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.