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Not sure about this one

Authorities in Ohio are reporting that a young Amish girl was killed when she was shot by a man who fired his muzzleloading rifle into the air to clear it before cleaning at the same time as the girl being shot.  I’d like to go on a diatribe about a Rule 4 violation, which this situation very much deserves, but one thing catches with me:  the distance from where the man says he fired the shot and the place where authorities believe the girl was hit.

The distance is being reported as 1 1/2 miles.  I just can’t see a muzzleloader firing a round that far, but I could be wrong.  Investigators are bringing in an expert to examine the bullet from the girl’s body in order to see if it was indeed fired from the muzzleloader.

Now, to go back to Rule 4, this guy needs retraining in safety, whether or not his bullet was the one that killed this young girl.  When you squeeze the trigger, you’re responsible for where that bullet goes and everything it hits.  If you have to shoot your gun to clear it, then use a backstop, or invest in and use a bullet puller .

When the forensics are done on this, I’d be very interested in hearing whether or not this man’s muzzleloader fired that bullet.  If so, I want to know what gun he uses, what powder he used, how much of it, and what bullet he was firing.  Something just feels fishy about this.  1 1/2 miles just sounds way too far for a muzzleloader.

by daddybear71 on December 22, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Guns

Posted by daddybear71 on December 22, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/22/not-sure-about-this-one/

News Roundup

  • From the “Run Run Rudolph” Department – An Ohio man was able to re-capture a reindeer that had gotten loose from a cattle truck.  Luckily, the animal only got minor injuries from it’s escape attempt.  Apparently, reindeer truly cannot fly, at least from the back of a truck going 55.
  • From the “Road Hazard” Department – A volunteer fire fighter in Texas pulled a man from a burning car while dressed as Santa.  He then started directing traffic around the accident.  My guess is no-one gave the Jolly Old Elf any lip when he told them to take a left turn when they wanted to go straight.  When they make a movie of this, I see Bruce Willis as the main character, a gruff veteran firefighter who has lost his holiday spirit, but gets it back when the car explodes.
  • From the “Beer is Food” Department – A new report asserts that eating certain foods, such as turkey, grains, and vegetables, can reduce stress due to their nutrition.  Personally, I’ve found a steak, a cold beer, and homemade macaroni and cheese does wonders for my attitude.
  • From the “Cold and Dark” Department – New EPA regulations will require operators of coal fired power plants to install new equipment that cleans mercury and other pollutants out of their emissions.  The new rules will go into force in 2015, and will probably mean the closure of some power plants that cannot be retrofitted in a cost-effective manner.  No word yet on whether or not new nuclear power plants will be started in time to make up the difference, or if those of us who actually pay for energy will just have to pay more for keeping the lights on and the house warm.  
  • From the “Walking While Blotto” Department – A doctor in Illinois is asserting that walking home from the bar is just as dangerous as driving home.  I guess friends don’t let friends stumble. Remember, no matter what it takes, take away their sneakers.  Walking home drunk can lead to getting hit by a car, passing out on the front lawn, and having to make the walk of shame the next morning.
by daddybear71 on December 22, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in news

Posted by daddybear71 on December 22, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/22/news-roundup-50/

Thought for the Day

Tonight is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.  For those of us who are solar challenged, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.  No need for sunblock, big hats, or long sleeves.  The weather and light conditions match my personality, cold and gray.

For those of you who worship the sun, take hope from the knowledge that you’ll start gaining back sunlight tomorrow morning.  Just do me a favor and let me enjoy my mid-winter’s bad mood in peace, OK?

by daddybear71 on December 21, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Thought for the day

Posted by daddybear71 on December 21, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/21/thought-for-the-day-29/

30 Days of Heinlein – Day 18

“My mother said violence never solves anything.” “So?” Mr. Dubois looked at her bleakly. “I’m sure the city fathers of Carthage would be glad to know that.” – Starship Troopers


My Take – 


Violence should be our last problem solving tool, if we can help it.  And we have to recognize that, like all solutions to problems, there are unintended consequences to using violence, a lot of which are less than optimal.  But violence, if properly applied at the correct place, at the correct time, and in the correct amount is a valid tool to solve problems.

by daddybear71 on December 21, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Heinlein

Posted by daddybear71 on December 21, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/21/30-days-of-heinlein-day-18/

TSA Christmas Carol

Members of the TSA tried to bring a bit of holiday cheer to travellers at Los Angeles International Airport the other day.  They have been practicing on their own time, and sang patriotic and inspirational songs.

I thought I’d suggest a new Christmas carol for them:

Wow! Man this sucks
I spent 600 bucks
All they can say
Is throw shampoo away

Still standing here
Kids shedding tears
Harassing the old
Pissing off the bold

Bad Touch, Bad Touch
That is their job
Agents two by two
With hands of blue

Please spread your legs
Are these your bags?
Searching your hair
Groping a pair

Daily they work
Acting like jerks
Take off your shoes
Start to sing the blues:
Gonna gonna gonna gonna miss my flight!
Gonna gonna gonna gonna miss my flight!

by daddybear71 on December 21, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on December 21, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/21/tsa-christmas-carol/

Huh?

The White House today re-affirmed its support for Vice-President Agnew’s assertion that the “Viet Cong are not our enemies per se”.  Even though most attacks against American forces in the Republic of Vietnam are carried out by the VC, administration spokesmen assert that the United States got involved in South Vietnam because of an attack against American vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin, not to fight the Viet Cong or to protect the Saigon government against them.

Agnew further asserted that the United States is working towards two goals in South Vietnam:  First, to root out international communists who can damage American interests in the region, and to help the government in Saigon become strong enough to either negotiate with or defeat the Viet Cong on their own terms.

Newspapers are reporting that the United States is trying to conclude a set of secret negotiations with Viet Cong leadership, with the aim of being able to leave South Vietnam by the target date of 1973.  American negotiators are reportedly offering to release VC prisoners for a promise to renounce violence and refrain from Communist agitation, both in Vietnam and in other countries in Southeast Asia.

by daddybear71 on December 20, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Politics, WTF

Posted by daddybear71 on December 20, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/20/huh/

30 Days of Heinlein – Day 17

Premenstrual Syndrome: Just before their periods women behave the way men do all the time. – The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

by daddybear71 on December 20, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Heinlein

Posted by daddybear71 on December 20, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/20/30-days-of-heinlein-day-17/

Memorial to Kim Jong Il

Kim Jong Il, supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea, died on December 17.  I can find no better way to eulogize him than this:

by daddybear71 on December 20, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Korea

Posted by daddybear71 on December 20, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/20/memorial-to-kim-jong-il/

That Was Quick

The last U.S. truck to leave Iraq hasn’t even been to the wash rack yet, and the opening political salvos of the Iraqi civil war have been fired.

 

Iraq’s Shiite-led government issued an arrest warrant Monday for Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, the country’s highest ranking Sunni official, on terrorism charges.

al-Hashemi’s Sunni Iraqiya faction has threatened to leave the coalition government, so I guess the next logical step is to neutralize, either politically or physically, its leadership.

Here are my prognostications:

  • Continued political wrangling, including arrests and forced defections, over the next month or so
  • Targeted assassinations of Sunni and Shiite leadership by spring
  • Terrorist attacks against religious demonstrations and significant monuments (mosques) by April
  • Full on civil war by June

I also think the Kurds will use the fighting between the Shiite and Sunni sectors to finally make their defacto independence official, which will go a long way to piss off Turkey.  Saudi Arabia won’t stand by and watch their Sunni brothers get the snot kicked out of them by a numerically superior Shiite population.  If the Saudis send in troops, then Iran will go from covert support of the Shiites to actually sending in their own troops.  Whether the fighting stays in Iraq or not will depend on whether or not Iran wants to try to bite off the Shiite area of Saudi Arabia.  Riyadh isn’t equipped to stand up to Tehran in any form, so we would probably get dragged in if Iran actually invades Saudi Arabia.

Who’s going to win the Iraqi Civil War of 2012?  In Iraq, it’ll be the Shiite and the Kurds.  The Shiites are too numerous and well-supported by Iran for the Sunnis to prevail.  Iran and the Shiite factions have been working together for years to plan and prepare for the day after we left.  I don’t think the Sunnis have really ever recovered from losing power in 2003.  They certainly don’t have as active an international sponsor as the Shiites.  The Kurds will probably stay out of the fighting and if they’re smart will go dormant when it comes to Iran and Turkey until the dust settles to their south.

Internationally, I see Iran benefiting the most from all this, unless they invade Saudi Arabia.  If they can keep the fighting local to Iraq, especially if they can keep their support covert, then the Obama administration will have no credible reason to get involved.  If they publicly send in their military, or if they and Saudi Arabia lock horns, even Obama will have to sit up and take notice.  In the end, Iran will own Iraq in the same way that they own Syria.  Maybe they don’t claim the territory outright, but they’ll definitely be the ones pulling the strings.

Any way this plays out, Iraq is about to get at least as chaotic and bloody as it was before the surge in 2007.  I hope I’m wrong.

  
by daddybear71 on December 20, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Iraq

Posted by daddybear71 on December 20, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/20/that-was-quick/

Quote of the Day

1% OF THE HOLIDAYS GET 99% OF THE EGG NOG.


— Larry Correia, The Christmas Noun 4:  Occupy Christmas Noun

by daddybear71 on December 19, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Quote of the Day

Posted by daddybear71 on December 19, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/19/quote-of-the-day-31/

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