Why I Don't Subscribe to Cable TV

CBS blackout by Time Warner goes into 2nd day | Fox News:

 LOS ANGELES – Time Warner Cable's blackout of CBS continued Saturday, and neither side indicated a resolution of their dispute over fees is imminent. Time Warner dropped CBS Friday in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and several other cities, leaving three million customers without the network's programs. The issue is fees that the cable company pays CBS to air its programs. Each has accused the other of making unreasonable demands. On Saturday the two sides even seemed to disagree on the status of negotiations. A Time Warner spokeswoman said Saturday afternoon that negotiations are ongoing. CBS said it expects talks to resume soon, but the decision rests with Time Warner.

People, People .. can't we just all "get along"?

The ongoing threat of EEVIL Assault Cars!

1 dead, 11 hurt after car drives into crowd on LA boardwalk | Fox News: LOS ANGELES –

 One person has died and 11 others have been injured after a car drove into a crowd of people walking along the famed Venice Beach boardwalk early Saturday evening before the driver fled the busy Los Angeles tourist site. 
A Los Angeles Police spokesman said late Saturday that one person had been detained for questioning in nearby Santa Monica, though it was not immediately clear if the person detained was the driver. 
Police were looking for a dark-colored Dodge Charger or Avenger.  [emphasis added]

The driver was a man described as having sandy blond hair and estimated to be in his mid-20s, [emphasis added] authorities said. Multiple witnesses reported that the driver appeared to be "moving purposefully" and in control of the car as it plowed through the crowd, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said. The car was still moving as it drove out of sight of firefighters and the people who were hit.

When is America going to wake up to the ongoing threat of unregistered Assault Automobiles?  Why do we allow our young people, who are obviously too immature to understand the terrible responsibility they assume when they buy Assault Cars (which are available to anyone at Car Shows  without background checks!) to possess these Weapons of Mass Destruction?

Shouldn't we at least require purchasers of Full-Auto Assault Cars to demonstrate a proficiency in the operation of these high-power weapons?

This is clearly a situation which begs .. nay, REQUIRES ... Federal control.

In the past, there were no restrictions; anyone could buy a car.  But that was back in the days when cars had only small, two-cylinder engines.   Cars then couldn't travel much more than walking speeds.

Now anyone can buy a V8 engine.  Surely our forefathers did not envision the day when eight-cylinder engines were available.  If they had, they would have established restrictions on cars with more than two cylinders!  Imagine if they had realized that cars could be purchased which had a terminal velocity of over a hundred miles an hour.

In a Nation which famously established a speed limit of 55 miles an hour, there is clearly no NEED for a car which can travel at over twice that speed.  Even interstate freeways have a speed limit of no more than 65 or 70mph.  Why do the irresponsible car manufacturers persist in building cars with the possibility of going more than the legal speed?

Conservatives point out that the 55MPH speed limit, which was a progressive movement in the 1970's, had proven to be "less than effective" at meeting the stated goals of that Federal law.  We all know that the true purpose was to keep irresponsible car owners from unregulated access to Weapons of Mass Distruction ... Assault Cars!

But they, the evil Conservatives, had a Secret Weapon:  The AAA!

This nefarious Special Interest Group lobbied senators,  threatened Representatives with the withdrawal of political (and financial) support, until our poor beleagured Congressmen had to choose between bowing to the powerful Lobbiest or facing defeat at the polls.

This is the result of powerful Special Interest Groups.  Even though the AAA has over 60,000,000 members, it is unconscionable that our elected representatives should bow under lobbyist pressure on an issue which is so clearly vital to the safety of the American Public.

It's clearly time for right-thinking Americans to rise up against these Special Interest Groups.  Write your congressman!  Tell him (or her, or it, as the case may be) that you are opposed to the ... well, perhaps not illegal, but clearly WRONG .. pressure exerted by these special-interest voting blocks.

Who cares if the AAA has all those votes in their pockets?  Clearly, it is time that our brave senators and representatives rise up and Vote Their Conscience!  The votes of millions of Americans count as nothing when compared to those of dozens of Right-Thinking (okay, Left-Thinking) Americans who KNOW that the average citizen is neither bright enough, not responsible enough, to be trusted with an Evil Assault Car!

Now .. go  vote for Obama  and help him stop this travesty now!

You know it's The Right Thing To Do.       Do it for the children.

Ka-POP!

I've been a Bad Blogger lately.

Too distracted by personal events, I haven't kept up with news that I think is interesting to this audience.  Well, that's Hubris.  Still, things have been going on in my life that *_I_* think are interesting.  Here's an example:

Wimpy Loads:

Last Friday (last weekend in July) .. I received a communication from The Hobo Brasser to the effect that he was going Under The Knife soon for repairs to his knee(s), and the Saturday match at Dundee was the last time he would be shooting until he and Spicy-Lady would Snowbird to Texas for the Winter.  I agreed to meet him at the match so we could squad together.

Scene shift to Geek Central .. that cluttered garage where I keep my reloading equipment and supplies.  Since the GeekGun (10mm STI Edge) was still hors d'combat at the gunsmith (a consequence of a KaBOOM! in March of this year), I decided that The Beloved Kimber was the only viable alternative for last-moment rearmament.

I hadn't loaded .45ACP ammunition for well over two years, so I was pleased and surprised to find a box of 300 Semi-wadcutter 200gr bullets (made by a man who hasn't been in business for 10 years), some Winchester Large Pistol primers, and half of a 1-lb canister of Vihta Vourhi N330 powder.  Checking my loading log, I determined the 5.0 grains of VVN330 was the correct load, and I set my Bullseye powder measure accordingly.  My records indicated 1.275" OAL was adequate, but I settled for 1.262 as my preferred bullet-seating depth because .. I just had a feeling.

I only managed to load 100 rounds, because it took me a while to swap my dies from the Dillon XL650 Turret to the Lee Turret press ... the XL has not served me will lately, as it does not cycle primers properly.  But that's another story.

The next day, Saturday, I showed up late at the Dundee match but was pleasantly surprised that the squad was still on their first stage.  When my turn to shoot came up, I was confident that I had fresh ammunition and I was eager to shoot.

When the buzzer went off, I engaged the first of 12 targets (at point-blank range) and The Beloved Kimber went .. Ker-POP!

The load was so light that, although the bullet cleared the barrel and put a solid A-zone hit on the target .. the slide didn't cycle properly!  It ejected the spent brass, but the following round jammed.

I cleared the jam, tried the next round.

Ker-POP!


Okay, one more time:

Ker-POP!

It wasn't a fluke.  EVERY round in my magazine was too lightly loaded to properly cycle the slide.  I gave up.  The match fee was $17, and the cost of gasoline for the 170 mile round trip was .. well, more than that.

I stuck around for an hour, but as Norman the Ungrateful pointed out:  "IPSC is not a spectator sport".  I went home to pout, and to contemplate my sins.

A couple of days later, Guy Neil ("Front Sight" Reloading Guru, who lives in the area) emailed me to ask what happened.  His impression was that I got stove-pipes.   I explained that the empties ejected okay, but the following rounds weren't seated in the chamber because the load was too light to cycle the slide correctly.

Then I started thinking.  Where, exactly, did I get that load of gunpowder? And why was it inadequate to the purpose?

I realized that this was part of a 3-pound batch which I picked up at the prize table at the 2003 Open/Limited Nationals in Bend, Oregon.  This stuff was ten years old!

Later, I went back to re-examine the canister.  The markings on the label indicated that the batch was actually manufactured in 1998 ...15 years ago.

The powder didn't appear to have drawn moisture, and it was tightly sealed so I don't think that moisture contributed to the problem.

No, my best guess (and it's only a guess) is that the gunpowder deteriorated in a sealed, water-tight container due only to age.

There's a moral here, and that is that if you don't test your ammunition before you got to a match, you probably are setting yourself up for failure.

I had experienced that once before, in 1996, when I loaded a batch of 9mm with a new 115gr LRN bullet and took it to a match.    The OAL was okay, but the bullet shape was one I had never tried before (I had been shooting conical bullets).  Turns out that the mere bullet shape was sufficiently different that the round wouldn't seat in the chamber of my SW659.  Go figure.  (At least that time, since I hadn't shot a single round, I got my match fees back!)

I'm pretty sure there's a moral to this story. 
I don't care.
I'm still pissed.

Rifle Basics: Cycling the AR charging handle | Shooting Wire

Rifle Basics: Cycling the AR charging handle | Shooting Wire:

The charging handle is a critical component of the AR rifle. Knowing how to use it properly is essential to operating the AR. And, while in theory it seems simple, like most aspects to gun handling there's a lot more to it than most people realize.

With all weapon manipulations consistency is the key to safety and efficiency. So, when cycling the handle the right-handed shooter uses the left hand. To perform a chamber check or lock the bolt to the rear the right hand works the handle.

As usual, The Shooting Wire (click here to subscribe to their informative daily newsletter) provides useful tips on a wide variety of shooting-related interests.  And as usual, I read every article and even followed up by clicking links which lead the reader to more detailed info.

But when it comes to the AR frame ... I tend to holler "Whoa, Nellie!"

I got a bad feeling about AR style rifles.  And no, it's not about the "EEEEvil Black rifle" thingie.  It's all about my experiences with the AR Model 16   (M16) during my so-called Military Career.

You may be old enough to remember what a controversial subject the original M16was, during the Vietnam War Era.

They got dirty in Vietnam .. red dust coated the working mechanisms, and the rifle required frequent cleaning with a special lube to be applied after the rifle was determined to be 'clean'.

The special lubrication medium was a thick grease, looking a lot like Vaseline, and it attracted dust like a magnet attracts iron filings.

Not rust .. dust!

In the early days, soldiers died because their M16's jammed early in a firefight; often after the first shot.  The model was modified to include a 'forward assist' plunger, which was useful when the bolt failed to return to battery because of particle fouling.   The familiar "Tap/Rack/Bang" immediate-action drill was not available to U.S. Soldiers in Vietnam until that necessary feature was added.

                   

From top to bottom:  

1. M16 A1
2. M16 A2
3. M4 A1
4. M16 A4

By the time I got to Vietnam, I had read everything available in Gun Magazines about the M16, including the emphasis on frequent/thorough cleaning and lubrication.

Some of the literature included descriptions of the "incredible maiming power" of the fast, lightweight bullets.  One article I recall included graphic x-ray photos of the arm of a Viet Cong who had been wounded.  The upper arm bone was clearly shattered by the bullet.

The article also mentioned, in passing, that M16 rounds (5.56 MM) were frequently "deflected" .. or more appropriately "exploded", but contact with trees ... twigs ... leaves.

In case you are not familiar with tropical jungles, there are more trees, twigs and leaves there than there were "targets"  (Viet Cong, NVA).  And when American soldiers found themselves in a firefight, they often found themselves outgunned by the enemys' AK47.  Bigger bullet, slower velocity.

As a consequence, many American soldiers chose 'other' arms to defend themselves.

M14

Designated "Point Men" (those who walked at the head of a squad in the jungle) were given first choice of the limited number of M14 rifles; firing the venerable .30 caliber bullet (.308; 7.62 NATO), those magazine-fed rifles were so effective in the jungle that the 'first responders' had no doubts that their semi-automatic fire could and would disrupt the organization of a Viet Cong ambush.

Unlike the Garand (which fired a similar, but not identical cartridge and amazed the .30-06 advocates of the 1903/A3 Springfield), this rifle was magazine fed. Which allowed American troops to shoot more often (20 times instead of 8) and reload more quickly than the clip-fed Garand.

M1897 Trench Gun

Medics often opted to arm themselves; their choice of weapon was a WWI 'Trench Gun" ... a short-barreled 12-gauge pump shotgun.  It held 5 12-gauge shotgun shells and when loaded with buckshot could cut through the shrubbery with great efficiency.  There were few of these available via legitimate military sources, which explains why medics ALWAYS got those few available.  And none of us complained; we knew that the one man who ALWAYS received first priority was he who would keep us alive until the dust-off chopper arrived.  I personally witnessed three occasions when our medic (always called "Doc") saved live and/or limb of men in our platoon; on the one occasion when he lost a man who had been too badly wounded by a grenade fragment to the heart, he cried on his knees in the middle of the battlefield.  We always protected our medic, and he was always high on Librium.

M79 Grenade Launcher

As a Platoon Sergeant, I chose to use an M79 grenade launcher.  That shoulder-fired, single-shot 40mm break-action weapon offered not only a wide variety of ammunition (fragmentation grenade; double-ought shot shell with more .32-caliber 'pellets' than a 12-gauge shotgun; parachute flare; starshell flare) but it was so intuitively 'point shooting' friendly that most grenadiers removed the sights.  I only experienced one time when I regretted that my "Thump Gun" was sightless; when we spotted an ammo can in the field, and I tried to detonate the suspected booby-trap by hitting it with grenade rounds at 50 yards.  (It turned out to be .. and empty ammo can, nothing more.)

The advantage to a commander was obvious.  Our division (FirstI Infantry) was a light infantry division, which means we didn't carry heavy packs and we typically operated in small units.  Think ... the Platoon Leader (lieutenant) took two squads on on mission while I, the Platoon Sgt (E6 Staff Sergeant) took the other two squads on another mission.

The M79 is an 'area weapon' ( like a mortar round ), a 'signalling tool' (like a starshell), a night-time illumination tool (like a parachute flare), and a small-unit shotgun (again, the 'buckshot' round).

The Thump Gun allowed me to use my weapon as both an offensive weapon and as a "command tool".  My job was not to shot at the enemy; it was to direct the fire of my element .. my two squads .. toward the element.

I could walk through the jungle with a buckshot-round loaded, and it provided the 'area' firepower of a shotgun with twice the one-shot coverage of a 12-gauge shotgun.

I could use the grenade round during a firefight to not only bring pain to the enemy, but also to signal to my men where they should be directing their fire.

I could use the parachute flare when we ambushed Viet Cong forces at night, so that we could safely sweep the "kill zone".  Usually, we called upon support artillary to fire "Flare Rounds" so we had light to see potential (not-dead) enemy who might return fire as we assaulted the kill-zone; with the M79, we could assault sooner and more quickly for the initial pass over the killing grounds.  Division Artillary often took several minutes to register the target area and to load for illumination rounds.  I and my M79 was right there, right then .. we didn't have to either stumble through the dark nor to wait for the wounded enemy to crawl away before we swept the area.  We found wounded Viet Cong in kill zones who turned out to be valuable sources of military intelligence, because we COULD see them, dominate them, and capture them up before they left the battlefield.  We never lost a man in the aftermath of a night ambush, simply because we could see immediately who remained in the kill zone or in the near vicinity.

And when we called for external ground support after a night ambush (usually, that would be an armored platoon or squadron,  the starshell gave the support troops their initial guide on our immediate location.  It's impossible to overemphasize how important that ability could be to a unit which has just ambushed a Viet Cong unit which has only been decimated ... not destroyed .. an whose surviving members are conceivably loitering in the area with 'payback' on their mind.

(They  might counter-ambush us .. but they will not fire on mobile armored forces!  There's nothing quite so militarily overwhelming as a tank firing a cannister round from it's main gun down the gulch through which a NVA raiding party has advanced against an ARVN base camp .. and then used the same route to didi out of the kill-zone.)

Back to the M16:
So, what part did the M16 play in Vietnam?

It got a lot of American troops killed, when their maintenance turned out not to have been adequate to the job at hand.

Yes, it allowed American troops to carry more ammunition than those American troops could carry during WWI and WWII (.30-06) and even Korea (still .30-06).   But the M16 was "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".    For example, the only reason why more American troops were not killed by "Blue-on-Blue" attacks (friendly fire) is that the 5.56mm M16 round was so ineffective in deep jungle vegetation.  I witnessed several accidental "Blue on Blue" firefights which would have been much more deadly if  "real rifles" had been used.

M16: or ... "You Can Tell If It's Matel; It's Swell!"




What's It All About?

So it's obvious that my personal bias against the M16 and it's descendents (the M4, etc) is based on negative personal experiences .. especially when compared to 'real guns', such as the shotgun, the grenade launcher, and even (omg!) the 1911.

(In a personal note; this week I exchanged an series of texts with my Navy Cop Son  "The Squid" in which he called me a "1911 snob".)



So .. yes, I am preternaturally (?) biased against small-caliber, high-speed rifles which jam easily and .. especially! .. need detailed instructions on how to LOAD THE NEXT ROUND so as to preclude a feeding failure.

I look for reliability first in a firearm, and stopping power next.  I don't see the AR frame as one which has proven to meet either criteria, especially in a combat situation.

I have been told that the 'current generation' is much more reliable than my experiences of .... omg, has it been 40 years ago now?

On the other hand, the Beretta 92 in 9mm has replaced the 1911 .45 acp in most American Military Units .. except in units which DEMAND both Reliability and Stopping Power.  In those units, the 1911A1 in .45acp (or its varients) are still the standards.

This article (okay, go back to the top and click on the link) suggests that anyone whose life depends on their AR-style rifle needs to know just how frail and tempermental it is.  I'm uncomfortable with that. I think that any combat rifle which requires a "forward assist" is fatally flawed.

"Fatally Flawed":  that's an euphemism for "piece of shit weapon which will get combatants killed".

No, I have ALWAYS  been uncomfortable with American troops having to nursemaid a tempermental rifle.  Why have we gone to that option, when better rifles are available.

Is it the cost?  Maybe .. they're being bought at around $1,000 per rifle, which is dirt cheap.

I have pistols which cost more than that! And I'm only shooting in competition ... not in defense of my life in a combat situation.  Back in The Day, M16's cost a whole lot less, in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Is it because the troops can carry more ammunition?  Is it because the emphasis on American military training has changed from 'accuracy' to 'volume of fire'?

Perhaps both of these factors.
_________________________________________________________

I'm not going to reach a conclusion here.  But you might.  And ... I think I've spent enough of our time for you to make up your own mind about whether the AR frame is better as a military arm (at $1,000/unit) or as a competitive arm (at considerably greater expense, but less cost in terms of fatalities).

You probably wouldn't agree with me.  But then, perhaps you've never seen a kid crying and cussing over a jammed AR when the bullets are flying.

We're havin' a Heat Wave!

Temperatures in the 90's ... approached 100 degrees yesterday. Too hot to type up here in The Hell Room. Blogging temporarily suspended until it snows. This is OREGON? Linda Ronstadt - Heat Wave - YouTube

Lax gun laws vs. Trayvon Martin's life: Our view

Lax gun laws vs. Trayvon Martin's life: Our view:  [USATODAY OPINION: July 16, 2013]

Just about every aspect of why and how George Zimmerman came to fatally shoot an unarmed teenager on Feb. 26, 2012, is open for debate. But one conclusion ought to be obvious: If Zimmerman had not been carrying a gun that night, Trayvon Martin would be alive today.

 OPPOSING VIEW: Armed Zimmerman was no Dirty Harry

An unarmed Zimmerman probably would have heeded police advice to stay in his truck after seeing someone he believed was "up to no good." And even if the neighborhood watch volunteer had left the vehicle, his altercation with Martin is unlikely to have turned deadly if a firearm had not been involved.
Viewed from that perspective, the Zimmerman case is a byproduct of a society that in the past three decades has made it easier for people to buy guns, to carry concealed guns, to take guns into more places, and to bear less responsibility to retreat from dangerous situations.

 My view:

Opinions are like .. rectums; everyone has one.

I've tried to stay away from the Florida trial and its ramifications, but this one hits straight into one of what are two of my most  personally important ideals: Personal Responsibility, and the Second Amendment.

I want to address each statement in this opening paragraph (the rest of the article is no better) to demonstrate the difference between "guns are bad" and "each situation must be considered in view of the facts" philosophies.




Point 1: If Zimmerman had not been carrying a gun that night, Trayvon Martin would be alive today.
 
Counterpoint: If Zimmerman had not been carrying a gun that night, George Zimmerman may not be alive today.

 It has been proven in court that Zimmerman was being savaged by (the bigger, stronger) Martin, who had the Neighborhood Watch Captain on the ground, underneath him, and who was beating Zimmerman's head against a concrete sidewalk.  The Florida Courts and a jury were willing to accept that Zimmerman was in fear for his life .. especially in view of Martin's shouted threat that "you're going to die tonight".  Zimmerman at that point had the option of thinking that Martin was merely speaking insincerely, or believing that Martin intended he would die that night.

Point 2: An unarmed Zimmerman probably would have heeded police advice to stay in his truck after seeing someone he believed was "up to no good."

Counterpoint:  I concur that Zimmerman made a monumentally bad decision.  Two stupid people made stupid decisions. The one with a gun failed to die before he could be beaten to death by his attacker.  Zimmerman should not have allowed the confrontation to occur, but how was he to know that the 'suspicious person' would turn violent?

Point 3: And even if the neighborhood watch volunteer had left the vehicle, his altercation with Martin is unlikely to have turned deadly if a firearm had not been involved.

Counterpoint:  Disagree.  As was accepted at the trial, Martin had voiced a death threat while he was in a position to make it happen, and he was obviously doing his best to beat Zimmerman to death.  Zimmerman was physically overwhelmed and, with no apparent other recourse, used his legally carried pistol to stop his assailant from murdering him.

Point 4:  Viewed from that perspective, the Zimmerman case is a byproduct of a society that in the past three decades has made it easier for people to buy guns, to carry concealed guns, to take guns into more places, and to bear less responsibility to retreat from dangerous situations.
 
Counterpoint:  Suddenly, this 'dialogue' shifts from specific allegations to societal/political issues.  This society has, in the past three decades, begun to pay attention to the nuances of the Second Amendment; it has ceased to abridge the right of The People to Keep and Bear Arms.

The fallacy of the Opinion published in the USA Today article is demonstrated in the last phrase: "... and to bear less responsibility to retreat from dangerous situations."

This statement completely ignores two of the most significant facts of the trial of George Zimmerman:

1. Zimmerman's attorney never raised the question of the Florida 'stand your ground'  law;
2. The 'stand your ground' law was not applicable, because Zimmerman had no opportunity to retreat.  He was on the ground, being pressed against the sidewalk by his larger, more aggressive attacker, who was trying his best to beat Zimmerman to death.  He could NOT retreat!

In any state in the union, a man who is being beaten, who has been verbally threatened (believably) with death,  who finds himself in a situation where he has no lesser defense against his attacker, and in his own defense can offer no better response than to use a weapon ... that man would not be charged, let alone tried, of felonious murder.

I have offered before that both actors in this tragedy were idiots.   But they at least had the small defense that they were acting in the heat of the moment, and had NO time to consider their actions in a calm, reflective manner.

The author of this Opinion article in the newspaper, however, has no defense against his careful statement which he has apparently been considering for days, if not months.

There is nothing more dangerous than a careful, reasonable idiot; the danger is that someone may not recognize him for one of the class of politically "Useful Idiots" to which he so obviously, proudly and cluelessly belongs.

George Zimmerman verdict: Former neighborhood watch leader not guilty in death of Fla. teen Trayvon Martin - Crimesider - CBS News

George Zimmerman verdict: Former neighborhood watch leader not guilty in death of Fla. teen Trayvon Martin - Crimesider - CBS News:

George Zimmerman verdict: Former neighborhood watch leader not guilty in death of Fla. teen Trayvon Martin

I've been very careful to NOT comment on this story until the jury verdict was rendered.

Yeah, like I'm going to affect their decision.

Now that it's all "over", and I can speak freely, here's my opinion.  As if anyone is interested:

The guy .. Zimmerman ... didn't have to be there. He didn't have to get out of his car.  He didn't have to be carrying.  He didn't have to confront "The Trespasser".  (T. Martin)

He (Zimmerman) was looking for a confrontation, and he got one.   He got to pull the trigger, and that's what he was hoping for.

The "perp", Trevon whatshisname?  He was bad news looking for a confrontation. He was trespassing,  he dismissed the 'security guard' (Zimmerman) as "a cracker"?  Come on, what does that matter?  Zimmerman didn't know, Martin's opinion had no influence.

It speaks volumes to Martin's attitude, and intentions.

Two hyped-up guys looking for a fight .. each found one.  The difference was, one brought a gun to the fight.

Stupid freaking idiots, neither one of them had any business being there.

Martin died.  What a shameful waste.  Any human life is worth saving.\
Zimmerman was acquitted .. of what?  Second Degree Murder?  I'm not sure whether he deserved judicial punishment, but come ON!  The guy is an idiot.  He makes people who carry firearms for their own defense look bad. Do I think he was fearful of his life because his head was being pounded into the sidewalk?  I don't know all the facts .. but I think he put himself into the situation, whatever it was .. willfully.

Would I have behaved differently?
I hope I wouldn't have been confronting the trespasser alone.  Don't these guys have radios, or cell phones?

Oh, didn't he phone 911?  yes, he did; the operator warned him to NOT challenge the interloper.
Zimmerman ignored what was, probably, in these circumstances ... good advice.


Bottom Line:

A pox upon both their houses!

Bottom line:  two idiots, one gun.

Stupid.  Stupid. Stupid.  If either of these congenital idiots had been stopped before they met, NONE of this had to happen.

If there was a federal law against being a stupid butt-****, Zimmerman would have been rightfully convicted.

Or, if it turned out differently, Martin would have been convicted.

Is there "No sex in Federal Lock-up?"   I know I'm being disingenuous here; work with me, okay?

If either of them had ended up in prison, and was deprived of the opportunity to have a woman in the room with them, the human race would be improved due solely to the fact that they would not have been allowed to reproduce.

Which is my fervent hope for "Not Guilty" Zimmerman.

In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny:
"What a bunch of Maroons!

Quinn Suspends Illinois Lawmakers' Pay

Quinn Suspends Illinois Lawmakers' Pay | NBC Chicago:

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced Wednesday he will use his veto power to suspend state lawmakers' pay after they missed his deadline to deliver pension reform. "This is an emergency," Quinn said. "This is a crisis. This requires the full attention of those who were elected to the General Assembly." Quinn said he informed the comptroller of his intentions to suspend all legislative salaries and stipends for the General Assembly and for himself until the reform is on his desk. 

He described the pay halt as a wake-up call for those who have failed for two years to take action on the state's pension crisis. 

[emphasis added]

No, this is a wake-up call for the legislature because they overrode his veto on the Concealed Carry bill!

... Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Buffalo Grove) said the move does "nothing to move us toward a solution to our pension crisis and only serves as an unnecessary distraction."
Quinn's gubernatorial opponents called it a stunt.
"The pension crisis won’t be solved by political stunts," Bruce Rauner said. "It will be solved by bold leadership that’s willing to take on the powerful interests in Springfield."
"It is obvious to everyone by now that this governor is long on press conferences and short on results," Bill Daley said. "This media sideshow doesn’t get things done, in fact it stands in the way."

The move comes a day after the Illinois legislature handily overrode Gov. Pat Quinn's amendatory veto to the concealed-carry bill.

This is The Illinois Machine talking.  

Imagine, only yesterday I thought I couldn't be more disgusted by Power Politics.

Now I realize that I can .. I am!

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Quinn-major-budgetary-announcement-214908511.html#ixzz2YhZETwCi

Good News for Chicago; Bad News for "The Machine"

Illinois Becomes Last State To Approve Concealed Carry | NBC Chicago:

Both the Illinois House and Senate on Tuesday voted to override Gov. Pat Quinn's revised gun bill, making the state the last in the country to allow firearms to be carried in public. 
The Senate voted 41-17 after the House's 77-31 vote to override Quinn's amendatory veto that wanted to keep guns out of places that serve alcohol and impose a one-gun limit. The votes came just before a midnight federal appeals court's deadline to allow Illinois residents to carry concealed guns. 
 Quinn used his amendatory [sic] veto last week to make changes to the compromise concealed carry bill already passed by the legislature.

In a not-so-surprising move, Illinois State Legislatures decided to support the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (as interpreted by the Supreme Court of The United States - SCOTUS) and over-ride the wishes of the Governor of that not-so-great state.

We in the rest of the country have heard that The Machine .. the political entity which controls politics in Illinois and especially in Chicago ... was and always will rule the state regardless of any 'outside' influence; such as SCOTUS.

Quinn's "amendments" would, among other points, limit the number of firearms one person could carry "concealed" to one (?), limit the number of magazines to one, and limit the number of rounds of ammunition carried to ten.  It would also mandate that the firearms carry 'concealed' would be "CONCEALED!" .. whatever that means.

Local Trepidation:

Not everyone in Illinois is jubilant about the new gun laws:   In an MSNBC article,  (titled:

Despite Chicago bloodshed, Illinois will allow concealed carry

...   one writer offered:

Some lawmakers from urban jurisdictions like Chicago voted against the concealed carry law, fearing it would lead to even more gun violence. The city has struggled to bring down the rate of murders and shootings, but over the 4th of July holiday weekend, at least 60 people were shot and 12 were killed in Chicago. Over Father’s Day Weekend, more than 40 people were shot and seven were killed by gun violence.
Tuesday’s passage was a significant victory for the NRA, after Congress failed to pass a bipartisan bill that would have strengthened background checks for all commercial gun purchases. Although President Obama continues his pledge to pressure Congress to pass stricter gun legislation, the state where he served as a senator voted to expand gun rights.

Oh, was anyone unaware that Chicago and Illinois are the center of Liberal Democrat politics?

But of course, it's all the fault of the NRA. 

The assertion that Chicago has " .. .struggled against gun violence ..." seems somehow a violation of the 'you can't have it both ways' rule.  "Gun Violence" is already rampant in Chicago, specifically, and  Illinois, generally.  Are shooting deaths going to go UP just because people can now defend themselves?  If so .. it's going to be the gang-bangers who suddenly must consider that the home-owner they are accustomed to terrifying may now be armed.  Wouldn't THAT be a rude awakening?

Increased restrictions on private possession of firearms hasn't worked, so what has the Governor of Illinois done to 'struggle against gun violence'?  He has tried even harder to prevent honest citizens from possessing the means to prevent Gun Violence and protect themselves.   Doesn't sound to ME that Governor Quinn has 'struggled' all that hard, considering that he is protected by armed guards at all time.

The proposed "concealed carry permit" would piggyback on a fee for a license to own a handgun, and why the CCP would cost $150.  (Not known yet whether that is per permit or per gun, but one assumes that it's "per permit" .. surely no responsible local government would double-bill a "per gun" permit!)
Nobody has yet mentioned that this would constitute an intolerable tax on the poor, who can probably ill-afford to purchase a firearm except at street-prices; expect stolen-gun prices to go up in the immediate future, by the way.  It's just business, driven by the Democratic Machine and their whining juvenile efforts to ensure that if they don't get to have everything their own way ... somebody else is going to pay!

For a comparison, some counties only charge $65 for a CHL ... but I'm sure Illinois knows best how to serve its citizens.  After all, they've done so well to date.



Significance:


Back in the early 1960's, then-President Dwight David Eisenhower posted armed federal marshals at the entrance to public schools in the Deep South to ensure that black students could attend 'mixed race' schools depending on their residential address .. not "separate but equal" schools, based on their race.

This Illinois acceptance of a Federal mandate is perhaps equally as significant as the true integration of educational opportunities.

Which is to say, not only must the states pay more than 'lip service' to the Constitution, but the states must also be prevented from undermining the clear intent of the Bill of Rights by imposing draconian and pettifogging restrictions on the civil rights of their citizens.

Chicago, we're looking at you here.  No more Tammany Hall; no more one-man rule.

This is a HUGE step forward for Gun Rights Advocates:

For too many years, we have heard of, and read the words of, citizens who have decided to leave their home state and move to where they can freely exercise their Civil Rights.  In this case, we're talking about the Second Amendment.

But this is not the only reason to move;  gay rights, excessive taxation, and other 'local rules' have brought about a forced migration.  It doesn't much matter what your personal issue is, or whether you are personally in favor of (or opposed to) the display of a Christian Cross on public land .. to cite just a few examples.   The Constitution is The Law of The Land, and this simple document defines the freedom of America.

It is  "Rule By Law".

Tough Time in Chicago

I know there are going to be 'troubles' in Chicago.  Somebody will take advantage of the new laws, and will be found guilty of 'brandishing' a firearm when he or she feels intimidated.  They will go to jail.  Some people will be shot; some of those people will not deserve it.

When you've been held down for so long, and you finally have the RIGHT to defend yourself, you may be lost in the heady reality of personal choice.

Illinois already had a tragic history of stupidity. Senseless shootings are reported on a DAILY basis.  Now, there will be a new twist for reporters; it's not just gang-bangers shooting the innocent, it will be the Honest Citizen who hasn't learned to merge his new freedoms with his new responsibilities.

But I am going out on the limb here and suggest that gang-bangers will learn a new brand of civility.

In the words of Robert Heinlein:  "An armed society is a Polite society."

Chicago may take a while to learn the lessons of civility, but the penalty for slow-learners has just increased.  Other states have learned these lessons with relatively few "hiccups" let us hope that Illinois citizens can learn to be Free Citizens rather than Subjects as easily, and with as few over-reactions.

And that's "A Good Thing"!

"Linked" text

It has come to my attention that recently sometimes text is red-highlited and, when it is clicked on it leads to some pop-up comment or explanation of the individual word.

You will recall that I mentioned a while back that I inadvertently (read: "stupidly") allowed some unwanted software was loaded on my computer.  This is one of them.  I'm still searching for that, and other "features" so I can delete them.    So far I haven't found all of them.  I can't even find the vendor on this one, so I can't do an "UNINSTALL".

Yes, I have gone through the control panel looking for recent installs;  Also, I've looked through my huge list of 'cookies', and everything else I can think of.

I'll continue to work on the problem.  If you have any suggestions, I'll be pleased to see if there's anything I've overlooked.

In the meantime, I beg your patience and forbearance.

This is embarasing!

Joe Biden: "The Distinguished Windbag from Connecticut!

I realize it's probably  ... low-brow to blog oneself, but this 2006 commentary on Joe Biden (The then-Distinguished Senior Senator from Connecticut" and today "Vice President of the United States of America did then, and remains today, the pro-typical and recalcitrant vision of our Fearless (almost) Leader (almost).

I'm reminded of this because, as of today, this is the most popular blog entry in my entire umpteen (okay, almost 9) years of blogging.  I prefer to consider that statistic to be an exemplar of the few, the very few blog articles which have reverberated in America's heart ...

okay, and maybe I feel a little vindicated in the sense that perhaps I'm not the only man in America who considers Joe Biden to be a bloviating Windbag!

Read and believe.  Or not.
It's an opinion article from a lustrum of prescience about the ineffectuality of Joe Biden in any governmental office whatever .. and that our new (a while back) President chose him for his Vice President speaks volumes about his own ineffectualiyt.

Cogito Ergo Geek: Yin and Yang: Peggy Noonan: Yesterday I called Mark Steyn "one of my all-time favorite political commentators". That hasn't changed, but now I see it's time to introduce another: Peggy Noonan. Ms Noonan often writes for the Wall Street Journal (see the link on the sidebar, under WSJ Opinion Journal), and if Steyn's style is to go for the gonads (in the nicest possible way), Noonan's style is to go to the heart (in the deadliest possible way). Steyn and Noonan are the Yin and Yang of political commentary. I love this lady. She has style, she has verve, and she has the sharpest knife in the drawer. She can slice and dice you in 600 words, and you wouldn't feel a thing as she cuts out your heart. Today her target was Joe Biden. For twenty years, I have referred to him as "The Distinguished Windbag from Delaware". Imagine how rewarding it is to read the following paragraph from today's column, as Ms Noonan typifies the congressional interrogation of Judge Samuel Alito by Senator Joe Biden. In part:

Go, and read the whole thing.

Or not.

Illinois towns reject call to pass assault weapons bans | Fox News

Illinois towns reject call to pass assault weapons bans | Fox News: SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –

 As Illinois prepares to become the last state in the country to allow the concealed carry of firearms, few of its communities appear concerned that the window allowing them to ban assault-style weapons will rapidly begin closing next week. 
Despite encouragement from Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon -- and on the verge of almost-certain enactment next week of a law allowing residents to carry concealed weapons -- only four communities have adopted semi-automatic gun restrictions out of more than two dozen taking them up. 
 According to interviews and information from gun-rights groups such as the Illinois State Rifle Association, 14 communities have rejected or decided not to act on proposed bans. Ten have yet to vote or have delayed consideration. All of them are in the Chicago metropolitan area. 
Those adopting bans -- Highland Park, North Chicago, Melrose Park, and Skokie -- join eight other cities, also near Chicago, that already regulate possession or sale and transfer of illegal weapons, according to research compiled by the Illinois House Democrats' staff.

High Hopes and Low Expectations.

Until Illinois gets rid of its ineffectual politicians (Illinois governor Pat Quinn, and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, there is little or no hope that the people who actually have to LIVE in this state .. outside of gubernatorial mansions .. will ever feel safe.

Islamic extremists kill 30 in school attack in northeast Nigeria | Fox News

Islamic extremists kill 30 in school attack in northeast Nigeria | Fox News: POTISKUM, Nigeria –

Islamic extremists have killed 29 students and one teacher in an attack on a boarding school in northeast Nigeria. Survivors being treated for burn and gunshots wounds say some students were burned alive in the attack before dawn Saturday on Government Secondary School in Mamudo town in Yobe state. As he wept over the bodies of his two boys, farmer Malam Abdullahi swore he would withdraw three remaining sons from a nearby school. He complained there was no protection for students despite the deployment of thousands of troops since the government declared a state of emergency mid-May in three northeastern states. Dozens of schools have been torched and unknown scores of students killed among more than 1,600 victims slain by extremists since 2010.

Apparently, it's not just Chicago which cannot find a solution to violence in the streets.

When will politicians notice that laws and troops don't bring peace when only the lawless are armed and that a peaceful society is not effected by the application of gutted laws and gutless troops?

A Case for Soccer Ball Control?

Brazil soccer referee killed during match; his head displayed on stake midfield | Fox News:

A soccer referee was beheaded and his head displayed atop a wooden stake at midfield after a match erupted in violence in Brazil.
 The bloody brouhaha began when the match’s referee, Otávio Jordan da Silva de Catanhede, became embroiled in an argument with player Linda dos Santos Abreu over a disputed call during a game in the town of Pius XII.
 The argument reportedly ended with Jordan ejecting Abreu. Following the player’s ejection from the game, Abreu and Jordan began to fight. During the fight, Jordan produced a small knife and stabbed Abreu, 31, who reportedly died of his injuries en route to a local hospital.
 “A crime will never justify the other." - Valter Costa, law enforcement official Friends and family of the deceased subsequently rushed the field, tied up Jordan, 20, fatally stoned him, quartered his body, and then, according to the Associated Press, which cited local media accounts of the murder, staked the referee's head at midfield of the soccer pitch.

Obviously, Brazilian Style Soccer will never survive a holiday weekend in Chicago.

Which is possible the single viable argument in favor of the municipality of Chicago.

On the other hand .. can't we just nuke them all?

Okay, that statement is definitely out of line.
In the words of Gremlins2: "Fun, but in no sense Civilized!" (paraphrased)

Media Slant: I have no respect for "The Media"

Aaron Hernandez leased secret ‘flop house’ with boxes of ammo found by�police | SI Wire:

The evidence continues to mount against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez.
 After being charged with first-degree murder in June for the execution-style shooting of acquaintance Odin Lloyd, and subsequent findings of links to other shootings and incidents, the 23-year old Hernandez is now reported to have rented a secret “flop house,” a place typically reserved for minimal services such as storage.
SI Wire: Report Aaron Hernandez involved in domestic disturbance incident last year
According to a report Wednesday from the Associated Press, Hernandez, who is now one of 29 NFL players arrested since the Super Bowl, had reportedly leased a $1,200 per month apartment in Franklin, Mass., where state police found boxes of ammunition, a sweatshirt and a baseball cap, among other items.

I don't really know what the facts are behind this story.  I don't care for spectator sports (such as football) and certainly I don't pay much attention to sports stories.

But this story caught my eye, because of the way the media instinctively slants news stories to support their preconceived notions.

Primary in their first three paragraphs are the words "flop house" and "boxes of ammunition".

First ... a $1,200 apartment isn't a "flop house" to most of us.  I recognize that Hernandez (about whom I've never heard before this week, and I know absolutely nothing about .. what's his first name?) is probably making more money in a month than I make a year.  But $1200 a month isn't chump change to most of us.

The use of words to make a point is the definition of  'yellow journalism'.  The author is painting a picture which exists in his mind's eye.  It doesn't exist in mine.

Second, the use of the phrase "boxes of ammunition" is vague ...

• Five boxes of .45 ammunition (the caliber of the shells found on Lloyd’s body), five boxes of rifle ammunition, and one box of .22-caliber ammunition.

Let's interpret:

1.  ... five boxes of .45 (one assumes that's ".45 ACP") is at 50 rounds per box ...  250 rounds of .45 ACP ammunition.  I take that much ammunition to a single IPSC match, because the minimum round count at even a club match is ~130 rounds, and you never know if you're going to have to reshoot a stage or two.  For some people, that may constitute "an arsenal"; for others of us, it's the Minimum Daily Requirement for "A Day At The Range".
2.  ...  five boxes of rifle ammunition.  That's also the MDR for a day of varmint shooting. At 20 rounds per box, it's 100 rounds.  A bit more than I would usually carry for deer hunting, I admit.  But when you add in sight-in days at the range before the start of season, it's ample for the entire annual season if you want to be sure that all of your ammunition will perform at the same level of expectation.
3. ... one box of .22-caliber ammunition.  Again, that's at 50 rounds for box.  (NOTE: a "BRICK" is ten boxes, for a total of 500 rounds.  The article said "Box", not "Brick".) Generally speaking these rounds are appropriate for plinking, or small-size varmint hunting, or for target shooting.

Given the level of hype which The Media has apparently applied to this story, it's impossible to tell what the kid was planning to do  with this ammunition.  And  that's The Point.

The Point is that the news story presents the possession of less ammunition as "A Bad Thing" .. by strong inference, since it's the main issue of the story.

NOBODY has been convicted of a crime in court, as well as I can determine.

NOBODY has even charged with the egregious  attempt to overthrow the government with (at my best guess) 400 hundred rounds of mixed ammunition.   Somebody died in relation to this individual, the "Hernandez".

Here, the Media in the person of Sports Illustrated Wire has not-too-subtly insinuated that this individual must have had nefarious intent when he accumulated 400 rounds of ammunition in a "flop house" .. the inference is that he kept the ammo in a throw-away residence for the purpose of nefarious activity.  Yes, I know know I used the word "nefarious" twice;  that's the effect of the article in it's yellow-journalism phraseology.

I have no views on the Hernandez meme in terms of the presentation .. which is hypothetical at best, and misleading at worst.  As I said, I don't know the facts of the story and I don't much care.

What bothers me more (with apologies to Hernandez, if I seem to be ignoring the main point in HIS life story) is the careless use of inference that mere (legal) possession of (legal) ammunition somehow infers or implies guilt.

After all, if he was an "Honest Citizen", why would he need to own 'so much ammunition'. And why would he 'hide it' in a 'flop house'???

The answer is .. the man has broken no laws here.   IMPLYING that he has done so, or that the mere possession of ammunition suggests that he had nefarious intent, is entirely irresponsible for a publication which purports to be about sports; not about politics.

THAT, my friends, is the very definition of Yellow Journalism.

And it sucks.

To Live and Die in Chicago

At least 9 dead, dozens wounded in Chicago during holiday weekend shootings | Fox News:

CHICAGO – Shootings in Chicago during the Fourth of July holiday weekend have left at least nine people dead and several dozen wounded, including two boys shot in different parks.
Gov. Pat Quinn said Sunday that such continued violence underscores why he dramatically altered a gun bill that will end Illinois' last-in-the nation ban on carrying concealed firearms -- a prohibition that's been declared unconstitutional by a federal appeals court.
 "That ought to be an alarm bell to all of us that we need strong laws that protect the public safety, especially when it comes to guns," the Chicago Democrat told reporters after speaking at a church on the city's West Side. "It's time to end the violence."

 Definition of "Insanity":   Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.

Open Letter to Illinois governer Pat Quinn:
Dear Governor Pat,
one of the greatest cities in America, the most free nation in the history of the world, has one of the most pitiable histories of firearms violence .. and restrictions.

Yet in Chicago there are some of the most extreme restrictions to firearms restrictions in the country.  You and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel have supported bans on firearms ownership, carry, and usage.  You are, I hope, aware that there are only two legal gunshops in the near vicinity of the Chicago metropolis?

You blame the constantly expanding ownership of guns on imports from other states.  You pass more laws restricting ownership for the purpose of .. what?  Keeping them out of the hands of criminals?

The recent spate of shootings in Chicago underlines the success of your programs, and you response is to impose even more laws.   It ain't working.

Pat, you are a well-beloved and dear, personal friend.  You and Rahm and I have spent many pleasant evenings over drinks in the comfort of the private "Chicago Club" chatting about this problem.  I have often suggested that you reconsider your policy of imposing restrictions on ownership of firearms by honest citizens, and you seem deaf to my friendly suggestions that ... it's not working, pal!

May I once again suggest that the problem is not that the laws aren't well-intended.  The problem is that the people who are causing all the problems aren't the people who obey the laws.  The problem is that you have a bunch of drugged-up gang-bangers who see no reason why they shouldn't just go out and blast away at will.

Doesn't it seem reasonable to experiment with allowing your honest citizens to arm themselves in self-defense?

What do you have to lose?

The common objection to "Concealed Carry" is that "... there will be slaughter in the streets!"

Well .. what do you have now?

You and Rahm both know that otherwise-honest people have guns, even though you haven't allowed them to do so legally.   But most people there are honest and law-abiding; they're reluctant to break the law, because of the risk that they will be imprisoned for their attempts to depend hearth, home and family.  They're just struggling to do the best they can, without any help from you or Rahm.  And you're fighting tooth and nail against federal changes to this arbitrary restriction:

Quinn, who has advocated for a statewide assault weapons ban, spent much of the holiday weekend discussing the violence. He drastically altered a concealed carry bill that lawmakers sent to him, calling it a matter of safety.
Illinois lawmakers have to come up with a law by Tuesday and are expected to override Quinn's changes, which call for a one-gun limit on the number of weapons a person can carry and a ban on guns at establishments with liquor licenses, among other things.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/07/07/authorities-at-least-dead-dozens-wounded-in-chicago-during-holiday-weekend/?intcmp=trending#ixzz2YQg8OfqW

Pat, an 'assault weapon' is any gun that you deem it to be; you deem every weapon an 'assault weapon'; and as long as you restrict access to all firearms, your citizenry .. your constituency .. is being slaughtered in the streets.  Pretty soon, you'll only get votes from gangsters.  Pretty soon, the only people left in Chicago will be gangsters.

It occurs to me that you and Rahm .. and his predecessors, and your predecessors .. have been trying for decades to resolve this "Gun Violence" issue by putting more laws on the books.  It should be as obvious to you as it is to your constituents and to outside observers that Gun Control just ain't working for you.  Or for them.

Why?

Because the gang-bangers and the crazies have no fear of reprisal  Sure, once in a while your cops ("Chicago's Finest!") arrest someone for a shoot-em-up-in-the-streets.  He becomes a hero to his brothers, and the beat goes on.  Nothing changes, and more people die because they can't defend themselves or their families.  These honest people already know they can't depend on YOU to defend them.  The nation is amazed that there are still a few targets left in Chicago for your hoods to hunt down and slaughter.  God knows YOU aren't establishing any effective measures to stop the slaughter.

If you let people defend themselves, maybe some of these hoodlums will get shot down.  It's an accepted significant statistic that 10% of the people cause 90% of the problems.  If enough of those bad guys die while killing innocents, it won't be long before you see a decrease of gun violence.  And the headlines will soon be running less headlines about  "Firearms Violence" and more about "City Remains Peaceful During Fourth Of July Week"!

They'll hail you for your imaginative leadership, and you'll get re-elected.

What's that you say?  You expect to get re-elected anyway?

I'm sorry you feel that way, Pat.  I can only offer two words of advice to a man who won't look at a situation and be willing to try another approach.

STUPID JACKASS!

Yes, you and your buddy Rahm, too.

Thank GOD I don't live in Chicago!

FORD stands for Found On Road Dead!

ADVENTURE:  - the experience when someone travels far from home, where exciting and unusual events occur in a place where nobody is around to help you.

CRAPPY DAY: - see "ADVENTURE", except it happens to you.
_________________________________________________________________

Some of you may have been aware that I had planned my annual vacation for this week.  My plan was that I would leave Monday, July 1, and drive the 900 miles from my home to San Diego.  My children, and my grandchildren, live there.  This has become an annual event over the past few years and I have been looking forward to the trip for months.

It's a not-insignificant drive but I've made it before.  A 300-mile-a-day average isn't beyond reason, even though I'll be doing all the driving myself.  I had many gifts for my family members in the car, and I was eager to share their holiday with them.  Someone had suggested that I just fly down there, but the gifts included family heirlooms made of glass, and I am unwilling to subject those items to UPS, or other trans-shipment firms.   They are literally irreplaceable.

In the actual event, I got a late start on Monday the First, so I only made 100 miles the first day.   It was still daylight when I got to the area where I had made phone reservations for a motel room, and I couldn't find the hotel sign which the company representative had assured me was "visible from the hiway".

I pulled off at the Sutherlin, Oregon exit and decided to use the GPS/MAPS function of my new StupidPhone to find directions.  Unfortunately, since I'm still learning to use this device-of-the-devil, I missed a turn and had gone 4 miles past the 6.6 mile distance I had expected to travel before I decided I had made a mistake.  Obviously, I needed to backtrack, as I was traveling WEST when I intuitively knew I should be traveling NORTH.

I found a short straight stretch on the back-country road, and attempted a U-turn.

I completed the first half of the turn when my engine died.  I couldn't get it started again.  I was blocking the road in both directions .. there was no room for any vehicle to avoid me on either side of the road, and there was only 50 yards of straight travel in either direction.  In the west, there was a blind curve; in the east, there was a hill.

Fortunately, I didn't panic.  The first thing I did was to put on my emergency blinkers.  Then, noticing that there was a short 'down-slope' behind me, and the entrance to a gravel pit with room to accomodate my SUV, I managed to jump out and laboriously push my D.O.F. ("Damned Old Ford") far enough that only the first two feet of the car projected out into one lane.

THEN I paniced!

By the time all of this happened, it was already 7:30pm. Only a little over 90 minutes remained until night, and my car was black.

Fortunately, a couple of young men came by, traveling in the same direction I had came from .. toward civilization, as passes for such in this benighted country where (you can see this coming) there was no cell phone reception.  Since I could not call AAA for help, I was mightily grateful that they volunteered to help me push the D.O.F. fully off the road, and then give  me a ride back to town.

Nick and Justin were generous, responsible young men.  And I didn't say a word about their learned analysis of the probably causes of my mechanical issues.  Nor did I mention that I had experienced the same problem in May, had my car towed to the local FORD dealer, and that their mechanics were unable to diagnose the problem (and charged me $100 to tell me they don't know why it mysteriously dies).

Unknown to them, the same thing had happened to me in April, but I was in a 'safe place' when it happened.

Having been forewarned that this was a recurring problem, I had undertaken the trip with some trepidation.  My game plan was that if it happened again, I would wait until the car had cooled down sufficiently to restart, and then immediately return home.

In the actual event, I called AAA at 8:30pm (when I finally got back to a place -- Sutherlin, on the I5 Freeway-- where there were places to eat and cell phone service.  It took until 10pm until the towing service phoned me (there was some communications problems; AAA didn't tell the tow truck driver that I was in Sutherlin and my car was 10 miles West of there.  Eventually, at 10:30 the tow truck and I got to the D.O.F. at 10:30 pm, and it was another 30 minutes until he helped me find my hotel.  It was 15 miles further up the road. (When the tow truck got me to the car, it started right up!  So I asked him to lead me to my motel, which at least HE had no trouble finding.)

Note to future travelers:  the "Oakland, Oregon Motel 6" is actually located in RICE HILL, which is 10 miles north of Oakland, Oregon.  Which, in turn, is 6 miles north of Sutherlin, which is 10 miles east of where I broke down.

I'm still grumpy.  I spent Independence Day at home, alone, listening to my collegiate neighbors blowing up firecrackers and bottle rockets.  It reminded me of Viet Nam in it's intensity; now I wish I had been in a sufficiently good mood to go outside and watch the local fireworks show.  As it was, I heard the neighbors stomping on my roof as they were jostling for "the good seats".  I was not in a mood for community or conviviality, though.

After the holiday week is fully over, I'll be taking my D.O.F. back to the dealership which was unable to diagnose the problem.  I'll instruct them to start replacing fuel-system components, starting with the fuel line and up to (and including) fuel pump until I quit having these problems.

---

I've always looked upon this annual journey as an adventure.  Sometimes, though, the adventure is just too much,

I told my Daughter and Son, and their spouses, that I knew their children would be terribly disappointed that I would not get to see them this summer.

The grandchildren did not disappoint me;  they were entirely unmoved by the news that "Grandpa Won't Be With Us This Summer".

Good News:  Both Daughter and Son, and their families, will probably be moving closer (by 600 miles) to where I live, by next summer.

I'm thinking of renting hotel space for all 11 of them for next Fourth of July, and inviting them to visit ME next Fourth of July.

It would be a lot cheaper.

And a whole lot less frustrating.

Stoopid Computer Things!

A few days ago I decided to re-install a piece of software which I had used for (literally) years with no problems .. but had not previously installed on my recently-purchased computer.

Doesn't matter what it was .. I had full confidence.

But the links lead to an unfamiliar link.  Doesn't matter what that was, either.

The point is ... it lead me to a website named something like "download.com" and the sequence of accept/reject questions managed to sneak in a few questions which were formatted in the EXACT same way without making it clear that they were suggesting that I accept software which I had not ever heard of before.

Fool that I was, I accepted a couple of them before I realized what was going on.  And I have had nothing but problems with "pop-ups" and inadvertant sidetracks in the days since I made my unwise decisions.

So, here's a few (hopefully) helpful suggestions for you:

• When you decide to download/install software online .. be really careful that you read EACH page of text,
• If the test seems the same as your original "OKAY" page , it's not something that you entered incorrectly .. it's a subtly different test sequence which commits you to accepting software that you've never heard of before.
• Any software which begins with "SWEET" or "TIDY" .. unless you have already made the fully informed decision to download that software ... should be definitively rejected!
• You may think that anything you  download can be uninstalled using the Microsoft UNINSTALL protocols (for example).  Here's a tip:  it doesn't always completely delete/uninstall the software that you may 'suspect' is causing you problems.
• the stuff you realize .. belatedly .. that is is f*cking up your system?  It is.  And you let it in, because you didn't pay attention to the original questions when you were trying to install a perfectly benign software package.
• STOP!  You're ignoring this!  I am telling you, this sh*t can f*ck you up seriously .. and if you're ignoring it, you're more of a dumb-ass than I was!  (Don't say I didn't warn you!) 
• When you try to uninstall this bogus software .. don't expect the usual Windows (?) software to deal with it.  It's sneakier than that.

WTF?

Okay, all I'm sayng is that .. I consider myself a fairly 'savvy' computer guy, but I discovered (too late) that I had been cleverly lolled into complacency because I became impatient while downloading "trusted" softwar .. and I mindlessly hit  the "accept" button because it looked to me as if the computer was slow in responding, and I was bored.

These folks are smarter than I am.  Maybe they're even smarter than you!

So, just in case: when you EVER accept an online download, do NOT do what I did!

Don't click on "ACCEPT" or even hit ENTER when you are already downloading software.  Download-dot-com may  be a legitimate website; but it only takes ONE  broken link in the admittedly  fault chain of internet access to be "dirtied" to the effect that you are sucked into giving them  information  (or access permissions) which are inappropriate. Happened to me, but I don 't think I sent out TOO much information  before I caught on to them.

No, that's not honest.  I was Totally taken by surprise, and I provided a LOT of private information before I discovered that these guys were ,,,

,,, CROOKED!

It won't help me, but it may help you if you decide to stand up to the  Corporate Greed which has led us to this juncture.

I don't believe. I just type these words;  hopefully next year when I will "BRILLIANTLY" think it out  to its logical conclusion, I can fix it.  In the meantime.. just do the best you can, okay?

  These guys are .....      

ignore all of the above text.  the person you think wrote it was a mindless bot.  we have only your best interests in mind.  we know what you need better than you do.  nothing can possibly go wrong.
nothing can go wrong. nothing can go wrong. nothing can go wrong.
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Why "Gun People" don't trust "Anti-Gun People"

Snell: Waking the dragon — How Feinstein fiddled while America burned - Iowa State Daily: Opinion:

Gun people don’t trust anti-gun people because in a single breath they tell us that the Second Amendment is irrelevant today and should be repealed because semi-automatic weapons didn’t exist when the Bill of Rights was written, then turn around and say the First Amendment protects radio, television, movies, video games, the Internet, domain names, Facebook and Twitter. Carrying liberal logic on the Second Amendment through to the First Amendment, it would only cover the town crier, and hand-operated printing presses producing only books and newspapers, and nothing else. Even anything written with a No. 2 pencil or ballpoint pen would not be included. And those of you belonging to religions that formed after the 1790s? You’re screwed under liberal logic, too.

Two Things:
First, thanks to The G-Man for pointing us at this extended article.  It is thick with links and references, and I have not yet managed to follow them all up.  As G-Man says: "this is a long article ..." -- but worth the time you might choose to spend following the thread.

Gun people don’t trust anti-gun people because, while liberals seek to expand government regulation and services — things that may not be bad or ill-intended on their own — they simultaneously try to curtail the Second Amendment. We don’t trust anti-gun people for this reason because history shows us that every genocide and democide is preceded by expansion of government power and gun control. We don’t trust anti-gunners because here in America, gun control is rooted in slavery and racism, with some of America’s modern anti-gun laws being direct copies of former Nazi laws that banned gun possession for Jews, blacks, gays and other “undesirables.”

Second: someone has done his homework; has learned how to construct an essay; has a passion for his subject matter; has determined to provide references to sources; and found an audience.

Gun people don’t trust anti-gun people because they keep saying they “respect the Second Amendment” and go on about how they respect the hunting traditions of America. We don’t trust you because you have to be a complete idiot to think the Second Amendment is about hunting. I wish people weren’t so stupid that I have to say this: The Second Amendment is about checking government tyranny. Period. End of story. The founders probably couldn’t have cared less about hunting since, you know, they just got done with that little tiff with England called the Revolutionary War right before they wrote that “little book” called the Constitution.

---

I don't know any more about the author than you do, but I'm terribly impressed.  This author has said everything I have been trying to say for the past eight years, and compressed into 3,000 words (give or take) everything I have tried to say in 10,000 word (and probably, considerably more ... and more precisely!)

Liberals always make the common plea, “We need to get some experts to solve this problem!” for any public policy issue that comes along, which is a good thing. But when it comes to the gun issue, gun expertise is completely irrelevant to the anti-gunner — people who probably have never fired a gun or even touched one in real life, and whose only experience with guns is what they’ve seen in movies or read about in bastions of (un)balanced, hyper-liberal journalism, like Mother Jones. That a pro-gun person might actually know a lot about their hobby or profession doesn’t stand up against the histrionic cries of the anti-gunner.

How can we “gun people” honestly be expected to come to the table with anti-gunners when anti-gunners are willfully stupid about guns, and openly hate, despise and ridicule those of us who own them? There must first be respect and trust — even just a little — before there can be even the beginnings of legitimate discussion of the issue.

I can't make you read this article, let alone follow the (very informative) links which the author provides.

So .. consider it a 'project'.  Go to the link and take just a few bits here and there.  I suspect that you will, as I have, take a moment to reflect on how the issues have been so dramatically skewed to fit the Liberal psychology and bias, in the referenced links.

For only one example: Rev, Al Sharpton et al

Published on Jan 9, 2013

VP Joe Biden To Meet With NRA Gun-NUTS

 

Connecticut Massacre & How Right-Wing 'Gun-NUTs' Have Twisted The 2nd Amendment

First Day On The Job; Vietnam, 1969

Y'know how your first day on a new job is suppose to be a sort of  'breaking in' experience?   Somebody welcomes you at the door, shows you around the workplace, introduces you to your co-workers.   Maybe you take a coffee break with them, to kind of establish the first blush of an interpersonal bond.   Probably the Boss takes you into his office and tells you what to expect, and just were you fit in.

September 29, 1969:   First Infantry Division Base Camp at Dian, Republic of Vietnam

I had been in country for a week, during which time I went through In-processing  and assigned to the First Division.  We had a day in the repo-depot first ("replacement depot"), where we were 'housed' in crude buildings and slept on cots with springs but no mattresses no mattresses. We were given one pair of jungle fatigues, one pair of boots, and a helmet.  No underwear except for an Olive Drab T0shirt; nobody wore underpants in Viet Nam because of the heat and the humidity..  We also received 'back pay' ... I was issued $355 ... in five dollar bills.  I walked around with this wad in my pocket until I was assigned to a Company, when it went into the Company Safe by the First Sgt.

We went through a two-day "refresher" training where, since we were Infantry, we did "Patrol Exercises".  Nobody was issued ammunition, although we had M-16 rifles.

At Day Six, I was told I would join my platoon (Third platoon, or "Third Herd") of Lima Company 1st of the 16th, the next day. I would be picked up by the resupply helicopter at 0900, but I would be given ammunition by the Executive Officer at 0800.  Also .. magazine carriers, "Light combat" (LC or 'Alice') butt-pack and webgear, etc. would be issued an hour before the liftoff.

Sure enough the helicopter was at the appointed place at the appointed time, and so was I.  I had my ten magazines (loaded to 18 rounds hardball each) three canteens of luke-warm water, harness, aid kit (a bandage suitable for wrapping around my chest in case I suffered a "sucking chest wound").  They didn't issue me my claymore mine, but we all carried one as a rule.  Oh, and no insignia was to show unless it was 'demure', which means it was black and nobody could tell your rank unless they were close enough to touch you.

This was the big day, I was finally out of school forever.  I climbed aboard the Uh-1 "Huey" helicopter, capable of carrying 6 combat-loaded infantry men.  There was me, and a stack of C-rations four feet high, wide and deep.  Plus about a dozen 5-gallon disposable plastic jugs of water.

Plus the pilot, co-pilot, and crew-chief/door-gunner with his bungie-cord-mounted M-60 .30 caliber machine gun.
--
That was when I  discovered the Thrill of Flying!  It was great!  When you're 1,000 feet high, the heat and the humidity don't matter.  Both side-doors were open and for the first time since the 737 jet had landed at the airport in Saigon, I wasn't sweating and the air didn't smell of rotten lettuce!

_______________________

INSERTION:

20 minutes later we landed in what I later learned had been a "hot LZ".  The Landing Zone was under fire from VC troops (or NVA ... who knew who was shooting at us?  I rarely knew that much about the enemy unless we were close enough to actually see them) and all the Crew Chief had to say was:

"OUT!  OUT!  OUT OF THE CHOPPER NOW!   But first, grab a couple of C-cases 'cause we're dumping our load right here right now!"


So I slung my rifle, and with a case of C's under each arm (same size and weigh of a case of Budweiser Beer, I discovered: I can do this!) I jumped the four feet from the deck of the chopper to the floor of the small clearing which was --- soggy.  I sank up to my ankles in muck, stumbled, dropped the C's, planted my face in the ground in the Front Leaning Rest Position.


Welcome to The Real Viet Nam.

Nobody picked me up, but they surely picked up the C's.   I later learned that this was all the food that a full platoon had available to eat for the next two or three days.  They had their priorities, and a FNG  (F*cking New Guy .. even if he was a Staff Sergeant and a potential Platoon Sergeant) was not among the things they cared about.

That was Lesson 1.
___________________________

DURATION:
SOMEBODY came around and mentioned quickly that they were taking fire from the woodline across the way (an open area) and that they were going to be picked up in 10 minutes to be re-inserted in another area.  For general information, they would NOT break down (distribute) the food now; they would carry it individually to the next LZ.

I got the impression that their priorities were:

1. Get the hell out of here
2. save the food
3. make sure everyone got on their assigned chopper
4. leave nobody .. even the FNG .. behind

I found some comfort there, even though I had no idea what was going on.

In fact, the first Eagle Flight (five helicopters each) had already left, carrying the Platoon Leader (Lieutenant Commanding), Radio Operators for all 3 squads, and most of the men before Specialist 4 Somebody told me what was going on.

There was an unknown force of unknown force of unknown size "plinking at us" from the treeline across the open area .. I already had figured out that the 'open area' was tall grass in a bog .. nobody could cross it in an assault, but it provided good visual acquisition of any targets who were so stupid as to stand out in the open.

Unfortunately, the only place where the helicopters could land to pick up our troops was at the verge, where the bog wasn't so deep.  The choppers couldn't actually LAND, of course, but they could hover "real close" to the ground.  Comforting thought, that, and it explained my face-plant when I jumped out of the chopper a few minutes ago.

Has it only been ten minutes?  And why isn't anyone shooting at us now?  There are still a dozen troops here .. the army will have to send at least two more choppers to complete the extraction.

The Nameless Spec4  (Specialist Fourth Class .. what the Marines would call a Lance Corporal) I had been talking to explained it to me.

"They're waiting for the helicopters to come back.  They know we're here, and they know we're not going to stay.  here, so when the choppers pick us up they'll unload with everything they've got as soon as we load onto the birds.  That's when the bad shit starts."

He had an idea, though, and he had  an M-72 Rocket Anti-Tank Missile (disposable).  Actually, that's the American version of the RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) ... reasonably accurate up to 400 yards (yeah, right!) and although it is an Armor Piercing Missile, if it hits a tree trunk it could conceivably be considered an "area weapon".  His plan was that as soon as the choppers hit 'hover', he would fire the M-72 into the opposing woodline.  That should disconcert (not his word) the opposition (not his word either) long enough for us to board and lift off.

Damn!  He was the ugliest man I had ever seen, but he was at that moment the smartest man I had ever met.  I agreed with his plan, and when the final 2 choppers came in for the pickup, I told him to pick his time and do his stuff.  It barely crossed my mind that I had the rank and the training, but he had the smarts and whatever he suggested I would agree to.

LESSON 2
________________________________

Extraction:
So the choppers came in, started their landing (they had to hover first because we were in the trees and they were in the open), and Spec4 Ugly launched his rocket against the treeline.

WHAM!

I made sure he carried the empty M-72 tube ("Charley" could use it for a mortar, or a booby trap) but we hopped onto the chopper and I swear we walked across the water getting to the PZ (Pickup Zone)!

Later, we learned that the first Eagle Flight had taken fire; the bird that the LT, his radioman, his platoon medic and his closest people were on had several AK-47 strikes against the floor of the chopper, but nobody was injured and the bird wasn't injured.





We received NO incoming fire during our extraction, as nearly as I could tell.  The Crew Chief was working the woodline with his M60, and we had a couple of attack choppers providing covering fire.  Well, we may have been shot out, but we weren't hit and nobody bled; that's good enough news for any hot extraction.
 _________________________________________________

The SOI in the Swamp:
Five minutes or an hour later (I was still on some kind of adrenalin rush, my sense of time was short-circuited so I have no idea how much time had elapsed) we were the last pair of choppers to put down in our new Area of Operations.  I never learned why we were sent there.

We disembarked on what turned out to be the wrong side of a swamp.  It was essentially open water (as opposed to the grassy bog which had been my first real introduction to Viet Nam terrain), but the place where we put boots on the ground was relatively high and dry.

The first order of business was to distribute the C-rations and the water.   Everybody took enough C-rats to last them for the next two days (six rats, 3 per day) and there was some squabbling about who got which of their favorite foods.  I later learned that this was typical; the first thing you do is grab food and disperse.  Later, you can horse-trade, but it gives you a stronger 'trading position' if you can get your favorites first.  Second priority .. get something you know somebody else wants; you can always jerk him around and end up with better food.

Then the Platoon Leader, Lieutenant Maverick, sought me out and introduced himself to me.  I am using mostly nom de'gueres here; not to protect them but because it was 40 years ago and I don't remember everyone's names.  He had been an E6 Staff Sgt, but went to OCS for his commission.  They call this transition from NCO to Officer a "MAVERICK", so that works for me.

He told me that they were going to distribute their resupply, burn the excess, then move east across the northern edge of what was called "The Heart Shaped Woods".

This was a notorious VC/NVA  sanctuary.  It was all low brush ... mostly less than 6' high but very dense.  It was guarded by booby traps and ambushes at all times.  We were looking for trails, and for VC/NVA hunting parties who were looking for game or other food sources to feed the majority of the units which were known to be hiding there.
_____________________________

SOI:
There was one problem, which escalated to another.

First, we had to cross a large, wide (if shallow) swamp to get to the Heart Shaped Woods.  It was only knee-deep, but had a soft silty bottom and footing was tricky.  We crossed it single-file, widely separated so as to offer the smallest possible number of targets in what was, essentially, an open area.

Unfortunately, the Platoon Kilo (Radio Man), slipped and fell into the water.  He struggled back to his feet and completed the crossing, but a few minutes later he discovered that he had lost his "S.O.I."


The SOI (Strategic Operating Index, if I recall it correctly) was his Radio Code Book.  It had all the daily codes for the entire Division in it, and it was classified TOP SECRET!



We needed to have it, almost as much as we need Charley to NOT have it!

1.  Each page was a daily "one time" code, upon which all of our radio transmissions would be based.   Without it we could not be confident that our transmissions would be 'transparent' to Charley.
2. If we couldn't recover it, we would have to resort to 'ad hoc' obfuscations, such as "we are 3 clicks north of the blue line, and 1 click west of the red line'.  "Blue line" is a water source, such as a river, and usually the most prominent terrain feature on the map we were currently using .. designated by a six-digit code.  "Red line" was a road, usually the main road on the same map.  Unfortunately, Charley had maps, too, and he could usually tell the general area from our transmission strength, so this was exceedingly poor security.  We obviously did not want the enemy to know our location, even in general terms (within 1000 meters).
3. If Charley found the SOI (code book), he would have the codes for EVERY transmission in the Division for the rest of the month. 

So ... most of the platoon spent the next x-minutes (20?) wading through the swamp, looking for the SOI.

We never found it.  Instead, the LT decided that it was too dangerous for us to linger in a known insertion LZ, and we should move out.  Besides, if we couldn't find the SOI .. by the time Charley found it, it would be too soggy to be readable.  He checked with "higher" (ie: Division Command) and received permission to 'combat loss' the SOI.  Bonuse: we would be extracted before nightfall, and a new emergency SOI would be issued "soon".  ( I doubt that ever happened, but it could have.)

So, we performed three actions before we moved out to check the perimeter of The Heart Shaped Woods":

1. We distributed the water, and the C-rations; we could move farther, faster, when we had no load other than what we carried in our Alice Butt-Packs.  (I knew by then just how much it slowed a man down to carry a case of C-rations ... and you were NOT combat-ready in that configuraion!)  LESSON 3
2. We dug a hole, and put all the leftovers in there, and lit them on fire.  This includes the used PRC-25 (Personal Radio Combat/Model 25) batteries; they got hot and blew up which along with the general fire helped keep the left-behinds from becoming assets to the enemy.  They LOVED our C-rations!
3. We designated a 'rear guard', a small (3-man) detachment to watch our back trail.  They could see if Charley sneaked in to steal our left-overs, and fire him up.  They could tell if Charley was searching the bog for the lost SOI.  And finally, they could tell if Charley was following us on our patrol.

We heard the Batteries blow up as we worked our way away from the swamp.  Twenty minutes later, after the fire in the disposal pit had died out, our rear guard caught up with us.  They saw nothing, they saw nobody. On the other hand, who knows how long they really stayed that far behind us?  It's possible that they may have waited only a few minutes before they started following us.  I never knew; I never asked.
____________________________

Oh-Oh:
I was assigned (informally) a position halfway down the single-file line of our platoon.  I couldn't see the Platoon Leader near the head of the line; I couldn't see the rear element.  I was was the Senior NCO in the platoon at the moment, but I had not been designated the Platoon Sergeant.  I was still a "FNG"  (F*cking New Guy), and  I was learning quickly things that they had NEVER told us in NCO School.

My DTQ  ("Daily Terror Quotient") was humming around between 40% and 80%;  I was scared all the time, but not enough to panic and just enough to keep me from becoming complaisant.

Being a FNG, I didn't realize it at the time; but it was turning out to be a pretty good day.

Then it got worse.

"Uh .. Sarge?"

This was the guy walking behind me.  His name was Tennesee, and he was a 6'5" blonde from Tennesee who carried a Tennessee Toothpick and an M-60 Machine Gun.  (Note to myself:  I have GOT to get some knives over here!)  Have I mentioned he was from Tennessee?  He never let us forget it!

I stopped, turned around, and he had this most odd expression on his face.  Consternation, embarrassment, apology, and the reek of fear.

"Yeah, what?"  (I wasn't in a mood for conversation; don't know why, since I had only been shot at deliberately for the first time in my life ...

"Uh ... Sarge?  I think I'm hung up here.  I think I'm standing on a Booby Trap.  Can you fix it?  What do I do now?"


"DO NOT MOVE!  KEEP YOUR FOOT RIGHT WHERE IT IS NOW!"






Okay, so I called (softly) for the folks ahead to pass the word; stop now, and send the platoon leader back down the line now!

The LT comes down the line.  He wasn't chewing tobacco, but he should have been.

"Yep, that's a booby trap.  Probably two or three hand grenades, with wire between the rings holding the pins in.  If he moves, it's gonna blow up sure as shit.  Sarge, you may want to move your folks back a ways?  And someone send for my  Chu Hoi, okay?"

I'm channeling the theme from "JAWS", and Spielberg hadn't even made the movie yet.

The term "Chu Hoi" is vietnamese.  It's an "I Surrender!" phrase.  Ex-Viet Cong who are captured are given the choice to be re-educated or to suffer lesser punishment; I think there's a "firing squad" option in there somewhere, but actually they get more food and less political bullshit than they did from the VC, so Chu Hoi's tend to make pretty good assets.  They call them "Tiger Scouts" and they get special camouflage uniforms.

And they know all about booby traps.  Lord knows they've set enough of them.

So this Chu Hoi (which is NOT a derisive term!) comes wandering down with a toothpick hanging over  his lips and says "yep, booby trip.  I fix."

I took it upon myself to direct the rest of the platoon to "form a permeter, at least 20 meters radius" (American Hand Grenades have a 5 meter "kill zone") and 'get down'.  Best order I ever gave; everybody obeyed it immediately .. except for Tennesee, of course.

The Chu How knelt down beside Tennessee, and said: "don't move until I tell you".  Good advice.

The "device"  (it would be called an IED, or Improvised Explosive Device in today's terms) featured 3 hand grenades .. American, who knows where they got them ... mostly buried in the ground' their top part was above ground, the rings were above ground.  There were thin wires between the three rings, and the pins were straightened, which means that it was very easy to pull the pins by pulling the wires.

The wires were very slack; they stood up above the top of the grenades, so it was easy to hook on to them with your foot if you happened to be using the most obvious path and were experienced enough that you SLID your foot instead of picking it up and laying it down.  (*I was so green, I hadn't yet learned yet how to walk in the jungle.)*

Tennessee's shoe-laces on his boots were all jammed up in the wires.  it took some doing, but the Chu Hoi managed to untangle the wires and the laces, and softly talk Tennessee into moving his foot back, and out of the entanglement.

Finally, the machine-gunner was free of the wires.    We didn't bother to try to recover the booby trap; we just put a Claymore mine right beside it, and detonated the entire array with a 50' wire which command-detonated the 'mine'.  All three devices flew up, after we were hunkered down in a safe position  at a safe distance.  Well, except for the Chu Hoi .. he was given the "clacker" which initiated the device; he was still proving his reliability, this was a part of his initiation process.

Frankly, the whole rest of the day was a fog.  I have no idea what happened after the booby trap was demolished.  And I don't much care, 'cause it was much of a nothing.  We set up an ambush on the booby trap site, but nobody came to check it out.

I learned from that;  if you set up a booby trap, and it blows up ... you stay away from it until "The Other Guys" have a chance to clear the area.  They're gong to be pissed.

Of course .. you set up a secondary booby-trap, just to catch them.

But that's another story.
______________________________

I was glad when my First Day On The Job Ended.  I figured .. that's going to be my worst day on the job.

I was wrong, of course.

And .. I still only knew the names of four people:  SP4, Tennessee, LT, and Chu Hoi,

I would learn the rest of them eventually.
It didn't help much, though; especially when they started dying.