I love this song, yes, I do...

here: "I hope you're enjoyin' the scenery, I know that it's pretty out there...we could go hikin' on Tuesday, with you I'd walk anywhere....California has worn me quite thin, I just can't wait to see you again, come Monday, it'll be all right, come Monday, I'll be holdin' you tight..."
It seems that when someone mentions Jimmy Buffett to most music fans, invariably his 1977 smash "Margaritaville" comes to mind. I always liked that song, and still do despite the fact that it's wildly overplayed compared to the rest of his catalog, but "Come Monday" has always been my favorite Buffett tune, from the first time I heard it. I saw this comment from Buffett long ago:
"...A song of mine like 'Come Monday' is a direct result of me trying to write a Gordon Lightfoot song."
I never thought about that before, but it does make a lot of sense.

...but he wasn't entirely wrong now...

...was he?

CINCINNATI — Republican John McCain quickly denounced the comments of a radio talk show host who while warming up a campaign crowd referred repeatedly to Barack Hussein Obama and called the Democratic presidential candidate a "hack, Chicago-style" politician.

*snip*

"I did not know about these remarks, but I take responsibility for them. I repudiate them," he said. "My entire campaign I have treated Senator Obama and Senator (Hillary Rodham) Clinton with respect. I will continue to do that throughout this campaign."

McCain called both Democrats "honorable Americans" and said, "I want to dissociate myself with any disparaging remarks that may have been said about them."

Asked whether the use of Obama's middle name — the same as former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein — is proper, McCain said: "No, it is not. Any comment that is disparaging of either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is totally inappropriate."

McCain said he didn't know who allowed Cunningham to speak but said he was sure it was in coordination with his campaign. He said he didn't hear the comments and has never met Cunningham, but "I will certainly make sure that nothing like that happens again."

Later, on his radio show, Cunningham expressed disappointment with McCain's apology and said he would endorse Clinton as a result.

"Did John McCain repudiate me? When he didn't hear the remarks at all? He didn't hear them. He just threw me under the bus to the national media," Cunningham said on local radio station WLW. "I've had it with McCain. I'm going to endorse Hillary Clinton. I'm going to throw my support behind Hillary Clinton."

Cunningham also disputed McCain's assertion that the two had never met.

*snip*

Aside from using Obama's middle name, Cunningham also mocked the Illinois senator's foreign policy statements about his willingness to meet with the leaders of rogue nations. He said he envisions a future in which "the great prophet from Chicago takes the stand and the world leaders who want to kill us will simply be singing Kumbaya together around the table with Barack Obama."

Wow, what a lesson in Media Bias 101. Talk-show guy calls out Democratic presidential candidate for what he is, and what does the reporter use as the main thrust of her story? The talk-show host's use of the candidate's middle name. I will say that I think Mr. Obama's middle name really shouldn't be of any consequence, though. There are plenty of other reasons not to vote for him, many other things to call him out on, not the least of which is the fact that he never met a gun control scheme he didn't like. (Speaking of that, see more about the latest anti-gun asshattery from the junior senator from Illinois here, here and here.) I guess it just goes to show that skilled writers can skew anything the way they want it to go. And I am a writer myself, but still I have to marvel at that.
As for Cunningham and his astonishment at McCain's actions after his comments, all I can say is, what the hell did the guy expect? You pick up a snake and you should fully expect to get bitten. And by the same token, if you throw your support behind a craven panderer like McCain, you should expect to be thrown under the bus when McCain sees such an action as politically expedient. If I was someone whose endorsement he had been seeking, that would have been one more reason he would not have gotten it, Party apparatchiks like The Anchoress be damned.

Not a big hit for ole Charlie, but one of my favorites...

...here: "Now, I'm the kind of man that wouldn't harm a mouse, but if I catch somebody breakin' in my house, I got a 12-gauge shotgun waitin' on the other side...so don't go fightin' me against my will, I don't wanna have to fight ya, but I dern sure will, if you don't want trouble, then ya better just pass me on by..."

You Want Opinions? I Got Opinions!

From Boise, Idaho, "opinions of Ruger P90."
It's an awesome gun, perhaps the most underrated non-1911 .45-caliber sidearm on the market. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Ruger P-Series pistols are probably the best value out there if you're looking for a rugged & reliable personal defensive arm. They're bulky and top-heavy due to the steel slide and aluminum frame (or polymer for the P95, P97 or P345), but as far as I am concerned those are small concerns when looking at that platform's virtues. My P89 will even feed empty cases, and I have no doubt the P90 would do the same thing if I ever slipped them in the magazine. After all, they're pretty much the same gun; from what I've read about the P90 it has a different trigger mechanism and the slide's a little taller & thicker to accommodate the .45 cartridge. I want one in the cartridge it was originally designed for, 10mm. It wouldn't surprise me the least little bit to find that gun could handle all day long the nuclear loads that by now are legendary among the cartridge's devotees. C'mon, guys, Colt re-introduced the Delta Elite, another company is rolling out another one of these, that has to be a sign of some sort...

Random Sunday Morning Gun Musings

So I ask 45superman to tell us about his 1911 in the comments to this post, and he says...
"Which 1911?"
Good answer, my friend, good answer. ;-) One will certainly do, but you just don't know true gun-nut nirvana until you have at least two. I've heard good things about the Paras but don't have any in my safe as of yet. Gonna need at least one more 10mm 1911 in the safe before that, maybe another Dan Wesson Razorback...the RZ I picked up in October was my fifth 1911, and I also have two parkerized Springfield 1911s, a GI and a Loaded, and two Kimbers, a Tactical Ultra II with a 3" barrel and a 10mm Stainless Target II. And all this gun talk reminds me, I have a box of Blazer 230-grain ball, and it's a sunny late-winter day here on the Texas Gulf Coast...yes, it's a good day.

Fine weapon, but I still don't know...

I'm thinking that for $2900 before tax, this thing had better be able to go downrange and change my targets when I am out shooting it, and detail strip & clean itself when I get it back home. The .50GI is a pretty nifty idea, I reckon, but I don't know if I'd be willing to trade off that reduced magazine capacity even for that hot 300-grain load listed here. It was quite amusing how they compared that load to a relatively mild .44 Magnum load. Talk about stacking the deck. If I needed something at that level I think I'd just run with my 10mm loaded with something like the Buffalo Bore 200-grain load at 1200 fps. And I guess I've missed that "big concussion blast" of the 10mm, but I just can't fathom how it would be as bad as some people try to make it out to be. Talk about a fable that's gotten long in the tooth. Can't be any worse than .357 Magnum out of the Ruger SP101's 2.25-inch barrel. My hottest 10mm loads have felt like a pussycat compared to those.

Oooooh, haven't heard this one in YEARS...

here: "Doodle-doo-doo-dooooo, a-doodle-doo-doo-doooo.....Who, is the girl wearing nothing but a smile and a towel in the picture on the billboard in the field, near the big ole highway...rollin' down the highway in my Jimmy hauling freight from Chicago to St. Louis, Lord, I see her every day..."

Oooh, 12:01 pm, another good one! "Bet it ain't rainin' back home, bet your sister's still on the phone...bet Mama's in the kitchen, a-cookin' fried chicken, wishin' that I hadn't done wrong..."

...dunno if it's legal, but I figure it'll do the job...

From Dallas, a referral, "m1a m14 rifle hog hunt texas".
No clue as to what the laws are for hunting those here in Texas, but I imagine the M1A would take pretty much any Texas game a hunter wanted to. 150 grains of 0.308-inch goodness at 2600 feet per second, I reckon that'd take care of most wild hogs here or anywhere else. I've heard of them being taken with pistols as well, as small as my beloved 10mm if one uses the right ammunition. I always got a bit of a chuckle about the fact that a pistol called the Razorback could be used to hunt razorbacks...

Random observation from a phone conversation

"The next time someone asks me what I'm compensatin' for, I think I'm gonna tell 'em, 'The fact that I can't throw a rock at 1400 feet per second...'"

...do they really think there's a difference?

From the letters in this morning's Chronicle:

Way to go, Chronicle! It has endorsed a Democrat for president who doesn't fully support space exploration and who has no plans to work with the oil and gas industry. The Chronicle is a regional newspaper, yet it completely ignored two incredibly important aspects of our region in order to be part of the so-called "Obama phenomenon."Well, phenomena come and phenomena go, and when this one has played out, Texas will still need strong energy and space industries. But by then, unless Texas Democrats do the right thing on March 4 and support Hillary Clinton, it could be too late.

Right, because as opposed to no plans to work with the oil & gas industry, Hillary "wants to take those (oil & gas industry) profits." Which is so much better than leaving the oil companies to their own devices (sarcasm!), but of course I'm betting Senator Obama is going to do the exact same thing. He'll just probably funnel those profits into some sort of "Hope and Change" initiative instead of those alternative energy programs Hillary says she wants those profits to go to. Which IS better, I suppose, but if there's money to be made in alternative energy programs, I'd guess the oil companies would pursue them without government aid or coercion and with the added benefit of less government REMFs. But either way, Clinton and Obama are two sides of the same worthless coin. Much like John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani...

Changing Human Nature

Marko Kloos makes some great points here, but I would like to expand on something he said:

The will to defend your own hide cannot be legislated, nor can it be curbed by legislation.

He's exactly right, of course, and the enemies of liberty know this. They know it can only be conditioned or bred out of us. So, of course, they indoctrinate us all with the damnable lie of The Only Ones, as David Codrea so artfully puts it every time. You know what I mean. The police and the military are The Only Ones perfessional enough to handle teh Glock Fotay. So what do we do? Well, we see what we do at places like Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech. We wait on other people to come and save us. We don't take action ourselves with whatever weapon we can scrounge up, even when there's a break in the action, as evidenced by this chilling line from one news account: "The gunman paused to reload his shotgun after opening fire on students in a geology class." I guess they were waiting on the police, but you might as well call that for what it is -- waiting to die. The warrior spirit isn't completely bred out of us yet, as the great Bill Whittle observed a few years ago and as was seen on United 93, but I can't help but think it's getting to be more and more that way, every single day. We'd better hold on to it, though...because if we don't, we're finished.

Random Sunday Morning Gun Musings

Xavier's Ugly Gun of the Week is STILL better-looking than Gaston's plastic monstrosity. But I still want a Glock 20. Almost three times the firepower of a .357 in one's initial battery...you need more than that and you shoulda brought a rifle. ;-)
Searches for the Eff Oh Are Te Eye Ess personal defensive arm have brought me quite a few visitors. If that's any indication at all then maybe the 10mm cartridge isn't quite as dead as some say it is. From what I've read, it'll be rolled out by the end of the year. And yeah, guys, I want one too.

Saturday Morning Media Snippets

I thought it might be interesting to see what was on the op-ed pages of today's Houston Chronicle vis-a-vis the shooting in Illinois this week. Let's just say I was not disappointed.

How many more horror-filled shooting rampages will have to occur in our country before Americans come to their senses and demand strict gun-control laws comparable to those in place in virtually every other civilized nation on the planet?

You mean comparable to the ones they have in Illinois -- you know, where that crazy piece of shit went on that rampage? From what I've heard about Illinois firearm laws, the requirements and process for getting a Firearm Owner ID card there -- which you have to have to even get ammunition -- are more or less equivalent to the requirements and process for getting a license to carry everywhere else -- background check and all that good stuff. It should also be noted that said crazy piece of shit jumped through every single one of those flaming hoops to get his tools. And I've also heard that if you have a single round of even .22LR in your possession and you don't have a FOID, that makes you a felon as per Illinois laws -- which means, of course, that you can say bye-bye to your rights. And of course, Illinois is one of only two states where law-abiding subjects -- no, they ain't true citizens -- cannot legally carry a personal defensive arm under any circumstances. And all of this, of course, is on top of the 20,000 federal gun laws on the books now. As for those other civilized nations...well, let me just say, from everything I've heard about jolly olde England *hawk-spit* these days, it ain't exactly civilized. Hell, it's like Kevin Baker said, it's a damn island and guns STILL come in. So I say, ever so hopefully, that Americans will demand those laws right about the time that mules sprout wings and fly. And even if that day comes, there's still only one thing that needs to be said by true lovers of liberty...
Molon Labe.

The shooting at Northern Illinois University was very tragic, as were all the others, beginning with Columbine. These assaults will continue as long as the media continues to dramatize and glamorize these events. This is the only chance these sick attackers have at fame and glory.

When does freedom of the press begin to infringe on people's rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

Bwaaaahaha, you naive FOOL! Don't you know that responsibility is only something that only those who exercise their SECOND Amendment rights should exercise? And that this is, of course, defined as licensing, registration and all those other nanny-state reindeer games? The First Amendment protects the right to say whatever we want and by calling the wisdom of actually saying whatever we want into question, well, bubba, you just don't understand the First Amendment at all, do you?

This is...inconceivable!

Inconceivable, I say!

A gunman dressed in black stormed into an oceanography class at Northern Illinois University Thursday afternoon and opened fire with a shotgun and two handguns, killing five students and wounding 16 more in a matter of seconds.

Then, still on stage, he killed himself, authorities said.

The gunman was not a current student at the school of more than 25,000 that rises from cornfields and subdivisions 65 miles west of downtown Chicago, authorities said.

Do you know how I know this was inconceivable...unpossible, even? Because as per its regulations, NIU was a gun-free zone. The Brady Campaign and Violence Policy Center have told us that gun-free zones are SAFE from deranged lunatics with firepower. They said it, I believe it, that settles it. This has got to be some sort of joke. Question is, what is the Chicago Tribune doing, running such a damnable lie of a story?

Oh, wait....you mean it was TRUE? Some deranged lunatic went on a rampage in one of these gun-free zones? For some reason the words of the great Mike Vanderboegh come to mind...

"Gun Free School Zone" is a lie every bit as much as "Arbeit Macht Frei" and every bit as deadly.

Ooooh, more straw men to burn!

Which in its own way isn't all bad, 'cause it's a tad nippy outside, for Southeast Texas anyway.
Via THR, comes this, from Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald...

You have no right to read this.

The First Amendment gives me the right to write it, but doesn't necessarily give you the right to read it. Or so I was once told by an attorney. While the right to free speech certainly infers a corresponding right to hear what is being spoken, he said, the First Amendment doesn't explicitly grant such a right. So theoretically, it could be argued that no such right exists.

I guess one could make that argument, but only someone as dense as an attorney or big-city journalist would make that argument. Just because it isn't spelled out in the Constitution doesn't necessarily mean it's not a right. And I know I may be going a bit out on a limb here, but I'd argue the Founders likely figured we would all be smart enough to figure out what our rights were without them all being explicitly spelled out in the Constitution -- otherwise they'd still be writing the thing.

Do you really think, regardless of what the court rules, it would be possible to ban firearms on a national scale? I think any attempt to do so would lead to uprisings we can scarcely imagine.

Which, my good man, hardly stops some people from thinking it could actually be done. See Simpson, Dan.

What if supporters of gun control could concede that hunting is, for some, an honored tradition? That some people feel it necessary to have a weapon at home for protection? That some entirely rational folks simply like guns?

Leonard, you might as well be asking, "What if pigs started flying out of my ass?"

Could gun-rights people then concede that you don't need an assault weapon to go deer hunting?

If you really were all about compromise, Leonard, you'd be asking, "Could gun-control supporters concede that semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-10/AR-15, AK-47 and M1A/M-14 might actually have a defensive purpose, as we all should have seen during the 1992 Los Angeles riots and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? And that they actually may be used for hunting as well, as evidenced by the fact that AR-15 pattern rifles are getting to be one of the most popular hunting rifles in America?" And get with the gun-grabber program, Leonard. It's "intermediate sniper rifle," not "hunting rifle."

And that manufacturers who flood poor, violence-prone neighborhoods with cheap handguns ought to be held accountable?

If there was a shred of solid evidence that any manufacturer was doing this and not being held accountable, it would have been front-page, above-the-fold news in newspapers across the fruited plain. Since it's not, I think it's safe to say there's no credible evidence of said phenomenon and you, Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald, you are talking out of your ass. Yet again. I guess you could make a big stink about "cheap handguns," but as for me, I prefer the term "affordable defensive arms." But that's ok, I say tuh-may-duh, you say tuh-mah-doe, right?

And that background checks and gun-safety classes for new gun owners make us all safer?

I guess I couldn't really argue with a gun-safety class if it began and ended with the Four Rules, but anyone who's paying attention would know that it's a bit naive to think that any kind of program administered by the .gov -- and you know that's what Pitts and his ilk are advocating, gun-safety classes taught by government standards -- would end there. As for the background checks, I'd argue they only make us feeeeel safer, but maybe that's just me.

And that gun registration isn't totalitarianism any more than a driver's license is?

Perhaps it isn't, but one more time, it just makes it so much easier for the would-be totalitarians to do their dirty work.

And, most of all, that all of us are tired of seeing children shoot children with guns they never should have had access to?

Right, Leonard, because it's just so much better seeing teh childrenses! stab or beat each other to death.

When theory confronts reality, put your money on reality every time.

Take your own advice, Leonard. Take a look at what more often than not comes after gun registration, for starters. And then take a look at just why teh childrenses! are killing each other. Or is that "too close to reality" for you?

Sometimes I Get Some Really Strange Referrals...

This time, from San Antonio: "texas country song fuck you".
From what I remember, the name of that song is actually "Leavin' Tennessee," by Cross Canadian Ragweed. It's a pretty popular number in their live show but as far as I know it was never committed to record, though you could probably find some recordings of it on YouTube. "Fuck you, fuck Nashville, fuck everything, I see..." And you better believe I drank to that when I heard 'em sing it, too...

Another "what the hell" moment...

So I got a wild hair and decided this morning to drive to Houston. Before I muse on what I went for, I do have a couple of things to say about what I heard on the radio on the drive back.
I was listening to Rush, and he played some snippets of a speech Barack Obama gave, I guess it was last night. I'd never actually heard this guy talk or read any transcripts of his speeches, but after hearing that all I can say is what DO people see in this character? If what Rush played of that speech was any indication, he has absolutely nothing going for him besides his ability to talk. It really WAS little more than believing in hope and change. The first thing I thought upon hearing it was, this is basically the rhetorical equivalent of cotton candy. But I'd also bet that if he talked more about his ideas and what he has in store for this great country should he get elected, there would be more than a few who would be turned away by that. There was actually a self-proclaimed conservative who called in to Rush's show who said that he'd vote for Obama just because of his rhetorical skills, even though he didn't agree with a lot of Obama's thus-far elusive ideas, just because "he makes me feel good about myself" or some such claptrap. (The actual quote I do not remember, although I will say it was very close to that.) Rush later opined the caller was a plant because the caller said he was inspired by Reagan in high school -- and, as Rush asked, what high school is actually going to teach GOOD things about Reagan? I swear, though, this cult of personality is going to be the death of us all if we don't watch out...
Now, where did I go? I went to Houston to check out Carter's Country, the outdoors place that's kinda like Gander Mountain but a good bit smaller. I'd always heard great things about it but had never been, so I figured I'd take a ride & check it out. It's a pretty neat place, actually, with just about any kind of gun you could want, from revolvers to EBRs. They were also the only place in the region that dealt the Shooting Chrony. I needed another one but didn't want to have to get it through the mail, and I was off work today, so I figured I'd just gas up the truck & go over there and get one. I picked up the Beta model, the blue one with the 60-shot memory that stores the data even when it's turned off. I've had good luck with the Shooting Chrony products themselves; it's just my aiming too low that's been the death of them, so to speak. ;-) We'll see how long this one lasts! I think I've learned my lesson, though...

So, it wasn't just an urban legend...

that anti-freedom bigot Josh Sugarmann had a Federal Firearms License!
Of course, the question is, if one cannot legally own a firearm in Washington, D.C., what the hell is he doing with the license to sell them in that locale? And of course, the VPC has no brick-and-mortar storefront with regular hours as required by the BATFU, which makes Sugarmann's ranting about "kitchen-table dealers" that much more hypocritical. I'm as much in favor of the abolition of the BATFU as the next lover of liberty, but I'll freely admit it would be quite satisfying indeed to see Mr. Sugarmann hauled off to federal prison for about ten years for such a blatant violation of the laws he advocates. But I'm betting that much probably isn't going to happen, if only because the BATFU's spending their time and resources going after people who actually make their livelihood selling firearms. We'll see how it goes, though...

Another Great Old Song...

but no, it's not a country song on the radio now...made you look!
No doubt most of you are quite familiar with all my rants on how modern country music has gone to the dogs with its basic consolidation with bubblegum pop. Well, because of the sorry state of modern country, many times in the truck I go back to the rock stations. Saturday night was one such night, and I had it on this station out of Lake Charles, Louisiana. And lo and behold, what should I hear, but my favorite George Thorogood song.



Sometimes it seems like the only Thorogood songs they play on the radio anymore are "Bad To The Bone" and Move It On Over," with "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" now and then. Now and then they'll pull this one out, and it's great when they do.
"....Yeah, you know when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself..."

Once again, Misha nails it...

...and yeah, it's a few days later, but the observation's still quite relevant...

A big, hearty fuck you to whatever mouth-breathing troglodytes thought up our sequential primary system, from the roughly half of the country who never had a chance to vote.

We’re so very fucking grateful that a bunch of damnyankees and cross-over liberals got to decide our candidate for us.

Time to start putting the “Republic” back in the “Republic of Texas.”

The rest of y’all can go fuck yourselves. Y’all have fun now, y’hear?

A-yep. I'd just about give my left family jewel to see what the shit-sandwich Republicans everywhere else would say to that if the people of my great state actually up and decided to take our marbles and go back to the way it was. No doubt half of them would keel over and die right there. But with what the political situation has come to, it'd be worth all the trouble to see the heads of all the sanctimonious hacks like the Anchoress explode. To what extent the old values of liberty and self-reliance still live here in the Lone Star State I don't know, but I'd like to think there's still some truth to the image many have about Texas and its residents -- that we were and are forged in a hotter fire, as Southeast Texas native Bum Phillips so eloquently put it. I don't know if it'd ever happen, but the thought of it gets more and more appealing with every tick of the clock...

Random Saturday Morning Musical Observations

I guess the anti-gunners must think we're all like the main character in the old Johnny Cash song "Don't Take Your Guns To Town," who drew his gun because someone laughed at him. I'm almost surprised someone hasn't brought that up in the comments to Josh Sugarmann's or Paul Helmke's posts at the Huffington Post. But I'm betting it'll come, sooner or later. They're just that intellectually bankrupt.
Am I the only one who thought it was a bit hypocritical of Charlie Rich to burn the envelope when John Denver won the CMA Entertainer of the Year award in 1975? Maybe I'm missing something here, but it would seem to me that Charlie Rich wasn't really any more of a country artist than John Denver was. It'd be like Faith Hill burning the envelope if Rascal Flatts won. As someone observed long ago in a discussion I was participating in, this is just a bit absurd. It ain't Tammy vs. Loretta or Merle vs. George we're talking about here.

Hey, Congress is taking our side, for once!

Imagine that!

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who might start a run for Texas governor next year, has mustered support from a majority of Senate and House members to help persuade the Supreme Court to strike down the District of Columbia's gun laws.
Hutchison said Thursday she is filing a friend-of-the-court brief in a challenge to the laws. Fifty-five senators and 249 House members have signed the brief to be filed Thursday by her and Sen. John Tester, D-Mont.

Good on them for taking the stand by signing their names to this. No doubt it's going to be controversial and cause no small amount of consternation in the ranks of the victim-disarmament crowd, but that's all right with me. Anything that gives those rat bastards even a little more heartburn or makes them lose even a minute more sleep at night can't be anything but good. D.C.'s House delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, however, gets a nice, steaming cup of FAIL for this, though:

Eleanor Holmes Norton, the congressional delegate for Washington, D.C., said Hutchison's brief is an attempt to get done in the courts what she couldn't get done in Congress. She has filed a friend-of-the court brief in support of the law.
Norton said the rules have been supported by all four mayors the district has had since it got home rule and has not been opposed by any City Council members.
"This is entirely a home rule, self-government matter. That is not anybody's business but our own," Norton said.

Home-rule, self-government matter. Here's a big ole SCREW YOU, Ms. Norton, m'kay? I could be off, but I'm sure there were more than a few in the run up to the Civil War who were saying the matter of slavery was a "home rule, self-government matter, not anybody's business but our own," supported by local officials, too. But we fought a war to put that injustice to rest. Would you like to fight another one? Do not pass go, do not collect $200, never mind go straight to jail, you, Ms. Norton, and all of your ilk can go straight to hell. It never fails to amaze me how these people can say with a straight face that blatant violations of fundamental, natural rights should not be stopped just because certain people agree with said violations. In any event, though, once again, good on the Congresscritters that signed the brief. As they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then.

More Observations On The Great Divide

Sebastian had this to say, in comments here:

You and I might know that we don't mean to denigrate hunters with terminology like "Fudd", but someone just coming into the issue will have no idea.

To an extent I think that's true, but I can say from personal experience that might not be as big of a problem as one might think at first blush. I remember when I first got into guns and started studying the issue I saw the term and didn't have any issues with it. I knew intuitively who it was referring to, even though I had no idea how deep the division might have been. But I am willing to admit I might have a different perspective, considering my political views and the fact that I was raised in a state that is widely viewed as one of the most gun-friendly states in the nation despite such things as the prohibition on open carry and the various restrictions on where CHL holders may carry their weapons. I can see where it might be a problem with new gunnies who are from places where the gun culture isn't so healthy, but either way the animosity is still going to be there. We all know that, of course; that was just an observation more than anything else on my part. I remember as Jim Zumbo was taken down, one of the guys at Cold Fury made the point that "it's the Second Amendment for a reason...you can't get any more political than guns." What I took that as, was saying that owning a gun is in and of itself a political act, probably more so now than it used to be. It makes all the sense in the world, and those just entering the wonderful world of firearms owe it to themselves to get educated regarding the act of owning a firearm and all its concomitant issues and ramifications. And that includes the term Fudd and everything it means.
And on that note, I'm sorry if I came off as an ass in the last post, Sebastian. You're a good guy and I know you and I are on the same side. Just call this a case of honest disagreement. Or even Reasoned Discourse(tm)...

Oooooh, good stuff here: "Has it been a year, since the last time I saw her, my God, I could swear it was ten...and the ocean of liquor, I drank to forget her, is gonna kill me, but I'll drink till then...I've been living in hell, with a bar for a cell, still payin' for my cheatin' crime....oh, and I've got a long way to go, still doin' time..."

One of the greatest songs EVER

here: "...Everybody said you'd make it big someday, and I guess that we were only in your way....but someday I'm sure you're gonna know the cost...'cause for everything you win, there's somethin' lost..."

Who's Making It An Adversarial Relationship Here?

It's bad enough when the antis prop up straw men. We don't need to be doing it too.

I do think we need to dispense with the term “Fudd,” and drop the generally adversarial relationship we often promote with the hunting community. We need hunters, for a lot of reasons. I’m a proponent of getting them more on board with the gun rights thing, and it’s hard to do that if they see us insulting them, and denigrating their sport.

I would think all the handgun/EBR folks were and are proponents of getting the hunters on board with the gun rights thing, but that's not the straw man I speak of. Maybe it's just me, but I have never once seen one of us insulting hunters as a whole or denigrating their sport. The only people I've seen denigrated as far as the hunters go are the people the term Fudd describes -- people like Charlie Meyers, David Petzal and the man Jim Zumbo was before President's Day weekend last year. Hell, I'd be willing to bet that at LEAST 90 percent of the people I've shot with at my friendly local gun club have hunted at one time or another or still hunt. If anyone's making it an adversarial relationship, it's all the 3-week-a-year hunting types such as the one Thirdpower describes here, who are perfectly willing to throw other shooters under the bus for the sake of protecting their sport. And while we'd do well to make it clear that those kinds of gun owners are who we're calling out, we need to point out to the rest of them that their intermediate sniper rifles are next on the gun-grabbers' list. (God, but I feel so dirty now.)
As for the round the VPC is hyperventilating over, the .338 Lapua, if I am reading this right, it has a point-blank range of about 300 yards -- not much longer than that of the classic .30-06. Also, from what I remember reading, there was an Army shooter over in Iraq who took out an insurgent from 1,200 yards -- more than four times the .30-06's point-blank range -- with the .30-06's little brother, the .308.
Still, though, we have tripe like this:

I believe the NYSPRA presents an intractable absolutist stance on too many issues on which the public at large has reached an opposite consensus, and cries wolf on molehill issues. For instance, I am willing to live with magazine restrictions if it preserves the larger right. That doesn’t win me many friends at the range.

And unfortunately, because of my principled stance I am viewed by most people inside the gun lobby as an enemy or naif instead of a moderate ally.

Principled stance. Moderate ally. (Not to mention, no small amount of sanctimoniousness.) But, no, according to some people, it's the SHOOTERS who are making the relationship an adversarial one. (Here's a hint, to one and all -- if anything hunters or any other group supports includes a BAN of any kind, then no, they're not an ally, not even a moderate one, and they nigh well deserve to be called out as the selfish motherfuckers they are.) Sweet bleedin' Jeebus on a rocket-powered sled, it's enough to drive a man to drinkin' if he doesn't already.

I know well that there's no accounting for taste...

and pardon my french, but, well, my gut reaction upon reading this was, the commenters at Hot Air are just fucking stupid..

Willie was always a fraud to me anyway. A hollywood discovery, he went from a C level artist to a legend in about 5 years all based on hollywood loving him.

for one thing I’ve never been impressed with Willie, he’s a hack that can’t sing

Sorry but crazy-willy’s music has always sucked… He’s been hyped more than the freakin’ Stones. Julio and Willie? check please… On the road again, *audible Yawn*.

He was Waylon’s wierd friend until hollywood “discovered” him in about 1974. Canned music, that’s all he is.

Bullshit. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. I am one of the LAST people on earth who'd agree with Willie Nelson's politics, but to say that Willie became a star because of Hollywood, that he's a hack and that he can't sing is just stupid. "Georgia On My Mind," anyone? Anyone? "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain?" I wonder how many of those mouth-breathing morons were saying Willie was a genius after he did he did "Beer For My Horses" with Toby Keith a few years ago. As far as I'm concerned that was as big of a blot on Willie's musical record as the duet with Julio Iglesias...for the singer, not the song. And something else I wonder, does the fact that I won't be tossing my Willie cds make me a commie heathen?

Food for thought...

in the comments to a post over at David's place...
I don't know if Suzanne Grimes doesn't love her son, as straightarrow said, but I do think he was dead-on when he said this:

Imagine your daughter was raped, would you demand a law that she and all other young women go out in the world naked and unarmed?

That is what this woman did.

Yup. Ms. Grimes, whether she realizes it, is allowing herself to be used as a tool of the anti-liberty forces in this country and as such should be dealt with harshly -- and better with words now than copper-jacketed lead (at 2500 feet per second) later. We've been trying to make nice with the gun-grabbers for at least four decades now, and while we have things to show for our efforts, they're still here making the same old long-discredited arguments they've been making since time immemorial. This whole "honest disagreement" bullshite left the train station a long, long time ago. It's long past time to call these people out for exactly what they're doing -- enabling more slaughters on all fronts, whether they be on the level of the Petit home invasion in Connecticut or not-so-good-old-fashioned government tyranny by jack-booted thugs. And that last thing is scary to a lot of people, but I saw a pithy statement somewhere that summed up the whole shebang better than anything.
"If you fuck with me bad enough, I will shoot you."
It ain't pretty, but sometimes life's that way.

Interesting news on the gun front this Sunday morning...

from Utah gun dealer Larry Correia, making the rounds at the SHOT show...

Vltor is making a Bren 10.

I see this and think, "Bren Ten? As in the very first pistol chambered for my beloved 10mm cartridge?" So off I went, and teh Google-fu was strong this morning, as it yielded this, via the Calguns forum:

"Tucson, AZ - Feb 01, 2008 - Vltor Weapon Systems today announced the launch of the Fortis Pistol Project, a modern version of the famous Bren Ten style pistol.
Originally released in 1982, the Bren Ten pistol was designed to advance the state of the art in handgun technology. Designed to fill the need for a full size, full power, double action pistol, the Bren Ten created immense interest as a potent choice for law enforcement and military use.
Developed as a pistol and cartridge combination, the Bren Ten was the first production pistol to chamber the powerful 10mm Auto cartridge. In its original loading, the 10mm Auto was capable of launching a 170gr buller at 1,300 fps - generating over 600ft/lb of muzzle energy.
Unfortunately, the original Bren Ten and its successor fell victim to business management and financial problems - but the demand for a high quality American made, full size, double action pistol has still not been filled.

According to Eric Kincel, the General Manager for Vltor, the Bren Ten may have truly been a design that was ahead of its time; "Now is the time to make this pistol. With today's precision manufacturing techniques and the superior materials available, the Fortis will be a pistol line that is everything people hoped previous attempts would be."
Eric pointed out that the Fortis is nearly identical to the original Bren Ten in exterior appearance and ergonomics, but that some changes have been made to improve reliability, safety and strength. "The Fortis, while based on a twwnty-five year old idea, is very unique. It offers a high tech, high quality pistol that more than fills the demands for a full size, magnum power auto loader."

The first released Fortis will be a "duty gun", a full size, all steel, high capacity 10mm Auto that will reliably answer the call of professionals and sportsmen that rely on a good pistol. However, Eric is quick to point out that the Fortis Project is a line of pistols based on one common design. "There will be other versions of the Fortis...different calibers, sizes and options specific to certain applications." When asked if they intend on releasing a faithful reproduction of the original Bren Ten, Eric's answer was simply "We sure want to".

Fortis Pistol Proposed Specifications (subject to change in final production)

Manufacturer - Vltor Weapon Systems
Model - Fortis (original release)
Type - autoloading pistol
Operation - Semi-automatic, Double/single action
Caliber - 10mm Auto (others to follow)
Barrel length - 5.00"
Overall length - 8.75"
Height - 5.75"
Width - 1.30"
Weight - 38 ounces
Safety - reversible thumb and firing pin block
Sight radius - 6.88"
Sights - Adjustable, 3-Dot combat style
Rifling - 5 Groove, radiused, RH twist
Stocks - Engraved polymer panels
Capacity - 12 rounds
Finish - Black Steel Slide and Subdued Finish Stainless Frame"

Gonna be keeping a sharp eye out on this one. From everything I've heard about the Bren it was a hell of a gun, just with not-so-good quality control; since the demise of it and the S&W 10xx series there hasn't been much of a choice for the 10mm enthusiast at least as far as non-1911 platforms go, beyond Glock and EAA. I had been considering the EAA Witness for a while, but honestly I'd be afraid of getting a lemon -- and from everything I've heard about EAA, its customer service is nonexistent. And as far as 1911s go, both Kimber and Dan Wesson will set one back at least $850 for one of their 1911s NIB, though in my experience they've both been worth the price. I don't know if the Fortis will be any cheaper than that, as I don't know anything about them, but in any event the pistol sounds VERY appealing. Kurt Hofmann, if you want an affordable 10mm that isn't a Glock, this might be your chance, buddy...

Ooooh, my favorite Reba tune! "If I siiink any more, I'll go under, if I cry anymore, I'll go blind...oh, there ain't no relief, for this missin' you grief, how looong can you torture my mind...How bluuuuue, can you make me....how looooong, till I heal..."

UPDATE: Bloody hell, I'm gonna go even more broke...I heard the Colt Delta Elite was also re-introduced at SHOT...

Another of my favorites, from Glen Campbell...

here: "I am a lineman for the county, and I drive the main road....searchin' in the sun for another overload..."
1968, the year "Wichita Lineman" came out, was a great one for country music...other hits from that year include "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "Harper Valley P.T.A.," and "Mama Tried." And I am sure I could think of more...
Well, speak of the devil! Right after that, "I wanna tell you all a story 'bout a Harper Valley widowed wife..."
11:10 pm, from nine years later: "My hat don't hang on the same nail too long...my ears can't stand to hear the same ole song...and I don't leave the highway long enough, to bog down in the mud...'cause I've got ramblin' fever in my blood..." Like Rowdy Yates said, I never would have believed that song was not a No. 1 record...went to No. 2, if I remember right...

Yep, that's about what I figured...

What military aircraft are you? B-52 Stratofortress You're a B-52. You are old and wise, and you absolutely love destruction. You believe in the principle of "peace through deterrence" and aren`t afraid to throw your weight around.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Yep, that's about what I figured...the B-52 has always been my favorite, no matter how unattractive everyone else thought it was...
(h/t Ambulance Driver)

Quotes Of The Day

seen here...
"1911. It's an American thing. You wouldn't understand."
"Of course the 1911 is an outdated design. It came from an era when weapons were designed to win fights, not to avoid product liability lawsuits."

I Get Referrals: Dan Wesson Better Than Kimber?

...this time, from Park City, Utah, "dan wesson 1911 better than kimber".
Depends on who you ask. Regular readers know that not quite a year ago, I talked with a guy at a pawn shop in Beaumont who carried a Pointman Seven at one time, if I remember correctly, and said the Dan Wesson 1911 was much better than the Kimber -- even before CZ bought the Dan Wesson operation. Which would make sense, I suppose, considering that from what I've heard, not a lot changed on the Dan Wesson manufacturing front -- the guns are made now by the same people, at the same factory, using the same processes, etc. that they always have -- but the prices went up about $200 or so after the CZ acquisition. Even at those higher prices, though, I can honestly say that my Razorback was more than worth what I paid for it. But I will say that if there's any truth to what they say about the price difference, and if the quality was the same, the Dan Wesson was arguably hands-down the best 1911 value on the market, Kimber Kool-Aid drinkers be damned. Even as things stand now, though, they still run neck and neck with the pistols from Yonkers even on Kimber's best day. Dan Wesson 1911 better than Kimber? I don't know if I'd go quite that far, as I have a bit of a hard time saying that one gun maker is better than another at least as far as reputable manufacturers like DW, Kimber, Springfield, Ruger, Glock, Sig, etc. go. Is it at least as good? Yes. Now, when you factor in the price, maybe that would make it easier to say the Dan Wesson is a better gun. If you're looking to save a few dollars and still get a top-quality gun, the DW is indeed the way to go.