Three Rounds Brisk...

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T13:31:00.002-07:00

That is all.

Times Are Tough All Over

2009-12-13T11:22:00.003-07:00

Imagine waking up every morning and heading into work at your desk at the Onion, and having to top this:

"You might be able to make this up. But it would require a pretty disturbed mind. Where to begin. Initially being investigated for disabling the fire alarm systems in his hotel room, due to shower steam, he claimed, it was discovered he had replaced the hotel room door with a piece of plywood. The plywood contained a circular padded hole believed to be used for sexual acts."

I guess if you are making six figures a year keeping the proles in line, you can afford to do your own remodeling at a motel.

Jack booted thugs need love, too, you know.

A Meme That Should Stick

2009-12-12T19:29:00.003-07:00

Neo-neocon shoots, and scores.

UPDATE: Commentary ensues!

Just Saying

2009-12-06T12:30:00.003-07:00

Friday I noted that Craftsman had made last minute Changes in his Copenhagen schedule.

The rhetoric from the administration remains apocalyptic and a random search of scare words and "global warming" generates grave, grave, grave predictions and protestations...

Fucking luddites, the lot of them.

I don't have the time or tech chops, but somebody should to do a "Hitler Rant" on Obama being told that Al Gore has backed out of Copenhagen.

Obama would explain that "Climategate" would only matter for a news cycle or two, but only if the scammers don't back off. I'd prefer that he refer to Mr. Gore as "the wooden man" at some point. Bonus points from the Academy if Biden gets labeled the "first White House garden gnome".

Obama would point out that the burlap boxer/bra-less/birkenstock legions that are the BASE don't read past the New York Times or watch anything but MSNBC or listen to anyone but NPR (except during pledge weeks). And how much "Climategate" news is there? Really?

He'd also remind Emmanuel, Gibbs, and Axelrod that all that one green world horseshit was just that, and that Team Craftsman was and always has been in the revolution business. He would also remind them that BIG lies are the key; that turning back, temporizing, or stooping to honest debate are certain roads to defeat.

That little bit at the end of the video, where Hitler's voice drops and he is hunched over the table - that could be rewritten to show Craftsman directing that his minions get busy about finding the next CEO for GM. No particular care should be taken that the candidate be fit for the job; they just need somebody who looks good on TV and won't go tits up before they are ready for him/her to go...

AGW is this administration's "Jewish Problem". Make no mistake about it.

Feh. Maybe I've overdone my Craftsman attention for the week.

You have a fine Sunday, and a better week. I'll be shoveling snow tomorrow.

MMMmmmm Good

2009-11-26T10:25:00.001-07:00

Team Jones is doing ten pounds of bone-in picnic pork roast.

Peel and cut four apples into rings (red delicious this year).

Sea salt and coarse ground pepper

1/2 cup fresh pressed cider
tbsp extra virgin olive oil
tbsp BRUTAL oak aged balsamic vinegar
tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
teaspoon soy sauce
dash tabasco

1/3 cup dried ground onion (we forgot to buy a fresh sweet onion)
tbsp garlic powder (you can use cloves of garlic, but powder seems to work better in the slow cooker)
dash paprika
dash ginger
two scruples parsley flakes (gives contrast to dried chopped onions/forms nice coating on meat)

Some recipes call for putting in two bay leaves and removing them after some time interval. The last two times I tried this, I left them in too long and was not impressed with the result.

To cook:

Get all your ingredients located. Locate the meat thermometer. Go down to your daughter’s room and steal back your heavy gauge extension cord so you can put the six quart crock pot on the end of the long kitchen bar.

Sear the meat in a dutch oven. You want it smoking hot with just enough oil to coat the bottom of the oven. The roast will shed enough fat to do the rest of the job. Have your big honking fork and heavy mitts on hand (so to speak) BEFORE dropping the meat in.

Mix the wet and dry spices and set aside.

Turn on the crock pot - set for “High” tempature for 3 hours.

Place 3/4 of the apples in the bottom of the pot.

Take the seared roast out of the dutch oven and place on a cookie sheet or platter. Rub pepper and salt to taste (less salt is always better - look at all the other spices already in the broth). I fork the heck out of the meat, and cut a shallow slit in the top as well, to allow the spices to penetrate. Fat side up with pork, always.

Place meat on top of apples, skin/fat side up. Place remaining apples on sides/top of meat.

Pour spice broth over meat, cover, and cook on “high” for 2-3 hours, then reduce to low heat for about 3-4 additional hours, until a meat thermometer pushed to center of roast reads 150f. According to some recipes you may remove from heat now and let stand, and then serve when temp reaches 160f. We usually leave the roast in until the temp actually registers 160f.

Make sure to argue with your spouse about whether or not to reduce the fat that will accumulate in the pot; every body needs a Thanksgiving tradition, you know.

Serves four adults with generous leftovers for sammiches.

Warning Order

2009-11-25T21:09:00.003-07:00

Weather permitting, this Saturday morning at 0900 The Team, friends, and a random number of FYM*, will be on the ground here:

View Larger Map

We will be in the clearing shown in the center of the map, with the tube set up at about 6 o'clock oriented WSW to have the ridge as a back stop.

Yes, Virginia, it's time to shoot cannon. And Mosins. And whatever else we decide to throw in the truck.

The forecast is better than we expect for late November, but rain is still a possibility.

Anyone who is interested in this outing, or simply interested in going shooting, can contact me at tmjutahAThotmailDOTcom.

Bonus: There is a 1943 Izhevsk arsenal retired PU at the West Jordan Big 5. It is on sale at $99 dollars right now, and will be marked down to $89 from 0500 to 0900 on Black Friday. This rifle has excellent rifling, a pristine, compound radius crown, and I believe that the stock is custom to this action. By this I mean that the wood to metal fit exceeds any example of Mosin I've seen to date, that key dimensions are "fat", most notably the wrist and fore end diameters, and finally that I think the wood may not be birch but some other hard wood. The shellac finish is very well done, with no flaking.

The receiver marks are clear, with a lined-out seven digit serial number on the left side above the wood. There are the typical welded holes visible through the open receiver. Matching numbers throughout, including the bolt. It appears to me that the straight bolt handle was attached to the originial sniper bolt. I have never felt an action so smooth on a Mosin. I didn't have my scale with me, but the trigger felt like it broke clean at somewhere around four pounds - sweetly clean, too.

I have called a few friends about this one but money is tight. I also found a 1935 Tula retired PE in Sugar House today, and it did follow me home. I considered trying to sell Mrs. Tmj on getting both rifles, but she remembered that there are already two 1943 Ishevsk retired PU's downstairs.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Keep your powder dry.

*Fine Young Men. The Goddesses always have a few following them around.

Blink

2009-11-08T10:12:00.003-07:00

Jerry Pournelle has observations on last night's house vote here.

I left my some opinions here.

My wife of twenty one years will not speak of politics or the economy with me any more. She will not understand that “Healthcare” isn’t about care, it is just another brick thrown on the back of a national economy and society about to break.

I have failed as a husband here; I cannot protect my family from a threat they will not see.

Range Day

2009-11-06T18:37:00.003-07:00

I will be at the Lee Kay Hunter Education Center in West Valley City tomorrow, hopefully arriving between noon and one.

My veterinarian friend is coming out (if he's not needed in surgery) with his P17 and my partner from work will be there around two as well. No word at this time if Mrs. Utah will be up to a session or not, or if the Goddesses or their Fine Young Men are interested and/or available, either.

I will shoot. I will coach. I will not think much, frankly.

What a week this has been.

God bless the dead of Ft. Hood, and may He keep and comfort the survivors and the wounded.

God help us all in this country under siege. We are a nation bending dangerously under the weight of an evil and corrupt administration. We are a society weakened by generations of sloth and ignorance and these are sins that will be paid for.

We will bear the burden of a defeat by retreat in this round of the war against Islamist fascism. Our elected representatives fully intend to shove this war behind socialized health care and American Idol.

Our economy and our freedom are under attack. The crises are upon us, and they are indeed just too "good" to waste. In 1982 unemployment topped ten percent but 83 and 86 saw tremendous growth... after tax cuts, easing of government regulation across many sectors of the economy, the dawn of the information age, and most importantly the appeal from the chief executive to the citizenry to be Citizens.

The Obama insurgency is not about any of that. Incompetence or mere corruption would be bad enough but this administration truly sees itself as the instrument that will end the republic. Make no mistake about that.

God bless and keep you in the dark, dark days ahead.

Sunday (Updated)

2009-10-18T17:42:00.004-06:00

I got her back from the smith later Thursday. I had the barrel flutes peened in hopes that she would return to reliability without the purchase of a new op rod or gas cylinder. Saturday at Lee Kay I divined that Something Was Wrong. The bolt wouldn't open far enough to lock into the receiver. Wouldn't open far enough to accept a clip, for that matter.

I took her apart on a table at Lee Kay to find that the clip release tab wasn't connected correctly over the follower assembly. It's been literally years since I've taken her down to pins and springs, so I just put her back together with the tab in the "right" spot and headed back in to see if she would shoot. The bolt went all the way to the rear but the clip would not seat. I declared surrender and waited to get back home and the reference books to figure out what was going on.

Last night I found that the follower assembly was installed backwards. The fact that it had fallen out instantly when I detensioned the operating rod spring earlier at the range should have been a give away. So I put it in correctly and loaded a dummy clip with zero problems.

This morning I fired three clips with one FTF. In the course of this action I noticed that the front sight on my rifle is no longer stamped "NM" for National Match.

***UPDATE: Upon further review of my records, I found that the only part that bore an actual "NM" stamp when I purchased this rifle in 1987 was the operating rod handle. Old age is creeping up on me.***

I will discuss these ***assembly*** issues with the smith on Monday. (That didn't happen - got home after dark again.)

Well, I Wasn't That Into The Show Anyway

2009-10-13T20:25:00.003-06:00

CBS is trying to piggyback on the success of NCIS with a star power spin-off set in LA. LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell work at it, but two episodes I watched before tonight required more suspension of disbelief than even a Kucinich voter might marshall.

Then tonight, the shark jumping moment came when the crack NCIS psychological profiler opines on why a former Marine, recently in the employ of a private security outfit and working Iraq, beat a victim to death and left him hanging in the back of a gun shop instead of just stealing the missing pistols.

The babe with large breasts and legs up to her shoulders ponders (paraphrasing; I wasn't listening real close): "The report says he was beaten to death; why go to the trouble? Why not just steal the guns?" And the Dr. Freud character drops this line on the room (which contains LL Cool J's character, a multi tour SEAL)

"He was an interrogator in Iraq. He might have gotten a taste for it."

And everybody in the scene nods sagely, because EVERYBODY knows that Marines just love hanging sand n**** ass from a hook and beating it all bloody, over there in the sandbox. Or where ever that Evil Boosh war is still sputtering along.

Nobody in the room of full of crime solving geniuses wonders why the dead guy was dead... or why the suspect, whose only link to the victim was that of being a childhood friend, was automatically the killer. We're halfway into the episode at this point and nobody has thought to ask why the guy was shot AT at the airport... when he wasn't a deadly threat. Or why he carjacked a car by gently pushing a woman out of the way instead of incapacitating or abducting her.

The night wasn't a total waste. From now on I get another hour on Thursday night to do something productive.

Clarity

2009-10-10T20:51:00.003-06:00

The Obama presidency isn't merely a bumpy stretch of road in the American journey.

It is intended to be an end to the Republic and a beginning of utopia.

"Whatever Barack and the people he has surrounded himself with may profess with their mouths at any particular time, their actions show they still loathe America and our standing as most powerful nation on earth, as well as our free enterprise, individual liberty, reverence for family and local communities, Main Street, the U.S. military, Christianity, and every other hallmark of the traditional culture and values of Western civilization.

And now they think they have the power and position to do what they've always wanted to do - tear it all down and remake it in their millenarian image of Leviathan. As philosopher Erik Voegelin would say, they don't merely intend the immanentization of the eschaton, they are securing the appropriations and regulations to make it happen.

Viewed from that assumption, things become so much clearer. On foreign and military policy, Obama's dominant principle is to apologize, to reverse a previous course - thus disavowing the intrinsically moral role of America in protecting freedom - and to seek rapproachment with our enemies on their terms."

I can't talk politics or finances with my wife any more. At all.

Will I have a job a month from now? Will we have capital in any form other than what's on the shelves in the basement or in the cans next to the safe?

And I grew up thinking that watching the wall fall was the pivot of my generation. Not nearly. Not even close.

(via Instpundit)

Just Trying To Help

2009-10-03T21:13:00.003-06:00

Somewhere in England, just before D-Day, General George S. Patton speaks to his Thrid Army:

"When you, here, everyone of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American."

Times have changed quite a bit since June of 1944 but the sentiment expressed in Patton's words still pertains. Amphorous hope, suggesting change without purpose, and huckster populism as foundations for political power fade against stark failure on the part of The Won. Town Hall tension and TEA Parties are just the foam on the crest of the wave that is rolling across the nation.

We've elected the hind tit on a boar hog, haven't we? Pay attention, Mr. President. It's not going to get any easier.

It's turning out to be a lot more of a bummer, this bringing down the system, than TOTUS man thought it would.

Silly little Marxist. The Soviets tried for sixty years, and had nukes, armies, and half the cabinet agencies in the government, and they got beat by blue jeans, toilet paper, an actor, a British dame, and a Polish Pope.

Just who the f*** did Obama, or his handlers, think he was, to succeed where Vlad's best and brightest had failed?

It's going to get ugly... but my money is on the possibility that Team O will be going under the bus they've so readily tossed all those other folks, and a lot sooner than they ever thought such a thing could happen. The nation will not shed a tear for their absence.

Fall

2009-09-27T10:18:00.003-06:00

Fall. Turn of the season, or something else? Who knows?

Gagdad Bob popped up on my screens ,via Van der Luen, this morning:

"Just as it is possible for a person to lose the grace, so too can a nation; in other words -- or symbols -- no (↑), no (↓). With an Obama presidency, we will find out what this will be like. It may well turn out to be as his spiritual mentor, Reverend Wright says: God damn America!

And why not? If we abandon any pretense of spiritual ideals, it is not God who will damn America. Rather, we'll do it ourselves. I'm pretty sure we'll discover what it felt like to be a Christian living in Rome, as the barbarian hordes were about to put an end to that world (which at the time was "the" world)."

Interesting times of the Chinese kind are upon us.

We are heading into a winter of discontent, boys and girls. I was going to set some fence posts today but I think I'll just grab the Mosin closest to the door of the safe and a jump bag and head across the lake instead.

We have been up on a neighbor's roof for most of the last week, after work, to help him get it sound before the weather breaks this coming Tuesday. Mrs. Utah cannot stand very well so she has spent two days scooting about on a six inch foam pad helping to hand supplies down from the crown to where ever they have been needed. We have a third of the surface done complete and lack only shingles on the other two thirds. Hopefully the owner wasn't too conservative in his estimate but we think we may need another two units of shingles. Roofing in this corner of Happy Valley is as close to an Amish barn raising as I'll ever see. Very, very good times.

I hope you have a fine week.

Local News

2009-09-13T10:14:00.002-06:00

I stopped by the American Fork Big 5 on the way home Friday evening and found out that they will be stocking M38 Mosins in the near future.

The counter staff headed back and pulled out a couple of examples for me to look at. I liked what I saw, but I am not sure that I can really justify another Mosin right now. I may have to put a couple my 91/30's up on KSL.com Classifieds in order raise funds as well as to open up some space in the Team Armory.

One of the two they brought out has a bunged up front sight, which probably happened in transport. The globe and post is knocked almost out of its dovetail slot. The damage to the slot would require five minutes of work on my anvil with the right mandrels but I have gotten deals on marred or damaged merchandise here before.

This rifle is the one of the two that has the actual M38 stock - not a more common cut-down 91/30 stock. So I'll probably mosey over there after lunch...

In other news, youngest Goddess attended Homecoming dance last night and had a fabulous time. Unfortunately, she found that her high heels were poor equipment choices for operating our Dodge Dakota. She slipped off the pedals and punched a parking bollard just left off center of the trailer hitch at some speed and shoved the rear bumper right against the bed. The tail gate will still open, but just.

She gets to learn the economics of body work. This will be her first experience with higher education.

ROE

2009-09-10T21:33:00.003-06:00

Via Belmont Club:

"U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected repeated calls to unleash artillery rounds at attackers dug into the slopes and tree lines — despite being told repeatedly that they weren’t near the village."

It is my personal opinion that we no longer have any business putting American servicemen in harm's way in Afghanistan. I will be writing my representatives and senators to urge them to end our involvement in the nations of Afghanistan and Iraq.

NCA has abandoned the mission. We are not willing to kill the enemy where we find them, when we find them. From this day forward our dead, wounded, and maimed are pawns in a game that has already been conceded.

Wish it wasn't that way. Tomorrow in the anniversary of a tragic day. I will remember where I was that day. Just as I remember 1979 and 1983, when I first noticed the war.

Our government, too busy attempting to overturn the Republic, will accept a trickle of pointless deaths until they are ready to formally surrender.

They Said There Would Be Tests.

2009-08-22T14:02:00.006-06:00

Howdy.

Mrs. Utah and I are spending the weekend in the idyllic metropolis of Pocatello, Idaho. Why, you ask?

I'm glad you did. We are here because I didn't work today, Wendover, Nevada holds no attraction as an escape, and Vegas is too far away.

This morning we made our way out to the boonies and paid our fees to shoot at the Oregon Trail Shooting Club. Mrs. Utah is bad, bad news with our compact Glock 26. Once again she has proven a better shot with a pistol originally intended for me.

I elected to take one of my Mosin carbines, a beautiful model 91/59 I picked up a few years ago. This weekend marks the third time I've had this one out. I shot about thirty rounds offhand, mostly mixed lot old milsurp light ball, and then moved to a bench after my groups started to show I was getting tired.

The groups tightened nicely from the bench. I was shooting across the top of my range bag at my fifty yard target the same time as Mrs. Tmj was shooting to my left. Her target was out at fifteen yards to start and later moved out to twenty five. She shot scary good; sight radius on a 26 is about as long as that of a derringer and she was still putting all the rounds inside a twelve inch bullseye at the close target and almost all of them at the twenty five yard range.

This is the unscripted weekend. As we shot, we chatted back and forth. We have a lot to catch up on with my work taking up so much of our time. I had just finished complimenting her on her marksmanship when I turned and buckled down to dump another bullet into the black...sights lined up, target on the post, finger sliding down to caress the trigger, stop breathing, begin to squee...

*clonk*

I own and shoot a lot of military surplus weapons in many different calibers. I've had production lots of surplus ammo where every second round was a dud and every third was a true one-second hangfire. (Pakistani production .303 Mk VII headstamped early sixties. Useless stuff.) This morning I'd already noticed some cracked necks and one spectacular split on one of my spent brass cases.

So a misfire, possibly a hangfire, I thought. Wait for a solid thirty seconds, keeping the muzzle aimed at the target. I turned my head to explain to Mrs. Utah what I was up to at the same time I gently worked the bolt to extract the bad round. I was too vigorous and the "dead" round flipped over the edge of the table before I could catch it. No biggie - I'd police it up with the spent stuff later.

I broke the rules right there. Did you see it?

I went to return the bolt to battery on top of the next round. The bolt refused to seat. I immediately executed Mosin Sticky Bolt Immediate Action and slapped the crap out of the bolt trying to get it down. I could slap it forward where it just started to rotate down, but there it hung. So I pulled the bolt back, this time catching the good round before it could get away. I inspected the open bolt and the face of the chamber that I could see. There appeared to be some soot or lube build up on the mating surfaces so I pulled a q-tip out and made a few passes around the radius of the chamber face. Then I initiated another round of Immediate Action, actually getting the bolt to drop a few degrees. I stood up to get better leverage and then had a thought. I pulled the bolt out of the rifle, then dropped the floorplate and emptied the last two rounds from the magazine.

I stepped over to the side of the table where I'd lost the "dud" round and inspected the ground. Twenty or so spent cases... but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't see a bullet anywhere on any of those cases.

I picked up the rifle and looked through the breech up the bore... into blackness. The primer detonation (clonk) had pushed the 147gr steel core bullet out of the empty copper washed steel case ALMOST far enough for me to chamber another round behind it.

We searched through the empty cases on the ground and found, indeed, one case that didn't have soot in the neck, but just a patina of corrosion with red specks from the primer material.

If you have a misfire on the range - anywhere out of combat, actually - you must wait safely for a hangfire (fifteen seconds in some books, I believe in thirty myself) and then open the action and inspect the bullet AND the bore.

If I'd been a little more committed to trying to close that bolt you wouldn't be reading this. Or if the squib bullet had been a sixteenth of an inch deeper into the bore, as well. Mosins are widely acclaimed for being a weapon that often requires a highly physical manner of operation. They aren't acclaimed at all for surviving a shot taken with the bore plugged by a squib bullet.

It's all a test. Study, learn, and live.

(UPDATE 2100 08/23) Here is a picture showing (left to right) a normal fired case, the case that had no powder, and the bullet I punched out of the bore:

Spur Of The Moment

2009-08-10T21:17:00.003-06:00

(UPDATED: Expletives deleted. I apologize for letting my tiredness make me lazy.)

Howdy. Busy as heck, hair on fire, no time for anything like following current events.

I spent my Sunday off not thinking of work, though, so I eventually had to spend fifteen or twenty minutes looking at news.

Our money comes out of what is left of our stock market portfolio next week.

If you were a president bent on destroying the constitution you were elected to protect, wouldn't it be wise to remove Congress at some point? Even given the fact that the hockey helmet and rubber spoon political class as exemplified by Pelosi and Reid is temporarily an asset (in a sad and twisted way) for The Won in that they make Obama appear a tad less incompetent and terrifying than he is, really, at some point it will be necessary for them to ... go away.

What's the no go point for keeping them around? I'd expect it would be failing to pass cap and trade; health care is programmed too far out to do more than exacerbate the catastrophe inherent in cap and trade.

Were I a Senator or a Rep, I'd make it a point to keep lots of the administration's people in the Capitol building during business hours. Shucks, it's not like there's not enough Czars to fill all the hearing rooms twice over, right?

What a world we live in.

Passi It On

2009-08-01T21:18:00.002-06:00

The following excerpt is from a recent essay posted by Cobb:

"What I do believe we all should be involved in no matter what our background is the principle and practice of advanced civility. What America lacks is a firm sense of practical decorum. The proper way of doing things is in doubt. We haven't completely forgotten our manners, but we've seen them beat down so many times that we think they don't matter any more. And it has practically destroyed our ability to communicate trust and strong love in public."

I was raised a "yes ma'am/sir" kind of guy, and I am still that way.

I am an anachronism, even here in Milk Toast Valley, Utah.

Civility is the lubricant of civilization. We are running rather more than a quart low. Without the common sense and respect inherent in even minimal form or simple good manners, the machine develops a fine, almost subliminal whining we hear at speed. Without attention, that whine will soon become a knock, then a grind, then a last violent crunch... then silence.

It's a great essay. Enjoy.

Great Scott!

2009-07-12T20:16:00.002-06:00

Forget politics for second, okay?

There are TWO Mosin Nagant M91/30 retired PU snipers in Utah county.

One, a 1943 Tula with good rifling and a wartime stock, is at Gunnies in Orem and is going for around a $110.00. The other is up at the American Fork Big5 and is a very nice 1944 Izhevsk with even better rifling and a very smooth bolt. Big5 has upped their prices quite a bit, and even on sale this rifle will be above a hundred dollars.

Well... okay, some politics:

This morning I took the Goddesses up to Tibble Fork reservoir for a few hours of fishing and then some gold panning.

No bites, one speck of gold, and a vote on whether or not to go camping next weekend was passed unanimously.

Have a fine week.

Fire Them. All of Them.

2009-07-07T20:20:00.003-06:00

I expect 2010 to be the last mostly free and fair election I'll see.

The case laid out in this article closely coincides with my own conclusions as to the origins of the ongoing collapse of our economy.

It is important to remember that the hackery committed by Congress over the last thirty years transcended party lines. The mortgage bubble popped when it did because the government didn't have complete control over the books; the racket was too public/private to be maintained.

The coming failures of Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare will be as bad or worse. Possibly much worse, because millions of Americans still have what is left of their retirement in the market (read this) , which isn't close to bottoming out yet.

All a lot of us will have to look forward to is Social Security. Which won't be there at all.

If we let the wrecking crew execute their 2010 strategy and effectively replace the FEC with ACORN, we'll all know what card check really means.

But we have the power to save ourselves. The first step is to vote out any sitting representative or senator. First or fifteenth term, it does not matter. They know that it's about getting elected FIRST... which is why they - both sides of the aisle - are actively working to destroying our election system or are turning away and saying nothing.

America is under attack. We have pulled the trigger on ourselves.

In A Nutshell

2009-07-04T07:39:00.003-06:00

Behold the new paradigm:

"U.S. officials claimed that a tough stance toward Iran could backfire, bringing about an opposite outcome to that desired by those who support such measures."

The above statement is all you need to know about the new American diplomacy. It is the distillation of the deepest wish behind all the puppet heads, all the unwashed and incoherent chant leaders, and all the apologia for American exceptionalism these last decades. Moral relativism and narrow political calculation has replaced objective national interest as the philosophical guide of American foreign policy.

Now we will look toward properly credentialed progressive ideologues to support at the expense of democratically elected governments or traditional allies. We will negotiate with the most repressive dictators if doing so gives time for consolidating domestic political power.

We have elected a government filled with a majority that views individual liberty as an obstacle, not the reason for their offices.

I liked Ronnie better:

"If history teaches anything, it teaches self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly. We see around us today the marks of our terrible dilemma--predictions of doomsday, antinuclear demonstrations, an arms race in which the West must, for its own protection, be an unwilling participant. At the same time we see totalitarian forces in the world who seek subversion and conflict around the globe to further their barbarous assault on the human spirit. What, then, is our course? Must civilization perish in a hail of fiery atoms? Must freedom wither in a quiet, deadening accommodation with totalitarian evil?"

and

" The objective I propose is quite simple to state: to foster the infrastructure of democracy, the system of a free press, unions, political parties, universities, which allows a people to choose their own way to develop their own culture, to reconcile their own differences through peaceful means.

This is not cultural imperialism; it is providing the means for genuine self-determination and protection for diversity. Democracy already flourishes in countries with very different cultures and historical experiences. It would be cultural condescension, or worse, to say that any people prefer dictatorship to democracy. Who would voluntarily choose not to have the right to vote, decide to purchase government propaganda handouts instead of independent newspapers, prefer government to worker-controlled unions, opt for land to be owned by the state instead of those who till it, want government repression of religious liberty, a single political party instead of a free choice, a rigid cultural orthodoxy instead of democratic tolerance and diversity?"

In this same speech, Mr. Reagan pointed out that the resilience of the free individual was not something to be taken lightly:

"I've often wondered about the shyness of some of us in the West about standing for these ideals that have done so much to ease the plight of man and the hardships of our imperfect world. This reluctance to use those vast resources at our command reminds me of the elderly lady whose home was bombed in the blitz. As the rescuers moved about, they found a bottle of brandy she'd stored behind the staircase, which was all that was left standing. And since she was barely conscious, one of the workers pulled the cork to give her a taste of it. She came around immediately and said, "Here now -- there now, put it back. That's for emergencies."

On this Independence Day 2009 do not be dismayed. Proudly fly your flag. Go watch a parade, or attend a Tea Party. Burn some burgers. But do not become consumed by anger, nor pessimism. This freedom we celebrate today sprang not from the right government, but from the people, and we will not let it disappear from this nation.

Barak Obama may have big dreams, but this isn't 1917 and he surely is no Lenin.

God bless America, and keep her strong and free. And God bless you and yours, too.

You have a fine day.

Cannon firing in Cherry Hill Park sometime after three today.

Only Few Are Called

2009-07-03T07:42:00.003-06:00

I see the Washington Post tried to conduct a revenue stream enhancement strategy.

They forgot to dress for success. (Fast forward to 2:40 if you can stand it.)

We live in the Age of The Won!

Well, the world will turn.

I'm off until Monday. Today I am taking a friend up above Tibble Fork Reservoir for some gold panning and maybe some fishing. That means chores need to get done toot sweet, so you have a fine day and a better tomorrow.

The Team will be burning some powder in Cherry Hill Park tomorrow afternoon, probably after five o'clock.

On The Road

2009-06-25T21:43:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow we are off to Maryland, south of D.C., for a weekender family reunion.

Back on Tuesday.

Have a fine one.

Iran Policy Evolution

2009-06-23T21:15:00.002-06:00

Last week, when the first rumbles of unrest began to spread in the wake of the Iranian clown show our media chose to call an "election", the President of the United States voted present.

By Monday last, The Won had seen the poll numbers and came out with a Strong Statement. He even got some props from traditionally conservative folks, too, I hear.

If Barry stays true to script, I guess Thursday we'll get a riff right out of "The Untouchables"...

"I want him DEAD! His family DEAD!"

Then he'll bounce a basketball off a reporter's head and talk some hoop smack. Or something.

Rhetoric aside, The One has let stand the invite to Iranian diplomats for a friendly Fourth of July picnic. I always say there's nothing like a good steak and a cold drink after you get done cleaning your rifle and having a prisoner wash the dried blood off your boots. If Mousavi calls ahead, I'm sure the Leader of the Free World will make sure the embassies clear a primo parking space for the Iranian Diplomatic Ryder Truck.

In other news... my company has been awarded the contract to build the north office tower that will go on top of the parking garage we are halfway done building. I give humble thanks that I will have a job that much longer.

Links shamelessly lifted via Instapundit, American Digest, Weasel Zippers, and Hot Air.

Comment

2009-06-22T22:02:00.002-06:00

I left this at Protein Wisdom:

"Finding yourself on the side of a road in a driving rain really, REALLY wishing you had a spare tire is nothing compared to the feeling you get when it becomes “Damn, really could use a basement full of Mosin Nagants and a bunch of bullets right NOW”….

… because when you figure out you really need a weapon, it’s generally too late to begin your waiting period."

I recommend the thread. It's all quite good.