Really? Really?!?

You've got to wonder about the culture where gunfights erupt at funerals. 

DECATUR, Alabama -- While Decatur police attempted to unravel the case surrounding the June 2 shooting death of 33-year-old Houston Glenn Blackwood, some of the victim's friends and family were getting into a post-funeral fight that ended with one man being shot in the neck. tnut Street -- to the same apartment complex where Blackwood was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds -- to find Komak Love with a gunshot wound to his neck. Love was taken to Huntsville Hospital by MedFlight, and is expected to make a full recovery, Decatur police said in a statement.

Yet, the circle of violence continues.

(CBS) DECATUR, Ga. - While at a wake on Tuesday for a shooting victim, Camenthia Antwan Dixon, 21, was arrested for allegedly bringing a stolen gun, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Police said Dixon had the gun in his pocket. Dixon was attending a wake for Carlos Henderson Jr., 19, gunned down at a shooting last week after a funeral, reported the Constitution. Also killed in that shooting was 28-year-old Delmetrius Heard. He and Dixon shot each other in the parking lot of Victory of the World Church.

The latter one is utterly confusing.  Lemme see if I've got it straight.  Delmetrius Heard and Carlos Henderson went to a funeral last week and got into a gunfight in the parking lot of the church.  So, they've got to have more funerals and Camenthia Dixon brings a gun to the funeral and was arrested because the gun was stolen.

I'm in awe of the culture that produces morons like this.  Evidently it's okay to shoot someone, then go to the funeral and shoot-up the family.  Or something.  Of course, with mothers who would name their child Komak or Camenthia can't be too damned smart in the first place.

I'm sure that the Rev'rund Jackson will be along shortly to decry the circle of violence.  Yeah, I'm sure that he and Big Al Sharpton will be along shortly.

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights

Supposedly I'm off, but I've been doing stuff all day that could better have been done while I was working.  The HR folks called and told me that I was missing some documents in my file and that I needed to go get a TB test and a uninalysis, so I went over to the OHS center to get those tests.  The gave me a TB test and told me to come back on Thursday.  I had Milady look at the test site this morning and she scoffed, told me that I was negative, but that I still had to go to OHS, so I went over there and they read it as maybe, sorta, kinda positive.  Sent me to the health unit for a blood test. 

I went by Milady's office (she's an RN, works for a surgeon) and took her to lunch, talked about TB, and she's still convinced that I'm negative, moreso the LPN's at the OHS place are idiots.  Still, I've gotta go to the health unit, so I went over there expecting to get a chest X-ray, but was told that there's a brand new test out that uses blood, provides a more positive test than the skin test.  So, they drew blood and told me that if there was any problem, someone would get in touch with me.

Walk into the doctor's office as a healthy man, walk out a broken cripple headed for the bone-yard.  That's my take on most of the medical profession and this days activities have done nothing to disabuse me of that notion.  With 20 years in corrections and a combined 30 year law enforcement career, there is little doubt that I've been exposed to lots of things.  That doesn't mean that I have those diseases.  I had blood tests last week at my primary physician.  I bet if I was sick, he'd have told me.

Nakations?

Really?  Naked Vacations?

(Reuters) - When the Carnival Freedom sets sail from Florida next February for an eight-day cruise to Panama, it will offer the same amenities as any other Carnival cruise: three pools, a jogging track, a 1970s dance club and a cigar bar. But there is one stark difference. Passengers on the white behemoth of a ship, which can carry 2,974 passengers, will enjoy those facilities naked.

Okay, then!  My libertarian streak says that if folks want to sail the open seas sans sarongs, more power to them.  It's supposed to be a free country and if you like sailing nude, more power.

It ain't for PawPaw, though.  I don't even like wearing shorts.  My usual summertime lounging attire is jeans and a tee-shirt.   And, I'm willing to bet that most of the fellow travelers won't be supermodels, either.

I'll pass on nekkid vacations.

Done!

My annual retrainer is done.  Finished, kaput.  Yesterday was defensive tactics (DT) and today was classroom, first aid, records, internal website and an introduction to online training. 

The Sheriff's office is starting online training classes because POST council is telling us that all Sheriff's offices will be required to conduct online training.  Whatever.  I'm very familiar with online training and in my mind, online training is great for a lot of things, but sometimes it's nice to sit in a classroom and have an instructor go through the paces.  It has its good points and its bad points.

Still, I am now fully re-qualified for another year and that's a good feeling. 

Deer Season

I started getting ready for deer season this afternoon.  It opens in a little over a scant four months and I've barely enough time to get ready, so I decided to cast some .45-70 bullets this afternoon.

Those are Lee's .457-405F, a flat point 405 grain bullet and they're cast from dead soft lead.  They've had one trip through the liquid alox, courtesy of the good folks at White Label Lube Co.  These folks sell lube in 32 ox bottles and I've ordered from them, I have about a half-gallon of their stuff under the bench.  It's a whole lot less expensive than that brand-name lube and smells like the same stuff.

Those bullets will be loaded with smokeless and pushed to just barely over black powder velocity.  I don't load my .45-70 very hot, because I've never been convinced that the recoil is worth the added momentum.  Pushing that big ole 405 grain bullet at 1300 fps is plenty fast for the smallish whitetail deer we've got in these parts.

Deer season will be upon us before you know it.  Get ready.

Hmmm

Reflecting on the day, I realize that I never saw my shotgun target.  2 slugs and 10 rounds of buckshot, I should have shot the center out of that thing.  However, as soon as the line was finished, the rangemaster put us on another task while the instructor scored the targets.  I never walked up to the target to look at it, being fairly certain that I qualified.

A little later, some one called my name, and I gave them a YO!, then they said "nevermind".  Being the smartass I am I told them that I was very good at nevermind.  I guess whoever hollered at me was taking my target to the trash bin.  Still, I never saw my shotgun target today.  I'm certain I qualified because I've never NOT qualified with the shotgun.  I'll have to ask to see the scorecards tomorrow.

Retrainer

Today began our annual retrainer, where we LE types go thru the paces and renew our certifications for the year.  POST council demands that police officers be trained and display a certain level of proficiency in their jobs.  Today we started with firearms, the service auto, whatever backup handguns we might want to carry,   Then the shotgun and the patrol rifle. 

What that means for an old cop like me is that I get to hang out with my buddies, tell lies, and shoot the Sheriff's ammunition.  In short order I had qualified with my handguns, along with the rest of the  bunch, then we fired the shotguns, went to lunch, then came back for backup pistols and patrol rifle.

Part of using the range is brass pickup afterwards, and police officers understand that beginning in academy.  There is no rank exemption, if you shoot, you pick up brass.  That's okay and part of the program.  Today I took a range bag downrange during the pickup and while picking up brass, made sure that the range was thoroughly clean before we left.  By some weird coincidence, that bag full of range brass somehow got into my pickup truck, all calibers that I happen to reload.  Odd coincidence, that.

Still, all the brass is sorted, all the firearms are clean and put away and PawPaw will soon declare happy hour.  I've spent all day in the company of good people, I've shot a lot of ammo I didn't have to buy or reload, and cmae home to spend the rest of the afternoon with Milady.  It was hot out there, and I'm sure that I reek, but if it was possible to reek happiness that's what I'd be reeking.

It's been a very good day.

Up? Or Down?

If you're not a fan of Bill Whittle, you should be.  The man has opinions that should be trumpeted across the nation.  Last week's Firewall talks about the decline of civilization and what we can learn from the history.  Ours and theirs.



It's worth watching, especially the part toward the end about America's first private astronaut.

Sunday Morning Dawg

It's summer in Louisiana and afternoon temps have been hovering in the upper 90s.  Something the weather-weenies call the RealFeel or the heat index is well over 100 degrees.  It's hot, okay?  The dog has his water frizbee on the deck and seems to prefer drinking from that red frizbee.  One day this week, I was near his frizbee and had some ice in a cup, so I poured the ice into the cup.

The dog looked at me like I had lost my mind, but then decided to try it.

Oh, that's not bad at all.

I'll have to remember to add a little ice to his outside water in the afternoon.  It'll be a special treat.

Scientific Literacy

Are you literate in science?  Mostly Cajun linked to this test.  Go Forth and be humbled.  I only scored 64%.

Thanks for all the comments, and humbling scores.  I draw solace from the knowledge that when I was in school studying basic science, we only had four elements on the periodic table.

Rain

We're getting a nice thunderstorm this afternoon.  The lightning is crashing and the thunder is rolling, and we even got a little hail.  The ditches are full and my outside work was finished about an hour ago. 

We needed a little rain, but the Dawg is terrified.  I"m sure he'll be fine.

The Bishops

Nancy Pelosi is an idiot, but we all know that.  She continues to express her idiocy about matters that she should understand.  Today, for instance, she said that... well...

“Well, I don’t think that’s the entire Catholic Church,” Pelosi responded. “Those people have a right to sue, but I don’t think they’re speaking ex cathedra for the Catholic Church.  And there are people in the Catholic Church, including some of the bishops, who have suggested that some of this may be premature,” Pelosi said.

Uuuh, Nancy, no one but the Pope can speak ex cathedra, and if I'm not mistaken, the last time he did that was in the 1950s. However, Nancy, the bigger point is that the Bishops ARE THE CHURCH. They absolutely speak for the Church within their dioceses and when assembled, speak for the Church.

As a Catholic, you should know that.  The Bishops are the Church.  Were I your Bishop, I would probably excommunicate you as being too stupid to practice as a Catholic.

Straw Hat

Walking through a sporting goods store earlier this week, I noticed a rack of straw hats on sale.  My Dad always wore a straw hat when he was mowing grass and working outside in the heat.  I thought I'd give it a try.

Pretty sporty, wouldn't you say?  It's not a work hat, but it's not a cowboy hat either.  I might have to find a sombrero to keep the sun off my shoulders.

Idiocy

The anti's are at it again, this time suing the EPA for failing to ban lead ammunition. 

(Reuters) - Environmental groups filed suit on Thursday seeking federal regulation of lead in ammunition, claiming exposure to the toxic metal from spent bullets fired into the environment by hunters kills millions of birds and poses a risk to human health.

This suit comes on the heels of the Congress telling the EPA that it's got no interest in lead ammnunition.

The lawsuit comes the same day U.S. Senators Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, and John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, filed an amendment to the federal Farm Bill that would ban the EPA from regulating lead ammunition. The U.S. House has already passed legislation exempting the EPA from regulating lead-based bullets.

The anti's just don't get it. Lead is only harmful in very limited situations, and most lead in the form of bullets and shot is simply not harmful. Personally, I think that the lead-shot ban for waterfowl was an over-reach, and that ban has been in effect since 1991.

So, the Congress is telling the EPA that they have no interest in lead ammunition in the form of legislation banning the EPA from looking at lead ammunition, and the anti's want the EPA to look at lead ammunition.  Personally, I  think that the EPA is one of those agencies that should just go away.  They've been more of a pain-in-the-ass than a viable agency for the past 20 years.  Their history is one of over-reach and horror stories abound.  The EPA is one of those agencies that should be dismantled layer by layer and discarded on the ash-heap of failed ideas.

Hat tip to Jeff Soyer.

Thursday Wrap-Up

Looking at the news this morning, we start with Chad Rogers Dead Pelican.  Jefferson Parish is a parish (county) just outside New Orleans, comprised mostly of Metarie, LA. It seems that some of the schools are underperforming, so the School Board in October set guidelines for principals. Failing to meet those performance standards, the School Board in Jefferson fired seventeen principals. Seventeen.

Meza says the principals were notified last October that changes were coming if goals weren't met. He says last week, when test data became public, the principals were dismissed.

You've got to have standards, and if those standards aren't met, there must be repercussions.  It's not that the principals weren't warned, it's simply that they decided to hold the standards and meet policy.  Of course, the teachers are all butt-hurt, but nothing like the whammy the School Board put on them yesterday.   The School Board cancelled the teacher union contract. 

The school board voted 5 to 3 to drop their teacher union contracts and start over with a negotiation process to come up with a new one. The contracts expire June 30.

Of course, once again, the teachers are all butt-hurt, but I don't see a problem. Their contract expires June 30th and was due to be renegotiated. The teachers hoped for a contract extension, with ongoing negotiations, but the School Board said NO.

Here's the deal.  Principals can't meet their goals unless the teachers are on board.  A principal needs the authority to implement changes to meet standards and if the principals don't have the backing of the teachers, those standards won't be met.  I'm not blaming the teachers, I'm sure that there are some wonderfully dedicated teachers in Jefferson Parish, but standards must be met.

If it takes running-off seventeen principals and dropping the union contracts, so be it.

In other news, police officers have standards as well.  Next week I've got to play "show and tell" with our standards, proving my competence to continue to work.  It's been that way since I began police work and I know what the standards are.  So, today I'll be doing a little extra-curricular training to make damned sure I can continue to Protect and Serve.

If you'll excuse me, I'm off to the range.

What's Today? Wednesday?

I started this morning by going to the doctor for bloodwork.  Nothing to get excited about, we do this every 6 months.  It's more a pain in the butt than a problem.

Thence to the range, not to shoot, but to talk with my buddies.  While I was there, the recovery guru called from the church, so I headed out there.  Work continues apace, but she wanted to ask me some questions and we got those issues solved.

I came home and started looking at the news.  It appears that the Wisconsin recall election turned out to be win for the Conservatives.  According to Hot Air:

After winning more votes in a recall election than he did in his original 2010 victory, Walker tells Fox and Friends that voters have proven that when an officeholder delivers on his promises and “takes on the tough challenges,” voters will reward him:

As I recall, Wisconsin went for Obama in 2008, based on lots of things, but there's no denying that the public service unions got their butts handed to them last night. Governor Walker made the tough choices, turned the state around, and now we can't look at it as solidly blue. That's a win for our side, and I'm sure that Team Obama will be poring over the results in the next couple of days.

We can't get cocky, but we're winning.

Sheer Delight

My youngest grandson and a pedal tractor with front-end loader.


The boy loves Things That Go. I'm pretty sure it's genetic.

Stolen shamelessly from my daughter-in-law.

Happy, Happy!

It's Breda's birthday.

Go over and tell her Happy!

That is all.

Governmental Ethics

I just completed a one-hour online course of Governmental Ethics, required of all elected officials and public employees of the state of Louisiana. As a sheriff's deputy, I qualify. No doubt ethics training is something we need, but an online, one-hour Powerpoint presentation is cruel and unusual. Additionally, the presenter's voice droned in a monotone.

 It was like listening to paint dry. Luckily, the Dawg needed scratching, which gave me something to do during the training. Hence, we accomplished two things. First, I got my required training, additionally the The Dawg got a good scratching.

Recovery

It's 3:00 and I've spent all day either at the church, running the roads to get supplies, or dealing with insurance folks.  The church is covered against the damage, of course, but there is a lot of work to be done.  The cleaning crew is hard at work, the broken window has been replaced, and I'm looking at the door facings on the church office.

Recovery continues apace. The cleaning crew assures me that we'll have services in the chapel on Sunday morning.  We're worried about the church organ. It looks like the vandals squirted the fire extinguisher directly into it.  Disgusting.The recovery specialist will get an organ guy out there to look at it and tell us the news.


In another hour I'll declare the day done and break into the beer locker.

VANDALS

I got a call this morning that our church had been burglarized and vandalized. Someone broke into the church late this week and made a heck of a mess.

We got the deputy out there and we tried to decide what had been stolen. It looks like they were searching for money and copper.  When they found that we had no money and very little copper, they decided to vandalize the sanctuary by setting off fire extinguishers, which probably caused more damage than the vandalism.  Fire extinguisher powder coated the pews, carpets, altar and walls.  It looks like the vandal squireted the powder directly into our organ and piano.  Our office is trashed and we're not sure if the computer will work until it's cleaned.  They cut the cords from everything, trashed the sound system and even took the cords from the vacuum cleaners.

The odd thing is that they didn't use our fire extinguishers.  They brought their own.  The church fire extinguishers are just fine. We had services this morning in the kitchen, and tomorrow I'm meeting a cleaning crew at 9:00 in the morning.

It takes a worthless person to vandalize a church.  May God have mercy on his soul.  If I get my hands on him, little mercy will be shown.

Sunday Morning Dawg

Laying around the porch on a Saturday afternoon.

Ain't much happening on a Saturday afternoon.

More Airplane Pictures

Some more pictures from this morning's jaunt. If you like general aviation, you would have had a good time this morning. The airport is a tiny, single runway municipal airport surrounded on three sides by water. Lots of arrivals and departures and the aircraft parked along the runway.

That's a Cessna 172 series departing.

Here a little Decathlon? makes a fly-by over the water, behind the hanger.

Last, an aircraft that I can't identify. I was told it's a kit plane and I noticed several variations of these things on the runway.

Yeah, we had a good time.

Aviation Saturday

I've always been in love with airplanes of all types, especially general aviation.  I've also been toying with the idea of getting my Sport Pilot license as part of my bucket list.  Last week, my buddy Termite invited me to a breakfast put on by our local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association.  They meet at the Buhlow Lake airport outside of Pineville, LA every first Saturday and have a fund-raiser breakfast.  Lots of folks in attendance and lots of airplanes to drool over.

Here's Milady standing in front of an absolutely beautiful, fully restored, 1946 Aeronca. This aircraft was two years in the rebuild, but it's spectacular. Owned by Ken Eversull, it was the darling of the morning. The work on this craft is absolutely pristine, as evidenced by the detail of the interior.

An absolutely beautiful aircraft and one that deserves to fly. Parked beside it was another as nice, a 1945 Aeronca.

The interior of that one was as nice as the first.

Great aircraft, great breakfast, good conversation. A thoroughly worthy Saturday morning. Thanks for breakfast, Termite!

The Warren Fiasco

If you've been reading the political news, you know that Elizabeth Warren is running for Senate in Massachusetts.  She's a Democrat, and a lawyer, and on the faculty of Harvard.  Lilly-white, she claims minority status from a Cherokee grandmother.   A Cherokee grandmother that can't be found.  No one can document this woman, although her family is easily found.  The Cherokee people are pissed-off about lying about her (and by default, their) heritage.

She keeps doubling down on her family history, and when researched, it turns out to be a fable, a fraud.  Her momma lied to her, and she believed it, hook, line, and sinker.  So, she blithely gets up before audiences, repeats her verbal history, and people start checking.  It's interesting, like watching a train wreck.  You know it's going to end badly, but you can't turn your eyes away.  Now she's claiming to be the first nursing mother to take the bar exam.  Really?  You going with that?

Harvard's first woman of color is lily-white, she has no Cherokee heritage, and now her claims about her grandmother are found to be.... simply untrue.  Damn! Elizabeth's problem is that no one ever checked on her tall tales, nor the tall tales of her family.  What she believes happened turns out to be a falsehood, a figment, a composite.  That seems to be a problem for people who are in academia, who tend to stand on ivory towers where they can repeat stories and have no one call bullshit.  Well, now she's in the public arena and lots of folks are calling bullshit. 

Elizabeth's problem is that she needs to feel special.  It's not enough to be rich, white, and on the faculty of Harvard.  It's not enough to be an expert in something, no, she has to be a minority, a nursing mother, and a pioneer woman.  As soon as she makes the claim, folks start calling bullshit, where no one ever claimed bullshit before.  It's got to be humbling, but I don't think Elizabeth knows how to be humble.

Comments

Gery emailed me and asked why his comments weren't posting.  I had no clue and started digging around.  Found a spam folder that I didn't know existed and found a bunch of comments.  Some for generic viagra, most were valid comments.

I gotta figger this out.  I don't think I've ever listed anyone as spam, as the blogger if I see a spam comment, I just delete it.  Throw it out.  I didn't even know I had a spam folder, another level of bullshit that Blogger has foisted upon us.  Sometimes, hi-tech guys get a good idea, then they start improving it until it doesn't work at all.

New Springs

I've been shooting the handguns, preparing for qualifications later this month. I normally qualify on three or four different handguns, depending on how long the examiner will let me stay on the range. This morning I noticed that a couple of my 1911 magazines seemed to have weak springs.  The slide wasn't locking back on an empty magazine.  I keep a couple of Wilson replacement springs and followers in my parts bin, so I took them out and replaced the springs after I cleaned the pistols.

Now, my magazines work.  The next time I make an order, I'll have to stock up on springs.  It's an easy fix and makes the pistol run like it should.  There is very seldom anything wrong with a magazine body.  Springs are a cheap fix.

The Hunting Rig

Over at Field and Stream, Bourjaily talks about his hunting rig, a 2004 Jeep Liberty.  It's a nice ride, I'm sure, but not something I'd use as a hunting vehicle.  I don't know where Mr. Bourjaily hunts or how much money he's got to dedicate to hunting, but around here, a hunting vehicle has to wear many hats.

If you look at the vehicles in the driveways around these parts, you're liable to see a nice car, depending on family size, it might be a sedan, it might be a crossover, it might be a van.  That's the wife's car, the family ride, the vehicle everyone gets in when they're going to church, or the grocers.  Then there's the pickup.  Generally, Dad drives the pickup.  It will be several years older than Momma's ride, mainly because Dad wants Mom in the newest ride for dependability, and Dad can't stand more than one car note.  It's hell being poor-folks, even when you've gotten past that part of your life.

The pickup truck is ubiquitous in these parts.  Nearly everybody owns one.  Those that don't own one can call their Dad to borrow his.  Here's mine.

It's a standard F150, but it wears many hats.  Everyday work truck, trailer hauler, hunting rig, chore vehicle, it's got well over 150,000 miles and still going strong.  It'll haul a refrigerator, tow a trailer, carry firewood to the lease, it'll do all  manner of things that need to be done.  Gas mileage?  If you're worried about gas mileage you've got no business driving a pickup truck, although the newer ones get much better mileage than the ones my dad drove.

I can't imagine being without a pickup truck.

More on Primitive Firearms Season

When I opined earlier that the new Primitive Firearms regulations seem to include a .357 magnum Handi-Rifle, Old NFO responded, in comments:

LOL, good 'read' of the regulations, but I'm betting some DNR folks will argue that point with ya...

Actually, old buddy, Louisiana has very liberal regulations concerning what can or cannot be used to hunt whitetail deer. The basic regulation says that:

It is illegal to hunt or shoot deer with firearms smaller than .22 caliber center-fire or a shotgun loaded with anything other than buckshot or rifled slug. Handguns may be used for hunting deer.

In Louisiana, we can hunt deer with a .22 caliber centerfire and lots of deer are taken each year with .223 or .22-250. Perfectly legal, if not perfectly ethical. Still, it's done. One buddy of mine was very good with his custom .22-250 and used to take his deer every year with it. Making eyeball shots. Bang-flop, drag your deer out.

Louisiana started letting hunters use primitive firearms back in the early '80s with what we called the muzzleloader season. It began a week before the standard gun season and gave us an extra week to hunt deer. Originally, the regulation called for a muzzleloading firearm with an exposed hammer, using flint or percussion, no less than .45 caliber and using black powder or an approved substitute and iron sights only. Lots of us went out and bought Hawken replicas and used them very successfully. My rifle is a .54 T/C Renegade and I've taken several deer with it. During my poor-folks years, when I couldn't afford ammo, I hunted deer with it during the regular season. One shot, bang-flop and I never felt under-gunned. There is still a lot to like in a big slow bullet.

Later, Louisiana started watering down the regulations, and allowed things like (gasp) inline muzzleloaders and then, later (gasp) optical sights. Then, in 2008, they threw the season open to certain centerfire firearms that they classified as primitive firearms. As it turned out, the modern Handi-Rifle was on the list, because it is almost an exact copy of a rifle that Frank Wesson made in the 1870s. Go figure. Nowadays I hunt the primitive firearms season with an H&R Handi Rifle in .45-70. I haven't scoped it yet, preferring to use iron sights on that rifle.

However, it's not a stretch to think that the .357 magnum Handi is legal.  That seems to be the intent of the new law and in the proper hands, that caliber is very capable to taking our smallish whitetail deer.

Primitive Weapons Season

Louisiana has a Primitive Firearm Season that, charitably, does not require primitive weapons.  During that two week season, hunters can use modern firearms that mimic primitive weapons.  And, it is being continuously modified.  Last week the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced new changes regarding caliber.  Now, hunters can use .35 caliber firearms. 

The new definition of a legal firearm for the primitive firearm season will now include: single shot, breech loading rifles, .35 caliber or larger, having an exposed hammer that uses metallic cartridges loaded either with black powder or modern, smokeless powder.

Interesting. I guess that a .357 magnum Handi-Rifle will now be legal for the Primitive Firearm Season

What's Today? Wednesday?

I'm not in uniform this week, and with a holiday on Monday my internal calendar is all screwed up.  I've got a list of chores that I'm working off, and the lawnmower was on top of the list.  It's 8+ years old and right now it's fixed.  I don't know how long it is going to stay fixed, but that little chore is done.

Next comes fence maintenance.  For those of you who don't live in hurricane-prone areas, you probably would be amazed at what 100 mph winds can do to a wooden fence.  Thankfully, here in central Louisiana we don't often get 100 mph winds, but we do see 50+ mph winds when a hurricane rolls ashore, heads north and batters the hell out of us as a tropical storm.  My privacy fence has been through three of these things in the past eight years and parts of it are getting pretty wobbly. 

I started, after the lawnmower repair, punching holes in the back yard so that I can install wooden 4X4 posts to supplement the metal poles that hold the fence.  Wood flexes, while metal posts bend and crimp.  The combination of the two makes for a very sturdy fence.  I'm only going to install a half-dozen of these things, so it doesn't justify renting a power auger.  My old fashioned post hole digger will suffice.  However, punching holes in the ground in 90 degree heat takes a lot out of an old, fat man.  I'll get it done, but at my pace, with lots of iced tea breaks.  Which reminds me, I need to go buy some concrete.

Riser's Amendment

Louisiana is very gun friendly. We've got a long, rich cultural history of hunting, fishing, shooting and our laws reflect that rich culture. One of our state Senators, Neil Riser, has proposed an amendment to our state Constitution that would enshrine the right to keep and bear arms in Louisiana. The text of the proposed amendment is as follows:

 Section 11. The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms is fundamental and shall not be infringed. Any restriction on this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.

The amendment, under Louisiana law has passed the full legislature and has been approved by the Governor. It goes now to the people for passage during the November election.  This amendment is notable because it invokes the legal doctrine of strict scrutiny.  This is interesting because strict scrutiny requires a compelling government interest, narrowly tailored, with the least possible restriction before the law will pass constitutional muster.  It is the highest legal standard that a court can apply to protect freedom and prevent government intrusion.

Opponents of the bill say that this amendment will pave the way to nullifying many of the gun laws currently on the books, such as the ones that restrict carry on campuses, churches, and government buildings.  

I predict easy passage when the bill goes before the public.  Louisiana takes another step toward becoming a free state.

Lean

Have you ever heard of Lean?  It seems to be a new recreational drink, composed of Arizona Watermelon fruit drink, Robitussin, and Skittles.  Evidently, you can get high on it, and maybe not coincidentally, two of the three ingredients were found on Trayvon's body the night he was killed. 

One of the recipes for “lean” calls for using Arizona Iced Tea Co.watermelon fruit juice cocktail as the beverage of choice, and Skittles candy… the items found on Trayvon Martin’s body the night he was shot by George Zimmerman.

Interesting, that. The Last Refuge has a mega-post up about the street concoction and how it might affect a person. Some say it gives a mellow high, but if you don't get the ingredients just right, it becomes "poor man's PCP". Whether or not Trayvon was stoned the night he became a bullet-stop is inconsequential to this post. What is consequential is that you can make a street drug from fruit juice, cough syrup, and candy. That's interesting to a school-house cop and hopefully to many parents who might be reading this posting.

Gendercide

Did you know that there are some Planned Parenthood clinics that are counseling women on how to obtain an abortion depending on the sex of the child.  If so, there is something sick, vile, and degrading in the culture of Planned Parenthood.  You wanna talk about a War on Women?  Go to the link.  Watch the video. 

Disgusting.

Lawn Mower Maintenance

The wonder of the internet.  Look around for awhile and you're bound to find an expert in any given field.  You can download parts manuals, test procedures, just about anything you'd like if your Google-fu is strong.

Here in the family, we call this machine the Magic Information Box.  Ask it a question, it'll spit out an answer.  Maybe not the answer you're looking for, but if you keep at it, you'll get an inkling of where you need to look next.  No, I'm not going into particulars, but I'm a whole lot further along than I was a daylight today.  Hopefully, this is an easy fix.

The Draft

There's a piece at Time, which argues, if not for the draft then for a discussion of compulsory service.  Okay, lets talk about this.

I remember the draft, compulsory military service.  It touched my life as a high school student because we were in the throes of Vietnam.  Arguing about whether or not we should have been there in the first place still causes a huge divide in my age group. I also remember the day that President Nixon ended the draft, the sense of relief among my age group was palpable, euphoric, liberating.  I later volunteered and served alongside draftees, the vast majority of whom served well, honorably, some staying in the service until retirement.

Imbecile!

Evidently, there's this imbecile, Chris Hayes at MSNBC, who claims that calling our fallen "heroes" makes him uncomfortable.  You don't have to watch the clip, but I've embedded it below.  I've also quoted the relevant words.

I feel comfortable, ah, uncomfortable, about the word because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war.

This guy is obviously an idiot who has no idea what it's like to pull your boots on, get on a boat, or a plane, or a truck and go to a place where folks want to shoot at you.  He's also uncomfortable calling the folks who do these things hero.  Today we remember those who gave the last full measure of devotion to our country.

I would recommend to Mr. Hayes that he immediately resign his position at MSNBC, hie himself down to the recruiting offices and sign up to serve. Once he's heard shots fired in anger, and once he's helped haul is wounded buddy out of the zone, then maybe he'll be fit to proffer an opinion about who is a hero and who is not.  Until then, he needs to shut the hell up and be grateful that there are people who go in harm's way on his behalf.  At this point, I consider him an ungrateful coward, unfit to scrub the toilets of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who go in harm's way.

People like Chris Hayes really, truly, piss me off.

EDIT** The video ran at opening and was aggravating as old Billy hell, so I culled it.

Cry Havoc!

This is interesting.  It appears that someone at the Weather Service got caught with their hands in the till. 

Jack Hayes, the director of the National Weather Service, stepped down Friday in response to an investigation that top officials at the weather service had misappropriated $43.8 million by giving bonuses and extensions to contractors without proper justification.

It is my considered opinion that most weather-related science is bullshit.  Pure unadulterated bullshit.  Until the Weather Weenies can tell me whether or not, in three days, it will rain on my acre, they're full of crap.  I can give a generic weather report for three days out.

Clear to partly cloudy for the Deville, LA area, hot, in the mid-90s with 80% humidity.  Chance of a mid-afternoon or early evening thunderstorm.

That, ladies and gentlemen is the forecast for most of June-thru-September in my area.  The weather service can't do any better than that, and the idea that they're stealing from me galls me to no end.   It is my considered opinion that most of what passes for meteorology is hocus-pocus science, akin to reading tea leaves and sheep entrails.  There is no more science there than exists in a shaman's incantation, and until they can tell me, to a certainty, when it will next rain on my acre, they have no claim to my tax dollars, and certainly no claim to be a scientist.

Put the thieving bastards in jail.  Not just the ones caught stealing, but all the ones who claim to be "weather scientists".  They've been stealing from us for years.

Sunday Morning Dawg

A quick YouTube video of Milady feeding the dog flour tortillas.  When we go to a Mexican joint, we always bring the dog a few tortillas.  He seems to like them.



Watching him eat tortillas always cracks me up.

The Poppies Blow

Every year about this time the VFW has a fund-raiser and gives little red poppies as thanks.  I always stop when I see the guys, roll my window down and drop whatever money I have in my pocket in their bucket. This morning I acquired a nice little collection that I've hung on my rearview mirror.

The poppies, of course, remind us of that great battlefield poem by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae who was killed in the second battle of Ypres during the First World War.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 It is the Memorial Day weekend and PawPaw is going to be busy, remembering, laughing, being with family.  If you happen to see the VFW guys on the side of the road, stop and drop some money in their bucket.   Get yourself a poppy and hang it from your rearview mirror.

Super Soaker

It looks like some fools are turning Super Soaker water guns into shotguns.  This one found in Fresno had a barrel and a 20 gauge shotgun shell.



Apart from the obvious law enforcement concerns, I'm wondering how that plastic water gun would handle the pressure?  It might turn a plastic toy into a hand grenade.

Dipping Powder

I sat down at the bench today and found what was left of an old can of IMR 3031.  I had a box of Hornady 150 grain bullets #3035, round nose for the .30-30, so I decided to load what was left of that can of powder.  For years I had a mantra for loading the .30-30.  Quoted simply, it is: Thirty grains of 3031 for the .30-30.

I didn't want to set up my powder measure for such a small quantity of powder, so I decided to get out the dippers.  Lee's been selling dippers for as long as I've been reloading, and I've got a full set, so I got the chart out and got the scale out, and in just a few minutes I learned that the 2.2 cc dipper would throw 29.2 grains of my 3031.  Dipping powder is an easy way to measure it and with just a little practice it's easy to dip charges that are very consistent.  In just a few minutes I had dipped 20 charges and found that I was out of powder for that old can.  It's done and I have to buy some more 3031.

I don't remember when I bought that particular can, but I think that IMR quit putting powder in cans several years ago.  However, the Hodgdon still lists my load as acceptable in terms of their criteria.  We'll see how they fly, and I'll have to pick up another can of 3031.

Now, I need to find a dipper load for the .30-30 using IMR 4805 powder. I've got a good dipper load for cast bullets, but I've never tried that powder and jacketed bullets.  We'll see.

Ann Romney Loves Horses

That's what I get from the LA Times article, that Ann Romney likes horses.  From what I read of it, they're trying to slant it to be a particularly expensive hobby, and if I had Ann's millions, I might have spent more money on my horses, but the basic consideration is that Ann is an equestrian.  As was I, as are millions of Americans.  Ann rides dressage, an Olympic sport.  I rode cattle ponies and let the kids show them in 4H clubs and shows.

Are horses expensive?  You betcha, although millions of middle-class and those not yet in the middle class can afford to ride.  Some of the best horsemen I knew never seemed to have two nickels to rub together.  Nobody needs a horse these days, but some of us love them. 

According to the article, Ann started to ride seriously when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.  Riding horses is good therapy for lots of things and I'm sure that riding helped with the MS.  It takes muscle to ride, and coordination to blend your movements with the horse.  For any that doubt it, go get a horse and ride for an afternoon.  Give it four solid hours.  You'll feel muscles you never thought you had, and you'll be sore in places that you didn't know were places.  Riding is good exercise.

Ann has dressage horses, and I had cattle ponies.  We both love horses.  I bet that Ann would have done just fine on my cattle pony, and her well-trained horse would surely have picked up the basics of herding cattle.  It's a horse, by God, not a machine.

That's just another reason to vote for Mitt.  His wife likes horses.

Gridlock Eases in Metro Areas

USA Today reports that traffic congestion is easing in many metro areas.

Traffic congestion dropped 30% last year from 2010 in the USA's 100 largest metropolitan areas, driven largely by higher gas prices and a spotty economic recovery, according to a new study by a Washington-state firm that tracks traffic flows.

That's an upside, I guess. You have to find good news wherever it may be, but I don't think that those folks who don't have jobs or can't afford gasoline will see it as good news.

Graduation

They're graduated. Ninety-something of them walked across the stage tonight and they are now OFFICIALLY not my problem. Two especially troubled children walked tonight. I'm sure that I'll see one or both of them in an official capacity. They'll probably make someone a good trustee one of these days. Still, they're done. Good riddance.

Alberto

The first storm of the season, Tropical Storm Alberto is hovering off the Georgia/South Carolina coast.  It isn't expected to make landfall, but the season is upon us, about 10 days earlier than the traditional June 1st kickoff date.

The first project I have for the summer is to re-inforce my backyard fence. That's normally the first thing a tropical storm will take.

Shaped by Religion

I see that the New York Times is running an article on how Mitt Romney was shaped by his religion.

In the pursuit of fairness, I'd like to see an article on how President Obama was shaped by Black Liberation Theology.

By a Neck

I'll Have Another, by a neck.

Belmont Stakes, anyone?  The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed, in 1978.  Lots of near-misses since then, but no Triple Crown

On Education

I work in a High School. A good high school, a high school that regularly achieves honors and students that excel in a number of academic endeavors.  However, we also have those low-achievers.  Not the student that can't learn, but the student that refuses to learn, refuses to be engaged, refuses to try.  High schools are judged on their graduation rate, or more particularly, on their dropout rate and the administration has tried different tactics to save what I call the "reluctant scholar".  They try things like "remediation" and "content mastery" in an attempt to bring the reluctant student around.  Some of the instructors, I'm sure, resort to grade inflation, allowing a student to pass when he should have failed.

An article at Pajamas Media talks about such things, albeit at the college level. 

The unteachable student has been told all her life that she is excellent: gifted, creative, insightful, thoughtful, able to succeed at whatever she tries, full of potential and innate ability. Pedagogical wisdom since at least the time of John Dewey — and in some form all the way back to William Wordsworth’s divinely anointed child “trailing clouds of glory” — has stressed the development of self-esteem and a sense of achievement.

And that is the problem. At the college level and at the High School level.  Kids think they will trail clouds of glory, when in most cases they're simply trailing smoke.  Foul, odorous smoke that lingers in the hallway and taints the rarefied air of excellence in education.  For success, there must be failure.  For excellence, there must be drudgery, for brilliance, there must be darkness.  These things are identifiable simply because they contrast.  Without one, you cannot have the other.

Most of what passes for education today, at least at the high school level, is simply bullshit. Go read at the link above to see fresh thinking at the university level.  Many of us are thinking the same thing at the high school level.

Sunday Morning Dawg

Yesterday was a lazy Saturday afternoon, after a hectic morning putting in a door.  The dog took the opportunity to relax on the porch, chilling with the family.

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Putting in Doors

The project this morning was at my son's house.  Taking out an old sliding glass door and installing a new French door. Getting the old sliding door out was only a ten minute job, but prepping the hole to accept the new door took a little longer.

Installing the door in the hole. Shimming, squaring, making sure everything fit.

That looks a little bit better, doesn't it? He forgot to buy locking hardware, but that's an easy fix. I left shortly after this picture was taken.

The IPO

So, what happened to Facebook yesterday? The little company that had started in a college dorm room, had become a dominant player in the internet, had become a powerful icon of social media, went public yesterday after a couple weeks of hype and glamor.

The Initial Public Offering, where anyone could buy shares, was a huge event, characterized mainly by fizzle. That's the market at work, my friends and that's the way it is supposed to work. Investors took a look at the company, went through the analysis and decided that it wasn't worth what the hype said it was worth. From what little I'm reading about it, Morgan Stanley had to prop up the share price to keep it from going below the starting price of $38.00. Which means that Morgan Stanley bought a bunch of $38.00 stock that might not be worth $38.00.

It's a fairly easy initial analysis as I learned it in grad school. Take the net worth of the business, divide it by the shares of common stock, and you've got the supposed worth of one share of common stock. Investors buy and trade stocks based on a number of factors and their reading of the business climate. Sometimes a company is uniquely positioned to take advantage of a situation that would influence the selling price of a share, sometimes a company is in such a position that buying the stock is a bad idea. Sometimes an investor can make money on a stock, sometimes he'll lose his butt.

What happened to Facebook yesterday? The market decided what the company is worth. That's what the market is designed to do.

On Recording the Police

It's a fact of modern life that everyone who has a cell phone has a video camera.  It's also a fact of life that when you're out in public, you're apt to be recorded.  I know when I'm at work on my beat, there are about 14 different cameras that are running all the time.  And all the students have cameras, most especially those kids in the videography class.

So, when I see the police complain about being recorded, I wonder what they're thinking.  Of course you're going to be recorded.  Some states have passed ordinances against recording the police and I think that's a very bad idea, from a number of perspectives.  First, we're public servants.  Everything we do should stand legal scrutiny.  We work for the people and they have a right to make sure that their servants are doing a good job, doing it properly, and preserving their rights.

Some agencies seize recordings when the public is recording the police and I can appreciate the need to preserve evidence.  I routinely seize video of crimes being committed, capture it for its evidentiary value.  I certainly don't seize cameras and I give everyone a receipt for their evidence.

The Justice Department has come out with a letter that says that citizen filming of the police is okay and within their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. 

The right to record police officers in the public discharge of their duties was essential to help “engender public confidence in our police departments, promote public access to information necessary to hold our governmental officers accountable, and ensure public and officer safety,” wrote Jonathan Smith, head of the Justice Department’s Special Litigation Section.

I concur with Mr. Smith in his assessment. If any of my badge-bearing brethren has a problem with being recorded in the performance of their duty, they should probably re-read the Constitution.

Celebration

Tomorrow I'm doing something I haven't done in nine years.  Taking a day off that has nothing to do with hospitals or illness.  I'm going to watch my son graduate from the POST academy in Baton Rouge.  I've been there for every other graduation;  High school and when he got his BS degree.  I'll be there tomorrow for his induction into law enforcement.

He's a Probation and Parole Officer, the same job from which I retired in 2000 and I'm sure that I'll see faces I remember, those guys who stayed in the field and are running the show nowadays.  His boss is a guy I helped to train and with whom I've kicked a few doors.

He and his wife, after graduation, are going to slip down to New Orleans to celebrate their anniversary, so we'll bring the grandson home from graduation and he'll spend the weekend with us.

I've got to be suitably attired for graduation and for such an event, it's incumbent on me to carefully choose my accessories.  I'm thinking slacks and boots, a nice 5.11 polo, my barbecue gun and retirement badge.

Yeah, that'll be about right.

Interesting

Fox News is reporting that the medical records of George Zimmerman indicate that he had multiple injuries consistent with taking an ass-whipping.

Court records show George Zimmerman had a pair of black eyes, a nose fracture and two cuts to the back of his head after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

That's interesting. What is also interesting is to consider the non-fatal wounds that Trayvon Martin's body revealed.

Local station WFTV also reported Tuesday that an autopsy report showed the only injury Martin had -- aside from a fatal gunshot wound -- was broken skin on his knuckles. The injury noted in the autopsy report could support Zimmerman's claim that Martin punched him in the nose before slamming his head on the sidewalk.

Oops. It looks like maybe, just maybe, Zimmerman was convinced that he was in danger of death or great bodily harm when he shot Martin. Sounds like a self-defense claim to me. Sounds like a convincing self-defense claim that medical records support.

If Same Sex Marriage is a Good Idea, why does it lose at the Polls?

That's a great question.  Same-sex marriage seems to do great in every survey, but it loses big when people have to go vote on it.  Why is that?  Well, some pundits are crunching numbers trying to explain it.  Go read if you must, but I think it's a lot easier to explain.

Let's say you call PawPaw on the phone and ask me if Same-Sex marriage is a good idea.  I don't much care what people do in the privacy of their bedrooms.  Not any of my business.  Just don't give a damn.  Likewise, what I do in my bedroom is nobody's business, either.  So, I get polled as supporting same-sex marriage.

When I get to the voting booth and see an amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman, I'll pull the lever for the YES vote.  They're different questions.  Do I care if two men get married?  Not particularly, in the abstract.  Do I believe that marriage should be properly defined as between one man and one woman?  Yes I do.

Aggravating, isn't it?  That's the nature of the American voter.  You've got to be careful how you frame the question, or I'm liable to answer both sides of it.  In the abstract, I don't care what you do in California, except that when they put the question to California voters, they turned down same-sex marriage as well.

Y'all are asking two different questions, linking them in your minds.  In my mind, they aren't linked at all.  My opinions reflect that position.  Call me a hypocrite, call me narrow-minded, but don't call me late for supper.

Ordering Bullets

I needed to make an order for bullets and I've been ordering most of my reloading supplies from Midway USA.  The problem with Midway is that the shipping costs have climbed over the past couple of years and the component prices aren't what you can find anywhere.  So, this morning I decided to look elsewhere and clicked on Powder Valley.  This is a little firm in Kansas that has supplied powder and primers to me in the past when I couldn't find what I was looking for anywhere else.  Surprise, surprise, Powder Valley beat the Midway USA prices on bullets and says that they'll figure the shipping based on the weight of the package.

About an hour ago, I got a shipping label notice from UPS.  So far, great service.  We'll see how their shipping costs align with Midway, but I'm betting that they'll meet or beat them.

Powder Valley has the PawPaw seal of approval.

**UPDATE**  I just checked my bank, and shipping was $9.95 for an 8 lb box through UPS.  The last order from Midway was about the same size and shipping, handling, etc was $13.55.  I saved money on both the basic merchandise and the shipping.  As far as I'm concerned, this is a win-win.

I've also used MidSouth, but they were out of stock on my order this morning.  I've used Graf's in the past and like them as well.  Still, this morning, Powder Valley came in with the lowest price when I looked at individual stock numbers for like items.  Just for the record, I ordered Hornady bullets, all .30 caliber.  150 grain SST's, #30302, 150 grain RN .30-30, #3035, and 130 grain spire points, #3020.  If you're a .30 caliber shooter and haven't tried that #30302, you're missing out on one fine bullet.  It's billed as a hunting bullet, but it is very accurate in a number of my .30 caliber rifles.

RIP, Mitch

Mitchell Guist, a cast member on the TV show Swamp People died today.

"We are extremely saddened to report that our friend and beloved member of the 'Swamp People' family, Mitchell Guist, has passed away earlier today. Mitchell passed on the swamp, doing what he loved. We appreciate your respect for the Guist family's privacy and hope you join us in sending our thoughts and prayers to his brother, Glenn, and the rest of the Guist family," the History Channel said in a statement.

I'm going to miss him.  He and his brother Glenn were some of my favorite characters on the show.

Sunday Morning Dawg

It's Mother's Day and if there is one person the dog loves, it's Milady.  She saved him from the kennel and brought him to a home where he has full run of the place.  In his eyes, Milady is the resurrected God.  If she's in the house, he's next to her, or looking for her.

Milady got out of his sight, so it's time to go find her.

Y'all have a Happy Mother's Day.

Whiskey Chasin'

It's been a rainy day, working in the shop, now it's after five o'clock and I've got a toddy in my hand.  Milady is cooking pork chops, peas and rice with a cornbread in the oven.  Life is good.



This afternoon, I don't have any troubles.  Listening to Joe Stampley.

Dumbest Crook

This idiot gets caught trying to sell is counterfeiting operation to the Pawn Shop.  Seriously.

Kenny "Boom" Smith was busted by the U.S. Secret Service for making and passing counterfeit money. Smith must have thought his funny money skills are pretty good because he attempted to sell both his counterfeit cash and his counterfeiting machine to a pawn shop. Not just any pawn shop, either.
American Jewelry and Loan is where the hit TV show "Hardcore Pawn" is shot. The store near 8 Mile and Evergreen roads has become a destination because of the show.

I'm sure that he's re-thinking his whole operation.

Rainy Saturday

It's a rainy Saturday and I'm piddling around the house.  Tomorrow is Mother's Day and we're going to church where I'll hug my mother's neck, then we're going to Jena, to see Milady's mother.  Several of the family are gathering at her house and I'm bringing Italian Beef.  It's a great recipe and everyone who samples it seems to like it.  Slow cooker, beef, au jus, what's not to like?

In this recipe as in all others, presentation is everything, so why not post a picture?

That is a great looking sandwich, isn't it?  You can click on the link above for the full recipe.

Friday Fiddlesticks

Back in the old days, Cajun music was all acoustic.  There was no electricity for amplifiers, hell, there were no amplifiers at all.  Nor light bulbs.  Folks made music with what they had, and if you had a good fiddler in the community, maybe someone who could pick a guitar and a washtub, you had everything you needed to make music.

One way of making rhythm was the fiddlesticks. These willow wands, or knitting needles were used to provide a rhythm when drums weren't available and they provide a subtle counterpoint that some folks can't readily identify.  Below, we have one of the best cajun fiddlers, Dewey Balfa, playing a fiddle accompanied by a young musician on the sticks.



Hat tip to my boy.

That Figures

My step son came over to borrow the pickup truck, and as is my habit, I went under the front seat and took out the Super Blackhawk that resides under there.  I'll loan my truck but not my revolver.  If something happens to the truck, I'll be okay, but if something happens to that revolver, I'll be upset and aggravated.

Good thing I took the revolver out.  I found some rust on the backstrap and as I was checking it prior to cleaning it, there was no ammo in it.  I remember that I let someone shoot it and I never reloaded it.  So, I went to the ammo shelf and found that I am nearly out of .loaded .44 ammo of any stripe.  Just Damn!  It's time to get out the bags of brass and load some .44 ammo.

I have just exactly two loads for that pistol.  My .44 Special load, which is good for about 95% of the shooting I do with that revolver, is what I call my Skeeter load.  First proposed by the late Skeeter Skelton, it's 7.5 grains of Unique under a 240 grain cast bullet.  That load runs out at about 970 fps, considerably more snappy than the anemic .44 Special factory fodder.  I really like that load a lot and I believe that if more .44 Special folks used it, they wouldn't feel the need to use magnums.  There is a whole lot to like about a 240 grain cast bullet traveling at 970 fps.

The second load for that revolver is a standard .44 magnum load, proposed by both Skeeter and Elmer Keith.  I use 19.0 grains of 2400 under that same 240 grain cast bullet.  That gives me 1350 fps and knocks the living hell out of anything I've shot with it.  Both of those loads are lit with with Winchester Large Pistol primers.  I've never seen a need for magnum primers in any handgun.  2400 lights up just fine with a standard primer.

On Senators

I believe that Senators and diapers should be changed often, for the same reasons.  Lots of folks are cogitating about Dick Lugar's comeuppance in Indiana yesterday, and it was long overdue.  As Michael Walsh explains: 

In the name of “democracy,” the “progressive”-era amendment fundamentally upset the balance of state-fed power that had been built into the Constitution, tipping it inexorably in favor of Washington. Unmoored from state or region for a minimum of six years — and more likely, twelve or 18 — the senators now form a club without a purpose except for their own reelections. Far from enhancing democracy, the very nature of the office now mocks it. 

As a matter of public service, I'd like to propose an amendment to the US Constitution. That any person, lawfully elected, could serve 12 years in the US Congress. They could split that up anyway they liked, but a maximum term of 12 years in either the House or the Senate or a combination threreof, and we'd send them home to wherever home might be. Also, that they would be forbidden from working for the government or lobbying the government for a term of 20 years past their government service.

Here in Louisiana we have both Diaper Dave and Katrina Mary as our Senators. We are so proud.

That Pesky Law

Why is it that people don't think that the handicap parking law doesn't apply to them?  That they're entitled to park in that blue-lined spot, if they are "only going to be a minute"?

I am taking it as my mission to disabuse them of the notion.  I bet that I ran a half-dozen people out of that spot today, and tomorrow I'm bringing my ticket book.  I've had a gut full of people parking in that spot.

I've never been a ticket-writer.  I'm simply not fond of traffic citations and will generally give a warning rather than write the ticket.  Luckily, my bosses have always supported me and haven't insisted I write a ticket when a friendly warning will suffice.  All that might change, tomorrow.

Breda's Back

In a new guise.

Welcome back, girl.  I've missed you.

A Tale of Two Bullets

I've been playing with a Ruger Model 77, an old tang-safety rifle, built in 1971.  The rifle is in .25-06 and I've been piddling with loads.  Several years ago I put together a load using Reloder 22 and the Sierra Gameking bullet.  I've shot it in my son's rifle and it shows good accuracy, under an inch, so I loaded some of those for my rifle and took it to the range.

Sure enough, those went into 0.752.  Certainly capable for the deer woods  But, I wasn't getting quite the velocity I wanted, so I loaded it up one grain, to 51.0 grains of Reloder 22.  That opened the group up considerably.

One extra grain of powder and the group opens up to almost two inches.  That ain't good, the extra speed isn't worth the loss of accuracy.  However, I've got some 117 grain Hornady SST's which are pretty good bullets in other calibers.  I had loaded some of those with the same powder charge, so I let the barrel cool, then settled down on the bench and let fly.

That's a pretty good 3-shot group, and my manuals tell me that it should be running just north of 2900 fps.  I also loaded each bullet with 52.0 grains of RL22, which my manuals tell me is a max load.  As I've found with max loads, the groups opened up to the point where I don't want to share them.  This does illustrate that when you change one component, you change everything.  In this case, one grain of powder and a change of bullets made a huge difference.

That Gameking load is a proven load in two rifles, it's always shot under an inch in either of the two.  However, that bug-hole group with the Hornady bullets has my eyes open.  It might be worth it to load another dozen or so and see if that group is an anomaly, or if it will continue to be a good load.

Spam Comments

Just so everyone knows, and a reposting for those that don't.  I own the comments on this blog.  It's my blog and I've never deleted a comment that disagrees with me, nor deleted a comment that takes issue with any point I might like.  I know how to take criticism and honest criticism is manna for a writer.  I do my best work when I'm criticized.

However, those comments who link to a commercial site, who are rude or condescending, or otherwise outside the bounds of polite discussion are deleted immediately.  This is my house and the rules of deportment are simple and direct.  If you can't say something in my living room or on my back deck, you damned sure can't say it here.  I'll delete those comments in an instant, with no more aforethought than I would slay a pissant.

I live for comments, I love comments, but I won't tolerate rudeness.

Now, that's enough about that.

The Death Spiral

I don't know if you remember, but in 2008, James Hansen said that the Arctic was in a death spiral, and the Arctic Ice was decreasing to the point where life on earth was at risk.  

Since the same date in 2008, Arctic ice has increased by more than 15%. Global sea ice area is fifth highest on record for the date. The breathtaking ignorance of the experts is indeed breathtaking.

Heh!  The death spiral of the climate experts is the big news these days.  Those bozos demonstrate time and time again that they don't know whatthehell is going one.

Educator Bias

I see a study from the Journal of Educational Psychology, reported on in Science Daily, that shows that educators might be doing minority students a disservice by failing to challenge them.

A major study, led by Rutgers-Newark psychology professor Kent D. Harber, indicates that public school teachers under-challenge minority students by providing them more positive feedback than they give to white students, for work of equal merit.

Whenever you challenge a person, they either rise to the challenge or they fail.  That's what school is about, rising to the challenge.  You can't educate anyone without lessons and tests and assessment.  All those things require challenges to be met.  Those teachers that challenge students and fail the ones that won't rise to the challenge are the best teachers in the profession.  It doesn't matter what the race of the student might be, minority students can fail just like white kids.  Let 'em fail, then challenge them to improve.

Most of the problems in the current educational system is that the system is horrified when someone fails.  I think that we do students a great disservice by letting them believe that they won't fail.  

Sunday Morning Dawg

With the warm weather, we're spending more time outside on the decks, near the pool.  The dog is also spending more time in the sun.

One never knows which grandkid might drop something edible, so the dawg has to always be alert for snacks of opportunity.

Goblin Count

I don't normally do goblin counts, but feel-good stories like this deserve to be trumpeted. My friend Termite sent me this one.

JACKSONVILLE, N.C.– Two Camp Lejeune Marines returned home early Sunday morning to find two men in their house. The intruders didn't make it out of the house alive. 33-year-old, Maurice Skinner and 33-year-old, Diego Everette were identified by police as the men killed in the burglary attempt. Both men are from Jacksonville. Skinner and Everette were pronounced dead at the scene, but according to Jacksonville Police Chief, Mike Yaniero it is unlikely that anyone will be charged in the shooting. "The investigation is ongoing, however at this time there is no evidence to suggest that criminal charges be filed."

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.  Breaking into Marine's houses isn't generally a good idea.  Unfortunately, it was the last idea these two goblins had.

I'm going to go outside and do a happy dance.

All these Things

Back in 1966 a little band from north Louisiana hit it big on the Billboard charts with a song All These Things.  Joe Stampley and The Uniques were a staple of the dance and honky-tonk clubs when I was a youngster and while the band broke up later, Joe continued to write music and make a living singing his songs.  I used to listen to Joe at a place called Curl's Club in Mansura and he'd play concerts and dances all over this great state.



When Milady and I were dating, Joe was playing at the Homecoming in Jena, LA a small concert in the park.  Milady and I went to listen and wound up dancing to that song under the stars.  When the song was finished, we realized that we were the only ones of several hundred people there who felt the need to dance.  Evidently, dancing in public is verboten in some places.  That would explain why all those folks go to honky-tonks in towns that aren't dry.

Tonite, Joe's playing at the casino down the road.  Milady and I have tickets and we're going to see him.  We might even dance.

Ya Can't Tell the Players without a Scorecard

It looks like an occupier went on a shooting rampage today, killed four people then ate his gun.

Initial reports say that he's a Neo-Nazi, Minuteman, and the mainstream press is chirping crickets over his Occupy ties.  It seems that the Occupiers spent yesterday planning to blow up bridges, causing general chaos, and tore up a couple of cities, but the Tea Party is the real threat to the American way of life.

Say Uncle is all over the story, as is Gateway Pundit.

I'd love to stay and play with you folks, but I've got to pull my boots back on, strap on the duty belt and head back to the school-house.  Duty calls.

In The Mail

A Sirchie Porelon Pad.  This thing is old-school for taking fingerprints and it frankly amazed me to learn that Sirchie is still making them.  It's probably the first pad I ever used to take a fingerprint and it's the one that I carried in my briefcase when I had to fingerprint people when I didn't have ink and roller available.

I've got to take a bunch of fingerprints for my family, those that took the Concealed Firearms Course last month.  I've got the pad, now I need to go by the office and get a stack of fingerprint forms.

In the Mail

The Brady Bunch sent me a flyer with a survey and a business reply envelope, along with a request for a donation.  Ha!  I filled out their survey, then stuffed the return envelope.  I'll take it back out and put in the mailbox later.  Make them pay for return postage.  I had to trim the latest MidwayUSA sale flyer, but I got it to fit.

When they open the mail, they can see a sale on Bushnell Elite 3200 scopes.  That oughta make them cringe.