summer for our Representatives. Constituents are demanding to be heard and the politicos aren't willing to listen. This one paragraph is particularly telling. From US News:

In what pro-Obama NBC News referred to as Cops Bamboozle Old Timers to Leave Feinstein's Office, staffers working for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., had the police remove a group of retirees from the senator's office in West Los Angeles. The seniors, who wanted to talk with Feinstein about healthcare reform, would not leave when asked, even after sitting in her conference room "for more than six hours." Whichever side of the issue they were on these retirees exhibited a kind of intensity of commitment that the political class will not be able to ignore. And which is becoming the norm at town meetings across America.

It's a shame when elected representatives don't have the time to talk to their constituents, and it's becoming the norm, rather than the rule.

We've got a political class in this country who thinks that they should be granted deference for some perceived superiority. The fact is that an elected representative is hired by the people and is answerable to the people. Calling the police on a peaceful group of people is contemptible.

Constituents everywhere should make a concerted effort to throw the bums out of office. For myself, I intend to vote against Landrieu, Vitter, and Alexander at the next opportunity. Almost anyone else would be better than those reprehensible clowns.

Hat tip, Instapundit.

Robin Hood

Remember him? Robs from the rich to give to the poor? That's one way to look at it.

This is the other way.

Well Done! Yes, I know the story is fiction. Still, it's a rousing tale.

We all know Robin to be an allegorical figure, but I've always been captivated by what purports to be his epitaph, carved on a stone at Kirklees Priory.

Hear undernead dis laitl stean
Lais Robert Earl of Huntingun
Near arcir der as hie sa geud
An pipl kauld im Robin Heud
Sic utlaws as hi an is men
Vil England nivr si agen.

Obiit 24 Kal Dekembris 1247

Poster stolen shamelessly from SondraK.

Update Cash for Clunkers

I learn this morning that the Gummint is trying to extend the C4C program because it is so wildly popular. Giveaway programs are often wildly popular and demonstrates the folly of such things. Government doesn't have any money except that they take from us, so having them extend a program doesn't cost them anything; it costs us.

Even so, you can't trade in your full-size Ford pickup for a new full-size Ford pickup. The gummint doesn't allow that. You've got to trade in your full-size pickup for something with better gas mileage. Unless you know how to game the system. Here's how it works. Looks perfectly legal to me.

Basically, you trade in the gas-guzzler pickup and take possession of a nice little economy car. You've got your $4500.00 rebate. Then sell the damned thing. Even if you lose a thousand on the new car, you're still ahead on the pickup deal. Then take that chunk of cash and go put it down on a new full-size pickup.

It'll take a little finagling, a little planning, but it's do-able.

As for myself, I don't buy new pickup trucks. I let someone else drive the new off of them and buy used pickups. My '01 F150 had plenty of miles left in it.

Canceled

The "Cash for Clunkers" program is being canceled over government concerns that the money is going to run out. Or, maybe not. Some sources claim it'll soon be over, but Robert Gibbs says that:

they were working to "assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program. Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid CARS transactions that have taken place to date will be honored."

Okey-dokey.

At this point, we don't know.

Yet, we're going to trust the Government to run health care?

Thursday range

I went to the range this morning, for probably the last Thursday in a long time. Next Thursday I'll be back at work.

I took the AR, my Bushmaster in .223/5.56 and made sure I had a good battlefield zero. I used the iron sights and the 25 meter zero target I downloaded here. (.pdf file. Be warned.)

Six shots and I was in the groove. If you don't need the M16A2 zero target, he's got some other targets on this page.

I enjoyed shooting the AR with irons. It took me back 34 years, to when I first put an M16A1 on sandbags. Has it been that long?

Road Hunter 360.

Now, this is a deer stand. A truck cab mounted on a lazy-susan.

The Road Hunter 360.



Great idea. Innovative.

Cash for Clunkers

If you listen to the radio, you know about the Cash for Clunkers program. Basically, if your present vehicle qualifies, you get a government rebate to buy a new car. It's a good deal if you're in the market for a vehicle. I'm not. My pickup qualifies but it's still got a couple of things going for it. It's paid for, and it's paid for. I don't need a truck note right now.

However, the program requires that the trade-in vehicle be scrapped. Really. According to The Town Talk,

The salient information, in Section 599 of the CARS Act of 2009, details how the administration wants auto dealers to permanently disable the engine in any vehicle used in the deceptively named "Cash for Clunkers" program. That's necessary to ensure a trade-in vehicle will not "be returned to use as an on-road automobile."

The legislation even provides "a quick, inexpensive, and environmentally safe process" to do the fatal deed: Drain the oil from the crankcase. Fill the crankcase with a solution of 40 percent sodium silicate and 60 percent water. Run the engine at low speeds until it is inoperable.

That would do it. It would be like running sand through the engine. Tough on the bearings.

Why disable the vehicles? The government doesn't want them back on the road.

I think this is another government program with good intentions and bad execution. It's just another government freebie.

Deer Stand

For the past several years, I've used a tripod stand as my primary stand on the lease. It's been problematic at best, primarily because I refused to tie it down and a strong wind (like Hurricane Gustav) would blow it over.

So, a this past Saturday I went to the lease and disassembled the stand to bring it home for maintenance. My son determined it was beyond repair. The legs were 16 feet tall and provided a good source of recyclable steel. (All steel is recyclable), so we decided to make a base for a box stand that I could top with a lightweight box.

It's a 4X6, which means it's 4 feet by 6 feet, with 4 foot legs. All the steel is recycled from other projects, so my material cost is virtually zero. I used some of a spool of MIG wire, so I guess I should account for that.



That's my son, the stand's architect. I listened to him while we designed the metalwork and his ideas helped a lot. It's a better foundation because of his expertise.

My hunting land is predominately mixed pine and hardwood with undergrowth of yaupon. Yaupon in this area is an understory bush that grows four to six feet high. This stand will overlook a creek crossing on a pipeline, so height isn't an issue. Four feet is plenty tall for the floor and the shooting windows will be three feet higher, for a total of seven feet. That's plenty.

It'll be big enough for PawPaw and one young'un. We needed a ladder, though and my metalworking son cobbled together a nice stair, out of scrap tubing.



It's hell-for-stout and will hold everything I need to hold. The best part is, it's fairly lightweight. I can load it in the truck without assistance and it fits easily in the bed of the pickup for transport. The rest of the stand will be modular panels that I can assemble on site.

Deer season is coming.

**UPDATE** My son told me that we used MIG wire. I fixed it in the paragraph above.

A Good Cussin'

It seems that the Gates-Crowley-Obama incident has opened a national conversation on police powers, arrest, free speech and the role of the Presidency in addressing local issues.

You can find the facts of the case just about anywhere, and Instapundit has linked to a number of articles on the conversation. His latest link is to an article by some clown named Silvergate, who addresses the Constitutional issues. Silvergate puts some time and energy discussing the pertinent law and discussing why the police shouldn't get upset when confronted by Constitutional Speech. He's right. We shouldn't get upset.

If there's one thing I've learned in 28 years of police work, it's this: It's not against the law to be rude. When I arrive at the scene of a call, no one is looking at my face. All they see is the uniform and the badge. I an not a person. I am an automaton, an Agent of the State. While I'm in uniform, I don't have the right to take anything personally. It's my job to uphold the laws and protect and serve the public.

Every cop remembers his Academy. Police academies all over the country put a lot of stress on police officers, training them, hounding them, making them sweat blood and tears. There is a good reason for the stress and the tears. Simply, the police agency wants to make sure that the officer can keep his temper. That he can perform his assigned tasks while someone is annoying him. It's not our job to become angry, or aggravated, it's our job to serve the public. If you're going to lose your cool, the place to do it is in the academy. If you're not cut out to be a cop, then the place to learn that is early in your career.

Here in Louisiana, it's one thing to give someone a good cussing in your own house. I've taken several that didn't result in an arrest. Sometimes it's good to let people vent, to work through their anger, hostility, whatever they're feeling at the moment. In times like these, someone has to be the adult and I'd prefer that it was me. However, the particularities of the law make it illegal to act in a manner that "might reasonably alarm the public" and to

"address any offensive, derisive, or annoying words to any other person who is lawfully in any street, or other public place; or call him by any offensive or derisive name, or make any noise or exclamation in his presence and hearing with the intent to deride, offend, or annoy him, or to prevent him from pursuing his lawful business, occupation, or duty;".

It's a misdemeanor that can result in arrest. So, if I'm taking a good cussing in a house, I can ask the excited person to talk with me in the front yard. If they follow me out and continue the tirade, I can arrest that person. The District Attorney might later dismiss the charge, but that doesn't mean that the charge was not valid on its face.

Police work is emotionally tough, and it's hard sometimes to remember that the anger a person shows to police officers isn't personal. All they see is the uniform, the badge and the gun. Many times I've had interactions with a person and later encountered them on the street. They didn't recognize me; had no clue who I was. When I was talking with them as a police officer, they never looked at my face. I was simply a faceless public servant with whom they wanted as little interaction as possible. I understand that. Some of those interactions were pleasant, some were not.

Yet, as angry as the citizen might be, whatever the provocation, I'm expected to keep my temper and limit my comments or actions to whatever the job requires. No more, no less. That defines the ability of the police officer.

Understand, this isn't to judge Sergeant Crowley. By all accounts, he is a fine, upstanding police officer. I wasn't there, and even though I've read his report and read commentary from the other side of the incident, I still don't know everything I'd like to know before I make a judgment. I'd like to drink a beer with Sergeant Crowley. I bet we'd share some stories, some experiences that the average American citizen simply can't comprehend.

I love my job, and I'm convinced that I'm better at it than a lot of people. I love cops and enjoy interacting with them all, because we share a common bond. Police work has been good to me over the years, allowing me to raise a family, experience life and see all the good and evil that we as a society are capable of.

Oh, Really?

Senator Voinovich has a bug up his butt. Something about Republicans being Southerners.

-The GOP’s biggest problem? “We got too many Jim DeMints (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburns (R-Ok.). It’s the southerners. They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr.' People hear them and say, ‘These people, they’re southerners. The party’s being taken over by southerners. What they hell they got to do with Ohio?’ ”

Ha! What's his problem? He doesn't like Southerners? Well, screw him. From what I understand he's not a Republican anyway. He's something called a RINO (Republican in name only).

It seems to me that if the party is tanking in his state, then he should be doing something about that. If it's tanking in the northeast, maybe he should work on that. We're doing fine in the South, and frankly, I don't give one big damn what he thinks of that.

To my way of thinking, the biggest problem in the Republican party is guys like Voinovich. And the horse he rode in on.

The Dog's ball

It's probably about time to put up another picture of the dog.

He has a little ball, a blue ball built like a tennis ball that he chases. I was in the kitchen and heard him fretting in the living room. The ball was under the couch, so I retrieved it for him. Of course, as soon as I pulled out the camera, he feigned total indifference to me, the ball, everything.



Here's a blurred shot of him carrying his ball.



Hey! Dog pictures work for Rachel Lucas, so why not for me?

Routine

Back in the day when we were heading to the moon, I watched every flight and shared the trivia and sadness and joys of the crews.

Nowadays, I don't even realize when we have astronauts in space. That's a shame. Those guys and gals are expanding knowledge and have some of the coolest jobs in the world.

At this link, you can find a picture of Endeavor and the Space station traversing the sun. Cool stuff.

It won't be long before the shuttle fleet is retired. Another milestone passed.

Pay attention.