In recent years the rules of firearms safety have been edited down so that there are now what is considered to be the 4 Rules of Gun Safety. These so called 4 Rules overlook one of the most important rules of safety with firearms, one that seems to be common sense to those familiar with guns, but yet may not be all that much mumbo jumbo to those unfamiliar with firearms. The important rule of which I write is:
Always be absolutely sure to use the proper ammunition in each firearm you are shooting. Now while this may seem like common sense, the topic of using proper ammunition can be confusing to a newcomer. It can be confusing because there are often several different sizes of ammunition with similar names. If for example you have a 9MM pistol, you can find 9MM Luger, 9MM NATO, 9MM Largo (also called long), 9mmShort (also called Corto, Brevia and so on). Some of these are the same as one another, others are quite different. Many other calibers of ammunition also have names or numbers close enough to one another to be confusing. The down side of using the wrong ammunition is that it can jam your firearms, can cause damage to the firearms, and can cause injury to the shooter.
The best ways to make sure that you are using the correct ammunition (in modern commercial firearms) is to check on the gun itself, or check in the manual for that particular firearm, or contact the manufacturer. Most commercially made modern firearms are stamped (marked) with the caliber size somewhere on the metal surface of the firearm. When you buy ammunition make sure to buy a box full of ammunition that has the same caliber marked on the box as is marked on the gun itself, or that is in the manual for that gun.
It is a simple rule, but the large amount of ammunition types out there that have similar numbers to designate their calibers and cartridge sizes can be somewhat of a boondoggle for the novice to have to figure out. If you are still uncertain after looking at the firearm, and are still uncertain after reading the manual, then call the manufacturer if still in business. If not still in business, then you may have to go to a competent firearms retailer or gunsmith to determine the correct ammunition for your gun. Don't rely simply on posting a question online in a forum or chatroom, don't make a guess, don't ask a friend who is unfamiliar with that type of gun, and so forth.
Remember that with any firearm, mostly military ones though, the actual firearm may have been modified to accept a caliber other than that for which it was originally intended. Some of these are marked (they all probably should be) and others are not can be changed, and these may have to be checked by a competent gunsmith before firing. I do not recommend buying such by the novice, stick to commercially manufactured guns first, until you have learned more about them, or at least buy a gun certified by the dealer to be in the caliber as it is sold.
Another thing you may want to avoid, especially when new to firearms, is reloaded ammunition. Many firearms enthusiasts, and some businesses, reload spent shell casings, so that they can be fired again. It saves money because new shell casings are expensive, and so is newly manufactured ammunition; the components are less expensive when you do the work yourself. The problem that can arise here is if a round (or rounds) were given an improper powder charge. This can lead to various problems, that includes injury to the shooter. Unless you are thoroughly trained in how to reload ammunition, don't do it. It might also be wise not to accept reloaded ammunition from others, unless you know they reliably reload to factory standards.
As I said above, this is one of the most important rules of firearms safety, so please don't forget to only use the proper ammunition in your firearms.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
A Little Rearranging...
and a few new links have been added to this site over on the right side of the page. I split up how I list the linked sites, and I now have link sections for:
1) U.S. Government - so you can learn more about the government, and maybe more importantly learn how to contact your elected officials.
2) News and Other Varied References - pretty much just what it says.
3) Firearms Interests - Links all types of sites that support firearms ownership and the RKBA; these include: Groups that protect our right to keep and bear arms, information pages about firearms, firearms forums, firearms manufacturers, auctions sites and so on.
4) Grumps, Geeks and Geniuses - a list of bloggers whom I believe are worth reading.
5) My blog archive.
I have some more links to list, but would also appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.
All the best,
Glenn B
PS: Thanks to reader Greybeard who made me aware I had not included some information in one of my recent blogs. That made me think I should have a more comprehensive link list.
1) U.S. Government - so you can learn more about the government, and maybe more importantly learn how to contact your elected officials.
2) News and Other Varied References - pretty much just what it says.
3) Firearms Interests - Links all types of sites that support firearms ownership and the RKBA; these include: Groups that protect our right to keep and bear arms, information pages about firearms, firearms forums, firearms manufacturers, auctions sites and so on.
4) Grumps, Geeks and Geniuses - a list of bloggers whom I believe are worth reading.
5) My blog archive.
I have some more links to list, but would also appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.
All the best,
Glenn B
PS: Thanks to reader Greybeard who made me aware I had not included some information in one of my recent blogs. That made me think I should have a more comprehensive link list.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
H.R. 1022 - A New Assault Weapons Ban...
...has been proposed and put forth by Representative Carolyn McCarthy. My understanding is that in it she proposes to resurrect the old assault weapons ban, add on numerous types of firearms (that are sportsmans' guns and really have nothing to do with being assault weapons - not that weapon type matters under the 2nd amendment, I am just mentioning what she wants to do), and add a 10% tax on ammunition by each round sold. Yes folks you read that right, a 10% tax on each and every bullet that is sold. Maybe someone ought to remind Rep. McCarthy about the founding of this nation, and the Declaration of Independence. Said document was penned for various reasons, and one of them was because of the excessive taxes imposed upon the colonists by the tyrannical government at the time.
Wake up folks, not simply by buying ammunition now before this bill can pass, but to take action and call the elected officials in Washington so they know we oppose any such legislation. Call to voice, write and then send by mail or email, your opinion to the elected officials in Washington, D.D.. Let them know you oppose such a law, and believe it to be an outrageous attempt to infringe upon your liberties and rights. Get it done folks, do it like you mean it. Write and call weekly until this thing is defeated. If they get an avalanche of mail and calls, you can be sure that passage of such a law will never come about. If you say, 'hey, my one letter cannot do anything, neither can a bunch of them' well then think what a few hundred thousand might do.
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My blog certainly does not get an awful lot of hits, so please spread the word about getting the message to Washington that we oppose such legislation. Let other bloggers know that they ought to put something on their sites about this if not already done, put something into your own blog, put it onto online forums, talk to it with folks at the gun range or club, talk to your neighbors about it, do whatever you can legally do to help defeat this tyrannical piece of legislation from ever becoming law.
Keep up the good fight to keep and bear arms without infringement of your rights and liberties, otherwise tyranny in democracy's clothing may rule us yet.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wake up folks, not simply by buying ammunition now before this bill can pass, but to take action and call the elected officials in Washington so they know we oppose any such legislation. Call to voice, write and then send by mail or email, your opinion to the elected officials in Washington, D.D.. Let them know you oppose such a law, and believe it to be an outrageous attempt to infringe upon your liberties and rights. Get it done folks, do it like you mean it. Write and call weekly until this thing is defeated. If they get an avalanche of mail and calls, you can be sure that passage of such a law will never come about. If you say, 'hey, my one letter cannot do anything, neither can a bunch of them' well then think what a few hundred thousand might do.
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Edited 02/27/2007 to add:
Greybeard got in touch by way of a comment and asked for the info on the bill so that folks can write to their politicos and say which bill they oppose. Brainfart alert on my part in that I forgot to include such in the post originally. So I am now editing it (02/27/2007) to include that info along with some informative and helpful links. If you go to Representative McCarthy’s website @ http://carolynmccarthy.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=686&ParentID=0&SectionID=32&SectionTree=32&lnk=b&ItemID=675, she writes about her wanting to reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban, but I did not see an obvious link to the bill, not even under her legislation link.
I was able to find the bill on the Library of Congress website at this address: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:8:./temp/~c110VcFgc2:: but for some reason when I try to click on the link for that address I get noting. You can go to the home page for the site and do a search for H.R. 1022, or simply for the Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007 (Introduced in House)[H.R.1022.IH] (oh lookee they just supplied a link in the title of the bill, how nice).
If you would like, you can go to the site at this link http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/409898348?ltl=1172617322 to file an online petition as your first step in opposition to said bill. Please note that the effectiveness of online petitions is highly questionable, so you must follow that up with emails, letters and or phone calls to your elected officials to oppose this bill.
**********************
My blog certainly does not get an awful lot of hits, so please spread the word about getting the message to Washington that we oppose such legislation. Let other bloggers know that they ought to put something on their sites about this if not already done, put something into your own blog, put it onto online forums, talk to it with folks at the gun range or club, talk to your neighbors about it, do whatever you can legally do to help defeat this tyrannical piece of legislation from ever becoming law.
Keep up the good fight to keep and bear arms without infringement of your rights and liberties, otherwise tyranny in democracy's clothing may rule us yet.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, February 26, 2007
By Sheer Coincidence...
...Kim du Toit wrote today about someone complaining they had been overcharged for Chinese food in a restaurant in NYC, while I on the other hand went to New York City's Chinatown for an excellent lunch and one at a great price at that. I missed my chance to celebrate Chinese new year this past weekend, and I wanted to make sure to go to one of my favorite Chinese restaurants to wish the folks there a Happy New Year, before it got stale, so off we went today.
Lunch for myself and a friend of mine from work was only $10 in total, plus tip. There is no way we were overcharged, and I know for a fact, despite what is said by some about other restaurants, the Chinese folks who eat in the same restaurant in which I ate today get charged the same prices. Heck I have eaten there often enough to have seen that personally many times. As a matter of fact, I have eaten in quite a few restaurants in NYC's Chinatown wherein everyone gets charged the same prices. I also shop in a few of the butchers, fish markets, and in the grocery stores and I am fairly certain I pay the same prices. There is no racism or price gouging going on, but of course maybe it happens in other places like the one in the article How mean for chow mein to which Kim linked at: http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/500668p-422094c.html, and I agree with Kim that it is racism if they do it because you are not Chinese when you order there.
After reading the article, my guess is yes the couple who complained about being charged a dollar more may have been overcharged, but THEN AGAIN they may have not been overcharged and may have gotten a larger portion than those on the Chinese language menu. This is a common practice with the various menus in some Chinese restaurants. If you get a bowl of rice, it costs more than a smaller serving of rice on your plate as it would be served if ordered from the Chinese language menu. This could be easily misconstrued as unfair pricing by someone not that familiar with Chinatown and its restaurants who did not realize theya ctually got a larger serving.
Kim went on to describe his wife's experiences while she lived in NYC (maybe in Chinatown) in what they, or at least he, commonly refer(s) to as New York Fucking City. She apparently knew of restaurants charging different prices for Chinese folks than for other races of folks when she lived there. I am not saying it does not happen; but I just don't see that as happening in my experience, at least not in the several Chinese restaurants that I frequent in Chinatown, and not in the one's outside of Chinatown either. So I figured I'd give them a plug from the other side since as I said, we had a really nice lunch today for $10.00 for two people, and mine was only $4.50, tax included. I had roast pig and roast pork over rice with a side of Chinese greens. (The guy got my order wrong as I had asked for roast pig and roast duck over rice, but it was great nonetheless, and they usually get it right.) The lunch came with complimentary bowl of hot tea, a bowl of house soup, and with a fortune cookie afterward. As is customary, they offered us a 2nd pot of tea (no charge) once we had finished the 1st one.
Now it may be that others have different experiences in Chinese restaurants, for whatever reasons, but I have got to say that restaurants in New York City's Chinatown are one of the best deals in the city as far as inexpensive great tasting meals go; that is of course, if you avoid the yuppie and tourist traps; and of course, if you avoid the ones in New York Fuckin City - wherever that may be.
All the best,
Glenn B
Lunch for myself and a friend of mine from work was only $10 in total, plus tip. There is no way we were overcharged, and I know for a fact, despite what is said by some about other restaurants, the Chinese folks who eat in the same restaurant in which I ate today get charged the same prices. Heck I have eaten there often enough to have seen that personally many times. As a matter of fact, I have eaten in quite a few restaurants in NYC's Chinatown wherein everyone gets charged the same prices. I also shop in a few of the butchers, fish markets, and in the grocery stores and I am fairly certain I pay the same prices. There is no racism or price gouging going on, but of course maybe it happens in other places like the one in the article How mean for chow mein to which Kim linked at: http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/500668p-422094c.html, and I agree with Kim that it is racism if they do it because you are not Chinese when you order there.
After reading the article, my guess is yes the couple who complained about being charged a dollar more may have been overcharged, but THEN AGAIN they may have not been overcharged and may have gotten a larger portion than those on the Chinese language menu. This is a common practice with the various menus in some Chinese restaurants. If you get a bowl of rice, it costs more than a smaller serving of rice on your plate as it would be served if ordered from the Chinese language menu. This could be easily misconstrued as unfair pricing by someone not that familiar with Chinatown and its restaurants who did not realize theya ctually got a larger serving.
Kim went on to describe his wife's experiences while she lived in NYC (maybe in Chinatown) in what they, or at least he, commonly refer(s) to as New York Fucking City. She apparently knew of restaurants charging different prices for Chinese folks than for other races of folks when she lived there. I am not saying it does not happen; but I just don't see that as happening in my experience, at least not in the several Chinese restaurants that I frequent in Chinatown, and not in the one's outside of Chinatown either. So I figured I'd give them a plug from the other side since as I said, we had a really nice lunch today for $10.00 for two people, and mine was only $4.50, tax included. I had roast pig and roast pork over rice with a side of Chinese greens. (The guy got my order wrong as I had asked for roast pig and roast duck over rice, but it was great nonetheless, and they usually get it right.) The lunch came with complimentary bowl of hot tea, a bowl of house soup, and with a fortune cookie afterward. As is customary, they offered us a 2nd pot of tea (no charge) once we had finished the 1st one.
Now it may be that others have different experiences in Chinese restaurants, for whatever reasons, but I have got to say that restaurants in New York City's Chinatown are one of the best deals in the city as far as inexpensive great tasting meals go; that is of course, if you avoid the yuppie and tourist traps; and of course, if you avoid the ones in New York Fuckin City - wherever that may be.
All the best,
Glenn B
14 Years Ago Today...
...the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists who had hoped to basically blow it to smithereens. They had a small success in that they killed 6 people and wounded many, many others. The shame of this all, besides the attack and losses themselves, is that most people tend to forget this terrorist attack on U.S. soil; the one that set the stage for 9/11.
Take a moment now, and in your own way give a thought or a prayer to those who lost their lives, and who were injured on that day, and of course to the heroes who saved many lives.
All the best,
Glenn B
Take a moment now, and in your own way give a thought or a prayer to those who lost their lives, and who were injured on that day, and of course to the heroes who saved many lives.
All the best,
Glenn B
It Was A Quiet Sunday...
...at least for me. I got some small chores done on Sunday morning, and spent the rest of the day at leisure. Took care of my critters, went to the monthly Long Island Herpetological Society meeting, came home, had a nice dinner with the wife and son, watched some TV (way too much), really enjoyed The Dresden Files and Battle Star Galatica, and am up right now way too late (or would that be way too early) at 1:36 AM, on Monday morning waiting for sleep to overtake me as the snow is overtaking everything outside. Gosh darned insomnia stinks, and it happens now and then, lately more now than then. Probably because I dread going to work, especially on Mondays, and since I am eligible to retire. So I usually have a hard time of even getting tired Sunday nights through until about 2:00AM on Mondays. If I was a real drinking man, I'd have a 2nd glass of Scotch, but I think one should be enough - I don't need bad habits and crutches to finally hit the hay, sleep comes sooner or later. If it comes too late, I'll go in late and work later than usual. Maybe I ought to try a hot cocoa or an herbal tea, or maybe just crawl under the covers next to the wife and wait. Decisions, decisions. Oh well, goodnight.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Here Is A Gun Trivia Question...
...to which I seek an answer because I do not know the answer.
In the 1941 film version of the Maltese Falcon, what make and model of pistol did Joel Cairo hold on Sam Spade? I am hoping to get the correct answer backed by some sort of factual reference other than just getting guesses, or answers like: 'Hey it looks like a Colt' or whatever.
Thanks,
Glenn B
In the 1941 film version of the Maltese Falcon, what make and model of pistol did Joel Cairo hold on Sam Spade? I am hoping to get the correct answer backed by some sort of factual reference other than just getting guesses, or answers like: 'Hey it looks like a Colt' or whatever.
Thanks,
Glenn B
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Jim Zumbo, and David Petzal...
...are two of the reasons I will probably never again enjoy an issue of Outdoor Life or Field and Stream magazines as much as I used to. There has been a lot of fuss made about recent statements by Zumbo in which he basically implied that they who shoot military style weapons or assault weapons are terrorists as he called those weapon terrorist weapons. It was a truly unintelligent thing for an Outdoor Life writer, hunter, sportsman, and gun enthusiast to write. He is now paying the price. Just because someone who likes the gun sports, or who chooses to be prepared for self defense, or defense of country chooses one type of firearm over another, does not make that person bad or good. That is the mistake made by Mr. Zumbo as he apparently tried to mimic a loose cannon. David Petzal then tried to say that Zumbo had every right to do so and I believe he faulted others for hammering Zumbo's opinion. Well, I think Petzal is right in how he feels about free speech, but he forgot that free speech does not just apply to Mr. Zumbo, it applies to all of us who disagree with Zumbo too. The truth is both Petzal and Zumbo are, in my opinion, apologists to the left for they who would want to own assault or defensive type weapons. I will not write a lot about this because so many others have already done so, and simply put someone has done it better than I could. Read the blog: Both Wrong by Kim du Toit @ http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/tos/10266/ that puts all of this in the perspective of a logical argument.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, February 23, 2007
The World's Largest Shotgun...
...and I do mean the absolute largest, may be in the making and yet its creators may not even realize what they are doing. As you may or may not be aware shotguns fire different types of projectiles, one of them being known simply as 'shot'. Shot, or a load of it, is usually and basically made up of a number of pellets. When you fire the shotgun, the ignition and very rapid burning of the gunpowder in the shotgun shell creates gasses that rapidly expand, this expansion of gasses in essence pushes the pellets out of the barrel at a high speed.
In Indonesia, authorities have created hundreds of concrete balls that in a way resemble
shotgun pellets. The fact that the authorities there intend to take hundreds of these concrete balls and place them into a fissure that has been erupting and spewing hot noxious mud is sort of analogous to them loading a shotgun. You see the fissure has been spewing that hot noxious mud has been spouting out enough of it to fill over 50 Olympic swiming pools a day for over 9 months according to the article: Giant Weights to Be Dropped Into Indonesian Mud Volcano Friday, Officials Say at FoxNews.com, see: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,253831,00.html.
In other words, it appears as if the fissure has been venting an awful lot of pressure. The hope is, of course, that the heavy concrete balls dropped into the fissure will prevent it from spewing forth any more mud. My concern is that all the pressure that has been vented over that 9 month period, still has a lot of pressure coming behind it, or in other words that there is a lot more left to come out of that hole. Filling the hole with 550 pound pellets may just turn it into a large shotgun, and when enough pressure builds up under the concrete balls, the whole thing may just go kaboom sending those balls into flight.
Now, there is a chance that this plugging up of the hole will work. There is also a chance that if it does not work it will not go kaboom either, but will rather just crack open some distance away and continue to spew mud. My imaginative guess is though, that there is a chance it could go kaboom and turn those concrete balls into deadly projectiles coming out of the world's largest shotgun. That is a scary thought and I hope someone has already figured out that there virtually is no chance of that happening. I must say though, if it does go kaboom, I hope to be in the comfort of my living room - safe at home - watching it on the evening news when it blows.
All the best,
Glenn B
In Indonesia, authorities have created hundreds of concrete balls that in a way resemble
shotgun pellets. The fact that the authorities there intend to take hundreds of these concrete balls and place them into a fissure that has been erupting and spewing hot noxious mud is sort of analogous to them loading a shotgun. You see the fissure has been spewing that hot noxious mud has been spouting out enough of it to fill over 50 Olympic swiming pools a day for over 9 months according to the article: Giant Weights to Be Dropped Into Indonesian Mud Volcano Friday, Officials Say at FoxNews.com, see: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,253831,00.html.
In other words, it appears as if the fissure has been venting an awful lot of pressure. The hope is, of course, that the heavy concrete balls dropped into the fissure will prevent it from spewing forth any more mud. My concern is that all the pressure that has been vented over that 9 month period, still has a lot of pressure coming behind it, or in other words that there is a lot more left to come out of that hole. Filling the hole with 550 pound pellets may just turn it into a large shotgun, and when enough pressure builds up under the concrete balls, the whole thing may just go kaboom sending those balls into flight.
Now, there is a chance that this plugging up of the hole will work. There is also a chance that if it does not work it will not go kaboom either, but will rather just crack open some distance away and continue to spew mud. My imaginative guess is though, that there is a chance it could go kaboom and turn those concrete balls into deadly projectiles coming out of the world's largest shotgun. That is a scary thought and I hope someone has already figured out that there virtually is no chance of that happening. I must say though, if it does go kaboom, I hope to be in the comfort of my living room - safe at home - watching it on the evening news when it blows.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Your Guns - are they basic or modified?
If modified I put forth that maybe you best had reconsider those modifications. Mine, for the most part are pretty much of the basic sought (but this is within my own definitions of basic versus modified as I will soon explain). I have never before really seen a need to modify any of the guns I own with the exception of adding different grips to them (or one time I changed a stock), and until recent years needing to add optical sights to them as my eyes are not those of a teenager any longer. This has not been because I have striven to be a purist, but simply that I have not had the need to change any of the guns I own, nor have I seen the real benefit when others have made modifications, at least not in street carry type guns. As far as I have been concerned, all of my guns, the ones I have kept have worked just fine, for how I intend to use them; and that was/is just as they were made or came to me with the exception of the grips, stock (on one occasion, or the sights). If they did not work fine, then I either got them fixed (without modifications as in fixed to original specifications), am still fumbling with them trying to fix them, got rid of them and got another one to replace it.
Before I go further I guess I should explain the difference that I see between a basic (or as manufactured) and a modified firearm. To me there can be certain modifications made to a firearm whereby it still remains basically an as manufactured gun; in other words the mechanics of the gun have not been altered. These changes would include changing the grips (but note on some pistols the grips are integral to how the firearm functions so make sure your replacements work correctly), doing minor repair work to actually fix a fault (such as replacing a worn spring with an original spec spring, and so forth), changing the stock of a long arm, and possibly changing the sights such as adding night sights or an optical sight. Changes like the ones here do not change the way the actual firearm operates, but may enhance the shooter's ability to use that firearm proficiently. These changes usually do not have a great potential to cause the mechanical operation of the firearm to fail if good parts are used - especially if original manufacturer parts are used when available (same manufacturer as the ones who made the gun that is being changed).
As to modifying a firearm, I believe you are doing what I refer to as modifying a gun when you go pretty much beyond those things. For instance, when you file/grind down metal pieces such as a spring or a sear, when you remove springs and replace them with custom made springs that are not to original specs, when you add a different type of barrel, when you replace the trigger assembly with a custom made one, when you cut the length of a barrel, when you add a weight compensator, when you rechamber a firearm for a new caliber, when you change the finish, or even something as simple as using an aftermarket magazine, and other things like that. Doing things like these can change the actual performance of the firearm itself, and I consider such things to be modifications that go beyond the basic.
Now I realize that there are an awful lot of folks out there who love to modify there firearms, and they do so for various reasons. It is okay by me that they do so with their guns, but as I said I am not a big fan of such things. Let me tell you why, in my own round about way.
I have been a firearms enthusiast since I have been about 9 or 10 years old. It all started back in summer camp many years ago. I started with BB guns, graduated to .22LR's, then had a break of many years after camp, until I again found myself wanting to shoot while in my young 20s. I did not really pick up on the practical side of shooting again though until I was 24, just after I was hired to be a Border Patrol Agent. Until then it had been off and on again shooting guns of friends, or just bow hunting, and reading Outdoor Life and some gun mags. Once I was hired by the Border Patrol, or I should say, once they taught me how to shoot a revolver, I was hooked. I guess a lot of that had to do with the fact that I had moved out of New York City and buying guns became ever so easy for me; along those lines the federal creds helped too.
I worked for the BP for just over 4 years. In that time I bought about 3 revolvers, 5 or 6 pistols, 1 rifle, and a shotgun. Not many guns, but on the money I was making at the time, not bad. I enjoyed shooting sports a lot back then, and I shot at a few matches, and also hunted quite a bit. After that I moved back to NYC, and I worked for the US Customs Service. I continued to enjoy shooting sports, but mostly hunting and plinking, the matches were out, just too far to travel. I continued to buy guns, not all that many over all the years since I came back to the NY area, but enough for me. I have a few rifles, a few pistols, a revolver, and a shotgun. Most of my guns are in 22LR caliber.
In all I have been a federal agent for 27 plus years now, about 14 of them spent doing collateral duties as a firearms instructor in the Customs Service and later a short time in ICE. I have had a good amount of tactical training and actual experience, but thank the heavens I have never had to shoot anyone at work. I have fired shots but missed once (had broken glass in my eyes); but I did nonce shoot a guy, in self defense, while off duty. I was pretty happy my pistol worked that one time when I needed it, and I am pretty sure one of the reasons it that it had been more likely to work as it did, rather than fail on me, was because it was in its basic configuration except for the grips. I had never made any mechanical changes to it other than those made at the factory of the manufacturer when they changed a spring and the recoil guide rod. I never made those changes because of my training and because of my experiences observing the problems others had had with their 'modified ' guns.
One of the first problems I ever saw first hand, with a modified firearm, was a pretty serious one - or at least would have been very serious had the gun's owner ever needed to use it in any sort of defense situation. A guy I knew, way back in the days of yesteryear, went out and bought himself a brand news, shiny blue steel, Dan Wesson revolver. It was a nice revolver and it came in a fancy box, and if I remember correctly it even had interchangeable barrels (but maybe that is my imagination). What I do remember for sure is that my friend thought the amount of force required to squeeze the trigger was excessive. He talked to some of the other gun guys about it, then he brought his gun to a gunschmidt for a trigger and spring job. Well the gunschmidt, in his infinitely greater wisdom than the gun design engineers at the Dan Wesson facility, decided to either file a bit here and to grind a bit there or change the springs to aftermarket. (I seem to recall he may actually have done both, that is if I have it right after about 25 years; so I'll write it as I remember it.) I do know that my friend was ecstatic with the results. He loved it. He showed it to me at his place, and told me to go ahead and dry fire it. It was, I will admit, smooth and crisp, and probably had about a 4 pound let off or whatever you call it. In single action it was like 2 pounds, if that much. My buddy paid good money for that job and he figured it was money well spent.
Well, he figured it was money well spent until he went to the range. As it turned out the beautiful Dan Wesson revolver fired a few rounds, and failed to fire a few others. That was in just one cylinder of rounds. Yes that means that the 6 shot revolver failed to fire 50% of the rounds in the gun. He figured it was a fluke and tried again. The next time around it failed to fire at least a couple of rounds. Once or twice though a few boxes of ammo, it may have fired all the rounds in the cylinder. All the other times there were failures to fire, the primers on the unfired rounds being barely dimpled. He was lucky because this happened at the range. Now while you may think, oh heck anyone would test fire the revolver at the range after a spring and trigger job, well maybe and maybe not. Even in that case, the gun could have worked at the range and failed later. You see a couple of days later, my friend hosted the gunschmidt, remember he is the one who knew better than the folks at the Dan Wesson factory, to a day at the range to demonstrate the failures. The revolver did not fire more than once or twice that day out of many more tries. So what if it had worked well on day one after the 'gunschmidt job', then failed to fire 50% of the time in a defense situation. My guess is it would have been possible. Anyway, the gunschmidt refunded my buddy's money, then gave him a set of new aftermarket springs. Those aftermarket springs seemed to do the trick. They were smooth and crisp and fired the revolver every time - that is for about a few months. Then the Dan Wesson started to have more failure to fire problems. It seems those wonder springs gave out. Bottom line - new springs had to be ordered from the factory to solve the problem.
A pal of mine in the Border Patrol liked to shoot 45's. He was a big fan of the Colt 1911. He was always tinkering with his guns. He was a certified (trained somewhere or another) 'Colt' gunschmidt, and I should also point out he was also a certifiable gun nut. He grinded and filed this and that, and polished here and there. He fixed up original parts, and also replaced some of the parts with aftermarket ones. He had a couple of .45's that were his favorites and worked on them incessantly. Look up the meaning of incessant - please. The reason he worked on them in that manner was because he apparently never got them just right to his liking or to the point were it was pretty much 100% reliable; yet he carried them while off duty. He is not alone, there are plenty of other folks who do just like him including carrying a weapon which they constantly have to repair or work on to make it function better. Now I have to wonder why anyone who did not like the way a firearm functioned so much as to have to incessantly tinker with it would ever decide to carry that particular firearm as a self defense weapon on which his or her life might depend.
All throughout the years, since those days long ago, I have known quite a few other firearms enthusiasts who decided that their guns, as they were, were not good enough, and that they needed mechanical modifications. I could give a lot of other examples other than those first two (from my experience), but they are sufficient to illustrate the fact that some guys just have to make them better - instead of going with something that is already good enough. Now while a lot of those modifications proved to be great and many of the modified guns worked fine, there were an awfully high percentage of those modified firearms, as witnessed by me personally, to have had failures to feed, fire, extract, and or eject; this of course includes revolvers having such failures too. A very important thing that seemed very apparent to me was that the amount of failures in modified guns far outnumbered the failure in factory spec guns. I saw this time and time again when I performed collateral duties as a firearms instructor.
While any firearm can have a failure that leads to catastrophe, it seems evident, at least to me, that such is much more likely if you have first tinkered with a gun's mechanical operation to change it from factory specifications. You can even make modifications that do not change the factory specifications of the mechanics, such as changing the grips, that can lead to such failures, but usually only when you don't use a high quality replacement. Now while you may that sticking with quality always prevents FUBAR, such as by using the services of high quality gunsmiths, and using only high quality replacement parts, for mechanical modifications, the chances evidently still seem to be higher that you will risk failure of your firearm if mechanical changes have been made, and I base this on personal experience over the years I was an instructor.
I am not saying that my personal thoughts on this matter should have you stop using your favorite self defense firearm if it has been modified outside of the original makers facilities, but rather that you think about what can and often does happen with mechanically modified firearms, at least apparently more so that factory spec firearms that are from a reliable manufacturer and of a reliable design. Think about that before you get all gung ho about mechanical modifications, think about the implications for a shootout situation and your survival. Then, if you have not already done so, take your modified gun to the range, and put it through at least a 500 round test.
Shoot safely.
All the best,
Glenn B
Before I go further I guess I should explain the difference that I see between a basic (or as manufactured) and a modified firearm. To me there can be certain modifications made to a firearm whereby it still remains basically an as manufactured gun; in other words the mechanics of the gun have not been altered. These changes would include changing the grips (but note on some pistols the grips are integral to how the firearm functions so make sure your replacements work correctly), doing minor repair work to actually fix a fault (such as replacing a worn spring with an original spec spring, and so forth), changing the stock of a long arm, and possibly changing the sights such as adding night sights or an optical sight. Changes like the ones here do not change the way the actual firearm operates, but may enhance the shooter's ability to use that firearm proficiently. These changes usually do not have a great potential to cause the mechanical operation of the firearm to fail if good parts are used - especially if original manufacturer parts are used when available (same manufacturer as the ones who made the gun that is being changed).
As to modifying a firearm, I believe you are doing what I refer to as modifying a gun when you go pretty much beyond those things. For instance, when you file/grind down metal pieces such as a spring or a sear, when you remove springs and replace them with custom made springs that are not to original specs, when you add a different type of barrel, when you replace the trigger assembly with a custom made one, when you cut the length of a barrel, when you add a weight compensator, when you rechamber a firearm for a new caliber, when you change the finish, or even something as simple as using an aftermarket magazine, and other things like that. Doing things like these can change the actual performance of the firearm itself, and I consider such things to be modifications that go beyond the basic.
Now I realize that there are an awful lot of folks out there who love to modify there firearms, and they do so for various reasons. It is okay by me that they do so with their guns, but as I said I am not a big fan of such things. Let me tell you why, in my own round about way.
I have been a firearms enthusiast since I have been about 9 or 10 years old. It all started back in summer camp many years ago. I started with BB guns, graduated to .22LR's, then had a break of many years after camp, until I again found myself wanting to shoot while in my young 20s. I did not really pick up on the practical side of shooting again though until I was 24, just after I was hired to be a Border Patrol Agent. Until then it had been off and on again shooting guns of friends, or just bow hunting, and reading Outdoor Life and some gun mags. Once I was hired by the Border Patrol, or I should say, once they taught me how to shoot a revolver, I was hooked. I guess a lot of that had to do with the fact that I had moved out of New York City and buying guns became ever so easy for me; along those lines the federal creds helped too.
I worked for the BP for just over 4 years. In that time I bought about 3 revolvers, 5 or 6 pistols, 1 rifle, and a shotgun. Not many guns, but on the money I was making at the time, not bad. I enjoyed shooting sports a lot back then, and I shot at a few matches, and also hunted quite a bit. After that I moved back to NYC, and I worked for the US Customs Service. I continued to enjoy shooting sports, but mostly hunting and plinking, the matches were out, just too far to travel. I continued to buy guns, not all that many over all the years since I came back to the NY area, but enough for me. I have a few rifles, a few pistols, a revolver, and a shotgun. Most of my guns are in 22LR caliber.
In all I have been a federal agent for 27 plus years now, about 14 of them spent doing collateral duties as a firearms instructor in the Customs Service and later a short time in ICE. I have had a good amount of tactical training and actual experience, but thank the heavens I have never had to shoot anyone at work. I have fired shots but missed once (had broken glass in my eyes); but I did nonce shoot a guy, in self defense, while off duty. I was pretty happy my pistol worked that one time when I needed it, and I am pretty sure one of the reasons it that it had been more likely to work as it did, rather than fail on me, was because it was in its basic configuration except for the grips. I had never made any mechanical changes to it other than those made at the factory of the manufacturer when they changed a spring and the recoil guide rod. I never made those changes because of my training and because of my experiences observing the problems others had had with their 'modified ' guns.
One of the first problems I ever saw first hand, with a modified firearm, was a pretty serious one - or at least would have been very serious had the gun's owner ever needed to use it in any sort of defense situation. A guy I knew, way back in the days of yesteryear, went out and bought himself a brand news, shiny blue steel, Dan Wesson revolver. It was a nice revolver and it came in a fancy box, and if I remember correctly it even had interchangeable barrels (but maybe that is my imagination). What I do remember for sure is that my friend thought the amount of force required to squeeze the trigger was excessive. He talked to some of the other gun guys about it, then he brought his gun to a gunschmidt for a trigger and spring job. Well the gunschmidt, in his infinitely greater wisdom than the gun design engineers at the Dan Wesson facility, decided to either file a bit here and to grind a bit there or change the springs to aftermarket. (I seem to recall he may actually have done both, that is if I have it right after about 25 years; so I'll write it as I remember it.) I do know that my friend was ecstatic with the results. He loved it. He showed it to me at his place, and told me to go ahead and dry fire it. It was, I will admit, smooth and crisp, and probably had about a 4 pound let off or whatever you call it. In single action it was like 2 pounds, if that much. My buddy paid good money for that job and he figured it was money well spent.
Well, he figured it was money well spent until he went to the range. As it turned out the beautiful Dan Wesson revolver fired a few rounds, and failed to fire a few others. That was in just one cylinder of rounds. Yes that means that the 6 shot revolver failed to fire 50% of the rounds in the gun. He figured it was a fluke and tried again. The next time around it failed to fire at least a couple of rounds. Once or twice though a few boxes of ammo, it may have fired all the rounds in the cylinder. All the other times there were failures to fire, the primers on the unfired rounds being barely dimpled. He was lucky because this happened at the range. Now while you may think, oh heck anyone would test fire the revolver at the range after a spring and trigger job, well maybe and maybe not. Even in that case, the gun could have worked at the range and failed later. You see a couple of days later, my friend hosted the gunschmidt, remember he is the one who knew better than the folks at the Dan Wesson factory, to a day at the range to demonstrate the failures. The revolver did not fire more than once or twice that day out of many more tries. So what if it had worked well on day one after the 'gunschmidt job', then failed to fire 50% of the time in a defense situation. My guess is it would have been possible. Anyway, the gunschmidt refunded my buddy's money, then gave him a set of new aftermarket springs. Those aftermarket springs seemed to do the trick. They were smooth and crisp and fired the revolver every time - that is for about a few months. Then the Dan Wesson started to have more failure to fire problems. It seems those wonder springs gave out. Bottom line - new springs had to be ordered from the factory to solve the problem.
A pal of mine in the Border Patrol liked to shoot 45's. He was a big fan of the Colt 1911. He was always tinkering with his guns. He was a certified (trained somewhere or another) 'Colt' gunschmidt, and I should also point out he was also a certifiable gun nut. He grinded and filed this and that, and polished here and there. He fixed up original parts, and also replaced some of the parts with aftermarket ones. He had a couple of .45's that were his favorites and worked on them incessantly. Look up the meaning of incessant - please. The reason he worked on them in that manner was because he apparently never got them just right to his liking or to the point were it was pretty much 100% reliable; yet he carried them while off duty. He is not alone, there are plenty of other folks who do just like him including carrying a weapon which they constantly have to repair or work on to make it function better. Now I have to wonder why anyone who did not like the way a firearm functioned so much as to have to incessantly tinker with it would ever decide to carry that particular firearm as a self defense weapon on which his or her life might depend.
All throughout the years, since those days long ago, I have known quite a few other firearms enthusiasts who decided that their guns, as they were, were not good enough, and that they needed mechanical modifications. I could give a lot of other examples other than those first two (from my experience), but they are sufficient to illustrate the fact that some guys just have to make them better - instead of going with something that is already good enough. Now while a lot of those modifications proved to be great and many of the modified guns worked fine, there were an awfully high percentage of those modified firearms, as witnessed by me personally, to have had failures to feed, fire, extract, and or eject; this of course includes revolvers having such failures too. A very important thing that seemed very apparent to me was that the amount of failures in modified guns far outnumbered the failure in factory spec guns. I saw this time and time again when I performed collateral duties as a firearms instructor.
While any firearm can have a failure that leads to catastrophe, it seems evident, at least to me, that such is much more likely if you have first tinkered with a gun's mechanical operation to change it from factory specifications. You can even make modifications that do not change the factory specifications of the mechanics, such as changing the grips, that can lead to such failures, but usually only when you don't use a high quality replacement. Now while you may that sticking with quality always prevents FUBAR, such as by using the services of high quality gunsmiths, and using only high quality replacement parts, for mechanical modifications, the chances evidently still seem to be higher that you will risk failure of your firearm if mechanical changes have been made, and I base this on personal experience over the years I was an instructor.
I am not saying that my personal thoughts on this matter should have you stop using your favorite self defense firearm if it has been modified outside of the original makers facilities, but rather that you think about what can and often does happen with mechanically modified firearms, at least apparently more so that factory spec firearms that are from a reliable manufacturer and of a reliable design. Think about that before you get all gung ho about mechanical modifications, think about the implications for a shootout situation and your survival. Then, if you have not already done so, take your modified gun to the range, and put it through at least a 500 round test.
Shoot safely.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Ballseye's Boomers - Marlin 336 CS Disassembly & Reassembly
Hope these are informative:
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, February 17, 2007
I Updated My Link List...
...to other blogs that I think are worth a read. They trly all are either Grumps, Geeks or Geniuses, some are all three!
Newly added blog links are:
Ace of Spades HQ @ http://ace.mu.nu/
An Englishman's Castle @ http://www.anenglishmanscastle.com/
Greybear's Gripes @http://greybeard.igogg.com/
Cap'n Bob & The Damsel @ http://capnbob.us/blog/
Enjoy them as I intend to do.
All the best,
Glenn B
Newly added blog links are:
Ace of Spades HQ @ http://ace.mu.nu/
An Englishman's Castle @ http://www.anenglishmanscastle.com/
Greybear's Gripes @http://greybeard.igogg.com/
Cap'n Bob & The Damsel @ http://capnbob.us/blog/
Enjoy them as I intend to do.
All the best,
Glenn B
It just dawned on me...
...that the major flaw in the thinking of liberals, especially those further to the left, is that while they really want to make things right, they can never agree as to what is right. So they just keep changing things, getting wackier and wackier as they become more and more liberal. As to liberalism, there is no bedrock for it to stand upon, there is no backbone with which to build itself up into a lasting, strong, and better way of living. This in brief is the essence of why a liberal way of thinking, a liberal slant on morality, a liberal stance on politics, will never ultimately succeed. Liberalism is simply self defeating; in the greater scheme of things it must fail eventually. That failure will come in the face of a realistic conservatism, one that is able to bend and change when it must, but yet that is built upon a sound constitution that truly protects the rights and liberties of the people from tyranny in any form.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Who is/was Your Favorite President?
Being it is President's day weekend, I figured asking the above question was a good topic to ponder; and yes I do mean out of the U.S. Presidents, not any foreigners please.
I think my favorite was either Ronald Reagan, or Theodore Roosevelt. It is really difficult for me to decide between the two. Even though their politics were somewhat different - they were very much the same. Their love of the USA and their realizing the importance of being a patriotic American above all else were equal from what I can tell. Both were staunch supporteers of strong foreign policy and I like that immensely. Maybe Roosevelt has a bit of an edge in how much of an outspoken outdoorsman he was in that he hunted, shot, fished regularly; and in that he created many of the national parks, and protected many other natural areas. Of course when you think about it, Ronnie put a stop to the cold war, and brought the Soviets down, thereby protecting us all. Both of them knew how to keep our nation strong and face down our enemies.
So even though I asked you, who is/was your favorite president, here I am giving a double whammy type of answer. I can't help myself, they were both truly great Americans, and I think about the best presidents we ever had. I guess the only other one who comes very close would be George Washington if only because he probably had the toughest job of them all, his being the first. Of course there were other great ones, and other good ones, somebad ones and some terrible ones, but as for the best - those first two mentioned above are my picks. I feel quite privileged to have lived through the presidency of one of these men and to have voted for him too.
All the best,
Glenn B
Couch Potatoes Take Note:
This is, or should be, a sad day for couch potatoes everywhere. Robert Adler, the co-inventor of the television remote control has passed away. He lived a long life, passing at 93 years of age. That makes me wonder if a sedentary lifestyle may have prolonged his life, but then again I really have no idea if he was one of whom he helped to create - a couch potato. Well I have a bit of an idea, since in the article: Inventor of the TV Remote Dies, a FoxNews.com, his wife is quoted as saying that while he did not watch a lot of television, he read an awful lot. He was in fact a pretty prolific inventor, and according to the article he had over 180 patents to his name, some with military applications, some with aero-space applications, and some with applications that directly effected just about anyone who watches television.
Without making a joke out of it, I should point out his place of death was in Boise, Idaho. Probably a fitting place for a couch potato farmer to pass. I guess it just an amazing coincidence that the man some claim is responsible for creating the couch potato, passed away in the state famous for its potatoes.
My condolences to his wife and other loved ones.
All the best,
Glenn B
Without making a joke out of it, I should point out his place of death was in Boise, Idaho. Probably a fitting place for a couch potato farmer to pass. I guess it just an amazing coincidence that the man some claim is responsible for creating the couch potato, passed away in the state famous for its potatoes.
My condolences to his wife and other loved ones.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Is He An Islamic Terrorist/Jihadist?
Go to Debbie Schlussel's site at http://debbieschlussel.com/ and read this rant, that was posted on 02/15/2007: DISTURBING: What You Don't Know About the Muslim Trolley Square Terrorist. It kind of answers a question I had in one of my own rants a day or so ago @ http://ballseyesboomers.blogspot.com/2007/02/good-man-steps-forward.html when I asked if the media knew anything they were not reporting about the alleged 'Trolley Square Mall' killer, Sulejman Talovic, in Salt Lake City. It really is disturbing to see that the main stream media jerks who constantly yammer about their "Freedom of the Press" are quite the censors themselves; and they apparently don't freely print pertinent information when it comes to protecting the identities of those whom they seemingly favor. The shame of it is that they seem to favor dirtbags, whackos, criminals, and terrorists.
Fine job that woman does reporting on, and exposing, such things. Keep up the good work, Debbie!
All the best,
Glenn B
Fine job that woman does reporting on, and exposing, such things. Keep up the good work, Debbie!
All the best,
Glenn B
A Few Small Cosmetic Changes...
...here and there to the Ballseye's Boomers page have taken place over the last several hours or so. I switched to the newer version of Blogger, and I will admit I did so with some trepidation, but so far all seems to be okay in the land of virtual reality, or so I hope. If anything seems to be missing, that had been on the older version of my page, please let me know in the comments section to this post.
Some new things that came with the new version of Blogger, that my readers can use, are: a search this blog feature, and an email this post to a friend (or an enemy I suppose) feature.
One thing that changed, which had nothing to do with the switch to the newer version of Blogger is the Never Forget slide show on the right side of my page. I picked that up at another web site: Cap'n Bob & the Damsel, and you can too if you click on the link under the pictures of 9/11, or if you visit their site. It was a freebie as they say, and a decent remembrance of 9/11 at that. My thanks to the kind folks who run said site.
All the best,
Glenn B
Some new things that came with the new version of Blogger, that my readers can use, are: a search this blog feature, and an email this post to a friend (or an enemy I suppose) feature.
One thing that changed, which had nothing to do with the switch to the newer version of Blogger is the Never Forget slide show on the right side of my page. I picked that up at another web site: Cap'n Bob & the Damsel, and you can too if you click on the link under the pictures of 9/11, or if you visit their site. It was a freebie as they say, and a decent remembrance of 9/11 at that. My thanks to the kind folks who run said site.
All the best,
Glenn B
HTML Code for Strike Over
Yes it appears that even I can figure some of these things out with a little help from a free online tutorial that I found http://www.davesite.com/webstation/html/chap01.shtml I gave that a quuick look, then firgured to try the word " strike" between the <> (one each of those <>, with the word strike inside them, both before and after the part I wanted struck out) and I got a terrible result. The strike line went through every word in every one of my posts on my site. Yikes. Then I added a / just before the second word strike, and that stopped it where it belonged stopped. That one little slash made a heck of a lot of difference. If I did not explain that computer mumbo jumbo well in words that is tough because each time I try to picture it here, it just strikes out whatever I use as an example.
All the best,
Glenn B
Oh The Moronic Irony...
...of a statement like this:
“Any harm to the secretary general of Islamic Jihad will endanger American interests everywhere in the region,”
It should be, I think, apparent to anyone (at least of adult age) but a raving Islamic Jihadist Terrorist, or a raving ultra leftist liberal, that the statement was both moronic and ironic. Even the guy who said it probably should have realized such. Yet this is just what Abu Ahmed, an alleged spokesman for a Palestinian terrorist organization, was quoted as having said in the article: Palestinian Islamic Jihad Terror Group Warns U.S. to Keep Hands Off Its Leader; see the article at FoxNews.com @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,252002,00.html The rather ironic statement came in response to the FBI posting a $5 million reward for Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah who is believed to be in Syria.
If you read the statement, while you utilize almost any amount of gray cell power (that would be brain power for you who don't see the irony), you would realize it is either quite ironic or moronic or both. You see, as it was before the reward was offered, all American (America as in USA) interests in the area were already in danger from the Islamic Jihadists who had already, numerous times, threatened those interests. In fact those interests are repeatedly attacked (not just endangered) as can be seen by a review of those in the area who have been kidnapped and beheaded, or as can be witnessed by review of the other U.S. interests that have been otherwise attacked by terrorists. With all of those terrorists attacks already having happened (I truly hope I do not have to name them all, but there certainly have been many such attacks against U.S. interests in the region), now the terrorists want us to believe that should we go forward in our attempts to arrest Shallah, it will somehow threaten our interests in the area. Who is kidding whom here!
Do the terrorists truly believe that the threat of violence against U.S. interests will stop us from trying to destroy those who already have threatened, even attacked, those interests? Or is it just that the terrorists believe that this chest pounding will be taken to heart by some anti-war, anti-self defense, anti-everything American type of liberal nut-case here in the USA, who will then rally the other nut-cases to protest the rewards that have been offered? The sad thing is that there will almost assuredly be some sort of backwash from the ultra liberal left here in our own country that will protest the offered rewards as somehow being the engine of our future destruction by the Jihadists.
It really is a Mad, Mad, Mad World - isn't it!
I figure we need to just keep up the fight against these head-cases if only because we cannot seem to please them one way or another - so we may as well beat them into hell (or heaven as they choose), before they destroy us.
All the best,
Glenn B
“Any harm to the secretary general of Islamic Jihad will endanger American interests everywhere in the region,”
It should be, I think, apparent to anyone (at least of adult age) but a raving Islamic Jihadist Terrorist, or a raving ultra leftist liberal, that the statement was both moronic and ironic. Even the guy who said it probably should have realized such. Yet this is just what Abu Ahmed, an alleged spokesman for a Palestinian terrorist organization, was quoted as having said in the article: Palestinian Islamic Jihad Terror Group Warns U.S. to Keep Hands Off Its Leader; see the article at FoxNews.com @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,252002,00.html The rather ironic statement came in response to the FBI posting a $5 million reward for Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah who is believed to be in Syria.
If you read the statement, while you utilize almost any amount of gray cell power (that would be brain power for you who don't see the irony), you would realize it is either quite ironic or moronic or both. You see, as it was before the reward was offered, all American (America as in USA) interests in the area were already in danger from the Islamic Jihadists who had already, numerous times, threatened those interests. In fact those interests are repeatedly attacked (not just endangered) as can be seen by a review of those in the area who have been kidnapped and beheaded, or as can be witnessed by review of the other U.S. interests that have been otherwise attacked by terrorists. With all of those terrorists attacks already having happened (I truly hope I do not have to name them all, but there certainly have been many such attacks against U.S. interests in the region), now the terrorists want us to believe that should we go forward in our attempts to arrest Shallah, it will somehow threaten our interests in the area. Who is kidding whom here!
Do the terrorists truly believe that the threat of violence against U.S. interests will stop us from trying to destroy those who already have threatened, even attacked, those interests? Or is it just that the terrorists believe that this chest pounding will be taken to heart by some anti-war, anti-self defense, anti-everything American type of liberal nut-case here in the USA, who will then rally the other nut-cases to protest the rewards that have been offered? The sad thing is that there will almost assuredly be some sort of backwash from the ultra liberal left here in our own country that will protest the offered rewards as somehow being the engine of our future destruction by the Jihadists.
It really is a Mad, Mad, Mad World - isn't it!
I figure we need to just keep up the fight against these head-cases if only because we cannot seem to please them one way or another - so we may as well beat them into hell (or heaven as they choose), before they destroy us.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
An Alleged Bad Man Steps Forward...
...and right into the view of his own patrol car's video camera. Yesterday I posted a story about a cop who did a very brave and very good thing. Today, sadly, here is a story about a cop who may not have done the right thing, and is alleged to have done something very wrong. See Tennessee Police Officer Caught on Tape Assaulting Woman During Traffic Stop .
If he did that of which he is accused, well then I guess he surely deserves whatever punishment he gets. What a shame if true. Then again I do try to remember he too should have his day in court just as would any other accused.
All the best,
Glenn B
If he did that of which he is accused, well then I guess he surely deserves whatever punishment he gets. What a shame if true. Then again I do try to remember he too should have his day in court just as would any other accused.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
A Good Man Steps Forward...
...directly into the lurch, and puts his life at risk; and some would have you believe he had no right to do so. Some would tell you that his doing so jeopardized the many things that he could have done for his loved ones, over the remaining years of his life, and that therefore he had no right to do so. I think that is ludicrous, that is the talk of a coward, and of a selfish person, one who puts himself, and his family above all else, or rather who makes excuses for why he chooses to remain secure while bragging as to what a tough guy is he. I also believe it is not the talk of a patriot, nor the talk of a courageous or brave person, nor of someone who realizes there are things possibly more important than just his security, things for which it actually worth taking a real risk that has little to do with yourself, that are actually worth more than his own life in this world. These are things for which you may have to sacrifice a luxury for your family in as much as your family getting to have you around until your old age.
Some people just don't want to believe there are such things worthy of their risking it all, but there are others who know that such risks are sometimes necessary to safeguard our way of life, our morality, our laws, our well being. It is because some people act like that, unselfishly, that others are later inspired to do so. It is the spirit of courage, honor, integrity, loyalty and fraternity. Still though some insist that such risky actions are not worth taking, I think they who believe that are lowlives.
Luckily though, there are some who think otherwise about risking their own security for the just cause, some like Police Officer Ken Hammond from Ogden, Utah. He realized that sometimes it is acceptable, maybe even necessary, to put yourself in jeopardy, not to act suicidal, but to do the right thing, to try help protect others who are in danger and who don't stand much of a chance without some help. He decided to do the right thing. The right thing for him was to confront the 18 year old shotgun wielding man who allegedly shot and killed 5 people in a mall in Salt Lake City yesterday. If you have not read about it, see this article : Off-Duty Cop Helped End Utah Mall Rage at FoxNews.com.
Now while it is not known whether or not it was a shot fired by officer Hammond that brought down the alleged raging shotgun shooter, it is readily accepted that his actions were responsible for diverting the suspects attention away from shooting any other innocent bystanders, that is since the bad guy was now confronted by a man with a plan, a set of brass balls, and with a gun. Had some of the other local citizens been allowed to pack heat, maybe they would have joined the officer and brought down the perp sooner. As it turned out, other officers arrived on the scene, and the bad guy was eventually shot and killed. Chalk one up for the good guys; but too bad that the evil doer already had chalked up 5 kills of his own with several others wounded. It really is a pity that the good guys can't carry firearms as is their right. Chances are this never would have gotten as far as it did.
By the way, note it took almost a whole day for the media to report on the suspect's name. Just about as long, I think to say he was from Bosnia. I wonder if they know something else about him they are not divulging, and that is a legitimate question not a supposition.
All the best,
Glenn B
Some people just don't want to believe there are such things worthy of their risking it all, but there are others who know that such risks are sometimes necessary to safeguard our way of life, our morality, our laws, our well being. It is because some people act like that, unselfishly, that others are later inspired to do so. It is the spirit of courage, honor, integrity, loyalty and fraternity. Still though some insist that such risky actions are not worth taking, I think they who believe that are lowlives.
Luckily though, there are some who think otherwise about risking their own security for the just cause, some like Police Officer Ken Hammond from Ogden, Utah. He realized that sometimes it is acceptable, maybe even necessary, to put yourself in jeopardy, not to act suicidal, but to do the right thing, to try help protect others who are in danger and who don't stand much of a chance without some help. He decided to do the right thing. The right thing for him was to confront the 18 year old shotgun wielding man who allegedly shot and killed 5 people in a mall in Salt Lake City yesterday. If you have not read about it, see this article : Off-Duty Cop Helped End Utah Mall Rage at FoxNews.com.
Now while it is not known whether or not it was a shot fired by officer Hammond that brought down the alleged raging shotgun shooter, it is readily accepted that his actions were responsible for diverting the suspects attention away from shooting any other innocent bystanders, that is since the bad guy was now confronted by a man with a plan, a set of brass balls, and with a gun. Had some of the other local citizens been allowed to pack heat, maybe they would have joined the officer and brought down the perp sooner. As it turned out, other officers arrived on the scene, and the bad guy was eventually shot and killed. Chalk one up for the good guys; but too bad that the evil doer already had chalked up 5 kills of his own with several others wounded. It really is a pity that the good guys can't carry firearms as is their right. Chances are this never would have gotten as far as it did.
By the way, note it took almost a whole day for the media to report on the suspect's name. Just about as long, I think to say he was from Bosnia. I wonder if they know something else about him they are not divulging, and that is a legitimate question not a supposition.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, February 12, 2007
Fox news reports, in Executed Killer Likely Felt Pain: Expert http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Feb12/0,4670,DeathPenalty,00.html:
"There are strong signs that a convicted killer felt pain during his botched execution, but there is no way to tell for sure because blood samples were taken too late, an expert told a commission reviewing Florida's execution procedures Monday."
This reportedly is related to the death of Angel Nieves Diaz, 55, was executed in Florida in December 2006; and it apparently took about a little mjore than 1/2 hour for them to do him in with lethal injection. Of course the anti-death penalty folks are watching this like hawks watching a scared rabbit, just waiting to swoop in for their own sorrt of a kill in trying to use this case to kill the death penalty. I think that their arguments suck and here is why:
So what if the convicted and sentenced to die felon felt some pain in that 34 minutes. He already lived 27 years longer than did the person whom the court decided he had killed. In fact he probably felt more pain, suffering the mental cruelty of being behind bars for a crime he claims he did not commit, and probabaly suffered even more pain being forced to eat prison food, and probably was the recipient of pain aimed at him in prison fights, and all that garbage than he did in that halh hour or so. So what, am I supposed to feel sorry for him over that. Am I supposed to feel bad about it? I don't; and the only way I would feel bad is if it was ever revealed without a doubt that he had actually been innocent, which at the moment is very doubtful. In fact I feel kind of like justice was done, and I know for sure this man will never again be able to commit a crime that hurts another person.
I just wish the sobbers and moaners who think his life was worth saving had all attended the funerals of a few folks who had been murdered. They may think differently if they ever do so. I see no reason to let a heinous killer live. Peodophiles who rape, molest and hurt children are the same, they has no just reason to live. Traitors in time of war are the same. They are all shipmates in the same boat - one at which a torpedo should be fired. Of course, at the same time, I believe that if there is any type of DNA evidence that would play a role in their cases it should be revealed. This is not to say that DNA evidence should be hunted down after a conviction by the government. This is to say, that if the defense or the prosecution becomes aware of existing DNA evidence on which a case or execution may hinge, then it needs to be investigated fully before an execution can be carried out. No need to hang a man, when there is evidence that could exonerate him. Of course there should be severe penalities for trumping up any such evidence as well.
When it all comes down to it though, if a guy or gal is guilty of certain crimes, and there is no reasonable doubt, then execute away, and yes I could do the deed.
All the best,
Glenn B
"There are strong signs that a convicted killer felt pain during his botched execution, but there is no way to tell for sure because blood samples were taken too late, an expert told a commission reviewing Florida's execution procedures Monday."
This reportedly is related to the death of Angel Nieves Diaz, 55, was executed in Florida in December 2006; and it apparently took about a little mjore than 1/2 hour for them to do him in with lethal injection. Of course the anti-death penalty folks are watching this like hawks watching a scared rabbit, just waiting to swoop in for their own sorrt of a kill in trying to use this case to kill the death penalty. I think that their arguments suck and here is why:
So what if the convicted and sentenced to die felon felt some pain in that 34 minutes. He already lived 27 years longer than did the person whom the court decided he had killed. In fact he probably felt more pain, suffering the mental cruelty of being behind bars for a crime he claims he did not commit, and probabaly suffered even more pain being forced to eat prison food, and probably was the recipient of pain aimed at him in prison fights, and all that garbage than he did in that halh hour or so. So what, am I supposed to feel sorry for him over that. Am I supposed to feel bad about it? I don't; and the only way I would feel bad is if it was ever revealed without a doubt that he had actually been innocent, which at the moment is very doubtful. In fact I feel kind of like justice was done, and I know for sure this man will never again be able to commit a crime that hurts another person.
I just wish the sobbers and moaners who think his life was worth saving had all attended the funerals of a few folks who had been murdered. They may think differently if they ever do so. I see no reason to let a heinous killer live. Peodophiles who rape, molest and hurt children are the same, they has no just reason to live. Traitors in time of war are the same. They are all shipmates in the same boat - one at which a torpedo should be fired. Of course, at the same time, I believe that if there is any type of DNA evidence that would play a role in their cases it should be revealed. This is not to say that DNA evidence should be hunted down after a conviction by the government. This is to say, that if the defense or the prosecution becomes aware of existing DNA evidence on which a case or execution may hinge, then it needs to be investigated fully before an execution can be carried out. No need to hang a man, when there is evidence that could exonerate him. Of course there should be severe penalities for trumping up any such evidence as well.
When it all comes down to it though, if a guy or gal is guilty of certain crimes, and there is no reasonable doubt, then execute away, and yes I could do the deed.
All the best,
Glenn B
REMINDER - only 4 to 6 days...
...until the CMP unveils its newest update about the anticipated M1 Carbine sales they say they plan to hold. I feel like a kid waiting to see if he gets that Daisy Air Rifle for Christmas! If you want to be teased like the rest of us, go to: http://www.odcmp.com/rifles/carbine.htm
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
8 days...
...since I last left a post here on my own blog. guess that is pretty poor as far as blogs go, bit I have been feeling down in the dumps I as said in my last appearance here. As far as my health goes, I am still down in the dumps, each new day seems like a day that has followed two days of no sleep, that even though I have spent quite a few days in the past week by just about only sleeping. Oh well, the docs are on my case, and I have to go for more testing this week. More on this alter, and more blogging to be coming from me as this week unfolds. I will make an effort to do at least one piece a day. Sorry for the abscence, and my thanks to those of you who were nice enough to send kind get well wishes.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Down in the dumps...
...is where I have been over the past few days. No not because of football, I did not even watch the Super Bowl.
I have been feeling fatigued a lot lately, could not figure out why. I took a few sick days this week, hoping some rest would do the trick. Also went to the doctor's office where I found out I may have Lyme's Disease. The tests were strong leaning that way but not 100% conclusive. Starting on antibiotics as a precaution, then more tests to come next week. Because of how I am feeling my blog may be less than usual for the next few days, although I will try my best to write something. Gotta love those deer ticks!
All the best.
Glenn B
I have been feeling fatigued a lot lately, could not figure out why. I took a few sick days this week, hoping some rest would do the trick. Also went to the doctor's office where I found out I may have Lyme's Disease. The tests were strong leaning that way but not 100% conclusive. Starting on antibiotics as a precaution, then more tests to come next week. Because of how I am feeling my blog may be less than usual for the next few days, although I will try my best to write something. Gotta love those deer ticks!
All the best.
Glenn B
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Paying The Dead...
...for laying down on the job would seem to mean that someone was at fault, it may even constitute criminality, especially when doing so has continued over the course of more than three decades. As a matter of fact I would immediately suspect some sort of corruption, that is of course if the paychecks had been cashed or deposited into someone's account. People in Camden, New Jersey, well at least the school board president seems to think otherwise, he seems to blame it on the system as evidenced by his words as reported in the FoxNews article New Jersey City Pays Dead Man $130,000 a Year: "It's just totally unbelievable and absolutely incredible that we can have such a dysfunctional system in place," said school board president Philip Freeman. See the article at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,250020,00.html. Apparently the Camden, NJ school district has been paying a dead employee all those years, and the board president thinks that the system is flawed; no personal blame anywhere - heh?Yes folks chalk one up for our liberal school system and its warped way of thinking!
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, February 2, 2007
Home Defense and a Camera Flash...
...may seem like two things that have no connection, but a camera flash can be a very effective home defense tool and I am not talking about taking a bad guys picture for evidence.
What I am talking about is the use of a camera flash to virtually blind an intruder even if only momentarily so as to give you the edge you need to get away, or to defend yourself in another manner. Please note, before I go on, the technique of which I am about to write is not an end all self defense tactic, nor is it guaranteed to save your life, but it is something you may want to consider as a possible advantage giver in a life or death situation, before you use deadly force. Therefore what I am about to write should be understood to be geared toward the person who is already familiar with, and ready to use, some form of deadly force to protect his or her own life, or the lives of family members within their own home from a potentially deadly intruder. Again I am not saying it will work or not, the decision to use this technique is totally up to you as a responsible adult.
The technique itself is simple, and the list of items required to carry it out also fairly simple. Go out an buy yourself a fairly inexpensive camera flash for a 35mm camera. You can probably get a decent new one for under $50, maybe even under $25. Make sure the flash can be fired while off camera, they usually have a button on the back that can be pushed to fire the flash. Then put in some fresh alkaline (or fully charged rechargeable batteries) . Familiarize yourself with how to use it, to make it go flash, wile pointing it away from you. Practice over and over again, picking it up, turning it on, counting until it is ready to fire (usually takes a couple to a few seconds), then close your eyes and fire it in the direction of your threat (imaginary threat while practicing). Then leave the flash gun where ever you usually sleep at night, right close to your self defense weapon.
If you are ever awakened, and you believe an unlawful intruder is inside your home, or trying to gain entry, turn on the flash gun so it will be ready. Do whatever else you would do to be ready to defend yourself and loved ones. Arm yourself if you reasonably believe it to be necessary, and remember to exercise safe weapons handling. Call 911 if at all possible while remaining safe. If you actually see an intruder, fire the flash directly at him, making sure to close your eyes as you do so, but as soon as it has been fired open your eyes, drop the flash, pick up a flashlight and illuminate the person, then take appropriate action. The flash will in all likelihood effectively ruin the night vision of someone for a split second, giving you that much of an advantage. If dark enough, and if the flash is strong enough, it will effect the bad guy's vision for up to a few seconds. Of course if the bad guy blinked just as you fired the flash gun, well then no to very little advantage to you.
In the time of your advantage, you can take appropriate action dependent upon the situation before you. Turning on your flashlight, after firing the camera flash, may illuminate a bad guy with a gun, or it may illuminate your 16 year old daughter who just sneaked into the house at 0400 (4AM) because she had sneaked out earlier to be out late with a boyfriend, or you may see a policeman in full uniform coming up you hallway searching for a burglar. Whomever it is is very likely not going to be able to see you very well at that moment. The advantage is yours.
Of course, in some cases there may be no time to pick up a camera flash, turn it on, and set it off, before you need to take other appropriate action to defend yourself. You need to take action based on the situation as it unfolds, and those decisions are up to you. I recommend taking a good home defense course.
All the best,
Glenn B.
What I am talking about is the use of a camera flash to virtually blind an intruder even if only momentarily so as to give you the edge you need to get away, or to defend yourself in another manner. Please note, before I go on, the technique of which I am about to write is not an end all self defense tactic, nor is it guaranteed to save your life, but it is something you may want to consider as a possible advantage giver in a life or death situation, before you use deadly force. Therefore what I am about to write should be understood to be geared toward the person who is already familiar with, and ready to use, some form of deadly force to protect his or her own life, or the lives of family members within their own home from a potentially deadly intruder. Again I am not saying it will work or not, the decision to use this technique is totally up to you as a responsible adult.
The technique itself is simple, and the list of items required to carry it out also fairly simple. Go out an buy yourself a fairly inexpensive camera flash for a 35mm camera. You can probably get a decent new one for under $50, maybe even under $25. Make sure the flash can be fired while off camera, they usually have a button on the back that can be pushed to fire the flash. Then put in some fresh alkaline (or fully charged rechargeable batteries) . Familiarize yourself with how to use it, to make it go flash, wile pointing it away from you. Practice over and over again, picking it up, turning it on, counting until it is ready to fire (usually takes a couple to a few seconds), then close your eyes and fire it in the direction of your threat (imaginary threat while practicing). Then leave the flash gun where ever you usually sleep at night, right close to your self defense weapon.
If you are ever awakened, and you believe an unlawful intruder is inside your home, or trying to gain entry, turn on the flash gun so it will be ready. Do whatever else you would do to be ready to defend yourself and loved ones. Arm yourself if you reasonably believe it to be necessary, and remember to exercise safe weapons handling. Call 911 if at all possible while remaining safe. If you actually see an intruder, fire the flash directly at him, making sure to close your eyes as you do so, but as soon as it has been fired open your eyes, drop the flash, pick up a flashlight and illuminate the person, then take appropriate action. The flash will in all likelihood effectively ruin the night vision of someone for a split second, giving you that much of an advantage. If dark enough, and if the flash is strong enough, it will effect the bad guy's vision for up to a few seconds. Of course if the bad guy blinked just as you fired the flash gun, well then no to very little advantage to you.
In the time of your advantage, you can take appropriate action dependent upon the situation before you. Turning on your flashlight, after firing the camera flash, may illuminate a bad guy with a gun, or it may illuminate your 16 year old daughter who just sneaked into the house at 0400 (4AM) because she had sneaked out earlier to be out late with a boyfriend, or you may see a policeman in full uniform coming up you hallway searching for a burglar. Whomever it is is very likely not going to be able to see you very well at that moment. The advantage is yours.
Of course, in some cases there may be no time to pick up a camera flash, turn it on, and set it off, before you need to take other appropriate action to defend yourself. You need to take action based on the situation as it unfolds, and those decisions are up to you. I recommend taking a good home defense course.
All the best,
Glenn B.
A Nation of Budding Girly-Men...
...could be in the making, most likely in homes wherein there are products containing lavendar and or tea oils, and those products are used by the boys. I am guilty of sometimes using lavendar shampoo myself. What can I say, I use what the wife buys. I am not using it any longer, nor will my son be using this stuff. It is going to be Old Spice or nothing for me from now on since I have read Debbie Schlussel's blog for February 1, 2007. See it yourself at http://debbieschlussel.com/. Click on the link, then page down to the blog for 01/01/07.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Today is One of My Favorite Days...
...of each and every year. It is a day that signifies hope springs eternal that Spring will soon be sprung upon us, otherwise we will get satuck with 6 more weeks of winter. Heck even that is not too bad, only 6 weeks of winter left to go, then spring with the opening of trout season, some spring turkey hunting, the shad run up the Deleware, late spring bass fishing, hikes in the woods in upstate NY and other nice outdoors things in warmer weather.
All of that kind of makes me like those little fur balls that supposedly give us our next 6 weeks of weather predictions all on one morning in February. I hope they treat them nice after taking them out of their warn hibernariums to face the cold of ther 2nd day of february just to have a lot of whackos yell scream and take their pictures. Oh well, as I said they give us hope that winter will end, and of course that there will be some ground hogs around for hunting in the spring (heck I don't love em that much)! I think Ground Hogs' Day should be a national holiday, one that is purely an American holiday at that. I just love it.
Happy Ground Hogs' Day to all of you,
Glenn B
All of that kind of makes me like those little fur balls that supposedly give us our next 6 weeks of weather predictions all on one morning in February. I hope they treat them nice after taking them out of their warn hibernariums to face the cold of ther 2nd day of february just to have a lot of whackos yell scream and take their pictures. Oh well, as I said they give us hope that winter will end, and of course that there will be some ground hogs around for hunting in the spring (heck I don't love em that much)! I think Ground Hogs' Day should be a national holiday, one that is purely an American holiday at that. I just love it.
Happy Ground Hogs' Day to all of you,
Glenn B
Thursday, February 1, 2007
A Living Hell...
...can be something you bring onto yourself, something with which you have to live the rest of your life, and something that you can never get over because of the guilt you will feel for having done what it was that put you into your own living hell.
So it will probably be for the two police officers who ignored the cries and pleas of the woman they arrested, who while being arrested told them she was pregnant and she was bleeding from her vagina. The officers chose not to listen. Sure they heard her, they heard her time and time again as she begged them to help her, but they were intent on arresting her and nothing else. They arrested her, put her in jail, and the next day she had a miscarriage.
I have been in law enforcement for over 27 years. I have heard a lot of bull from prisoners about why I should not arrest them, about why I should feel sorry for them, about how they really are good people and not bad criminals - I have just about heard it all. You grow kind of callous to all the whining that you hear and you tend to lump it all together in one big stinking pile of bull manure (BS). Yet, there have been times in my career when I have stopped to listen more intently, this especially when a prisoner has told me they are injured or ill. I have on occasion called for para-medics to come to examine patients, and have brought a few to the doctor's office and the hospital ER. Now I am not talking about ones that were injured during the arrest where it was obvious that they required medical assistance, I am talking about the ones I figured were full of bull manure, but well maybe, just maybe, they needed a doctor. As it turned out, in most cases they were full of fertilizer and that was all, but in a good deal of them, they did need medical care. Sometimes you have to take the time to listen, the time to stop and bring yourself out of your protective cocoon (for that is what which we in law enforcement shield ourselves from the manure), and we have to think - hey maybe this person is not full of it.
A call like that is a judgment call; and as logic would have it, it requires one using one's judgment in a thought out manner. To me, it seems obvious, that the police officers who arrested this woman used no to very little thinking while arresting her as she complained of her bleeding and being pregnant. I heard the tape. I sure seems to me they just thought it all a story so that they would pity the woman, but that is just my guess. It also sure sounds as if the officers did not want to be bothered with this woman’s problems, and that is not as much of a guess since one of the officers basically said just that according to the article: Woman: Cops Ignored Pleas for Help at Arrest, Baby Died Next Day @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,249044,00.html. As a matter of fact, according to the article, woman told the officers she was bleeding, pregnant, and needed to go to a hospital not only once or twice but nine times, and then after the ninth time, one of the officers replied with these words: "How is that my problem?" At the very least, the officer should have, in my opinion, had medical help brought into the police station or jail to examine the woman for her complaints. I don't know whether or not that happened, but I do not believe it did, as Fox New TV reported that only after the woman passed a blood clot, several hours later in jail, was she then brought for medical help. One at a medical facility, she had a miscarriage, the baby living one minute after that. That will, I think, cost her and her partner dearly; it may even lead to some sort of homicide charges - after all the baby was born alive.
I think the officers will soon come to learn just how it was, is and will remain their problem for the rest of their lives. No matter how much they spin it, the cocoon will not be enough protection for them from the hell they have placed themselves into because of what happened to this woman and her child. This is a guilt trip that probably will last with them until the grave if either has any conscience at all. Yet the guilt trip will only be a part of the hell for them. They may well loose their jobs, and should loose their jobs as I see it, that is if the allegations are upheld. They may also wind up in jail if there is a criminal offense here, and there may well be various charges that the DA can drop on them, possibly to include manslaughter or negilgent homicide. There could be a jail sentence for each of them as a result. They will also likely be the target of a civil suit. Most of all though will be the guilt trip that these officers will face just for staying wrapped in their protective cocoon, using that 'them against us kind of mentality' with those whom they were quite possibly sworn to protect, or at least had a moral obligation to protect. It is all a crying shame, one that was quite possibly avoidable, and hopefully other officers will learn from this experience accordingly, and things like it will be prevented in the future.
All the best,
Glenn B
So it will probably be for the two police officers who ignored the cries and pleas of the woman they arrested, who while being arrested told them she was pregnant and she was bleeding from her vagina. The officers chose not to listen. Sure they heard her, they heard her time and time again as she begged them to help her, but they were intent on arresting her and nothing else. They arrested her, put her in jail, and the next day she had a miscarriage.
I have been in law enforcement for over 27 years. I have heard a lot of bull from prisoners about why I should not arrest them, about why I should feel sorry for them, about how they really are good people and not bad criminals - I have just about heard it all. You grow kind of callous to all the whining that you hear and you tend to lump it all together in one big stinking pile of bull manure (BS). Yet, there have been times in my career when I have stopped to listen more intently, this especially when a prisoner has told me they are injured or ill. I have on occasion called for para-medics to come to examine patients, and have brought a few to the doctor's office and the hospital ER. Now I am not talking about ones that were injured during the arrest where it was obvious that they required medical assistance, I am talking about the ones I figured were full of bull manure, but well maybe, just maybe, they needed a doctor. As it turned out, in most cases they were full of fertilizer and that was all, but in a good deal of them, they did need medical care. Sometimes you have to take the time to listen, the time to stop and bring yourself out of your protective cocoon (for that is what which we in law enforcement shield ourselves from the manure), and we have to think - hey maybe this person is not full of it.
A call like that is a judgment call; and as logic would have it, it requires one using one's judgment in a thought out manner. To me, it seems obvious, that the police officers who arrested this woman used no to very little thinking while arresting her as she complained of her bleeding and being pregnant. I heard the tape. I sure seems to me they just thought it all a story so that they would pity the woman, but that is just my guess. It also sure sounds as if the officers did not want to be bothered with this woman’s problems, and that is not as much of a guess since one of the officers basically said just that according to the article: Woman: Cops Ignored Pleas for Help at Arrest, Baby Died Next Day @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,249044,00.html. As a matter of fact, according to the article, woman told the officers she was bleeding, pregnant, and needed to go to a hospital not only once or twice but nine times, and then after the ninth time, one of the officers replied with these words: "How is that my problem?" At the very least, the officer should have, in my opinion, had medical help brought into the police station or jail to examine the woman for her complaints. I don't know whether or not that happened, but I do not believe it did, as Fox New TV reported that only after the woman passed a blood clot, several hours later in jail, was she then brought for medical help. One at a medical facility, she had a miscarriage, the baby living one minute after that. That will, I think, cost her and her partner dearly; it may even lead to some sort of homicide charges - after all the baby was born alive.
I think the officers will soon come to learn just how it was, is and will remain their problem for the rest of their lives. No matter how much they spin it, the cocoon will not be enough protection for them from the hell they have placed themselves into because of what happened to this woman and her child. This is a guilt trip that probably will last with them until the grave if either has any conscience at all. Yet the guilt trip will only be a part of the hell for them. They may well loose their jobs, and should loose their jobs as I see it, that is if the allegations are upheld. They may also wind up in jail if there is a criminal offense here, and there may well be various charges that the DA can drop on them, possibly to include manslaughter or negilgent homicide. There could be a jail sentence for each of them as a result. They will also likely be the target of a civil suit. Most of all though will be the guilt trip that these officers will face just for staying wrapped in their protective cocoon, using that 'them against us kind of mentality' with those whom they were quite possibly sworn to protect, or at least had a moral obligation to protect. It is all a crying shame, one that was quite possibly avoidable, and hopefully other officers will learn from this experience accordingly, and things like it will be prevented in the future.
All the best,
Glenn B
So the Brits arrest 9 suspected terrorists...
... in a kidnap/beheading plot against a British soldier. Good for the Brits and better for the soldier; but maybe not so bad for the guys who got arrested. Their kind will probably soon rule in England if things keep going along the course they have been going, I mean just look at how comfortable they are that they would even consider such a plot in Merrty Olde England (maybe becaus eit is not so English any more). Even if an Islamic takeover does not happen, at least these bad guys have a good chance of getting to sit on thrones that face east to appease their religious beliefs. See one rant below. What a conflicted world is it in which we live!
Dazed but not yet confused,
Glenn B
Dazed but not yet confused,
Glenn B
Great Britain has likely lost...
...any hope of defeating Islamic terrorism on its own soil. Instead of kicking Muslim extremists in their asses so hard that they are expelled from the UK, officials in one of the largest, if not the largest city, in England are providing special seating for prison inmates while on the throne doing their dirty business while at the same time praying to Allah.
This is too absurd to make up folks, see it here: London Prison Changes Direction of Toilets in Respect to Islamic Law @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,248597,00.html. Can you imagine that the poor prisoners who were Muslims had to turn on the toilet seats in order to pray to Allah; but then heck - can you imagine praying while taking a dump. You see Muslim law apparently decrees that even while making a bowel movement you continue to pray if it is prayer time. I would think you would rather hold it in out of respect to your god, but what do I know.
Well, I do know this, I fear England is lost. There are possibly no more English traditions, laws, regulations or even toilet orientations that will stand up against Islam. All the Brits may as well get out their own prayer rugs and start facing east with stuff like this taking place. After all, this is what the Islamists want, so why not give it to them just like giving them east facing toilet seats. What a disgrace of political correctness, or should I say political insanity. If Great Britain comes out of all of this within the next 5 or 10 years as a non-Islamic country - with anything English left in England, and any of England left for the English - I will be amazed (and quite happy about it too).
All the best,
Glenn B
This is too absurd to make up folks, see it here: London Prison Changes Direction of Toilets in Respect to Islamic Law @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,248597,00.html. Can you imagine that the poor prisoners who were Muslims had to turn on the toilet seats in order to pray to Allah; but then heck - can you imagine praying while taking a dump. You see Muslim law apparently decrees that even while making a bowel movement you continue to pray if it is prayer time. I would think you would rather hold it in out of respect to your god, but what do I know.
Well, I do know this, I fear England is lost. There are possibly no more English traditions, laws, regulations or even toilet orientations that will stand up against Islam. All the Brits may as well get out their own prayer rugs and start facing east with stuff like this taking place. After all, this is what the Islamists want, so why not give it to them just like giving them east facing toilet seats. What a disgrace of political correctness, or should I say political insanity. If Great Britain comes out of all of this within the next 5 or 10 years as a non-Islamic country - with anything English left in England, and any of England left for the English - I will be amazed (and quite happy about it too).
All the best,
Glenn B
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