So says the Newtster, pretty well verifying what I've suspected for a long time-- that Gingrich either never really got it, or he’s just tired of the fight and wants the DC culture to be nice to him once in a while.

Others have tried to get this across, so it's old news, but I'll give it another go:  As one who upholds the founding principles of the U.S., I could not give a rat's behind if someone running for office is a black, white, Asian, Hispanic, one-armed female homosexual midget named Butch Hussein Ahmadinejad.  If that person has a track record of strenuously upholding and defending the founding principles of this country, she has my vote.  I do not care about personality (except she has to be a confident fighter or nothing's going to improve).  I do not care about looks, I don't care about slick marketing or any of that BS.  She's got my vote.  This is why Reagan won two landslides- he tried to uphold the founding principles of this country.  He understood and embraced those principles and (and this is key) he was therefore capable of articulating them.  He was far from perfect, but he did it better than any president in my lifetime, even with a solid Democrat majority in both Houses, and that's why he was popular.  It's also why he was, and is, so hated and maligned by the Left (clue: You cannot embrace America’s founding principles and expect to get along with the Left.  They will never, ever tolerate you, so if you're going to do it, expect to be attacked ruthlessly.  Ruthless attacks, however, can go both ways).

If you think it is a matter of hero worship, or cult of personality, etc., you are not capable of understanding Reagan's success.

Therefore, to say that the era of Reagan is over is to say that the era of upholding America's founding principles is over-- that we are to abandon our principles in favor of "getting along" with those who would further undermine them.  No, Little Grasshopper-- let them feel they must strive to "get along" with us in order to stay in the game.  It's a choice.

Now we have three conservative-hating, anti-Constitution leftists remaining in the presidential race-- two calling themselves Democrats and one calling himself a Republican, so this election no longer interests me.

To anyone else who wants my vote; it's really easy-- Just show the track record stated above.   For now, I will vote on state and local issues. (Yeah, I know-- I could vote for Paul, but...)

Yesterday Scott, Kim, Gene, Monte and I prepped the Boomershoot site for the Precision Rifle Clinic which takes place today and tomorrow. It was nice in the morning then at lunch time it started snowing. It just barely stuck on the grass and you can see a bit of it in some of the pictures below.

As I write this at a little at 7:00 AM it's snowing as well. The current temperature is 31F. Shooters Bob and Mike spent the night in a tent on site last night. I hope they brought winter gear.

The weather forecast is for warming weather as we go through the weekend with Sunday reaching the low 70s.

Part of the shooting line.

Kim in the sheltered work area for target construction.

Monte and Gene prepping steel for placement on the hillside.

Gene and Scott about to place steel at the 700 yard line.

Has Al Gore been in the area?

Scott Keszler
April 24, 2008
[After seeing the snow on the Boomershoot hillside.--Joe]

Taken at 9:00 AM April 24, 2008.

This is the point where I leap off into total consumption by Boomershoot for several days.

I printed the badges last night.

Today a couple staff members and I will prepare the shooting line, prepare for the Precision Rifle Clinic, and prepare the Taj Mahal to be an assembly line for making explosives and targets.

Tomorrow more staff shows up and we crank out hundreds of reactive targets as Eugene and staff conduct the rifle clinic.

Saturday is more target construction, another day of the clinic, and the Boomershoot dinner (Boomershoot spectators are welcome and get a free In Search of the Second Amendment DVD).

Sunday is the big day with my staff arriving early to place 1400 (if everything goes well) targets in the field. Another 180 targets will have been consumed during the clinic.

Interesting--I just realized that the Precision Rifle Clinic alone will consume as many targets that the first two Boomershoots in '98 and '99 combined.

The weather is looking great. A chance of a few showers (and maybe some snow) tonight but the days should be pretty good with it warming up on Saturday and Sunday. Some forecasts are even saying it will be in the low 70's on Sunday. The wind forecast is for 4 MPH winds on Sunday. It's looking very good indeed!

In other news there have been a number of people cancel at the last minute. Most notable are the guy from England and media representative Brian Doherty. There are now five positions available.

Blogging will be light until this is over.

Other commentators have likewise observed that "gun control is an essential precondition for genocide." Jay Simkin, Aaron Zelman, and Alan M. Rice, Lethal Laws 9-12 (Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership: 1995). Children are as much the victims of genocide as adults, and a right to bear arms protects both against that horrendous evil. Armed citizens are less likely to submit to removal and murder of their children, and their dictators are less likely to try.

Andrew L. Schlafly
February 7, 2008
Brief for amicus curiae association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc. in support of Respondent.
[I'm consumed by Boomershoot from now until Monday. I didn't have any unused quotes from previous Boomershoots but this is Why Boomershoot.--Joe]

Someone at a school in Pennsylvania wants to know how to make a pipe bomb.

I've got tons of things to do for work and I've got Boomershoot stuff to work on too. I talked to the Greensboro Police yesterday and the FBI this morning about the guy from yesterday.

If someone cares enough and/or thinks its serious enough to contact the school or whoever and they need my help then fine, but for the most part I don't have time for this crap right now.

Domain Name		neumann.edu ? (Educational)
IP Address		209.213.220.# (Abington School District)
ISP		Yipes Communications
Location		Continent  :  North America Country  :  United States  (Facts) State  :  Pennsylvania City  :  Abington Lat/Long  :  40.1239, -75.1264 (Map) Distance  :  2,123 miles
Language		English (U.S.) en-us
Operating System		Microsoft WinXP
Browser		Internet Explorer 7.0 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727)
Javascript		version 1.3
Monitor		Resolution  :  1280 x 800 Color Depth  :  32 bits
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Search Engine		google.com
Search Words		make a pipe bomb
Visit Entry Page		http://blog.joehuffm...ombmakingExpert.aspx
Visit Exit Page		http://blog.joehuffm...ombmakingExpert.aspx
Out Click
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9 people killed in 36 shootings over the weekend in Chicago:

Nine people were killed in 36 shootings over the weekend in Chicago, reflecting what some community leaders say is a deadly breakdown in discipline among gang members after a crackdown over the past few years put many of their leaders behind bars.

[...]

The shootings included drive-by attacks, and one case in which someone shot up a plumbing supply store with an AK-47. At least 14 of the shootings were gang-related, according to police. As for the rest, the only thing they can say for sure is that three had nothing to do with gangs.

[...]

Around the country, a number of cities, including Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Dallas, are not reporting surges in gang violence.

So, Mayor Daley, how is that handgun ban working out for you?

You would think the lessons of alcohol prohibition would not have to be retaught for recreation drug and gun prohibition. But for some reason that isn't the case and Chicago appears to be the natural epicenter of demonstrating this lesson. What seems so odd to me is that it is taking so much longer to learn the lesson this time. I guess people in Chicago are just slow learners.

Much like rock 'n' roll, school shootings were invented by the black man and stolen by the whites.

Chris Rock
[I don't know if there is any truth to this or not but I still think it is funny. Another thing for whites to feel guilty about.--Joe]

Wrong search terms, wrong location, on the wrong website, with a webmaster that watches his log files. I'm filling out the police report now.

Greensboro is just 90 miles from Chesterfield (have you sees the news lately?):

Domain Name		(Unknown)
IP Address		216.79.193.# (BellSouth.net)
ISP		BellSouth.net
Location		Continent  :  North America Country  :  United States  (Facts) State  :  North Carolina City  :  Greensboro Lat/Long  :  36.0844, -79.8209 (Map) Distance  :  2,038 miles
Language		English (U.S.) en-us
Operating System		Microsoft WinXP
Browser		Internet Explorer 6.0 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.30; InfoPath.2; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.648)
Javascript		version 1.3
Monitor		Resolution  :  1024 x 768 Color Depth  :  16 bits
Time of Visit		Apr 22 2008 10:34:38 am
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Page Views		1
Referring URL		http://www.google.co...w to bomb a building
Search Engine		google.com
Search Words		how to bomb a building
Visit Entry Page		http://blog.joehuffm...ombBuildingHelp.aspx
Visit Exit Page		http://blog.joehuffm...ombBuildingHelp.aspx
Out Click		http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=how to make a small bomb http://www.google.co...to make a small bomb
Time Zone		UTC-5:00
Visitor's Time		Apr 22 2008 1:34:38 pm
Visit Number		288,609

Our neighbours are so snobby - they call us the 'Shameless' family and say that we ought to go out to work. But how can we work when we have all these children to look after?

Sue McFadden
March 2008
Grandmother in a family where not one member has worked in three generations.
Raised on welfare, the 'Why Bother?' generation that doesn't want to work
[H/T to Ben Cunningham and Say Uncle. My answer to her question would be that no one would eat if they didn't work and the problem of "all these children" would be solved. Either they would never have been born or they would be adopted by someone who was able to feed them.

My personal experience with welfare recipients is congruent with the article. Most people accepting handouts do so because of the choices they made and continue to make. They become experts in the field of public assistance.--Joe]

People who use Earthlink for their e-mail must have a very different impression of human behavior, because no one ever responds to their e-mail inquiries.  Every time I get an on-line order from an Earthlink user, our auto reply e-mail gets bounced, as we get the following message:

"I apologize for this automatic reply to your email. To control spam, I now allow incoming messages only from senders I have approved beforehand."

Usually followed by a hand-typed e-mail a day later-- some variation of;

"I placed an order from you guys the other day, but I never got a confirmation, so I reordered, and still got no confirmation.  What's wrong with you guys?  Please respond!!!!  Hello!!!????"

The world is a very impolite place for Earthlink users.  No one ever writes back.  I wonder if they ever wonder why.

Update:  We got two of these responses today.  Our only option is to use the old-fashioned telephone, assuming we get a phone number.  I've thought about writing a series of essays on communication skills.

I call it the premier Long Distance Precision Rifle Event in the PacNW.

Phil of Random Nuclear Strikes
Things are looking up.
April 21, 2008
[Phil was referring to Boomershoot.--Joe]

Caleb and I visited the Boomershoot site today. The two pictures below are the view that greeted us as we arrived. There was a dusting of snow on the north slopes with some drifts still remaining in the deepest shadows. The road into the parking area was completely dry.

Target area and 50 Caliber Ghetto Shooting area.

The road into the parking area.

The grass in the shooting area was surprisingly dry and firm. It wasn't at all muddy. But it was cold. At noon it was 30F. By the time we left at about 17:30 it had warmed up to 39F. In between there was alternate periods of sun and snow. This schizophrenic weather is exemplified by the following two pictures of the same area. The first was taken at 11:26 and the second one at 17:11. Notice the snow in the first picture is completely gone by the time the second picture was taken less than six hours later.

The Taj Mahal and work area at 11:26.

Work area at 17:11.

As I mentioned earlier the shooting area was surprisingly good. The ground was damp but very firm. Unless there are major rain storms between now and next weekend the ground should be fine. The weather forecasts are varied but none predict heavy precipitation. I do not think it will be muddy unless it rains during the event.

The area just behind the shooting berm.

Snow was coming down at various times during the day.

There were three major accomplishments today.

1. We delivered the surveyors stakes and the last of the boxes used for targets.
2. We got the WiFi working well. While at the most remote location I set my computer up to ping the Boomershoot.org server and it ran for several hours and lost only 2% of the packets with no extended drop outs. This sort of accomplishment was unheard of previously.
3. We have about 1000 of boxes for the 1590 planned targets folded (they are shipped to us flat) and in crates ready for filling with explosives.

The magazine is nearly full of empty target boxes.

The Taj Mahal prepped for Boomershoot 2008.

Update: I forgot to mention that AT&T has cell phone service at the Boomershoot site now. Coverage is a little spotty behind neighboring hills and such but at the site itself the signal is fairly strong.

Obama’s eight years on the board of the Joyce Foundation, which paid him more than $70,000 in directors fees, do not in any way conflict with his campaign-trail support for the rights of gun owners.

Ben LaBolt
April 2008
Obama linked to gun control efforts
Spokesman for Obama’s presidential campaign in a statement issued to Politico this week.
[I say Wayne LaPierre's years as the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the NRA would not in any way conflict with support of a national ban on handguns. And David Duke's time as a Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and his founding of the National Association for the Advancement of White People do not in any way conflict with his support for the rights of blacks.

I can only think of two alternatives:

1. LaBolt thinks people will believe this even though he knows it isn't true
2. LaBolt believes this himself

Either way he has crap for brains.--Joe]

After our second child, Kim, was born I figured that was enough. One boy, one girl. Isn't that enough? Barb wasn't convinced and ultimately convinced me another child was a good idea. "We're both smart", she said. "And we make enough money to raise and educate our children well. Think of it as our gift to the world." What can you say to something like that?

So Xenia is our gift to the world. A few days after Xenia was born I got a vasectomy and a number of years after that Barb had a hysterectomy. Xenia was our last gift of that type to the world.

The other day Xenia told Krystal (some random person Xenia knows) that our youngest child was our gift to the world.

Krystal: "What's the return policy?"

Kim: "You can't return clearance items."

Xenia: "It was a closeout sale on Mom's uterus. Everything must go."

Today I picked up the last of the supplies for Boomershoot 2008. 1200 surveyors stakes, 100 pounds of lime, and three air-horn cartridges. When I was getting the stakes the guy behind the counter asked, "Are you going vampire hunting?" I wish I had been quick enough to answer something like, "Not exactly. I'm the regional supplier for Buffy." But instead I told him the truth. "No. I'm going put cardboard boxes filled with high explosives on them and people will shoot at them." I'm not sure if he thought that story was any more plausible than the vampire one but he didn't question me further.

As a side note, 1200 stakes isn't enough for Boomershoot 2008. We have some left over from last year that we will be using.

Son James and I tried to go to Moscow, Idaho last night. It was snowing in the Seattle area and eastbound Snoqualmie pass was closed due to car accidents cause by slick roads. We looked at the pass reports and Stevens pass looked good. Assuming light traffic and good roads it's an hour longer but at least it wasn't closed and the road was bare. Maybe we could drive faster than the storm and make it to the pass before the storm did.

We took off and the traffic in the Seattle area was heavy and it became stop and go as we neared Monroe. By the time we got to within about 10 miles of Stevens pass the road had a couple inches of snow and was very, very slick. Stop and go traffic on a incline halted our progress and we had to turn around and come back into the Seattle area. We are going to try again today. The backyard of my bunker has snow on the ground this morning. Mid-April snow at less that 500 feet above sea level in the Seattle area? There can only be one explanation: Al Gore was right, it has to be Global Warming Climate Change.

Just north of Kirkland.

Just north of Woodinville.

Update: We made it home via Snoqualmie Pass without incident, arriving about 12:20 PM. The above post was written, but I was unable to post it, about 6:45 AM.

Drugs are bad. M'k?

James Huffman-Scott
April 18, 2008
[This was after I had a minor medical procedure, was not allowed to drive for 12 hours because of the drugs they gave me, and could not remember certain things later in the day. I thought I was feeling fairly well at the time. I can remember things that happened before the incident. I can remember things that happened just after the incident. But I cannot remember the event in question.--Joe]

The WA/BC border is one of the most significant entry pts for terrorist that our country has, as well as for illegal materials.

Canada is a significant staging ground for terrorists of all brands.

Besides building their own networks, all type of terrorists will use smuggling routes and the in-place smugglers themselves, to move people and materials.

[...]

As the masses sleep, we and our allies have prevented quite a few attacks bigger than Sept11. and probably hundreds of small ones. We CAN't talk about them because doing so means the "journalists" and lawyers, etc. will know HOW we stopped the attacks and that tool will no longer be available. The only way to keep the evolutionary cycle in our favor is Operational Security of our techniques.

Greg Hamilton
March 24, 2008 2:48 PM
Insights Training Discussion Group
[It's an interesting dilemma. And it goes much further than what is obvious at first glance. If you were to arrest and prosecute them then only the first one or two attempts would be unsuccessful. The methods of detection would come out in the trial(s) making it much more likely subsequent attempts would work. So what can you do? Put a sack over their head and ship them Club Gitmo on a military plane in the middle of the night? Put a bullet in their head and feed them to the sharks and crabs? But what about due process? Yeah, they are terrorists. But what if President Obama declares the NRA to be a terrorist network? Do NRA members then get the same treatment?--Joe]

Xenia's boyfriend, John, pointed out to me the MP3s of debate on the recent New York gun bans. I mentioned the .50 caliber ban in my QOTD the other day.

From reading the bill one would assume they were totally ignorant of guns. But as I listened to the debate I found they carefully and accurately informed the sponser and others that rifled shotguns would be covered by this poorly written bill. The sponsor said it wouldn't. When pushed on this the sponsor changed the subject. When asked "How many crimes were committed with .50 caliber rifles?" And again she repeatedly changed the subject. The truth does not matter to these bigots.

Listen for yourself.

Most of the energy of political work is devoted to correcting the effects of mismanagement of government.

Milton Friedman
[I'm tempted to claim that the statement would be more accurate if "mismanagement of" were removed from the above statement. However, my respect for Mr. Friedman is such that I am hesitant to make that claim without his concurrence.--Joe]