Saturday, July 31, 2010

Being Led By Imbeciles

From an email I got:

"This folks, is why this country is in deep, deep S#%T!

Poster-child for what is wrong in Washington , DC
You will simply not believe this. Our 8th District US Congressional representative, the Hon. Gabrielle Giffords, in a meeting of the House Armed Services Committee, asked General David Petraeus the following question:
"General Petraeus, what are you doing to reduce carbon emissions in the war on terror?"
Wow. I had to read, and re-read this several times to believe it. Folks, there are American sons and daughters dying every week on the foreign battlefields of southwest Asia . The nation is completely bankrupt and ... quite literally, borrowing 43 cents for every dollar in federal spending. We have the largest environmental disaster in the nation's history in the Gulf of Mexico , and we have Mexican drug armies invading our nation. And yet ....A member of Congress from Arizona 's 8th congressional district took the time to ask our battlefield commander what he is doing to curb carbon emissions in the war. Gabrielle Giffords is the poster-child for what is wrong with the US Congress. We are being led by imbeciles. To the rest of America reading this blog, and to Gen. Petraeus if this e-mail makes it to your inbox ... my sincerest apologies for the stupid question asked of you by my US congressional representative. General ... I am sure you have better things to worry about than carbon emissions on the battlefield. I assure you, as a registered voter in Arizona 's 8th congressional district, I will do everything I can to ensure Rep. Giffords is voted out of office in November, and I pray you'll get back to business of fighting the war on terror without worrying about such petty and nonsensical matters as your carbon footprint in the war.
Mark Beres, Maj. USAF (ret.)
Tucson, Arizona
FYI: The 8th District surrounds Tucson to the north, south and east ( Tucson is in the 7th District) and covers the south-east corner of AZ.
What Google says about Rep. Giffords:
Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Az) took Afghan Commander, General David Petraeus, to task for what she characterized as “willful disregard of the environmental impact of our war effort.� “There is no policy, no plan to minimize carbon emissions in our military activities, Giffords charged. Bombs are dropped and bullets are fired without considering the environmental impact. Giffords insisted that she was not demanding an immediate halt to current military operations in the Middle East, "I'm just saying battle plans should include an environmental impact assessment as a regular part of the process before attacks are launched."
She also suggested that the Army put more emphasis on less environmentally damaging methods, like stabbing or clubbing enemy forces in order to minimize the carbon output.
New Rules of Engagement:
I think we ought to put her on the front lines so she can stab or club the enemy. God help us if this is the type of idiots that are elected to office. Walk softly and carry a big knife or big stick to save the environment.
:-\
Our asses come first, then comes the environment! Who's going to control environmental damage if we're dead?"

Friday, July 23, 2010

Bowtech General Bow

I'm a big fan of Bowtech bows, but they do have a few bow lines that just aren't up to snuff. One bow in particular is the General, produced in 2008.

The General simply has too many negatives against it to make it even a good bow. The first and second things they did wrong was placing the string stop at the end of the arm that houses the cable rollers. This creates an obstructed view through the string peep to the front sight. The other thing wrong with this string stop is the rubber insert that cushions the string when the bow is shot. This rubber piece is molded in a way that causes the string to kick to either the left or the right, throwing off the nock end of the arrow as it leaves the bow. Due to this, the General is a hard bow to paper tune. If it were up to me, I'd remove this string stop and install an aftermarket one in the rear threaded bushing.

Third, the cables rollers don't come with a fence that ensures the cables don't jump off the rollers. I've seen many longer-draw Generals come in where the cables derailed from the rollers. I've had to fabricate cable fences from aluminum stock to install on the General.

Fourth, the cable rollers don't pull the cables far enough away from the arrow shelf, so that an arrow fletched with a Blazer or Predator vane is most likely to hit a cable, deflecting the shot.

In my opinion, Bowtech should have recalled the bow and rectified these problems, because it would have been a great bow if they did.

If that General I tuned today belonged to me, I would have made it right.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Nothing Better To Do

The Only Ones, working hard to take down hardened criminals. Yeah, right.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Shootings In NYC #1

I'm going to start keeping a log of shootings by criminals that occur in New York City, where the most draconian of gun bans are in effect.

This is my first one.

What Kind Of Conservative Are You?

Me:
Quiz: What Kind of Conservative Are You?

My Conservative Identity:

You are a Flag-Waving Everyman, also known as a patriot. You believe in championing liberty over tyranny, apple pie over sushi, and that God gave us a two-day weekend so we could enjoy football and NASCAR.

Take the quiz at
About.com Political Humor

It's The Principle

Wal-Mart has decided to spend millions fighting a $7,000 fine levied against it by OSHA.

"OSHA wants to hold Walmart accountable for a standard that was neither proposed nor issued at the time of the incident," Wal-Mart spokesman Greg Rossiter said in a written statement. "The citation has far-reaching implications for the retail industry that could subject retailers to unfairly harsh penalties and restrictions on future sales promotions."

Kudos to Wal-Mart for fighting this fight because it can only help other retailers when they're caught in OSHA's crosshairs.

For far too long, there has been too much government interference and draconian regulations with the free-enterprise system. More government = less freedom.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Sunday, July 18, 2010

All That Glitters...Might Be Brass

The Firearm Blog is running a contest with a grand prize of a thousand rounds of .380 ACP ammo, provided by Lucky Gunner.

I'd like to win that ammo, even though I don't currently own any pistols chambered for that round. I'd probably keep the ammo if I won, because ammo will be more valuable than gold in the near future and I'd be able to trade it for foodstuffs or some other such necessity. Or maybe I'll go get a pistol for it. Who knows? It's a longshot to win, but I'm in.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

I'm For Carl Paladino for NY Governor

"Dear Friend,

I just had one of the most incredible experiences of my life- and I want to share it with you.

For weeks I had been promised that I would be allowed to speak as a candidate for Governor at the New York State Republican Convention in New York City.

When I arrived at the convention I learned that the Republican leadership had slipped in a convention rule that said candidates for Governor would be allowed to speak after the voting to select the Republican candidate and only those candidates who received 25% would be allowed to speak!

Have you ever heard of anything so backwards and undemocratic?

This so typical of the New York political situation where both parties have contributed to the dysfunction in Albany.

After a motion to move candidate speeches before the voting failed, and some quick thinking by Erie County Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy who was my convention floor manager, I was given a proxy so I could address the convention- by nominating myself! I had ten minutes to lay out our agenda for radical reform in Albany.

I never expected to be the choice of the Republican party bosses who have so much invested in the current system in Albany. I have always vowed to take my fight to the voters in the Republican Party primary. I know I will win the Republican Primary against former liberal Republican Congressman Rick Lazio whose days in Washington were marked by his strong support for the big-government style, sub-prime mortgage program push by Andrew Cuomo when he was the Secretary of Housing. Together Lazio and Cuomo cost US taxpayers $2.4 Billion in failed mortgages.

I have no illusions- just getting my name on the ballot will take a super-human effort to collect more than the 15,000 valid Republican voter signatures- which could cost our campaign more than $500,000. I have no choice.

If you want to volunteer to collect valid Republican voter signatures in your community please contact me by clicking here. Unless we press our people's campaign to clean up Albany- I am convinced that nothing will change under political insiders Rick Lazio or Andrew Cuomo. When I see the lobbyists and other special interests shoveling money into Cuomo and covering their bet with token contributions to Lazio you can see they are both members of the political elite that are destroying this state.

The political establishment will stop at nothing to stop real reform that erodes their power and riches.

That's why I need your help.

New York is literally choking on high taxes. Special interests protect outrageous wasteful spending, the state is $60 billion in debt, our schools are failing and the state is hemorrhaging jobs. Corrupt politicians are stealing us blind. Only you and I can change this.

That's why I am running for Governor, to drive the political hacks running our state from office and bring real reform to Albany. Won't you join us by making a contribution to this vital effort today?

This campaign isn't about me. I am merely a spokesman for the people- and the people are mad as hell and they aren't going to take it anymore. I am just a businessman who never aspired to public office. I even supported candidates of both parties in the hope that some politician would actually do what they said they would do in the campaign.

You see, I refuse to believe this is the way it has to be.

I looked for a candidate for Governor with the independence, judgment and courage to take on the entrenched special interests and Albany's political insiders to change all of this. Last year I became active in the Tea Party movement to demand a return to fiscal common sense by government.

When I reached the conclusion that none of the candidates for Governor would bring any real significant change, I decided to run myself.

As a businessman I have the management skills to turn New York around. As a lawyer, I know all the tricks the lawyers in Albany use to maintain the status quo. As a Tea Party Activist I know the answer to our economic crisis is cutting taxes, cutting regulation and slashing spending - all to create jobs.

I built a $150 million dollar real estate development and management business from scratch. I'm a businessman not a politician. I know how to operate on budget. I know how to meet a payroll. I have created hundreds of good paying jobs. I put a high premium on telling the truth.

That is why I need your help today.

I have pledged $10 Million dollars of my own money to a reform campaign for Governor which will challenge the liberal political establishment that has given us the highest income and property taxes in the country, $60 Billion worth of debt and wasteful spending almost beyond imagination.

Won't you join our crusade to save New York? Won't you help me take on the liberal special interests that are destroying our state by sending a contribution today?

Public employee union bosses have more control over the state spending than the people do. Rich compensation and pension deals agreed to by career politicians in return for campaign contributions are bankrupting our state.

This has to stop and only you and I can stop it!

I plan to serve one 4-year term as governor without regard to politics, popularity or re-election. I will make government smaller, more effective and more efficient. I will return control of government to the people. I will carefully review every department, agency and authority of government and every government program for effectiveness, efficiency, productivity and need.

Youtube Video: I'm Your Man

I have a very specific and comprehensive plan to revive New York's economy to:
  • cut taxes 10%.

  • cut spending by 20% by eliminating waste, fraud and government programs that aren't working.

  • cancel pension benefits and free health care for state legislators.

  • impose 8 year term limits for all state elected offices including the legislature.

  • institute a one-year residency requirement before anyone can receive welfare payments.

  • re-negotiate the fat public employee pension deals that have literally driven us to the brink of bankruptcy.

  • appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute corruption in the State Legislature and give him the subpoena power to get at the facts.
I have no illusions about how difficult it will be to force this package of reforms through the famously dysfunctional and corrupt New York State legislature. The people of New York must demand these reforms so that our legislators understand that there will be consequences for their inaction.

I can't do it alone. Democrat Andrew Cuomo has $20 Million dollars in special interest campaign contributions filling his war chest. Observers expect him to raise another $30 Million from the lobbyist, bankers, investment houses, Wall Street insiders, law firms, insurance companies and all those interested in maintaining the status quo in Albany.

While I have pledged to spend up to $10 Million of my own money, it will take far more if we are going to defeat the entrenched liberal special interests who have a stranglehold on our government.

That's why I am asking you to make a contribution to Paladino For the People today. I wish I could do it alone and while I have been blessed by my success in business, I cannot compete with the multi-Billion dollar special interests and public employees unions who like dysfunctional New York government just the way it is.

Together you and I can rally those New Yorkers who are fed-up and ready for radical reform. My campaign must raise an additional $200,000 in the next two weeks to keep our campaign plan on schedule.

Won't you send a contribution today?

I did not expect to be a candidate of the Republican Party bosses when they meet at their convention the first week of June. As I said, I intend to take my case directly to the Republican primary voters by collecting the 30,000 signatures that would ensure that my name appears on the September Republican Primary ballot. This effort alone could cost my campaign as much as $500,000.

If you want to help my campaign gather valid voter signatures as a volunteer please e-mail me by clicking here.

Because the New York State Conservative Party has also been co-opted by deal making, patronage hungry career politicians, I will also petition my way onto the November ballot on a Tea Party-oriented line. I believe this will create a vehicle to attract the votes of conservative Democrats and Independents who agree with us on the issues but are not comfortable voting Republican.

I'm doing my part, will you do yours? Will you help me save New York State?

You can use your Visa or Mastercard to make a contribution now. Won't you send $200, $100, $75 or $50? Even a contribution of $25 would be a big help.

Together we can defeat the bosses of the Republican establishment in their attempt to saddle our party with a weak nominee and defeat Andrew Cuomo and the liberal special interests who hope to make him Governor.

I would not be running and spending my own money if I didn't think I could win- but I cannot do it alone. Please help our campaign with a contribution today.

I will be checking for your response online. Thank you. Please let me hear from you today.


Carl P. Paladino
Candidate for Governor

PS - Don't let the attacks on me by the liberal media and political insiders distract you. The real obscenity is Albany and what they are doing with our money, not to mention the succession of corrupt politicians representing us. It seems like a new one is arrested every day. We can turn Albany upside down and take out the trash. Please go to https://www.paladinoforthepeople.com/donate.php and rush me your answer today.

PSS- If you want to volunteer to circulate petitions in your neighborhood to get my name on the ballot go to http://paladinoforthepeople.com/petition. Our campaign is a people's campaign and we need your help. If you want a Paladino for the people yard sign go to http://paladinoforthepeople.com/volunteer"

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Seriously...

I really need to get my ass to the gun range. I'm having serious recoil-therapy withdrawals.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Voter Fraud Elected Al Franken

He should be immediately removed from his seat. Seriously, do it now!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/12/felons-voting-illegally-franken-minnesota-study-finds/

Monday, July 5, 2010

Letter To Carl Paladino

Carl Paladino claims he's not a politician, but he wants to get on the ballot to run for Governor of New York State. On his website, there are issues he hasn't addressed sufficiently and there are issues that he hasn't addressed at all. So I wrote him a letter:

"...I'd like to know where you stand on gun rights for law-abiding New York gun owners. Seems to me that there's a patchwork of different gun laws in different cities and counties that are aimed at hurting us and does nothing to stop the criminals.

We also need Castle Doctrine laws so we know we can protect ourselves in our own homes with no requirement to retreat. After all, if we retreat from our home with our guns, that instantly makes us criminals. If we stay in the home and use deadly force, now we're breaking the law again by not retreating.

We also need CCW provisions so we can protect ourselves no matter where we go. States that trust their citizens to conceal-carry have significantly lower crime rates than states that don't. We also need statewide preemption to make gun laws uniform across the state, along with reciprocity with other gun-friendly states.

The Second Amendment isn't just for hunting, as most hoplophobes would have you believe.

Also, where do you stand on illegal aliens? I don't want to hear that you're going to give them benefits after they've lived here for a year. A parasite is still a parasite no matter how long its lived in one place. I want you to follow Arizona's example and get rid of these drains on taxpaying New Yorkers. This would save billions of dollars a year for New York and also free up jobs for her resident citizens."

I await a reply.

So, before I sign your petition to run for governor, I'd like to know where you stand. Will you fight for New Yorkers' rights or will it be the same old politics as usual once you get into office?

*Edit: After a thorough perusing of Carl Paladino's website, I found this: "I support an individual's right to bear arms as recognized by the Second Amendment and I believe it is now time to enshrine this vision of our Founding Fathers in the New York State Constitution. It is disgraceful that New York is one of the few states that leaves state gun owners' rights up to the whim of state legislators.

And not only will I defend against further assaults by Sheldon Silver and the gang against existing gun owner rights, but I will look for opportunities to roll back any existing state law that infringes upon the right to bear arms."

Looks like I'm on board for Carl Paladino.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

At The Range

Brigid has a spectacularly jocular post detailing the .38 things she learned from shooting.

I can relate to #14: "The most skilled shooter at the range is usually not the talkative person with the fancy gear, $200 range bag and tactical clothing. It's that quiet guy or gal in the T-shirt with the ammo cans. Watch them and learn."

Now, I am not the most skilled shooter at the range, but I can hold my own. I usually like to go to the range alone. It is my quiet time, if you can call it that, what with all the bullets going off around me. But seriously, when I'm at the range, I'm zoned out. Nothing stands between me and the bullseye. Nothing except the voice of the range officer. Somehow, my ears are trained to listen for her voice, even with earplugs and over-the-ear muffs. I generally keep to myself and concentrate on my shooting form, unless someone approaches me for help. Otherwise, I find a secluded shooting bench and set up my gear. Then I go to work.

My serious shooters are my Browning A-Bolt .243 Win. and 7mm Rem. Mag. rifles. These are my hunting rifles and are sub-M.O.A. guns. At 100 yards, they make one ragged hole. Breath control is extremely important and I learned that from shooting my air rifles at home. The rifle is only as accurate as the steadiness of the person behind the trigger. Having good equipment to start with doesn't hurt either. Either gun was under $800 and I think I got the better end of the deal.

But, getting back to #14; the guy at the gun range in a t-shirt with the ammo cans and doesn't talk to anyone is usually me. Except that one time when I met up with Newbius and OldNFO in Virginia and we went to the NRA range together, I usually go to the range alone.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Newbius Papers...

... has a great post on why the oil spill is still not capped.

Read the whole thing.