4 years…



Gah… I just realized I’ve been writing this blog for 4 years this month… 742 posts and y’all are STILL willing to stop by???


Thank you to my loyal readers who put up with my foibles, lousy writing, scattershot approach to blogging, and attempts at humor. And I missed the 200,000th visit because I was overseas and couldn’t even access the blog to see whom it was. Sorry bout that…


Seriously, I truly appreciate all those who comment, and to those that don’t thanks for stopping by anyway…


I only did this to have something to do at night, sitting in hotel rooms on the road, and I’m glad I did, as I’ve met (both over the net and it real space) a fantastic group of folks and had the pleasure of shooting and talking with many of you.


Thank you!!!


And today was Flag Day, I hope yours was flying high and proud!

B-17 "Liberty Belle" Crashed…

Apparently the B-17 Liberty Belle crashed around 0930 this morning after taking off from a field near Chicago. All 7 onboard apparently escaped injury after a fire was reported shortly after takeoff. The plane apparently landed near Oswego, Il.  Initial news report link is HERE 

This is truly sad, as the Belle was one of the last flying B-17s in the world, but I’m glad everyone got out safely.

Stray Thoughts…



Yeah, yeah, I know that’s dangerous in my case…


Anyhoo…  The VC Friday night got me thinking about blogs, bloggers, and the ‘evolution’ of our little corner of the intrawebz…


Being an old fart, I can go back to the ‘early’ days of the BBS and 300 baud dial-up and remember the things that went on then, and the alt.(what ever you want) world that came next, then the forums, then live (which I missed), and now blogging.


At EVERY step we have seen the bottom feeders come out at some point, the pseudo experts (remember there is NO face to face callout with most of these turkeys) and no real way to call them to account; those simply in it for the $$ they think they will make, and among  that bunch are those who will and do steal from others to increase their hit count.


Look at most of the forums now, all the good folks have dropped off/moved on/given up… Tired of fighting a losing battle with 12 year olds (mentally at least) who think they know everything.


We discussed some of the more egregious examples (Breda’s situation being one), and others who ‘portray’ themselves as gun experts, but are simply in it for the money.  We also talked about the aggregators, both good (Cornered Cat and Say Uncle), and bad (no links, I refuse to give them ANY publicity)…


Weerd has a good post up HERE, talking about this issue too…


Another thing we talked about was how folks came to guns and shooting.  Jennifer’s post HERE has generated a huge response, and prompted a number of others to post their own stories.  I frankly am amazed at some of them.  I never realized how ‘lucky’ I was growing up around guns and being taught from an early age…  Falnfenix put her story up HERE, and was on VC with us and her story just blew my mind!  


On another tack, I got ‘confronted’ by someone that I didn’t even know ‘knew’ about my blog yesterday at the gun store- I was wearing a Wounded Warrior logo shirt and he called me on the fact that I didn’t have any links to them (or most of the other organizations I support).  That got me thinking (again dangerous)…


So I’ve reorganized my blog somewhat to show the organizations I believe in and support- There are literally thousands of good causes out there, and I’m not trying to put down/ignore any of them, but this blog IS pretty much gun related…


I truly believe our ‘world’ is under siege, not just here in the US, but world-wide with the regulations being proposed at various levels.  The anti-2A folks are bound and determined to get rid of us (or at least our guns) any way they can, and honesty be damned… They cannot get facts that actually back up their arguments;  so they use innuendo, manipulated statistics, PSH, and anything they think will resonate with the liberals and MSM out there…  


They ‘talk’ a good line (reasoned discourse), but as soon as you actually DO that, your comments always disappear (Joan Peterson and others).


Cal Guns (Gene Hoffman), SAF, NRA and others (like VDCL in Virginia) are doing what they can at both local and national levels.  Alan Gura has stepped up and is probably the lead lawyer nationwide in our fight for our rights…


We, by our own actions and words, can be ambassadors for our rights every day.  It is up to us, as individuals, to do what we can and NOT GIVE UP.  If we do, I’m truly afraid for our children and grandchildren and the world they will inherit.


Thanks for reading, and any comments/recommendations are appreciated… 


Oh yeah, this was the reason I went to the gun store 🙂


Men are just happier…

This one is gonna piss a few readers off 🙂

NICKNAMES
·          If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
·          If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Bubba and Wildman .

EATING OUT
·          When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it’s only for $32.50.  None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.


·         
When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY
·          A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
·          A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t need but it’s on sale.

BATHROOMS
·          A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.
·          The average number of items in the typical woman’s bathroom is 337.  A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
·          A woman has the last word in any argument.
·          Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE
·          A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
·          A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

MARRIAGE
·          A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t.
·          A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change, but she does.

DRESSING UP
·          A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
·          A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL
·          Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
·          Women somehow deteriorate during the night (or so they claim).

OFFSPRING
·          Ah, children.  A woman knows all about her children.  She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
·          A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes.  There’s no use in two people remembering the same thing!


Admit it, you laughed didn’t you???

Here’s Your Hope and CHANGE…



How do you like it now???

Item
January 2009

TODAY

% chg

Src

Avg.. Retail price/gallon gas in U.S.

$1.83

$3.85

79.6%

1

Crude oil, European Brent (barrel)

$43

$105

147.7%

2

Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel)

$38..74

$108

155.9%

2

Gold: London (per troy oz.)5

$853.25

$1,469.50

70.5%

2

Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL

$3.56

$7.33

88.1%

2

Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL

$9.66

$13.75

42.3%

2

Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. Fob

$13.37

$41.39

184.7%

2

Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall

7.6%

9.4%

23.7%

3

Unemployment rate, blacks

12.6%

15.8%

25.4%

3

Number of unemployed

11,616,000

14,485,000

24.7%

3

Number of fed. Employees, ex. Military  

2,779,000

2,940,000

2.9%

3

Real median household income

$50,112

$49,777

-0.7%

4

Number of food stamp recipients

31,983,716

43,200,878

35.1%

5

Number of unemployment benefit recipients

7,526,598

9,193,838

22.2%

6

Number of long-term unemployed

2,600,000

6,400,000

146.2%

3

Poverty rate, individuals

13.2%

14.3%

8.3%

4

People in poverty in U.S.

39,800,000

43,600,000

9.5%

4

U.S.. Rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings

5

9

n/a

10

Present Situation Index

29.9

23.5

-21.4%

11

Failed banks

140

164

17.1%

12

U.S.. Dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate

89.76

82.03

-8.6%

2

U.S.. Money supply, M1, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)

1,575.1

1,865.7

18.4%

13

U.S.. Money supply, M2, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)

8,310.9

8,852.3

6.5%

13

National debt, in trillions

$10.627

$14.052

32.2%

14


Sources:
(1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. Of Labor; 
(7) FHFA; (8) Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC; 
(13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury



I would go cry in my beer, but I can’t afford a beer anymore… sigh…

Chicago? Not on your life…




The ISRA is warning its members to think twice about selecting Chicago as a vacation destination this summer.  This warning was issued in response to a recent dramatic upswing in violent crime in the windy city.  Most notably is a spate of so-called “flash mob” attacks where as many as two dozen young men ambush and savagely beat their victims before robbing them of their valuables.  One recent flash mob victim was a 68 year-old man. 

The bulk of the flash mob attacks have taken place on Chicago’s near north side and Gold Coast areas to include North Avenue Beach and the Magnificent Mile.  The attack locations are within the general vicinity of tourist attractions including Navy Pier, Lincoln Park Zoo, and Millennium Park. 

Thus far, the Chicago Police Department has had little luck controlling these flash mobs with only 4 participants having been apprehended.  This ability to confound the police stems from the very nature of flash mobbing.  Participants either get a text message on their smart phone or receive a ‘tweet’ on a social networking site telling them where to show up and how to behave ? with the specified behavior usually involving larceny or assault.  Flash mob participants arrive at the site at a particular time and, after committing the specified crimes, scatter before police can arrive.  The sheer number of flash mob participants overpowers the victims, rendering them helpless against the mob. 

As most of our readers know, the most effective defense a victim could muster against a flash mob would be for the victim to draw a concealed firearm.  As most of our readers also know, Illinois is one of only two states in the nation that deny citizens the right to carry defensive firearms.   

The ISRA supported House Bill 148 in the most recent legislative session.  Under the provisions of HB148, qualified citizens would be permitted to carry defensive firearms to protect themselves and their families from the type of violent crimes perpetrated by flash mobs.  Ironically, it was the Chicago delegation of legislators that arranged for the defeat of HB148 when the bill came up for a vote.   

Through their baseless opposition to legislation such as HB148, the Chicago delegation has provided flash mobs and other criminals the upper hand.  As we have seen in recent days, Chicago?s criminal element is taking full advantage of having the upper hand.  There is no reason to believe that there will be a happy ending to the flash mobs? reign of terror.  Nobody should be surprised that, before the summer is over, a flash mob has engaged in a gang-rape or even a murder of an innocent civilian. 

Again, the ISRA is urging readers to reconsider plans to vacation in Chicago this summer.  Indications are that vacationing in Chicago will place readers and their families at high risk of being victimized by violent criminals ? including flash mobs.  This risk is heightened greatly because law-abiding citizens cannot carry firearms to protect themselves from violent criminals. 

PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING: 

            1.  Pass this alert along to all your friends and family members. 

            2.  Please post this alert to any and all Internet blogs and bulletin boards to which you belong. 

            3.  Please contact your state representative and state senator and politely inform them that you are a law-abiding citizen who wants a bill such as HB148 to be passed and signed into law so that you may protect yourself.

Sometimes you have to vote with your feet (to save your life) and your wallet (to get people’s attention)…

Based on some of the news reports HERE, HERE, and HERE; and this alert, no way in HELL will I visit Chicago anytime soon! Not the least because of their anti-gun stance, but also because I value my life and it’s not worth wasting it in Chicago…

IF anybody from Chicago reads this, your comments would be appreciated. Somehow I don’t think this is “all” of the story…



EDIT-  From Chief Jay and Gerry- Check out Second City Cop’s blog HERE for more updated info…


Thanks guys!

D-Day…

67 years ago today, the combined forces started the assault on the Normandy Beaches in what became known world wide as D-Day…


The participants on the allies side are listed in the following Order of Battle, along with their dates of action:


   US First Army

  1. 1. XII Corps
  2. 2. XV Corps

US Third Army

  1. 1. V Corps
  2. 2. VII Corps
  3. 3. VIII Corps
  4. 4. XIX Corps

Armored Divisions

  1. 1. 2nd Armored Division (2 July)
  2. 2. 3rd Armored Division (9 July)
  3. 3. 4th Armored Division (28th July)
  4. 4. 5th Armored Division (2 August)
  5. 5. 6th Armored Division (28th July)
  6. 6. 7th Armored Division (14 August)
  7. 7. 2nd French Armored Division (1 August)

Airborne Divisions

  1. 1. 82nd Airborne Division (6 June)
  2. 2. 101st Airborne Division (6 June)

Infantry Divisions

  1. 1. 1st Infantry Div (6 June)
  2. 2. 2nd Infantry Div (8 June)
  3. 3. 4th Infantry Div (6 June)
  4. 4. 5th Infantry Div (16 July)
  5. 5. 8th Infantry Div (8 July)
  6. 6. 9th Infantry Div (14 June)
  7. 7. 28th Infantry Div (27 July)
  8. 8. 29th Infantry Div(7 June)
  9. 9. 30th Infantry Div (15 June)
  10. 10. 35th Infantry Div (11 July)
  11. 11. 79th Infantry Div (19 June)
  12. 12. 80th Infantry Div 8 Aug)
  13. 13. 83rd Infantry Div (27 June)
  14. 14. 90th Infantry Div (10 June)
Allied Expeditionary Air Forces consisted of the: US Airforce
  1. 1. US Ninth Tatical Airforce
  2. 2. US Eighth Airforce

Royal Air Force

  1. 1. Second Tatical Force
 The British 21st Army Group consisted of: The British Second Army

Armored Divisons

  1. 1. Guards Armored Div (28 June)
  2. 2. 7th Guards Armored Div (8 June)
  3. 3. 11th Armored Div (13 June)
  4. 4. 79th Armored Div (Specialized Armor 6 June)

Airborne Divisions

  1. 1. 6th Airborne Div (6 June)

Infantry Divisions

  1. 1. 3rd Infantry Div (6 June)
  2. 2. 15th Infantry Div (Scottish 14 June)
  3. 3. 43rd Infantry Div (Wessex 24 June)
  4. 4. 49th Infantry Div (West Riding 6 June)
  5. 5. 50th Infantry Div (Northumbrian 6 June)
  6. 6. 51st Infantry Div (Highland 6 June)
  7. 7. 53rd Infantry Div (Welsh 27 June)
  8. 8. 59th Infantry Div (Staffordshire 27 June)

Canadian and Polish Forces attached to the British Army:

  1. 1. 4th Canadian Armored Div
  2. 2. 1st Polish Armored Div
  3. 3. 2nd Canadian Div
  4. 4. 3rd Canadian Infantry Div

This was kicked off by the following speech given by General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!
I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!
Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
And THIS was the result…

June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded —


They truly were the greatest generation…

Random things…

Downtime- We can ALL use a bit of that…


Spent yesterday with Phlegmmy and Lawdog and the usual suspects out in Texas, and it was truly a nice break to just sit in the back yard, drink nerd beer and chat with all the various folks.  It was also a pleasure to finally meet Sci-Fi and his lovely wife, and they even brought Labstahs from Bastan…  But I don’t think they were quite ready for the 96-100 degree temps and ‘barrenness’ of Central Texas 🙂


This one is for AD and Murph…

Patience…

And for those who were in the discussion yesterday, THIS is the comparison I was talking about…

George W. Bush speech after capture of Saddam:

The success of yesterday’s mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in IraqThe operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator’s footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate ’em.
  

Barack Obama speech after killing of bin Laden:

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.
Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I  was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I  determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and I authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction,
the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad , Pakistan.


Say what you want, spin it however you want, but there IS a difference in perspectives between the two presidents… 

Bleg…

An Ordinary American has a post up about the Airborne Angels Volunteers, take a moment and go read, and if you are so moved, throw a buck or two or twenty their way.  Their biggest issue is paying the mailing for packages going downrange.  Trust me when I say NONE of that stuff is cheap, and NONE of it is free, regardless of whom it’s to support downrange.


We are at a critical time in these military folks lives, just as we were at the end of Nam… People back home don’t seem to care, the administration want’s em out, there are protesters and negative media coverage, and I will guarantee you the folks with boots on the ground are wondering if it’s all worth it…


We didn’t have this kind of support back then, the ONLY thing we got (if we were lucky) was something occasionally from the family (if we had one back home).


I know this is one of a bunch of organizations, but I guess this one just hits home a bit more because of the photos.


Thanks in advance.


h/t Breda   

NRA gets a win in court…

Fairfax, VA—Today, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals conclusively and forcefully held, without need for oral argument, that the National Rifle Association has the right to recover attorneys’ fees in its lawsuits against the city of Chicago’s and the village of Oak Park’s unconstitutional gun bans. The court held that the NRA was a prevailing party in the case of National Rifle Association v. City of Chicago and Village of Oak Park.
“This is a Second Amendment victory and a civil rights victory. The National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment prevailed against those who sought to deny the right to keep and bear arms in Chicago and Oak Park,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “The attempt to avoid paying the NRA’s attorneys’ fees was rightly found to be unjust by the Court.”
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right to keep and bear arms for all Americans in the historic McDonald v. Chicago and NRA v. Chicago and Oak Park cases, it remanded them for the purpose of issuing an injunction against Chicago and Oak Park’s unconstitutional gun ordinances.  Before that injunction was issued, however, those ordinances were repealed. The City and the Village then argued that the NRA was not a prevailing party and should not be allowed to recover attorneys’ fees.  The District Court, which originally ruled against the NRA, agreed and denied the fee award.
Today’s Seventh Circuit decision overturns that ruling, holding instead that the NRA is indeed a prevailing party and is entitled to receive reimbursement for attorneys’ fees. The amount to be recovered will be established by the District Court.
“This is a major victory for the NRA.  While we are grateful to recover our attorneys’ fees, however, we remain steadfast in our belief that Chicago and Oak Park continue to circumvent the law of the land and deny their law-abiding residents the Second Amendment freedoms protected by the Constitution.  We will continue to fight those efforts until the Second Amendment is fully respected,” concluded Cox.
Posted in NRA