Revolution!

 Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) says that the American people are going to revolt if the Supreme Court smacks down gun control.  Really, Chris?

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) claimed over the weekend that the American people would “revolt” if the United States Supreme Court continued to block new gun control laws.

So, Chris (you unbelievable moron), just exactly who is going to revolt?  And with what?

Complaining that the courts had often halted any progress toward stricter gun control measures by interfering in anything legislators were able to get done, Murphy said, “If the Supreme Court eventually says that states or the Congress can’t pass universal background checks or can’t take these assault weapons off the streets, I think there’s going to be a popular revolt over that policy.”

It wouldn't be popular here in Louisiana, Chris.  Or in Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, ... I think you get the idea.  And just exactly who is going to revolt?  Are you going to lead the charge, Chris?  Into the barricades?  I doubt it. 

And, you forget, Chris.  There is that whole, unfortunate 2nd Amendment, which you despise.

CNN Traumatized

 As it turns out, CNN was "traumatized" during the Town Hall they hosted for President Trump last week.  Anderson Cooper was in full apology mode.

So, lets look at what actually happened.

1. CNN invited President Trump.  

2. Their viewership tripled during the Town Hall.  Most of these folks were tourists, there specifically to see President Trump.

3.  The studio audience was Thump supporters.

So, why is CNN traumatized?  Their liberal audience (all dozen of them), thought that Trump would go on an apology tour.  That wasn't likely to happen.  Their ratings soared, but the liberal audience is outraged.  That should tell them something.  If they are willing to listen.

Mothers Day

 I am incredibly fortunate to still have my Mom with us. Today, I hosted a lunch.  German roast beef, rice, gravy, carrot soufflé and dinner rolls.  Assorted desserts. Two of my sisters were able to attend.  It was quite nice.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 He got a haircut last week.

This is Interesting

Supposedly, this is Wyatt Earp's thoughts on gun fighting, as narrated by Steve Berwick.

Victor Davis Hanson: Joe Biden's regime is most revolutionary Left-wing ...

An interview with Dr. Victor Davis Hanson, who I consider one of the smartest academics we have today.  He's an historian who reveals the old truism that if we forget our history, we are doomed to repeat it.  Here he talks about the Bidden presidency and the reelection campaign.  Buckle up, it's about an hour long, but well worth the time.

Louisiana Dept of COrrections

 Steve Sky asked in comments:

 I'm guessing the hard labor wouldn't be at Angola?

I don't know, maybe.  The standard language as a sentencing says something like this:  "Sentenced to hard labor at such adult correctional facility as the Department of Corrections might specify." 

Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola is one of several prisons the Department operates. Inmates are assigned to prisons based on bed space and the needs of the Department.  It's been 20 years since I worked the Corrections side of the house, but Angola was generally full of life-term offenders.  Life means life in Louisiana and many offenders die in prison.

When I was active on the prison side of the house, the prison with the hardest reputation was Dixon Correctional in Jackson, LA.  Dixon had a reputation for hard-core guards and strict discipline.  But, that was 20 years ago.  Things may have changed.

Henry SEMI AUTO Rifle??? The Homesteader

Long time reader, and good friend Termite sent me a link.  He said that I might enjoy this particular rifle.  After searching around, I admit that I am intrigued.  It seems that Henry Repeating Arms, (yeah, the lever guys) have come out with a semiauto 9mm carbine with wood furniture, and one of the variants takes Glock magazines.

Wednesday Resolution

 Comer had his press conference this morning.  You can see it on C-Span or YouTube.  It wasn't as dramatic as the hype was, but they did give dates and named names.  Financial crimes are often boring, and that's what the Democrats are counting on.  Joe Biden is a crook, but his crimes are boring.

In that other matter of my past associate, he got sentenced today.  Many of his other past associates thought that he might get a probation sentence, and I cautioned them that, at least in this state, Molestation of a Juvenile is still a very serious crime. So, this afternoon in a fit of curiosity, I called the Clerk of Court's office.  The nice lady who answered the phone told me that he was sentenced to seven (7) years in the Department of Corrections at hard labor.  The sentencing range in these cases is 5-10 years, so it looks like the judge split the difference.

A quick check with the Sheriff's inmate locator reveals that he was booked this afternoon, serving time on a DOC sentence. Justice was served today in Rapides Parish.

Tuesday Anticipation

 We're waiting.  Waiting on a number of things to happen.

Title 42 dies the death it should have died months ago, but it dies on Thursday, and the border crisis shows no signs of abatement.  Quite the contrary.  Tens of thousands of migrants are poised to flow across Joe Biden's open border. The border is an unmitigated disaster, and Biden has no clue how to stanch the flow.

We're waiting until tomorrow for Comer's "show-and-tell" press conference, where he is going to lay out the criminals conspiracy headed up by Joe Biden.  Comer intends to show that the FBI and DOJ have been sitting on compelling evidence that then-VP Biden sold himself to our adversaries.  Comer's evidence needs to be so compelling, so crystal clear that Joe Biden immediately resigns and seeks a plea bargain. The evidence should be so compelling that no self-respecting defense attorney will touch the case. (I understand that "self-respecting defense attorney" in an oxymoron, but go with me on this one.)  If the evidence is not that compelling, then it will just be another ho-hum political stunt.

In another, entirely unrelated matter, I have a past associate who is scheduled tomorrow to be sentenced on a charge of Molestation of a Juvenile in the local courts.  Many in our local community are watching this case closely.  This guy was considered a staunch Christian, a leader in his church, who had a dalliance with an underage teenage girl.  It's a sordid tale, and we are told that he has pled guilty and will be sentenced tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Even Gay Bars Are Boycotting Bud Light!

Well now, Bud Light has pissed off everyone. They fired the cross-dresser, ran off the marketing team who started this whole kerfuffle, and made a half-assed response to the rednecks who actually buy their beer.

Anheuser Busch didn't have to get into this fight, but now they are in it, with no good way out.  They are going to have to pick sides.  Personally, I don't care, I don't drink that swill anyway.  If I want to drink water, I'll either drink water, or find a Miller Lite.  That has been my go-to lawnmowing beer for decades.  If I truly want a beer, I'll find a craft beer of some type, and don't really care.  I really anjoy an IPA on draft.

Comer's Wednesday Morning Breifing

 It seems that Rep Comer is going to hold a press briefing on Wednesday morning to lay out his case that the Biden family has been running a criminal enterprise and is going to show that the FBI and Justice Dept has been sitting on it.

There are also rumors swirling about that Justice will announce an indictment on Hunter Biden before Wednesday morning, to take Comer's wind out of his sails.  One of the things I learned during the Trump years and on which many legal scholars agreed, is that a sitting President cannot be indicted.  The only legal recourse to try a sitting President is impeachment, which is not going to happen to Joe.

We do know that the Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago next year, and that the Democrats can appoint anyone they like as their candidate.  It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out.

Sunday Musings

 I see that gunfire erupted at a Texas outlet mall.  The responding police officer did just exactly the right thing.  He closed with and engaged the shooter.  He ended the threat.  What dos surprise me is that there weren't more people there with guns.

I also see from this past week, some mentally-deranged asshole was creating a problem on New York subway train and an heroic former Marine subdued him until the police arrived.  This deranged asshole was a frequent flyer in the New York criminals system, but somehow the libs are claiming that the Marine murdered him. To this I respond with a succinct and resounding Bullshit! This nutcase was threatening people inside the steel tubes.  If he would have just sat down and shut up, he would have been fine.  He brought this on himself.

In lighter news, I see that Bud Light has managed to piss off it's only remaining market.  They fired the trans-critter that they earlier hired as a spokes-critter.  Now, the trans community hates Bud Light, along with the rest of America. On a more personal note, I hosted a family gathering yesterday and saw no Bud Light in the various coolers.  The family has moved to other brands. I'm sure that the distributors are in almost open revolt.

King Chuck

 As I drink my morning coffee, I see my news feeds are proclaiming that the UK is crowning King Chuck today.  Because our Brit cousins are seven hours ahead of us, they're probably doing ti as I type this.  Good for them, and good for Chuck.

More locally, it's raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock outside.  We have a family gathering today and it is good that Belle and I built this 2000 foot gathering place.  We're dry, with plenty of room to spread out.

The church is supposed to rodeo tonight and I'm on the list to cook burgers.  I'll have to check later today to see if the rain has rendered the arena into gumbo mud.  That has ben known to happen.  It's a rainy Saturday morning in central Louisiana.

Default

 The Biden Administration keeps trumpeting the lie that the US has never defaulted on it's debt obligations.  Except for the four times it did.

Yeah, four times.  1862, 1933, 1968, and 1971.  I still have some silver certificates that the government defaulted on in 1968.

Biden doesn't want to negotiate.  The Republican Congress has passed a plan, but Biden doesn't like it.  Perhaps it's time for him to sit down at the table and make a deal.  It's on him.  

But, don't liet them tell you that the US has never defaulted on a debt.  I still have those silver certificates.

Hotel Bentley

 The Hotel Bentley, an historic, iconic landmark in downtown Alexandria, LA burned this morning.

It's a beautiful hotel, still in service, and a lovely place to hold parties and events.  The local news is reporting that the fire is currently extinguished, but now the clean-up and assessment begins.

Just wow!  What a shame!

In Good Order

 A buddy asked me to run out to Camp Beauregard today to check on something.   I did that, and coming out of the PX, heard cadence being called.  I looked up and saw a platoon coming up the road in good order.

I admit, the sight took me back 50 years.

Discovery

 Discovery is a legal term that describes a legal requirement to give a defendant all the information that prosecutors hold so that the defendant can prepare a suitable defense.  This normally comes after the arrest of a criminal defendant but before trial.  Discovery is usually triggered by a defense motion during pretrial motions.

CBS News is reporting that Senator Chuck Grassley has a whistleblower with information that then Vice President Biden sold himself to a foreign national in a scheme involving a payoff in exchange for policy decisions.

In their letter to Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, Grassley and Comer said that it had come to their attention that "the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) possess an unclassified FD-1023 form that describes an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions."

Why go public with this now?  It seems to me, as a retired investigator, that you would want to get your hands on the document before you let people know that it even exists.  Why give Discovery at this early stage?  I admit that I am a bit baffled about why this news is coming out at this time.

Biden considers sending U.S. troops to border

We know that the border is a mess, but Fox is reporting that the Biden team is considering sending up to 1500 US active-duty troops to the border to help with administrative and transportation issues.

They report that most of these migrant critters are Venezuelan, but we know that the border is controlled by the cartels, and at some point we are going to have to deal with that fact.  The Mexican government is either unwilling or unable to deal with a large criminal enterprise on their northern (our southern) border. 

There is historical precedent for dealing with problems like this.  In 1916, there was a cartel in Mexico that was causing havoc along the border and the US Army sent a punitive expedition to take care of the problem.  

That expedition didn't go exactly as planned, but it did do some good.  I'm just saying.

Illegal

 The big story this weekend brings us to Cleveland, TX, a suburb of Houston. It seems that there was a Mexican national, here illegally after having been deported five times.  He was cranking off rounds in his front yard, when a neighbor asked him to stoop, they had a baby asleep in the house.

That request drove him over the edge, so he went across the street and killed five people, the youngest only 8 years old.  There is a manhunt now for this asshole.  So far, he has eluded capture.

The full story, as of this writing, is on Fox News.  This story highlights the abject, utter failure of BIden's border policy.  This guy has been deported five times.  If he's captured alive, he will never have to worry about being deported again. The Texas DOC will do a good job of housing, feeding, and working him for the rest of his natural life.  We can only hope that the time he is incarcerated is short, to limit the amount of money that the good taxpayers of Texas will use to maintain his worthless ass.

Oops?

 From Instapunit, we get this heartwarming tale of government incompetence.  Clicking through the link, we get more details.

At the Revere Hotel in Boston, FBI agents and Army Special Ops units were about to conduct a "training exercise".

In the "exercise", they would go into a room and interrogate a "role player".

Yeah, I've played those games.  Set up properly, they are really good training.  But this one went sideways.

Instead, they went to the wrong room, where an unsuspecting airline pilot answered the door.  They handcuffed him, threw him into the shower, and interrogated him for about an hour, before he was able to convince them he wasn't the "role player".

Oh, crap!  They went into the wrong room and bounced a citizen.  Presumably, the agents had badges and guns, Scared the crap out of some poor airline pilot.  I'm sure that  they apologized profusely and begged forgiveness. No?

They then told him that he could never speak about what had happened, and left.

Bad choice.  Everyone knows he's going to talk about it. Groveling and pleading would have ben a better idea, but that didn't happen.

Here is what should happen:  As to the FBI guys.  Move then out of whatever special detail they were on and transfer them to some God-awful posting in middle America.  Let them do white-collar crime until they reach retirement.  Use then as object examples in ethics training.

As to the soldiers, those Spec-Ops guys,  Reduce then one grade and transfer them back to the basic leg infantry.  I dunno, maybe at Fort Riley.  Or Leonard Wood.  Maybe Knox.  But never again in Special Operations.  They can serve out their time in Big Army,

Sunday Morning Dawg

 

Part Time Biden

 The New York Post is reporting that Ol' Joe works about 30 hours per week.  

Days after the 80-year-old formally announced he would run for re-election in 2024, Axios reported Friday that aides say it’s tough to schedule “public or private events” with Biden at certain times of day — namely weekends, mornings, and evenings.

 In fact, the report adds, most of Biden’s public events happen between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Oh, I'm sure that he gets his national security briefings,  But that puts this fool at the part time level of work. It used to be 40 hours to be considered full time, but I understand they have lowered that to 32.  Even so, you would think that the most powerful person in the world would work more than 40 hours per week.

Solving the Homeless Crisis

 Like many of you, I've been reading about the homeless crisis that unfolded in many of our large metro areas.  Portland, OR, New York City, etc.  Even my hometown of Alexandria, LA has a homeless problem, but not to the extent of other metro areas.  I've been thinking about what we could do to help solve this problem.

It returns to economics. In my hometown, we have something called the Central Louisiana Homeless Coalition that seems to be some sort of quasi-governmental agency to deal with the problem.  In Portland, OR, there is something called the Joint Office of Homeless Services, and even in New Orleans, there is an office in the Community Development department to deal with it.  These are just three examples. So, along wit the unfortunate homeless, we have people on the public payroll that are supposed to deal with that problem.  There are people on the payroll who need the homeless so that they can continue to draw a paycheck.  If the problem goes away, there is no reason to pay these people.

There is a truism in conservative economics that if you subsidize something, you get more of it. The simple answer is to quit subsidizing it. Defund those offices and transfer the government workers to another acency like Waste Water or Public Sanitation where they might be useful.

I notice, simply by looking around that we don't have a homeless problem in rural areas.  The land is privately owned, and we don't tolerate it.  I'm just sayin'.

Mowing

The rodeo crew at the church wants to rodeo tonight.  Whether it actually happens in a matter of claim and the arena crew will inspect the arena later today and see if the arena floor is dry enough to run horses.

Regardless, the grass grows whether it is raining or not.  So, we needed to mow.  I loaded the Skag on a trailer this morning and went to the church to knock the grass back.  I got in the spectator are and most of the outer arena .  When the front of my mower started pushing water, I backed off.  As good as a zero-turn mower is at cutting grass, those heavy beasts dearly love to get stuck.  This morning I did not want to deal with a mired mower.

If anyone complains, I'll tell them that it is hard to get good help at the rates they pay,  I'm easy to fire, so if they don't want me mowing grass, all they have to do is say so.

I got home as Belle was leaving the house.  I asked her if she wanted me to ride with her and she said that she was hitting a few stores, looking for crochet materials. I told her to have fun.  SHe needs time away from me, just like I need time away from her.

More Bud Light Controversy

 It seems that there is a bar in Indiana who has made news about its policy on Bud Light.

It seems that they want to have the conversation, but if you disagree with their opinion you should feel free to leave.

However, one venue in Bloomington, Indiana has made headlines with a contradictory message calling for "open conversations" about the subject, yet demanding those who disagree to "leave" their establishment.

I don't know which side of the debate they are on, and i don't really care, but it seems like a poor choice  If you are running a bar, the only thing you want is for your customers to have a good time, enjoy themselves, and buy product.  I was a bartender for a time, and I listened to more nonsense coming over the bar than anyone should have to listen to, but as long as the customer was not starting trouble and was paying his tab, I didn't care.

Rain

 It started raining yesterday about 9:00 and has continued pretty much nonstop.  Sometimes heavier, sometimes lighter, but a continuing period of rain.  Based on my observations of the back yard, we've gotten an inch or so.  

I was supposed to load the zero-turn and do some mowing at the church, but it seems like that's not happening.  The mower is ready, but the weather just won't cooperate.  We are supposed to have a rodeo tomorrow night, but that is in the air right now.  Hopefully the weather will moderate this afternoon and I can get over there tomorrow morning and do the mowing.  Regardless of whether we rodeo or not, the grass will still need to be mowed.

The dawg and I are out here in the shop, piddling at some small projects. We'll continue this for amother hour, thenI have to run to town to take care of some shopping.  It looks like it's going to be a rainy day around here today.

Washington State

 Washington State.  Top left corner of the map, is having a problem with their drug laws.  It appears that in July, there won't be any.

The current law is a stopgap passed after a state Supreme Court ruling invalidated Washington’s felony drug possession law. That stopgap, which makes drug possession a misdemeanor, expires in July.

It seems to be an odd combination of a state supreme court ruling and other laws expiring, and it seems that in July, there will be no drug possession laws in the state. I predict a certain amount of mayhem.

Change

 I see that there were some changes yesterday on the national stage.

Susan Rice left the White House.

Tucker Carlson left Fox News.

Don Lemon left CNN.

Interesting.  I doubt that one had anything to do with the other, but it is interesting.

Politics

 It is customary in presidential politics that a sitting president is not primaried by a member of his own party. This has been a unwritten rule for decades.  But, these are not normal times and politics today is not customary.

Indeed, these last couple of cycles has been weird.  Ol' Joe ran on being the anti-Trump when the country was locked in the Covid crisis.  Very little campaigning, ad-hoc voting rules, the entire cycle was quite bizarre.  And at this stage of the game, Ol' Joe has not yet formally announced his intentions for a second term. His family is mired in scandal, the wolves are at the door and he seems blissfully unaware of the myriad crises that he has led us into.

Robert Kennedy, Jr. the son of the assassinated RFK has announced his intention to run for the presidency.  He's an interesting character. He's a Covid skeptic, a Ukraine questioner, and does not seem to fit the mold of the current Democrat party.  He sounds to me like the Democrats from a bygone era, and he intends to primary the sitting president.

This may get interesting.

Cold

 It's been a cool, pleasant weekend, but this morning it's downright chilly.  47F on my back porch, which required flannel with my morning coffee. This is the last week of April in Louisiana, and this is normally the week when we would open the pool.

I know I shouldn't complain, but this is the third East cold snap we've had this year.  Soon, the summer will be upon us.  Still, I find it disconcerting to be wearing flannel in April.  I have been told that the Gulf is warm this year, and I can only hope that these cool temps will serve to moderate the water temps to help with the hurricane season that starts in another month of so.

One day soon we will drag out the generator for its quarterly maintenance. Part of the ritual of owning a generator is that if we make sure it is well maintained, we will never actually need to use it during a storm.  I intend to comply with that ritual to placate whatever of the minor gods that supervise such things.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 

History

 I am told that back in the day, when cowboys rode horseback, it was customary to carry a small lantern to find your way after dark.

This was the beginning of saddle-light navigation.

Dummies

 It seems that Pete Buttigieg wants to spend $20 million on female crash test dummies. It seems that the science shows that there are major physical differences between male and female humans.

Really, Pete?  There are differences between men and women, in body type, muscle mass and bone density?  Who would have guessed that?  That sort of puts the lie to the whole gender equity model, doesn't t?

I'm just sayin'.

Cleaning Filters

I'm cleaning filters on the shop air conditioners today.  I've even gone so far as the get out the shop vac and take a run at the evaporator and condenser coils.  Air has to move, and dirty coils slow the air.

Between trips up the ladder and waiting for the filters to dry, I'm surfing the intertubes.  It appears that the Hunter Biden story is starting to get some traction. That unnamed IRS whistleblower is seemingly doing it right, checking all the boxes, and is ready to blow the lid on Hunter, his dad Joe, and the rest of the Biden crime family.

Some legal scholars are making the point I made yesterday, that these investigations are taking too long, that it appears that some very high level people may be involved in a coverup.  And, for those of us old enough to remember Watergate, we recall that the coverup is the most damaging to a political career.  Some are saying that the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General may be at risk of criminal prosecution.

To continue the metaphor of cleaning filters, it appears that even CBS is beginning to cover the story.  I gave CNN a cursory review, but didn't find anything.  When Rachel Maddow starts covering it, we will know that all the filters have been cleaned.

Is Biden Corrupt?

 Is Joe Biden corrupt?  Has he used the office of the Vice President and now the office of the President to enrich himself and his family?  Well, of course.

A new article on Fox is telling us that the IRS has been slow-walking the investigation into the Biden family.  That's not news.  We also know that the FBI has had the Hunter laptop since before the election.  How long will these investigations go on? - - As long as Joe is the president.  It's a damned shame.

What else is a damned shame is the fact that we are being subjected to the constant buzz about corruption that we all know exists, without any resolution.  Hunter is a tragic player in a high stakes game of political malfeasance.  We all know this, but the powers-that-be are not compelled to hold him accountable.  Indeed, they seem to be intent on looking away while the rest of America watches, dumbfounded.

I remember when they got Spiro Agnew for corruption.  No one knew that the investigations were ongoing until mere hours before he resigned.  We did not suffer through the continuing drip, drip, drip of minor revelations.  That investigation was done properly and was only revealed when the evidence was so strong that no one could ignore it.  

If the IRS, or the FBI, or the DOJ has evidence that Biden is corrupt and are hiding eh evidence from the American people, that fact alone speaks volumes about corruption in those agencies.  If we find that criminal investigators refused to move on credible evidence of criminality, they should be sanctioned.  But if they don't move on high-level crime, they are simply perpetuating the idea that we do have a two-tiered justice system in our country.

First Mowing

I prepped the mower several weeks ago on a cold, clammy day.   This morning it was simply a matter of checking the oil, adding fuel, and firing it off.  I'm late this year, on April 20h.  The neighbors have been mowing for a couple of weeks.

I'm sure that the neighbors appreciate my sloth.  By comparison, I make their yards look better.  When I was in the livestock business, grass was an asset.  Now, it's a liability. It's simply something that has to be maintained.  Shorter is better. And, I don't do flowerbeds.  I consider them frivolous. When Belle and I bought this place, I promised her that I would mow the grass.  I also promised her that I would never maintain a flower bed.  That is on her.  She was okay with that, and so far, I have kept my vows.

The weather-weenies say it is supposed to rain tonight, and I knew that if I didn't get it done today, it would be another five days before the ground was dry enough to support that big Skag zero-turn I use to mow grass.  I love my zero-turn, but they will get stuck if the ground is damp.  

Mowing season is on us.  I'll continue to mow until the middle of October.

Another Shooting in Alexandria

Yet another shooting in my hometown of Alexandria, LA.  Again in an area I'm familiar with.  On the corner of Monroe and Louisiana.  My college roommate's parents lived on Louisiana Ave when we were in high school.  My grandmother lived several blocks away.  A lot of the girls I dated during high school lived in that area.  In the 79s, it was solid, white middle class.  Retirees and military, just plain folks.

In the 80s and 89s it started to change.  The shooting yesterday and the shooting today make me sad.  That used to be such a nice, friendly area of town.  Now, not so much.

Never Ends Well

Coming home from Georgia today, Belle tis surfing the net and tells me that there is a stand-off in my hometown, and when she gives me the location, I know it well.

Basically, the Alexandria Police Department initiates a traffic stop.  The choirboy leaps from his vehicle and begins shooting at the police.  The police return fire.  The choirboy runs away into a copse of trees nearby.  The police set up a perimeter and they get out their drones.  "Oh, look.  The copse has a corpse"

It seems that the choirboy took at least one bullet in the initial exchange of gunfire, ran into the woods mortally injured, and shortly assumed ambient temperature.

Never shoot at the cops. It does not end well.

On a side not, I wonder if I knew that choirboy?  We'll wait until his name is released.

Georgia State - Day 2

 I went out after seven rounds today.  I shot well, but got outrun by some very good shooters.   There is no shame in that.  Once I was done, I got to leave, so Belle and I came back to the hotel and are lounging around.

Tomorrow I won't have to set an alarm. When we waken and get ready, we'll check out of the hotel and go down the road for a nice breakfast, thence to the range. We have to be there at the bitter end, simply because Belle and I brought all the ammo that is being shot at this mitch.

Cowboy Fast Draw requires a special ammunition.  Basically, it is a wax bullet stuffed into a .45 LC case that has been cut to accept a shotgun primer. According to the rules, all of the ammo must be alike.  Same brand of wax, same brand of primer.  These cases are expensive, retailing at 80 cents apiece, but occasionally, deals can be found.  Belle and I happen to own 5000 of these casings. Our sister club in Silsbee, TX, owns 5000 of these cases.  So, when Georgia club said that they wanted to hold the first championship in the state, we asked if they had enough brass casings to supply the match.  They did not.

So, Belle and I volunteered to supply 5000 rounds, and the Silsbee club volunteered to provide 5000 cases.  The Silsbee club coordinated with me, and Belle and I brought all 0,000, loaded and ready to go. The Georgia club has purchased enough wax and primers resupply us, and I'm going to haul them all home, clean them, and load them for Louisiana State in  three months.

That is how Cowboy Fast Draw works.  We help each other. We are a family and we help each other out.

Georgia State - Day 1

 We're shooting under a roof with no walls.  It looks like an equipment shed, but it's not big enough for much equipment.  It kept the rain off of us and we were able to shoot.  They put your humble scribe into something called the Old Timers category. After the gunsmoke cleared, I believe I was in 2nd place, so I'll take home a minor trophy.

Tomorrow starts the main match, where all shooters are equal, and I have no illusions about my placement there.  All I an do is hit the target, but often that is enough.  Belle and I will get a good nights sleep and we'll start again tomorrow.

On The Road Again

 In another hour of so, Belle and I will be on the road to a shooting competition on the north side of Atlanta, GA.  We are looking forward to a weekend away and enjoying time with our shooting family.

The dog will be considerably confused, but he stays confused a lot.  He's staying home this time, and a grandson will make sure that his kibble is available and the water bowl filled.  He will be fine.

It has been several years since I was in north Georgia, and from what I remember, it is beautiful country.

Cancellation - I Think Not!

 Let me push back just a little on this cancel thing that Budweiser is experiencing.  I've read that Anheuser-Busch market cap has lost some $3 billion over the past month, but is that the fault of the American beer drinker?

A quick inventory of my personal beer lockers shows no Anheuser-Busch products. I have Miller High Life, Miller lite, Corona, Abita, and Sam Adams products.  But no Bud.  I haven't had a Budweiser since college.

American consumers are making a choice, individually.  Luckily we have lots of choices in the beer aisle. If you want to market to transvestites, go ahead.  It's all about choice.  If you are selling beer and want to market to beer drinkers, that might be a better choice.  I'm not sure how much beer the transvestite community drinks.

I don't drink much beer.  Maybe one a month, but when I do drink beer, it's good beer.

Bud LIte - Dude!

 For years one of the biggest brands in beer has been Budweiser, and Bud Lite.  Who is their market?  Guys who drink beer. Note, I said, GUYS who drink beer.

So, Bud Lite's marketing director wants to be more inclusive and partners with a noted transvestite to promote the brand.  Hilarity ensues.

Here is the lesson for Bud Lite.  Guys are going to drink beer.  Whether it is Bud Lite, or something else, there is very little brand loyalty. The guys who buy beer by the case will swap to another brand the instant they feel slighted. You can play it down all you like, but in the near term, Bud Lite is now the transvestite brand.  Enjoy the notoriety, and the market share.

DMV Express Office

Over the past several years, Louisiana has done something that seems to make sense.  They have opened some contract offices that provide DMV services.  We all know what a pain it is to go to the DMV.  Long lines, surly civil servants, wasted time.  But, my experience in the Express office is totally unlike everyting I've ever known about dealing with the DMV.

For example, Belle needed to renew her drivers license.  So, we went to the Express office this morning. She was not fully signed-in when a staffer called her to a table.  Fifteen minutes later we were walking out the door.  When I got my license renewed last year, it was much the same experience.

The Express offices charge a small fee, but Belle got a 6-year drivers license for $41.75.  Not bad at all.  If you are a Louisiana resident, look around for an Express office.  It is worth the search.

NPR is State Media

 Listening to Tucker Carlson, I learned that Twitter has officially labeled NPR (National Public Radio) as state media.  King of like how Pravda is Russian state media.

My grandmother used to listen to NPR, back in the 60s.  She liked the music they broadcast.

I honestly didn't know that NPR was still a thing, but I knew that they were federally funded. And linked with state affiliated radio like Louisiana Public Broadcasting

So, I clicked over to the NPR website, and they are not happy about it.

Twitter added a "state-affiliated media" tag to NPR's main account on Tuesday, applying the same label to the nonprofit media company that Twitter uses to designate official state mouthpieces and propaganda outlets in countries such as Russia and China.

I haven't listened to NPR for years.  Not since I was at my grandmother's house.   But, this is funny, right here.  If Elon Musk says NPR is a propaganda arm of Democrats, I have no reason to disagree with that opinion.

Pop Culture

 Surfing around this morning, I clicked on a video that I mis-interpreted and found myself watching some Gen X tutorial on something called ASMR.  It is supposedly a relaxation technique triggered by whispering voices and gentle stimulation that is characterized by a tingling in the scalp and down the back.  Very strange.

I recall a relaxation technique from my early years, triggered by gentle touches and whispered voice of the female gender. The resulting activity proved to be very relaxing.  But, I don't think, from my limited study, that ASMR is set on a similar goal.

Pop culture is very confusing, and I have to be much more careful what I click on.

Be forewarned.

Two Days

 It's been a busy two days, taking care of a list of things that needed to be done.  My plate is clear now, at least till Monday, when things get started again.  It's the Holy Weekend, and I intend to waste the rest of the day and take it easy tomorrow, remembering why we celebrate Easter.

I did notice that retired Admiral John Kirby lost all credibility on Thursday when he briefed the press.  He said that the withdrawal from Afghanistan was a success and he didn't see any chaos. It was an amazing perspective from a retired officer, replete with the bullshit that we normally expect from career politicians. He should resign in disgrace.

In more pertinent news, Belle and I found some leftover brisket and made sandwiches for lunch.   Good, thin sliced brisket on French bread, run through the sandwich press.  Not bad for a Saturday

That will do nicely.

Y'all have a great Easter.

Death and Taxes

 I ain't dead yet, but it is time to worry about our yearly tax problems.  I may have finally figured it out.  It looks like I'm braking even on the state and getting a little back from the feds.

Be;;e fully retired during 2021, and I've been fully retired since 2019.  We are living within our means, and while we're okay, if Joe Biden's economy continues to go south, things might get a little sketchy.  But at this point, I can still afford good whiskey and Bell has her wine.

I'll file on Monday or Tuesday, because I can.  Tax Day isn't until the Monday after the 15th, so we have another week or so.  It will get done.  But, I am pleased that I'm not sending anyone a check this year.

Making A Marksman

 My eleven-year-old grandson is involved in 4H shooting.  This morning his dad had an obligation and asked me to take the grandkid to shooting practice.  I was happy to do so.  He recently qualified for his first state match, and they are trying to get in s mush practice as possible.

His skill level shoots .22 rimfire, position shooting.  Prone, sitting and standing.

They shoot prone and sitting at 50 yards.  You can't see the kiddo, because he is prone, in front of the coaches. Then, they move forward to 25 yards for the standing portion.

That is him on the far left, with the yellow tee shirt.  I got a chance to look at his targets when he was finished and I was pleased.  His shots were evenly clustered around the 10 ring, the vast majority of then 8s and 10s.  This tells me that his rifle is set up correctly and he needs to concentrate more on the basics of sight alignment and trigger squeeze.  He runs a Ruger 10/22, which seems to be the most common rifle on the line.

It was fun watching the kiddo shoot.  He is learning the basics of competitive shooting, he is safe and competent with his rifle.  And, he's turning into a pretty fair little marksman.

Garbage Disposal

 This weekend, our garbage disposal in the kitchen crapped the bed.  It was installed when the house was built, so it's over 20 years old.  Not bad for a grinder pump that is used almost every day.

This morning after coffee, I went to Lowe's and got another one.  Same brand as the old one.  The installation was not particularly easy, but it was straight-forward.  Very little cussing involved.  It's hanging under the sink now, and appears to be leak-free.  We'll see.

In installations like this, YouTube is your friend.

Dark Day

 Today, former president Donald Trump will surrender to police authorities in New York to be formally charged with crimes that are, as yet, unpublished.  He will be booked, which normally consists of filling out forms, being fingerprinted, and a photo taken. Then he will go to a courtroom where he will be arraigned.

Every criminal defendant in the US has certain protections.  These are outlined in the Miranda warning, and it behooves all criminal defendants to exercise these protections to their fullest.

President Trump will be represented by counsel and will have the right to remain silent. Like Ron White, I don't know if he will have the ability.  It would behoove him to only speak through his lawyers until this matter is settled.

Kel-Tech?

 Some folks are identifying this photo as a Kel Tech Sub2000 which is a pistol caliber carbine.  Whatever it is, it certainly doesn't seem to be an AR platform firearm.

I don't have a problem with pistol caliber carbines.  As a matter of fact, I like them a lot.  But, if the Nashviille shooter was using a Kel Tech, why are the anitis screaming about AR rigles?

Drawbridge

 The bridge that links the two downtowns of Alexandria and Pineville, LA  is a drawbridge.  THe bridges to the north and south of town are both hig enough that river traffic can proceed unhindered, but that downtown bridge must be raised for vertain vessels.

This morning I was heading toward Alexandria and found that the bridge was up.

It was a minor inconvenience, and I was allowed to proceed within minutes,  I suppose that this is a more common occurrence than it appears, as the Red river has significant river traffic.

Ruger Re-Introduces Marlin 336

 Termite tells me that Ruger is re-introducing the old Marlin 336, an iconic lever rifle from the late 1900s.

Sure enough, the link is here.

When I was a mere youth, the two most common deer rifles in the piney woods of central Louisiana were the Marlin 336 and the Winchester 94. Both chambered in .30-30, they were very useful for deer sized game.  As a matter of fact, the very first rifle I ever bough was a Marlin 336.  I paid $87.50 for it at the now defunct Gibson's Department Store in Alexandria, LA.  This was in the Autumn of 1973.  I suspect that the MSRP is a little higher now. I mounted a Burris 2.5 power scope on it, and the rifle still wears that scope.  IT resides at my son's house.

Even in these days of long-range, bang-whiz cartridges and high-tech rifles, a fellow could do a lot worse than a classic levergun to collect his yearly quota of venison.  I'm glad to see that Ruger is bringing it back.  Now, if they would bring back the Camp rifle in .45 ACP that fed from 1911 magazines, I might pick up one of those for the gun safe.

Texas State

 Today was day 1 of Texas State.  We shot three matches today.  A qualifier for brackets and a fun match before we shot brackets.

Big Bill, a club member, won The Quick and The Dead.  It's a fun match that bestows bragging rights.  After lunch, we started brackets, which divides shooters by speed.  Another club member, Bullet Bob, took 3rd place in the Master Gunfighter bracket.  Your humble scribe, Major D, took 3rd place in the Sheriff's bracket.  So, on Day 1, the club won three minor trophies.  I'm okay with that.

I am now happily ensconced in the hotel room, having eaten a sandwich and now drinking Buffalo Trace bourbon. Tomorrow begins the main match, where all shooters are equal.

GTT

 In the mid 1800s, a person of family taking part in the great migration might pack up the wagon and paint GTT (Gone To Texas) on the door of the cabin.

In a few hours, Belle and I are heading to Texas to take part in the Texas State Championship of Cowboy Fast Draw.  We have someone watching the house and feeding the dog. Texas State was our first match we ever shot in, back in 2016 and we haven't missed one since.  

In the little town of Jasper, TX, there is a restaurant, Elijah's Cafe, that Belle enjoys.  Every time we pass through Jasper, we eat there, and she has declared that we will lunch there today.

Transphobia

 Am I transphobic?  No, not by any standard definition. A phobia is an unreasonable fear.  I know a couple of trans persons, and I'm not afraid of either of them,  I hope they work through their issues and wneb I'm with them, I try to be kind and gentle.

If we made a Venn diagram with trans people in one bobble, and crazy people with gun in the other bubble, there would be some overlap. Those are the people I am truly concerned about.  Mental patients with guns is never a good overlap.  I do not think that is an unreasonable concern.

That Nashville Shooter

A couple of things about the Nashville shooter.  I hope I don't hurt anybody's feelings, but I don't really give a damn.

We hear the moans from the usual suspects about banning guns, and taking away the rifles that are most popular in the United States.  The leftists can repeat after me: It takes a good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun.  That is what happened here.

Who do you call when there is a problem like a school shooter?  The cops, of course.  This was no place for a social worker or a mental health professional.  When it came down to stopping evil, it took reolute cops who were trained and ready to go in harm's way.   The bodycam footage was released today, and those men are heros.  It's graphic, so if you are squeamish, be forewarned.

The cops did irt right.  I can say this with some experience. I can say this with some experience. I was a Resource Officer for sixteen years, and they did it the way I would have done it.  I can say with some pride that I never had to do it.  The places I worked became hard targets when I walked in the door, and in those 16 years, no one was hurt on my watch.

The old canard about when seconds count, the police are only minutes away is still correct.  The shooter knew this and rejected other targets because they had people with guns.  She left a manifesto talking about target selection.  No cops = soft target.

Gender dysphoria is a real thing, even if the mental health professionals don't recognize it as such.  People stricken with it have loads of depression and anxiety.  The attempt suicide at prodigious rates. This young woman thought that she wanted to be a man. And don't talk to me about "dead naming". She is dead, and her feelings won't be hurt.  Although if someone had helped her work through her hurt feelings ten years ago, she might be alive today.

The cops did exactly what they needed to do.  The fact that there was not a cop assigned to the school probably cost lives. Innocent lives.  The school thought that they were doing all the right things.  They locked all the doors and instituted positive entrance controls.  But, when a crazed murderer got to the front door with a rifle, all those controls went out the window. Then we had a target-rich environment with no one to stop the mayhem.  Tell me again about "gun-free zones".  This one was an abject failure.

Doors

 Belle is in the hopital recovering from surgery.  She's doing welll, thank you, and should get released tomorrow.  But, they have these doors that make me laugh.

It's a regular sized door, with a half sized door, and they did that so that they can get a bed in the door without too much gymnastics.  But, they make me laugh because they're not really  a French door, just sort of a half-assed French door.  So, I call them Cajun doors because they aren't really French, just sort of half-assed French.  

Messed Up Monday

 I spent today in the hospital.  No, not for me, I'm fine.  Belle had a scheduled procedure and I was there supporting her.  She came through surgery just fine, and is resting in the hospital .  She will be there for another day or so, and we hope to get her out on Wednesday.

While I was waiting, I happened to notice that a person of interest had opened fire at a Christian school near Nashville. Initial reports were weird, and continued to get weirder as the day progressed.  A mentally challenged guy... a crazed cross-dresser... a transgender woman is the prime suspect.  We may never know.  It seems that the shooter presented the police with a good center-mass target and he she is no longer in the gene pool.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the survivors of this tragedy.  I understand that three children and three adults are victims of this tragedy.  The shooter is also dead, but I won't count him her with the victims.

As I have said before, initial accounts are often wrong and the reporting has been demonstrably wrong several times today.  It is simply the nature of these things.  The story will clear up in the coming days and we will hopefully learn from this tragedy

Sunday Morning Dawg

 

With Belle on the back porch.

Weird Week

 Here in Louisiana, the weather has been bizarre this week.  All four season in one six-day span.  It's been odd.

This morning our club held its Monthly Match.  It went well.  Instead of trophies this year, the club opted to compete for belt buckles.  Each shooter earns Top Gum points based on his or her standing in the combination of Monthly Matches.  It is amazing how much interest a few belt buckles has generated.

Belle and I will be busy next week, so if blogging goes awry, don't be concerned.  Life catches up with us sometimes.

Now, late in the afternoon on Saturday, Belle has declared Happy Hour.  It would be un-gentlemanly of me to let her drink alone.

"Uh" Problens

 Mark Novak, over at the Anvil YouTube channel, says that many gun problems are the cumulative result of "Uh Problems".  When you go into a gun, and you see a problem, then you see another problem, then later, you find another problem.  When you solve those small problems, you fix The Problem.

That's where I was this morning.  Two Colt clones that I used for CHFA shooting had a problem.  One had a loose loading gate, the other had timing issues.  I started with the loose loading gate, because I know that problem.  Take off the grip frame.  There is a slotted plug that bears on a spring, which bears on a detent, which bears on the loading gate.  Sure enough, when I took of the grip frame, the slotted plug was loose.  A quick turn of that screwdriver and I was done, but I took some time to clean and lube while I was in there.

The second revolver had timing issues.  As it came apart, I started finding problems.  Normal wear and an accumulation of grit and dirt.  I cleaned everything, inspected, and reassembled carefully.  The springs are good and the problem seems to have gone away.  This particular revolver is a Cimarron Model P with a weird internal safety that keeps the gun from firing unless the trigger is pulled.  There is a little tab on the rear of the trigger that engages a plunger on the hammer.  If this gun continues to have problems, I'll simply install a Colt hammer and trigger.  That ought to solve one of the problems.

But, it's working right now, so we will see.  Do the maintenance.

Not Doomed

 That's good to know.  Humanity is not doomed.

When Al Gore lost the 2000 presidential race, he pivoted to global-cooling global warming climate change.  He made quite a pile of money talking about the inevitable; that the weather will change from day to day.  This morphed into the Green movement and has brought us insult after insult to our intellectual curiosity.

Now it seems that there is a new major report (unlike those old major reports) that tell us the weather is changing from day to day.  According to Greg Gutfeld, there is a caveat buried in the report that puts the lie to everything that Gore, et al has been pushing for decades. You can watch the whole clip here.

That's right.  We are not doomed after all.  The weather will change from day to day, and we'll have to adjust.  Sometimes a jacket, sometimes a raincoat. Other times, just a tee shirt and tenner shoes. You have to adjust your clothing to the weather.  It's a radical thought.

Comments

 Replying to some of the comments on the tractor post below.

Termite said: You may get requests to come bush-hog other folks land, LOL.

Other folks can get over it.  I'm not in the land clearing business.

Anon said: X2 for Termite"s comment ... Love this blog , you have a lot more fans than you think

I appreciate this.  But, I don't do it to build a fan base.  It's a diary where I talk about anything that piques my interest. Sometimes, it is just to remember  a part number because it is easy to search. I talk about politics, my hobbies, projects and cooking.

Another Anon said: Last night at 6 pm I got my garden tilled ahead of today's rain.

Priceless..

Oh, yeah, a PTO mounted rotary tiller is a joy to own.  I let one get away from me, and I miss it.  It made putting in a garden (or renovating a pasture) very easy.   It's on my short list of thigs to look for.

 Slipstrm111 said... check the brush hog and make sure it has lube in the gearbox, mine did not!

New brush hogs are shipped dry. 90 weight is cheap.  Mine's full, I filled it yesterday.

It's Ready

 The tractor project I started in January is ready to go out to the family property and be used for maintenance.  It's a Kubota L3400, used with less than 400 hours.  My mechanic son went through it and declared it sound, and I did a little work to make the bucket more useful.  A couple of strap hooks and chain hooks are welded on, and I replaced that tiny factory tool box with something that is useful.

On Monday, I went to Tractor Supply and bought a rotary cutter.  While I may have liked to have something more robust, I had to match the available implements with the available cash.

That rotary cutter shipped "flat".  Some assembly required.  I spent today getting it put together, but I think it fits the tractor well.

In a day or so, my son will be here with a trailer and we'll take it to the family property.

Arrest Iminent?

 Will President Trump be arrested today?  Some think it is a possibility.  From what I've seen, the case is weak, flimsy, and well past the statute of limitations.  Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg may have some unique legal theory that will prevail, but many are saying that Bragg has never had an original thought.

If Bragg gets and indictment, it will be historic.  Never before has a former President been arrested.

New York city is preparing for unrest.  Barricades are going up.  But, I don't see it.  Trump supporters are generally well behaved,  Yet, from what I've seen on the tubes, the left will try to paint any protest as an insurrection. They seem to be almost sexually aroused at the idea.

Alvin Bragg is fulfilling a campaign promise. He promised to get Trump, and this is his best shot. Any rational observer sees this going nowhere, and sees it for what it is.  An unabashed political persecution.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 

Grand Jury Leak?

 Fox News is reporting that Donald Trump may face a legal challenge for a hush money payment he made to a porn star in 2016.

Former President Donald Trump said leaks indicate that he will be arrested on Tuesday next week after reports said the Manhattan District Attorney's office is preparing to issue an indictment for alleged hush money payments Trump made as a presidential candidate in 2016. 

 Donald Trump may be the most despised President in modern history.  I voted for the man twice, and generally, I liked his polices, although I sometimes thought his politics were a bit harsh.  Mean tweets certainly didn't help.  Let's not forget that Left was truly invested in a Hillary presidency and the stunning defeat she suffered tended to truly throw the progressives into angst and anguish.

It is my fear that this indictment and possible arrest will forever taint the upcoming presidential race. This case is a state charge arising out of Manhattan, and legal scholars are doubtful that the DA will prevail in the prosecution.  This is political showmanship and the charges surely will not survive a Motion to Dismiss.

Racoon Dog?

 Listening to Dan Bongino this morning, I hard a story so weird, so unbelievable that I had to go Google it.  Evidently, the New York Times has information that the covid pandemic originated in something called a racoon dog.  Seriously.  Here is the headline.

New Data Links Pandemic’s Origins to Raccoon Dogs at Wuhan Market

I've been a country boy my whole life and I know what a 'coon dog is.  Generally, 'coon dogs are something like a Walker hound.  But, I admit I've never seen a racoon dog. Maybe it's something Chinese.

A quick Google taught me that the Chinese have something called a racoon dog.  It's an ugly little beast. And now my education is more complete.  However, I would question the data, considering that a big lab that studied the corona virus was just around the corner.  What are the odds?  Where did that data come from?  Maybe the CCP?  I'm just asking.

In other news, it's St. Patrick's Day and in honor I'm making a big, hearty Irish stew.  Taters and carrots and beef and gravy.  In another hour, I'll make a pot of rice.

Intoxicated, naked man arrested in Ball after police chase

Just up the road from the house.  It seems that a fellow from Scott, LA was seen driving erratically in Pineville, LA and tried to make his getaway, which ended in Ball, LA,

According to our local news, KALB

According to the Pineville Police Department, Duane Boudreaux, 67, was driving a white Chevrolet truck, swerving into oncoming traffic in the 3200 block of Military Hwy, which caused another vehicle to swerve to the shoulder of the road to avoid an accident.

An officer tried to conduct a traffic stop on Boudreaux, but he continued on to Hwy 165, driving northbound in the southbound lanes at 95 mph. Multiple vehicles had to swerve to avoid accidents.

When Boudreaux reached the Shanghai Road area of Hwy 165 in Ball, he began to drive through the median in circles several times. He then drove his truck into the officer’s vehicle and attempted to push the police unit backward by continuing to accelerate.

The officer instructed the driver out of the vehicle, and he was arrested. Video of the incident showed that when he exited the vehicle, he was not wearing any clothing on the bottom half of his body.

Boudreaux has been charged with a plethora (some might say a surplusage) of criminal charges.

Greasing The Tractor

 I just spent 45 minutes greasing the tractor.  I squirted grease into every zerk I could find, and I may have missed one .  I'll check the lube order to see if I missed any.

This is the second time I have used the Lube Shuttle, and I admit I like it. If, indeed, it is possible to like a grease gun. Let me just say that it is the less onerous than any I have used before.  Tractors, and especially those with front loaders are greasy things.  Every motion point on it has, or should have, a grease fittings.

Several years ago, I began the practice of cutting up old tee shirts to use as shop rage.  I can generally get eight shop rags our of a male 2X tee shirt.  I have a stack of them in a box where I keep cleaning supples and today I used four in the lube operation. They are perfect for such operations.

Thursday Thoughts

 So, the Russians forced down a US drone over the Black Sea.  No one was hurt, so that's good, but a drone cost about $2 million per copy.  But, this incident opens our whole discussion of Ukraine and how much money we are spending over there.

Plus, it's getting springtime, and the muddy season will soon be on the Ukraine countryside.  Monile forces don't do well in mud.  Ask Patton.  And, NATO is supposed to be sending them some tanks.  If you've never seen a tank stuck in mud up to the turret ring,,, Well, let me tell you, math is involved.  You start talking about winch load capacity, rated cable strength. snatch blocks, and weight multipliers.  You do the math before you start hooking up cables.

It brings back fond memories of a place called Area 5 North at Fort Knox,

Alien Confused After Being Taken To Our Leader President Biden

Time to Buy a Brush HOg

 It's about time to spend the money and buy a brush hog for the tractor.   I've done some looking and comparing, and the decision comes down between the Land Pride (Kubota brand) and the Country Line, sold by Tractor Supply.  They are within $100 of each other, but I'm leaning toward the Country Line.

I've boiled it down to these two based on local availability and the number of dollars in my pocket.  If anyone has any reason to wave me off the Country Line, let me know below.

Unanimous

 I'm reading that Congress has sent Biden a bill to declassify all information on the origins of Covid-19.

He hasn't decided if he wants to sign it yet.

The measure passed unanimously.  It will be interesting to see if he signs it.

Monday Update

 This morning, I get ready to start the week by reading the news.  It seems that there has been another bank failure.  Signature Bank.  According to Yahoo Finance:

Regulators seized New York regional bank Signature Bank (SBNY) two days after shutting down Silicon Valley Bank as overseers of the banking system try to restore calm before markets open Monday.

That is interesting.   The second bank failure this weekend, and it seems that regulators are saying that the depositors in SVB bank will be made whole.  Their money should be available early this week.  I'm told that this bank has a lot of high-level Democrat donors and that Janet Yellen and crew worked overtime this weekend to get their money sorted out.

In other news, Rep Comer says that he has the goods on Hunter Biden.  I've heard that before.  The whole world knows that Hunter is crooked.  Some capitalize on it, others rail against it, but his dad is POTUS and the Biden Crime Family protects itself.  As long as Merrick Garland and Chris Wray are in charge, nothing is going to happen to Hunter.  Color me cynical, but that is the way it seems to be.

The Muffuletta

 The muffuletta is a sandwich associated with New Orleans.  Specifically, with the Central Grocery in the French Quarter, near the old French market.  It's an Italian sandwich with ham, salami, provolone and olive salad.  It's a cold sandwich that can must be eaten with two hands.

Every restaurant has their take on the muffuletta, but the descriptor that comes to mind is excess. One of my favorites is at Papa's Bar and Grill in Natchitoches, LA.  It's a big sandwich. If you order one, be prepared to take home a go-box.  Or, split one with your partner.  It's plenty.

Belle has her own take on the muffuletta.  She provides a smaller bun, so that guests can built their own.  She puts mayo, mustard, ham, genoa salami, provolone and pepper jack cheese on the bar, along with olive salad.  Guests can eat it cold, or press it in a sandwich press to toast it nicely.

We have people coming for lunch today and the muffuletta is on the menu.  The only real prep we need to do is to clear some counter space and make the olive salad.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Spring Ahead

 Tomorrow we follow that twice-a-year ritual of changing our clocks.  Nurses and cops like this particular change, because  a 12 hour shift lasts only 11 hours.  That is a good thing.  In the fall, the time change makes the shift 13 hours.

We shot with the club this morning, and ran errands.  Now we're back at home, kicking back on a Saturday afternoon.  Belle will declare Happy Hour shortly.

Bank Fails

 Watching Tucker Carlson, I learned that Silicon Valley Bank, a large concern in California, went under today. This is very bad news for the US economy.

According to CNN:

New York CNN — Silicon Valley Bank collapsed Friday morning after a stunning 48 hours in which a bank run and a capital crisis led to the second-largest failure of a financial institution in US history.

This is very bad news for the US economy.  When depositors lose faith in their banks, they try to take their money out, which leads to a run on the bank, which leads to a capital crisis, which leads to a bank failure.  Small depositors are often insured by the FDIC, but we're not talking about small depositors here.  We're talking about large depositors losing lots of money, which has a downstream, ripple effect,

It has been a hundred years since the last big depression.  The best-case scenario would be to have adults in charge of the baking system, but we have Janet Yellen.  The very fact that I know who the Treasury head is does not engender confidence.  We may be in for a rocky ride.

Rainy Friday

 Awakening to a slow, steady rain, I decided this morning to do a little pawn ship crawling.  SO, belle and I set out after coffee. We started at Silver Dollar, which was once my favorite.  IT's barely open and had nothing that interested me.  So, we went to South Circle Pawn, which is strangely shuttered.  Closed up tight..  The other option was Alexandria Pawn, which is likewise closed.  The sign said Permanently Closed.

I know that times are hard for some businesses, but I had always heard that the two best for an economic downtrun were pawn shops and organized crime.  In the local area, three shops that have survived for decades are shuttered.  That is a damned shame.

Adventures with Purposer

Surfing YouTube, I clicked on these guys lik and I've fallen down the rabbit hole with them.

They do underwater searches, using sonar to locate vehicles that are underwater.  Sometimes with himan remains inside.  It's interesting technology, and they are solving cold cases.

Finished For Now - and Comments

 I got the tool box mounted on the tractor this morning.  Not as difficult as I imagined.  Lots of measure and fit, taking my time to get it close to right.  We weren't building a watch, we were modifying a tractor to make it a bit more useful.

That's better, now I can store a few tools and expendables.  The fact that the box matches the tractor is simply fortuitous.

Now, let's address a few comment.  First, Juvat says:

I envy your skill set. Apparently, well done!

Not so fast!  My skill set is Southern Rural.  I know my way around a wrench, and I understand that friends and family have good ideas.  I didn't weld, I didn't do much, but bounce ideas off folks I trust.  My buddy, Jay, runs a machine shop.  My second son is an ace mechanic.  I bounced ideas off both of them before I got started.

Next, Don said:

The seal idea - Brilliant!

 Yes, it is, and I wish I could claim it.  I found that idea surfing YouTube.  I am convinced that YouTube is one of the greatest educational assets in the history of mankind.  We have to separate the wheat from the chaff, but if you start searching YouTube, you will find an answer to your problem.

Old NFO said in an earlier comment:

I just hope the PTO isn't locked up.

Nope, we're golden.  I checked it yesterday.  I am convinced that it has never been used, though. 

Tractor Storage

 The various manufacturers ought to be ashamed of the boxes they put on tractors to store tools.  Seriously.  Those little boxes that the factory puts on a tractor is okay for storing a few lynch pins, but not much else.  So, I watched all the videos and came up with a few ideas

This tube on the front end loader is wasted space.  It would be a dandy place to store tow straps

So, I went to Lowes and bought a couple of Oatey Grippers.  These thing s are used to put a temporary plug in a Schedule 40 PVC pipe.  Of course, they were too big to go into that pipe, but a little judicious trimming of the inside plastic, along with snipping the seal, Super-gluing  back together and reinforcing it with safety wire seemed to do the trick.

Now, it fits just fine.

Now, I'll be able to store tow straps in that tube, out of the way yet readily available.

I have a buddy who is a tool maker, and he told me that his ship was making some tools, and he had some scrap that didn't work out, and had some big steel bars they had bent, learning how to do such things.  He told me that if I brought the tractor to the shop, he would weld some of those scrap books on the bucket that we could use to attach two straps.  I drove the tractor over this morning.

That should do.  We also have a couple of 3/8 chain hooks welded in the center of the bucket in case a chain comes into play.  Next we turned our attention to the rear of the tractor, where we welded a piece of scrap angle iron between the ROPS uprights

That should do nicely, along with the bar that Kubota already provided to mount that tiny pin box.  I will remove that little box.  Before lunch, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a nice protective case that I will mount on those two pieces of angle iron.  That will provide enough room to store some pins, some wrenches, and hammer and other accoutrements that should be handy on the tractor.

Now, if you will excuse me, it's time for lunch and a nap.