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Friday, May 30, 2008

Social Chaos

I've heard is said, or read it somewhere . . . . Oh well, my memory never has been the best. Anyway, laws are only useful when the members of society refuse to behave in a civilized manner. When people no longer recognize the truism of right and wrong, and behave accordingly, then laws and in particular the punishment for violating the laws are the only thing that allows society to survive. I've also read . . . . somewhere . . . . that our form of government is not adequate if The People are not morally just.

But if anyone does want to use it (Christianity) as a cynical method of social control, they'll find it a lot more effective than metal detectors, police crackdowns or the strong, repressive state we'll soon be living under, if we don't learn how to be good on our own.

I'm not a Christian myself, but I'm convinced that the Bible should be required reading for many. If followed, and by everyone, the world would be a much quieter place.

A person properly schooled in right and wrong is safe with any weapon. A person with no idea of good and evil is unsafe with a knitting needle, or the cap from a ballpoint pen.

I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately a lot of my childrens generation and the next have parents (?) that didn't do their job. They raised, or didn't bother to raise, their kids as relativists. There's a lot of harmful people out there. Unfortunately some of this evil behavior is actually supported, at least by inactivity, by the court system in some instances. The state of Mass. now has a deserved reputation of accepting child molestation. These evil individuals seem to be getting nothing more than a slap on the wrist for harming children.

Bullshit like this doesn't help a bit. I'm convinced it makes things much worse.

Ten-year-old Bradley Geslak was suspended from school this week for bringing a Memorial Day souvenir to school. The Toy Town Elementary School fourth-grader had received two empty rifle shell casings from blanks used during the town celebration held at the GAR Park Monday morning. He brought one of the casings with him to school the next day.

I do believe this little wonder also happened in the state of Mass. Child molesters go free and children are punished for doing nothing wrong. That state is definately Ass backwards.

So until things change, I'll live with a gun close at hand. I will not tolerate evil being attempted to me or mine.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

About Time

SB184, the so-called Castle Doctrine/Firearms bill passed the House 73-23 and now the Senate 25-7. There's a high probability pro-gun, pro-liberty Governor Strickland will sign it into law.

"I am proud to support this important legislation that protects gun owners throughout the state of Ohio," Strickland stated. "I look forward to signing these common sense protections into law."

Strickland is evidence that not all Democrats are anti-liberty nut jobs.

Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine said, "This is an important law for all law-abiding gun owners. It fixes many problems that have plagued hunters and concealed carry license holders for years. Good people have been entrapped by bad laws."

"Law-abiding Ohioans finally have a simple and understandable way to transport firearms, and no longer have to fear getting trapped up in the legal system for having lawfully defended themselves in their home,"

In addition to Ohio's Castle Doctrine protections, . . .

- Clarification on how persons without a Concealed Handgun License (CHL) can legally transport firearms in an automobile
- Allows lawful concealed carry in your home without a Concealed Handgun License (CHL)
- Clarifies an unloaded firearm as one with no ammunition in the firearm or in magazines or speedloaders, regardless of where else ammunition is stored
- Allows lawful Concealed Carry in retail establishments with a class D6/D8 liquor license (package sales only, not bars/restaurants)
- Allows pick up/drop off by CHL holders in school safety zones
- Provides for mandatory legal fees for gun owners who require court orders to have firearms returned to them.
-Allows lawful Concealed Carry in state owned shelters, restrooms and parking garages.
- Decriminalizes Concealed Carry in privately owned parking garages.
- Prohibits landlords from prohibiting tenants from owning/carrying firearms
- Allows CHL holders to carry firearm in unlocked glove compartment or center console.
- Expunged/Sealed records are no longer considered when applying for a CHL.
- Written test is no longer required for competency renewal of CHL


Apparently the Ohio elected are accomplishing what was promised. Those who were replaced were anti-liberty, anti-gun socialists. Seems like the people have spoken, and the politicians, at least most, have listened and reaponded. It was clear as a bell, wise up or loose your job.

New Family Member

I've now added a third member to my group of soooo eeevil looking black rifles.

The first was a SKS modified for removable magazines, foreward mounted red dot sight and new telescoping stock with a pistol grip.

The second was a CETME, sporting a telescoping stock and 3-9 scope. Surprisingly it shoots minute of angle with Mil. Surp. ammo.

Now I have an example of Mr. Stoners design setup just the way I wanted it.
Heavy duty telescoping stock with overmolded rubber for a cheek rest.
Overmolded rubber pistol grip with compartment for spare batteries.
Match trigger set at 4 pounds.
Enlarged trigger guard.
Free float, overmolded hand guard.
Medium weight, free floated 16" barrel.
Flash hider that looks like a meat tenderizor with no bottom opening to reduce muzzle jump.
Removable and fold down sights.
Bushnell HoloSight.

I've already been experiencing gunsmoke withdrawal symptoms, because it's been a couple of months since I've been to the range. Having this little beauty may be more than I can stand if I don't shoot it very, very soon.








Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Repeal Women's Voting

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal — often viewed as the genesis of big government (and socialism in the US) — really just continued an earlier trend. What changed before Roosevelt came to power that explains the growth of government? The answer is women's suffrage.

Per capita state government spending after accounting for inflation had been flat or falling during the 10 years before women began voting. But state governments started expanding the first year after women voted and continued growing until within 11 years real per capita spending had more than doubled. The increase in government spending and revenue started immediately after women started voting.

Women's suffrage also explains much of the federal government's growth from the 1920s to the 1960s. In the 45 years after the adoption of suffrage, as women's voting rates gradually increased until finally reaching the same level as men's, the size of state and federal governments expanded as women became an increasingly important part of the electorate.

Young single women start out being much more liberal than their male counterparts and are about 50 percent more likely to vote Democratic. As previously noted, these women also support a higher, more progressive income tax as well as more educational and welfare spending.

One can conclude that women voting has ruined this country. Government grew and taxes increased along with socialism. So what about men that vote along the same line? Are they really men, or as has been said, girly men?

If you've ever lived with a woman with PMS or going through menopause then you'd realize they're not fit for the office of President either. Ever seen a T shirt that says "I have PMS and a handgun, any questions"?. Just replace the term handgun with nuclear weapons and you get my drift.

Changing Spots

For a while now Dennis Miller has been a weekly guest on The O'reilly Factor (FOX). He comes across as a concervative, and maybe a bit right leaning. Remember his TV show a few years back? I remember him blasting Charlton Heston, as the NRA president, for supporting gun ownership. That's usually a left wing position.

So what gives? Can a cat change his spots that much?

Man Cave

I saw part of a little blurb on some fluff TV show the other day showing a Man Drawer. One drawer that has things like screwdrivers and etc. I think they were refering to Europeans, but it could just as easily be in some city here in the states.

They said the guys here in the US have Man Caves that are in the basement or garage where we store all sorts of things and usually have small workshops. Mine is in the basement where I can hide from the Boss. I don't call it a cave. I call it the armory.

Mine doesn't hold a candle to this one.











Just click on the picture to enlarge.
Now I'm jealous.
I hope the thought of this makes the Brady Bunch vomit.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Gasoline - Econ 101

Saturday was my grandson’s first birthday party, attended by about 15 adult guests. As usual the talking eventually gravitated to complaining about the latest perceived issue. In this case the most complaining was about gasoline prices reaching near $4. Having just returned from Germany and Poland I couldn’t help but be amused. I saw fuel as high as 4.45 Euro per liter. That’s 4.45E x 1.65 = $7.43, then $7.34 x 3.8 = $27.89 per gallon. And we’re complaining.

As usual the non-capitalists of the group also thought the big oil companies are shafting us as evidenced by the huge profits being reported. Those just don’t understand business in the least. The profits are large because the sales dollars are large. The profit margin for oil companies is only about 8% to 10%. That’s so low that most industries would fire the management if that’s all they could do.

The high sales price is due to many factors that include high demand by China’s growing economy, the weak dollar and our own government refusing to allow new refineries and wells in the US. That’s economics 101 folks, the law of supply and demand.

Monday, May 26, 2008

"Self defense, stopping power, and caliber"

I don't remember mentioning on this BLOG, but I'm a member Of the United States Concealed Carry Association. If you carry or are just considering carrying a concealed weapon then I highly recommend the USCCA.

As a member I get a weekly news e-mail. This week it contained a link to this article on "Self defense, stopping power, and caliber". I wrote something similar back in the beaglexp.com days, though not nearly so well. It's well worth the read, so go forth and be educated.

__________________

Just for the record I load Sierrs 158Gr jacketed hollow cores at 1250F/S in my old 6" Ruger .357 Mag. This is intended for hunting, not self-defense. At 120 yards it cleanly took a white tailed deer broadside. At about 20 yards the bullet penetrated from base of the neck (left side) to just under the skin of the right butt. That's too much penetration at normal self-defense ranges, unless there were 3 bad guys all in a row.

I shoot either 240Gr or 300Gr Hornady XTP hollow points in my .454 Casull at 1800F/S and 1600F/S respectively. Again way too much for a self-defense gun, unless it's a bear, and way too big to carry concealed.

For my carry guns:
45ACP - 185Gr Hornady XTP Hollow Point at 1100F/S (hand loads), thinking about switching to 200 Grains at slightly less velocity.
.380ACP - Winchester white box 95Gr flat point: atlernating with Winchester Ranger 95Gr SXT hollow points.
.32ACP - Federal 65Gr Hydra-Shok hollow point. Probably should alternate like I do the .380.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

A Different Mind-Set

Before embarking on our trip to Germany we purchased train passes for 2 days since our plans included some travel by train. We were on 4 different trains and not once did anybody ask for tickets. The perception is that train travel is free to all, except that at one train station I saw others purchasing rides. It was the same way with the busses we rode.

I mentioned this to our Brit host at the guest house in the village of Seebach. He explained that it’s no surprise because the German society is an ordered society and no one would think about not paying or checking that others pay. Upon reflection I noticed that our parent company in Germany does business in the same strictly ordered manner. Everything is done precisely to the rules without fail. If I ask for information, I can’t get it unless that part of the project is complete. There’s no way they’ll send any advance information because it might change later. They can’t stand the idea of anyone knowing a mistake was made. It’s sort of high personal ego overshadowed by high organizational ego. It’s a group mindset with little personal initiative.

With the exception of union members, the US tends to be the opposite. The whole (original) philosophy of this country is individualism. The individual is ultimately responsible for himself. The individual drives the group, in a way.

I wonder if this basic difference is part of what drives our own society struggles here in the US. The Democrats tend to be socialists similar to the Europeans, and the Republicans tend to be individualists like the founders of this country. It’s an entirely different mind-set as to how society should be.

Personally I favor individualism, capitalism and a limited federalist government over all others. This combination has helped the US explode into a world economic, political and military leader. And the individual can become a Bill Gates or a homeless street bum depending on his level of ambition.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Airport Security

Back in the early 90s I went to Austria on a business trip. At the time I was impressed with the striking difference in airport security there to here in the US. In the Frankfurt Germany airport there were roaming security personnel in groups of 2, usually with a dog. At least 1 of the 2 carried a submachine gun. And then in Graz Austria we were guarded by men carrying submachine guns until cleared by customs. That was significantly more security than here at the time.

On this recent trip to Germany and Poland I was once again impressed by the difference in airport security. Only this time the security appeared to be a bit lax compared to the past. I didn’t see any armed roaming security. We went through the standard metal detectors and someone looked at our passports, but no questions were asked and there was absolutely no customs inspection. The only arms I saw were in Poland where each metal detector crew had 1 individual with a pistol.

I suppose we here in the US are the targets now, making most of Europe feel a whole lot safer.

The security here probably makes the uninformed feel safer and may actually be somewhat effective in stopping the less than smart terrorist, but for the most part it's just an expensive feel-good operation.

Goody - Goody

Last night I learned that my new custom assembled AR15 is ready. I ordered it about a month before BAG Day (buy a gun day, April 15). Yep it has taken a while, but I can't complain much because the price is basically at parts costs. I'll post pictures shortly after I get my dirty little hands on the new baby. Hope the Brady Bunch are all having fits.

Now I need to get cleaned up and go to my grandson'e very first birthday party. Yep, there is a short list of things more important than guns. And an even shorter list of things more important than family.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Guns or Gasoline

Heh, and all buyers chose a gun.
As Kim said, this makes me proud to be an American.

Seebach, Germany

Seebach is a little village in the Black Forest. The name is pronounced "Zabock".

We were there there a couple days without a car so we strolled around seeing the sights and simply 'chilled out'. I was told the population is about 1300, and about 300 distilleries, a couple are licensed to sell. They produce snapps, or what I prefer to call 'rocket fuel'.







OOPS

In all the activity leading up to our trip to Germany and Poland, I totally forgot about renewing my Ohio carry license. Yesterday at work I printed off the required forms to apply for renewal. On the way to the printer I stopped to converse with one of my people. While there a clerical worker saw the forms on the printer and loudly asked whose they were. I claimed ownership and was asked if I really wanted to carry a gun, to which I replied that I’ve been licensed to carry for years. She handed me the papers with a dirty look and stomped away. There sure aren’t many fence sitters on the issue.

So today I again jumped through the hoops and applied for the license renewal. I was informed that I probably won’t receive the new license until about July 4. When I informed her that my license expires May25 it was suggested that I not carry during that time period, but if I do be sure to have the renewal paperwork with me. It may not be an issue because my Florida license is good until June 18 and I sent in the renewal forms at least a month ago.

I consider myself to be a lawful citizen, but if my licenses become invalid for a short time period, I’ll most likely carry anyway. It’s a right protected by the state and federal constitution.

BTW, I sure felt naked traveling without a weapon. They froun on such things in Germany and Poland.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Concentration Camp Near Krakow Poland

The part I'll never forget for the rest of my life was the guided tour through the first(?) Nazi concentration camp in Poland. It’s where the evil men perfected their methods of abuse and mass murder. When the Nazis invaded Poland, with help from Russia on the west, they incarcerated all clerics, politicians, academics and scientists in an old Polish army military base. Just wearing glasses to see was cause to be imprisoned because they made you look like an academic. Later they added Jews to the mix. Prisoners were stripped of all their belongings, including their hair that was used to weave fabric for the German military. That’s also where gas chambers were developed.

As thousands of Jews were rounded up, two more camps were built nearby. The second camp was huge. I’d guess it was at least 1 square mile, with living conditions that we’d consider cruel to animals. There were 3 large gas chambers and many furnaces for disposing of bodies. We were told that 3,000 people lost their lives each and every day for 5 years.

The Boss wanted to go there, but I didn’t, and I’ll never, ever go back to that place of such evil. I was fluctuating between extreme sadness and barely controllable anger throughout the tour. The only explanation for such cruelty is evil, pure and simple.

Anybody that doesn’t believe in evil people should visit that place. It becomes obvious that not only are acts evil, but people are evil. The only way to stop evil people is to destroy them. They can’t be rehabilitated.

Never, ever give up your right to self-defense. Never, ever give up your arms. Another Nazi regime is just a breath away.



Most all of the wooden barns were destroyed, but most of the brick buildingd remain. The 3 gas chambers were hidden way back in the trees.



























Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Freiburg, Germany

The old part of town



















View from the Hotel









Our Trip To Germany-Poland

The Boss and I got home from our little trip to Germany and Poland yesterday, and are still fighting the effects of air travel and the 6 hour time difference. Thankfully the trip improved with time, as we were delayed leaving by 5 hours due to mechanical problems on the plane. We sat in the Cincinnati airport 5 hours before starting the 9 hour flight to Frankfurt Germany.

We were 2 days in Donaushidgen where I spent both days in business meetings. Then drove to Freiburg for 1 day and 2 nights. We left the rental car in Freiburg and traveled by rail to a little village in the edge of the Black Forest where we ‘chilled’ for a couple of days. Then again by rail to pick up another rental car and see a rather impressive castle and back to the village. The next day we drove back to Frankfurt and caught a plane to Warsaw, and then switched planes to Krakow Poland. We stayed in an apartment in Krakow near the ‘old Jewish quarter’. We were there 3 days and 4 nights. Each day we were on a tour of the old city section, Auschwitz (concentration/death camps), then the salt mines respectively. It was then 2 planes back to Frankfurt, spend the night, and home again.

We were on 6 planes in 12 days. I hate airplanes.

A few general thoughts about the trip.

Germany was a lot like the US in a lot of ways. Initially it was hard to tell the difference except for all the German cars and not being able to read signs or converse with a lot of people. The highway (autobahn) was better maintained, cleaner and lacking all the big advertisements that we see here. Even the older parts of the cities were well maintained and the people friendly and helpful when we got lost or asked for directions, which was frequently.

Poland on the other hand was dirty and not well maintained, even the newer sections of the city (Krakow). I always felt like I was walking through a ghetto, but the interiors of shops and restaurants were spotless and well maintained. I was impressed by the contrast.

If you’re sensitive to the heat, don’t go there during the heat of the summer. We stayed in 3 hotels, 1 guest house and 1 apartment, none had air-conditioning.

Oh, and the Volkswagen Passat we rented had no problem at all cruising at 180 Km/Hr (about 115 MPH) on the Autobahn.

Jet Lag - - Bummer

As I type this it's about 3:30 AM local time, but my European time adjusted body thinks it's 9:30 and time to get up and about. Additionally, being on 6 airplanes and 2 European countries in less than 2 weeks has played hell with my sinuses, so I was drowning while in bed.

Just took some allergy meds that may help. Back to bed.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Bye Bye

Just finished throwing water on all the issues that always come up just before being out of the office. Everyone needs notice that I'm not going to be here for a while, which is an open invitation to slam me with last minute stuff from others. And since I'm now a supervisor I also have to touch bases with my people to make sure they'll be heading in the right direction in my absense. They're good people so I expect direction from me won't be needed as often in the near future.

I'll be calling in daily until Friday evening. After that I'll be on vacation and out of touch as far as work is concerned. I know the ambitious would call in even while on vacation, but not me. I've long outgrown that nonsense.

In a few minutes I'm heading home for lunch and the last bit of packing. Then we're off to the airport. We have a flight out of Cincinnati direct to Frankfurt Germany. That's about 9 hours crammed in a small and uncomfortable seat. Sure hope we can sleep on the way because we'll arrive in Germany tomorrow morning their time. Then it's a 3 hour drive to the hotel for the 2 days of meetings.

Have I ever mentioned that I hate being in an airplane? I also hate being treated like just another cow in the security line. And speeking of lines, I hate standing in them also. Basically, business travel, to me, is like being punished. I don't mind being there, I just don't like getting there and back.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Going Across The Pond

This will probably be my last post for a couple of weeks.

I have to go to Germany on business for 2 days of technical meetings. With my new job this'll happen once or twice a year. The Boss decided that she wants to go too. A dozen years ago, my only other trip to Europe, the Boss didn't get to go because she didn't have a passport at the time.

We'll be spending 5 extra days in Germany, then flying to Poland. The Boss wants to spend 3 days in Krakow so we can visit a Nazi death camp, and nearby salt mines. That's not my idea of a vacation, but it's one of her goals in life, so what the heck. Yeah I've spoiled her.

I know that 2 of the places we'll be staying charge for internet connection of 8-9Euros. That's about $14 an hour. If we're at a place that's not so expensive I might stop in for a quick hello, but don't count on it.

Money is Worthless

Last Saturday was the Bosses birthday. I'd tell you how old she is but I made a mistake early in our marriage. I taught her to shoot a .357Mag. There's nothing that will keep a man in line better than a woman that can hit the head of a bowling pin at 25 yards with full house .357 fodder.

I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and got the usual 'nothing' answer. Most years that's not the truth, but not this year. We went on out first, and probably last cruise, last winter where I spoiled her big time. One of the stops was the island of St. Thomas. Precious stones there cost way less than here in the states. Between the diamonds and tansenite, I spend what I consider to be a fortune on her. I could've bought 8 real nice AR15s for that much money.

It felt good to be able to spend the money and buy nice things for a wonderful woman. She has to be an angel to put up with me for 37 years.

And to add frosting to the cake, we're getting ready for a trip to Europe.

As my daddy once said "money is worthless until you spend it".

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Need More

AN ESTIMATED 875m small arms are in circulation worldwide: one for every seven people on the planet. Nearly three-quarters of these are owned by civilians. . . . . Although America accounts for 40% of firearms in civilian ownership, people put them to more deadly use elsewhere.

The anti-liberty, anti-gun people in this country always claim that their position is based on rampant gun crime. Huh! Their position is simply not sustained by anything resembling fact.

If this study is correct, there are 270,000,000 fireamrs owned by civilians in the U.S.. That's 9 guns for every 10 people. Since I'm not the only citizen that owns several guns, there's a lot more than 10% of the population that's gunless. I find that unacceptable. EVERYONE should have at least a .22. In my idealized world there would be more guns than people. Makes sense to me.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Control The Masses

In the UK publicly funded healthcare has been around long enough that if it actually worked, it should work there, but it doesn't. The same is true for Canada, with the same results. A business associate in Germany said that changing to government healthcare was the wost.

In England it's so bad that “One thing we have noticed recently is people trying to leave the country.”

As Kim said; You know your country is broken when even your illegal immigrants say you suck. At least we're still in good enough shape that they still sneek in.

And it's really interesting that Democrats continue to push for government healthcare. Yeah. Right. As if government can do much of anything efficiently.

The same old leftist thinking. Just because it didn't work, doesn't mean that it won't if we do it harder. Maybe they know it won't work, but want the people more beholden to government. There's an awful lot of evidence supporting the notion that the Democratic party is no longer "for the working man" as my father-in-law insists. The evidence is pointing toward keeping "the working man" and poor in their control.

. . . . the core assumption of the welfare state itself, that individuals are not responsible for themselves or their families and that the state should provide for them instead, is what perpetuates poverty

Like a snow ball rolling down hill, the more they're given, the more they demand, creating more to demand. The perceived widenning gap between the haves and the have nots is in fact created by welfare. The handouts create expanded population of those receiving free goods and services paid for by those that support themselves and the rest of society. If left unchecked, society in general will eventually fail because the productive will become small in comparison to the non-productive.

How About Stones and Clubs

Looks like anything resembling a weapon has become illegal in England. Firearms have been heavily regulated for quite some time now, with handguns forbidden. Their olympic pistol shooting team has to practice in another country. All their effort to increase the safety of the subjects has resulted in an increase of violent crime.

The typical anti-gun mind is alive and well in that island country. If it didn't work, it's not because the theory is flawed, it's because it wasn't done hard enough. Looks like long knives are also banned. At least 3 cops should be glad one brave subject has ignored their silly and stupid law.

As a country they just keep digging the hole deeper and deeper. At this rate they'll send themselves back into the time where stones and clubs ruled.

To Carry in National Parks

The Bush administration on Wednesday announced its intent to shoot down federal rules that prohibit individuals from carrying loaded firearms in U.S. national parks and wildlife refuges. The proposal would permit individuals to carry loaded and concealed weapons if permitted by state laws in the state where the park or refuge is located, a change many current and retired park rangers contend is unnecessary and potentially dangerous.

Actually it's more dangerous to go unarmed.

It's about time Bush actually did something that was pro-gun. From a personal standpoint it doesn't matter that the regulations will change. I ignored those unconstitutional regulations anyway.

HT to Alphecca.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

A New Micro

Back when The Beagle Express was still on the air I mentioned the Kahr family of concealed carry guns. I've never shot one but I've fondled a few, and for the small handed, they fit better than any other polymer framed striker pistol I've handled. They're single stack and each cartridge chambered has it's very own frame. What that means to the concealed carry person is that regardless of cartridge chosen, you'll get the slimmest and most concealable.

Looks like Kahr has now joined Ruger as the latest entry in the tiny micro sized pistol market. I've personally never shot any of those micro sized weapons, but I suppose they have their place. From my perspective I'd have to try one before considering buying one. They look difficult to control, so I'd guess they are "spitting distance' guns.

For now anyway, I'll stick with my Walther PPK and Llama MicroMax. Their chamberings are a little weak for any great distance but I can control them well enough to hit 6" targets a 25 yards without difficulty.

HT to Uncle