Although I Mourn Him - I Am Not Charlie

Je pleure pour Charlie , mais je ne suis pas lui. Quand les ennemis de la liberté me attaquent, je serai armé d'un fusil, pas avec un crayon, et je vais les combattre de toutes mes forces . Charlie peut avoir été prêt à mourir pour ses droits, mais je ne suis pas prêt à mourir pour moi sans combat. Vive La Liberté!

Just in case it lost something in Google Translate, here is the English version:

I mourn for Charlie but I am not him. When the enemies of liberty attack me, I will be armed with a gun, not with a crayon, and I will fight with all my might. Charlie may have been willing to die for his rights but I am not willing to die for mine without a fight. Long Live Liberty!

All the best,
Glenn B

Facebook Page Calling For Execution Of French Cartoonist

If you do not complain to Facebook about this, and complain hard and often until they delete such Facebook pages, then you, like Facebook, support terrorism. The type of Facebook page I am talking about are ones like this one:
 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/351028091652326/?ref=br_tf
 
Yes, that is the web address for a Facebook page that was advocating the illegal execution of someone who was executed in the terrorist attack that took place in France today, January 7, 2015. It was a page created by a Muslim; however I would bet that if you or I created a page calling for his execution, my page would be closed down by Facebook within a day or three. Facebook is bending over backwards to appease Muslims and terrorists at that. The page is still up! That is not freedom of speech, that is a worldwide organization (that according to their on terms of use do not allow advocating illegal activity) allowing a terrorist group a means of communication for their hateful ideas and for their calls to illegally execute people.
 

Register your disgust with Facebook and then if they do not remove such offensive pages that advocate criminal and terrorist activity - why not boycott Facebook. Then again, you could always start your own Facebook page advocating the termination of terrorists and Islamists, just don't depend on Facebook allowing it if you are not a Muslim.
 
As far as I am aware, you cannot contact Facebook by a readily accessible to the public email address; however here is their postal address:
 
Facebook
1 Hacker Way
Menlo Park, CA 94025
 
There is also an address for their board of directors:
 
Facebook Corporate Secretary
1601 Willow Rd.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
 
The board of directors consists of (source):   

Facebook, Inc. INSIDERS ON Board Members

Name (Connections)	Relationships	Title	Age
Mark Zuckerberg	9 Relationships	Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer	30
Sheryl Sandberg	25 Relationships	Chief Operating Officer and Director	44

Other Board Members on Board Members

Name (Connections)	Relationships	Type of Board Members	Primary Company	Age
Marc Andreessen	111 Relationships	Member of the Board of Directors	Andreessen Horowitz LLC	43
Donald Graham	30 Relationships	Member of the Board of Directors	Graham Holdings Company	69
Erskine Bowles	104 Relationships	Member of the Board of Directors	Carousel Capital Partners LP	69
Peter Thiel J.D.	63 Relationships	Member of the Board of Directors	PayPal, Inc.	47
Ronald Conway	63 Relationships	Member of Advisory Board	Altos Computer Systems, Inc.	62
Reed Hastings	34 Relationships	Member of the Board of Directors	Netflix, Inc.	53
Susan Desmond-Hellmann M.D.	117 Relationships	Member of the Board of Directors	University of California-San Francisco	57
Jan Koum	9 Relationships	Member of the Board of Directors	WhatsApp Inc.	38

 
You can also leave feedback through their feedback link but a letter sent to them through the mail is much more likely to have the desired effect - at least if tens of thousands of us protest Facebook allowing such disgusting and unethical pages to continue to be posted on Facebook.

All the best,
Glenn B

It's Not Like There Hasn't Been Anything To Blog About...

...but obviously I have not blogged since Saturday last. To tell the truth, I have been involved down here in West Palm Beach, FL with my uncle and making sure he is feeling okay - so how the fuck can you blame me for not blogging; I certainly cannot blame myself.

As it turns out, he is feeling somewhat better. The latest news from one of his docs (actually a physician's assistant) is that THEY AGREE WITH HIM SOMEWHAT that his current maladies may have been caused by either one of two (or both) medications he was prescribed shortly before he became gravely ill. He stopped taking one a few days ago and stopped the other today and has been feeling somewhat, though far from totally, better ever since.

He has to make an appointment to see his cardiologist as soon as possible and maybe that doc will have brass balls large and metallic enough to admit to him if it was the meds that got him so ill. I checked the meds online with the National Institute of Health and according to that website each of the two meds, that he was prescribed just a few days before he got deathly ill, can cause most of the symptoms he has been having. Heaven knows what both combined could do to a body. Hopefully it will have been the meds, and nothing else, that put him pretty much on death's doorstep and now that he has stopped them he will continue to improve. Time, and maybe his cardiologist (since they were both heart meds) will tell.

Who knows, within another day or two, we may be able to actually go out and have some fun together - like fishing off the pier at Juno Beach. It might even be possible that this time, as opposed to in times past, we may actually catch something we can keep other than baitfish! If that's not possible, and he is still feeling like bat piss running down a rat's nose on a bitter cold day in Pocatello, I guess we won't go fishing. Still though, I plan to take my favorite cousin out for dinner on Thursday night. I also hopefully will visit with a couple of other friends I have down this way over the next few days - if time permits - and then visit my other favorite cousin (dragging my uncle along) on Saturday. Of course, that all depends on how my uncle is feeling - his welfare is my primary and overriding concern. I am supposed to return home on Monday but that all depends on how well he is feeling by then and whether or not I can afford changing my flight if need be.

Maybe some more blogging tomorrow.

All the best,
Glenn B

Why Does Even A Single Public Health Clinic Remain...

...open within the United States of America? Think about that. We now have Obamacare, aka: the Affordable Health Care Act, in full force. Every American citizen (with few exceptions like the president and Congress) and every legal resident alien within our borders is supposed to have health insurance - in fact is legally bound to have it. So why in Hades are we the tax payers still paying to maintain the facilities, pay salaries for the doctors, nurses and for other medical, administrative, and maintenance personnel who work in them or run them and pay for drugs and other medical equipment and supplies for them? If we still want to hand out free condoms, let's just open some street corner stands and kiosks at malls to get that job done and hire some crack whores to man them to dispense the government approved rubbers. 

The whole idea of maintaining and paying for a very expensive public health care system is not only the antithesis of Obummercare, it is or should be abhorrent to the taxpayer. It is also unethical now that we have the Messiah's health care plan in full effect and may be criminal. The bottom line is that when a public health care clinic now gives free medical exams, treatments or advice to patients, who are not covered by a health insurance plan, they are in fact facilitating people breaking the law by making it easy for them to get medical treatment (and thus giving incentive to folks who refuse to sign up for Obummercare) even though they effuse to sign up for an insurance plan. The only way anyone in this country, except a visiting foreigner (or a member of Congress - remember they excluded themselves) should be getting health care should be through their insurance plan. Foreigner's should be getting it through whatever insurance they had at home. Illegal aliens should not be here in the first place so screw them, they should go to their home countries for health care.

We, as in We The People, really need to start inquiring about why public health care systems still exist and about what our legislators and other elected officials plan to do to close them down without delay. All the money we save can help defray the average tax paying citizen's (or resident alien's) cost for health insurance.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sometimes The Police Get It So Right...

Ouch!

...that it appears there is still hope of things getting back to the way they should have been all along. Take for instance the reported police statement about a man attacking his uncle who was accused of raping the nephew's girlfriend. I am not talking about the nephew reportedly pummeling his uncle in order to quell the alleged rape. I am talking about, after the alleged rape, when the accused rapist was telling police that the sex had been consensual and the nephew reportedly attacked him again right then in front of the police. They said that the nephew was defending the victim at that point (source).

All the best,
Glenn B

I Haven't Been To A Gun Show In Awhile...

...but I see there is one scheduled for Miami on Jan 10th - 11th. The Miami Florida Gun Show will be held on those dates at the Miami-Dade County Fair and Expo. being that I'll be in FL that weekend, I might just be compelled to attend. Not that I'd buy any guns but then again Who knows - I might buy a gun and have it shipped to an FFL in NY'istan. I can also buy something else or just look. My bet is there will be lots of gun goodness there.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sometimes I Just Want to Say

Another Morale Anchor For DHS

DHS and the agencies within it typically have had some of the lowest levels of employee morale for several years now. It doesn't look like that is about to improve any either as DHS is once again getting slammed for shoddy performance:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/03/oversight-report-finds-major-problems-with-dhs/?intcmp=latestnews

It all only makes me happier than ever that I retired when I did. DHS totally destroyed what was once one of the finer U.S. government agencies, the U.S. Customs Service, by combining it with what I think was one of the worst, the I&NS. It has pretty much screwed up some other ones too. In all, it has been pretty much downhill for any agency that falls under DHS since its inception.

All the best,
Glenn B

Is It Also "Unacceptable" For Israelis To Exist

A map maker / publisher decided that in order to boost sales of its atlas in the Middle East, they would eliminate Israel from the maps of that region. They said it was "unacceptable" to include Israel on an atlas being distributed in the Middle East (source). It begs the question: What is the next step - would it be eliminating Israelis, specifically Jews, from the Middle East? With a mindset like the one that allowed the elimination of an entire nation, on a map because it was said to be unacceptable, I cannot see that as the next step as being far off - at least in the minds of the publishers of that atlas.

It is the kissing of Muslim arse (and you know Islam is the reason Israel was not included on those maps) that will someday result in them eliminating Israel and then conquering the entire world.

I am thinking that the publisher, reported as being HarperCollins, may be one whose publications might be well worth avoiding.

 All the best,
Glenn B

Reloading Equipment Sale

Palmetto State Armory has an excellent sale ongoing on reloading equipment - 30% off their normal prices. I had been pricing reloading die sets for rifle calibers and they had prices close to or equal to the lowest ones I found. Taking another 30% of their already very competitive prices made ordering from them a no-brainer. I ordered two sets of rifle dies, 8mm Mauser and .308 Winchester for a total of about $55 shipped. That is nothing to shake a stick at so, if you need reloading equipment, check them out before the sale ends on January 4th at 11:59 PM.

All the best,
Glenn B

Florida Bound

Looks like I am heading down to WPB, FL for about two weeks. Will be leaving this Sunday. Will be spending all, or at least most, of my time with my uncle as long as he can bear me. Maybe I can get him to take in something relaxing like a fishing trip. That would be nice. Hope to see all of my FL cousins too, that would be excellent!

All the best,
Glenn B

Facebook Has Its Uses

Wow, it has been an unsettling experience finding out from a stranger, and on Facebook at that, that my uncle is in need of prayers and in some sort of distress. My wife and I called my uncle on Christmas to wish him a Merry Christmas and we left him a message. It was not unusual that I could not get him or that he did not return the call so we did not think anything was amiss. Then I tried maybe a half hour ago to call him to wish him a Happy New Year but no answer at his home phone. Shortly after I made that call, I saw a post on Facebook saying someone on FB was praying for him! I called him on his cell phone (which he rarely answers) and to my surprise he picked up right away. I was shocked to find out he has been in the hospital for the past 10 days and no one let us know about it! Luckily, he is getting out tomorrow but they still don't know what is or was wrong with him that put him inside a hospital in the first place. Hopefully he will be well sooner than later.

Of course, I only thought of this a bit later, maybe he told my cousins not to tell me he was not well. Who knows. I am not placing blame or anything like that, just shocked to find out, he was in the hospital, the way I found out. 

This may require a trip to FL. My uncle is much closer to me and loved much more by me than was my own father - much, much, much more than was that man loved by me - if ever after I was eight.

All the best,
Glenn B

Mayor Spineless Scumbag

New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio might just as well change his name to Mayor Spineless Scumbag if what is being reported is true (heaven knows he has changed it often enough before). More here on his latest disrespect for the NYPD.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Hunt of a Lifetime

Sometimes - when you wish hard enough, and do something to make the wish come true - wishes can come true. It can even happen when you totally blunder as to whom you send your wish. For a nice story of heartwarming efforts by the boys mom and by two sheriffs' departments to make one boys wishes come true read about it here.

They don't say if the young hunter bagged anything or not but while that's the goal of the hunt it's not what the hunt is all about.

All the best,
Glenn B

CDC Predicting Severe Flu Outbreak But Who Is Listening

The CDC has predicted that 2015 flu season may produce a severe outbreak of the flu (but also say it won't be terribly severe - how is that for hedging their bets). They are saying that one of the reasons that the flu outbreak may reach severe proportions this year is because the flu vaccine produced for this flu season is probably going to be ineffective against the strains of flu that will be out there. According to this article, the CDC is claiming that the flu strain H3N2 started to mutate after the production of this year's vaccine (so they are implying it's not like the CDC screwed up and made the wrong vaccine or anything like that). Well, if it was the case that they knew the damned bug was mutating then why didn't the CDC get on the bandwagon and create a new vaccine or at least try to do so! What they are telling us now is, in essence, that we should get vaccinated anyway and  then hope that it works to protect us.

Meanwhile, while the flu isn't running rampant, it is seemingly effecting us earlier than usual. Major flu outbreaks normally do not occur until February or March but this year several states have already been hard hit in the Midwest and the Southeast.

 

Now, I am none to worried about there being a major flu epidemic or even a severe outbreak. Nor am I all that worried about getting the flu. If I get it, I get it. Yet, I was vaccinated (not that it will do much good this year but I did not know that when I got my flu shot). I am a firm believer that vaccinations do more good than harm. On the other hand, I do not put all that much belief into predictions made by the CDC. They have been wrong before about which flu vaccine to produce and about their forecasts for major outbreaks of the flu. Just recently they were apparently very wrong about the Ebola virus epidemic.

 

You may remember that they said that the number of people infected by Ebola, in Africa, would reach 550,000 to 1.4 million by this month. As far as I am aware, we are nowhere near that mark. Granted, they said that it could be controlled but they said that in order to so, at least 70% of Ebola victims would have to be treated in isolation in Ebola units. That has not yet been achieved by a long shot but thankfully we have not seen that massive epidemic that the CDC was predicting.

 

The CDC also gets a lot of other things wrong. For instance there have been several cases of them mishandling extremely deadly pathogens such as anthrax, Ebola and flu strains. With all they get wrong it is no wonder that many folks have little to no faith in them when they talk about the efficacy of vaccines or when they make their predictions relative to outbreaks of disease. They cry wolf so often that it has me wondering who if anyone is listening to them besides me. Yeah, I still listen to them but am becoming more and more skeptical of what they say as each new CDC screw-up comes to pass.

 

Anyway, flu season is upon us, and I think that overall it pays to take some precautions as a nation and as an individual. Along those lines I got the flu vaccine. I also regularly clean my hands with alcohol gel, while at work. I come into contact with lots of people from all of the far corners of the earth every day while at work and it gives me the heebie-jeebies each time one of those fuckers picks or wipes his or her runny nose and then hands me something without at least first wiping off their hands. If work had examination gloves there for me to wear, that actually fit me, then I would wear them. They provided gloves but the only ones I found at the office where I have been working lately have been too small for me. Oh well, so I do what else I can, as recommended by the dunderheads at the CDC, to avoid catching whatever.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. Hoping you find peace, love, joy, the bluebird of happiness or whatever in the new year and or that the new year brings to you find out you have become a realist and now realize we need to kick the arse of they who would destroy America and our freedoms (whether foreign or domestic).

Did you stay up to celebrate at midnight? Not me, I passed out long before that this year. Not that I was celebrating, I simply was too pooped to party and I usually don't celebrate the new year anyway except to watch the ball drop and think 'there went another year dropped out of time and here comes another'.

All the best,
Glenn B

Looking For That Blue Flame

Right now, I am enjoying a larger sized dollop of Ole Smokey Tennessee Moonshine White Lightning and some Moonshine cherries too. Their white lightning is only 100 proof and not near the much more zesty white lightning I have enjoyed in the past. For instance, the father of a couple of my friends used to make some truly excellent distilled spirits from things like grape, plum and other fruit peels (I kid you not grape peels were in the mix). As I remember, after all these years, his went from about 120 to 180 proof and what he made right around 136 proof was simply his best and marvelously smooth and delicious. He swore it could cure a cold and after imbibing it while so afflicted - I swear so too.

While that is forever gone to me, and certainly is also very missed (as is the dad of my two pals, he was a really nice guy) I just learned that they have a product at Ole Smokey of which I was previously unawares. It is called Blue Flame Moonshine and is 128 proof. You can bet I will commence seeking it out both high and low until I find a jar or three. I am hoping it will bring back memories of younger days with Mr. S insisting  that I have another and of me being only too happy to oblige him.

All the best,
Glenn B

Carrying A Concealed Firearm In A Purse...

...or in an attaché case or in any other type of handbag (or bag hanging by a shoulder strap) is almost always something I have suggested against (there are very few exceptions that I make to that recommendation). My biggest gripe with that type of carry is that it is virtually inevitable, that at some point during the course of a day while carrying that way, the person carrying a weapon that way will put the bag down and thus not be in control of the pistol that is inside it. In addition, it is way too easy to have a bag snatched away from you by an opportunist and let's face it - most crooks are most certainly opportunists. Another thing is that if a pistol is carried that way, and not in a holster within the bag, then there is the risk of something getting wedged into the trigger guard and actuating the trigger or maybe even blocking it when you need the pistol. The possibility also exists that a small item that is loose in the bag, say a pen, could get stuck in the barrel and cause an obstruction with a potential for disaster. Thus I have always recommended my preferred style of carrying - on my strong side hip in a multiple retention type holster that is secured to my belt by loops integral to the holster itself. I prefer an outside the waistband holster but I suppose an inside the waistband holster is equally acceptable.
 
A tragic example of why one should shy away from such carry was reported in the media today. While article I am about to cite does not specifically mention one of the above pitfalls of handbag carry that I just outlined, it gives a fairly strong indication that a bag containing a firearm was put down and at least momentarily left unattended leading to a fatal accidental shooting and that the firearm was probably loose in the bag and not in a secure holster inside the bag. According to this report a 2 year old reached into his mother's purse and fired one shot from the mother's pistol which was in the purse, the shot struck his mother and killed her. This happened as she was shopping in a Walmart and while the child was "left" in a shopping cart. 
 
"The woman, whose identity was not released, had a concealed weapons permit. Miller said the young boy was left in a shopping cart, reached into the victim's purse and grabbed a small caliber handgun, which discharged one time." (source)

So how do I arrive at the conclusion that the bag with the gun in it was left unattended? Well, if the reporting is spot on, then had the bag been in the woman's hands, or hanging by a strap on her shoulder, it probably would not have been within reach of the toddler who had been "left" in the cart. Even if it was on the mom's person but within the child's reach, had the kid been fishing around in mom's bag - she probably would have seen or felt it and had time to prevent this tragedy (especially if it had been holstered inside the bag). My guess is that the bag was left in the cart with the child. Of course it is just a guess but I am basing it on what is said in the article about the child being left in the cart thus implying that the mother may have moved away from it briefly.  Had the pistol been secured in a holster, it probably would have taken a lot more fiddling with by the youngster and quite possibly would have resulted in the mom seeing his messing in her bag in time to prevent this.

Regardless of how it happened though, it remains a tragedy and it also should be a wake up call to folks who carry concealed weapons in bags that sooner or latter will almost indubitably wind up at least momentarily out of their control. A moment was probably all it took for this to happen with the all too sad results being the loss of a life, a baby left without his mother, a husband left without his wife and father left with the obligation of having to someday explain to his son exactly what happened.

Please note that I often wait day or three before posting about a tragedy, out of respect for the victims, instead of posting so immediately afterward. However, in a case like this, my posting without waiting is not meant to be disrespectful to the family or the victim but only as a warning to others who might find themselves in a similar situation. In other words, I am posting immediately afterward in the hope that my advising you of the potential for disaster, when carrying in a similar fashion, may help prevent a similar tragic situation from taking place.

My condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased.

All the best,
Glenn B
 

HO-HO-HO NOW YOU CAN MAKE A MACHINEGUN

So, what did you get for Christmas? Here is what I got:

On Christmas day, I got four Mounds Bars in my stocking. I also got to have the pleasure of watching my wife, son, daughter, son-in-law and my mother-in-law opening the extra presents I had gotten for them. Since we were doing the Secret Santa thing this year, where each of us would get a gift or gifts for only one person up to a set price limit, those presents from me were totally unexpected. Evidently though, judging by the smiles, those gifts were well appreciated. That was my best gift - seeing the smiles on their faces. I also got a thank you email from my nephew who I sent a gift card from Amazon.com. I got nothing else on Christmas day except some Merry Christmas wishes and kisses. That was because our family celebration was set for yesterday (the Saturday after Christmas) due to family work obligations. On Saturday, during our celebration, I got to see my two brother's-in-law smile when they got the extras I gave them, as well as seeing everyone smile when they got their gifts from their Secret Santas - myself included (well I did not see my smile but felt it there on my face)..

Yesterday, my Secret Santa (my son, it was not hard at all to figure out) gave me three things from my wish list. A jar of Ole Smokey Moonshine Cherries, a gift certificate for Zum Stammtisch restaurant (one of my favorite places to eat) and a complete lower build A2 parts kit with a note from him on the box saying: "HO-HO-HO NOW YOU CAN MAKE A MACHINEGUN".

The note is now hanging off of the bottom of a picture frame just above my desk.

I already had a stripped lower that needed a parts kit and that was just the thing I needed. Now I have to put the darned thing together  and there is not even a parts list in the box let alone instructions on how to do it. I guess I'll be looking to YouTube for instructional videos. And by the way - NO IT WILL NOT BE FULL AUTO NOR EVEN SELECT FIRE no matter how much my Secret Santa thinks I can now make a machingun.

So, What Did You Get For Christmas?

All the best,
Glenn B

If I Was In A Similar Situation...

...I think that instead of me being focused like this:

...I would be more focused like this:

I mean, I'd like to think I was man enough to admire the beauty of the body whenever possible but at times like that I'd think I have another thing on my mind. Maybe that's just me though.

All the best,
Glenn B

Another Officer Down - End Of Watch

Police Officers - how did Jaden Ramos, the son of slain NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos, say it shortly after he learned that his father had been assassinated and stolen from his life:

"Everyone says they hate cops but they are the people that they call for help."

He was not exactly right about everyone saying they hate cops, not everyone says that although most people do criticize them freely with frequency. So, he was very close to being right on the mark. It's natural to criticize, at least here in America where we can enjoy our rights by way of exercising liberty and that criticism often is directed at public servants. Heck, I was in law enforcement for a career spanning just over 32 years and I found myself on the receiving end and find myself doing it too; that is when I think it warranted. It's not me hating cops (and other law enforcers) but criticizing them and calling for changes because I see law enforcement in general getting out of hand, not just now and then but as a regular occurrence in today's world. Yet, I also respect those in LE a great deal - at least those who stand behind the shield honorably and who do not abuse their authority especially by way of rights and liberty violations. We all need to respect them, I think we are obliged to do so out of a sense of what is right. We should respect and honor those who perform that duty that Jaden mentioned.

Yes, he mentioned their duty - the duty to come when they hear us call for help! They come at all hours of the day or night, in any weather, whether they are feeling up to it or not to serve and protect - to answer our cries for help. They actually do serve and protect, no matter how many times they may also be criticized for things they get wrong (and yes they are human too and screw up just like anyone else). The fact is the police are the ones we call for help - we the: men, women, hard core right, whacko leftists, moderates, Republicans, Democrats, Tea Party folks, children, adults, whites, blacks, red men, yellow men, brown, men, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, atheists, straights, gays, plumbers, professors, prostitutes, politicians, homeless bums, preppers, 3 percenters, agitators, racists, race baiters, and even cop-haters call them for help when thy need them. Sure, they do some bad, they are often way too in line with soft tyranny (sometimes even real tyranny). There are some bad apples in the bunch, real bad ones at that who probably commit more crime than prevent it BUT they are the exception.

Cops also come when called, by us, for help; that is the rule for them and not the exception. They do so to face all sorts of unknowns. Sometimes they come to help deliver a baby, or to give medical assistance (this cop thought he was about to issue a speeding violation), or to find a missing person, or keep the peace during demonstrations (even when the demonstrators call out for dead cops) or to respond to calls on alleged or actual: burglaries, assaults, and to more heinous crimes like rapes and murders. They even get called for cats up trees (and wind up need help from the fire department). Then there are the catastrophes to which they rush to save lives, well knowing that their lives are at risk, such as school shootings, terrorist attacks and the like. Of course there are the more mundane things they do, like sit and eat lunch in their patrol cars, and even they wind up dead - just for being cops. When some among them are criticized, alleged to have done things, accused of crimes, convicted of criminal acts - we tend to lump them together and see them as bad. The truth is though, most of them do good and try to answer our calls for help, to serve us and protect us, as best they can and as I said, they never know what lies in wait on any given call.

Somewhere between a lunch break, a routine and a heinous murder or terrible catastrophe are calls about domestic violence. They can be the easiest going call or the most dangerous calls a police officer will ever receive. Police officers often become the target of both the caller (who called 911 for help) and of the person who the caller accused of wrongdoing (spouse or domestic partner). When they arrive on the scene of a domestic violence call, young Jaden's words come true all to often because it sometimes seems that everyone involved in those calls hates the police! If not everyone then many times at least one of the parties involved turns their anger on the cops but it is all too often that everyone involved sees them as the bad guys. Drunken violent badgering husbands attack the cops, badly beaten and abused wives who called the police for help suddenly turn on the cops as the cops put their husbands in cuffs, parents attack the police or accuse them of wrongdoing when the police use force to control their emotionally disturbed and dangerous child, the same child they called the police to control because moments before they feared for their lives at the hands of their own child.

Sadly, it has happened again and this time with fatal results. Yesterday, the police in Flagstaff, AZ were called to a domestic violence situation. Later on, an officer, while following up on the investigation, was speaking to one of the parties allegedly involved. As they stood talking to one another - the officer and the alleged suspect - the man reportedly pulled a gun and, at close range, shot the officer in the face. The officer, Tyler Stewart, was rushed to a hospital by but succumbed to his wounds.



 

Police Officer Tyler Stewart RIP

The piece of dirt who shot him then killed himself rather than having the courage to face what he had coming on this earth.

Police answered that call too, the call of shots fired - officer down. They never know what each day, each hour, each minute, each moment will bring them - they never know what call for help will come next or what will lie in wait for them on that call. Officer Stewart was a rookie ,with less than a year on the job, and he was only 24 years old. (I started my LE career just days before my 24th birthday so this really hits home with me.) You can bet that he did not wake up yesterday, put on his uniform and strap on his gun-belt, with the thought: Today is a good day to die and then rush off to work hoping for a life or death encounter in which he would lose his life but it happened. He is gone, he is dead, he was killed answering a call to help, he was killed in the line of duty, he was killed while both trying to serve and protect, he was killed doing a job that most people would never even consider doing, he was killed while being a police officer who was answering the call. 

Now, the police in Flagstaff, from all round AZ and the adjoin states and probably from all over the country, maybe even from around the world, will come to answer another call - the call of camaraderie to attend his funeral services. They will come to pay their last respects to a brother officer who fell in the line of duty. They will come to give support to the family, loved ones, friends and partners of Officer Stewart. They will come to show support for one another just as they came in New York for the funeral of Officer Ramos and as most certainly they will come for the funeral of Ramos' partner Officer Liu. They will come looking their finest, they will stand at attention, they will salute him, they will play the pipes for him, they will honor his memory and honor his family all to pay their respects to one of the finest - who died in a way they all fear - a police officer who lost his life in the line of duty answering a call for help.

It was a call Officer Stewart answered, that they almost would all answer, regardless of the callers race, religion, gender, sexual preference, politics, or any other consideration because the only thing that mattered is that someone called for help and he was a police officer so he answered the call. Yes, other officers will answer the call now and they will come to his side, this one last time. He was a brother officer who was gunned down in the line of duty and if they do not come - then who will come to answer that call of Officer Down - End Of Watch.

My condolences to the family and loved ones of Officer Tyler Stewart and to his fellow officers. At the very least we owe him that much respect, it is our duty to answer that call, the call to see him off with honor.

All the best,
Glenn B

Lest We Forget - Let's Take A Moment To Remember...

...the almost quarter of a million people, right around 230,000 of them, who lost their lives 10 years ago today. That was during an unprecedented show of Nature's unrelenting force, on December 26, 2004. Early that morning, less than an hour into the new day, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake ripped up the floor of the Indian Ocean and caused the Indian Ocean Tsunami that swept through south Asian countries whose shorelines ran along the Indian Ocean.

It was devastation, caused by a single natural event in the course of hours, like we have not seen at any other time in our lifetimes. The event also caused one of the largest, if not the largest, outpourings of charity for a single disaster - some claim the total was approximately $10 billion US dollars while others claim it was as high as $14 billion dollars.

Let us hope we do not witness another similar disaster - not ever. Keep those who were lost and they who lost loved ones in your thoughts and or prayers today.

All the best,
Glenn B

Worst Fireams Tactics Training Video

I feel compelled to share the laughs I had while watching the below video. So, for the second time today, I am lifting something off of another blogger's blog. I found this firearms training video over at Keads' blog Another Day.....Another..... and let me tell you it could become a classic video to train you what not to do. With all due respect to his credentials, I think the guy in the video is a million miles off the mark or he made that video in jest. He seems so serious about it though that I am hard pressed to think he is kidding and that it was a jest (and it is explained here that it apparently was meant to be a real training video).

Seriously folks, if you want to live, find another way to handle getting caught in - what did he call it: "...some weirdo crossfire or something like that..."! I have never seen anything, that I can recall, as laughable as that nor as absolutely wrong as that relative to firearms and tactical training.



For the newbies to shooting here are some things this 'operator' did that were absolutely ridiculous:

He tells you if you are in your vehicle and get shot at from the front or side, to get out. Why not just stay in the front and get into his contorted pose on the floor hanging out the right front door? Why get out and then turn his back to the shooters?

He is supposedly getting shot at and does not draw his weapon to return fire as he retreats toward the rear. Why not retreat while firing?

Also, why not just drive away or run the bastards over? Ok, in his defense, we will assume the vehicle is dead. So what next?

He gets back in, the rear of the cab, then crawls to the far side of the vehicle and uses a vehicle door as what - cover, concealment and wobbly support while he shoots, one handed, at an assailant in front of the truck from an angle that even Superman would find difficult to maintain!

He effectively wedges himself into a spot that is not easy to get out of as will soon be seen in what he does in his next move. For some reason, maybe an odd one to him but not t me, I think that getting behind the truck so I was in line with one of the tires (or both front and back tires on one side) would provide much better cover with any round needing to go through the whole length of the truck or at least two sides of a tire to hit me rather than the bottom of the vehicle door . I must be missing some advantage, that his superior knowledge holds is hidden only in the murky depths of his mind, about that type of shooting position.

Then there is his drop the gun, flop out onto the ground macho-man style exiting of the vehicle, while abandoning any cover and or concealment that was behind the door only to bring himself into the prone position on the ground completely out in the open where he grabs the gun and starts shooting again. Whom is he trying to kid! In what movie or kids cartoon did he see a move like that?Again, I must be missing something because I just don't get it but then I am sometimes slow to fully comprehend the finer aspects of such obviously vastly superior ridiculous methods as compared to my more mundane but oft taught tactics.

Anyway, it sure gave me a good belly laugh especially when he said: "As you can see, it wasn't that bad". Yes sir - it was definitely that bad and that bad was much worse than he had thought because it was terrible! I am still laughing.

All laughter aside, it concerned me greatly to think that there may be some unknowledgeable folks who, in seeking firearms training, ran across that thinking it an intelligent and reliable way to defend yourself. In my opinion, based upon my experience, it definitely is not that at all and would more likely get you killed than save your life. Sure, it actually may work for you once in real life but only if you are the very lucky type and probably only if it also makes your adversaries fall on the floor laughing in disbelief at your antics.

As I said above, if you want to live, then find another way to do it . One last thing, make sure that includes finding someone else to train you if only because he forgot to tell you to make sure that the child safety locks on the rear doors are not engaged! How could he have missed that tip!

A hat tip to Keads for posting that on his blog.

All the best,
Glenn B

 

I Just Lifted Some 1911 Animations

Was just surfing my blog-roll and felt it imperative that I steal someone else's thunder by pretty much copying what he had posted on his blog and reposting it here. What I stole lifted were these two links to nice animations of a 1911 in action. The first is basically a cutaway view so you see the internal parts as they operate. The second, and much more interesting GIF, is an interactive animation in that you can view a working 1911 as it normally would appear but that one has a twist. The twist is that you can also view the working 1911 as a cutaway in whole or in part (you select which parts to view as a cutaway and there are two different cutaway modes) and to twist it further you can hide parts to be able to see parts that other would not have been seen in their entirety in the cutaway mode. You can play with that one awhile, changing the view numerous ways, to learn about how the 1911 functions. I am not a gunsmith and cannot attest that each and every moving part is shown (from the left side of the pistol) but my guess is that they are there.

http://animagraffs.com/how-a-handgun-works-1911-45/

http://www.m1911.org/loader.swf

A hat tip to New Jovian Thunderbolt for posting these informative links.

All the best,
Glenn B

Another Bush As President Probably Would Not Please Me...

...although I must say that it would please me a whole lot more than another screaming and whining liberal leftist. So when I read that Bush is stepping down from his position on a health care board (source), and thus looking as if he may be potentially more seriously in the running as a candidate than I had thought, I was not all that disappointed.

While I would rather not vote for him and while I have already stated who, right now, is my favored choice (although that choice may change) as the prime candidate for the presidency - I could see myself voting for another Bush (if nominated) instead of any liberal leftist demoncrat that might run in 2016.

Hopefully though, we will have a patriot with steel balls (or at least with brass balls) and with set convictions and ideals in the running and that's not certainly going to be a Bush, not by a longshot!

All the best,
Glenn B