Saw this at Danger Room:

While the public and media are occupied with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the potential conflict with Iran, the downward spiral in Pakistan, and a global economic meltdown, a new, rapidly-evolving danger — narco-cartels and gangs — has been developing in Mexico and Latin America. And it has the potential to trump global terrorism as a threat to the United States.

Mexico is gripped by a set of inter-locking, networked criminal insurgencies. Daily violence, kidnappings, assassinations of police and government officials, beheadings and shoot-outs are the result of violent combat between drug cartels, gangs, and the police. The cartels vying for domination of the lucrative drug trade are seeking both market dominance and freedom from government interference. Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez, and other border towns are racked with violence. Mexico City itself is not immune. An infusion of police and military remains stymied as corrupt officials chose to side with the cartels.

I commented on this earlier, but these people actually know what they’re talking about.

I hope we’re both overestimating the problem, but I’m not that hopeful.

I’ve always been a James Bond fan, and I really the direction that Casino Royale took the franchise.

I’m stoked to go see Quantum of Solace, and so is Junior Bear. We may go next weekend.

Speaking of which, Tam over at View from the Porch has the best review quote I’ve heard in a while:

He was using that licence to kill like it was earning him frequent flier miles.

I can’t wait to see it!

Well, no venison in the freezer, but it’s been a great weekend anyway. Any day in the woods is better than the best day at the desk.

We got out to the woods at 0 dark 30 on Saturday, and it was already raining. The temperature continued to drop, and the wind got worse and worse all morning. By 10 o’clock, I was soaked to the bone and shivering so bad I don’t think I could have shot a deer if it walked up and said hi.

My buddy and I met up back at the truck and checked the weather radar on our phones. The rain wasn’t going to stop any time soon, so we decided to take the afternoon off. Our guide later told us that everyone in our group was gone by noon, so I don’t feel like too much of a weenie.

Got back out this morning, and it was a gorgeous day. Some clouds and cold wind this morning, but this afternoon the sun came out and it got up into the 40’s. We decided to try the same spot we were at yesterday because my friend had seen a few deer there, and we hoped they had stuck around. It was a dry hole, but we marked it on our map because it’s a great location. Lots of good food for the deer, lots of cedars for them to bed down in.

After lunch, we went to an open field in the southern part of our hunting area and we each took a section of woodline to watch. I sat under a pine tree for a few hours, and noticed that a lot of the small pines around it had been beaten up by bucks rubbing their antlers and heads on them. When it was almost time to go, I walked the perimeter of the field, and saw lots of tracks and other sign, so I’m hopeful that that area will be worth another look if we get drawn again next year.

As I was leaving my hide site, I came across two young bucks, each with 4 little points, who were coming out of the woods. I froze, and they stopped and looked at me. Rules at Fort Knox say that a bucks antlers have to extend beyond his ears, and these two most certainly didn’t fit that description. I watched them for a moment, and they must have known I couldn’t harm them, because after a minute or so they continued their walk back into the wood line. Not running, not even in a hurry, just walking.

I also saw a large doe up on the road, but the road is verboten for hunting, so she was also safe.

Did I put meat in the freezer? No. Did I see more wildlife than I ever have while hunting in Kentucky? You betcha.

I’ll definitely be putting in for Fort Knox next year, and I may also put in for their bow hunting season so I can at least scout out some areas.

Sorry for not catching it earlier, but comments were disabled. I’ve turned them on. Keep it civil, children.

This weekend is my Fort Knox hunt. Going to get up early enough that I’ll have to kick the rooster in the ass on my way out the door in order to get down there in time, but it’s going to be a great hunt. We’re meeting our guide near post at 4 AM, which is causing the friend I’m going with to blow a gasket. He’ll get over it as soon as he starts to hear other hunters shoot. Only drawback is a full moon this weekend, so the deer may do their feeding and moving around overnight and then lager up for the day. Hopefully it’ll be cold enough that they’ll need to move around during the day.

Our area is kind of rugged, but that may work to our advantage. Tomorrow is being called for rain in the morning, with steady winds and dwindling temperatures all day. Going to get myself down into a nice draw and stay out of the wind. Hopefully Mr. Antlers will need to walk around to stay warm and I’ll get a shot. Pulling a deer out of the valleys may be a bit of a chore, but I think I’ll manage if I have to.

Like I said before, I love hunting at Ft. Knox. Just the quiet and beauty of the area is worth the drive. I plan on going both days even if my buddy decides to sleep in on Sunday.

I’ll update as the weekend goes on, but I’ll probably be too tired tomorrow or Sunday to put much up.

I woke up this morning with the lyrics from “What’s Opera Doc?” running through my mind. It was so maddening that I was singing and humming it all morning long while I got the kids ready for school and day care.

Baby Bear apparently thought Daddy was funny as I sang “Weturn, my wove” to him while he had his peaches and cereal this morning.

Got to listen to something with a back beat for a while to get it out of my mind.

How exactly does disrupting a church service, throwing leaflets, and picketing a church advance your cause?

Like I’ve always said, reasoned, calm, peaceful protest is what really grabs my attention and gets me to listen to you. Doing stupid crap like this is only going to alienate the people you’re trying to reach and convince them that you’re the loony they always thought you were.

Update:

Or you could just take a poke at an old lady who has the audacity to disagree with you.

Well, Girlie Bear’s middle school had their open house last night. Just a tour and some get-to-know-us speeches from the principal and teachers.

I ended up taking Baby Bear with us because the Irish Woman was swamped with work stuff at home. I only expected it to last a half hour or so, but it ended up being a 2 hour engagement.

I have to say that I’m quite excited about Girlie Bear going to this school. It’s clean, appears to be in good condition, and has a reputation for order. We’ll have to invest in khakis and polo’s for her, which I’m not thrilled about. But I prefer my children wearing something close to a uniform if the alternative is to have all of the other girls dressed in the “I wanna be a ho” starter set and have her ask me why she can’t wear skirts that would be better used as belts.

Thankfully, Baby Bear behaved himself throughout the evening. No fussing, no crying, nothing. I kept him entertained byletting him maul one of the brochures they handed out. He was quite heavy by the end of all the tours, etc., but I can’t complain about a baby who’s patient for 2 hours.

But when we got back to the car, he let loose and kept crying until he fell asleep in our driveway. He was tired, hungry, and over stimulated, and he told me in no uncertain terms that it was all my fault. He was OK once we got him into the house and took care of his needs.

So, my baby girl is going to middle school next year, and my baby boy is excellent in public. Nothing to complain about here….

Looks like the Pentagon has come up with a bomb that is full of randomly flying rocket powered flaming tennis balls!

Just think of the civilian applications for something like this!

Cave monsters menacing your small midwestern town? Toss a canister of these down the old abandoned mine shaft they’re coming out of.

Aliens taken over your colony base? Bomb it from orbit with a series of these and watch the fireworks!

And I may have finally found a solution to those !#$!@! moles and gophers in my lawn. Fourth of July, cooler of cold beer, and a stack of self propelled rocket balls being thrown down gopher holes. Ahhhh, now that would be a good use of an afternoon!

DUDE!@#!!@????

They’re giving away the Eucharist for free, but only one per customer. Come on, dude, just share with everyone else in the church.