The Bitter Dead-Enders of Y'all Qaeda

Still hanging in there:

As the anti-government standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge entered its 30th day, the remaining occupiers claimed many of their phone lines no longer worked.

The four holdouts awoke to discover that many lost phone and Internet service overnight, according to [Some Other Jerkoff], a Nevada [fellow-traveler] who said he had been in contact with the armed protesters. They have refused to leave the refuge until they are guaranteed they won't be arrested.

Right. "We've take over a Fed'rul building for a month, we got guns, and we're only gonna leave if you don't arrest us."-- Let me know how that works out for you guys.

Peaceful protest is usually protected b the First Amendment. Civil disobedience is not. And certainly not armed criminal activity. These clowns are no more "legitimate protesters" than were the Weathermen who were robbing banks.* Breaking the law can get you jail time.

Y'all Qaeda's new motto: "Give us immunity or give us death."
_______________________________

*The difference between the Weathermen and Y'all Qaeda is the Weathermen didn't just run their mouths.

Your Sunday Morning Jet Noise

An-74:

Suggestion credit

Clinton Suports Gun Control, Only Because She Thinks It'll Get Her Votes

Eight years ago, she was trying to persuade votes that she was pro-Second Amendment.

This time around, she's taking the opposite tack.

Clinton is about as pure an electoral politician as there is this time around. She will say and support anything that she thinks will result in a net increase in votes. Clinton would barbecue and eat parrots.

I think her time has passed. But then again, I think that the time of any establishment candidate has passed.

Knocking Off the Rust, Aviatrix Ed.

I flew yesterday and today for the first time in four weeks. (I had a cold that then took up long-term residence in my sinuses.) It finally cleared up.

Yesterday, I shot some landings. I almost thought that I'd have to jump-start it, but a couple of blades kicked over and the engine started. The landings weren't too horrible, even with a bit of a crosswind.

This morning was a cross-country to an airport cafe. The engine started fine. On the way down, the rust showed- keeping course and altitude together was a chore. Coming back, it was all good. 97mph groundspeed down, 136mph coming back.

Earlier this week, same thing for shooting. Because of the volumes of air that have to be moved, indoor ranges are cold when the temps are down. Shooting when one is feeling bad is sort of a waste of ammunition. I shot Bullseye practice: First relays of slow and rapid fire were horrible. Second time through, not so much.

Wounded Warrior Project = Sleazeballs?

Apparently so. They consider fundraising and advertising to be programs that assist veterans.

Wounded Warrior Project says 80 percent of their money is spent on programs for veterans. That's because they include some promotional items, direct response advertising, and shipping and postage costs. Take that out, and the figures look more like what charity watchdogs say -- that only 54 to 60 percent of donations go to help wounded service members.

They're also sitting on a quarter of a billion dollars in cash. Which seems a bit odd. If you've ever worked with a charity, it seems really odd.

Anywho, where are the conservative leaders expressing umbrage over this? If they were government workers engaging in lavish travel and parties, the outrage would be volcanic.

(Other posts of mine) on point.

Caturday

Shelter cats are taking their ease inside the top of a cat tower.

Lightly Modding a BHP

It now has a slightly-extended safety lever from Cylinder & Slide:

You can see the difference from the one that was on the gun by comparing it to this photo:

What was on the gun from the factory was an extended ambidextrous safety. Someone installed an older nubbin-sized safety. Which I felt was too small to be reliably actuated, hence the replacement.

Down the road might be better sights. The trigger is heavy, but it's not gritty. Being heavy doesn't bother me too much on a carry gun. If this gun was to be a range toy or a race gun, then that'd be something to address.

Whither Afghanistan?

The U.S. Army general picked to lead U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan warns the security situation there is deteriorating despite a valiant effort by Afghan forces.

The reasons are slightly unpalatable. The Bush Administration established (or allowed) a government of kleptocrats. The Obama Administration has been either unwilling or unable to change that. Afghanistan is the third most-corrupt nation on the planet.

Like the Iraqi army, the Afghan army has been plagued by officers who have cared more about lining their own pockets than fielding an effective army. Their army has ranks filled with ghost soldiers, names on a roster that don't correspond to a living person, so that the officers can pocket their pay. Equipment has been stolen and sold, often to the enemy. Public improvement projects have been repeatedly built with shoddy materials; the contractors skim the difference between what was spec'd and what was built-- often paying off the officials who awarded the contracts.

Because it would seem to be easy as pie to obtain a post in the army by bribery, the enemy has had little trouble in salting the Afghan army with agents who wait for an auspicious time and then slay their supposed comrades, superiors and advisers.

By invading Afghanistan, the neocons who were then in charge thought that they were striking a mortal blow against the Taliban and al Qaeda. But what they were really doing was punching a tar-baby. And now we're pretty well stuck there.

Unless the Pakistanis finally get tired of letting the Taliban operate within their borders, there will be no change to the situation. There is no sign of the Pakistanis ever doing that. When the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan rolls around, I predict that things will be no better than there were at the 5th, 10th or 15th anniversaries.

And, unless we follow the advice of Se. George Aiken, we'll still be there.

Because It's Friday

On the Valley RR:

Thirty Years Ago

Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just over a minute after liftoff.

Seven astronauts were killed that frigid January morning.

The failures in management that led to the explosion were many, mostly ones of "we did this before and nothing bad happened"-- which, in retrospect, was like proclaiming that Russian Roulette is a safe game because the hammer fell on empty chambers in the first two tries.

In a public demonstration, using o-ring material and ice water, Richard Feynman showed why Challenger blew up. Arguably, much of the credit for uncovering and making public the cause of the disaster is Feynman's.

But did NASA learn from the loss of Challenger? Probably not.