No Gun Zones

"Why on EARTH would anyone want to carry a gun in a ___________?"

Fill in the bland with your favorite "No Gun Zone" location, sooner or later someone is going to pack a gun in there not because they're legally authorized to Carry a Concealed Weapon, but because they have a grudge against the world and Dr. George Tiller, who was shot by a revolver-toting 51 year-old militia-man and radical anti-abortionist.

I'm sure it wasn't a huge surprise to The Good Doctor. He's been shot by anti-abortionists before, in the 1990's. AND had his clinic bombed, said clinic was often the the focus of many picket lines by less-radical, more law-abiding anti-abortionists. Whether you're Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, you probably agree that shooting a man for his profession is not usually considered to be the act of a rational person.

But Dr. Tiller was shot and killed while collecting donations this past Sunday at his church, in from of his choir-member wife.

And that's just wrong.

On the other hand, Bagdad-By-The-Bay sets the standards for late-term abortionists.

And today (Monday, June 1, 2009) a gunman stormed into an Army Recruiting Office in Little Rock, Arkansas, and opened fire on a recruiter and a couple of slick-sleeves fresh out of Basic Training. They (the recruits) were there to show that "This is what I was then, This is what I am now".

One soldier was killed. 23-year old recruit William Long couldn't crawl past the sidewalk after having been shot by 23-year old Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad (nee "Carlos Bledsoe") .

Bledsoe/Muhammed "probably had political and religious motives for the attack," the police chief said.
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What other places are designated "Gun Free Zones", but have recently (within the past few years) been subject to mass-murders by deranged assasins who KNEW that honest citizens were not permitted, by law, to carry concealed firearms on the premises?

Let's see.

How about Shopping malls, school grounds (including University Campuses), and restaurants.

In response we should consider Westwoods Mall in Omaha, Columbine and Virginia Tech, and Luby's Restaurant. Right?

Xavier Thoughts (my "go-to guy" for fascinating topical sources) has a link to a Louisiana State Senator ("Gordon Hutcninson's Latest Blog") who provides an excellent review of "Gun Free Zones" as "Target Rich Enviroments for Wackos". (See here for direct link.)

I encourage you to read the whole thing. It ties together all of the cultural biases against the arming of honest citizens vis-a-vis the anti-gun bias in America.

America doesn't come out looking so smart.


You think?
_______________________

UPDATE: Wednesday, June 3, 2009

In a surprising development, website "Opposing Views" asks:
"Why is killing an abortionist like George Tiller so wrong?"

It's no wonder why they call themselves Opposing Views. If I understand the Jacob Sullum opinion piece correctly, the thesis is that Tiller is a murderer of innocents, and society has condoned his actions, so doesn't that make him fair game ("a legitimate target"?) for anyone who would stop his murder of innocents?

I haven't replied in the comments section of this article, although several people have. But if I did, the following phrases would probably be used:

• Rule of Law
• Civilization vs Barbarianism

It doesn't matter what your opinion on abortion ... even "late-term" abortion ... may be. Once we allow ourselves to condone vigilante justice, we are no longer a civilized society. In the traditional logic of the "If This Goes On ..." school of Science Fiction writing, the extension from logic to absurdity would result in videos on YouTube showing masked AMERICAN terrorist chopping heads off.

I do not choose to be a member of a sick society.

Windows 7 - a pre-release caveat

According to Blogger Bill Pytlovany's recent "Windows 7 may come at a steep price" post, Microsoft's latest exercise in obsoleting your previous purchases by releasing a new operating system may have more than the usual potholes in the road to modernity.


ITEM: Number of versions
Yes, there will be a lot of versions, and the differences between one version and another may only be inclusion or exclusion of features which don't necessarily seem to be 'major components'. For example, ability to remote to another computer.

ITEM: Incompatibility with Major Software Packages
Yes, this OS will (or may ... not clear yet) not be compatible with Windows Office 2003. Did you buy that? Too bad, you'll have to pay for Windows Office 2007.

That's bad, but we've all cursed Microsoft for these little marketing ploys before.

What's new?

Price!
Word is, Windows 7 will cost between$150 and $350, depending on the version.

I bought a new bespoke computer last summer, all the Mods Cons, and paid $710 for it (including 2GB RAM).

If I want to keep up with the Joneses, it'll cost me half the purchase price of my custom-built computer. And that's more than I'm willing to pay, since I'll have to re-purchase Windows Office besides.

What's the good news?
Word is, I won't have to buy a lot of new hardware to accommodate W7. Maybe.

And you CAN get a duo-OS setup -- called "Windows XP Compatibility Mode". But you have to buy the top-of-the-line version (W7 Professional [Business]).

You can also get it in the "W7 Enterprise and Ultimate" version, but that's not for public consumption. it's for businesses and it sells as a corporate installation with a set dollar cost per 'seat'. Ball-park, it's for networks and corporations and the cost will be $x,000 + $z0 to $z00 per seat

For more information, go to Bill's article (presented courtesy of PITSTOP) and click on the ARTICLE CONTINUED HERE link to see details, including links to descriptions of most versions.
___________________________________________

Oh, yeah. Somebody's bound to ask if I'm going to migrate to M7.

Answer: I bought the laptop computer I'm currently posting on with VISTA installed. I spent two days trying to work with it, them bought a Windows XP Home disk and paid a competent PC technician $50 to install it.

I considered it a bargain. And I still do. This, from the guy who migrated from Windows 2000 to Windows XP and never looked back.

Enough said?

Killer Solar Storm Predicted for 2013

Weather Scientists at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration early this month predicted that in May of 2113 the most severe Solar Storm since 1858 will blast the earth with solar radiation.

The problem isn't sunburns or melanoma, it's the drastic effect on communication and electronics.

Solar storms are eruptions of energy and matter that escape from the sun and may head toward Earth, where even a weak storm can damage satellites and power grids, disrupting communications, the electric power supply and GPS. A single strong blast of “solar wind” can threaten national security, transportation, financial services and other essential functions.

[...]

"As with hurricanes, whether a cycle is active or weak refers to the number of storms, but everyone needs to remember it only takes one powerful storm to cause huge problems," said NOAA scientist Doug Biesecker, who chairs the panel. "The strongest solar storm on record occurred in 1859 during another below-average cycle."

The 1859 storm shorted out telegraph wires, causing fires in North America and Europe, sent readings of Earth’s magnetic field soaring, and produced northern lights so bright that people read newspapers by their light.

A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a storm that severe occurred today, it could cause $1-2 trillion in damages the first year and require four to 10 years for recovery, compared to $80-125 billion that resulted from Hurricane Katrina.

One to Two Trillion Dollars, eh?

The question you have to ask yourself is "In what way will this be more disastrous than Obama's Economic Stimulus Package?"

Good question.

According to a May 28, 2009 Fox News report, the U.S. is not prepared for such a storm.

Scientists at the 2009 Space Weather Enterprise Forum spoke of ...

... the legendary "Carrington Event," a series of magnetic storms from the sun that hit the Earth in August and September of 1859, disrupting telegraph lines across the U.S. and triggering auroras so bright they turned the night skies into day as far south as the Caribbean. The storm went on for days.

In 1859, that was inconvenient for the few people who regularly expected to send or receive telegrams, but other than that it was probably was only -- "interesting".

Even in 1959, almost every home in the United States had electricity, and there were few electronic system to demonstrate their vulnerability to "power surges".

There are lessons to be learned from these past events, the researchers emphasized, and the danger posed by solar storms is increasing.

This growing threat comes not from changes in the Sun, but from the increasing dependence of human societies on technology and electricity.

A storm on the scale of the Carrington Event could damage the U.S. electrical grid to such an extent that vast regions of the country could be without power for weeks, perhaps months.

Without electricity, drinkable water would soon be in short supply, as would fuel, food, communications and just about everything else society depends on to function.

An extreme solar storm hitting our modern, high-tech world would severely disrupt oil and gas supplies, emergency and government services, the banking and finance industry, and transportation. The cost of the damage could reach into the trillions of dollars, he said.short supply, as would fuel, food, communications and just about everything else society depends on to function.

"The consequences would be almost incalculable," said Daniel Baker, director of the University of Colorado's laboratory for atmospheric and space physics

New electrical systems are designed to be efficient, which is different from being robust and hardened against the effects of a solar storm.

"There is an efficiency-vulnerability tradeoff," said George Mason University social scientist Todd LaPorte, who studies critical infrastructures. "Sometimes efficiency isn't your friend."

Sounds almost like the effects of the ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) generated by a nuclear device detonating in the atmosphere. Remember that television movie (The Day After) in the early 1980's, where Jason Robard showed us what it was like to be caught on the very fringes of a nuclear attack? Everybody's car died, and most of the people in them.

I don't think we have to worry about a "Nuclear Winter", or people's hair falling out from radiation poisoning, but folks who telecommute to work may have a new definition of the "Network" concept.

Oklahoma Pharmacist vs Antwun Parker

On May 19, 2009, Antwun Parker (16) and another teenage friend entered a drug store in Oklahoma with the intent to rob it. In the ensuing events, pharmacist Jerome Ersland drew a pistol from his pocket and shot Parker in the head. The other robber fled, followed by Ersland, who returned to the store after he was unable to catch the second robber.

Sometime during that few minutes, Ersland shot Parker another five times in the abdomen, killing him.

An autopsy revealed that Parker was still alive, despite being shot in the head, when Ersland shot him in the abdomen. Those shots were the cause of death.

After reviewing the videotape of the robbery from surveillance videos mounted inside and outside the store, and visiting the crime scene, the Oklahoma County District Attorney arrested Ersland on charges of First Degree Murder. He contends that Ersland was justified in shooting Parker the first time, but that the subsequent shots were essentually gratuitous, and tantamont to murder.

When I read the story on the NEWSOK website, I thought this was a fascinating story, one which explores how far the right to self-defense is limited by circumstances.

After all, First Degree Murder includes the element of premeditation. When did the robbery 'end'? Was the defendant still defending himself, and his co-workers, when he returned to his shop to find the shot robber still on the floor, but alive? Did Ersland "plan" to kill Parker? Ersland contends that Parker was "trying to get up". Does that justify shooting him again?

Apparently, between the time he returned to the store and the time he shot Parker five times in the abdomen, he retrieved a second gun from a locked drawer, after walking past the recumbant Parker, and it was this second gun with which he delivered the fatal five shots.

Before I began writing this article, I visited some of my favorite blog authors only to find that Xavier Thoughts presented the situation so well that I cannot presume to upstage him. (Xavier lives in Louisiana ... he gets to his keyboard hours earlier than I do.)

I recommend that you read his article "Robbery Victim Charged With Murder", and watch the videos ... which I had not even been able to search out before I read his rendition.
_________________________________

After you read the whole thing, you'll understand why one of the man-on-the-street interviewees on the second video, when asked "if you were on the jury, how would you find for this case" (or words to that effect), replied "I'd Abstain!"

It's a curious case, reminiscent of the Texas home-owner (Mr. Horn who last year shotgunned to death two men as they exited their neighbors house laden with booty gleaned from a daring day-time burglary.

"Mr. Horn, do not go outside the house. You're going to get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun," the dispatcher told Horn at one point."You wanna make a bet," Horn responded. "I'm gonna kill them. They're gonna get away."

Mr. Horn was acquitted by a Texas Jury, who obviously believed that robbers ... even unarmed burglars ... deserve anything that happens as a consequence of their deliberate Felonious action.

Will an Oklahoma jury feel the same way about a commercial robbery in which one of the robbers (though perhaps not the one who was killed) was armed and pointing a gun at the victim?

And why did the armed victim shoot the robber who was NOT pointing a gun at him?

As the Chesire Cat confirmed to Alice:

"We're All Mad, Here."

Jeff's USPSA 2009 Nationals Blog

Jeff B., a local USPSA competitor, has just started a new blog today and I've included him in my sidebar. Look for the link under "Hot Link(s) Of The Week" for now, I'll move him to a permanent spot later.

Jeff started the blog to chronicle his adventures (and perhaps mis-adventures) at the USPSA Nationals this September, and he has started it early enough to include all the preparations that a "a lowly B-class shooter" makes prior to going to the biggest USPSA match of the year.

I suggest you stop by his blog, perhaps bookmark it for frequent visits. (I did.)

Today, you'll learn how "a lowly B-class shooter" got Hornaday to sponsor him for the Nationals!

ps: if nothing else, you appreciate the Neon banner he has at the top of his blogpage. I'm experience Pix Envy!

Microstamping in Wisconsin: Another Cheezy State Weighs In

The Cheeze-Whiz Wheel has roped in another state.

Wisconsin has introduce bills requiring that (Semi-automatic Handguns) sold within the state of will "microstamp" identifying information on every cartridge case.

This isn't a one-house shay ... Assembly Bill 211 (introduced April 17, 2009) and Senate Bill 174 (introduced April 23, 2009) appear to be identical, in the summaries presented (see links).

Most of the provisions of these bills seem familiar:

This bill prohibits a gun manufacturer or a firearms dealer from transferring a semiautomatic handgun that does not produce an identifying code (microstamp) on each cartridge case it expends if both of the following apply: 1) the handgun was manufactured on or after January 1, 2011; and 2) the handgun has not previously been transferred to a person that is not a manufacturer or dealer (new handgun).
This bill also prohibits a manufacturer in this state from manufacturing, on or after January 1, 2011, a semiautomatic handgun that does not produce a microstamp. A person that violates one of these prohibitions is subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for up to nine months, or both.

An interesting sidelight:

This bill prohibits a person from modifying a semiautomatic handgun that produces microstamps if the person intends to prevent law enforcement from being able to access the microstamp on an expended cartridge. A person who violates this prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. A person who transfers a semiautomatic handgun that he or she knows has been modified in violation of this prohibition is subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than nine months, or both.

So, if you sell a non-microstamped handgun you can get 9 months in the pokey, but if you deliberately deface the stamping portion of a handgun you only get 3 months in the pokey. Who are they going after, the retailers or the criminals?

Obviously, this is an attack on the Firearms Industry. There are no serious provisions to "reduce crime".

Of course, there are the usual impositions on dealers, including:

The bill also requires manufacturers and dealers who transfer a handgun that is required to produce microstamps to certify that the handgun, if it is a new handgun, produces microstamps and that the manufacturer of the handgun will disclose to a law enforcement agency that has collected a microstamp from an expended cartridge during a criminal investigation the make, model, and serial number of the handgun that expended the cartridge.

SOoooooo ... if you're a dealer, you not only have to personally verify that each semi-auto pistol is manufactured so as to microstamp ammunition, you have to provide an "expended cartridge" ... and (as far as the bill summary suggests) KEEP the expended cartidge in the event that some LEO representative or other governmental agency decides they want to examine it.

This bill receives the enthusiastic support of the Crime Laboratory of the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

The complete text of AB221 is available in PDF form here ... and there's not much more information than in the earlier links.

Similarly, the Senate Bill SB174 is available in PDF form here (you have to go to the bottom of the StateSurge webpage and click on the SB174 link under "Bill Text").

The Senate Bill, on pages 4 and 5 of the PDF, includes a bit more detail than does the Assembly Bill. For example:

Any person who modifies a semiautomatic handgun, or portion of a semiautomatic handgun, that produces microstamps with the intention of preventing law enforcement from being able to access the microstamp that identifies that semiautomatic handgun is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.

I don't know if "a Class B misdemeanor" is more perilous than "...a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both." But it does seem to standardize the penalty clause.

Most interesting, a review of both bills fails to detect any funding for this program. That is to say, the Great State of Wisconsin has managed to put the entire financial burden of complying with these bills squarely on the shoulders of Private Enterprise. The state does NOT fund any kind of program to enforce these draconian laws; they apparently don't expect to have any problems including the enforcement and prosecution to increase the expenses of either Law Enforcement or the Judiciary.

What, they expect everyone to comply voluntarily?

If you're a resident of Wisconsin, here are the folks you have to thank for these bills:

AB221:

April 17, 2009 − Introduced by Representatives YOUNG, BERCEAU, TURNER, RICHARDS, GRIGSBY, A. WILLIAMS, COLON, KESSLER, SINICKI and PASCH, cosponsored by Senators COGGS and TAYLOR. Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice.

SB174:

April 23, 2009 − Introduced by Senators COGGS and TAYLOR, cosponsored by Representatives YOUNG, A. WILLIAMS, TURNER, BERCEAU, GRIGSBY, COLON, RICHARDS, KESSLER, SINICKI and PASCH. Referred to Committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing.

Go get 'em.

My 2-year old can kick your honor student's butt at 8-Ball!

Two year old is a Pool Wizard, called "The Little Sniper".

Awsome pool-sharkery.

The kid only needs longer legs to get into The Color of Money.

We've seen the same phenomenon (almost) in Practical Pistol competition. Get a child interested in competitive shooting young enough, and if he has any talent and determination at all he ends up a World Class competitor.

Witness ... Travis Tomasie.

Dundee Match: May, 2009

It was a sunny day, it was a fun day.

No wind, no rain, no dark of night.

There are no better precursor to a Good Day At The Range.

The company was convivial, and I thoroughly enjoyed my match even though I didn't shoot well at all.
We had some very challenging stages, which taught us (as they should) to strive for accuracy rather than for speed.

One example was Stage 2:"The Door Into Summer" ... which is reminiscent of a Robert Heinlein story.


Another example was Stage 6: "Croc Run", which supposedly intruded us to the kindof stage we could expect to see at the 2009 Croc Match.

All in all, Coach Paul and Evil Bill (who designed and built the Evil Oregon Star) gave us an exciting and challenging introduction to the 2009 Croc Match ... only without such a high Round Count.

I love this game. I'm not very good at it, but I can't imagaine a better way to show my appreciation for a sunny day,.

Psssst! Wanna buy some hot primers, cheap?

I had barely stepped out of the Damed Old Ford at the Dundee match last weekend before Coach Paul stepped up, shook my hand, and started asking me about ... the availability of reloading components.

He is concerned about the 2009 Croc Match, currently scheduled for September.

He said he usually gets 20 or 30 emails asking about the match by this time, but this year he has received exactly one query. (Four guys in Virginia want to travel cross-country to take in the annual Banzaii Ballistic "You Got Bullets?" match.)

Trouble is, it's now hard to find bullets. Also powder. Especially, there are zero primers available to reloaders in most markets.

The Shooting Wire's Jim Shepherd, in his May 20 (2009) wrote:

At NRA, everyone talked about two things: [one was] the ongoing "bubble" in firearms sales, and the continuing backlog for product and ammunition. Yesterday, word that some ammo was coming back into the marketplace. A couple of retailers are advertising .223 and .22 caliber ammo availability. Pricing ranges from around twenty bucks for a "brick" of .22 caliber "plinking" ammo to around $400 for 800 rounds of .223.

Powder, primers, bullets and cases, however are a different matter for handloaders. Manufacturers and reloading equipment companies tell me there's still quite a delay on components.

[emphasis added]
Michael Bane had an even grimmer perspective on his blog last week:

The short story?

The end is not on sight.

"If everybody in America stopped shooting tomorrow afternoon, it would take us 3 months to clear the backlog, best case."

That quote is from a friend in the ammo industry who knows his stuff. Consensus I heard was the huge shortages continue until AT LEAST through the year and maybe through Q1 2010. And - again the consensus view - when "normal" returns, it's going to be the "new normal," not the normal we remember. We've proven what we're willing to pay for ammo and components, so don't expect a return to $89/1000 5.56.

Civilian demand, military and police contracts, and issues/prices of components was sited as the culprits.

Re: primers...off-the-record advice was buy what you can find at a sane price...reloading components may well be the last to recover as the industry sucks up all the available components for loaded ammo. Some of the back orders for primers at the big Internet sellers are being filled at roughly 4-5 months lag time.

And a co-worker approached me last week asking where he could buy .22 ammunition.

I told him that I had no idea where he could find any ammunition at all. I told him about my exercise in futility early this month when I stopped in the local Bi-Mart asking for Large Pistol and/or Small Rifle primers, by any manufacturer. The cheerful blue-vested clerk laughed, and said "what you see on the shelf is it! I have three boxes of primers, and they're all for shotguns." (I would be willing to bet that those three boxes are gone, by now.)

My co-worker asked me why the good folks who make ammunition components couldn't build more. My best response was to quote other bloggers who note that the manufacturers seem to have already gone into maximum productivity profile (one assumes 3 shifts a day, 7 days a week), and between the expense of building a new factory and the governmental hurdles required to get the necessary permits, there is a minimum of a full calendar year before manufacturing capacity is likely to increase.

Isn't it odd?

The Obama Administration is bailing out Bankers, the Mortgage Industry and Automobile makers, and it doesn't seem to help a bit.

On the other hand, here is a thriving industry which can't meet the demand on their (already proven) product, but nobody in The Obama Administration seems willing to step in and offer the "stimulus" incentives to allow this industry to grow.

It's especially curious since The Obama Administration -- and the fears that firearms and ammunition access will be curtailed by The Obama Administration.

I mean, they made this supply-and-demand crisis. They say they want to 'grow' the Economy, but they seem to have a blind spot against paving the path for economic growth for this one small portion of the economy.

It's as if they would prefer that new jobs NOT be created here.

One wonders why?
__________________________

Getting back to the Dundee Match, during the Shooter Walk Thru, Coach Paul asked for a show of hands for "anyone who thinks they will have enough ammunition to shoot the Croc Match in September."

Surprisingly, at least half of the 48 competitors raised their hands.

I'm sure that was encouraging to Coach Paul and Evil Bill, the current Administrative Staff for The Croc Match. They're now rethinking their choice of (a) holding a match which is poorly attended because nobody has enough ammunition, or (b) taking a vacation this year, and promoting next year's Croc Match in the expectation that the current Reloading Components Crisis will be over by then.

Personally, I hope that the match will be held this September, and there is a record turn-out.

If you have definate plans to attend the September Croc match, please contact Coach Paul and reassure him of your participation by sending in your entry.

ARPC SIngle Stack Championship, May 9, 2009

I was unable to attend this years annual Single Stack Championship at the Albany Rifle and Pistol club, but fortunately the inimitable Trevor ("TrevorMaster") did and he filmed this video of the entire match.

I think it's the entire match. I haven't counted the number of stages on the 3:25 minute video.

And he didn't actually film it himself; it only includes his own performance on each stage.

Still, it's nice to have a chance to see what it looked like. From this point of view it looked very challenging to me ... even though Trevor made it look easy.

Kids, don't try this at home. When compared to the performance shown here, your results may be disappointing.

PBS: How will "Non-Sectarian" Programming Change It?

PBS board to vote on sectarian programs (Seattle Times)

According to the Washington Post, Public Broadcasting Service's board are scheduled next month to define the one of their basic precepts: not to broadcast "religious programming".

News Reports refer specifically to Television programming; at this time it is not clear whether any decision or clarification of terms will similarly apply to radio programming.

The discussion, some station managers fear, could lead to a ban on broadcasts of local church services and other faith-oriented programs that have appeared on public stations for decades despite the prohibition.

The Public Broadcasting Service's board is to vote next month on a committee's recommendation to strip the affiliation of any station that carries "sectarian" content. Losing its PBS relationship would mean a station could no longer broadcast programs that the service distributes, from "Sesame Street" to "Frontline."

Not being much of a television watcher, I can only remember from my childrens' youth how much they (and I) enjoyed "Sesame Street". Disenfranchising a station would have a powerful impact on local programming, one which no station would easily ignore.

In my locality, I've been listening this afternoon to my local PBS radio station. They just finished a two-hour programming complex (several similarly related programs) which might be called "Songs of The South". The last program was "Alabama Music", which prominently featured Hank Williams.

A preceding segment might be termed "Black Music of The South", which featured Jazz, Blues, Soul ... and Gospel.

It would be difficult to imagine an attempt to portray this segment of American culture without including Gospel music. If this attempt to Bowlderise programming content were to be enforced, the programming would (inaccurately) suggest that religious music was not an important part of American culture.

That is, by definition any reference to religion, no matter how innocuous or how important and/or necessary to the content, would be identified as "objectionable" by implication.

This isn't 'just' a corporate decision; this is a decision which affects how the First Amendment may be applied to Public Broadcasting. Even though it would currently affect PBS, under the current administration it would establish a dangerous precedent.

The worst part of it is, it's a decision which is not made by The People (the "Public" which the system is intended to serve), it's not even a decision which will be made by Congress ... our elected representatives.

Should it be?

If, for example, Clear Channel radio made the decision to discontinue any "sectarian content", that would be a legitimate Corporate decision. One wonders, though, whether the PBS Directors can legitimately make this decision.

There are doubtless those PBS patrons (listeners or viewers) who truly do find "sectarian" or "religious" programming objectionable.

The First Amendment, though was defined specifically to protect "objectionable speech".

And there are may be even more PBS patrons who will be disappointed that Public Television and/or Public Radio will no longer be permitted to present content which may be considered "religious". Or "Sectarian".

It depends on whether the word "sectarian" means "applying to a specific religious sect to the exclusion of others", or "applying to any non-secular content".

The dictionary definition doesn't define sectarian as religion in general; it refers to a "sect" as:

a body of persons adhering to a particular religious faith; a religious denomination.

And "Sectarian":

1. of or pertaining to sectaries or sects.
2. narrowly confined or devoted to a particular sect.
3. narrowly confined or limited in interest, purpose, scope, etc.

[emphasis added]

I don't personally go out of my way to listen or view religious programming. If something come up which I choose not to listen to, or to view, I simply change the channel or do something else. I don't demand that it be removed from the airways because it offends me.

But not everyone is like me.

In the New Liberal / Politically Correct culture which we have watched develop during the past generation, there seem to be a narrowly defined group of people whose attitude is that anything which offends them must be forbidden. And we are deferring to their selfish demands.

In other words, we are catering to a Sect.

Now, that offends me.

May Blogger Hiatus Expected to End Soon

Between familial situations, THREE Major Projects at work, and recurring bouts of dyspepsia and sleep-pattern irregularities (not to mention my eight month fight with Hand Eczema), I have been way behind my personal expectations in three major areas for the past several weeks:

• Blogging
• Work
• Family
• Shooting

My epidemiologist finally found something that helps the Hand Eczema, but it is not yet a cure. At least I can now type without wearing vinyl gloves. This also suggests that I may be able to reload ammunition, work on my semi-nonfunctioning competition pistol, and perhaps even compete in USPSA matches without shredding the skin on my fingers (and triggering another Eczema outbreak).

My family situations are settling down. My son and his family have moved to his new duty station in San Diego, which is (not coincidently where my daughter and her family live.) They are now mutually supportive, and don't expect to be displaced by change in duty station for the next few years. There's a pleasing symmetry to this situation, except that they all now live so far away that it's virtually impossible to see them more frequently than once a year. But when I get to see them, I'll visit them all --- all four adults and SEVEN grandchildren!

Also, we just celebrated my Mother's 91st Birthday, the day before Mother's day. She's doing very well now; her health has settled into a comfortable rut. My sister has been increasingly concerned because Mom has developed problems with her balance (and memory, Osteo-arthritis, etc.) We got her one of those "Help Me I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up" systems and I installed it last weekend. Together, Mom and I tested it and we received a very warm welcome from the Medical Alert operator. My sister is completing the forms with family contact information and medical history. When she submits it to the Medical Alert people, they will have friends and neighbors who they can call to contact in case the alarm rings, before they call the EMT and local police. We all feel a lot more comfortable now. Especially since Mom fell down the back-porch stairs two weeks ago and got a black eye and four stitches in her eyebrow.

(I also installed grab-bars in Mom's shower, and my sister got mom a walker to get around at home and when she goes out shopping. Plus, my sister is taking Mom places so she isn't driving hardly at all any more.)

Work is going to continue to take more time than I have, and less time than I will be able to give. Last month I missed more hours of work than I could cover with accumulated sick leave and vacation leave. Most of this was because of insomnia, but some due to dyspepsia. Without getting into the Too Much Information, these are both stress-related.

I had intended to go to the ARPC Full-Auto Shoot this weekend, but I missed Friday and parts of Saturday and Sunday due to dyspepsia, so I had to choose between spending my time with SWMBO and going to the gun range. Easy choice, SWMBO and I went out to breakfast this morning (after I slept 11 hours last night) and did some essential shopping (books, groceries) before I headed home early in the afternoon.

With any luck at all, I'll be able to put in a full week's work during the next 7 days and still get ammunition loaded at night, so I can attend the match at Dundee next weekend.

I'll still be shooting iron sights, but my bifocals have made it easier to see the sights and even, sometimes, get proper sight alignment.

It's a joy to be able to shoot Limited again. Still, I'm hooked on shooting Open division. If I can bet .38 super ammunition reloaded I'll replace the mainspring on the Open gun and start using it again. That is, I will if I can find primers!

Saving the best for last, SWMBO has been continuing to slowly build her strength. Her Oncologist increased the volume of infusion a week ago, and it severely affected her balance, strength and mental accuity. She has an appointment tomorrow and plans to insist that the negative affect on her quality of life is not worth any marginal benefit, since it appears that the tumor is not shrinking no matter what they do. Her choice, and I won't argue with her. It's a joy to see that twinkle in her eye and hear the joy in her laughter. I've missed that.

Bottom line, I feel more free than I have for months, and I've saved up so much blogmeat that I don't know what to write about first. Guess we'll all just have to wait and see what comes out of the Geek Meat Locker next.

(Now, if I can just get my PC and SWMBO's fixed, we can go back to Business As Usual.)

Ammunition shooting off retailers’ shelves

Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV - Ammunition shooting off retailers’ shelves
I went to Bi-Mrt last week to pick up a prescription. While I was there, I stopped by the Sporting Goods Department to pick up some primers.

The clerk was very attentive; he didn't have much to do.

"I'd like a brick of Large Pistol Primers" I said.

"Sorry Partner, I don't have any in stock" he said.

Before I suggestged that I could also use some small Rifle Primers, he continued:

"The fact is" he said, "All I have is three boxes of shotgun primers. Oh, I have more primers on order, but my supplier says he doesn't know when he wil have any primers available at all."

As I search for reloading components around the Greater Corvallis Metropolitan Area, I realize that this situation is endemic all over the country. Nobody has reloading componenets in stock, let alone "Loaded Ammunition" ... even in the most popular calibers.

I hear that Obama's espoused Anti-Gun Mind Set is driving this run on ammunition, guns and ammo components. Folks aren't convinced; they think he is going to enact laws designed to make at least guns, and probably components, less available than they are now.

Add to this the long-term effect of the War on Terrorism (lots of shooting in Iraq and Afghanistan), and it's easy to understand that ANYTHING related to guns is in short supply.

Sure, the manufacturers are working to increase their production rates. That's not enough to suply the high demand for firearms, ammunition and ammunition components.

In the meantime, if I were to schedule myself to shoot all of the three-matches-a-month which are available in the Columbia Cascade Section, I am limited by my personal stock on hand: about 700 primers for the 10mm, and another 800 for the (currently non-functional) .38 Super. that means my 1500 rounds will allow me to shoot another seven, maybe eight matches before I can no longer compete in USPSA matches.

Will this situation resolve itself in the next three or four months?

I don't think so. I has been a couple of months already since the American Public began to react to Obama's policies ... even though they haven't even been enacted (and we don't know what they will look like until then.)

I regret that I haven't been more inclined to post new articles to this blog for the past week or two, but who can blame me?? If this doesn't improve soon, I won't be the only person who cannot afford to shoot in competition, maybe even in practice.

The sorry fact , with Obama leading the American Nation, we don't know what to expect. The bes we can do is to expect he worse, which leads us to assume that our best practice is to conserve ammunition and their components.

At least that way, we won't find ourselves in the unenviable situation if having guns, but no ammunition to make them work.

A gun without ammunition is like a car without gasoline. Come to think of it, we're not all that far from that situation, either.

Remember, you heard it here, first.

Guns make colleges safer

Day, Liebowitz and Pirrong: Guns make colleges safer | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Opinion: Viewpoints

In an April 22, 2009, Opinion Article in the Dallas Morning News, three college professors challenge the popular prejudice that allowing Concealled Carry licensees on a College or University campus is a recipe for disaster.

Pirrong: Guns make colleges safer

04:56 PM CDT on Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Mass public shootings are a horrific feature of modern life. Many of the bloodiest examples of this scourge have occurred on college campuses. As professors, we are particularly sensitive to this danger.

Despite this -- no, because of this -- we support a bill currently pending in the Texas Legislature that would permit the concealed carrying of firearms on college and university campuses in the state by holders of concealed-handgun permits.

Any public policy involving matters of life and death should be decided only after weighing carefully the competing risks. Examining the relevant facts and data indicates that permitting Texas permit holders to carry weapons on college campuses would improve safety because:

* The best available empirical evidence shows that concealed-carry laws reduce the incidence of mass public shootings.

* Mass public shootings occur almost exclusively in places -- like universities -- where concealed carry is proscribed.

* There are numerous examples of firearms owners acting to disarm would-be mass murderers, thereby saving lives.

* Concealed-handgun-permit holders are overwhelmingly law-abiding individuals.
If gun bans truly reduced the risk of mass public shootings, then gun-free zones would be refuges from such havoc. Sadly, the exact opposite is true. All multiple-victim public shootings in the United States with more than three fatalities have occurred where concealed handguns are prohibited. Moreover, the worst primary and secondary school shootings have occurred in Europe, despite its draconian gun laws.

Furthermore, peer-reviewed research demonstrates that the passage of a concealed-carry law reduces incidents of mass public shootings. Tellingly, those episodes that have occurred in states allowing concealed carry overwhelmingly happened in places like schools and malls, where concealed carry was prohibited.

These facts should not be surprising. Gun-free zones are magnets for killers bent on maximizing their body count. They know that they face far less risk of quickly being stopped there. There are numerous cases in which private firearm owners have disarmed or disabled those attempting to murder indiscriminately in public places.

In such circumstances, police officers and other "first responders" are anything but. The true first responders are often armed citizens who are in the line of fire. The possibility that a legally armed citizen could distract or disable an assailant could be the difference between life and death for potential victims.

It's no secret that I have long been a proponent of Concealed Carry, especially in "Gun Free Zones" ... such as College and University campuses.

And the concept that responsible gun-owners can save lives in a gun-free zone is also a 'trusted friend' here.
But it is rarely expressed so eloquently, nor so authoritatively.

About the authors:

Theodore Day is a professor of finance and Stan Liebowitz is the Ashbel Smith Professor of Economics, both at the University of Texas at Dallas; Craig Pirrong is a professor of finance at the University of Houston. The three may be reached through stan@liebowitz.biz.

(H/T "The Shooting Wire" (Subscribe HERE ... I won't always be the first to read it)

YouTube - Debate Over 'Assault Weapons'

YouTube - Debate Over 'Assault Weapons'

Wayne Lapiere and Pennslvania Governer Ed Rendel debate "Assault Weapons" on"Face the Nation".

Rendel's basic argument is "What honest citizen needs and Assault Weapon?"

hen pressed, Rendel changes his argument to "What honest citizen needs more than ten rounds in a magazine?"

LaPierre has little time to respond in this TV "Debate" to get to the nitty-gritty of the question. I wish he had said something like: "Why should we deny an Honest Citizen the right to use any magazine?"

In the actual fact, he (LaPierre) made the point that the defnition of "Assault Weapon" is ot appropriately applied to semi-automatic ... with the implication that laws which restrict access to "Ugly Guns" apply equally to almost ANY Semi-Automatic gun.

Another wish: LaPierre (given time) may have said something along the lines of
"The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban was established with the provisio that, after 10 years in effect, it could be statistically proven that the restriction had reduced crime, homocidem or other violence. When the law was reviewed, NOBODY was able to step to the forum and confirm that it had made ANY difference in terms of reducing crime. President Bush confirmed that he would sign any bill which Congress could pass; but Congress could not pass a bill to continue the Assault Weapons Ban. In the final analysis, it did NOT meet its stated goals, and the only effect was to emplace unreasonable restrictions on law-abiding citizens ... who for their own, perfectly legal reasons, choose to purchase semi-automatic firearms and magazines with greater than a 10-round capacity."
He never said this. He could have, but he did not have to.

In all, I think LaPierre held his own in a strictly formatted forum. I couldn't have done so well, when I had to know the answers before the questions were asked.

Going Home

I'm not much for Spectator Sports ... generally speaking, I'd rather play a sport poorly than watch one played well by others.

There are great moments in competition. Usually, they are considered "Great Moments" because one player, or a team, has performed some exceptional feat of athletic prowess.

But what do you call it when it goes beyond athletic prowess?

Watch this video, and find your own answer.



Sometimes you can win more than a game, whether you win or lose the game.

That's the true Spirit of Competition.

(H/T: The Hobo Brasser)

ARPC Points Match (11-APR-2009)

No match this weekend, but here's a video of how one squad handled Stage 6 ("Walls & Barrels") last weekend.

The first and last competitors shown are both juniors. The first, Chase, is safely completion his "Certification" match. He was actually in the squad before us, and we were lucky to watch him shoot this stage because it was the only chance I had to see him compete in this crucial (to him) match. The last, Dontae, has already certified. I listed them both as "10 years old", but that's a guess.

At my age, anyone under five feet tall appears to be 10 years old.

And yes, that IS Ageism.
The video lasts 4:57 minutes.
_________________________________

TECHNICAL NOTE:
You will see my (gloved) hand over the top of the image when FISH starts shooting. This is to provide a hood, keeping the morning sun out of the lense.

In the next segment (GEEK), the lens is not shaded; the bright sunlight washes out the image in a Purple Haze, until the view shifts further to the south.

I take pride in timing the musical lyrics to that portion of the video:

"Sometimes the light's all shining on me,
Other times I can barely see"

Well, we take our successes when we can.
______________________________________
UPDATE: 23 April, 2009

The original video included the song "Truckin'" by The Grateful Dead.

YouTube took exception to this, probably because the owner of the song asked them to disallow "their" music on embedded videos. Consequently, the original is without any soundtrack at all.

(See the COMMENTS section)

I've republished the video without the music, but with the full-volume soundtrack of shots fired, range commands, and incidental comments from bystanders. Perhaps it's a more realistic appreciation of the actual experience.

But I hate giving up the music, which not only provides an 'extra dimension' to the vide but also introduces a great song.

Besides, I worked so hard to choreograph the music to the visual images. What a waste.

The Way Of The Gun

The Way Of The Gun - CBS News Video
From the April 12, 2009, 60 minutes program, the following is a segment by Leslie Stahl titled: The Way Of The Gun

Watch CBS Videos Online


For more background, (H/T) Opposing Views: Breaking Down 60 Minutes' Anti-Gun Bias

_____________________________________

It's not just C BS!

CNN has been jumping the shark with anti-gun stuff (regularly). Case in point, this (March, 2009?) video of an Anderfson Cooper article about .50 Caliber Barrett Rifles ... and other Evil Guns imported from America to Mexico.
xxxxx
This is part of the now-infamous "90% of Mexican Crime Weapons Come from U.S." MSM-generated Urban Legend which I discussed last week. (CNN Quote: "America is still a major source for powerful weapons which are being used by Mexican Drug Cartels.")

.50 Barrets are hard to come by ... and they're expensive (you're looking at $7,000 to $8,ooo ... if one is available).

So where are those fifties coming from? Best guess: the Mexican Army, which the US has shipped a number to within the past few years, and WE don't have any idea if they're still in control of the Mexican Army.

Mexican Police are being slaughtered by Drug "Cartels", and one of the most constant sources of their weapons are Mexican Army troops who are deserting with their weapons ... no figures are available on the number of deserters, those who took their personal weapons or other weapons, or what weapons are missing from inventory. You would expect that either the Mexicans, who are pointing fingers at Americans, or the Amreican Government would have those figures, wouldn't you?

I mean, if Mexico claims we are the source of guns for criminals, our government would at least require them to account for the guns we have provided for their military, right?

If anybody has asked question, I haven't heard about it.

The Obama Administration (and Obama, personally), seem to have bought into concept and are reacting as if tahe accusation was true:

US President Barack Obama has admitted that America shares responsibility for Mexico's violent struggle against its drug cartels. On his first official visit to Mexico City, President Obama vowed to support Mexico's fight, promising to slow down the number of US guns being smuggled across the border.

Without hard facts from the Mexican Military (for just one example of accepted minimal documentation of the accusations) on Missing Firearms, the American government can't accept responsibility for the inability of the Mexican Government to keep track of their own arsenal contents.

Obama seems to have willingly skipped this step. He could have learned from Ronald Reagan, who espoused the policy: "Trust, then Verify".
_______________________

So we have CBS, CNN and ABC coming down on the side of "The Day of the Evil Gun". Add to that the Obama administration, and the American Citizen has no hope that the Second Amendment will survive the next four years without experiencing some major predations.

Foreigners, MSM, Politicians and Liberals constitute the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse.

Internet Interruptus

Once again I'm forced to blog on the LapTop.

I tried to get my Local Area Network (LAN) going again tonight. I actually had it running thru the router for a few minutes, but I was trying to get smart and re-establish the WiFi Network, and I followed the instructions instead of my instincts, Bad, Bad Idea.

uring the reconfiguration process, I decided to move the desktop CPU out of the knee-hole of my desk. Another bad idea; Ibumped the power cable and the whole system went down.


By using the laptop, I've established that the Cable Modem and the yellow LAN cords can make a connection. Later I'll try to reconnect the desk-top computer.

I suspect that the problem is in the cable connections. Since this cord connects the laptop with the modem, I'll try to use the same cord to connec with the desk-top computer.

But I probably won't do that tonight. It's now 1am and I need to get some sleep so I can go to work in the morning.

I'll take a few minutes to check my email, but if I don't answer you tonite, it's because I don't have theenergy to fight this teensy keyboard with all of the keys in the wrong place.

Heller v DC: commentary from CATO

Cato Unbound : Blog Archive : If this Is Defeat, We’ll Take It

I found an interesting commentary on the Heller decision from last year.

This is, obviously, "dated". But it's still pertinent considering that the District of Columbia, smarting over the Heller Decision, immediately attempted (and is still attempting ) to weasel-word itself out of the Supreme Court decision which REQUIRES the municipality to recognize Second Amendment Rights.

Cloaking himself and the Brady Center in the mantle of "reasonableness,” Dennis Henigan disclaims the statement of Brady co-founder Pete Shields and asserts that it "has never been” and is not now the policy of his organization to "make possession of all handguns . . . totally illegal.” Perhaps so. Perhaps, as Henigan says, Brady supports even laws, like the D.C. gun ban, that the organization "does not favor as a policy matter,” because "legislators should not be constitutionally barred from enacting the gun control laws they think necessary.”

If that's the view of the Brady Center, I respectfully disagree. A principal purpose of our Constitution is to restrain the excesses of the political branches and secure key rights against temporal majorities. But let's not quibble. Let's accept Henigan's statement that, from a policy perspective, Brady opposes the D.C. gun ban. Is it too much to ask for a citation to one corroborating article, one radio or TV appearance, one web posting, or one quoted statement by any responsible Brady official that says, in essence, "We think D.C. should repeal its gun ban, even though it is constitutional, because it is bad public policy”?

Now that D.C. officials, trying to circumvent the Heller decision, have proposed new rules that still ban all handguns except revolvers, still require all weapons in the home to be kept in a dysfunctional state, and still make D.C. residents endure a months-long process to register a weapon, can we count on the Brady Center, in a show of reasonableness, to publicly oppose those rules on policy grounds? Will the Brady Center support a temporary suspension for D.C. residents of the federal ban on interstate handgun sales because, otherwise, until D.C. licenses dealerships, residents cannot obtain a handgun either in or out of the city — a situation that is self-evidently unreasonable.

I mention this only to emphasize that there are still governmental organizations (municipal, state, federal) who are determined to undermine our Second Amendment rights.

Our High-School Civics Classes taught us that we, as Citizens rather than as Subjects, have both the right and the obligation to protest laws which undermine our constitutional rights.

But what it didn't teach us was that our Governmental establishments will almost inevitably fight our protests, and spend our (taxpayer) dollars in the effort to deny us (taxpayers) the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.

In the current administration, we see citizens frightened into a panic mode because of our justifiable fear that our government has a private agenda divorced from the Constitution and from our expressed will.

We are fortunate that there are lone citizens who will act as proxy for us all by standing up for THEIR individual civic rights ... such as Mr. J. Heller.

What are YOU doing this week to speak out for your civil rights?

American Gunfighter!

"Within weeks of getting the gun, Lance found ... he needed it."

The Ayoob files; An urban gunfighter: The lessons of Lance Thomas

American Handgunner , March-April, 2002 by Massad Ayoob

Over a period of less than 3 years, Thomas was involved in four gun battles against a total of 11 known suspects. He shot six of them, killing five. The watch dealer himself was wounded on two of these occasions, taking a total of five rounds. There are many lessons that the rest of us can learn: Lessons of long-term strategy and short-term tactics; of gun selection and ammunition effectiveness; and, above all, of courage under fire in the moment, and of determination over the long haul.

August 10, 1989. Like so many storekeepers, Thomas feels his watch shop would be a safer place if he had a gun with which to fend off armed robbers. He has acquired a Model 36, a five-shot Smith & Wesson .38 Chief Special. He keeps the snubnose revolver where he can reach it easily. On this day, he'll be glad he did.

Two men enter. One appears to have some sort of weapon, and the other pulls what Thomas recognizes as a 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Thomas knows he can just give the man his money and goods, but he also knows that to do so is to trust his life to the whim of a violent man unlawfully wielding a deadly weapon. Instead, Thomas chooses to fight.

His hand flashes to the Chief Special, and he comes up shooting. The little revolver barks three times. Two of his bullets miss, but one smashes into the gunman's face, putting him out of the fight.

The merchant swings toward the accomplice, but cannot see a weapon at the moment, and so, does not fire. Instead, he orders the suspect to leave. The now-compliant accomplice does so, dragging his wounded comrade with him.

The robber will survive. Lance Thomas is unhurt. His decision to be an armed citizen, to fight back, has been validated. The wounded robber will be charged, and the armed citizen has the sympathy of the authorities. Thomas has won in every respect.

West L.A. Watchmaker (and small businessman) Lance Thomas has fought, and survived, four gunfights against robbers who would threaten him and his business in a "High-Crime Area". He has since closed his store and semi-retired to an undisclosed location'. He continues to perform repairs on watches, but only for those who make appointments.




Quotes from the Video:

Interviewer: "So why do anything?If you hadn't have reached for your gun, maybe you wouldn't have got shot. Maybe you would have lost a few of your watches, but it would have been over."

Thomas: "I refuse to be a victim of violent crime."
"There's not negotiation; my life is too precious for that."


"They pretended to open the front door to leave, turned around, 'You're Dead!', and fired their weapons. .... I killed them both."

LAPD Detective: "All of the criminals had extensive records. They knew what they were doing, the just didn't know what they were doing it against."

Thomas: "It's kind of made old man out of me. ... It's Hell, it's something to be avoided, but if you have to do it you must be responsible."

Turbo Tax!

It's Tax Time, and I've been a Bad Boy.

There are two more days before the deadline, and even though I expect that I've overpaid my taxes (and am qualified to have some money returned), I haven't submitted my Tax Returns for Federal and State taxes yet.[

That's not a problem, right?

I use Turbo Tax, and have for the past four years. I'm comfortable with it.

The problem is, I failed to record my password for Turbo Tax last year, and so I had to ask the TurboTax.com website to remind me of/reset my password.

So I did ... several hours ago.

Guess what? They're so busy, they haven't managed to get around to me yet.

---

I blame myself. Which is a helluva not, compounding the indignity of giving the Feds a third of my income with the necessity of begging them to give my overpayment back.

There's a lot of stuff I can be doing while I wait, so I won't be too upset if I don't get my password before, say, "tomorrow". Which could be any time during the day. And if you (as a TurboTax Subscriber) don't sign on with your new password in 24 hours, it expires. You have to start the whole process again.

Pause while I kick my own bottom one more time for procrastinating. I may have to write it up in hardcopy and submit it via email. Oh, the indignity for a self-professed "Geek".

The good news is ... well, there is no good news. They're gonna take my money, and keep it, ans spend it on efforts which I don't believe in. What's good about that?

In the meantime, I belive I'll spend some time correlating my videos from last weekend's ARPC match and producing some excellent match videos ... which most of you won't watch.

I am so "Eeyore".

SWMBO REPORT: More Good News

A month ago I wrote that SWMBO was feeling well enough to go to the range ... not to shoot, but just to visit her friends. And she has many friends who tell me at every match to relay their support and comfort to her. That trip gave them the opportunity to tell her in person.

Two weeks ago she went in for CT scan, which was used (in comparison to her Initial CT scan about 9 months ago) to determine the growth rate of the tumor in her lung.

A week after the CT scan, the assistant at her Oncologist's office phoned her with the results: no change.

That's both good news and not-so-good news. The good news was that the tumor doesn't seem to be growing. The not-so-good news was that it doesn't seem to be shrinking, either.

We decided that the good news was the important thing, so we were pleased with the report. No, it wasn't what we wanted to hear. We wanted them to tell us that the 'maintenance' chemotherapy was starving the tumor. Since that isn't happening, we're almost as pleased to learn that the therapy was retarding the growth.

Today she had her monthly visit to her Oncologist. She said: "I want to look at the original CT scan and the last scan, so I can see what it looks like."

It turned out that the assistant at her Oncologist's office had missed one important point.

Her Oncologist pointed it out:

"See this area on the original scan of your cancerous lung? Now compare it with the same area on the latest scan. See the clear imagery? That's healthy tissue!"

I didn't know about that until I stopped by to see her after work tonight. We were talking about incidental stuff when she interrupted me with a two-word surprise:
"Good News!"

That good lady had been sitting on the results of the CT scan all afternoon, just so she could watch my face as I assimilated the implication of those results.

I have to tell you, this absolutely made my day (my week, my month ...)

Whether one can draw any conclusions from this information is beyond me. I don't know if it's the first or second step on the way to full recovery, but this is the first indication we've had that Cancer is not necessarily inevitable.

Our thanks to all of you who have been praying for Sandie. I choose to believe in the Power of Prayer.

ARPC April 2009 Match - One Video

I'm pleased to announce that I went to a USPSA match this weeked, and even though I wasn't at the top of my game the gun (STI EDGE) worked just fine,

After shooting almost entirely the Open Gun for the past four years, I had some problems with Sight Picture and Sight Alignment.


Specifically, I realized (after the match) that my orange-painted front and rear sights encouraged me to unconsciously adopt the sight picture in Limited that I had in Open Division.

That is, if the front sight is on the target, I just ... pulled the trigger and expected the shot to be On Target.

Here's a link to one of the videos. Rocky's Theme ("Gonna Fly Now") is just too kewl to resiste the temptation to use it One More Time!


That didn't usually happen. Add to that, by the end of the match I was getting very tired, and my hands were hurting me due to the decreased skin-resilience on my fingertips. Yes, this IS an excse; I take 'em where I can.

Still, in even the most difficult stges, and at the end of the match, I found a way to "Look Good On Video.

Fortunately, the video doesn't show the three misses ... on static targets.
I have GOT to practice.

We're Back!

As of this date (Sunday, April 12, 2006) the Cogito Ergo Geek website/blog is officially back!

I mentioned last week that my personal work station was experiencing "trouble", and it cost me abotu $316 to correct it.

Besides the problem that my CMOS (and battery) was usable to know what time it was, there were some other problems as well... problems that I had not identified.

First, when they ran a check on the hard drive, they noticed over 100 errors. I got a new hard drive, because their components were under warranty from the manufacturer.

the good folks from Belleveu Computers, where I bought The Monster after the Blue Bird of Paradise trashed my old computer by inconsiderately flying into the local power junction, managed to completely rebuild my computer and to also enhance its power to edit Videos in the meantime.

Problematic resolutions:

• replace old Motherboard battery, reset CMOS (yes, this was the source of the primary problem);
• They discovered that the fan wasn't working to full potential, so I asked them to replace the fan and power supply;
• They found over 100 errors when they scanned the hard drive, so they cloned the data onto a new hard-drive (on Warranty from the manufacturer);

Also, because I tend to edit a lot of video clips and Windows Movie Maker runs out of memory, I asked them to swap my two 1-GB memory strips for two 2-GB memory strips, giving me a total of 4GB RAM.

To enhance the Video process, they also loaded a Video Chip with 1-GB internal memory.

All of this required 1.75 hours of their time. I couldn't even begin to accomplish the same even without dealing with the CMOS resets, so it's a net (no pun intended) gain for The Geek.

I've just edited one video from the April ARPC match (see above) and the experiece was much better than what I had experienced before. Essentially, I could edit one file without rebootimg to recover memory.

I'm so glad that I went to Computer Professionals to fix my computer rather than try to fix it mself.

Free Market Cure - A Short Course in Brain Surgery

"Private health care is outlawed in Ontario. ..."

"Isn't it ironic, that while the Canadian monopoly on health care is slowly crumbling in the face of widespread suffering, [American] Liberal Democrats are pushing to adopt a system much like the one which has failed so miserably in Canada."

What does Nero Obama have to offer which is superior to the health care provided in Ontario, Canada?

Nothing.

USPSA Videos! Get your USPSA Videos right here!

Here is the link to all of the Geek internet-access Videos from past matches. (You Tube, of course.)

I try to provide as many helpful Internet resources as possible to students in the Introduction to USPSA" classes.

This is one good way to show what a Practical Pistol match looks like. Obviously, the selection-for-publication process usually serves only to show events which are intrinsically interesting. IPSC is not, after all, a Spectator Sport.

As an example, here's Yong Lee on "The Doors" stage from a Croc Dundee Banzaii Ballistic "You Got Bullets" match (from 2005)

If you don't think his 21 second time is impressive, I offer that I took 70 seconds to complete the same stage, and I breezed right past one entire target array AND I was cautioned by the Range Officer that I 'almost broke the 180) when engaging the back-leaning targets behind the barrels ... which are the last targets that Yong Lee engaged in this video.

Did I mention that Yong Lee was the Stage Winner?

You're A Pig!

That's no way to talk to a lady.

Basketball Full Court Shot

Incredibly (?) the ref calls "No Basket".

(A feature presentation of "I Am Bored".

What IS "The Government" In Charge Of? (The Wisdom of Horation Bunce)

I was surprised to see that my recent rant on governmental excess and the current Administration ("So You Think You Like The Idea Of National Health Care") reaped a couple of comments. This was just a way for me to express my distaste on several topics, but it seems to have pushed some buttons for some readers.

TheGunGeek responded:

While you listed a whole bunch of things that our government is in charge of, you managed to leave off the most important ones:

- Medicare
- Medicaid
- VA Health care

Nobody but nobody would choose any of these if they had any other choice for their health coverage. What does that tell you about how well the gov would handle national health care? ...

That got me started thinking a bit harder about just what issues The Government (we're talking about the Federal government here) has assumed responsibility to administer ... and to impose.

My thoughts turned to a story about Davy Crockett. No, not the Davy Crockett portrayed by Fess Parker, but the Davy Crockett who was, among his many accomplishment, an elected member of the Federal Government. (He famously said: "Remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have." We should remember this.)

You can read the following story in great detail in Lew Rockwell's article "Davy Crockett vs. Welfare", and if you get nothing more from this I hope you read that illuminative lesson.

A brief summary of the story is that Crockett once voted in favor of a bill to provide Federal money to fund a worthy charitable effort. Later he discussed this allocation with a constituent, one' Horatio Bunce', and he was taken to task for his vote. The gist is that his constituent pointed out that Congress had no constitutional authority to spend tax money on this sort of effort. Certainly it was a worthwhile cause, but the nation did not OWE a debt; further, if the nation owed this debt to designated the recipients, then every other person in similar circumstances was owed the same debt. Finally, the amount of funding was arrived at arbitrarily, setting an unhealthy precedent for similar excesses in the future.

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Think back again on the list that TheGunGeek provided:

• Medicare
• Medicaid
• VA Health care

Because the Federal Government is constitutionally obligated "... to provide for the common defense ..." (and Congress can "declare war"), it seems reasonable that The Nation should be obligated to pay ALL the costs of War, including providing medical care for military members who are wounded. But should this be accomplished by establishing a Veteran's Health Care system including the construction and administration of hospitals? Or should it be limited to paying the bills for a Veteran who can choose his own physician(s)? This is a question which one might honorably argue either way.

But Medicade and Medicare? Sure, it's "nice" that this is an option for indigent and elderly citizens, but the administration of such is a bureaucratic morass. And besides, does the Constitution authorize it?

In fact, many of the Departments of the Federal Government are not obviously constituted for the purpose of addressing a Constitutional debt. The Department of Education comes to mind.

Besides Defense, there are some other issues for which the Federal Government is Constitutionally obligated. With a few significant exceptions, Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States of America does a fine job of enumerating the powers and obligations of the Federal Government.

Most of the rest of the Constitution (including the Amendments) is generally characterized by enumerating the things which the Federal Government can NOT do! (There are some powers accorded to the individual States. )

Interstate Commerce:
Over the years, many of the Constitutionally assigned Powers and Obligations have been warped re-interpreted by successive Presidential Administrations and Congresses. Not least is The Commerce Clause (also found in Article I, Section 8):

... "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;"...

Various administrations and Congresses have interpreted this clause (a subset of a Section, itself as a subset of an Article) to provide them with the power to regulate the interstate transfer of firearms. These are currently in force, as we are 'generally' forbidden to purchase firearms in any state except our state of residence. (We get around this by purchasing by mail or internet, etc.; but the firearms must be shipped to a Local Licensed Dealer who performs the now-necessary function of accomodating the National Instant Check System verification of confirming that the end-user is legally permitted to purchase a firearm.) In fact, there is a declared intention of the Party in Power to re-impose not only restrictions on the purchase of firearms due to "firearm type", but to also require registration and to dis-allow transfer of some firearms across State lines.

(See also commentary by Michael Bane)
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Excesses of Government have reached a new high ... or a new low, depending upon your point of view.

The Federal government receives something on the order of 500 billion dollars annually from Income Taxes. Yet this administration has, in the short span of 3 months (and without giving the Legislators sufficient time to properly review the Bills), obligated this nation to accept the fiscal obligation of over TWO TRILLION DOLLARS of new fiscal obligations. These are in excess of the 'normal' issues which must be paid for by our Nation.

And, finally completing the circular route of my reasoning, what are included in the "normal issues"?

• International Disaster Relief. A noble cause, a worthy charity. Not included in our Constitution.
• Foreign Aid. A noble cause, a worthy charity. Not included in our Constitution.
• Educational Grants (eg: "No Child Left Behind"). A noble cause, a worthy charity. Not included in our Constitution.

Note that all of these are described as "Charity". Actually, some of the examples given are not in fact "Charity", but an effort to position our Nation as a "responsible" member of an informal World Power.

Perhaps a good idea. Perhaps to our benefit . Not included in our Constitution.

Education? Used to impose Federal influence on Local and State Educational priorities.

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I'm not saying that all of these allotments of your money aren't a good idea. I'm just saying that the Constitution does not enumerate them among the Powers and Obligations of the Federal Government.

Congress, and Presidential Administrations through the year, have imposed these tax burdens on our Nation for, ultimately, the sake of expediencey.

But they have never addressed these issues in a manner which would make them legal. Namely, a Constitutional Amendment which would permit these bureaucratic entities to decide who gets how much of your tax dollar.

Going back to the Davy Crockett story:

"So you see, Colonel, you have violated the Constitution in what I consider a vital point. It is a precedent fraught with danger to the country, for when Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the limits of the Constitution, there is no limit to it, and no security for the people. I have no doubt you acted honestly, but that does not make it any better, except as far as you are personally concerned, and you see that I cannot vote for you."

I think we have reached that point. And I think that we should all stop a minute to consider the wisdom of Horatio Bunce.

Little Red Riding Hood ...

... in a YouTube World


H/T: Jigsaw Thoughts: