At 92 she either was a terrible criminal or just a woman defending herself...

...when the police, armed with a search warrant and their weapons came into her home in force. This woman grabed a gun and started shooting, or so goes the story Cops Shoot, Kill 92-Year-Old Woman After She Opens Fire on Them at FoxNews.com.

I will not pass judgement on either the police or the woman yet, if only because there is not enough information out there about this.

I do note that according to the police: they had gone to the house and bought illegal narcotics from a male inside said house. They then got the warrant and went in announced, and the woman shot a few of them before they killed her.

Of course there is another side to the story and some relatives, neighbors and friends say this must have been a mistake because there never were drugs in said house.

If the police got the wrong house, then the killing of this woman, and the wounding of the officers, was a terrible mistake and tragedy. If however, the police had the right house, and drugs had been siold out of it, that is another story altogether. Of course it does not mean the 92 year old had knowledge of the drug sales (though it would tend to lean that way), but it tends to exonerate the police officers of any wrong doing. I guess time will tell.

Hopefully, for the cops involved, the police got the right house, they did the entry correctly, this woman was somehow involved in the drug sales, therefore making her a dirtbag, and therefore it is good riddance, and it is also something to help the officers not feel as guilty as they will feel regardless of whether or not they should feel guilty. That guilt is just a normal thing, even when someone with rock solid justification kills someone else. Well it is normal if you have decent morals and a conscience anyhow.

If not, if the police got it wrong by going to the wrong house, or if they later show this woman had no knowledge of the drugs, or that the police did a bad entry, then it is a crying shame, and my heart felt condolences go out to the family of the woman who was shot.

All the best,
Glenn B

Kind of a crazy week for me...

...so far; so I can only hope it gets a little better over the next few remaining days. Of course with tomorrow being Thanksgiving, it promises to be much better indeed.

On Monday, I had Verizon in my home from about 1030AM until about 6PM, installing my Verizon FIOS Internet, television service, and phone lines. The installer was very personable, did his work neatly, and kept at it all day without a lunch break. I guess he did a fair to good job except for the fact that the Internet service was not working at all well once he left, and all of a sudden there was a virus on my PC.

That got me pretty po'd, and I was on the phone most of that night - on hold, and the next day - also on hold, with Verizon types to try to get the problem solved, then in anger to have them shut off my service and get my old service back. I got either hung up on or cut off so many times I lost count, and that was when I was not even angry yet, so I was talking nicely to them, at least until yesterday morning.

As it turned out, someone caled me yesterday afternoon and I got back to their tech service folks, and the guy I spoke to actually knew how to solve the problems I was encountering. I can only hope the expeience gets better since I decided to keep them; after all I had already had all my other service providers disconnect their services to me. Time will tell.

All that did not leave me much time to blog, in fact it left none. Oh well, I have some time now so let me get to looking for some good topics to rant on about. See the next blog that I post for more...

All the best,
Glenn B

Openning Day Deer Hunting Report 2006

Usually the ultimate way to tell whether or not a hunting trip was a success is whether or not the hunter(s) bagged their game. For many people getting that critter is the best part of the hunt too, but I have to tell you it’s not how I judge my hunts anymore. Sure I like to go out afield and get what I am after, but lately I have come to realize there are some other things that may be so much more important than bagging a trophy, or dinner, or hopefully both at once. Right off the bat – let me tell you – yes I just went hunting, and no I did not shoot anything. Before some of you start thinking, oh boy here we go with another one of those sad excuses for a hunting story where the hunter is about to make all sorts of excuses as to why he didn’t get anything, well this isn’t going to be that kind of a story. If on the other hand you are thinking, okay then, this will be one of those stories where the hunter tries deflect any look at his hunting prowess, or lack of it, this is not that kind of a story either; you can critisize me all you want - I am not the great white hunter by a longshot.

What this story is though, is one about things on a hunting trip that really can be better than actually bagging the game. You see, eve if I had gotten a deer this opening day, I can assure you there really would have been at least a few things that would have been better than that on this trip, and I am not kidding you either.

This hunting trip started out right. I scouted out a hunting area last year for this year’s trip. Yep, it was just short of a year ago, by about a week, when I found this spot. Lots of deer sign was to be seen. Easy access from the paved roads was available. There were not too many hunters there last year (granted it was at the end of opening day week when I checked it out) There was enough parking. It was far enough from NYC and Albany to promise not to get too congested with hunters, yet it was not to far to drive comfortably from my home on Long Island. No special permits were needed to hunt there, just the regular licenses and such. Since I first went there, I went there again at least a few times to scout deer sign. Last time I was there before this current deer season, I went with my son Brendan. He got to see some scrapes, and rubs, well used deer trails, and other deer sign. He also got to bag his first small game on that trip in the form of a squirrel. He was happy and so was I. He was also ready for his first deer hunt this year and that was good.

I planned out the actual deer trip so that we would leave the day before opening season. I was going to pick Brendan up right after school and head right to the hunting grounds. As it turned out he misunderstood me when I discussed the plans with him. Brendan told me he had thought I did not want to go opening day because this was on state land, and the knucklehead factor is increased drastically on opening day due to all hunters afield. I apparently had not made it clear that I wanted to hunt both opening day with him and the two days after Thanksgiving the next week. My mistake, thinking too much and talking about it too much, so I confused him. One of my problems. Brendan made plans to spend opening day with a fried to celebrate the friend’s birthday. I was pretty down about that, but life goes on, and so did I with my hunting plans.

I planned to go to work that Friday, then drive upstate NY as soon as I left work. I figured I sneak out early for a change, about 2PM. Now some of you know I work for the federal government, and that means your tax dollars pay my salary. I know I am supposed to give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay, and I virtually always do so I figured this once I would do what most of the people in my office do on Fridays – disappear by 2PM. As it turned out I was there till after 5PM working hard. When I left, I was immediately stuck in a traffic jam, and I was getting fired up about that. I have been getting better with my temper though, so as opposed to what I used to do, I decided to stay calm and drove to my favorite pastry shop for a cup of java and a piece of pastry. I drove through the midtown Manhattan traffic up into the 40s when it eased off, and I pretty much sailed to Amsterdam Avenue between 110th and 11th, to the Hungarian pastry shop. This is a sort of Bohemian college hangout. It has had excellent coffee and great baked good each time I have been there. This time was no exception. I had two cups of coffee, refill taste as good as the first (a rare thing) and the refills are free (also rare in some places). The chocolate layer cake I had was scrumptious too. I was living large, and enjoying my self marvelously.

Then it was back into the Ford Taurus, and off to the happy hunting grounds (those in this life). Okay, so my son was not coming along, but at least I had not blown my stack before leaving NYC. There was almost no traffic to speak of on the way upstate. I made good time through the rest of NYC, and through Westchester to the Taconic Parkway. I virtually sailed along once on that road. I got the hunting area, a Multiple Use Area, in the Lafeyetteville State Forest, at about 8:30PM. There was no daylight, as I had originally planned, so no chance of marking my selected spot with orange tape, but I was happy to be there. I was a bit concerned though that there were already three cars parked in two parking areas, each fitting only 3 or 4 cars each. The promise of lots of hunters the opening morning weighed heavily on me, and I almost decided to move to another more isolated area. As it was I drove to the nearest town, Pine Plains, stopped at a tavern, and had a Heineken. I was going to have two or three, then thought, I had better not drive on unfamiliar roads after drinking too many. I stopped at one, figuring one would be enough to help me sleep, and I headed back to the parking area. Yep, you guessed it, I was going to sleep in the Ford. I got there just before 10PM, and I rooted around in my bag getting my gear ready while sitting in the back seat. Hunting clothes I needed got tossed onto the driver’s seat, gear I needed under the back windshield, and stuff I would not need thrown onto the front passenger seat. That done, I got sort of comfortable at about 10PM and hit the hay.

Well hay was not quite the right word for the back seat in a Ford Taurus. I tried to get comfortable, but I guess the combination of being cramped on there, along with two cups of very good but strong coffee just a few hours before meant that one beer I had would not be enough to get rid of the edge. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not usually drink to sleep, I would not think of it except on night like the one in question, especially considering my sleeping arrangements. As it turned out, a six pack would have been in order, too bad I had not thought of buying one and bringing it back to the Ford with me! I most have tossed and turned about a hundred times, and gotten at least a couple of cramps in each leg, before I fell asleep. That had to be at about 1:00. Then at 2:00AM, another vehicle, an SUV, of hunters arrived. These guys kept the car running for over an hour, with the headlights on. After not being able to take much more, I bellowed to shut it down, and was thankful they had heard me through my car’s closed windows; or maybe they just got the idea through divine intervention – whatever, it was back to sleep for me, a fitful sleep of tossing and turning and aching. Ford Taurus back seats were made for a younger crowd than me.

Then I woke up at east two more times to relieve myself. I had forgotten to take my BP med the in the morning, and had taken it just before I tried to fall asleep. It contains a water pill, and it had me going through the night. Oh well, live and learn, but you would have thought that at one plus a half century I would have learned by now. Back to sleep, and the next thing I knew my alarm was going off, it was 0400 (4:00AM), and it was dark and chilly outside the Ford, but not all that much of a chill. I hoped it was cold enough to have the deer up and moving. The thought did occur to me though that there would certainly be enough hunters to move them even if it were none too cold. I was soon ready to go, stripping in my back seat, and putting on my hunting clothing. I was dressed warm enough, but not to heavily to sweat a lot, and I had easily removable layers.

I got out of the car, and saw two other guys already up, these were the ones in this parking spot before I had arrived. The other two guys from the SUV, the ones that got there at 2:00Am, then got up also. We all greeted one another, and everyone was from down in NYC except me from LI. I asked if anyone wanted some fresh bread for breakfast, I had picked up a nice loaf the day before at lunch. Everyone declined, and busied themselves readying for their hunts. After about 15 minutes of chatting one of the guys from the original car offered me some tea. He had a small Sterno stove, and had boiled up a pot of water. He gave me some tea with lemon, sweetened with honey. Now that was one heck of a nice way to start the hunting day. While we drank tea and talked, one of the guys mentioned that since there were so many other hunters around, he was happy it was shotgun only territory. Whoops, I had my Marlin 336 in .35 Remington all ready to hunt. Luckily I also had my Remington 870 as a backup in case something happened to the Marlin. I had hunted just north of here last year, and just north of here is rifle country. I had assumed this was too, shame on me. Lucky for me the other guy had mentioned this, but man would I miss the Marlin with its scope. I am a great shot with the shotgun, but my eyes are not as good as even a couple of years ago, so the scope would have been a plus. Oh well..

Soon we were all off to hunt, everyone heading more or less in the same direction, but I was surprised later on to realize I never saw one of these 4 other hunters all day long. I did see at least another 10 or so hunters, maybe a dozen head off up the hill the same way these guys went. The area was about 720 acres altogether, about half of it on each side of the road where we were parked. My guess was there were also plenty of guys on the other half of it too. I got to my spot, only about 1/6 of a mile, if that much, from the road. I had scouted well. No need to climb a mountain for me. I had a clearing surrounded by medium growth woods with lots of deer trails coming into the clearing. I was ready and any movement by other hunters would likely have deer coming to me. In fact, when still dark, I heard one deer walk by me probably not 25 yards away, it was apparently following a hunter’s steps, probably whatever scent trail he had left. My anticipation of a great hunt was sky high.

I settled into my spot, content despite my horrendous night’s sleep, and despite the fact that Brendan was not beside me. I was wide awake but not from cold, I was ready to hunt. I waited as the hour and a half until legal shooting time (sunrise) was to arrive. More hunters passed me by in the darkness with flashlights. None too close to me, apparently all following a trail to my right, some distance off. Well the sun came up, and I saw nothing but some more hunters. By the time it hit 10Am, I saw about 3 hunters leave the area. A few more had left by 1100AM. None had deer in tow despite many shots I had heard fired since about ten minutes before legal hunting time. Two guys Is aw leaving totally amazed me. One had on all camouflage except for an orange baseball cap. Another had on all camo, absolutely no blaze orange or other bright color, and he carried a brown day pack, deer brown at that. Knucklehead alert indeed. Judging by the shots I had heard, there were other varieties of knuckleheads in the woods too because I had heard as many as nine rapid blasts from apparently the same gun (and legal hunting shotguns can hold only 5 rounds, though I suppose it could have been a semi-auto handgun).

As for me, I was out for the day, no going to my car or to town for lunch, I had all I needed with me; if need be I could live a few days on what I had in my day pack. I heard a couple of deer run through the woods near me, either just before other hunters walked out or right after they walked out, but I was not lucky enough to see the deer to even hope at a shot. Near noon, nature called. I got up and pretty quietly walked to a spot about 300 yards from my stand. I did what I had to do, and as I was headed back to my stand by a slightly different route, I saw an orange jacket spread on the ground. I thought someone must have forgotten it. I walked over to investigate and as I neared I saw a hunter in tree-bark camo sitting against a tree on the opposite side of the tree from my approach. I walked loudly, he did not budge. I coughed loudly, he did not even twitch. I spoke out, “another hunter in the woods” in a booming voice, again nothing. Not until I was next to the tree did he acknowledge me and my approach. We talked a while, and he was pleasant enough. He was hunting with his two sons, and gave me a general idea of where they were; and they were aware of my stand. I left and went back to my stand promising not to shoot anywhere in his direction which was over my right shoulder and up hill about 200 yards from my spot. About 15 minutes later, I thought I heard a deer over my right shoulder. Five minutes more and I heard a loud bang. Not another noise except someone walking in the woods. It was the man to whom I had spoken. Go figure, I do the dirty deed not 40 yards from his stand (for which I apologized to him not realizing he was hidden there in his camo), and he bags a deer. It was a fork horn buck. So much for deer being spooked by human waste odors. Apparently this young buck had been headed right toward my stand. Luckily it did not yet put me in the line of fire when the gentleman took aim and shot. Happily he had used a good deal of sense in picking when to shoot – always a concern on crowded opening day public lands.

I sat at my stand for a coupe hours more, until about 1:30PM. Then I got up, took down my orange marker tape from some trees to use at another spot, and I was about to head off when a fair sized, but small racked, buck went bounding by directly in front of me at a slow trot, through thick undergrowth. I could have shot at it. I do not like running shots, but at about 25 yards, and at its slow trot, I probably could have hit it easily. The thing is the road was not too far behind it, and the parking area was in the same direction that it was moving, not 20 yards to my left. I let it go. All those other hunters who had left the woods were potentially I at that spot. I tried to sit it out and coax it out of the woods with some doe bleats and buck grunts. I heard it in there, it had run only about 15 yards then stopped, but it was still too risky a shot even if I would have gotten a clear view of it. I decided to pass because of the safety issue. At about 2, I headed up the hill to look for another spot. I got to the top, about 900 feet in elevation, and found woods with lots of oaks and lots of acorns on the ground. I found one or two small glades and some deer trails and a couple of rubs; but I saw no deer. I did see a couple of squirrels and a rabbit. I almost stepped on the rabbit. In fact I stopped about three feet short of it, and when I stopped it bolted, until then unseen by me. Sure surprised me, and it was thrill watching it bound off in fear for its life even though I meant it no harm at all, at least not with slugs loaded in my Remington 870 12 gauge. I found a likely looking spot to sit on stand. It was between a couple of rises where the land slopped down from each to my spot, where several deer trails converged. It was sort of a natural funnel that made it easy for the deer to go up or down the hills. There was a small glade at the spot and lots of deer sign like rubs and droppings. I stayed there until ½ hour before legal hunt time ended, then headed to the car with no deer tagged by me. I walked softly as I made my way down just in case I came across any deer. I have still hunted successfully before, for an overweight guy, I can walk through the woods and see a fair share of game, not because I am quiet but because I know how to walk without spooking the animals. It does not always work, but does often enough to allow me to know I can do it. Still I saw nothing but a lot of small birds that flitted all around me, ignoring me as they looked for their next meal. This had gone on all day while I was on my stands, but to be ignored by them as I walked by them, just a few feet away was great, especially since I was wearing a combo blaze orange/camo hunting coat and hat.

I was the first out of the woods back to the parking area of the crew I had met that morning. No other cars were there; though I had seen some from the mountainside earlier when I had seen the buck run by me. I guess those other hunters had left early, maybe with deer like the gentleman I had met in the woods. I wonder if his sons had any luck. In about 15 minutes, the gent who had offered me tea so many hours earlier that morning, and his hunting buddy were back. They had seen two does as they left the woods, that was it. They too had heard the rapid shooting and wondered about who had fired so many times. Our bet was, someone who was a poor shot, as opposed to the guy I heard shoot once and score. The guys from the SUV did not come down, and after a half hour or so of chatting with the other two guys, I decided to leave and head home. I had decided I could not bear another night in the Ford trying to sleep in the back seat. I will admit I had gotten 40 winks on my first stand, but I woke up with a crick in my back and neck. I ached all over from my hike with my pack, not because I could not normally do it, but because I had such a contorted uncomfortable night in the Taurus.

As I drove home I thought of my day. There were a lot of good things that happened this opening day of the deer season, and I had enjoyed an awful lot of them. There were also some things that could have been better, but I would not have missed the day just because I had to go it alone, or because I left late, or because of an uncomfortable night’s sleep, or because it was to warm, or because there were too many hunters around, or because things were just not right to perfection. Sometimes, it is as good as it is going to get and that is just fine even for a complainer like me. Of course, next week will be better, because Brendan will come along. I hope it will be as good as it can get ever, and he and I bag one, but I will gladly settle for his getting one and him skunking me. As a matter of fact, we will have to hunt sort of solo even though we will be together. Remember I had found out this was shotgun only territory; well I have only one shotgun! By the way, it is shotguns only as far as long guns go, handguns are also allowed, but I doubt I’ll hunt deer with one of my 9mm pistols; so while Brendan is hunting with the 870, I will be guiding – nothing more. Still if he bags a deer on his first deer hunt, I will not have needed to put my deer tag on anything to know, that is really as good as it gets. Yes there are a lot of things that can be better than bagging your game; but if I get lucky though, he will get one early, and he will leave his old man some time to hunt too. More on that hunt next week.

All the best,
Glenn B

Gone Hunting...

...well not just yet. I actually have to work today, but I am hopeful I can get out of town before it gets too late allowing me to arrive at my hunting grounds before dark. I want to hike up to my spot, spread out my sleeping bag, and wake up with a deer in my sights. Who knows, maybe this tactic will work, heavens know that many others have failed me over the years. Yes, I have gotten deer, enough to keep me hopeful that I will score again. No blogging later today, nothing tomorrow, and maybe nothing on Sunday, at least until Sunday night. Sadly my son will not be coming with me for the openning day. He will go next weekend though, and I am hopeful he will score his first deer on his first deer hunt.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Looming Political Threat To Our Nation…

…one that is greater than the discombobulated Democrats having won the majority in both houses of Congress will be facing us in less than two years time. In fact the beast that threatens us is already starting to rear its ugly head in the guise of they who would run for the presidency in 2008.

We will need a strong president, and a strong Congress, come the day after the next U.S. major elections. The president we have now is not only a lame duck, he was a poor excuse for a strong leader long before the 2006 elections. Yes he did a lot of good against terrorism, but he did not do enough, he hesitated to commit fully, he was weak with countries like North Korea and Iran, he was weak on Immigration and our nation’s security along its borders, he was a spender beyond compare.

The Congress we have now is whimsical, they cannot even decide on their own leadership in the House, nor can they decide on their own party leadership. This should have all been worked out before the elections, but they were all too busy name calling, and still are for that matter – though now they call other democrats names instead of aiming their barbs at republicans. They need to wake up, and take a strong stance on many of the issues that face them, my guess is they will not do so.

In 2008, terrorism will not have been overcome, banished, or have decided to surrender by November 2008. Nuclear arms proliferation will, by then, have gotten worse. U.S. foreign policy will have fallen, in its influence, by a large degree. If things go the way they have already been going, the U.S. will have very little in the way of a strong domestic policy as well as its weak foreign policy, and this combination of weakness will only bring us down in the face of our enemies making us look as a better target for future attacks.

When it comes to presidential candidates for 2008, the republicans seem to offer the best so far, but none of those who appear as if they will be in the running are what this country needs at the helm.

John McCain is a political rubber band. He gets pulled from the right, so he speaks of issues on the right, he gets pulled from the left so he addresses and agrees with issues on the left. Then suddenly both sides let go and he snaps back to a middle ground wherein both sides hammer away at his political ideals while he tries to walk the tight rope of appeasing everyone. This type of politician as president would seem weak to both our allies and enemies alike.

Of course, John McCain will attempt to make himself look strong to potential American voters before the elections. He will not do this by highlighting his political record as much as he will try to do so by highlighting his military record. If you doubt me, just go to his new website, to this link: About John McCain. He dictates the majority of the narrative to his Vietnam era military service. Military service is noble and good, but folks this was decades ago, and Mr. McCain has proven that his politics are a whirlwind of confusion since then. Just read what he plans to do, in the words of his own website, and ask yourself, if this guy for real! I advise you to do all you can, within reason, to make sure this guy does not win the Republican primary. Write to party leaders and let them know you cannot agree that a politician like McCain would be good for America.

The same should go for Willard Mitt Romney (and no I don’t blame him for not using his own first name). This man got his state, Massachusetts, a universal health care. How did he do this? He did this by having the state pass a law that all people over a certain income bracket have to buy their own health insurance! This is an outrageous example of overzealous government putting itself into people’s personal lives where it should not be. It is, as I see it, a violation of anyone’s rights. Of course, the poor do not have to purchase health care insurance under this plan, they get it for free. In education he arranged for the top 25% of high school students to get free scholarships. Yes a great incentive to get kids to study, but a terrible drain on our tax dollars. This is, in essence, socialized education for ¼ of the population of students. He was also a supporter of the Assault Weapons ban, need I say more.

Keep an eye on these guys. Keep writing letters to the Republican Party. Let them know they need to seek a candidate that will get back to the basics of the Republican Party’s ideals. Look to others to be our next president, and no I do not mean anyone offered by the Democrats. Look to some like Thomas Tancredo. Read up on his political beliefs and ideals. You may be very happily surprised by what you discover. If so, let the Republican Party know about it.

Best regards,
Glenn B

Election Results - a revelation

The things I receive in emails are often quite funny, sometimes interesting, sometimes revealing/informative, sometimes disturbing, sometimes very appropriately to the point, and at other times just an annoyance, among other things. An email I received today had the first five of the six taits listed above as related to the recent election results.

It was not any written content that fit those traits, but rather a photograph in the email. There was no copyright, and there were no credits, dates, names, web addresses or anything else associated with the picture; so I decided I would use it here. If I find out someone owns the rights to it, I will credit them appropriately or remove it from this site as he or she or they desire. For now though, here it is.

What do you think of it? I'll tell you what I think: It just about says it all as to what we can expect after the recent elections, or after just about any elections we will ever hold in the future.

When it comes right down to all the partisan BS, just try to keep your head above it all.

All the best,
Glenn B

There is a reason that I give gifts...

...on Christmas, and yet I am an agnostic. I was brought up Catholic; that meant Catholic grammar school, catholic religious training, catholic summer camp, and even catholic High School. By the time I was in high school, I guess I was pretty doubtful that there was a god as most people think of god(s).

I do not practice any religion now. In fact I shun religion for myself, yet I do not deter others from believing or practicing. I just find it is not for me, and I believe it is probably one of the biggest causes of suffering in the world, both past and present; and religion promises to be one of the biggest causes of suffering in the future. One of the problems with religion has always been its inability to do things within reasonable limits, it is often all or nothing, such is the basis of faith; and such unrestrained hard core beliefs are what cause much of the problems. Yet, I also believe that there is a lot of good that has come from religion. For example some moral standards, the ideals of of charity (to an extent), of morality, of moral responsibility, of forgiveness (to an extent) and so forth.

One of the things I like about my catholic upbringing is the ideal of gift giving at Christmas. It is at this time of year that Christians believe that God gave his most valuable gift to mankind in the form of his own son. A pretty impressive gift. it is also a time when as the story goes, the wise men brought gifts to the newborn Christ child. The lesson I get from all of this is that it is a good gesture to give gifts. I believe that is correct, I believe it is righteous. I believe it is nice, and it sure makes me feel nice when I give gifts to others, as well as when I receive them. It is a tradition that I truly enjoy, and that I believe is a good thing to do, this even though I am not a worshipper.

Of course I do not limit gift giving to the Christmas time of year. I give gifts to my family throughout the year, usually smaller gifts than they receive on birthdays or at Christmas, but I still give them things every now and then - I guess much as we all do with our families at special times and at regular times that we just want them to feel special. I also give gifts to those less fortunate than me. No I am not a big charity kind of guy, but every now and then I give someone less fortunate a small handout. I also give at the office, yes I mean that seriously. I donate to a few charities annually, not so much to feed the poor kind of things, but to causes in which I believe. This year for example to the Wild Turkey Federation, and to Gun Owners Foundation.

Still though, Christmas retains some of its significance for me. I just find it a certain magic to give at Christmas, when others are doing the same even if they do so for reasons other than my own.

With that out of the way, and with all the pre-holiday sales already firing up, it is time to start thinking about which gifts I’ll be giving to whom. It truly is one of the better traditions to come out of a religion, something that can really make you feel you have done some good.

All the best,
Glenn B

Belated Happy Veterans' Day Wishes

Sorry that I did not post a Happy Veterans' day message yesterday, but I did not post at all yesterday despite a post below showing that I did. What happened was I started to write up q blog yesterday, and received a call from my sister that my mom was very ill. So I stopped writing, saved that blog as a draft, and went to visit my mom. When I finished that blog today it posted with yesterday's date making it look as if I had finished it yesterday and posted it then when in fact I only finished it this morning. So I did not have time yesterday to post a Veterans' Day post either.

Let me just say that I am very grateful to our veterans for their service. I was never in the military, the Vietnam War just about over when I became old enough. Had it come to it, I would have enlisted if needed, but it was all but over by the time I hit 18, so I went to college and majored in Police Science. Now I have some regrets never having enlisted, though I do not regret having been in civil service as a federal law enforcement officer/agent for the past 27 years. I served in another way, but certainly not one anywhere as critical as they who serve our nation now in time of war.

You folks who are out there on the front lines, anywhere in harm's way, anywhere in the military for that matter, are truly wonderful Americans - especially in light of the fact that you joined voluntarily. The same goes for all who have served whether in wartime or not, whether you joined or were drafted; if you did your job well, you did America a great service. You are all great Americans. Please do your best to stay safe, come home alive and well, keep the faith, and know that we support you.

All the best,
Glenn B

I would not wish cancer on anyone...

..even though I am not beyond wishing some folks a pretty nasty death. Fidel Castro is one of those onto to whom I have wished death, if not miserable, at least one that came sooner than later. As it turned out, his death is coming much later than many had wished for over the years of his dictatorship in Cuba; but at last it seems his end may at least be on the horizon. According to this article U.S. Officials: Fidel Castro Has Terminal Cancer, at FoxNews.com today, he is on his way out with stomach, pancreatic or colon cancer.

I will admit, I read this with some glee. I have dealt with many Cubans over my many years in federal law enforcement, both those who escaped Cuba in the 50's and 60's, as well as those who got out during the president Jimmy Carter fiasco known as the Marielito boat lift. For the most part, and I mean for the great majority (at least 98%) those folks hated Castro for how he destroyed their lives, their freedoms, and their country. I can only hope, as I am sure do many others, that Castro’s death will come sooner than later still; and that his death will result in some types of reforms being initiated in Cuba soon afterward - major reforms. of course his death will leave his brother in power, or so it seems right now - and his brother is no friend of the Cuban people, but one can hope he will see the light and move Cuba into the 21st century as a free nation. In that light I wish the Cuban people all the luck in the world, and I hope Castro's death still comes sooner than later.

All the best,
Glenn B

A mediocre day hunting...

...really is better than a day doing just about anything else,at least for me; and my son seemes to enjoy it too. My son Brendan, and I, took a drive up the Taconic Parkway this Friday (the observed Veteran's day holiday) to see what we could find in the way of a decent deer hunting spot. Brendan drove all the way up and part way back so it was a better trip than most for me with me not having to drive all that much.

I had already scouted out some areas on the west side of the Hudson River, now it was time to check on the east side. Truth be told, I had a few particular spots in mind, ones I had been to last year; then scouted out a bit earlier this year. As luck would have it though, before we got to the happy hunting grounds we had to make a detour of about 15 miles. Our first stop was a gas station, it took a while to find one. I should have listened to Brendan when he told me we should stop near home to get gas, gut I thought we had enough – a lesson learned especially since he was driving. Next time he thinks he should get gas he will, I had him worried there for a bit that we would run out because I told him 3/8 of a tank would be enough. Now he knows when beginning a trip to top off first. I could not have planned it better, to bad I cannot claim that credit – that is the plan part. Oh well, we gassed up, got some hot food into us and were off again.

We got to the hunting area, The Lafayetteville State Forest MUA (Multiple use Area), and drove to the half of it in which Brendan had a doe permit. We parked the Ford, grabbed our gear, took a compass reading to know which way it would be back to the car in case we got turned around; then we the took a hike, literally. It was a balmy mid November day with temps in the 60s – not the greatest deer hunting weather, but then again, we were not hunting – we were looking for sign. We headed up the hill into the woods, and in almost no time we ran across a deer trail with a nice active scrape on it. I showed Brendan how the buck has scraped away the earth to scent mark, and how bucks prefer to do so under the low hanging branches of a shrub or tree. The branches had been twisted and broken from his antlers thrashing about as he marked his territory. We made sure not to step too close to his scented area, and walked around to look for more sign. Before we left that area though, I heard a deer bleat/grunt. Brendan thought it had been a goose, and for a moment he had me wondering, but I was pretty sure it had been either a deer, or maybe deer hunter with a call since archery season was open.

We moved on, following the deer trail. It ran parallel to the road from which we had just walked, then opened into a meadow. We looked around for more deer sign but did not see any. Instead what we saw, or I should say what Brendan saw was a deer, just before the edge of the woods on the other side of the field, maybe 50 yards off. The deer spooked and took off before I could get a look but I heard it crashing through the undergrowth. He thought it had been a doe. That was a good sign, better than just seeing deer doody, rubs or scrapes. Bucks wind up where the does are during the rut. We were only about 100 yards from the road, and I was not surprised at all. I had told Brendan before we started off: “Don’t be surprised to see deer close to the road”. We then decided to head further up the hill straight away from the road.

I was carrying, my old and trusted friend, a Remington 870 with number 6 shot. Brendan was carrying a very reliable scoped Marlin 25MN in .22WMR; we were hoping to bag some bushytails for dinner, and maybe even a turkey or two with the shotgun. We continued uphill looking for more sign and came across a rub here and there, lots of deer trails, and lots of acorns laden oak trees. That was another good sign. While many acorns had already hit the ground and been devoured by local wildlife, there were still an awful lot of them up in the trees. This is not something I have often seen this late in November, maybe I just never looked up as much, but this time I noticed. Deer, and squirrels, love acorns. Hope was building that this would be a good hunting site. I was lucky to have found it while hunting last year; I was even luckier that Brendan was with me this year. It was just nice to be out in the woods with a good friend, and loved one. It was also nice to know that my 16 year old son still wanted to do things with his old man.

Shortly after we walked into the woods from the fringe, to check on the acorn crop, I heard a rustle that Brendan did not catch, or at least did not distinguish from the rustle of the tree tops in the breeze. Then I scanned the forest floor up ahead from whence came the rustling noise, and I spotted a busytail. I had not even loaded the shotgun. I figured I’d give Brendan all the chances. I told him there was a squirrel up ahead and he should look for it. He saw it pretty quickly and slowly raised the Marlin to shoulder level, but could not get a clear shot as the gray ghost disappeared for a few seconds. I softly told him to get down into a kneeling position and use his knee as a rest. He did just that. After about another 30 to 45 seconds of waiting for a clear shot, he squeezed one off and the little gray ghost skyrocketed into the air doing somersaults. I knew Brendan had hit his mark. We walked over to claim Brendan’s first gray squirrel, and the little booger got up and ran, he was not finished yet. Since we were only a few feet from him, I took the rifle and gave him the coup de gras. I had wanted to be sure to avo8id a ricochet shot. I gutted it, rinsed off my hands, and we had one in the bag.

We continued up the hill, stopping now and then to look and listen, even to smell. We saw a lot of crows flying overhead, and a lot of little chickadees (I think) flying through the trees and undergrowth around head level looking for their own dinner. We also found a couple more rubs and quite a few more deer trials crisscrossing the area. We got almost to the top of the hill, maybe even a mountain by NY state standards, and took a break. Then we circled around and headed down. The slope was pretty steep where we decided to walk down so we unloaded the marlin, and I double checked the Remington to make sure it was likewise. After getting about halfway down, we headed back toward a gentler slope. While I was plodding along, telling Brendan the deer hunting secrets of many generations (not my family but those I had read about in publications like Outdoor Life Magazine) Brendan spotted another busytail. He raised the rifle but again like a ghost clad in gray, the little guy disappeared from his site. This one seemed headed to a tree. We scoured the trees, even with me walking around a few hoping to spook it, but no luck. Yes Brendan had already reloaded once we got back to easier footing so had there been a shot, he would have been ready to make it. Again I noted lots of acorns in the trees in this particular spot. Another good sign.

It was getting on late into the afternoon, and we had wanted to find one other MUA before heading home, so we headed back toward the car. Back near the road, Brendan saw another deer. I just got to see the flash of its white tail flagging a warning to any other deer in the area. Another good sign for sure. We reached the car, then drove to the other location. We did not get out to scout around there, it was getting to late. Anyway. that was going to be a back up location in the event the first place wound up having to many knucklehead hunters on opening day. I thought maybe we could scout it out next weekend, then I remembered, heck next Saturday would be day one of the regular deer season; heck where had the time gone – deer season only a week away.

One the drive home we talked about deer and such things as a dad will talk to his son about and actually have the son answer back. It was a nice drive. Once we were home the hunting clothes went into the washer to be ready for next week. After that I cleaned up the sole squirrel Brendan had bagged then fried in us in some breadcrumbs. I ate some right after cooking it – delicious. Brendan had a piece the next day and ate it cold like cold fried chicken (no it does not taste like chicken, more like rabbit, but not quite). Brendan liked it. That too was a good of more good hunting days to come for father and son.

I am anxiously awaiting next week’s opening day, so too I think is Brendan. As opposed to my usual several days to week long hunt, this one will be a day hunt as Brendan has work the next day. Maybe I’ll get a few more days in before Thanksgiving, and we plan to go Friday and Saturday, as a team, right after Thanksgiving day. It surely would be sweet if he bags a deer in his first deer hunting season. I sure hope so, but even if he doesn’t, he knows the thrill and enjoyment of the hunt is not just in the bagging of the game. We will have a great time hunting together even if we don’t bag a thing.

Ballseye's Boomers: Remington 241 Speedmaster

This little rifle may not look like much when you see this picture; but let me tell you it is GREAT. First of all I got it at a song of a price via an auction on GunBroker.com. I may have even given the 'buy it now' price instead of bidding, I cannot recall, but whatever I paid I do remember it was well below book value. Of course, that had me a bit concerned because you often get just for what you paid. In this case though I spent less than I should have for such a fine piece of Remington quality.

It is basically a semi-automatic rifle in .22LR caliber. It is fed by a tubular magazine. The magazine tube runs from inside the butt stock forward to wherever. It opens in an indent in the buttstock and the mag spring pulls out for loading. There is a loading port in the right side of the stock. The sights are a v notch rear and fixed post front. The 241 is somewhat unusual in that if ejects from the bottom of the receiver. The first time I shot it, I had a number of small scratches and burns where shell casings hit my wrist, so I quickly learned how to hold it so that would not happen again. Then again I am forgetful so it happens again now and then. No big deal but it takes some getting used to. The bolt operating handle is also at the bottom of the receiver.

The 241 is also a takedown rifle. I have always wanted a takedown rifle, I don't know exactly why, maybe because of something I once saw in some movie about a hired assassin, and I thought it was neat. I can say now, without a doubt, takedown rifles are neat, and I mean that literally. They break down into two pieces and store neatly and easily in smaller than usual gun cases. This makes them very unobtrusive, a nice feature for a rifle.

It is a pretty good plinker, and would probably be good for squirrels or rabbits. I may take it afield this weekend when I go to scout out some deer sign in upstate NY hunting grounds. Who knows, I may get lucky and bag some dinner in the for of a bushytail or three.

All the best,
Glenn B

Things have changed since the elections...

...at least for me.

For quite sometime now, I have been considering a change in my status as a registered Republican. I have voted almost straight Republican since just after my 18th birthday back in 1973. My votes for Republicans have not been so much based upon my belief that the platform upon which the Republican party stands is the best; but rather that there were usually only two viable choices in any major election those being either for a Republican or a Democrat. For the most part, I tend to be more conservative than liberal when it comes to certain issues, although I am somewhat liberal on others. Yet my vote has not been torn between one party or the other. I find the Democrat party’s platform either repugnant in how it attempts to smother individual liberties (while claiming just the opposite, yet wanting ever increasing control over my personal life and my rights), or I find it just outright outlandish when they propose emasculating our country in its national defense, and I find it robbery when they want to raise my taxes and spend my money on those who do not pay taxes.. So I vote Republican, or at least I have usually done so. I voted for Ross Perot when he ran for president; and a couple of years ago I voted for Elliot Spitzer, a democrat in a NYS election. He just ran for governor and won, but I must point out this time I voted against him.

I figured voting for Republicans was always the better of two evils. Of course there are some things I do not like about voting Republican. For instance I am an agnostic at best; I doubt the existence of a great, all knowing, all powerful, being that will somehow magically do good by me if I adore it. Yet I am pretty moralistic. Religion taught us (mankind) morals when we were little more than cavemen; but now that we all are aware of morality there is no need to disguise it as religion and belief in a supernatural being. Of course, that is my opinion. If someone wants to believe, so be it; there should be room for all of us so long as one does not try to destroy the rights of another as do Islamo Fascists, other religious extremists, or atheistic extremists. Republicans usually spout religion, and Christianity at that. There is really no room for such in our political system whether or not the founding fathers were Christians. I would prefer something that was more in the nature of what they proposed in the Bill or Rights, a true freedom of religion to include a freedom not to believe. It is hard to find that in the Republican party, and just about impossible to find it in the Democrat party. The effect is that Democrats stray more from morality if only because they seemingly deem it to be religious, Republicans embrace it because they seemingly deem it religious; and the fact is morality does not have to be religious or anti-religious - it can be neutral just as is supposed to be our form of government.

Others things I disliked about voting republican were that Republicans support big business over other important matters such as the environment. The government is here to protect its citizens, and therefore should to some extent protect the environment - not reward those who destroy it. Now before you think this sounds liberal or like a democrat, let me say I am all for big business, just not the government giving big business breaks in taxes or other subsidies. I believe in competition for all businesses big and small alike. Keep government interference to a minimum. I am also for legalization of certain drugs for adult recreational use. I find prohibition ridiculous and I have spent most of my 27 year career fighting narcotics smuggling. I am a strong advocate of law enforcement, but also a strong advocate of being able to change laws within reason. Prohibition did not work for alcohol and look at the taxes collected on alcoholic beverages now. If the same was done for narcotics we could quite likely do away with the income tax. Of course if we legalize drugs, I would be all for strict enforcement of laws preventing children from getting them. I also somewhat abhor there view of consensual sexuality between adults as not being moralistic since sex is as natural as can be. I am no fan of gay mnarriage though, marriage is a tradition between the sexes and not for same sex couples, though if someone wants to cojoin sexually with a same sex partner in the privacy of a home, why not, so long as they are doing it consensually

I believe in our constitution as it was written , or as it was amended. It is definitely a living document but not as republicans or Democrats would have us believe. It is changeable, but only legally through amendments, and those amendments can be passed only by following strict guidelines set by the founding fathers of our nation. Our courts should never decide if an issue is constitutional or not if it is not addressed by our constitution. If folks want an issue to become a constitutional issue, they should press government officials to amend the Constitution. Both Democrats and republicans get this wrong and misuse the U.S. Court of Appeals and Supreme Court in such maters.

Yet when it all comes down to it I usually have voted Republican because they support things I support such as:

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms (only limited support by Republicans but much better than most Democrats)

National Security and Defense of Our Nation

Legal immigration while opposing illegal immigration

Law Enforcement to protect the people and our nation

A moralistic approach to government and other issues (and the morals are usually within reason though not always)

Less taxation and less government spending

Economic growth

A more polite form of government

A less chaotic and more reasonable form of government than offered by Democrats

And other things.

This is all changing. Today I changed my voter registration. I am no longer a registered republican, or at least will no longer be a Republican once my registration is approved. I have registered to be an independent; no not for the Independence party, but as a voter with no party affiliation. I will look toward voting for candidates in the future who best fit in with my political, ethical, and moral convictions. There will likely still be many Republicans who get my votes, thee will likely be few if any Democrats, but there will also be third party candidates. These will not be wasted votes, as I would not vote for a candidate at all if I disliked both the Republican and Democrat candidates. If I like a third party candidate they will get my vote. Over the years, maybe they will gain momentum and win an election or three on the local level, then later on a state level, then later on a federal level.

I can tell you that some of the third party candidates are just remakes or cover-ups of Republicans or Democrats, but some are true third party choices. Libertarians seem somewhat attractive to me now on some issues but way too flaky on others. I will keep them in mind though as the most viable alternative to the other two rather sickening parties that are the mainstream. I will probably still vote republican a lot, but I will definitely have an eyee toward other choices, other than Democrat or Republican.

I will continue to vote against things like:

Unlimited abortions, even though I favor legal abortions to some extent

Amnesty for illegal aliens

No religion in schools (so long as students can choose)

Gun control laws
Anything that jeopardizes national security

Violations of our constitutional rights as written in the Constitution, or as in the Bill of Rights, or as in English common law prior to those documents

Higher taxation

Welfare programs that do not have a strict workfare intiative to get people to work

Social Security being a federal program and not privatized

Laws that try to restrict consensual sexual conduct between adults (note marriage is not sexual conduct and I strongly oppose same sex marriages)

Laws that restrict religious beliefs, or that restrict atheistic beliefs - there is room for both.

Laws that allow political ideology to be viewed as religion, as in the case of Islamo Fascists.

And so on.

Think of me as you will, but I am sick and tired of the old party line from either side. It is about time we seek some sensible alternatives on many of the issues.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Elections are over - will things change?

Well, it looks as if the House of Representatives has gone to the Democrats in a big way. For the first time in over a decade they have control of the House. It appears as if Nancy Pelosi, with her so called 'San Francisco values' will be the speaker of the House.

As for the Senate, it is still too close to call as I write. It may soon also be in control of the Democrats.

If both parts of the Congress go to the Democrats, then president George W. Bush will surely be a lame duck president for the remainder of his tenure; but there may be more serious concerns than just that.

Will the war in Iraq come to a premature end, one without victory against terrorism, state sponsored or otherwise?

Will illegal aliens gain an even stronger foothold in the United States of America, since this is one of the few things about which the Democrats seemingly agree with the president - as in guest worker program?

Will an assault weapons ban be resurrected; and will other restrictive guns laws be placed onto the American people?

Will our nation be so weakened by the above issues as to allow the terrorists, drug cartels and other violent criminals to gain a stronger foothold in America?

Will Gay marriage become the acceptable way of the future on a federal level? Sure some states voted laws to the effect of banning gay marriage, but how will a very liberal Congress effect the issue?

Will stem cell research become acceptable?

Will the minimum wage increase?

Will social services to groups such as junkies, illegal immigrants, those who refuse to work, increase?

Will the price of gasoline rise or fall?

Will taxes rise again?

Will the economy strengthen or weaken?

Will all of this pave the way for a Democrat to become president in 2008; or will it assure that a Republican will become president then?

My guesses on the above issues are just that - guesses; and my guesses are that our nation will suffer overall because of this election. There is one thing though that I will say has a better chance of becoming reality than remaining just a guess, and that is that in 2008 the people of the USA will elect a Republican president. I base this on the track record of the Democrats once they have achieved any type of political power. I doubt they will have changed just because they presented a lot of middle of the road types in this election. Now that they are in power, ultra liberalism will probably ooze out of their pores and into every decision they make while in office. After two years of that, Americans will have likely become sick of it, and will probably elect a conservative president, namely a republican. Time will tell.

I will predict one thing almost with certainty. Now that Democrats have taken control of the House, and if they also take control of the Senate, then firearms sales, and firearms accessory sales, will sky rocket sometime in the not too distant future. Mark my word on it. Call me a fool if I am wrong; but I am willing to bet on this one if total Republican control of the Congress is lost.

I voted, and I voted for those who I thought would best serve; and those for whom I voted lost. I wonder, how is it that most Americans voted otherwise, am I that out of touch on who would be better for America? Again, time will tell.

All the best,
Glenn B

VOTE TODAY...

...and vote your conscience for a better America; please don't vote just to spite saomeone already in office, or as a trend, or as a party line. Make your vote an intelligent one, make it count toward making America a better and safer place for all of its citizens and legal resident aliens, make it safer from terrorism (think about who really would do the ebst job). Vote for continuation of making our streets safer (again think about who has the better record here), vote sensibly on the issue of the 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms (have you noticed crime going down as more states allow concealed carry permits, or not), think about voting for a more moral USA (think about who will do better there, and this could be a tough decision), vote for who will keep our economy strong, vote against higher taxes with less representation for the middle class, vote against a welfare state, and so on. Vote for what will make America a better place in which to live.

VOTE TODAY

All the best,
Glenn B

Vote tomorrow...

...and do not let just any old excuse deter you from doing your civic duty. I know it is supposed to rain in the northeast, but I figure so what. I will still be going to work, so I will leave about 15 minutes early and head to my polling place. I have to get wet anyhow. Rain is one of the poorest excuses I have heard not to vote if only because people will still go to the supermarket, the department store, the pharmacist,, to rent a DVD, to walk the dog, and so forth.

Of course there are many other excuses, some good some terrible. For example if you are literally snowed in, well I guess that would be a good one, unless of course you have a dog team and sled or a snowmobile. If it snows a few inches, give me a break - get out and vote. Then you could get stuck at home because you are sick, as in you have the flu with a high fever; stay home please. On the other hand if you have a cold, get thee to thy polling place, just wash your hands really well before voting. Some will say they could not vote because they had other things to do, just look at the list in paragraph number 1. My bet is those same people will spend half the day in their homes or offices doing nothing. Voting is an obligation of the good citizen. If you don't vote you are not being a responsible or good citizen - period! Remember you can vote for whom you please on the ballot or off of it (by write in vote), so please don't try to say your candidate was not in the run.

I for one am sick of all the lame excuses that people use not to vote, when they go out and do other much less important things on election day. As the citizens of a democratic republic, we should all be voting if at all possible. Our futures, and the futures of our nation depend upon it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Islamo Facists really are trying to conquer the world...

...as is evidenced by a regular deluge of attacks committed by them against anyone who belongs to another religion, or who disagrees with the tenet Islam should control everything. See this article: Thailand 'rebels' attack schools at the BBC.com. Attacks like those descibed in the article occur on a weekly basis in other parts of the world thereby, if the suspicion is correct that these were Muslims who did this, giving evidence that it is not just the west, the USA or Israel against which the wrath of this facism masquerading as a religion is targetted. There have been enough other attacks, already proven to have been carried by by Islamists, to prove they are set on conquering those of all other faiths, and even atheists, this one is just the latest one reported upon. Why the US media does not hgighlight these attacks is not beyond me, it fits right in with their usual plans to make conservatives look bad no matter what the cost; this time the cost being that half of America believe if we just leave them along they will love us peacefully. We need to wake up America, wake up and terminate the threat.

Guys like this are teaching our kids...

...and it concerns me not because he is doing research on a controversial subject, but because he believes in a mythical beast. I wonder what other apparently inane beliefs he may hold, and therefore teach to our sons and daughters! Bigfoot research makes professor a campus outcast Maybe he also believes in the Loch Ness Monster too, or the Abominable Snowman, or that dinosaurs currently live in the Congo, or that little grey men with big eyes have abducted him, or other seemingly harmless absurdities. I believe some of these are possible, though I do not believe any are probable. According to the article this guy "firmly" believes in the existence of Bigfoot! Get that, he is firm in his conviction that it exists even in the face of an awful lot of evidence that sightings have been a lot of bunk. That is scary if only because he may be twisting other things around into preposterous twisted anti-facts and teaching that to our children. They may believe him.

Sure it may seem harmless in the case of Bigfoot, but what about the case of saying that communism is better than democracy, or that terrorists are victims who justly seek to kill us, or that morality is not good, and so forth. I guess that is how the school system in this country screws with the minds of our kids so badly, and therefore screws up our country so badly. Guys like this need to be administratively admonished and maybe even punished if they teach crap like this to our children. If he stops fine, if he teaches that maybe it is so - fine, but to say that proven bunk is actual fact is ridiculous and should be dealt with quickly and sternly.

Hypocrisy and voting, do your best to get around one to do the other.

Hypocrisy gets to me sometimes. I am not talking about someone who changes his or her mind about something, and therefore changes the way to do things. This is a normal thing that almost everyone does at some time or another in their own lifetimes, yet it is very often mistaken or misused as hypocrisy. For instance a politician may believe that a war is necessary, yet that same politician may have been against war at an earlier time in life. So long as either belief is not simply one of convenience, say for avoiding military service early, then later for political gain, I can understand how such a core belief may have changed. That is not hypocrisy and it does not bother me. Even out and out hypocrisy on a small basis is not too bad a thing, it just happens sometimes , and it usually does not ruffle my feathers. It is ongoing hypocrisy on important issues that gets me riled.

The hypocrisy of which I speak is more along the lines of someone spouting off beliefs to others such as on religion, telling folks how to act holy and all that shit, then being caught with his or her pants down in a sexual act of just the same type he had preached against for years. Hypocrisy is someone saying they are conservative or liberal, spouting off their political agenda for themselves and pushing it onto others by telling other folks to lean left or right in a like manner politically, then regularly being seen to do things in just the opposite political direction. For instance, when a blogger tell you he is a staunch conservative, but that he does not believe in God you should be suspect. Now, I will admit I don’t believe in God, not at least in any conventional standards of today, but I tend to lean toward being somewhat conservative, and even very conservative on many issues other than religion. So I readily admit that I am indeed liberal on that stance as would be seen in the eyes of conservatives regarding that issue. I am likewise on some others such as abortion, as I do not believe it is my choice as much as it is a potential mothers to make decisions on said issue; and I do believe there are times when abortion should be legal and is in fact quite ethical. Then again, I also believe it should not be seen as an alternative to keeping one’s legs closed, or in other words it is not a cure all for promiscuity. I am middle of the road, leaning right, on prostitution and some legal uses of currently illicit narcotics. I am just to fairly conservative on issues of the economy, on natural resources, big business, illegal drug usage, education, and so forth. I am a strict conservative on issues of patriotism, firearms ownership, hunting and fishing rights, protection of our sovereign nation, national defense, foreign policy, immigration and nationality policies, voting, law enforcement of existing laws (though I would change many, then enforce them strictly), heterosexual marriage, our rights under the constitution, and so forth. I try though to let people know this about me up front, I do not pretend to be what I am not. So when a so called self proclaimed conservative says that you should vote a straight republican or democratic ticket, that you should never consider voting for a third party to try to accomplish political reform – in fact hammers you for months on end with such rhetoric - then that same person suddenly rants about how he is going to vote straight Republican or straight Democrat for the last time unless the Republican or Democratic party comes round to his way of thinking…; well then there it is - him saying such should not be done by you, but it is okay for him, and that my friends and loyal readers is out and out royal hypocrisy. I mean how is it okay for him to say he will abandon the party, when he continually rants it is not okay for you or I to do so?

Of course, that is just an example of hypocrisy, a hypothetical one at that. I have no one in particular in mind, though if I, or you, thought about it for a moment, I would bet a few could readily come to mind. The Internet blogs are full of hypocrites, but then so too are the news media, the schools, the movies, and all other aspects of normal everyday life. Being a hypocrite is not the worst thing in the world. Killers, rapists, pedophiles certainly rank much worse than mere hypocrites; although I will admit such hypocrisy galls me especially when it is done simply to make points on whatever issue is at hand, such as keeping your blog ratings high, or getting a vote in the elections.

Election day is coming, it is only a mere few days away. Please go out to vote. Vote for the people who you think will get the best job done, instead of for whom the blowhards tell you to vote. That means you need to be aware of the issues, maybe you will have to read some of the stuff written by hypocrites, but you will also read others things that are supported by hard cold facts. Read it, as much as you can, to become aware of the real issues, the real problems, and the proposed practical solutions. Then vote your conscience. I tend to think that will have you voting more for conservatives, or maybe libertarians (who probably do not stand a chance of winning) than for liberals, but it is your vote to cast. Just make sure not to waste your vote by voting based upon ignorance, or only upon party affiliation, get it done after checking on the issues. Voting is a citizen’s responsibility, voting wisely is the way a responsible citizen does it.

The Big Move To Verizon FIOS...

...is what I made today. In fact I spent about the last hour or so just on the telephone with a Verizon representative in order to change service on my telephone (from AT&T), my Internet service (from AOL dial up), and my cable TV service (from Cablevision). I changed them all to Verizon FIOS, and no they are not paying me for this blog.

The reasons I changed are simple. I was pretty sick and tired of Cablevision for my cable television service provider. Their prices just kept going up, and each time they went up, it seemed to me, their channel selections got more restrictive and service got worse. Besides that their customer service sucked as far as I am concerned. With Verizon, I will get more premium channels, about 22 or so, including the Showtime lineup which I do not have under cablevision, and my bill will be about $10 less per month. Eat my shorts cablevision, my dirty shorts!

As for AT&T telephone service, it was fine in my opinion. Verizon though offers more service to include all long distance, toll and local calling for $29.95 per month for a year, then $34.95 per month after that, whereas I am currently paying about $39.00 per month for AT&T and that does not include long distance charges which are additional. Verizon has a better deal. Their fiber optics system promises to have better call quality too, time will tell. Sorry AT&T, after a long ride you lose out to better pricing and the promise of clearer calls.

As for AOL, I was a little miffed when they recently told their customers who had Internet access through a third party, that they no longer had to pay monthly fees to AOL; but those AOL users who connected over the dial up service still had to pay their regular bills. I got much more pissed off tonight when I checked my billing online, and I found out that AOL apparently snuck, at least past me, a $9.95 per month dial up service in there without sending out notification to its dial-up customers like me! I currently pay $25.90 for AOL dial-up service; yet I apparently could have been paying only $9.95 for a similar unlimited use service from AOL, that is limited on things only like how much security protection they give you and how much email you can save. I think it was pretty low handed on AOL's part not to make this new pricing known to their dial-up users. Besides that, in my estimation, AOL customer service absolutely sucks; they have the most condescending customer support people with whom I have ever dealt. AOL can bite me. I will make sure to use my AOL email address for free though once I have Verizon FIOS. I will play AOL for all it is worth since they seemingly found it appropriate to play some customers as suckers.

Of course Verizon tried to get me to switch my cell phone service from Cingular to Verizon. I am pretty happy with Cingular although I do have to re-up my contracts. If they do not give me some nice free phones, I may switch over to Verizon; but then again I think I'll stick with Cingular for now on the cell phones.

best regards,
Glenn B

Denmark is doing something right...

...in its apparent view at terrorism, and Islamo Facism. The reason I say so is because they came in second on a poll of enemies of Egypt, which coincidently is a predominently Muslim state; see this artiicle: Denmark 'Egypt's foe', says poll . Hmm, I wonder why the Egyptians dislike the Danish so much? Maybe it is because the Danes have the balls to realize that they have an official language which is not Arabic, they have a culture which is not Arabic or Muslim, those from Muslim nations residing in Demark are aliens and can get citizeship only if they abide by Danish law not by Sharia law, if the aliens do not want to assimilate into Danish culture and follow Danish laws and speak the language of the land - well then they can get out or be kicked out. My hat goes off to Denmark. It ios about time we do the same here in the USA.

Best regards,
Glenn B

Sometimes Jewish folks absolutely befuddle me...

...regarding their sensitivities, or what I believe to be their over sensitivities. That is a very generalized statement, but it applies well as to what I am about to explain as the source of my befuddlement, and yes I understand this it is not all Jews about which I am about to write. I am not being that general, but please read on so you will understand better.

Before I go on though with the issue at hand, I want to explain something and get it right out of the way. I am not an anti-Semite, I am not a Jew hater, I am not supportive of neo-Nazis, I do not look favorably on the history of Nazi Germany, I think Adolph Hitler was an absolute madman, and I think the killing of 11 to 12 million people in the Nazi death camps was an atrocity almost without comparison. No I did not say just the 6 million Jewish people in the holocaust as I try to remember there were also millions of Christians killed too, about 12 million people in all were killed in the Nazi death camps. I wanted to get that right out because I am almost certain someone will think I dislike Jews, in general, which I do not. I get along with Jewish folks as well as I do with anyone. I think Israel should kick some ass over in the Mid-East; and I shop regularly in Williamsburg in Jewish food stores. More than one friend of mine is Jewish; and one of my very best friends is of said faith. So don't go there in an effort to categorize me or what I am about to say as anti-Semitic. Rather it is true befuddlement, plain and simple, and I put it out for you to see.

Today I read this article at 1010WINS.com: March Planned to Denounce Brooklyn Student's Hitler Costume. Apparently a high school kid dressed up as Hitler on Halloween and went to school like that. He got in hot water at school and was ordered to take off the outfit, which he refused standing on freedom of expression. Yeah I know it is not quite so in a school as to rights for students, but it gets better, the issue is now a protest, not just a reprimand at school.

Now it seems that a group of concerned parents and students from Leon Goldstein High School are planning a march to or nearby to the Holocaust Museum in NYC to protest this kid having worn a Hitler costume. They evidently are outraged that he wore it, this despite the fact that he claimed to have done so as a parody. School officials are also apparently outraged. Jewish groups are reportedly also quite upset that he wore the get-up, enough to complain. An awful lot of folks who are Jewish seem to be awfully upset over a kid wearing a costume, and they want to make some sort of example of him while at the same time parading their cause, a cause which is exactly what – I wonder!

The reason I wonder to what end they want to parade in protest, and why others want to make all this stink over a kid wearing a Halloween costume, is that for years now Hitler (or his character) has paraded on stage in New York City with not one protest of which I am aware. As a matter of fact, Jewish folks wrote, produced and starred in a play in which Hitler is a comedic character. A song called Springtime For Hitler is one of the show's main lyrical hits. Before it was a play, the show was an acclaimed movie. Now that it is a play it has won praise far and wide as one of the funniest ever, and one of the best of all time. I am, of course, writing about The Producers.

I wonder, is it because Halloween is a Christian holiday that Jewish folks were offended? I wonder, is it because the kid was Christian (which I cannot say because I have no clue of what religion he is if of any)? I wonder, are they upset because the kid was Jewish? I wonder, are they so upset because the kid was not a Jewish playwright, or screenwriter, or actor? I wonder, are they so upset for absolutely nothing? I wonder, are those who are so upset just out and out hypocrites; did any of them ever watch The Producers and laugh at any of it, either as a movie or as a play? I also wonder, are these folks who are so upset over a child wearing such a costume as a parody also just as upset over The Producers, or other movies, in which Adolph Hitler was portrayed in a comedic or parodic role by Jewish actors?

I just don’t understand why when a big name Jewish person in show biz does it, then it is okay to so many; but it is abhorrent to so many when a high school kid does likewise. So who can give me the answers? I am befuddled.

All the best,
Glenn B

Politicians Often Say The Stupidest Things...

...and John Kerry has said more stupid things, in my opinion, than any man has a right to say. His latest verbal blunder during which he tripped over his own wagging tongue was, of course, about the military and implied that those in the military have no smarts. Maybe John Kerry spoke based upon his very limited experience in Vietnam, or maybe based upon his experience out there in the real world being married to the Ketchup Queen. Maybe he was for the statement before he was against it!

Yes folks he has finally apologized to those in our armed forces who serve bravely, who have enough intelligence to know that if they do not do it over the long term, then guys like John Kerry, who are in my view, in it only for what they can get out of it, will fail us in almost no time. Thereby we would fall to terrorism. They are both smart and brave.

They sound pretty smart to me Mr. Kerry, but I guess you maybe still do not think so since it took so long for that apology to arrive, and since the apology was so weak. Just in case there is still any doubt about their intelligence, let me put those doubts to rest by showing you a photograph that indeed is worth a thousand words because this one picture sums it up nicely (I blotted out the faces to protect they who would use their minds in such a creative manner). Yes I think this one picture does achieve some level of justice, not enough for Kerry though, whom I believe should have to go to IraK, and even Afghanistan, to apologize in person. Though it certainly does show just how intelligent our military personnel can be if only because it takes wit to be humorous, and it takes intelligence to be witty. It also takes a certain amount of good taste to do this in a truly funny way without pushing the point way to far. My hat goes off to all of our brave service personnel, but I also bow to these brave eight for their accomplishment in the face of unwarranted criticism from the likes of John Kerry.

Ever wonder why Mexico fears U.S. immigration reform...

and tighter border security by the USA. Well, as I have said in other rants, I am convinced that if the USA adopts a policy of strict border security that actually stems the flow of illegal aliens into the USA from Mexico, change will come about in Mexico in rapid order. You see the USA is like a steam valve for a boiler whose fire is raging. The fire is the unrest of the Mexican citizen, poor, fairly uneducated, without good medical benefits, with little or no prospect of a good life. When they get to slip into the USA illegally to reap all that they can from our bounty, it eases the pressure in Mexico, but only somewhat because all the while the Mexican government is corrupt and continues to rape the bounty of its own country for the chosen few. This leaves most people in abject poverty. They have in the past gotten quite sick of this and the result was revolution. This is what Mexico fears today.

Now if you think a modern day Mexican revolution is far fetched, just read this article: Riot police battle protesters in Oaxaca at CNN.com. Revolution, if only on a local scale, has been going on since last May in Oaxaca (and yes I know how to pronounce it). Should the steam let off valve, the illegal path into the USA, be shut off, or even just tightened quite a bit, it is quite possible that such a protest would become nationwide in Mexico. This would in effect be a revolution, probably a major one.

While I know a lot of folks are afraid that Hugo Chavez, Fidel castor, and other nefarious scoundrels will have a big effect on the protesters or revolutionaries, and they fear that Mexico may become communist or akin to an enemy of the USA; I am not so fearful. Mexico has had revolutions before. Its base is rather conservative by today’s standards, heck even by the standards of 50 years ago. What the Mexican people, want is not a dictatorship to oppress them, but rather a way of life in which they have a chance to better themselves. Mexico has lots of resource in oil, tourism, land, and some exports. The country could easily support itself with some hard work, so long as honest leadership is in place; leadership that actually wants to improve the life of the average Mexican.

This is the direction I think the USA should take. Assuring that the government of Mexico actually look out for its own people and solve its own problems, with help if needed, but with the majority of the work done by Mexicans for Mexico under a republican form of government wherein all are represented fairly. I think building that fence, and enacting strict border security, will accelerate any such planning on our part to sway Mexico into the right direction. The sooner the fence goes up, the closer Mexico will be to revolution. The closer the Mexican government gets to believing that one is on the way, the more they will do to placate the people in order to prevent a full scale revolution, because if they do revolt, the Mexican government will not win by force. In fact chances are they will be to scared to use it in today’s world of instant global media accounting.

Best regards,
Glenn B

Ebay amazes me...

...in that if you have something to sell, just about anything to sell with certain exceptions, it gives you easy access to a worldwide market. I don't want to get into an argument about what they allow and do not allow to be sold on their site. Leave it to say I would like them much better if they allowed folks to sell firearms through their service, but they choose not to allow that. Nor will they, I think, allow folks to sell things like their immortal souls, Nazi memorabilia, or kiddy pornography. Now on two of these three last, I cannot blame them, and I'll give you a hint - I agree with them about not selling kiddy porn. They are their own business and they allow and disallow what they choose.

Still though, despite a few such regulations, you can sell lots of different things, or buy them too. I have sold such silly things as: a shaving kit (red cross issued in WWI), military patches from WWII, some old books, a couple of limited edition hunting books, and old fishing reel in need of repair, and so on. I got almost everything I sold at local 'tag sales' which are basically open house sales of the contents of a home either due to divorce, moving, retirement, or death as in an estate sale. Two of the books I sold I sold for hundreds of dollars each; the thing is I bought them for $5 each. That is great, and the saying is true: "One man's trash is another man's treasure"; but just not all the time. Sometimes the trash you find or buy to sell on Ebay just does not get sold. In my case, I hold onto those things for a while if I have room, then I try to sell them again several months later. That often does the trick and again I have some treasure even if only a few bucks worth. If not, well then I trash the item literally.

I made my latest sale, I think of only a total of about 39 sales over a few years. I placed a camera lens up for sale yesterday afternoon. I got back on the computer, I think, less than 2 hours later, and had already received an email that the item had sold. It was a Nikon camera lens, and therein lies a lesson at least for me. I probably under priced it even, and even though it was never a very expensive lens, I probably could have sold it for more than I did. Ebay is of course famous for being an auction middleman, but they also offer a "buy it now" feature so the seller can set a price at which the item automatically sells. I did that yesterday and someone bought it almost immediately. I guess the fact that Nikon recently announced that they are no longer going to make film cameras may have had an effect, the collectors will be looking for Nikon film cameras and accessories. h well.

Today, I may just have to go out to a tag sale or two if there are any local to me. I sometimes go to these now and then as a sort of diversion, and as sort of a treasure seeking expedition. I have been lucky a few times. Those two books I mentioned above were a great buy/sale for me. So was the fishing reel I got for $12.50 and sold for $125.00. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure I got that shaving kit I mentioned for $1.00 or $2.00, I sold it for $75.00 on Ebay. I imagine someone with the get up an go could make a business out of going to tag sales and selling on Ebay; many probably have already, at least those with more get up and go than me.

Hmm, all of this talk of treasured trash has my blood going, I think I am off on a treasure hunt. Later for you guys. Bye.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Boomers: Beretta 92SB

This pistol, the one in the pic, is the one that helped get me the moniker of Ballseye; yes the actual one indeed. The Beretta 92SB, was the precursor of the Beretta 92F series or the Beretta M9 (military speak for this gun).

Beretta 92SBs were, to my knowledge, all made in Italy. Certainly mine was made there or at least that is what its markings indicate. It is a semi-automatic pistol, in 9MM Lugar. It has a steel slide, an alloy frame. The safety/decocker is located on either side of the rear of the slide. The magazine release is ambidextrous and is located on the grip where it is met by the bottom of the trigger guard. The magazine capacity is 15, and the pistol can also hold an additional round chambered for a full compliment of 16 rounds. It came with two extra magazines. Note the flat bottoms of the magazines. It has fixed sights. The grips that came with this pistol were hard plastic, wood was also available.

This pistol is an extremely reliable, and finely crafted and machined firearm. I have shot a lot of different pistols over the years, and seen many others. I have not seen any other brand that were built to the same high quality standards of Beretta.

My only regrets about this pistol are that the right side decocking lever broke off due to an accident, and I never had it replaced while factory original parts were still to be had for it. I imagine I could do with a 92F lever, but what the heck, the missing part gives the pistol character. It has taken a beating over the years, that is for sure. The finish has certainly seen better days. I may get it refinished someday, but right now it is rather a nostalgic piece for me being it is the only one with which I ever shot anyone. How can that be nostalgic, well I lived to tell the tale and the other guys went to jail. That is another stroy all on its own, to be seen at: http://ballseyesboomers.blogspot.com/2006/10/ballseye-what-is-in-name_04.html.

All the best,
Glenn B