Posse Incitatus

What I got for Christmas

It was a good Christmas here at the ranch.  Everyone got pretty much what the wanted, even though Santa was on a tight budget.

My own gifts pretty much can be summed up below:

The SIG has been discussed before, and is a 9mm and came with two 15-round magazines.  The slide is marked "Made in W. Germany," which is pretty cool.

Fallout 3 of course is a great console came and I've been playing it since I got the original last year.  The expansion lifts the level cap to 30 and adds some new areas.  Loads of fun for the whole family, though the animations of how firearms work are amusing to say the least (so are the calibers, but that's another story).

One of the neat things about Fallout 3 is that it has a great soundtrack of vintage artists.  Billie Holiday, Bob Crosby and the Bobcats, Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters - it's all good.

My eldest daughter, the Soon-to-be-Teen Princess, compiled an album of these songs taken from i-tunes.  She then hand-drew a cover.

Awesome.

What did you get?  Any cool guns? 

Maintaining the truce

Unlike my counterpart, I remain firmly committed to the Christmas Truce - so much so that I have no idea what's going on anywhere.

Thanks to the wonder of modern satellite TV, I can steer well away from news channels and I haven't read a current events blog in a week.

I say this to remind people that we can become too fixated in politics.  Indeed, one of the major problems that is afflicting our country is that it is ruled by an elite that only thinks about politics.  When the personal becomes political, we lose the ability to relate to each other as people rather than members of parties and factions.

The Christmas season is the one great time of the year when we can let all that go - and do it for a week or more.

Trimming the tree, watching the parade of bowl games, or just simply puttering around the house and playing with the kids - these are the timeless little things that ultimately make us who we are.

Yesterday I realized that I had no idea how wonderful, perfect, awe-inspiring and special the Obamas' first Christmas in the White House was.  I was totally out of the loop.  Yet I'm sure the MSM was all over it - fawning profiles, glittering photo ops and the like.

Earlier this year, Sithkitten cancelled her subscription to People magazine precisely because she got tired of the constant Obama coverage.  She enjoyed reading the magazine for its celebrity gossip and feel-good stories.  Instead, every other issue featured some new gushing profile of Michelle's latest shoes.  So instead of some light reading and fluffy entertainment, she was getting administration propaganda.  Why pay for it when you can get it for free just by turning on the television?

There will be plenty of time to obsess about the administration next year.  For now - for another couple of days - take a break. 

For Sale: Browning Hi Power clone (FEG P9R) [UPDATED]

Since we are in the after-Christmas sale season, the Posse would like to let our readers know that we are selling a (slightly used) FEG P9R, a.k.a a Hungarian Hi-Power clone.

This is a weapon I've sought to own for years and actually had made arrangements to purchase as long ago as 2006, but the seller backed out.  I finally tracked this one down in April and was quite content until I got a chance to pick up a SIG Sauer P226.  I've wanted this particular model since I was in high school, so the FEG is off to the gun store.

It is on consignment at Total Firearms in Mason, which is where I've bought a great many of my guns.  Their indoor range is excellent.  Stop in and take a look.

UPDATE:  I should have mentioned that the FEG and the SIG are in 9mm.  They are both fine pieces of machinery indeed.  The FEG has that cool double-action/single-action thing going on and of course the classic Browning Hi-Power look.  It has a very attractive smooth glossy black finish and I've only taken it to the range once, so it hasn't seen much use.

(Partly that was because of the bullet shortage, partly because I've been so busy.  I intended to do a range report but it just so happened that that was the one time in years that Total's range was down for repairs.)

Which is to say, I'd be very happy with my FEG if that SIG hadn't come along.  As noted above, I've been looking for a FEG since 2005.  I've been after a SIG since 1991.  So yeah, it took precedence.  Ideally I'd own both (and someday I will!) but that will be after the Junior Posse Members have completed their education, gotten married etc. 

Okay, maybe not that far in the future, but at least I have to wait until Sithkitten gets a gun on her wish list.

Stop the Overkill

In the wake of the failed attempted terror attack on a Delta/Northwest Airlines jet, airport security has been ramped up to a stultifying level.  Lines snake along behind excruciatingly slow screening stations, as passengers must remove shoes, watches, and other items, and often have their carry-on bags searched.  There's got to be a better way.

This reminds me of the simplistic "zero tolerance" policy on alcohol and drugs that many schools have implemented. It sometimes results in a student being sent home for having an aspirin or cough drops in his/her pocket.  Most of us would agree that 99.99 percent of the people flying on commercial airlines are not terrorists and have NO intention of doing anything to bring the plane down.  So why do we all have to go through this misery?  Isn't there a way to pre-screen millions of airline passengers and identify them with, for example, iris recognition software, or perhaps fingerprint software?

This is a problem that requires a skilled surgeon using high-tech tools.  Instead, we have clumsy louts in bib overalls, wildly swinging sledgehammers.

Another issue is the high rate of turnover among Transportation Security Administration employees.  The work is stressful, unpleasant, and difficult.  It doesn't pay to train these employees in the finer points of behavior recognition and observance, which might catch potential terrorists, because they may be gone shortly after they're trained.  Again, intelligent responses, such as highly trained professionals and surveillance cameras, are what's needed.  Not a slew of high school graduates just looking to earn $10 an hour.

This is another example of how the government approaches problems: In a ham-handed fashion.  Yet, as we've seen with the issue of healthcare, there are millions of lemmings with a pipe dream vision of the wonders of "single payer" and government option.  They think Uncle Sam can wave a magic wand and automatically bring down health care costs.  "Hey, all we have to do is just pay less to doctors and hospitals for treatment, tests, and hospitalization. That will cut costs and reduce the deficit!"

Yeah, and all we have to do to avoid paying for jet engines and jet fuel is simply pass a law prohibiting gravity for jet airliners.  That's about equivalent to the moronic thinking going on among leftists when it comes to healthcare.

How did airport security devolve into a discussion of the healthcare debate? Easy: Both provide ample examples of idiotic, simplistic, garden variety stupidity.

Violation of Truce

Meant to just revel in the holidays and forget about blogs for a few days.  But the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack on a Delta jetliner at Detroit Metro Airport prompted me to post.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab apparently had a device with the explosive substance pentaerythritol tetranitrate sewed inside his underwear, the New York Times reports.  He is believed to have connections to al Qaeda.

This begs the question: In addition to removing shoes, belts, watches, rings, pocket change, etc., and possibly being pulled off to the side and "wanded," are those of us who fly commercially now going to be expected to take off our underwear and have it sniffed by dogs?  I can hardly wait.

IRAN AFLAME — When I was checking the news a few moments ago, I also came across this story.  Things are heating up again in Iran; it looks like the people are at the boiling point and their rage may trump fears of being shot by police and security forces.  This is great news, if they can keep it up.

Let's hope Tehran's evil regime has so rotted from within — like the Soviet Union's did — and will collapse of its own hypocrisy and illegitimacy.  And let's also hope President Obama can find it within himself to criticize an odious regime run by fundamentalist Muslims, and lend support to the freedom cause.  I know, this goes against his Orwellian logic, but we can always hope.

This is a major story, and may necessitate further truce violations in the days to come.  Sorry, K.N.

Christmas Truce, 2009

Merry Christmas from the Posse!

As is customary, political blogging slows down during the holidays as our members focus on family, friends and faith.

The Younger Posse Members are awash in cool toys and us older folk are relishing the opportunity to kick back, watch some football and savor the egg nog.

In short, Christmas is a great time to take a break from follies in Washington, Lansing and everywhere else.  To that end, the Posse hereby declares a Christmas Truce - no politics until the New Year.  When we blog, it will be about football, basketball, and other lighter fare.

Enjoy the break, because next year is going to be brutal.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!  And a happy, healthy New Year.

I'm tired of griping about Obamacare.  This is a time to appreciate family, friends, good health, plentiful food, our freedom, and many other blessings.  And to be grateful for the brave men and women who make it possible.

For those of us who call ourselves Christians, it is a time to be grateful for the ultimate gift, and contemplate its significance.

Whether you believe in God or not, it's possible to have an attitude of gratitude for our multiple blessings, and I strongly encourage this.

And on a final note, if you believe in a higher power, please keep our troops in your prayers.  They are sacrificing a great deal, and undoubtedly miss their loved ones back in the states.

All Politics is Loco

"Loco" means crazy in Spanish, in case you didn't know.

There are crooks, crackpots, philanderers, hypocrites and rogues all across the political spectrum.  But in recent years, the Democrats seem to have had more than their fair share. 

Four years ago, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois compared Guantanamo Bay, a veritable country club of a detention facility, to Soviet gulags and Cambodia's Pol Pot.  Earlier this month, Scary Harry Reid compared opponents of Obamacare to those who favored segregation and opposed civil rights laws.

On the House side, Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida described the health care situation in America as "a holocaust."  He's Jewish, so he really ought to know better.  He also stated the Republican health care plan was: Don't get sick, and if you get sick, die quickly. This is just pure, infantile rubbish.

More recently, the daughter of Susan Sarandon urges young people to withhold sex from anyone who opposes so-called health care "reform."  Silly, stupid, juvenile, and probably downright ineffective.  Like any conservative guy with half a brain couldn't B.S. his way into the sack!

Now comes Rhode Island nutjob Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who says opponents of healthcare "reform" are birthers, right wing militia nuts, and members of the Aryan Nations.  Un. Friggin'. Believable. You can't make this stuff up.

What we've got is a deeply troubled nation with a sick economy, millions unemployed and losing their homes, $30 trillion of unfunded Medicare liabilties, no hope of robust job growth, China threatening to stop buying our debt, and a massive new entitlement program that tramples on constitutional rights and puts Uncle Sam in the command-and-control seat for health care, about 17 percent of our economy.  And the Democrats are acting like two-year-olds.  Can't they just be happy they got their way?

I'll guarantee you, millions of Americans won't be happy if this abomination becomes law. If you like airport security, the IRS, and the motor vehicle agency, you'll LOVE Obamacare.

I will seriously consider going to jail if that's what it takes to protest the blatantly unconstitutional mandate forcing people to buy health insurance.  But with a little luck, the Republicans, who are far from perfect themselves and often their own worst enemies, will retake one or both chambers of Congress next year and be able to repeal much of the disastrous legislation being shoved down our throats.

Meanwhile, the Democrats will no doubt continue acting kuckoo, frothing at the mouth, and forcing most rational, sane people to shake their heads in disgust.

As the Wicked Witch cried while she melted away into a grease spot: "Oh, what a world, what a world...."

Coalition of the Bribed and Coerced

And so it has come to this.  Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, the last holdout for the Senate version of Obamacare, has agreed to vote for the leviathan boondoggle because, he says with a straight face, it now contains strict enough language to prohibit use of federal funds for abortion.  Like it won't be hard to water down that clause in the months to come! Clearly, there are those who adamantly disagree that the Senate bill complies with the Hyde Amendment, which has prohibited use of federal funds for abortions since the 1970s.

The real reason for Sen. Nelson's acquiescence is undoubtedly the pork that Obama and Scary Harry Reid promised for Nebraska.  Sen. John Kerry, during the 2004 presidential campaign, despicably referred to the nations who were helping Iraq build a better future and fight off al Qaeda and extremist militias as, "The coalition of the bribed and coerced."  Hope you don't mind, Mr. Heinz Ketchup, if I borrow your verbiage to describe many of the senators who have fallen in line behind Obamacare. 

Horse trading, pork barreling, and skid greasing always were important parts of politics, helping make this often dishonorable profession "the art of the possible."

In Sen. Nelson's case, Politico reports that Uncle Sam will permanently pay for all new Medicaid enrollees in Nebraska, rather than splitting the tab with the state, the usual arrangement. Nebraska is the only state that will receive this special treatment, worth about $45 million annually.

A series of votes must take place over the next several days for this bill to pass, which might not happen until Christmas Eve.  I thought socialist Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and other left wingers had expressed their desire to torpedo the effort out of their frustration that it allegedly sells out to corporate America and fails to provide a public option, which would be the first step toward the holy grail of liberalism: single payer.  I don't know whether any of those lawmakers will follow through on their threats, or whether they've been cowed into falling in line.

I guess there's one encouraging possibility: The House version, which includes a public option and is considered more liberal, is quite a bit different from the Senate version.  Perhaps after these bills go through the conference committee stage, the final compromise might be displeasing to enough legislators in either the House or the Senate that Obamacare will not be enacted.  But that may be just wishful thinking.

It may be time to brace ourselves for some unconstitutional and radical changes coming our way, and to figure out how a Republican majority in 2011-12 can work toward repairing the devastation that's about to unfold.

Cannibalistic Liberals

NOTE: I started writing this Friday night but never got around to finishing it.

Today I feel compelled to comment on the latest developments in the health care battle involving Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. But first, a few comments on left-wing cannibalism...

Sometimes there's a tendency among conservatives or libertarians to lump all liberals into a single group and assume they're all one bloc — all thinking alike, acting alike, and voting alike.  But as recent developments regarding the Senate health care debate have demonstrated, the liberals can splinter with the best of 'em.

In  the first place, I was not panicked when the Democrats kicked butt in 2006 and 2008, because I knew a significant number of the Democrats elected to the U.S. House and Senate were of a moderate or even conservative bent.  Just as the Republicans have to worry about Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins wandering off the ranch, Democrats have long been concerned about "Blue Dogs" and Joe Lieberman opposing their agenda.

But what's surprising is how left wingers like Howard Dean and Dailykos.com founder Markos Moulitsos have slammed the latest iteration of Obamacare as a piece of excrement that ought to go down to defeat.  Many liberals already were upset with Obama for sucking up to Wall Street and escalating our commitment to Afghanistan.  The Annointed One is learning that those who formerly were obsequious are now turning on him.

One thing these hard left activists have in common is they often are infantile in their behavior.  They think if they stand up and scream, clap, shout, and carry on to a sufficient degree, they'll get their way.  Go ahead, guys, fire away with the "F" bombs in your speech and in your blogs.  Even many of your fellow Democrats think you're nuts. You've nowhere to turn — except, perhaps, to Ralph Nader.

It's amusing watching the Democrat coalition — no, make that house of cards — coming apart at the seams.  There will be a crumbling, or tumbling, or something like that, between now and November 2010.  Unfortunately, the big government, big ego pols of the increasingly European-style Democrat Party will have done heavy damage to our nation, its fiscal condition, constitution, and future, before they are thrown out on their ear.