I got a 9mm

I remember shooting various buddy's 9mm and thinking "wow, that seems gentle."

I'd shoot better with gentle, no?

Time passed.

I did a lot of training.  Broke myself down to get the fundamentals down pat.  Shot nothing but a .22 in a metal pistol when doing live fire.  Simulators have zero recoil so even easier than a .22 for gentleness.  For years!  Then, I get ready to ease back into centerfire.

Then I get a metal 9mm.  Heavy.  Put a light on it to make it heavier!

9mm doesn't feel gentle like I remember.  Try a plastic gun in sub compact.  Nope, this isn't what I remember back when I was more n00b.

You know what does feel gentle?  The .45.   Huh.

"Oh, that's because the .45 has a different trigger, T-bolt."

No, that ain't it.  They are both 1911 style triggers.  The 9mm is much much nicer, but the .45 is decent now.  Better than factory.

It's odd.

You know what never gives me magazine headaches?  The .45.  (Chip McCormicks...)

Gonna learn me the things I don't know.  Keep at it.  I'd love for 9mm to feel 'easy' like it did when I was stupid.  More stupid.

It's cool, learning all this stuff.  About things and about myself.  It's why I like doing this.  It can be weird, tho, when you get into the weeds. 

Great

NOW I have to buy Chip McCormick mags for guns I don't have in case Wilson changes anything about them.

Been Feelin Poorly

Since last Saturday.

You always remember when you were sick on Christmas.  At least it wasn't a stomach bug.  Those are the worst.

So blog fodder suffers, some.

Oh drat.

I wasn't drunk but apparently I made an Amazon purchase, unexpectantly.  My memory is hazy.  Should get here today.

You know, it might be a GOOD thing you can't order a gun for yourself online to be delivered in 2 days of less.  I can't imagine how many Rhinos and KelTex308 and Calicos I'd have by now.  

SCCY

SO I was reading this HuffPo article Why Black People Own Guns.  Three things jumped out at me.  One:  HuffPo writers know nothing about guns.  Two:  Lots of folks own the Taurus Judge.  I swear, that was a great product to sell, Taurus.  Three:  I had never heard of a SCCY.  One dude in the article owns one.

Or maybe I did and it just didn't take.

An American gun company that flew completely under my radar.

Looks like they are competing in the CCW market with companies like Kahr and KelTec, offering a small easily concealed 9mm.  10 shot, tho.   That "I'm a pistol slightly bigger than those pocket .380s that were all the rage 6 years ago but now shoot 9mm" niche. 

Interesting.  You go, SCCY. 

I'm waiting for .32 to make a comeback in the carry world.

Also, the NRA dropped the ball not supporting Philando Castile after that cop shot him down.  I know the line that the NRA has to walk.  Support the police, or support CCW people.  To support one means they have to come out AGAINST the other, so they stayed mum.  Not make waves in that case. Which is a shame.  The NRA could have come out if it was a cop vs. a bad guy or a bad guy vs. a CCW holder, sure.  That's not the baby they had to divide, like Solomon.

But I think maybe this time, in that one case, they could have come down in favor of the black CCW holder a bit more than they did.  It's not like anyone thinks that cop was just doing his job.  Everyone thought he screwed up.  He wasn't going to be a cop long after that, and everyone knew it.  And he wasn't going to get prosecuted, because they never do.  I think the NRA could have garnered some goodwill from African Americans without looking like they were against the Police and in the corner of the Black Lives Matter extremists.

Sadly, water under the bridge now. 

In personal survival rations

I have tasted of the Biscuits and Gravy and Chicken and Dumpling and pronounce them very good. 

Add them to the list of acceptable 30-year + rations:

• Beef Stew
• Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Chili Mac
• Lasagna (those three are practically the same thing with a different form factor)
• Noodles and Chicken

I just need to think of various means to boil water.  And acquire water.  Well, I have some techniques.  I can build a fire and hoof it to the creek.  I want ALTERNATIVE heating method.  Like the Coleman stove and drain the hot water heater.  And a dozen other methods in my tool kit.

Doomsday Cracker

No not Daryl.  Different kind of apocalyptical cracker.

Hardtack for World War III.

Make plain bland ancient war-ration unleavened crackers great again.

How do you feed millions of Americans when they are hiding from Soviet fallout in shelters under bridge abutments and basement of municipal libraries?  They are only down there for a few weeks, but them No. 10 cans of Hormel Chili and Underwood Devilled Ham might not stay preserved over time.

If the nukes go flying THIS year you are fine, but what if it takes 15 - 20 years for things to come to a head?

You need long term storage options using only 1950s technology.   Things may last, but it can be a crap shoot.   You need something guaranteed to last.  No fats to go rancid.  No liquid to harbor pathogens or leave a microflora to encourage the growth of the nastier microfauna.

Tada!  Low salt saltines fit the bill.  BIG ones. Well sorta

Bulgur wheat!  That's the ticket.

 Just need 150 million pounds of it made and distributed, now.  Well, then.  1960ish.

Since, if you recall, there was no thermonuclear war, what happened to all them crackers?  Well, there were sent as food aid to Niger and Chad 10 year after they were made.

I reviewed Bushwick

Last week.

Now it has struck me.  It's Red Dawn but for them Antifa types.  Drax is Powers Booth, but there are no good 'kid' characters to anchor the movie.  The character development is sparse.

Instead of Cubans and Soviets, the bad guys are Libertarians from the Bible Belt, so...  super Evil as far as them Socialist Antifa types are concerned.  And they hold their own with Uzis they'd never shot before and shields made out of trash cans.

Oh, and in the end Antifa lost, really.  If they win it is Pyrrhic.  If the Texan separatist militias are pushed out the five Burroughs they left them is flames.

By night all this was on fire:

 

Wow

His handwriting is awful. Do any crazy people have decent penmanship? I bet $5 there are more than 3 full size bumper stickers on the back of his car.

Happy Life Day, may the Force be with you

Watch out for Krampus.



And Merry Christmas.

Commercial from 1978

A GM commercial.

Here is James Rock.

He wants to be sure 4 cylinder Pontiacs are good in 70s.   Of course I remember these commercials.

I wonder what happened to him?  Retired by now, I bet.  Definitely over 60 today.  Prolly 70s.  There are 3 Jim Rocks in Facebook that worked at GM.

Could be him, no?  Kept his hair.

I hope he's lived a happy life after his brief brush with fame.

Never did get a Red Ryder...

More...

More, from yesterday, about the Leftist Seattle-ite that tried to be as fair as a leftist could be about guns... 

His stuff in the quote sections like:

"But unlike so many clear-cut, bafflingly contentious subjects in American life—racial equality, health-care affordability, abortion rights, climate change, LGBTQ rights—the issue of guns actually is somewhat complicated."

Yeah.  All those other issues are clear-cut?  I dunno about that.

"The idea that gun regulations should be regarded as a threat to constitutional freedom is a treacherous hoax. And yet, it's patently unfair to paint all gun owners (roughly one-third of Americans) as crazy rubes tooling up for the day the revenuers show up to raid their compound."

100,000,000 Americans.  Say that out loud.  Some people, not necessarily this crazy writer, think it's possible to take away the guns of 100,000,000 Americans.  They think that they can even restrict the rights of 100,000,000 Americans.  Expansions of our rights is coming.  It's only a matter of time.

"I didn't realize why some guns were called pistols and others revolvers. I was a neophyte, verging on phobic. I thought of guns as dark magic, unpredictable talismans, better left alone."

Which is why he is super weird about guns throughout the article.  He has a much longer way to go.  MUCH.  Much greener than I ever was.  I was further down the firearm path at age 7, hitting pie pans with a BB gun.

"Only question five gave me pause: 'Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to marijuana, or any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?' I mean, no, as it happens, but still, they're more worried about weed than a desire to commit murder, or the ability to demonstrate competency?"

You mentioned the 1993 Brady bill and the GCA of 1968.  This reefer-madness bit is a artifact of the 1968 law. 

"Almost every single person from this second [gun owning associates of the writer] group said two things: (1) They favor gun control, and (2) please don't use their name."

You know you might get upwards of 80% pro-gun-control in this country if everyone believed it was what it said it was.  For safety.  Not as incrementalism to the gun ban regime of Great Britain.  Us wide-spectrum libertarian absolutists aren't as numerous as we'd like to be.  You'll just never convince America again that gun control is not just a cover for gun bans.  Americans aren't hardcore libertarian, but libertarian is in our national DNA.

"My aim remained poor no matter what distance I shot from, always dragging low and to the right."

I bet you are left handed...  Relax and work on your trigger pull.  Surprise break and all that.

"I believe the NRA's rhetoric about 'good guys with guns' is largely bullshit, the same as all marketing that tells you one thing in order to sell you another. Nonetheless, I thought that if my experiment was going to be fair, I should try a little harder to put myself in situations where I might have reason to feel, if not actually imperiled, then at least uneasy. "

NO!  Don't go looking for a fight, fool!  You have a lot to learn if you continue down this path.  Which you shouldn't.  You are a self-admitted prohibited person.

"Whether or not there's a causal link between those two seemingly contradictory facts [increased gun numbers, decrease in crime] is impossible to establish"

Contradictory?  I don't understand?  How is that contradictory?

"The first time I was hospitalized for acting on suicidal ideation, I was 15 years old. It wasn't a serious attempt—but it was a serious harbinger of the nearly 30 years that have followed. During that time, my feelings on the subject have ranged vastly, from no danger at all to dialing the first two digits of 911. I have envisioned killing myself in styles baroque and anonymous. I have written extensive suicide notes, including personalized messages to everyone I care about. I have pushed the edge of a razor blade until the tip punctured my wrist, and then stopped."

Yeah, if I felt like that I'd sell most of my guns off and the one or two left would be stored at a buddy's house, locked, where I couldn't get to it.  There wouldn't be a gun in my house. 

Now I'm not telling you how to live your life, but...  Think on that.

I felt bummed when going through my divorce.  It impacted my work.  This very thought occurred to me, even then:  "Now is NOT the time to go gun shopping.  Maybe in the future."  And I wasn't clinically depressed.  I wasn't taking crazy pills for years and years.   Like this guy still does in his mid-40s.  I was situationally depressed because of circumstances, but still cautious and self aware enough to not even tempt myself.  YOU, sir, are way beyond that. 

I am worried you wrote this article as a going-away piece and will be dead before Spring.  To sorta prove  and anit-gun point, somehow. 

I am coming around to this idea

Democrats... maybe they should be prohibited persons.  Well Leftists.   Though when they let felons vote, they tend to lean Democrat. too, so...

"You could almost say that a gun wants to be shot. I know that sounds like a magic busload of hippie nonsense, and I have no doubt that experienced gun collectors would scoff at the idea, but I swear I felt it."

When I was greener than spring grass I didn't think this.

"The first time I was hospitalized for acting on suicidal ideation, I was 15 years old" 

Wait, you didn't divulge this when you filled out the 4473?  Great.  We don't have to make Democrats prohibited persons to keep a gun out of your hands.  It already should be verboten.  You were institutionalized AND lied about it, AND admitted it?  Dude, you are going to jail.  Or should be.

"Though I hadn't admitted this to myself earlier, it was perhaps inevitable that the very first thing I did when I brought the gun home and was alone with it was to put it in my mouth. Unloaded at first, then loaded "

WHOA WHOA WHOA!  HOLEE CRAP!  This is NOT responsible gun owner behavior!  Stop!  Don't touch it again!  Get an adult!  Jeezum Crowe.

What made you think any of this, getting the gun, committing the felony, bring back old suicidal thoughts, admitting all this to the world... was a good idea, buddy?

[it's a great big long article by a lefty trying to be honest and fair, and plenty to mine out of it.  of interest, HE is a new shooter like I was, but with obvious big differences on how we came to the subject.  Gonna keep reading.  Maybe there is a less... upsetting... bit of blog fodder I can get from it.]

Awww.

Olympic athlete Lones Wigger Jr. died last week.  On the 14th.  He was 80.

Who is that?  Two time gold medal winner, holder of many world records,:| and member of the US Army Marksmanship Unit.  Small bore rifle was his jam. 

Even the New York Times called him 'the best ever.'

Hot of the FB presses

This has been everywhere, shared and reshared.  You have already seen it, chances are

I just like it.

This has got the post war, pre LBJ look about it.  Stylistically.  The artist captured that mood very well.  Before photo color reproduction became much cheaper and widespread in magazines and pretty much took over all the ad copy.  The golden age of the illustrator.  Note the typeface is NOT Helvetica.  Which will also become ubiquitous as the camera work comes to the fore on every damn page of a periodical.

Now, for slowheads like me.  This is NOT an actual vintage ad from Colt back in the day.  Women shooters (and men for that matter) in ad copy were smiling back then, but never gleeful about it.  Or taking a bead in the living room.  With a suppressor.  No, not in the ad copy.

Salon.com

Up is down

Freedom is slavery

Hot is cold

War is peace

Love is hate

Pineapple goes on pizza

"Sorry, NRA: The U.S. was actually founded on gun control"

"let’s consider the case made by the NRA, its Congressional hired hands, the majority of the Supreme Court, and various right wing pundits who claim the Second Amendment is not simply about state militias but guarantees the unfettered right of everyone to own, carry, trade and eventually shoot someone with a gun."

So you are admitting that a vast proportion of the world says the Second Amendment enumerates an inherent individual right.  Good.

Oh wait.  I read on.  You aren't.

The 'eventually shoot someone with a gun' is a bit of a strawman, added for drama tho, right?

And I WISH the NRA had enough money to buy a bunch of politicians.  In the DC politics game, NRA is pocket change.  I love how gun rights and the NRA are supposed to be all about money.  The NRA is powerful not because of money, it only has a small amount of that.  It is powerful because of motivated membership voting.  And being vocal about it.

"And that’s the problem with it: While stating the need for a “well-regulated Militia,” does it at the same time also guarantee the individual citizen the personal right to “keep and bear arms?” In 2008, Justice Antonin Scalia, ruling for the Majority, said that it was"

Oh, he is trying to re-argue Heller.  Dude, if Roe v Wade can be sacrosanct for 45+ year, Heller can be untouchable for at least that long.

"Here is Madison’s first draft of the Second Amendment:

“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, a well-armed and well-regulated militia being the best security of a free country; but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person.”" 

Yeah?  And?

He steals a few more bases saying the people that wrote the 2nd, hell, they didn't even want poor white males to vote.

So let me slide some wisdom on you, courtesy of Robb Allan (blue check pending).  You clearly aren't too bright.  Maybe a picture will help you:

Flee America!

I don't get myself a calendar every year.  This year might be different.

It's not even all zombies.

Bushwick

So Dave Bautista is in a B-Movie action show.  Bushwick.  He plays a mopey ex Marine, ex Navy corpsman with PTSD.  Well, he is the biggest name in the show, it really centers on a blond college student caught up in events that teams up with the big galoot.

Special effects are meh.  Clearly the film crew couldn't light ACTUAL Brooklyn row homes on fire.  Understandable.  You need a big budget for that.

Released in 2017, a Three Percenter Molon Labe Secessionist REAL Constitution style Militia is the heavy, taking over the US from within with AK-47s and souped up civilian helos.  Like that is what they'd choose.  The setting is in Bushwick Brooklyn where the Militia realizes they have bitten off more than they can chew and can't pacify these New Yorkers.  They aren't looking to conquer, just more Raid and Paralyze.  Our protagonists have to make it 5 blocks to a safe zone and eventual evacuation to Non-Walmart America. 

Lots of gunplay. 

The Militia expected fewer New Yorkers with guns.

Bautista has a chrome/nickel 1911.  Other guns are scrounged from the fallen.  College girl settles on a Sig.  Our protagonists eschew rifles for pistols.  The New Yorkers fight back against the black clad, black helicopter, rifle troopers with lots of Uzis and shields made of 55 gallon drums and baseball bats.  New York is outgunned, but has the numbers. 

The movie feels like a chance for Bautista to exercise his acting chops, and he does ok at this.  Mission accomplished for Bautista, as his range extends beyond hulky action dude.  I didn't dislike his performance.  But the movie itself is a little nihilistic for my taste. 

A Reckoning

Weaver?

I was just discussing with Sam how the Weaver has fallen out of fashion.


So, Jeff Cooper dies, and people, except for a few holdouts, stop talking about, and mostly stop doing, the Weaver stance.  The two handed grip that brought pistol shooting out of the one-handed point shoot and bullseye dark ages.  Bladed-ish body stance, push-me pull-you grip, with a hunched over head like you were cheek welded to an invisible rifle stock.

Now folks are all square face to the target, mostly square on stance, isosceles hold, and most people do the thumbs forward crush grip with locked wrists.  More range of motion left to right that way.  More natural means faster.  And it's always been about the shooting competitions.  Though the competitions is the crucible that makes its way into training for social purposes, of course.  Both law enforcement and self-defense.  Even old Colonel Cooper would freely admit that.  Competitors innovate, then the trainers disseminate.

"Are they really ALL Isosceles, T-Bolt?"

Well not ALL.  Gunsite will still train you up with the Weaver.  But Isosceles is the new hotness.  Everything evolves.  For example, locking the elbows in Iso?  Heck even I have seen people cut back on that.  It can be exhausting to keep them locked.

"What is the Universal Shooting Stance, T-Bolt?"

Huh.  That's a new one by me.  Lemme look... Hey, Shooting Illustrated did this blog post a year and half ago.  Good thing I don't do this for a living.  Nothing on Universal there though.

It might be made up?  Good reason there is no wiki article for it.  

----

Just speaking on the grips.  Thumbs forward, wrap around support hand, gun aligned with your elbow...  That seems universal.  There are other grips but the Tea Cup and Wrist Grab are sub-optimal two handed grip styles.   Has anyone even heard of a another type of two handed grip that isn't point shooting.


----

Can't stop the signal

Ready to blog, in the era without net neutrality.

Crud!

Accidentally double posted. 

The second post will come out tomorrow.  Again.  Cuz I don't have anything else for tomorrow.

The Best 1911.

This is practically a meme on what is left of the gunblogosphere.

And now I can pretend to be an expert and make a fool of myself spouting opinions, 10% from personal experience, 20% from learning for a gunsmith, and 70% osmosis from his experience.  So... add that all up and my opinion is worth...  6.77%?

Anyway.  New guns

Colt: 80% Crap.  Maybe the steel is better than some others, but they've been coasting on that metallurgical reputation for sometime.  The more you pay the more disappointed you will be.  Only Wilson owners in the basic armorers course were more disappointed.

Springfield:  50/50 chance it is crap.  Maybe 55/45?  Flip a coin on your lucky day.

Wilson:  Worst gun and most expensive gun in the survey class.  Every time.  Often arrive unsafe.  As in it fails the safety checks.  Their parts are either crap or the best, but no way to predict what you'll get.  Like an extractor I bought was rounded over junk, but the fancy ambi thumb safety was a piece of art. 

S&W:  50/50.  If the extractor works.  If you have extractor troubles trade it in.  Those with extraction trouble are 100% crap.  It will never be right.

Taurus:  No

Kimber:  A more expensive-than-Taurus 'No'.  For similar reasons.  It's reasons just don't have a Portuguese accent.

Para:  Dunno, really.  Never seen one in the Basic Armorer class.  Or anywhere else for that matter.  I know of a sketchy reputation, but other than that I can say nothing one way or another.

RIA/Armscor:  Not half bad actually.  72/25 or better?  You have a better chance that BOTH hammer hooks engage the sear with this than any of the other choices above.  Out of the box.  The metallurgy is a little softer, but so?  And if you ruin it you are only out $500.  So very good gun to take to a rebuild class.  If I ever buy a 1911 again it will be $500 for an Armscor slag 1911 or $3500 for a custom.

That analysis was free and worth every penny.  Why are you listening to a 'New' Jovian Thunderbolt?  Look for the Wise Jovian Thunderbolt or the Half-Competent Jovian Thunderbolt.  Not-a-Fool Thunderbolt.

1911 factories don't have the skilled work force that is cheap enough to turn out a new 1911 for less than a kilobuck or two.  I worry that the $2000 1911 guns come in two qualities.  Dreck for people that don't know the difference but undoubtedly filled with some higher end parts, and Decent enough if the guy that knows what he is doing lucked out or had time to make Decent.

Also, today's parts... you have to get cost savings to compete on price.  So labor AND materials.  Lots of exciting and innovative news ways to make gun parts.   But maybe apply those to new models.

Little story.  The first 1911 I bought was a Springfield Loaded.  9 years ago.  I didn't know any better then, despite my research, or I might have caught this.  The barrel hood where it contact the breach face was an angle.  Like a blunt chisel.  It's peened an indentation into the breach face now.  So the barrel and slide are junk.  I use that frame as the base for a .22 conversion kit.  The second Springfield I got was a Stainless GI.  Or was it Range Officer?  No matter.  It was ok.  Enough meat to the slide rails it became my rebuild gun.  The ejector didn't come with a hole to a pin the ejector in.  Boo.  But it bears out.  50/50 with Springfields! 

Maryland Gun Laws...

...Are one of the last remnants of Jim Crow laws. 

Gun Crow laws. 

I've said this before, and sometimes people dismiss me out of hand.  Not everyone in Maryland minimizes this view, however.




Gun rights are civil rights.

Weird

Here is another target from the live fire session mentioned yesterday.  Concentrating on two things, shooting decent, and the magazine tests and recording.  So my attention is somewhat divided. 

But look.

Drat, I am favoring right a bit still.  Some high ones with that 9mm, occaisionally.  So finger placement and flinchy still.  But...

"10 years ago when you started this journey did you think you'd be this good, T-Bolt?"

Yeah, sorta.  I just didn't know how I would get here.  Practice and diligence initially, then regular, decent training.  I have sort of achieved my goals from back then.  I just wanted to get more rounds in an imaginary 3X5 card on the bullseye.  About there. 

"So, you achieved your goal.  What now?  Quit?"

Hell no.  Now I need new goals.  This, but faster.  This with double taps.  This, from 15 yards instead of 7.

Live Fire

So, was testing the double stack Hardcore 9mm, with Sam.  Well, it's magazines.  But might as well work on accuracy too.

"That looks like .45 holes in the center"

Good eyes!  Sam also brought one of his custom guns he just finished, and he let this noob shoot it.  To get a different pair of hands on it, see if it was as reliable.  9mm lower right.

Both these guns.  I find myself shooting through holes I just shot.  That feels weird.

Anyway.  Separate problems.   The follower is getting too high so the gun locks back even thought there is one round in the magazine.  Easy tune, just take a hair off the one part of the follower that touches the slide lock.  Also:  Feed lips spreading.  Let's try making a mandrel.  Back to the shop for HOURS of shaping a hunk of tool steel into something that can fit up a magazine and get hammered on.  Hope to have picture of that for you soon.

My first double stack gun and the magazines for the gun are for doodly squat.  Drat.  I will fix this gun, and have it run like a top.  Dunno if I will still love it because of that one flaw.  The rest of it is EXCELLENT.  But part of me wants a single stack custom 9mm 1911.  I bet Sam would do a trade-in...

When the magazine says 21 round capacity, maybe only load 10 or 12 or 15.  Unless you have a Glock.  A later style. Them double stacks seem to have it dialed in.  And considerably cheaper.

AH ahah Ah Ah

NEW Master List.

I have an old one I started 10 year ago.  It's still somewhat valid.  Things like ".22 revolver" used to be on there.  And ".357 lever action rifle."  They aren't anymore because I got those.  And there isn't really a priority anymore.  Everything now is 'just because it'd be neat.'

1. .22TCM/9mm single stack Armscor 1911.
2. CMP vintage Colt 1911.
3. S&W Model 19.  No lock.  Earlier model?  Like a dash 3?  Or the Stainless version 66-3.  Condition is important, naturally.  Full length extractor rod with the shorted barrel do-able.  So, 2 and half inches, I guess.  I'd have to hammer down the details.
4. Custom single stack Commander length 9mm 1911.   Just cuz.
5. DeLisle style new made bolt action rifle, left handed.
6. S&W M&P 2.0 or Sig P320.  Full size.  With a light rail obviously.  House pistol.  9mm prolly.

Or bag it all and just get the .22 TCM full size with a light rail and the custom Commander with no light rail.  Then call it a day, forever!  Depends on the mood.

Huh.  Pistol heavy.  I must be getting old.  I wonder what I'd be like if I lived next door to a nice rifle range...

I may get any one of those on the list soon or never. 

What?

You wanna live forever?


The '57 Bel Air is unsafe?  Say it ain't so. 

You don't want to get hurt don't run it into stuff.  I'm a very good driver.

"That may be so T-Bolt but there are lots of idiots out there and they might run into you."

Shut up!

Speaking of Bel Air, I hope the Fresh Prince got out of his neighborhood before the fires got there.  Wonder where he will move to next?

Fix NICS

Rep Thomas Massie of Kentucky warns us.

Don't vote for Reciprocity, as Schumer has thrown a NICS expansion amendment in the Bill that will expand prohibited people.  A Poison Pill.

Massie is right.  That would be bad.  And I already don't trust Schumer.  But who is Massie of Kentucky?  I don't know him.  And HIS constituents already have Shall Issue CCW.  Why should I listen to him?  Maybe he is crying wolf.  Maybe he is just in the Establishment and doesn't care about my civil rights?  Or maybe he cares too much.  A 2nd Amendment proponent so ardent, that insists on permitless machinegun carry and votes no if the law isn't that expansive.

The devil, as they say, is in the details.

Is breitbart blowing smoke up my skirt, and this isn't really what Massie is on about?

Maybe Massie just a tool.  I dunno him.

The NRA has always had the position of accepting NICS and using it to keep prohibeted persons from purchasing.  And a fix that alerts the system about felons or adjudicated crazies that were slipping through the cracks is just fine by me.  But if it is adding, at the whim of some bureaucrat, folks to the NICS list for cashing their first Social Security check or getting a check up at the VA hospital, then that is unacceeptible.

So adjust the amendment to take out the judgement of the bureaucrat, Massie.

"[It] encourages administrative agencies, not the courts, to submit more names to a national database that will determine whether you can or can’t obtain a firearm. "

That's fine if the bureaucrat is going "hey, this felon we just dispensed with should be on the NICS list.  I wasn't alerting anyone before, but maybe I should have been.  And heck now the laws says I must" because we know the bureaucrats were letting things slide up til now anyway.  Fix NICS can be done properly.

If this law was passed in 2007, how would the Obama administration have abused it?  That's the test before the vote.  Hold the tack-ons proverbial feet to the fire, legislatively.

Let's see the language.  The final language is only final at the vote, and I don't trust Schumer not to insert a clause in the last 5 minutes that turns the whole thing against us.  But lets see the likely final language.

"What final language T-Bolt?"  Correct, fair reader.  Schumer is in the Senate and the bill hasn't left the originating house to go to the other wing of the Capitol yet.  Pelosi can't add any amendments from her perch, the Harpy.  No merging with another bill has happened yet.

And I would be supportive of a proper fix to NICS merged with the reciprocity bill in order to get 60 votes in the Senate.   If we could give someone like Senator Tester of Montana an excuse to go against Schumer in an election year and get us cloture that way, that'd be great.

[Addendum after scheduling:  Oh look, I'm not the only one seeing shennanigans. Even ostensible allies wanna queer the deal, for some reason. Wrote this on the 6th.  Probably OBE when it publishes on the 8th, but such is blogging ahead of time.]

{Update again.  HR 38 passes 231-198. 225 Republicans and 6 Democrats voted yea, 14 Republicans and 184 Dems voted no.}

Navy

I normally put something up relevant to Pearl Harbor Day on the blog, but not feeling it so much this year.

"Are you melancholy, T-Bolt?"

No that ain't it so much.  Maybe I don't feel the urgency to reinforce the memory of an imminent ongoing threat from history to support current focus on imminent ongoing threats.

Wait, is this Trump's fault?

Maybe.

Maybe it is Secretary Mattis' fault.  That guy... I don't think he ever takes his eye off the ball.  And say what you will about Trump's methods he does lean on his SecDef and give him his head.  So far that is working out.

I worry about the Navy's recent woes, lack of funding, leadership, and deadly fender benders in the 7th Fleet is disconcerting.  I shouldn't feel like 30 year old watchstanding and seamanship skills are better than a currently serving Officer of the Deck.  All this is only tertiarily concerned with this anniversary, however.

I've had millennials come up to me this month and tell me, "T-Bolt!  Did you know there is/was a conspiracy theory about Pearl Harbor?  That the gov't knew the attack was coming and let it happen to galvanize public support to enter the war."

Yes, young man.  I did know about that theory.  I probably first heard of it in the 70s.  But the 1970s were a great time to disseminate conspiracy theories into the wider culture.   It might have been Spock that told me, too, but I am not sure.

GI Joe

All my G.I. Joes had the fuzzy head that grew bald over time.  Figure he was exposed to radioactive fallout.  The one with the Kung Fu grip.  Like this:



Other kids in the neighborhood had M1919 machine guns.  Not me.  No BAR that I remember either.  Looking back I had 03 Springfields, Garands, M-16, and scoped sniper rifles. Not even a flamethrower.

I also had the jeep with the recoil-less rifle. It was after Nam so Joe was leaning toward outdoorsy adventure instead of war. Hence the out of regs beard.

CMP 1911

I am debating whether or not I want one.

I love the history, and that is why I'd get one.  I can afford it, and I can fix one up without detracting from it's historical value.  Maybe.  If frame and slide fitment is crap (it will be), if the barrel lockup is loose (it will be) there still might be a way to fix the sear hammer engagement without ditching the hammer and only getting a new sear.

But that's not the point.

I hesitate because I don't have a big case of the WANTS, and another safe queen 1911 is less practical for me where I am right now.  It's cool, I guess, just not practical.

I am more likely to buy a $4000 custom 1911 than a $999 piece of history. 

What a weird place to be at this point of my Shottist career, just 10 years in.  

The Future

They keep saying "Robots are the Future" or "VR is the Future" or "Self Driving cars are the Future"

Meh.

They've said that before.

They also said in the 1950s "Fusion power is the Future!  Limitless electricity too cheap to meter.  Just 5 - 10 years from today."

Yeah, yeah, I'll believe it when it comes.  Like jetpack and flying cars.

Sure, there have been great strides.  But I don't think the autonomous robots people picture in their head are even close to realizable yet.  And my car going to work and parking in my space while I napped the entire time in the driver seat?  Nice, but, nowhere near soon.

It's like Smart Guns.  The very concept makes it impossible.  Just unworkable.

It's like November 9th all over again

Is there any going back after this #TaxBillScam? To America? Does it matter now if Trump is impeached? There’s no America now. Not the one we knew. Sorry, feeling real despair this morning

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) December 2, 2017

Yeah. A tiny tax cut, a little less socialism, has changed the fabric of reality and destroyed the United States.

Range over T-Giving

Hit the range on black friday.

The bad first?  Ok.

Taurus .22 revolvers have an AWFUL trigger.  Gritty and over firm and over variable.  Ruger 101's like this:

the pull is ok, but the edges aren't eased like they are on a Smith and hurt my tender little girlie fingers.  At least the one I shot wasn't eased.  Sharp arris that bit me with the recoil.  If I had shot 12 I'd have a blister or broken skin.

Shot the new S&W M&P 2.0 from the rental desk.  The compact.  Decent.  Even with a rental gun factory trigger.  I was pleased.   The only quibble I have with the M&P is the placement of the slide release lever.   Not ideal with a lefty like it is with a 1911.

The good?

I got to shoot a Model 19 S&W that looked like this:

But with Hogue grips.  Early version.  Good condition.  Good trigger.  A joy to shoot and shot well.   I covet that revolver.

I shot my 640 a bit, and my 1911.  Early low-and-rights from flinching but then I got their number and improved.  Here is a sample.  1911 on top.  There are some 9mm from the M&P in there too on the bottom target, the rest are from the 2 .38 revolvers.

Got my first malf with the 1911 tho.  Failure to lock back on empty at round number 543.  550 total so far, no cleaning, but I am over due for 3 drops of oil. 

You make my dreams come true

Don't you Firemen

Tell me what to do, either.  My smoke detector isn't obsolete, it's vintage.

And stop begging for money like a hobo at the traffic light.

Are you older than your smoke alarms?! Here are some smoke alarms "retired" today by firefighters during home safety blitz in Aspen Hill. @mcfrspio Smoke alarms older than 10 years need to be replaced. Don't risk it - REPLACE it. pic.twitter.com/p4QUTWoNsF

— MontgomeryCo(MD)Fire (@mcfrs) December 2, 2017

Don't Lie to the Po-Po

Martha Stewart
Scooter Libby
now Michael Flynn

Did nothing provably wrong except the cops caught them in a lie.

I will never want to speak to any law enforcement people, EVER.  Even to say good morning to an off duty foot patrolman.

"What's 'good' about it?  Nothing!  YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT T-BOLT!  STOP RESISTING!  THIS IS PEPPER SPRAY!"

The FBI always gets their man, I guess.   

The Girl with all the Gifts

It's a Zombie movie.  From Britain.  With Glenn Close.

Well done, too.

Zombies are made with a fungal infection, just like them zombie ants.  And it's been about 10 years since the plague started.   How do we know?  Because the uninfected have some children that... well, just check it out.  Prolly on Netflix streaming.

I am pleased

That it got this far.  HR 38

Amazing!

50 state CCW reciprocity?  Yes please.

My favorite part is the love to me, personally:

"In particular, it would allow residents of repressive states to get non-resident permits and thereby circumvent local anti-gun officials. "

Sweet!

Now this like step 3 in a process with 22 steps.  My hopes aren't that high for quick success.  Or success with this run at the prize.  But I never thought I'd see something this good get this far.

Look for the Speaker to squash it or it to pass the house then languish in committee in the Senate or it requiring extra votes past 52 to overcome a filibuster there or some squish like an Arizona short timer might show his true colors and vote it down to spite us stinking lowlife common voters. 

Feral

Divide and Conquer

So, let me get this straight.

This 'hunter' notes that you don't need a high capacity magazine and a military style rifle to hunt, and suicide is the biggest death toll in the country, so hunters should calve off from other firearm enthusiasts and get on board with gun bans because... just because.

How many rounds in a magazine do you need to commit suicide, genius?

He discourages his dad from carrying a sidearm in grizzly country because he doesn't think a pistol can protect dad better than spray.  You know what, hippy?  There are other dangerouns things in grizzly country besides bears.

He calls the NRA blood soaked, and wants to change the NRA but clearly he doesn't want to do that from inside the organization.  Too icky.  So, he just harangues.  Misrepresents some statistics and cites debunked studies, and lies about funding of gun rights groups.

Hippies.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

For 8 years, we never worried once about Americans getting nuked to death by North Korea or any other country. Then Trump happened. Now, every single day, Americans live in constant fear of instant death - this is bad for our health and bad for the economy.

— Millennial Democrats (@Millennial_Dems) November 28, 2017

On the Road Again

That's Jam Handy.

Maryland Supreme

Well crap.

I guess the SCOTUS still really does NOT want to deal with any assault weapons type bans.

 Don't think they are reticent because of recent events.  They have eschewed similar cases since Heller.  It's just the way it is until RBG dies and Sotomayor resigns in disgrace, or something, while Trump is still Preznit, and if he hasn't changed his mind on his current stable of noms.

Magazine Size Restriction

So I bought another 20 round magazine for my Caspian from Brownells.  I didn't buy it in Maryland, because of the law.  I bought it and received it in Virginia. 

This is the bag it came it, listing all the places you can't buy it.

The usual suspects.  It's the OTHER ones that are interesting.  Cleveland Ohio and one of its surrounds, Shaker Heights being of interest to me.  Big cities in Ohio except Columbus and one liberal Cleveland enclave.  Oh and Dublin. 

Vail Colorado?

I guess pre-emption hasn't hit those states yet.  

 

Poverty

If you want to escape poverty and enter the middle class and stay there....

This has been going around awhile, promulgated by many many sources, but I think it was started by the Brookings Institution.

1. Graduate High School
2. Get a full time job
3. Get married before having children

In that order.

Statistically speaking, if you do those three thing you won't be poor.  And it can be "just squeak by" and "40 hour flipping burgers" as long as you don't get in a family way before you put a ring on it.

Ok, I can see that.

Seems common sensical, right?

The middle class already does those three things, for the most part.  Ideally you want people that are now poor to in the future do the 3 things so they will stop being poor. 

How do we as a society encourage young people to do those three things?  Note I don't say 'government'.  I say 'society'.

(Government can do things.  Like stop incentivizing the inverse.  Gov't, for example, under Obamacare, incentivizes NOT employing someone full time.  Don't do that.   Lots of other examples where gov't sticks its big nose in and messes things up royal.)

Society already shouts encouragement.  Read to your kids.  Stay together for your kids.  Eat a meal together as a family.  Don't get payday loans.  Etc.  Copybook Heading style instructions.  Plus the three things above.  It doesn't mean folks listen.

There is not 3 steps to do in order to make those 3 steps above come about, are there? 

Boys in Company C

Notice anything funny with the .50 ammo?

Starting a 1:30

Drat, should be embedded video here...

Real Ma Deuce, real ammo, just kinda blankie. Plus some foley work and that don't sound real accurate.

Golly, it's been ages since I saw this movie. 35 years? Maybe.

Who taught this guy...

... to shoot like this?


Sumdood.  He might have said his name but I missed it.

Serisouly, though.  Isoceles mostly, head hunched down, leaning forward, wrappy grip...

The kind of answer I am looking for is:

"Oh, that's the posture/method the FBI, and subsequent police trainers used from the mid 80s up to the earyl oughts, T-Bolt."

or

"I was in the Boston PD back in the 60s, T-Bolt, and that is how they taught us at the Academy.  That guy with the stache prolly learned to shoot like from his Dad of summat.  I don't think BPD does it that way anymore, but I am not sure."

or

"I just graduated from the Police Academy and they taught us a different stance, but my buddy went to another Academy and they taught this, so it is still current."

finally

"Everyone I know shoots like that, T-Bolt.  Are you doing it different?  Not one handed, are you?"


"So what are you getting on about, T-Bolt."

Well, it isn't the push me pull you bent arm Weaver. But it is a common presentation. You can't say 'Isosceles' and leave it at that can you?

Thanks

1911s are heavy

When you carry one all day.  You usually aren't shooting bad guys with it all day, you are carrying it.

I know.  Let's put it in the milling machine and cut away a lot of metal

Whoa whoa, not so fast.

Yes, you can cut out slots in the frame.  I've seen it.

Save some weight that way.  You can cut some slots on the slide

You can go more aggressive with the metal removal, too.   Those are relatively small holes.  Let's discount the troubles the infiltration of holster debris might cause you, for purposes of argument.  Go for big holes.  And you can 'rout' away metal in other areas.  Make sections of the metal thinner, but leaving critical areas where stress happens beefy.  Middle areas, where you can make a hole because you need SOME metal there.

Ok, now maybe start with all titanium parts!  Lighter than that scandium stuff.  The frame on that top gun may actually BE titanium.  "Wait, T-Bolt, you want me to use the mill to hog away metal on titanium parts?  Do you know how hard titanium is to machine?  You can't even file that stuff"  I know, I know bear with me!   Let's say it was managed.

Now what?

Well, now it will take a long time trying to get the recoil springs the right strength so it will run the slide.  But it also has to strip a round from the magazine, so maybe you have to tune the magazine springs.  And the slide needs enough OOMPH to overcome the hammer tension of the mainspring in the mainspring housing, so you may have to lighten that, as well.

All these changes...  You might push the gun out of a functional envelope.  If you lighten that magazine spring so the frame can strip off a round because the recoil spring is now a different tension maybe it can't present the next round for stripping in the first place.  And you are getting light strikes because the mainspring is out of spec. And the recoil spring isn't robust enough to get that round to slid up the breach face and under the extractor hook that is properly tensioned.

You have paid the price for tampering in God's domain.  Well, JMB was pretty religious, so change that to, "tampering in Gosh's domain."  Things on a 1911 are the way they are for a reason.  Deviating from spec is more complicated than a swap-out.

Which is why I love the 1911.  All the little intricacies I've been lucky enough to learn about.  Did it seem simple at first, maybe?  Not so simple, is it?

There, if I am LUCKY.

---

Where else can you shave off weight?  Balsa wood grip panels!  Flutes on the barrel!  Give the whole gun the melt treatment to round all the corners and edges, because that removes metal, too.  Have you gun where a track suit and sit in a sauna to sweat out a lotta excess water, dip so it spits a lot, and hit the head before weigh-in....  No, wait, that last part is wrestling.

See the flinch

All done with a .45  Not nearly as embarrassing as my 9mm flinches, so I share

But this one.  This one I like.  #5

I really got into the relaxation.  As though I were in the simulator and it's just click, laser flash, and 'BANG' sound effect.  Smooth finger work, front sight, relax.  See?  I CAN fix myself.

#3 is the flinchiest, but I was also shooting that one fast on purpose to see if that helped.  So, 50 shots added on the 16th, Springfield rebuild, no malfs.  Must log that.   

OH NOES!

Heard this in NPR Saturday,

Essentially it went "First day of guy season Wisconsin, but now there IS NO AGE LIMIT on who can go afield!  Panic!  Armed children!"  It used to be 12, last year, or summat. 

Tacked onto the end they said "34 other states already have no age limit on who can hunt"

Wait, so 2/3rds of the country has no issue with it, and you never hear about packs of orange clad kindergartners going on a Remington bolt action rampage in those 34 states, so, maybe this isn't worth the hysterics?  You don't say.  Not even thousands of accidental shootings with the 3rd graders?  Huh.  Maybe your worry is overblown and parents are doing something consistently right? 

So...

The bipartisan gun control bill.  Fix NICS.

Yeah.

I dunno.  They don't like to share many details, do they?  Where the devil lies, them details.

Tighten up NICS?  Again, I guess?  

Whatever it is, roll it into reciprocity, dammit.  Don't give them anything without something in return.  And when we compromise our side should get the better deal.

We've gotten the poopy end of the stick with these way too often.

Ramshackle

You've been so long
Your blind eyes are gone
Your old bones are on their own
So take off your coat
Put a song in your throat
Let the dead-beats pound all around


We will go
Nowhere we know
We don't have to talk at all
Hand me downs
Flypaper towns
Stuck together
One and all


The bargains you drive
Buckets and bags
And all your belongings
Your train's in the sand
Ramshackle land
Let the rats watch the races


We will go
Nowhere we know
'Til we find our one and all
Hand me downs
Flypaper towns
Stuck together
One and all

Praises get spent
Your trick face is bent
Pigsties and prizes
'Cause there's no kind of wealth
You're suiting yourself
You leave yourself behind


We will go
Nowhere we know
'Til we find our one and all
Your hand me downs
Flypaper towns
Stuck together
One and all

Hey JayNola!

Stouffer legal.  They're in Towson.

Nattering Economists

On the radio the other morning.

One said that under the GOP tax plan people making less than $100,000?  For a lot of them, their tax rate is going to go up!

OH NO!

Wait.  Tax Rate?  You specifically said 'Tax Rate', not tax or taxes.  I don't care what that rate number is.  Will I write a check to the treasury for more than I pay now or not?  Rate doesn't matter, the dollar amount does.  Will I pay more or less.  Rate is meaningless. 

Phrasing it that way and not being called on it is a biased argument and against my interests.

They also talk about how the precious mortgage deduction is getting assailed.  Yes, last I checked for mortgages bigger than $500,000.  If you can afford a mortgage that high, you probably put at least $100,000 down.  So, I am not very sympathetic to someone not being able to take a mortgage deduction on that last $10,000 borrowed for a home that cost $610,000.  Enjoy your lovely home.   Gonna tax you 39% of $400 this year you wouldn't have paid last year, or something. 


----

Then Ron Wyden was heard:  "Like Yogi Bear says, It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."

Yeah.  He said Yogi Bear.  Not Berra.  I'd have thought it a slip but Wyden is pretty damn dumb throughout the interview.  Like a bag of hammers, he.

Readily Available

When something goes bad you have to address with what you have to hand.

"I really should have self defense ammo in this house gun for the 3AM home invasion, instead of ball ammo."

I've been thinking on this because of the video of that guy that stopped that church shooter in Texas.  He has to get his AR out of the safe.  Hearing the volume of fire he might have felt a rifle was necessary, and I agree.  You can hear the anguish in his voice that he had to dig it out of the safe.  That was precious time.

He probably had quicker access to a pistol?  His CCL weapon?  He is an NRA instructor in Texas, I bet he has that in a holster.

He also has kids to home, as the reporting mentioned a daughter, so he is thinking safe storage for sure.

Now all this got me thinking.  What is the gun/guns I have to hand?  Two revolvers, really.  A snubbie and a full sized.  J and L.  Flashlights and reloads.

Which is one of the reasons I have been looking at higher capacity 9mm pistols for a house gun.  Something that has a light rail.

But after Texas, thinking on a way to make an AR more accessible in an emergency, too. 

I flnch more

With the heavy 9mm than the lighter .45.  Gotta test that to confirm.  Wonder why that is?  I am confident it is fixable.

I like that.  "I am confident" that I can correct my flaw.  Been years since I could pretend that.

Working out the magazine failure on the 9.   Getting the hang of it.  Definite improvement and time for some gunsmith tuning soon.

Fundamentals:  Relax, front sight, make trigger go good.

RCA

Washer Dryer

My house was built in the 50s.  The Washer Dryer are a Maytag and an RCA from that era.  Probably 1960s?  Old and worn down look, they still work and they do everything I need them to.  And modern top loaders simply don't work because of envirowienies.  So I want to keep this old skool one as long as I can.

I rarely need to call a service man and have spent less than $300 on doing so in the last 20 years.  Many things I have repaired myself.

Well, the washer wouldn't turn on.  I suspected that little switch on the lid that turns off the works on the Maytag A606.  Easy enough.  Parts are still available, believe it or not. The aggravating thing is getting the panels off, then back together.  Easy, it ain't.  But I was confident. 

In the back of my mind I thought, 'check the plug.  Maybe you bumped it the last time you used the iron.' 

I had all the panels off before I remembered that plug again.  Yup.  It was loose.  The washer?  Works fine.  Or will when I figure out how, again, to get the panels back in place.  Glad I didn't call a service guy just to pay him to plug my washer back in.

I didn't order the parts yet, but I just may in the event they become too scarce to find again.  Time and switch.  Same with the drier. 

Crap, WHY?!!

This turd burger better not hike my Prime membership when it craters.

Make 14 more Gone with the Winds while you are at it.  MONEY!

Step BACK Terry

It's Martin O'Malley's turn!

Just because you are close to the greatest state in the nation, Maryland, doesn't mean the governor of Virginia can be Preznit.

Prepper Protein

No survivalist larder is complete without cases of canned meat.

Like Hamdingers!

Warface

Call of Duty pt deux

Oh and there is a Nazi Zombie section.  So, there is that.

Call of Duty

The new vidja game is out and it goes back to their WWII roots.

First the good.  The visuals are stunning, naturally.  They don't rehash a movie story line like they did in previous versions 15 years ago.  Which was fine, then, but to do it again, now, would be too tedious.  You follow a unit of the First Division, Normandy in.  The character acting is actual acting.

You get to fight Nazis, but without having to go full Commie.  That's always fun.  In other words it's ALL Big Red One, no jumping to Stalingrad or what have you. 

The bad.  The game is a little buggy.  Delays in lip synching.  On the troop ship before landing the hanging light over the poker table went all wonky.  And worst of all, I am not the player I was 15 years ago.  The bugs will prolly be patched a bit post release, my abilities won't.

Worth the money?  Meh.  Some games you know in the first 15 minutes if they are worth the money or definitely not.  This is neither of those. 

Heavah?

I think I can still walk. One of the few things I that doesn't worry me in my aging decrepitude. I do need to pay attention to my feet. Wet socks can lead to a nasty blister on my little toe for some reason.

And if I walked 1000 miles I'd melt off a bit of this butter, and that's gotta be good.

Story of Two Grandpas

This is one of my Grandfathers.  Looks a bit like Truman, huh?  22 years younger than the president, but still old for a war.  See those glasses?  He liked boating and volunteered for the Navy, first, but they wouldn't have him because of the near sighted vision.  He played goalie on his college hockey team and got hit in the head.  Claimed that's what knocked his vision out.  Wear your helmets, people.  There were no helmets for hockey players in the 20s.  Plan B.  Army it was.  Ran a Kresge's five and dime before hostilities, so the Army put him in charge of a PX.  Looks like he got to the range, tho, and got qualified.  Had two young sons and lived in Chevy Chase.  Grammy cried her eyes out when he got orders for Europe after D-Day, she was so worried, but those got rescinded.  He left the army as a major and started a store selling Venetian blinds. Failed at that when a partner was brought on that over extended the business, had a nervous breakdown, and worked as a salesman for a larger, blind supplier, competitor.  Took to painting during that low point, when the Black Dog was at the door, but bounced back quite successfully because it turned out he was a natural public relations man and salesman.  Did more than ok.  Retired comfortably, had a cottage on the shore, loved his grand children.  And great grand children. Wore his Army ring every day forever.

:

This is the Grandfather I didn't meet.

Looks like a tough bastard...

Corporal.  HQ company under Hanneken, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.  Radio man.  Died in battle, September 1944.  Silver Star.  Didn't get to run a greenhouse in Michigan after the war.  He left for boot camp three days after his only daughter was born.  Never saw her again.    

That's RACISS!

I love this graphic

Showing homicide rates in the upper parts of North America.

Yay, Maryland.  Outlier.  Surrounded by states that let their people defend themselves from someone trying to kill them.

Looks like it took the previous president most of his second term to turn that falling homicide rate around.  And people accused him of being incompetent.

Gonna take DeBlasio another few to really get those New York state numbers up, I'm guessing.