Tesla - the band, the man, (not the car)

So, I am going to try again to post this video.  Last Friday, all you probably saw was some html code. Well, I hope it shows up this time.

I can remember this band causing me to question being taught that it wasn't Marconi who discovered radio.  My radio and television teacher, Mr. A.C. Eley, God rest his soul, would debate with those of us that questioned the common view.


And for more on Nicolai, go here. Who says Rock and Roll is all about sex, drugs, and well... Rock and Roll? Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Free Book!! Free Book!!

OK, so maybe it is slightly misleading. But the fact is, if you own a Kindle or have a Kindle compatible device; i.e a Smartphone with the Kindle app installed, you can download good egg Ambulance Driver'se-book, En Route. His publisher somehow missed out in providing the book for Kindle users during the original offering and has graciously extended the offer thru 17 January. Hurry up, will ya and download it already. It's free. Well? What are you waiting for? GO!!

Why Han Solo was the way he was

I always suspected Han was more an entrepreneur than an outright criminal.  Had the Empire not been so heavy handed, that smuggling would have turned into being a small independent businessman.

Like today where everywhere you turn, some new government regulation is turning everyday people into criminals.

Happy Independence Day

Telling tyranny to take a long walk off a short pier always gives me the warm fuzzies.



I've posted the video before, but felt it appropriate for today.

Please, go out and make happy fun time shooty goodness noise and consume charred animal flesh.

Friday Fun Track: Declaration Edition

It's always fun to get a history lesson in entertainment. The violin is really nice also.



h/t to Politics, Guns & Beer

Scott Brown's win summed up...

I missed this quote last night, so thanks to JRebel for pulling it out of the ether and capturing it for posterity.

{cjrmultigun} Something like, "Rubbing the balls of freedom in the face of tyranny..."

It might be crude if you know what teabagging is. And the left hangs that moniker on people opposed to all the crap that Obama and the progressives want to heap upon us. Embrace it and make it your own.

On the Ft. Hood Murders

What happened this last week in Texas at the Ft. Hood Army base is truly a tragedy. Major Hassan shot and killed thirteen people and wounded many more. He did this on a military base with a privately owned weapon. It is said that he calmly walked around and shot to kill those that were already wounded. He even stopped to reload. Finally a civilian contractor, one Kim Munley while taking fire that caused injuries to her, shot the alleged gunman. She stopped him. Isn't it ironic that the very people the gun control groups wish to arm semi-exclusively had to rely on a civilian LEO contractor? On the surface, this was a natural born American citizen who had no desire to be deployed. He had wrote about his dissatisfaction many times on the internet with the way the war in Afghanistand and Iraq is going. He argued with the very soldiers he was being sent to treat. I am calling upon our military to step up and defend the cause of liberty for soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines alike and arm them even while stateside. The next time it might be a more determined foe.

Drinkin' Pina Coladas at Trader Vics

I know it's a little past Halloween for the subject of this song. I don't care, I really like it.



Update: I forgot to say that this guy likes get songs stuck in my head. This was one of his better choices.

Fighting Back within our political system

As a new kid on the block to the whole gun rights issue, I was naive to think we were all one happy family all wanting the government to leave us alone and give us broad 2nd Amendment rights. Boy was I wrong. At one end of the scale, you have the so called threepers, who feel that we are past the point of no return and they're just waiting for the ATF to come a knockin'. 180 degrees from the threepers are the pragmatists. They want to slowly work towards gaining our rights back. Don't rock the boat, small steps, etc. In the middle you have the vast majority of gun owners who either don't care enough or don't wish to associate themselves with either end of the spectrum. Working within the middle of group is where efforts should be focused.

In any organization 20% of the people do 80% of the work. The problem might be that as people who favor individualism, gun owners shy away from a leadership position. I am going to ask my readers and fellow bloggers to step up and do two things. Find one issue at a local or state level that you can actively work on. Whether it's open carry, tort reform, fiscal accountability, whatever, just find an issue. Two, be part of that 20% that does 80% of the work. Find four other people who'll give you moral or physical support. They can be the other 80% that do the remaining 80% of the work.

Don't let fringes tell you what is good for you or what to do, find your own way.

Who 'paid' for your education?

There's a lot of stuff that gets passed around the internet that reminds us about veterans and the sacrifices they make. Old NFO has a very touching story on how they pay for our children's education. Hint it's not in what they're taxed.

Freedom Culture

I was on Gun Nuts radio last night. WooHoo!! Breda and Jay G graciously allowed me to hang out after I updated everyone on the Gun Rights Policy Conference. The topic was the gun culture in your area. Many areas were represented. In JayG's own Massachusetts one must jump through many hoops just to own a firearm. Oleg Volk relates how he helped towards a family's purchase of a .22 rifle in California, but they have to wait ten days to pick it up. In Missouri, one gentleman relates starting a .22 rifle club and only three out of the 50 participants did not already own a firearm. Also, in Missouri, there is *GASP* an active open range on a college campus. Students, with the permission of the campus police can even shoot their personal firearms there.

But it is not just about owning a gun, it's our very freedom which is at stake. Gun owners probably understand this better than anyone right now. Please, when someone equates the second amendment to hunting, kindly ask where in the constitution is hunting mentioned? When someone berates you for holding a politically incorrect viewpoint, call them on it. When Montana tells the ATF to stay out of it's business in regards to firearms manufactured and sold in that state, that's fighting back. Liberty is for everyone, regardless of race, religion, creed, color, philosophy or liefestyle. Fight for it or who will fight for yours?

She is a shooter

For every average blog out there (mine included) you have one that just gets it Brigid is one of those rare people who can really move you with her essays. A sample;

"For I am a shooter, the outdoor ranges and the fields of my world where I am most at home." - Brigid from this post

Go read it, and then if you liked it, leave a note telling her so. She's also, one heck of a cook and her recipes are enough to make your mouth water.

Revolution Calling

Queensryche, one of my favorite bands are known as the thinking man's heavy metal band. Their song Revolution Calling from the Operation Mindcrime album is appropo very much so for today. The song is a call to revolution.

For a price I'd do about anything
Except pull the trigger
For that I'd need a pretty good cause
Then I heard of Dr. X
The man with the cure
Just watch the television
Yeah, you'll see there's something going on

There sure is something going on. Dr. X wants to hit the reset button. He wants you and I to pull the trigger. To revolt, but who is pushing Dr. X's button. We are not there yet. The 2010 election is still coming up and we can start to put a check on the current presidents power by picking the lesser of all the evils that is the legislative branch. Don't put your full faith in these people either, but cautiously watch them and their actions.

Got no love for politicians
Or that crazy scene in D.C.
It's just a power mad town
But the time is ripe for changes
There's a growing feeling
That taking a chance on a new kind of vision is due

I don't find any politician all that appealing either. And truer words were never spoken. What a crazy scene in DC, indeed it is a power mad town. This is as good a time as any to change the congressional makeup in Washington DC. Governors as well where appropriate. Take that chance, don't let Republicans and Democrats keep their seats. There are any number of congress critters that NEED to find new honest work. Show them the door.

I used to trust the media
To tell me the truth, tell us the truth
But now I've seen the payoffs
Everywhere I look
Who do you trust when everyone's a crook?

Yes, the MSM is so far in the tank for the current administration. Whose truth? The truth that the most inept press secretary ever spews? The truth from the likes of CNN, MSNBC, CBS, the New York Times, etc.? Trust your friends, trust your neighbors, trust your family. Putting your trust in an SEIU, an ACORN, a politician can only lead to disappointment. Individuals have rights, collectives have wants at the expense of the individuals rights.

I'm tired of all this bullshit
They keep selling me on T.V.
About the communist plan
And all the shady preachers
Begging for my cash
Swiss bank accounts while giving their
Secretaries the slam

Communism, socialism, and how great the health care is in those political systems is a total load of bovine fecal matter. When congress critters meet with a murderous bastard like Fidel Castro, and praise him, it's time for them to go. Sure, it would be nice to travel freely to Cuba. Friendly people and beautiful countryside are very appealing, just not if it helps a dictator stay in power. If by preachers, it is meant, the religion of power and the priesthood that exist there, then, yes there is criticism to be leveled that way. Asking to tax everything that I do and with a smile on my face is not something I'm going to stand for.

They're all in Penthouse now
Or Playboy magazine, million dollar stories to tell
I guess Warhol wasn't wrong
Fame fifteen minutes long
Everyone's using everybody, making the sale

Warhol wasn't wrong. When someone can become famous for running naked around on a beach out gaming a bunch of other people, or picking a mate for the sake of ratings, then the majority of our country has their heads in the sand.


I used to think
That only America's way, way was right
But now the holy dollar rules everybody's lives
Gotta make a million doesn't matter who dies

If by America's way, you're thinking of this slow steady pace of progressivism, then yeah, it's appealing. We've digested it in little bits since the early 1900's and now our country has decided to reject it. There is nothing wrong at all with capitalism. It's done more for me and you and everyone else than any other economic system anywhere ever. When it is hamstrung with regulation and corruption and corporate welfare, that becomes the issue.

Revolution calling
Revolution calling
Revolution calling you
[There's a] Revolution calling
Revolution calling
Gotta make a change
Gotta push, gotta push it on through

There is a revolution calling. Are you going to answer down the barrel of a gun or at the end of a lever arm at the ballot box?

Queensryche - Revolution Calling


h/t to Robb for the inspiration

Facing down a hijacker

In a scenario eerily reminiscent of the early stages of Flight 93 one young man took it upon himself to insure his family's and classmates safety. Kaleb Eulls faced an armed 14 year old armed with his brain.

From Kaleb;

"I was just scared for the younger kids and my family that was on the bus," Eulls said. "I was just thinking things out step-by-step as quickly as I could. After we got to the school and watched the tape I just sat there thinking 'what in the world did I just do?' I just thought about what if this would have happened or if this would have happened? It was just crazy."

To say that what he did was a brave act is an understatement. He's very humble about it as well.
How many of us have the presence of mind to see to others safety first? How many of us would look that kind of danger in the face and still be able to act like he did. I won't call him a hero, he's very humble. I will say that whatever happens to him in life, he'll probably be able to cope with it.

In Memory of

Darrell "Shifty" Powers

Kevin asked everyone to spread this, I'm gonna do my part.

No 24/7 TV coverage

No Staples Center memorial service

Just a man, who when the need arose, answered the call

Here is the original posting

Shifty was acknowledged as the finest shot of his company with the M1 Garand.

Shifty went 60 plus years before he held another. Read that story here.

Sir, may you rest in peace.