Tractor Guns

No, not guns made to shoot tractors, or shoot from tractors...guns made by a tractor company!I love M-1 Garands. I really do. And these two, just a couple of the Garands that I've acquired from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) over the years, are among my favorites. As rifles go, Garands were some of the finest combat arms ever fielded by the US military. Winchester repeating Arms Corp. and the government-run Springfield Armory made a bit over four million of them for World War Two, but when the Korean War broke out five years later, we needed more, so the fine folks at the International Harvester Company made another 337,623 of them at their Evansville, Indiana plant between 1951 and early 1956. And out of that number, after decades of military service and storage, these two eventually became mine.IHC did not make the barrels for their rifles, however. That job was subcontracted out to the Line Material Company in Birmingham, Alabama. Their barrels had a reputation for being the most accurate of the M-1 barrels, and while many of the IHC rifles out there today now sport replacement barrels made by one of the other manufacturers, both of these rifles still have their original Line Material (LMR) barrels.(Click on the pictures for more detail.)This one shows the LMR stamp and the December, 1954 date of manufacture. Both of these rifles had relatively little wear on the barrels when I got them and this one in particular had almost no detectable muzzle wear or throat erosion.

Both of these rifles are fine shooters, fully capable of holding the nine-ring of the standard SR target at 200 meters even with forty-year-old military surplus ammunition, and one of these rifles--probably #5095202 here--will probably be accompanying me to one of the bigger Garand matches at Camp Butner or Camp Perry in 2010. I have a feeling that we'll be coming back with a medal or two, at least if I do my part. I have no doubts about either of these rifles.

Another reason to jail Roman Polanski...because the loony Hollywood left wants him freed.

As Roman Polanski, convicted pedophile and fugitive, sits in a Swiss jail, begging anyone and everyone to help him avoid deportation to the US after raping and sodomizing a child thirty years ago, his nutty liberal supporters in Hollywood have reportedly put a petition together demanding that he not be brought back for his long-delayed sentencing.

Ironically, the first name on the petition: Woody Allen, Hollywood's other celebrity pedophile.

Seriously folks, I can't make stuff like this up.

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese has signed it, and so have directors David Lynch and John Landis.

Whoopi Goldberg has also signed it, but then she'll do anything for the attention these days.

Most of the rest of the names thus far are second-rate French actors that few people have heard of and even less people care about. Of course all of that may change now that ACORN has been hired to circulate the petitions. In fact, no sooner did they start than John Belushi, John Candy, Patrick Swayze, Ted Kennedy, David Carradine and that little Taco Bell chihuahua all signed it.

And of course the leaders of both France and Poland have demanded that Polanski be released, because apparently in those countries, drugging and raping children is ok if you also make movies or do other allegedly cultural stuff.

That's ok, France and Poland...we'll remember that the next time that the Germans invade you. When you cry to us to save you again, we'll point out that Germany has produced some really good films, and those neat little Volkswagens, too.

If there's any justice, Polanski will not only be brought back and sentenced to prison, but he'll wind up sharing a cell with Charlie Manson, who will soon receive a package containing a shank and a note that says: "You morons missed one."

Once again, they call it "dope" for a reason.

They say that our youth are our future, but if Jamie Salonen of Sheboygan, Wisconsin is representative of what our nation has to look forward to, I'm selling my bonds.

An 18-year-old Sheboygan woman is facing charges after authorities say she tried to eat marijuana as an officer pulled over the car she was riding in.
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Jamie L. Salonen, of 2210 N. 20th St., was charged Friday with misdemeanor marijuana possession and felony bail jumping, the latter charge because having the drug would violate her cash bond on a pending felony marijuana charge. She could face up to three years and six months behind bars, if convicted on both counts.

According to a criminal complaint:

Salonen was a passenger in a car that was pulled over Friday in Sheboygan by a Wisconsin state trooper. The trooper stopped the car after seeing the occupants were not wearing seatbelts, but grew more suspicious after seeing Salonen move around inside.

The trooper came to the door and saw her holding a small bag in her hand that is commonly used to store illegal drugs.

Noting the woman's responses were muffled and she had green material around her mouth and lips, the trooper had Salonen open her mouth, revealing apparent marijuana as well as unknown red and blue pieces inside. There was also marijuana strewn about the passenger side of the car.

Asked why she had marijuana in her mouth, Salonen said she saw it on the floor and then picked it up and ate it. She was described as very emotional and surprised that she was being arrested for the small amount of marijuana.

"I only ate some weed, officer," Salonen said, according to the complaint.

Salonen's pending charge, marijuana possession with intent to deliver, stems from a July traffic stop in which she was allegedly caught burying nine bags of marijuana in wood chips as officers searched her car. She also had a marijuana baggie in her mouth that was discovered during a later search at the police department, a complaint said.

Eighteen year old, and already working on a solid rap sheet, as evidenced by the pending felony charge. Her parents must be so proud...

Looks like Hollywoods favorite child molester is finally going to face justice

I refer of course to Roman Polanski, the child-molesting bail-jumper who fled the US for shelter in France after pleading guilty to raping a 13 year old girl in 1977, and who has enjoyed wealth and fame and the adoration of his Hollywood peers ever since, all while thumbing his nose at the American judicial system.

Switzerland just snatched his ass up and is offering him to the US, finally putting and end to his days of skiing and fine dining all over Europe, at least in countries that he knew would not honor America's extradition requests.

ZURICH – Director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police as he flew in for the Zurich Film Festival and faces possible extradition to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl, authorities said Sunday.

Polanski was scheduled to receive an honorary award at the festival when he was apprehended Saturday at the airport, the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. It said U.S. authorities have sought the arrest of the 76-year-old director around the world since 2005.

"There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming," ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. "That's why he was taken into custody."

ZURICH – Director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police as he flew in for the Zurich Film Festival and faces possible extradition to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl, authorities said Sunday.

Polanski was scheduled to receive an honorary award at the festival when he was apprehended Saturday at the airport, the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. It said U.S. authorities have sought the arrest of the 76-year-old director around the world since 2005.

"There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming," ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. "That's why he was taken into custody."

In 1977, he was accused of raping the teenager while photographing her during a modeling session. The girl said Polanski plied her with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill at Jack Nicholson's house while the actor was away. She said that, despite her protests, he performed oral sex, intercourse and sodomy on her.

Of course his actually going to prison for his crimes is still in doubt, since we have Eric "show me the money" Holder sitting in the Attorney General's office. Holder, when a Deputy Attorney General in the Clinton Administration, brokered the deal where another fugitive felon, Marc Rich, was allowed to return to the US and receive a pardon from then-President Bill Clinton in exchange for hefty donations to Clinton's library fund and his wife's Senate campaign made by Rich's ex-wife Denise. Holder also arranged clemency deals for 16 Puerto-Rican terrorists, again ostensibly to help gain the support of the Puerto-Rican community in New York for Mrs. Clinton's senate run. Eric Holder proved then that justice was merely a commodity to be bought and sold for political or financial gain, and he's shown us just recently that he still plays that game, only for Obama this time, when he dismissed the convictions of three Black Panthers on charges of voter intimidation in Philadelphia.

Polanski certainly has to know what sort of slug Eric Holder is, and if he hasn't already arranged for some cash to flow to Obama or certain key Democrats, I'm sure that he has people working on it. So it's up to us all to keep our eye on the ball and let Holder know that his days of selling pardons and commutations to thieves, terrorists and child molesters is over.

And as for Polanski, I look forward to him finally seeing the inside of a US prison, hopefully one where he can switch from directing to acting...and by "act", I mean act like Ned Beatty in the film Deliverance.

A belated birthday post

So last night, while speaking on the phone to my dear, sainted mother, she stated that she had just looked here and not seen any posts about her recent birthday.

Well she's right, but then I guess I figured that as old as she is, anything that I could say about her has probably already been said.

I mean, not that she's old or anything, but she just went to her 50th high school reunion and came back to tell me how old all of her former classmates now look. (Yeah--like they aren't all saying the same thing about YOU, Ma.) I did a bit of quick math for her and showed her that her and her three friends that she went to dinner with were cumulatively older than the United States of America. Damn!

But she's doing pretty well for herself these days. She's retired and she enjoys spending hours every day sitting on her porch and yelling: "Get off my lawn, you damned kids!"

One of these days I'm going to have to tell her that those "kids" are supposed to be there--they are her condo's groundskeeping staff--and most of them are in their 50's.

But one thing that is nice--her church is having a special service dedicated to her this coming Sunday...and they've even redone a few of the old hymns just for her:

1.) Precious Lord, Take My Hand . . . And Help Me Up

2.) It Is Well with My Soul . . . But My Knees Hurt

3.) Nobody Knows the Trouble I Have Seeing

4.) Just a Slower Walk with Thee

5.) Count Your Many Birthdays, Name Them One by One

6.) Go Tell It on the Mountain . . . But Speak Up

7.) Give Me the Old Timers' Religion

8.) Blessed Insurance

9.) Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah . . . I've Forgotten Where I Parked


Happy belated Birthday, Ma. Your present's going to be a bit late--I'm having trouble getting Lagniappe to stay in the box.

Range Day!

So as I had nothing better to do today and because I hadn't been out in a couple of weeks, I took two of my AR-15 rifles out to the range to zero their optics and test out a new ammo load that I'd worked up for them.The top rifle is a Bushmaster that I bought as a carbine just six days before the 1994 "Assault Weapons Ban" went into effect. I've rebuilt it a few times over the years, and currently it sports a 20" heavy barrel and has been reconfigured as a clone of the old Colt Delta HBAR, with 3-9x40MM scope and raised cheek piece.
Yeah, it's one of the old ones with the fixed carrying handle, and because it came out of a lot that Bushmaster was rushing to get our the door prior to the ban, it's finish leans towards the purple end of the spectrum and mounting a new flat-top upper is a non-starter because the finish would never even be close. But it shoots so sweet I just can't bear to part with it.

The lower one is a newer Rock River gun that I built up from parts into a flat-top carbine, actually using the 14.5" heavy barrel that came on the Bushmaster originally. (And yes, it has a permanently-attached muzzle brake to bring it up to the required legal length, so don't PM me ad nauseum about having an "illegal" rifle.) This one has an Aimpoint Comp M3 red dot optic on a LaRue mount, and a Pentagon light mounted behind the muzzle. as parts-guns go, this one had more teething problems than any AR that I've ever built, but it's straight-shooting and reliable now.

I first shot my new ammo recipe to make sure that it was consistent and safe. A 62gr. ball over 25.0gr. of H335 and Remington Bench Rest primers in military cases seemed to approximate the SS109 loading well enough and the extracted cases all looked good. So then it was time to dial both rifles in at 100M.

As I didn't have any sort of rest, and as my overly-restrictive rifle club refuses to let us shoot prone like real rifle shooters do, I was restricted to shooting off-hand from the bench with the GI sling in use on the HBAR and just an "elbow on the table" rest for the carbine. The firing positions were not optimal in that regard, but I'm satisfied with the targets. The upper one is the HBAR (Yeah, I tossed that one flyer at eleven o'clock...) and the lower is the carbine with the Aimpoint. The two high shots were my first and second shots, and then I realized that I'd set the sight up for a six o'clock hold and corrected accordingly.

Both rifles are now zeroed and ready to go, and as soon as I can get Nicki to clean them, they'll be back on their racks.

Any day that you're shooting is a good day.

What's more fun than putting a hat on a dog?

Why, throwing a shirt over a dog's head.

Poor Lagniappe. He doesn't think to shake it off--he just runs around and bonks into things when I say "Let's go outside!" and open the door.

Now he's got the shirt off, but he's all mad and not speaking to me.

Because Margaret Miller can't raise a kid right, she sues the police.

So what we have here is a case where some single mom lets her little crotch-fruit run wild with a skateboard and no manners until he runs up against a police officer in Baltimore. And when the officer gives her baby boy a bit of a lesson on how to interact with adult authority figures--a lesson that Margaret Miller should have taught her own child years ago--she sees dollar signs and runs down to the courthouse, shyster lawyer in tow, and files a lawsuit demanding that her and her little precious be given a bag of cash because her boy's feelings were hurt. That's right: hurt feelings. He wasn't arrested, he wasn't injured--he was just scolded. but in Margaret Miller's world, no one can ever scold her little darling. And if someone does, she wants cash.

Fortunately a judge just tossed her frivolous lawsuit out.

BALTIMORE, Md. - A civil lawsuit filed by the mother of a defiant skateboarder who was berated and grabbed by a Baltimore police officer while skating near the Inner Harbor has been thrown out by a judge.

"The family is incredibly disappointed, and feels wronged," attorney William P. Blackford tells WTOP. "They've had their day in court taken away."

Blackford filed the suit on behalf of Margaret Miller, and her son, Eric Bush.

Three weeks before the civil case filed against Salvatore Rivieri - a 17-year-veteran - was to go before a jury, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Evelyn Cannon granted a defense motion to have the case dropped.

Rivieri had been suspended, but was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

A Baltimore police spokesman tells WTOP Rivieri has been back on patrol for several months.

Blackford says Judge Cannon's decision essentially trumped another Circuit Court judge's decision to allow the civil case to go forward, even though it was filed more than 180 days after the deadline.

Blackford had argued Maryland's law was unclear whether a juvenile's complaint can be held to the same 180 day standard.

"The family has the right to appeal, and I believe has a very strong case for appeal," Blackford says.

The 2007 exchange between Rivieri and the then 14-year-old Bush had been surreptitiously videotaped by one of the teenager's friends. It showed the officer pointing at the teen while lecturing him.

"First of all you disrespected me, this badge, and my department. You understand me? When I'm talking to you, you shut your mouth and you listen," Rivieri said.

"Obviously your parents don't put a foot in your butt quite enough, because you don't understand the meaning of respect."

The teenager's quietly mumbled responses were barely audible. Rivieri took offense to how he was being addressed.

"I'm not 'man.' I'm not 'dude.' I am Officer Rivieri."

In the defense's pretrial statements. Rivieri's attorneys said the teen "held his skateboard in a threatening manner," prompting Rivieri to push Bush to the ground, before seizing the board.

Blackford says it's unclear whether Miller, a single mother, and her son have the money to pursue an appeal to Maryland's Court of Special Appeals.

"The city has thrown up every roadblock in this case," Blackford says. "They should have just issued an apology, and that would likely have made this go away."

Fine, you want an apology? I'm sorry that William Blackford was ever admitted to the bar of Maryland or any other state. It's lawyers like him who give the profession such a bad reputation. I'm also sorry that Margaret Miller was even allowed to have a kid since it appear from his attire, his haircut and his demeanor that he's nothing but a little slacker with a future in fast food employment ahead of him. What's more, I apologize because this society that I'm a part of has devolved to the point where slovenly, rude kids are accepted and tolerated.

When I was a little kid, we were taught that adults were always "Sir" or Ma'am" and any teacher, neighbor, church member or police officer them had as much authority over any kid in the absence of the kid's actual parents as the parents did. If any adult saw me doing anything wrong, not only could they chastise me for it, but when they told my parents--and they usually did--I got it that much more from my dad when he found out. It wasn't acceptable to be a "bad kid" and bring disrespect upon the family, and punishment was sure and serious when I or my friends erred in that fashion.

But now we've had a couple of generations of single moms raising broods of little slackers who can do no wrong in the eyes of their mothers and who have never had a man in their lives to teach them what respect is, including the need to show it to others. It's because of things like this that our crime rate is rising, our scholastic achievement scores are dropping, and Democrats who support a "if it feels good, do it" policy are ruining our country by lowering the bar even further on behalf of the underachievers who vote them into office. And it all begins on a micro scale with kids like this punk, Eric Bush, and his layabout mom Margaret Miller. So my advice to Margaret is simple: Put down the bag of chips, turn off Oprah, get up off the couch, and start teaching your kid how to behave. Because you, Margaret Miller, are bringing down my country by raising bad kids and also by making things harder for countless other mothers who actually do their jobs and try to raise decent kids.

Hell, when I get to be President, I'm deporting Margaret Miller and her kid, probably to France, because one more surly kid and indifferent mom wouldn't even be noticed there.

Real Men don't need clothes when they set out to stop home invaders

Down in Florida, a would-be home invader was stopped cold by a 91 year old World War Two veteran who confronted him with no clothes on but with a gun in his hand.

LAKE WORTH — A burglar early this morning clambered over a backyard fence on a quiet block on the city's west side. He picked the wrong house.

He made it maybe a couple of steps before Rettt the dog, a mixture of Rottweiler and Doberman pinscher, charged, tearing the intruder's shirt from his back in a growling, ferocious attack.

This gave homeowner Robert E. Thompson, 91, time to jump out of bed, grab his gun, a .38-caliber revolver loaded with hollow-point bullets, and to phone the police.

Then he went out back to let the guy know how he felt about home invaders. He raised the gun and shouted out in the darkness. He thought there might be three or four of them. He didn't care.

"The funny part was I didn't have any clothes on," said Thompson, a World War II veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart during combat tours in Europe. "I was standing out there with a .38 in my hand, and I was stark naked."

Already terrified of the dog, the burglar, who looked to be no older than 20, took a step toward the nude 91-year-old, and that was it for Thompson.

"I fired a warning shot," he said, and the burglar froze. "I wasn't going to let the guy get within six or eight feet of me. He spoke only Spanish, and I couldn't understand anything he was saying. I think he was more scared than I was, really."

And so they stayed that way, the hapless young burglar, who appeared, authorities said later, to be very drunk, and the naked old homeowner, his head cool, his revolver leveled, until Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies showed up.

Thompson would've made it out of the whole ordeal completely unscathed if, when the deputies told him to drop the gun, it hadn't accidentally gone off, sending a tiny bullet fragment ricocheting off the concrete pool deck and into Thompson's right shin.

He barely felt it, but the deputies called paramedics and insisted he get checked out at Delray Medical Center. He was back home by midday, recounting the incident.

The burglar, who identified himself as Jose Pasqual, 26, of no fixed address was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on a burglary charge.

"I have a real bad feeling about these guys. I don't tolerate them. I would've shot him if he kept coming," Thompson said. "You've got to protect yourself."

Now a few thoughts come to mind: First, when the police tell you to drop a gun, it's generally acceptable to slowly and safely set it on the ground. That way it doesn't go off, or bounce over to where the criminal could get it...or go off.

Next, I took pride in the thought that America still has some men left who haven't forgotten what it is to be a man. Then I had to wonder what would have happened if, instead of a veteran and a real man who was unafraid to take care of his business, it would have been a liberal in that home. So Lagniappe and I had a few beers and discussed it, and we came up with this list:

What a Liberal male would have done:

1. Wake up to sound of barking fluff dog and breaking glass.

2. Look around for his wife or someone else that he could send to investigate the strange noise.

3. Get dressed, to include robe and slippers--probably slippers with some animal faces on them.

4. Yell at fluff dog to be quiet, lest the neighbors become miffed.

5. Apologize to fluff dog for hurting his feelings.

6. Briefly regret putting up those "Gun-Free home" window stickers that he got from Sarah Brady's group in return for that generous donation last year.

7. Turn on outside lights...then remember the environment and turn them back off again.

8. Upon observing intruder trying to enter home, lose control of bowels and crap on floor.

9. Drop to knees and offer intruder anything that he wants--money, jewelry, a brie sandwich...

10. Blame self for contributing to societal problems that caused this intruder to turn to a life of crime.

11. Not even call the police until his insurance company says that they won't pay for the damage and losses without a police report.

12. Fraudulently claim that the eight intruders took over $3,000,000 worth of property.

13. Hold press conference blaming police for not responding quickly enough.

14. Sue police.

15. Use money from insurance claim and lawsuit settlement to move to gated neighborhood with private security force and no minority residents.

16. Write another check to Sarah Brady's group.

PS... I can't help but notice that the criminal here had no fixed address and speaks no English. Is this one of the people that Obama wants to legalize so that he'll be eligible for free health care?

To Brian Laro and his pals: "Gee, you're stupid."

So out in Aurora, Colorado, we've got this guy, Najibullah Zazi, who, along with his father and another joker in New York, are currently under arrest and facing charges for terrorism-related offenses. Of course it goes without saying that his apartment is a hot-spot for federal police and investigators, so where do idiots Brian Laro and Timothy Guinn decide to play militia? That's right--in the parking lot of the same apartment complex.

A team of FBI agents stumbled across these two half-wits and another, unnamed half-wit walking around in camouflage and carrying loaded weapons. Laro had an AR-15 rifle and Guinn had a .45 pistol. The third half-wit was unarmed.

According to the half-wits, they were just sitting around drinking when they heard gunshots, and apparently decided to put on camouflage, arm themselves, and go out to investigate.

Laro was legally drunk, with a Blood Alcohol content of .123 and Guinn's BAC of .020 was just high enough to get his permit to carry a concealed firearm yanked. Both lost the weapons and Laro wound up getting locked up, basically for misdemeanor stupidity.

Moral of the story is: guns and alcohol don't mix, and neither do Walter Mitty commando patrols and areas where anti-terrorism investigators are trying to work.

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Fan-mail--and a threat--from some idiot

So yesterday, I get an anonymous comment submitted to this blog calling me a racist for supporting the execution of that child rapist and murderer from Ohio. Ah, well...it's the nature of the internet that stupid people are now allowed to extend their stupidity far beyond the walls of their parents' basements, so it wasn't exactly a big deal. I probably would have even allowed the comment to appear except that it also contained a link to some no-doubt lame website and I don't care to give free advertising, especially to a site that obviously appeals to morons like the one who wrote in.

I also really don't care for people who insist on hiding behind "Anonymous" when they say dumb stuff and hurl insults, so I declined to publish the comment.

Well today, my new-found retarded fan/stalker/whatever left another comment, first of all obscenely expressing his impotent rage over the fact that his previous comment never got published, and then threatening to take this site down with a spam attack because of some pro-gun article that I wrote a couple of years ago. Of course being retarded, he didn't think to let me know exactly which pro-gun article that he found so objectionable. Since I have written a fair number of them (us pro-gun folks tend to do that), I have to confess that I have no idea which one twisted his panties and made him cry.

Pity. I'd have written three more just like it if I'd known.

Of course, being a coward, he again didn't sign his name, but since he did come here and comment twice at specific times, I at least have his IP address now, and I expect that it'll come in handy if I ever do detect an attempt at spamming this blog.

However I really don't see this goober having enough friends to mount a spam attack, or being smart enough to manage one on his own. He sure talks tough, but he reminds me of this guy, Rumsfield, from the movie "The Burbs":

Yeah, that's you, "Anonymous". A legend in your own mind, but comedy relief to the rest of us.

Now run along, sonny. Much as I appreciate the chuckle, somewhere out there, a village is no doubt looking for it's idiot....or in your case, I suspect that some gay bar is missing its men's room attendant.

Come on, Ohio....Kill the guy already.

Romell Broom needs to be off our planet today. But those prison volunteers just can't seem to get it together.

LUCASVILLE, Ohio — Executioners struggled to find suitable veins to put a condemned inmate to death Tuesday in a prison scene reminiscent of the problems that delayed executions in 2006 and 2007 and led to changes in Ohio's lethal injection process.

The team of prison volunteers was having trouble inserting IVs into the arms of 53-year-old Romell Broom, who entered the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility shortly before 2 p.m., said Tim Sweeney, one of Broom's attorneys.

Sweeney said execution team members took a break after struggling to access the Broom's veins.

He lost a last-minute appeal earlier in the day, delaying the execution originally scheduled for 10 a.m.

Messages were left for prison officials in Lucasville and for the Ohio Attorney General's office.

A medical evaluation Monday determined that veins in Broom's right arm appeared accessible, while those in his left arm were not as visible.

Broom is sentenced to die for raping and killing 14-year old Tryna Middleton in Cleveland in 1984.

Guys--he raped and murdered a 14 year old girl--someone's child. And this was after he'd already done time for raping another 12-year old girl. If you can't find a vein, I'll donate a baseball bat. Come to think of it, I'll just loan you the bat. I want it back when you're done. I'm betting I could auction it off for big bucks on eBay and donate the proceeds to a crime victims' fund.

Three unpatriotic punks booted from stadium, oft-disciplined attorney dad suing.

It starts out simply enough, according to the news report.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Three teenagers who say they were tossed from a New Jersey ballpark for sitting through the song "God Bless America" are suing the minor league Newark Bears.

The boys say their constitutional rights were violated when they were asked to leave Newark's Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium in June by Bear's president co-owner Thomas Cetnar.

Cetnar confirms the boys were asked to leave but declined to elaborate.

The boys - Millburn High seniors Bryce Gadye (gah-DEE') and Nilkumar (NIHL-koo-mahr) Patel, both 17, and junior Shaan (shahn) Mohammad Khan, 16 - sued in federal court Friday seeking unspecified damages.

They say when they told Cetnar they had the right to remain seated, he cursed and had two security officers remove them from their seats behind home plate.

Now just taking these facts as the whole story, I'm good with them getting booted for their arrogant display of disrespect. Hell, I'd like to take it a step farther and boot them right out of my country. Let the little cretins go enjoy the freedoms and liberties of most any other country for a few years and I predict that they'll be down on their knees begging to get back into this one. And for the record, I not only support Mr. Cetnar 100%, but I respect the hell out of him.

I'd also like to remind these little shitbirds that lawsuits alleging that their constitutional rights were violated really only work when the government denies you a right. Here though, they're in a private venue, with no government actors. The government doesn't own the stadium or the team, nor did a government official order them out. So that said, I have to wonder what kind of third-rate hack lawyer took on a case like this.

I didn't have to wonder long. This longer article explained that the lawsuit was filed on behalf of the punks by Ross Mitchell Gayde, Bryce's daddy, apparently after an unsuccessful attempt to shake the team and the stadium down for cash.

Ross Gadye said he met with general manager Mark Skeels and James Wankmiller, a co-owner, following the incident. He said they apologized and offered and free tickets, but Gadye said the boys wanted an apology from Cetnar, who was not at the meeting, and sued when there was no resolution.

Wankmiller, who declined to talk about whether the boys were asked to leave the ballpark and why, said they offered to meet with Gadye's son and the other boys and never heard back from them. He said it boiled down to money.

"We offered to sit with him and find out what his beef was and he asked for money," Wankmiller said. "That was about it."

So Daddy Gadye tried to pull a Jesse Jackson on them and extort some cash for the little hoodlums, and when the managers refused, he filed a lawsuit and started calling up newspapers and TV stations.

Now had this been me, MY father would have knocked my block off for not standing tall and showing the respect for our country that he taught me to have. Then he would have had me in that baseball team owner's office, where I would have apologized like there was no tomorrow coming had I ever caused a scene like this. But then he was my father, not my buddy, and he saw to it that I at least knew right from wrong.

But apparently these little turds never learned that lesson. And in Bryce Gadye's case, it's easy to see why.

A follow-up search showed that Daddy Ross Gadye is not exactly a good or ethical attorney. I immediately found his name on a 2001 US Supreme Court Order of Attorney Discipline.

D-2279 IN THE MATTER OF DISCIPLINE OF ROSS M. GADYE

Ross M. Gadye, of New York, New York, having been suspended from the practice of law in this Court by order of October 29, 2001; and a rule having been issued and served upon him requiring him to show cause why he should not be disbarred; and the time to file a response having expired;

It is ordered that Ross M. Gadye is disbarred from the practice of law in this Court.

If was memorialized forever as 535 US 924 (2002).He was also admonished by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1999, apparently for practicing a case while under suspension in that jurisdiction. Even more, he also made this list of Lawyers Involved In Dishonest Conduct And Amounts Awarded To Their Clients 1982-2008.

Wow! Suspended in New Jersey, Disbarred in New York, labeled "Dishonest"...what marks of distinction and accomplishment for any attorney! But now we know what kind of chucklehead lawyer brings a case like this. And it's no wonder that his kid is a piece of shit. The apple seldom falls far from the tree.

A whiner complains because a Hero is honored

Are we really that spoiled and ungrateful as a nation that we'd try to seek criminal charges against the escort for a military veteran's funeral procession because it made our ride home a few minutes longer?

Apparently so, at least in Jefferson County, Missouri.

Fortunately Jefferson County, Missouri has men like Sheriff Glenn Boyer who are not afraid to address such gracelessness head on.

JEFFERSON COUNTY — The Jefferson County sheriff has offered a stern response to a woman complaining she was inconvenienced by a procession accompanying a soldier's casket.

The woman wrote an e-mail to Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer after she had a hard time driving around the procession escorting the casket of Sgt. William Woods, who was killed by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

In his response, Boyer called the complaint self-serving and noted that her inconvenience was of little consequence considering what America's soldiers go through.

Boyer's response has made its way to the Internet, where it is getting a strong reaction as it is e-mailed around the country by soldiers and military groups.

Boyer is a Vietnam veteran.

Boyer said he sent a copy of his response to the complaint internally to sheriff's department employees so they would know his position should the department receive similar complaints in the future. He assumes some of the employees sent it on to friends and colleagues. From there, it landed on military, police and news websites across the country.

Boyer estimates he has received more than 200 e-mails.

"She was a citizen who deserved an investigation and an answer to her complaint," Boyer said. "I wrote it from the heart. It took me about five minutes."

Boyer said he would not release the name of the woman who wrote the letter.

"It's not about releasing her name and allowing others to chastise her or cause her any more inconvenience," Boyer said. "What it's about is, making people understand that there are people willing to sacrifice their lives so they can complain about things like that."

The letter Sheriff Boyer received is here:

I tried to call you earlier this morning, but was unable to obtain your extension from the voice mail system as I was not sure of your first name or correct spelling of your last.

I was inadvertently in this procession as I was leaving work on 270 from Creve Coeur and proceeding on Hwy. 30 West. I have some issues and complaints. I called the Sheriff's office last night, but the officer in charge would not speak with me. His name was Corp. Curtis. I am in no way complaining about your officers. I, however, was not treated very fairly when I called last evening because I wanted a ticket/complaint/or at least a slap on wrist for the people involved. Let me explain:
1) This procession should never have been held during rush hour traffic! Hwy. 270 is dangerous and people drive way too fast and there is too much traffic. This soldier's certainly would not have want his family hurt on the interstate taking him to Cedar Hill. People were dead-stopping on the interstate even though the procession was in the far right lane, the other three lanes just stopped. There were many near accidents and possibly were after I drove through. I was in the 2nd to left lane, no way obstructing the funeral procession.
2) I exited off on Gravois (30 W), far right lane. Your police officers went in the left lane to stop any additional on-coming traffic so the procession could exit off 270 into the LEFT lane of 30. Again, I was in the right lane. The St. Louis County officer stopped and turned around at Weber Hill to return on 270 after the procession passed.
3) The road was not closed. (Only for president as far as I know.) Again, the road was not closed. Your officers only had the left lane blocked/closed for the funeral. All other traffic by MO law can proceed as long as they do not interfere (weave in and out )with funeral procession.
Let me say, that I did not know what was happening. I knew the did not have Kennedy coming to STL, at least not yesterday. I was at work all day. No news. Nothing reported on the traffic on the radio driving home.
Anyway, two of these dirty, nasty, renegade, who knows what motorcycle men that were escorting the procession proceeded to stop in front of me in the right lane on Gravois. I had to stop in the middle of an intersection. They proceeded to scream and yell at me about respecting this soldier, etc. One of them climbed off his motorcycle and came over to me and stuck his head in my car continuing to scream at me. I asked him what this was for and he told me I needed to stop as the officers had the road blocked and show some dang respect. #1, the road was not blocked, the funeral was in the other lane. #2, I am proud of our country and sorry for the family, but they had no idea where I was going or anything else. I could have a child at day-care, I could have been sick and racing to the bathroom, I could have a sick parent waiting for me, etc., etc.
#3, They are not law enforcement and had no right to stop in the lane on Gravois and they had no right to scream at me and intimidate and threaten me. If I would have had my pepper spray, I would have used it on this nasty man! He is just a big hoo ha that is not even related to this soldier. The other man did not get off his scooter, but was along side of my passenger window screaming.
I left an abusive husband 1 1/2 years ago and I did not need this intimidation. I was livid and shaking!!
My son is a deputy sheriff in another MO county. I respect police officers. It was not their fault as they were busy with traffic, but I called to make them aware of what was going on during this thing. The St. Louis County officer saw it but of course he was out of jurisdiction.
However, I called last night and your office asked me if I knew about this soldier. Again, I am sorry about him, but I am a taxpayer. I got a speeding ticket a few months ago and paid the fine. I do not deserve to be treated like this. I wanted to let the officer know how these men were acting. Also, they were driving into the turnarounds on Hwy. 30 and then back onto the road. the funeral was much further ahead. One of them nearly got hit by me and other people almost hit him and another as well. I wanted to lodge a complaint about them why they were still there, but no one in your office would take any information or do anything.
This was not a military funeral, even though it was a soldier. There were not military vehicles. It was a funeral and the road was not closed, the lane was closed, I was in the other lane and again, these nasty men had no right to do this and I would have liked them to get a ticket!
I am sorry for the soldier and his family but you cannot let these motorcycle renegades do this. They could have caused several accidents and I really wanted them arrested. If they had any respect for the soldier they would have dressed better and not looked and acted so scuzzy.

Thank you.

So in her eyes, it would have been ok if it had been a procession for the late Ted Kennedy, but as it was just some soldier, her hypothetical need to pick up a kid at daycare or get to a bathroom should trump.

I've given most of my life to public service of some kind or another, but when I read crap like that, I wonder why I ever bothered.

But that Sheriff Boyer, he handled it just fine. I hope that she takes his letter to heart and sees what an ass she was, and I hope that other asses out there read it and quit being asses. If you don't have what it takes to stand next to our best as they fight for America, then at least stand aside when their funeral processions are passing by.

Here's the Sheriff's response (which was never intended to have been made public, BTW).

From:
Glenn Boyer/JEFFCO
Date: 08/31/2009 02:05 PM

Subject: Re: Fw: Re: Funeral Procession - Yesterday p.m.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear XXXXX:

Yes, you do deserve a response and I am willing to give you one.

I would like to say that I am sorry for the inconvenience we caused you during the funeral procession of Sergeant 1st Class William B. Woods, but I cannot do so. I would ask instead that you take a moment of your time to take into consideration the scope of the event. Your very right to complain was the reason Sgt. Woods fought for his country and ultimately gave his life; thus making the ultimate sacrifice for you and your family.

Let me introduce you to him. After high school, Sergeant Woods entered the Marine Corps. After his contract was up, he joined the Army, where he became a Green Beret. He comes from a long line of military members in his family. His Uncle is a Vietnam Veteran and two of his grandfathers were World War II Veterans. His job in the Army was one of the most dangerous jobs - he was a sniper looking for the bad guys to stop before they killed or injured one of our soldiers. He has numerous decorations to include the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

He grew up in Catawissa and was best known by his middle name, Brian. He enjoyed the outdoors, playing sports, and skydiving. He had a wife, Elizabeth, and two daughters, whom he loved dearly. He was a soft-spoken, level-headed young man who was proud to serve his country no matter what the risk. Now, I did not know him, but I wish I did. I am quoting from newspaper articles written about him.

At the young age of 31, he was shot during an engagement with Taliban forces in Ghanzi , Afghanistan . He died of his wounds in Germany on August 16, with his family by his side. He did not choose the time of his death, nor did he choose the time his remains would be brought back to his home in Catawissa. He just did his duty. He was quite a young man.

While you were being inconvenienced in your car on your way home, there were soldiers just like Sergeant Woods carrying 100+ pounds of equipment in 120 degree heat, up some mountain or in the middle of some desert. They will shower out of a helmet liner if they get the chance. They will eat a cold meal of MRE's; something most people would consider garbage. They cannot text their family or friends, or go to McDonalds, or watch TV. They can only continue the mission and look out after the guy to the left and right of them. They don't complain because they know they volunteered. The only thing they ask is that we do not forget the sacrifices they have made.

One of the dirty "big hoo ha" bikers, as you call them, was Brian's uncle, a Vietnam Veteran, like myself. We were not treated with a homecoming. We were spit on and called baby killers by a misguided public. Brian's uncle was giving him the respect that he, himself, never received when he came back and I, for one, am proud of him for doing so.

You say that your brother is a deputy in another Missouri county. I am sure he would be proud to escort the casket of a fallen solder, the same as he would that of a fallen officer. I am also sure he would not agree with your complaint about being inconvenienced.

My mother recently passed away. She was a World War II Veteran, serving the U.S. Army. She would say, maybe you should pick up Sergeant Woods' ruck sack and carry on where he left off. Then you could see first hand what it really is to be inconvenienced.

Per your request, I will forward your complaint to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for his review. It is my personal opinion that your complaint is self-serving and without merit.

Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer

It's men like Sheriff Boyer who restore my faith in the American Spirit.
Rest in Peace, Sergeant First Class William "Brian" Woods.

And on the local front, a shining example of why we need tort reform

Ah, Shirley, Shirley, Shirley... get the hell out of my country.

Woman sues fire company over flower pot

HAGERSTOWN — A Hagerstown woman on Tuesday filed a $150,000 lawsuit against the Maugansville Goodwill Volunteer Fire Co., saying she was injured when she tripped over a flower pot at the fire hall in December 2006, Washington County Circuit Court records show.

Shirley Hiser alleges she tripped over a concrete flower pot near the fire hall’s entrance, fell and was injured Dec. 21, 2006. In the lawsuit filed by Hagerstown attorney Arthur Schneider, Hiser contends, “there were not any warning signs posted and/or any other indication(s) warning patrons of the flower pot being placed in the walkway,” court documents show.

Hiser often attends the fire company’s weekly bingo fundraisers, Chief William Garrett said Thursday afternoon. He said he remembered that she was injured some time ago.

Hiser suffered “severe and permanent injuries,” including a broken left wrist, according to the suit. Her injuries were caused by the negligence of the fire company, the suit alleges.

The fire company “failed to properly maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition for its patrons by keeping the entrance way and walkways unobstructed,” the suit alleges.

Hiser alleges the fire company was negligent for not warning visitors of the “potentially dangerous situation,” court documents show.

“The Defendant [Maugansville Fire Co.] failed to act reasonably in its maintenance and inspection of the premises in that it failed to take reasonable precautions to protect the invitee/plaintiff from the obstructed entrance way,” the suit alleges.

Garrett referred questions to the fire company’s president, Leonard Horst.

“At this point, I don’t know anything,” Horst said Thursday afternoon.

There were no concrete flower pots visible Thursday night at two entrances to the fire hall.

So basically, this woman, who by her own admission had been to this fire hall on previous occasions--and who apparently still shows up to avail herself of the Bingo games to this day--tripped over a flower pot that was in plain view, that she's probably seen and walked around before, and that no one else was tripping over, and now she wants to get paid for being a clumsy cow. Never mind that this volunteer fire company probably can't afford a payout or the rise in insurance premiums of their policy actually covers it. hell--let them sell a truck or two and reduce coverage to the whole community. What's basic fire protection matter compared to this lame-o and her lawyer wanting a payday? I wonder if she yelled "OW!" or BINGO!" when she allegedly fell.

And that's the problem with lawsuits like this. They cost everyone else money. Here, the fire company and the community it serves are now facing the possibility of having to use money that was intended for community protection to pay off one clumsy oaf and her ambulance-chasing lawyer, one Arthur Schneider. So she broke her wrist. That's sad. Responsible adults would chalk it up to the cost of being careless and move on. But not Shirley or her lawyer. They aren't even looking to just get help with a few medical bills--they're going for a hundred and fifty thousand dollars of someone else's money even though the fault in this alleged accident was all Shirley's.

We need tort reform in this country and we need it now. Frivolous tort lawsuits drives up everyone else's insurance costs and the price of products in the marketplace, and it's one of the reasons that medical care is so expensive today. But in that whole 1,000-page health care scheme that Obama and the Democrats are pushing, you won't see one mention of tort reform. And that's because trial lawyers as a group are some of the largest and most faithful contributors to Democratic Party campaign coffers. The Dems won't bite the hand that feeds them even if that hand feeds them with money that it took out of your pocket and mine...and the pockets of entities like the Maugansville Goodwill Volunteer Fire Co..

What do you want to bet that Arthur Schneider votes Dem and has given money to at least one Dem campaign? And double or nothing says that if Shirley Hiser has a car, there is or was a "Vote for Obama" sticker on it somewhere. Water seeks it's own level, after all.

I hope that in the face of this extortion attempt, the Fire Company at least bars Shirley from attending future Bingo fundraisers on their property. Wouldn't want her to get hurt twice now, would we?

When everyone else was running out, some ran in.

It's been eight years. Eight years since Muslim terrorists murdered nearly 3,000 American men, women and children here in our own country via a cowardly sneak attack involving hijacked aircraft.

Hell, you know the story, so I won't repeat it. And I'm not going to post pictures of the planes hitting the buildings, either. You can find those anywhere.

What I want to do today is recognize the sacrifice made by my brothers and sisters in uniform--the brave First Responders who fought their way in to the World trade Center site and worked to save other people's lives until they finally lost their own.
I don't have much to say about these heroes. The following pictures give you an idea of what we lost that day.










































On September 11, 2001, 411 emergency workers who responded to the scene died as they attempted to rescue people and fight fires. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) lost 341 firefighters and 2 FDNY paramedics. The New York City Police Department lost 23 officers. The Port Authority Police Department lost 37 officers, and 8 additional EMTs and paramedics from private EMS units were killed.

These Heroes had families. These Heroes had friends. These Heroes had names.
Let me tell you about just a few of them.

NYPD Officer Moira Smith was the first officer to get on the radio and report the first jet strike on the Twin Towers. She stayed and worked to free victims until the towers came down. She was 38 and left behind a husband--also NYPD--and a two-year-old daughter.






Fire Marshal Ronald Bucca didn't have to enter the towers that day. It wasn't his job. But he couldn't ignore all of those victims, and he was one of the firefighters who'd made it all the way to the 78th floor of the South Tower--one floor below the impact area--when the tower collapsed.




Also killed on that day was FBI Special Agent Leonard Hatton. He wasn't even tasked with responding to this disaster but he did. He entered the World Trade Center towers to help evacuate people even though it wasn't his job. He was trapped and killed when the tower collapsed.




And like Special Agent Hatton, Secret Service Master Special Officer Craig Miller rushed in to help, running towards the nightmare instead of away from it. He also gave his life trying to evacuate people when the towers fell.





And there was another LEO killed on that day, one who hasn't gotten much attention or honor since he was off duty and because he wasn't in New York City.


US Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge Manager Richard Guadagno was aboard Flight 93, which crashed and burned in a Pennsylvania field while enroute to another target in Washington DC. Richard was a sworn law enforcement officer, and we can only wonder what he'd have been able to do had he been allowed to carry his firearm aboard that airliner on that fateful day. Perhaps there'd have been one less crashed airliner. Sadly, we'll never know.



Additionally, Sirius, a Port Authority Bomb Detection K9 was killed on that day. Some may say they he was "just a dog", but he was also a police officer and a partner to Officer David Lim. Officer Lim made it out that day. Sirius did not.








These were some of the best, most selfless men and women that America has produced. They died trying to save others, rushing in again and again so that others might live. Never forget them. And NEVER let it happen again.


FDNY Honored Dead Law Enforcement Honored Dead
A Special Tribute to the brave officers of Port Authority

Ray Nagin Welcomes Illegal Aliens to America

Just when I thought that America's most incompetent mayor couldn't possibly say or do anything that would further tarnish his reputation or that of my adopted home city, New Orleans, Ray Nagin finds a way to prove me wrong.


Nagin and his toady, Police Superintendent Warren Riley, both of whom can be seen here demonstrating their idea of safe and proper gun-handling, have officially declared New Orleans to be a sanctuary city for Illegals.

Nagin said the Hispanic community has been invaluable to the city, before and after the storm.

"We want to say that you're welcome in New Orleans, " Nagin said. "You're welcome in this country. And we want to make sure that from a law enforcement standpoint, that whatever happens in our community, that you are treated fairly, you are treated just as any other citizen is treated in this community."

OK, first of all, Ray...welcoming them to New Orleans is one thing, but saying that illegal aliens are welcome in our whole country? That's a bit much, even from the guy who claims that God wants New Orleans to stay a "chocolate city". And saying that they are equal to those who are actually citizens? I guess that Ray has forgotten how outraged he was about "New Orleans being overrun by Mexican workers" back in October of 2005. Personally, I'm guessing that someone from Obama's camp tapped him on the shoulder and reminded him that Obama wants all of these illegals made leagl and registered as Democrat voters. Why else would he and Riley have completely flip-flopped on the issue? Nagin knows that if he has any sort of political future, it's going to be one that's attached to Obama somehow. Louisianans outside of New Orleans--and even many in New Orleans--look at him like he's Boo-Boo the Fool and want nothing to do with him.

So he's apparently now selling out the working-class poor in New Orleans and doing his best to ensure that Hispanics--legal or not--can safely undercut native-born US citizen laborers in New Orleans.

"We want them to know that -- unless you are the violator or the perpetrator -- there is no threat of deportation or arrest, as it relates to the New Orleans Police Department, " Riley said.

Riley said that when victims of crime come forward, but are later deported because of their status, it becomes a case of "double jeopardy."

"We are not going to make someone a victim twice, " he said.

I'm sorry...how is it "victimizing" someone when you let the consequences of their actions take their course? Most of these people aren't supposed to be here in the first place, and reasonable immigration inquiries don't affect the ones that are.

Riley estimated that between 20,000 and 60,000 illegal immigrants reside in New Orleans, though he acknowledged the number is extremely difficult to pin down.

Martin Gutierrez, director of Hispanic Ministries for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, credited the NOPD for the recent changes.

Gutierrez noted, however, that a severe sense of distrust of the police still exists, and that it's magnified by the fear of deportation. He said Riley's announcement should ease the concerns of many immigrants.

Hey, Illegals...you're supposed to be afraid of our police, same as any other criminal. If our politicians let the police do their jobs, you'd ideally either be too afraid of them to stay here or you wouldn't come here in the first place.

"We will not under any circumstances focus on deportation, " Riley said, noting that his department's goal is to protect and serve everyone.

So how exactly are American citizens served by being forced to pay more in taxes so that Illegals can flood the hospitals for free care and the social service organizations for free food and lodging? How does it serve Americans to have classrooms in the schools diluted with kids who don't understand English and whose parents are working for cash under the table and not even paying taxes into the school systems? And then there is the crime. How exactly are Americans served when they are robbed, raped, or murdered by illegal ilien criminals or mowed down by drunk-driving illegals without licenses or insurance? That stuff happens every day in America and it's entirely preventable just but locking illegals out and deporting the ones found here. But unfortunately, the politicians in Washington--and in cities like New Orleans--have decided that the cost is acceptable if it means the support and votes of Hispanic activist groups and possibly the votes of 12 to 20 million newly-minted US citizens should Obama get his way.

And as for Ray Nagin, do we really need to see any more examples of his "leadership"?

Good men die in rescue of New York Times scumbag

This is wrong on so many levels.

KABUL — British commandos freed a New York Times reporter early Wednesday from Taliban captives who kidnapped him over the weekend in northern Afghanistan, but one of the commandos and a Times translator were killed in the rescue, officials said.

Reporter Stephen Farrell was taken hostage along with his translator in the northern province of Kunduz on Saturday. German commanders had ordered U.S. jets to drop bombs on two hijacked fuel tankers, causing a number of civilian casualties, and reporters traveled to the area to cover the story.

Two military officials told The Associated Press that one British commando died during the early morning raid. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the death had not been officially announced.

The Times reported that Farrell's Afghan translator, Sultan Munadi, 34, also was killed. Farrell was unhurt.

Afghan officials over the weekend said about 70 people died when U.S. jets dropped two bombs on the tankers, igniting them in a massive explosion. There were reports that villagers who had come to collect fuel from the tankers were among the dead, and Farrell wanted to interview villagers.

The Times kept the kidnappings quiet out of concern for the men's safety, and other media outlets, including The Associated Press, did not report the abductions following a request from the Times.

So here we have a reporter for the New York Times, probably the most Anti-US publication that's actually based in the US, and he gets kidnapped while trying to work up another story that no doubt would have started out with something like "US air pirates murdered a bunch of poor villagers for no good reason when..."

Basically, he was there to to the Taliban's job for them--criticizing American troops and undermining their mission and morale. This is something that the Times did nonstop right up until the coronation of Barack Obama. But once their messiah took office, they had to choose a course of action--keep bashing a military that they hated, or quiet down on that since that military was now under Barack Obama and continued criticism of them would be criticism of him.

Apparently the decision was made. The Times has been pretty quiet as of late when it comes to bashing the military and trying to ferret out and publish classified information. But their people are still in the area, and when this one got grabbed by his fellow America-haters, British commandos found out where he was and dropped in to save him, tragically losing one of their own in the process--a true hero worth more than the entire New York Times staff put together.

Also killed was a native Afghani who was serving as a translator and who dreamed of a safe, stable Afghanistan, free of the Taliban. Farrell probably held him in utter contempt, but he too was a better man than Farrell. This man died trying to save his country; Farrell was only there to undermine his own.

Also ironic and hypocritical was the fact that the New York Times self-censored the kidnapping and refused to publish that "news", and also that they asked other publications not to publish it and the rest of the media complied. Now this is at total odds with their longstanding policy of printing every bit of information about the US war effort and agenda, even information that put our troops at risk and even when they had been asked specifically by the White House not to do so. But George Bush was President then, and the New York Times staff hated George Bush, so they did whatever they could to hurt the military and his policies, and if it meant that more US soldiers died...well that was just fine with the Times.

But now when it's one of their own...well they manage to orchestrate a total news blackout by virtue of the cooperation of complicit "competing" media outlets.

Kind of makes you wonder what else we never learn just because a few newspaper bigs decide that it's not in their interest for us to find out, eh?

The New York Times is garbage, unfit for fish-wrapping or birdcage-lining. It'll never be allowed in this house, and the day that it folds will be a day worthy of celebration by all Americans who love this country that it opposes. It's just a damned shame that two really good men had to die for that paper because one of it's Quisling reporters just had to chase down another anti-US story. Thank you for your efforts, Britain, and I'm sorry for your loss. However if there's any such thing as Karma, Stephen Farrell will get run over by a cab or choke on a hot dog immediately on his return to New York.

EDIT: Turns out that Farrell isn't an American--he's a British citizen. (Well that explains his anti-Americanism...he's clearly jealous). So the British Special Forces still traded a hero for a dirtbag, only it was one of their own dirtbags. And today, the New York Times is all mad because they were negotiating with the Taliban and because the soldiers blew the Taliban scum away, the New York Times now feels that it's standing with the Taliban has been harmed.

So I have a new idea. The next time that anyone gets kidnapped in Iraq or Afghanistan, we just call up the kidnappers and trade them Bill Keller, Editor of the Times, for whoever is being held. Then we call it a day and don't waste any more time or resources on rescue attempts. Maybe the Times would actually replace Keller with someone who appreciates his country enough to at least remember which side that he's supposed to be supporting. If it were the 1940's, Bill Keller would have been in federal prison for his seditious acts a long time ago.

The Idiot-Savant dog shows his stuff again.

So the last few days, Lagniappe has been obsessing over the fireplace. He stares at it, he growls at it, he even tries to stick his head in between the partially-open glass doors.

I told him to quit it a few times, but he kept it up. Finally I figured out what his deal with the fireplace was...there are cats on the roof. He obviously smells them or hears them via the chimney. OK, that's pretty good. I can't help but be impressed.

So why are these damned cats on the roof? Well aside from the fact that my neighbors feed and shelter about 800 stray feral cats, I have had a ladder in place against the house to allow me to clean the gutters and otherwise access the roof and it appears that some of the cats have been using the ladder to go up to the roof and come back down.

Now today, I was letting Lagniappe out into his fenced run in the back yard. This is also where the ladder is, and just as I'm opening the door for him, a cat starts coming down the ladder. Lagniappe sees it about the same time that it sees him, and the cat does a quick u-turn and climbs back up the ladder post-haste. And Lagniappe, being the former working dog that he is, bolts for the ladder and starts right up it after the cat.

Yes folks. Dogs can climb ladders. Over the years, I have seen several German Shepherds climb stepladders, playground slides, and any other sort of ladder that was on any sort of angle. They don't do vertical ladders well, but leaning ones...not a problem for a German Shepherd. And Lagniappe is no different. I have worked him on playground slides enough that he's pretty confident on that type of ladder.

But there's a problem--a problem which spurred me to leap out and grab Lagniappe around his mid-section and pull him off the ladder as he was about five rungs up: While dogs can climb ladders with ease, I have yet to see a dog that can climb back down one, Lagniappe included.
Fortunately I was quick enough on the tackle to snag him before he got to the roof, because I would sure hate to have to call the fire department and explain to them how a hundred-pound German Shepherd wound up on my roof, unable to get back down. Still, ya gotta love that GSD drive.

So now Lagniappe is back on Terra Firma, and the ladder is no longer up against the side of the house. And as for the cats..well their day is coming.

And the world wobbled on it's axis...

I took Nicki and her son out shooting over the week-end, and I saw something happen that I never thought I'd live to see.

My Uzi would not function.
The world's most reliable submachinegun crashed, right then and there, refusing to fully chamber rounds. I was stunned. Clearly this is some sort of portent. Uzis aren't supposed to fail--not ever.

Maybe Nicki is a jinx?

I worked on it at the range, and even enlisted the help of two other machine gunners to troubleshoot it, all to no avail. We couldn't get it running again.

Fortunately they also had one which they were kind enough to loan us so that I could at least keep my promise to Nicki's son. I'd promised him some trigger time on an Uzi, and I was pissed that a malfunctioning gun was interfering. However sometimes things just work out, and in this case, as luck would have it, there were other Uzi owners on the range--Uzi owners who were kind enough to just hand one over to three total strangers for a bit once I explained my dilemma.

So the boy got to shoot up an old barbecue grill with an Uzi after all, even though my Uzi crapped out, because gun people really are some of the best people when you need help.

As for me, I've now swapped out the mainspring and bolt in my Uzi and it seems to work fine now, but I confess that my faith in it's legendary reliability is shaken. It's going to take a lot of shooting before I can trust it like I used to again.

So if you'd like to help, donated cases of 9mm ammunition are gratefully being accepted. You wouldn't want me to not trust my Uzi, would you?

Another K-9 WTF moment...

So I neglected to put out Lagniappe's breakfast yesterday morning. And typically, he let me know it in short order by starting his trademark "feed me" dance that usually entails him running up to me, jumping around until he has my attention, then running back to his dish. If I'm slow to respond, he repeats it and his antics grow more frenzied the longer I take to put food down for him.

Well yesterday he's doing this, and when I finally get around to giving him the food, he's to the point where he's whirling and prancing and jumping up on his hind legs, basically just to do it.

And as luck would have it, one of us (either me or him...I'm betting it was him) had left the silverware drawer open, and sure enough, Lagniappe jumped up when he was right under the open drawer. He hit the drawer hard enough to pop silverware out onto the floor, and the only sound louder than the crash was the "YELP!" that he let out.

He stood there for a second, shook his head like he was trying to clear the cobwebs out, and then sat down and looked at me like it was somehow MY fault that he'd just brained himself on the open drawer.

Would someone please tell me why police departments place such stock in these dogs? Seriously, I don't get it.