So the country music genre has come to this...

...covers, that is, of Hall and Oates and Nickelback -- and not even one of Nickelback's GOOD songs, fer cryin' out loud! I know there are people who will say, "it's just music, can't you judge it on its own merits?" The thing about it is, the term "country music" rightly means something to a lot of people and because of that things like the aforementioned covers come off to this country music fan as the audio equivalent of a raised middle finger. I heard Jimmy Wayne's cover of the Hall and Oates song "Sara Smile" this morning (when I went OFF the presets again, Sabra -- I need to break myself of that habit!) and it was like a car wreck. You just couldn't look away. It's worth asking why hacks like Jimmy Wayne and Bucky Covington choose to dump these steaming piles of crap on the country genre.

Getting "Westernized" is generally what happens...

..when you move to the West:

Police in a Phoenix suburb say they have arrested an Iraqi immigrant suspected of running down his daughter because she was becoming "too Westernized."

I am going to refrain from casting any judgment on Iraqi or Middle Eastern culture, as the facts aren't here to make the assessment as to whether it was an attempted honor killing or anything of the sort. But no matter the facts of the case, it's only natural to wonder why Faleh Almaleki thought becoming "too Westernized" was a bad thing. I can understand him wanting to retain his homeland's culture, but if he thought Westernization was such a bad thing, well, it's worth asking why he brought his family here as opposed to staying in Iraq. It'd also be interesting to see how many liberals would defend those who refuse to assimilate into American culture and say things like this -- which look to me to be a clear consequence of tolerating those who are actively hostile to our culture and its norms -- are an aberration rather than the norm. They would be right, of course, but what do you do when you're dealing with more insidious effects of that, i.e. those of whatever nationality, for example, who refuse to learn to speak the English language? I am not against people coming to this country by any means, but if they're going to come here it'd be best for all concerned if they were familiar with and friendly to its language and culture.

UPDATE: I accidentally deleted this post, but before I did, I caught Kelly in comments saying she could not understand Mr. Almaleki wanting to retain his culture. And on further reflection I agree with that. I suppose I might have come off as a cultural relativist in the original post and that wasn't even the last thing I meant to do. No matter where you are, running down someone in your car just because she doesn't conform to your homeland's culture is just wrong, and on further reflection it also becomes quite clear that a culture that would condone that sort of thing really isn't worth preserving.

More lefty double standards...

...this time from David Broder of the Washington Post:

There is an air of desperate improvisation to Sen. Harry Reid's scheme to pass a “public option” as part of health care reform, but at the same time provide an easy exemption for any state that objects to it. The warning flags ought to be flying for anyone who can count to three — let alone 60.
...
Consider the precedent that would be set if a major piece of social legislation were to be passed with a states' rights provision. Imagine, for example, FDR had signed the first Social Security law with the proviso that any states with Republican governors and legislatures could exempt themselves from its coverage.
This might have seemed a minimal concession to conservative opinion. But what would have followed? How long before some states would have demanded an exemption from the wage and hour law that established a minimum wage? And what about the clamor in a broad swath of the country when the first civil rights law was passed?

I'll avoid the easy snark about how Texas might have an even lower cost of living with no minimum wage law and its residents would be able to take the Social Security tax money that's taken out of their salaries and invest it somewhere besides the Ponzi scheme SS has become. I will say, though, that I find it quite disingenuous for Broder to lump the civil rights laws in with Social Security and the wage and hour laws. The latter two were more or less examples of government stepping in to take care things that should be left to citizens themselves, while the former was government stepping in to protect citizens' basic rights that were outlined in the Declaration of Independence. And then there's the matter of the patchwork of gun laws in different parts of the country, many of which clearly violate the Second Amendment to the Constitution. I would bet my next check that if the Second Amendment is incorporated, Broder and his ilk are going to be saying that certain cities and states should still be able to deny their citizens the basic right of effective self-defense under the rubric of "one size does not fit all" or as our illustrious Dear Leader *hawk-spit* put it, "what works in Cheyenne does not work in Chicago" -- as if residents of Chicago should not be afforded the same rights as those of Cheyenne. Either it's true in all cases or none. No one should get to pick and choose.

At least one person sees this...

....for exactly what it is:

NEWARK, N.J. — Loiterers and criminals on the nighttime streets of New Jersey's largest city have some company — concerned citizens and government workers who are cruising neighborhoods in an effort to reduce crime.
...
The program also helps Booker politically (Newark mayor Cory Booker -- ed.) by harnessing the same popular angst over community violence as his opponents, who have been holding anti-violence protest rallies in key city intersections.
John Sharpe James — son of former Mayor Sharpe James — is part of that movement. The former U.S. Army major views the caravan program as strictly a political ploy.
"I see no effect" from them on street violence, James said.

And I would bet no one else will see any effect either, considering the fact that New Jersey by and large doesn't respect its subjects' right of self-defense. It's all going to boil down, really, to the citizens saying, "Leave us alone! Or we'll say 'Leave us alone' again! And we're going to be very, very angry!"
Of course you know what the criminals are going to do, considering the fact that they by definition don't obey the laws and will therefore have the advantage when it comes to force. I got a chuckle out of one of the participants in this program saying that "the goal is deterrence," considering they don't have the proper tools for deterrence due to their state's draconian firearm laws. Neighborhood patrols are a great thing, but what happens when things, as the 'Dog might put it, go pear-shaped?
On the upside, though, I think things going pear-shaped for the people involved here could be a good thing as it could lead to a challenge to the state's aforementioned firearm laws -- assuming, that is, they don't get thrown out with incorporation of the Second Amendment. We'll see, I guess.

Missing the Purpose...

I wonder if it ever crossed the minds of the people who started the museum mentioned here that most if not all of the wars in which the United States has fought were started with the aggression of other nations or parties. Peace is great, but some people aren't really all that receptive to leaving everyone else alone, which of course is how things like wars break out. See, for example, the Germans ca. 1939 or the Japanese ca. 1941. I thought it was funny how that so-called "peace museum" had an exhibit consisting of pictures of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, considering the fact that if it had not been for those cities getting nuked the war would have dragged on that much longer and God only knows how many more Americans (and Japanese) would have died. And I thought it was also interesting how they had an exhibit dedicated to the U.N., as I read something in the "Today in History" feature in the newspaper the other day that was just one illustration of how useless that organization really is when it comes to keeping the peace:
"October 26, 1996 — As eastern Zaire slides into chaos, the United Nations evacuates aid workers from the camp in Bukavu, leaving half a million Hutu refugees from Rwanda to fend for themselves."
That pretty much says it all, I think. I know those people have a right to their misguided opinions, but is it so wrong of me to think they've proven themselves unworthy of the sacrifices made for them to be able to continue their self-righteous posturing?

Interesting little statistic here...

...that just changes everything, if it's true:

The DEA has estimated that marijuana accounts for well over half of cartel sales. Legal marijuana would slash the chaos on our border and the impact of cartel operations in some 200 U.S. cities and in over 60 of our national parks.

Now, for all anyone knows this guy just pulled that statistic out of his posterior. If it's true, though, I think it's safe to say that the wind would be taken right out of the sails of the people who advocate continuing the War On Some Drugs on the basis of "if we legalize it there will be junkies on the streets." I'd like to think that the argument that weed is a gateway drug to harder drugs has been thoroughly discredited; I know there was at least one study that did discredit that argument. And if profits from weed do comprise that large percentage of drug cartel sales, then I would think that when you look at it as a percentage of drugs sold by the cartels, it would comprise an even larger portion; i.e., the cartels sell more weed than anything else. Of course that's operating on the assumption that cocaine and heroin cost more per unit than marijuana does, which I would think is a fair one given the latter two drugs' potency. At any rate, though, it deserves to be asked at what point the cure is worse than the disease.

One more reason I love her...

Because she makes me laugh, she shares my passion for music...and she gives me blogfodder to boot!
Sitting here talking with Sabra, listening to this station, who I think is Radney Foster singing "Raining on Sunday," the song Keith Urban took to No. 1 a few years ago, and the following exchange ensues...

Sabra: Which Nashville twit did this?...This fellow sure does make it sound appealing, doesn't he?
Me: Keith Urban had a big hit with this song back in 2003. I believe this is Radney Foster. That's who it sounds like, at least.
Sabra: Oh, well, that makes sense, then! Radney Foster shits out more talent every morning than Keith Urban could hope to ever possess, even when he's holding onto Nicole Kidman.

She's all mine, folks. And I am never, ever gonna let her go!

One of the Strait man's best now...

...at Prime Country, Sirius Ch. 61: "Do you love me, do you wanna be my friend, and if you do...well then don't be, afraid to take me by the hand, if you want to...I think this is how love goes, check yes or no..."
One of the previously unreleased tunes from Strait's 4-cd career retrospective Strait Out Of The box, "Check Yes Or No" ultimately showed itself to be another example of George Strait's unerring ear for songs as was everything else in that set; the song spent four weeks at No. 1 in the fall of 1995 and to this day is a staple of Strait's live show. Even back then I thought it was amazing that Strait could have that kind of success -- both in the record stores and on the radio -- after most of his contemporaries were left behind in the wake of what everyone called "the new breed" of stars coming along in the early 1990s. Looking back I see it as nothing short of a miracle. I know I am a fan, with all the biases that come with that, but I still think his success and longevity make for a real testament to his artistry.

There aren't many things lower...

...than a serviceman who fakes being an injured war hero to get free stuff. He deserved exactly what he got.

Now what does it tell you...

...when the Associated Press cites as the President's strongest card in the health care poker game "appeal for party loyalty and Democratic achievement" as opposed to health care reform being what the wavering pols' constituents want?

You'd think a journalist would know better..

...than to display this sort of complacency (h/t Armed and Safe):

For those of us not yet convinced the feds' grand plan is to strip us of our inalienable rights, the visions of doom seem a bit over the top.

Odd. I have yet to see the NRA as a organization or any of its representatives try to persuade the people that "the feds' grand plan is to strip us of our inalienable rights," just that we should be alert and on guard, as the Founding Fathers intended, against government's natural propensity (even if it is unintended) to grow more powerful and take more of our rights. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a West Coast journalist would misrepresent the NRA's or American gun owners' position to advance his own, but it's still quite disappointing.

That's just the capper to this whole bit of inanity, as Mr. Barnidge had this to say earlier in the piece:

Was it (the Second Amendment -- ed.) intended to protect states' rights to arm a "well regulated militia" against an overbearing national government as the wording suggests, or does it mean that every American has the right to strap on a shoulder holster in the morning and keep an Uzi under his pillow at night?

Wow, where to start with this? Considering the Founding Fathers had just finished throwing off a tyrannical government, the prospect that they would codify in the Constitution the right of ANY government to arm itself is utterly fatuous. It's also incredibly hypocritical and self-serving for the leftists to advocate this position. Considering how they've been denigrating the Tea Party activists for the activists' advocacy of a less powerful federal government in favor of power decentralized among the 50 states (see also the Dems' shrieking about Rick Perry's comments vis-a-vis secession), does anyone honestly think they're seriously advocating the Second Amendment allowing the states to arm to protect their respective citizens against the depredations of the federal government? They can't have it both ways.

As for the Uzi-under-the-pillow argument -- well, of COURSE the 2A allows for that. No honest reading of the amendment allows for any other interpretation. To reprise and revise my comment from Armed and Safe, though -- if I had my choice for a subgun, I'd take a 10mm MP5. While we're talking about gun fantasies, how about a few hundred mags of full-power ammo of various weights from Double Tap? With that longer barrel those 155- and 180-grain Gold Dots would take care of anything you needed to take care of with that MP5...

Wow, another blind squirrel finds a nut...

...and this morning it's Kathleen Parker:

States' rights and conservatism are old friends — except when they're not. While many Republicans nurse a libertarian streak, the party has been selective in its support of federalist principles. The George W. Bush administration refused to honor states authorizing medical uses of cannabis, for instance, but aimed to return abortion and marriage issues to state jurisdictions.

Yes, indeed. I must say I am appalled at those -- on the left and right -- who advocate the "states' rights" principle only when it suits them, on issues such as gun control and gay marriage. I am well aware of the purpose of the Tenth Amendment, but I am sure the Founders would be aghast at the prospect of the Tenth Amendment -- or, for that matter, any other part of the Constitution (Commerce Clause, I'm lookin' at you, kid!) -- being used to sanction any abrogation of the people's rights and liberties, as it so often seems to be these days.

Wow, you mean he said something worth listening to and agreeing with?

Louis Farrakhan, that is:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Minister Louis Farrakhan on Sunday urged his followers not to become complacent by President Barack Obama's election and to work to repair communities.
...
"You may not be pleased with everything he's saying and doing, but you have to understand that he's been voted in to take care of the affairs of a nation, and not yours and mine particularly," Farrakhan said. "He's the American president, not the black president."
Given those broad responsibilities, African-Americans need to "accept responsibility to build our own communities," Farrakhan said.

I must admit it was quite refreshing to see that as opposed to Farrakhan exhorting his followers to agitate for "social justice" or some other insidious leftist nonsense. Taking responsibility for cleaning up your own community as opposed to waiting for someone else to do it for you. What a concept! Of course, there's still the matter of his general bigotry and anti-Semitism that no one talks about...

Thank y'all...

...for the well wishes. They are very much appreciated. All that and brownies, too. A man could not ask for more. :-) Yes, I am still here! And don't worry, TBeck. I will be very good to her. I know she is to me. She's the best thing ever.

Now, back to your normally scheduled programming blogging...

A road trip made of WIN and covered in AWESOMESAUCE.

Those of you who have been reading lately might have gotten the idea that something was afoot, based on some of the posts I've written and my not-quite-so-frequent posting. There's a reason for that, and a damn good one. :-)
You might have guessed I have a sweetheart. If you did, well, you'd be right -- the one who, as I've said before, shares my passions and stirs my intellect like no other. She lives some distance away, and we've been chatting on Facebook for a few weeks now. The whole thing, as many things of this nature do, started out as her and me being just friends. One thing led to another and we found out we had A LOT in common -- outlook on life, a deep affinity for the old country and a love of all things Texas, and that was just for starters. Mind you, all of this was before the Facebook friending. She and I got to talking on Facebook not quite a month ago. During one of our first conversations, I made a comment about remembering birthdays & anniversaries, and she told me that'd get me brownie points. I am not sure what exactly prompted me to ask this, but I asked her what long, slow kisses & fingers in her hair would get me. Her answer:
"Actual brownies!"
And so it started. She told me of her past, and how she had been hurt deeply by the man who vowed to love her forever, and how she was reluctant to trust again. But even so, no matter how long it would take, I just couldn't let her slip away from me. I just got a feeling deep inside of me, that we would be good for each other. And so one thing led to another, and I made plans to go to her hometown after certain obligations on my part were taken care of in mid-November. Well, things are still on track for that....but yesterday, she and I were chatting on Facebook as we always do during the day, and she told me she was trying not to think of the fact that we were both free the next day. Me being the smartass that I can be sometimes, I repeated it back to her -- that we were both free the next day -- and we started toying around with the idea of meeting halfway between here and there.
"Pistolero....say the word and I'll be out the door."
"Let's do it."
"Meet me back here in about an hour."
So I went home, took a shower and changed clothes, packed a suitcase and we finalized the details. I was out the door about 5:30 or so, on I-10 westbound. Lucky for me I missed the Houston traffic, but once I got to my destination -- Columbus, Texas, some 70 miles west of Houston -- I had a bitch of a time finding the hotel. But I finally did, and pulled up beside her green car, and got out as she opened the door and smiled at me.
"I thought I'd never get here!"
But I did, and as I did, I took her in my arms, and we kissed, so long and so slow. And so began the lead-in to what she described as the "best Thursday ever." You hear a lot of people say that in-person meeting is what tells the tale, and that's the truth. The truth, if it is there, is also in the touch. And when she touched me, when she kissed me, when she held me, the truth was so strong I could feel it, to the depths of my soul. There's no way that could be faked. And she feels it in mine as well. More truths made themselves known in the last day. You recall the old music I spoke of earlier. Well, we were in my truck and I had the Sirius radio on, and she and I sang along to all the same songs. I have known no one in my life who has ever done that with me. No one. I never knew the music was such a vital part of me, but it is, and she shares that with me -- along with everything else. She told me she brought a book to read. I remember telling her I was thinking she'd brought it for other reasons, and that it would really suck if she'd had to read that book lying on the couch as I was in the bed, or vice-versa. I've said before here, in comments, that she was my female twin. She later told me that she got a really bad vibe from that, and let's just say I'm glad she did get that bad vibe. It would totally suck if we were related, because when she lies in my arms, she feels like she was made just for them. In short? She's just as beautiful, sharp-witted, funny and intelligent in real life as she is online. (Oh, and she brought me actual brownies, too! We ate them at this little park on the Colorado River just outside of town. :-)) And you readers might have gotten this idea before now, but I finally must confess it here...
I love you, Sabra.

The prosecutor almost got it...

...but not quite:

Three men convicted of the gang rape of a West Palm Beach woman and the beating of her young son were sentenced to life in prison Tuesday.
Palm Beach Circuit Judge Krista Marx sentenced Jakaris Taylor, 17, and Nathan Walker, 18, to life in prison while Tommy Poindexter, 20, was sentenced to life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison. A fourth defendant, Avion Lawson, 16, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in December.
The four were convicted of barging into the then-35-year-old woman's West Palm Beach apartment in 2007 and raping her repeatedly, then beating her then-12-year-old son and forcing her to perform oral sex on him. They then doused the two in chemicals and left when they could not find a match.
...
"This community has a right to be protected from these juveniles," she (prosecutor Aleatha McRoberts -- ed.) said. "Short of killing this woman and her son, there is not much worse they could have done."

Not only does the community have a right to be protected from such monsters, but they also have a right to protect themselves from such monsters. As we see, the police did not get there in time to protect this woman and her son, and we all know, of course, that the police were under no obligation to do so. You wonder why I don't ascribe any benevolent motives to anti-gun individuals? You wonder why I think they're inherently evil? I do so because they want to make it harder, if not impossible, for us to defend ourselves against creatures like the ones who did this. I just do not see any excuse whatsoever for that.

Yeah, 'cause everyone knows..

...this kid was just a thug-in-training, right?

NEWARK, Del. — A Delaware first-grader who wanted to eat lunch at school with his favorite camping utensil, a combination of folding fork, knife and spoon, now faces 45 days in reform school.
Hundreds of people were expected to attend a school board meeting Tuesday evening to object to the suspension of 6-year-old Zachary Christie from Downes Elementary School for bringing the camping utensil from home.
The folding knife is banned as a dangerous instrument under the Christina School District's zero-tolerance policy in the student code of conduct and officials said they have to act regardless of his age or what he planend to do with the instrument.

I certainly would like to know what in the hell they think they're going to reform in little Zachary. I'd like to think it'll bring out his inner libertarian and its inherent distrust of authority, but who knows?

Post for the day...

....before I go off to make some more money...
This may seem like a little thing, but it's just wonderful when you sing along with an old song you love, and she loves it too, as opposed to giving you a look that resembles the look you'd get for eating a live kitten. Looking back the fact that I did get one of those looks from the ex-girlfriend as I sang one of those old songs should have been a huge red flag, but hey, you live and you learn. :-)

Honestly, this was not surprising to me.

Much consternation may be found here, over the words of one Bryan Miller. I must say I am not surprised by it, and furthermore I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he was speaking for more than a few gun control advocates. After all, it's not as if they're above defaming us anyway, as you know if you pay attention to what they say and how they spin things. Would it honestly be that much of a stretch to think most if not all of them are thinking "we were right and she was wrong, nyah-nyah-nyah...."? After all, you see how they're all conveniently ignoring the fact that Melanie Hain's husband was an "Only One"...

Oooh. Now playing on the Boneyard, Sirius Ch. 19: "Foreclosure of a Dream." I love me some Megadeth, yes indeed...

Why should they?

Why should Democrats on the national level, that is, worry about unseating New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg? He's practically one of them!

Quote of the Day...

...from Kayla, just now on the Boneyard, Sirius Ch. 19, as she related what a friend was telling her:
"When Weird Al Yankovic beats Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the apocalypse is upon us."
Truer words, as they say...

Today's musings are brought to you...

...by AC/DC and "Hells Bells," which was on Classic Rewind a few minutes ago...
Why do I not have Back In Black in my cd collection? Good grief. I've heard all but about maybe two songs from that record and they're all absolute classics. Brian Johnson's vocal pyrotechnics on that album took the band to an entirely different level than they were on with Bon Scott. It's safe to say Back In Black is on the level of Appetite for Destruction as one of THE greatest rock records ever made, and not just because of the record's sales -- 22 million-plus in the U.S. and 49 million-plus worldwide since its 1980 release. Yes. There will be one more to that total, very, very soon...

Pardon my cynicism...

...but once again, this is pure idealist fantasy:

With President Barack Obama presiding, the U.N. Security Council on Thursday unanimously endorsed a sweeping strategy aimed at halting the spread of nuclear weapons and ultimately eliminating them, to usher in a world with "undiminished security for all."

What do you say to that? I'm sure the Israelis are saying, "that sure sounds good, but it's so easy for you to say because you don't have a genocidal maniac living practically next door." Reading on down in that story reveals that Israel rejects the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, as well they should. And maybe it's the cynic in me coming out here too, but I just don't believe the Libyan U.N. ambassador's plea had nearly as much to do with "fairness" as it does making sure the Israelis can't strike back with any kind of significant force if and when the Iranians launch a first strike on them. But better to be a cynic than a starry-eyed idealist, no? I would think being the former gives you a much better chance of staying alive in this day and age, but maybe that's just me.

Nothin' political today...

...just a few observations.
It really is funny how things happen, in the blink of an eye almost, when you don't expect them. You think you're going to be just friends with someone, but something deeper takes over and it goes far beyond what you thought it might be. You find she shares your passions and outlooks almost to the letter, and you can talk for hours and still find more to talk about, and when the silence takes over it isn't the least bit awkward or tense. No subject's off limits, from music to politics to guns, even. She stirs your intellect like no other, and it's a feeling like you've never known before in your life. Neither of us can know for certain yet where it's going to go (I would say the saying to which she referred was dead on and tell you what it was, but that would just ruin the surprise!), but it does look so very promising.

Some Monday morning thrash.

When one gets past the vocals on some of the heavier forms of music, such as the various metal subgenres, one will see that the practitioners of the art can come up with some damn good lyrics. I recently discovered another example of this, with California thrash metal band Testament's recent work. Much of it I have yet to hear, but I was privileged recently to hear the band's take on the events of September 11, 2001, a fine little record called "The Evil Has Landed." From everything I've heard and read about Testament, the band more or less falls into the second tier of the '80s thrash bands below what everyone calls the Big Four -- Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth -- but everything I've heard from them sounds damn good, and this cut from their latest album is no exception.

"...see the flames on the river, is this our judgment day..."

Well isn't this nice...

...borderline defamation of CHL holders in this morning's Chronicle:

...Experience, however, shows that concealed handgun permit holders are a direct threat to police. Research by the Violence Policy Center has identified at least eight law enforcement officers who have been killed by concealed carry permit holders nationwide since May 2007. Clearly state legislatures need to substantially revise these laws to protect first responders and innocent citizens.

Mm. I believe research by the Violence Policy Center has been shown to have serious flaws, too.

Random quote from a conversation...

....with a certain person:
"Oh, fuck the AP stylebook. Those bastards want me to drop the final comma out of my lists."
Lol. She has an attitude, she does, and it's a great one. I could never get enough. Never thought I'd appeal to someone's inner grammarian, I'm tellin' ya...

Just a rhetorical question...

What do you do, when you find someone whose passions match your own, in every single way you can think of? When this person finishes your own thoughts on what seems like an hourly basis? When you can talk to them for hours upon hours and not get bored with each other?

Just a few observations...

The United States has played host to the Olympics four times since 1896, when the Games were revived after some 1,200 years. In fact, Atlanta, Georgia landed the most important and celebrated Olympic Games since their re-establishment, the centennial Olympics in 1996. I remember them well, because I was there. So, keeping all that in mind, why is the Associated Press analyzing Chicago's first-round loss in the IOC voting for the 2016 Games as if it was actually something so damn important? I am not understanding the gravity of such a loss, especially with the fact that Rio de Janeiro was long-overdue for the Games considering the fact that South America has yet to host them. In a way, it's rather ironic; the press has been trying to spread this America-isn't-so-overbearing-anymore narrative, yet the President of the United States jets into Copenhagen as if he's some sort of celebrity, Chicago's bid gets shot down and the press treats it as the worst thing since Watergate, it seems. One wonders what they'd have been writing had George and Laura Bush hopped a jet for Copenhagen to lobby for Houston votes for 2012 back when hosts were being considered for that year's Games...

Is there such a thing...

...as a low-powered gun? I do so tire of the journalists speaking of "high-powered" guns, because that's just as much of a loaded term as is "assault rifle" or "cop-killer bullet." Even a .22 will kill a man if you put it in the right spot. And I'd love to find out how many of those 141,440 rounds came from the Mexican military as opposed to American gun stores....

This is how you teach them...

...teach kids about firearms, that is...

There are hunters who go a lifetime dreaming of that big kill. Then there's Simon Hughes, who helped nab a beast of an animal on an East Texas hunt — while still in the first grade. The 5-year-old boy from Goodrich was part of a hunting crew that recently killed an 800-pound, 12-foot-6-inch alligator that has wildlife experts shaking their heads.
...
Simon had a new junior-sized .410-gauge shotgun. His first gun had been too big, having a recoil that opened a small cut below one eye after he fired it.
Neither his father nor mother worry about Simon using firearms, because he has been taught gun safety since he was big enough to walk and stand in a deer blind.
“That's the way it is in rural areas,” Scott Hughes said. “We don't think of guns as playthings or something used in videogames.”

Excellent. What an awesome example this man set for his son, teaching him about guns as opposed to keeping the gun loose in the closet and not teaching him how dangerous it could be if not handled properly. Sure as hell beats keeping the gun locked up and the little one ignorant, as most of the gun controllers more or less advocate. Just goes to show you, the bitter clingers, as our esteemed President so artfully referred to them, are in some cases more enlightened than the self-appointed elites.