This is a cool video showing Julie Golob‘s 2010 hunting season highlights
Two things stood out to me.
First, even for one of the best shooters in the world, she knew her limits and didn’t take a shot in the heavy wind. Actually, that she knows her limits is what helps make her one of the best shooters in the world.
Second, ah… those Barnes TTSX bullets, and in .308 Winchester. Is there anything that combination can’t do? 🙂
This just came over the wire from the Texas Department of Public Safety:
Dec. 16, 2010
DPS urges holiday travelers to avoid Mexico
The Texas Department of Public Safety is urging Texans to avoid traveling to Mexico during the holidays.
“Mexican drug cartel-related violence continues in the northern Mexican border cities, and other locations such as Monterrey and Acapulco. Drug-related or other criminal activity has been documented in popular tourist destinations such as Cancun and Mazatlan. The safety and security of holiday travelers cannot be guaranteed if they venture into Mexico,” said DPS Director Steven C. McCraw.
The rising tide of violence in Mexico is well-documented from a variety of sources. Kidnappings, violence between cartels and battles between cartels and law enforcement authorities have escalated in recent years.
The U.S. State Department website lists travel information related to violence in Mexico. Among the items noted on the website:
- Kidnapping, including the kidnapping of non-Mexicans, continues at alarming rates.
- Criminal assaults have occurred on highways throughout Mexico; travelers should exercise caution at all times; avoid traveling at night.
- Rape and sexual assault continue to be serious problems in Cancun and other resort areas.
- Mexican authorities have failed to prosecute numerous crimes committed against U. S. citizens, including murders and kidnappings.
“We recognize people safely travel and vacation in Mexico on a daily basis, but the increase in violence is also a reality,” said McCraw. “There are no guarantees that drug-related violence will spare innocent bystanders and that criminals will refrain from attacking tourists.”
Travelers should always check the U.S. State Department website for the most up-to-date information related to security issues in Mexico. (See http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html or http://mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/eacs_MexicoSecurityUpdate.html.)
### (PIO 2010-129)
Read that last quote: “There are no guarantees that drug-related violence with spare innocent bystanders”.
This is all drug-related.
My prior posting was made and queued last night, before I saw this DPS warning. But the point remains. You want all this pain, fear, and suffering to end? The drug war needs to end.
Mary Mitchell writes that we should throw in the towel on the unwinnable war on drugs.
Why?
Because neither party directly involved in the drug war wants is to end. They both benefit, so why should they want it to end?
This is the kind of tragedy that makes James Gierach’s blood boil. For decades, Gierach has been on a crusade to end the nation’s failed drug war.
“Nearly any crisis you can name in America is made worse by the war on drugs: gangs, drugs, prison, AIDS, guns, crime, taxes and deficits,” Gierach argues.
“The reason that this drug war has lasted for 40 years is because both the good guys and the bad guys are in favor of it,” he said.
“The bad guys are in favor of prohibition because the only place you can get it is from them. And the good guys are protecting the growing prisons and subcontractors.
“You have to hire more judges, prosecutors, more probation officers, more parole officers, more drug counselors, and more drug testing labs,” Gierach continued, ticking off a long list of industries that benefit from the criminalization of drugs.
“So what we end up with are the good guys riding the drug war gravy train same as the bad guys,” he said.
James Gierach is a lawyer and board member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).
He’s right. Look at the vast majority of problems in the Americas: North, Central, or South. Many of them can be directly traced back to drug prohibition. All this US-Mexico border violence? It’s all drugs. Do you think the violence would be as it is if drugs were legalized and sold like Pepsi? or even regulated/restricted sales like alcohol or tobacco?
I grant, drug use can destroy lives. But just about anything in this world can destroy lives. Sex can destroy marriages and destroy lives… should we make it illegal? should it be banned? Instead, when it comes to matters of gambling, alcohol, sex, etc. we treat these like health matters. Why don’t we focus more on drug use as a health matter? Instead of pouring billions of dollars into 40 years of ineffective prohibition, what if that money was spent on health matters be it education, treatment, or taking care of other societal health issues like hunger? Why is the focus on making it a criminal matter? Stop making it a criminal matter and much of the crime and pain goes away. Could it create an increase in the health matter? It could, but then at least we could be straight about it, confront it, and work with it in the light. Instead, because it’s a criminal matter many people remain in the darkness and never get the treatment they need because they too afraid of criminal repercussions. Where is the humanity and compassion in that?
I don’t deny that drugs can destroy lives, but the “War On Drugs” is contributing far more destruction, waste, pain, suffering, and death. We need to stop the blind belief that this “war” is accomplishing something, that to call for a stop to failed policy is somehow showing you’re weak or in favor of everyone running around high 24/7. If we really want the social state to improve, ending the failed drug war is a good place to start. But it’s going to take YOU to be willing to stand up and say it.
After taking Sasha for a walk, I pull out the garden hose to clean off the front step and flower bed. All the duck poop….
And I start to think….
Austin likes being a “weird” city. Why aren’t they allowing us to be weird? Why can’t I keep a weird pet like a duck?
Austin is all about “going green” and being natural. All this duck poop makes for fantastic fertilizer… my flower bed is quite happy. But if FWS CFR 21.54 is allowed to stand, no such benefit. Wouldn’t the city want to encourage this?
They’re doing this round-up intentionally during the week, during the day. They specifically scheduled it so it wouldn’t happen during the school Winter break because they did not want children to see it. Why not? If this is such a good thing to do, let the kids see it. Have the guts to stand up and explain it to a 6-year-old with tears in her eyes. I mean, I do understand the legit need for this, but if it’s such a legitimate need, why not explain it to the children? Why not allow them to understand? My children got to see the last round-up, and I certainly have explained it to them. They understand, and I think they’re better off in general for knowing. What are you afraid of?
Maybe that just means your chosen technique is a poor one. You know, egg collection has the same effect but is far less traumatizing to the ducks and to the children. Heck, I betcha the kids would love to get in there and help out. Use it as a teaching moment, to help them understand the greater impacts. Don’t just choose a poor violent method and play dumb when the children ask where all the ducks went.
What’s going to happen to the rounded-up ducks? Destruction most likely. But gosh… duck meat may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but with the homeless and hungry in this city, I betcha they’d be happy for a warm meal. Or if you don’t want to go that route, I’m sure there are lots of yuppies in this town that would pay through the nose for fresh duck meat for their dogs. The “prescription” pet foods tend to be made of duck or venison or rabbit and cost a small fortune for a 1 lbs. bag. But of course, massive regulation prevents using some natural, available, and abundant resources to feed the hungry… or make a profit.
I wouldn’t have such a problem with all of this if it made sense. If there was valid research, sound logic. But on all levels, from the HOA to the city to the Feds… there’s so much here that just makes no damn sense.
John Stossel makes a good point. When it comes to all sorts of bogus claims, we’re happy to be skeptical. Ghosts, palm reading, buy this product and it will cure what ails you… snake oil salesmen have been around for ages.
Yet, we still want to believe.
It’s the same with politics. We want to have “hope”, we want to believe in “change”… and I’m not just talking Obama here, because “hope and change” and “getting better” is what the politicians always promise. They always promise big, but they never deliver on those things we want, and generally when they do deliver it’s the exact opposite.
They promise fiscal responsibility. Then they spend like drunken sailors.
They promise to cure poverty. Then their programs make it worse.
They promise to create jobs. But then they make life so complex and unpredictable that entrepreneurs are afraid to create jobs.
Almost none of their promises come true. But few people approach government with the skepticism it deserves.
Whether you believe in God — or psychics, or global warming — that’s your business. I may think you’re stupid, but if you waste your money on, say, a “strength” bracelet, you only harm yourself.
But being gullible about government hurts everyone. Government is force. When it sells us bunk, we have to pay even if we don’t believe in or want it. If we don’t pay up, men with guns will make sure we do.
It’s good to be skeptical. It’s really good to be skeptical about government.
Most of my reloading efforts have been with pistol cartridges. My one set of .223 Rem trials just was not successful, but I’m going to try rifle again.
The one thing I don’t like about doing rifle is all the case prep work. There’s a lot of it, and it doesn’t really lend well to progressive presses. But I found something that, at least from doing Internet research, looks like it’s going to have a lot of potential: the RCBS X-die (RCBS refers to it as the “X die” and the “X-Sizer die”). From their manual:
ABOUT THE X DIE
The X-Sizer die is a uniquely designed full length resizing die for bottleneck rifle cases. This die not only full length resizes the case, it also limits the growth of the case. This eliminates the need for repeated trimming after an initial trim is done to standardize the case. This die is not intended to shorten the length of the case, rather, as the case grows, the mandrel will reduce the normal rate of growth. This is the result of the case mouth coming in contact with the mandrel stop during resizing. Cases repeatedly sized in the X-Sizer die will grow a few thousandths of an inch initially, and will then stabilize below the maximum case length. Using the X-Sizer die eliminates the need to trim after each shot. X-Sizer dies can be used for full-length resizing with or without the X feature. Partial neck sizing can be done but only without the X feature.
Pretty neat. Google searching turns up good results, with people using it in progressive presses, getting longer case life, and still getting accurate results (perhaps not 100% as accurate as the most finicky of benchrest competition shooters would want, but far better than most of us will ever notice). Of course, there’s a lot of time-savings in subsequent reloads using then X-die, which is where the win is.
So I reckon once I start rifle reloading, I’ll just start with a lot of brass prep, doing initial casework on as many cases as I feel like dealing with on the old single-stage RCBS press (regular full-length resize, clean the primer pockets, debur the flash hole, trim the length according to the X-die instructions, and then mark these cases with a Sharpie so I know “this is a case prepped for the X-die”). It won’t be until the second go-round with these cases that I’ll actually try the X-die, so who knows how long it may be until that happens and then I see how results go. But, I picked up 2 X-Sizer dies, one small base .223 Rem and one small base .308 Win (I’d have gotten a 6.8 SPC if they had a die in that size). I’m curious to see how this will go.
This morning, two quotes from Shunryu Suzuki came over the Maku mozo! mailing list. In light of last night’s crazy journey, they felt appropriate.
The most important thing is to be able to enjoy your life without being fooled by things.
When you practice as though this were your last moment, you will have freedom from everything.
Stuff to ponder.
“Honey… I want to let you know something.”
Oh crap. What did I do this time….
“I’ve been seeing this gray pickup truck driving very slowly through the neighborhood…”
Ah phew… not me. 🙂 We certainly keep our eyes open for things. Seeing vehicles driving slowly, the driver or passengers looking around at things in the neighborhood always perks our interest, but being Christmastime you can’t help but be extra cautious. “OK, just keep your eyes open in case it comes back.”
A little while later, Sasha goes off. She’s a Kuvasz, it’s in her DNA to be a guard dog. And guarding she was.
“Honey… there was this man standing at the edge of our property, out in the road. He was feeding bread to the ducks, but then Sasha went off, he looked up and saw her and took off… he got into that same gray truck and drove off.”
You see, those neighborhood muscovy ducks love to come to our yard. We care for them. Oh sure, I’m tired of all the duck poop, I’m tired of my flowerbeds getting trampled and the plants nibbled down to stumps. But ducks just don’t understand landscaping and property rights like we do. Besides, after all these years we’ve become rather attached to them. Muscovy ducks have a depth of personality. When you get to observe them and interact with them as much as we have over the years, you come to learn a lot about them. Sure, when they first arrived at the neighborhood pond some years ago we had no idea what the heck this odd duck with the red face was… and they perched too. But once we came to know what they were and how they were, gosh… we became rather fond of them.
It’s all Sneeze’s fault. Continue reading
Can’t wait for Sunday Metal to showcase this.
Brand new Lazarus A.D. (finally!). “The Ultimate Sacrifice”
Sounds awesome.
More vocal range. Heavy. Killer riffage. Lots of changes. More mature sound all around.
Can’t wait for the full album. \m/
Vanity Fair has an article about “Russ Crane”, a sniper in the Texas Army National Guard. (h/t TFB)
It’s an interesting read into the life and mind of a military sniper.
An excerpt:
He told me he believes that the overwhelming majority of people in the world are good, but that they are as vulnerable as sheep to the wolves who prey upon them. His role, he said, is that of a sheepdog with the training and temperament to intervene. We were sitting at his kitchen table. There was a plaque on the wall reading, the future is as bright as the promises of god. Crane said, “There is good and evil in the world. It gets so you yearn for a righteous fight. Personally I believe there are bad people, and God put people here to shoot those people, to let other people live peaceful lives. David was a shepherd boy who became king. The Philistines had their giant, Goliath. The Lord said to David, ‘I’m on your side. Go out and fight.’ David did. And you know, David killed Goliath as dead as Elvis Presley. He was a shepherd, a king, a follower of the Lord. But first and foremost he was a warrior. God understands that we have to have soldiers. Soldiers are part of God’s plan.”
I said, “Do you mean that literally?”
He said, “I know that God has been with me actively in battle.”
“You’ve been fighting Muslims who believe the same thing.”
He said, “It’s a conundrum. But Jesus was resurrected after three days, and you can visit Muhammad’s grave.”
Sheep, sheepdog, and wolves. He’s not justifying the war as righteous, as a Christian vs. Muslim battle. Merely, seeking to find peace in his own mind for why he was put on this Earth to do what he does.
There’s a lot in this article. Crane’s own history and journey, discussions of how the military evolved, support, betrayal, and what life is really like… the indelible mark left upon your life. It’s a long article, but worth the read.
Stuff From Hsoi 