I don't know if this counts as gunblogging...

But Ruger. Yeah, the Ruger guys who design their automatics? GREAT job, guys, on shootability. Those (in my experience) are some seriously nice guns.

I've used them to teach several newbies; they're really great.

But you really ought to break one down and clean it once in a while... in case you haven't, it's a PAIN IN THE ASS.

No, I'm not saying Ruger design engineers should be up against the wall... they might be better shots than I am.

But guys, please... try breaking them down and cleaning them once in a while, and then study the designs by Saint John Moses Browning. And learn something. Please.

Bad Day

Congress sucks. Our new President isn't any better.

I have no Hope that our nation is going to get any better anytime soon; odds are it will be worse.

The only Change I expect is that I'll have no change left in my pocket by the time Washington is done with me.

Oh... and the fucktards that were responsible for the design of the cab of the '98 Ford F150? The ones who figured there should be nearly 200 discrete steps to take to replace a heater core? Several of which involve dealing with live airbags, and disassembling the ENTIRE FUCKING CAB?

Yeah, they're the newest additions to my list of the People Up Against The Wall When The Revolution Starts.

Let the Big Three go broke - best I can tell, they haven't gotten a damn thing right since the late 1960s.

From the Mouths of Babes, pt. 2

This afternoon, Lisa, Alex and I were at the shop - Alex playing in his car, and Lisa and I doing various things. Over the radio, we heard - NEWS - Hillary Clinton was approved by the Senate, as Secretary of State, on a 94-2 (iirc) vote. Upon hearing this, Alex looked up at me, and yelled, "UH-OH!".

I really don't know what's prompting the timing of these "UH-OH"s; but they're still pretty funny... hopefully not prescient.

From the Mouths of Babes

So, I picked (19-month-old Alex) up from preschool this evening. I'd had the radio on 570 KLIF talk radio when I got there, and once I strapped Alex into his carseat, then started the truck, the radio came back on.

They were playing President Obama's inauguration address, as they had been planning to do all afternoon, for the folks at work during the day.

Nineteen-month-old Alex heard President Obama's voice, giving his inauguration address, and he yelled at the top of his lungs "UH-OH!"

I have no idea what made him say "Uh-Oh" at that time... but I had to tell him, "Little boy, I hope you're wrong... but I'm afraid you're right."

America the Beautiful

In just a bit more than a few hours, we're going to do something.

Something new to us - a Black President. But that's not the important part. We could have had a Black President years ago, had anyone run a campaign based on character and/or issues, rather than color, as Obama did.

Don't get me wrong - I think Obama's wrong on every count. He has no character (see his associates, Wright and Ayers), and his stance on issues is WRONG - he's heading us into Socialist-land. I voted against him, and I don't agree with him on anything.

But unlike previous black candidates, he didn't campaign on the color of his skin, but on "Hope and Change" - I don't know what Hope and Change have to do with someone who's entire resume consists of running for office, but he did better than the race-baiters who ran for Pres before him.

But the bottom line is, he was ELECTED, freely. And we'll continue a tradition that America started.

Something that was new to the world when we started it - a Chief Executive Officer handing over power, to a new Chief of another party, without bloodshed, serious disruption, or any kind of real discombobulation.

This is worth remembering - The United States of America was the first country to be able to hand the primary levers of power from one executive to another, even of another party, without disruption - we started as not a dictatorship, nor monarchy, but as a government constrained by the rule of law.

And so, for the 44th time, we'll hand the ultimate reins of government from one man to another, uneventfully. Without bloodshed, without riots, without any significant disruption. This is no longer a uniquely American event...

But we started it.

UPDATE 20 Jan 09 14:41 - Dave Ramsey riffed on this same subject on his radio show just now.

Happy New Year!

I hope you and yours had a great New Year, and successfully avoided the Amateur Night. Best wishes from Lisa and I!