Let's cut the Gordian knot

"Since September 11, 2001, it's been clear that terrorists who hate America will exploit our weaknesses in order to destroy us." (Excerpted from an NRA-ILA e-mail alert.)

What's missing from this statement? The reason WHY the terrorists hate us: our foreign policy, aka foreign entanglements. The childish simplicity of the above quote as it is written is exasperating, yet that seems to be the extent and depth of understanding of the problem by too many Americans. Another off-shoot of the statement actually gives a reason, simplistic as it may be: "The terrorists hate America because it is so good."

Right. As if a bunch of brainwashed morons could even find America on a map, much less articulate anything accurate about its culture.

Let's get this straight. Terrorists only know us through our military presence and our support of Israel. (Okay, to a lesser extent they think they know us through whatever of our pop (aka crap) culture filters through to them...more's the pity for us.) If we were to sever all foreign entanglements in that region, Israel would have to sink or swim on its own. Israel, with the assumption they have them, something I believe they've never admitted to, might have to resort to the nuclear weapons option to survive, something I would have little to no problem with. Fifty million + dead enemies of Israel might go a long way in changing the Muslim mindset that preaches death to all Jewish peoples.

But as long as the US keeps a short leash on Israel via its foreign aid and assistance--which I don't see how we can afford to since we are so profoundly broke--the nuclear scenario will not happen. The problems in the Middle East will continue ad infinitum. Actually, the terrorists had better be glad that the US is involved in the area. It keeps Israel from being forced to make a choice between utter annihilation and using nuclear force.

Take care.
DAL357

P.S. What started me thinking about this subject was a podcast I listened to where the host stated basically the same thing about our foreign policy being the problem. He also stated that, while he supports Israel, our support of any foreign country should not compromise our American system and way of life. If you doubt that it is compromising our traditions and values, what do you call the so-called Patriot Act, the searches at airports, etc?

Stand fast, AZ

Let all correct-thinking Americans hope that Arizona will stand fast and not be bullied by those who criticize Arizona's recent immigration law, but who offer no substantive alternative to a state besieged by criminals. Below is an example of what AZ is enduring, along with my comments. Stick to your law, AZ, this will blow over, eventually. Of course, never discount the morons in DC figuring out some kind of end run to vitiate or eliminate your law. That's always a possibility when an employee shows his boss for the inept fool he is.

*****

Arizona law sparks calls for action on immigration
May 2, 2010 (6:09a CDT)
By SOPHIA TAREEN (Associated Press Writer)

CHICAGO - Protesters nationwide vented their anger over a new Arizona law to crack down on illegal immigrants by calling on President Barack Obama to [get off of his butt and] immediately take up their cause for federal immigration reform. [AKA a-blind-eye-towards-anyone-south-of-the-border-who’d-like-to- give-living-in-America-a-try-without-the-legal-hassles reform.]

From Los Angeles to Washington D.C., activists, families, students and even politicians marched, practiced civil disobedience and "came out" about their citizenship status in the name of rights for immigrants [in a country with some guts, this would have made deportation of much easier], including the estimated 12 million [at least] living illegally in the U.S.

Obama once promised to tackle immigration reform in his first 100 days, but has pushed back that timetable several times. [Surprise!] He said this week that Congress may lack the "appetite" to take on immigration [what he actually means is that immigrants are the Democrat party’s last hope for the fall elections and Congress doesn’t want to do anything to anger them] after going through a tough legislative year. However, Obama and Congress could address related issues, like boosting personnel and resources for border security, in spending bills this year [that would be nice, perhaps those resources could come from, say, Afghanistan].

A congressman was among 35 people arrested during a protest at the White House. U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois, was taking part in a civil disobedience demonstration.

Protests elsewhere were largely peaceful. No arrests were reported at most demonstrations; two were arrested near the march route in Los Angeles, but police said neither suspect appeared to be connected to the rally.

Police said 50,000 rallied in Los Angeles, where singer Gloria Estefan kicked off a massive downtown march. Estefan spoke in Spanish and English, proclaiming the United States is a nation of [legal] immigrants.

"We're good people," the Cuban-born singer said atop a flatbed truck. "We've given a lot to this country. This country has given a lot to us."
[That’s not the point, Gloria, but thanks for muddying the issue. You’re here legally, and no one is talking about legal immigrants. This law affects only illegal immigrants. You understand that, of course, but apparently you ignore it for some unknown reason. By the way, you're not even connected to Mexico, you're from Cuba, so why are you even saying anything? Is this about illegal immigrants or Hispanic solidarity? I suspect the latter.]

Anger, particularly among immigrant rights activists, has been building since last week when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the legislation. The law requires local and state law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're in the country illegally. It also makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally. [You mean it wasn’t already?]

The law's supporters say it's necessary because of the federal government's failure to secure the border [BINGO!], but critics contend it encourages racial profiling and is unconstitutional.

"It's racist," [Actually, there are three races: Mongoloid, Caucasoid, and Negroid. Hispanic peoples fit into the Caucasoid category, as do so-called white people, so if what’s transpiring in Arizona is racist, it is against all Caucasians. It might be fairer to call it illegal immigrantist.] said [dimwit] Donna Sanchez, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen living in Chicago whose parents illegally crossed the Mexican border. [INS/ICE, you may want to check on her parents’ status and act accordingly.] "I have papers, but I want to help those who don't." [Hmmm, aiding and abetting criminals, that should earn her at least a record, if not some time in the pokey; it won’t, of course.]

Organizers [surely an unbiased source of information] estimated about 20,000 gathered at a park on Chicago's West Side and marched, but police said about 8,000 turned out.

"I want to thank the governor of Arizona [me too] because she's awakened a sleeping giant," said labor organizer John Delgado, who attended a rally in New York where authorities estimated 6,500 gathered [that’s really not a whole lot of people out of a city of many millions].

Chicago's event resembled something between a family festival - food vendors strolled through with pushcarts - and a political demonstration with protesters chanting "Si se puede," Spanish for "Yes we can." [A phrase borrowed from Bob the Builder? Yes, you can what? Circumvent immigration laws? Put one over on legal immigrants and native-born Americans?] A group of undocumented students stood on a stage at the park and "came out" regarding their immigration status.[“Undocumented?” No. Illegal? Yes.]

Juan Baca was among those students. Baca, 19, whose parents brought him from Mexico illegally when he was 4 months old, said he has had to drop out of college and work several times already because he can't qualify for financial aid. [Boo hoo! There should be no financial aid for college for anyone, Juan, regardless of any factor.]

"It's been a struggle," he said. "I missed the mark by four months." [No problem, just don't miss the bus back to Mexico.]

In Dallas, police estimated at least 20,000 people turned out. About a dozen people carried signs depicting the Arizona governor as a Nazi and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known for his tough illegal immigration stance, as a Klansman. Organizers were asking sign holders to discard those placards. [Militancy doesn’t fit with the downtrodden image “organizers” (propagandists) are trying to culture.]

Juan Hernandez, the Hispanic outreach coordinator for Arizona Sen. John McCain's unsuccessful presidential run, attended the Dallas rally. He said Arizona was once considered by those south of the border to be a model state with particularly close ties to Mexico . [Apparently, unfettered illegal immigration forges closer ties with foreign nations.]

"It went beyond what most states do," [which is essentially look the other way while grabbing their ankles] he said. "Now they are a state that goes beyond what the Constitution says you should do."

Juan Haro, 80, was born and raised in Denver, where about 3,000 people rallied. He [stated the obvious when he said] he thinks Arizona's new law targets Mexicans. [Ya think? Mexico is where the problem stems from so, yes, it’s logical to target Mexicans. But he’s using the term interchangeably with Hispanics, a disingenuous sleight of hand. This is about illegal Mexican immigrants, not legal Mexican immigrants, and not native-born Hispanics. A big part of the problem is that too many native-born Hispanics identify themselves as Mexican because they have roots in Mexico. They are American. Period. A Mexican is someone born in Mexico, and that’s what this law is all about.]

"This country doesn't seem to be anti-immigrant," said Haro, whose family is originally from Mexico. "It seems to be anti-Mexican." [No, anti- illegal Mexican, Haro.]

In downtown Miami, several hundred flag-waving demonstrators - many with Cuban and Honduran flags, but mostly American ones - called for reforms. [What does “called for reforms” mean? Reforms to strengthen the border, or to loosen immigration law enforcement even more? What lousy reporting.]

Elsewhere, an estimated 7,000 protesters rallied in Houston, about 5,000 gathered at the Georgia state Capitol in Atlanta and at least 5,000 marched in Milwaukee. About 3,000 attended a Boston-area march. [Again, unstaggering numbers.]

And in Ann Arbor, Mich., more than 500 people held a mock graduation ceremony for undocumented immigrant students near the site of Obama's University of Michigan commencement speech. [Once again reinforcing my assertion that college students and clear thinking are too often unacquainted.]

In Arizona, police in Tucson said an immigrant rights rally there drew at least 5,000 people. Several thousand people gathered in Phoenix for a demonstration Saturday evening.

A smattering of counterprotesters showed up at rallies. In Tucson, a few dozen people showed up in support of the new law and Brewer. A barricade separated about two dozen counterprotesters from a pro-immigrant rights rally in San Francisco.

Counterprotesters there carried signs that read, "We Support Arizona" and "We Need More Ice At This Fiesta," an apparent reference [no, it’s actually a quite clear reference] to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

May 1 - International Workers Day [a Communist holiday, by the way] - is a traditional date for political demonstrations. Immigration advocates latched onto that tradition in 2006, when more than 1 million people across the country - half a million alone in Chicago - protested federal legislation that would have made being an illegal immigrant a felony. That legislation ultimately failed. [Pity.]

Take care.
DAL357

Another innoculant (I hope)

In practically every life, some rain will fall and some sun will shine, often without warning. A few days ago, my wife gave me one of those out-of-the-blue, ray-of-sunshine moments.

One of my wife's friends, for reasons known only to her--never look a gift horse in the mouth--asked said wife if I could teach her something about handguns. My wife relayed this lagniappe to me and, of course, I instantly said, "Yes." I absolutely love teaching people about guns, although I've only ever trained one other adult (again, one of my wife's friends).

Other commitments will prevent me from assuming this responsibility until June, but I am already looking forward to it, mainly because I enjoy teaching others. But I will also enjoy it because it will add one more person to the ranks of the enlightened about guns. If/when this comes to pass (life being unpredictable), I'll blog about it and let everyone/anyone who happens to still read this intermittently-updated tome know how things went.

Take care.
DAL357

What did they expect?

I guess Arizona has really stirred up a hornet's nest with its new law aimed at stemming the ridiculous, unsustainable flood of illegal immigrants into America. The r-word (invoked to shut down all discussion of the subject) is flying fast and furiously by opponents of the law. Threats of lawsuits are in the air and the rhetoric is ratcheting upwards.

Good. It's about time some state forced the issue of illegal immigration 'cause the FedGov sure ain't about to do more than posture about it, if that. As I understand it, California is the state that suffers most from the illegal infestation problem, yet they're too self-doubting and pansy-like to do a da*n thing about it. Enter Arizona, a state with some stones.

Well, what did the FedGov, et. al., expect? If big G isn't getting it done (it being protecting the borders from illegal invaders), and they aren't, then I guess someone a little closer to the problem, and with a bit more of a vested interest in solving it, will have to take care of it.

The FedGov doesn't like to be shown up by what it considers its underlings, namely, the states. No, that might undermine its carefully crafted, and thoroughly fallacious, image of omnipotence. But what are states to do if they are being directly injured and DC does nothing?

I understand the concern with AZ police possibly abusing their power, and that is a legitimate concern. But look at what entity brought it to this point by shirking its duty to protect the borders of its own country, while expending massive amounts of money halfway around the world in what will ultimately prove to be a futile attempt to civilize the uncivilizable: the FedGov. Had the FedGov taken care of the problem, Arizona wouldn't have had to come up with its own solution.

Take care.
DAL357

Oh, ha, ha, ha!

You may have seen the recent story about the 29-year-old Missouri convenience store clerk who won the $258 million Powerball jackpot. If not, you'll find it below. As you read it, note the condescending tone of the writer.

Mo. clerk says he'll use $258M jackpot on bills
Apr 23, 2010 (2:24a CDT)
By SARAH D. WIRE (Associated Press Writer)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A Missouri man who won a $258 million Powerball jackpot and plans to use some of the money to pay bills and take his children to Disney World says he hasn't decided yet if he'll quit his job at the convenience store where he bought the winning ticket.

Chris Shaw - a 29-year-old tattooed father of three who was raised by his grandparents in rural southern Missouri - came forward Thursday as the winner of the 10th-largest Powerball jackpot ever. Shaw said he had just $28.96 in his bank account and recently bought a 1998 Ford Ranger from a friend who agreed to let him pay off the $1,000 price $100 at a time. Now, he said, he no longer has to worry about how he'll pay his friend - or his utility bills.

"We didn't come from money. For us it's just going to be a huge relief to know I'm going to be able to pay my electric bill, my gas bill," Shaw told the Associated Press. "It's like a weight lifted. I had bills at home I didn't know how they were going to be paid."

Shaw said he bought the $5 ticket Wednesday at the Break Time convenience store where he works in Marshall, a central Missouri town about 80 miles east of Kansas City. He accepted his ceremonial check at the Missouri Lottery headquarters in Jefferson City wearing a tan and red plaid shirt, a red hat and a huge grin - minus two front teeth he says he lost because he didn't take care of them but can now afford to have replaced.

"I'm just a regular guy working paycheck to paycheck ... well not any more," he said.

Shaw said he needed a few days to decide whether he will keep his minimum-wage job at the store where he has worked for just three weeks. He also plans to seek advice "from people who know about money" about whether to take the jackpot in 30 payments over 29 years or the lump-sum amount of $124,875,122.

His boss, Jackie Maxwell, general manager of the Missouri-based Break Time convenience store chain, was thrilled to hear Shaw had won.

"He's just a great guy, a good employee. When you think of a large winner like this, everyone likes to see that the person who won is somebody like Chris," she said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Shaw - who has a 10-year-old son, a 7-year-old girl and a 5-year-old girl by two different women - said he had played Missouri Scratchers lottery tickets before, winning at most $80. He checked his Powerball ticket against the state lottery's website only after his girlfriend, Tosha Ewry, told him the winning ticket was bought at the store where he works.

When Shaw called Ewry back to tell her the news, she thought he was joking, he said. Finally, he said he told her: "I swear on a stack of Bibles, you need to leave work and come home."

The winning numbers were 11-34-41-49-55, Powerball 20. The Power Play number was 2.

Shaw said he looks forward to spending more time with his kids, who live with their mothers about 240 miles southeast of him in his hometown of Alton, as well as with his girlfriend's two sons - 13-year-old and 15-year-old boys Shaw says he considers his own. He plans to take them all to Disney World in Florida.

"I can be with them as much as I want now," Shaw said.

He said his children already have been asking for new skateboards, bicycles and "just stuff that's really hard to do when you make $7.25 an hour."

Break Time will receive $50,000 for selling the winning ticket. If Shaw takes a lump-sum payment, the state income taxes due on the winnings would be about $6 million, state budget director Linda Luebbering said.

Granted, this guy probably did not excel in school, hence the dead-end job, but at least he's doing honest work, something the reporter seemed to take little note of. Instead, she mentioned that he has three children "by two different women," a fact not necessary to know. A lot of people from every social strata have offspring by more than one person, but this must have been too good of an opportunity for the reporter to pass up to laugh up her sleeve at the perceived promiscuity of people like Shaw.

Another barb she shoots from her poison pen is at his most salient feature, his missing teeth. Again, it was not necessary to elaborate on this point. We all know that good oral hygiene is not usually a well-practiced activity among the lower classes, but by enlightening us as to the details of the mystery of his missing incisors, she again shows her condescension of those people. The photo in and of itself is derisive enough; didn't anyone think to ask Shaw to smile with his mouth closed, or at least take a photograph of him from some other perspective? Of course not, for that might have ruined the smirking tone of the piece.

For those who think I'm being a bit picayunish about this report, please re-read it. The evidence is there for all to see.

Incidentally, lest anyone accuse me of hypocrisy, I, too, am not a fan of many of the choices people in Shaw's socio-economic class make. As long as they are supporting themselves, however, and paying their own bills (tattoo bills included), I'll back them, although I will sometimes question the logic of their choices. And, yes, I will still poke fun at them on occasion. But I hope I never get my nose so far up in the air that I devolve into condescension.

Take care.
DAL357

P.S. Good luck to you, Chris Shaw; the world is a wonderful place filled with interesting places and artifacts. Go discover it.

Get away from your usual circle of acquaintances and culture some friends from other social strata, they'll help you see life from another perspective. Not all of it will be good for you (but don't let that scare you), so you'll have to have your BS filter firmly in place.

Read widely, even if you've never enjoyed reading before; at the very least, start listening to audio books, especially those of the classics.

Travel, but do so with an open mind. Believe it or not, America is not the center of the universe and there are other ways of living than the American lifestyle.

Find and retain the very best financial consultant/advisor you can (look to past Powerball winners to help you there). Put yourself on a budget, seriously, and stick to it. Of course, your budget can probably be several hundred thousand dollars a year, but you might be surprised how quickly that money can go if you are not careful. Even your great wealth is finite and there's been more than one sad tale of rags to riches to rags told of lottery winners.

Watch out for the sycophants of the world, for they are legion. Never get married without an iron-clad prenuptial agreement. Perhaps better yet, don't bother getting married at all. It's safer that way. Oh, and get a vasectomy.

Finally, just be careful. Few decisions you will make from now on will need to be made without wise counsultation from an attorney and an accountant. Remember, used correctly, that money will broaden your horizons and enrich your life. Used incorrectly, it will lead you to a crystal meth addiction and an early grave. The choice is yours.

It doesn't get any easier

Yesterday, we lost our beloved family dog to a brain tumor. A better companion, friend, sweetheart, and protector you'll never find. This morning is the first one since she fell ill and had to be hospitalized on Saturday that I definitely knew I would never let her out in the backyard again when I awoke, our daily, matutinal ritual.

She lived with me for over 13.5 years, although she was 15 years, 9 months old when she died. Her first two years were spent with my brother and ex-sister-in-law. I first met her when she was eight weeks old; I knew right away that there was something special about her. I told my brother that if they ever wanted to get rid of her, I'd take her. Two years later, she came to live with me, a bachelor at the time.

When I met my wife and she came to live with me, Princess barked at her and ran away. Soon, however, they became fast friends and soul mates, and it was that way for over 13 years. A dog will often bond especially close with one family member, and my wife was that person in our home. As you can imagine, she is devastated.

When I was a boy, a dog came to live with us who bonded with me. A number of years later, she became old and infirm and had to be put to sleep. Because I had this terrible experience under my belt, I thought I'd be somewhat inured to losing another animal, but I was wrong. It doesn't get any easier as I age, it gets harder. I am not ashamed to admit that I cried like a baby for the old girl.

Goodbye, Princess. You will not only be missed, but grieved for too.

Take care.
DAL357

Missing California teen's body believed found

Another tragedy due to coddling an irredeemable reprobate. Had this sorry excuse for a human being, 30-year-old John Albert Gardner III, been handled correctly the first time, either by execution (my preference, assuming a DNA conviction) or life in prison without the possibility of parole, one more young woman, 17-year-old Chelsea King, would still be alive today.

According to the article I read, in 2000 he was able to plea bargain to a (slap-on-the-wrist) sentence of nearly 11 years in prison for his sexual assault on a 13-year-old neighbor, of which he served five years. Another reason for the light sentence was "that Gardner's lack of a significant prior criminal record justified less than the maximum sentence," said prosecutors in 2000. Well, I guess if he's cleared that hurdle now. Or at least he will after conviction.

Forget his lack of a prior criminal record, what about the heinous nature of the crime itself? Would two child molestation victims, or more, make a stiffer sentence seem more fair? Who the he** are the prosecutors trying to protect, society or a convicted sex offender? Even one sexual molestation conviction should earn a person permanent removal from society. No person who crosses that line can ever be trusted in society again. Ever. Yet here this beast was, out amongst a sea of unsuspecting souls going about their lives.

Looking at this case from another perspective, we once again see government failing its constituents. By not adequately performing one of its basic mandates, that of protecting society from criminals, they failed in their most fundamental function. And, in general, these are the same people who want everyone disarmed and relying on a phone call to 911? Thanks, but no thanks.

As a parent, my heart goes out to the parents of this young woman. They have been condemned to a living hell for the rest of their days by a convicted sexual predator and his unwitting accomplices, government prosecutors.

Take care.
DAL357

The .380 rehabilitated

Perhaps you find it as amusing as I do that over the last couple of years or so, the .380 ACP, or .380 Auto, if you prefer, has somehow become the rediscovered darling of the concealed carry world. Prior to that, it was always viewed, at least for the last couple of generations, as a pipsqueak round best relegated to last-ditch or back-up-gun work. Lately, however, it seems to be accepted as a serious contender for self-defense consideration. Has it suddenly become a much better cartridge? Or does its new patina of respectability have to do with advertising revenue? (Such a cynic I am.)

I'm not going to go into the statistics on one-shot stops with the .380 because there are far too many variables to take that data at face value, such as bullet placement, mindset of the shootee, etc. But I have heard a certain person, a person whom I enjoy listening to on MP3, state in the past that the .38 Spl. and 9mm are the absolute minimum for defensive calibers. Now, he's apparently changed his mind and accepted the .380 as the new minimum although, in fairness to him, he doesn't seem to support it with much enthusiasm.

Oh well. I guess having a gun, any gun, if/when one needs one is the most important thing, along with knowing how to shoot it accurately under stress of course. I just found the flip-flop on the .380 round curious.

Take care.
DAL357

Starbucks Appreciation Day

In light of Starbucks' level-headed decision on the open carry of firearms in its California establishment, in which they stated they would follow the law as it's written (what a concept), some in the gun community (here and here) have proffered the idea of having a Starbucks Appreciation Day on Sunday, February 21, 2010. I'm just passing on the information; you can do what you like with it.

Take care.
DAL357

Trendsetter?

Man angry at IRS crashes plane into Texas building
Feb 18, 2010 (5:18p CST)
By JIM VERTUNO (Associated Press Writer)

AUSTIN, Texas - A software engineer furious with the Internal Revenue Service launched a suicide attack on the agency Thursday by crashing his small plane into an office building containing nearly 200 IRS employees, setting off a raging fire that sent workers fleeing for their lives. At least one person in the building was missing.

The FBI tentatively identified the pilot as Joseph Stack. A federal law official said investigators were looking at a long anti-government screed and farewell note that he apparently posted on the Web earlier in the day as an explanation for what he was about to do.

In it, the author cited run-ins he had with the IRS and ranted about the tax agency, government bailouts and corporate America's "thugs and plunderers."

"I have had all I can stand," he wrote in the note, dated Thursday, adding: "I choose not to keep looking over my shoulder at 'big brother' while he strips my carcass."

So a man who's fed up with it all decides to off himself and, he hopes, take a few IRS employees with him. Is this the start of a trend of Americans pushing back against a tyrannical government? I seriously doubt it, at least when it comes to this course of action. Generally speaking, Americans don't have the stomach for what it would take for a real revolution. Sure, we talk about a second American Revolution, but it ain't going to happen. Instead, we content ourselves with Walter Mitty fantasies, stockpiling ammunition, and swallowing pointless political rhetoric.

But who can blame us? TPTB are far too strong and insidious to even think of prevailing against. To try is to do what this man did: commit suicide. No, this production will have to play until its final act, where the lead actors--the Federal government and various state governments--become so thoroughly weakened through fiscal ineptitude, not to mention moral turpitude, that they can no longer meet their obligations to their minions who use force to keep it all functioning. At that point, the entire system will come to halt, and that is the place for a revolution for liberty. Until then, we'll just have to persevere and savor the (very) occasional victory/triumph for liberty.

Take care.
DAL357

I must be getting old

Some years ago, I heard talk show host Phil Hendrie make the statement that "there's nothing dumber than a Raiders fan." While I'm not sure about the complete veracity of his assertion, in the particular case I'm going to write about, I believe it has merit.

I stopped by my local gun emporium while out and about yesterday just to see if anything interesting was in the used gun section (nothing was). Before I even went into the store, my eyes and sensibilities were assaulted by a bumper sticker plastered to the driver's-side back window of a truck directly in front of me (the Raiders sticker on the passenger's side I couldn't have cared less about). I snapped a photo of it (see above) for posterity. Perhaps fortunately, the photo didn't come out well enough to read the sticker, so I'll have to quote it here in an edited (for vulgarity) form. It read "Imports are like tampons, every pu--y has one."

Now, I don't have a problem with his message, inaccurate as it may be, but I do have a major problem with the words he chose to convey it. Do you? If not, please tell me how you couldn't have, because I just can't fathom it. I guess this all goes back to the basic slob nature of too many Americans who think liberty means license to be boorish. I wonder if this dude had even the slightest inkling that kids would see this. You know, it's fools like this, sad to say, who give liberty a bad name.

What can be done about this? Probably not much. I would be wholly against the state, via a cop, ordering the sticker, offensive as it may be, to be removed. Nor would I remove it myself, as that violates my principles concerning private property rights. Waiting around and speaking to the guy about his taste in vehicular adornments would likely be counterproductive because anyone who's daft enough to put a sticker like that on public display in the first place would be too thick to reason with. I'm truly at a loss.

As I age, I find myself with a lower tolerance for suffering fools gladly. More's the pity, because there seem to be so many now more than ever. It's enough to drive one to despair.

Take care.
DAL357

Barbarossa, etc.

I recently began rewatching one of the best, if not the best, documentaries ever produced on World War II, "World at War." I remember watching it while in high school in the mid-1970s in, of all places, Germany. If you're not familiar with the series, consider this my strong suggestion that you locate and watch it soon; you won't regret it.

One fact that I had forgotten from my first viewing of the episode "Barbarossa," the invasion of Russia, was that Hitler actually planned on defeating Russia in about four months. What a stupendous miscalculation and reckless bet, and one that (thankfully) cost Hitler the war.

Just think about it: the Nazi army, arguably the finest in the world at that time, whose skill at war was matched only by its evil deeds and purpose, was supposed to invade an immense country, occupy thousands upon thousands of square miles, fight an indigenous army inferior in training but almost limitless in number, and triumph in four months. This must qualify as the very definition of stupidity, not to mention hubris.

Many of his generals, apparently, knew this and tried to persuade Herr Hitler to err on the side of caution because of the inherent danger to Germany should the invasion fail to meet its timetable. Hitler, believing in his own strategic infallibility, based on his past successes and strokes of luck in Western Europe in recent years, eschewed all sound advice and stepped into the abyss anyway. Perhaps the phrase "Past performance is no guarantee of future returns" had not been yet coined.

Theories of alternate outcomes abound on what might have happened had Hitler not chosen this course. I won't indulge in that specualtion here, although any thinking person has to wonder. Suffice it to say he did do it and that history has shown his choice to be the worst of all those possbile.

Take care.
DAL357

P.S. There is a belief amongst many Americans that America defeated Nazi Germany. Although America contributed mightily to Germany's defeat in terms of material, it was Russia who actually ripped the guts and gears out of the Wermacht. This is not to take anything away from those Americans and British who fought on the Western front, for battle is battle, and their efforts are worthy of our utmost respect. But from a cold, hard look at numbers, the Russian front is where Germany suffered two-thirds of all its military casualties, and Russia lost untold millions.

I mention this only because it's dangerous for Americans to believe that wars can be won, as opposed to just fought ad infinitum as the US now seems content to prosecute wars, without huge casualties, even with force multipliers. I'm not so sure Americans would be willing to support an all-out effort to eradicate Islamofacism in the Middle East if it cost the lives of 100,000+ American soldiers. Of course, that's going the conventional-warfare route. If we were to speak of the nuclear option, many American lives could be spared, but the cost in the lives of people in the countries supporting Islamofacism would be staggering.

Still, I'd say it's a fair trade-off. Either nuke 'em or go home. Any US politician who protests this should be tried for treason for putting the lives of another country's citizens above the lives of his own country's citizens, as is being done now.

Mr. Oblivious and Miss Ignorant got married...

You may or may not be familiar with the following website, People of Wal-mart, but if you're in need of a laugh, or a good weep, at the oblivious slobs far too many Americans have become, take a look at the site. Afterwards, ask yourself if maybe our relatively low voter turnout rate is such a bad thing. I suggest it's not if the people in the photos are any indication of who's pulling the levers. Dear God, have people no pride, or shame? It's completely incomprehensible to me how these folks can look like this in public.

We're doomed as a nation, I tell you, doomed.

Take care.
DAL357

How to have fun in a crisis

Tons of information is out there on the 'Net about getting together the necessary skills and materials for surviving a disaster, be it man made or natural. Practically anything a motivated, or even casually interested, individual would like to know about this subject has been pontificated upon multiple times. Today, I'm going to take the opposite tack and give the one reason why one might want to be unprepared for a calamity, assuming they survive: the fun.

That's right, fun. Sure, anyone with an ounce of sense knows they should keep at least a few vital things on hand in case of an emergency situation, but where's the fun in that? Having redundant back-up systems is boring. They say you never feel more alive than when you are at the edge of oblivion, nor are you ever more resourceful, so why deny yourself this experience with a bunch of preps?

To ensure the maximum amount of fun and frivolity, do the following: Keep only enough food on hand to prepare meals for one day--visit your local supermarket daily. Eschew all weapons, be they purpose-built (firearms, knives), or improvised (everything else). Kill any errant thought about what you might do if things get ugly immediately upon conception; concentrate on a diversion (television, celebrity gossip, etc.) until the thought is subdued. Alienate yourself from as many family, friends, and neighbors as possible to remove the temptation to lean on them in a crisis.

Just taking these few steps will not only simplify your life today, they will also all but guarantee you will have enough fun and memories during a crisis to last you the rest of your days, be they numbered in single or multiple digits.

Glad I could help.

Take care.
DAL357

Keyholing kontraption

A few years ago, I found a website called MCA Sports that makes inserts to convert a shotgun, for instance, into a rifle. I decided to order a shotgun insert chambered in .38 Spl. for one of my shotguns, and I'm glad I did. The insert's outer chamber dimensions mimic a shotgun shell and it has a ten-inch barrel attached to that. All you do is drop in the insert (this works best in a break-action shotgun), push a .38 Spl. round into the insert's chamber, close the action, aim and fire. Cool! It's actually pretty accurate, and I found that the .38 Spl. insert will also chamber and shoot .357 Mag. rounds, although I noticed a good amount of primer flow after firing, so I doubt I'll do that again, unless in a pinch.

How practical is the device? In today's gun world, where nearly every conceivable niche has been addressed by one type of gun or another, not very practical at all. But it is fun.

That was the good product from MCA Sports. Now, let me get to the product for which this post was named.

MCA Sports also sells an adaptor that drops into a rifle of a given caliber, in my case .30-06, that allows the user to shoot .22 LR cartridges. Again, the shape of the adaptor mimics the dimensions of the round it's replacing. In addition, since the .22 LR is a rimfire round and the firing pin of a centerfire rifle would miss the rim of a .22 LR and result in nothing happening, a plug, or offset, is provided to to work around this problem, which it does quite handily. So far, so good. At the range, however, I couldn't hit the broad side of the proverbial barn with it.

It took me a while to figure out what was going on with the little contraption, but I finally saw that even minimal accuracy at 7 yards was too much to ask for, as evidenced by the undamaged target after several shots using various aiming points. Finally, after moving to within 8 feet of the target, I was on paper. The bullet keyholed through the target and hit 3-4 inches low--repeatedly. Although it's touted as being able to be used on small game while out big-game hunting, I believe you'd have better results with a slingshot.

Bottomline: The adaptor is useless. The concept is neat, but reality has proven this product to be stillborn. The inserts, however, do work, and I can recommend them unreservedly.

Take care.
DAL357

As the sun sets on another year...

I actually have nothing to say here, I just wanted to squeeze in another post from San Diego before 2010 begins (it's past midnight back in Colorado, but 2009 still has a few minutes left here in California). I suppose I could say something about the trip to Sea World yesterday, but I'm too tired right now to mess with it. In fact, if it was up to me, I'd be headed to bed about now, but my wife would take personal offense at that since the New Year is such a big deal to her.

Take care.
DAL357

San Diego, day whatever

As often happens in life, and one comes to expect the unexpected, or should, after 50 years of life on this planet, things didn't quite go as planned with the Glock 20 rental. After arriving at the place and looking for the Glock 20 they said was for rent on their website but not finding it in the case, I asked one of the guys behind the counter. He said they used to have a Glock 20 for rent, but they had trouble getting ammunition for it, so they stopped renting it. That sounded a bit bogus to me--why not just keep it on hand until more ammo showed up?-- but I took it in stride. Although they had quite a few other guns for rent, including AR15s, I wasn't really interested, so I left. That was on Monday.

On Tuesday, the family went to Legoland. If you've never been to Legoland, please don't bother. Tickets for adults were $67 each and a kid's ticket was $57. Now, the prices might have been easier to swallow IF the park had something worth seeing, but it didn't, unless you count sculptures made out of Lego parts as worth paying to view. The rides, such as they were, could only possibly appeal to children under the age of 10, and that's being generous.

Man, I feel a dull ache in my nether region.

Today, it's off to Sea World; I feel another drubbing to my wallet coming, but at least Sea World has the potential, from what I've seen, to come close to justifying its ticket price.

Take care.
DAL357

"Is the PETN in your pants, or are you..."

Nothing profound here, just an observation on how secure you should feel with government in charge of your security. Yup, big G's in the house, so you can switch off and leave the responsibility for your precious (to you) life up to them. With protection like this, I may not even need to renew my CCW. BTW, here's a photo of the (thankfully) incompetent would-be airplane destroyer's skivvies (who happens to be Muz, it must be noted). From the looks of those drawers, he succeeded in blowing up something tubular, just not the fuselage he was focused on.

Take care.
DAL357

San Diego, day two

We finally got going late in the morning yesterday, after a breakfast provided by the late Ray Croc's brainchild. The funny thing is, I was hungry again about an hour later. Not too many nutrients, apparently, in that food-like substance.

Yesterday's time out was spent entirely at a botanic gardens, at my wife's "suggestion." (Isn't it funny how women cleverly call their wants "suggestions," when in all actuality they are really imperatives? That's just the darnedest phenomenon.) The botanic gardens were well planned and executed, but...a WHOLE DAY!?!? C'MON!!! Then, after sundown, the garden was lit with festive holiday lighting, strung hither and thither in various areas, and the garden consumed another chunk of our lives, 'bout two hours worth. Oh well, the wife was happy and our boy enjoyed doing things boys enjoy doing: things he shouldn't do.

After taking a wrong exit back to the motel, followed by a stop at a liquor store (wife's "suggestion"--I don't drink), we made it back to the room, ate convenience store burritos, surfed the net, disciplined the boy (for the umpteenth time that day), and finally went to bed.

On the bright side, it looks like San Diego has several indoor gun ranges which rent guns. I plan on using a fraction of my time here to check it out and, maybe, rent a Glock 20 to try. Somewhere down the road, in the hazy future, I may just get around to buying a Glock 20 10mm for camping and hiking, at least that's the justification I am using. But I've never fired the 10mm, so I'd like to try it first to see if it should even be on my wish list. I've fired a .44 Magnum before, whose recoil I didn't care for, so I'm hoping the 10mm is a notch or two below that. More on this subject as it develops.

I'd better sign off now and get everyone up, for my wife has more plans for the day.

Take care.
DAL357