New Year's Resolutions ...

are something I don't make. I'm planning to live the way I've been accustomed, which has worked fairly well the past few years. I do plan to increase my carbon footprint this coming year by burning some gunpowder. I'm also going to upgrade my National Rifle Association membership from life to endowment next spring.

Keeping in shooting practice is still more expensive despite drastic decreases in cost for metals such as copper, lead and brass since last summer. Copper prices have dropped more than 70 percent. Aluminum is worth less, too. Unfortunately the price of ammunition, reloading components, and AR-15 receivers haven't went down.

No doubt the change.gov types, in the pursuit of their perception of "social justice", will try to thrust their ways upon individuals. These "progressives" represent little change from their 20th-century-socialist ascendants except for new names and faces. There hasn't been a body count in the millions in this country unlike elsewhere. The people haven't been completely disarmed and re-indoctrinated yet.

Keep shooting. Don't forget to take some friends. Don't let the expense or the unfriendly political climate squelch your passion and drive. Exercise those options, which Barack Obama declared as "negative liberties" in 2001, enumerated in our constitution or lose them.

"Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government."--James Madison, father of the U.S. Constitution

Criminal Stupidity

Robert Aragon, 55, isn't a murderer, says his cousin, Kenneth Quintana. "There's no way he could have known this was going to happen," he added.

"My dad, he's a good father," says Aragon's surviving adult daughter, Lorraine Aragon.

As Judge Mark Ingram explained second-degree murder and felony injury to a child charges, Aragon pounded a table with his head and said, "Oh, my God!" Upon hearing his bond was set at $500,000, he said, "I think that's way too high."

Quintana, who was riding with Aragon and his two children, Sage and Bear, when Aragon stuck the car in an Idaho snowdrift Christmas morning, defended his cousin Bob during a telephone interview with a reporter.

"He didn't send those kids out there to die. He just wanted their mother to spend Christmas with them."

Mr. Quintana, if I was the prosecutor, I would have filed the same charges against you. One doesn't have to be too smart to know poorly-dressed, 11 and 12-year-old children may suffer extreme frostbite or die from hypothermia when walking 10 miles in sub-freezing temperatures and snow drifts past their knees.

Aragon and Quintana must have never heard of two legal terms, the reasonable person standard and criminal negligence. That is one of the tasks of defense attorneys--explain legal terms to the criminally stupid.

Igor's Crystal Ball

Igor Panarin's prediction that the United States will break up into six parts received mention in The Wall Street Journal.

Here's a map of how the pieces will fall after the civil war and breakup.


Nyet, I don't think so. Igor, the Alaskans would be a rough mooseburger to swallow even for you ex-KGBers. Then you've separated Kansas and Missouri gun-toting rednecks from Oklahoma and Arkansas gun-toting rednecks. Lumping Tennessee and South Carolina with New York and Massachusetts just won't work. And if you think Texas will dominate the deep South, you've never discussed football with any hardcore fan of a SEC team.

The best propaganda weaves some truth into the govnó. In my effort to wade through Igor's fecal matter, I'd say it was indeed true that U.S. foreign debt resembles a pyramid scheme. There's one more nugget:

Americans hope President-elect Barack Obama "can work miracles," he wrote. "But when spring comes, it will be clear that there are no miracles."

No pollster called me, but ...

I'd pick none of those recorded as "man Americans admire most" in a USA Today poll published today. One-third of those called by USA Today pollsters named the prez-elect.

All of the others listed, including the current president, were at five percent or less. Bush 43 and Sen. John McCain did edge out Pope Benedict XVI, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, and the first black U.S. president, Bill Clinton.

Most polls are dubious in my humble opinion. No respectable media outlet should commission or conduct its own polls for the purposes of making news or manipulating public opinion. Media organizations should exhaustively examine and report on the methodology and standards of polls they publish, no matter how "newsworthy" or "respectable" the source seems to be.

Ruby, my dog, could craft a poll of Americans who would pick Hugo Chavez as the most popular American man. After all, Venezuela is one of several American countries.

And then they're outright sexists at USA Today. The women aren't mentioned until the third graph and were segregated from the men. The future Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, rated highest with 20 percent of the 1, 008 "American" telephone and cellphone owners. Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin, at 11 percent, ranked higher than Oprah, Vicar of Daytime Television, who garnered 8 percent.

Here are two U.S. citizens in the public spotlight I admire: Libby Callahan, police revolver champion and four-time U.S. Olympic Shooting Team member; and Thomas Sowell, economist and author. The only politician who comes to mind is former Oklahoma governor Frank Keating.

Infant Lowly, Infant Holy

This Christmas hymn came to mind about an hour before the whole family headed out to Christmas Eve service last night. It was a perfect song for a perfect night, a time of peace beyond all human understanding. Peace be with you all this holy day and always.

Infant holy,
Infant lowly,
For His bed a cattle stall;
Oxen lowing,
Little knowing
Christ the Babe is Lord of all.
Swift are winging
Angels singing,
Noels ringing,
Tidings bringing,
Christ the Babe is Lord of all.

Flocks were sleeping,
Shepherds keeping
Vigil till the morning new;
Saw the glory,
Heard the story,
Tidings of a Gospel true.
Thus rejoicing,
Free from sorrow,
Praises voicing,
Greet the morrow,
Christ the Babe was born for you!

It is Real: Global Warming

The Prez-elect has changed locations. He's left the Windy City for the heat of Hawaii to expose his pecs to paparazzi. This seems to be mandatory for world leaders now--France's Sarkozy, Russia's Putin, and now Barry.

No wonder Obama is concerned about global warming. I'd head to the beach and study climate change too if I wasn't busy trying to keep water lines from freezing here in the Osage Cuestas. No bare pecs here. Frostbite is a real possibility particularly if one slips on the ice, cracks their head, and lays unconscious in the brutal wind for too long.

Here's a political cartoon from Lisa Benson of the Washington Post Writers Group for all the sunbathers out there. Don't forget sun screen. The cooking skin increases harmful carbon emissions.

Test your communication skills ...

before Christmas dinner with the the rogue in-laws or telling someone you tossed the canned fruitcake they unthoughtfully sent.

You may be a jerk, desperately repressed or highly insightful. Psychology Today is "Here to Help".

Me, I'm supposedly insightful and scored an 88: "Your results indicate that you are extremely adept at interpreting other people’s words and actions and seeing things from their perspective, which likely results in very few misunderstandings. You seem to realize that empathy is an essential part of good interpersonal skills and therefore, will do your best to place yourself in other people’s shoes in order to better understand them. You can generally get a good sense of what others are thinking and will likely adjust yourself accordingly if the people you’re conversing with seem confused or perhaps uncomfortable. Good job!"

My two kids may disagree particularly when I say "no" to some scheme they're trying to pull off.

A Red-Letter Day

There are days etched into brain cells such as December 7, September 11, and November 22. Many of us have those personal, red-letter days--good or bad--we'll never forget this side of dementia or death.

One of mine is December 19. One-half of a family died that day in a snow-filled ditch following a needless, senseless traffic accident. A man, who had just finished drinking a few beers with friends, ran a stop sign with his pickup truck. It hit the family's van, driving it into the far ditch of a U.S. highway. The truck overturned and another car behind the van struck it.

The family was heading north to do some Christmas shopping in Kansas City. The mother, in the front passenger seat, and her teenage daughter, in a seat behind her, died at the scene. The father, who was driving, and his son survived. It was close, but splendid paramedics on the ground and in the air kept them going until they reached a trauma center. The heros in that place took over. After weeks the father and son left with bolts, pins, plates, crutches and broken hearts.

Yellow blankets completely covered the still forms of mother and daughter. Tears rolled down the cheeks of paramedics, men and women, as they worked to save father and son. Plastic bags, quickly ripped open to free life-saving tools and medications, fluttered on bloody snow.

There was a lady with a broken leg in the car that had been following the van. She sat behind the steering wheel, not complaining and very gracious, until after the med-evac helicopter arrived and left with the father and son.

When I first arrived, the driver who had run the stop sign was wandering around his truck worrying about the damage to it. He didn't seem to notice the victims' fates until I put handcuffs on him. The undersheriff arrived and hauled him to jail. It didn't seem quick enough. I could sense others turning on the man responsible for the twisted steel, broken glass and motionless bodies. Order had yet to be firmly reestablished.

There weren't enough badge wearers there. The ones who were seemed to be taking their cues from me, even though on paper I wasn't a supervisor. Training took over. Disorder rolled back.

This surreal scene from so long ago, out of all I witnessed in 15 years of law enforcement work, comes back to me even in the midst of a sound, summer's night sleep. Sometimes a helicopter flying overhead the farm makes it all come back. I once again feel the grains of road salt and ice kicked up by rotor blades prick my face. I remember the cold, the sadness, the loss, the anger, and two yellow-draped bodies laid out on bloody snow.

Hug the ones you love. Drive safely.

Santa is Real

It is doubtful many of you cynical bloggers believe in Santa Claus. You should if you don't want to wind up with a lump of coal in your stocking.

Yes, Santa is real. She's jolly, somewhat rotund, loves kids and hails from Texas by way of D.C. Yes, Virginia and Virgil, Santa is U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX). She's a member of the House's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and chairs the Water Resources and Environment subcommittee.

The Kansas City, Mo., city council moved to get on the Hope and Change Rearranger's economic stimulus project list shortly after the Prez-elect announced the New-New Deal. It needs 2.4 billion dollars for a sewer project. So today they held a party for Congresswoman Johnson where a batch of inner-city kids wearing green helmets sang and told her how the sewer would help the environment.

She told the attendees there were 2,ooo other projects in the queue already and it was unlikely the city would receive sewer money during the next year. I don't know if that means that the Kansas Citians haven't been good enough this year or Congresswoman Johnson just wants to come back next year for another holiday party.

Somebody else's .45 Autos

Brigid has posted a piece about fitting a pistol to the operator's hand.

She's showing off her Sig Sauer P220 and Colt Combat Commander again, which always reminds me I don't have a .45 ACP right now despite having nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition for one in the basement bunker.

My first .45 ACP was the best one I ever owned, a Colt Commander I bought on my 21st birthday for a whopping $185. With the alloy frame, it was no burden to pack. The Commander flawlessly fed 200-grain SWC and 23o-grain ball ammunition I handloaded for it. After two years of being spoiled by it, I traded it in for a Series 70 Government. It wasn't near as much fun.

J.A., a friend I made when we both wore badges, is our farrier. The last time he showed up, he was packing a vintage Colt Commander just like the one I foolishly traded decades ago. The anodizing was mostly gone from the front strap, the frame had an old "Bozo" scratch from the slide stop and the blue slide showed honest holster wear. Other than that, it was perfect.

Lusting for a .45--it can morally bankrupt a person.

Plumbing the economy

I've been neglecting the blog for plumbing. I've spent two days digging out a waste line and replacing some water valves. Then I've been feeding the stock, which takes more time when snow and cold takes over the Osage Cuestas.

I've also been plumbing other people's computers. I figured it would be a way to exploit the bad economy--fixing and upgrading older computers people would have simply replaced a few months ago. I contemplated starting my own bank holding corporation to snag increasingly worth-less federal bailout dollars. It is more fun to fix other people's virus-infected computers, however.

A man came by this morning inquiring about a pickup-truck load of old horse manure for a garden. He inquired about composition, quality and price. I told him I'd charge $20, which seems reasonable because I'd have to take the bale fork off the tractor to put on the bucket. He said he might come back next weekend if he didn't find manure at another place. I think he wants perfect, free shit. Could that be why the economy turned to crap in the first place?

Here's a change ...

The first Christmas was June 17, 2 B.C., according to Australian astronomer Dave Reneke. The Star of Bethlehem? It was truly a "bright beacon of light" caused when Venus and Jupiter appeared extremely close together.

There's no news that Reneke's findings will create "peace on Earth" and "good will" between the "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" factions. It could throw marketers off, causing them to start the holiday shopping season before Memorial Day. How it may impact suicide and depression rates, which both spike high around the December holidays, is still unknown.

The religious observations in public forums issue may lessen since most public schools are closed by June 17. It would be tough to keep the grass mowed if nativity scenes cluttered up the courthouse lawn. But there's always Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Pagan Yule festivals, etc., in December to heighten tensions.

Al Gore, Earth in the Balance prophet, should be pleased. With the increased June daylight, we can cut down our carbon footprint by running the holiday lights less.

"Always Lawful"

"It kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate. But I don't care whether you tape me privately or publicly, I can tell you that whatever I say is always lawful."

--Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Dec. 8, 2008

Apparently the feds don't agree. Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested earlier today in Chicago. One may follow Operation Board Games here.

Rod is now estranged from Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and friends Rahm Emanuel, who is now Prez-elect Obama's chief of staff, and David Axelrod, Obama's senior advisor. It will be interesting to see how this will play out.

Gov. Lawful has long waged a campaign against Illinois firearms manufacturers such as Rock River Arms, Springfield Armory, Armalite and Les Baer.

"a date which will live in infamy"

The president-elect, Barack Obama, revealed his plans for a new "New Deal" last weekend. It is appropriate to remember Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the first deal on Pearl Harbor Day.

Roosevelt's "date which will live in infamy" announcement after Japan's, Dec. 7, 1941, attacks in the Pacific is remembered as one of the most famous political speeches in our country's history. The New Deal and Roosevelt's handling of World War II is legendary. FDR is ranked as one of the most popular presidents ever.

Most overlook or do not know about Executive Order 6102, where Roosevelt declared all privately-held gold property of the government, and Executive Order 9066, which imprisoned Japanese Americans without due process in February 1942. When judges ruled against his policies, FDR replaced them with rubber stampers.

George Santayana reminds us, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." There's no doubt that surrendering the reins of government to one man in 2009 is a mistake, despite how the 21st Century-equivalent of Roosevelt's "Brain Trust" tell us it is necessary.

Check out Richard Olivastros's column, Infamous Day of "East Wind, Rain". It's one more example of how one of our most revered chief executives disregarded constitutional safeguards. FDR was only one man, not a demigod or a king. If presidents are allowed to operate outside the restraints laid out by the U.S. Constitution in times of real or drummed-up emergencies, we're less free thereafter. FDR has been a model for too long. It's time to change back to the Constitution.

"I like to push it to the edge": the NHL's Sean Avery

Sean Avery is another person who hasn't figured out it is a bad career decision to talk about their exs such as actress Elisha Cuthbert and model Rachel Hunter.

I've never watched him play on television or on real-life ice. But if I was his public relations advisor, I'd tell him it makes him look weak, foolish, crude and abusive. Those are all characteristics of a bitter, out-of-control loser.

"He's not only often called the most hated player in the NHL, he loves hearing it."

Sean, I don't hate you. In fact this is the first I've learned that you exist. However, it isn't a mystery to me why girls ditch you for other hockey players. You could, no doubt, boost sales of TROJAN® Her Pleasure™ Vibrating Touch fingertip massagers with your magnetic personality.

The Queen of Pain: Tabloid Fodder

Jennifer Aniston is "bummed". She gets too much publicity from tabloids such as Vogue, who took her quote about her ex-husband's replacement wife, Angelina Jolie, being "uncool" out of context.

Aniston, 39, is also a late bloomer and babies could be in her future. I've never watched an entire episode of Friends or seen a movie that she has appeared in, so I don't know much about her talents. However, if I was her public relations agent, I'd tell her to stop talking about her woe-filled personal life and her exs with anyone except her therapist.

With no pictures of babies to peddle, Aniston doesn't have the juice to neogiate favorable press coverage. Leave her alone, you mass media bullies!

Aiming for Accuracy: the NSSF Response

It is obvious from partaking of the MSM that the majority of journalists know little about firearms beyond what they view on television or read. Some coverage seems as if its genesis was a Brady Center press release. So it was good to hear about the industry's response, which I have posted below:

NEWTOWN, Conn., Nov. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) - the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry - has launched a blog aimed at hunting down and correcting inaccuracies about firearms and the firearms industry. The blog, titled "Aiming for Accuracy," is updated regularly with news, links and other helpful resources designed to promote accurate communications about firearms issues in the media, among bloggers and with all firearms enthusiasts.

"Tomorrow is here," said NSSF President Stephen L. Sanetti. "In order to fully represent one of the oldest industries in the world, it is incumbent upon NSSF to utilize new communications tools. NSSF is dedicated to using every medium at its disposal to set and keep the record straight. We encourage readers to bring inaccuracies in the media to our attention, and we ask NSSF members and other readers of the Aiming for Accuracy blog to forward relevant postings to their local media and their favorite bloggers."

I urge anyone who views inaccurate and unfair news media coverage to compose factual messages to media outlets pointing out the errors. Don't make it a rant. Use these facts the NSSF has provided for a firm foundation. It would be great if every news room had copies of the NSSF publication, The Writer's Guide to Firearms and Ammunition, to supplement their style guidelines.

Also, reach out to reporters in your communities and take them shooting. Many of them are curious about firearms. The most powerful act shooters can take to preserve our rights is to close the gap that inaccurate perceptions have widened between us and others, journalists included.

New Hornady Products

One thing I do like about this time of year is first hearing about new shooting-related products that will debut at the SHOT Show. Today I received an e-mail from the good folks in Grand Island, Nebraska, Hornady Manufacturing, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2009.

My atavistic eyes were first attracted to the .338 Marlin Express. The .33 Winchester has always fascinated me since first reading about it in old Elmer Keith articles. It was a .45-70 necked down to .338 by Winchester for the 1886 Winchester. I first assumed the new Hornady release was simply a necked-up .308 Marlin Express. However, the .338 Marlin Express actually stems from the .376 Steyr. Hornady claims it will match the ballistics of a .30-06 with 180-grain bullets out to 400 yards.

The .338 Marlin Express offers nearly the same velocity and muzzle energy at 200 yards as Elmer's .33 Winchester put out at the muzzle. And the 200 gr. FTX™ boat tail will only be 1.2" low at 200 yards when zeroed 3 inches high at 100 yards. The Marlin ain't Great Grandpappy's 1886 Winchester or Grandma's .348 Winchester Model 71.

Hopefully neither the .308 nor .338 Marlin Express rounds will go the way of the .307 and .356 Winchester cartridges. With the release of FTX™ bullets to reloaders, Hornady has taken a huge step in fostering their survival.

I'd say those who use a .45 Colt revolver for self-defense will like the new 45 Colt LEVERevolution® round. Us cold-weather pistol packers will benefit from Critical Defense™ ammunition for the .380, 9mm and .38 Special, which also utilizes FTX™ bullets, that "will expand reliably EVERY SINGLE TIME!" The bullets are advertised as being able to penetrate heavy clothing, even leather, unlike many conventional hollow points. If these puppies test out, Hornady will certainly grab a larger chunk of the civilian self-defense and law enforcement ammunition market it gained through TAP®.

A Gun Hugger's Christmas List

It's Black Friday, and so far I've only heard of one death and one injury caused by greedheads swooping down on stacks of Chinese imports at a Long Island, NY, Wal-Mart.

One shouldn't confuse Black Friday with Black Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, which have been part of the national lexicon since the 1929 Wall Street Crash. But there may be traders jumping out windows next Monday and Tuesday if the Black Friday sales results aren't good.

Since I don't venture out on Black Friday, I've been shopping online for stuff on the kids' Christmas lists. Then my inner child kicked in. I compiled a shooting-related Christmas list for Santa, which probably won't do any good cause I've been bad this year.

Santa, here it is:

An EOTech 512 or 516 Holographic Weapon Sight
Para-Ordnance PXT 1911 LTC 9mm pistol
An AR-15 stripped lower
Bulk Winchester or Remington 9mm bullets, 115-grain JHP
Badger Ordnance Gen II tactical latch
Safariland Rapid Light System (RLS)
Stevens Model 200 bolt-action rifle in .243 Winchester

Seven items for a whole week of black days, Santa. Travel safe. Don't drink and drive the reindeer.

The Future of the U.S.: Two Views

Tuesday I read about Professor Igor Panarin's predictions of the decline and break up of the United States into six parts. He also tackles the dollar, "unsecured by anything", the escalation of the U.S. national debt from $2 trillion to $11 trillion in 10 years, and the possibility the dollar could be replaced by the Amero, a common currency between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

He said, "We must break the strings tying us to the financial Titanic, which in my view will soon sink." Panarin, a Russian Foreign Ministry "info war" expert and political scientist, added that "we could claim Alaska - it was only granted on lease, after all."

Thomas Sowell, an economist and Hoover Institute senior fellow at Stanford University, wrote two recent columns, "Jolting" the Economy and Ivan and Boris Again regarding the nationalization of business by the government.

"Politicians who want the power to micro-manage business and the economy know that demonizing those who currently run businesses is the opening salvo in the battle to take over their roles."

Sowell, who studied under Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago, was one of Col. Jeff Cooper's favorite reads for good reason.

I'd like to wish any readers a fabulous, blessed Thanksgiving. After the holiday, tune the MSM out and spend some time reading the works of Sowell, Friedman and Cooper. No doubt you'll be more enlightened about the true state of the economy. That's odd of me, someone with a graduate degree in journalism, to write.

Sunday Afternoon at the Range

It was a fine afternoon in the Osage Cuestas. It must have been near 60 degrees when I drove to the range south of the house. Yesterday I would have lost the target stands to the wind, but today it was gentle. I did have to capture one TQ-19 silhouette that took off toward the north after slipping six staples.

I stapled up some four-inch circles and some TQ-19s at 50 yards. I shot several groups with the new 9mm AR-15 carbine using the edge of the pickup bed as a rest. I then stood a few feet from the end of the bed and took on the TQ-19s. I didn't want to hunt brass in the midst of rotting hedge apples. They also make it difficult to kneel or go prone unless, of course, there's a bunch underfoot and there are people around to laugh when you fall. The Osage Orange trees make some fine shade in July and August, so I can deal with the apples.

The 9mm brass landed in nice cluster on the bed liner just behind the cab. The tightwad Scot in me is disturbed when too much brass is lost.

After 150 rounds of 115-grain JHPs, the bolt carrier started to operate sluggishly and I had a bit too much practice clearing malfunctions. I assumed fouling was the culprit. I opened the carbine up, took out the bolt carrier, wiped it down, reassembled, and still had problems. I put it away and worked at seven and 15 yards with the S&W 642-2 .38 Special I've carried daily since March.

When I took apart the carbine later to clean it, I noticed the large roll pin near the rear of the carrier that secures the counterweight was protruding just enough to drag against the upper receiver channel. I drove it in and lightly staked it so it won't work loose in the future. I'll take it for another spin tomorrow after I finish the morning chores.

Be True to Your Party or Pay: Kansas Politics

I read this column by Mike Henricks of the Kansas City Star even though I'm not a fan. The head comparing the Kansas GOP to Stalin hooked me.

It details political payback, the branding of traitors by both the Democratic and Republican state leadership. Certain people delete those branded from their smartphones. These traitors cease to exist: no chance of being sent to national conventions, no phone calls or e-mails answered, no invitations to Kansas Day ceremonies at the state capitol every January, and no lovely holiday cards from the powerful. It is worse than being sent to the gulag for a politico. A bullet in the back of the head is certainly more merciful.

I've been a registered Republican since 1979, the Jimmy Carter era. However, I have a strong libertarian streak. I never vote for a candidate who says more "common sense gun safety laws" are needed. Criminals by nature fail to abide by the law. There's plenty of laws on the books that can be used to stop their rampages. So I naturally draw the conclusion those candidates don't trust me or most of my country folk.

If politicians do not trust the ordinary citizens they want to represent, I'm not about to trust them. No matter if they are a Democrat or Republican, why would anyone elect a representative who allowed mistrust to stand between them and their constituents? If sent to any seat of government, they will only answer to party insiders, the big contributors, the lobbyists, and the moguls. The trinkets, junkets, private jets, chauffeurs, interns, hookers, easy cash and power will lure them until they're indicted or voted out of office into a firm of lawyers and lobbyists.

I'm not about to let party loyalty blind me from identifying with the natural and civil rights of individuals. Both parties are bankrupt. There is a reason why the founding fathers, who struggled and made provisions for the preservation of the "inalienable rights of man" did not make a single reference to political parties in the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Dear Leaders, the loyalty squad works via a secret ballot at every election. The Stoic philosopher, Seneca the Younger, said, "Every reign must submit to a greater reign." For those who have left the ranks for a position of authority, Seneca's words are good ones to study.

Trickle-down Economics, Chicago Style

This Chicago dentist cut down on paperwork such as filing insurance claims and paying middlemen like the U.S. government.

Doc Kimmel, maybe you can pick up some work in prison, and then become a D.C. lobbyist for some bank holding companies, the UAW, or numerous Wall Street whores when paroled. Go legit. There's more money in it--$372,000 is just petty cash when there's billions to be harvested.

Pimps, prostitutes, snitches, FBI wiretaps, a U.S. attorney who will probably be an Obama administration appointee, Kimmel's high-profile defense attorney Joe "The Shark" Lopez, and a money-laundering dentist--who needs to rent old movies when one has free web access to Chicago crime stories?

Eric Holder, the Next Attorney General?

Prez-elect Obama has supposedly asked Eric Holder, former deputy Attorney General during the last months of the Clinton Administration, to serve as the nation's Attorney General. The Senate must confirm the appointment.

For those who haven't heard, Holder played a part in the pardon of Marc Rich, a fugitive commodities trader and Democratic contributor. Rich's ex-wife Denise spent some time in the Lincoln Bedroom when Barbra Streisand and other Clinton donors didn't have it booked. Jack Quinn, Rich's attorney and Clinton's former White House counsel, lobbyied for the pardon directly through Holder.

In January 2008, Holder joined a few other former Justice Department officials including Janet Reno, Attorney General during the Clinton years, in filing a brief in support of the District of Columbia's gun ban in District of Columbia v. Heller. Holder has been the Obama campaign's senior legal advisor since January 2007. He'll follow Obama's lead in viewing the U.S. Constitution as a "living" and evolving document.

Reloading for the 9mm carbine

Since last Wednesday's work with the 9mm AR-15 carbine, I've been thinking about reloading for it.

The Rock River Arms upper is built with a 16-inch, 1-10" twist Wilson Arms barrel. It performed well with the handful of reloads using 147-grain Hornady XTPs, 4.2 grains of Unique and Winchester once-fired brass I fed through it. I still have some left, which I'll put to more extensive testing. I'll run some across the chronograph when the wind settles down. If I had to guess, they will probably clock around 1,000 feet per second.

I also have some 125-grain, .355-in. bullets on the shelf, Remington Golden Sabers and Speer Gold Dots, left over from when I reloaded for a Glock 32 .357 Sig.

The handloads with 88 and 115 grain JHPs were charged with Winchester 231 powder. It left much debris inside the fire-control assembly and throughout the upper receiver. I have had the same problems with it in 9mm pistols but thought it might burn better in the longer barrel. I finally gave up trying to brush and swab it out. Compressed air did the trick.

I have two pounds of Alliant Power Pistol and most of an 8-pound keg of Unique left. Both powders will produce higher velocities than the faster-burning Winchester 231.

Most shops don't stock Alliant Power Pistol here. One store about 50 miles usually has some, but they want more than $25 a pound for it. Power Pistol is one of the best powders I've used in .40 S&W and .357 Sig. I also use it in the .38 Special for 125-140 grain jacketed bullets.

Now that gasoline is down to $1.85 per gallon, I'm thinking about driving down to Winfield, Kansas, to Powder Valley, Inc., and stocking up on powder and bullets. It also stocks Zero jacketed bullets, an attractive alternative now that some 9mm bullets are selling for nearly $20 per 100.

aepilot_jim came home, checked his blog and found he had been infested with a meme. Then he spread it north into the Osage Cuestas, where it bounced around some radio towers the fertilizer company put up so us unenlightened Republicans might enjoy the Internet.

The five people I am required to spread the meme to will wonder if it was a good thing the fertilizer company employees climbed up one of the towers today to fix the lightning-damaged hardware. The wind didn't pick up until after they fixed stuff, which is good because the gusts at that height can rip a pair of Big Smith overalls right off a fellow.

The instructions: Pass it on to five other bloggers, and tell them to open the nearest book to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences. The CLOSEST BOOK, NOT YOUR FAVORITE, OR MOST INTELLECTUAL!
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element: to hold in high esteem ant despise
appreciation n. 1 a: sensitive awareness; esp. recognition of aesthetic values b: JUDGMENT, EVALUATION; esp. a favorable critical estimate

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There you go, Jim. You now know what book is close to hand: Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. It was either that or a book of coupons without page numbers. I'll pick five victims tomorrow. It's getting late.

Maureen didn't receive the memo.

Here's a couple of links that will illustrate why the no-longer-mainstream, corporate media are losing revenue, reporting declining audience numbers, and laying off employees.

Maureen Dowd, pictured above while catching up with her reading, witch hunts Sarah Palin in her Nov. 11, New York Times column, Boxers, Briefs or Silks? In a story in the Times' television section the following day, Richard Pérez-Peña illustrates how Ms. Dowd and several other journalists fell for a hoax planted by A Senior Fellow at the Institute of Nonexistence.

Maureen, the public editor for the Times, Clark Hoyt, should inspect your lingerie stash and all receipts to see if any of it was charged to the corporation or received by you gratuitously. Clark, think about all the fact checkers the paper could hire with the funds it's paying Maureen.

It Is Finished! 9mm AR-15 Carbine

Dear Barry,

I am clinging onto a 9mm carbine, possess several charged high-capacity ammunition feeding devices, love God, and can't say I'm bitter about it.

Now, you might be bitter. Check your shorts. Maybe Mrs. Obama starched them too much to the point of serious irritation. I read a couple of days ago that you've never fired a gun. Have the Secret Service take you to the range. You need a hobby. Shooting is good exercise, relieves stress, and is fun. Also, you might gain an edge in negotiations with manly heads of state such as Hugo Chavez and Vladimir Putin. Let's face it, Barry. You're a bit of a girly man. Even Joe, your gun-banning VP choice, has a shotgun for election-year photo ops.

Barry, I have to hang up now. Enjoy those last few days in Hyde Park. No, I won't accept that ambassadorship in Angola. Send the Rev. Jesse. Goodbye. ...

Yes, the UPS guy delivered the Rock River Arms 9mm top end plus a 9mm hammer. I had already installed the dedicated Hahn Precision magazine block in a Bushmaster lower receiver equipped with a Magpul CTR stock, 9mm carbine buffer and spring. The Hahn fit into the Bushmaster lower perfectly.

I cleaned rust preservative out of the top end and applied a bit of Tetra Gun oil and grease, put a spring on the 9mm hammer, installed it in the lower, mounted the top on the lower, and ventured out into a sunny, but extremely muddy, day.

I sighted in the carbine with some 115-grain JHPS at 50 yards. I didn't need to adjust elevation. The ARMS #40 rear required two clicks to the right. Then I tried a few 147-grain Hornady XTPs on top of 4.2 grains of Unique. Six rounds went into 1 1/8". The 115-grain Winchester USA ball ammo grouped between 3 to 4 inches as well as some reloads using 115-grain Remington JHPs and Winchester 231.

I ran 163 rounds through the carbine. There were four malfunctions during the first three magazines. The first round chambered would not eject once fired. Two of these malfunctions happened with some reloads using 88-grain JHPS I had left over after trading off a Walther PPK in .380. They haven't worked well in any 9mm pistol I've tried them in except for a Browning Hi-Power.

The remaining 88-grain stubbies fed through the carbine flawlessly. I blew up a couple of dozen hedge apples with them and some 115-grain JHPs in honor of Barry. All of the 20 and 32-round CProducts magazines locked the bolt and dropped free without fail.

Standing in the Gap

This is the f'irst Veteran's Day I've spent without my father. He served in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953.

An electrician with Flour Corporation and one-month veteran of marriage to Mom, Dad figured he would wind up in Korea. The Army put him in the Signal Corps and sent him to West Germany. He was one out of hundreds of thousands of Cold Warriors who, from 1945 to 1994, waited near the Fulda Gap and the North German Plain, the most-logical routes of a Soviet invasion that never took place. Then there were the thousands of Army and Air Force personnel who served in encircled West Berlin.

My friend, Chris, served in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, in Vietnam and in Germany. The Blackhorse was based in Germany three times: 1944-1948, 1956-1966, and 1972-1994. During the last period, its headquarters was at Downs Barracks in Fulda, where this Blackhorse memorial remains.

On this Veteran's Day, we shouldn't forget those who quietly stand in the gap: Marines at U.S. embassies, Coast Guard boarding teams, flight crews of Air Force refueling tankers, the men and women buried deep inside Cheyenne Mountain, the crews of Aegis guided missle destroyers and subs, the members of reserve units, those along an remote, fortified border with North Korea, and countless others past, present and future.

Two bright spots in the economy

McDonald's same-store sales rose 8.3 percent in October, beating its own estimates. Most other restaurants reported declining sales.

Every vendor I've checked are out of stock of Magpul polymer, 20 or 30-round AR-15 magazines and 30-round mil-spec aluminum magazines. And the National Shooting Sports Foundation reports firearms sales are 10 percent higher this fall compared to the last. October sales are 15 percent higher than October 2007. Ammunition sales were up 14.2 percent in the second quarter of 2008 despite price increases caused by a global metals shortage.

Trial lawyers, one of the major blocks of the Democratic Party, have long waged wars on fatty food and guns. I don't see McDonald's and the firearms industry faring too well this time next year. Neither will find love when seeking federal bailouts unlike Detroit's no-longer-big-three automakers and AIG.

In the meantime, the Change Administration is going retro. Obama isn't a socialist--he's a monarchist. He's going to be a king, according to his spokesperson , Valerie Jarrett, who appeared on Meet the Press yesterday.



Ms. Jarrett is "the other side of" President-elect Obama's "brain", believe it or not.

9mm AR-15 Carbine update

I received an e-mail from Steve at Adco Firearms today. He finally received some complete 9mm Rock River Arms CAR A4 uppers. I ordered one through him in September. He shipped it to me Friday along with a RRA 9mm hammer.

So next week, I should be able to assemble the carbine and give it a whirl. I have a ARMS #40 rear sight to mount on the flattop. I'm going to keep it simple for now. The shelves are loaded with 9mm ammunition, and it doesn't cost near as much to replace as .223 Remington.

I'm glad I ordered the parts, top end and CProducts magazines before Nov. 4. The NRA-ILA offers this note of explanation. Of course, the original page referred by the NRA-ILA, http://change.gov/agenda/urbanpolicy, "is not available right now."

A scrap of an old poem, "Pop"

Pop takes another shot, neat,

Points out the same amber

Stain on his shorts that I’ve got on mine, and

Makes me smell his smell, coming

From me; he switches channels, recites an old poem

He wrote before his mother died,

Stands, shouts, and asks

For a hug, as I shrink, my

Arms barely reaching around

His thick, oily neck, and his broad back; ’cause

I see my face, framed within

Pop’s black-framed glasses

And know he’s laughing too.

Barry Obama, 1981

Oxford's list of the 10 most irritating phrases

Researchers at Oxford University scanned the Corpus, the university's database of phrases used in print, broadcast and internet media. and have now released a list of 10 communications faux pas. They were published in a book, Damp Squid. The phrases are:

1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science

With all due respect, I think a few, fairly unique phrases should be added at this moment in time such as: "awesome", "retard", "gun violence", "very" preceding any modifier, "building a bridge to" anything, "common sense gun safety legislation", "cutting the pie", "The War Against" anything, "assault weapons", "large-capacity ammunition feeding devices" or "clips", extremists, liberals, conversatives, "bitch slap", "ho", "I feel your pain", and "breaking news".

It's a 24/7 nightmare of mass proportion. Absolutely.

ABA names "Lawyers Who May Run America"

The 408,000-member American Bar Association plays a non-governmental and little-noticed role in the process of filling vacancies in the Supreme Court. You can read more about the ABA Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary here.

The ABA Journal cover story for November is The Lawyers Who May Run America. Today it published an article by Martha Neil, Obama Announces Transition Team; Lawyers Proliferate. The stories are filled with names of Obama's fellow Ivy-League attorneys, and the current dean of Harvard Law, Elena Kagan, will possibly be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court during the next four years. Seth Waxman, a Yalie who 88-year-old Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens once said was the most brilliant young lawyer he's ever heard, may be nominated to replace Stevens.

Here's the members of Obama's transition team "triumvirate": Valerie Jarrett and John Podesta, old Chicago hands, and Pete Rouse, Obama's Senate chief of state and a former staff member for ex-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Rouse has worked continously on Capitol Hill since 1971 and has been called the "101st Senator."

Podesta was the fourth and last chief of staff for the Clinton White House. He's the author of a book published earlier this year, The Power of Progress: How America's Progressives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate, and Our Country.

Three other attorneys on the senior staff are Cassandra Q. Butts and Chris Lu, both classmates of Obama's at Harvard Law, and Michael Strautman, Obama's general counsel in the Senate.

Here's some of the faces of change, those who will restore the American Dream. They've promised to "restore our Constitution to its proper place in our government and return our Nation to our best traditions."

Attorneys will run America. We the servants should know our leaders. Lawyers are people, too, so I guess one could argue the Obama Revolution is still people powered.

Teaching and equipping the next generation

Jerome, who attends high school with my two kids, came by for another reloading lesson. He assembled 120 rounds of .223 Remington ammunition using bulk 55-grain Hornady FMJ-BTs and H335 powder.

He recently joined the National Rifle Association. His parents didn't pay for the membership. Jerome works for a retired teacher who has a large farm. He's squared away and welcome here any time. Last summer he worked at a Boy Scout firearms range.

There are definitely more youth out there like Jerome than the wacko, teenage killers prominent in news coverage. It's just too boring and not deemed newsworthy to report on responsible youth using firearms safely while having fun. Shooting is a strengthening discipline, good exercise that will help ward off obesity, and will enhance a practitioner's mental ability and relieve stress.If you haven't already, introduce a young person to the shooting sports. Encourage them. Guide them. Set good examples.

The kids who kill are ones who have been ignored and isolated--expected to raise themselves and viewed as an inconvenience. They become visible through their cold rage and murderous acts. Maybe if a responsible adult had taken them turkey hunting or coached them in marksmanship, they could have been saved. Zero-tolerance policies, gun buybacks, gun locks, and more restrictions on firearms ownership are simply acts of closing a gate after the herd has escaped.

Jerome, it was a great afternoon. Thanks for visiting. Bring your rifle next time and come earlier.

What to do with pumpkins?

Brigid and other talented cooks can turn Halloween-surplus pumpkins into pie, soup, casseroles, pumpkin bars, etc. But judging by the different methods of pumpkin disposal on YouTube, many lack culinary inclinations.

This video illustrates the Bill Ayers method. There's something about a good ... pumpkin.

Yes We Can ... be out of touch with reality

Intellectuals or Bigots? You decide.

Erica Jong thinks blood will run in the nation's streets if Sen. Obama does not ascend to the White House, something she has shared with those who speak and read Italian.

If you don't, you can read the New York Observer piece by Jason Horowitz.

Her pals, including Jane Fonda and Naomi Wolfe, can't sleep for crying or call Jong every day for moral support. Then, Jong has had to resort to Valium and acupuncture for stress relief.

"It's the silly season"

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer thinks most gun owners, particularly the ones with blogs, are partisan, delusional, users and silly. He's "concerned about the backlash against Dan Cooper." You'll find it here, in a follow-up USA Today story.

Cooper has either resigned or has been ousted in order to put distance between him and his company. He said there is nothing he won't do for his 38 employees, innocents who had "internet anger" turned on them. However, he didn't answer any questions regarding his plans regarding his stake in Cooper Arms of Montana, Inc., and other roles he might play with the company.

Of course, Bob Ricker, executive director of the anti-Second Amendment front group, American Hunters and Shooters Association, had nothing good to say about any gun owner who objected to Cooper's poor public relations and business decisions.

Cooper is right. He's the victim. The paying or potential customers who complained are wrong. They are paranoid and are too silly to understand. And anyone who e-mails or posts different points of view such as Sebastian of Snowflakes in Hell are white, racist, gun nuts.

I can't speak for Sebastian. He writes and posts more effectively. But when I watched the 1994 Biden Crime Bill, which contained a ban on firearms solely for subjective, cosmetic reasons, pass through Congress to rapidly be signed into law by President Bill Clinton, I knew it was a first step toward a total ban on firearms ownership. I watched it unfold on C-SPAN Sept. 13, 1994.

It wasn't a delusion. Still flushed from celebration, the antis leaked plans for "reasonable, commonsense" restrictions such as arsenal taxes, restrictions on the amount of ammunition and reloading components one could possess in their homes, one-gun-a-month limits, a broader Brady Ban II, and efforts to demonize the "gun culture" such as discouraging people from wearing camouflage clothing and exploiting division in the ranks of gun owners.

Never again! If foreign interests or a nice guy like Dan Cooper buckle under or sell out the workers and consumers of companies such as Smith & Wesson in 1999-2000 or Cooper Arms of Montana, Inc., in 2008, there's going to be a lot of gun owners watching, writing and spending money elsewhere.

Dan, WAKE UP! You endorsed and funded the same candidate Sarah Brady is backing! Have a few of your 38 employees draw you pictures or slap you back into reality. Talk to some other people in your industry. Know your customers.

Your fancy, wood-stocked rifles possess barrels made by Wilson Arms, the outfit that made my AR-15 barrel. A Cooper rifle can kill at too far of a range, are deadly sniper rifles, and can penetrate body armor. Cruel white guys used them to slaughter poor Bambi on government land. When the Obamacons come for my AR-15, your fine hunting rifles aren't that much farther down their list.

Dan, stop blubbering to USA Today and humbly apologize to your 38 workers, your network of dealers, your suppliers such as Wilson Arms, and your industry. Then, made amends to the honorable people that helped you in your climb from mowing yards to heading a company making fine rifles.

Dan, those people are noble, tough, smart, and will prove forgiving if an apology comes from the contrite heart of a fellow rifleman. They're straight shooters. The antis, including Sen. Obama, will maim you at a time and place not of your choosing.

No coffee, a sad song, and a screwdriver: a killing combo

A 57-year-old Huffington Post writer, Carol Ann Burger gave her spouse, Jessica Kalish, 56, 222 puncture wounds with a Phillips-head screwdriver in their Boyton Beach, Fla., home nearly a week ago. Investigators said, however, that a blow to Kalish's neck probably killed her.

Burger discharged a firearm into her head before police could question her about Kalish's death.

Burger and Kalish, a prominent software designer, had shared the home since 2000. They were married in 2005 in Massachusetts. The housemates had ceased being lovers more than a year ago but continued to share the home because of financial reasons. Kalish had a new lover, who she dated via the Internet in her half of the house. Burger told friends of her growing isolation, depression and bitterness in e-mails she composed in the other half.

Burger had recently stopped drinking coffee, told friends Jackson Browne's For a Dancer was ideal to listen to when sad, and had refused anti-depressants. The police found Burger's shoe prints in Kalish's blood on the garage floor despite Burger's clean-up attempt. "She was obviously out of her mind," an investigator said.

She was obviously filled with hatred. Two-hundred-twenty-two acts of rage--yes, Burger was OffTheBus.

One can find The Huffington Post tribute to Burger here.

Cooper Firearms of Montana statement

This is a statement I found today on the home page of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc., regarding Dan Cooper's statements to USA Today and his personal, financial support of the Obama campaign:

"The employees,shareholders and board of directors of Cooper Firearms of Montana do not share the personal political views of Dan Cooper.

Although we all believe everyone has a right to vote and donate as they see fit, it has become apparent that the fallout may affect more than just Mr. Cooper. It may also affect the employees and the shareholders of Cooper Firearms.

The board of directors has asked Mr. Cooper to resign as President of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc.

Daily operations will continue with the competent staff currently in place in Stevensville, MT producing the finest, most accurate rifles money can buy.

Dan Cooper has spentall of his working life producing the highest quality rifles built here in the USA. He started with nothing but the American Dream and built that into firearms company anyone would be proud of. We firmly believe Dan stands by the 2nd amendment. We wish him all of the best in his future pursuits.

In response to the recent article highlighting Dan Cooper’s personal political donations, the board of directors, shareholders and employees of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc would like to issue the following statement."

Bank that cash ... in a state senator's brassiere

Baby, what a big surprise!

Right before the FBI's video eyes, Bay State Senator Dianne Wilkerson allegedly negoiated a series of legislative influence-peddling deals. She allegedly padded her foundational undergarment with consideration of $1,000 last June. Wilkerson allegedly was teaching an apprentice, her granddaughter, The Art of a Deal: Boston Illegal, when taking delivery of another $1,000 at the Fill-A-Buster restaurant across the street from the Massachusetts state capitol.

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was found guilty by a Washington, DC, jury. He had a lot of help remodeling a house and was gifted a massage chair and gas grill. Then he allegedly made a paperwork error when not reporting it. He will appeal. ... Allegedly.

Support those who support the Second Amendment

Someone expressed their distrust of Larry Potterfield, founder of MidwayUSA, in comments left regarding Dan Cooper, president and CEO of Cooper Arms of Montana, at Snowflakes in Hell.

If you're concerned if someone you trade with is undermining the Second Amendment, go to the Federal Election Commission and do a search. Enter your own name as well. Who knows? Maybe an ACORNer or your house cat has assumed your identity.


Anyhow, here's my comment regarding the Potterfields and other people who I buy guns, ammo, and other related items from:

"BTW, Brenda and Larry Potterfield of MidwayUSA have donated thousands to pro-Second Amendment candidates in Missouri. I will continue to redistribute wealth to to them and their employees, all fine people, as I have done since the inception of their mail-order business. I have a MidwayUSA order right in front of me. The add-a-buck option to the NRA that MidwayUSA and a growing number of other companies such as Brownells offers to customers is always a plus for me. And I've never seen an NRA contribution can sitting on the sporting goods counter at Wal-Mart. Gun stores that support the Second Amendment in any way such as funding 4-H shooting sports deserve our wealth."

If you don't want to redistribute your human and financial resources to one particular group or another, there's a wide range of good choices. Help out your state rifle association, Gun Owners of America, the Second Amendment Foundation, the CCRKBA, a Junior USA Shooting Team program, or the shooting sports efforts of Boy Scouts of America. Teach, score a junior competitor's target, oppose range closures, and set good examples. There are thousands of ways to extend the freedom we enjoy to others now and generations to follow.

Don't despair. Distrust shouldn't put us in blinders. Do some research. Take positive action. Don't let up. The 2008 presidential horserace will soon be soon be over. Our campaign isn't.

"Proud" NRA Member Dan Cooper backs Barack "Redistributor" Obama

From Snowflakes in Hell via Days of our Trailers * :

Chief executive of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Dan Cooper, is so dazzled by Barry that he's redistributed $3,300 to the Obama presidential campaign.

When I went to the Cooper Firearms website, I received the "HTTP 404: The webpage cannot be found" message after clicking the "Find A Dealer" link. That might be the digital equivalent of the flushing sound following Jim Zumbo's Feb. 16, 2007, Outdoor Life blog attack on black rifles.

Here's my response at Days of our Trailers:

Thanks for the heads up. I am in the process of redistributing wealth to a couple of those Illinois firearms manufacturers Obama and his rich, trial-lawyer, community-activist pals have been trying to shut down for years. And since Dan Cooper is a "proud member" of the NRA, I'm going to redistribute some wealth to the NRA-ILA and the NRA Foundation with Dan and Obama in mind.

If I'm able to garner enough wealth to redistribute if Obama moves to the White House, I'm certain Dan Cooper doesn't mind if I spread it to any of his competitors not stupid enough to undermine the U.S. Constitution, their customers, and their industry.