The Wandering Minstrel

The Better Half snapped this as we drove past a home where a couple of very nice classic hot rods were parked in the driveway. Both early Fords. Clickable image.

When we were in Wickenburg, AZ, a couple of weeks ago, we passed this billboard on US Hwy. 60 just at the edge of town. The local Ford dealer, Jones Auto Centers, praised Ford Motors for not taking the government bailout, unlike GM and Chrysler. The bottom line is that Ford seems to be a healthy, free-enterprise company.

Clickable image courtesy The Better Half.

From Fox Business News:

Ford Posts Better-than-Expected Quarterly Profit

Ford Motor Co (F: 12.40 ,+0.30 ,+2.44%) posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and said it was on track to be profitable in 2010 with second half profits lower than the first half.

Ford, whose shares were up 2.6% in premarket trading, lowered the top end of its range for U.S. auto industry sales for 2010, while saying it expects to move from a net automotive debt position to a net cash position by the end of 2011.

Its second-quarter net profit rose to $2.6 billion from $2.26 billion in the year earlier quarter when the automaker had gains from debt reduction efforts. Earnings per share fell to 61 cents from 69 cents due to a higher outstanding share count.

Ford posted earnings of 68 cents per share from operations excluding one-time items. Analysts on average expected Ford to post a profit of 40 cents per share on that basis, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Its shares were up 31 cents, or 2.6%, to $12.40 in premarket trading.

My NRA email newsletter arrived in the inbasket today. One of the articles in it is about Caleb, a fellow gun blogger who writes at Gun Nuts Media. The American Rifleman interviewer, Ben O’Brien, discusses Caleb’s transition from competition shooter to reality show TV star.

The Better Half and I have watched each episode. While we have never met Caleb in person, we were rooting for him and the blue team. Of course we were sorry to see him eliminated but getting that far into what must have been a great experience surely must be rewarding.

The interview is posted at the American Rifleman website.

On the way back from our weekly visit with The Better Half’s Mom, I noticed the odometer on the SUV was about to rollover to five sixes. I grabbed the digital camera and took a photo of the event.

My first thought was the “sign of the beast” or the “number of the beast,” a vague notion that “666″ is a Christian representation of the anti-Christ. Tonight, I looked it up on Wikipedia. I am totally blown away by the extensive article on the variations of “Six Hundred Three Score and Six.”

The Number of the Beast is a concept from the Book of Revelation of the New Testament of the Christian Bible, relating to the figure of “The Beast”. The number is 666 in most manuscripts of the New Testament, and in modern translations and critical editions of the Greek text. Although Irenaeus (2nd century AD) affirmed the number to be 666 and reported several scribal errors of the number, there is still doubt by some theologians about the original reading, as some recently discovered 3rd century early manuscripts of Revelation read 616. This topic is a source of contention for many church groups and theologians. Most scholars contend that the number 666 is a code for the Roman Emperor Nero.

And it goes on and on . . .

Our shooting range in California recently required that only slugs and buckshot can be fired through shotguns. Their reason is that birdshot will not stick in the backing downrange and will be ricocheted back towards shooters. As a complication, the rifled slugs are ill-advised to be shot through guns with chokes as it will damage the threads into which the choke is secured. That’s why I became highly interested in a new product - the Trulock Tactical Choke available from Brownell’s for about $55:

TACTICAL CHOKE TUBE

* Mfr:TRULOCK CHOKES
* Price:$54.99
* Delivers Excellent Performance From A Wide Range Of Law Enforcement Ammo

Multi-purpose, screw-in choke tube gives excellent performance with a variety of law enforcement shotgun ammunition, including rifled slugs, buckshot, and breaching rounds. Direct replacement for popular factory screw-in tubes, so it eliminates the inconvenience of having to change the muzzle device for specific applications. Sharply crenelated muzzle provides the proper stand-off distance and secure grip on the surface for use as a breaching device. Won’t interfere with performance of buckshot, and preserves the downrange accuracy of slugs. Precision machined from carbon steel, with a knurled surface for easy installation/removal, and a wear-resistant, non-glare black oxide finish.

SPECS: Carbon steel, matte black oxide finish. Extends 2.1” (5.3cm) from end of muzzle. 12 gauge only. Remington fits Rem™ Choke Win/Brng/Moss fits WinChoke®, Browning Invector, and Mossberg 500. Benelli/Beretta fits Mobilchoke™ system.

The 12 gauge only thing bothers us since The Better Half’s Remington 870 “Junior” is 20 ga. Maybe Trulock will offer a 20 gauge version later. The Better Half thinks this would look awesome sticking out the front of our 870s.

Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff (where we’re building our new home), has instituted a program of matching or even trumping the types of arms being used by criminal alien gangs.

The machine gun in the clickable image to the right, appears to be a Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun, one of the more famous designs of Saint John Moses Browning, designed towards the end of WW1. It can project lead accurately up to a distance of over a mile. Arpaio conducted a sweep of a drug cartel infested area last Thursday aimed at putting down the operations in the Vekol Valley.

“I want to send a message to these criminal traffickers that we will not be intimidated by reports claiming that traffickers are better equipped than our law enforcement officers […] we have the machine guns too and we will not hesitate to use them if the situation calls for it.”

“If anyone shoots at our deputies, they are going to have a problem,” said Arpaio in a news conference in the minutes prior to the sweep.

The Better Half and I like our Sheriff’s attitude - and his arsenal.

“The Simple truth is that we’ve lost control of our own borders, and no nation can do that and survive.” — Ronald Reagan

Stand with Arizona. Sign the petition at TOWNHALL.COM . . .

Arizona is fighting to defend its borders, protect its citizens, and preserve the rule of law.

The Obama administration, Mexico and liberal special interests with lawyers and protest groups are trying to destroy the Arizona economy through an irresponsible boycott.

Arizona is getting hit by boycotts from other states and cities but Arizona is staying strong - Arizona Strong.

Arizona’s governor is under tremendous pressure from every direction. Arizona faces a future full of lawsuits from advocates of open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens already in the U.S.

Join with us today and declare your solidarity with Arizona.

An Accident on Interstate 10 today brought traffic to a complete dead stop. At about 11:18 this morning on our way back from Arizona, we encountered the stoppage between Blythe and Desert Center. The outside temperature was 113°. We waited for 35 minutes in the sweltering heat for traffic to start moving again.

Clickable Image: Traffic on I-10 at a dead stop. Top: looking west.

After 20 minutes of waiting, we saw a young man on a mountain bicycle go by heading toward whatever incident was ahead on the highway. About 15 minutes after that, he was heading back telling anyone who would hear that there had been an accident up ahead and that it was now cleared and traffic had started moving ahead. Buddy, if you’re reading this then God Bless You!

All I can say is thank God for our air conditioned SUV. The Better Half and our dog were reasonably comfortable in spite of the temperature reported in the readout integrated into the rear view mirror. Talk about Urban Heat Island effect - hundreds of idling vehicles on the hot bituminous pavement generating massive bubbles of hot air under the vehicles.

After we got rolling, the readout dropped to a mere 117°. We passed the accident site - we could see no wrecked vehicles but there was a gaggle of CHP in the median with accident scene tools still investigating the incident.

Now, we’re home and it’s a nice cool 89° - just right for a couple of cold ones to take the edge off of an interesting interstate commute.