Started all sorts of shenanigans on this date, didn’cha?
In post-revolutionary Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established, comprising a confederation of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation (divided in 1936 into the Georgian, Azerbaijan, and Armenian republics). Also known as the Soviet Union, the new communist state was the successor to the Russian Empire and the first country in the world to be based on Marxist socialism.
RIP USSR: December 30, 1922 – December 25, 1991
Now, that above link is for the “This Day In History” feature on the History Channel’s website. Every morning over breakfast, I bust out the Eee PC on the breakfast table and have a chat with my 7-year-old (my oldest) about what happened on this day in history. They have a good breakdown on that site of important events in major wars, pop culture, automotive, etc. When we got to today’s lead story of the USSR being born, I giggled inside like a little girl when he asked what communism was.
Me: Every week you get an allowance for doing chores around the house, right?
Son: Yeah.
Me: This week, I’m giving half of your allowance to your annoying little brother.
Son: (concerned) Why?
Me: Because it’s fair for both of you to have the same amount regardless of who worked to earn it.
Son: No it’s not! (he was getting very upset)
Me: That’s Communism.
There you have it. History in terms that even a 7-year-old can understand.
This is United Nations regulation of firearm transactions that the US is agreeing to. While this doesn’t prevent Joe Average from buying a gun at his local store, it might very well make some weapons so scarce that the price skyrockets. It might end up requiring registration on an International level. 2A be damned.
It remains to be seen what if any effect this will have or whether it will in fact be fully enacted.
INTERPOL is the International Criminal Police Organization.
You don’t think I’m inferring that INTERPOL could possibly be doing the dirty work for the UN? Confiscations? A true job that Americans won’t do? Surely that’s impossible! Well, not legally impossible, perhaps …
“I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.”
“But as some of you might have heard, there has been a tragic shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas. We don’t yet know all the details at this moment. We will share them as we get them…”
Oh by the way … 13 people were murdered by a jihadi-obsessed terrorist …
12/28/09 (sorry for interrupting your vacation, Mr. President):
“Where our government has information on a known extremist and that information is not shared and acted upon as it should have, so that this extremist boarded a plane with dangerous explosives that could have cost nearly 300 lives, a systemic failure has occurred and I consider that totally unacceptable”
Again, waiting days to make a “law enforcement” statement. Weak, weak, weak.
Makes you wonder what’s going to happen over the next three years, doesn’t it?
Only here at Fighting For Liberty – the exclusive transcript from the unedited portion of the Today Show where Janet Napolitano was made to defend her remarks that “The System Works.”
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
MATT LAUER: Good Morning everyone and welcome to the Today Show. This morning’s guest is United States Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano. Ms. Napolitano, thank you for joining us this morning.
JANET NAPOLITANO: Hi Matt, good to be here.
ML: I want to start off with comments that you made this weekend regarding the Christmas Day attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in his attempt to take down the flight over Detroit. You initially said that “The System Worked” in regards to how security handled the attack.
JN: I believe my words were taken out of context, Matt.
ML: You didn’t misspeak?
JN: No, I was speaking in reference to our system as a whole.
ML: Well, there are those critics who believe that since it was a passenger aboard the flight that initially responded to this attack, that there was no part of the system that worked properly, what do you say to that?
JN: Well, Matt, it takes more than one person here. You know, like that television show with that couple and their eight children? It takes more than just one or two people, so just like that, yes, the system works.
ML: Okay. You do realize that they’re getting a divorce, right? Jon and Kate, I assume you’re referring to?
JN: I’m only trying to give you an example of how this system works and works well, Matt. Like Microsoft Bob.
ML: I – I wouldn’t use that example, actually.
JN: Let’s not get hung up on metaphors here, Matt. Fine. Like gun-free zones. Gun-free zones are a preventative measure much like our current airline security policy.
ML: I think it’s only fair to point out that many mass shootings in the past years have specifically been in gun-free zones, Miss Napolitano …
JN: Ben Affleck and J-Lo?
ML: Failed.
JN: The ‘08 Detroit Lions?
ML: Not all that good, actually.
JN: Cop Rock?
ML: I don’t think -
JN: The Ford Edsel?
ML: Oh Dear God …
JN: I have it! Betamax!
ML: And, I’m afraid we’re out of time Miss Napolitano. I’m sorry I – I’d like to give you the last word here. Is there anything you’d like to add in regards to this foiled terrorist attack?
This clumsy re-direction by JN misses the broader point. She said her words were taken out of context. That she didn’t mean “The System Worked” as in “Your Esteemed Governmental Intervention Policies prevented some Nigerian terrorist from attempting to blow himself up on a plane” but instead meant:
Number two, I think the important thing to recognize here is that once this incident occurred, everything happened that should have. The passengers reacted correctly, the crew reacted correctly, within an hour to 90 minutes, all 128 flights in the air had been notified. And those flights already had taken mitigation measures on the off-chance that there was somebody else also flying with some sort of destructive intent.
60-90 minutes. When seconds count, right?
Let’s see … what could possibly happen in the air in a matter of 60-90 minutes?
Oh … right. I know ..
8:20 a.m. American Airlines Flight 11 transponder signal stops transmitting.
8:46 a.m. American Airlines Flight 11 impacts the north side of the North Tower.
That’s less than 60-90 minutes, by the way.
Passengers can make a difference. Sitting in line, getting anally probed before your flight begins, and being shoved into a flying tin can with no means of self-defense, it’s up to your average citizen to stop an attack in the air.
What’s Government Rule for then? To clean up the mess afterward and our Administration is failing miserably at that as well. All of these “extra security measures” and all of this feel-good crap – let’s face it – does absolutely nothing.
Now, I haven’t had a range trip with it just yet (cut me a break, I’ve yet to receive my key for the local indoor range – something that will be remedied this week). I’ve instead taken this time to familiarize myself with the little beast. However, I already knew there was something that needed some modification without ever making a range trip.
Trigger pull.
I’ve have two Rugers, this SP-101 and the 10/22 and I don’t like the trigger on either of them. Now, the 10/22 was easy, with a couple of Volquartsen upgrades I knocked that pull from 4+ lbs down to about 1 1/2 which made a world of difference in accuracy and follow-up shots.
So doing some reading on the SP-101 people have recommended picking up some Wolff springs and going to town.
Time to tinker! This was my first go at taking apart the SP-101 and initial impressions are … well it was pretty easy.
First, off with the grip. Take out the grip screw, slip out the panels, the takedown pin falls out. Here’s what she looks like naked!
Next up, replacing the spring. Thankfully, I’m strong enough that the thing didn’t go shooting off at 800fps. The Ruger’s stock pull is about 10 lbs, I’m knocking that down to 9. Here it is with the new spring installed:
Not done yet. I wanted to get the trigger group out. Preventing me from doing so is this little trigger guard lock plunger:
In the Ruger instructions, it suggests using either a screwdriver or the top of the hammer spring assembly to push that lock out and swing out the trigger grouping. Er. No. I came up with a much better idea. Using the grip screw!
Fits like a charm, has the screw head to push down on with your thumb, and has a flat enough end to push out the lock without slipping.
There’s the ousted trigger. I have an 8 lb hammer return spring that I’ll be installing … but not today. Too little time and too many iddybiddy parts to worry about flying all over the place as part of that trigger assembly.
Back together, and happy. That 1 lb difference on the Wolff spring makes the action on this revolver noticeably more comfortable. It’s not so light a pull that the hammer will cock if you breathe in too hard, but it’s certainly much smoother than the stock pull.
All in all – success! This week I’m hoping to scrawl the first range report with this sucker!
So I’m reading that article when all of a sudden it dawns on me … Oh My … I actually KNOW this guy’s father! I’m contacting the FBI first thing on Monday morning.
His father, Umaru, is the former economics minister of Nigeria. He retired earlier this month as the chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria but is still on the boards of several of Nigeria’s biggest firms, including Jaiz International, a holding company for the Islamic Bank. The 70-year-old, who was also educated in London, holds the Commander of the Order of the Niger as well as the Italian Order of Merit.
He sent me an email this morning asking for my help in a discrete transaction, transferring a sum of US $6.5 MILLION DOLLARS directly to my bank account! I’ll bet you it’s because he knew his son was going to do something and he wouldn’t be safe!
#1: Masshole: That guy with the sweater vest and the Audi who just nearly ran over you in the crosswalk because he’s busy staring at us charming redneck folk? That’s a Masshole. We smile at Massholes up here because they spend money in our towns. In truth? Most people would be happy with a “shoot on sight” policy for anyone unfortunate enough to have an MA license plate.
#2: Flatlander: Massholes are all flatlanders, but not all flatlanders are Massholes. Flatlander is more like a mountain n00b. People who look around confused at two feet of snow when you’re all, “It’s a dusting.” While we smile politely at Massholes, we laugh at flatlanders. Kinda the way parents laugh in amusement when their kids have kids of their own.
#3: Roofrake: When I was a flatlander (I’ve been here for enough time that I no longer qualify), I’d never heard of a roofrake. Little did I know how necessary one was, particularly as a homeowner.
#4: Ice Dam: Flip that and you’ve got “Damn ICE!” which pretty much comes out of your mouth when the ice dam appears. New Englanders know what I’m talking about … this is usually a 20+ floot long, 3-foot thick, 800-pound hunk of ice that hangs precariously at the edge of your roof ready to absolutely mash and mangle any poor bastard who stupidly stands under it in mid-to-late March.
And when it does fall down and smash some unsuspecting innocent into an explosion of offal and gore all over the side of your garage, what do you do? Panic and call 911? No … you throw your hands up and scream in rapturous joy because Spring has finally arrived.
Ice dams are also known for creating purdy indoor waterfalls. Currently, I’m battling ice dam creation on the rear slope of my roof. A 35-foot roofrake manages to remove the first few feet of build-up snow on the edge of that roof, and there’s no way for me to get up there to clear off the rest.
I tried convincing the wife this summer to allow me to build a 360-degree turret on the top of my roof that would allow me access to shove snow off in any direction (and snipe zombies in the neighborhood below), however she refused. My “I told you so’s” aren’t helping remove the ice, however. Consider it a hollow victory.
Any of you Masshole flatlanders have experience with keeping a roof as snow-and-ice-free as possible, feel free to chime in. Now that I’ve insulted you.
A couple of years ago, the wife and I were perusing a shop in a nearby town selling all sorts of crafts and a few antiques. They had a stack of old Saturday Evening Posts sitting there. I bought a few for a buck or two each. I have a few from 1957 and one from 1960 (following Nixon on the campaign trail).
I really just like them for the ads, honestly. The late 50s were fascinating. America was coming out of a brutal and bloody war, and people were spending on luxury. The ads … everything is about luxury, about being pampered and living like a king. Everything from fancy kitchen gadgets to automobiles.
Ahhh, the automobiles. This ad happens to be my favorite because of this quote:
“Never, never has a car been so wonderfully new in so many different ways! Here are radical departures in style, power and ride … all wrapped up in the longest, lowest, widest Chevrolet that ever said, “C’mon, let’s get going!”
Could you IMAGINE car companies today boasting about being the longest, lowest, and widest? As opposed to being quiet, sipping gas, and being able to almost comfortably fit two people and a bag of groceries whilst saving Mother Gaia?
It was such a different time. The ad-writers back then were absolute wordsmiths and while it wasn’t a totally innocent time (one of my Saturday Post issues details lingering segregation in the South complete with pictures of “Colored Bathrooms” and such), it was optimistic. People had just spent years going through war, sacrificing comforts, and this is a real snapshot to an optimistic time.
But it wasn’t to be …
I started looking through these old magazines again because of a post I came across over at ET’s place. It’s Stephen Crowder in Detroit.
I don’t know that the ‘58 Bel Air rolled off an assembly line in Detroit (from what I recall, there was some Canadian manufacturing going on – I’m no car expert). But I imagine cars just like these cruising those Detroit streets in the late 50s. I can picture those rows of ranch homes with echo of multiple lawnmowers in the neighborhood on a toasty summer Sunday and the rumble of a huge V8 in some chrome-covered spaceship of a 30-foot-long vehicle heading down the lane.
Then I saw that Crowder video. And it looks like something I’d expect to see … I don’t know … ET had the best post title, “Detroit? Or Soviet Russia”. Yeah, pretty much:
It’s just … sad. I won’t get into the liberal blame-game here because I can’t do it as well as Crowder does with his images and reporting in that video. It’s just such a glaring difference. Look at the big version of the ad I linked above, and then do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes watching that Crowder video.
What happened to that America? I realize it was fifty years ago but really … it was only fifty years ago! American ingenuity, pride and accomplishment were sucked out of one of America’s greatest cities in a what is ultimately a tiny span of time.
Now I look around my neighborhood. Taking a peek outside I see a light snowfall, nice neighbors. When Winter is over I’ll hear that echo of multiple lawnmowers. I’ll be outside fidgeting with some project in the garage while my boys are giggling and rolling around in the yard. I’ll greet my neighbors that are just out for a walk but deep down I’ll be wondering to myself …
