The Bailout Bill: Actual Text

GovTrack: H.R. 1424: Text of Legislation, Enrolled Bill

I'm sure you haven't all had time and opportunity to actually READ the bill which provides $700,000,000,000 $850,000,000,000 $???,000,000,000 more than we can afford of our tax money to bail out the Bankers, Stockbrokers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because the DemLibs refused to regulate the 'creative interpretations' ("It's A Living Document") of the Consumer Reinvestment Act of 1977, as interpreted by The Clinton Administration.


You know, the bill which Barney Frank, in his Infinate Wisdom said could not conceivably be a problem because, after all, it was Guaranteed by the U. S. Government?

Yeah, that bill.

Here's some interesting text embedded in the bill:

SEC. 115. GRADUATED AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE.
(a) Authority- The authority of the Secretary to purchase troubled assets under this Act shall be limited as follows:
(1) Effective upon the date of enactment of this Act, such authority shall be limited to $250,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time.
(2) If at any time, the President submits to the Congress a written certification that the Secretary needs to exercise the authority under this paragraph, effective upon such submission, such authority shall be limited to $350,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time.
(3) If, at any time after the certification in paragraph (2) has been made, the President transmits to the Congress a written report detailing the plan of the Secretary to exercise the authority under this paragraph, unless there is enacted, within 15 calendar days of such transmission, a joint resolution described in subsection
(c), effective upon the expiration of such 15-day period, such authority shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time.

(b) Aggregation of Purchase Prices- The amount of troubled assets purchased by the Secretary outstanding at any one time shall be determined for purposes of the dollar amount limitations under subsection (a) by aggregating the purchase prices of all troubled assets held.
(c) Joint Resolution of Disapproval-
(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Secretary may not exercise any authority to make purchases under this Act with regard to any amount in excess of $350,000,000,000 previously obligated, as described in this section if, within 15 calendar days after the date on which Congress receives a report of the plan of the Secretary described in subsection (a)(3), there is enacted into law a joint resolution disapproving the plan of the Secretary with respect to such additional amount.

*(Apologies for the crummy formatting, but if you can read the words, you can get the general idea.)

Here's the idea:
This bill authorized the Feds to commit no more than $250 BILLION dollars to the bailout at any one time.

If the Prez (who knows who the hell THAT will be this time next year?) decides that they need more money, he can submit a request to The Secretary, and The Committee can authorize up to $350 BILLION dollars invested in The Bailout. No more, though!On the other hand, if The Prez (PBUH) determines that is not enough, he can submit a finding to Congress, who can autorize up to $700 BILLION distribution to "Purchase troubled assets" at one time.

"Troubled Assets" may seem to be a vague term, but essentially it referr to homes occupied by, and being more-or-less purchased by:

• people who didn't have a reliable income;
• people who couldn't come up with the 10-20% down payment which (until the Clinton Administration stepped in) was the normal requirement for a mortgage which was 'Guaranteed By The Government';
• or can't afford to make full payment on their mortgage when the economy falls into the crapper;
• or realize that their home is worth far less than the amount they still owe, and so have decided not to continue payments but instead to save their money so they can make their minimum down-payment on their next home which is financed by a REAL loan;
• or have been milking the system to establish a system of rental properties which they only hope will pay the mortgage on at least the first property in their personal Pyramid Scheme.

No need to worry yourself about this.

I'm sure that The President of The United States of America, and Congress, (those 500+ stalwart Sons and Daughters of America who have already proved that they have their fingers on the Heartbeat of American Economic Health) will remain steadfast in their care and concern over The American Economy, even if it isn't in their best personal interest.

Wizard of Oz: "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

Rabelais: "All things are as they should be in this most nearly perfect of all possible worlds."

Star Trek, Generations: Excuse me! If you're God, why do you need our help to leave this world?

Never mind. Don't think you have to be cynical about American Politics just because I am.

It's not you. It's me.

The Mysterious Missing SNL Skit

Saturday Night Live put on a skit which so frightened the LibDems (and not a few Tycoons) that it was deleted from its NBC website.

Yesterday, a bowdlerized version of the skit was posted on the NBC webpage.

Here it is.

(I tried to embed the video, but NBC and SNL have conspired to show almost any number of objectionable videos instead. Here is another link to the video, which may even actually work. But I doubt it. Try the previous link, first, because it may be more stable.)

And here is the explanation WHY it was deleted. Essentially, the original version suggested that some of the tycoons who have profited from the "Sub-Prime Rate Mortgage" fiasco should be hanged.

I seem to be in a particularly bloody mood this week, so I admit I see nothing wrong with the suggestion. It's just a thought, nothing that need be acted upon. But still, we should not be censored for considering what some might think is as appropriate response to thoroughly reprehensible business practices ...

Okay, maybe I'm wrong on that point.

Maybe.

Inland Empire 3-gun Scores and Pix

From Bill S., this news and a couple of fascinating (if L-O-N-G) mulitmedia shows on Smilebox.

Scores are up at www.sppl.us

Below are two links to pix from the Inland Empire 3 gun, thanks to all who participated by working, ROing, cooking, scoring, tearing down, and shooting. Ty Mabry made this slideshow...way cool!


2008 IE 3 Gun Match
http://smilebox.com/playEmail/4e4467784d5449794d3377334e5449784d6a63320d0a&sb=1

2008 IE 3 Gun Team Event
http://smilebox.com/playEmail/4e4467784e7a417a4e3377324e7a4d324e446b340d0a&sb=1

(Click the link on the event description, or the complete URL, or cut&past the URL into your browser bar.)

I'm not familiar with SmileBox, but I'll be checking it out. One feature seems to be that after it completes a show (which may take a half-hour or so), it goes into 'loop mode' and starts all over again. You'll have to decide for yourself how many times you want to watch.

The first display, of the 3-gun main match, provides some short videos interspersed with a lot of stills, choreographed by a fair amount of headbanger music.

This is a long display, but the music is an interesting mix and the videos jazz up the action. The pictures range from try-to-catch-the-brass-in-the air to interesting people smiling for the camera.

I discovered that the people were most interesting. I saw a lot of people I knew there. R&R Racing was well represented, both in the people (Bobby and Scott) and the props ... which I assume were donated to the match by R&R. Of course there were a few Montana Gold shirts there, Bill S. included.

Mostly, there were so many family and couple group photos represented that the entire display gave the happy impression that this was a family event.

The range, incidentally, is little short of wonderful. The footing can be described as 'meadowland', with lots of hills and trees in the background. It's a warm Summer (or early Fall) day, the sun is shine and faces are well populated with smiles and gap-toothed grins.

The second display, which seems to be a side match, demonstrates something knew in my experience: a 3-gun tag-team match.

There are three six-plate racks, three shooters, and 3 guns.
On the left rack is the shotgun shooter, with the rack not-to-far away. On the buzzer, he jumps up from his chair, grabs the pre-staged shotgun, and blazes away until he knocks down all six plates. (If you have to reload, you have to reload!)

Then he grounds the shotgun safely and RUNS to the second position, where the second team member is seated in a chair. Slapping hand ('tagging') releases that shooter to run to the table where his rifle is grounded. After knocking down the six plates at a 'pretty far out' distance, he grounds the rifle on the table and races to tag the third team member.

On receiving the tag, the third shooter runs to a barrel where a pistol is pre-staged. Grabbing the pistol, he knocks down the six plates on that rack

there appear to be some restrictions on how a gun must be 'safely grounded'; if you screw up, you have to go back and safely ground the gun before you can tag the next team member.

Lots of action, lots of fun, and lots of cat-calls from the Peanut Gallery when a team member screws up.

Highlights: Bill S. on the shotgun (he may not be accurate, but he is fast!) and a four-foot-not-much-more junior who does a fine job on the pistol plates.

Jonesboro. school shooter again facing prison sentence - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Jonesboro, Arkansas school shooter again facing prison sentence

Do you remember Mitchell Johnson?

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Jonesboro school shooter Mitchell Johnson could get as many as 30 years in prison for stealing a debit card and possessing marijuana, though his attorney says the slayings he committed as a 13-year-old should not be considered at sentencing.

I remember him as the scrawny kid who decided, with his little pal Andrew Golden, to ring the fire alarm at the school he attended and shoot his schoolmates and teaches as they exited the building in an orderly manner.

I remember this, too:

When the boys got to the school, Golden set off the fire alarm whilst Johnson took the weapons to the woods near the school. Golden then ran back to the woods where Johnson had taken the weapons. When children and teachers came out of the school, The two boys opened fire, mostly with their rifles. 13 Students and 2 teachers were hit, 5 of whom died. Afterwards they attempted to run back to the van and escape, but were apprehended by police.

And:

Police did not offer a motive, but a classmate said one of the suspects had recently broken up with his girlfriend.

"He told me after seventh period (Monday) that he was never going to see me again and I wouldn't be able to see him again because he was going to run away," said Jennifer Nightingale. She did not say if any of the victims was the former girlfriend.

And I remember the pictures of the girls, and teacher .. the teacher who died trying to protect her charges.


_______________________________________

Mitchell Johnson was released from confinement after he turned 21. Authorities won't discuss the disposition of Andrew Golden "for privacy reasons" ... as if this little turd sociopath has any right to privacy when he has already proven himself to be a menace to society.

But Mitchell Johnson has had his chance to make it in The Real World, and failed.

Johnson pleaded guilty Tuesday in Benton County court to theft and financial identity fraud, both felonies, and to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. Last month he was sentenced to four years in prison on a federal weapons conviction.

Johnson and Andrew Golden, then 11, killed four pupils and a teacher at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro in 1998. Their ages limited the length of their incarcerations, and both were freed at age 21.

In the latest case, Johnson was accused of taking a debit card left by a disabled man at the gas station where he worked. Police said that when Johnson was arrested Feb. 2, he was in possession of marijuana.

Sentencing is set for Nov. 14. Benton County prosecutor Van Stone said he will seek the maximum sentence and may try to make the schoolyard slayings an issue under a new law that allows juveniles to be punished as adults once they serve their juvenile court sentence.

Johnson's lawyer, Scott McElveen, said Wednesday that he will argue that none of the crimes Johnson committed as a juvenile can factor into the punishment for his latest offenses. "It's inadmissible," he said.

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers ..."

-- William Shakespeare

Model of 1911 U.S. Army

Talking with "My Gunsmith Guy" (MGG) , I suggested that it would be kewl to try the detail-stripping without tools experiment with using a genuine M1911 (not 1911A1 ... the original 1911) as the experimental gun.



This is a pistol marked "Model of 1911 U.S. Army". The SN is 3131** (obscured for privacy) which, according to references, was built sometime in 1918.


MGG retorted: "Do you know what a 1918 is worth?"

That one set me to thinking.


It sounds as if he is astonished that I would be willing to risk a valuable collectible firearm in an experiment. Fooled me, I thought it was 'just another gun', not thinking of the historic value. If, in fact, there is any collector value associated with this pistol.


As far as I know, a 1911 Colt built in 1918 (SN=3131**) is worth what you can get someone to pay you for it. My best information is that it's worth something in the $600 -$1000 range, if you can find a buyer. (There were 347,000 build during that period.)

Is that accurate?

Researching the question, I have found (no surprise here) that there are no obvious resources on the Internet representing a legitimate buyer or authority which is willing to put a price on an unseen gun except for gun dealers who own it. If there is a record of a sale of a pistol in this category, they are keeping a mighty low profile.

If you have more information about the value of this pistol, please write.

I'm not looking for a buyer. I just want to confirm the information I have already received from other (deliberately uncited) sources.

Note: click on the photos to see full-size images. I have deliberately obscured the last two digits of the serial numbers. The white or black blurs represented there are not blemishes. They are nil-value pixels artificially imposed on the image for the sake of privacy. All serial numbers are as clearly cut as those remaining in the image.

1911 maintenance without tools: A Modest Proposal

I love the 1911!

Part of the reason is that you can completely dis-assemble and reassemble the pistol using no tools other than the parts contained within.

Have you heard that legend?

Do you believe it?

Are you sure?

I mean ... are you really sure?

I'm curious how reasonable this proposition might be, so I contacted a local gunsmith (and USPSA Grand Master, whose name will not be mentioned at this time) with the proposition that he make the attempt to prove this legend.

His reply?

I'll think about that. I have heard the same thing, but have never tried it....

I don't blame him, not a bit.

I'm not sure it can be done, but I also think it's worth the effort to try.

So here's the challenge, which may be known as "The Process" (see below):

1. Completely dis-assemble, and then re-assemble a Genuine 1911 (military surplus) Colt Pistol, SN. 31312** ca. 1918. No tools will be used, but parts of the pistol, ammunition and magazine (the stuff which one can reasonably expect to be available in the same time and space as the pistol) may be used as tools when and where seems appropriate. The pistol must be equally as functional after reassembly as it was before the process began.
2. Perform the same process with a Kimber Custom pistol, which includes a full-length guide rod. This is perhaps the greater challenge because the manufacturer will assume that a "Geek Tool" will be constructed by the owner to remove the Guide Rod Assembly. The Geek Tool would normally be used to retain the recooil spring on the guide rod.

The limitations:
Both pistols are in my immediate possession, and I would/will make them available for the experiment.

Both pistols feature 'fixed sights'. Removal of the sights is not part of the problem, so both the front and rear sights will not be moved in the process. I'm confident that the barrel can be used as an adjustment tool, and the frame as a hammer, but sighting the pistol back to the current zero would be beyond the scope of this exercise. This will not be attempted during "The Process".

In addition, the Ejector is often 'peened' into the frame. It will not be necessary, nor advisable, to remove the Ejector.

The Plunger Tube as well need not be removed.

We're not trying to make this process beyond the means of a primary arsenal maintenance effort.

Whatever techniques are used for this project must leave the parts un-damaged. If this is shown to be not possible, that will be valuable information. The criteria is that the pistol must function as perfectly after the process as it was before the process. Obviously, this implies that the pistol(s) must be test-fired both before and after the process.


The Details:
I've given this some thought, and I can see how certain parts may serve a particular purpose.

For example, the dis-assembly of the 1911 may be performed at two levels. The parts may be referenced in the 1911 Schematic, and the process of reassembly is demonstrated in this animated video.

The first level is to Field-Strip the pistol.
The barrel bushing is rotated counter-clockwise to remove the Recoil Spring Plug. The slide stop is removed, allowing the slide to be detached from the frame. The Recoil Spring assembly (Recoil Spring, Guide Rod) can be removed and dis-assembled. The barrel is removed.

The second level is to Field Strip the Slide Assembly.
the firing pin is depressed to allow the Firing Pin Stop to be removed. This allows (in turn) the firing pin, firing pin spring, and extractor to be removed.

The third level is to Detail Strip the Frame Assembly.
This specifically includes the mainspring housing assembly, the hammer and sear assembly, the trigger assembly the magazine assembly, the safety assembly and the grips.

Have I left anything out? Fine, except for the exceptions listed below ... that goes, too.

Essentially, after the completion of of the Third Level of dis-assembly (and reassembly), there should be nothing left connected to the slide except for the sights. There should be nothing left connected to the frame except for the stock screw bushings and the ejector.

What parts can be used as tools?

It's axiomatic that removal of the firing pin allows that part to be used as a tool to remove all of the pins which keep the major assemblies (including the mainspring housing

But how do you remove the firing pin block to get at the firing pin?

The first assumption is that the the Slide Stop will serve to depress the firing pin sufficiently to remove the firing pin block.

If this is feasible, most other problems are resolved. Just looking at it (I am deliberately not testing these hypotheses), it appears that the diameter of the Slide Stop is too large. Let us assume that this is possible.

The firing pin can be used as a Pin Punch to remove all of the pins retaining the trigger assembly, the hammer assembly, and the mainspring housing (and connecting pins within each assembly).

How about the screws?

The three-finger spring ("Sear Spring") might be used as an awkward screwdriver. But how do we break loosen the screws which have been torqued? Can we use the rim of a .45 acp cartridge? How about the tang on the front of the magazine? Is it too thick?

Let's assume that these can be used to break loose the major screws, such as the Grip Screws.

The final hurdle is the Magazine Catch Lock, A#21 on the Brownell's Schematic.

I'm not sure whether the Sear Spring is sufficiently robust to start this screw without suffering damage. In fact, I'm not sure whether the width of the fingers is sufficiently small to fit within the limited circumference of the hole within which the screw dwells.

If these three obstacles -- the firing pin, the grip screws, and the Magazine Catch Lock -- can be resolved, then I see no reason why the 1911 cannot be disassembled using no tools except the parts of the pistol.
___________________________________

How about the 1911 with an Extended Guide Rod, as is typically found on the Kimber and STI pistols?

I don't know about this. The School Solution is to un-twist a paper clip to serve as a Recoil Spring Retainer during dis-asembly.

The only parts I can consider acceptable resources for this purpose are coil springs. This includes the Recoil Spring, the Main Spring, and the coil spring in the Magazine Catch Assembly.

The first is unavailable, as the tool is used to retain this spring.

The second and third are so small and designed to fit into the narrow channels of the Mainspring Housing and the Magazine Catch Assemblies. It seems likely that the gunsmith would have to partially uncoil the spring to function as a Mainspring Retainer Tool.
________________________________

At this point, I'm stuck.

If you have any suggestions to resolve the various questions which I have raised (small-diameter pin-remover other than the Slide Stop to remove the Firing Pin; and some kind of tool to retain the Recoil Spring on the Kimber Extended Guide Rod), I would appreciate your contribution.

When we have the answers to these two questions, perhaps we can continue with a video demostration of How To Dis-Assemble and Reassemble the 1911 Without Tools.

Full Metal Jacket - 2008

YouTube - Obama Youth - Junior Fraternity Regiment

Folks, I have NO idea ...


H/T Crime, Guns and Videotape
_____________________________________________________________________
UPDATE: 08-OCT-2008
I'm not the only viewer of that video who found it incomprehensible ... or indefensible. The original video has been deactivated, but Yuri pointed me to another version on YouTube (thanks, Yuri).

Also, the middle-school teacher/advisor of the "drill team" has been relieved of all duties by the school board, who had warned him of the consequences if he posted the video on the Internet. (See "Obama Commandos' teacher disciplined".) It seems they don't think an educator should be indoctrinating 13-15 year old students in political activism ... especially when it results in chanting campaign slogans for a single candidate.

On The Road

I could have done a better job of establishing an excuse for not mentioning this before, but I didn't contribute to this venue for the past 3 weeks because of personal reasons.

My son is, as I know I have mentioned before, in the Navy. He recently completed his A-school training for Master at Arms. He is now a Navy Cop, with the badge and gun and everything, and while I can't imagine Gentle Ben as the guy who busts drunks in bad bars I am inordinately proud of his determination to establish himself in an Honorable Profession. (YMMV, if you're a drunken sailor.l)

Nevertheless, he had 10 days to get himself from his A-school sight in Texas to his Permanent Duty Station (for 3 years duration of the 4.5 years remaining in his Military Commitment) in San Diego.

He has chosen to spent his 10-day furlough, for such it must be defined, in the home of his mother and stepfather (Julie and Ed) in Northern California.

this was my best chance to see my son, Ben, and his wife and to meet his brand new twin sons for the forseeable future. So I took some time off work and drove to the Redding, California, vicinity where he would be spending his leave.

Going South: Friday
Driving from the Willamette Valley in Oregon to Northern California is not normally that stressful. But the weather did not cooperate, and my 350+ mile drive south was essentially a Hell Ride.

I saw two wrecks on the the way ... a Ford Taurus and a dump truck, both upside down for unknown and unknowable reasons, but probably related to the slippery road conditions. The weather was rainy, the first significant rain of the fail, and the 3-month hiatus on inclement weather served to slurry the oils on the road surface into a slippery film which not only made the road surface similar to ice, but the cars and trucks in front of me threw up a fog of oil which obscured my view for much of the drive. My windshield wipers were not up to the challenge, even though they were the most "High Tech" available, and I took much more time than I had expected to make the drive from the Willamette Valley in Oregon to Redding, California.

When I got there, I was already bushed. But I had already committed to driving the extra 30 miles through bad back roads to where my Son was waiting, so I did it.

I spent two hours with my Son, his step-father, and his wife. I also re-acquainted myself with his son Jake ("The Shy One" ... not much paternal reinforcement there because I hadn't seen him for the past 2 of his 4 years.)

I arrived around 5:30 pm, and by 7:30 when dinner was ready I realized that I was entirely too exhausted to join them for dinner and still manage to safely renegotiated the twisting road between their domicile and my motel in Redding. So I left early, with regrets, for the sake of safety.


Saturday: Reunion

Saturday Morning I left Redding at 9:30 am with the intention of spending the day with my family. This actually worked out rather well, although I didn't get to spend the whole day with my entire family.

I finally met my twin grandsons. Logan seemed distracted, internalized. Aiden looked me right in the eye every time I presented myself to inspect him -- it was as if he was inspecting me.

Their mom tells me that usually they are just the opposite, as well as being different in demanding attention (Aiden yes, Logan no) than I had also observed. Just goes to show that twins are naturally adept at confusing their families; it's not a learned skill.

For the record, both boys are fascinating. I could watch them for hours. I did.

Their older brother, Jacob, celebrates his 4th birthday in a couple of weeks. Because I can't be there then, his father Ben and I took him to a local toy store so he could pick out his gift. During the thirty minutes we spent touring the toy store, he said "buy me this!" 87 times. Then he went back to the first toy we had viewed ... a yellow plastic Caterpillar Tractor and proudly carried it to the counter for purchase.

Note: he selected 7 more "buy me this" between that moment and the time we left the store. And two more times on the sidewalk.

Not surprisingly, Logan and Aiden's personalities are not well developed. They're cute as heck, they are definitely different (Logan has a higher hairline) but they have a lot of growing to do before they become more than milk-processing machines.

Jake, however, is endlessly innovative. He was enormously shy on Saturday when I first met him, but he got over that before Saturday ended. He really likes being photographed, but his sweet smile was difficult to catch, it is so fleeting. Also, he kept asking me to take his picture, then tried to show me his butt when I brought the camera out. The kid's either a natural Geek, or he has seen too many Ace Ventura movies. Must speak to his parents about this.

My Daughter-in-law (DIL) is the kind of mother who can only be described as awesome. Endlessly patient, sweet to her children and saucy to her husband, I have always loved her but I fell in love with her all over again this weekend.

My Son The Cop (seems strange to describe him thusly) is trim, brave, personable, loving to family and endlessly patient. Just like always. I'm concerned that I may be too proud of him.

Nah!

Grandma Ju-Ju and Grandpa Egg are mellow and industrious. Their home is beautiful; they designed it and had it custom built for their retirement in a gated community. Ju-Ju is working at a retail store to help support the extended family. Egg is diabetic, and so spends his time supporting the family by maintaining the household.

Son and DIL will be leaving for San Diego in the next couple of weeks. Son got the ten-day change-of-duty-station furlough, but is working part days in the local Navy Recruitment office to preserve his Leave Time. DIL and kids will follow him to San Diego after he has completed arrangements for Married Enlisted Housing.

After we bought Jake his B-day gift, Sone and Jake went grocery shopping. We bought components for "Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes" Spaghetti, which I later prepared while the rest of the family (sans Ju-Ju, who had to work until 8pm) watched "Iron Man". Jake flirted with the camera between moments when I rushed to the kitchen to stir the pot of spaghetti sauce.

We ate at 7pm, Ju-Ju came home from work and ate her share, then we all adjouned to the driveway to watch the gated community's delayed version of Independence Day Fireworks. (Fire hazard was down to zero for the first time in four months.)

I left for my motel by ten pm, and for the third night in a row did not sleep well in a rented bed.

Going Back North, Sunday
I underslept and then drove another 350 miles back home.

I must be getting old. The freeway driving through the roller-coaster ride which is the Siskiyou Mountain Range turns out to be both frightening and fatiguing. Despite predictions to the contrary, rain was again a factor. People in California scoff at speed limits, even at mountain passes of 4,351 feet (Siskiyou Pass) and turns which are marked at "Maximum 50 MPH turn, this is no shit!" or the politically correct equivalent.

After two nights of little sleep in uncomfortable beds, eating strange food and missing my comfortable normal regime, I am blitzed with stress and tension of driving back over a highway where I have seen demolished vehicles only 2 days previously, and under similar driving conditions.

I am reminded again of the Freeway Definitions of An Idiot, A Jerk, and An Asshole:

• An Idiot is someone who is driving slower than you are.
• A Jerk is someone who is driving faster than you are.
• An Asshole is someone who is was driving faster as you are, until he passed you; but immediately slowed down to bogart the passing lane so you can't get around the Idiot in front of you.

During my trip I contemplate that the drive between Oregon and California seems longer than it use to be.

I had left Redding before 10am, and by 3pm I am suffering from The Mother Of All Bellyaches, cranky, and not feeling very communicative. However, I did phone SWMBO and tell her that I was within two hours of completing the trip. I wouldn't want her to worry, although I am wondering what made me think I was physically competent to make this trip in 3 days.

when I finally get home, I phoned SWMBO again with the "Safe Arrival" message and inform her that I am going directly to bed.

Which I did. And I couldn't sleep.

I am tired, and achy from driving 900 miles in three days. I originaly promised that "I will continue with this journal tomorrow." I won't, except that this version is much expanded from the original version ... but it is no less boring.

I'm glad I made the trip. And I am very glad that it is over.
_______________________________
UPDATE: Monday, October 6, 2008
This article has been expanded to make it more complete and coherent. Sorry if I've missed on both counts. Sometimes I write to convey information, and sometimes I write for therapeutic reasons. This is Door Number Two ... I write because I must.

If you have read the whole thing, I wonder that your life is even more boring than mine.

Gotcha!

This probably isn't safe for work ...

... but it's funny.
2MB download.

Sherrie Of The Jungle

Here we are.
We're the Princess of the Universe.
Here we belong,
Fighting for survival ...

(Apologies to "QUEEN")


Last night we received the wonderful news that Sherrie from Dundee has finally won her long battle with cancer.

[Cheering! Crowd noises!]

Sherrie endured the agony of chemotherapy, the sickness (and hair loss) of radiation therapy, and finally her doctors decided that surgery was her last best hope.

They operated two days ago, and she was released from the hospital yesterday. She was home before the flowers that SWMBO sent were delivered to her hospital room!

Sherrie told SWMBO that the doctors are convinced that they got every bit of the cancer, and now she is on the road to recovery from the surgery.

I know that she is far from comfortable today, but this Gallant Lady told Sandie that this is the end of active treatment. Sherrie is now a cancer survivor, and from what Sandie tells me she's understandably even more joyful than we are.

Sherrie has been in close communication with us ever since she heard that Sandie is fighting lung cancer. She has been a wellspring of support and advice for Sandie; she was just completing the chemotherapy course of treatment when Sandie was diagnosed.

Sherrie wasn't dealing with cancer by herself. She also had Lorin (Husband, head of her own Support Team, Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, reluctant Master of the Vacuum Cleaner, and always there to do whatever he could to make her as comfortable as possible.) Together, they taught us courage, the value of devotion, and that nobody can or should try to battle cancer alone. Sandie and I are grateful to them for their voluntary efforts to help us through the early stages of Sandie's treatment. They have been the exemplars of feisty folks who just won't quit.

They were there when we really needed them. We still do.


During her subsequent radiation therapy, according to Lori (Statsmistress at Dundee and Albany), Sherrie showed up at the Dundee range one day on the back of a motorcycle! She had already lost all of her hair, but her head was wrapped in a colorful do-rag and she was having the time of her life on the bike. This is not a lady who is ready to be voted off the island!

(click on the photo for full-size)

Sherrie and Lorin are perhaps best known locally for their annual efforts to design, build and officiate the famous Jungle Run stage at the Dundee Croc Match.

In celebration of this most excellent day, here (once again) is their favorite video taken from the 2005 Crock Match. It was, of course, filmed on the Jungle Run.


(Raw video courtesy of Ron D.)

IPSC people are among the best in the world. We don't just "go shooting", we make friends.

Woman Wearing Cow Suit

Woman Wearing Cow Suit Charged With Disorderly Conduct - Local News Story - WLWT Cincinnati

A Middletown woman is accused of being disorderly in public -- while wearing a cow suit.

A police report filed about the incident said Michelle Allen allegedly chased children in her neighborhood while wearing the suit on Monday evening.

Allen also urinated on a neighbor's front porch, the report said, and was warned by officers to go home and stay there.

A woman wearing a cow suit? Urinating on the porch?

She must have been really pissed off!

Utterly fantastic.

At least she lived up to her character.

Rumor has it that she had four male streakers inside the suit with her.

Family Pride

I haven't told you much about my family, mostly because it's boring to people who aren't part of my family.

But I'm going to take a long weekend (Friday thru Sunday) to visit out-of-state family, which means that while I may write on Thursday the chances are I'll be packing for my trip.

Most of my stuff is pretty boring, but if you choose to stop by here from time to time, this is a warning that there will probably be no new material for the next few days.

I don't need to tell you why. But I want to. If you don't want to hear about it, this is a good time to move on to something more interesting.



You may know that my son, the B-Geek, is in the Navy now. He has completed his A-school training (Master At Arms ... he wants to be a cop, which fills me both with pride and concern) and will soon be transferred to his permanent duty station for a 3-year tour. That station is too far away for a weekend visit, but this weekend only he will be within a one-day trip from my home while he visits his mother.

I'll be taking Friday off work and driving to where he and his wife (and the majority of his five children) are, so I can see them. I like my son, I like his wife, and I like their children.

Most important, I have brand-new twin grandsons as of six weeks ago, and this may be my best chance to see them for the first time ever.


There was a time in 1968, in a fire-fight in Viet Nam, where I found myself curled into the tiniest possible ball while I waited for a hand-grenade to go off, and my thought was a regret that I had never had children. I was 23 years old at the time, and frankly had never expected to come home, but until that moment I didn't realize how important it was that there be Little Geeks in the world.

(Then, I thought of them as "Little Sergeants", but that has changed over the years as my priorities changed.)

The grenade never went off, and I've since been blessed with two Little Geeks and they, in turn, have provided a total of seven Littler Geeks. No, I will resist the temptation to apply the title "Least Geeks". I am surprised to discover that children become even more precious in the Next Generation. I don't understand how that could be possible, but there it is.

The most recent two are twin boys. I've only seen their pictures. That I have never met them is A Darkness In The Force.

There is a school of thought which suggests that our progeny is a Narcissistic extension of our own ego. That may be true, I don't know. But to me, grandchildren are an affirmation of life.

They may grow up to be total rounders and worthless dregs on society, although I very much doubt it; their parents are too family oriented to allow such a travesty. Both my son and his wife, the Aly-geek, love children and all of their children know it.

It is important that children grow up with a sense of family. I grew up that way, and I know that the best thing I can do with my life is to pass that sense on to the twins and their siblings.

So I'll be spending some quality time with The Kids ... Jake and the Twins ... and this is hopefully only the first of many opportunities to acquaint my grandchildren with a sense of continuity.

It's difficult to do, given that career choices have taken my children, and their children, so far away from me.

But my children are determined that their children know their family, and that they learn Family Pride.

I couldn't be more proud of all of my children.

I'm gonna get ya, Sucker!"

Okay, Vinny, now you're starting to worry me.


Hat Tip to Michael Bane

(PS: For those who are "very concerned", please email me.)

Write to your Congress-Critter

I checked the votes on the $700 billion dollar ($700,000,000,000) bailout vote.

YES!

My congressman (Peter DeFrazio) voted against it. (I was not surprised that Democratic Representative Darline Hooley voted for it, but I was surprised the Republican Representative Greg Walden voted for it., and that Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer voted against it.)

So I sent him (DeFazio) an email applauding his decision ... and I included a few suggestions.

Here's the full text of my letter:

Dear Representative DeFazio,
I want to thank you for your vote against the "Bailout" bill. I agree that this bill was being touted as a 'fix' without justification, and also that it was being rushed into place without sufficient thought and consideration.

Congress for the last week has looked like a convention of Door-to-Door Encyclopedia Salesmen. "Don't worry about reading the contract, you wouldn't understand it."

It is significant that 2/3 of the Republican congressmen went against the wishes of their party leadership (in the person of President Bush) to vote it down.

It is significant that 40% of the Democratic congressmen went against the wishes of their party leadership (in the person of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) to vote it down.

And it is telling that the Democratic-ruled House could have passed this bill without a single Republican 'Aye' ... and yet there was insufficient party unity to effect this simple walk-over vote.

Perhaps it is time that both parties put their divisive political efforts aside and begin working for America, rather than for Party affiliations. I realize how difficult this must seem in this year of Presidential Election, but considering that neither party has a viable candidate ...

This vote may be important in ways other than requiring, or refusing to require, the American Taxpayer to assume an even more crushing tax burden. It may cause both parties to step back and re-examine their role in ensuring the health of American society.

I encourage you to continue to search for the 'right' solution to our current economic situation, not for the 'quick fix'. I'm not convinced that your "No Bailouts Act" is the best solution, but it is at least evidence of your earnest attempt to find the root cause of the problem.

Surely Congress must take a look at regulation of GSE's, and at the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992.

As a rule of thumb, any bill which is supported by Rep. Barney "Nothing Is Wrong" Frank should be opposed.

And here is a video from a 2004 Congressional Hearing, which depicts Republican Representatives and Regulators begging for oversight on GSE's (Governmental Supported Entities, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and the contempt of Democratic Representatives for the words of caution and "nothing is wrong" rejection of these cautions by Democratic Representatives:




Who did what to whom?
Check it out.

Jungle Run Slippage

I actually attended a USPSA match last weekend, Saturday. I didn't impress anybody ... I haven't been doing much actual shooting for the past year, and it shows ... but I had a lot of fun and I enjoyed the people in my squad.

In fact, I was having so much fun that I didn't drag the camera out of the range bag until the last stage of the match ... the Jungle Run.

Tell you the truth, I didn't even care very much that I wasn't filming the match, except that I missed a lot of 'funny stuff'. I decided that I would film a couple of shooters. It was sheer guilt.

Just my luck. I caught one lady shooter doing a very respectable job on the stage, and then I filmed another lady shooter in the most embarrassing moment possible: a Match Disqualification.

A bit of background is in order here.

The Jungle Run is an unimproved trail through ferns, low bushes and other moisture-loving foliage. The trail parallels a creek, and is in the middle of a small swale which traps moisture. The soil is clay, which traps and holds moisture in all but the driest summer months. Consequently, the trail is almost always a slippery surface, and in the competitors rush to move between targets it's all too easy to over-run your forward-leaning body posture. The slightest miss-step will pitch you head over tea-kettle, which is exactly what happened here.

I've seen it a dozen times. It's the kind of thing which makes the Dundee "Croc Match" an especially challenging exercise, but it's a Widow Maker.

Here's Judith, who demonstrated a classic Jungle Run stage. This version required the shooter to engage only 8 targets, but three shots were scored on each target with a final scoring 24 shots.




The video is classic, as is the stage. The first stretch of the trail is within the view of the starting point, although this is not a "Surprise Stage". The end of the trail is hidden from view, so all we know of it is that there are 'more targets'.

Then we see Kim's execution of the stage, and from the available footage it's impossible to see what she has "done wrong".




What happened is, Kim slipped on the wet surface and fell forward on the slippery rail. The impact jarred the pistol from her grip, resulting in a Match DQ because she lost control of her firearm. I don't know if the muzzle of her pistol broke the 180, and it doesn't really matter. As soon as she dropped the gun, the Range Officer (Brad) shouted WHOA! and took charge of the situation.

Brad did what he was suppose to do, and Kim demonstrated that she was a real Lady by accepting the consequences without Histrionics or any protest.

Well, it's a "Gun Down!" situation, what can you do?

Unfortunately, I have seen far too many competitors shift to Denial Mode at Warp Speed, but Kim was above all that. It speaks well for her competitive-but-not-excessively-so mindset that she was willing to accept the Match DQ with equanimity.

I liked Kim through the match, and I was impressed by her demeanor.

As he Common Wisdom had it;
"If you must DQ, it's best to do it on the last stage of the match. At least you don't miss out on most of the Fun Stuff".

It's worth mentioning that she had some bad luck on the first run (she was the first squad member to shoot the stage), but her score was not recorded. She was reshooting the stage when she DQ'd.

If nothing else, this serves to prove that a reshoot very rarely improves one's score.

Tough luck, Kim. But you recovered like a champion.

Kava Maga - Israeli Self-Defense stuff

I keep tripping over this Israeli Self-Defense "No Quarters!" stuff on You Tube. It looks a lot like
"300" (the guy even looks like the gentleman who plays Laertes).

Probably, the techniques they propose are do-able if you're a super-quick, super-aggressive buffed up guy who has a LOT of training.

For the Average Geek, it looks like Suicide by Mugger.

The demonstrator does not fail to pay homage to the "Give Up Your Stuff -- It's Only Stuff" mantra, and this seems responsible to me.

And certainly, breaking or burning a hand when the grab-the-gun technique is a little bit too slow to be 100% effective is better than getting shot in the face.

Still, I think this can safely be slotted into the "Desperation Moves" category for the Average Geek.

I'm not sure I'm physically capable of doing this.


The theory is good:

When you're confronted with an armed assailant, and he tells you "Hands Up!", during that process ("he is expecting you to move your hands"), you transform the motion into grabbing his pistol and twisting it away from your body, and away from his trigger-finger hand so he is less likely to reactively pull the trigger.

(Somewhere in here there is some verbiage about blocking the hammer with your other hand, but it sounds like even the demonstrator isn't all that convinced that this is going to happen.)



During this movement, you rotate the pistol over 180 degrees, so that it breaks the trigger-finger of the aggressor. After that, you relax the tension on the gun so that the broken trigger-finger doesn't interfere with your pulling the pistol out of his hand.

No, I'm pretty sure I couldn't do this without a lot of training and practice.

Maybe you're a better athlete than I am (Well, that's almost a 100% certainty), but it still smacks of desperation.

American Bail-out! (A Modest Proposal)

An Open Letter To:
George W. Bush
President of the Unites States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, District of Columbia


From:
Jerry The Geek
You Know Who I Am
You Know Where I Live

Dear Mister President;

My VISA card is maxed out, the rent is past-due, and I have some grandchildren whose birthdays are due in the next six months. I am heartbroken that I cannot pay my bills and continue to give money to my family.

I hear that you have proposed a Seven Hundred BILLION dollar ($700,000,000,000) bailout to the banks who have been obliged to follow the dictates of a Democratic congress for the past ten years, advocating the approval of mortgages to people who can't afford to buy the houses they are now forced to give up.

It occurs to me that this money would be better allocated to people who did NOT buy a house they could not afford during this period.

I don't know who these mortgagees are, nor how many may be involved, but I'm reasonably certain that you don't know, either. I've read the Patriot Act, and it doesn't appear to cover this population segment.

You don't know who they are but I bet you know who I am.

I am reliably informed that there are 200,000,000 people in this country over the age of 18; they have voted, or soon will vote in Presidential elections. Why don't you give the money to these people who pay the taxes and pay the taxes, instead of bailing out the banks who have placed them in this untenable position?

$700,000,000,000 distributed among 200,000,000 Americans would place $3,500 in the pocket of every voter in the country. Ignore the children (that has always worked for you in the past); give the money to the Families and let them distribute the wealth as seems most appropriate.

Note that married couples would receive $7,000, which buys a lot of Christmas presents ... if I can still use the word "Christ" in an email.

Please send my $3,500 Bailout Bucks to me, Jerry the Geek, post haste. I really need the money in order to avoid a Financial Crisis.

Help me to avoid a Panic!

Jerry the Geek
You know who I am.
You know where I live.

PS: Please send a Money Order. I don't trust checks. I would rather you don't tell the banks about this scheme.

Reville

Link: 11 minutes.

I was in the army, 1968-1970 (active service, RVN).

My son is in the Navy (2008 - ?)

No rivalry is involved.

I salute him, gladly.


: The Hobo Brasser

Trevormaster

"Trevor" is a Local Shooter, a Master-class shooter in USPSA (in more than one Division). He's a teacher, a hard worker, a nice guy and someone whom I love to watch while he's tearing up the cardboard and knocking down the steel at a match.

He's fast, he's accurate, and he has the moves.

Trevor has been posting some videos on YouTube this year (2008), and if he's not too shy to post them, I'm not too shy to show them.

Here are a couple of his videos, just to pique your interest.

The first one appears to be a video montage from the ARPC Single Stack Championship, 2008. I'm glad I didn't compete in that match, now, because I couldn't do as well as he did even if I was shooting with my Race Gun.

(NOTE in the second stage sequence, the door is closed at the start of the stage. It is opened when the activating target is knocked down; you can see it S-L-O-W-L-Y opening. It's important to find some other 'constructive shooting' things to do while waiting for that door to open.)



The second video shows Trevor shooting Chucks full-auto Glock. Note that Chuck is a LEO, and is authorized to possess full-auto firearms.



Frankly, I don't think the full-auto shoots much faster than Trevor shoots a semi-auto pistol. Certainly, the ration of hits to rounds fired can't be any better.

Night of Thunder: A Bob Lee Swagger novel

I've just finished Steven Hunter's newest book, "Night of Thunder".

This is a book which I was able to put down.

Once.

It showed up in my mail box, courtesy of Amazon.com, two days ago. I read the first three pages and thought I better go do my chores. When I went to bed, I read some more, but was too tired to continue. So I put it down the second time.

When I picked it up the next day, I finished it. I didn't need the bookmark because I couldn't put it down.

Yes, this is another Bob Lee Swagger book, and Bob The Nailer is in high form.

I admit, I was a little disappointed by the preceding Swagger novel, "The 47th Samurai". I read this in October of 2007, and reported that Bob "Goes All Samurai". Although I enjoyed the concept and especially the dialogue, I thought the scene where a sixty year old broke-down sniper learns The Art of The Sword in a few weeks and then beats a Master Swordsman in a fair fight was too great a strain on my willingness to suspend disbelief.

No such stretch of the imagination here. The skills and abilities of Bob are reasonable, considering that Hunter worked hard to set the circumstances to match the possibilities of our Aging Hero.

The Aging Hero
The Possibilities of the Aging Hero are harder to portray than are the Problems of the Aging Hero.

For years, Robert B. Parker worked hard to keep his no-first-name hero Spenser young, viral, active and strong. Spenser was a Korean War Veteran, which put his birth date somewhere around 1938 or 1939 (The war ended July 27, 1953. Spenser must have spent at least 6 months in-country. He would have been in training for six months before being posted, and was 17 when he enlisted according to Spenserian Lore. Do the math.) The Godwulf Manuscript, the first Spenser book, appeared in 1973 ... Spenser would have been about 37 years old. The last Spenser book, Now and Then, was published in 2007. Parker is struggling to get the last book out but he has moved on to 'other heroes' because the penultimate book "Hundred Dollar Baby" (2006) illustrated a 33 year timespan ... Spenser would have been at least 68-70 years old, if continuity of time had been a factor in composing the stories. Unlikely to be beating up recalcitrant bad-guys.

That's not a problem if you're Charley Brown, who stayed 10 years old for over 30 years. But if you want to depict a realistically strong hero who is a 3+ tour veteran of the Vietnam War (Bob), and you deliberately put your latest book in an action sequence which ends in 2009, you must acknowledge the effects of time on your Last Action Hero.

Hunter allows Bob to age. Bob has doubts, makes mistakes in logic, questions his competence. Hunter also portrays Bob as 63 years old in 2008 or 2009, which puts his birth date around 1944 or 1945.

What can Bob actually ... do? In a combat situation?

He can rely on his skills and conditioning. (Bob is a man who never stops 'playing with guns', practicing skills, and doesn't lose that competitive edge. He's also a hard-working rancher, who maintains a better physical condition than, for example, a same-aged Geek slaving all day over a hot keyboard.)

No, the character of Bob, as portrayed in this book, is not inconsistent with his chronicled age. I don't know what Hunter will do with him next year, but this year he's more believable than he was last year.

The Story
The pace of the story was excellent.

Some of the clues to the mystery weren't hidden so well that the reader couldn't figure out solution. Rather than detract from the story, this is the mark of the Master Mystery Writer: it is consistent with the goal that Agatha Christie always strove for, an Honest Mystery. The clues are there for the reader. It's not enough to spot them, the Amateur Detective must figure how they fit with the facts, and interpret them correctly. There are sufficient Red Herrings tossed into the fish stew to make it both challenging and fun. No, I didn't have it all figured out, it wasn't what you could call predictable. Still, I 'had a clue' and that added to the fun of reading.

One of the joys was the discovery that we renew our acquaintance with the Grumley and Pye families, who are returning characters in previous incarnations of the Swagger Saga. Not these particular Grumleys and Pyes, of course: the descendants of the (few) survivors of those books. They're just as bad, they're just as evil, they're just as degenerate as they have been for three generations ... and they continue to constitute a Target Rich Environment.

There's even a strong "USPSA" thread, which I believe makes this a "Must Read" book.

Read The Book/Own The Book
Don't borrow this book. Don't check it out of the library. Buy it! You will find yourself going back through your collection of Hunter novels and re-reading a select few which deal with the sword play, the history of Nikki (now a 24 year old journalist), and the adventures of Earl and Hot Springs.

(Note to The Usual Subjects: SWMBO gets my copy to read next. Yes, I refused to let her read it first. After all, she has been bogarting the latest J. A. Jance novel for the past 2 weeks.)

At 287 pages, this isn't the longest book that Hunter has written. But with its continuity of time and place, the tight writing, the sparkling dialogue and driving action (sorry, I couldn't resist), this could well be one of the best.

Given Stephen Hunters consistently high quality of writing, that's high praise indeed.

Navy shows off unmanned submarine-detecting craft - Los Angeles Times

Navy shows off unmanned submarine-detecting craft - Los Angeles Times

The U.S. Navy is planning to stock up with "Robot Boats" to patrol Litorral waters.

SAN DIEGO -- To the world it might be called a robot boat, but its proper name is the Unmanned Surface Vehicle, and the U.S. Navy expects it to be a major tool in countering what officials believe is a growing threat posed by quiet diesel-powered submarines owned by rogue nations.

In advance of the official roll-out today, reporters were allowed to see the boat on Thursday at Naval Base Point Loma before it took a trial run on San Diego Bay.

The goal is to greatly expand the Navy's ability to detect hostile submarines by sending the unmanned boats, equipped with sonar, to probe the nooks and crannies where subs might be hiding to ambush a Navy ship or a merchant vessel.

The boats will be controlled by sailors at a safe distance on a much larger ship.

The Navy wants to have 32 of the unmanned boats, each packed with the most-sophisticated electronic gear available.

The first of the two boats, developed and stuffed with sonar-detection gear, cost $197 million.

In the future, the price is slated to drop to $46 million per boat.

Each aluminum-hulled boat is 39 feet long, weighs 17,000 pounds and can carry up to 5,000 pounds of intelligence-gathering technology while traveling up to 35 knots in rough waters.

If all goes as planned, the first will be deployed in 2011, possibly to the Persian Gulf, where the Iranian navy says its submarines, lurking undetected, could close the Strait of Hormuz, through which tankers carrying much of the world's oil supply travel.

The boats are meant to be launched by the so-called Littoral Combat Ships, shallow-draft ships that can maneuver close to shore.

My son will complete Secondary Training in his Primary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) at the end of the month ... Master at Arms. Also known as Shore Patrol, or Military Police. That is to say, he will be a Military Cop. He will be stationed at San Diego for the next three years.

I assume that this is one vessel which will not call for a MoA to be stationed on the deck.

Or however the Gobs say it.

Woman Trapped in Home by Giant Pig

FOXNews.com - Rescue Planned for Woman Trapped in Home by Giant Pig | Europe News

Caroline Hayes, 63, tried to leave her house in Uki, New South Wales, to use the outdoor toilet, but the animal bit her and shoved her back inside.

Bruce, who is the size of a Shetland pony, showed up at her home 10 days ago after his owners were unable to cope with him and let him loose in the rainforest.

Hayes began feeding the beast, but he became more aggressive, demanding more food and biting her on the leg when she tried to go to the toilet.

Local rangers tried to rescue her but could not capture the huge animal.

The case has now been handed over to the Rural Lands Protection Board (RLPB), who have promised not to put the animal down.

Hayes told how she took pity on the beast, but it soon took over her home.

"When I found it, it had 15 ticks in its eyes which I actually took out," she said.

"One of its eyes it couldn't see out of, so I put cream in it, but apparently it's actually claimed my land and claimed my place."

Cujo ... V-2.0 ??

Practical Pistol Practice: Air Gun Style

Shooting Wire: Action Airgun Competition Worldwide

Jim Shepherd, in his Monday (September 22, 2008) article, writes about the joy of practicing Practical Pistol with an Airsoft pistol.
It's actually a kit (available for 'under $300, but not by much') consisting of:

• a 1911 pistol, same weight as the Real Thing, that shoots airsoft pellets
• pellets
• gas cartridges
• targets
• "target holders"
• A timer which is especially sensitive -- it can pick up the sound of the pistol's discharge

I'm not sure what else is available in the kit, but apparently it's everything needed to simulate action pistol shooting in your garage.


_______________________________________________

I'm so pleased to report that The Shooting Wire is now posting their ENTIRE daily (almost) articles online, including Jim Shepherd's reports.

If nothing else, that allows me to link to their website rather than to copy-and-paste Shepherd's article while worrying that I can only actually copy "this much, and no more" of the content without worrying that I am violating his/their copyright protection.

I don't know how long they have archived their three-times-a-week (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) webmail posts; it's a relief that they are doing so now. Here's a big Geek Thank You to the folks at The Shooting Wire.

WashingtonWatch.com - H.R. 6842, The National Capital Security and Safety Act

WashingtonWatch.com - H.R. 6842, The National Capital Security and Safety Act

Some people aren't happy about this. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland's 8th District), for example, isn't happy because both Maryland and Virginia have state laws forbidding the purchase of more than one firearm a month. So does D.C. This bill would disallow D.C. to have continue a similar existing law, and Van Hollen doesn't think that's fair. (The link includes both a BAD YouTube video, and the full text of his remarks.)

What this bill, the substitute bill, would do is say the people of the District of Columbia, they can’t pass the same law the people in Maryland have and the people in Virginia have. That is absolutely wrong.

He's also outraged that:

This bill eliminates, for the purpose of the District of Columbia, the ban on interstate trafficking of guns that applies to every other jurisdiction in this country, which not only puts at risk people in the District of Columbia, but puts a burden and a risk on the people of all the surrounding jurisdictions. Why would we eliminate that provision which applies throughout the country just in the District of Columbia?

He may be right. It may be that the the Supreme Court will soon be addressing similar infringements on the 2nd Amendment by states, not just D.C. It may come to that.
_____________________________________________

This is a very confusing issue ... no surprise to most of us.

One of the confusing factors it that, although HR6842 has been passed by the House, and forwarded to the Senate, there was an 'alternative' (House Report 110-843) which was reported to have "replaced" the original bill.

The "Second Amendment Enforcement Act" (HR6691 -read into the house on July 31, 2008) may be the 'alternative' which was accepted by the house.

(Full Text available here ... I think.)

[This is strikingly similar to the 2003 "District of Columbia Protection Act" (HR3193), which apparently failed aborning.]

That bill seems on the surface to address the more egregious actions of D.C., including the definition of a semi-automatic firearm as a "machine gun", and requiring registration of firearms.

And just when you think you understand what's going on, you look at the dates on the bill and they don't seem, somehow, to be ... sequential.

---

Without conducting a line-by-line comparison of H. Rept 110-843, HR6691, HR6842, and the original "Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975" (District of Columbia - I do have what seems to be a thorough reference here but I can't say that this quotes the Act directly), it's impossible to tell what existing statutes are being addressed by which 'new' bills.

(Wikipedia summary of FCRA/1975 here.)

My intention is not to act as a legal scholar by thoroughly compairing all existing and proposed legislation to provide a point-by-point evaluation of this body of legal action. I'll leave that to someone who is so inclined and who is qualified.


The purpose of this is only to caution you to not be too optimistic that the latter legislative actions are not necessarily going to result in what you may personally consider a pure interpretaion of the Second Amendment, as you understand it.

Please, do prepare yourself to be somewhat diappointed in this, the third round in the D.C. v 2nd Amendment, controversy and legalistic embroglio.

Remember, all participants are lawyers.

Or Politicians.

Almost 100% of the time, all politicians are lawyers, which constitutes the most deadly boulibaise of self-interest, drive for re-election and bias that the world has ever seen.

"First, we hang the lawyers"
-- William Shakespeare

"It ain't over until it's over"
-- Yogi Berra

Sunday Night

I love Sunday evenings. I never know what the night will bring. It is as much the ending of the previous week as it is the beginning of a new week.

Sunday is primarily a Blogging night. The best night of the week (beginning or end) because I have decided, some months ago, that I will bring the best thoughts of other, better men (and women) for the consideration of you and me.

Specifically, I use a "Random Quotes" generator to summarize my current mood and thinking, for no better purpose than to direct our thoughts to subjects which we might otherwise not consider. Because the quotes are presented randomly, I usually require myself to "Use The Force". I say 'usually, because last Sunday I tried a new approach: I published only the thoughts and words of a single author, in this case it was Mark Twain.

Sometimes I try to guide my articles using the quotes, but I fear that this has been haphazard at best. "Breaking News" has an energy all its own. I am often and easily distracted.

Tonight, I though I would spend some of our time talking about the quotes I found, and why I chose them.

One thing you should know is that the software only allows 500 characters in the area which I have chosen to publish them ... that would be the blue area with white letters at the top of the page. If you haven't yet noticed that it changes every week, now you will know to pay attention to it.

Here's how it looks this week:

If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?

- Vince Lombardi

I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.

-- Franklin P. Adams

I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it and didn't inhale and never tried it again.

-- Gov. Bill Clinton

Here's how it would have looked, if it could be kept within the 500 word limitation:

If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?

-- Vince Lombardi

I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.

-- Franklin P. Adams

When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it and didn't inhale and never tried it again.

-- Gov. Bill Clinton

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.

-- Thomas Jefferson

The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.

-- Mark Twain

The vice-presidency ain't worth a pitcher of warm spit.

-- Vice President John Nance Garner

Why did I choose as I did, and why did I edit as I did?

Interesting questions, and I'm glad you asked them.

Winning: Vince Lombardi

This blog is dedicated primarily to Practical Shooting, and I have demonstrated time and again that I am not deterred by my inability to 'win' any match, stage, division or class. Lombardi was a professional and he is paid to win. I am an amateur, not particularly skilled, and my payment is the joy of competition and the joy of shooting.

I compete because they keep score, which allows me to evaluate my shooting skills against others. When I discover that they are better than me, it's only an interesting factoid; it isn't a disappointment. I'm here for the fun and for the good people that I meet here. I'm occasionally thrilled if I win something by any measure of the game, but it doesn't spoil my day if I lose by every measure of the game.

Information: Franklin P. Adams

I don't know who Franklin P. Adams is, and I don't care. He lived from 1881 to 1960 and had a kinky way of looking at things. The thing that interests me is that in his long life, most of it lived WAY before the advent of the Internet, he researched life the same way I do. He starts an information search on one subject, and discovers that he is easily distracted by fascinating incidental subjects.

I do the same thing. I start out reading an article in the newspaper (for example) and soon discover that I'm reading other articles in the same source. I have frequently written on subjects discovered in this manner, and my original source is only infrequently recognized by a "Hat Tip".

You experience may be similar. Or not. I don't care, frankly, although I encourage you to explore the available resources 'on-line' and I appreciate the wealth of information available here.

Smoking Marijuana: Bill Clinton

I have a TON of things to say on this subject, and I've never found an appropriate venue to say them until Bill popped up on my Event Horizon. If you're a Fan of Bill, I apologize for off-putting you by revealing my prejudices. Here are my thoughts on Bill.

I like Ike. Campaign slogan, sure, but it summarizes my adolescent appreciation of President Dwight David Eisenhower. He spent his entire tenure playing golf badly. (Not as badly as Gerald Ford; as nearly as I can tell, Ike never hit a spectator with a golf ball. Ford did ... twice. Look it up.) But Ike did initiate the Interstate Freeway System to provide emergency landing strips for American Bombers and fighter planes in case of a national emergency. As it turns out, we haven't needed them for that purpose, but in the meantime we enjoy some of the best highway systems in the world.

Bill's accomplishments include ...feeling our pain. He made a career out of feeling our pain, but he never contributed much toward the otherwise-laudable goal of easing our pain. He raised taxes, he initiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, and what a joy that has been), and he spotted the occasional blue Dress.

During his initial run for the presidency, as "Governor Bill Clinton" (Arkansas), Bill found himself in a debate with his presidential opponents. As I recall it, the interlocutor asked the question "have you ever used drugs?". The response from William Jefferson Clinton was:

"When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it and didn't inhale and never tried it again."

I have a few thoughts on that subject. Please, act surprised.

First, my impression of a man who says "I didn't inhale" are the same as the impression of a man who says "I didn't swallow". Read into that what you will.

Second, I sometimes step outside of my office building to take a smoke break. I light up on the steps, right next to the posted sign which states: "No smoking allowed within ten feet of the building entrance". (This is intended, I believe, to prevent smokers from blocking the entrance and also to prevent visitors from dying as the consequence of inhaling 'second-hand smoke'.)

One day I thought about the wisdom of this practice, and mentally postulated the following exchange:

Visitor: "Hey, you're smoking by the door! You can't do that, it's against the law!"

Me: " It's okay, I didn't inhale."

Visitor: "But you're blowing smoke all around, and it's forbidden."

Me: "Wait a minute. Bill Clinton said he smoked Marijuana, but he didn't inhale. He was elected President of the United States based on this concept. How can you judge me differently?"

Visitor: "Bill Clinton was a Democrat!"

I rest my case.

(Note that I deleted a few words of the direct quote; this was done only to fit the quotes within the 500-character limit.)

Vice Presidents: John Nance Garner

"The vice-presidency ain't worth a pitcher of warm spit."

I find this quote particularly significant in light of the recent nomination of Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate.

The Republicans love her: She's a Republican governor with integrity, she's outspoken, and she pisses of the Democrats. What's not to like? Besides, she has only two years of experience in this Executive position, which constitutes a slap in the face of the Democratic Presidential Candidate, B. Hussein Obama (who has ZERO Executive Experience and whose limited Senatorial experience has produced ... nothing worth bragging about.)

Because of her candidacy, the Dems are currently forced to attack her 'lack of experience', which only high-lights their own Presidential candidate's own lack of experience.

Perhaps more important, Theodore Roosevelt entered the Vice Presidential race with less than 2 years of experience as the Governor of New York. And there were at least two other presidents (including Calvin Coolidge) who came into the office of President with little more executive experience than Sarah Palin.

John Nance Garner was FDR's first Vice Presidential pick, and he had little respect ("... not worth a bucket of [warm] spit") for the office. It makes us wonder whether the office is that important, sometimes, considering that the office is largely ceremonial and the office holders ... and observers ... are often so unimpressed by their duties (see here and here and here).

Reading: Twain and Jefferson

Finally, we come to the concept of "Reading" as an important factor of intelligent participation in society.

This was, in my mind, the most vital concept of today's quotes, but I had to delete the whole thing to meet the 500 word limit mentioned above. It is perhaps the reason why I wrote this article, and I promise to be as brief as possible.

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.

-- Thomas Jefferson

and ...

The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.

-- Mark Twain

The last quote was included last week. The first is (or would have been) included this week.

The point of both sources is that it is important to read. Jefferson used the concept to denigrate the use of newspapers as a primary source, which may be interpreted as a criticism of the New York Times and other Main-Stream Media.

Twain took a broader approach, postulating that ANY reading of ANY kind would broaden one's intellectual horizons, encourage us to consider new thoughts which we cannot spontaneously envision based on our own experiences, and consider concepts which are foreign to us ... but which may be valid nonetheless.

I believe that they are both correct, and that the priorities which they individually encourage are not two sides of the same coin, but entirely different in detail ... if similar in the broad concept.

Twain encourages us to read ... above all else, read as much as you can so that you can learn what other people think. It may cause us to consider abstracts which had never occurred to us before.

Jefferson encourages it seek other sources of thought than the popular media, which may be tainted by the preconceptions of the authors because there are often "hidden agendas" in the popular media.

Fortunately, the solution to these tendencies to cleave to insularity of though is readily available through the variety of conceptualization provided by the Internet. Read the thoughts of people who do NO agree with you. Avoid the comforting familiarity of those whose opinions mirror your own; you will not be critical, and uncritical reading is the balm of petty minds.

The rest of the analysis is left as an exercise for the reader.