A New Party

I was over at Gunslingers reading her comments about how the election is going and her thoughts on the Republican party and becoming an Independent due to the Republicans loosing direction. . . or at least their conservative credentials and it hit me, we need a new party

I think we need a new independent part, say the Founders Party. The goal of the party would be to promote the Constitution, go for a smaller Federal Government, and to be guided by the Constitution and the other writings of the Founding Fathers.

Think of it as a back to basics party:
Small government
Lower taxes
Secure borders
End the welfare state
Stop nation building
Live by the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers
Get the government and liberals out of schools, teach what really needed like history – no more social experiments with the kids
End any government discrimination including affirmative action
Get government out of the business world as much as possible, FREE MARKET folks, it works. . .
Get the government out of our lives as much as possible

I don’t know, but it is a thought.

Now, how do we go about making it real?

Thanks

It looks like we may owe a big THANK YOU to Ludacris for exposing some of the racial issues and the views of those who back Obama. . . .

I hope the main stream gets a good hold of this and takes a good look at it before voting for Obama. Thanks again Ludacris for being so ludicrous and showing us all how racist you are. I hope this gets you LOTS of press

Obama does not support Heller or 2A

Obama Facts from Ahab, click on image to get the real facts.

Politically Correct. . . NOT

Well this does explain a bit about me. . . . From Carpe Diem

The Inside Higher Ed article includes an interesting chart of "Political Correctness by Discipline," based on faculty interviews, showing these results:

4 Most Politically Correct academic disciplines: Psychology (59%), Sociology (45%), English (42%), History (31%).

4 Least Politically Correct disciplines: Finance, MIS, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, all 0%.

Discipline with the Lowest Percent of Politically Incorrect Faculty: Sociology (1.8%)

2 Disciplines with the Highest Percent of Politicially Incorrect Faculty: MIS (72%) and Economics (51%)

Media Bias

Here is a great article on Obama and the media bias. . .

Race and the Election

Just for the record, I have no problem with a black, woman or any other minority getting to be President of the USA. I just want someone that knows what they are doing and follows the Constitution.

I would be the first in line if we were lucky enough to have Condoleezza Rice running for President. Now there is someone qualified, she is smart, and knows what is going on in the world from first hand experience. . .

If only we could draft her for the job. . . . problem is she is probably too smart to take it. . . .

Obama and Race

What is it now? Seems like the new ad by McCain is racist. I have seen the ad and I had to be told why. . . seems that there are white women in it so it is racist. . .

Lets call it what it is, the media will call ANY ad that attacks their lord Obama as racist.

The only one I have seen mention race so far is Obama. He keeps pushing how the other side will use race and tell you he is black. Too bad they have not done that yet but HE keeps telling you how black he is. . . . I wonder who really is racist . . . .

And to top it off he has some Thug (sorry, Rap Artist) now plugging for him and he even wrote him a song. . .

From Ludacris:

You can't stop what's bout to happen, we bout to make history
the first black president is destined and it's meant to be
the threats ain't fazing us, the nooses or the jokes
so get off your ass, black people, it's time to get out and vote!
paint the White House black and I'm sure that's got 'em terrified
McCain don't belong in ANY chair unless he's paralyzed
Yeah I said it cause Bush is mentally handicapped.

Ya, that sounds good, no racism there. . . Nope

Obama Kool Aid

Folks, this right here from Breda should scare the crap out of you when you think about the folks voting for Obama. That is one scary ad. Look at the burn outs in it, the "messed up just got out of bed look" I think someone called it in the comments. . . . They don't look like folks I want to be around, they sure don't look like they are up on the current news enough to vote responsibly. . . .

What I would like to know is how these folks can rationalize this stuff. They worship this nut, there is no reason or logic to why they voter for him, there can’t be as he has said nothing concrete – Hope and Change – that it. . . there is no plan, he makes it up along the way and changes with the wind. . . .

Folks use to get upset at Bush and say “He thinks he gets his orders from GOD”. . . well with Obama we are going from someone who talked to God to a guy that thinks his IS GOD. . . . and although this is indeed a change I am not sure it is good one. Then you see the video of his supporters like the one at Breda’s place and you realize they are all drinking the Kool Aid and sound like mindless zombies. . . Maybe the zombie war is really coming.

Throw on top of this the last two items –
1 – the continued subtle comments by the blacks that if there guy doesn’t win we will have problems. . .
and 2 – It hit me reading today in history at Tam's that if you study history an Obama rally is starting to look more and more like the old Nazi rallies of the 1930’s. A bunch of folks all fired up with a good speaker that don’t listen to what he is actually saying. . . They are letting emotion rule their mind, not logic and reason. This never leads to a good ending. . ..

And one side note on the great rallies he held in Europe. . . it would be nice if the news folks told you that the huge crows at those things were not for Obama, but for the band concert he was speaking at. They give him all this credit for the crowd – too bad they weren’t there to see him. . . .

Main Stream Media

God I love Non Sequitur. This guy just gets it. . . .

Mass Child Molester gets away

This is an update on the story about how a dad is now facing charges for punching a man who groped his 4 year old in a Market Basket supermarket a few weeks ago. The cops did not arrest the molester and told him to show up for court through an interpreter. They did not check his immigration status and did not see him as a threat to the community. . . Heck, he only groped a 4 year old right? He’s cool. . . .

Well as dad goes to face charges (only in MA or other liberal states) for protecting his kid the molester is a no show in court. . . and the cops are surprised. . . . really??

Here is what they said:

And while the father claims the incident was an outright sexual assault, there was an arguable dispute on the facts as the elderly man who could only speak through an interpreter, said he was “just joking around,” Pacheco later said in a prepared statement.
“It is unfortunate that there appears to be some type of public assumption that the police stopped a father from protecting his son and let a child molester go, that is absolutely not true,” he said.

“I’m shocked - completely shocked,” Raynham Police Chief Lou Pacheco said of Valerio Rodriguez’ no-show at Taunton District Court on July 29.

More on this HERE

Yah, he was going to show. . . . NOT. See the problem with this state and its open boarders and lax rules against criminals of all kinds???

Now this guy is still out there wandering around, and he has learned that he will have to hid his molestation better next time so he can get away with it. . . . just what we want walking the streets. Too bad dad restrained himself and this guy was able to walk away. . . . and SHAME on the cops for letting him go. You have not only not done your job, but you have put us all at risk letting him walk. . .

Catch and release, not just for fishing any more. . . .

Thanks

Obama again. . .

From American Thinker

In an essay on yesterday's online American Spectator titled "Barack Hubris Obama" (I know, I know... great minds, etc.) John Tabin discusses a recent incident that has gone strangely uncovered by the legacy media. One of Obama's advisors countered criticism of the European trip by stating:

"When the president of the United States goes and gives a speech [overseas], it is not a

political speech or a political rally."

"But he is not president of the United States," a reporter noted.

Obama in a new light

Here is an interesting look at Obama

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/07/the_operative_term_is_hubris.html

Obama Trip

Here is a great take on the holy one's trip. Got it from Law Dog's blog. This is a warning, class one beverage alert should be in place. . ..

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article4392846.ece

Obama's Bad News

Poor Obama is not doing so good. His trip overseas has not given him the hoped for bump in the polls and may have actually hurt him in some polls. Lord knows the media tipped it's hand for Obama big time on this trip and he still got nothing out of it.

Most polls that mean anything put the race at a tie if you look at the margin of error. Mike Dukakis had a 16 point lead on Bush I at this point and still lost. All this means is that things are still wide open despite all the hype from the media and the Obama camp. If he can't win with all that going his way I don't know that anyone can. McCain may still pull this off - we will see if all those Obama folk actually turn out to vote since most of his support is coming from two groups(students and blacks) that historically don't turn out to vote.

Folks, we can still do this, I'll say it again, hold your nose and vote McCain. . . Do it for the Supreme Court Judges. . . .

Mass Moment

Here’s the surprise of the day. . . Governor Patrick has once again stalled his plan to replace expensive police details with civilian flag men.

You would thing he would be pushing for this since it was part of his election promises to fix this. . . . and it would save the state money. . . .

He must really like the press this gets him. Throw in all the other stories in the news on money wasted at the state level and you have to start thinking they are secretly backing the income tax repeal on the ballot this November. They seem to be doing everything they can to get voters pissed off on spending. . . .

Stay tuned folks. . . .

Come November

Folks, come November you are going to have three choices:

1 – Obama
2 – McCain
3 – Third party show of displeasure with choice 1 and 2

We need you to vote for McCain.

Think about it. We won Heller by a very slim margin, and the next President will get to appoint judges to SCOTUS. If you do it for nothing else, vote McCain so that we can keep (or try to keep) a conservative Supreme Court. SCOTUS should be a very conservative body that takes any ruling it makes and it’s effect on our Constitution and Laws very seriously. We don’t want liberals there that will use it to change our laws and the meaning of the Constitution with the courts when they can’t do it by the rules. I want to see more conservatives on the bench, folks that will actually study our Constitution and what the Founding Fathers meant when they wrote it. There is plenty of other writings by the Founding Fathers to help guide us as to what their mindset was and what they meant as they had to sell this new government to the states. Liberals will ignore it. The judges appointed to SCOTUS are the most important and long term effect a President can have on our country, it will have a say in our lives long after he/she is out of office.

Obama will socialize any and every thing he can, he is big government like no one has seen before. You want socialize medicine? You really think it will work? Before you say yes go ask a veteran how his government run medical works for him – Remember how the medical hospitals got in the news last year? It wasn’t for good service. . . go ask a Brit or Canadian how it works for them. I have family in Canada and it does not work as advertised. Many have to pay for there own insurance so they can see a doctor in a reasonable time instead of sitting on a list. Lists are nice if you are waiting for a new Play Station, not so good when waiting on life saving medical treatment. . . .

Now I am an Independent voter who will vote for the guy most likely to back the Constitution. Since that is not one of my choices this time around we are back to the standard pick the guy who will do the least damage. . . . . I don’t care who he runs with, McCain will do far less damage to our country than Obama (Jimmy Carter II).

If Obama can push McCain as Bushes third term then we should push Obama as Carters second. Keep this in mind, we almost went off the cliff with Carter. Here is one fact that should scare you – gas started at $0.60/gallon when he got into office and was $1.60 a gallon when he got out. . . can you imagine Obama taking us to $8 a gallon gas? I can – easy. He is an appeaser – he will sell us out to prevent having to make the hard call. That is how Carter got us the current Iran – Our ally got pushed out, our Embassy got taken over and Carter sat there and did NOTHING! Now I don’t care if the Sha was a good guy or not, he was pro-US and countries don’t have friends they have interests. He backed out interests. Obama is the same thing. If Obama wins you can expect to see a nuclear Iran, possibly a new round of nukes in North Korea, and a weakened US military and spy network. Hamas does not back this guy for nothing. We will go back to the democrat plan of sticking our head in the sand like Carter and Clinton did, cutting our defenses both active and passive and we will pay dearly for it.

I don’t want to fight the terrorists here, I want my family to be safe, lets fight them over there please.

So think about your options, Please see the light that option three may make you feel good about making your statement and not voting for either of these jokers but it will hurt us in the long run. Hold your nose, vote McCain, and then start supporting good candidates that back our Constitution at the local and state level and lets start rebuilding this country.

Batman – The Dark Knight

Went to see it last night. Overall a good movie.

I don’t think that there was any way it could have lived up to the hype it got. Heith Ledger was a great Joker, and brought the concept of a twisted bad guy to a new level. I loved him in this roll but I honestly don’t know that it was worth an Oscar. Maybe he was so good and that is why I don’t see the Oscar but we will see. . . . I don’t know what movies he is up against so can’t say at this point.

I loved the characters in the movie. They had depth and feeling in them that you don’t often see in a “Superhero” movie. I like the way Alfred and his aid in R&D fit in with the story and how they play such a critical roll in keeping Batman going in the right direction when he could so easily tip to the dark side. . .

Overall it was well worth the trip although I left feeling like they tried to put a bit much into one movie. There were points where it did seem to drag a bit to me, and although the ending was great, I did think they could have got there a bit sooner without a problem.

I do have to back up what others have said that this is a very very dark movie that is good but don’t take the kids to it. Some of it would be rather hard on kids I think. . .

Now I need to get to the new Hell Boy and see how that was. I finally saw the first one on DVD this weekend and loved it.

Obama Doesn't get it

About says it all. . . . Check out Day by Day, link on the side bar

SMLE III

HAPPY DAYS

I got my front sight for the Enfield. Only took a bit of fitting to get it on the gun and it looks like it lines up good.

Now I will just have to take it to the range to see how it works. . . . .

Weekend

Well, this weekend will be a bit of a let down after spending last weekend either at the Blogger Shoot or getting ready for it. . . . .

Back to normal life I guess, I have to get some of the house cleaned up and mount a few things on the wall for mom in her apartment. If I am lucky we may get to see Batman Saturday night but that depends on if Nana is willing to baby sit for us. . . .

Maybe this weekend I can finally get the basement finished and start working out again. . . it has been years since I got to the gym on a regular basis and I need to get back into it. I do have the stuff at home but I have always made one excuse or another for why it was not set up.

I was supposed to go sparing tonight for Karate but I just can’t get myself psyched up enough for it to go. By Friday night I am beat and not in the mood to race home so I can go out again. We will see, they do this every week or so so I may be able to get down there at some point.

Obama World Tour rolls on. . . .

Obama seems set to tour the world and personally surrender to every world leader in person. . . Seems he thinks he is already President. . ..

I am happy to hear that Obama has found the time to bad mouth the US while on foreign soil to all the lovely Euroweenes. He calls himself a citizen of the world. . . Yo dude- you are supposed to be looking out for the US as a Senator, never mind as President (which you arn't yet), not the rest of the world.

As a US citizen and patriot (which Obama is not) you keep your mouth shut when outside the US. It is one thing to argue the dirty laundry at home and try to fix things, you don't do it in front of the rest of the world. This plays right into the hands of all those folks who want to kill us. . ..

I am also happy to hear that with all his travels and BS he could not find the time to stop in and visit wounded troops while in Germany. That should have been his first stop. . .

Ten years ago no one would have dreamed of doing this while running for President of the US. He sold us out, he should be call on it. He has basically committed treason but you will never hear about it in the news. They will once again give him a pass on it all. . . .

This guy is scum. God help us all if he wins, I am not sure the country will recover - at least not in my lifetime

Kids say the darndest things. . .

Marko’s story on his youngest talking reminded me of a story from when my oldest was just about 2 or 3 and was starting to decide she could speak her mind.

We were in a toy store and she had gone to play with the wooden train set. She loved them . Well anyway we had let her play with that while mom did her shopping. Once mom was done I went over and told her it was time to go home. Now not wanting to leave the toy train set she got rather upset about this and decided to ignore me. So I told her again it was time to go and went to grab her hand.

It was at this point that she got a really mad face and blurts out “NO, BAD DADDY!” and makes it clear she is not ready to go home yet. . . .

There were two college age kids in there shopping for whatever and the girl just broke out laughing. Of course I was already having a good chuckle at this myself as that is not exactly what you expect to hear from your 3 year old daughter. . . . .

As far as kids picking up bad words from me I did rather well. The only thing they got was “awe man” although when daughter #1 did it it was rather funny. I was working on fixing a ceiling light and had forgotten a tool on the ground so had to climb down again to get it. My wife was sitting talking to me holding my daughter who was probably 1 and change and just starting to talk.

Well, I realize the tool I need is out of reach and say “Awe Man” and state down the ladder. I hadn’t gotten down one step when this little voce goes “awe man” . . . . .

The wife and I agreed it was good I had not hit my finger with a hammer or something that may have taught her something more interesting. . . .

We still get a good laugh thinking about both of these.

Good Gunny News

Got the email today that the new front sight for my SMLE III is on it's way. I was so bummed out that I busted it just before blogger shoot 08. Well I will have to figure out how to press out the old one when it gets here and put in the new one, not to mention set the height right on it.

Anyway, step one is done, part is in the mail

Got Happy Flu from Tam

Got this from Tam at VFTP

Obama Update

Via Gunslinger and the AP:

"In this city where John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton all made famous speeches, Obama will find himself stepping into perhaps another iconic moment Thursday as his superstar charisma meets German adoration live in shadows of the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate. He then travels to Paris and London where he can expect to be greeted with similar adulation.

It's not only Obama's youth, eloquence and energy that have stolen hearts across the Atlantic. For Europeans, there have always been two Americas: one of cynicism, big business and bullying aggression, another of freedom, fairness and nothing-is-impossible dynamism.

If President Bush has been seen as the embodiment of that first America, Obama has raised expectations of a chance for the nation to redeem itself in the role that — at various times through history — Europe has loved, respected and relied upon."

Folks, if the socialist Euroweenes want him that bad that should be enough to disqualify him right there.

Obama’s Surrender Tour ‘08

Obama on Vacation

OK, can someone tell me how the trip by Obama around the worlds trouble spots as a tourist somehow makes up for his lack of foreign policy experience?? The media should be all over this as the world is a very dangerous place right now and the experience needed to be President includes the ability to navigate the minefield of foreign policy.

Wait, they are all over it. . . They claim he has the experience now and is equal to McCain in that area even though McCain has made multiple trips abroad in his 20+ years as a Senator and has actually military service and Obama is making his first in his first term as a Senator. I guess they just can’t tell us the truth about their savior.

We can also add to this that he is meeting with heads of state as if he was already President and discussing policy that is in direct opposition of what the current administration is doing. He should be call out by the media for aid and comfort to our enemies but we know that ain’t gonna happen. . . I wonder if he will stop by the Hamas place to get there endorsement in person?? They are already saying how much they love and back him. . . . .

And for all you folks that think he will bring all the troops home guess what? He has decided that Afghanistan is a war he can live with so he will most likely just move our troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. Your peace loving surrender freak will not be bring folks home, just changing which war he wants to focus on away from the Bush war to the new Obaba war – it will be better, trust us. . . .

Maybe he is looking for the magical unicorn horn so he can make all his hopey and changey work. . . .

Guns are Magic

From a comment by JayG on lookingforlissa.wordpress.com: One might be tempted to think that it is the person, rather than the tool, who defines how the tool will be used. But our enlightened friends who believe in gun control know that’s wrong - they see the gun as the be-all, end-all evil.

Because once you admit that the gun is a chunk of metal and wood (or plastic, like the AR-15 you were shooting), it stops being a magic talisman capable of raining death and destruction and reverts to being a tool; an invention of man to be used by man against his fellow man.

I don’t know why it took so long to see this but after reading the quote from JayG above it popped into my head (what just popped in there Ray?) Guns are the new swords. . . complete with magical powers. . . .

Just think about it. Years ago swords were the weapon of choice of the nobility and in every story up to and including today the hero’s sword is often seen as magical or actually has some kind of magic power.

Well, take a bunch of folks that know nothing about guns, and show them what Hollywood thinks it can do and wham bam the thing is magic. Since the bad guys get all the press when using guns, and the good guys don’t folks see it as bad. In this politically correct world we can’t blame the person for his actions, he is misunderstood, it must be the gun that drove him to crime, not his bad choices in life. . .

Day in and day out the liberal media pounds us with images of guns on TV, in the movies and in the papers. What do they show? Well, according to the media folks (who don’t know much about guns) here are the facts on guns:

1. They are seldom handled correctly
2. They kill with one shot
3. Only cops or other government people and bad guys have them
4. They are powerful, only one hit can throw a person across the room
5. Most fire in automatic mode
6. You can spray an automatic and hit everyone in the room
7. Average folks don’t have guns
8. If the average guy does have a gun and tries to defend himself it usually just makes it worse.
9. Only the uneducated want a gun (unless you are a cop or such)
10. Look at how much fun the bad guys have spraying lead all over, they look possessed. . . .

They have been fed all these myths day in and day out to brainwash the masses as to how powerful a gun - any gun is. I think this has us putting the gun into the same position that we use to put the sword in. We also give it the same reverence and magical powers to the gun and the user of that gun that we use to give to the hero’s of old.

Without the real facts they can’t see the gun as just a tool - all the tools we see used every day are mild in comparison. They have nothing to base this false info from the media on to show the error of their ways. Peasants should not have guns as they are not skilled in there use and can’t be trusted with the awesome power they represent. Throw into the mix that the left has all but taken over our schools and teaches our kids that they need the government to take care of them. They have been taught that they can’t do anything without big brother watching them and keeping them safe. And don’t question big brother because he knows what is best. Only big brother should have guns since you don’t know what to do with them and you can‘t be trusted with one anyway.

Who do the masses see with guns ever day on the TV news. Gangs and bad guys who make the news shooting at cops and innocent folks and killing kids (Kids is usually a teenage gang banger that is old enough to know better but I digress ) in drive by shootings. Of course it is the guns fault, since the only good guys with guns that they see are the cops and we all know they get special training to know how to use them correctly. . . those gang folks didn’t get the training so the guns make them do evil since they don’t know how to resist right???

If we want to take away the image of the gun being magical then there is only one way to do it – education of the masses. We need folks to get use to the idea that normal people have guns and use them every day from everything from hunting and target shooting to defending themselves and their families. We need to keep out there pushing for folks to get the facts. Try to get editorials published in the papers, put out info any way you can to show that guns are owned by the average person and that is the way it should be. . . We need to slam the media every time they make folks victims, every time the media calls an 18 year old gang banger with a record a mile long a kid, every time the cops on the cop show tell folks “there’s nothing you can do, we will take care of you” we need to scream , God knows I do at the TV when I see that stuff. We need to get rid of the culture of victimhood and start to support those who take care of themselves in any form they do it.

Recently in MA a dad punched out an old guy he found touching his kids leg while his kid was in the bathroom at a super market. They guy reached under a bathroom stall divider to do it, this was no accident. . . The guy assaulting the kid was back at work the next day. The cops did not cuff him or drag him off when this was reported because they said they would have had to take dad too. Dad is now facing felony assault charges against him for protecting his kid! For the record the old guy is facing charges too but they have not said what prosecutors will do with it. You see here in MA (liberal land) you don’t get to defend yourself or your family, that is the cops job and you better not think you can do it too. . . When the Attorney General was hit on this in an inteview she said we are against folks self help. That is code for being against folks protecting themselves. You are not allowed to even think of being able to care for yourself, only the government can take care of you. . . .

We need to teach folks to accept the fact they are responsible for themselves and their families. That they can fight back against evil and bad folks that want to hurt them or their families. We need to vote in people that respect our rights and will get the state back on our side instead of the thugs.

Once folks can deal with that we can show guns used by normal folks are just another tool to protect themselves with. Then they will understand that guns will not turn them to evil - that there is no magic, the gun really is just a tool and it is the person holding it that makes all the difference.

Media Bias

In case there was any doubt that the media is not doing it's job and is very bias. . . .

the New York Times has no problem printing an editorial by the golden child Obama, but tells McCane that his replay is not news worthy. . .

Ya, that is fare and balanced reporting for you. We will print the opinions we like and not the ones we don't. If Obama writes it we will even call it news. . . . ..

I thought the media was supposed to be neutral and help us see the good and bad side of BOTH sides. Ya right.

Respect for me and you. . .

This post was inspired by a few things that have happened over the last few days. . . Starting with the great report on us gunnies from Lissa you can find here and a few things that happened at Karate last night. It is a longer post based on the one I hammered out quickly a few posts ago.

Now I am a martial artist. By that I mean that I have spent years studying karate (like 16+ years) a couple of years of Tai Chi, and shooting (like 25+ years). I have spent a good number of years of my life learning all the icky things most liberals in MA hate and think are evil. Somehow the modern liberal seems to think martial arts are bad and make us into crazed killers (just look at their reactions to folks that shoot). They will ask “ Why would you want to learn that?” and “What good is it? You want to hurt someone?” As I thought about things it really hit me. What is it about folks that they don’t seem to have any respect for other people? Not only don’t they have respect, but sometimes they are surprised that others will show them respect. So many folks seem lost in their own self centered world these days and I think that causes a lot of the problems we have today. The other thing that hit me is most true martial artist I have met don’t have this problem. . . they want to teach me thing and learn from me so we can both become better people in the end. That is one critical thing, we both grow, not what can I take from you without giving back, it is how do we both gain and learn. . . . why isn’t this the normal way of thinking???

I think knowing a martial art leads one to have more respect for oneself and to have more good old fashion respect for others too. If you have not read Lissa's post on learning to shoot then go do that now and come back, I’ll be here. . . .

OK, done reading it? Good.

Now what does she mention? How all these gun folks were respectful of each other, careful and all around acted like grown ups and gentlemen and gentlewomen. Why do so many folks not into martial arts find this suppressing? This is not the first time I have heard this reaction although she had one of the best explanations I have seen in long time. It is sad that folks get surprised that we watch out for each other and try to share what we know with each other without thinking “OK, what do I get out of this. . .”

I already mentioned a bit about what I have seen and heard myself here but I will go over it again. Our karate school shares our building with a drama club. We both rent space in the building, Us on the top floor and them on the bottom with a common lobby and rest rooms. I have seen the post from their teacher listing all the great folks she has taught and claims to fame in NY and the left coast. . . she comes across in this write up as totally full of herself. I also know that she does nothing to help keep the common areas clean. My teachers get to clean the rest rooms so they don’t reflect badly on her school, she also redid the lobby, as in fixed the walls (full of holes from drama posters) and repainted them and redid the wood floor. Within weeks of finishing this work (which she did over a few weeks) the theater folks have put all the posters back up putting holes in the walls again and someone even put a big dent (knocking out plaster) in one wall. She left NO room for the karate school to post anything – heck, you would not even know we were there. Talk about selfish and self centered. . ..

My daughters use to take dance lessons. The few times I met the teacher she had an air of arrogance that I could feel. She always ran the class over 5 to 10 minutes and just expected the parents to sit and wait. Hey, sure, not like we may have other kids or commitments we need to get to right? What could be more important than her? I was usually the one to pick up the kids and I can tell you that this teacher never said a thing such as sorry we ran over or anything else. . . if she did come out of class it was to get a payment from us for the next month. I guess it was all about her. She finally pushed me too far when she booked an all afternoon dress rehearsal that the kids had to be at or they could not go to the recital. . . . . On Fathers Day. . . . ya, no one makes plans to do family things on Fathers Day – good thinking there. Glad your head can still fit through the door. . ..

And we have all see the way folks drive. . . cutting folks off in traffic, won’t let folks change lanes, won’t let that truck move over.. . . . it goes on and on. . .

Folks you all need to learn some good old fashion RESPECT. Now I know this will kill the liberal movement because that is all about telling me what I should and should not do and not having any respect for me or my ability to make my own choices. You know what, too bad. This liberal attitude of no respect and I should get it because it is OWED to me has got to go. . . .

I am getting to the point that I think we need to get back to teaching every kid some kind of martial art in school, from Karate to shooting, they should have some experience with it. They will learn respect that way. . . .When you reach the point that you know you have the power to hurt or kill someone or something you change. I think if you have learned things properly from a good teacher the knowledge that you have this power is more than a bit humbling and gives you a new view on the world. It is only then that you truly can respect how easy it is to hurt someone or worse. It is also a this time that you realize that so much crap we get all pissed at every day is just that, crap and not worth getting worked up over. You sure as hell learn that all that crap is not worth hurting or killing someone or getting hurt or killed over. I think it also takes your ego down a few notches to see how easy you can get hurt, and to lose a few times when sparing, or in a competition. You learn that you are not the best at everything and to get better you actually have to work for it. No one will hand you anything, you EARN it. You liberals should try it some time, there is nothing like the feeling of getting a thing or award that you actually earned, and I am not talking about today’s sports where all the kids get a trophy at the end just for showing up – that is worthless. Winning and loosing is required to learn about yourself it adds value to what you gain when you win, and teaches you how to do it better next time when you loose – not to mention not to give up when things don’t go your way.

Maybe I am just getting old or becoming more of a mush because I have kids but I find that by learning a martial art, and helping other to learn that art I have become more empathetic towards others. I can feel it when they get frustrated trying to learn something and I want to help them learn it. It is no longer about me being better than them it is about what I can teach them and what I can learn from them. You can learn something from everyone even if it is just to keep trying till you get it right. I get a bit more emotional about things such as someone getting hurt. I think it is because of my training – no, I know it is. I have gained a respect for how easy it is to get hurt and how big an impact that can have on your life. That makes you stop and think about things and it makes you a better person

To learn to respect and empathies with others by itself is worth the time taken to learn to shoot, or do some other martial art. It should be required to be a good citizen to know these things. If we all did, it would be a much different place. . . .

New One Day High!!

Guys, thanks for all the links!!!

Yesterday was 70 hits, that is a new record for my little blog. . .

I don't know what to say. . . . I am an engineer so my writing is not the best, especially compared to most of the folks giving me links.

Thanks for stopping by and I will try to make it worth the visit!!

New Gunnie's View

Lissa wrote a great piece about what it was like being the new kid at the Blogger Shoot. . .

Go give it a read here

Well worth the time!

Tella Tubby Bayonet Charge

The long version. . . .




With the twist. . . .

Lack of Respect

What is it with the performing arts and lack of respect??

Our karate school is on the second floor and out teacher was nice enough to re-finish the entrance and to let a dance school use the dojo on the off days. . . . We have a drama club for kids on the first floor. . . .

Well, the walls were repainted at the entrance and the drama school has already covered them all with photos of their stuff and put a hole in the wall. They also were difficult with trying to get the floors redone. . . . Yo stupid, if the place looks like crap it reflects on your school too . . . the dance folks left a mess in the dojo too with little strings and stuff around all over the floors. . . . Total lack of respect for others.

I remember when my daughter took dance, the damn teacher always ran over time and never said boo, not even one sorry to the parents who are paying the bills. She even scheduled a dress rehearsal that the kids had to be at on fathers day for the full afternoon and don't even get me start on what she charged for costumes, and tickets to the recital. . . . again total self centered lack of respect. I pay for my kids to go learn dance and get treated like I am not worthy to be in the room. Needless to say she don't go any more, I don't pay folks to look down on me.

What is it with the arts and thinking the world revolves around them??

I don't know, but it pisses me off that they are so smug about it all. I guess that is why I take some pleasure in knocking them down a peg or two when I can. . . . Sorry, you dance/theater folks are no better than the rest of us, and I am starting to think you are not even as good as the rest of us since you obviously missed the day they taught manors in school it seems. . . .

Anyway, that is my rant for today. So if you run a dance school or drama club, get your head out of your ass and think about someone else once in a while, I know it goes against the liberal way of thinking but just give it a try once for me. . .

= )

Some Blogger shoot Pics

Blogger Shoot ‘08

OK, here is a bit more detail on the event. . . Did I say I had fun yet??

As others have said better than I, there seems a problem with the logic of the gun grabbers in MA and elsewhere. I was around lots of armed folks all day, with lots of guns of all kinds going off, an no one got mad, no one got shot, no one got threatened but they all had a good time. I guess there is just something wrong with us, maybe the blogging but there was no blood spilled of any kind that I saw. . . . Maybe the Lefties are lying about guns????

That was an awesome time. There were lots of guns to try, targets to shoot and folks to talk to. I know I almost blew soda out my nose at least twice – there were some funny folks there. IF you thing the blogs are good you should meet them in person. . . . anyway it was a great time (did I say I had fun?)

It was great to meet all the folks, but the real fun was the shooting, after all that is what we were there for. I managed to spend most of my trigger time on my AR and WASR 10 but did get in a bit with the lever action. Sorry, forgot who but someone let me take a few shots at some skeet, and I have to say I may need to get me a shot gun. . . that was cool.

For me the most exciting part was the automatics that were there. Never having fired one before that was COOL. It was the Madsen m/50 in 9mm. Nice to shoot, not much muzzle clime and easy to control.

I have a list of the bloggers that were there on the side, go take a looks, some of them already have photos up and film of the bayonet charge on the Tella Tubby. . . Jay, that was cool, still smiling thinking about that. . .

The Furby also bought the farm (the great Furby Masacre of 08). I have photos of both that will be posted in the next day or so. Let me just say there is something funny about listing to Furby sing as he is hanging on a rope at the end of the range waiting for folks to unload on him. Poor bugger didn’t even get a last smoke or a blindfold but he did go out singing – now that is guts for a Furby.

The water jugs were fun to shoot at too. Once they got hit and blew water all over they would dance around the range nicely. One even ended up on the top of the backstop after getting hit by who knows what. The ground where they were ended up looking like someone had rotor tilled the place when we were done. Now that is a lot of lead going down range. . . . I have to second Marko’s comment that there were no deer within 5 miles. After all that I am sure we had all wildlife in the area on notice. . .

The only down side is I now know what it means to live in a free state. . . Imagine having a range in the back yard and no one cares. . .. I think I had my eyes opened. I thought I knew how repressive MASS was, but now I really know. Freedom tastes good, I know I am going to have to escape from MA as soon as it is viable to do so. Thanks to the housing market that won’t be soon enough I fear. . . . . . but I have seen freedom and I want to live there. The wife hates snow so we probably will head south, but that will do for me when the time comes. . . .

I am still grinning ear to ear after all that. My wife told me I sound like I just went to Disney World. . . . So yes, I have to say I had fun. I have even gotten comments at the office that I look like I had a good weekend = )

Update - I forgot to mention the keyboard. . . . When used as a skeet target they are quite impressive. All them keys raining down was quite a show. . . I don't think anyone got a photo of that one unfortunately. . .

Blogger shoot '08

Folks, that was great!!

I had a great time, it was a blast to meet you all, though next time I think we need name tags. . . . I was never good at the name thing. . .

I will get pics posted in a day or so after I go through them as I know some folks don't want to have their face on the net, maybe just because it would link them to the rest of us nuts

= )

any way, Thanks for setting it up JayG (even if you did get there fashionably late)!

And to our secret range host, thanks again for a great time!

Update - More info on the Monday post. . . . see above

Today is the day!

Blogger shoot today!

Can't wait. Minor problem with the Enfields front sight, it was bent a bit and in an effort to fix it and make it perfect I managed to break it. . . . well superglue to the rescue. We will see how it holds up. This poor gun spent many years in my dad's basement getting bumped around, it't not the first piece I have had to fix.

I have a new one on order but it won't be here for a week or so = (

see ya all in a few hours

Blogger Shoot Tomorrow

we are at the 24 hour mark!!!

Can't wait, just a bit excited. . . . Here is to hoping the weather holds out since they keep talking about a chance of T-Storms. . . .

Taking my daughters to the range today to get warmed up. . . You can tell they are my kids easy:

When they start to act up mom tells the two girls to "cut it out or your not going shooting tomorrow". . . . instant change . . . . .

= )

Cat stories

Folks - To make up for my downer of a post to start the day I give you two links to two great stories about trying to take a cat to a vet. . . If you have a cat you will love them. If you don't you should still find these funny or there is something wrong with you. . . ..


http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2008/07/arrgghh.html

http://www.atomicnerds.com/?p=294

Bad News

We just found out that Dad’s cancer is not responding to the drugs. He had been in the hospital for two days now and all the poking and prodding shows that the cancer is not only back but not responding to treatment like it did before

The bottom line is that they say he has maybe six months. My wife is understandably upset about loosing her dad and it is bringing back memories for me of my Dad’s loosing battle with cancer too. I just got the news from her on the phone. She has already broken the news to the kids and the girls are doing ok, they are helping to support their mom in all of this.

I am beside myself, I know from my own experience that there is little I can do or say to help my wife get through this beyond being there for her to lean on. This is something I can’t fix and that drives me a bit nuts.

I know this is the natural way of things, we are meant to outlive our parents as our kids will outlive us, but it still hurts in a way nothing else can.

I never could buy into main stream religion. Lord knows my Mom tried to raise me Catholic but it didn’t take. I am Wiccan at best but I don’t know. I want to believe that I will see all these folks again when I die, but we just don’t know. I guess it is the engineer in me that wants proof that it will be. Sometimes I feel I know it will be and other times I just feel it is over when it’s over and that’s it and then I wonder why? What is it all for? It bugs me that by the time I know the answer to this it will be too late to be of any comfort and I won’t be able to tell anyone who hasn’t already learned the answer too. . . .

Sorry for the downer of a post on a Friday but I had to vent. I will now put all my energy into supporting the wife and kids through this. We are hoping that Dad will be able to move around a bit and I am hoping that we can get him fishing or shooting a few more times before he crosses over. We need to take lots of pictures and video so my youngest (14 mo) will be able to learn about him. Heck, the doctor's can be wrong, it's been know to happen as medicin is not an exact science so I also hope they got it wrong as I prepare for if they got it right.

At the risk of sounding selfish in all of this six months puts things around Christmas. We went through this with my Dad and were lucky that he got through the holidays so we had one more season together before he passed in February. I pray that he will also make it through the holidays so we have one more together. . . .

I don’t get it Nancy. . . Congress still sucks

This is a follow up to the comments on Nancy Pelosi below.

Yes, her comments that Bush’s low approval rating shows he is a failure due to the economy, war, stock market, housing market etc still bug me.

I guess I am not a liberal so I don’t get her logic (or lack of) in getting to this decision. Somehow all of these things are Bush’s fault and that is why his ratings are low. We are also told that these are the same reasons that the Dems got control of congress in the last election to fix these things the evil Republicans messed up. . . .

Now comes the confusion. Congress has a LOWER approval rating than Bush (since they have not fixed anything they said they would) and when Nancy gets asked about that it is only due to the war still going on in Iraq.

Nancy you must be dumb even by politician standards to think that. You folks got put in congress because you said you would fix all the stuff Bush and the gang messed up and you have not done any of it. Hell, if anything you made it worse. And now you think I am dumb enough to think it is only one issue that has crippled the approval rating of congress?? Not sure how you can believe that one.

All I can say is I hope folks do it again and vote all the incumbents out of office this time around. Maybe if we clean house again and get some new folks in there (and I don’t care from which side as long as they have new ideas and respect the Constitution) then maybe, just maybe we can start to clean up the mess you folks have made of our country. The people need to take back control of this mess and fix it. We need new folks in office that won’t play party games, will make the hard choices, and explain to the people why they need to make the sacrifices they are being asked to make to get this country on track again.

Congress needs to stop wasting all our time and resources with petty infighting over foolishness like attacking our rights to choice, guns, marriage, free speech and all the rest. Stop fighting each other to show you are more to the left or right than the other guy and start to listen to the voters for a change. . . that means no more party agendas and more country agendas.

We are at war folks, the economy sucks and political correctness is killing this country. Figure out how to fix it, give us the bad news, then tell us what we need to do to get things back on track. Let’s go folks, we have work to do. . . .

Marillion

It is funny how I see the comments on this band over at View from the Porch – folks get surprised that anyone else listens to them. I have to agree. I was the only one in my group in high school / college that listened to them but whenever they come up folks start chiming in on what a great album Misplaced Childhood was.

Marillion while Fish was the lead singer was probably one of the greatest bands to go nowhere in the old USA. . . I got all the Fish albums (now on CD too) and a few of the after Fish ones but they are not as good and I admit I gave up on them after “This Strange Engine”.

Anyway as a public service to those who want to know the albums with Fish that were out here in order are:

Script for a Jesters Tear
Fugazi
Misplaced Childhood
Clutching at Straws
B-Sides Themselves

The first non Fish one was Seasons End and it is ok, has a few good tracks on it but after that they went down hill. . ..

Anyway after all this talk of Marillion I am now going to have to dig out the CDs and give them all a good listen again. . . it has been way too long.

Thoughts on the closing of The Munchkin Wrangler

Another blog I read on a daily basis is gone. . . .

He says for a break and I hope so since as I said it was good enough that I read it every day and a lot of the other blogs I read commented on the “missing” blog so that tells you something about how popular The Munchkin Wrangler was. . . Although I fully understand his reasoning behind the choice I am still a bit bummed out.

The writing was not only great but since he grew up in Germany and (I think) became a US citizen later it was great to see his take on thing going on in the world that he comment on. I think that we are rather isolated here in the US and our media has all but give up any pretense of being un-biased in the news reporting. Anyway the end result was whether or not I agreed with him it was good to see his take on what was going on.

See this other view not only helped me to understand all sides of a subject but at times made me realize how much trouble we are in with the US Main Stream Media and how they treat the news. This one sided reporting is dangerous. How can we the people and voters of this land make an intelligent and informed decision without all the facts? Heck, they can’t and that is how Obama has gotten as far as he has but we won’t go there as that is what the media wants for their golden child. . .

Anyway, good luck Marko and I hope you get back from your blogger vacation soon. . .

Politics in the Mud

"God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States -- a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject," Pelosi told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an exclusive interview.

But Pelosi's comments come as a new Gallup poll registers the lowest level of congressional approval among Americans in the polling organization's 30-year history of conducting that survey.
Don't Miss

That poll showed that its approval rating had reached an anemic 14 percent, while more than 70 percent of those polled said they disapproved of the job Congress is doing.

The House speaker said she doesn't consider those numbers a negative referendum on the Democrats in charge, saying she thinks they stem largely from Congress' failure to end the war in Iraq.

More proof that the folks in DC don't get it. No matter how much they screw up it is always someone else fault and those bad poll numbers can't be about me. . . . .

Wake up Nancy - Those poll numbers are about you and congress. . . You have shown time and time again that you put politics and your party above the people you work for. . . US

Nancy you have shown that it does not matter who is voted in because the people loose either way. . . . . Thanks for your help in getting a third party to be viable, now if we could just get one going. . .

Mass Moment.

The Big Dig latest score –
Original Quote - $3 Billion
Today’s Quote – $22 Billion

And we will be paying this off until 2038. . . .

From the Globe:

Contrary to the popular belief that this was a project heavily subsidized by the federal government, 73 percent of construction costs were paid by Massachusetts drivers and taxpayers. To meet that obligation, the state's annual payments will be nearly as much over the next several years, $600 million or more, as they were in the heaviest construction period.
Big Dig payments have already sucked maintenance and repair money away from deteriorating roads and bridges across the state, forcing the state to float more highway bonds and to go even deeper into the hole.
Among other signs of financial trouble: The state is paying almost 80 percent of its highway workers with borrowed money; the crushing costs of debt have pushed the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which manages the Big Dig, to the brink of insolvency; and Massachusetts spends a higher percentage of its highway budget on debt than any other state.

And you wonder why we are one of the most in debt state in the land. And they want more money from us on credit. . . We never learn. . . Time to vote the hacks out and start over with new folks in office.

And how do they want to fix this? Borrow more money. They don’t want to raise taxes and they don’t want to make the cuts they need to get this under control. I can’t wait till I can get out of this state cause it is on a one way track going no where.

Mass Moment

The Liberals are at it again in MA. . . they are protesting foreclosures in MA. They want to have the government make it so the banks can’t foreclose on folks that took out loans they can’t afford. They got one a 30 day reprieve on her foreclosure on a condo that she has not paid the mortgage on for NINE MONTHS. . . . She had a sub-prime loan and blames messed up electricity and gas meters in the condo on bills that were too high and made her miss mortgage payments. She lives with her sister and sisters daughter and they don’t say if they help pay the rend (or not as the case may be)

Sounds good right? Everyone gets to keep their houses. Well, what will these folks say when the banks go broke? The money the banks loan is the same money you and I put in there in our checking and savings accounts. . . If banks don’t get paid back on the loans they make then families loose there life savings that are in those banks that fail, and the other banks stop lending money so no one else can buy a house or anything else. . .

But the idiots will tell you the banks are insured. . . ya, by the Fed so every bank it has to bail out gets paid for with Federal money. . . . guess where they get that? You and Me folks. . . They don’t have enough to cover things if everyone defaults on their loans so they will have to take tax money to pay it off. . . . . so we will be paying for all the houses that folks think they deserve but can’t afford to pay for. This is the liberal/communist way of thinking. . . man we are in deep crap if they get into the White House folks. . . .

This is going to hurt, but do we let it hurt those who bought houses they should not have based on loans anyone would know they can’t afford, or do we all take the hit and all go down?

Things are bad, but I don’t see why I should pay off your mortgage when I have my own mortgage that I made sure was fixed rate and that I could pay every month. Sure it is a lot harder now with the gas prices and everything else going up but that is life. Deal with it. You knew up front what the monthly payment would be and if you didn’t plan for it then that is your failure, you pay the price. The banks also get punished for giving you a loan that they know was high risk by having to deal with selling your house to get their money back so they can put it back in your savings account and mine where they got it from. I just hope we all learn something from this pain.

Michelle Obama strikes again

Don’t you love it when the rich folks run for office and try to sound like they know what it is like to work for a living? Michelle, before you accuse others of being elitist you should look in the mirror. . . .

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s wife, Michelle, complained the government’s $600 economic stimulus check was only enough to buy “a pair of earrings” while stumping for her husband.

“You're getting $600 - what can you do with that?” Mrs. Obama said in Pontiac, Michigan last week. “Not to be ungrateful or anything, but maybe it pays down a bill, but it doesn't pay down every bill every month. The short-term quick fix kinda stuff sounds good, and it may even feel good that first month when you get that check, and then you go out and you buy a pair of earrings."

I don’t know about you Michelle but I have to work for a living to support my family. . . that means that any money I get back from the governments over taxing me to pay for socialist programs goes to pay my bills, my mortgage, and put food on the table for my kids. . . you can ask my wife, we didn’t spend any of our rebate on ear rings or anything else as foolish and frivolous as that.

Hey, here’s an idea, why don’t you dump the welfare state programs and let me keep my own money to support my family and I won’t need your rebates. . . After all the only thing the Fed should be doing is providing for our defense, dealing with other countries, and sorting out issues between the states. You folks have gotten the Fed into all sorts of stuff that is not in the Constitution and was never meant to be under Federal control but should be dealt with at the state level. Of course, most states have learned from the Fed and have become bloated money pits too and we need to fix them, but one thing at a time. . . Here in MA we may take that first step and repeal our income tax in November, wouldn’t that be nice. . . ..

Patriot Thief

Just found this over here at the New York Post - I guess it happened in early July 3rd or 4th

At about 5 p.m. yesterday, an unidentified thief with a police record broke into a red van that had been parked at 53rd Street and Second Avenue in Brooklyn's Sunset Park for about a month, a source told The Post.

He was stunned when he looked inside - it was filled with gas cans and Styrofoam cups containing a mysterious white substance with protruding wires and switches.

The street is lined with brownstones, and there's a ballet studio and a small Muslim school. So he drove the van 15 blocks to 37th Street and parked it at a desolate waterfront location behind the Costco store and next to some little-used piers.

Then he got out and called a cop he knows from his run-ins with the law.

"He did the right thing," a high-ranking officer said. "And he possibly saved a lot of people's lives."

63 years ago the world changed

It was a one time change and it was forever. . . . Trinity opened up a whole new world to us for good or bad. . . . but it did allow us to end WWII with fewer losses on our side and theirs no matter what the hippies think. They lost far less folks with those two bombs than they did in the firebombing that we were doing to those nice wood cities. . .

Roll Playing WWII

Found this via the Munchkin Wrangler and OMG did I laugh. . . . Love the game trascript.

Hitler[AoE]: u guys are fockin gay
Hitler[AoE]: ur never getting in my city
*Hitler[AoE] has been eliminated.*
benny~tow: OMG u noob you killed yourself
Eisenhower: ROFLOLOLOL
Stalin: OMG LMAO!
Hitler[AoE]: WTF i didnt click there omg this game blows
*Hitler[AoE] has left the game*
paTTon: hahahhah
T0J0: WTF my teammates are n00bs
benny~tow: shut up noob
Roosevelt: haha wut a moron
paTTon: wtf am i gunna do now?
Eisenhower: yah me too
T0J0: why dont u attack me o thats right u dont got no ships lololol
Eisenhower: fock u
paTTon: lemme go thru ur base commie
Stalin: go to hell lol
paTTon: fock this sh1t im goin afk
Eisenhower: yah this is gay
*Roosevelt has left the game.*
Hitler[AoE]: wtf?
Eisenhower: sh1t now we need some1 to join
*tru_m4n has joined the game.*
tru_m4n: hi all
T0J0: hey
Stalin: sup
Churchill: hi
tru_m4n: OMG OMG OMG i got all his stuff!
tru_m4n: NUKES! HOLY **** I GOT NUKES
Stalin: d00d gimmie some plz
tru_m4n: no way i only got like a couple
Stalin: omg dont be gay gimmie nuculer secrets
T0J0: wtf is nukes?
T0J0: holy ****holy****hoyl****!
*T0J0 has been eliminated.*
*The Allied team has won the game!*
Eisenhower: awesome!

You can find more of it here

Comcast Customer Service

Well, I have to say I am presently surprised that this little blog got some attention at Comcast. I have had a few emails and got a phone call from them looking to help me fix this wiring issue and looking for feedback to make sure it does not happen again to the next guy.

Although I told them I will do the wiring myself they have offered to have a tech come and re-run the cable if I have any issues getting it run such as it is too short. After all the issues I have had with various companies and customer service I have to say it is a nice change to have a company take a proactive approach to an issue.

I am starting to think that the cable folks have been listening to the comments about their service and are actually fixing it. I don't really want to spend my time on running the cable but this way I can re-do the phone at the same time since it is also run on the ground. I have to admit I am starting to see Comcast in a better light. I think they may have actually sold me on staying with them, as I have been told we may have FIOS in town by the end of the year if all goes well. If Comcast can keep up this level of service then I don't see any reasion to change to FIOS.

Keep it up Comcast, you seem to have a good customer service group in place which is worth it's weight in gold these days. So many others fail in this critical area, it really does make you stand out in a good way

Comcast Update

Well it looks like the tech did get my mother hooked up for cable. Problem is he ran the wire around the outside of the house after he could not get it through the conduit that we had buried for it. Seems he (or possibly the phone guy, I can't say for sure) pulled the leader rope from the wrong end so I will have to see if I can fish out the end of the rope and run the cables myself. Hey, at lest mom has her TV . . . .

I have to admit that even though this is not good it is better than the phone guy did who could not even find the conduit to run the phone through. . . . . You would think we were hiding it but it is sitting right by the electrical meter. Heck, the phone guy even opened the far end of the conduit to feed the line though so he would not have to drill through the foundation to get the line in. . . . . . So now the phone and cable are going through the junction box at the far end of the conduit into my house.

I guess I will spend my Saturday seeing if I can re-run the phone and cable through the conduit like it should be instead of having it laying on the ground. I hope the cables are long enough. . . .

I also want to say that within an hour or so of my post yesterday I was contacted by Comcast by someone in the Digital Media Outreach group offering to help fix this issue. I have decided that it would be better to run the cable myself to get it done right as this is not the first time I have had problems with techs running cables . . . . but they did at least offer. They must be constantly searching for referenced to themselves on the net.

Attacking our Rights Again !

Wake up folks, time to start sending in those letter to your reps. . . . Obviously our good Governor is looking to spend our money on court costs since he seems determined to interfere with out rights as spelled out in Heller. I just saw this in the news:

On Sunday July, 13, 2008 Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick filed a special appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008. (As of the filing of this report, the bill had not yet received a number.) Within this bill sections 24 - 27 drastically increase certain firearm licenses.

Sections 24 & 25 attack lawfully licensed firearm dealers by increasing their license fees from $100 for three years to $250. Then it adds a $100 inspection fee in years two and three of the license. This tactic would now turn a $100 three year dealer's license into a $450 three year license.

Section 26 would increase a resident License to Carry fee from $100 for six years to $200 for six years.

Section 27 would increase a non-resident License to Carry fee from $100 for one year to $250 for one year.

This is an outrages attack on our rights as defined by the US Supreme Court in the Heller Decision. This opens up our state for a costly court battle over charging unreasonable costs for something that should be free or cost only enough to cover processing. We have so many problems in this state and we go looking to make more. I can't wait to see this fool governor voted out of office. My fear is we will have an even bigger fool with the same agenda in the White House

Comcast Sucks

I love this one. . . I called Comcast and set up an install of a cable box and wire in an in-law apartment. The tech gets there, ain't so good at speaking English and tells me on the phone he don't have time to run the cable, he has too much to do. He just wanted to attach the box and run. . . all he has is the box. Also tells me they don't run the cable outside the house? WTF!!?? They ran cable all over my house when I had cable first put in. . . . You can't get good help any more

I can't wait until we can get FIOS in my town, I will gladly dump Comcast and all their BS. If I can get this moron to leave the box I guess I will have to wire the cable from where it comes into the main house myself. . . not sure why this smuck can't do his job. Cable folks, over paid and under worked I guess.

One piece of wire, two connectors and a splitter box or two and he can't handle it. . . .

UPDATE 2 hours later
OK, it looks like I got some attention. I have been told by my wife at home that the cable is run and Nana has cable now. I will see what they did when I get home. I also got an email from Comcast based on this blog entry looking to help resolve the problem so I have to give them points for that on the customer service scale. I will put up a new post with the final outcome but things are starting to look up. I should know better than to not go over everything with the folks at home before going to work. You know what they say about assuming things. . . .

I really thought the guy was going to drop off the box and leave me to run the cables, that is where I had left it after talking to the tech on the phone so things are better than I expected at this point.

UPDATE 24 hours later
See blog entries above, but in a nutshell they have emailed and called me to fix this issue. I have to say I am impressed with the reaction of their customer service group in trying to get this fixed to my satisfaction. Sadly this is not the kind of reaction you get these day so it really stands out that they are willing to work with me to fix this without my having to fight them to do it. I am impressed Comcast, you had a problem and you are doing a good job trying to fix it. Thanks

Budget Cuts

I find it interesting that it made the news today how Gov. Patrick has cut $122.5 million out of the budge of $28.1 billion . . . .

Is it a coincidence that this has happened only a few days after they reported that the repeal of the income tax has made it onto the fall ballot? It sounds like they are getting scared. . . It also sounds like they think that this income tax repeal may actually pass and they are scared.

I hope this repeal passes. This state is out of control, and it will hurt to get it back under control but this is a great first start. We need to cut off some of the flow of cash to these folks, then get things cleaned up.

I fully expect that the legislature will vote in a new income tax before the ink is dry repealing the current one but that is fine. At least we will then know who voted for it and we can work to get them pulled from office and replaced by someone else. Hey, it can’t get much more corrupt in our one party system here so we may as well risk some new folks in charge. . .

Mass Moments

Our lovely Attorney General Martha Coakley has responded to this story of Child Molestation by say she tries to discourage people from self help. . . . When asked outright if we are supposed to wait and call 911 when our child is molested she stuttered for a while then started with all cases are different and went into political ass covering . . . and saying she discourages self help (defense)

Translation - we don't want you to defend yourself or your kids, you must stand aside and let the criminal have their way. . . you can call 911 while waiting and eventually the cops will get there.

GOD how this state has sunk to a new low. . . When did we give up the right to protect our children? I thought all those nutty laws they have passed were "to protect the children" but I guess only the state can do that cause if I do as a parent I may get busted by the cops right??

Thanks Martha. . . No wonder MASS is ranked something like 48th or 49th when it comes to protecting the kids from child molesters. . . . we of the revolving door prison system. . . .

Weekend Blog Work

OK, made a few changes to the blog over the weekend. I have added all the links to the folks going to the Blogger Shoot or NE Blogger meet that Jay G set up on the right side there. . . . Go pay them a visit. Also added the link for “Self Defense – A Human Right” which I highly recommend as worth the visit.

I also messed around with adding a map of all you visitors. I figured it would be good for my ego to find out if there were more than the three readers I suspect . . . . I also added a slideshow on the left. So far it is just pictures of the models I have built. All the real stuff is in 1/48 scale, the Sci Fi stuff is in whatever they made it. . . .

Last thing was an RSS feed, we will see how that works out. . . .

All in all a few minor changes that I thought would spruce things up a bit.

Cowboy Time

What Kind of a Western Bad-Ass are You? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Clint Eastwood Names aren't important as you dish out steaming bowls of piping hot brutality to your enemies. You also enjoy a good spaghetti dinner once in a while. Clint Eastwood 88% John Wayne 88% Lee Marvin 75% Charles Bronson 63% Lee Van Cleef 38%

Mass Gun Law turns 10

Helping to mark the 10 year aniversary of bad gun laws in MASS. . . from GOAL.org:

Before the 1998 law was passed, there were approximately 1.5 million licensed gun owners in the state, but because of the persecution and the expense ($100 for a gun license), the number has been reduced to about 240,000 and the armed criminals are having a field day.

GOAL cited a 2007 report from the Mass. Dept. of Public Health showing that firearm-related assaults have increased 78 percent since 1998. And Injury Surveillance Program reports showed: a 67 percent increase in firearm-related homicide from 1998-2006; a 236 percent increase in assault-related firearm hospital discharges since 1998; a 331 percent increase in assault-related emergency room visits since 1999, and a 590 percent increase in assault outpatient observations since 2001 (the most recent report available).

So please tell me what this law actually reduced for illegal activity???

Another Mass Moment

We love criminal here. . . From the Taunton Gazette:

Valerio Rodriguez, 71, of Providence, was charged with a felony count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 after he reached underneath a bathroom dividing wall and touched the boy high on his leg as he was standing on a bucket to use the adjacent urinal, police say.

When his dad who was in the rest room too saw this he opened the guys stall and punched him repeatedly. When the cops got there they busted dad. . . yup, they let the old guy go and busted dad for defending his kid.

Police charged Beatrice with assault for hitting Rodriguez, saying they empathized with his actions but would have preferred Beatrice detain the suspect until police arrived.
Although Rodriguez faces a felony charge, police decided not to arrest the suspect at the scene due to his advanced aged and lack of a criminal record.

Is this state sick or what. Dad should be on the front page of the paper getting a medal for this one. . . .

Also they will now fine you for not having your eight year old in a booster seat in the car, but we protect child molesters. It was only a few days back that they weakened the attempt to pass Jessica’s Law here in this pit so that the judges could be easy on sex offenders of kids.

And they wonder why people are leaving this state. . . .

Another Mass Moment

Our lovely governor has decided that we need to put out the welcome mat for immigration – legal or not. . . . Now they want to have town meetings all over the state to talk about how we can welcome these immigrants. Not just the legal ones unfortunately. I think I am with most people in saying that if you are here legally we welcome you and want to do all we can to help you BECOME AMERICAN, get work, learn English and all that good stuff. Welcome to our country and we hope you want to make it your country too. . . . If you are here illegally then go home and do it right. We don’t need you and don’t want you here if you are going to break our laws from day one.

From the Boston Globe Democrat. . ..
Richard Chacón, executive director of the Office for Refugees and Immigrants, said he expected that illegal immigration issues would come up at the meetings.

"There are going to be times when there's going to be very frank and probably some uncomfortable conversations that we'll have in different parts of the state," he said. "It's a necessity if we're going to come up with a meaningful plan for our refugees and immigrants and for our cities and towns."

Of the 907,000 immigrants in Massachusetts, about 175,000 are here illegally, according to a report by the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, a nonpartisan think-tank, along with the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University.

Please tell me why we have to have uncomfortable conversations on the illegal crimigrants? They are here illegally, their first act in our country was to break our laws. . . they need to be found, ID’d and deported, end of story. I guess it takes the mind of a liberal to not be able to understand that.

If we can tell how many illegal’s are here, and since our great governor has started searching them out to give them state health care then why can’t we just deport them. We need to not only deport them but heavily fine whoever was helping them with housing or jobs. If we can make it hurt enough, they won’t come here. This is a fact that has been proven by other states so why don’t we get it here? Oh Ya, this is MA and we don’t deal with reality here. . . . . don’t bother us with facts, we know what we FEEL.

If you really want to be kept up at night just think, Obama is no different than our great governor Patrick, just on a national scale. . . . . bend over folks, here it comes. . . .

Fairness Doctrine

Can someone tell me why they are pushing for this again? They want to hit Talk Radio with it but I don’t get it. How can you say only the right is getting air time with the left controlling NPR, and most TV and News Papers????

This sounds like an attack on the press and or free speech to me. I don’t see how an open market place is not enough control for these folks (read the DEMS). Give it up and get out of the speech control business. Let the market make the choice, if folks don’t like a radio show they can always change the station. . . IF this does pass, I want to see 12 hours of right wing stuff on NPR to match the 12 hours of left – if it is good for them than it should be good for us too. Then we can start looking at more balanced reporting on the TV and in the papers right?

Someone please give me a good reason why they should even be talking about more government control. This is ridicules and I hope folks pay attention to the continuing power grab by the Fed and vote a few of the “More Big Government” forks out of office in November. . . .

YOU are the first line of defense

Here is a rather scary example of why you need to be able to not only call 911 but be able to take care of yourself until help gets there.

This poor woman was tied up and threatened with death for 30 minutes before the cops got there due to Murphy's Law. 911 is great but it is even better to have a back up plan folks. . . . . .

Remember this story next time someone tells you that you don't need a gun or weapon or whatever to defend yourself because you can call the cops. . . . No system is perfect so don't bet your life on it. . ..

Congress

Bush may be bad but he is getting better ratings than the Dem controlled Congress. . .

The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category. (H/T - Rasmussen)

Think about that when you vote in November and think vote out an incumbent when you do vote. . .

Safe Storage Update

Update on the kid that got dad's gun from the Cape Cod Times:

When Sgt. Terence Murphy went to the boy's house to question him, the 12-year-old led him to a bedroom where the gun was stored. "It was unsecured in the top drawer of a dresser with a loaded clip beside it," Miller said.

The boy, whose name was not released because he is a juvenile, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a large-capacity firearm.

Meanwhile, Bolduc, 48, of Sandwich faces a possible charge of improper storage of a large-capacity firearm near a minor, which is a felony, Miller said.

Police have filed an application for the criminal complaint in Barnstable District Court, but as of yesterday afternoon the court had not processed the application or scheduled a date for a probable cause hearing, a court clerk said.

Penalties are greater if a child 18 or under gains access to the gun without trespassing.

If convicted, Bolduc could be fined $5,000 to $10,000 and be sentenced from 2½ to 10 years in prison, according to the law.

Not only does state law require locked cases, but state police policy requires firearms be "secured with a firearm lock in a safe and unloaded condition."

Kids and Safe Gun Storage

It is folks like this that give gun owners a bad name. And it is ever worse since he is a State Trooper here in MA and folks think they are experts with guns. . . . .

In a nutshell it is illegal to store a gun in MA without putting it in a safe or putting a trigger lock on it to insure that only “authorized” people can get access to the weapon.

This negligent gun owner just pulled out the magazine (thank God) and put it in a draw. His 12 year old son got the gun (did not put in the magazine), went out and showed it around. When a 5 year old girl did not believe it was real he pointed it at her head and pulled the trigger. Now depending on the reporter some say it was unloaded, some say it did have a bullet in the chamber but the magazine was out of the gun (but stored next to it in the draw). Either way it did not go off and the kid went home. The children called police who went to the kids home and he showed them the unlocked bureau where dad kept the gun.

FYI if there was a bullet in the gun it is only the fact that the gun had a magazine disconnect so it won’t fire without a mag in place that saved this little girl. Based on the TV interviews I saw he had the gun against her head, he was not going to miss. . . .

Both dad and son are in trouble but we will see how much since he is a cop and in MA those in power don’t have to follow the same rules sometimes. . . . We will see.

This really pisses me off because I know a few cops, and have met a number of them in my home town and they are all great guys. One bad apple like this reflects badly on all of them. I hope the press nails this guy for being irresponsible with a gun but does not bad mouth cops in general. I also admit this is a breaking story so we don’t know much about this troopers background but I find it hard to forgive such carelessness with a weapon no matter who you are. . . . I also think this shows off the danger of getting too comfortable with a weapon - then you get sloppy. Again, thank God no one got hurt.