Unequal treatment

I'm usually bemused by people who work in the media. This type normally finds themselves somehow able to believe that they are morally superior to me without ever meeting me. They know all the facts without ever visiting a place. They know what is important on instinct and are never wrong. They are, in point of fact, legends in their own minds.

What is evident is their unequal treatment of two inanimate objects. A story I found on the news this morning illustrates this point.

SELMER, Tenn. - Investigators were trying to determine what caused a drag-racing car to lose control during a parade and careen into a crowd, killing four people and injuring up to 15 others.

The crash occurred Saturday night during an "exhibition burnout" at the Cars for Kids charity event in Selmer, located about 80 miles east of Memphis, according to a drag-racing organization. A burnout is when a driver spins a car's tires to make them heat up and smoke.

Witness Scott Henley said the vehicle started burning off its tires, then began to fishtail and slammed into a utility pole before spinning around into the audience.

Selmer Police Chief Neal Burks said, "bodies were flying into the air when it happened."

Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Mike Browning said at least eight people were taken to three hospitals. The fatalities were all adults, he said.

The identities of the victims and the driver, or the driver's condition, were not immediately known.

Compare and contrast that example of reporting with coverage of firearms deaths. What we have here is a machine that is very likely not legal on a public street being used in a parade. There is a human operating it. It matters little whether the vehicle was street legal. The same issue applies to all news coverage of automobile related deaths.

If a person had shot 4 people fatally and wounded 15 this story would be major headlines. Since it wasn't done with a gun it just barely rates a story. If it hadn't been at a parade it might not get mention at all.

You can bet money that if these same people had died from a single shooter's actions, accident or intentional, there would be accompanying stories calling for more restrictions on gun ownership. If it happened in a place where citizens aren't allowed to own guns, such as Washington, D.C. there would be calls to restrict guns in nearby places.

But every single day more people lose their lives to automobiles than guns. Every single day. Day after day. It doesn't matter what age group you are looking at more people are killed in auto-related fatalities than by all the firearms out there. And there are many times more cars, trucks and buses than there are guns.

But there are no calls to restrict ownership of automobiles. If drugs or alcohol are involved there might be some preaching related to the publics' consumption of these. No one demands that the driving age be raised. No one is insisting on background checks on purchasers of automobiles.

This is a honking-big example of hypocrisy.

"But you can't conceal a car, you can conceal a gun!"

Having something concealed doesn't make it more deadly. No one, not even those who choose or can not afford to buy a car can avoid being near cars and people in them on a daily basis. Consider this "open carry". Employers who try to ban firearms from employee vehicles have no problem at all with those same employees each arriving in their own vehicle. They don't try to regulate the size, fuel capacity or safe use of such vehicles. I can think of at least two co-workers of mine that I've lost due to automobile fatalities and zero to firearms. Both employers allowed automobiles and banned firearms.

"But everyone needs transportation!"

True. But does everyone need to own an automobile? Our country is laid out in a way that encourages automobile use. Outside of major metropolitan areas there is usually no subway, often no passenger trains at all. Bus service is usually slow and sketchy. That is why the automobile has risen to become so ubiquitous. We are set up to employ it that way.

At one time you would have searched far and wide to find a home without a firearm. That was before the self-described journalists started telling people how evil guns were. Telling them how a gun in the home is more likely to be used on the owner or their family. I still want to find the liar who made that one up and introduce him to Louis Ville Slugger, Proctologist. Since no one collects data on how many crimes don't occur because the owner displays a weapon there is no way to ascertain how often a gun in the home is "used" without any injury to prevent crime.

How often does displaying a car to a criminal prevent a crime? Something close to zero?

"Guns don't prevent crime!"

Another lie. Every bleeding heart liberal bemoans capital punishment. They would rather 100 guilty men live out their full lives than possibly execute one innocent man. They proclaim this while glossing over the many, many stories of people who prevent crimes and sometimes put a permanent end to the careers of many very, very guilty people. All without resorting to DNA evidence. Those people who use a gun to defend themselves and their families aren't "taking justice into their own hands". They are preventing innocent people from being victimized by the guilty. You don't need a judge and jury present to determine that someone trying to beat you up is guilty. You don't need a judge and jury present to determine that someone attempting to rape you is guilty. You don't need a judge and jury present to determine that someone coming into your home and attacking you is guilty.

If those guilty people don't like to face the instant death penalty from their victims then maybe they WILL be deterred. No one ever measures that in asking if the death penalty deters crime. They only ask it in regards to one applied by the State. If the victim gets to do it while the bad people are preying upon the good people the bad people will probably avoid acting in bad ways. If not then they won't do it again. I call THAT deterrence.

There is no point of logic wherein gun banners can win. The problem is that gun banners aren't logical. Since they know they can't win on logic they lie.

"They don't belong here and they need to be controlled."

There are more aliens invading the U.S. These are threatening crops, wildlife and ultimately the citizens of Florida.

GRASSY KEY, Florida (Reuters) - Deep in the heart of the Florida Keys, wildlife officials are laying bait laced with poison to try to wipe out a colony of enormous African rats that could threaten crops and other animals.

U.S. federal and state officials are beginning the final phase of a two-year project to eradicate the Gambian pouched rats, which can grow to the size of a cat and began reproducing in the remote area about eight years ago.

The story states that this population came from escapees from an exotic pet breeder.

This species is now banned from importation after another population began to spread monkey pox, related to human small pox, to prairie dogs.

When contacted by this blogger Sen. Kennedy's office would neither confirm or deny that they are proposing an amnesty plan for the Gambian pouched rats. The Gambian pouched rats, however, are planning mass demonstrations, carrying the Gambian flag for the near future.

AP spreads its legs for yet another customer

The Associated Press has long ago become the whore for the Muslim market. This little-reported story isn't news to the rest of the MSM. Roughly 50% of the AP's budget is bought and paid for by Muslim interests to produce news content in Arabic for consumption in the Muslim world.

With that sort of incentive it's quite plain why the AP hires "journalists" who print false stories, publishes doctored photos and is loathe to call Muslims terrorists.

It is the journalistic equivalant of whoring.

Now it looks like they have a new customer. Either that or they are giving it away free, now.

Environmentalists have spent decades acquiring and preserving 90,000 riverfront acres of Texas scrub and forest and protecting their wildlife. Now they fear the hundreds of miles of border fences will undo their work and kill some land animals by cutting them off from the Rio Grande, the only source of fresh water.

A fence could also prevent the ocelots and other animals from swimming across the water to mate with partners on the other side.

"If you have a fence that runs several miles long, if you are a tortoise or any animal that can't fly over or go through it, then you have a pretty long distance that you have to go to get water," said Brown, an outreach manager at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, 225 miles south of San Antonio. Also, "any destruction of any brush is very damaging."

This AP story is wearing too much red lipstick and dressed for "work".

While it makes the case for how bad the proposed border fence will be for the wildlife in the area it clearly avoids talking about how the swarm of humans moving across the border already impacts the delicate ecosystems.

There is almost no mention of the tons of trash left in the wake of the illegal aliens as they move north. Not one word about what the armed drug traffic does to the wildlife. No, they'll give you a picture of a cute ocelot and not tell you about them being shot at with full auto AKs which are a favorite of the drug runners south of the border.

The story is full of how much fence has been requested and how much has been spent on the area's preservation while not telling you that there's been almost no fence construction.

The article claims that there is a booming tourism to the area without telling you what happens to U.S. tourists who might stray into the path of drug runners or human smugglers.

Once again the story the AP wishes to present is this liberal fantasy of a dreaded, oppressive U.S. impact on something while ignoring anyone else's responsibility for damage. The feeling presented is that the fence is evil and those putting up the fence are evil. Not one ounce of blame for those who make the fence a necessity.

Wars and rumors of wars

I don't like to spread gossip. I don't spread rumors. I prefer to keep my mouth shut because from my childhood to today I've seen an awful lot of bull flying. I'm usually suprised if something actually comes of 90% of what I hear.

That's why I only put a half-cent's worth of credit into an item forwarded to me in e-mail. I wouldn't give that much but it partially coordinates with actual news.

The story is that Al Qaeda is reaching out to Blacks and other minorities.

Al-Zawahri encouraged minorities around the world to join the holy war, or jihad.

"Al-Qaeda is not merely for the benefit of Muslims," he said. "That's why I want blacks in America, people of color, American Indians, Hispanics, and all the weak and oppressed in North and South America, in Africa and Asia, and all over the world."

I have to wonder how much of this is true, but considering the guy arrested in Chicago who was sort of a "lone wolf" jihadist I have to at least lend it some credit.

Yes. I believe there are stupid people so foolish as to believe that Al Qaeda would give them something if they worked with them to bring about the fall of the United States. The Russians found them and they weren't offering ANY virgins.

Do I expect another group like the Fort Dix Six to actually make an attack? Possibly, though lone wolf operations are much, much more likely.

The unanswered questions (because the local press shied from asking) about the Safeway employee who went on a shooting rampage remains. The suppressed story of the Utah mall shooter being Muslim remains. I don't know what Cho the Coward meant by calling himself Ishmael but that's another set of unanswered questions.

Both the liberals and the Whitehouse don't want to call these acts of terrorism. To do so would be to admit that the Department of Homeland Security is a failure. It would also draw attention the liberals don't want to the fact that we have viper's nests in most parts of our country.

Al Quaeda can sow terror without having direct links to lone wolf operations. They don't have to support them financially. They can spread their filth by way of YouTube and other Internet offerings to get some cowardly punk to get his jihad on.

Our schools, all the way up to many if not most college campuses remain Victim Disarmament Zones. They will continue to be the targets of choice because the press loves to glorify the perpetrators. If a shooter IS a lone wolf jihadi the facts will be suppressed. While Al Quaeda likes to take credit they realize that they accomplish more by not linking to these directly.

They don't stand a chance at an Islamic takeover against an armed citizenry. They are strong in their own lands but can't manage the manpower to take over a nation as big as the U.S. unless they are assured of being the only ones armed. By letting their lone wolves be denied they strengthen the idiots, fools and evil-doers in our own country who want to make the United States into another European Castratiunion. The U.N. pushes this policy as does George Soros. Outside of John Stossel there aren't any MSM voices unmasking the false promise of gun control. They only let him get in one good lick in several years of bashing firearms owners as dangerous nutcases.

Our own government has an entire beauracracy dedicated to eradicating private firearms ownership. In most states, counties and cities there are strong movements to unconstitutionally disarm We The People. Bloomberg is only one disaster away from pulling a Katrina gun-confiscation and because the people of NYC have to register firearms the going will be easy.

The push to eradicating private firearms ownership isn't a rumor. The success of lone wolf jihadis isn't a rumor. Al Qaeda has the ability to enlist aid from people who don't look or sound Muslim. If we don't get serious about our nation's border security and ultra-serious about staying armed and vigilant we will have our nation taken away from us.

And that's no rumor.

And you don't mess around with Slim

Slim Frame or Short Frame?

I know most of the official press declares ithe G 21 SF to mean "Short Frame". It seems that everyone else has decided it stands for Slim Frame.

Either way it's the first revision of the 3rd Generation Glock in years. I know, guns aren't like cars or other consumer goods. The 1971 Cold Government Model is identical to the 1975 Colt Government Model.

I tend to look at the SF, though, as a Generation 3.5. It's not as radical as adding finger grooves (grrrrr!) or even forward and back stippling to the grip. The grip angle remains the same. There is still a big hollow space behind the magazine well. The biggest functional difference is a stock ambidextruous magazine release. This was something clearly done right and is one of the few things that Glock needed to learn from the XD.

Some things I wish they would unlearn from XD is lawyer triggers. I've become a spoiled puppy. I have had my triggers worked on so they are lighter, crisper. Around 3 lb but with less take up than I had on my 17L.

After going for a torture test this morning I am willing to confess to anything my 21 SF wants to hear me say. I think I hit 200 rounds and my trigger finger tip is still tender. I know, 200 rounds isn't even a break-in on a Glock. I don't think anything short of making it lay naked next to Rosie O'Donnell will make it so much as wince.

Of course it fed hardball. It fed hard-cast SWC and it fed "slow-ass Gold Dot". I'm tempted to try plugging spent cases back into the magazine to see if it will feed those.

None Dare Call It Ishmael

One drove a cab, three were roofers. Another worked at a 7-Eleven and a sixth at a supermarket. Their alleged plot to attack Fort Dix was foiled by another blue-collar worker: a video store clerk.

Great detective work there, FBI. Let's see, you got McVeigh because he was stupid enough to drive without a real license plate, the UNABOMBER because his family recognized his published manifesto and just how is that anthrax investigation going, guys? With a track record like yours it's a surprise that we haven't already turned into West Saudi Arabia.

But the real question on my mind isn't how the FBI couldn't manage to find J. Edgar Hoover's dresses inside his closet. No, I'm wanting to know where these guys got their money. None of the jobs mentioned give someone large amounts of disposable income yet these guys had money to burn, taking junkets to the Poconos to shoot, had a video camera and apparently enough cash to look into buying AKs, M-16s and RPGs. If 7-11 is paying that kind of dough I'm in the wrong racket.

I'm also peeved because at least two of these guys shouldn't have been in this country. Like several of the 19 hijackers on 9/11/01 you have alien living here after their papers expire living in the open and causing trouble.

Is this or is this not living proof that the outrage over illegal aliens invading our shores isn't "racial". Just because the majority are Mexicans doesn't mean all of them are. If our government were enforcing the existing laws then these guys and several of the 9/11/01 hijackers would have been in jail or another country.

We don't need immigration reform. We need border enforcement.

The men trained by playing paintball in the woods in New Jersey and taking target practice at a firing range in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, where they had rented a house, authorities said.

Again, where did they get the money? Cab drivers? 7-11 Clerks? Roofers? WHERE DID THEY GET SO MUCH MONEY? They had a little place rented in the Poconos, money for toys, guns, ammo, video cameras. Where are these supposedly independent operators getting money for all this?

"If these people did something, then they deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law," said Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer who represented scores of detainees after the Sept. 11 attacks. "But when the government says `Islamic militants,' it sends a message to the public that Islam and militancy are synonymous."

"Don't equate actions with religion," he said.

Oh, right. Let's not jump to any conclusions about who should be up for extra scrutiny. Plenty of terror attacks by Methodists last year, right? Presbyterians on a rampage over cartoons, right?

Let's drop this "homegrown" bullsh*t right now, people. These guys weren't born or raised here. They came here and were intent on killing. They didn't come here to be citizens, they came to war against our government and our way of life.

I don't know what percentage of Muslims are guilty of the same sin and I don't need to know. I know what percentage of terrorists are Muslims.

Don't equate actions with religion? When the overwhelming majority of one's enemy are of the same religion then it is clear that we ARE at war with Muslims.

Someone needs to get records for that lawyer and find out where HIS money is coming from, too.

If you think IPSC belongs on a North Carolina pickup truck bumper...

You might be a redneck. Or you might have a redneck if you were taking an IPSC safety course today. I know I do.

If you just peeled off one of the blood blisters from slapping mags into your Glock and now you have a new one you might have a redneck.

Fun and educational. The fun was moving and shooting, knocking down poppers and steel plates. The education was finding out how horribly slow I draw and re-load and how utterly poorly I re-load my magazines when under the clock.

Two areas to work on that don't require actually being on a range since one can dry-practice both of them.

A VERY simplified El Presidente taught me about the slow draw and slow reload. Later on when running our little 32 round IPSC field course for the second time I found that I hadn't seated my magazine on my re-load. I found this out when the full magazine hit the ground while I was firing the round still in the chamber. Then the second full magazine also slid free of the chute as I was cycling the slide. Another was finally slapped home, slide racked and I finished the course of fire. The instructor did the course in 15 seconds. My second run was over 40. The instructor cut it to under 11 on his second run but missed one target.

Yes, my first run was under the 40 that I ran up due to re-loading errors. And it's a LOT better to find my errors in this atmosphere than if I ever need to do it in real crisis.

My shooting had acceptable accuracy, better than most of the other 5 students. I had a few misses on the steel and I had some early in the day when trying to fire 6 rounds at .25 seconds each. Distance to steel was 10 yards. I didn't hit the no-shoots.

I'm not clear to actually participate in IPSC matches and hope to be in one soon.

'Bout time I find out I'm the 142nd fastest gun in the west.

The Idiocy Meter Climbs

In Boston, once upon a time the cradle of free thought, a professor was fired for pointing a marker at some students and saying "pow, pow".

An adjunct professor was fired after leading a classroom discussion about the Virginia Tech shootings in which he pointed a marker at some students and said "pow."

The five-minute demonstration at Emmanuel College on Wednesday, two days after a student killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus, included a discussion of gun control, whether to respond to violence with violence, and the public's "celebration of victimhood," said the professor, Nicholas Winset.

During the demonstration, Winset pretended to shoot some students. Then one student pretended to shoot Winset to illustrate his point that the gunman might have been stopped had another student or faculty member been armed.

"A classroom is supposed to be a place for academic exploration," Winset, who taught financial accounting, told the Boston Herald.

This professor wasn't threatening anyone. It was clear that his marker wasn't a real gun. He didn't even use the phrase "nappy headed".

I don't think that it was the pointing and saying "pow, pow" that the college objected to. Not so long as the professor was pointing at students, playing the part of Cho the Coward.

No, I think what got the professor fired was continuing the discussion to the point where a student pointed and "pow"ed right back. The professor allowed the students to think about what might have happened if some of the deliberately disarmed victims of Cho the Coward had been armed.

Allowing students to think isn't what liberal arts colleges are for. They exist to TELL students what to think.

The college issued a statement saying: "Emmanuel College has clear standards of classroom and campus conduct, and does not in any way condone the use of discriminatory or obscene language."

Do you see any discrimatory or obscene language mentioned in the news article?

No, there is none mentioned. Unless you consider the concept of fighting back as obscene.

I think that's exactly what the college meant with their statement.

Navy Blue Angel Pilot killed

A Navy Blue Angel jet crashed during an air show Saturday, plunging into a neighborhood of small homes and trailers and killing the pilot, the county coroner said.

Nancy Pelosi has called an emergency session in the House to lead the Democrat party in setting a deadline for withdrawing all U.S. forces from airshows.

In a related story the Democrats offered the troops they bring home from Iraq money for college. A spokesperson for military personnel reportedly told Speaker Pelosi that the troops would rather use the money to stay in Iraq. "At least in Iraq we get to shoot back!"

Nancy Pelosi vowed to make sure that this situation is corrected by disarming our troops in Iraq.

To Nifong or not to Nifong, that is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler in the press to suffer the slings and errors of having to post facts or to take up arms and weild a sea of lies.

On 4/17/07 in the Denver airwaves Craig Silverman, a former prosecutor made an assertion without evidence. You'd think a lawyer would know better but since he was a prosecutor I guess that is part of the job description.

Silverman asserted, on the air, that the Clinton Assault Weapons Ban saved lives.

He the further compounded his assertion by stating that criminal gangs are arming with "assault weapons" in "burgeoning numbers."

Since I'm not a lawyer I have to actually work for a living. I listen to this radio show sometimes when the two co-hosts aren't being totally lame. I do have to deal with real life and can't hang around hoping these two self-inflating egos would deign to take my call.

I went home and when I could I used the contact button on the KHOW website to issue a challenge to Craig Silverman. I challenged him to back up his assertion that the AWB saved lives by posting actual crime statistics from the Justice Department or FBI. I also challenged him to post from the same sources evidence that criminal gangs are using assault weapons in large numbers.

I'm just a hard working person with a small blog. Craig Silverman is a lawyer who doubtless already pays for access to Lexis and has law enforcement contacts. He has a radio show and a website for that radio show. He has a staff to put things on that website.

I don't consider such a challenge to be onerous to someone who draws money from being a talking head. If he makes an assertion on the air then he should be able to back it up.

If, as I suspect, that he can't back up his claims then I demanded a full apology be posted on the same venue.

The ball is in Craig Silverman's court. Is he a man of honor or a Nifong?

BAG Day Doin's

I decided against buying a gun for BAG day this year. I'm focusing on specific shooting activities and attempting to avoid distractions that would lessen the impact of specific training I'm working on.

Well, that and I couldn't decide what I really wanted.

I did not spend BAG day without putting something into action, however. I gave myself training.

I took a course from a local instructor in defensive shooting with a handgun. The instructor isn't a gun-store commando or a mall ninja. He is a retired police trainer. Since he is not instructing civillians I'd have to say he doesn't fit the "Only Ones" mold. In point of fact he showed my fellow students Lee Paige's performance on the "Glock Foty".

Yesterday was all class room with almost no hands-on. We watched some videos and listened to the instructor. There were 8 people in attendance (2 more had registered but did not show up). Seven men and one woman (the wife of one of the men). We had some friendly times and a lot of fun on both days but nothing compares to trigger time and we got a lot of that in today.

This morning started with a drive down back country roads to a private shooting range. The owner and his son were very friendly to us and we had no problems from neighbors even when making lots of loud noise on a bright, sunny, very windy Sunday.

Safety was of primary importance. While some in the class were seasoned shooters there were some who were relatively new to the task. It was very wise of the instructor to start off with slow warm ups and to emphasize safety over realism at this phase with such a group.

Thankfully incredibly bad habits I had in my early years are not part of my current life. I did not get a "talkin' to" about my trigger finger or muzzle control. Some did, both early on and much later in the day when we were all rather tired.

Part of the warm up was to shoot a somewhat reduced PPC qualification round. The course of fire was 18 rounds from 20 yards, 18 rounds from 15 yards, 12 rounds from 10 yards and 6 rounds from each hand at 3 yards.

I've thought about posting about something I'd noticed over the past year and a half for some time. Each time I deleted such posts.

Not everyone shoots very well.

I probably got a complex about it because I made it a point to shoot with a group of people who really do shoot very well. I would occaisionally happen to see other people, though, who had the "spray and pray" philosophy down. Sometimes I would try to give some help if they seemed receptive.

The 8 people I was with today don't fall into that category. Everyone shot a very respectable score. After the warm up we shot the reduced PPC qualification course again for final score. No one turned in less than 80%. I've seen much worse at the gun clubs.

My target from the second qualification round is posted above. After shooting a 298 in practice I was able to turn it around and pull 300 or 100%. The lone woman in the class was second with 295 final score. Her good-natured husband had to put up with a lot of ribbing as she continued to surpass him. He was not bad, she was just better.

The really impressive score, to me, was turned in by another experienced shooter who was using his real carry gun, a S&W PD DAO with 1 7/8" barrel. Since several shooters had full-sized 1911 clones he turned in a very, very respectable performance. I don't think I could do as well with my 3" J-frame.

We did some reloading drills, first with one round in each magazine, then with three. My reloading speed sucks at 5.3 for the time between shot 1 and shot 2. I need to work on that. Six second to fire 3 and reload, then fire another three. It's clearly not the shooting that's taking up my time.

We took a break for lunch and after the break we went into some MILD simulations of the two-way range (as Fits calls it). We had plastic barrels we had to use for cover while firing at "threat" targets.

This was all done in a mild way. This portion was not done for score and we were not graded on our accuracy during this phase. We were being graded on tactical skills and handling our weapons.

The instructor did not allow drawing "hot" from the holster for the students at this level of training. That's another step up. Again, I consider this wise as he could not expect everyone to have good trigger and muzzle discipline, yet.

The first challenge involved moving at a run up to the first pair of targets and taking concealment (plastic barrels may be called 'cover' but are not by definition). We then drew, loaded and engaged, three rounds in each. Speed reload, move to the next concealment, engage with three rounds to each target, speed reload and then engage a single paper target consisting of three figures, two hostile and one don't-shoot.

My first runthrough I committed the same sin as everyone, I got too close to the concealment. Score B+. The plus was because I knocked over the middle barrel but continued to act, not siezing up.

We were treated to some "why you don't get up close on your cover" lessons and then it was time for another run-through. Some lost a + over forgetting to stay off the concealment but everyone did better the second time around. My grade was A++. I was granted this because after my initial loading I realized that I had not seated my magazine and did an immediate action drill and continued the exercise.

The final activity was more simple and rightly so as many errors that people hadn't been guilty of for most of the day started to come out. From a hot ready engage one target with six rounds, reload, move to the next station, engage with six, reload and then move to the final station and engage with your remaining six. This one didn't have as much realism but it was less a tactical exercise as a weapons-handling one. The instructor wanted to see people reloading without taking their eyes off the targets. I met that goal.

Today wasn't a typical BAG Day celebration but I'm happy with what I spent my money on. I may only have some paper to hang up to show for it but training is harder to come by than firearms. I've been shown areas that I need to improve upon and will be working on. Better to learn those lessons now than if I ever need them later. I have a chance to practice the rougher areas in the meanwhile.

Glocking report. My G 23 aquitted itself very well. There was one failure to load and I blame that on the ammo. I had taken my big can of Miwall factory reloads, not the new stuff I'd been saving. I burned up a lot of it and the only somewhat mechanical issue was that failure to go fully into battery with one round. When we got that round to seat it fired and extracted without any difficulty.

My problem with not fully seating magazines was evident and is another rough spot to work on. That happened twice.

Carrying signs saying "Amnesty Now," about 15,000 people danced to Mexican ranchera music and passed large American flags over their heads.

The photograph shows a U.S. flag, but it also shows a Mexican flag.

The issue I have here is that this isn't about immigration. It's about invasion. Now the invaders don't think that the too-generous plan to reward them for breaking the law is generous enough.

Organizers said many illegal immigrants [ALIENS! NOT IMMIGRANTS!] were angry about a White House plan that would grant them work visas but require them to return home and pay thousands of dollars to become legal U.S. residents.

"Charging that much, Bush is going to be even more expensive than the coyotes," said protester Armando Garcia, 50, referring to smugglers who transport people across the Mexican border.

First up, boo-f*ckin'-hoo. They are angry that they are being offered too much and want more? Then show us how angry you are. Go home. Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya! What, are you still here?

More whining. Is that a job American's won't do? I thought liberals pretty much gave that away. I don't know why we needed to let an illegal alien come here to do it.

Alfredo Gonzalez, 33, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, marched with his wife and daughters, ages 6 and 8. He said he fears the stepped-up immigration raids occurring across the country.

"If they kick me out, who is going to take care of my daughters? The government? I don't think so," he said. "We need full legalization and need it now."

Um. Alfredo, is it? Or is that what is printed on the phony papers you are carrying this week? Maybe YOU should take care of your daughters. In Mexico. They are you children, right? If we send you back then why shouldn't your illegal brats go?

Ah, yes. That misinterpretation of the 14th Ammendment. Funny how people who can't read the clear words in the 2nd somehow read in entire paragraphs that don't exist in the 14th. Because you managed to enter this country illegally you now claim your kids are citizens by dint of geography.

You know what? I have no problem with that. We'll just toss them into a state run orphanage until they are 18. They won't have any contact with you or your illegal alien wife. Okay? Sound fair? We'll keep the citizen and throw back the illegal. Okay, Alfredo? Your daughters will grow up just fine without anyone teaching them to speak Mexican Spanish. When they ask we'll tell them that mommy and daddy didn't want to take them with them when they went back home. That's the truth, isn't it, Alfredo?

If I take my wife down to Mexico and she has a baby while we are LEGALLY visiting what citizenship is that baby? Just one. U.S. citizen. We take the baby home with us because the baby isn't Mexican. You don't want to see it that way, Alfredo so we'll continue to be generous and accomodate you. Your daughters will be great in that orphanage with all the other babies their parent's didn't want.

Immigrant rights advocates say many of the area's illegal immigrants feel betrayed by President Bush, who they had long considered an ally.

Betrayed, Alfredo? You aren't a citizen, according to the article. How could a man you can't vote for betray you? I can consider him as having betrayed ME because I can vote and he is MY president. YOUR president is down in Mexico City. If you did cast a vote in a U. S. election then you have committed yet another crime. Is that what you are saying, Alfredo? Did you commit additional crimes since you invaded my country?

Bush can't betray people he doesn't work for. You can't (legally) vote. He doesn't work for you. The ONLY way in which you can claim that he betrayed you is if you provided him a vote which you can not legally cast.

Yet more whining. I swear by all that is holy that we have enough Americans willing to whine. We do NOT need to import aliens to do that job!

"Last year, we were fighting for legalization, and this year we are fighting for legalization and against all these raids," said Maria Lopez, 50, an illegal immigrant who works as a seamstress and sends $200 a month home to family members in Mexico.

"We have no way to come up with that much money, and Bush knows that," she said. "He is doing this on purpose so we don't ever become legal residents."

Hey, Maria, have you met Alfredo? You two have so much in common.

Listen, both of you. Everyone else waving Mexican flags, too. You don't like this deal. I don't like this deal. We have found common ground. So let's come up with a common solution to a common problem.

You go home. You build a wall to keep us from "luring" (per Geraldo The Short) you up here. Just put up a great big wall on YOUR side of the border. We want one but we can't get our politicians to put first things first. You can build it cheaper, right? Lower cost labor and all that? Isn't that what you are offering to this nation that you are invading? Lower cost labor? Now we are just wanting you to put that labor to use on your own soil to solve a problem both nations have.

You go home, build the wall and wait for me to call upon you to tear it down. You won't have to worry about a man you can't legally vote for betraying you. You don't have to worry about how much we might fine you for breaking the laws while giving you something you couldn't buy in the first place.

More hyporcrisy in the press

Three Yale students arrested for burning U.S. flag

No, John Kerry wasn't one of them. This time.

Three Yale University students, including a Briton and a Greek national, have been charged in a case involving the burning of a U.S. flag outside a Connecticut house, a court official said on Wednesday.

These three miscreants didn't have the descency to buy their own flag to burn. They decided to torch one someone else was flying from their own place.

I'm reminded of how American citizens, righteously perturbed at illegal aliens, vented their anger on a Mexican flag they were called racists. Was there any charge of racism against the Briton or Greek? Nope. Not being called a hate crime.

Don't you know that only white people can commit hate crimes? And if the person is a liberal or from another culture the perpetrator is magically not able to be committing a hate crime even if the only conceivable motive is hatred?

What is the motive for someone to set fire to another person's property when the only thing they know about that person is that they are flying a U.S. flag? Is that not hatred?

Were I to travel to Boston and set fire to a common gay symbol, the rainbow flag hanging from a stranger's house would I be charged with a hate crime? I'd bet money that I would.

Oh, and the U.S. citizen?

Akbar, a senior, was born in Pakistan but is a U.S. citizen,...

The Briton? One "Farhad Anklesaria". I'm sorry, but I don't recall many Anklesarias among the guys William the Bastard brought over from Normandy. Just how British is he?

What I see is two Muslim-appearing names and one Greek who are all enjoying the priveledges of going to a U.S. university that I couldn't afford to go to who decided that they wanted to show how much they hate the U.S.

I'm sure that some people would call me "racist" for thinking ill of these asswipes. How dare I think that jerks who are buying an education in my country should have some respect for it.

Let me ask one more intemperate question. What would happen to me if I were to go to Pakistan and burn their flag? What about in Greece? I'm not talking about arson, as these jerks did. I mean one I bought with my own money and then burned? Chances are lynching would be one of the lighter likely outcomes.

Would the people of Greece or Pakistan be accused of racism for doing it to me?

Threats and Intimidation

The Thinking Blogger Award

I've been tagged by Fits at Shooting The Messenger for the Thinking Blogger Award. This award seems to have begun at Bennings Writing Pad when he got tagged.

I'm flattered that Fits would find my contributions to his and other blogs and my occaisional postings here to be worthy of this honor.

By the rules of this award I need to tag five other blogs that I feel worthy of the award. Since Fits tagged me I think tag-backs are out. Patrick Joubert had tagged Fits and also tagged Mr. Calhoon.

Though I don't patrol his blog as often as I do others the blogger who I can blame for starting me down this path was Xavier, so he's going to top my list.

Xavier Thoughts is the work of a fellow RN. His blog will entertain, amuse and make you think.

Victor Davis Hanson has a site that is more commercial than blog but his frequent postings are always thought provoking.

El Presidente gives me a more local flavor. Though I will be leaving the Peoples Republic of Kalifornirado in the near future I hope that it will one day be Colorado again.

Oscar Poppa is the home of Civis Proliator. A staunch constitutionalist he carries on the good fight from my future home of Texas.

My final nominee is News From the Border. This blog has the joyless task of reporting on the invasion we face.

I hope that by tagging to some of the places that get my neurons firing, or at least my dander up I'll have lead folks to discover some new frequent haunts for themselves.

Here's Bob!

From the Desk of Bob Beauprez 

Dear Hyunch,
Because we believe that the next presidential election will be a defining moment
in shaping the future of this nation, we have taken the unusual step of making an
early commitment to the person we are convinced should be elected President in 2008.
His name is Mitt Romney.

We have had the opportunity to learn a great deal about Mitt and we are impressed
by what he has achieved - as a husband and father, as a successful businessman, and
as the Governor of Massachusetts who brought conservative governing principles to
a state famous for its liberal tendencies. He and his wife Ann have raised five wonderful
boys, always putting family first. All five sons are married and have given the Romneys
ten grandchildren - so far. Theirs is a family that embodies the values that we,
as Americans, treasure.

As you may know, the invisible primary - the fundraising deadline of March 31st -
is quickly approaching. Presidential candidates will be judged by political pundits
across the country on the amount of money they have raised in the past three months.
We would be pleased if you would join us in supporting
Mitt Romney today [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=kkvva5bab.0.rodid5bab.xptll9bab.688&ts=S0235&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mittromney.com%2Fcontribution%2Fform] with a generous contribution so that he can make a big splash
in the invisible primary. The current maximum for an individual is $2,300 (or $4,600
per couple) per election. Federal multi-candidate PACs may contribute $5,000 per
election. We strongly urge you to consider making
a contribution [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=kkvva5bab.0.rodid5bab.xptll9bab.688&ts=S0235&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mittromney.com%2Fcontribution%2Fform] of any amount to Governor Romney today.

Mitt Romney believes strongly in the core principles of free enterprise, fair and
free trade, accountability in education, personal responsibility, tolerance, strong
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$3 billion deficit in his first year in office. Each year, Governor Romney filed
a balanced budget without raising taxes. By eliminating waste, streamlining the government,
and enacting comprehensive economic reforms to stimulate growth in Massachusetts,
he got the economy moving again and transformed deficits into surpluses.

At the peak of his business career, he was asked to take over the 2002 Winter Olympics
in Salt Lake City. You may remember that the Olympics were beset by scandal and had
fallen deeply into debt. Romney took over and, as he had done with so many companies,
he went to work turning things around. The
result was the most successful and profitable Olympics in history [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=kkvva5bab.0.rodid5bab.xptll9bab.688&ts=S0235&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mittromney.com%2Fcontribution%2Fform] - even in
the face of security concerns following 9/11.

We share these stories about Mitt Romney because we believe that he possesses not
only the right political philosophy, but also the experience and leadership skills
necessary to guide this great nation. We encourage you to learn more about Mitt Romney
by visiting his website at www.mittromney.com [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=kkvva5bab.0.podid5bab.xptll9bab.688&ts=S0235&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mittromney.com%2F].
We are confident that once you do, you will understand why we are actively supporting
Mitt Romney for President.

Should you like to make a contribution, we ask that you contribute
online [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=kkvva5bab.0.rodid5bab.xptll9bab.688&ts=S0235&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mittromney.com%2Fcontribution%2Fform] by credit card to ensure that your contribution is counted before March
31st. If, for whatever reason, you do not wish to contribute online, you may contribute
by check or credit card by printing and filling out the donor form found
here [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=kkvva5bab.0.sodid5bab.xptll9bab.688&ts=S0235&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mittromney.com%2Fcontribution_form.pdf]. Please include '10001' as the Fundraiser ID and FCO001 as the Source
Code on either form.

If you are contributing with a donor form, we kindly ask that you return it today
so that Mitt may receive it in time to count your contribution towards this quarter.
Please fax donor forms containing credit card contributions to (866) 891-3307. Alternatively,
you may mail donor forms and any checks to the following address: Romney for President,
Inc., P.O. Box 55899, Boston, MA 02205. All checks must be made payable to "Romney
for President, Inc." and if you are making a contribution as a couple from a joint
account and your contribution is to be attributed to both of you, please ensure that
both of you sign the donor form and any check.

Please show your early support by making
a contribution today [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=kkvva5bab.0.rodid5bab.xptll9bab.688&ts=S0235&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mittromney.com%2Fcontribution%2Fform]. In addition, we also encourage you to join Team
Mitt [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=kkvva5bab.0.todid5bab.xptll9bab.688&ts=S0235&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mittromney.com%2Fvolunteer%2Fform], the Romney campaign's national grassroots support network. By doing
so, the campaign will keep you informed of the latest activity and let you know about
opportunities to make a difference.

We thank you for your consideration. Should you have any questions, please don't
hesitate to contact us.

Warm regards,

Bob & Claudia Beauprez

Dear Bob,

Thank you for taking the time to write to me regarding your feelings about Mitt Romney. Mind if I ask a few questions?

First, what actions did Mitt Romney take to keep illegal aliens from residing in Massachusetts or taking jobs from real citizens and legal immigrants?

Second, what did Mitt Romney do to restore the rights of gun owners in Massachusetts?

Third, why would I throw good money after bad in giving to Romney after I lost money backing you to run for Governor last year? You do remember last year, don't you, Bob? You lost the race to a guy who was all but kissing illegal alien keester on public television. Why was that? Because you were caught being a hypocrite. Your bank was giving accounts to illegal aliens, Bob.

Now, you WERE better than the former Denver DA who let illegal alien drug pushers go on misdemeanor pleas that let them stay in the United States so they could molest little girls.

If I have to back a lost cause for 2008 then why wouldn't I give my money to someone else from Colorado who has a real agenda and a better track record than Romney? Someone like Tom Tancredo?

Oh, yeah. I fogot. I already did give to him. That means there is nothing left for your friend Mitt.

Sorry,
Hyunch.

Ain't Dat Pitiful?

I'll admit it. I read gun pron.

Guns, American Handgunner, Guns & Ammo. If I can find a stack of them being given away I'm in hog heaven, no matter how out of date they are.

This morning I picked up the latest copy of American Handgunner and noticed that they had a feature story on the Wilson ADP. This is Wilson Combat's rendition of a polymer pistol.

Today while gobbling my lunch in my car before returning to work I read through the story. The pictures of the pistol were, as usual, wonderful. The story the magazine told of the pistol made me hope that everyone who considers this pistol reads the review.

Let me say that I don't know anything about Wilson Combat. I have no axe to grind. I don't own any of their products nor have I ever even held on that I can recall.

That said I think this pistol was a major mistake for them. I'd read somewhere previously that this ADP had originally appeared before under another gun makers' label and it hadn't been reliable or well made. The review of the Wilson ADP seems to back up that impression.

Reliability. The review goes to great lengths to talk about how this pistol is for "carry alot, shoot little". The test shooting was usually halted around the 100'th round because the pistol stopped functioning with anything like reliability.

Ergonomics. The reviewer talks about the fingers bumping the safety button during firing. Then mentions how when shooting it left handed he was hitting the magazine release while firing. Not good. Very not good.

What I don't understand is why a company that others seem to favor with high honors and higher prices felt the need to market a pistol that will do nothing positive for their reputation. The images in the magazine were glowing. The story under the pictures was anything but.

The writer tried in vain to put some positive spin on this one but I feel the magazine is likely to see advertising money from Wilson go bye-bye after this issue hits wide circulation.

I can see why a major maker would need a polymer pistol to compete against Glock. I don't see why a smaller maker would invest in such a project unless they really had a design that would one-up the best-in-class product.

They will no doubt sell many to people who know the Wilson name. I also have no doubt that in about two years these pistols will be on the remainder rack at CDNN for dirt cheap prices.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it would take some powerful convincing before I'd plunk down half the MSRP for this pistol, let along anything near it.

Winkin', Plinkin' and Nod

Tonight I went to the range and just had some fun. Educational fun, for my part, but fun.

Having picked up a stack of as-yet unbroken clay birds from the trap field I scattered them on the 30 Meter berm on the silhouette range and began busting clays. These birds are bigger than even the ram used in smallbore silhouette and this was the closest berm. Not a lot of challenge. Just fun.

Having something break when you hit it is fun!

I see a little silhouetto of a ram...

Ten of them, actually and I actually managed to hit on them. For me, my experience, my equipment and my talent that's flat out amazing.

I went to the smallbore silhouette shoot at the gun club today. The predominant rifle was an Anschutz sporter. High power scopes were in better vogue than shooting vests.

How did I do? I came in dead last over all. Two matches. 6 out of 40 the first one, 7 out of 40 the second.

You know I can only improve from here.

Bones About It

The best line yet heard by me regarding Rudolph Giuliani's candidacy for POTUS?

Plenty of people — politicians included — have skeletons in their closets. In the case of presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, that closet is a walk-in.

Skeletons indeed, like the one standing at the right hand of St. Rudi. For those with short memories that's Bernie Kerik. Bernie was passed along by St. Rudi to George the Migration Player to head up the (then) newly formed Dept. of Homeland Security. It took about three minutes for someone to figure out that Kerik had skeletons. Tastefully remodeled, to be sure, but skeletons.

Then there is the former Mrs. Giuliani. Or rather former Mrs. Giulianis, plural. Merry Olde England may remember their kings with fondness but I'm not sure that someone who hasn't Ronald Reagan's charisma, let alone good positions, would have the makings of winning the Oval Office. We don't need "The Six Wives of Rudolph I" as part of our heritage.

Then there is the question of law and order. Before Kerik the Greedy became St. Rudi's right-hand man that job was held by William Bratton. It could be said that he deserves the credit for the modest decreases in crime in NYC. Law and order is about the only issue that Giuliani really has any conservative credit. If he really doesn't own even that what gives him reason to believe he deserves to be President as a Republican. Shouldn't he run in the party he really belongs to?