Osama bin Laden Death Photo versus Home Videos and Photos

One Man's Personal Opinion:

So, they refuse to show the photograph(s) of Osama bin Lead-in Laden as that scrawny pig was laying there dead, shot in his head. Why will they not show it? Because they say it would be insulting to terrorists, Islamic extremists, and Muslims in general - and that the death picture may incite them to violence. However, they are more than happy to shove in our faces pictures, of Osama bin Laden in life, without a worry in the world that these photographs and videos will inspire terrorists to take actions against us when they see their deceased leader when he was still alive and well. Nor do they even consider, not even for one brief moment, that We The People of the United States of America might be insulted by having to see photos, and worse yet home movies, of that piece of pig droppings while he was alive and well.

After they killed him (which is about the only thing the government seems to have gotten right) what did they do that was insulting to the people of America? First they gave the utmost respect to the remains of the most wanted and despised man in our history. They even bathed it. Then they buried it within the timeframe according to Islamic custom even though bin Laden was a terrible sinner by the tenets of that religion (well that is if you believe the people who make excuses for Islam by saying it is only extremists and not the religion that is at fault). Then, even though they have pictures of him dead, they refuse to show them to us or the world saying it could insult Muslims and incite them to violence against the United States or our troops.

Don't they get it yet - because we are America, a freedom loving nation, we incite them to violence against us just by being us. Holy bumbling bureaucrats Batman, these guys are truly dunderheads! Don't they realize that even drawing a harmless cartoon incites them to violence, they are prone to it and seek to destroy us by it if we do not convert. Then again, even if we convert we need to remember that they even kill one another quite regularly over the most inane of matters. Now our leaders want to inundate us, not the Muslim community, with home photos and videos of this guy. Why would we want to see home photos and videos of a despicable person who would not have been worth the dog dirt on the bottom of my shoe had I just stepped in a pile of it. Remember this ridiculous posturing by our politicians and bureaucrats. Keep it all somewhere in the back of your minds to be triggered the next couple of times you visit a polling place and are about to vote. Vote how you want but please think about all this first.

Better yet, do something now too. Write to your elected officials, now! Complain about this, now! Make a fuss, raise holy hell or unholy hell for that matter but do it now! Are you mad, then tell them you are mad, now! Tell them to stop this absolute absurdity and to act like real Americans. Show the world that we killed the bastard and what the result looks like when you attack us. Then tell the rest of the terrorists in Al Qaeda and the Taliban that we are coming for them next - to do them the same way or worse. You might be surprised of the effect it will have on them being that we have all that computer information on them. Then set the missiles flying and the SEALS a killing and let our soldiers wage war the way it should be waged - with the goal of our victory and a totally defeated enemy. You won’t make our country safe by coddling our foes, you will make it safe by killing them off until they surrender or are all dead.

All the best
to patriotic Americans,
Glenn B

Happy Mothers' Day...

...to all of you mothers out there. I hope you enjoy your day.

I am going to see my mom this morning and try to put a smile on her face. I'll spend some time with her, then head home to spend some time with my wife and mother-in-law (who is coming to visit).

Hope your day is a nice one.

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy I Did Not Bet Money...

...on Pants on Fire in the Kentucky Derby. Animal Kingdom made one heck of a an impressive finish! Wow, that was an awesome show of horse power!

I think this year, I will have to attend the Belmont Stakes. I have been to Belmont but not in years and never to the Belmont Stakes.

All the best,

GB

I Am Betting On...

Pants on Fire - and they are off.....

Did President Obama Recently Throw The Ultimate Bomb of Post-Mortem Insults at Osama bin Laden

I doubt that I am the first to think of this but then again I have not heard any other poor demented psyches make mention of it. I was wondering if president Obama recently, either inadvertently or purposefully, took the ultimate after death pot-shot at Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and maybe even the world of Extremist Islam. I mean, how else could you see it when Pres. Obama said:

"We don't need to spike the football..."

If that is not insulting to a radical Islamist, if it is not something that could or should incite extremist Muslims to violence, then nothing is such. It is much worse than showing them a picture of the now dead leader of al Qaeda, isn't it? After all, my friends, of what is the classic American football made? Let me give you a hint or three:

It is not made from synthetic material

It comes from a farmyard animal

Oink, oink, oink...

Yes, you guessed it (or knew it already). The classic American football is made out of the skin (actually the bladder) of the pig - hence the other name for a football: a PIGSKIN. As in, "Pass the pigskin to bubba and he will score" (no they do not mean the pork rinds).

Maybe this President Obama guy is really an all American after all. Now, mind you, one good thing done by him followed by one hell of a great insult to that piece of pig shit Osama bin Laden and his pig shit buddies in al Qaeda doesn't mean I am going to vote for the reelection of President Obama. Perish the thought starting right now! It simply means I am going to take it for granted, until the president himself says otherwise, that when he said: "We don't need to spike the football...", in reference to not showing the body or death picture of bin Laden, the football to which he was referring was Osama bin Laden himself (the photo only being a representation of him) AND I am taking it for granted that he was making a reference to bin Laden as a pigskin to purposefully throw and insult at him and al Qaeda!

Way to go Mr. President - with all due respect sir and in my personal opinion - not only did you finally do something right (let's face it if you wanted to commit political suicide you could have said "NO" to going for bin Laden) you actually may have said something right - and both all in one week! Maybe next you will admit that water-boarding was not torture as classically defined and that because of it we obtained the first clue in a long line of clues that led to killing the most wanted pig on earth and thus you will drop the investigation of those who used it and instead pin medals on their chests.

We don't need to spike the PIGSKIN football..." - I have been rolling on the floor laughing my ass off over that one. It is the best one liner I have heard in years.

All the best,
Glenn B

PS: President Obama having said that almost lends credence to a rumor I heard that: Just before the bag containing bin Laden's body was sealed, some enterprising Navy personnel placed a football in his arms, then sewed the body bag shut so he could rest through eternity holding a pigskin. Was it coincidence that the president used spiking the football!!! I am sure it was just a coincidence of a rumor and a great insult coming one right after the other. Yeah right!

Osama Bin Laden Remembered - Almost As Good As A Day Without Mexicans

BOGUS NEWS FLASH:

Now that Al Qaeda has confirmed the death of their leader Osama bin Laden, a call has gone out for all followers in the USA to pay homage to him for a week in the near future. Stock prices for 7-11 fell drastically as 7-11 has announced that store managers, for 98% of its stores nationwide, have said they will be closing next week due to 'a death in the family'.

In addition, on a local note: Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has announced there will be an increase in the number of buses and subway trains operating next week due to the anticipated shortage of taxi drivers. It is also anticipated that most newsstands in the NYC area will be closed.

On the brighter side, U.S. beer and whiskey manufacturers have seen a quadrupled increase in sales as Americans celebrate a small victory in the War on Terrorism.

Believe that one and I'll tell you another. Don't blame me, I just received an email with a briefer version of that and just felt compelled to have some fun with it. A hat tip to my friend Bob for giving me the inspiration for this one. Now, back to the serious, or is it the delirious, side of life.

All the best,
Glenn B

Is Charles Rangel Out of His Mind?

I just woke up and turned on Fox News. Granted, I was still groggy and was in no condition to be greeted by them doing an interview of Congressman Charles Rangel but then when is one ever prepared for such balderdash as what he spews forth. Well, there he was on Fox News moments ago, and if I understood his babbling style of speech correctly, he was saying that if we cannot tell him under what flag was Al Qaeda, or tell him who they are, then we cannot argue against his point that we do not belong in Afghanistan. He also seemingly argued that we have not achieved anything in Afghanistan in tracking down Al Qaeda. He also, in essence, said that intelligence obtained by torture is invalid and therefor not apparently responsible for accomplishing anything.

Tell me, where were the people captured who we have in custody in Gitmo, captured? What type of technique was use on them, by our CIA, before they got to Gitmo? What information did they give us that led to the assassination of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden? Is Charlie Rangel of of his friggin mind! I think so.

How he can be so flipping ignorant and still be reelected time after time simply amazes me.

Later 4 U,

GB

The Last of the Last - Claude Choules Has Set Sail For His Final Sunset

The last surviving combat veteran of WWI, also a veteran of WWII, passed away yesterday, peacefully, in his sleep., he was 110. Claude Choules joined the British Navy at the age of 15 and did his first bit of service aboard a training ship. By the next year he was assigned to serve on a battleship. He survived WWI, moved to Australia and joined the Australian Navy in which he served during WWII. More info here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/05/claude-choules-last-world-war-one-veteran-dies

More on his life here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Choules

There is only one other known surviving veteran of WWI - Florence Green. She was in the British Woman's Royal Air Force; however, she was not a combatant. It is the end of an era of fighting men, who believed that their war was - The War To End all Wars.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Dog-goned Surprise Awaited Me At Home This Evening

So, I walk in the side door to our house this evening, as usual. I head downstairs to strip off my pistol, holster, magazines and mag pouch, and other accoutrement's of my job. As I am doing so, I hear a voice, not of my house, say: "Is that Glenn?". I say nothing but take off my jacket and put it away. I wash up quickly at the sink in the back of the basement. I hear a lot of hemming, hawing and hooting upstairs. I hear children, girls. I surmise our neighbor, Trish and her daughters are here. go upstairs to say hello but not before having a fairly large vodka - neat. It has been a day for me and I actually need it.

I get upstairs and see my wife, Linda. I also see Trish and her two daughters. There are our four dogs: Pepe, Mimi, Lucy and Roxie. I also see Trish is holding what looks like a long haired kitten. I say hi, we start the small talk and someone says something about the puppy Trish is holding and how many dogs she and Gary (her husband) have and how many we have and Trish says: "But it's okay, I'll take care of it at my place". I am not quite sure why that was said but am a trained investigator, it immediately tells me one thing - Linda, my wife is responsible for the puppy being here. It seems our number has grown by one. Thank goodness for Potato Vodka and the fact I have had a stiff belt already.

I try to get a straight answer. No luck even though a few minutes pass. Suddenly the doorbell rings. I head to the side door then realize that two tones meant it was the front door - new doorbell and I am used to folks coming round to the side door but I turn toward the front. I was fooled but not for long. Two ladies come in the front door. One of them takes the puppy, which I now know is a Chihuahua, a very fluffy and furry one only weeks old. It is a mom and daughter, people my wife knows from her job at the dentist's office. Customers of the dentist who were looking for a home for the puppy for Heaven knows what reason (I know too but will not divulge).

The daughter cries and holds the puppy. Trish and my wife talk to them about it. The side door opens and my son comes in cursing merrily and being goofy about something, not knowing the situation. He sees the puppy and almost immediately figures what has happened and tells my wife, his mom, she is crazy. The puppy belongs to the daughter of the two ladies who just came in the front door. They are already taking care of two dogs and do not need a third. My wife volunteered as a rescue. Our neighbor Trish was here as support for the whole rescue thing, she got Linda into it awhile back. I am at my wits end but am nice to everyone and ask the girl, a lady in her young 20's, what is the puppy's story. Trish, holding an almost empty glass of wine, is shushing me. Brendan is silent mostly, he is a good kid. Trish’s two daughters are taking it all in. Linda is looking guilty because, she knows, I know, she was taking the puppy into our house and I think we do not need five dogs. It is a Chihuahua, did I mention that? Did I mention we already have two of those, plus two mutts.

The ladies leave the puppy with us. Linda and Trish talk about medicine it needs for Kennel Cough. I ask why do we have that dog here if it could get our four dogs sick. There is a brief conversation between myself, Brendan, Linda and Trish - a funny one at that but one I will not divulge - except to say I think someone threatened me and it was not Brendan or my wife. We all laugh. The front bell rings again. The ladies are back. They want the puppy back. They take it despite the best efforts of Trish, with no argument from my wife, to get them to leave it in my our house! Thank goodness they took it. Thank goodness Trish and her daughters leave despite my best efforts to keep Trish here so I can lambaste her, but the girls have got to hit the hay and I am sure Gary would like them all home, and I sure don't want her convincing Linda to try to get the puppy back. I am also sure, I would only get in trouble even if I was only jokingly butting heads with Trish over the puppy, Linda would take it wrong - or maybe not - but it did not happen so I will never know. I go back downstairs for a drink, yes I needed another. Brendan comes down for some vodka and I tell him where it is even though I am sure he knew but was only asking to be nice.

I go upstairs and try to engage my love, Linda, in a conversation about the puppy and its situation and as usual I fail. I do get enough out of her so that she admits it was better the ladies came back to retrieve the puppy. I can only hope they do not change their minds and bring it back because I told the love of my life it sort of would be okay for her to keep it if they did and that is what she really wanted. I laugh from the belly. Am I an asshole or what. Please do not answer that as I know the answer already. After all, about 25 years ago, I said: “I do”. Well, anyway, for now, we still have only 4 dogs, 5 tortoises, 1 turtle, 3 salamanders, 7 newts (or more), and a whole lot of fish. Hopefully we can keep it to that for a bit.

As for our neighbors, maybe we can have them over more often, that was fun.

All the best,
Glenn B

Dog Treats, Gun Stuff and Forgotten Treasures I Found Around The House Tonight

If you have a decent sized collection of guns, then chances are you also have a good sized collection of ammo and firearms accessories too. I know that I do. Now, I keep my guns secure and while I don't misplace guns, I try my best not too anyhow, it seems I often do put other gun related things aside. Then, may I loose track of some of them. It's not like I leave these things laying all around the house; I put them in boxes to protect them, or in drawers and closets for safekeeping, or stash them away in dark corners or up on shelves for storage. It seems though that once they have been out of sight for awhile it is also very easy for them to go out of their minds fall out of mind and I pretty much don't think about them or simply forget all about them. So it is that now and then, with some astonishment, I come across something I had no idea was lurking in the shadows.

Imagine, if you will: a frumpy middle aged overweight but dieting slob firearms enthusiast, with ever so slightly failing eyesight, rummaging through a basement drawer looking for a snack to ease his diet ravaged and gurgling gut a bag of dog treats for his pooches. He opens the drawer, moves this and that and finds a sealed in the box, brand spanking new, can of silicone desiccant. "Hmm..." he thinks, "...that could come in useful for the gun locker" but not needing it now, he just shoves it aside and rummages a bit more. After moving a bunch of books and magazines, there is the bag of dog treats - buried under some other junk. When he lifts the bag, he spies something under it and immediately and happily thinks: "What have we here - buried treasure!". Under those books and other not often thought about drawer junk was another type of foodstuff - not for pets but the kind he feeds to rifles and pistols - ammo. This was ammo with a twist though, it came in a sealed factory collector's tin. The tin was adorned with a picture of a man guiding a boy in how to shoot a rifle. According to what it says on the box, what he found was not only a tin but a 'Collector's Tin' containing 400 rounds of ammunition and a collector's deck of playing cards. The brand name on the tin is Remington.

Imagine, this could happen to you, really it could you know. I mean, after all, it just happened to me about an hour ago. No, I was not about to go bust on my diet and yes, I really was looking for a bag of dogs treats I had stashed away in that dresser draw in my basement.

Now finding that collector's tin got me to thinking: "Didn't I have another collectible ammo set around here somewhere?". I looked high, I looked low, I looked left, I looked right, then realized there, among one of two piles of books atop the dresser, was a somewhat odd looking thing staring right at me from among the book bindings. It sort of blended in with them enough to look like just another binding of just another dusty old tome but, now that I was looking and paying attention, I spotted it as something else right away. I must have seen it every day for Lord knows how long it had been sitting there much like Poe's The Purloined Letter. I took it from the pile, blew off the bit of dust that had settled on it, and I sneezed a couple of times because the dust on all the other books came up in a small but malevolent whirlwind that seemed eager to get at me. After I stopped sneezing, I pulled it out of the improvised cardboard sleeve/dust jacket in which had laid there protected and hidden, in plain sight, for probably a year or two. So, what was it? Much to my surprise there it was the other 'collectible', a Remington knife & ammo set.

This was starting to get me all sorts of excited, thinking that maybe there was cached treasure all about the place just waiting to be discovered or should I say rediscovered. I started to look, ever more so in earnest, in the hope would find something truly valuable that I had put away and forgotten all about. Those things just mentioned were found atop the dresser and in the top drawer of it so, I decided to look lower down. I opened the 3 other drawers of the dresser and and I found, there among some sheets and towels, a bottle of Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey labelled 1995. Before you get to thinking: "Hey, how lucky" well, that was no surprise to me. I knew or at least should have remembered that was in there. Had I been looking for it, it would have come right to mind, or should have, since only put it in there about a month ago or less. What I did not expect to find was a Gerber machete in its scabbard - virtually right next to the bottle. Perhaps not a bad place to have it, that is if someone tries to burgle my golden nectar and I need to protect it.

Okay, enough for the dresser. I took a look at the hide-way bed next to it. There was some stuff piled on it, as usual, but not much because I had recently cleaned the basement pretty good. I moved my laptop case and some papers and a throw pillow and heck if there wasn't something I had not expected. It was a small but dirty manila envelope. I picked it up thinking it was garbage then realized there was something in it. I took a peek and found something I had forgotten all about. Maybe 6 months to a year ago, I ordered several 'Unorganized Militia Gear' in the form of stickers/decals and patches. When I had received that stuff, I gave some to my son, I meant to have the some of the patches sewn onto a jacket or three, put the stickers on my cars, give some to friends but then (you guessed it) I forgot all about them. I am pretty sure they were in my living room, on the desk, kind of a catch all place for what my wife thinks is my junk mail. My guess is that when my wife gave the LR a good clean-up for a party she was holding a couple of weeks ago, the envelope was rerouted and delivered, so to speak, to the basement. Lucky for me it was not rerouted to the trash can.

You know, after finding that, I took another look at those piles of books. Was there more missing treasure to be found there? I had been reading Stephen King's Full Dark - No Stars and it sort of went missing awhile back. I don't know how it got to where it got but there it was in one of the piles of books near the bottom of that pile. You would think, or at least I (in my limited capacity having a muddled middle aged mind) would think, since I had been reading it nightly about a month or two ago, that if it was anywhere in the pile it would be near the top. That, especially since I had not been reading any of the others. Either there had to be gnomes, grinches, elves or a wife involved. Excuse, me for a minute she must have sensed me writing about her: "Yes dear, I'll do the dishes before I hit the hay tonight". Okay, where was I, yes that was it - back in that pile of books.

Another look and I spied yet another volume of lore that I had forgotten all about while in mid-read - ' Roughing It ' by Mark Twain. I definitely have to get back to that one right after the King book. I used to be a big SK fan and while I still like his writing - am no longer a fan. Very recently, with his yammering about taxes and how high they should go, he has in essence taken his leftist creed and tried to shove it down one too many throats. I do not like the taste of it. I think this will be the last of his books that have I spend a dime upon. Still though a good collection of short stories, that is if my having read the first one and half of the second one make me a qualified judge of it.

As you can see from the pic, I have quite a good little collection of books just in those two piles and I would say I have not read about the 1/2 of them if not more. I really need to watch less TV, surf the web less and start reading more. Those books are treasures that can only be enjoyed by becoming closely bonded with them, as if in fellowship, with the authors and characters, and that does not happen by way of mere proximity nor by the process of osmosis. Where I had pretty much seen them every day and ignored them, for how long I do not know, it is different now. I suddenly feel a compelling call to develop a strong camaraderie with the authors and their characters and to nurture and understanding of their themes. About the only way for me to accomplish that kind of intimate bond with them requires my reading a book from cover to cover - maybe more than once.

I guess I found something other than I had been looking for when I went in search of those dog treats and then was spurred on to search for more goodies after I rediscovered those collectible ammo packs. Much like C. Auguste Dupin, I uncovered a treasure that had been hidden in plain sight, so well, as to have become totally overlooked in the every day course of my affairs. Unlike that first detective, I had not been searching for something thought to have been purloined but was merely looking for something to help me bond with some characters other than those in books, our family's 4 dogs. By the way, now that I found the treats, maybe it is best I reward man's best friends with some of them. You see, had it not been because of those 4 legged characters, I never would have started the search that led me to rediscover the treasures I found tonight. Later for you - and may I be so bold as to suggest that while you are waiting to hear from me again, you click on the pics to get a better view of my treasure to see if you can spot the best of them all. Then, why not head off to search out any overlooked treasures of your own. You may be surprised at what you find hidden in plain sight.

All the best,
Glenn B

2010/11 Assigned Soldier (My Adopted Soldier via Soldier's Angels) Is Coming Home

Good news. The soldier, Mike _________, for whom I collected donations toward care packages over the 2010 holiday season, is coming home. I received an email from Soldiers' Angels telling me the news and telling me to hold off sending him additional packages. I was lax in getting out packages after Christmas and got the first one after Christmas or January out in March. I was working on getting a new one out this past weekend but I received the email from Soldiers' Angels on Saturday and that was that.

Here is what they sent me:

Dear Angel,

You are receiving this email from Soldiers' Angels because your adoptive soldier SPC Michael _

(last name redacted by me)__ is due home. Here are the specifics: (they did not give any specifics - go figure). I wouldn't send anything more! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! Remember even if you never heard from your soldier your effort was appreciated!

If you would like a new adoptee just use the angel login at http://approvedangels.com with your email: (redacted by me) and your password: (redacted by me) (you may have to copy and paste the link)

Thanks for supporting the troops!

Elaine Baker
Soldiers Angels

p.s.if the link gives you problems just dp a line to angels@soldiersangels.org we could definitely use your help again we have a ton of soldiers waiting for angels

Soldiers' Angels
http://soldiersangels.org

So, I guess i will be asking them to assign me a new soldier and I can use the items I already bought for he next package I was making for Mike _______ on the next guy. I am hoping Mike _______ will contact me. I received several emails thanking me for the packages and then lost the email he was using, which was not the same one that Soldiers' Angels had on file. They had a military email address for him but he contacted me using a personal email address. So Mike, if you are reading this, drop me a line. ope you make it home safe and secure.

As for the rest of you, thanks again for your help with donations toward the packages. You are good Americans!

All the best,
Glenn B

Osama bin Laden - Buried At Sea - WTF!!!

"Officials said bin Laden’s body, which was in U.S. custody, was given a sea burial."(A few lines from the bottom of the article.)

Are they kidding? They claim they have killed the most wanted man in the Universe and they do not publically display the body for the whole world to see! If something does not stink terribly about that then it sure is simply fishy. So what proof is there that bin Laden is really dead? This is or could be worse than the birth certificate, school records, college records, medical history and travel records fiasco. How dare they did not put his body on public display at Ground Zero for all to piss upon view. Once the mania ceases, there will be questions as to the veracity of the claims that he is dead even if they kept DNA samples and videos of his last moments. Someone either was not thinking straight on this one or Heaven forbid that maybe someone is simply not being straight at all on the claim he is dead! You can bet there will be those who claim he is still alive. I just cannnot fathom why they got rid of his body without a public display first.

All the best,
Glenn B

Imagine The Wealth Of Intelligence...

...that was likely found in Osama bin Laden's compound. This is the place in which he thought it was safe enough for himself and his son to stay (his son was reportedly also killed). It almost certainly then was also a place wherein he believed it safe enough to store many of his documents and operational plans. We may yet here of similar operations before the dawn is upon us if our Intelligence people and our troops can act and coordinate quickly enough on what is found. If not today, then in the near future. You can bet that his cohorts are scurrying like roaches when the lights come on, so I hope we act fast on whatever we find.

President Obama, you apparently have finally done something right in a very big way - please don't drop the ball now.

All the best,
Glenn B

My Thanks To The Troops...

...you guys and gals have done a bang up job and deserve the thanks of all Americans. I hope the events of yesterday, the demise of bin Laden, means you will be coming home sooner than later.

To the U.S. Military personnel involved in the operation that took him out, I wish I could shake the hand of each and every one of you, then take you all out for steak dinner and get you all drunk. You deserve a lot more than that though, you deserve the best you can get, the best our country can give. I salute you all.

To the military unit (Seals or Special Forces Soldiers) who brought him down, especially the one specific person or the people, who fired the shots that got him, you are my hero(es); I mean that too. You truly did something heroic.

All the best,
Glenn B

May Those Innocents Who Died...

...on 9/11, and because of its aftermath, find a little more peace in their eternal sleep.

With respect,
Glenn B

I Hope Osama bin Laden Saw It Coming...

...long enough before the shot to realize what was happening. I hope it was a gut shot and he died slowly and miserably. Does that make me a bad guy, I hope not but that is how I feel about him and his death at the hands of U.S. Troops.

As I said in my earlier post, about a half hour ago, HALLELUJA!

All the best for the USA,
Glenn B

Now The Bad News...

...this may carry Pres. Obama to a victory in 2012. Lord help us.

All the best,
GB

HALLELUJA, HALLELUJA, Usama, Usama, Usama bin Laden Is Dead

My son just gave me the news in our kitchen. It is likely a moment I will not forget for a long - long time.

All I can say is, HALLELUJA once again and Oh Happy Days! It was a matter of time thanks to the search started by George W. Bush and to the fact that President Obama did not slam the door in the face of our intelligence services and just closed it on their foot. Good shooting, I would love to know who fired the shot that got him and who gave the coordinates for the hit.

I would also love to know, if even one tiny bit of intelligence that led to this was the result of prisoner interogation at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay or if even the tiniest iota was due to information gleaned through the use of water boarding. Not that it really matters, what matters is we got the bastard.

I am about to watch the prez announce it. (Edited to add: He said it was a ground assualt in Pakistan by U.S. Troops.)

Good riddance.

That is all,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 134: AK-47 - Does The AK Stand For...

...A Keeper? I took the Romanian WASR AK-47 to the range tonight for my first shoot with it since I got it 2 weeks and a day ago. It is only a 25 yard range (maybe 30 from what I heard tonight but I'll have to check further on that). Whatever the distance, that is what I had to settle for that is close to my house. That was okay with me, I don't plan on shooting much beyond 50 yards, maybe 100 at the most, with it and shooting at 25 still gave me a good feel for how it will do at further distances. I shot from standing, resting elbows on the bench.

My first 15 rounds were using Wolf 158 Gr. Soft Point, steel cased, polymer coated ammo. With the rear sight set all the way back, where I would imagine it should be for 50 yards, I shot a few to several inches low but pretty much centered from left to right. I then took 20 shots with Wolf 122 gr. Hollow Point steel cased, polymer coated ammo. Those shots were all to the left and a bit higher than were the shots with the soft point ammo. Funny how different weight ammo shoots so dissimilarly, same point of aim, same gun. See the pic.

I adjusted the rear sight to midway on the sight ramp. I shot another 40 shots with the SP ammo. The target fell off when bringing it back on the pulley. From what I could tell, the shots were all pretty much centered in a smaller than the palm of my hand group. Not great but probably sufficient for an AK. My final 5 shots were at a clean target. Pretty much dancing around the center of the paper. See the second picture.

I must say, I am pretty happy with this rifle out of the box. I may have to do dicker around with the front sight a bit, see if I can lower it some. I am none to familiar with AKs so I will ask my son for his advice and help. I may also do some checking online if he does not have time for the old man! One thing about the AK, I was really amazed by the low power of the recoil. My Yugo SKS kicks a lot more using the same ammo, and the Yugo SKS is a much heavier rifle so that is surprising. I can say right out, I got myself a good AK-47 that should prove to be a very good shooter. I am very pleased.

Besides shooting the AK, I also shot my issued SIG 229. I only shot at 10 and 15 yards but managed to fire about 110 rounds. I noticed that I am shooting a little to the left. I have to work on that to see if it is me or if the sights need to be adjusted. I am thinking I may need to adjust the sights but want to be sure. At 10 yards, I fired 50 shots, 2 hand hold, unsupported. I also fired 2 rounds, 1 hand hold, right handed, unsupported. Then 12 rounds, 1 hand hold, left handed, unsupported. At 15 yards, I fired everything 2 hand hold, unsupported. I did fairly well for an old fart whose eyes are not what they were even 3 or 4 years ago.

I suppose I really ought to clean the SIG tonight, before I go to work with it. A clean gun is a happy gun, as my buddy Pete G. used to say. It also tends to be more reliable if the SHTF.

All the best,
Glenn B

Dog Humor: Please Stop Asking Me That Question About My Dog

GENERAL PUBLIC NOTICE:

Please be advised, I am sick to death of receiving questions about my dog, who recently has mauled:

3 Muslims sitting on a rug thinking about virgins

6 illegals wearing Obama t-shirts

4 liberal middle class Democrats wearing Pelosi t-shirts

11 wanna be atheists who refused to say the Pledge

2 badass gangsta rappers

5 phone operators who asked me to press #1 for English

8 customer service desk people speaking in broken English

7 farmers who decided to sell corn to make ethanol instead of food

9 teenagers with their pants hanging down past their cracks

10 American flag burners

1 Chinese delivery guy who got my order wrong

12 politicians who want to raise taxes

FOR THE LAST TIME.......

MY DOG IS NOT FOR SALE !!!

First time I remember seeing this was when my brother sent it to me tonight in an email. I thought it was funny, I hope you enjoyed it too, even if I changed it just a bit.

All the best,
Glenn B

More Time In Our Garden (not quite Eden but it will do)

Well, it's just over 2 hours spent in the garden since I went out after cleaning my AK. I got several pepper plants, an eggplant and a tomato plant in some pots. Before doing that though, I hit up the compost pile. There was some rich looking soil midway down to the bottom of the pile. I sifted it through 1/4 or 1/2 inch screen. Then, I mixed that with garden soil, peat moss and sand in about 3/4 of the pots, the other 1/4 of the pots got everything except the sand. Wish I had thought of the sand sooner but then I would not have had enough for all the pots. I watered each pot right after getting the plant into it and noticed the water was not draining as quickly as it should. So, I found the play sand I used to use for my Bearded Dragons and dumped some into the third pot. From then on they all got sand and I had enough left over for one of the pots my wife was using for her flowers. Adding the sand sure made a difference as far as drainage went and I think I added just the right amount to all but one pot. The first one probably got somewhat too little, live and learn.

Since yesterday, I have planted about 6 different varieties of tomato: Beefsteak, Early Girl Bush, Roma, Cherry, Patio hybrid and Yellow Plum Tomatoes. I am not sure I actually bought the patio Hybrid but think it is out there. I also planted a few varieties of peppers: Yellow Bell, Habanero, World's Hottest Habanero, Jalapeno, Giant Jalapeno, Cayenne, and maybe one or two others. Along with them all, also planted two types of eggplant, one Black Beauty and two Ichiban Japanese Eggplants. I still have cucumbers and string beans to go. I am thinking of getting some butternut or other variety of summer squash, and maybe plant some pumpkin and radish seeds.

With those vegetable planted and with all the flowers my wife has already planted, it is starting to look like a garden out there once again. It is just about 2 or 3 weeks later than usual for us to be planting. That's because of the very cold weather we had this April.

I am done with the garden work, probably until next weekend. I already washed up some but now it's time to quit blogging and go take a long hot shower before dinner. May your thumb be green, your cucumbers be firm, long and tasty and your tomatoes perfect to squeeze and ever so juicy and delectable. Happy gardening and enjoy what you produce.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 133: AK-47 Disassembly & Reassembly

Well, after 2 weeks of owning it, I finally took the AK-47 in hand and disassembled it for a good cleaning. Not before searching out a video on how to take it down and then reassemble it. I checked YouTube at random, typing AK-47 Disassembly into the YouTube search bar. The first video link that I clicked on led me to an excellent video by Iraqveteran8888. He has both
disassembly and reassembly videos. If you watch these videos, give each a few seconds to play and they will come out clear; for some reason the first few seconds of each are distorted.





Just in case the videos do not play here, I am posting the links below:

The disassembly video's link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZigSux30iL8&feature=fvst

The reassembly video's link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIrIv1DLEb8&feature=relmfu

They are both quite useful videos. In watching them, I discovered that since my AK has a Tapco trigger group, it already has the spring that he recommends installing. I did not take my AK all the way down, I left the trigger group intact, that is for another day. Otherwise I took it down as he described and gave it a good cleaning and got it back together quite easily. It is all fairly simple to accomplish.

My wife just got home from work, which means I now have a car to go to the range. I need to cut this one short, because I need to get some other chores done, more gardening, then clean up, then head to the range. Hopefully, I got it back together right and it will fire away as it should.

All the best,
Glenn B

Real Man's Workstation...

...well, that is what my friend, who sent the pic to me in an email, called it (click it to big it). I don't care if it is a workstation, a Man Cave, a Woman's Lair, an Executive's office, a Geek Retreat, the Bat Cave or whatever you want to call it, it is plain out and out wrong! Why? Because it is not mine. I am jealous. I don't know where the pic came from, it was not credited, but if the guy or gal who owns it ever reads this post, please tell me all the names and models of the rifles, and explain the computer set-up too.

I am not poor by a long shot, but doubt I could afford a room like that with all the accessories let alone the AC costs just for keeping the one room cool enough. It must be nice to have lots of cash to spend, that is why I play the lottery! Nice set-up.

All the best,

Glenn B

Revisiting Knappogue Castle 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey and Wishing for the 1995 Labeled Batch

I am now on my 2nd bottle of Knappogue castle 12 Year Old irish Whiskey. I wrote a review of my first bottle not too long ago. As for this 2nd bottle, there I was sititng in the basement a week or two ago and was talking about it with my son. He either asked for a taste or I asked him if he wanted one. He took it, grimaced, said it tasted like burnt wood and recommended something else to me. I have to agree. I don't know why but this bottle of the same whiskey tastes awful. It tastes just like peated Scotch. That is a taste I can stand sometimes but when want it I buy an excellent Scotch. I buy Irish Whiskey, especially single malt Irish whiskey, triple distilled, when I am not in the mood for the peaty, over oaky, taste of Scotch. I am hopeful this bottle is a fluke because the first bottle was somewhat mellower and more like that labelled 1995. Then again, neither of these bottles of the 12 year old have been the same or as good as was Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey dated 1995.

That by far was my favorite of any whiskey I have ever enjoyed. It was crisp and as clean as a a young lad's whistle when he spies a pretty lass on a Spring morn. I miss it, I canot find it on the shelves at liquor stores, I am guessing it has run out of stock. I wish now I would have bought more of it than the one bottle I did buy and now have stashed away for whenever temptation wins out over patient anticipation. Then again it was the last bottle I ever saw for sale. If anyone knows where I might find myself a bottle or three of the Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey dated 1995, still for sale in a liquor store, in the greater NY metropolitan area, I would appreciate the tip.

Thanks,
Glenn B

REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Personal Opinion On The Change We Need:

I am sick of inept politicians and government officials and ordinary citizens who want to create a nanny state. That goes for those from every political party you can mention. I think, we need to start to revolt now before it is too late. We need to throw out the bums and put in folks who will realize they are the servants of the people. We need to make certain that our Constitution is the law of the land instead of having our presidents, congress people and judges disregard what was meant to be The Supreme Law of the Land! We need to make sure we secure our borders and throw out illegal aliens and alien overstays so that our nation remains the United States of America. We need to encourage legal immigration only and give rewards to those who legally immigrate here while we severely punish those who continue to come here illegally. We need to make sure that 'Made In America' is seen on most products sold in this country once again and that United States Citizens and Legal Immigrants are the ones who made them! We need to see government waste curtailed and cut back so far as to allow us to balance the nation's budget and pay off what we owe as soon as possible. We need to have a single tax rate on all for income, no more than 15%. We need to eliminate Social Security and medicare but first let's get rid of the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, The Environmental Protection Agency, The Department of Homeland Security (especially the TSA and ICE) and other federal departments and agencies that are little more than a drain on the tax payer. We need to bring back the United States Customs Service (not settle for Customs & Border Protection because it is nowhere nearly as effective) as a protector of the revenue and as a collector of Customs Duties and we need to reinstate Customs Duties on everything imported into the country and all technology exported out of the country - no exceptions. We need to create not only tax incentives for American businesses but other incentives as well such as less regulation on industry. We need to remember that we, as The People, have rights under our constitution and that those rights have been perverted and whittled away and we need to get them back in order. We need a well armed People to assure a polite society and a safe and secure nation and to secure all of our other rights. We and our politicians need to remember that our nation was born of violent revolution in response to tyranny and we need to try to avoid that but remember it is always a possibility in the face of tyrannts whether they come at us with force or from behind the veil of progress, or security, needing to reign in our rights a bit here and a bit there.

We need a lot more than all of that but those surely would be a start in the right direction. The thing is, we cannot wait for this to happen, we need it to happen now - right away. So, I think, we also need to get rid of those who give every excuse as to why it is not possible right away. It is possible, just as Bush created Homeland Security and did away with the Immigration Service by act of Congress all in the blink of an eye with overwhelming support from Congress. Government officials can act very fast when they want to, the thing is we have to make them want to do it and do it now. I think that the only way to accomplish that, short of shooting every damned politician in this country (and no I do not think that is the way to go) and starting from scratch, would be to hold a nonviolent revolution to overthrow the establishment within the borders of legality (yes I think that is the way to go) by way of the vote. That means getting rid of all of them or almost all of them in the next elections as far as I see it.

The elections are over a year away but I believe we need to start to plan for the change now. We need to start working on it now. We need to get our acts together as one strong force, an overwhelming force, so that we can retake America and return it to being a nation of We The People. Many say it is too late and have given in to the politicians we have had in government now and in recent years. I firmly believe what we have now are inept managers, what we need are strong leaders. If you do not wake up to the reality of it now, it may come down to guns & ammo and revolutionaries later, or worse yet to all of us speaking Chinese or Arabic. I hope not, I hope that America being the best and strongest nation on the face of the earth is something that my children and grand children will enjoy for their lifetimes.

Would it take a revolution of sorts to accomplish all that - you can bet it will - a revolution in how the American Citizen as voter thinks and votes. I cannot tell you for whom to vote or how to vote but I can tell you what I think and for what type of candidates I will vote in upcoming elections. It will be those who remember they are servants of the people, not those who think they are masters of them and it will be for those who remember that it is America who got them to where they are and they owe everything to this nation. I used to be an independent, then registered as a Republican but now and pretty sure I will go back to being an Independent once again. About the only parties I would seriously think of registering for now would be as a Libertarian or, if they were an actual political party, The Tea Party. No, I am not campaiging for them or telling you to join them, I am just saying that they are who I might join. I think, we need to get back to what made this country great, as far as I am concerned we can let countries like China, North Korea, Syria, and Russia keep the change.

All the best,
Glenn B