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Quotes of the Day

  • I haven’t a particle of confidence in a man who has no redeeming petty vices whatsoever.
  •  It [the press] has scoffed at religion till it has made scoffing popular. It has defended official criminals, on party pretexts, until it has created a United States Senate whose members are incapable of determining what crime against law and the dignity of their own body is—they are so morally blind—and it has made light of dishonesty till we have as a result a Congress which contracts to work for a certain sum and then deliberately steals additional wages out of the public pocket and is pained and surprised that anybody should worry about a little thing like that. 
  • Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.  
  • To put it in rude, plain, unpalatable words — true patriotism, real patriotism: loyalty not to a Family and a Fiction, but a loyalty to the Nation itself!
    …”Remember this, take this to heart, live by it, die for it if necessary: that our patriotism is medieval, outworn, obsolete; that the modern patriotism, the true patriotism, the only rational patriotism, is loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.“
  • It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare. 

— Samuel Clemons, AKA Mark Twain, November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910

by daddybear71 on November 30, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Quote of the Day

Posted by daddybear71 on November 30, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/30/quotes-of-the-day/

We need better options

Herman Cain is staying in the race despite another woman coming forward to accuse him of being a hound dog.  Apparently this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back for several supporters, including crucial people in Iowa and New Hampshire.

I’m disappointed.  I was beginning to like Cain. He’s a real person, not a career politician.  He’s held jobs and led companies.  If anyone could look at the balance sheet in Washington and take to it with an Exacto knife, it was him.

But even if I can look past personal foibles and vote for him, I may not get the chance, or it might not matter.  Cain has probably been mortally wounded, either by his own inability to keep his zipper up, or by personal attacks from his opponents, or both. 

So who’s left? 

First we have Rick Perry, who I’m more and more convinced is an empty suit.  No, it’s not because he vapor locked and couldn’t remember all of the government agencies he would cut.  I have the memory of a frog, so I’ll forgive someone else for the same malady.  He just reminds me of the executive that reads the first few pages of a report then moves on.  He can recognize the subject, but doesn’t have a lot of depth of knowledge.

Michelle Bachmann?  Yeah, not gonna happen.  I like her Tea Party leanings, but she has begun using the crisis of the day as a campaign topic.  Her raving about Gardasyl causing retardation, even after being told the facts, just put me off.

Romney?  I think I’ve made my opinion of him quite clear, so I won’t bore you with a repetition.

Gingrich?  Sorry, but I lived through the 1990’s and I remember just how screwed up the government was when he was 3rd in line for the presidency.  Love his books, would love to take a history class he’s teaching, but not convinced he ought to be president.

I have to admit that I like Ron Paul, if for no other reason than that he knows what he believes, is honest about it, and doesn’t change because of the political winds.  Problem is, even if I agree with a lot of what he says, what I don’t agree with is too far out of my comfort zone.

I heard an interview with John Huntsman the other day, and to be honest, I was impressed.  He’s a conservative, he seems honest, and he’s consistent from one week to the next.  The problem is that most people don’t know he’s running.  If he’s going to have a shot at the candidacy, he needs to get out and start getting people to notice him.

As for the rest, I don’t really give them much thought, which I guess speaks for itself.

Here are the traits I’m looking for.  A candidate doesn’t have to have all of them, but they ought to be have most of them.

  • Fiscal conservative, to the point of being willing to hold a budget bloodbath to bring spending down.
  • Veteran. If the president is going to be dealing with a war, I’d prefer that he or she at least have some personal experience to draw from.
  • Not a lifelong politician.  I don’t think your first elected position should be the presidency, but if you’ve spent most of your adult life running for office, you’re going to have a hard time knowing what your decisions do to the rest of us who work and pay your salary.
  • Squeaky clean personal life, or the ability to be open and honest about your failings.  Hey, I’m as human as the next guy, and everyone’s got a skeleton or two in their closet.  But if you’re a serial adulterer, or you have a problem with alcohol, you need to be honest about it.  Having a problem isn’t necessarily a problem, but lying about it is a game stopper.
  • Be consistent in your core beliefs, and actually have something we can look at to figure out what they are.  If you change your mind as often as you do your socks, move along.  And I’m not going to support a blank slate like we got in 2008.  Obama got elected because no-one knew what he stood for.  He got that way because he told everyone what they wanted to hear, and everyone projected their own values on him.  I’m not going down that road again.

That’s it.  Honestly, it doesn’t sound like too much.  If someone can satisfy 4 out of 5, he or she will probably get my vote.  Be able to know what your decisions are doing to those that are impacted by them, be careful with my money and the money my children and grandchildren will earn, don’t lie to me about scandalous behavior, and don’t change your mind because you think it’ll help you get elected.

If anyone knows of such a person, please speak up.  We desperately need this person to run, because the current slate isn’t impressing me.

by daddybear71 on November 30, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Politics

Posted by daddybear71 on November 30, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/30/we-need-better-options/

Thanks, but no thanks

Dear Guy at the Gun Store,

Yes, I know you saw me looking at that SKS, and just knew that I’d be better served with an AR-15.  Yes, I know that an internal 10 round magazine just isn’t going to cut it against hordes of looters and such. And yeah, I know I can’t reload the steel-cased ammunition the SKS shoots.  And yeah, I know that the AR platform is one of the finest infantry rifles ever used.  And I know I should take your advice because you’re in the Guard, and you grew up around guns.

But son, listen up:

I was messing around with AR platform rifles while you were trying to figure out how to balance on a bicycle with training wheels.  I’ve shot M-16-A1’s and A-2’s, and even messed around with an M-4 once or twice.  I’ve carried that style of rifle over mountains and rivers, across deserts, and through jungles.  I’ve spent more time than I care to think about scrubbing, wiping, scraping, and lubricating AR’s in one form or another.

I used to teach men and women your age how to shoot M-16’s with better technique than “Point it generally downrange and pull the trigger”.  Please don’t equate your basic training experience with my knowledge of the gun, how to shoot it, and its capabilities.

Now, I know that the AR platform has pretty much been perfected, and a modern example of this design fed good ammunition, kept reasonably clean, and using magazines in good working order will work pretty well under all but the worst conditions.  I also know that a well trained marksman with an AR-15 can blow the balls off a gnat at 300 meters.  I’m also not going to poopoo the 5.56 bullet it fires.  Yeah, it’s no .308 or .30-06, but I wouldn’t volunteer to get shot with it either.

You see, I don’t like AR’s for a couple of reasons.  First one is psychological:  I spent way too much time dealing with malfunctions of all types and trying to keep the thing clean to relish the thought of actually owning one.  Second is physical.  It’s just not comfortable to me.  You see, I’m a freak with big hands and large arms.  Holding an M-16 to my shoulder just never felt right to me.  And if I’m not comfortable, I’m not going to shoot as often as I ought to with the gun, and I won’t enjoy it as much.

And finally, I’ve just become enamored with older rifles such as the SKS, Mosin-Nagant, and M-1 Garand.  Nothing against the AR-15, which can be a very slick looking gun, but I just like walnut and beech furniture on my guns nowadays.

So I’m going to take the Matthew Quigley approach to this gun type:  I can shoot it, just don’t have much use for it.

But please, I didn’t mean to offend you when I told you I wasn’t interested in the AR.  If that’s what you like, be my guest.  What works for me might not work for you, and I’ll be the last to try to discourage you from shooting a gun that you like and you can shoot well.  I’ve just lost interest in the AR-15 for my own use.   But don’t let my prejudices against a technology lead you to believe that I’m a Fudd and don’t think your platform of choice is any less valid than mine.

Have a good one, and again, thanks for the advice,

DaddyBear

by daddybear71 on November 30, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Guns

Posted by daddybear71 on November 30, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/30/thanks-but-no-thanks/

Today’s Earworm

Yeah, it’s that time of year.

by daddybear71 on November 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Earworm

Posted by daddybear71 on November 29, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/29/todays-earworm-85/

Fighting the Good Fight

A lawsuit against the postal service for their policy that does not allow firearms in post offices and their parking lots has been given the green light to proceed by a federal judge.   The post office had asked for a dismissal of the case, opining:

“Large numbers of people from all walks of life gather on postal property every day. … The Postal Service is thus responsible for the protection of its employees and all the members of the public who enter postal property,”

I regularly carry a pistol for self defense, either openly or concealed.  I wear it to the grocery store, the hardware store, and to the big-box department stores, and I’m not the only one.  I’ll bet that more people go through the average Walmart in an hour than go through your average post office in a day.  Somehow, all of us law abiding gun carriers seem to keep it together with few problems. It’s almost as if those who legally carry guns are the type of people who can be trusted to not do illegal or stupid things with their guns.


The postal service and other government offices need to stop punishing the 99.99999% of people in the country who live well within the threshold for being called ‘legal’ and leave us alone to exercise our rights without the hassle of trying to not run afoul of their fear-induced policies.

by daddybear71 on November 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Guns

Posted by daddybear71 on November 29, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/29/fighting-the-good-fight/

News Roundup

  • From the “Put Up or Shut Up” Department – Gun rights advocates in Tennessee are letting it be known that if the Republican controlled state government doesn’t come across with some strong strides in gun rights after making noises about supporting the 2nd Amendment, there’ll be hell to pay in the next election.  I support my brethren in the Volunteer State.  Every Republican candidate, and a good chunk of the Democrats, puts a “I support the 2nd Amendment” bullet on their nice shiny fliers.  It’s high time they either crapped or got off the pot.  Local and state laws that impeded the peaceful, lawful exercise of civil rights, any civil rights, need to be done away with.  If those who have benefited from trumpeting their support for our rights won’t do something, we need to elect someone who will.
  • From the “Now He Tells Us” Department – Terry Nichols, the co-conspirator behind the Oklahoma City Bombing, told a penpal that he didn’t think that Timothy McVeigh would set off the truckbomb during the daytime or in a place that would harm anyone.  Hey, dickhead, here’s a hint:  If you want to do a bombing as a demonstration and make sure that no-one gets hurt, then take a lesson from the IRA and CALL SOMEONE.  Let them know where the bomb is and tell them why you set it.  Don’t just park it anonymously and hope there isn’t a daycare somewhere close, you dolt.  Nichols also says that he grieves daily about the bloodshed and damage that he helped cause.  Personally, I hope the spirits of the men, women, and children he helped murder haunt his every breath, and he lives a long time.  This jerk and his ilk gave us who think the government has lost its way and needs to be reformed a bad name for decades to come. 
  • From the “Rule 4” Department – A woman in Sweden has been charged with manslaughter after the bullet she used to shoot an elk killed a nearby skier.  Remember, you are responsible for that bullet and everything it hits.  Once the gun goes bang, you can’t take it back.
  • From the “Stay Classy” Department – The place kicker for the San Diego Chargers apparently had to answer a call of nature during Sunday’s game against Denver, and relieved himself next to his team’s bench.  I’m not sure how often something like this happens, but something tells me he could have gone somewhere else to do it, maybe somewhere the cameras couldn’t capture the moment for posterity.  Well at least he was hydrated.  I do have some issues with the TV station not cutting away once they realized what he was doing.  Apparently it was a great laugh for the commentators.  
  • From the “Play Stupid Games” Department – A Pennsylvania man is recovering after being bitten by his pet rattlesnake.  The man apparently owned several poisonous snakes, along with other reptiles, including an alligator.  Personally, I prefer pets in my own taxonomic class, but to each his own.  If you want to cuddle with something cold and scaly with the ability, will, and desire to kill you, be my guest.  I divorced my companion that fit that description in 1997.
by daddybear71 on November 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in news

Posted by daddybear71 on November 29, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/29/news-roundup-61/

Thoughts for the Day

  1. You never know how truly loved you are until you try to strain the bones out of an extra large batch of turkey broth in a home with three cats.
  2. Cats are true socialists.  What you have, they want, be it food, personal space, or body heat.
by daddybear71 on November 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in cats, Thought for the day

Posted by daddybear71 on November 29, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/29/thoughts-for-the-day/

Okey Dokey

The Pakistani Prime Minister has expressed the opinion that after the accidental bombing of Pakistani border post by NATO forces that Pakistan should require a more equal, read expensive, footing with the United States.  He feels that the United States does not respect Pakistan.  Imagine that, he believes that we don’t respect a country that harbored the architect of the mass murder of our civilians, regularly supports the Taliban, has spread nuclear weapons knowledge and technology to North Korea and Iran, and has soaked us for billions in money over the past decade.

My interpretation:  We are unhappy because you shot up a border post that we were letting bad guys use to shoot at you, so we want more money or we’ll keep the beans and bullets sitting at the border crossing until the tires rot, you pay up, or the entire load is stolen.

My response:  Go for it.  Shut down those supply routes and continue to support the guys who are killing civilians along with our soldiers.  We’ll just shut down the money pipeline (bribe is such a harsh word, isn’t it.  So is blood money) and y’all can go piss up a rope.  Hey, just to show that we’re good guys, we’ll go through the files of the Defense Department and the CIA and publicize all of the messed-up things y’all have done for the past 50 years that you really don’t want your “masses” knowing about.  We’ll, of course, sanitize the documents and indemnify our own people who took part in them so that the only people drug through the street by their heels will be someone from Pakistan.  How about we publicly identify members of your intelligence service that have provided support to our enemies since 9/11/2001 and we’ll put a nice price on their head.  How’s that sound, sparky?

I’m sure that we can come to some sort of mutually agreeable deal with the ‘Stans to the north of Afghanistan, and if we chip in enough information and money, Russia would be more than happy to work with us on transhipment of cargo.  I’m sure that if we gave them information on all of the Chechens and other douchebags, they’ll let us push trains of supplies right across the Rodina.  Honestly, I’ll pay a premium to do it just so that we can quit messing with your little paradise.

Good luck, guys.  Hope to see you on the History Channel soon as a “What Happens When You Try To Play Both Sides Of The Fence” show. 

by daddybear71 on November 28, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in pakistan

Posted by daddybear71 on November 28, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/28/okey-dokey/

Is that cheering I hear

coming from the VolksRepublik?

Longtime Massachusetts Congressman Barney Franks has announced that he will not be seeking reelection next year.  Franks has been in Congress since 1980.  For reference, I was in the 4th grade when he was elected for the first time.  So much for the ideal of a productive member of society going to Washington for a couple of terms of service to the nation and then returning to society to be productive again.  I honestly wonder if we can use Congressman Franks as an example of “He went into Congress worth X dollars, and he’s leaving Congress worth X dollars”.

I look forward to another open election in a heretofore locked up office next year.  Those are always good for viewing, preferable with popcorn.

by daddybear71 on November 28, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Politics

Posted by daddybear71 on November 28, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/28/is-that-cheering-i-hear/

Chuck’s Having a Bad Day

Chuck Z. is over in Afghanistan, and apparently he’s had a run-in with one of our ‘allies’ in the fight to bring medieval tribesmen into the 17th century.

I had to be pulled out of the combined TOC after I used “fuck-stick” “slap-nuts” and “If you know so much, how come Afghanistan isn’t occupying FOBs in The US?” in one long tirade that (thankfully, in retrospect) wasn’t translated.

Go on over to his place and give him a little encouragement.

by daddybear71 on November 28, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in military

Posted by daddybear71 on November 28, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/28/chucks-having-a-bad-day/

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