The Wandering Minstrel

Maybe I should get one of these on my truck. I’m not into tattoos, but this could be a way to express myself . . .

AND IT AIN’T CHUMP CHANGE:

Even if you believe the White House’s projections over those of the Congressional Budget Office, the National Debt will be staggering. If fiscal conservatives ever get back in the Congressional majority and in the White House, it will take twenty years or more to recover from the Obamination.

For those of us who keep our credit cards paid off and meet all other financial obligations, this analysis is incomprehensible. This means my bottom line will be impacted by all of this in the form of higher taxes, higher prices and inflation.

Two to the heart, one to the head times three. Glock 30 (Fat Man) .45ACP at seven yards - 10 rounds in roughly ten seconds. The tenth round in the magazine? Right to the crotch, just for spite.

UPDATE: Welcome 2A Roundup readers. Also if you’re not reading The Liberty Sphere, you’re missing a daily essential blog.

The Better Half took a picture of this 1956 Buick Special parked in a neighbor’s driveway. I didn’t get a close look at this hardtop 3-holer, but it sure looked clean and nice from my vantage point.

Clickable Image

Good thing that this story is dying on the vine . . .

It would have REALLY pissed off all the Raider Nation in California.

California to Ban Black Cars (Not Really)

SACRAMENTO, CA - The California Air Resources Board is trying to squash reports that it wants to ban the sale of black cars.

“I think it’s an example of a misperception and misinformation in the blogosphere,” said CARB spokesman Stanley Young.

The state proposed requiring car makers to use more reflective paint to reduce the load on air conditioners. A report prepared for a public workshop concluded that “jet black remains an issue.”

Young said an automotive blogger mistakenly believed the report’s conclusion meant CARB would take steps to ban black paint.

“Nothing like that was ever in the regulation, but it took on a life of its own,” Young said.

Rush Limbaugh picked up on the blog during his national radio program Thursday. “So buy a black car now because soon they won’t be available,” Limbaugh advised his audience.

Young said CARB has shelved its plan to require more reflective paint until manufacturers can find a way to make black paint more reflective.

In the meantime, the state is moving forward with a proposal to require automotive glass to reflect more of the sun’s heating rays.

Young said the initial target is 30 percent, and ultimately, 40 percent more reflectivity. He said it can be done without changing the appearance of the windows.

The bottom line is still that the crazy global warming hoax is going to cost us all lots and lots of heartache and money.

The Secretary of State went to Mexico City and apologized for us evil Americans who sell guns to Mexican Drug Cartels. She pins the blame on ‘assault weapons’ sold at every American corner gun store. You know, stuff like RPGs, grenades, fully-automatic weapons, rocket launchers and the like.

Of course the long-standing policy of Clinton and her philandering hubby, is to disarm you and me. To use her status as head of the State Department to further their whacko political position makes her resemble a malicious
equine posterior - an ugly prospect to be sure.

Jim Geraghty, who writes at National Review’s Campaign Spot, posted a pretty good accounting and analysis of Clinton’s politicizing guns in lieu of actually solving Mexico’s cartel problem:

Hillary’s Foreign-Soil Sales Pitch for Reinstating the Assault-Weapons Ban

Hillary Clinton, speaking in Mexico City yesterday:

We believe that we have announced a plan to use every tool at our current disposal through administrative actions to track illegal guns, to arrest and punish those who are trafficking in illegal guns, to share more information with the Mexican Government so that they can also track and seize these guns. Obviously, I am someone who supported the assault weapons ban which was passed in 1994, but it was passed with an expiration date and it expired ten years later. I, as a senator, supported measures to try to reinstate it. Politically, that is a very big hurdle in our Congress. But there may be some approaches that could be acceptable, and we are exploring those.

Certainly, the export of assault weapons and illegal weapons is something that has grave consequences for Mexico. And we’re going to look at whatever is possible that we can do ourselves within the Administration, and we will explore with Congress other steps to take

Those who traffic in “illegal guns” are already violating the law — making the reinstatement of the assault-weapons ban superfluous.

Secondly, notice this account in the Los Angeles Times from March 15, spotlighted by Instapundit:

Traffickers have escalated their arms race, acquiring military-grade weapons, including hand grenades, grenade launchers, armor-piercing munitions and antitank rockets with firepower far beyond the assault rifles and pistols that have dominated their arsenals.

Most of these weapons are being smuggled from Central American countries or by sea, eluding U.S. and Mexican monitors who are focused on the smuggling of semiautomatic and conventional weapons purchased from dealers in the U.S. border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

Obviously, “hand grenades, grenade launchers, armor-piercing munitions and antitank rockets” are not available in the civilian market. If those weapons are coming from America, it means that someone in the military is secretly selling this stuff on the black market — again, a factor not influenced by the expiration of the assault-weapons ban.

UPDATE: After having some fun with it, I decided to tone-down the name-calling and just let the snark do it’s thing.

It’s inconceivable to me that my home state is recognized as the absolute WORST state in the union for legitimate gun owners. It’s even less conceivable that the town where I was born and grew up would attempt to impose draconian measures that - as everyone on the constitutional side of the issue knows - will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to reduce violent crimes where firearms are used.

As a native son, I am pleased to report that pressure on the Long Beach, California, City Council, resulted in their dropping an illegal and really stupid ammunition registration ordinance.

From the NRA-ILA:

Due to overwhelming opposition from the pro-gun community, the Long Beach City Council decided not to draft an ordinance that would have required ammunition retailers in Long Beach to register ammunition purchasers.

Congress has tried ammunition registration in the past, only to discover that it was not only ineffective for law enforcement, but also completely unmanageable due to the sheer volume of transactions. Ammunition registration creates huge record keeping requirements and provides no useful benefits for law enforcement; which is why it was repealed at the federal level by the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986.

Thank you to all of the NRA members who answered the call in opposition to this attack on our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Without you, this victory would not have been possible.

While this is certainly a notable win, anti-gun forces are sure to try once again. Please continue checking your email and www.NRAILA.org for updates on this issue.

It has been over sixty years ago that my father-in-law, Bill, served in U.S. Naval Aviation. He was stationed at Gibraltar in 1948 where Navy Patrol Squadron 26 had a detachment in those days.

The Cold War was fully in progress, and Bill’s Squadron was right in the thick of it all. Bill was a flight crew member and flew missions on the Navy version of the old B24 - the PB4Y-2 ‘Privateer.’ He flew missions all over the Mediterranean, Europe, the North Atlantic Ocean and back to the US for logistics and repairs.

[Click here for an image of the PB4Y-2 Privateer]

This post is a tribute to Bill and those with whom he served. Bill is reminiscing a lot these days since he is confined to home care after a long bout with cancer.

I did the research on his old squadron and brought him a package of information and history about VP-26, complete with pictures and the squadron patch seen above. That triggered a lot of old memories and discussions with Bill about his adventures in VP-26.

This is from the VP-26 Website:

Patrol Squadron VP-26, a member of Patrol Wing FIVE, is a Maritime Patrol Squadron with a worldwide theater of operations. Mission areas include: Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti-Surface Warfare (ASU), Command and Control Warfare (C2W), Command, Control, and Communications (CCC), Intelligence (INT), Mine Warfare (MIW), and Mobility (MOB). Although the “TRIDENTS” are homeported at U.S. (Naval Air Station) NAS Brunswick, Maine, their reputation is known throughout the world. The Tridents have demonstrated success in all of these tasks and in all the services performed, one thing remains constant: Team Trident is at the ready, supporting the mission… Anytime… Anywhere!

Update: Click here for the Complete VP-26 History (PDF).