Happy Halloween

Hope yours was all that and more!

Its a start

Aparantly, Randy Sander's is going to step down at the end of the season. His resignation anouncement is expected today.

This is somewhat welcome news, and I hope him all the best in his future endevors. He has been as responsible for the victories of the past as anyone at UT, and I really don't hold him responsible for the debacle this season has become.

No, that blame can rest only on one person, Fire Phil Fulmer. Until he takes some responsibility and steps down himself, the foundation of the Volunteer's program won't strengthen.

Couldn't Have Said It Better

Peter King, a gun banning bigot from New Jersey (I think he is just generally misinformed about the issue - like most in Jersey) who happens to write one of the better online professional football columns, hits it out of the park with his reaction to Sheryl Swoopes big announcement.

a. I would like to announce, drum roll please, that I'm a heterosexual male.

b. Which is to say, I don't understand the mania around athletes announcing their sexual preference. Do the vast majority of Americans care who Sheryl Swoopes sleeps with? That's assuming the vast majority of Americans even knows who she is. That's not a dig at Swoopes, just astonishment that we in the media put her coming-out announcement on the front pages of sports sections across the country. It's mind-boggling to me. I'd like to go back and see how many of those sports sections put stories from the WNBA championship series on the front page this season. We somehow think if an athlete is gay it's bigger news than the reason we're supposed to care about her -- her skill as a player, and what she does with that skill -- in the first place.

Fire Phil Fulmer

The hits keep coming in.

9:30 am on a Sunday and Vol nation has given me 250 Fire Phil Fulmer Hits

Bring it on

Update 9:30 PM

Well, the hits keep rolling in. I have no idea precisely how many Fire Phil Fulmer hits I received today, but its a lot. I'd say at least 90% of the traffic today has been referrals from people doing Fire Phil Fulmer searches - about 700 visitors (which is way beyond my normal traffic, let alone my Sunday afternoon traffic).

To give you an idea, here are the site meter pages for the last 40 visitors.

The Other Blog

Hey, for what its worth - not that anyone is interested - but I've started another blog where I am blogging about fitness, hiking, and eventually telemark skiing (once the snow hits the ground) under another name.

Check it out.

I know, Blogger sucks, but hey - its easy. And free.

Fire Phil Fulmer

Maybe this will be the new theme around here.

2 minutes after the latest embarrassing lost I indicated it would be interesting to see how many in the Volunteer Nation were on the same wavelength as me.

Well, in the last hour I have had 43 visit from Google looking to Fire Phil Fulmer.

Isn't about time????

Here's what I was saying as the season began and we were still ranked in the top 5.

Disgusting

South Carolina - 16
Tennessee - 15


I've said it before, I'll say it again, Fire Phil Fulmer.

(82 google hits on it yesterday, can't wait to see what tomorrow brings).

And remember, we could have fired his ass last year and had Steve Superior.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

Now's the time, and there is plenty enough precedent for it.

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer had never lost to South Carolina. The last Tennessee coach who did, Johnny Majors, was forced out of his job six days later in 1992.

Fire Phil Fulmer

Weekend Lyric

Barstools And Dreamers
Words & Music by Widespread Panic

The barstools built for dreamers
We'll fit fine and find
All the worlds dreams have died
But tonight they're only taking thirsty people
Who've been pullin' on their drinks
From a glass that lies a bar length wide
And in the drink there swim the swimmers
And those whose swims have dried
Take another look, take another pull
Take another pour, take another pull
Before you take a ride

Heir to an open barstool, right there's one by "Mary the Fool"
Mary sees the bartender's knees
And she says that it's a bottle that she was born to be
And I say, "that's cool . . . just right, right for a fool."
Thinkin' whiskey, she bought me a drink
I won't cross a word of what the lady thinks

Pray I don't cross what the lady thinks
She's been thinking out too loud though
This time I can't hear the pinball machine
Well there's a birdman playing tiny little sideways bongos
Pulling all those words down, down, down
Look at how the numbers glow
In the glass there rolls the iron ball
And a quarter states the toll that's all (that's all)
You take another look, take another pull
Take another pour, take another pull
Before you take a chance

Look at your hands, they're just right for a new kinda dance
Just forget what your bodies just done
And ride all the waves that the drums rest on
Like the smallest babies do, ya' know the little newborn babies do
If there's some food that the moon feeds on
A baby won't hold it back, won't hold it back

Baby doesn't know what I just said
Baby doesn't know the words that I just used
Babies haven't learned any words yet
Babies haven't been used by any words yet
People only think, people only talk
People only think in words they already know
The babies haven't learned any words yet (no)
They only know what the people feel
They don't really care what the people think
They only care what the people feel
Music only knows what the people feel
Babies only care and hear what the people feel, feel

Blogging Life

Kimbalina gets married and throws up one of the best photoblog posts I've ever had the pleasure of perusing.

Scientists Unsure of How to Protect River

Looks like, after all these years, they are still trying to figure out how to mitigate the harm from the Glen Canyon Dam.

Thats funny, cause David Brower had the solution years ago. Edward Abbey also came up with one too, a long time ago, though I don't exactly agree with his approach.

On Course For Uranus

Apparantly, George Takei is gay.

Is this news?

Hat Tip to the Texican Tattler for the new and improved title. He win's the brilliant pun award.

Ebay Idiots

Don't ya just love auction fever.

Ebay bidding on this RCBS reloading kit is currently at $249.50 plus $22.00 shipping for a total of $271.50

You can buy the same exact one, in brand spanking new condition, over at Midway USA for $229.99 plus $16.08 shipping for a total of $246.07.

Thats a difference in price between the used one - which you will probably get but always run the risk of getting screwed on - and the new one of $23.98. Heck thats like Midway throwing in a set of .45 ACP dies for free.

Art Geek

The Met is having a retrospective on Fra Angelico's work. Looks like I will be there for it over Thanksgiving. I am very excited, plus, its Sarah Hempel approved (Congrats on the marriage!!)

Anyway, I used to run an Art Picture of the Week posting here. This seems like a reasonable and appropriate time to revive that tradition, so here you go.



If you can make it to New York, I highly encourage you to attend.

Who Will Be The Next Supreme Court Justice?

Well,

I didn't think it would happen, but Harriet Miers has withdrawn her name from consideration as the next associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.

She claims it is because members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have pressed her to release documents she prepared for the White House and the executive branch. I don't think so. My guess is this has much more to do with the blogsphere, another notch on their belt. Just ask Trent Lott.

Of course, the discussion will quickly turn to whom President Bush will name in her place, to replace Sandra Day O'Conner. The usual suspects, Michael Luttig, Harvie Wilkinson, Michael McConnel, Janice Rogers Brown, etc., of course will all be in play.

But, if Bush is serious about appointing someone outside the usual Beltway/Ivy League circles, I think he may find a jurist right here in little 'ol Fairfax County Virginia with the cogliones to do whats right and respect the constitution.

Meet Fairfax County General District Court Judge Ian M. O'Flaherty (heh, he shores up the Irish votes too, will Kennedy support him?).

What has Judge O'Flaherty done which is so remarkable? He has challanged the beast that is MADD and the local prosecutors office and stood up for basic constitutional principles.

"The Fifth Amendment," said O'Flaherty, 59, "is an absolute protection against requiring the defendant to say or do anything in the course of a trial. . . . The Fifth Amendment means the defendant can sit there, not say or do anything, and at the end of the case say, 'Can I go home now?' "

No other judge in Fairfax -- or elsewhere in Virginia, as far as can be determined -- has joined O'Flaherty. But the judge said some other jurists have told him they agree with him. "I had one judge tell me, 'I'd rule that way, but I don't have the guts to,' " O'Flaherty said. "I told him, 'You should be driving a truck.' "

Of course, no one would normally think all these judges would have understood the Fifth Amendment's (but, then, if they did would Kelo have ever occurred?)

Apparantly, they don't when it comes to drunk driving where the state PRESUMES you are intoxicated if your blood alcohol content is .08 or higher and places the burden of proof on the defendant, often times necessitating their testimony.

As it does in all states and the District, Virginia's drunken driving law states that, for anyone with a .08 or higher reading on a breath test, "it shall be presumed that the accused was under the influence of alcohol intoxicants at the time of the alleged offense."

Prosecutors point out that Virginia's law creates a "rebuttable presumption," meaning the defendant has the opportunity to prove it wrong. But O'Flaherty said that wrongly shifts the burden of proof from the prosecution to the defense.

He's correct. Ever hear the phrase "innocent until proven guilty?"

Well, it doesn't apply to drunk driving cases where MADD has turned into a neo-prohibitionst outfit and pressed for maddenly lower and lower levels at which the BAC would then be presumed to be guilty.

Remember Countertop's Second Rule?

Pigs Get Slaughtered

Perhaps MADD has been feeding at the trough of public acceptance and unyeilding approval for too long. They've gotten a bit greedy these days, as some in the blogsphere have begun to point out (and others in DC unfortunately discovered)

Luckily, in Fairfax County, of all places, we have someone with the courage to stand up to them.

O'Flaherty made it known in July that he felt Virginia's DWI law unfairly deprived defendants of the presumption of innocence if breath tests showed that they had a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher, levels at which people are presumed to be intoxicated.

As a result, Judge O'Flaherty has refused to allow evidence from the breathalyzer tests to convict defendants. If there is no other proof of intoxication - such as failing all the field sobriety tests, etc. - he has been dismissing the cases with cause. Since a dismissal at trial negates any chance of appeal, the Commonwealth's Attorney has resorted to attempting to withdraw the charges prior to trial, once they learn O'Flaherty is the judge. He's put a stop to that as well, refusing their requests and going so far as threatening any future Commonwealth's Attorney who argues with him over it. In total, he has allowed a six to be withdrawn - so that an appeal can be taken to the State Supreme Court - but refuses to allow anymore stating that a half dozen is a reasonable number to try and appeal. The rest, he dismisses if there is no other evidence - beyond BAC - of intoxication.

Similarly, the judge said, "sometimes these tests are taken two hours after" an arrest, and there's no evidence of the blood alcohol content at the time of the traffic stop. O'Flaherty said one way to quickly obtain a blood alcohol reading would be to have a mobile van available with breathalyzer equipment, though he realized that would be costly.

"Criminal law shouldn't be built around saving a buck," O'Flaherty said. "We shouldn't convict people because it's cheaper and easier."

Clueless Asshole of the Week

Deputy Donna Black of the Hernando County Florida Sheriff's Office.

Here's why.

Shy arrested an 11 year old "For bringing weapons onto school property, there is zero tolerance. It's been that way for years. And this is not just here. That's nationwide."

What did the 11 year old bring to school? A gun? A switchblade? A baseball bat? A tazer? A skillet? A pork chop?

Nope. She had a butter knife.

When administrators asked the girl to dump out the contents of her bag, though, out came the knife - wrapped, the arrest report says, in a Sonny's Bar-B-Q napkin with tape around it.

And, as Deputy Black is quick to remind us, a butter knife is a dangerous weapon.

Funniest Bumper Sticker In A Long Time

Saw this on my drive in today (speaking of which, why did Ravnwood stop his daily commute reports)

Dick + Bush = Fucked

Don't agree with the politics, but its brilliant none the less.

Repression, Its Contagious

Says Uncle has been doing a pulitizer worthy job of highlighting the repression of adult fun in Knoxville. I guess I might as well pick up on the story down in Chattanooga where it looks like the immoral minority - complicit with the City Council - is once again out to ruin everyone's good time.

A business that sells adult movies and toys in Chattanooga remains open even after police officers say it has no license.

The owner of Boulevard Cinema, formerly Cinema One Adult Bookstore, was supposed to be in court on charges of operating an adult establishment without a license.

But the court hearing has been passed again.

Owner John Harden Junior's attorney says he needs more time to prepare for the case.
Despite the city's citation of no adult entertainment license, Boulevard Cinema stands open for business.

Good for 'em. Keep sticking it to the city, right where the sun don't shine.

They are located on Rossville Blvd, across from Church's Chicken. Check 'em out next time your in the area.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Wilma brought snow to western Virgina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

The storm was worst in Garrett County, the westernmost county in Maryland, where the average elevation is 2,500 feet. A meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Pittsburgh said the county was covered by 8 to 12 inches of snow.

As my friends over at Whitegrass said:

Tonight: Periods of snow, mainly before 3am. Low near 29. Northwest wind between 8 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

"we're skiing on 6 to 8 but tellum its 10 on the website" Ben Newstat

Don't get the wrong idea about Ben's statement, Whitegrass is far and away the most honest - nee, the only honest - ski area when it comes to their weather and trail reports.

Looks like the season might start early. Better sharpen the teleboards.

Jeep Update

Heh!

Who says persistance doesn't pay off. After harrassing USAA and demanding to see the full vehicle appraisal, I noticed a number of errors and easy points of to challange in how they valued my Cherokee.

First, I refused to accept their baseline estimate. Even though USAA insisted their estimate was "accepted by regulators in 50 states" I returned with a Virginia Attorney General's opinion indicating that the Blue Book (which valued my vehicle almost 1000 more) was an acceptable source of auto pricing in Virginia.

Second, since its a low mile vehicle, I successfully argued that the base figure to increase its value needed to be adjusted. Its one thing for a car to have 15,000 fewer miles on it. Its quite another thing for the car to have 55,000 fewer miles on it. My argument to them was that the car had 3 1/2 fewer years of driving on it than the base line car and as such should either have been given considerably more of a bonus or they should use a 1999 or 2000 vehicle as the baseline.

Finally, after looking over the estimator's statement very carefully I noticed there was a $1000 deduction for "prior existing damage" but no explanation of what the damage was. USAA didn't know what it was for but the claims adjuster indicated, after looking at pictures of the car, that it was "for the damage to the tail gate." Well, duh. Thats the damage caused by the accident.

After she failed to return my calls, I decided to call her supervisor. In a very calm and reasoned tone I explained how I knew my adjuster was overworked and under pressure responding to the Katrina and Rita claims, but I was just a single lonely guy who was now without a car for 2 1/2 weeks and getting frustrated at the difficulty I had communicating with USAA. I again went through my three concerns with their value estimate, and declaration that the minimal damage the Jeep sufferred resulted in it being declared a total loss (this concerns over losing my beloved Cherokee increased after a very unsuccessful weekend of car shopping). He agreed with me across the board, had the estimates recalculated, and today the claims adjuster called me to let me know that the car would be fully covered and repaired if I wanted it to be.



I knew thats what I wanted, the frame damage - whatever there was - really was minimal according to the body shop (the owner is a long time family friend who couldn't believe they were going to total the Cherokee).

Thank goodness. I am getting my car back.

Porky Ponzi's Wimpy Pyramid Scheme

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a cheeseburger today"

-Wimpy



I commented on Professor Reynolds' Pork Buster campaign way early on, pointing out why I thought it was an admirable but ultimately futile effort. Politicians sole job is to bring home the pork, and if they have to, they will hide that bacon better than you can ever imagine.


So far, I haven't seen anything to change my opinion. In fact, some of the policy contortions that I've seen from Republican's rival the greatest wordsmithing and evasions of either John Kerry or Bill Clinton.



Take this letter from Maryland Sec. of Transportation Robert Flanagan that was posted today.

The funding plan for the ICC, which the Maryland General Assembly endorsed during its 2005 session, includes a combination of creative funding sources

Creative Funding Sources.

That's wimpy political speak for Porky Ponzi.

Hypocritical Asshole Alert

Sure, he'll go and make bajillions prentending to be James Bond, but the new guy who will never fill Sean Connery's shoes is apparantly a gun banning bigot too!

I hate handguns. Handguns are used to shoot people and as long as they are around, people will shoot each other.

That's a simple fact. I've seen a bullet wound and it was a mess. It was on a shoot and it scared me. Bullets have a nasty habit of finding their target and that's what's scary about them.

Interesting, maybe I am buying the wrong bullets cause it takes a lot of work on my part to ensure they hit their target. Its frustrating really, cause I always assumed my bullets would funciton just like the intelligent precision guided bullets they use in Hollywood movies. If you've ever seen my 25 yard pistol scores, you'd know thats not the case.

Anyway, I wasn't planning on seeing the new Bond movie anyway, now I know I won't.

Mike Wallace: Banned By CBS!!!

Apparantly, that gun banning bigot, Michael Wallace, has been banned from reporting or referring new stories on gun control to 60 minutes or CBS News.

Good, its as it should be.

Twisted Sister and Guns

It always comes down to Howard Stern.

Some bloggers head out on mid week dates to see lesbian comedy troupes. I play on Howard's other team, and end up staying up reading Dee Snider's 20 Questions on Metal Sludge.

Used to be a big Twisted Sister fan when I was in like 8th grade.

In his interview, Dee tells a great story about his relationship with Alice Cooper.

We actually had a problem with Alice’s people backstage. They tried to stop Mark “The Animal” Mendoza. We had a co-bill, in New York. And they tried to stop Mark from walking up a set of stairs backstage. You can’t walk up these stairs, this is Alice’s floor. To which Mark “The Animal” Mendoza responded, and this is the guy who came to our first re-union rehearsal with a gun. He said, I’m walking up the stairs, you do what you gotta do. (Dee laughing) And the guy looked at Mark, and Mark is big. And he’s gotten bigger. He’s a fucking bounty hunter. And the guy stepped aside and Mark walked up the stairs.

Pretty cool, I know its not much, but its something.

Anyway, if you have a chance, check out his VH1 show too. And read the entire interview, he seems like a real decent person. Certainly sounds like his priorities are in the right place. Oh, and not thats I was ever planning to anyway, but I will never buy anything from Krokus - or listen to Ballroom Blitz again.

Just call me Merrill

Capt. Merrill Stubbing, that is.


Its another Love Connection on my boat of love!


Details on round two forthcoming (if our lovebloggers care to share).

Love, exciting and new
Come aboard, we're expecting you
Love, life's sweetest reward
Let it flow, it floats back to you

Love Boat soon will be making another run
The Love Boat promises something for everyone
Set a course for adventure
Your mind on a new romance

And love won't hurt anymore
It's an open smile on a friendly shore
It's love
Welcome aboard
It's love!

Take Your Stand on Miers

For what its worth, I am neutral on the Miers nomination.

I used to think they would confirm her, but am no longer so certain. I really don't care one way or the other though. As I have said in the past, as a rather normal person the more the intellectual egg heads (and college and law school professors) criticize her, the more I like her. Still, I am shocked at how poorly the entire process has been managed. Its still not as poorly run as Jerry Kilgore's campaign, but its pretty close.

In Case Your Wondering . . . .

6-3

Fire Phil Fulmer!

(and I got 93 hits yesterday from folks doing google searches for the term)

Kalishnikitty

Ever have one of those days?

My New Car???

I am going to look at a Land Rover on Sunday, but I think I really want this Rock Crawlin ready Cherokee.

Only thing is, I don't think the wife will agree with me.

Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act

It passed the House today and will be signed by the President tomorrow (if not sooner). Thank Goodness.

I've written about it in the past and really have nothing more to say, but urge you to check out the Dummocrats Post.

Back in the day, John Tant was not only the most thoughtful and prevalent poster over at Glock Talk, but he was also one of the original outstanding bloggers (not to mention the first person to let me try out a Kalashnikov). Sadly, family, work, school, whatever, got in the way and his once super blog no longer exists. Luckily, however, he does still occasionally (and I mean very occasionally) blog over at the Dummocrats and I urge you to check his fisking of Laurie Kellman's AP report out.

Powerball Meme!!

What will you do with YOUR winnings

1) $17 million a year for 20 years or $164.4 Million Cash Value

$164.4 million up front (which is actually going to be about $82.2 million). Of course, I won't collect it until I move to Tennessee or Florida or some other freedom loving state that doesn't want to take my income. Most would go into energy stocks.

2) First purchase

Either a Tommy Gun or a Barrett

3) Statement to the Today Show?

I plan on telling Katie Couric just what my first purchase was and how I intend to dedicate a portion of my money to defeating her failed communist ideology.

A Total Loss

Fuck.

The insurance company just declared my Cherokee a total loss. Its worth $8300 according to the Kelly Blue Book and they say the damages are going to be about $4500.

Fuck. I don't want to buy a new car. They are putting me through with the settle loss representative right now. Apparantly, I can b buy the "salvaged" car from them and fix it on my own.

Anyone have any advice on how to proceed?

Rocky Top

I've discussed why I think Tennessee ought to Fire Phil Fulmer before, but if they want to start and just Fire Randy Sanders, that would be acceptable to.

Why do we accept mediocrity? We always have been a mediocre basketball program, but football is what we do best in Knoxville. Unfortunately, for the past 6 years we look more like a team from Nashville than the Big Orange from K-Town. We are 6-11 against Top 10 teams since 1999. Fulmer’s record against Spurrier, Richt, Tuberville, Saban, and Urban Meyer is a mere 6 wins and 16 losses. Hello, there is a problem here. Do you clap your hands Phillip when you reflect on your record against other SEC coaches?

Randy, Randy, Randy. You are the Offensive Coordinator. You are in the line of fire. If the problem really is fat Phil, wouldn’t you simply put in a few new plays so you do not look like an idiot on most third downs? The excuse bucket is empty this season. The O-Line was as experienced and healthy as it has been in years. You have not one, but two quarterbacks to hand the ball off or throw a wide receiver screen on third and 9. This is not a rebuilding year; the Vols were ranked #3 in preseason.

They even have a new take on Rocky Top

Sanders must go. Of that, there is no doubt,
But Fat Phil's too scared to risk it.
All he really cares to think about,
Is where he might find his next biscuit.

I still believe Fat Phil Fulmer is the problem, but I am more than willing to watch them Fire Randy Sanders as the first step in replacing Fat Phil.

But, hey. Maybe its neither ones fault and simply the product of bad karma? Will the decision to remove Davey Crocket from their merchandise go down as a knuckle-headed Babe Ruth type move?


WELCOME GOOGLE VOLUNTEER READERS - There is plenty more here on the atrocity that is Phil Fulmer's reign. Like the former coach whom he took down, now that Phil has disgraced Neyland Stadium with a loss to South Carolina, he too should be fired . . . perhaps we can offer him up as a sacrificial goat to the forces of the NCAA and Buck Fama who will cotninue to hound Rocky Top with investigations and threats till Fulmer is gone.

Feel free to look around, and enjoy

Awsome Video

What a great testament to the 1st Amendment. (100% Not Work Safe)


Hat Tip to Uncle.

Pistol of the Century

About.com is one of my favorite internet sites. Chock full of all sorts of gunnie goodness - a rarity for a mainstream publication - I was surprised that I hadn't read this great article on the 1911 before.

ts basic mechanical design, based on John Browning’s original 1898 patent for a recoil-operated autoloader mechanism, has been the foundation or point of reference for virtually every other centerfire autoloading pistol subsequently produced by handgun manufacturers everywhere for the entire 20th century, and it is more widely copied and imitated than any other pistol ever made.

Go check it out, and in light of it and the great comic strip I ran earlier, I present you with this. My own personal John Browning masterpiece.

Gun Bigots Lose Work

I usually don't blog about work, but this is an exception.

There is a case that the Supreme's recently granted Certiorari for. Its gotten some attention in the press and a particular attorney who runs the appellate program at a large law firm has been trying to grab some of our appellate work. Anyway, he made an interesting presentation to us, and his team is certainly qualified to handle the work, but as I was researching his background this afternoon I discovered he is an advisor to a number of bigoted gun banning groups.

That made the choice easy for me, and I decided to put my support behind another firm. Since I am the lead staffer on this issue, my opinion carried some weight and indeed, we are now seeking alternate counsel.

Made me feel good.

Google Ads and Guns

Not that I would ever ask my readers to either click on my google ads or pay attention to them, but I have noticed that in response to my most recent Chelsea Smiles post, lots of ads are showing up for punk rock stuff.

Thats cool, but not really the point here. I want gun stuff.

You hear that Google Adsense? Gun stuff.

Firearm stuff. Boomstick Stuff. Defense Stuff. Ammo Stuff. Pistol Stuff. Revolver Stuff. Colt Stuff. Ruger Stuff. Smith & Wesson Stuff. Gun Chick Stuff. NRA Stuff. Shotgun Stuff. Hunting Stuff.

Did I mention GUN STUFF?

Lets see if this works.

Sometimes, Idiots Are Right

Amazing,

Here I am watching C-Span and Idiot Queen Sheila Jackson Lee gets up to make her 1 minute floor speech. Incredibly, she says something intelligent in her praise of the Houston Astros.

Essentially, and I am paraphrasing, she stated:

They have shown us that having a strong will, hard work, and putting in the time to train and obtain the skills will lead you to greater opportunities and help you win the fight.

Who would have thought. Now, if only she asked her constituents to display the same tendancies before screaming for more federal handouts.

Shut The Fuck Up!!

A great blast from the past!

Carnival of Liberty

Patrick Henry famously said "Give me liberty or give me death."

I like Patrick, and so I present to you the Carnival of Liberty.

I ought to also point out I am now a member of the Life, Liberty, Property community. More info is available here.

The Chelsea Smiles

I've blogged about The Chelsea Smiles before.


Hard rock loving punk band? Or punk loving hard rock band?

An earful of their just-released EP (which includes two tunes from the upcoming LP due early next year) and it’s clear what they are about: ballistic beats, raging guitar-driven melodies and potent double-whammy vox; Black and Youth trade off both lead guitar and singing duties, a sonic approach that’s even more imposing live. They’ve been incessantly compared to the Ramones, but their sound is more like a cross between the Hellacopters, AC/DC and the New York Dolls: punk meets metal, with bits of gutter-glam grit. Simply put, catchy, ballsy rock & roll.

If your a fan of straight up, hard hitting rock and roll, check them out. They have some tunes up on their site and the video to their new single, Nowhere Ride.

Simply Awsome!

You heard it here first. Todd Youth is the real deal and has been rocking out and living the rock & roll life since we were in 7th grade.

We’ve all heard the rock & roll savior speech from band guys before, but out of (Todd) Youth’s mouth, it sounds honest and even plausible. Thin, pale and covered in tattoos, he looks the part, sure, but that’s not what we’re buying. Despite the name, this N.Y.-bred rocker is no kid, and the Chelsea Smiles is probably his last shot at stardom - yet there’s not a drop of desperation (or insincerity) in his deep, nicotine-scorched tone. Of course, Hot Topic would be out of business if there weren’t already plenty of jet-headed teens with coal-smudged eyes and spiked belts out there. The thing is, these days those kids listen to My Chemical Romance or, worse, Ashlee Simpson. Virtually no one else is spewing the kind of exhilarating, Johnny Thunders-style rock & roll championed by the Chelsea Smiles. This loud and proud music really is a lifestyle for Youth and his gang of raven warriors, and you get the feeling that the only thing about the band that will change if they get famous is the size of their venues.

I haven't seen him in a few years - but have to say I am dam impressed and looking forward to seeing them this weekend here in DC.



Head on over and check them out now and let me know what you think.

Its an improvement

The New York Times has published another idiotic anti gun editorial, but this time with a twist. Instead of blindly trumpeting the lies of the gun banners, the Times has used some interesting wordsmithing to get its point across while still protecting its credibility.

This extraordinary shield, written to the diktat of the National Rifle Association, is so sweeping that it would have barred the D.C. sniper settlement and other valid negligence claims, according to legal experts stunned that any industry could ever win such blanket immunity.

See that, its got to be the final straw for the gun banners. Even the Times won't listen to them anymore. Sure, like the good party members they are, they will print the lies, but the Times apparently is no longer willing to put them forth as their own.

This is a smart strategy on the part of the Grey Lady, cause those legal experts are wrong. The bill expressly doesn't apply to suits arising from a situation like that of the Bullseye Shop where the owners violated the law.

Heh!

Hat tip (ie: shamelessly stolen from) Tamara K.

Fuck Him

God gives him a gift, the ability to rise above it all and earn more than his wildest dreams.

What does this shit head do in return?

Starts a fight in a nightclub.

he girlfriend told officers that Hamlin placed his hand on another man's back and said, "Excuse me." The man told Hamlin to stop pushing, and the two men began shoving each other.

According to the report, Hamlin then punched the man in the face;

Like I said, fuck him.

The club's owner, Larry Culp, said his security guards kept Hamlin separated from the two men outside for about 15 minutes as the bar was emptying at closing time. Culp said the guards tried to restrain Hamlin "five, six or eight times. The other guy started to back down, and as soon as the head of my security team turned his head, [Hamlin] went after him.

"He had plenty of chances to walk away from this incident," Culp said, adding Hamlin "went out of his way" to provoke a fight.

He's now in the hospital with a fractured skull, a blood clot and bruised brain tissue. I don't care. I have ZERO sympathy for Ken Herring. Seems like the shit head got what he deserved.

The International Blog - Swedish Edition

Look at this. Earlier today I complained that I was getting too many Norwegians and not enough Swedes. Today I see the percentage of visitors from Norway is down to 8% while Sweden pops up with 1% of my traffic. Cool!!!

Välkomnande Till Räknaren Kronisk. Tack själv mycket för besöka. Jag hoppa det du njuta av din stanna. Låta mig veta om JAG kanna hjälpa du ifall något väg.

A promotion for 'self-important idiot

I thought they were talking about Madonna.

Hypocrite Alert

The whore who brought you this:

They can beg and they can plead
But they can’t see the light, that’s right
’cause the boy with the cold hard cash
Is always mister right, ’cause we are

Living in a material world
And I am a material girl

and this



not to mention this




is now trying to sell us this

The material world. The physical world. The world of illusion, that we think is real. We live for it, we're enslaved by it. And it will ultimately be our undoing . . .

[people] are going to go to hell, if they don't turn from their wicked behavior.

I refer to an entity called 'The Beast'. I feel I am describing the world that we live in right now. To me 'The Beast' is the modern world that we live in.

Color me a wee bit skeptical, which brings up Countertop's Second Truth (the first being pigs get slaughtered):

Basic intelligence decreases proportionaly to the amount of money a person has amassed while undertaking a profession with no long term (or often times any) benefit for humanity.

Ammo Day

Ammo Day is now only 34 days away. Will you be participating?

Kevin Baker has a great twist for this years event - courtesy of the folks at AR15.com (a site I should visit more often) that I wholeheartedly endorse.

1. On November 19, 2005 head to your nearest local Wal Mart.

2. Pick up a copy of the Red Dawn DVD then make your way over to the sporting goods counter.

3. Purchase as many boxes of Winchester White box as you can afford or are possible plus twice as many rounds of .22lr that you think you need (my own added twist - you can never have enough .22lr)

4. Pay for it as close to 3:30pm CENTRAL TIME as possible (begin ringing it up at like 3:27pm or so in order for the check out to come in at 3:30pm). This means, if you are on the east coast like I am, make the purchase at 4:30 pm. If your in the Western Mountains, make it at 2:30 pm. If your in Alaska, your on your own to figure out what time it is.

Meet Tai Sham

Pretty Cute!



We are big fans of the National Zoo and can't wait to meet Tai Sham in December!

In the meantime, check out the PandaCam!

I Am Washington

George Washington You scored 85 Wisdom, 65 Tactics, 57 Guts, and 38 Ruthlessness!

Washington first served as a British officer during the French and Indian War, a war which he inadvertently helped to start. Afterwards, he resigned his post to marry Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy widow with two children. He was elected to the House of Burgesses and became a revolutionary leader at the outset of the American Revolution, attending both the first and second Continental Congresses. Washington was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War (1775–83), leading the Americans to victory over the British, although sometimes in not the most scrupulous of ways. After the war, he served as president of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Because of his central role in the founding of the United States and enduring legacy, Washington is sometimes called the "Father of his Country."

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 98% on Unorthodox You scored higher than 43% on Tactics You scored higher than 58% on Guts You scored higher than 19% on Ruthlessness

Link: The Which Historic General Are You Test written by dasnyds on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Hat Tip H.L.

Tax Evasion in Taxachussets

Not only did they rip the other MBTA riders off, but I bet none of these Massholes reported the value of the free rides on their tax returns.

The International Blog

Yep, thats me. While 80% of my visitors are from right here in the good 'ol you es of eeh, the rest are coming in from all over the world.

Whats most surprising though is that a fuill 10% of my visitors are from Norway. Now, I do telemark and have much to thank the Norweigans for in that regard. Still, being 50% Swedish is would have been nice to see more Swedes.

I wonder though, what the attraction is?

Sabbatical

Just in case you were wondering, even with the recent flurry of activity around here, I am still on sabbatical.

Just wanted to make that clear.

Bastards

And to think, even the Old Dominion is falling to the witches of political correctness, though in this instance I don't think the intent was to remove the song.

On Oct. 2, The Potomac News & Manassas Journal Messenger published a letter to the editor arguing that while no one objected to that song about the devil, there would be objections if the band were to play a song about God or other spiritual beings.

After that letter ran in the paper, Brown dropped the song from the marching band's program.

Sadly, the threat of PC ninnyism was too much to risk in the Commonwealth.

The only solution, therefore, is today's Monday Song Lyric. In honor of all my readers from Manassas, VA.

The devil went down to Georgia
He was looking for a soul to steal
He was in a bind cause he was way behind
And he was willing to make a deal
When he came across this young man
Sawing on a fiddle and playing it hot
And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump
And said, "Boy" let me tell you what
I guess you didn't know it
But I'm a fiddle player too
And if you'd care to take a dare
I'll make a bet with you
Now you played pretty good fiddle,boy
But give the devil his due
I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul
Cause I think I'm better than you
The boy said "My name's Johnny
And it might be a sin
But I'll take you bet, your gonna regret
Cause I'm the best that's ever been"

Johnny rosin up your bow
And play your fiddle hard
Cause hell's broke loose in Georgia
And the devil deals the cards
And if you win
You get this shiny fiddle made of gold
But if you lose, the devil gets your soul

The devil opened up his case
And he said "I'll start this show"
And fire flew from his finger tips
As he rosined up his bow
And he pulled the bow across the strings
And it made a evil hiss
Then a band of demons joined in
And it sounded something like this

When the devil finished Johnny said
Well you're, pretty good old son
But sit down in that chair right there
And let me show you how it's done

Fire on the mountain run boys run
Devils in the house at the rising sun
chicken in the bread pan picking out dough
Granny does your dog bite no-child-no

The devil bowed his head
Because he knew that he'd been beat
And he laid that golden fiddle
On the ground at Johnny's feet
Johnny said "Devil just come on back
If you ever want to try again
I done told you once, you son of a bitch
I'm the best that's ever been" he played

Fire on the mountain run boys run
Devils in the house at the rising sun
chicken in the bread pan picking out dough
Granny will your dog bite no-Child-no

The Sense of Smell

Ya know, few things smell better than a whiff of cordite in the morning. Check out the weekend's carnival before getting on with your day.

Octoberfest

God, I just love October! (not safe for work)

Preparedness Bleg

Hey all,

I am in the process of putting together a primer on blogs for a group I belong too. The audience is generally not tech savy and I would assume 90% have no idea what a blog is other than something Bill O'Reilly complains about on occasion.

Generally I want to highlight maybe 3-4 general news and information blogs, another dozen or so of the best firearms/disaster preparedness blogs and would like to showcase 6 or so excellent blog posts on disaster preparations.

I welcome any nominations/suggestions you can think of. I have a general idea of what and who I am going to use, but the blogsphere is quite large and my remaining brain cells are quite small in number and so I ask for your assistance in putting this together.

Feel free to either email me or post suggestions in the comments.

Hypocrites?

Seriously, are you surprised?

PETA employees Andrew B. Cook, 24, of Virginia Beach, and Adria J. Hinkle, 27, of Norfolk, were served with warrants on 22 felony charges of animal cruelty and the three felony charges of obtaining property by false pretense in court on Friday.

A grand jury is expected to consider formal indictments Oct. 31, Assistant District Attorney Donnie Taylor said.

Its just too bad Ingrid Newkrik hasn't been indicted.

Oh yeah, and that its not a death penalty eligible crime.

Craigslist

I've both bought and sold items (including cars) on Craigslist and in the newspaper classifieds. I've got to say the experience is infinitely more enjoyable (and cheaper, not that it matters) with Craigslist.

I hope Craig Newmark succeeds in killing off newspapers once and for all (though the hippy peace sign thing and firearm unfriendliness ought to go).

Firearm Makers Are Idiots

See this? This is sand. Sand! You live in a desert! Move to where the food is!

I couldn't agree more.

My Sponsors

Seeing as no one only one person wanted to take me up on the Blog Ads I've decided to check out Google's Adsense as well as Crisp ads as well.

Already, in only half a day of being up, I've made $0.65. Cool.

Feel free to visit my sponsors.

The most interesting Ad I've seen so far is an ad for the American Hunters and Shooters Association. I can't stand this latest fraud from the phoney baloney no good lying gun banning bigot democrats. Bastards.

But, I'll run their ad and take their dirty money. Its all about transparency. Heck, I've probably given them more traffic than Google Adsense ever will.

Freedom's Revolution

OK,

Here’s the full story.

I had drafted a rather lengthy post - complete with pictures - of how the 2nd Amendment is hanging on in New Jersey. Went to post it - and its lost to the abyss that is blogger. As a result, all I managed to post was a crappy reminder. Then, while drafting this post last night I also lost half of it to blogger.

Have I told you blogger sucks???

Anyway, here it is in its entirety. Not as well written as the original (and perhaps with lots of needless detail - but thats why we blog, isn't it? ), but still it should be enough to tide you over with good cheer as we head into the Holiday Season.

Last weekend I took a trip up to New Jersey. Since the service for my grandfather was held in Florida - where he lived the last couple of years - my parents wanted to host a memorial service for his friends and family and business colleagues who couldn't travel to Hutchinson Island.

I worked on Friday night and woke up rather early Saturday morning to drive up for the 2:00 service. Left McLean by 6:45 and crossed over the Delaware Memorial Bridge just around 9:00. Instead of taking the Turnpike, which I hate, I opted to go north on I-295 and then cut over to US 130. 130 puts me out on I-287 which I then take North to the point where it used to end until they actually completed the road in the early 1990s.

That route has two great benefits. First, there is no toll. I hate paying tolls almost as much as I hate to pay taxes. Second, of course, is it hardly ever has any traffic (especially compared to the Turnpike) though at 9:00 am on a Saturday that is hardly a concern. Furthermore, it is a rather pretty drive in parts (some very few parts).

Anyway, while driving north on it, I had the pleasure to pass two of New Jersey's largest firearm dealers - both with impressive selections of firearms as well as other outdoor gear.

The first, Sportsman's Center had hunting rifles and shotguns, lots of handguns, some cowboy action stuff, and a couple of AR15s (not to mention the best display of reloading equipment I ever saw and a great collection of trophys). For 9:00 am on a Saturday morning, it was certainly packed.



Harry's which may actually be bigger, was only 5 minutes down the road and might have had more customers. Between the two I was pelasantly surprised to see such healthy displays of handguns and even the occasional EBR for sale.

But that’s not the big story. The big story is sticking it to the gun banning Bolsheviks in Trenton and ensuring subversion and dissension in support of the constitution amongst their subjects and right under their little pinko noses. And that story starts, as all good stories start, with an Om-pa-pa.

Om-pa-pa
oom-pa-pa
oom-pa-pa
oom-pa-paaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!

Woke up Sunday morning and went with my parents, little brother, and aunt and uncle to breakfast before I was to drive back home (being in Jersey, we of course went to a diner that - as only a diner in New Jersey can - satisfy the craving for something good and comforting to eat. It was the Alexis Diner on Route 10 in Denville, NJ. Mmm Mmm Mmm. I had some eggs sunny side up with toast, home fries (don't bother looking for grits in Jersey) and a couple of cups of Java Joe. Afterward, i pointed the Cherokee east on Rt 10 and drove a couple of miles to the entrance for I-287 South and the return home to DC.

The right lane turned into the entrance ramp for I-287 and as I approached the turn to 287, the two cars in front of me slowed down and I did likewise. Next thing I know -

BAM!!

Followed by, a few seconds later -

BAAAMMM!!!

And me going - WTF????

Turns out I was hit in the rear by a car. The woman who hit me ends up being without auto insurance. At first, she was rather pleasant and offered to pay for all the damages in cash. That was nice, and I didn't really care how it was taken care of, as long as it was fixed. However, not knowing her I did what any person would do and grabbed my license, registration, and insurance and asked her to get hers so we could switch info.

Well, she flipped and began screaming and yelling and became very hostile and aggressive. Now, while New Jersey sees fit to take my 2nd Amendment rights away, I did have in my possession both a rather effective hunting knife as well as my new Buck 110 folder. Rather than pull either out, I simply called 911 as it was broad daylight on the side of a road. She continued screaming - calling me a smug Virginia prep school boy, ranting and raving, etc. Eventually, after 2 hours the cops (who showed up within 5 minutes) had towed both cars and taken her away in an ambulance (probably to the funny farm).

Something needed to be done to relieve the stress, and kill the day since it was obvious I wouldn't be getting out of Jersey. I suggested we shoot some skeet. Dad agreed and decided to call one of the neighbors to inquire if he wanted to join us. He did, but happened to have his 9 year old that weekend (he is divorced). No problem, I said. Nine is the perfect age for an introduction to the shooting sports. Mom, hearing that the neighbor's boy was going shooting with us then decided she would join us too. We pointed out that she would have to shoot a gun if she wanted to come along and she reluctantly agreed (mom is a bit weird and never had held a gun as far as I know - even though the house has tons of 'em)

Into the car we jump, shotguns a ready, and head north on I-287 to Ringwood State Park. Just south of the New York line in the heart of the Ramapo Mountains, Ringwood is one of the more beautiful spots in Jersey with mountains, valleys, and lakes, botanical gardens, and an impressive Manor home within its borders. The state has spent much time buying bits and pieces of the park and its a patchwork quilt of the finest the Northern New Jersey has to offer. Of course, one of the pieces it purchased was the 10 acres that house Thunder Mountain Skeet Range. This range would never be allowed to exist were it built today, but thanks to the foresight of its founders it was created before the gun banning Nazi’s arrived in Trenton.



While the property is owned by the state, Thunder Mountain remains a private business with a guaranteed long term lease enabling it to exist and use the property. After speaking with the owners, I thanked them mightily for "sticking it to the commies." They just smiled, a nervous smile, but not as big of a smile as I had upon pulling into yet another parking lot packed with New Jersey gun owners.

The main lodge itself reminded me of an old ski or hunting lodge. An L shaped building, it had the red coloring of picnic benches or the facilities at summer camp. The walls and foundation were made of stone, with a giant circular fireplace in the middle. Upon them was an impressive collection of taxidermy and a wonderful collection of old shotgun memorabilia.


They also had some pretty sweet and pretty expensive shotguns for sale. If you want, you can buy a box of shells and they have plenty of guns to loan out too, which is what mom and the 9 year old did. Mom, who as I said earlier, I don't think had ever held a gun before, got a kick out of the entire ordeal. They gave her a nice little Beretta 20 gauge. The 9 year old was initially looking at a .410 but I thought that would be too difficult to hit anything with and instead, he got a top break single barrel 28 gauge by an unknown maker. Looked almost like a chipmunk in terms of size and wood quality and it fit him like a glove.




Thunder Mountain has a number of Skeet courses as well as 5 stand and a variety of trap games. Sadly, there is no sporting clays offered there, but that didn't matter. While other folks were looking pretty good on the skeet range, we headed off to the other end of the parking lot and the practice trap range where there was a lot of new shooters.


That was ok though, cause the only thing better than introducing a 9 year old to guns in New Jersey is having to wait for some other 9 year olds to finish their introduction.


We made good use of the time and spent it training both Mom and Mr. 9 year old on the operation of their firearms and proper gun safety. Here is Mr. 9 year old getting ready for the first shot. Notice, if you don't mind, the placement of his finger. We stressed safety, form and fun. Looks like he got them all down!


Unfortunately, he only hit 3 of 25 birds and was a bit depressed. We were all excited for him cause he was getting close, but he didn't quite understand how a shotgun pattered and the difference between the gauges. The next round however, on my suggestion, we switched the 28 in for a 20 gauge and all of a sudden he knocked 20 birds down and was loving life.

His ear to ear grin after hitting each one was worth a million bucks. Sweet!!!


The real competition that day though was between Dad and myself. I started out going 5 for 5 on the practice skeet but then fell off and only hit 21 of 25. Dad started out going 2 for 5 but got it back together in a big way and finished with 22 of 25.


Not surprising, look at his perfect form. Plus, being a former green beret and expert marksman it was inevitable.


He then went on to smoke my ass in skeet.




For what its worth, here I am.
I actually scored a hit on this one, bad form and all.


The real excitement though, came that evening after returning home. We all decided to head out to dinner (including the neighbors Nancy Pelosi supporting San Francisco native super liberal hippy dippy wife) and hit my parents country club.



She was intrigued by our day - and shocked by the excitement of both the 9 year old and my mother and now wants to join us the next time we head up. Further, between dinner and desert my mom ran into a long time family friend and her husband and kept telling them about all the fun we had. They too want to join us.

So, to cap:

• I discovered 3 great firearms friendly establishments in New Jersey


• 2 new members of the nation of riflemen including the worst kind, a 9 year old with lots of friends to spread his new found dissension amongst


• 3 prospective additions to the nation of riflemen including amongst them a super liberal (who, since meeting my dad is coming to her senses. She actually read Michael Crichton's Climate of Fear and now refuses to donate money to environmental groups anymore).


• evidence that some people in New Jersey may still know how to use a firearm

and finally,

• we witnessed at least 3 more new members of the nation of riflemen while at the skeet range, all of whom were under 13

Its enough to make me do the happy dance nude.

Quote of the Week

Heh!

It's not like we were trying to pass it off as something it wasn't

God or Sex? USC or Notre Dame?

Birthday Lyric

One More Obligatory Lyric.

Today, of course, its quite fitting

Birthday
Words and Music: Lennon/McCartney
Recorded: September 18, 1968, Abbey Road Studios, London
Length: 2:43
Discography: The Beatles (The White Album)


You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too--yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party.

I would like you to dance--Birthday
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday
I would like you to dance--Birthday
Dance

I would like you to dance--Birthday
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday
I would like you to dance--Birthday
Dance

You say it's your birthday
Well it's my birthday too--yeah
You say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Wanna Puke???

Try some of this Birthday Cake (Not Safe For Work)

A Love Connection

Just call me Chuck.



Chuck Woolery.

Details to follow.

Jerry Kilgore

More interesting google links.

Do a google search for Virginia's Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Jerry Kilgore and I am the number 5 hit.

Or, at least my Jerry Kilgore is an Idiot post is.

God Bless America

The Fourth of July is now officially a Sex Holiday!

J&J has found warming lubricants sell well not only for Valentine's Day but also around Memorial Day and Fourth of July. "We dubbed these sex holidays," Mr. Peterson said. "And we try to line up all our promotional efforts around them."

Hey, why stop there.

What about Thanksgiving? Halloween? Christmas?

Nothing says I love you like giving the gift of love.

Especially in some naughty christmas lingerie.

Ooodles of Poodles??

Heh!

Fire Phil Fulmer

Cool!

Do a google search for the term Fire Fulmer.


I am the number one result.

UPDATE Apparantly, lots of people are thinking about Firing Phil Fulmer. A check of my logs over the last couple of days has this search query as my single largest referrer. Its not sending Instalanche numbers or anything, but its still a significant increase in traffic. Guess my message is catching on.

Like I keep saying, Fire Phil Fulmer.

WELCOME GOOGLE VOLUNTEER READERS - There is plenty more here on the atrocity that is Phil Fulmer's reign. Like the former coach whom he took down, now that Phil has disgraced Neyland Stadium with a loss to South Carolina, he too should be fired . . . perhaps we can offer him up as a sacrificial goat to the forces of the NCAA and Buck Fama who will cotninue to hound Rocky Top with investigations and threats till Fulmer is gone.

Feel free to look around, and enjoy

Frist, Fulmer, and the SEC

CNN is running with the headline this morning that Senate Majority Leader Frist reportedly gets SEC subpoena .

Geeze Louise.

You know, it was bad enough when it was simply some asshead 'Bama attorney harrassing Fire Phil Fulmer but for the South Eastern Conference to now go after another Volunteer as well?

Isn't the crappy offense punishment enough??

WELCOME GOOGLE VOLUNTEER READERS - There is plenty more here on the atrocity that is Phil Fulmer's reign. Like the former coach whom he took down, now that Phil has disgraced Neyland Stadium with a loss to South Carolina, he too should be fired . . . perhaps we can offer him up as a sacrificial goat to the forces of the NCAA and Buck Fama who will cotninue to hound Rocky Top with investigations and threats till Fulmer is gone.

Feel free to look around, and enjoy

Diet

Went to the Doctors the other day for my annual (well, its supposed to be) physical. All is fine, except he thinks I need to loose 25 pounds.

Some of you long time readers may remember that I started diet blogging earlier this summer - made it 8 days than it died off. Well, on the doctors orders, thats gonna start again.

Lets see how I can do. Right now, I am 5'8" and 199 lbs.

Ended up walking back from his office today (about 1 mile) and went for a 2 mile walk this evening. My foot, which was recently injured (last week even) is a bit sore after that so I don't think I am going to go more than 2 miles for the next couple of days. We will see how it continues to recover and if I actually can get myself to exercise.

Food, oh yeah

Had a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a cup of earl grey tea for lunch.

At 4:00 had a Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte at starbucks and the pumpkin and cream cheese muffin. I know, not good, but ooooh so sinfully good.

Dinner was a bowl of salad and eggplant parmesan (grandma's recipe which she taught my wife how to make)


And no, just because I am blogging fitness, doesn't mean I have ended the blogging sabbatical.

VRWC

Heh!

I am now a proud, card-carrying member of the vast ring wing conspiracy.

What Muppet Are You?

I am Sam the Eagle.

I am patriotic and devoted. And extremely anal.

HOBBIES:
Patriotism, Being appalled at what everyone else is doing.
FAVORITE MUSIC:
The National Anthem of America

FAVORITE MOVIE:
"An American In....America"

LAST BOOK READ:
"Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, Eagles are from America"

QUOTE:
"Please stop that now! It's un-American!"

Booty Call

Interesting editorial in the NY Times on the booty bandits inhabiting our prisons. I'd go one better than the Times though, and sentence offending prison officials to be placed in the general population of the the prisons they were running if found guilty of the abhorrent behavior they routinely allow.

Its only going to take one or two wardens or senior guards going down (literally) to what are essentially court ordered gang bangs for the prison industry to clean itself up.

New Jersey and the Second Amendment

OK,

Long story short.

I had drafted a rather lengthy post - complete with pictures - of how the 2nd Amendment is hanging on in New Jersey. Went to post it - and its lost to the abyss that is blogger.

Have I told you blogger sucks???

Anyway, visited two great shops in New Jersey this last weekend. Both with impressive firearms selections.

The first, Sportsman's Center had hunting rifles and shotguns, lots of handguns, some cowboy action stuff, and a couple of AR15s (not to mention the best display of reloading equipement I ever saw and a great collection of trophys). Harry's was 5 minutes down the road and might have even been bigger.

But thats not the big story. The big story is I introduced a 9 year old from New Jersey to firearms and took him trap shooting. My mom, who had never fired a gun, also went along and had so much fun, when we went to the parents country club for dinner she convinced two of her friends - and one of their husbands - to join me the next time I came up.

Yep, thats 2 new members of the nation of riflemen with 3 more potential recruits - and all in New Jersey. Its enough to make me do the happy dance nude, but as I said, Blogger lost the post.

I'll try to recreate it when I have some time - pictures and all.

Harriett Miers

Since I am not blogging and am on sabbatical, I am not going to draft a post on Bush's Supreme Court nominee. Instead, I will use this post to collect the various comments I have posted on her elsewhere (to the extent I can remember them and then remember to place them here.)

Any questions?

From Alphecca, rebutting concerns that she was a Democrat. I've seen the reasoning I employ in defending Ms. Miers elsewhere, but haven't seen anyone express as early as I have.

n 1988 Al Gore was a much different beast than the Al Gore of the Clinton Gore years or the Al Gore of the Bush Gore season.

Instead of being a loony moonbat gun banner, Al was known as something of a firey conservative southern Democrat. He supported the war in Iraq - to the point that he had moonbats protesting at his Knoxville office rounded up and thrown in jail for a week (one of which was my neighbor) and was pretty good on the 2nd Amendment (as anyone who wanted to win the good ol boy vote was). Of course, this was before Columbine and before the party was snookered by the far left and led to believe gun control was the solution to winning national power.

In addition, in 1988 he was running against uber liberal Michael Dukakis in the Democratic primary. Dukakis went FAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR left to secure victory while Gore took a more conservative approach, hoping to hold together the Dixiecrats and sneak out a win as the more "electable" cnadidate. It didn't work, and so it wasn't surprising to see him abandon that position 12 years later.

Still, my guess is most people would be pleased with Al Gore circa 1988.

Jeff updated his post and included a statement from Todd Zywicki of the Volokh Conspiracy raising the usual academic complaint that she isn't "qualified enough." I added an additional comment.

As far as Todd's angry missive - as much as I like his writings, he is a law professor. Conservative or liberal, I think the Ivory Tower still holds itself up too high - regardless of what they think, their SHIT stinks too.

All the reasons Todd lists to be concerned about her seem like the petty bickering of a law professor with a very limited and narrow view of the world around them - heck, these are the same people (Todd isn't, he was rightly outraged, but I am speaking about law professors generally) who didn't understand why Kelo was so outrageous - not based on property rights but based on the fact that the court had been moving in that direction for years.

I think the fact that she has been in the real world applying the law - and NOT in the Ivory Tower thinking about weird hypotheticals and worrying about making sure everyone is happy - is one of the most refreshing aspects of her nomination.

Now, I still don't know if I like her or not, but I think most of the blogsphere's reaction is simply another example of the blogsphere jumping the shark.

Finally, someone criticized her for being part of the ABA at a time when the ABA supported the formation of an International Criminal Court. At the time, this seemed to be a common concern of the right. I responded by pointing out how misplaced I thought their concerns were.

If you actually follow the WND link you see that she pretty much had nothing to do with the International Court Recommendation. Sure, the ABA recommended it, but there are millions of lawyers in the ABA. She wasn't listed as the contact - or the supporter of it - she was simply an active ABA member at a time when a committee of the ABA recommended the court.

Orin Kerr of the Volokh Conspiracy posted a link to a magazine article from 1996 discussing how impressive her career had been up to that point. I thought it really cast Ms. Miers in an especially positive light and made her seem much more human than the average Sup. Court justice.

Hmmm,

Looks pretty good and I dare say she sounds better and better each day - certainly sounds like someone I'd like on the court a whole lot more than a law professor who has spent their entire career in the Ivory Tower thinking about hypotheticals and logical traps but wholly losing sight of the very personal, day to day, impact the law has on people (or corporations who are simply fictional people).

FWIW - the more I hear law professors (and Anne Coulter) complain that she isn't qualified for the court, the more I think she is.

Prof. Kerr has asked me to follow up on why I think professors lose sight of the the day to day impact law has on people. I am drafting that response now, and will post it tomorrow sometime.

Jerry Kilgore is an Idiot

What's his problem?

I mean, I would normally vote for the guy without thinking twice. He has an A rating from the NRA and has been a solid friend to gun owners in the past. But, in running to be Virginia's governor he's (well, his incompetent staff who have bungled the camapign every step of the way) decided to pick a fight with the VCDL and have not only refused to turn in their survey (which the Commie Mommie supporting Tim Kaine had no problem doing) but has decided to go out and try to discredit the VCDL.

Mr. Kilgore will not be seeking the group's endorsement, campaign spokesman Tucker Martin said.

"While we have great respect for the members of the VCDL, their President Phillip Van Cleave unfortunately has no credibility on Second Amendment issues and that is why we did not participate," Mr. Martin said, declining to elaborate.

Of course, other Republican's seem to disagree.

House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith, Salem Republican, also was confused by the comment and called Mr. Van Cleave "credible."

"I like Phillip," he said. "He's a sincere and knowledgeable individual when it comes to protecting gun rights."

Here's some more of the outrageous comments this idiot campaign has taken.

• Kilgore has never received the survey (but it was handed to him personally, sent certified mail, and emailed to him).
• There was one question that Kilgore didn't want to take a position on and that was why he declined to answer any of the questions.
• The survey was on Kilgore's desk awaiting his signature.
• Philip Van Cleave is too hard to work with.
• The NRA survey and the VCDL survey are the same and they didn't see why both needed to be answered. (I have seen the NRA survey and it is nothing like the VCDL survey.)
• Philip Van Cleave is antagonistic because he said the Kilgore campaign is following the Earley playbook.


And now:


• Philip Van Cleave has no credibility on Second Amendment issues

In a recent email, VCDL is reporting the following:

The emails on which I have been cc'ed from gun owners across the state run the gamut from *pleading* with Mr. Kilgore to answer the VCDL survey and take a stand on gun rights, to furious gun owners saying that they have removed Kilgore campaign signs from their lawns and offices and Kilgore bumper stickers from their vehicles.

My response has been even more complete. I took the Kilgore sticker off my car and the sign off my front lawn last week. In addition, while I had signed up to do fundraising, I have stopped soliciting donations and will return the one's I've recieved so far if they do not answer the survey. The campaign wants them next week, we will see if they come through. Finally, the jury is still out on whether I will even work election day and staff the polls in my precinct. So far, I haven't really put much effort into it.

Get 'em where it hurts.

It simply makes no sense to me that Kilgore would be so inept to insult one of the 2-3 most active local political groups in Virginia and their 10,000+ members, especially in a race that is going to be decided by less than 1% of the vote.

I certainly don't trust the commie-mommie-supporting-would-be-gun-banning-bigot Tim Kaine. However, kudos to him for stepping up to the plate and paying lip service to the issue. As a gubenatorial candidate, he's probably smart enough to know that gun control ain't gonna fly in Virginia and that he better leave well enough alone. Still, it would be nice to elect a governor who allowed me to carry concealed when I go out to eat - so that I don't have to scare the gun banning bigots that populate Northern Virginia.

At this point, I can't bring myself to vote for Tim Kaine - he could change that pretty easily but I doubt he will say the right thing - and so I guess I will probably not vote at all.

Supreme Court Death Watch

Here's hoping another opening happens soon.

Who will it be? God only knows.

• John Paul Stevens - born April 19, 1920


• Ruth Bader Ginsburg - born March 15, 1933


• Antonin Scalia - born March 11, 1936


• Anthony Kennedy - born July 23, 1936


• Stephen Breyer - born August 15, 1938


• David Souter - born September 17, 1939


• Harriet Miers - born August 10, 1945 (assuming she is confirmed)


• Clarenca Thomas - born June 23, 1948


• John Roberts - born January 27, 1955

FWIW - According to this web page, the average American woman will live to be 79.10 years. The average American male will live to 72.2 years.

That means we can expect women who were born in 1926 to start dropping like flies. For men, we are looking at those born in 1933.

Considering there are for all practical purposes 3 years left in the Bush administration, I think its safe to assume one more male (JPS) will drop off the court (voluntarily or involuntarily) with RBG just on the threshold for women and Scalia, Kennedy, and Breyer on the threshold for men (and Souter not far behind).

Who will it be? Who will it be? And will the NEXT president actually have 5-6 slots to fill????

The Supreme Court

What can you tell me about the following Supreme Court nomination votes?

• Sandra Day O'Conner - 99 - 0
• John Paul Stevens - 98-0
• Anthony Kennedy - 97-0
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg - 97 - 3
• David Souter - 90 - 9
• Stephen Breyer - 87 - 9



• Antonin Scalia - 98 - 0
• John Roberts - 78 - 22
• Clarence Thomas - 52 - 48

Pigs Have Flown Again, This Time In The Times

Who would have believed it.

First, we got this great story on the kids in the sport and then the NY Times decides to go Hog Wild with this gorgeous shot.



Of another Woman no less!!!

And all within a two weeks of each other (not to mention the famous Vermont Fish Hunt'n one too)

Then, we get these great lines:

Only she knows the true terror of the heart that comes from holding a 7-millimeter rifle while bushwacking down steep trails made by potentially ferocious marauding wild pigs and having your husband turn to you to say, "I think I hear something."

On their editorial page, that would be a "sniper rifle". And lookie here at this one, too.

"Hunters are part of the problem because they sometimes intentionally disperse pigs," said Reginald H. Barrett, a professor of wildlife management at the University of California, Berkeley. "But they are also part of the solution because legal sport hunting literally is the only thing keeping pigs under control."

That, is coming from a Berkley (yeah, thats F'ing right, I said Berkley) professor. Holy Sacramento, Batman!!!

Angelo Garro, a Sicilian-born wrought-iron artist and forager who is revered by San Francisco foodies as a cook and bon vivant, waits to hunt in fall, when the pigs binge on acorns. He describes the meat, which he roasts on a spit with wild fennel, rosemary, red peppercorn and olive oil, as sweet and slightly gamey. "You don't do it to kill," he said. "You do it to have an experience in the outdoors. Then you share what you've got with family and friends, an incredible sensuous meal like you sometimes see in Italian movies."

Would you ever believe the NY Times would describe playing with guns in such MOUTHWATERING terms???

Days later, Mrs. Straub was back in her cubicle at work, still zonked from scurrying up and down pig trails, relishing the freedom she'd felt, so different from typing budget reports. Her sense of triumph persisted and her pork politics remained clear. "I don't believe in killing animals for recreation," she said. "But if you use them as game, that's what the cycle of life is all about."

What a fine ending to a fine article, and here's the happy hunter with quarry and all.




Its enough to make a guy return from sabbatical.