OhMyGod! Can it get any more interesting?

As I posted earlier, I have been helping my sister through a rough spot in her life as her husband is in Hospice now. Its been a rather stressful weekend to start. Now here it is Sunday night, I am getting ready to jump in the shower when my door buzzer starts going nuts.

A guy from the neighborhood is buzzing everybody in my building, letting us know that the abandoned building next to us is on fire. I quickly get dressed and run out to see how far along it is(minus shoes and a jacket like a dimwit. In such a rush I even left my swiss army knife and my wallet) About that time, the firetrucks arrive and I am cut off from my place completely.

Cincinnati Fire Department is quite capable of their jobs, I will say that. They managed to take that fire down to a smoulder in less than an hour. It was a bit exasperating to me that once the fire was under control that I wasn't allowed to get back to my place for another hour and a half, Then I was told I was allowed to run in and get basics (jacket and shoes so they said) and get out as they were planning on doing a demo of the vacant building to keep it from coming down on the other houses. I understand that they were looking out for our safety but Seeing as I was being put out on the street for the night, it was a bit much to ask me to only grab 'basics'. Least to say, the look on the Firechiefs face as I walked by him with ammo cans, Rifle cases, and a Bugout Bag, was classic. I mumbled 'just the basics' as I walked by him in the most serious voice I could muster. (which was actually quite hard as I was choking back laughter as it looked like he had swallowed his own gonads)

I would like to think that the coming days will settle down some.

I know that when I go home tomorrow, I am going to have one VERY ticked off cat to deal with too. He was out and about when all of this went down and the couple of times I saw him trying to get to the house he looked quite ticked off. LOL Poor cat hadn't a clue that his world could get that interesting that quickly.

Wondering what can make a person give up.

My brother in law was diagnosed with cancer a little over one year ago. This weekend he ended up in the ER for pain due to that cancer. Today I find out that he is going to be stopping treatments and wants to stay at home until the end. He only wants the pain to subside.

He is one day younger than me.


Don't get me wrong on this, I can understand that everyone has a point where enough is enough. I get that. I just have to wonder if this is giving up or giving in. And there is a difference.
I have some pretty deep thoughts on this myself since it is hitting so close to home here. I don't know if I could have gone through the things he has. Personally if I were to receive the news that he did, I would probably go out and live out my days doing those things that I have always dreamed about instead of trying to extend my life out further. That is very much a personal issue though and I don't really have anyone that is close to me that would suffer if I were to 'up and away' for any extended periods either.

In some ways I wonder if I am full of crap too. Situations change and people still confound me with how they aren't really all that predictable. Just when you think you know someone, they turn around and you realize that they aren't all that you thought they were OR they end up being far more than you expected.

Happy Thanksgiving to all

Remember that there is always something to give thanks for. Being alive is the greatest gift and that alone is reason to give thanks for.

Remember those overseas and currently deploying overseas that are unable to be with their families today and give thanks that they are able and willing to sacrifice for us.

Remember those that came before us and have given freely so that we are able to give thanks in our own ways.

Remember to give thanks for being able to make choices, even when those choices are hard.

Now go get fat and happy on whatever form of Thanksgiving fare you are partaking of and forget about all of the crap in the world for one day.

Diogenes has a silly morning.

So I am walking through the big chain store doing some Grocery shopping, soaking up Pre-Thanksgiving food deals when I happen across a Kiosk like setup with Plano Shotgun/Rifle cases for $10. I pull one out and look at it; its about a $10 product but something to keep the Toys from getting beat up in transit. About the right size for an SKS or PSL(sans scope), "hmmm, not a bad price" methinks.

Then I start looking at the front cover of it. Woodland scene with whitetailish looking creature, and elk, Turkey's, and some Grouse.

"Hey, this is all shotgunners targets, Where are the Liberals?" I mumble out loud, immediatly getting a clerk standing nearby to about blow his coffee all over the aisle.


Someone got humor out of it. LOL

Gun Rights 4 US linky.

GR4U has a great article on today.


More power to the dealer that has this out side of his business. He brings up some very valid points in his dialogue too.

Washington Rebel has a good one too.

Gelled thoughts on Saturday night.

I watched C-Span for 3 hours leading up to the vote for cloture on the Healthcare reform bill. Several thoughts kept coming to mind while watching it but I held off making any reports until I had a chance to let things come together in my own head.
One of the first things that I came up with should be rather obvious. That is a lot of hot air coming out of that particular house on the hill. If we had a way of tapping that and converting it into mechanical energy, we could solve many of the energy issues that have been on the front page lately.(and no I don't buy into that whole climate warming thing. Momma earth is doing what she has done since before we showed our monkey faces on this rock)

Second thing I noticed is how shallow the majority of the republican party is. Mr. McCain is the worst in my book. Lots of talking points, but the more I listened the more I realized that EVERY SINGLE ONE was straight from Limbaugh, or Beck or Hannity. That man hasn't an original idea of his own to bring forward. Every fiscal argument was straight from the CBO and he completely missed the biggest one of all: That the United States Government is F*@KIN BROKE. No real loss as he has that reputation of being good at quotes and a stuffed shirt anyway, but while watching I was wishing for some other Republican to go over and just jaw jack the bastard and tell him to shut up and sit down.
Mitch McConnel came through with flying colors. He managed to get the points I just mentioned across quite clearly. His delivery was quite dry but then when you are alluding to financial collapse of a superpower, you need to be more than a little dispassionate and detached.

Something else I noted. The divide between reality and emotional MeMes is HUGE. There isn't an aisle to reach across in either the Senate or the House anymore. Its a Ginormous RIFT, and its getting wider every day. For the most part, every republican brought forward fiscal arguments of why we can't afford this crap. Most even pointed out that there are other reforms that can take place that either cost nothing or very little that can go into effect immediately.

Every, and I mean EVERY democrat only brought forward emotional Feel good crap, basically pleading that we need to do this as Americans are dying in the streets. Or they would point out how the Republicrats have railroaded these legislations into the dirt at every turn. Watching them I felt I was watching the Freshman debate team discussing how to get better lunches in school. Not one of these people had a rational basis for this legislation and most went so far as pulling up specific cases of dire situtations to illustrate the "horror in America".

One Republican stood out all night in my eyes though. Sen Kyl he only spoke for about 5 minutes but what he had to say summed up my thoughts rather nicely.

There are 535 of us up here on the hill trying to say that we know better than the 300+ million americans on the street. That is just plain Arrogant. The hubris I see on this hill is why we aren't trusted anymore.

That isn't a direct qoute( I could probably look it up but its Sunday morning and I feel lazy) but is pretty close to what was said. He nailed it though.



At the end of it they passed cloture 60-39, This pushes the bill forward but its not passed yet. We still have some say for whatever that is worth. I for one no longer have any reason to think that they will listen to us. Leviathan has started flexing and its only a matter of time before the sleeping giant flexes back or folds up in a fetal ball.
I don't want to say the latter will happen but I look into history and have seen great people fall for no reason other than surrender for desire to be left alone. Unfortunately, that never happens.

I keep saying be ready to go Galt. Keep your powder dry, etc etc.
I would say keep an eye on your wallet but they already have the means to empty that for you before you ever see it.

There really is only one way to fight back non-violently at this point. A tax revolt. Every working person going into HR and re-writing your W2 for 0 deductions. Its not like you aren't paying your taxes, you just aren't giving it on loan to the government in payments. Its hard for the Government to keep going on credit they don't have. If we cut that credit at the root, even for one month, they will panic. I don't see it happening as that requires resolve of EVERY SINGLE TAXPAYER. To get that many people on one side of the fence is impossible in this country.

So where does that leave us?

yup.

We shall see how the reps really view us shortly.

Tomorrow the senate is having a special session on the healthcare reform bill.

I tend to think that this is another sneak through like they did in the House two weeks ago. I have issues with the bill but I have further issues with the way that they are pushing this through in the dead of night. There isn't anyway that these people have read this bill. They have intentionally not included themselves in it, opting to maintain their own insurance policies. The whole mess stinks.

Some would have arguments for this to pass as they see nothing but the good intentions in it. Having done much research on it and reading posts from those across the pond in and in the great white north, I fear what is coming at this country. The economy can't handle the amount that is being proposed to fund this mess and they are saying that there is a way to reduce the funding needed. I have issues with that statement on two points.

1. When has the government EVER been under budget on ANYTHING?
2. The only way to reduce costs would be to limit services. Who gets the shaft in this case?

I freely admit that I don't have insurance at this point and it isn't necessarily by choice but I have had insurance in the past and paid a premium for it. As it stands now I have access to a doctor that accepts cash(therefore I am not being a burden on society) and if need arises where I would need hospitalization, I would honorably accept the debt incurred. I don't expect the general population to support me and find it offensive that others feel that is an entitlement. The area that I live in is loaded with those that feel that the rest of the world OWES THEM, usually without a reason.

My fears with this are compounding daily. First and foremost if this passes I lose my doctor. He WILL retire from his practice and won't sign on as a public servant. Another reason is the threat of Legal Action that has been readily admitted to by Pelosi. No insurance and unwilling to sign up for the 'public option' warrants a year and 25,000.00 fine for individuals, first offense. How is my not wanting to sign up for government assistance a crime? The allusions there go all the way back to George Orwell for me.

The fact that there is a 48% approval of this bill by the populace shows to me that this country is sick, and getting sicker. Whatever disease we have we picked up from the Brits. They have become progressively socialist since 1947. It is to the point that there is more emigration by natural born citizens of Britain to other countries than ever before in history. The social base in Britain is more immigrants than nationals. The Tax base is failing as they become more and more socialist, eventually there won't be a tax base, I wonder what they will do when NO ONE is making anything to tax but the welfare recipients? Seems like a never ending spiral of slavery to me.

I am going to get off here for the night and go read a book. A piece of fiction too, I need the escape tonight. I will be on watching the Den of Thieves on C-Span tomorrow. I want to know how much sooner I have until I am forced to go Galt.

I can't say it any better.

(follow this comic here) Like her or not, she is the thorn in the paw of power right now. One to watch over the next couple of years as she is going to pull some of the real People out of the woodwork to make a difference.

H/T to Stormbringer.

Back in the running,

I may be the most stubborn person I know when it comes to "broken tools". My truck is not only my transportation but also a tool.(and storage, Home away from home, etc etc)

Well today, rain and all, I worked out what the issue was and fixed the problem. Funny thing, now I am listening for the next break. The Beastie has 200+ thousand miles on her and I know that its only a matter of time before something else breaks. That's just a fact. Luckily there isn't much on this truck that I can't fix myself.

So the fix was something completely simple as it always is. I replaced the ignition module (tested bad) and the pick-up coil (also tested bad) and started getting spark. Still a crank no start situation so I kept looking at the problem to see "WTF?"
That's when I found that one of the leads to my Multimeter was bad.

I went back through the module and Pickup coils that I had removed and they now tested good with the new lead. Lesson learned: Always check your equipment before use. Funny how even after all of these years that one little detail will creep up and bite you every once in awhile.

I didn't pull the new units since they were in place, and with the mileage of the truck, I would rather the insurance of newer parts. I did box the old parts though and put them in the work box "just in case" later down the road.

You are probably barking at me right now to state what the real problem was. I'm getting to that.

Rotor button under the cap.

That was it.

All of my issues I fixed were real issues but they were not the problem. I went ahead and replaced the entire secondary ignition. Cap, Rotor, Wire set, and plugs. To say the least, I was slightly embarrassed by that, having worked on cars for 15 years, I know to check the simple stuff first. Still with the way things were going on Sunday, I found a couple of issues that did need attention and those are now taken care of. I now have a rock solid ignition system all the way back to the Computer(which didn't need replaced) and many of the 'redneck wiring' issues are now corrected properly and sealed against foul weather. Each time I get under the hood of this truck, it gains in reliability. That's not a bad thing.

I am happy to learn that the engine only has about 40,000 miles on it though. While I was at the parts store, I asked about the original owners purchases using his phone number.(he told me to use it for warranty purposes so I am not being sneaky.) He had a Jasper engine put in about 3 years ago. That in my book is a double plus.

Thanks to all that supported me in during the breakdown period and helping me recover the truck back to the homestead.

Message to Hermit. Hang on to that diesel. That is one rock solid piece of machinary with Survival capabilities. Gasoline is going to be hard to get at some point but diesel can be made from all kinds of vegetable oils.

Friday the 13th, belated

Friday went by like no ones business, no weird incidents, normal day. I am not superstitious but the events of sunday leave me wondering if maybe I should be.

Went to pick up a truck cap for the Beastie and that was a normal enough thing. It was the way the truck started acting up that left me wondering if maybe I should have best stayed in bed. Intermittent misfires, coughing and chugging, then running fine. This kept up off and on. Couldn't find anything out of the ordinary and kept on trucking. Picked up the cap and headed home, 4 miles and then,

nothing.

No running engine, no power, cranks over just fine, no spark. On the side of the road, trying to diagnose the issue, arrange a pick-up through my sister via Cell 'just in case' I am not successful, hoping for a samaritan to give me a jump as my battery is failing from the hazard lights running while I am under the hood tracing wires to insure thats not the issue, etc etc.
Make the arrangements for a pick-up and T-box is on the way. Managed to get someone to help push the truck off the road into a small driveway off the road, so thats a plus. Then the call comes. T-box ran into a spot of trouble himself. Leaves my issue looking pretty damned good to. His truck caught fire midway to where I was at. My rescue has been holed and sunk by good ole Murphey and his crew.

They say no good deed will go unpunished. They say TANSTAAFL (there ain't no such thing as a free lunch). They say many things but this was beyond the pale for a Sunday. OOF!

Well on a good note: That truck cap looks mighty fine on my truck. She almost looks respectable now. LOL! And I don't have to order new NRA stickers for it as the original owner was an NRA guy too. WOOT

Well here it is, Monday evening. The truck is now firmly ensconced in front of the house awaiting me and my tools to finish the diagnosis of the issue ( wiring needs straightened out and I believe the computer was fried due to a short at the firewall I found. Not a big deal as the computer is only about $90 and readily available.) Time consuming and frustrating but not the end of the world, or the life of this truck. She may have 200k on the box but she has always been a runner for me. This is just a little tick in the life of a marvelous peice of machinery.

Obviously I will need a range day after all of this is straightened out. Kinda like a chiropractor or pshychiatrist appointment; My rehabilitation is cheaper though.

One thing I noted from all of this though. We are in a very self centered and paranoid culture now. People see someone on the side of the road and won't stop "cause everyone has a cell phone now" and "we don't know them so I ain't stopping" attitudes. That and you never really know what you are dealing with in this Lawsuit Era. I can attest to that fact and I am not condemming those that didn't stop as I have been on both sides of that fence. Its only very disheartening that we have come so far in this world from the caves and yet our humanity is slipping back to prior times of dog eat dog. One reason I have made it my business to be multi-talented is the facts I have presented here. I found that there really isn't anyone but yourself, and immediate family that you can rely on.(and in some cases not even the last though my family isn't one of those) Unless you are in a military unit where the Esprit de Corps is trained in, and its everyone together or you all fall together; there really isn't anyone in this world you can count of for anything but yourself. Maybe I am becoming more pessimistic in my age but I don't think it would be hard to prove me wrong: Only no one has yet.

I know that there has been a string of this thought line on other blogs I read and I didn't want to add to the mix that has been building but there it is. It tends to be hard to not write about things that hit you in the face on a day to day basis. I am fortunate for now to be 'self employed' as a contractor to the guy I work for. I may not have the income I am used to but I don't have to deal with 'interoffice politics' or any of that other shallow pond water they try to sell as refreshing drinks in the corporate world anymore. (and to be quite honest, haven't the slightest desire to go back to that crap either. Would want to crack skulls over it, and that's not all that conducive to promotions or raises.)

So on that note, remember all, Murphey is a bastard disguised as a well layed out plan. His buddies are there to make sure you don't enjoy your day. And even through it all, something positive is taking place, even if you don't see it for its worth at the time. In my case, I now have an added layer of security for the tools in my truck, it looks good, and I will have found and corrected any of the issues to further make sure I have reliable transportation (at least till she finds something else to break. Those are getting further apart though lol)

Range day after post.

Rifles are cleaned and put up. Magazines reloaded and stored. Hands don't smell like powder or gun oil. Time for the post report.

First up. Romanian PSL

I have some Soft point ammo from when I had the Mosin. I don't want it to go to waste so I figured I would try it (against recommendations) and see how it does.

I was very impressed. Little change in the recoil aspect and WOW are those things tight. The wind was a factor today and while I shouldn't give that as an excuse, if you have ever been in Ohio you know how quickly wind can change direction. I was trying to stay on it with the dials but gave up and started using Kentucky windage. Still, if you look closely at that pattern, you will count 4 holes. Just amazing for cheap ammo.

Next was 5 rounds of the Chech Milsurp that I have. I was spacing these out about 20 minutes apart for the barrel to cool down. I wanted as close to a cold gun as possible, just to see what I can expect out of what ammo. Here is the result of that.(again, the wind sucked or blew I should say.)


The Next 15 rounds were the Chech Milsurp and I wanted to see how bad if at all this barrel strings shots. These were fired about 10 seconds apart in strings of 5. In between strings I waited a full minute.
Sadly that is about what I expected from the way I have seen this barrel whip around in slow motion video. The drop was from the barrel being warm and you can see the way the rounds spread out laterally (and yes there are more holes there but I was flipping the target board over between runs. All were recorded after sessions.)

One thing about this rifle that irks me though it shouldn't is the metric aspect. One click is 10cm at 100m. that boils down to about 3 1/2 inches at 100 yards. I am constantly doing this calculation in my head (and one reason why I gave up trying to adjust the windage). I would really like to get her out to a longer range to see what she can do but that just isn't doable here. (I will stop whining about that now. ) Once I started using Kentucky windage though I started hitting closer to center more consistently. I always have been more of an instinctive shooter (one reason I prefer iron sights.) and with the graduations on the reticle its pretty easy to do on the fly. (one tickmark for 4 inches is much easier than 3.5)

I didn't take any pics of the shooting that I did with the SKS since I was really only shooting her to have fun. Still, a 12" target at 100yards and everything was in the black. She is running a Techsites, rear aperture with a narrow front post. The rear aperture opens the sight picture up 10" from the original sights so in comparison she is quite accurate to other SKS's that I have shot. This is a rifle I would happily take hunting so long as I didn't have to shoot over 100 yards with her. She hits hard enough at that distance to take down a blackbear and recoil is mild enough that follow ups are a breeze. Hollowpoint ammo is pretty easy to acquire for this gun too(I have 500 rounds of it now).

Maybe one day. (need somewhere to store the meat first.)

Back in the Game.

I find it amazing that something so simple as a double shot of vodka mixed with some of my Dad's honey, a super hot shower and a good nights rest and I am back up and running today.

Don't have a clue what hit me but it wasn't good. I didn't have any cold symptoms at all. No sinus drainage, no phlegm in the lungs. Just PAIN.

Seriously, it felt like I had been in a knock down drag out the night before. I haven't felt like that since I was in a bar fight while in the Philippines.

Since I hadn't anything else to do, I took the SKS to the range today. I haven't had her out in several months and felt like having some fun. She is a blast to shoot. It far too easy to put a hundred rounds downrange with that rifle. I did get in some quality practice with my offhand position(standing for those that don't know). I don't care how good you are, that position is NOT easy. I was able to hit paper. That at this point is pretty good in my eyes. I need to get back out and start walking more, get back in some shape that I have slipped on. I may not be overweight but I am not in the greatest shape either. I noticed after a few rounds that my heartbeat was really making a difference in shot placement. My breathing was all off too. The good thing about using the SKS for this, I am familiar enough with her(like an extension of my arm) that I know its not the rifle: Any stray rounds are on me completely.

Well time to clean the old girl, get the smell of gunpowder out of my nose(even though I like that smell) and maybe take a walk. I may call the kid and have her go with too. She needs to get out more. (evil dad grin)

Kicked in the ribs. lite post tonight.

Woke up last night about 3:30am drenched in sweat and feeling like someone had been kicking me in the kidneys. Least to say I didn't get much more sleep last night. Been dozing off and on all day. No cold symptoms but hardcore aches and pains. Not one part of me doesn't feel like crap.
To be honest, I feel like I have been in a fight, even my face hurts.

So I won't be posting anything other than a word out to the other vets in the world.

Stay safe, and thank you for your service, no matter in war or not. You signed on to make that sacrifice whether or not it was asked of you.

Happy Birthday. To all of the Devil Dogs in the World

We are 234 years old today. OORAH!

I am only going to link some articles today. Going to be lazy and go work on the truck.

Sipsey Street recognizes the Event
Dedicated_Dad has some things to say, well worth reading.
GR4US relates a Boortz presentation that I completely agree with.(Punishment should be cruel in my opinion. What better deterrent)

These are only some of the reads I do daily. Feel free to check em out. You may find something you like.


As for the whole Cruel and Unusual punishment article. I think this is one of the more twisted up sentences in the Constitution. The lawyers played that card out to the point that the Criminals are now more protected than the victims. (read Heinlein's Starship Troopers for a more detailed debate on that view along with other moral and ethics issues that I find relevant to events of our times. RAH nailed it in that book in my opinion.)

I will be back tomorrow. Not much going on in my world at present but the world doesn't wait for Diogenes.

Leviathan flexes

Last night at 11:15pm the House of Congress voted by slim majority for H.R.3962. Final vote was 220-215. One Republicrat voted for this, 39 Dems voted against. Other wise it was pretty much strictly party vs. party.

This is now up to the Senate to kill on the floor.

If this monstrosity goes through we can start mopping the floors with the remains of whatever future Our children would have had. These "representatives" have sold our futures and the futures of our children and their children to a soulless Government that won't give one iota of care for humanity but demand the highest price.

I won't go into specifics here as the bill is openly displayed on Thomas.gov. If you have the wherewithal to muddle through all 1992 pages of Pelosi's landmark, feel free. I have read enough of it to realize that it will strip from us freedoms that we take for granted and is going to take them at the whims of a 'panel' put into place by bureaucrats, not professional health caretakers. This is one step closer to putting us all in a socialist country similar to that of England. If you have any questions of how bad that place has become, consider that they have been immigrating here for years due to the loss of freedoms that they have been suffering.


I just wonder what happened to this country? What happened to the CAN DO attitude that was prevalent in my parents age. I inherited it. It seems that the common attitude is now DO IT FOR ME. People seem to WANT taken care of instead of respecting themselves.
To Quote the Founders,

"Remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have. "(quote has been attributed to Jefferson and Crockett)

I see another quote that sums up the rest of this post though.

"A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader."
Samuel Adams, 1779

That pretty much sums up why we are where we are now. I guess that also describes why some parts of this country still exhibit "Conservative Principles" while others most assuredly do not.

I don't even attempt to prognosticate the future of this country, I haven't a clue where we are headed. I so see that there may be violence in the future once people realize to what extent they have been robbed. Once people start receiving visits from the IRS (the enforcement arm of this "health care bill") there will be trouble. To what extent I won't even guess. I can only hope that it happens quickly before the American people are completely subdued.

I am going to the range.

In the news.

Fort Hood was the scene of another shooting today. At present,12 dead and 31 wounded.
When I first heard about this I had the thought that said individuals that did the shooting were Combat vets and having some issues. Not so much now. It seems that the one shooter that was killed(there were three total last report) was an Army Major with a Muslim name. One of the sites that I go to has a facebook page of him listed(I don't do facebook so I wasn't able to see the page) and supposedly all of his friends there are also Muslim.

Coordinated attack. Army Personnel. Muslim. Could this be an infiltration team?
Our media is reporting(via Washington reports) that Al Queda is a defunct group. I am not so sure anymore. A group with the cell setup that they had doesn't just die off. Its going to have cells that operate long after the core group is removed. There doesn't have to be a communications network like we have in our organized military. Cells are given a set of parameters to follow then let go to operate as needed. No follow up. This isn't a military group made up of enlisted people and career officers. This is a group built around an Ideology. One that inspires its followers to eliminate themselves in the cause of it. There isn't a middle ground with these people. Its do or die and sometimes, more than frequently, Do and Die. They aren't worried "about getting home" because they firmly believe that in dying for the cause they are going to heaven with honors.

Fanatical is only the tip of the iceberg with these mentalities.

I worry thought that the administration, the DHS and the NSA are going to spin this against the troops we currently have. Restricting them even further. The same rules apply here that the Bradyites have been using for years. Restrict access to arms and "problem solved".

Wrong answer.

I bet when it comes down to it the weapons used at Fort Hood will be found to be 1) untraceable or 2) stolen weapons that were purchased off the street(or in Mexico). Even if they are found to be legally obtained, the situation won't be any different. There isn't anyway of knowing if someone buying a handgun/rifle/shotgun is going to use it in an illegal manner. NO WAY TO KNOW. You can understandably restrict those that have broken laws before but it won't stop a determined individual from obtaining a weapon. From my standpoint it seems that its much easier to obtain a weapon illegally than through the legal hoops. The Laws only restrict the law abiding, not the law breaking. Like my dad says," Locks only keep honest people, honest. They won't stop a thief." Same analogy applies here.

These guys attacked soldiers of the United States on Federal Land. Motives are unknown at this point but I would like to think that the Base General is ballsy enough to waterboard the two shooters and get ALL of the information about what really went down. Obama may not like the way things get done but I think in this case the Military needs to step up. Our weaselly president needs to let them do what they need to do so that we can put a stop to this crap, once and for all.

Addendum: Shooter is not dead, in custody in a hospital. Is a Muslim, and a U.S. citizen. Seems this guy was something of a loose cannon that was gaining the attention of the FBI. Messy situation for all at this point. This is another situation that I will be watching. I doubt that this administration can spin it up to justify further encroachment on our rights: I wouldn't put if past them though.

My morning wake up call.

I woke up to read this from Ron Paul this morning. Here is the key quote in my perspective.

What is more likely happening is a repeat of the Great Depression. We might have up to a year or so of an economy growing just slightly above stagnation, followed by a drop in growth worse than anything we have seen in the past two years. As the housing market fails to return to any sense of normalcy, commercial real estate begins to collapse and manufacturers produce goods that cannot be purchased by debt-strapped consumers, the economy will falter. That will go on until we come to our senses and end this wasteful government spending.

If you are a prepper, Keep on prepping. If not, you should start. And if you are a zombie, well, when you start getting hungry, don't come looking for those that thought about something other than the newest video game or latest fashion. We will be strong from lack of hunger and we will be well armed. 9and probably more than a little unsympathetic. )

Addendum: Heard the local and state races tended to be RED yesterday. I think the Socialist agenda of the Whitehouse is starting to backfire on them. Still not good enough in my opinion but then I am only one person out here in the wilds of Urban America.
My plans to go Galt are still strong(though morphing somewhat due to finances) Simplifying my life is the ultimate goal.

A good read in Memory of an event I remember

but didn't fully grasp at the time.
Twenty years later

A key quote from the article.

"My daughter’s hamster (a pet white mouse) has food, water, shelter and even medical care, and a cage full of fun curly tubes. The hamster responds by constantly trying to chew his way to freedom. I think we all understand what freedom is, and it is not a gilded cage."

These are the lessons that I want to instill in my daughter and granddaughter.

These are trying times for people that understand freedom and the responsibilities that go with it. Its especially trying when you realize just how impotent a position you have in the political spectrum (IE NONE) One vote in a sea of votes seems insignificant. The majority is a sea of deluded individuals hearing the siren song of a nanny state that promises the same promises Marx and Lenin sang. They don't see that Freedom and Liberty aren't free. They are only reacting to pretty words but don't see the lies underneath. The chains of slavery are many and all too easily chosen when the alternative is Laborious and rife with struggle. Those that have came up in the world from nothing know what I am talking about. The Free market enterprises are reflections of the Freedoms our Founders envisioned while writing the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution was the compromise of the Statist's and the Anarchists. It wasn't perfect but no compromise is. Still it worked for at least one Century before being manipulated. Since the Civil War Our Freedoms have been under near constant assault by the Socialist/Communist factions. They are starting to win, at least in the diplomatic sector. They haven't won the minds of the people yet.(Many, not all)

Remember those that escaped Slavery in our lifetime on November 9th. Remember why they strove to leave "an Idyllic Workers Paradise" at the risk of life and limb. Then get on the phone or the e-mail and let your representatives know that you DO NOT want a repeat of that on our shores. As it stands right now, that is our recourse. Soon enough it may not be that simple.

And now for something completely different.

A few years back I was checking out 'cheap living' alternatives and ran across some obscure post for making quick and cheap meals. (I would link it but that particular server seems offline now. My shortcut doesn't work)

To wit, very simply this is simple but healthy foods that require you to not have much desire for gourmet tastes. Simply Rice, wheat, barley, oats what have you.
It requires a Thermos hot water and patience. LOL something that I am usually short on. I made some Oats last night before heading to bed and this morning they were done perfectly. Tonight I am trying my hand at some rice. I am going a little bit further with it as I added a tablespoon of Lemon juice and some cilantro (Ala Chipotle style) and I am going to cook up some meats to go with it.

Really simple and something that can be purchased fairly cheaply. I picked up a back of whole oats (10lb bag) for $4.50. With proper storage this will probably keep me fed for a year ( with the other items) 2/3cup dry stuff makes a full 3 cups of wet. thats three meals if I am not picky about an expansive diet. And its full of good carbs, Fiber and vitamins. No chemicals that I am aware of that I didn't add in(salt being the only thing). Pretty good texture and damned good flavor (unlike the stuff I had been eating that was so processed I couldn't taste the oats, only the 'flavoring') I am going to run with this for a week and see how I feel. I know I need to start eating better; living alone has really dampened my urge to cook properly. That and having little to no counter space but thats another story all together. The downside of living in an Efficiency.

Ok My rambling is over. Back to the grind.

An argument AGAINST universal Healthcare.

I recieved the call last night around 2 A.M.

" This had better be good." (me)
" How about I am vomiting blood,, Good enough?" (daughter)
" On my way" (me) Click.

I get there, little argument about going to the E.R. but she concedes and leaves, leaving me to sit the Dog and Granbehbie.

She doesn't have insurance so she went the University Hospital E.R. here locally.

Bill out the door. $0 $8 parking.

They couldn't find anything though. Granted she has ulcers and I personally think one flared up on her but I am not a doctor. Still for not being insured, she was covered.

And The FEDGOV wants to take over even more control of a system that really needs to be less controlled. I have heard the arguments of lower costs, but that fails when you show that the reason the costs are so high is because of Federal mandates on services. The reason there are drugs available overseas for Cancer that aren't available here is because of Federal Mandate( the FDA specifically) There are more arguments that can go around but the fact is, THE SYSTEM WORKS even with all of the crap that they throw at it. NOW they are trying to take the private sector out of the equation all together(and they will see a sharp decline in Doctors in the process) leaving people like my daughter, my dad, heck, myself; Screwed.

They say that everyone has a line in the sand. This one is mine. A couple of reasons for that. There is a stipulation in the bill for an ID system. This isn't the National ID that has been proposed in the past but its so close as to be its twin. There are many aspects of that, that leave me speechless. The most important being the image of SS asking "Papers, please" in the old war films. Not really keen on that becoming possible here(though we really aren't that far from it with our Drivers License's) The other is the proposal that they can find me 'unfit' for gun ownership through a board of "elected officials". These people won't be doctors and WILL work for the Government. Think they won't have a bias against people that are opinionated AND armed?

There are other proposals coming down the pike like Cap and Trade, Illegal immigrant Amnesty, and the Value Added Tax. Every single one of these proposals cedes a little more state power to the FedGov. Each one opens up even more loopholes allowing more trepidations on "We the People". Each one also calls for more taxes from those that actually pay taxes, to be distributed to those 'in need'. Not sure about where you live but here where I live, those in need aren't seeing it and the ones that are haven't a clue how to use it properly. I don't know how many times a week a see some welfare case buying junk food at the convenience store on the food stamp program card. I don't know how many of them have video consoles in their houses but I know of more than a few that have Video consoles in their SUV's.(gas guzzling monsters with High dollar rims. And these people are on WELFARE????)

I guess I am trying to alliterate that there is a growing rift in this country.(like this isn't touched upon daily by the Conservative broadcasters) The rift isn't about the Have's and Have-not's anymore. Its about the Producers and the Users. Go ahead progressives: Tax the hell out of the Producers. If they have the means they will leave for better climes elsewhere in the world(like most of our manufacturing has already) If not, they will give up eventually and either go Galt, or go on the dole. I am already making my plans to go Galt. I can't swallow my pride enough to 'give up'.

No matter what, if the Progressives continue making headway, there will be trouble in this country. When and where, I haven't a clue. Sadly though its not a question of "IF" anymore. They will cross a line and someone will be there to push back. When that happens things will escalate VERY quickly.

OK I am done ranting for the night. GO VOTE TOMORROW if there are elections in your state.

No range day. :-(

Not really that sad about it. Hunting season is open and being a Sunday, Clear skies, and cool, every shotgunner out there is going to be at the range setting up. I would be lucky to get a lane.

So what do I do?

I tear apart a Russian scope and replace the illuminator for the reticule. The PSOP scope that comes with the PSL was originally illuminated with Tritium vials. Unfortunately these degrade over time(that whole half-life thing with radioactive materials) and no longer light up enough to light the reticule. I was checking out another site where a guy was trying to replace them and saw how the layout on the scope was. I felt confident enough to give it a go but decided to NOT use Tritium. Several reasons for this, 1) Hard to come by 20) Expensive. Instead I went to Radio shack, picked up 2 LED's for $1.50 (part #276-026 if you want to emulate this mod.) I had everything else in stock. I drilled a 1/8" hole into the cover of the tritium vials after removing them. I then epoxied in the LED and led the wires out of the housing. Before reassembly I tested the reticule by closing up the house and turning off all the lights. ITS BRIGHT! I can actually use this during daylight hours and it offers enough lighting offset to compensate for dark backgrounds. Its really intended for low lighting such as you get at sunset or sunrise: it is not for night work. Typically though if I were to use this for hunting, those are the hours that I will be more inclined to see my quarry.
I will make arrangements to go to the range to verify my zero again but it seems like everything reassembled dead on. The reticule isn't part of the elevation/windage prism so I think that it will still be on target. The biggest thing was making sure it was still horizontal to the rifle.
I was going to post pictures of the Mod but my camera really sucks for closeup detail pictures. Everything is so blurry that a picture in this case is only worth one word; Crap.

Kind of itchy to get to the range now. LOL I am such a gungeek.