Interesting Analysis

An interesting analysis, from the Cripple in Atlanta.

1. America is capitalist and greedy – yet half of the population is subsidized.
2. Half of the population is subsidized – yet they think they are victims.
3. They think they are victims – yet their representatives run the government.
4. Their representatives run the government – yet the poor keep getting poorer.
5. The poor keep getting poorer – yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.
6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about – yet they want America to be more like those other countries.

The poor in America have things that the poor in other countries can only dream about.  Yeah, we've got our problems, but grinding poverty isn't one of them, not in the sense of grinding poverty of most of the rest of the world.  When you understand that the normal, historical, history of man over millenia is sitting in the rain, wondering where your next meal is coming from, we've got it pretty good here, in this country, in this age.  Yeah, we've still got some work to do, but our capitalism has made even the poorest of us wealthier than  kings of several centuries ago.

The biggest reason that we still have grinding poverty in this country is the Democratic party, who parlays the greatest bigot in history into political heroes.

Mardi Gras

Today officially starts the Mardi Gras season in central Louisiana.  There's a parade rolling down Jackson Street even as I type this, with cheerleaders and bands and floats.  The Children's Parade is tomorrow, and the main Parade is Sunday.  Because Alexandria is in Central Louisiana, we'll be back at work on Monday and Tuesday with the only nod to Fat Tuesday being the Wednesday services at local churches.

Normally, PawPaw would be in Mamou, LA on Mardi Gras, but this year I have to work.  Such is life in the fast lane.  PawPaw probably won't be at any parades this weekend.  Central Louisiana has no idea how to properly do Mardi Gras, and their celebrations are a dimly heard resonance, barely worthy of notice.

I'm going to have my Friday afternoon celebratory cocktail, then Milady and I will probably go to the auction.

Long Day

Twelve hours in the boots make for a long day. It was a good day, but a long day. Working on a project that we should be able to talk about next week. Came home, did some bookkeeping, trying to get it all done. 

Watching the intertubes, and Harry Reid is a damned liar, but you all knew that. We still don't have the full story on his penchant for pederasty either. I don't think that we'll ever know the full story on that, because the man is an veteran liar.

 I'm going to bed. More stuff tomorrow.

Let Freedom Ring

Proponents of gay marriage are winning the argument, they're winning in town halls and in the courts and in the state legislatures, and I think that's a good thing.  Many, many Americans are re-evaluating their knee-jerk opposition, and that's a good thing.  Freedom for thee means freedom for me, and freedom is always a good thing.

I see today that a court has struck down Texas' law against same sex marriage, and I see that enormous pressure is being placed on Arizona governor Jan Brewer, and both of those are good things because they expand freedom.

However, (and there is always an however) I am concerned about the holier-than-thou attitude about some of the gays, not only requiring that people respect their rights, but wanting to require those people who opposed them to participate, like the couple who sued the baker in Colorado when he didn't want to provide a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding, and based that desire on a firm religious belief.

Of all the pundits writing about this monumental moment in gay-rights history, I think that Andrew Sullivan says it best in his piece from Monday.

The truth is: we’re winning this argument. We’ve made the compelling moral case that gay citizens should be treated no differently by their government than straight citizens. And the world has shifted dramatically in our direction. Inevitably, many fundamentalist Christians and Orthodox Jews and many Muslims feel threatened and bewildered by such change and feel that it inchoately affects their religious convictions. I think they’re mistaken – but we’re not talking logic here. We’re talking religious conviction. My view is that in a free and live-and-let-live society, we should give them space. As long as our government is not discriminating against us, we should be tolerant of prejudice as long as it does not truly hurt us. And finding another florist may be a bother, and even upsetting, as one reader expressed so well. But we can surely handle it. And should.

Leave the fundamentalists and bigots alone. In any marketplace in a diverse society, they will suffer economically by refusing and alienating some customers, their families and their friends. By all means stop patronizing them in both senses of the word. Let them embrace discrimination and lose revenue. Let us let them be in the name of their freedom – and ours’.

I don't think that any gay couple would suffer one bit in trying to find someone to bake a cake, or take photographs, or any of the myriad of tasks that are normally contracted in the standard wedding.  Just because Baker A really doesn't want to bake the cake, doesn't mean that Baker B wouldn't jump at the chance.

But then I see another business who intends to discriminate in the name of gay rights.

 David Cooley, the founder of The Abbey Food & Bar located at 692 North Robertson Blvd., has announced the popular gay bar will add any legislator in any state who votes for “bills to allow for discrimination against LGBT people” to a “Deny Entry List.”

Heh!  Really?  You're going to discriminate against discriminators by discriminating?  Okay, have fun with that.  I'm sure that there's another watering hole down the road who'll serve them, which goes to my (and Andrew's) original argument.

But, especially in the wedding business, it's best to have someone who graciously, lovingly, enthusiastically provides the services necessary.  You don't want to be like this poor gal.

Let Freedom Ring.

Fifty Years

Has it been fifty years?  I guess it has.

Liston was the most intimidating fighter of his day, and considered by some, at the time of the Clay fight, as among the best heavyweights of all time. Many were reluctant to meet him in the ring. Henry Cooper, the British champion, said that if Clay won, he was interested in a title fight, but if Liston won, he was not going to get in the ring with him. Cooper's manager Jim Wicks said, "We don't even want to meet Liston walking down the same street."

But, after seven rounds, Liston couldn't answer the bell and a young upstart named Cassius Clay became the heavyweight champion of the world.  Two weeks later, Clay changed his name to Mohammed Ali.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

Louisiana's Jungle Primary

Louisiana has an odd little primary, a way of choosing candidates without regard for party affiliation.  This isn't any secret to those of us who live in the state, and we can debate the merits of the system all we like, but I think that our jungle primary serves us well, even if it does lead to some strange outcomes like the 1991 gubernatorial election, which pitted a known crook against a known Klansman.

The way it works is simple.  We set a date for a primary election, and everyone interested in the race throws their hat in the ring, regardless of party affiliation.  If someone wins with a majority, that person is elected and a general election is unnecessary.  If no one wins the primary with 50%+1 vote, then the two vote leaders go to the general election.  Party matters not, and we might have two Republicans, or two Democrats running against each other in the general election.

I mention all this because of a piece Andrew Klavan wrote, over at Pajamas Media, where he bemoans the civil war going on in the Republican party.

We need to talk this out with good sense and without pompous ranting. Politics is the art of the possible. Writing belligerently purist articles, blog posts or comments is relatively easy. Winning elections is hard. Barack Obama is one of the most destructive presidents this country has ever seen, but a talented politician. If stopping him in his tracks requires stomaching some RINOs here and there, it seems a no brainer: It must be done. Ann may have put her case a little too forcefully in the debate above (she’s not exactly given to dithering!), but surely she’s right in the general principle that strategy — and victory — have to come before purity.

I concur.  Louisiana faces a truly important election this year when we decide who  will represent us in the US Senate.  Our sitting senator, Mary Landrieu is the Democrats darling, and is certain to gather an impressive percentage from that side of the aisle.  Mary will certainly be in the runoff.  Her two main challengers are Bill Cassidy, a Republican congressman (and Republican establishment favorite), and Rob Maness, also a Republican (and touting himself as the Republican Alternative).  Cassidy has the backing of the establishment and Maness has the backing of the conservatives.  It's going to be interesting.

What's for certain (and I'm no political seer) is that Louisiana has a history of shocking results in our elections.  Strange things happen in strange electoral procedures, and Senator Landrieu, while certainly a Democratic powerhouse, from a strong political family, is facing a serious challenge during the time when the headwinds are decidedly against her.  The question is; who will oppose her in the runoff?  Will it be the establishment guy, or will it be the newcomer?

This past November, we elected a political newcomer, Vance McAllister to represent Louisiana's 5th congressional district.  McAllister was a true newcomer, had never run for anything in his life and had decided that he could best represent the people of the district.  He won handily over the establishment favorite, a guy named Neil Riser, the establishment Republican.

That's the strength of our Jungle Primary.  Neither Cassidy nor Maness need to spend any money in a bruising Republican primary.  They can both run against Landrieu, and if the political pundits are right, one of them will face her in the general election.  There is no reason to run Tea Party vs Republican Establishment unless Senator Landrieu is defeated in the first election.  This is going to be an interesting election year for Louisiana.

Sunday Morning Dawg

A couple of times a day, the dog and I walk out to the street, either to check the mail or drop the trash.  And the dog enjoys these little jaunts, if only to sniff at the ground near the trash container, or to sniff theh grass near the mail box to see what errant dogs have passed by.

Sniffing at the trash receptacle.

At the mail box.  I guess it's kind of like checking the answering machine, just something we do when we pass by.  It's a good thing he doesn't have a cell phone, cause he'd probably have a Facebook account.

Breakfast

Over at Boned Jello, they're talking about breakfast, and they start with this wrongheaded idea of what liberals think conservatives eat for breakfast.

Well, some of that is true.  The gun is angled wrong for a fast grasp, and mine would probably be in a strongside holster, and the egg is sunny-side, which Milady likes, but I've always thought that one egg is simply silly, so they try again.

That's a little better, because we've got the pancakes and the bacon, but why is there cream in the coffee?  And what's up with the toast; are you making a sandwich to take with you?

No guys, first of all, it's gauche to have a gun on the table.  If you're expecting company, a short-barreled shotgun in your lap is so much more genteel.  And, no proper southern breakfast is complete without biscuits and gravy.  And, while we're critiquing, I don't see any hash-brown potatoes either.  I guess I could make do with the Jameson's but I'd rather have a shot of Jack in my morning coffee.

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

Ragnarok

A palate cleanser for a Friday afternoon, but it appears that the world might end on Sunday.  The Viking apocalypse Radnarok is set to happen on Sunday, February 22nd.

Viking warriors have begun to arrive in York in preparation for the end of the world.
'Norsemen' from across the UK and further afield are converging on the historic Yorkshire town as Ragnarok, the final bloody battle predicted in Norse mythology approaches on February 22.
Believers say that when the fateful day arrives Earth will split open, unleashing the inhabitants of Hel.
The wolf, Fenrir, son of Loki, will break out of his prison and the Midgard snake Jormungand will rise from the sea.

Sounds pretty grim, doesn't it?  For myself, I'll be carrying my Airweight to repel the hordes.  Tomorrow morning, I plan to go to the range to give the rimfire rifles a workout.  I haven't had any trigger time in several months and it appears that tomorrow will be a good time to work my trigger finger.  Rimfire target work might be a good prep for a Viking apocalypse. 

Pravda Anyone?

The story I've been following this week is the FCC's intent to interview news broadcasters to see how they determine which stories get covered, or get lost in the noise.  However, the Friday Afternoon News dump seems to indicate that the FCC is abandoning this line of questioning, after severe pushback from media sources.

Hopenchange covered it today in his editorial cartoon.

I don't see how this would be much different from watching MSNBC, where the government line is always given top billing.

We have to watch our government closely.  They need adult supervision.

Ruger American Rimfire

Today at lunch, I went to the local Academy Sports store to check on ammo availability.  They had Aquila .22LR, so I picked up two boxes at $4.49 per box.  I'll add that to the stock.

While I was there, I coon-fingered a Ruger American Rimfire.  I like the rifle.  It has stock inserts to raise the comb for scope use, the blueing was nice and it seemed like a very nice little bolt action rifle.  The only sticking point, for me, was the Academy price of $269.00, which is better than the MSRP of $329.00.  Academy stocks both the regular and the compact model.  A side-by-side comparison shows the compact model to be about 2" shorter in length of pull than the longer rifle.  If I had to choose, I'd probably choose the compact, simply because I like short rifles.  The American Rimfire uses the standard 10/22 rotary magazines, so those should be easy to find.

However, the Academy price on a Ruger 10/22 is $200.00, and on the Savage 64, the price is just $149.00.  I've got a Savage 64, and it's also a very nice rifle, accurate, dependable, and simple.  I like the Model 64, even if the stock is  bit flimsy.  But I really like the single-stack magazine it uses.

I didn't buy a rifle today, but it was nice to look at the new Ruger American Rimfire.  If I'm in the market for a rimfire bolt-action, I might give the rifle  second look.

Glowball Warmening

Global warming, or AGW as the believers refer to it, has taken on a life of its own, regardless of the science behind the movement.  Al Gore aside, his minion, John Kerry was in Indonesia last week, talking about the dangers of manmade global warming.  He referred to skeptics as "flat-earthers" denying science at their peril.

In a Feb. 16 speech in Indonesia, Secretary of State John Kerry assailed climate-change skeptics as members of the "Flat Earth Society" for doubting the reality of catastrophic climate change. He said, "We should not allow a tiny minority of shoddy scientists" and "extreme ideologues to compete with scientific facts."

The only problem with the AGW scenario is that  the measurements don't match the model.  Two very knowledgeable  scientists, Richard McNider and John Christy, take Kerry's arguments apart in the Wall Street Journal by explaining that the observations don't match the model.  They present this handy little graph which shows the difference between the predictions and what we're actually seeing.

The red line is the prediction, the blue lines are the actual measurements.  The red line hasn't predicted the blue line in some... oh... thirty years.  In short, the current AGW model is poor at predicting actual temperatures.  We note, with some amusement, that Kerry burned over 12 tons of carbon fuel in the atmosphere while making his predictions about carbon-based warming.

If he's willing to burn 12 tons of carbon to make a speech about global warming, I have trouble believing that it's a problem.  Especially when the predictions don't come close to matching the observations.

When they start acting like it's a crisis, I'll believe it's a crisis.

Good Numbers

Good numbers on my semi-annual checkup.  A1C down, cholesterol down, B/P down, everything else in range.  Doc says to keep doing what I'm doing, and he'll see me again in six months.  He suspects that I might live another six months, or he'd have set the appointment a lot sooner.

He didn't even chew my butt today, because I lost a few pounds.  This is great news, and I think we'll head down to the Mexican joint to celebrate.  I feel like fajitas.  I'll bring the dog the tortillas, because he loves them and I'm trying to get off the wheat.

I still don't like doctors, but today was almost painless.  (Then again, maybe he suspects I'll die in three months and he won't have to put up with me anymore.)  Naah, that couldn't be it.

Fourteen Hours

Fourteen hours today in my boots, I just came in and hung the duty belt on it's hook in the washroom.  Made a couple of fried egg sammiches on toast.  Poured a stiff drink.  Long hours today; not bad ones, but long ones. In just a few minutes, I'm going to lay my sorry butt down.  I spent the last couple of hours exploring the mysteries of the vehicle code.  There has been some changes since I worked the road, and I've got to get them in my head.  But, reading the vehicle code is like reading Sanskrit.  The legislators in this state need to re-write the whole thing.

We'll do it all over again in ten hours, and see if we can't do it better tomorrow.

Eight Colors

Talking recently with a friend, I mentioned that I know eight colors, the eight they taught me in first grade for art projects.

Red, yellow, orange, blue, purple, green, black, and brown.  Those are the colors.  Teal is a bird, mauve is a girl that lives down the street, and burgundy is a drink.  Ivory comes from elephant tusks, and fluorescent is a type of light fixture.

Needless to say, I didn't spend much time in art class after the first grade.  I have to admit that the colors they're referring to these days, especially in the military fabrics have me a mite amuzed.  Flat, dark earth is brown, as is coyote tan.  They're both brown.  Don't get me started on pastels.  When we move into this house, Milady told me that she was going to do the bedroom in toile.  I asked what color that is.  She's still laughing about that one.  Turns out it can be any number of colors, maybe blue, or brown, or black.

Let's keep this simple.  There are eight colors.  That's enough for anyone.

Rimfire Sunday - Tiny Grandkid edition.

Last week when we went shooting, some of the smaller grandkids pitched a fit, because they never got to go shooting, so PawPaw decided that this Sunday would be a rimfire day, and the youngest members of the family who wished for trigger time would get an opportunity to participate.

Here, grandson Ely, coached by his father, engages a small blue crow (center left of the photo) with a .22LR Cricket rifle.  The crow wobbles when hit, and the crow wobbled quite a bit during the course of the day.

Here, Jada-bug, another minuscule member of PawPaw's clan, explores the mystery of the .22LR cartridge, coached by PawPaw hisself.  Jada kept trying to engage the 100 yard gong and was considerably exasperated when it didn't move as she struck it.  She did make that crow wobble quite a bit.  During the course of the day, she warmed up to shooting quite well.  I think I may have another shooter on my hands.

PawPaw didn't get much trigger time today, coaching the little ones.  I'll get my range time later, but I see now that I need a few more reactive targets.  The little ones like seeing something move when they shoot it.

I'm glad I stocked up on rimfire ammo when I had the chance.

Sunday Morning Dawg, Winter Weather Edition

We had winter weather this week, along with an appropriate power outage.  The dawg, of course, was completely confused, wondering why his humans wouldn't "do the switchy-thing" and turn the lights on.  I tried to tell him that there was no wattage hooked to the switch, but he's not an expert in Ohm's law, so he didn't understand.  He did enjoy the fireplace which we used to keep ourselves toasty warm until the lights were restored.

When the humans won't turn on the lights, having a fire in the fireplace is a decided plus.  It does a dog good to lay by a fire.

Meme - Carry Gun

My son wants to talk about carry guns.

Okay, I'm an old-fashioned guy and I prefer a simple pocket pistol, tucked into my pocket.  My standard has been the Smith and Wesson J-Frame, in .38 Special.   A couple of years ago I gave away my Model 60 and opted instead for a Model 38.

It rides in my pocket constantly.  If my pants are on, this little gun is in my pocket.  I do have holsters for it and I had to use a holster last summer when I qualified on the Louisiana POST course with the little revolver, but this little gem slips so easily into jeans, or slacks that having a holster is almost redundant.  And, it is hard to say it's not concealed when it is completely in the pocket.

Milady, on the other hand, is a fan of the .32 caliber, specifiically the .32 SW Long.  She had me cast about for a nice .32 revolver so I found her a nice used Colt Pocket Positive last year.  I looked around and found that Buffalo Bore makes self-defense ammo for that caliber, so I bought her a couple of boxes.and I feel that she's reasonably armed with the little gun.  She shoots it well and it goes everywhere with her.

Those are our daily carry guns.  What do you carry?

Marlin Model 60

It's hard to find a more common .22 rifle than the Marlin Model 60.  In production since 1960, the things have been made for over 50 years and Marlin has made over 11 million of them in various guises.  They're all pretty much alike, but the one thing they all share is that they are simple, dependable, rugged, durable rifles that are found almost everywhere.

PawPaw has bought several over the years as training rifles, once the kids and grandkids got old enough and practiced enough to get away from the single-shot .22s.  The Model 60 is a good introductory rifle to the semi-auto realm and PawPaw is always on the scout for a good deal.

Today I stopped by my favorite pawn shop to look at guns, and sure enough, he had one Model 60 on the shelf.  It just came out of pawn, and this one is the Glenfield Model 60 that Marlin built for sale in hardware stores.  Same rifle, different roll marks.  They're simple to work on, easy to disassemble, and parts can be bought at lots of online places.  The fact that they're accurate little rifles doesn't hurt things a bit.

We haggled for a few minutes, and I asked for a 4473.  If it matters, I gave the guy $50.00 for the little rifle.  It's rough, but it's solid and with just a little work it'll be a nice rifle.  The stock is birch, and with pressed-in checkering.

I took the rifle apart and gave it a good cleaning.  I dount that it had been cleaned since it was first taken out of the box.  The insides were filthy, mainly with dust and old oil.  If you've never disassembled a Model 60, Junior has a good tutorial at Castbullet.com.  I've got a nice Nikon 4X rimfire scope set aside for this rifle, which will make it just peachy for the squirrel woods.  Over the next couple of weeks, I'll sand the stock and give it an oil finish.  I believe that the litle rifle will clean up quite nicely.

**UPDATE**  Scope installed.  6 lbs, 13 oz,

I didn't figure it would be that heavy, but there it is.  Still, it's awfully handy.

Remington Moving?

I don't know how trustworthy the source is, but Yellowhammer is reporting that Remington Arms Company is opening a new facility in Alabama.

High level sources have informed Yellowhammer News that Remington, one of the world’s largest gun manufacturers, will on Monday join Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley in announcing that they are bringing over 2,000 jobs to Alabama.The company is viewing the move into Alabama as an expansion, but it will likely impact their Ilion, NY plant as well. The New York facility currently employees around 1,200 people. It is expected to stay open, but with a reduced workforce.

New York isn't very gun friendly these days, and smart companies are looking at alternatives.  Labor, capital, and creativity are mobile.  If a political climate is toxic to a business, it makes sense to move to a place that is welcoming the jobs and paychecks.

We'll be waiting for the announcement on Monday.

Hat tip to The Gun Counter.