Actually, it's more like Plane vs. The Car. The Bugatti Veyron is the fastest (255 mph), most powerful (1,001 horsepower), most expensive (over 1.5 million dollars) car ever made. And it's going up against a lousy Cessna turboprop! Not much of a race. Or is it? Either way, Jeremy is obsessed with that car.
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Check out this article from The Chicago Tribune. Pay particular attention to the part where Obama says that we can't rely on the military and need to create a "Civilian National Security Force" that is "just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."
Am I the only one who is very, very scared by this? Barack Obama, the man who wants to become Commander in Chief of our armed forces does not trust that they are capable of defending our nation, so he wants to create his own private paramilitary force to keep us safe.
What exactly is this force going to be tasked with doing? Who is going to lead it? How is it going to be equipped and/or trained? How are we going to pay for it? Most importantly, what, if any, oversight is the government and the military (the real military) going to have over it?
Civilian National Security Force. A government-controlled paramilitary force. Does this remind anyone else of the Brownshirts?
It's not about getting the day off from work.
It's not about a killer sale at some store.
It's not about an all-day movie marathon.
It's not about grilling burgers and hot dogs and drinking beer in the back yard.
It's not about concerts or fireworks.
It's about this:
It's about the great nation that this flag stands for. It's about the ideas and ideals that this flag represents. Most of all, it's about the men and women who have been willing to give their lives in defense of those ideas, those ideals, this flag, this country. Never forget that.
Happy Birthday, America. May God continue to shed His Grace on Thee.
I don't believe it, but I actually agree with Barack Obama on something.
Should we head for the bunker now, or wait until the mushroom clouds start appearing on the horizon? Meh, I'll just watch the pretty explosions. Like a fallout shelter would do that much good anyway.
I don't know why, but I've suddenly developed a craving for Queen. No, not royalty; the English rock band. We Will Rock You, Another One Bites the Dust, Princes of the Universe, now do you know who I'm talking about?
I recently found the single Queen album I have (bought it years ago just for We Will Rock You) and ripped a few tracks to my laptop. Unfortunately, the only two tracks on there that I actually know are We Will Rock You and I Want it All (listening to that one right now as a matter of fact). I never realized how good these guys are. I've got to pick up a few more albums.
Songs on my want list (As of now):
I have got to get me one of these!
Chip Foose = Lord and Grand Master of All Things Automotive!
And Jay Leno's a pretty cool guy too. Say what you will about his TV show, the man has great taste when it comes to cars. He's even got a website devoted to his (extensive) collection. Not that you can blame him or anything...
It's the classic Abbot & Costello sketch Who's on First... Shakespeareified.
I found this last year, believe it or not, but (obviously) never got around to posting it until know.
I apologize for the bad image quality at the end, but it's been like that ever since I found it.
Oh, and if you're not familiar with the sketch, here's the original version:
Watch This Video from CNN.
Long story short, David Olofson lent his twenty-year old AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle, to another man, who fired roughly 800 rounds (apparently without cleaning it) when the weapon malfunctioned, causing the weapon to fire a three-round burst before jamming. The guns owner's house was raided by the ATF (who didn't find any illegal weapons) and he was convicted of transferring an illegal machine gun.
Okay, this makes zero sense to me. The ATF acknowledges that the weapon malfunctioned, no illegal weapons were discovered in the guys house, he's an Army Reservist, husband, and father, with no criminal record to speak of, yet the government won't say why they chose to go after him.
What's even more disturbing is the precedent this ruling sets. The type of malfunction that happened, called a slam-fire, is not uncommon. It can happen a number of ways; the hammer or firing pin can fail to lock back after firing, the trigger sear can fail to re-engage, or the firing pin can simply stick in the extended position. It happens on all kinds of weapons, not just AR-15s, which by the way are notoriously unreliable if not kept absolutely clean. Some older semi-auto shotguns will slam-fire regularly. M1911-style pistols can slam-fire if they're not properly maintained. My friend has even had it happen several times on an old M1 Garand, a WWII-era rifle. Basically, what this means now is anyone who has a firearm malfunction and slam-fire can be tried and easily convicted of a major felony, thereby losing many of their basic freedoms (can't vote, can't serve in the armed forces or work for the government in any capacity, can't own guns, etc.)
Even the radically anti-gun CNN finds this disturbing. (Yes, Bill Tucker is pro-second amendment, but the CNN high-ups wouldn't let the story run if they didn't agree. Trust me on this; I've spent five years in journalism, I know how the system works.) I don't know why the government chose to pursue this ridiculous case, but I feel that it is gross misuse of power and a sham of justice, and that the presiding judge on this case should be disbarred and the victim's record should be immediately expunged.
UPDATE:
A federal judge just sentenced David Olofson to 30 months in jail. 30 months! All because his gun malfunctioned?!?!?! WTF? This is sick and wrong, people. Sick and wrong. Something needs to be done. That judge should immediately be disbarred, and Mr. Olofson should be pardoned and have his record expunged immediately if not sooner!
Anyone remember this reaction?
The guy got 30 months in jail because his gun malfunctioned!
To all those serving and who have served in our Armed Forces, thank you for defending our country and for keeping us, and the world, free from tyranny and oppression.
To those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, to those who have willingly laid down their lives in defense of that freedom, thank you. Thank you for sacrificing your todays for our tomorrows. Thank you for giving up everything so that people you never knew and probably would never have met could live in a country that can truly be called free.
Freedom is not, has never been, nor shall it ever be, free. It is paid for by the blood and innocence of the men and women of our Armed Forces, by men and women who are willing to give up everything for the land that they love.
1,316,888 have paid that price so far.
Thank a Veteran.
O-kay... Barack Obama claims that he's visited 57 States, still has one more to go, but he can't visit Alaska or Hawaii.
Now, I've really tried to keep politics and political bashing out of my blog, but come on! This is sheer idiocy! And please don't tell me he misspoke. First, he had to stop and think about how many states he had visited. Second, if he had really misspoken , he should have been at least competent enough to immediately correct himself.
Regardless of my political views, I really don't think that we should elect someone to lead the country if they don't even know how many stars are on the Flag.
This video is of a test conducted by H&K for a new SOCOM requirement, pitting their new HK416 assault rifle against the Colt M4A1, which is standard-issue for the majority of our front-line soldiers.
The video's in German, but you really don't need to understand what they're saying to get the point. Pay particular attention to what happens 1:30 into the clip.
The Army Ordinace Department says that the M4A1 is the best, most reliable rifle in the world, and that there is no need to adopt a new weapon. After seeing what happened to the one in the video, I say that's bullcrap. How about you?
Yeah, I gave the blog a new name. Quite frankly, I was getting tired of *Insert Title Here* as the title, and truth be told, my original plan was to have *Insert Title Here* be a temporary title until I came up with something better. Only took me 20 months to get around to it...
By the way, does anyone know how to get the title centered?
I don't know why, but I've come up with a list of things I'd love to see happen in the cinema world, but probably never will.
Command told us that it would be an easy mission; patrol Sector 7 for any signs of Arkellian activity. Intel had reported zero movement in the sector for the last week. Apparently, a quartet of Medium Assault Drones qualifies as “zero movement” in their book. Out of a group of thirty resistance fighters, only Sammy and I got out alive. It was dumb luck, really; I was covering our rear and Sammy had come back to take over when we heard their 50mm rail guns open up. We both knew what was happening, that there was no hope, so we took off running. It was the only thing we could’ve done; either that or stay and be slaughtered along with the rest of the team.
We ran for about a kilometer before I spotted the cave. It isn’t overly large, it’s just a small hole in the side of a cliff, maybe six or seven feet tall and five or so feet deep, but at least we can hide from the drones in it. For a while, at least; everyone knows that it’s nearly impossible to escape an Arkellian Assault Drone.
I cautiously lean out of the cave and quickly sweep the surrounding terrain through my rifle’s scope. “I think we’re clear for now,” I tell Sammy. She nods as she checks the charge in her rifle’s pack. Sammy doesn’t say much when she’s in mission mode. “How long do you think we have?” I ask.
“Ten minutes, if we’re lucky,” she replies in an emotionless voice. That’s about what I figured, although the way today’s been going, I sincerely doubt we’ll be lucky at all. “How do you think they found us?”
“They’re Arkellians,” I say, shrugging, “Does it really matter?” Sammy nods again, her eyes growing hard.
“Twenty-eight killed,” she says to no one in particular, “And for what?”
“An Intel screw-up,” I reply bitterly, “I thought they said ‘zero activity in the sector.’ So much for their data.” If looks could kill, Sammy’s gaze would incinerate me.
“You think this is funny?” she demands, anger creeping into her voice, “You think this is all a joke?”
“No,” I reply, “I don’t think it’s funny in the least. And you know why they died.” She nods again.
“Because they were human,” she says, “Because they were ‘uncooperative.’” ‘Uncooperative’ is how the Arkellians describe the resistance fighters, the ones who stood up and fought back after their invasion and the government’s subsequent surrender.
“Do you think it will ever end?” I ask. I’m being metaphysical here; we both know that the resistance will end one way or the other.
“Definitely,” Sammy says with an affirmative nod, “We just have to stay ‘uncooperative’ for a little bit longer; we’ll see the end of the invasion one day soon, you’ll see.” I smile, suppressing a mirthless snort. That line’s been repeated countless times since the resistance began. ‘A little bit longer and it will all be over.’ I have to agree with that, though half the time I’m sure it will be the Arkellians that come out on top.
“Looks like we got lucky,” Sammy’s sudden remark interrupts my thoughts and I check my wrist chrono. We’ve been in the cave for exactly ten minutes and twenty-three seconds. Lucky indeed.
At that moment, blinding spotlight suddenly lances into the cave.
Did I just say something about luck?
“YOU ARE TRAPPED, HUMANS! COOPERATE OR DIE!” The electronically-modulated voice of an Arkellian thunders in our ears. Sammy and I look at each other as the order is repeated, our hands instinctively flying to our rifles.
“So much for seeing the end,” Sammy says, her voice mirroring my thoughts as I nod in agreement.
“I’m sorry,” I say, “I should have kept us moving.”
“It had to happen sometime,” Sammy says, shaking her head, “Better sooner than later, I guess.”
“HUMANS! COOPERATE AND YOUR LIVES WILL BE SPARED! RESIST AND YOU WILL SUFFER A MOST PAINFUL DEATH!”
I look over at Sammy, who responds to my gaze by yanking back the charging handle on her rifle. The weapon immediately powers back up with a slight electronic whine. “Are you feeling cooperative?” she asks after a moment. I grin and yank back my rifle’s charging handle.
“Never,” I say as I flip the weapon’s safety off.
“HUMANS! THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY! COOPERATE OR YOU SHALL SUFFER!”
For a long moment, Sammy and I stare at each other. It feels like eternity as my mind fills with things I wished that I’d done, places I wished I’d gone, words I wished I’d said. Then, as one, we leap from the cave with weapons blazing, defiant battle cries roaring from our lips.
