The Great Turkey Drop

Something to while away a few minutes while you're suffering from Turkey Overload. From the old sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, the great episode where the boss wanted to do a promotion for the station. It's comedy gold and one of the iconic clips of the era.

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly. HA!

Turkey Gumbo

I talked yesterday about turkey gumbo, and I thought I'd share with you a picture of my cooking apparatus.

Yep, that's a standard turkey fryer and that pot is full of gumbo. Gumbo can be cooked all in one pot, or it can be assembled, like a kit. I assembled this one, first having cooked a huge roux on the stove inside. I de-boned all the turkey, boiled the carcass for stock. sauteed the vegetables, sliced the sausage, then realized that I didn't have a pot in the house that would hold it all. So, I took out my turkey fryer and assembled the gumbo in the turkey fryer pot.

Then, I got it to a slow simmer and let all those flavors mingle and combine for several hours. The pot weighed close to forty pounds. That's a lot of gumbo.

I never got a head-count, but I'm sure I served over 40 people last night. We fed them well, with gumbo, a big salad, and iced tea. Some folks brought desserts. After everyone left and we were putting away leftovers, I had just enough gumbo to fill a gallon tupperware container. It's in the fridge. We'll eat it this weekend.

Later this morning, we're going to Momma's where we'll feed those same 40 people. Momma puts on a huge spread for Thanksgiving, turkey, ham, brisket, and the table will groan from the weight of the side dishes. Momma has my sisters helping, and I provided the smoked turkeys. It's our traditional family Thanksgiving meal and I come from a huge family.

Afterwards, we'll repair to the pasture to shoot skeet with the nephews. I'll try to remember to take a camera.

Boiling Bones

I'm boiling turkey bones for stock. Thanksgiving is always at Momma's house up the road, but we decided several years ago to host a pre-Thanksgiving supper at our house so Momma wouldn't have to cook the evening meal for the horde. Tonight, I'm cooking a gumbo, a big ole turkey gumbo, with country sausage and lots of onions, bell peppers and celery.

I bought a couple of smoked turkeys from the high school; one of the clubs smokes turkeys and sells them as a fund raiser. At any rate, I've peeled the meat from two turkeys and the carcasses are in a stock pot, rendering to stock. I've already made a huge roux. In another hour or so, I'll start slicing sausage. The family will start assembling this afternoon and we'll eat at 6:00. I'll feed probably 40 people this evening.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

Green Gasoline?

This is the first I've heard of this, and it's darned interesting.

"Green gasoline" is coming to Cenla. Local and state economic development officials announced Tuesday that biofuels company Sundrop Fuels, Inc. will build its first production facility near Alexandria.

Whatever "green gasoline" might be, the production plant will be built near Alexandria, LA, my hometown. It looks like they're going to use forestry products to make gasoline.

The plant will use woody biomass and natural gas to produce liquid fuel -- billed as the world's first "green gasoline" -- ready to drop into a gas tank. Vehicles don't need to be modified to use it, and it doesn't need to be blended with petroleum-based gasoline the way some biofuels do.

Really? When I saw this, the first thing I thought was that this was some "green" initiative that would lose government dollars. Not so, says our governor.

"They don't need government loans, they're privately funded, they're ready to go," Gov. Bobby Jindal said. "Not only are these great-paying jobs, this is a great market for our timber industry, and it reduces our dependence on other countries for our energy needs."

The hell you say, governor. No government money, completely privately funded? There must be a profit motive. A profit motive is great for business. I hope they've done their homework and make a gazillion dollars. But, the question remains, what will this cost at the pump?

The result is a process that converts nearly 100 percent of the biomass used into fuel (other processes discard up to 50 percent), is much more environmentally friendly than petroleum-based fuels and produces a product that is as affordable or more affordable than petroleum-based fuel, officials say.

More affordable than gasoline? That sounds great, but so far what I'm seeing in the article is pie-in-the-sky. We'll see, but it's not going to use government dollars, it's privately funded, and if they lose money that's one of the freedoms of our system.

I hope the best for them, I really do. The new plant should be a big boost to our local economy.

Rain, Blessed Rain

I went this morning to Momma's place to change the batteries in the corn feeder and to install a new tarpaulin on the tripod stand. I was assisted by grandsons. When we got there, the wind was calm and the sky cloudy. By the time we had walked to the back of the property and installed the tarp, a light sprinkle was beginning to fall. We went tot the feeder and as I was changing the batteries, the deluge began. I told the kids to head to the truck, I stood in the rain to check the timer. Before I got back to the tripod, the bottom fell out.

Soaked, we were all soaked. I'm proud to see the rain. Dry clothing and we're ready for the rest of the day.

Hunting with Grandkids

Quinton and I went out to the lease this morning. We stopped at a local convenience store that caters to the early morning hunting crowd, and we obtained a couple of bacon/egg/cheese biscuits to eat enroute. Got a cup of cocoa and a cup of coffee and headed for the woods. By the time we got to the woods, he had eaten two biscuits and was ready for a nap. Just about daylight he fell asleep in the floor of the box-stand on a pile of jackets. Thankfully, it wasn't cold enough this morning to need a jacket, or the kid would have had to sleep on the bare floor.

That's my ever-alert hunting partner. We stayed in the woods till 9:30, then headed toward the house. Just before we left, I snapped this pic from the window of the blind. That box-blind is my second-favorite place in the whole world.

Milady has the boys working right now, sorting the toys in the kid's guest room. As in the judgement sorting that we're all to face one of these days, there are two piles of toys in that room. Separating the sheep from the goats, as it were. Those that make the grade will remain. Those that don't, well...

Live From The Stand

Posting live from my deer stand. PawPaw is all by hisself this morning. 65F under cloudy skies. It's peaceful and quiet in these woods this mornin, like the woods are ready to exhale.

Sunday Morning Dawg

I didn't have time to get a picture of a dawg this week. Our camera was busy with wedding photos and while I"m sure the dog was included in some of the shots, my photographer-daughter took the SD card to edit the photos.

SO, without new material, I reached into my archive to find a short video of the dog freaking out when Milady comes home one afternoon. It's an oldie, but a goodie.



I'm sure there will be new material next week.

Election Results

We had elections in Louisiana yesterday, and all over the states, people were watching the returns. I voted, of course, but I didn't watch results nor returns. I got up this morning early to go deer hunting and I looked at the paper.

I see that Cranford Jordan has been elected sheriff of Winn Parish, with 60% of the vote. This is Cranford's first term, although he's been a cop for lots of years. I've known Cranford since 1981, and he's a good man. The sheriff's office should do well with him at the helm. Congratulations, Cranford.

Steve McCain has been elected Sheriff of Grant Parish, following a contentious race. The incumbent sheriff didn't make the run-off, so the voters were clearly ready for a change. Steve's got his work cut out for him, but I"m sure that he's the man to bring healing to that parish. It was a very contentious race.

My parish had a change of Sheriff too. My old boss, William Earl Hilton, was elected with 54% of the totals. Hilton has already been sheriff four terms, and sat the last one out. This year, he re-entered the fray and won yet another term. So, if I say, tongue-in-cheek, "New sheriff, same as the old sheriff", there's a whole lot of truth in that statement. William Earl originally hired me into this agency, and I consider him a friend.

There ain't nothing like Louisiana politics.

Wedding Mode

We're in pure wedding mode here at PawPaw's House. This place has been busy, busy for the past couple of days. My elder son is marrying his bride and between the cooking and the planning and the plotting and the rehearsing and the sewing, there hasn't been much time for anything else.

We'll be at the church at 11:00, then back at PawPaw's House for a reception, light lunch, and party. The couple leaves for their honeymoon at about 2:00 and things should start to settle down. PawPaw will spend an hour clearing the refuse, then ensconce himself in the recliner for a nap.

While I'm happy for the couple, I'll be glad to be back to something that resembles a normal schedule.

Gunny and Glock

I love this



I'm loving it.

Optics

Naw, I'm not talking about rifle scopes or binoculars, yet even spotting scopes. I'm talking about the optics of someone shooting bullets, real bullets, with a rifle, at the White House. Park Police: Suspect arrested in WH shooting might have spent time at Tea Party Rally. Can you imagine the outcry? Those gun-toting, Bible-thumping right-wingers are shooting at the White House.

Oh, wait, that's not the headline. Park Police: Suspect arrested in WH shooting might have spent time at Occupy DC protests

Never mind.

Busy week

Lordy, lordy, is it Wednesday all ready? Where have the days gone.

We're in pure panic mode here at PawPaw's House. We've got a wedding on Saturday, a church wedding with the reception here at the house. The ladies are plotting and planning and doing last minute cleaning, clearing and panic-ing. It's going to be quite the fiesta.

School is busy too. We've started both basketball and soccer season, and PawPaw is well engaged in those activities. Tomorrow night our school is hosting the basketball jamboree, so I'll be at school from 7:00 a.m. till it's over tomorrow night. Then on Friday, the rehearsal supper and on Saturday, the wedding.

My mother's older sister passed away this afternoon, and there will be a funeral in the mix. My thoughts and prayers go out to her children.

I'm told that we're doing Thanksgiving next week. They're not going to postpone it just because I'm busy. If I get a chance, I might do a little hunting, but right now that's iffy.

Life intrudes on us all, sometimes.

The OWS Protestors

I've been watching the Occupy protestors with the detached interest of a visitor at a zoo. Interesting, but nothing to make me change a damned thing I do. It's like watching a bunch of high-school kids trying to emulate life. It's a pale reflection of a real protest.

But, as they pack themselves into urban parks, I've become convinced that they have no clue how to camp out. I am interested in their lack of concern for things like sanitation. Good field sanitation practices are necessary to prevent the spread of disease and from the news reports, disease is starting to affect the various protests. Good security is important to prevent crime, and it looks like crime is becoming a problem at the protests.

These protestors seem to be protesting about corporations and capitalism, yet the tents they use, the cell phones they use for twitter messages and facebook entries are manufactured by corporations, many of those companies produce those products outside the US. The protestors simply expect that food will be provided and that clean, potable water will keep them hydrated with no thought of how that water gets to them.

Winter is quickly approaching and the weather is not likely to cooperate. I've been camping all my life and I know what is necessary to sleep in a tent. These folks don't have a clue.

It is interesting, from a detached zoo-visitor perspective. Checking in on them to see what the animals are doing. I've read studies that if a researcher will put too many rats into an environment, then cut off the food, the rats will become cannibalistic. If you've ever read the book Animal Farm, you know that it was written as a cautionary tale, not as an operations manual. Yet we see many of the same behaviors exhibited. It's interesting.

If you've got a few minutes, go watch Bill Whittle's Three and a Half Days. It's a great video, with lots of good parallels to the Occupy movement.

If my kid was at an Occupy protest, I would have already sold his bed, taken his clothing to Goodwill, and changed the locks on the house.

Sunday Morning Dawg

The dog loves flour tortillas. Really, he does. Loves them with all his heart. When Milady and I go to a Mexican restaurant, I bring the dog a couple of tortillas.



That dog eats things I've never seen a dog eat.

Federal Fusions

I got my bullets in the mail today, the ones I ordered from RMR Reloading. Jake, the proprietor of Rocky Mountain Reloading, vouchered them as Federal Fusion bullets, which I've never seen before. Jake told me that these bullets are made by ATK, a corporation that owns several ammunition lines. They sell ammo under names that we're all familiar with, to include Federal, CCI, and Speer.

Evidently, Fusion bullets are plated rather than copped jacketed in the traditional cup-and-core process that we're familiar with.

They've got a base unlike anything that I've seen in traditional reloading components. Neither flat-based nor boattailed, they're sort of a hybrid and should act like FB bullets.

Doesn't that look odd? Still, they're good looking bullets and should work just fine in our rifles. It may be a while before I get a chance to play with them. The hunting season is in full swing around here, and the holidays are fast approaching.

I'm sure that I can find something to use them for. .30 caliber, 150 grain bullets won't last long around here.

At the lease

I got home last night at about 11:30 and by the time I lay down, it was midnight. I slept quickly and got up at 4:00, headed to the lease with a grandkid in tow. After sitting in the stand without success, we decided to do some scouting. I wanted to look at a drainage to see about deer sign. If deer like thickets, they'd love this place. I'm just going to have to figure them out.

Grandson Ethan in that thicket. After we had scouted it, my cell phone rang and my brother-in-law asked me to come up to the camp and help him cook.

What were we cooking? Barely edible stuff, like fried white perch filets, french fries, corn on the cob, hush puppies, stuff like that. I don't know why I bother with these people. They don't know how to eat.

We scratched little dogs. And sat on the back of pickup trucks and told lies.

Now, I think I'm going to get a shower.

Duty Calls

It's Veteran's Day and I'd normally be off, but I've got to pull my boots on in another hour and go to work. The school is hosting a debate tournament and the place is about to fill up with all manner of teenage geeks. I'll be there till about midnight, come home, sleep quickly, and get up to be on the deer stand tomorrow morning.

Watching over a debate tournament is quiet duty. And, the hospitality room is simply phenomenal. Those sponsor-mommies fill the room with delectable comestibles. There's always soups, salads, chilis and gumbos available for sampling.

The Sunday Dawg is already posted, and my sister will be quite pleased. It's a video Dawg.

Ya'll have a nice day.

Intercollegiate Studies Institute - Educating for Liberty

I took a little test online from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Evidently, my High School education is holding up.

You answered 10 out of 10 correctly — 100.00 %
Your Ranking
Philosopher-King

In ancient Greece, this was Plato’s ideal ruler in The Republic; combines both wisdom and power.

If you have any comments or questions about the survey, please email americancivicliteracy@isi.org.


Intercollegiate Studies Institute - Educating for Liberty

Ten out of Ten. Who'd a thunk it?

Talking about Scopes

Like many of us, I use rifle scopes. Yeah, I use iron sights too, but the current practice in the US uses rifle scopes on deer rifles. Many rifles don't come with iron sights these days, so you've got to install something. A scope is the easy choice. However, when you're faced with a bewildering selection of rifle glass, it's hard to make up your mind.

Dave Petzal talks about the Trijicon Accupoint. Several years ago a member of our lease bought two of these on sale at Gander Mountain. Paid $500.00 apiece for them. Loves the scope. I was able to look through it while he was showing it to the members. It looks like a fine scope. However, I don't have $500.00 to spend on rifle glass. So, let's talk about lower end scopes that I really like.

The Weaver Buck Commander rifle scope is one that I picked up this summer, looking for glass to put on a short-action Savage. Midway has it for $189.00 and I really like that little scope. It's got finger adjustable turrets that reset to a zero with no tools required. I haven't used it hunting yet, but I really like it on the range. Very precise crosshairs and a thick duplex that should be just fine in the early morning. It seems to be a fine little scope.

The Redfield line is back, and this summer my son was looking for a scope for his .30-06. We went to Academy and looked at several scopes, he picked this one. American made, lifetime warranty, and you can find them for about $200.00. That's hard to beat.

If you want something with a little higher power range, take a look at the Simmons Whitetail Classic. This is a 20-power variable that performs all out past its price point. Seriously. (yeah, yeah, I know what you've heard about Simmons.) I've got one on a .243, and my second son has one on a heavy barreled 7mm magnum. It's held up well for five years, very accurate, and you can check your pulse in the reticle. Midway USA has it on sale right now for $109.00, which is a hell of a deal. It's a lot of scope, and ours haven't given us anything but fine service and small holes, way out there.

Another sleeper in the high-magnification market is the Swift Optics line. My family likes the 6X18 model and we've probably got a half-dozen of these things on as many rifles. My copy is mounted on a .223 right now, but my younger son has one mounted on a heavy .308, and my brother-in-law has three, one on a custom .260, one on a heavy barreled 7mm-08, and one on a beanfield .270. They've all given great service.

Last, but certainly not least, is probably the simplest scope in the lineup. It's been a standard for years, and it's what's mounted on my favorite .30-06. The Weaver K6. Simple, rugged, plenty of magnification, no knobs, dials, bells, or whistles. You set it and forget it. When that buck of a lifetime shows up, you simply put the crosshairs on the target, squeeze the trigger, and go get your buck. I use this scope out to 300 yards, simply because I don't have any range longer than that at my disposal, but I've never had a problem hitting a reasonable target with this scope.

You don't have to spend a lot of money on a rifle scope, unless you want to spend it. If you're on a budget and bewildered at the choices, all these scopes are PawPaw approved.

Raising Grandkids

The grankids are over here often enough that I can make sure they are properly entertained. The other day, my second son and his little one were standing in the front yard and I took little-bit and put him in the bed of the pickup. He though that was the coolest thing ever. He could crawl around, pull up on the sides, play peekaboo, and generally amuse himself while Dad and I leaned on the side of the truck and talked.

My son noticed the fun the kid was having, and reflected that maybe he should clean out the bed of his pickup. After looking in the back of his truck, I concur.

The Proper Response

So, if you haven't been following the scandal at Penn State, the one that sank Joe Paterno's career, the link is a good place to start. Let me say for the record that this isn't a child abuse scandal, this is a child rape scandal and anyone that tells you different is full of crap.

So, I talked to my coaches today and told them that this is a great learning experience, that we could all learn from Joe Pat's mistakes. "Listen up," I told them in my best old-cop voice. "If you ever come in to the locker room and find someone raping one of the kids, the only proper response is to call the police. Immediately. Pick up the phone, dial 911, and get the police here.

"If I get here the next day and find out that you didn't call 911, I'm going to personally arrest you for Accessory. Take your sorry ass to jail. Got it? Good. Class dismissed."

RMR Reloading

There's a guy over on the Firing Line forums, he calls himself LongDayJake, and he runs an outfit called Rocky Mountain Reloading. He's a small outfit and he sells bullets. Pulled bullets. As he explains at the forum:

pulled means that they were once loaded into factory ammo. For some reason, the factory rejected the batch (usually because of split casings, bad primers, or consistency issues). The rejected ammo gets sold to contractors who pull the bullets out and sell them.

Jake's one of those small contractors who buys defective ammo, pulls the bullets, and sells them.

I ordered some bullets from him. Federal Fusion, .308, 150 grain. They're coming int he door at 18 cents apiece. Not bad for good bullets. Because he's a small contractor, his stock is often fairly low and his inventory changes quickly, but he ships fast. I ordered the bullets Monday night at about 5:30. By 8:00 I got a shipping notice with a tracking number. I expect that those bullets will be here later this week.

If you're looking for a good deal on bullets, give Jake a chance. I see that he's got several common calibers in stock, but who knows how long those bullets will last? I checked today and he's sold out of those Federal Fusions. He's got some .308 Sierra Prohunters in stock and if he has them when I get paid next week, I'm going to order a bunch of those.

RMR Reloading is PawPaw approved.

Herman Cain's Troubles

I'm watching Herman Cain and his troubles with women who said that he sexually harassed them, and I'm thinking about Bill Clinton. Bill had his trouble with women, too. Not just Monica and the Oval Office, but trouble with several women over the years.

Im also thinking about our local ex-governor, Edwin Edwards, and his legendary womanizing. If Edwin was nothing else, Edwin is an alpha male.

Bill Clinton is an alpha male. Herman Cain is an alpha male. Bill Clinton pretty much got a pass, Herman Cain is having to answer for his actions. That's good. Herman Cain is a Republican and we should be the adults in the room. I'm also wondering if there is a double standard being applied.

I'm wondering if these allegations are going to hurt Cain in the primaries. Only time will tell, but it's good that we're getting them out of the way early. I'm also wondering about the women that I've known, worked with, helped, mentored and disciplined, and I wonder if any of them would come forward to accuse me of misconduct if I ever decided to run for office. I've always tried to comport myself with dignity, honesty, and be fair to everyone that had to answer to me. I don't think I've ever harassed anyone, but I bet that Cain didn't think he had ever harassed anyone either.

It's an interesting question.

Poverty? What Poverty?

This just out from the Christian Science Monitor.

When the Census Bureau started counting food stamps and tax breaks as income, the poverty rate went up, not down. Some say the new poverty rate is a nuanced picture. Critics say its a ruse.

There is no poverty in the United States. If a person in poverty has a house, a car and a television, and three squares per day, that doesn't look like poverty to me.

Sociologists say the new numbers give greater nuance to the portrait of poverty in the US, highlighting the degree to which government programs are keeping struggling Americans afloat. Critics counter the numbers are engineered precisely to make government assistance appear indispensable and to pave the way for a broader redistribution of American wealth toward the poor.

There shouldn't be any nuance in accounting. Either it is, or it isn't.

I've been told that regardless of your income level in the United States, when you get off a plane in Africa, you're wealthy.

There is no poverty in the United States. Most of those programs are designed to keep people on the dole, to make them dependent on government largesse. To provide a perpetually aggrieved socioeconomic class who depends on government redistribution. There is no real poverty in the US.

Not just for weirdos

Instapundit linked to this article on Yahoo, where they talk about online dating. It's not just for weirdos anymore. Thanks, guys. Weirdos, huh? I met Milady online, through the Yahoo! personals. I enjoyed the online dating experience.

When I was single, I had been married for 25 years and found myself single. I lived in a small town and I wanted to experience folks I hadn't yet met, so I filled out an online personal, had a friend take a current photograph and posted it on the profile. Then waited.

I didn't have to wait long. I got some interesting responses and I had some really good dates with some interesting women. If you're considering such a thing, there are a few tips. First, be brutally honest with yourself and your prospective date. If you're looking for a relationship, let them know. If you're looking for a pleasant Saturday night, be honest about that too.

Meet for the first time in a public place. A bar or restaurant. A coffee shop might be a good idea. Print out a picture of your potential date so you can recognize him or her when she shows up. Be prompt. Observe all the societal pleasantries. Don't be afraid to walk away. If the picture and the profile don't match the person, then they're willing to lie to you. I don't tolerate that in any form. Be pleasant, tell them you wished that they had been honest, and walk out the door. I followed those rules for the better part of the year and had a good experience with online dating. It was fun and I met some really interesting folks. I also walked out on a couple of gals who couldn't post a reasonably current picture, or lied outright on the profile.

One day I net this lady online and we started chatting, then decided to meet at a bar for a Super Bowl party. We had a few laughs, watched the game and talked to other patrons. Began seeing each other on the weekends, and eventually fell in love. We met during Super Bowl 2001 and married in 2003. I feel like I married my best friend.

If you're single and reading this blog online, you've got everything you need to begin online dating. It's not just for weirdos anymore.

Weight Watchers

In July I consulted with my physician and he told me that I was getting older and fatter and I'd have more problems with weight if I didn't lose some of it. So, I talked with Milady, who is a Registered Nurse and the Font of all Wisdom in health related matters. She agreed with my Doc, and we cast about for the best regimen for an old fat man to follow.

We settled on Weight Watchers, and I've been following it online religiously, watching what I eat and trying to step up my physical activity. When I began this program I weighed 100 lbs more than my recommended weight, which I take with a grain of salt. (Yeah, right. 156 lbs.. in Yemen, maybe).

But, the plan seems to be working. I've lost 10% of my body mass and the inches are coming off, slowly but surely. About 1.5-2.0 lbs per week. Some weeks I screw up and gain a pound, but that only makes me redouble my efforts. I just now set a new goal, the first one having been met. I'll be svelte and sleek in another year, if I don't get run over by a garbage truck before then.

This is the first time I've blogged about the program, and it will probably be the last. Once you get in the habit of logging what you eat, it starts to make sense why you're gaining weight, and if you lie about it to the computer, you're only lying to yourself. Some of the actual food values are hard to find, especially the regional dishes, (try finding some of the stuff that a Cajun eats on a generic food chart). Still, it's doable.

If you're looking for a relatively painless weight loss plan, take a look at Weight Watchers. I'm a convert.

Fall Back

I awoke this morning at 6:00 a.m. as is my wont on Sunday, only to realize that it was actually 5:00. Oh, joy. We've fallen back.

Yeah, I knew in my frontal brain that the time change was early this morning, but my subconscious clock just doesn't care. It still gets daylight and it will get dark and the way we keep track of time is a distraction. Still, the requirement is there to regulate civilized life, to keep society humming along. We still keep appointments on a schedule that is determined by a mechanical device I strap to my wrist. So, I just now changed it to read 6:33 to reflect the current societal reality and strapped the damned thing to my wrist.

So, why do we change our clocks twice per year? I recall as a child that they were concerned about energy usage, but Wikipedia cites studies that say the amount of energy savings are minimal, if any.

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) concluded in 1975 that DST might reduce the country's electricity usage by 1% during March and April,[7] but the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) reviewed the DOT study in 1976 and found no significant savings.

However, we continue to move our clocks about, a twice per year waltz that seems locked in our collective experience. I'm not sure it makes any difference, but we continue to do it.

Sunday Morning Dawg

It's been a beautiful weekend, and we spent most of it outside.

It's been a good weekend to be a dawg. Sunny skies, moderate temps, and I brought home a couple of sausage biscuits that the kids didn't eat. The dog loves sausage biscuits.

Saturday SEC

After watching grandkids last night, Milady and I settled in with the two youngest and one step-granchild. I woke the step-grand at four a.m. and we went to the deer stand, where we ate sausage biscuits and drank cocoa on the deer stand, but no joy on the deer. A fog rolled in at daylight and I couldn't see a thing. The deer could have been doing the hoogy-boogy on my pipeline and I wouldn't have known it. Such is the thrill of hunting in the Louisiana swamps. At about 9:00 we climbed down and I taught him to drive the Mule.

Got home and helped Milady with the young'uns until their parents picked them up about noon. Then we felt the quiet of the house and fell into bed for a well-deserved nap. Met some friends for supper and now we're home to watch the biggest game of the SEC regular season. LSU vs Alabama. As I'm posting from Louisiana, you know where my loyalty lies. Milady is an LSU grad, but her family hails from Tuscaloosa.

Watching Grandkids

While our kids go to a party, we're watching grandkids tonight.

This kid is pulling up on everything. In another month or so, he'll be walking.

The Lady Hunter

Savage introduced a new rifle today based on their successful bolt action line. The Lady Hunter. As always, you can click on the picture for a better view.

The Savage Facebook page says that it will be offered in long action and short action, initially in eight chamberings. MSRP is listed at $819, and it features a shorter length of pull, higher comb, shorter reach from pistol grip to trigger, slimmer fore-end and lighter front-end weight.

Some might not like that roll-over comb, but if you've ever shot one, you know how much it helps with recoil. That forward slope pulls the rifle away from your face in recoil and helps with perceived muzzle rise. It doesn't bust you in the chops like some rifles.

I also note that Savage has done away with the god-awful, butt-ugly cocking indicator/bolt release on the right side of the receiver. Newer models I've seen have a button near the trigger guard to release the bolt. Much more elegant.

I bet that rifle is a shooter. It might be just the ticket for small statured people. They don't have all the specifics yet on their website, but I can wait.

Simple Supper

There's a new place between work and home, Guillory's Specialty Meats. It's an old fashioned butcher shop and we've traded with them several times since they opened last month. This afternoon I stopped at the grocery for baking potatoes, then went over to Guillory's Meats for a select ribeye.

Brought them home and marinated the steaks in a little Lawrey's Garlic Marinade, then scrubbed the potatoes and popped them into the microwave. After Milady got home we dropped the steaks on the grill until they were a nice medium rare.

That's an easy supper and a good butcher shop that stocks good steaks is an asset to the whole community. Every time I go into that place, it's busy. He sells everything from fine steaks to pork chops to chickens and bacon. While I was talking with the checkout gal today, she told me that the owner is putting in his own smokehouse and they hope to expand the product line. I can't hardly wait.

Savage Arms

Savage Arms is previewing its new product lines on Facebook. They started at noon today and so far they're rolled out three new items. The first is an upgrade to their Hunter line of rifles. These come as a package with Nikon scopes, which is a serious upgrade. The second product line is a pump shotgun set up for security work. It's got a ghost-ring sight and they claim that it has a rotary bolt. For those of us old enough to remember the Winchester 1200/1300 line of pump shotguns, the rotary bolt on those was very smooth and very fast. They claim that street prices on the shotgun will be about $260.00, which isn't bad for a pump shotgun with good sights.

The third piece they previewed is a micro action bolt gun they call the Rascal. It comes with the Accutrigger and peep sights, and looks for all the world like a .22LR.

Now, if they'd come out with a left-hand Axis or a left-hand Stevens 200, I'd buy a couple for grandkids.

Sheriff Speaks His Peace

The Sheriff of Spartanburg County thinks that women should get a concealed weapons permit. It seems that some low-life has had a long history of attacking women and the criminal justice system can't keep him locked up. The scumbag attacked another woman this weekend, she was simply walking her dog in the park. The Sheriff's answer:

Wright said, "It's too bad someone with a concealed weapons permit didn't walk by. That would fix it." He said people are tired of doing the right thing and criminals getting away with their actions.

He said several times, "I want you to get a concealed weapons permit."

At one point, Wright held up a fanny pack and said, "They make this right here where you can conceal a small pistol in them. They got one called The Judge that shoots a .45 or a .410 shell. You ain't got to be accurate; you just have to get close."

I tend to agree with the Sheriff.

Random Ramblings

We're in that lull betwixt football and basketball at the school house, so I'm able to take a short break in the afternoons. It's like the calm before the storm, but I'll take it.

I've settled on my hunting loads for this year, but a thread over at one of the forums got me to wondering... We all know what a great cartridge the .30-30 is, and how much game it has accounted for over the years. I feel like a big part of that success is that the cartridge throws a big slow bullet at a reasonable velocity and the ammo companies have had many, many years to perfect that old bullet. Think Remington Core-Lokt, or Winchester Power-Point. For that matter, the likewise offerings from Speer, Sierra or Hornady. Those are great bullets. I wonder what would happen if I'd load some in the .308? Kept to moderate velocities, they should work just fine, and those bullets have a long bearing surface. I'm thinking 2200-2400 fps, those bullets, sighted 2" high at 100 yards, they'd be close to dead on at 150 and down just 4" at 200. That might make a dandy little deer load for youngsters.

Another think I've been thinking about is putting a Scout mount on one of my Winchester 94s and trying a forward-mounted scope. I know that it would take some gunsmithing, primarily some drilling and tapping, and I have the perfect candidate rifle for the experiment.

Halloween

We celebrated Halloween last night, first at a family party for the kids.

That's our newest family member, Lucas. All the kids took part, we did all the traditional Halloween stuff, to include bobbing for apples.

Afterwards, Milady and I went to a gala event, the annual, much ballyhooed party hosted by the esteemed physicians at the Rayburn clinic. Doc Rayburn is Milady's boss. A true gentleman, a gracious host and a renowned surgeon. Milady dressed as the legendary Witch, Marie Laveau.

This morning we went to church, came home and cooked lunch for everyone in the assembled clan. We're having Mulligan Stew.

Sunday Morning Dawg

The dog and I go outside regularly, about half the time we go through the door, we go into the front yard. The dog, being an inquisitive fellow, is intrigued by the smells and sounds of the front yard.

He loves sniffing tires. When he's sniffing tires, he doesn't have time to look at the camera.

live FromThe Stand

Live from my deer stand! Who'd a thunk it? Damned feeder didn't go off this mornin and I'll check that later, but it is a beautiful morning to be in the woods.

Long Day

I'm going to put my boots on in another half-hour and head to the school where I'm looking at a fifteen hour day. A day of fun and frolic, with a Homecoming parade and the big football game filled with pageantry and gala. It's going to be quite an event and my earnest hope is that it goes well and that everyone gets home safely tonight.

It's going to be fun for the kids, but it's going to be one long drudge for the adults. Y'all have fun today.

The only thing that will maintain my sanity today is knowing that deer season starts tomorrow. I've got all my gear in one pile and as soon as I get home tonight I'll swap the duty gear pile for the deer-hunting pile and fall into bed.

Homecoming Week

It's Homecoming Week at the high school and to say that the kids are a little bit crazy is understatement. Every day is another theme and the costumes are getting more and more interesting. Tomorrow, for some God-awful reason, they scheduled school pictures. Like this week hasn't been weird enough. Then tomorrow night we have a bonfire scheduled, then on Friday, the Homecoming Parade and the Football Game.

The bonfire tomorrow night has me cringing in my boots. The Weather Service is calling for rain and that would be wonderful. Lightning, sideways rain should put a damper on that nonsense.

As for the big game, I'm praying for rain there too. A gentle, tropical rain with no lightning. Lightning would cancel the game and they'd reschedule on Saturday. No, just a steady, half-inch per hour downpour would be wonderful. The crowd would stay home and it would be easy to clear the parking lot after the game.

They've got a dance scheduled for Saturday night and I frankly don't give a crap. I've got two deputies paid to work the dance. I hope that they have a safe, enjoyable detail. Of course, if they have to use pepper-spray on the assemblage and call for all available units, that would be okay with me too.

Regardless, I'm getting up Saturday morning and going hunting even if it hair-lips the Pope and every cow in Texas.

Last year, I begged the Principal not to schedule anything on the last weekend of October. I also talked to the Athletic Director and asked that they keep this weekend free. To no avail. Some folks think that there are more important things than the opening weekend of the deer season. Folks like that shouldn't be trusted with our children's education.

This Year's Rifle

I've been trying to decide on which rifle I'll use for the opener of the deer season this year, and I believe that I've made up my mind.

The rifle for the early season this year is the Remington 700 ADL I bought this past January. It was built in 1983 and it's chambered in .308. This is the rifle that I used to experiment with Alliant's new powder, Power Pro 2000 MR. The ammo is my handload with the new Alliant Powder and the Hornady 150 grain SST bullet. That new powder drives that bullet to 2947 fps and the group size from the bags runs about 5/8 inch. Off my palm, it opens up to 9/10ths of an inch, which ain't bad for the deer woods. The rifle wears a Leupold VX1 scope.

Here, my Grandson Ethan models the rifle so that I can get a picture. He's left handed and knows that this rifle isn't slated for him. He'd rather shoot the Ugly Rifle. I've told him that he's in line for a left-handed rifle. I think that he's old enough to handle his own centerfire and we'll start looking for one soon.

I've fired that rifle enough this summer that I'm very comfortable with it. Just last Sunday I fired a nice under-an-inch group off my palms, no bags, just my elbows resting on a table. That settles it for me. It'll be the Remington until I make meat. Then we'll try with another rifle.

Jambalaya

It's been a while since I cooked a jambalaya and I got hungry for it this afternoon. I hied myself to the store and picked up a rotisserie chicken and a pound of sausage, a bag of rice and an onion.

Upon my return home I chopped the onion then started it saute-ing in a little vegetable oil, chopped the sausage and added it to the onion and let that cook together while I de-boned the chicken. Yeah, I cheated with an already-cooked chicken, but I've make lots of jambalaya from scratch. From scratch, I mean that I wrung the chicken's neck, plucked and cleaned him before he was in the pot.

Once that chicken was peeled from the bone, I added him to the pot with the onions and sausage, gave it a stir, then added three cups of rice and three cups of water. Lowered my heat to a simmer, covered it and let it simmer for 12 minutes, until the rice was done.

Jambalaya is a Cajun food, made from whatever happened to walk, crawl, or fly past. I've made jambalaya from duck, from rabbit, from squirrel, from shrimp, If you like, you can add raw oysters when you add the water and let the simmering water cook them in the rice. Like most folk foods, it's got its roots in whatever was available in the area to feed a hungry family. It's quick to make, it's flexible enough to lend itself to expanding in case the kinfolks show up at mealtime, and it's filling.

You can make a red jambalaya by adding tomato products, you can make a brown jambalaya by adding a roux or a gravy mix, or you can make a white jambalaya like I made tonight.

I decided at 5:00 I wanted a jambalaya, went to the store, came back and cooked it, served Milady and washed dishes. I was done by 6:15. Jambalaya isn't something you slave over. It's quick, easy, tasty and something different on a Sunday evening.

Bon Apetit!

Sunday Morning Dawg

Cool temps this week and the dog has been enjoying his outside time. He's staying outside more without becoming overheated in his overcoat.

We'll have to see about getting him a haircut soon.

Nine Rounds

Tomorrow is the opener of the Louisiana Primitive Weapons season. We get a week to hunt deer before the regular gun season rolls through and in my area, it starts tomorrow. At daylight, I'll be in my stand.

I started muzzleloading in 1980, when Louisiana had a muzzleloader season. I shot a Thompson/Center Renegade rifle. I came to prefer a .54 caliber patched ball and got very, very good with that rifle. Confident enough in it that for several years I carried nothing else. I could hit with that rifle and it was all I needed for the terrain I was hunting, which was mainly swamp bottom tangles that ran near small hills that were hillside tangles. A long shot was mainly 75 yards and you never had the chance for a second shot. In those woods, a single shot muzzleloader worked just fine. I killed several deer with that rifle, then got out of the habit.

Several years ago, Louisiana liberalized their muzzleloader season to the point where a muzzleloader isn't even necessary. They publish a list of rifles that the hunter can use, but most of us use the Handi-Rifle, in either .45-70, .444, or .38-55.

I'll have the Handi rifle with me in the stand tomorrow, although I haven't sunk so low as to put a scope on it. Mine wears a Williams peep sight and I'll shoot that setup until my eyes get to the point where a scope is necessary.

I use a butt-cuff on my hunting rifles and they generally hold nine rounds of ammo. That nine rounds is my standard hunting load and I'll often go through a whole season without shooting those nine rounds. I just loaded the rounds into the butt-cuff on the Handi-rifle and those big slugs make the rifle decidedly butt-heavy.

I may have to re-think this practice for this rifle.

Qaddifi Captured

The big story today is that Libyan strongman Moammar Qaddifi was captured today outside his birthplace. He soon succumbed to his wounds, the most notable one being a shot to the temple.

The rebel forces say that he was killed in a crossfire between loyalists and rebels. Footage from the scene shows him in the back of a pickup truck then being pulled out to take a rebel ass-whipping. According to reports,

Moammar Gadhafi was killed in the crossfire of a battle between his supporters and fighters loyal to the opposition that topped the dictator’s regime, Libya’s interim prime minister told NPR this afternoon.

“Nobody can tell if the [fatal] shot was from the rebel fighters or from his own security guard,” Interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril told All Things Considered host Robert Siegel…

Really, guys? You had him in custody and his own people offed him? That's their story and they're sticking to it.

Qaddafi suffered the fate every tyrant has suffered, from Caesar to Mussolini. There is a lesson there, but Moammar Qaddifi goes into the lists of tyrants executed at the end of the reign. I understand that his last words were "What did I ever do to you?"

Heh!

Why We Win

The imagination of the US soldier is unprecedented, unequalled, and undeniably the greatest asset of the commander. Our soldiers are why we win. (And sailors, and Marines and Wing Wipers).

It seems that this Iowa Guard unit deployed to the sandbox has come up with a new way to carry ammo.

They welded some ammo boxes together, mounted it on an ALICE frame, and now the machine gunner can carry 500 rounds of linked ammo on his back. Better yet, the whole Army wants them.

We’ve already gotten email traffic from (one of) our science advisers that everybody in theater wants one of these — and by in theater, he means his specific area of operation, Regional Command East in Afghanistan — because word has spread. That (Iowa National Guard) unit is not the only unit on that FOB. As they’re walking around the FOB with that piece of kit, very senior people are taking a look at it. They recognize it as a game-changer.

It is a game-changer. When I was deployed to Desert Storm, the active Army guys complained that the Reservists had learned quickly how to game the system and we got good support when they had to wait in line. That's not altogether true, but when the guy at the supply base is married to your sister and you know him as Bob, rather Master Sergeant Schmedlap, you get stuff that other units might not get. When the guy cutting the finance checks happens to be your first cousin, your pay never gets screwed-up. Guard and Reserve units ain't like the rest of the Army. We think differently.

We're a great asset and that's why we win. Congrats to the boys in the Iowa Guard. Good job, soldier.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh My!

SO, this bozo turns loose all his animals then commits suicide.

The animals? Lions and tigers and bears, along with at least one chimp and a giraffe.

The cops in Ohio are shooting lions in the woods. I would have loved to hear the dispatch call on that one.

Just Wow!

Drudge linked to two stories today about inner-city violence. The first, from Richmond, CA tells us that a brawl broke out when members of rival gangs showed up at the "Operation Peacemaker" offices. The administrator was pleased, though:

The ONS director said he sees the unarmed brawl as a sign of progress, since the young men involved all have a history of gun violence.

Well, that's something I guess. Brawling in public is certainly preferable to shooting each other in public.

Our second heart-warming story comes to us from Philadelphia, where we learn that some bozo was getting out of jail and his family wanted to have a welcome home party. Of course, a knife fight breaks out and five people were stabbed.

A welcome home party for a teen released from juvenile detention resulted in gunshots and stab wounds for five people at the party.

Heartwarming, I tell you. Those are just the kinds of folks that I want to invite to a party.

I am in awe of the culture that produces folks like this.

Inequality, Consumerism, Corporate Greed

If you've been following the OWS protests, then at some point you've asked yourself what these people want. While the message is a little muddled, it boils down basically to redistributionist philosophy; an end to inequality, consumerism, and corporate greed. Kind of a Robin Hood, steal from the rich,give to the poor, kind of policy. They're pissed at Wall Street. That's plain, and the message is just a bit muddled, but basically, they want stuff for free.

Well, it seems as if some low-level redistributionist is hard at work, Ripping them off. He's gotten cash, computers, foodstuffs, all the things that they want for free. And, they're pissed that someone would be taking their stuff. You'd think that they'd be celebrating the way he has embraced their philosophy. But not when it comes to their stuff. Their stuff is off-limits.

The irony is strong on this one.

Tuesday Ramblin'

We had a cold front move through today, it feels like autumn outside with temps in the 50s. I'll need a jacket for the morning, the predicted low is in the 40s. Yee-haw! This is my kind of weather.

I began my ramblin' when I stopped at the Pawn Shop to pay some money on a layaway. Than stopped at the sporting goods store and bought my hunting licenses. Basic Hunting, Big Game, and Primitive Weapons licenses set me back $40.00, but I'm legal to hunt this year. Then, stop by the pharmacy to pick up the drugs that keep me alive for another 30 days. Good stuff.

It's just a lazy Tuesday afternoon. I guess I better dig out my jacket. I'll need it by daylight.

Operation Elder Son

A great story about exploding ammo planted by SOG troops during the Vietnam unpleasantness.

In reality, this actual incident was the calculated handiwork of one the Vietnam War's most secret and least understood covert operations: Project Eldest Son. So secret was this sabotage effort that few G.I.s in Southeast Asia ever heard of it or the organization behind it, the innocuously named Studies and Observations Group. As the Vietnam War's top-secret special ops task force, SOG's operators - Army Special Forces, Air Force Air Commandos and Navy SEALs - worked directly for the Joint Chiefs, executing highly classified, deniable missions in the enemy's backyard of Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam.

By Major John Plaster.

The Haves and Have-Nots

There's been a lot of news lately from the Occupy Wall Street crowd, about the haves and the have-nots. You'd think that the pore folks in the US were doing... well... poorly, but that's not altogether the case. As it turns out, the pore folks in the United States would be considered rich folks in much of the world, those places that don't have the compassion that we have.

You don't believe me? Go read the New York Times and be educated. It's true! The liberal bastion that is the NYT gets it right once in a while, and what will blow your mind is the chart that accompanies the article.

You've got to read the article to get the full benefit from the chart, but basically, the pore folks in the USA have a better standard of living than even the very rich in a country like India.

Notice how the entire line for the United States resides in the top portion of the graph? That’s because the entire country is relatively rich. In fact, America’s bottom ventile is still richer than most of the world: That is, the typical person in the bottom 5 percent of the American income distribution is still richer than 68 percent of the world’s inhabitants.

Now check out the line for India. India’s poorest ventile corresponds with the 4th poorest percentile worldwide. And its richest? The 68th percentile. Yes, that’s right: America’s poorest are, as a group, about as rich as India’s richest.

The USA is a wonderful country, where even the poorest citizen is considerably better off than the rest of the world. When we start worrying about the pore and starvin' we should keep that in mind.

Sunday Shooting

Today after church, we went out to my private range to do a little tuneup with the rifles we'll use for hunting this year. I had three grandsons with me and a variety of firearms to determine who'd use what if the opportunity presented itself.

I verified the zero on the rifles I'm going to use, then sat the grandkids down at the bench and let them try. Everyone needed tutoring and we learned who shoots what rifle best. Grandson Ethan shoots the ugly rifle easily. We were shooting 8" paper plates and steel gongs. Ethan was able to tag the 9" gong at will. When he hunts with me, he'll shoot the ugly rifle.

Grandson Jeffrey showed an affinity for the .30-30, as did Grandson Quinton. Both of them were able to ring the gong with the .30-30 Handi. Jeffrey decided to try for the 6" gong and hit it easily at 100 yards.

Once the kids got finished with their tuneup, my soon-to-be daughter-in-law wanted to try a couple of rifles. She picked the Remington 700 in .308.

Although she could ring the gong with it, the length of pull was a little long. She tried the ugly rifle and professed a preference for that stock. She also shot the .45-70 Handi and surprised us by ringing the gong with that rifle as well.

Then, of course, my elder son had to try the .45-70.

He was able to ring the gong as well with that rifle. After he finished, we packed up an came home. It's not unpleasant to shoot with family on a Sunday afternoon

Sunday Morning Dawg

Sometimes, when the dog is playing with his ball, the darned thing rolls under the couch. What a disaster. The dog is beside himself trying to worry that ball from under the couch. His little legs are only four inches long and the ball is always six inches under the couch.



It's terrible, I tell you. At this point it's up to PawPaw to retrieve the ball.

Heading to the Lease

Grandson Zachary are heading to the lease for a last-minute tune-up before the hunting season. My brother-in-law wants a tree cut, so we've loaded the chainsaw. I want to put some eyehooks in my deer blind with a rope system to raise the windows. That's been loaded too. Zachary wants to check the game cameras and see if there are any tracks in the creek bed. We'll do that too.

This afternoon we have a family gathering in Jena, LA with some of Milady's kinfolks. In honor of that, I've got two boston butt roasts in the oven, they should be ready to transform into pulled pork by the time I get in from the woods.

The outside temperature is 50F under clear skies. It's going to be a great Saturday. You guys get away from the computer and get out to enjoy it.

Drop-Out Rates

I was reading this article this morning, they complaining about the drop-out rate in Louisiana.

Lemme tell you one damned thing. I work in a high school, a fine high school with great accolades, listed as one of the top 500 high schools in the US. We routinely have students that excel on the ACT tests and we routinely have a goodly percentage of our students go to college with academic scholarships. We're not an athletic bunch, but we've got some scary-smart kids. Because we're located in a lower-economic zone (read: lots of low-income folks nearby), we also try to educate people who would rather hang out on the street corners, listen to hip-hop music, wear their pants sagging, and come to school only for the socialization and the subsidized lunches.

However, during the school grading period we just went through, the school got a "D" on it's report card purely for the dropouts. There is simply no way some of these kids are going to make it, and the school is penalized for it. If I get a freshman entering the 9th grade at age 16, he's got no chance in hell of graduating. His educational experience has already been set. If, by some miracle, he buckles down and studies, he won't get out of high school until age 20. What's the chances of that? Slim and none. Yeah, some of them make it, but they're the exception that proves the rule. The vast majority of those kids simply wake up one morning at age 18 and decide that they've outgrown high school. They become a dropout and they count against the school, regardless of all the efforts of the teaches and the staff.

If the parents don't care about school, the kids won't care about school. If the kids don't care, there's not a damned thing that an educator can do to motivate them. The best thing that the school can do is to identify those students early and get them out of there, before they taint other younger students in the facility.

As a school-house cop, I spend most of my time dealing with kids that don't want to be in school, don't have the skill-sets to complete the academics, yet are forced into the schools by the law. All those kids do is disrupt the high school experience for the rest of the student body. We're better off without them and it's a crying shame that those students count against the school averages.

So, for all you do-gooder educators out there, let me explain something to you. If a kid comes to school and wants to simply pass, graduate and move on, fine. He's got to have certain skills before he gets there. If you send that kid to us without that skill set, we don't have the time to bring him to speed. He's going to be a dropout, plain and simple and all the remediation in the world isn't going to change it. He's simply going to fall further and further behind and become a burden on us all. Better we recognize that early and shuffle him off to trade school or prison. That's where he's going to land eventually.

Charge Conference

The Methodist Church has, every year, a time of reflection and nomination and acceptance of church officers. We begin this process in August and continue it through September, reviewing paperwork, nominating officers, making sure that insurance is paid, reflecting on the pastor's salary, doing all the administrative things that make a church run. The process culminates in a meeting where we all agree that our signatures in the paperwork and our agreements on duties will continue for another year.

In a small church, it is is paperwork burden, one to be born with stoic faith that this too will pass. Then we meet with the District Supervisor, who blesses our efforts and we're free to carry on for another year.

Last night, our little church had our Charge Conference. The DS blessed the assemblage and now we can check that off the list of administrative nonsense. She was particularly verbose, turning what should have been a 45-minute meeting into a 2-hour marathon. The woman could talk the horns off a billy-goat. It's been a busy year for our little church, between the burying and the marrying and the baptising. We've been busy. Culminating all that with a 2-hour marathon meeting didn't help, but I'm not enamored of our District Supervisor. Simply being in the room with the woman tests the limits of my Christian charity.

Now that the admin nonsense is complete, maybe we can get back to the business of opening hearts, opening minds, and opening doors.

Holder subpoenaed

I hear that Senator Issa has subpoenaed Holder and the records from Fast and Furious. Good for him.

As far as I know, Holder is simply a political hack that enjoys the perks and privileges of being the Attorney General. The guys I'm pissed off at are the career law enforcement officers in several departments who went along with this little operation, knowing full well that they were jeopardizing their careers and their freedom by abrogating the oath they took when they put on the badge. It's simple, you can't break the law to enforce it, and lots of otherwise good cops broke the law when they started partaking in this little nightmare. I expect good cops to know better.

I've taken oaths and I've offered to arrest superior officers when they asked me to do something that was against the law. Different states have different statutes, but around here it's called malfeasance. I expected the federal cops in this operation to know better. If we don't obey the law, we can't expect anyone else to obey the law.

Put them all in jail, every one of them.

Cry Havoc!

News reports are just coming out, but it looks as if Iran has committed an act of war against the United States.

If we’re charging an official of the Iranian government with complicity or worse in this plot, then it ceases to be a law enforcement issue and becomes a military and political issue instead. This isn’t a case of espionage but of sabotage or worse, which would be an act of war by anyone’s definition. If we’re not willing to respond in kind, we then send a signal to hostile nation-states around the world that attacks on the US are low-risk, high-reward affairs — and we’d better get ready for an avalanche of them.

If the Iranian government is willing to commit an act of war against the United States, then the law enforcement model doesn't apply. It's war, plainly and simply. The bombs should start falling on Tehran this afternoon. We've got to send a clear signal. A signal that even Imadinnerjacket can't ignore.

UPDATE** It seems as if the plotters thought that they were talking to a Mexican drug gang to commit the assassinations they wanted done. Barry Rubin at Pajamas Media asks the question:

if that had happened might the Mexican drug cartel have used weapons sold to them in a U.S. government program sponsored by the Justice Department to kill U.S. citizens in Washington DC?

Oh, snap!

Gong, Gone

Driving home from work this afternoon, I heard this song on a classic Country station. When I got home I had to find it. Kathy Mattea is one of the under appreciated artists from the '80s. She always had a clear, ringing tone that I find easy to listen to.



In a lot of ways, Kathy's music brings me back to a simpler time in my life.

Centerfire Sunday

This afternoon after church, my youngest son and I headed to our private range. He was just hired as a Probation and Parole Officer for the State of Louisiana and wanted to do some pistol drills before going to firearms training later this month. So, we went out to Momma's land and set up a target near our berm. I ran him through the major portion of our POST and he did well on it. I'm certain that he'll qualify handily, but he should work on his reloading drills.

After the handgun work was over, we moved back to the 100 yard line with new targets and shot some rifles. I didn't bring a benchrest with me, as I was shooting hunting rifles, both the .308 that will be my primary arm, and a .45-70 that I'll use for the primitive portion of the deer season.

The .45-70 is a Handi-rifle and Louisiana allows them for the primitive hunt portion of the season. I shoot the Lee 405 flat point bullet over a middling charge of IMR 4895. I'm not pushing that bullet hard, preferring to keep the velocity down to about 1300 fps. At 75 yards with iron sights I was able to keep the bullets in a 1.5" group near the bullseye. Certainly good enough for our deer in these woods.

At the 100 yard line, we got out some sandbags and got on the hood of the truck.

That's PawPaw hisself, stretched out over the truck hood. The rifle is a .308 Savage 11. I shoot 165 Gamekings through that rifle and it's sighted just about 2" above the aiming spot at 100 yards. That bullet is flying about 2600 fps and if it hits meat, it's going to leave a mark.

My son wanted to try it, so he fired a group after I was through playing. Interestingly, the way he holds the rifle is different than the way I hold a rifle. His groups are a full two inches below mine, centered closely on the bull. You wouldn't think that it makes that much difference, but it does. Two different guys, same rifle, same ammo, two inches at 100 yards.

Sunday Morning Dawg

The weather has been beautiful this week with sunny skies and moderate temperatures, so the dog has been spending time outdoors.

Milady and I have taken to enjoying a happy hour cocktail on the porch as well, and the dog takes that opportunity to get some scratching.

The dog loves his scratching, especially when that scratching is provided by Milady.

Woodworth Range

I got up this morning after a long game last night, drank some coffee and thought that maybe I'd drive over to the Woodworth Range to do a final sight-in with my rifle before the hunting season. Knowing the propensity of those bureaucrats to close the range without reason or expectation, I decided that it might be prudent for me to check the website before spending my precious gasoline getting to the range only to find a locked gate. Sure enough. In big capital letters: SHOOTING RANGE WILL BE CLOSED OCTOBER 8TH

On a beautiful Saturday in October, they decided to close the range. No explanation, simply closed. Can't use it, the taxpayer be damned. Oh, next weekend is the third Saturday, and it's closed every third Saturday until noon. Some private organization has it scheduled each third Saturday for a match and rather than inconvenience the private organization, they close the range to the general public. That's our Pittman-Robertson money at work.

I can't get to the range on Thursday or Friday, for that matter, most Sundays. Saturday is the only day that I can use it, and of course that's the day they close it. The taxpayer be damned.

That's the attitude of the folks who run our taxpayer funded ranges in Louisiana.

Evil Corporations

If you've been watching the protests on Wall Street, you'll love this photo.

Those idiots couldn't make a single move without corporations. The very clothing they wear is provided by corporations. The phones they use, the cameras they snap, the signs they wave, all had a corporate background.

Stolen from Mostly Cajun, who stole it from Small Dead Animals.

In another half hour I'm going to pull my boots back on and head to the school house. It's Friday Night Football.

General? What General?

Did y'all read where some idiot General officer says that the Army has a discipline problem? Really!

Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling told reporters over breakfast that only a small percentage of soldiers lack proper discipline, but he stressed his concern that it be fixed, now that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down and more troops are returning to their home bases.

"In some cases there are discipline problems that we have not paid as much attention to as we should," he said, adding, "If you allow that to go unnoticed it becomes cancerous."

Hertling said soldiers need more training in the Army's professional values. And he said officers and commanders are guilty of too frequently overlooking what he called "acts of indiscipline." He cited as an example a failure to adequately punish soldiers for offenses such as drunken driving.

As far as I'm concerned, General, the mission of the Army is to close with and kill the enemy by fire and maneuver. If you've forgotten that, then you should turn in your flag immediately, because you're just a worthless REMF who shouldn't be leading soldiers.

The soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan have closed with the enemy and killed them with fire and maneuver. They've done that in spite of General Order #1, which forbids them from drinking alcohol while they're in the theater. When they come back from theater and want to have a little snort, REMFs like you criticize them.

As far as I'm concerned, General Order #1 is indicative of the political correct bullshit that pervades the uniformed services. I don't give a steaming, screaming crap if a soldier has a drink after a combat patrol. The fact that our leadership denies them that small luxury is indicative of the loss of testicular fortitude that pervades the upper ranks. When they get out of theater, General Hertling wants to make an issue of them having a drink, or two, or three.

In addition to having a problem with soldier's drinking, he also airs his dirty laundry before reporters. Hertling sounds like a political climber and he should be standing in front of his superiors, getting his ass chewed like a rookie cadet.

Lack of discipline, indeed. It sounds like the General has a lack of discipline.

Didn't Halsey say "I never trust a fighting man who didn't smoke or drink." You'd do well, General, to start doing both.

Goin' Out

I came home today and found my brother-in-law visiting from Florida. We've decided to go our for supper, so we're heading to Tunk's Cypress Inn, a little restaurant of some repute. I haven't been to Tunks in several years, so maybe it's time to see if they've upgraded the menu.

Y'all have fun tonight. I'm gonna get catfish.

Chicken Cheese Enchilada Soup

This is a cool weather favorite, and since it's cool weather and we've got a regiment of kids and grandkids, we figured we'd make this one for lunch today. It's a pleasant alternative to chilis or stews, and it's quick and easy.

Janes's Chicken Cheese Enchilada Soup

1 whole chicken, boiled and peeled from bone
4 cans Progresso Chicken Cheese Enchilada Soup
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can Rotel Tomatoes

Dump everything into a big pot. Really, that's all there is to it. One chicken, four cans of soup, a can of whole kernel corn, and a can of rotel. Let it simmer for a half-hour or so, that the flavors blend. That's one recipe. We serve it over Fritos corn chips, with shredded cheese and sour cream as a garnish.

In that big ole pot, that's a double recipe. Eight cans of soup, etc, etc. We've got a regiment coming here for lunch and that should feed them just fine.

Sunday Morning Dawg

It's been a busy week and the dog's been busy too. Lots of family and fun and work this week, so the dog and I had very little chance to play with the ball. I'm still learning to use my phone, so I tried to get video of him chasing the ball.



It's only nine seconds, but I can see that low-light video is going to be a challenge with the camera that's in the phone.