The Wandering Minstrel

How lucky am I to live in the bluest state in the Union where I can commute amongst the worst drivers in the country and pay the highest tax rates in the world? Where I can’t carry a gun to protect myself from some of the worst crime rates in the country?

Why should I be having these irrational thoughts about leaving this place?

Yes - that was my evening commute - 15 minutes to go ½ mile because of a minor ‘incident.’

Our ISP lost an entire block of servers this afternoon. We were off for a little over an hour. Seems to be fine now.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Now that the cost and availability of ammo being what it is, I had to look into options for mitigating the problem. I found a conversion that would let my Glock 26 9mm pistol (Little Boy) or my Glock 30 .45ACP (Fat Man) shoot the diminutive rounds.

According to the website offering the kit, it allows you to shoot inexpensive .22 Long Rifle ammunition so that you can shoot longer and more often, turns your GLOCK into an ideal pistol for first time shooters and makes a great tool for teaching women and young adults how to safely shoot a pistol without the intimidation of larger calibers. The kit comes with a Slide-Lock and Internal Firing Pin Block Safety plus some cleaning gear. All this for a little under $300.

I would have to rename my pistols - ‘Fat Man’ would be ‘Beached Whale’ and ‘Little Boy’ would be ‘Tinker Bell.’ Somehow, that just seems wrong.

I guess I’ll resort to option ‘B’ - ‘BUY’ a .22 semi-auto and shoot it.

I think this is a neat picture:

Wikipedia has this about the Warthog:

The A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force to provide close air support (CAS) of ground forces by attacking tanks, armored vehicles and other ground targets with a limited air interdiction capability. It is the first U.S. Air Force aircraft designed exclusively for close air support.

The A-10’s official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of World War II, a fighter that was particularly effective at close air support. The A-10 is more commonly known by its nickname “Warthog” or simply “Hog”. As a secondary mission, it provides airborne forward air control, guiding other aircraft against ground targets. A-10s used primarily in this role were designated OA-10 until 2007, at which time the forward air control mission was incorporated under the A-10 mission designation.

It’s often falsely believed that dialing 911 will instantly bring emergency services to assist. In the case of police response to these calls, you will find that the crime is over and done with before the unit shows up to assist.

Underlying all gun control ideology is this one belief; Private citizens don’t need firearms because the police will protect them from crime. I’m certain that an examination of the following table will lead you to an entirely different conclusion.

Now think about what you can accomplish in eight to eleven minutes. Mow the lawn? Call your Mom? Take a shower? Rob a convenience store? Well, maybe not you, but you get the idea. Stare at the clock for the next eight minutes. It’s a very long time. Looking at the data above for response times in major cities leads me to conclude that being in a remote area would only exacerbate the already dismal response to 911 calls.

The book cover pictured above is from a very good read - “Dial 911 and Die” - the author, Richard Stevens gives these two reasons why dialing 911 is ineffective in protecting citizens from crime:

First, the police cannot and do not protect everyone from crime. Second, the government and the police in most localities owe no legal duty to protect individuals from criminal attack. When it comes to deterring crime and defending against criminals, individuals are ultimately responsible for themselves and their loved ones. Depending solely on police emergency response means relying on the telephone as the only defensive tool. Too often, citizens in trouble dial 911 . . . and die.

I posted about Mr. Stevens’ book back in March of 2008.

UPDATE: Welcome to 2A Roundup readers.

WTF? A man INTENTIONALLY runs down some people in a parking lot with a vehicle and gets off with “vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury.”

If this asshole had used a GUN instead of a vehicle, how much time do you think he would be doing? One hell of a lot more than eight years!

San Pedro Man pleads no contest to car assault charges

A driver who intentionally ran down several men, killing one, in a San Pedro parking lot will spend more than eight years in prison, prosecutors said Friday.

Samuel Pinto, 38, pleaded no contest on April 17 to one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office.

Pinto apparently fought with one of the men inside the 7-Eleven at 1519 N. Gaffey St. around 1:15 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2008.

Outside the store, the man and his friends, who had just left a birthday celebration, were going back to their limousine bus when Pinto, who was waiting, backed up his van and rammed the men.

Francisco Aguirre Jr., 31, of San Pedro was dragged from the lot into the street and died immediately.

The other two men were injured.

Pinto left the scene but was later arrested.

Pinto was originally charged with murder and attempted murder in Long Beach Superior Court.

Aguirre’s brother told the Los Angeles Times’ Homicide Report blog that Aguirre, who was known as “Pancho,” was planning to marry his longtime girlfriend.

Face it people - the instruments of death have NOTHING to do with the motivation of the perpetrator. Death by flatiron and death by vehicle are still DEATH.

The court system is BROKEN.

This afternoon, the Better Half and I went into the kitchen and ad libbed our way to this gorgeous wok full of orange pork lo mein and stir fry veggies. This simple nutritious low-fat meal was really easy and quick. How good was it? DAMN good.

Clickable image: pork and stir-fry veggies before adding noodles to the wok.

I started out with some fresh trimmed pork loin. Then, I cubed it up into bite-sized chunks. Next, the Better Half added soy sauce, grated garlic, grated ginger and sesame oil to marinate the pork. After marinating an hour or so, she dropped the pork chunks into a wok and fried them in a couple of teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil until golden brown. Next, she stirred in the veggies (a frozen pack of stir fry veggies thawed and washed) and the chow mein noodles (the previously cooked soft noodles). Finally, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, a dash of saki and another sprinkle of soy sauce.

I ate mine with a pair of chopsticks and sipped a Tsingtao. DAMN was that a good meal!

While 60 Minutes (a CBS Propaganda Program) ignored the breaking story about Senatrix Feinstein (you know, as in dominatrix) siphoning government money into her husband’s business interests, they pursued a line of questioning that exposes the true agenda of Democrats in Washington.

In a recent dispatch on the NRA News Channel, Wayne LaPierre commented about Feinstein’s intentions:

While the Obama administration wants to lull gun owners into complacency, it’s only a matter of time before a massive campaign is launched to deny our firearms freedom.

That’s straight from the mouth of one of the most aggressive gun-haters on Capitol Hill - United States Senator Diane Feinstein.

“I’ll pick the time and the place, no question about that,” Feinstein told CBS on “60 Minutes,” when asked if she planned on mounting an effort to renew the Clinton Gun Ban on lawful semi-automatic firearms.

Feinstein made that comment after claiming - wrongly - that American gun shows were responsible for arming drug cartels and violent gangs with so-called “assault weapons.”

But despite the facts that prove her claim wrong, the anti-gun senator from San Francisco is as determined as ever to bring back the old gun ban … and she knows she’ll have support from President Barack Obama.

When reporter Lesley Stahl pointed out that it seems the president has a full plate of critical issues to deal with right now, Feinstein agreed.

“I agree with you,” Feinstein said, “I wouldn’t bring it up now. I’ll pick the time and place, no question about that.”

But what Feinstein and Stahl and the rest of the anti-freedom crowd don’t know is that American gun owners are not complacent. We’re not easily duped into a false sense that our freedom is safe. We know it’s just a matter of time, and we’ll stay ready to defend our rights.

Just like the dominatrix Mistress Mandy, Feinstein needs to be blocked.