September "The Brits Are At It AGAIN!"

In 1729, Dr. Jonathan Swift wrote a short essay titled "A Modest Proposal", which offered a solution to the proliferation of Irish children which their parents could neither support nor succor.

In short, he proposed that Irish Children being born to indigent parents should be nursed by their mothers for one year, paying particular attention to feeding them generously during the final month (to 'fatten them up'), and then sold to the butcher.

In short, the solution to the Irish population explosion was for the British to eat their (the Irish) babies.

Moving forward in time to September of 2007, the British Government has embraced the concept but with a modern twist: because the market for adoption of Caucasian children is so active, Tony Blair offered financial incentives for social workers to increase the number of British babies available for adoption.


As a small ... even insignificant ... consequence, the children of British mothers may arbitrarily be taken by the State for adoption.

The process includes a 'secret' court hearing (which may occur during the pregnancy) to establish the need to rip the children away from their natural parent(s) at birth. Following that hearing, if the mother discloses that the State assumption of Parental Authority is the result of the hearing, the parent is subject to a legal ruling of Contempt of Court.

That ought to shut the whiners up!

In the specific case (August 28, 2007), 5-month pregnant Fran Lyon has been deemed likely to indulge in the rare psychological condition of Manchausen's Syndrome by proxy, by a pediatrician whom she has never met.

She has no recourse to this ruling, even though no evidence of this Syndrome has been established (she has no older children, let alone children who have been adversely affected by her supposed affliction), and if she resists the will of The State she is subject, as mentioned before, to legal reprisal. Arbitrary, true; but still well within the bounds of reasonable jurisprudence as defined by ... The State.


The Telegraph (a dubious reference if ever there was one) describes the circumstances which established the drive to provide more adoptable babies. Thank you, Tony Blair.

In case you think I am alone in questioning the right of The State to take children from their natural mothers, I draw your attention to the estimable commentary presented here by the blogger known as "Small Dead Animals" (a useful coincidence, I think).

I encourage you to go to the original article and read the comments. You may discover that I am not the only reader who considers this a Draconian solution to an undefined problem.

(H/T: "The Castle of ARGGHHHH!")

September Blogmeat: Some People Just Don't 'get it'

I Don't CARE If You're Keeping 'At Risk Kids Off the Street; Just Don't Let Them SHOOT Anything!

MARIPOSA -- This is a mountain town where there's a Bible verse painted over a pizza parlor door and a local politician keeps a cardboard cutout of John Wayne holding a Winchester rifle in his office as proof of fealty to the NRA.

But a proposal to bring "Paintball for Jesus" to public land has some people riled.

Here's an interesting proposition: A church group has tried Paintball as a way to keep kids involved in activities 'off the streets'. They want access to unused public lands as a Paintball range. The locals are incensed, and chances are they will stop this thoroughly benign effort. Why? Because ...

"I'm sorry, maybe I'm missing something in my upbringing as a Methodist, but Paintball for Jesus? God help us all. Seriously, this teaches bad habits of shooting each other," said Mariposa County Supervisor Brad Aborn, 71, the John Wayne fan who is a former Vietnam War Navy helicopter pilot.

This is an IPSC blog, and we who indulge in Practical Shooting competition are accustomed to dealing with the criticism that we're "practicing to shoot at imitation people, with real guns!"

Now the problem is a church group which practices shooting at real people, with imitation guns.

It occurs to me that some people are altogether too wrapped up in themselves.
...

It's a Free Country, But Don't Speak Spanish in your Television Ad
Here's a Florida used-car dealer who has begun coaching his television advertisements in high-school Spanish. The locals are outraged, and consider his Spanish-language ads "un-American".

In fact, he has received some very accusatory comments on his blog, where he tries to make his readers understand that what he is doing is VERY "American".

He's not a "Latino Immigration Advocate", he's a Capitalist. As in: "You're here, you're earning, buy a car from me". What's so difficult about that? If he was offering to sell them a Big Mac, would it be any different? Why isn't Taco Bell, for that matter, catching a lot of heat from their "Run For The Border" ads?

Am I missing something?

...

Take off your clothes, or I'll blow you up. Oh, and Send Money!
Compare the previous story with this one:
"Bomb Threats Force Stores to Wire Money"

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal investigators are looking overseas for clues and suspects in a scam that uses bomb threats to extort money from banks and stores, law enforcement officials told CNN.

For the past week, banks and stores in at least 13 states have been hit by the scam, in which a caller claims there is a bomb on the premises that can be detonated if employees don't meet a demand to wire money to a specific account.

In one incident in Kansas, the caller ordered store employees and customers to take off their clothes, police said.

A source told CNN that investigators are looking for a suspect in Portugal who appears to be linked to an account number the caller uses in his demands. The source said it is believed to be either a single person or a small group tied to an account in Portugal.

At least $13,000 has been extorted, according to a law enforcement source.

Here's an entrepreneur!

My guess is, there's this bright, bored teenager in Portugal with a telephone card and a computer, who has just discovered the Wide, Wide World of Sheeple.
...
California Provides Health Care for Illegal Immigrants: Indigent Citizens Left Unfunded

And finally, from the Washington Times:

I found this story a little complicated, and confusing. As simply as I understand it:
Dr. Gene Rogers, the Medical Director for Sacramento (CA) County's medical Indigent Services program, saw that county medical funding was being expended in non-Emergency health care for Illegal Aliens to the extent that no money was available for Indigent Citizens ... the folks for whom the service was originally intended.

When he complained, County officials fired him from the job he had held for over a decade. And continued the policy.

And, although the budget was in jeopardy ... the County Commissioners cut the budget.

This leaves the County with less than enough money to care for the poorest of their citizens, but continued the practice of spending the money for "non-Emergency health care" for interlopers.

I can find no better explanation than "Political Correctness Gone Wild!"

Somewhere, somebody has to Show Me Your Tits!

New Blog: MD Creedmore

I've just added a new 2nd Amendment blog: Live-wire Right by MD Creedmore.

A prolific writer, and one not shy about posting the occasional rant, I recommend you spend some time reading what he has to say.

I've linked to him on the sidebar, under "Gun Bloggers Outside the PNW".

Croc Match, 2007

The (Croc) Dundee, Oregon IPSC club worked hard to present another Banzai Ballistic "You Got Bullets?" Match at the Chahalem Valley Shooters Club as they have for the past near-decade.

I admit, I don't have the statistics to tell you how many years this world-class High Round Count IPSC-type competition has been presented by CVSC, but I'm sure that Paul M., "Evil" Bill M. or Marty L. will let me know as soon as this article hits the Internet.

And they should be proud of their brain-child, because this 460-plus round (8 stages!) has been around long enough to achieve an international reputation as, if nothing else, an "Iron Man" test of equipment reliability, ability to make reloads quickly, accuracy, speed and pure competitor endurance.

(Note that the match is probably the "Brain Child" of either Jonathan Umfleet or Tom Chambers, both of whom are past presidents of the club and both of whom should receive full credit for their contribution which took this small club from a local "plinking and pre-hunting-season sight-in-your-rifle" club to one which regularly presents some of the most challenging and difficult matches in America. Yes, I expect updates to follow from the current Club President and /or Evil Stage Designer.)


The hallmark of this match is "You Got Bullets?" Each stage requires at least 50 hits to complete, some of them over 60 rounds.

In case you get the impression that it is a 'hoser match', please allow me to disillusion you.
Although there are plenty of 4-target arrays which encourage you to stand and deliver 8 rounds as quickly as you can, it's not all a matter of unloading magazines ten times quicker than you can load them. There are plenty of 10" plates at distances calculated to test your accuracy. Plate racks, the "Evil Oregon Star," and Pepper Poppers engaged through the 12" hole in a steel 'donut' reward a moment's inattention with, at best, a miss. At worse, the donut rings resoundingly, signaling to all observers that your Pepper Popper engagement was far off the mark.

It's always a surprise to realize that Revolver shooters put their six-round limitations to the test at this match. Coincidentally, six revolvers were used in this 2007 version of the famous Croc Match.

Here are the Top 30 of 106 competitors:

Place Name Cls Div. Cat Points Match%

1 Shepherd, Rob GM Open 2014.0487 100.00%

2 Tyler, Keith GM Open 1879.5676 93.32%

3 McGee, Bobby GM Open 1788.8717 88.82%

4 Lee, Yong GM L-10 1788.5253 88.80%

5 Bright, Norman M Open 1767.4391 87.76%

6 McDonald, Chad A Open 1764.3736 87.60%

7 Schmidt, Carl M Open Sr 1713.3135 85.07%

8 Hodsdon, Kevin A Open 1693.5543 84.09%

9 Fague, Scott B Open 1678.3901 83.33%

10 LeRoux, Scott A Open Sr 1675.5745 83.19%

11 McDonald, Casey B Open 1640.2551 81.44%

12 Tomasie, Squire M Open SS 1601.0319 79.49%

13 Bright, Zac B Open Jr 1564.0208 77.66%

14 Suh, Al B Open 1563.3510 77.62%

15 Loo, Bob A Open SS 1557.9321 77.35%

16 Paek, Peter A L-10 1454.0014 72.19%

17 Ott, Trevor M L-10 1445.6568 71.78%

18 Kies, Alan M L-10 Sr 1423.6767 70.69%

19 Marrs, Bill B Open Sr 1422.9178 70.65%

20 Fuller, Dennis A Open 1403.2551 69.67%

21 Blosser, David A L-10 1392.6748 69.15%

22 Newquist, Doug M Prod 1388.9763 68.96%

23 Stachour, Mike A L-10 1382.7855 68.66%

24 Shepherd, Caryn B Open Ldy 1365.2078 67.78%

25 Lee, Jimmy A Open 1344.6474 66.76%

26 Hockens, Ernie B Open 1308.5619 64.97%

27 Rogers, Jim B L-10 1287.6702 63.93%

28 Falkner, Eric C Open 1282.9813 63.70%

29 Hoang, Vinh B L-10 1267.5958 62.94%

30 Dickinson, Jim B L-10 SS 1267.4100 62.93%

(Sorry, this probably doesn't align correctly in your browser. For a complete listing of the results, go here.)

Jungle Run
One of the most popular features of this match is the infamous "Jungle Run". The Oregon Rain Forest Climate has blessed Dundee with a fast-running creek bed, bounded by minor ridges, forming a perfect shooting bay. The entire range is sited on the side of a high hill (in the SE portions of America, it would be considered a mountain), and the heavy annual rainfall plus the creek runoff combine to populate this restricted area with ferns, bushes and trees. This provides the perfect combination of awkward terrain and dense foliage in which to hide targets. A plethora of branching trails serves to confuse the shooter, because there are typically very few clues to help the competitor decide which branch of the trail to take as they run through the woods shooting at cardboard targets as they become available. While you're shooting at one target, it's easy to glide past another target hidden in the foliage on the other side of the trail.

This year, the branching trails were deliberately not marked. More than one shooter expressed a wish that they were, because as they headed down the wrong trail they were treated to a loudly expressed admonition by Range Officer Loren O. to "Get Back On The Trail!"

Did I mention that this is a "Surprise Stage?"

If the shooter errs, the best he can expect is a verbal correction from the RO. There are no reshoots because the competitor didn't understand the stage instructions, or because the RO hollered at him ... causing the competitor to stop in confusion because the thought there was a more serious problem than that he went down the wrong trail.

One competitor was vociferous about his complaint that the 'right' trail was not obviously marked. He was right, it wasn't fair.

Another competitor was careful, in an interview, to make the point that the Jungle Run was the most fun stage in the match, but because it was a 'surprise stage' the results should not be counted as part of the match.

They were both right, but both competitors (although they are both Locals and have both shot this match for as long as they have been competing locally) missed the point.

The Croc Match is determinedly and deliberately "Not Fair".

Not Fair!
It's not FAIR that the Jungle Run is a Surprise Stage, not chance for a reshoot, you aren' t given enough information to know where all the targets are before you shoot the stage, or that reshoots just ... aren't ... part of the game.

It's not FAIR that if you make a random mistake on the Jungle Run, you can't buy a reshoot.

It's not FAIR that six-round-limited Revolver Shooters must engage a large number of 8-round arrays with a rich selection of 'optional' targets, that other shooters can engage because they have more ammunition loaded.

It's not FAIR that there is no forgiveness in the entire match, and than if you make a mistake you will pay heavy penalties.

Here are some other considerations:
This match use to be scheduled in May, when the weather was much cooler ... but usually rainy.
To encourage attendance, it was deliberately rescheduled for Labor Day Weekend, when the sun was (usually) still out ... but it is HOT! The temperature in this period is typically in the mid-to-high Nineties, so this match is in more than one way an "Endurance contest".

Why does this match find itself scheduled over the Labor Day weekend? Because more people can find free time to shoot a 2-day match, leaving another day for travel.

Sun and Heat are a factor:
I shot this match several years ago, the first Labor Day Weekend it was scheduled. I finished the match in the Rifle Bay (3 bays, actually) where there is no shade except, late in the day, on the targets. Great, you get to engage targets in the shade after you have spend most of your pre-shooting time in the sun. Getting hot. The first few targets you often can't see clearly, because while you're in the sun you're looking at targets in the shade. Decidedly Not Fair.

At that match, it was the last stage my squad had to shoot.

The "Rifle Bay" is situated at the lowest part of the range. There's a steep hill to climb to get back to where the rest of the range (and the Stats Shack, and the cars, and the shade) are located.

I and another competitor were so drained of energy that we simply did not consider it feasible possible to climb the hill. We found a place where shade was available by virtue of being under an erected tarp, and we found chairs there. We sat and drank warm water until the match staff arrived to take down the tarp. They were not listening to our protests that we needed the stage, so we sat in the hot sun until we decided that we HAD to move back up to the main range if only to get out of the sun.

Somehow, we found the energy to drag ourselves out of the low basin and back to the shade. We decided that we were getting too old for this stuff.

Still, I showed up to watch the 2007 match, even though I wasn't prepared to shoot the match. It's No FAIR that you can't brass. No match rules against it, but it's simply too hot to brass and besides, there's usually another squad waiting to shoot the stage. More important, after the first two stages you (I) usually don't have the energy to pick up your brass. This becomes a major factor in deciding to shoot the match, when .38 Super brass costs over $170 a thousand and you're dumping about 500 rounds of brass on the range.

No FAIR.

No Fair:
Here's the bottom line. If you are looking for Fairness, don't shoot the Croc Match.

If you can't afford to drop 500 rounds of brass on the range, don't shoot the Croc match.

If you think it's outrageous that you will be called upon to shoot a Surprise Stage, with no recourse when Things Go Wrong, don't shoot the Croc Match.

But if you're up for the toughest challenge in IPSC competition, if you don't care what it costs, if you just want to measure yourself against the American Standard of "Iron Man" competition ... you can't afford to miss the 2008 Crocodile Dundee Banzai Ballistic "You Got Bullets?" match.

Coming next year, reserve your Labor Day Weekend for this most unfair match in America.

PS: USPSA can't sponsor or encourage this match, because it does not adhere strictly to USPSA standards. (Sometimes, the match requires more than 9 rounds from a single shooting position. Not this year, but in previous years.) However, CVSC scrupulously pays Match Fees to USPSA, so it's possible that USPSA will allow articles about this match to be published in the Front Sight magazine. You haven't seen it yet, but one these days I'm going to write an article about this match for the Front Sight.

Feedback?

PPS: Watch This Site for pictures and videos of the match. In the meantime, EVERY picture and video is currently available at Jerry the Geek's Video Shooting Gallery.

I'll be editing videos for the next week, and some smaller (read: viewable here without waiting for ten minutes to see what you have downloaded) videos may become available in the meantime.

If you have videos from this match, please contact me at the email address cited at the bottom of this page. I will host videos, or link to videos, as they become available.

YouTube Video version of this stage:

(Available here as a download on Jerry the Geek's Video Gallery)