Pretty Cool

I let the dogs out back and saw a bald eagle take off from my pond into my north treeline.
I hope he builds a nest in my trees. That would be neat, and maybe it would qualify me for some sweet government cash for watching its back or something!!

I wonder what they taste like...?
(Just kidding, lighten up!)

Happy 4th of July

Some brief thoughts for you on this day:

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it
is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington

When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it
spreads. - Ron Paul

"I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too
many parasites living on the labor of the industrious." -- Thomas
Jefferson

“But whether the resistance against government tyrants is non-violent or
physically violent, the effort to overthrow state oppression qualifies as true patriotism.” - Ron Paul

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car
keys to teenage boys."
P.J. O'Rourke

Keep 'em clean, boys. And keep your powder dry.

Oh yeah, and a Happy Secession Day to you!

GM Plant Closings

If anyone is interested, here is the official list -

Plant
Status / Timing(date listed or sooner depending on market demand)

Assembly:

Orion, Mich.
Standby Capacity - September 2009

Pontiac, Mich.
Close - October 2009

Spring Hill, Tenn.
Standby Capacity - November 2009

Wilmington, Del.
Close - July 2009

Stamping:

Grand Rapids, Mich.
Close - June 2009 (previously announced)

Indianapolis, Ind.
Close - December 2011

Mansfield, Ohio
Close - June 2010

Pontiac, Mich.
Standby Capacity - December 2010

Powertrain:

Livonia Engine, Mich.
Close - June 2010

Flint North Components, Mich.
Close - December 2010

Willow Run Site, Mich.
Close - December 2010

Parma Components, Ohio
Close - December 2010

Fredericksburg Components, Virg.
Close - December 2010

Massena Castings, N.Y.
Closed - May 1, 2009 (previously announced)

Service & Parts Operations (SPO) Warehousing & Parts Distribution Centers:

Boston, Mass.
Close – December 31, 2009

Jacksonville, Fla.
Close – December 31, 2009

Columbus, Ohio
Close – December 31, 2009

A 3 Percenter Tells It Like It Is

I would have thrown in a comment about Randy Weaver, but what the hey.

From Sipsey Street Irregulars:

No More Free Wacos: An Explication of the Obvious Addressed to Eric Holder, Attorney General of the United States.

Explication - noun; the act of making clear or removing obscurity from the meaning of a word, symbol or expression. -- Webster's Dictionary.


5 May 2009

Dear Eric,

I believe I'm entitled to use your first name, since you have expressed an interest in circumscribing my liberty and seizing my personal property, to wit, three heretofore legal semi-automatic rifles of military utility (mistakenly dubbed "assault rifles"). Anyone who wants to do something so personal and intimate as to commit premeditated theft upon you need not be given any honorifics, don't you agree? I mean, if a street thug announces that he wishes to rob you, there is no need to address him as "Sir" this or "Mister" that. Why should rapacious government thieves who announce their intentions so boldly be treated any differently? If you are offended by the fact that you are unused to being addressed in this manner, I can only say that you are not as offended as I am at the prospect of your administration trying to steal my property and liberty.

But, that is not why I write you today. No, I received what I believe to be a credible report this afternoon about someone whom the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives views as a real thorn in their side. The substance of the report has it that you, or someone in your office, has, in reference to this friend of mine, muttered something very much like the following:

"What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric! . . . Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?"

That, of course, was Henry the Second speaking of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, in the year of our Lord 1170.

Shortly thereafter, four of Henry's knights, Reginald Fitzurse, Hugh de Moreville, William de Tracy, and Richard le Breton entered Canterbury Cathedral, and hacked Becket to death with swords, scattering his brains on the floor. "Let us go," said one, "this fellow will not be getting up again."

That political murder had great consequences for Henry, and he regretted it the rest of his long reign.

But enough of Henry. Let's talk about the alleged threat. I am sure that this is a base canard, something attributed to you by someone who just wishes to make trouble. However, as it happens, this is not the first time, or even the second, that I have heard such threats attributed to your department since the election.

Yet, surely, such an educated man as yourself would not make King Henry's mistake. However, it seems likely that it did come out of your department, so let us say that in some perverted attempt to convey a threat to "this troublesome priest" one of your subordinates actually uttered it. Let us say, for purposes of hypothetical argument, that it is in some sense, true.

I know how agencies can spin out of control if not properly guided by upper management. So do you. I'm sure that you saw the television images out of Texas on 28 February and 19 April 1993. I think you would agree with me that neither of those days likely represented the official policy of the Clinton administration. Yet, they happened.

Subsequent to that, citizens formed self-defense militias, millions more of your hated "assault weapons" were imported and sold before the ban and we spent the next seven years staring uneasily at one another, waiting for the next government-issue bloody shoe to drop. Oh, yes, and your party lost control of the Congress, with even President Clinton blaming it on the passage of the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban. The Law of Unintended Consequences sure sucks, doesn't it?

But, the other shoe didn't drop.

Yet, there's something you should understand about that whole process. As an amateur historian and keen observer of current affairs I can see it without difficulty.

You only get one free Waco.

If the statistics on the sales of firearms and ammunition tell you anything, you ought to understand that the same dynamic is at work now and yet from your point of view you haven't DONE anything to deserve it. Oh, you've muttered occasional threats to reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban, but no one believes politicians when they speak anyway.

So why, you may ask yourself, is this happening?

Like I said, Eric, you only get one free Waco. It was your original sin. The botched raid, the massacre, the cover-ups, we've been through them already. You may remember that no one was held to account for that -- not very reassuring to the citizenry. And if, as is apparent, someone in the Department of Justice hasn't learned the lessons of the first Waco, we, the millions of "bitter clingers" out here in fly-over country, have. We have no reason to be trusting of your motives. For we, and you, have been here before.

So, let me explicate the obvious: There are no do-overs, not when it comes to your employees killing American citizens for bad reasons. Look around, count the guns, estimate the billions of rounds of small arms ammunition in private hands, and consider that the latest Janet has already declared most of the rest of us, including veterans, "domestic terrorists" anyway. Do you think we have not noticed? Do you think we do not remember the misdeeds of the last administration you were a part of?

In addition, recent government misconduct -- bureaucratic, legal and judicial -- in the Wayne Fincher and David Olofson cases (the same kind of chicanery that rightly caused you to overturn the conviction of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens) has convinced many of us that there is no percentage in betting on a fair trial if the ATF sets their sights on us and we are not part of the Mandarin class.

If we are no longer under the rule of constitutional law but are merely subject to irreversible bureaucratic diktat and we do not fancy being railroaded in a patently unfair federal trial where expert witnesses are denied access to evidence, then our options when approached by ATF agents are rather limited. It is plain, in the absence of the right of a fair trial, that a target of ATF investigation has little to lose by resorting to the right of an unfair gunfight. This may be an unintended consequence of those cases. It is nonetheless real.

Wake up and smell what your administration is shoveling from downwind, where we are forced to stand. And please understand the predicament you've put yourselves in by your present and former bad behavior.

There will be no more free Wacos.

Please, for all our sakes, counsel your employees, who apparently seek to curry your favor by misquoting you, that replicating 1993 is neither good policy nor is it your intention. We don't need any more itchy trigger fingers in this country.

And Eric, not to put too fine a point on it, but you and I both can make an educated guess about what mischief will likely ensue if ANY high-profile Second Amendment activist "has an accident". Best to tell your lads and lasses to stick to those nice safe paper cases (you know, the ones with the 4473s completed with a "Y", rather than "yes") and confine their wet-work fantasies to their off-duty reading. There's still lots of vicious drug gangs, murderous career criminals and real terrorists out there to keep them busy without picking a fight with honest American gunowners who merely want to be left alone.

Thank you for your kind attention in this matter. I wish you a nice, full and safe term of office. Really.

Mike Vanderboegh
PO Box 926
Pinson, AL 35126
GeorgeMason1776@aol.com
sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com

(A distribution note to Three Percenters: Cast this one far and wide, folks. I have been told we need to make sure that the adults in the permanent bureaucracy exercise some control over their temporary charges, no matter how short-sighted, immature and petulant the Obamakiddies seem to be. The children are on the playground with loaded firearms, playing with societal forces they scarcely understand. Of course, this is putting the very nicest face possible on such potentially deadly behavior. Do I think it will work? Unlikely, but we have to try anyway.)

Email this to your friends (and enemies).
Your government is more worried about the type of people that read this blog than MS13 and the Crips. What does that say to you?

ePostal Results

Update: Had to modify BillH's score in the Class III Division due to my fat fingers. He emailed me and said his score was too good on the Class III, but never bitched about the fact I doinked him 10 points on his Class I entry. That's a good man, there.

First, my apologies. I had no idea HOW FREAKING SMALL THOSE -1 CIRCLES WERE!!
Honestly, they didn't look that small until I tried to shoot them!

Crikey.

Secondly, my apologies for the untimeliness of the final results, but there were several reasons.
1. I was out of town for training. (Which I never advertise until I am back.)

2. I started working on the scores in my hotel, when my email started doing weird things so I decided to not mess with it until I got home on my normal PC's (I rarely use my laptop). Messages like "You don't appear to have an Inbox, would you like to create one?" strike fear in the hearts of anyone with a minuscule amount of computer experience.

3. There were some issues with how people scored the targets. Again, this is my fault for having a complicated scoring structure. Many apologies, once again.

4. There were some late entries. But that's cool; I'm easy.

5. HTML tables suck when you don't hardly ever use them. Or maybe I just suck at tables.
Regardless, something sucked.

Anyhoo, here are the scores for the April contest.

(Remember, all scores are X * -1,000,000,000,000, and the LOWEST score wins.)

Note: Several scores were changed. Some to better scores, some for the worse. Remember, the original scoring entails a start of 12 Trillion, with the 1's subtracted, and all other numbers added. If your score is different, first try adding 12 to each target, and go from there.

If you have any questions, email them to me (cugblog AT msn DOT com), or leave them in the comments.

CLASS ONE: Rimfire, Open/Iron Sights
Shooter	Firearm	Distance	Class	1 Hand	2 Hand	Total
Xav92p	Browning, Buckmark, semi-auto, 22LR, 5" barrel	25'	1	50	59	109
TrueBlueSam	Ruger Single Six 22LR	25'	1	68	49	117
BillH	Hi-Standard GB 22LR	25'	1	63	67	130
Danno	Ruger 22/45 22LR	25'	1	68	72	140
CLASS TWO: Rimfire, with Optics
Shooter	Firearm	Distance	Class	1 Hand	2 Hand	Total
Mr. Completely	High Standard C-More Sight Volquartsen 12"	25'	2	50	15	65
jimmyb	Ruger MKII Eotech site Volquartsen grips/trigger	25'	2	28	37	65
CLASS THREE: Centerfire, Open/Iron Sights
Shooter	Firearm	Distance	Class	1 Hand	2 Hand	Total
BillH	Smith and Wesson Model 19 38SP	25'	3	48	62	65
Azreel	FN 5.7	25'	3	57	58	115
Azreel	Para-Ordnance P14-45 45ACP	25'	3	61	63	124
Ryadmere	Para-Ordnance P14-45 45ACP	25'	3	63	79	142

CLASS FOUR: Centerfire, with Optics
Shooter	Firearm	Distance	Class	1 Hand	2 Hand	Total
Azreel	Ruger Redhawk .44 Mag	25'	4	60	67	127

CLASS FIVE: Other OMG!!!
Shooter	Firearm	Distance	Class	1 Hand?	2 Hand?	Total
Billll	The Billll Pedal Gun!	30'	4	68	67	135

Notes of interest:
1. Billll's Pedal Air Gun wins the overall competition, not because of his score, but because of his combination of moxie, engineering skill and most creative use of spare time and parts, which were topped off with a wee bit of psychosis!
Dig it:
The projectile
















The gun:





















The firing mechanism:





















The Target!!:




















Billll enlightens us:

OK I'm late. Last month didn't work out well for me including bad
weather, and the loss of about 1/2" off the end of my usual trigger
finger, so I decided I needed some humor.

This entry is Class 5, "other". Very much other.

The gun is a pedal-powered air gun made from an exercise bicycle and an
air compressor head, with a 1" barrel about 4 ft long.

The projectiles are made from spent 12ga shotgun shells with a 1/4"
screw placed through the primer hole, and ground to a point. The open
end of the shell was flared slightly to aid stability. Who knows, it may
have worked.

The course was fired at 10 yards, and 20 PSI. This sounds like awfully
low pressure, but if you get much higher, the projectiles will go
completely through the backstop, leaving a very neat 1" hole in wood up
to 1/2" chipboard.

In my back yard, I call this a kids toy. In your back yard, I hope your
kids are more than 1/4 mile away. :-)

Billll

Very cool. And Billll, remind me never to piss you off...

2. Mr. Completely had a near-perfect score on his 2 handed target (7 out of 8 -1's), with the exception of one flier (or an "OH CRAP!" for you non-shooters). This enabled me to tie his score in number 2 class.
Heh. I'll take it. However, Mr. C does win the tie-breaker, as he had the most 1's on a single target. Nicely done, Mr. C.

3. Azreel informs us of how it is to shoot this contest with a "hog-leg" (the Ruger 44 Mag):

Fully loaded it weighs in at 81oz. After the first 3-4 shots it becomes frustratingly difficult to hold that sucker without shaking like an aspen leaf in a stiff breeze. While the shots on the two handed target were much better grouped (I wasted all 8 shots trying to get that one dang -1) I still managed to hit all around it but never in it. I shall name this target "Frustration".

I feel your pain, Azreel. They're still cool guns, though!

4. Azreel's friend Ryadmere is a first time ePostal shooter, and Azreel noted:

Ryadmere is a buddy of mine, an active duty Marine who is new to the
postal match concept. He insists this whole "target pistol" thing is
horribly unfair and would like to remark that he's much better with man
sized targets that shoot back.

Remember, Ryadamere - IT'S JUST AN INTERNET CONTEST!!
And honestly, they're not all this bad; just when psycho auto workers host them.

5. Xav92p relates:

Hello, i present a french contribution to the debt reduction, oups!!!!

It's my second E postal match participation, the first time last month I practice throughout the years the centerfire pistol and revolver in steel challenge and fun fir

I may have lost something in translation (fir?), but am tickled that we have international players on the shoot!!

6. BillH was a little late, but his wife was sick and they could use your prayers.

Ok, the next ePostal Pistol Match is at another Frenchman's site, right here:

May ePostal Match: Tribute to Alain

You know the drill. See you at the range.

And thanks to all of you who participated.

Slackers and Shooters - ePostal Contest Plus Berating

Guns bought this year could outfit 2 armies
Report cites surge that coincided with last year's election

According to this report (above), in the first 3 months of this year Americans have legally purchased enough firearms to completely outfit the armies China and India.
Additionally we have purchased over 1.5 BILLION rounds of ammunition (not counting reloading components - HEH!).

So I have just one question:

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU SLACKERS?!?!?!?

Come on ya freakin' sissies!!
I mean, that's it?

Just 2 armies?

Not even 2 billion rounds of brass happiness and freedom nuggets?

We should have at least 10 billion rounds and enough guns for a 7 nation army, not just a 2 nation army!!



Now, to you people who are actually pulling your weight, I have this:

Don't forget this is the last weekend to shoot the ePostal contest, hosted by yours truly. So click the link below and git to it!

ePostal Pistol Contest: Deficit Shooting

There have been a few entries so far, but not near enough.
Don't make me call you slackers, too.

So go out, buy some hardware, and get shooting (safely, of course)!!
Your country may depend on it!

Who Knows...?

OMG WTF?!?!? SWINE FLU!!!! (again).

Careful folks, it's killed over 80 people who have some of the crappiest medical care available in the world!!!
Oh noes!!

However, let's balance this a little with U.S. flu/pneumonia deaths in 2006 - 56,247!!!
So, no need to panic, right? Oh, wait...

US declares public health emergency for swineflu

WASHINGTON – The U.S. declared a public healthemergency Sunday to deal with the emerging new swine flu, much like thegovernment does to prepare for approaching hurricanes.Officials reported 20 U.S. cases of swine flu in five states so
far...

20 vs 56,000? Frgive my lack of panic, but I am still more fearful of government than I am the flu. BW, how much money and liberty will this "catastrophe" cost me?

But wait!! It could get worse!!

Swine Flu Could Become More Dangerous

Ya think? Almost anything could get worse. Hell, look at Washington DC!!

The swine flu virus that has killed more than 80 people in Mexico may mutateinto
a "more dangerous" strain, the World Health Organisation has warned.

Quick, we need US taxpayer money!! STAT!!! SCNELL!!!!

Keep in mind the heterosexual AIDS epidemic.
Or global cooling...

And by the way, I thought it was bird flu (after AIDS and killer bees) that were going to kill us all.On the other hand...I'm sure this is just a coincidence from last week:

Missing Killer Flu Virus Sample Count Not Clear: CDC
THURSDAY, April 21(HealthDay News) -- As many as a couple of dozen test
kits containing a deadlyflu virus still have not been rounded up and destroyed
in the United States,government health officials said Thursday.

and

Deadly Pathogens MayHave Gone Missing At Fort Detrick, Maryland

2009-04-22 19:57:53

Fort Detrick's infectious disease laboratory in Frederick, Maryland, isunder
investigation by the Army's Criminal Investigation Command for thepossible
disappearance of some of its stock of deadly pathogens, officials forthe Army
and the lab said today.

Nothing to see here folks; move along...
I freakin' knew I should never have read King's The Stand.
Captain Trips, anyone?

Just kidding.

And don't worry, our glorious leadership is on it and will prevail:

No Criminal Misconduct Found In Case Of Missing Army Vials

Errr... or not.

But hey, it's not like there has ever been a case where something dangerous has gotten out of a high-tech lab in real life. Oops.

So what's the bottom line?
Laugh at the overreactive press and the doom sayers?
Go into complete panic mode?

Why the hell are you asking me?

Interesting times, friends. Interesting times...

Note: None of this precludes my advice for buying ammo or food or weapons. Even if you don't need them, they're fun and utile!!!

Be Jealous

Be very jealous...

The wife just called (of her own volition, mind you)to tell me what was on the shelves (ammo-wise)at the big stores in town, and to ask me what she wanted me to pick up.
She is officially Da Bomb.

Meijer had a few bulk-packs of Winchester 22 (a rarity, anymore).

Sweet.

And as far as WallyWorld, no go.

Very Cool

I need to get some rocket engines...
Update: Non-working link replaced.

He Is Risen

Not only does Jesus kick butt, he has a dark sense of humor, too.

John 2:13-22
¹³And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

¹⁴And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

¹⁵And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;

¹⁶And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

¹⁷And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

¹⁸Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

¹⁹Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

²⁰Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

²¹But he spake of the temple of his body.

²²When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

Rejoice today.

And remember the rules...

^{John 13:34} "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

One of My Favorite Liberals...

is Camille Paglia.

She has a sharp wit (and mind in general), is an excellent writer, and calls them like she sees them, even when is is detrimental to her side.

She also comes up with gems like this:

Liberalism, like second-wave feminism, seems to have become a new religion for those who profess contempt for religion. It has been reduced to an elitist set of rhetorical formulas, which posit the working class as passive, mindless victims in desperate need of salvation by the state. Individual rights and free expression, which used to be liberal values, are being gradually subsumed to worship of government power.

That is what one calls "hitting the nail on the head", I do believe.
Go give her a read here: Bow-ow-ow: Obama's painful missteps

(And yes, that title she is using refers to Barry B. Hussein bowing to a Saudi King.)

Proof...

that the world is insane:

1. I went to the Lima (Ohio) gun show and there was a gentleman there that had a box of 380 ammo FOR $47.00!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS WORLD COMING TO???!!!???

2. Cheaper Than Dirt has crappy, steel-cased, Berdan-primed 9mm ammo on sale for $29.79 a box!!! Allow me to reiterate - WHAT THE HELL IS THIS WORLD COMING TO???!!!???

Advice from the front - buy metals, (incredibly expensive) ammo, weapons, and non-perishable foods.

Just kidding. All is well.