Category Archives: Guns

Shooting Irons!

Animal’s Hump Day News

Happy Hump Day!

Well, this is close to home.  This is the bit that concerns me:

In a September interview with the Pentagon’s news agency last fall, Iris Ferguson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Arctic and Global Resiliences said Chinese leaders have “been trying to insert themselves into the Arctic.”

“So, we’re being very mindful about their activity and in wanting to ensure that our interests are protected in the region,” Ferguson said.

China seems to be very interested in what goes on here in the Great Land, although they have nowhere near the sea-lift capacity to land troops here, and so won’t find out one thing that aren’t betting on, that being a few hundred thousand heavily armed Alaskan civilians – but they sure as hell seem to want to know what assets we have up here.  That’s disconcerting as hell.

Anyhoo…

On To the Links!

Nothing left to cut.

Trump steps on his dick again.  It’s like he’s trying to lose.

Four times.  A day.

Why is Biden so unpopular, even among Democrats?  Well, probably because he’s stupid, senile and incompetent.

The FBI is running cover for the Bidens.

Oh, the irony.

Squinted?

It’s aliens.

I take it you’re planning to lose the next war you’re in.

This is known as belaboring the obvious.

Wheee!

Who is John Galt?

Rum, sodomy and the lash.

Well, that’s a horrifying thought.

I’m not even sure at this point if the US is seeking primacy within its own borders.

Companies must do no such thing.  Mind your own damn business.

The next big crash?

Mike Pence files to run for President.  Well, the world’s got no shortage of windmills to tilt at.

Not sure why an American news network is covering these inbred mutants.

He’s going nowhere.

This Week’s Idiots:

The Bulwark’s Jill Lawrence is an idiot.

The Guardian’s Arwa Mahdawi is an idiot.

The Hill’s Niall Stanage is an idiot.  The only place Chris Christie could be a wild card is at a buffet table.

Idiots gonna idiot.

Alexandria Occasional Cortex persists in idiocy.

The Guardian’s Mark Weisbrot is an idiot.  (Also, his name literally means ‘white bread.’  Too funny.)

MSNBC’s James Downie is an idiot.

The Guardian’s Will Hutton is an idiot.  I’m starting to see another pattern.

Paul Krugman (Repeat Offender Alert) remains a cheap partisan hack, and an idiot.

James Comey is a corrupt asshole, and an idiot.

MSNBC’s Charlie Dent is an idiot.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

I was never big on the Carpenters, but they sure sold a lot of records back in the day.  Karen Carpenter’s sad 1983 death from anorexia nervosa received a lot of publicity, and for a few years instances of anorexia, especially among teenage girls, spiked.  Some call this a ‘social contagion,’ when a few highly-publicized events, usually among celebrities, lead to a spike in instances of an emotional/mental disorder.

Sound familiar?

Back to the music, though.  Karen and Richard Carpenter did have a light, easy style that was relaxing and thoughtful.  While I was more of a head-banger – back in these days I was much more into Led Zeppelin, Foghat, Van Halen and the like – I’ve developed more of an appreciation of gentler music as I’ve gotten older.  I do kind of like their song Rainy Days and Mondays, from their 1971 album, Carpenters.  Here’s the official video, which presents kind of a touching photographic tribute to Karen to go along with her rich, butter-smooth voice.  Enjoy.

Animal’s Hump Day News

Happy Hump Day!

You can tell it’s spring at last here in the Great Land when the sound of snow machine motors is replaced by ATV motors.

Our ATVs.

We don’t yet have a snow machine (in the 48 you call them snowmobiles) but we have two ATVs, a big six-seat Polaris Ranger for taking guests on tours, and a neat, agile little Polaris Sportsman that I mostly use for getting out in the woods after grouse or just indulging in one of my favorite activities – woods-bumming.  If you like the outdoors and live up here, one or both of these machines is a hell of a handy thing to have.

Now then…

On To the Links!

No shit, Sherlock.

Florida Man rides again.

And in the end, we’ll go further and further into debt.

And nothing will come of this.

Sanctuary city, my ass.

Another one leaving Chicago.

Impossible.  IEDs are against the law.  And I’m pretty sure this is a no-IED zone.

Because they are ruled by morons.

Atlas is shrugging.

Just when you think you couldn’t get any more disgusted.

Senator Murphy:  Come on out here to the Susitna Valley and try to take our guns.  Let us know how that works out for you.

OK, is there anybody in this group who isn’t a Fed?

This isn’t a good sign.

“Missing?”  One wonders if cement overshoes are involved.

The red-pilling of Elon Musk continues apace.

Haw haw haw!

I’ll take my chances.

This Week’s Idiots:

Salon’s Heather Parton is an idiot.

Whoever thought this was a good idea is an idiot.

Minnesota is run by idiots.

An actual photo of Brian Stelter.

Brian Stelter is an idiot.  And a potato.

New York Magazine’s Ed Kilgore is an idiot.

MSNBC’s Hayes Brown (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

Policies designed by morons result in epic cluster-fuck.  Film at eleven.

Slate’s Michael J. Socolow is an idiot.

How can you tell when Joe Biden is saying something stupid?  His lips are moving.  And again.

MSNBC’s Steve Benen is an idiot.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

I love Japan.

This is Masayuki Suzuki, who does a lot of soundtracks for Japanese television and so forth, in addition to pure musical work.  I’m not sure what genre he falls under, but these two songs are from the soundtrack of an anime called Kaguya-sama:  Love is War, they’re kind of fun, and a little different than our usual servings.  Enjoy.

Animal’s Hump Day News

Happy Hump Day!

This could be, as someone once said, a “big effin’ deal.”  Bonchie over at RedState had this to say:

In the biggest news to come out of the Supreme Court of the United States since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the Court has granted a review of Loper Bright Enterprises vs. Raimondo. In its deliberations, the court will deal with the question of whether to overrule the infamous Chevron Doctrine, a ’70s-era precedent that granted broad powers to the bureaucratic state to interpret vague, often narrow statutes with near zero accountability.

This would of course affect my own industry a great deal, but I suspect it won’t happen overnight; even if the Supreme Court follows the Constitution and rips the guts out of the bureaucratic state, it will take years for the necessary implications of that decision to trickle down.  The libertarian in me loves this, even if the compliance-consultant side of me is a bit concerned about my living (yes, the irony of that is not lost on me) but as I say, it will take a while, and I expect I’ll retire before too much changes.

Now then…

On To the Links!

Asa who?

Well, she’s done.

My hovercraft is full of eels.

No shit, Sherlock.

What could possibly go wrong?

This kid is a genuine hero.

Elon Musk from the top rope.

I’m sure this won’t lead to anything bad happening.

Stupid idea yields bad results.  Film at eleven.

So frickin’ glad we got out of Colorado.

Good and hard.

Another bank fails.

Punishing the responsible to reward the irresponsible.

Then they came for your leaf-blower…   Hang on to your woodchippers, we may need them.

Ahead Troll Factor Eight!

RIP Tim Bachman.  Bachman Turner Overdrive always brings back memories of the Seventies.

French riot over being expected to be productive past sixty-two.  I’d refer the French to Stein’s Law.

Will anyone notice?  Hollywood hasn’t produced anything original in years.

Fuck you, cut spending.

12-year-old sense of humor activated.

Not for me, it’s not.

This Week’s Idiots:

Fang Fang was unavailable for comment.

The Oregon state legislature clearly contains a large proportion of idiots.

This is one of the stupidest ideas to come out of an administration known for stupid ideas.  This is industrial-grade stupid.

Donna Brazile (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

Paul Krugman (Repeat Offender Alert) remains a cheap partisan hack, and an idiot.

The Nation’s Jeet Heer (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

Robert Reich (Repeat Offender Alert) is still a sawed-off little runt, and an idiot.

MSNBC’s Hayes Brown (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

MSNBC’s Norman Eisen & Josh Stanton are both idiots.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

Warren Zevon was badly underrated.  He made some pretty good tunes, and while he’s best known for the rollicking Werewolves of London and Excitable Boy, my favorite of his works (from the 1978 album Excitable Boy, in fact) was Lawyers, Guns and Money.  

I’d point out that, in a just world, Hunter Biden would be singing a similar tune; except that his situation has not arisen from bad luck, but from bad judgement, and therefore his own damn fault.

Anyway.  Here is that great tune.  Enjoy.

Animal’s Hump Day News

Happy Hump Day!

An indubitable sign of spring only Monday past, as our juncos have returned.  Dark-Eyed Juncos are somewhat migratory; they stay rather late in the fall and are usually the first migratory birds to return in spring.

Junco.

It’s interesting.  In all the years I lived in the city, I paid only nominal attention to the turn of the seasons.  Since returning to a rural lifestyle, I’ve become much more aware of the great circle the year makes, not just with the weather but with the creatures around us.  Soon the robins will return, then the swallows, the sandhill cranes will be overhead on their way to Arctic nesting grounds, and we’ll be in the full bloom of our short, mild, beautiful Alaskan summer.

And so…

On To the Links!

Brits go full retard.  Never go full retard.

24 months of pay cuts.

Just blame the dog.

What minds?

Will Disney lose another one to DeSantis?

Oh, now she’s alarmed?

President(ish) Biden says he’s known for two things.  That’s true:  Stupidity and senility.

Bring it, asshole.  Fuck around and find out.

Let’s face it, equal treatment under the law is long gone.

Whatever happened to “disperse or you will be fired upon”?

This is one of the most Alaska things that can happen.

Bill Maher finds another acorn.  I don’t often agree with the guy, but lately he’s been making some good points.

Colonel Schlichter:  Playing by the rules is for suckers.  He may be right.

Is Trump imploding?  It’s beginning to look that way.

More fuss over Cleopatra’s skin color.  If only there were some contemporary depictions we could look at!  Oh, wait:

San Francisco Target store locks up its entire inventory.

This should be fun to watch.

A desiccated old weirdo runs for President.

This Week’s Idiots:

MSNBC’s Jarvis DeBerry is an idiot.

MSNBC’s Janai Nelson is an idiot.

MSNBC’s is an idiot.

MSNBC’s Katelyn Burns is an idiot.

MSNBC’s Hayes Brown (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

I’m sensing a pattern here.

USAToday’s Rex Huppke is an idiot.  Wait, USAToday is still a thing?  Who knew?

Robert Reich (Repeat Offender Alert) remains a sawed-off runt, and an idiot.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

OK, plenty of folks have been saying that it’s time for the political Right to start playing hardball, me among them.  (This is relevant, I promise.)  Too many in the GOP seem to be worried more about continued invites to Georgetown cocktail parties than adhering to what are supposed to be ‘conservative’ principals – much less, you know, promoting actual liberty.

If they want some inspiration, they should tune in to the 1975 Nazereth tune Hair of the Dog.  The refrain includes:

Now you’re messin’ with a
A son of a bitch.
Now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch.

The Right could learn a thing or two from that.  I think they need a few more sons of bitches in the Imperial City – and yes, I think that was part of Donald Trump’s appeal.  Here, then, is that tune.  Enjoy.

Animal’s Hump Day News

Happy Hump Day!

Up here in the Great Land, the bears are waking up.

Yr. obdt. on bearwatch.

Bears are just one of the wildlife-related things we deal with, living in rural Alaska, of course.  We had a black hanging around for a while last summer, and while I stood watch a few times while Mrs. Animal was working in the greenhouse, I never got a good clear look at him – or else he’d have been in the freezer.  Black bear is downright good eating, and the season is open up here year ’round, with an annual bag limit of three.  And there’s a reason we keep a chest freezer that’s big enough to double as a crypt for a Pharaoh of old.  So, maybe this year.

Now then…

On To the Links!

The urban v. rural divide, in microcosm.

Now do Fetterman.

My good friend Brandon Morse nails the gun control debate.

No, Tim Scott doesn’t have a chance of being elected President in 2024.  He’s not really running for President; he is at most running for a cabinet post.

I love a happy ending.

Once in a while, a little common sense emerges.

Demand in one hand, defecate in the other, see which hand fills up first.

Piers Morgan finds an acorn.

Massive chimp-out in Chicago.

California goes full Commie.  Commiefornia?

Why are people fleeing the blue states?

Well, people in blue states are leaving in part because of stores being forced to shut down by runaway crime.

Something about the plank in one’s own eye…

Dead bird drones.  Yes, really.

This Week’s Idiots:

Slate’s Alex Kirshner is an idiot.

The NY TimesLydia Polgreen is an idiot.

Slate’s Nitish Pahwa is an idiot.

Robert Reich (Repeat Offender Alert) remains a sawed-off runt, and an idiot.

The LA Times’ Robin Abcarian is an idiot.

Rep. Ro Khanna (Horse’s Ass – CA) is an idiot.

“Pothole Pete” Buttigieg is an idiot.

The daffy old Bolshevik from Vermont has another stupid idea.

Katie Porter is an idiot.

Germany doubles down on stupid.  Why not just invade Russia again while you’re at it?

Outgoing Chicago Mayor Beetlejuice is an idiot.

Incompetent, and stupid.  Kind of defines the entire Biden(‘s handlers) Administration.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

Something a little different this week; you’ve all seen here, in previous installments, my fond memory of the great Johnny Carson.  Well, in this show, he had as his guest on the Tonight Show another great, Ann-Margret.

In this episode she puts on, as a preview for an upcoming performance, a musical number that will knock your socks off – among other things.  (Also, it must have been chilly on that stage.)  Unforgettable is something of an understatement here.  Enjoy.

Animal’s Hump Day News

Happy Hump Day!

I’m not sure what I think of this.

Granted, Alaska is all about aviation.  The Great Land wouldn’t be what it is without aviation, although most of what makes the state work isn’t big airliners but the smaller civil aviation types, including the famed bush pilots.  But I never would have thought of taking a big airliner and turning it into housing.  Excerpt:

The plane, donated by FedEx to the University of Alaska’s Aviation Technology Division, made headlines for its 2013 landing at Merrill Field in Downtown Anchorage.

Jon Kotwicki, the owner of FLY8MA Flight Training in Big Lake, purchased the airliner as part of a housing project for students who attend the training facility. The 727 will join a DC-6 and DC-9 already parked at his property, and has big plans in store for it.

“That is our flight school that we are building there off of Hawk Lane and Big Lake,” Kotwicki said. “[The planes] will serve as student housing for students who are coming to do flight training with us from afar as well as an Airbnb.”

I guess it makes a certain amount of sense; go to flight school, live in an airplane.  I guess we’ll see how it works out.  Now then:

On To the Links!

Alaska is essential to US energy security.  No shit, Sherlock.

Some cancers shouldn’t be treated.

Well, Chicago, it was nice knowin’ ya.  Aw, who am I kidding?  Chicago was always a shithole.  Now they’re just doubling down on lunacy.

More guns do not lead to more deaths.

National treasure Dr. Victor Davis Hanson describes our French Revolution.

Inside the carbon cult.

Going up.

Gas prices will be going up again.  Yay.

Six things the Left doesn’t want you to know about ‘climate change.’

This is one of the most Alaska things that can happen.  And so is this.

Manufacturing is not “booming” under President Biden(‘s handlers.)

Pelosi heckled.  Well, she is a sad old drunk.

Whoo-hoo!  Bikini baristas win in court!

Mostly peaceful.

This should come as no surprise.

Drip…  Drip…  Drip…

National treasure Dr. Victor Davis Hanson on fiddling while America burns.

This Week’s Idiots:

The Atlantic’s Quinta Jurecic is an idiot.

John “Lurch” Kerry is an asshole, and an idiot.

Karine Jean-Pierre is an idiot.

CNN’s Clay Cane is an idiot.

Paul Krugman (Repeat Offender Alert) remains a cheap partisan hack, and an idiot.

Salon’s Dean Obeidallah (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

Chicago’s new Mayor-elect is an idiot.

Idiotic TikTok landwhale complains about airline seats.

The Nation’s John Nichols (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

Salon’s Lawrence Goldstone is an idiot.

Slate’s Richard L. Hasen and Dahlia Lithwick (Repeat Offender Alert) are both idiots.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

I never was a huge fan of Billy Joel.  He was good enough, but I just never really got into his style of music.  But most artists good enough to get album deals usually have at least one good song in them, and boy, howdy, did Billy Joel have at least one great song in him.

That song, of course, was Piano Man.  It’s a wonderful, iconic tune that put Billy Joel on the map, and whatever I think of his general style, he deserved the fame this song brought him.  Here, then, is that tune; enjoy.

Rule Five Gun-Free Zone Friday

Check out this recently-updated piece from John Lott on mass shootings and gun-free zones.  Excerpts, with my comments, you know the drill.

At some point, you would think that the empirical evidence would be overwhelming. When the Aurora, Colorado Batman movie theater shooter attacked, there were seven movie theaters showing “The Dark Knight Rises” on July 20th within 20 minutes of the killer’s apartment at 1690 Paris St, Aurora, Colorado, but the killer picked the only theater that had signs posted that it was a gun-free zone. His first target had been an airport but he worried about their “substantial security.” Similar stories have occurred at malls such as in Omaha and Salt Lake City or the Lafayette, Louisiana movie theater. Despite teachers carrying guns in schools in 20 states, all the shooting attacks at schools have occurred in schools that ban teachers from having guns. Given that people are allowed to carry their permitted concealed handguns in the vast majority of public places, if these mass public shootings were random, 95% or higher of these attacks would take place in areas where permitted concealed handguns were allowed. Instead the reverse is true, with 98% of those attacks taking place where general citizens are banned from having guns. At some point, it would seem obvious that these attacks aren’t random.

They aren’t random, of course; there is ample evidence that the shooters, in planning their atrocities, chose venues where they were not going to meet armed resistance.

Vince Vaughn explained what should be obvious to most people in an  interview in the UK edition of GQ:

It’s well known that the greatest defence against an intruder is the sound of a gun hammer being pulled back. All these gun shootings that have gone down in America since 1950, only one or maybe two have happened in non-gun-free zones. Take mass shootings. They’ve only happened in places that don’t allow guns. These people are sick in the head and are going to kill innocent people. They are looking to slaughter defenceless human beings. They do not want confrontation. In all of our schools it is illegal to have guns on campus, so again and again these guys go and shoot up these f***ing schools because they know there are no guns there. They are monsters killing six-year-olds.”

Monsters, yes, but not so stupid that they can’t choose venues that will allow them to carry out their rampage well within the time it takes for law enforcement to intercede – and this is a world in which we have police departments like the cowards in Uvalde as well as the heroes of Nashville.  Speaking of which:

Media Matters then attacked Vaughn by pointing to a flawed report by Bloomberg’s Everytown, but of course, Media Matters doesn’t respond or even acknowledge all the errors that have been previously pointed out with Bloomberg’s report.  See also here. Killers often openly talk about their desire to attack where no one is there with a gun to stop them.

UPDATE, ADDED EXAMPLE: In the planned Church attack in Detroit, the person planning the attack note one reason to picking his target:

Plus people are not allowed to carry guns in church.” . . .

UPDATE, ADDED EXAMPLE: Regarding the Charleston Church shooting:

“I don’t think the church was his primary target because he told us he was going for the school,” Scriven said Friday. “But I think he couldn’t get into the school because of the security … so I think he just settled for the church.” . . .

The Covenant School shooting in Nashville (March 27, 2023).

“It was the only school that was targeted. There was another location that was mentioned, but because of a threat assessment by the suspect of too much security, they decided not to,” Drake said. “That area was here in Nashville, so we’re continuing with that investigation as well.” Lydia Fielder and Tony Garcia, “Nashville school shooter purchased 7 guns, planned attack on multiple locations, police say,” WSMV, March 27, 2023.

And:

UPDATED, added example: The Buffalo mass murderer in 2022 wrote in his manifesto explaining why he picked the target that he did: “areas where CCW are outlawed or prohibited may be good areas of attack” and “areas with strict gun laws are also great places of attack.” Like other attackers, the Buffalo murderer cased the target before his attack.

Of course John Lott is damn good at this business.  But what he doesn’t offer in this article is a solution.  That’s not an easy ask, but one possibility might be local or state level laws placing part of the liability for the results of mass shootings on the venue; make it easier to bring suit in civil court for businesses that deny patrons the right of self-defense.  I’m not sure how such a law would work; I’m not a lawyer, nor do I play on on television.  But it’s a fact that many potential mass shootings have in fact been stopped by armed citizens; see this list for examples.

It’s abundantly clear that the status quo is costing lives.  It would be great if we could count on people to examine the facts and arrive at a dispassionate, rational conclusion, but let’s face it, that’s pretty much a lost art in the United States today.  Just look at Congress or our last four or five Presidential elections as proof.

Animal’s Hump Day News

Happy Hump Day!

I’m toying with the idea of buying one of these.

This is the Uberti 1873 Cattleman Bird’s Head revolver, in .45 Colt.  The basic gun is a clone of the famous Colt Model P.  I’d prefer to have the 3″ barrel option, even though that would preclude my hot .45 Colt loads; I think the gun would handle it but it would be a handful to shoot.

Why do I want one?  I’m not entirely certain.  It would make a nice backup piece to my belt guns in the big .45 Colt (a Smith & Wesson 25-5 and a Ruger Vaquero) or a decent CCW piece in its own right.  But I think I’d like to have one mostly because I think they’re cool.  And that’s reason enough, right?  Of course right.

And so…

On To the Links!

Check out my bonus post this week over at Glibertarians; this one is another Profile in Toxic Masculinity starring one of my personal heroes, Theodore Roosevelt.

Point of order:  Chicago doesn’t have a sensible candidate for Mayor.  Just more of the same.

Of course Xi is prepping China for war.  You’d have to be an idiot not to see it.

If this isn’t an impeachable offense, I don’t know what is.

Fuck off, slaver!

Now this is heroism.

San Francisco should fix their own damn problems.

The more I read about Winsome Sears, the more I like her.

Are Democrats Really This Dumb Or Just Evil?  I’d point out that the two are not mutually exclusive.

You really can’t put the genie back in the bottle.

A touching story of a television legend.

OPEC cuts production.  Hold on to your butts.

The two are not mutually exclusive.

I love a happy ending.

Florida is now a Constitutional carry state.  That makes a majority of states with permitless carry.

This Week’s Idiots:

Donna Brazile (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

Vox’s Li Zhou (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

MSNBC’s Hayes Brown (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

Rolling Stone’s Ron Kuby is an idiot.

I’ll stick with real beer.

The marketing people for Bud Light are all idiots.  Honestly, who still drinks this stuff?  It’s “sex in a canoe” beer – fucking close to water.

CNN’s Dean Obeidallah (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

Kesha Ram Hinsdale is an idiot.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

Last week’s Eddie Money video prompted a comment from a reader, pointing out that the red-hot Latina in the video was actually Apollonia Kotero, who co-starred with Prince in his 1984 film Purple Rain.  I might have spotted her before if I had seen that film since I originally did, in 1984, at the Midnight Movie in the old Waterloo Theater in Waterloo, Iowa.  The theater served beer at the Midnight Movie, and there was usually a joint or two being passed around, which added a little… flavor to the experience.

In those days I listened to a bit of Prince as he got a lot of radio play, in addition to being a regular feature back when MTV was new and actually, you know, had music.  I recognized his talent even though I wasn’t an enormous fan of his style (he was a quite good technical guitarist in addition to being a dynamic performer) but I did, and still do, kind of like the song Little Red Corvette.  Here, then, is the official video for that song, just like you might have seen on MTV back in the day – enjoy.

 

Animal’s Hump Day News

Happy Hump Day!

Take a look at this.  Key excerpt:

John Kerry speaks at Davos.

Speaking of that, there was also Biden’s special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry, who during a Friday interview with Yahoo News insulted the intelligence of every American by not only cheerleading forthcoming new climate mandates from Biden, but also by proclaiming that it was okay for global warming fanatics to be wildly hypocritical because not only do they allegedly do the “carbon offset” thing but also because “they are working harder than most people I know to be able to try to effect this transition…”

And:

This prompted a response by media critic Joe Concha, who hit the nail on the head.

“They can still work harder and get to Davos by flying the middle seat in coach on Aer Lingus,” Concha tweeted. “The elitism is utterly breathtaking…”

Breathtaking, if anything, is a gross understatement.  Seriously, fuck these Davos assholes, and fuck John “Lurch” Kerry (who, by the way, served in Vietnam, as he constantly reminds us) and while we’re at it, fuck all the horses they all rode in on – and by horses, I mean gas-guzzling private jets.

And so with that off my chest…

On To the Links!

“Organic” agriculture is bullshit.  If you’da asked me, I could’a told you.

The SMOD may be closer than we think.

Second Amendment advocates go on the offensive.

It doesn’t matter whether a wealth tax would “work” or not – it’s illegal.  Why are we still talking about this?

And Putin gives not even one single fuck.

I love a happy ending.

Ahead, Troll Factor Eight!

Democrats v. parents.

Insane reparations math in Californey.  I mean, the whole idea is nucking futz.

You fucked up!  You trusted us!

I love a happy ending.

Neandertals may have collected cool animal skulls.

Ron DeSantis isn’t tired of winning  yet.

Get woke, go broke.

Nothing will come of this.  Equal treatment under the law is a dead letter in this nation.

Holy crap!  Hint:  Don’t buy aftermarket reverse-offset wheels for your vehicle.  Really hard on bearings and axles.

There may be a lot of water on the Moon.

This Week’s Idiots:

We have a bumper crop this week!

MSNBC’s Hayes Brown (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.  And it’s a twofer this week!

The LA Times’ Jackie Calmes is an idiot.

The Massachusetts DMV is apparently staffed with idiots.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Shamann Walton is an idiot.  San Francisco voters are getting the government they wanted, good and hard.

Cori Bush is an idiot.

Sheila Jackson Lee is an idiot.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Caroline Light is an idiot.

Juan Williams is an idiot.

Vox’s Li Zhou is an idiot.

Stacy Abrams doesn’t know her ass from her face about energy, so…

Dr. Charles Darwin, please pick up the white courtesy phone.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

In 1978 or so, I went to the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, with a couple of buddies.  We were there to see the main act, Foghat, and what a great show that was!

But that’s not who we’re going to present here today.

Before Foghat came on stage, the opening act came out.  I remember one of my buddies looking at me and asking, “Eddie Money?  Who the hell is Eddie Money?”

“Isn’t he that Two Tickets to Paradise guy?”  I replied.

“Oh, yeah.”

Eddie went on to have a pretty decent career after that, before his untimely passing in 2019.  One of my favorites of his tunes was from his 1982 album No Control, the song being Shakin’.  I remember listening to it quite a bit while wearing Uncle Sam’s colors, and I still give it a listen from time to time now.  Here, then, is the official video (the smoking-hot Latina gal doesn’t hurt any, either) – enjoy.

Goodbye, Blue Monday

Goodbye, Blue Monday!

Thanks as always to The Daley Gator, Flappr, The Other McCain, Pirate’s Cove, Whores and Ale and Bacon Time for the Rule Five links!

A buddy of mine drew my attention to this piece on Gunbroker the other day:

I’m not sure what the deal is here.  I suppose there is probably such a thing as DeWalt fanboys who would just love a DeWalt-themed Glock; another buddy who was in on this conversation noted that he had recently seen an AR-15 that was set up to look like a Milwaukee Sawzall, and I’ve seen Kitty-Chan (known as Hello Kitty in the States) ARs.

I guess I just don’t get it.

I know, every cat its own rat.  I’ve often said that and I stand by it.  If you want a Gatorade-themed Glock or a Star Trek AR, more power to you.  I don’t get it, but you know, knock yourself out.  I don’t have to get it.

This is, of course, largely made possible by the polymer-heavy construction of a lot of modern guns.  It’s a little harder to carry out this kind of customization of a piece made of steel and walnut.  And it’s also true that this construction has resulted in a lot of guns that can withstand some pretty awful conditions and still work.  I recognize this; my own CCW piece is a Glock 36, which is ugly but sure shoots well for a 3″-barreled .45ACP, and it’s light, flat and easy to tote around.

Be that as it may – my Glocks are tools, just like a hammer or a pipe wrench.  My affection I reserve for fine walnut and blued steel.

Deep thoughts, news of the day, totty and the Manly Arts.