Halloween!

Hey folks, Happy Halloween! Hope you all have fun and watch out for the kiddies on the way home tonight. . .

Red Sox and Government

Let it never be said we don't put sports before government. . . . from the GOAL web site:

Public Hearing on Licensing Bills Has Been Postponed Due to Red Sox Celebration

So after you read through all the bills listed below you have time to write in to the chairs of the committee or your rep and let them know which ones you like or dislike. . . . The more I think of this I am surprised they didn't go forward with the meeting just to avoid the problems of people actually attending it and telling them what they think of some of these bills. It would be so like MA Lawmakers to pass stuff through without giving us a chance to say anything about it.

For all you folks coming over from Jay G's blog Marooned, thanks for taking the time to stop by!!

More Bad Laws

Looks like MA is trying to get our guns again. . . I will write more on this latter but there are a bunch of bills in committee now, some good, many bad that deal with our right to own a gun under the Second Amendment. The most scary to me is one where they will force you to give them a list of all your handguns serial numbers, and proof of insurance for all of them in case anyone gets hurt by one before they will let you renew your permit. This is a blatant attempt to get around the law by making it too expensive to have guns, you rights are not infringed, you just can't afford to exercise them.. . . . Nice trick . . . . It is house bill 2387

On the good side they are trying to make it easier to get ammo by mail again in senate bill 1357 and they are trying to make it illegal for them to take your guns in an emergency like when Katrina hit, which I think they have done on the Fed level but this would be at the state level, that is Senate Bill 1401. Take a look at the list from the NRA.

Here is the list from the NRA on what is coming:

Friday, October 26, 2007

On Tuesday, October 30 at 1:00 p.m. the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security is scheduled to hear over 20 firearms-related bills. The hearing will be held at the State House in Hearing Room A-1. Pro-Second Amendment bill S 1401, sponsored by Senator Richard Moore (D-Worcester & Norfolk), “ An Act Prohibiting the Confiscation of Lawfully Owned Firearms During a State of Emergency” and pro-hunting bill H 2315, sponsored by Representative Anne Gobi (D-5th Worcester), “An Act to Allow Hunting on Sunday Within the Commonwealth” are expected to be heard. House Bills to be heard: H 2281, Rep. Atkins, “Resolutions Affirming the Civil Rights and Liberties of the People of Massachusetts” H 2285, Rep. John Binienda, “An Act Relative to Issuing a License to Carry Firearms to Law Enforcement Officers” H 2291, Rep. Jennifer Callahan, “An Act Relative to Fees for the Renewal of FID Cards by Certain Elderly Persons” H 2315, Rep. Anne Gobi, “An Act to Allow Hunting on Sunday Within the Commonwealth” H 2325, Rep. Brad Jones, “An Act Relative to Non-Lethal Self Defense Spray” H 2326, Rep. Brad Jones, “An Act Relative to a Report of Firearms Statistics” H 2336, Rep. William Lantigua, “An Act Relative to Application for the Use of Mace” H 2339, Rep. Stephen LeDuc, “An Act Establishing a New License and FID Card for Pepper Spray” H 2341, Rep. David Linsky, “An Act to Restrict the Issuance of License to Carry Firearms” H 2344, Rep. Paul Loscocco, “An Act Allowing Pilots to Carry Weapons” H 2355, Rep. Jeff Perry, “An Act Relative to License Fees” H 2357, Rep. George Peterson, “An Act Relative to Enhancing Self Defense” H 2358, Rep. George Peterson, “An Act Protecting the Rights of Homeowners” H 2359, Rep. George Peterson, “An Act Relative to Making Technical Corrections to the Massachusetts Firearms Law” H 2364, Rep. Smitty Pignatelli, “An Act Relative to Firearms” H 2368, Rep. Kathi Reinstein, “An Act Relative to Shooting Near Highway or Dwelling” H 2375, Rep. Tom Sannicandro, “An Act Relative to Pepper Spray” H 2385, Rep. Tim Toomey, “An Act Relative to Increasing Accessibility to Non-lethal Self Defense Sprays” H 2387, Rep. Tim Toomey, “An Act Relative to Firearms in the Commonwealth” H 2393, Rep. Tim Toomey, “An Act Relative to the Possession of Weapons” H 2410, Rep. Steven Walsh, “An Act Updating the Conditions and Restrictions for the Issuance of Firearm Identification Cards” Senate Bills to be heard: S 1357, Sen. Brewer, “An Act Relative to the Lawful Sale of Ammunition” S. 1359, Sen. Brewer, “An Act Relative to Certain Ammunition” S. 1361, Sen. Brewer, “An Act Relative to Fair Licensing” S. 1365, Sen. Brewer, “An Act Further Regulating the Issuance of Firearm Identification Cards and Licenses to Carry Firearms” S. 1369, Sen. Brewer, “An Act Reducing Firearm License Application Fees” S. 1371, Sen. Brewer “An Act Relative to an Unloaded Rifle or Shotgun” S. 1373, Sen. Brown, “An Act Relative to Removing Pepper Spray from Firearms Identification” S. 1381, Sen. Creem, “An Act to Require Tagging of Explosives Materials” S. 1400, Sen. Moore, “An Act Relative to Property Rights” S. 1401, Sen. Moore, “An Act Prohibiting the Confiscation of Lawfully Owned Firearms During a State of Emergency” S. 1405, Sen. Morrissey, “An Act Requiring a Firearms Licensing Authority to Provide a Receipt for Firearm License Applications” S. 1408, Sen. Morrissey, “An Act Prohibiting the Use of Paint Ball Guns” S. 1421, Sen. Timilty, “An Act Establishing the Massachusetts Armor Piercing Law” S. 1422, Sen. Timilty, “An Act to Allow Citizens Possession of Non-Lethal Protection” S. 1424, Sen. Tisei, “An Act Relative To The Sale And Possession Of BB, Pellet, And Paintball Guns”

Red Sox

OK, so the Sox did it again. This is a good thing in my house for two reasons –

1) The wife is a big fan so is now in a good mood (and can get to sleep at a normal time again)

2) (more important to me) I can get the TV back. . . . (ya, I know I will get flack for that comment . . .)

Other than that I found it rather amusing the few times I watched the beginning of the games in Denver that the Rocky’s fans all wave white flags. . . seems like they knew it was over already in game three and were surrendering to us. Rather nice of them to try and save the Sox a bit of work but I guess they have to play to make it official.

Anyway, now on to the important stuff, watching the Pat’s get another ring!! Once we get through the Colts it is all down hill to the Super Bowl!!! Here’s hoping for an undefeated season!

Salem MA

We had a great time in Salem this weekend. . . where better to be on a ghost tour under a full moon just before Halloween? Here are some pics I got of Orbs while on the tour if you believe in this stuff. . .


Here you can see an orb in the window of the church. Supposedly built over a cemetery.

Another shot in front of the window from the side -

One orb is in back above the ground level widow, the other is on the right over the last grave stone in the front row. . .

Here is a photo taken of the building they put up over the dungeon they put the "witches" in. . .

Looks cool, like a ghost on the left holding the light, but I think it was just the camera moving . . . This photo is another side of the building with lots of orbs . .


And for those of you that think the orbs are just dust here are two photos taken one after the other of a very old prison in Salem that is no longer in use. It has a history of being haunted and they did have executions here. . . Note the orbs in the first photo are not there in the second photo taken less than a minute later. . . too quick for all that dust to settle out of the air if you know what I mean.

Weekend is almost here

OK, here is to an interesting weekend! We are off to Salem MA for tonight and Saturday to do our annual trip to the Witch City in October. Hey, it is the time to be in Salem (unless you live there then my apologies for being one of the tourists messing up town).

Tonight we hope to get in on a ghost tour, and tomorrow we will wander the town enjoying the New England fall weather and the atmosphere. We did a ghost tour in Plymouth MA a few years back and it was cool. They tell you to take flash photos and maybe something will show up. We got some cool orbs on film down in Plymouth, who knows what we may see in Salem. I will try to post any good pics we get of the ghosties. . .

We have Jack’s Christening on Sunday. . . ya, we are doing it. Those of you who know us know we aren’t very religious folks but it does keep peace in the family and it is a good excuse to get together with family and friends. . .

Busy Busy Busy. . . going to be a quick weekend!

UN Snark

Hey y'all happy United Nations Day!

Now go out and celebrate socialism will ya?

Go hug a commie for the UN!

quote

Got this quote on my iGoogle page this morning and boy is it right. . . think about it. This seems to become more and more the government standard as we go forward. . . .

There is no nonsense so arrant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action.

Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)

Think about it

Stuff from the net, where I got it is at the end. . . . worth thinking about. . .

Gun Rights Article

"Flawed Laws Help Stalkers Victimize Women"
By John Lott and Sonya Jones

What do you do when the police can't protect you? Police may be the single most important factor for reducing crime, but there is something the police themselves understand: They almost always arrive at the crime scene after the crime has occurred.

Expecting people to trust the police to protect them and to behave passively is a recipe for disaster.

The last couple of weeks have seen a couple prominent murders where restraining orders did women little good. Numerous news organizations, such as ABC News, have run headlines asking "How Do You Stop a Stalker From Killing You?"

Unfortunately, despite acknowledging that "many women find themselves on their own," the media are drawing the wrong lessons. To simply advise that women "Get the hell away him" often doesn't go anywhere near far enough.

With her tragic murder on Monday on the campus of the University of Washington, Rebecca Griego learned this the hard way. Twice she had filed for restraining orders against her abusive and physically violent former boyfriend, Jonathan Ghulam-Nabi Rowan, but the police didn't know where he lived and could never serve him.

It wasn't like they didn't try, for in January they couldn't even locate Rowan for an outstanding warrant for a drunk driving conviction.

Rowan made Rebecca's life hell. In police reports as well as her request for a restraining order, she described Rowan as a "suicidal alcoholic" who had "punched," "slammed," and "thrown" her to the ground.

To no avail, she moved a couple of times and changed her cell phone number. Nevertheless, on March 7th and 14th, Rowan called her at work, threatening both her and her dog. He then called and threatened Rebecca's older sister.

But restraining orders often aren't worth the paper on which they're written, even when they are served.

For a stalker intent on killing his victim or committing suicide after the attack, the penalty for violating a restraining order is irrelevant. With Seattle police's response time of seven minute for the highest-priority emergency calls, the police simply can't be there to protect you even with a restraining order. Seven minutes can seem like an eternity.

With such rampant failures in the system, there is one piece of advice that could have saved Rebecca's life: self-defense, get a gun.

Indeed, the University of Washington goes in the opposite direction and tries to protect people by declaring the campus a "gun free zone," with the school's code of conduct banning the "possession or use of firearms . . . except for authorized university purposes."

Gun free zones may be well intentioned, but good intentions that is not enough. It is an understandable desire to ban guns. After all, if you ban guns from an area, people can't get shot, right? But time after time when these public shootings occur, they disproportionately take place in gun free zones.

It is the law-abiding good citizens who would only use a gun for protection who obey these bans. Violating a gun free zone at a place such as a public university may mean expulsion or firing and arrest, real penalties for law-abiding citizens. But for someone intent on killing others, adding on these penalties for violating a gun free zone means little to someone who, if still alive, faces life in prison.

Unfortunately, instead of gun free zones ensuring safety for victims, ensuring that the victims are unarmed only makes things safer for attackers.

One of us conducted research with Bill Landes at the University of Chicago that examined all the multiple-victim public shootings in the United States from 1977 to 1999. We found that when states passed right-to-carry laws, these attacks fell by 60 percent. Deaths and injuries from multiple-victim public shootings fell on average by 78 percent.

To the extent that attacks still occurred, they overwhelmingly happened in the special places within right-to-carry states where concealed handguns were banned. The University of Washington is a good example of this.

There is no evidence that there are any more accidental gun deaths that occur from right-to-carry laws. Permit holders also tend to be extremely law-abiding.

Ironically, earlier this year University of Washington President Mark Emmert began consideration of making the school's ban somehow apply to students living off campus as well. Students are sitting ducks on campus, but the change would make them vulnerable off campus as well.

Not only did the gun free zones fail here, but it is extremely unlikely that Rowan could even legally own a gun. As a non-resident alien Rowan needed an alien firearms license to even own a gun, something that rarely granted.

There is an even simpler point to make. It is the physically weakest, women and the elderly, who benefit the most from having a gun to protect themselves. The U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey has shown for decades that resistance with a gun is by far the safest course of action when one confronts a criminal.

Good intentions don't necessarily make good rules. What counts is whether the rules ultimately save lives. Unfortunately, too many rules primarily disarm law-abiding citizens, not criminals.

Article from http://johnrlott.blogspot.com.

And http://www.usconcealedcarry.com/public/953.cfm

for the family

New pics on the family web site of Jack and our trip to Disney.

More posts later

Wish list

Got talking with my brother in law yesterday about guns as my nephew is going to be 21 soon and is talking about getting his permit to carry. Well, things went around as we talked about what we have and what we are looking to get so I decided to post my wish list like so many other gun blogger have. . . .

In order that I will probably get them (when I have the $$)

AR-15 – got to get one before the Dems get back into power and push another assault weapons ban through. Sorry, it didn’t do sh*t last time and another ban won’t help. Why can’t we learn prohibition don’t work (see US 18^th Amendment 1920-1933)

1911 – want for a carry pistol and because I always like the look and power of this gun. Just a great design

Springfield 1861 – Ya, a black powder. I want a modern one I can fire. This is what the Union was carrying in the Civil War.

Vaquero in .45 Long Colt – gotta love the cowboy guns, even if it is a modern make/copy. I have fired one before and they have a nice feel and good cowboy look for a nice single action gun. May need two so I can get into the cowboy shoots around here.

Shotgun – most likely 12 gauge. Again may need two, one for skeet/home defense and one for cowboy shoots.

After that who knows. . . the Glocks and Smith & Wesson carry guns look nice, I may have to look for one in 9mm or .40 cal that is smaller than the 1911 for a carry gun. My current gun is a .380 – a nice piece and very accurate but not much power there. . . . also, an M1 would be nice to have as a piece of history. . ..

Well that is the wish list, shorter than most but I am not into getting guns I can’t find time to use on the range. . . why have it if you don’t have time to shoot it?

Gambling in MA

Well you have to love Massachusetts. We already pull in more money from the state loto than any other state. So now that our lovely Democrat controlled government has gotten into money trouble what is the answer? Build Casinos what else? This bright idea come from out great governor Comrade Pactrick who is proposing three BIG casinos to solve the problem.

Seems he is ignoring the fact that this will bring in crime, and low paying jobs not to mention traffic and other problems for the tows that get stuck with them. Well, I guess he didn’t forget completely as he said he was going to give $100 mil to the towns to split to deal with the crime and other issues this would cause (so he admits it). BUT then he did a retraction and said OOPS, got my math wrong, you can have $27 mil to split between you for the troubles. . . Thanks comrade governor. . .

All I can say is this is just a way to hit up the poor and gambling addicts to pay for our states miss-management of out taxes. And no matter what you hear, the state legislature is the one running things, they do what they want no matter who is governor. Having Patrick with them is even worse, at least while we had a Republican governor we had a slight chance to undo all the taxes and such, slim as it was. With a Dem in the governors’ office we are doomed.

If you live in MA, all I can say is write your legislator and ask them to vote against this! Otherwise we are heading for long term problems in this state, and more crime and corruption than we already have due to the big dig. . . . and it won't fix the tax problem, expect them to go up to pay for all the extras we will have to build, cops we have to hire, etc due to these casinos . . . .

When are the voters of this state going to wake up and kick these bums out of office so we can fix this place. . ..

Pop Quiz

Got this quiz off of the blog No Looking Backwards-

A little history lesson. If you don’t know the answer make your best guess. Answer all the questions before looking at the answers.

Who said it?

1) "We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

A. Karl Marx
B. Adolph Hitler
C. Joseph Stalin
D. None of the above

2) "It’s time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few ... And to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity."

A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. None of the Above

3) "(We) ...can’t just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."

A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Josef Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. None of the above

4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own ... in order to create this common ground."

A. Mao Tse Dung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D. None of the above

5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed."

A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. None of the above

6) "I think it’s time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."

A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. None of the above

Answer in the comments

Wouldn't do it again

My oldest daughter went to her third dance at school this weekend and actually got up the nerve to ask this boy she liked (she won't say who) to dance and he said no. . . . She was understandably bummed when she told me about it.

I guess it took her all night to get up the nerve to ask him and he said no and sat down. I tried to tell her it was ok and she handled it well not calling him names like her friends told her to. . . . I then told her she was doing well getting the nerve to ask him to dance in only seventh grade. . . hell, I told her it took me to my junior year in high school to get up the nerve to ask a girl to dance so she was doing better than me. Hell, she may have scared the hell out of him I know I would have been spooked at that age if a girl asked me to dance. . . . Of course the fact that I can't dance factors into that. For me dancing looks more like a seizure than anything remotely like dancing but that is how it goes. . . .

This all reminded me of all the BS I went through in high school with girls. We use to be able to send a flower to someone as a fund raiser and they would get it in home room at the start of the day. I remember watching my friend get the carnation he gave a girl crushed and thrown at him in the middle of class when the girl caught up with him. . . at least the girl I gave one to just didn't bring it to the class we were both in. I did see her with it earlier in the day so I know she got it but at least she had the class not to trash me over it. . . Just made me respect her more but it was not to be as they say. . . .

Kids can be nice or cruel in middle and high school when it comes to "dating" and such stuff. All I can say is I am glad it is over for me and I would never want to repeat the experience. . . It is tough to be a geek in high school

Disney World

Well we spent five days in Disney World for the Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT. We had a great time and lots of good food, wine and beer. We also got to do the Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. Last we fit in a few hours at MGM so we could do Star Wars and the Rock’n Roller Coaster. . .

First Epcot. . . They got the wand off the ball thank god so it looks much better. . . Second the Food and Wine Festival was as I said great. We had lots of good food and also tried out eating at France and it was not so bad for a French restaurant. . . . We also got to go see Crush from Finding Nemo at his show and Ciara got to talk to him! Mom did too and it made Ciara’s day – we have seen the show at least three time and she always tried to get to talk to him. And to top it off I got to see three Off Kilter shows . . . good music to go with the good food and drink!

Magic Kingdom party was lots of fun and we lucked out and did not get rained on like they did the next night. We had fun at it anyway and the kids got lots of candy too. We also got to see the new show at the Monsters Inc Laugh Factory. It is a must see and well worth the visit. They are interactive with the audience and you are part of the show. Jack even got some TV time in the show for being cute in his Halloween costume.

We spent our down time at the Yacht and Beach Club in a pool with quite a slide and a sand bottom. The kids loved it and at least no one got sun burnt.

A good few days that ended too soon. . . .

News BS again

Looks like ABC news is pimping gun stories again. Take a look at this picture topping a story about a kid they caught that they admit MIGHT have gone nuts at a school, he was talking about it but they tell you outright they are not sure he would do anything. He had little ammo and was caught while planning the attack if it was more than just talk.

Now I am all for the good police work and glad they checked it out but this photo is BS. This looks like the kid was armed better than many third world countries. . . read the story and you find out all but three of these are Airsoft air guns! They can't do more than sting a bit if you get hit with the small plastic pellet. He did have a .22 rifle and pistol along with a 9mm semi-automatic rifle (which means it is NOT an assault rifle folks. . . it is not automatic) He only had ammo for the .22s.

Now I am glad he got caught but I am really PO's at the way this picture makes it look. This is another great example of folks blowing the effectiveness of their actions way out of proportion.
1- The cops got him before he could do anything
2 - He did not have much for ammo
3- Most of the guns you see in the photo are TOYS, not real
That includes the AK-47 and shot guns they are showing off. . .

This is how you turn a small story into a big one so you can show off how to mislead the sheep into thinking you have it all under control. . . .

Good catch guys, but you need to admit he was not as dangerous as you are trying to play him. . .

For the Anti-gunners

I got a good laugh out of reading this. . . . What the hell do you shoot with this thing. . . wish I had the cash to just try it = )

EPCOT Japan

We lucked out on the last night of our trip. . . The Mitsukoshi stake house was open! It was a soft opening with no announcement but we didn’t care, it was open! We got there and it was packed. . . after a short wait we did get in and I have to say I love what they did with the place. The entrance is much more open, and you can see the sushi bar part of the restaurant. You go down a long hall much like before to get to the steak house section. They have added a number of tables, and it is much more formal looking. The cooks and waiters act more formal too with more bowing and such than I remember. The food is still great stuff, and the Sake was quite good also. The kids and family had a great time. I highly recommend it if you are in the area.

As a bonus the kids also got a candy made by the candy lady that does the demo in Japan in front of the gift shop. She was amazing to watch as she makes the sea horse by hand as we watched. Here is a pic-

I'm Back

Hey

Just got back from a short vacation in Disney. . . Those who know me know I am a Disney nut! I will be posting all about it in the next day or so.

Sorry for the blank space for so long, more to come soon

House Update

Well things have gotten moving this week on the house. The plumbers have most of the pipes run and the electrician started today. All I can say is that guy moves. He already has most of the rough wiring done and it is only Monday. I will get some pics posted when I have a moment. Things finally feel like they are moving forward again.