Just give them what they want

Then the bad guy will just go away with a smile, right?

Wrong.

This poor guy died for no reason while trying to support his family.

This one is bad as well.

Mom blames the guns.  Funny, I saw two guys in that store that shot her son and randomly fired into a room full of innocent people.  Silly me, but I think those jerks are to blame.  To analyze this video, you will see that the morons are SHARING A GUN.  So, what opportunity do you have here?  Pretty simple, when the guy passes the gun to his buddy, you pop them both.  If you want to take the earlier option, watch how distracted they are when he first shoots and turns his back.  This is a great example of when to shoot someone in the back.  They usually don't show the beginning of these videos, but there has to be a time when two people walk in with their faces covered and hoodies up.  This is when you go to red and get your weapon clear, not when they are standing in front of you with a gun in your face.  This is an example of why you train for the possibility of being wounded.  It is cases like this that solidify my belief that you don't wait and rely on the mercy of the thug.  You take your first opportunity and turn the tables.

CNN, taking a different attack on your rights

I think that most in politics and the media know very well that they will not be passing laws anytime soon that will restrict your rights to own a firearm.  It seems that the media, however, has found a new horse to beat. If they can't get the gun out of your hand, they will attack your ability to use it.

Stand Your Ground has turned the language of law enforcement on its head.  Who are the victims?  Who are the aggressors?

 Really?  Yeah, CNN found four cases that they are hanging their case on.  They use inflammatory language and pull on emotions instead of discussing true facts.  The interesting thing is that of the four cases, the case in Florida is unfortunate but a perfect case of why Stand Your Ground or Castle Laws can be so important.  It is not a matter of being able to psychoanalyze the person breaking into your house.

The shooters did not necessarily do everything they should have in these cases, but 3 of 4 of them would have been avoided if the people killed would not have been doing something to break the law to begin with.

So, basically CNN seems to be trying to push a "blood in the streets" story here citing just a few examples.  It's obviously not a balanced story since they have neglected to mention the scores of cases where law-abiding citizens did not have to see the inside of a jail cell for defending themselves against violent aggressors.  Don't mind me, I'll just be back here looking for my surprised face.

Want to see something cool?

This was fun.

I can't wait to see how it works.  That Guy and I spent a few hours on the lease this weekend and he installed this set up.  The possibilities are endless...

Obi-Wan Kenobi hits the skids

I wonder if his landspeeder license will be suspended.

Police said Kenobi's reckless driving caused the chain-reaction collision on March 19.

The media can't get enough of the Star Wars jokes.

I'm beginning to have a problem with this...

It seems like lately if there is a child sitting anywhere near you at a sporting event that pitches a fit you have to seek them out and give up your prize.  Recently, this happened at a Texas Rangers game.  I don't have an issue at all with a kid being upset at not getting the ball.  What really gets me is the way that adults (especially sports announcers) seem to think that it is someone's responsibility to seek out the nearest child if you should happen to catch a prize.  Things like this happening are a pretty rare event and I don't think that just because you have a kid it means I have to give up a game ball.  I may have a kid I want to give it to.  I've seen many instances where the person taking it was a total dirt bag and actually took it from a kid and that's not what I'm talking about.  This situation was a straight-up fair catch.  Being a kid and crying doesn't mean you get a prize.

Kudos to the parents of the kid for at least being good parents and smart about this and defending the guy that caught the ball.  Shame on the morons that are actually calling the couple that caught the ball at their home and harassing them.  People can be so stupid.

Rant off.

Back Home

I have to say that Florida is quite a beautiful place.  A great time was had by all and much good food and drink was consumed.  I will try and post some pictures a little later.  The surf was high for the first few days, but all we really wanted to do was play with the kids in the sand and let the water lap at their feet.  Spending time with family was the best part.

How do you lose 268,000 rounds of ammunition?

Just make one wrong turn.

Ouch.  I wish they would have just swung by our house on the way through and dropped it off.  It would have saved a lot of drama.  I do have to say that I've seen (and taken) those exits they are talking about and some of them, you really have no option when you take them except to go to the border crossing.  The big mistake he made, however, was not telling Customs and Border Patrol what was going on so they could figure something out besides taking ammunition into Mexico.

Nothing's biting

But I don't care.

Beach Drinks

Relaxation imminent.

Is this love?

He was charging.  I had to do it.  It was either him or me. 

Boiled crawfish (nice and spicy) and a boudin ball. 

Ripping tails and sucking heads.

Excellent.

Out of Touch

So, I will be off the reservation for a while.  I swear, I'm not ignoring you and I wish I could plug in and keep up with regularity.  Comms will be spotty for the next week.

Keep calm and carry on.

More Thanks

Thanks to Patrick Haggerty and Craig for hitting the follower button.  I will do my very best to have some kind of interesting content every once in a while and always will respond to comments (which are always welcome). Patrick has a few places and you can check them out by clicking his follower icon.  I checked out Gun Talk and like the look.  Take a peek.  Craig, I appreciate you following and I do not see a blog linked on your info linked to your icon.  If you have a blog, please let me know and I will put it on the blog roll.  Thanks again.

Movie Night: "The Tower Heist"

I remember seeing the trailers for this one and thinking, "hmmm, yeah looks ok."  We decided to grab a movie for the weekend and boy, were we pleasantly surprised.  Mrs. 45er and I both favor comedies.  This was a heist comedy full of great actors, new and older.   Just a great flick.  The comedy is strong and I actually laughed, which I rarely do for a movie.  Don't look for a strong heist portion because this is primarily a comedy.  However, there were some twists that I didn't see.  I give it a recommendation. Spend a little over a buck and rent it.  You won't be disappointed.

Happy Easter!

A masterpiece from Mrs. 45er, Little 45er and Itty Bitty.  It's one of my favorites, carrot cake with cream cheese icing.  There is also some coconut thrown in and various decorative accoutrements.  May you all have an safe weekend and enjoy family and friends.

Dear Jerk at Wal-Mart:

If you are going to do a transaction involving something semi-dangerous at the cashier, maybe you should get off of your cell phone and pay attention.  Leaving the sweet little older lady to try and handle your dry-ice that you brought up to the register doesn't make me think well of you.  When she burns her fingers on it and you stand there as useful as a bag of man-nipples, it makes me want to shove the cell phone in your mouth and boot you out the door.  When the next person in line (ME) has to help her out with YOUR purchase because she obviously doesn't realize how dangerous this stuff can be and you never stop smacking your pie-hole covers into your phone I have reached a boiling point.  By the way, I had to tend her cold-burned fingers after you left, and yes we talked about you and what a moron you are.  You were plenty old enough to know better and I'm ashamed that you exist anywhere near me.

Thanks and I'm a goof

First off, thank you to a new follower:  Falcondawn for hitting the follower button.  I'm still scrolling through the blog and it is interesting and eclectic.  I kind of like it as a different experience.  I've always enjoyed experiencing and trying to understand different countries and cultures.  If you look at just one thing, check out this post.  It just really tickled me with the unexpected.

Also, I swear I wasn't trying to be all cryptic with this post.  It probably made sense on some level, since we all want to drink during this election cycle, but the photo didn't upload when I posted it from the phone.  You can see, I corrected the issue.  :)

Normally, I'm not all political here but...

...this is absolutely ridiculous.  The President has basically flouted the Supreme Court of the United States at least twice (three times if you count twice in the last two days) that I have seen in a very public fashion.  The first was during his State of the Union speech last year, I believe, where he called out SCOTUS right in front of them.  That was borderline on some laws and, at the very least, extremely tacky.

After claiming that overturning the health care law would be "judicial activism" and calling the justices "unelected" (which is kind of the check and balance set in place by the Constitution) he's doubling down on the intimidation today.

...the court has traditionally exercised significant restraint and deference to our duly elected legislature, our Congress.

I'm sorry, what?  SCOTUS is not there to rubber-stamp your laws.  They are there to decide the Constitutionality of the laws that are passed.  While I don't necessarily agree on a lot of their decisions, their role in the review of laws is very explicit in the balance of powers.

And now, just what I thought might happen.

The federal courts kind of want to know why the President thinks that they can't strike down a federal law.  I'd kind of like to know the answer to that one myself.  Constitutional scholar.  Uh huh.

My vote was decided at the local brewery

This is something I can be activist about.

Sunday Drive

Mrs. 45er had heard and been talking about a little drive north of here that is well known for its wildflowers.  This turned out to be more than just flowers.  The majesty of the geology in addition to the various flowers was truly something to behold.

This area is well known for granite outcroppings.  As a matter of fact, just to the West of here is the largest granite dome in the world (Enchanted Rock).  This geology makes for beautiful scenery.  If you look closely at the field in the valley, you can see the blue of a field full of bluebonnets.

That's beautiful, but rough stuff.

The bluebonnets this year are fantastic.  We have had quite a bit of rain at just the right time and the flowers are plentiful.  That is a small yucca just behind them.

There was a beautiful stream running through the rock and sand.  It made for some beautiful pictures with the kids and..

lizards.  Little 45er spotted this guy from about 35 feet away.  She's got my old eyes beat.

There were various neat, old structures around on the drive.  The major problem is that it is a very narrow county road with no place to pull off and the property owners aren't fans of the traffic and people wandering onto their property.  I can't say I blame them.

Luckily, we had a pretty good telephoto lens and could get good shots without having to leave the car most of the time.

I don't think I have ever seen so many prickly (field) poppies - the white ones - in one place.

It was a beautiful drive and we ended it all at a local restaurant and brewery where I had their wonderful stout and Mrs. 45er enjoyed their red.  It was an enjoyable day and I hope to do it again soon.