USS Bonhomme Richard To Be Scrapped

After burning for five days straight, the decision while not surprising, is still one that makes for a sad end to a proud ship whose crew has put in years of meritorious service.

USNI News:  UPDATED: Navy Will Scrap USS Bonhomme Richard

It's a sad loss of a proud ship, in service since 1998.  This leaves the Navy down an amphibious assault ship, one that was just in the middle of an upgrade to operate the F-35.

Hopefully the name Bonhomme Richard will soon again adorn a US naval fighting vessel worthy of the name.

Right on Schedule, Media Returns To Lapdog Mode

For today's in-depth political story over at the Detroit News, we have a lovely puff-piece about the mischievous and fun-loving Jill Biden:

The Detroit News: Joe Biden’s chief protector, Jill Biden to step up as first lady

Other hard-hitting stories so far about the likely new-comers to the White House include the probing investigation over . . . what socks Joe Biden wears.

Yahoo.com: Joe Biden Makes an Unexpected Style Choice With Fun Dog-Print Socks for Meeting

Meanwhile the name Bobulinksi and mention of the Hunter Biden emails and saving 10% for the Big Guy are nowhere to be found.

As I had noted and indeed Borepatch noted back in 2012 (yeesh, it's been awhile) the press tends to go all attack-dog on Republicans and then, by way of apology over their unfairness, decide to give the Democrats a pass.  Then they apologize for giving the Dems a pass by working over the next Republican twice as hard.  Rinse and repeat.

In media terms, that's called "fairness".

Who Knew That Letting Violent Criminals Out Of Jail Would Lead To More Violent Crime?

Progressives don't seem to get the correlation between releasing violent criminals from jail and a subsequent rise in the violent crime rate.  It's a complete surprise.

The coronavirus is being used as an excuse for implementing all sorts of progressive ideas, including ending "mass incarceration".

The Detroit News:  Wayne County Jail COVID-19 releases include violent criminals

When a Wayne County judge announced eight months ago that he would begin releasing jail inmates in response to the coronavirus outbreak, he said people accused of violent crimes likely would stay behind bars.

That statement didn't really age well, nor did it take long to expire:

[The Judge then freed] at least 35 Wayne County Jail inmates who were accused or convicted of violent crimes, according to a Detroit News review of jail records.Among those released: four men who were convicted of criminal sexual assault, and 14 others who were convicted of assault. 

What could possibly go wrong?

One of the convicted sex offenders is back in jail after prosecutors say he got out and raped three women at knifepoint.

Oh, well, that.

Dozens of other jail inmates who currently are charged with or were convicted of nonviolent crimes, but who have had previous violent convictions, also were released because of COVID-19, according to records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

So even more things can go wrong. 

There is, of course, no consequences to the judge and others making these decisions to release these predators back into the community.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and the quintessential American holiday.

The turkey is in the oven.

Yes, that is right, roasting happily at 350 degrees.

Other dishes are being prepared for the feast accordingly.

Unfortunately, it won't be like other times. Due to the border with Canada still being closed, the restrictions on number of guests, and the loss of a good friend and cousin this year, who had graced our table with his presence last year and made our celebration then far better than it would have been without him.

This year will still be family but it will be just us around the table.

May you all have a Happy Thanksgiving, and take a moment to be thankful for all that you have.

Excellent Customer Service From Brian Enos Inc

Since I am always seeking to improve my shooting, and given the increasing price of ammo and the fact that dry-fire helps you improve, I've been seeking some further reading on the subject.

I had ordered  Get to Work: The Practice of More Points Per Second, by Steve Anderson from Brian Enos' store on Amazon.

Very quickly a package came in the mail.  Unfortunately, while the invoice said it contained the Get To Work Book, it instead contained Principles of Performance, Refinement and Repetition 2 still a very good book, but not what I had ordered.

So I contacted them via Amazon about the problem and after some issues on my end (Amazon wasn't telling me that Enos was replying which he was and quickly, I just couldn't see it). 

Well, he immediately sent out a copy of Get To Work by priority mail and said I could keep the Principles of Performance book for free as it was their mistake.

That's is rather impressive customer service.

Since realistically I would eventually buy the PPRR2 book from them at some point in the future anyways, I mailed him a check for the book.  I didn't feel right keeping it for free especially as it will indeed have value to me.

So I'd say you can certainly buy from Brian Enos with confidence that he will more than treat you right.

If you want to learn about dry-firing more effectively or competition shooting in general, get over to his Amazon store and pick up some useful knowledge.

Seventeen In Quarantine: Happy Birthday Abby

So Abby turned Seventeen today.  Pretty crazy, because I remember her like this like it was yesterday.

The birthday began, as it always does, with cherry cheesecake that Tash made from scratch.  As usual, it was excellent and a fine way to kick off a birthday celebration.

Then presents, which she enjoyed.

After that, she had virtual school and I worked from home.

Next, since she desired deli for lunch we did takeout at our local deli and I went and picked it up.

Then I went to the office as I had things that needed to get done there, and soon Tash came home and took the kids to get their nails done.

I got home late from work after getting some things done on tight deadlines, but in time for dinner, which was, as Abby had desired, takeout sushi from her favorite sushi restaurant, which was excellent.

With so many things being closed, this birthday was kinda centered around her favorite foods.

After dinner she and Leah went off to watch some sister movies and tv shows.

She's declared she had a great birthday and is starting to feel like she's seventeen.

Enhanced In Translation: "Your brain increases its wisdom, but your heart increases its stupidity."

Why not take Smash Mouth's All Star, translate it into Aramaic, and then translate it back?

Isaac Mayer did so, and the result is pretty awesome.

Newshub: Smash Mouth's 'All Star' translated to Aramaic and back becomes 'beautiful poetry'

Yes, yes it does:

There was one who said unto me that the universe was going to cause me to tremble,

That I am not the sharpest cutting implement in the storehouse.

She had the appearance unto me as a stupid one,

With her finger and her thumb

In the frame of a Greek gamma upon her forehead.

It's worth clicking the link and going and RTWT, and I think Smash Mouth could give this version a whirl.

The Post Office Around Here Is A Massive Ball Of Suck and Fail

Postal service is often though of as an oxymoron at the best of times.

These days, it is worse.

Example 1:  On October 14, I sent a garnishment for a client to Chase's garnishment department in Columbus Ohio via certified mail.

Tracking shows it went from my location to Pontiac, then to Columbus, then back to Pontiac and was then went to Shreveport, Louisiana and was apparently picked up by someone on November 17 in Monroe, Louisiana.

What? How does that work exactly?

Example 2:  Client in the Flint area sends via priority mail on October 10 some important documents for his case.  Should be delivered October 11. As you might guess, it is not.

Weeks pass and the postal service can't say where it is or what happened to it.   Client not happy that some sensitive stuff is missing and may be in the wrong hands.

Well, it arrived yesterday, looking like it had been run over by a truck multiple times - a month and 13 days late, and it still does not exist when you try and track it with the tracking number on the label.

Combine that with days where no mail is received or massively late and it gets even better.

 It's always fun to get a month after the mailing date a notice that a hearing is scheduled and it arrives on the morning of the hearing - or even worse a day after the hearing date which leads to lots of problems as you might imagine.  That took some work to fix.

According to one postal employee I've spoken to, the Pontiac and Detroit Post offices are badly short-staffed, lots of people out claiming they were exposed to Covid, so they don't come in to work, and the level of incompetence is getting even higher than it normally is as a standard.

Sheesh.  The courts need to start sending these notices via email, because the mail is sure as heck not getting through.

Brace Yourselves: Krugman Forecasts A Bright Economic Future.

This is the same Krugman who pontificated upon President Trump's election and the question of when the market will recover stated:

It really does now look like President Donald J. Trump, and markets are plunging. When might we expect them to recover?

Frankly, I find it hard to care much, even though this is my specialty. The disaster for America and the world has so many aspects that the economic ramifications are way down my list of things to fear.

Still, I guess people want an answer: If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never.

Not a particularly good prognostication, that, and it didn't age well, at all.

So hang onto your hats, as his first-pass answer in the New York Times to a Biden win is the circumstances

suggests that Joe Biden will eventually preside over a soaring, “morning in America”-type recovery.

This may be a case of a stopped clock being right twice a day, and right on this prediction, or he may be as right as he was regarding Trump's election and the economy -- and his guess then missed it by over a mile. 

But, if we go by Krugman's track record on such things, expect a recession or a major slump shortly.

Of course, after laying out in detail all the reasons why such a recovery will have nothing to do with Biden or his policies, but due to the nature of the pandemic and recovery from it, he then states Biden and progressive policies should take full credit for it, naturally.  

He also gets lots of shots in at Trump and Republicans but after all that's expected of Krugman - a man more often wrong than not, but never in doubt.

Today's Range Trip - A Great Range Outing With Friends

A bunch of friends decided to meet up at the range today.  Four of them were rolling buddies from jiu-jitsu - it seems there's a large cross-over between the jiu-jitsu community and the firearms community. 

Tosh had also brought Scott along, one of his co-workers that had recently escaped from California and is now enjoying standard capacity magazines and the many other benefits being relocated from CA can provide.

It was sunny out, but the temperature had plummeted 30 degrees from yesterday. Standing in the sun, it wasn't bad - but get under some shade and 30 degrees feels cold pretty quickly.

We started out with rifles/arm-braced pistols and I shot my new build for the first time:

 

It's a 10.5 inch AR on a stripped Spike's lower.  Lower and Upper all pit together from parts. I had a stripped upper lying around for awhile now, and I decided to get it built up, and now seemed to be the time to do it.  I decided to put some decent parts into it, including a flat Geissele trigger which is awesome, a Midwest industries rail and some other decent parts.

It ran flawlessly on this it's first time out, which was nice. Got the scope dialed in as well. It's a Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 and it is very decent glass.  Very fast at the low magnifications and sharp at the high end.

I also installed the AAC 7.62SDN suppressor onto it and it ran like a champ, but a quieter champ.

Then on to the Tavor, complete with silencer attached as I had installed an AAC flashider on it as well.

It ran like a top with the suppressor attached, and with the suppressor it was still shorter overall than the 10.5 was bare, complete with the Tavor's 13" barrel.  I do think its my favorite rifle at this point.

Interestingly, it appears that 5.56 makes the suppressor a lot hotter, longer,  than the 300 Blackout for some reason. 

Scott had a blast and enjoyed shooting the suppressed rifles, and everyone else's rifle there too.  We're friendly like that.

Then on to pistols.

I had a great set at shooting at a steel A zone at 25 yards.  

On timer, from draw to hit my best time today was 1.4 seconds, with other runs at the 1.67-1.70 second range.  Quite happy-making.

The 3x2 drill was in the 3 econd range so it still needs some work.

Scott and others liked the Masada quite a bit.  A solid 150 rounds through it with zero issues.

Scott also enjoyed shooting my suppressed M&P Compact 22 - so quiet you don't need ear pro, and the sound of the bullet hitting the steel is louder than the shot.  Much fun.

He now wants to buy a suppressor, because he can now.  And another angel gets its wings.

We also helped Jason out quite a bit with appendix carry.  Jason has a lot of reserve muscle mass you might say, so he's shied away from appendix carry as a result.  

He recently got a Shadow Systems MR918 and its a great pistol and he's running an RMR on it with good results.  

With a borrowed PHLster Floodlight holster  and a Surefire attached to his pistol we got him trying appendix carry out. First with just a bluegun, then the real gun and active shooting.

Having him try appendix as compared to his usual IWB hip position, his draws were measurably faster on the timer - At least a second or more faster - and that's trying appendix for the first time after carrying hip side for years.   Pretty impressive improvement just from changing the carry location.

Lots of fun shooting and a great bunch of guys.

Interesting if True About the Spike For Biden in Michigan

While I'd like to see further confirmation of this claim,  waiting on the MSM to do it would be a fool's errand.  If true, it's statistical proof of tomfoolery in Wayne County's ballot counting that pushed Biden over the top in this state.

American Thinker: What a computer expert said about voting results in Michigan

Here's Ramsland's explanation: "The several spikes cast solely for Biden could easily be produced in the Dominion system by preloading batches of blank ballots in files such as Write-Ins, then casting them all for Biden using the Override Procedure ... that is available to the operator of the system."

"There were 289,866 more ballots processed in the time available for processing in four precincts/townships, than there was capacity," said Ramsland.

In plain English, that means they counted almost 300,000 more ballots than physically possible.

"This is not surprising because the system is highly vulnerable to a manual change in the ballot totals as observed[,]" said Ramsland. "[W]e believe that these statistical anomalies and impossibilities together create a wholly unacceptable level of doubt as to the validity of the vote count in Michigan, and in Wayne County, in particular."

In short, based on this expert's calculations, it would have been impossible to process that many ballots in those precincts without cheating and manually over-ridding and entering results as the counting machines simply could not process that many ballots in the time allotted. In short - there were statistically too many ballots to process in the time it was stated it took to process them - by a lot.

Or, in the most charitable light, this potentially means that Wayne County government workers were able to work faster, harder, and more efficiently than Wayne County government workers have ever worked in both living and recorded history.

That charitable explanation is most unlikely.

Chief Craig Explains The Difference

Progressives were outraged recently (or just continued to be outraged, it;s hard to tell sometimes) that BLM and Antifa types were arrested  during demonstrations in Detroit recently while Trump supporters protesting the way the election is being mishandled in Detroit were not.

Detroit Police Chief Craig points out that the subtle difference in the treatment between the two groups was based on their behavior.  So very subtle, yet blindingly obvious to all but the progressive types.

 Law Enforcement Today: Detroit Police Chief on why pro-Trump protesters and BLM treated differently: ‘Because they were peaceful’

Rather obvious, but not to the oblivious progressives.

Quick hints for BLMers to prevent getting arrested during your next protest:

1. Don't throw bottles at police;

2. Don't throw bricks at police;

3. Indeed, don't throw anything at police.

Apparently this is very hard for BLM types to understand. 

Part of the problem is the left's misapprehension and belief that their violence is speech, while anyone else's speech (or lack thereof) is violence.

Some Michigan Restaurants Choose Not to Take This Lying Down

In the face of likely financial ruin and imminent closure of their businesses, some Michigan restaurateurs are choosing not to love Big Gretch.

The Detroit News:  Restaurants sue to overturn Michigan's indoor dining ban

Hopefully this Federal court challenge will succeed, as have many of the legal challenges made to the Governor's excessive, overbroad, and unconstitutional use of her powers over the course of this pandemic.

Stockholm Syndrome Hits Michigan - He Loved Big Gretch

Apparently some Michigan restaurateurs, about to face near certain disaster from this upcoming 3 week shutdown and after suffering months of being shut down in the prior unconstitutional order are exhibiting signs of Stockholm syndrome.

The Detroit Free Press: Hard-hit metro Detroit restaurant industry prepares for another shutdown during key season

Over 2,000 restaurants have already permanently closed their doors in Michigan due to the previous forced closure.   It's likely according to the article that a further 6,000 won't survive, especially as this closure hits them in the time they normally begin to break even or show a profit over the year.

 If you really believe this one will only last three weeks, just  like the first one was supposed to be for two, I have a nice bridge connecting the two peninsulas in Michigan to sell you.

Some restaurant owners point out this  sudden order may put them over the edge, especially if they've just stocked up with food supplies.

We will note that so far only 4.4% of spreading events have been traced back to restaurants.   This ill-conceived order will lead to over 250,000 workers being laid off, and many may not have jobs to come back to if the restaurant being shut down does not survive.

Others are exhibiting clear signs of Stockholm Syndrome, identifying with their captor that is destroying their livelihood:

Cafe Muse co-owner Greg Reyner is incredibly frustrated. He said he's done everything right and keeps the safety of his guests and staff first...."We’re going into our busiest month of the year," Reyner said. "This is where you go from red to black. So it's very troubling. I make as much money the week between Christmas and New Years as I do the entire month of September. We do so much revenue that week we basically build up a nest egg to make it through January, February and March. If we’re going into our slow season already in the hole, a lot of restaurants will not survive."

but then he continues: 

 Reyner said he supports Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state's decision to shut down. He points the blame at "obstructionist Republicans" like President Donald Trump and the U.S. Senate, who he said "are more concerned with ramming a judge through than helping small businesses.

So he's supporting the person that is issuing the orders that are deliberately and directly destroying his livelihood with these arbitrary unilateral decisions. Truly, He loved Big Gretch.

His projection to blame Trump is hilarious.  It's not Trump shutting him down, the blame for this decision rests solely with our dear Governor Half-Whit.

I half expected him to end his statement with "Thank you Governor, may I have another?",

Folks, if you're out at a restaurant dining tonight in the last night before the shut down, tip your wait staff like they're about to be out of work for the next 3 plus weeks. Because they will be.

That's One Way To Get Your Crime Rate Down - By Ignoring Crimes

Just when one thinks the progressives could go no more crazy in coddling criminals, here comes Seattle City Council.

KOMONews: Seattle City Council mulls law that could result in dismissal of many misdemeanor crimes

The Seattle City Council is considering new legislation that would create a legal loophole that would make substance addiction, mental illness or poverty a valid legal defense for nearly all misdemeanor crimes committed in the city.

In short you could commit just about any misdemeanor and get out of it, so long as you claimed without needing to provide evidence that you were a) an addict; b) mentally ill; or c) poor and the crime you did was to provide for your needs.

What could possibly go wrong?

Governor Half-Whit And The Definition Of insanity

The Detroit News:  Gov. Whitmer closing high schools, colleges, in-person dining, casinos, movie theaters

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced wide-ranging new restrictions affecting high schools, colleges and restaurants Sunday to combat what she described as the "worst moment" yet in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new policies will temporarily halt in-person instruction at high schools and colleges, dine-in service at restaurants and bars, and high school athletics as well as close some businesses, including movie theaters, bowling alleys and casinos.

Insanity is oft defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same result, and Gov Whitmer is again ordering a shut down of a lot of businesses and educational facilities of this state and expecting different results from her last shutdown.

That she ordered it now on a Sunday night when the legislature is not in session, and without consulting the legislature, is neither surprising nor out of character for her.

The newest order simply does not make sense.  It' s not a total lock down but almost targeted to do the most economic harm

That's 250 days of stopping the spread. The lock down has not worked and created great economic and social harm to this state.  This intensification will similarly not work, and will just bring about even greater economic and social harm to this state.

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work - Al Qaeda Now Looking For A New #2

The Detroit News: US, Israel worked together to track and kill al-Qaida No. 2

There's now another opening for the number two position in Al Qaeda's hierarchy.

The US and Israel worked jointly to track down and kill Abu Mohammed al-Masri in Tehran, Iran.

With a fine sense of  timing and poetic justice, they nailed him on August 7, the anniversary of the 1998 bombings of the US Embassies that he orchestrated in Kenya and Tanzania.

That Sunni terrorist Abu Mohammed al-Masri was being sheltered by the Shiite Iranian government certainly gives the lie to the claim that the Iranians will not work with the Sunni Wahhabi/Qutbist factions when it suits them, and that the two are always enemies. They're not, and they will work together to ataack the West when it suits them.

Now Biden is eager to return to the Iranian treaty even while Iran harbors and assists America's enemies, if not outright encouraging them and assisting them against America.

Michigan And Sweden: A Covid19 Comparison

Much has been made of the fact that the Swedes did not do a lock down of their society while other nations did.  Now with a "second wave"  of Covid19 sweeping across Michigan I though a comparison of where we stand today might be apt and useful.

Why compare?  Well, it turns out Sweden and Michigan are roughly similar in population, but took a vastly divergent approach in handling the outbreak.

Since it looks like our Governor Half-Whit is poised to double down via the Department of Health and Human Services on the lock down and harsh restrictions approach, it makes sense to see  how a different approach as fared.

Let's see how Michigan and Sweden measure up:

Data is that which is reported as of today.

Sweden, without a lock down, did markedly better in all relevant areas in terms of number of cases, deaths, and their economy in terms of unemployment.  They did it without a lock down, a mask mandate, and without stupidly ordering nursing homes to take in Covid19 positive patients.  

 Far harder to quantify is the loss of quality of life in Michigan due to the lock downs, those harmed from losing their jobs, those suffering from mental and emotional harm form the lock downs, and those who may yet die form not having their medical issues either detected or properly treated during the lock downs.

Let's rethink returning to a lock down for this state, now shall we?  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.  Let's instead use the "best science and best data as our Gov Half Whit likes to say, and try a different and more effective approach.

Note Well - In A Fight, Your Child Is A Lousy Choice As A Backstop

A strange and messed-up story coming out of Detroit.

The Detroit Free Press:  1-year-old hospitalized after being shot amid fight over Uber Eats delivery

Apparently the concealed carry holder mom had driven home and then got into an altercation allegedly because her neighbor stole the mom's Uber Eats chicken delivery. 

Neighbor took umbrage at the accusation of chicken theft and things escalated from there and neighbor then came at mom with a hammer.

Mom then retrieves gun from car, shoots at neighbor wielding hammer and somehow manages to hit her own kid in the child-seat in the car's backseat, but apparently doesn't hit hammer-wielding neighbor, or at least that's not reported as part of the story.

Strangely, no one immediately realizes the child has been hit in the altercation.

About the only way I can see this happening is if the neighbor with the hammer is chasing her around the car and she then has no idea of what's beyond her target when she's shooting at the hammer wielder, but it is completely unclear how this occurred from the story. 

There's even less detail at the Detroit News report on the events.

Hopefully we get a little more clarity in follow-up reports, if there will be any.

Always knowing and being aware of your backstop when shooting, for any reason, certainly matters.

Giving For Divided Government Certainly Can't Hurt

Given the likelihood that Trump will be unable to sufficiently prove fraud, no matter how impressively suspicious the results have been, control of the federal government and the chance for divided government now hinges on the results of two upcoming senate races in Georgia.

If you want Republicans to hold the Senate, want divided government, and want some kind of check on the progressive push to change America in Venezuela's image, I'd suggest giving to the two Georgia Republican senate candidate's campaigns for the upcoming run-off election in Georgia:

David Perdue 

Kelly Loeffler

I'd suggest donating at a minimum between the two of them at least as much as the cost of a case of ammo online that you like these days.  

After all, if you want to continue to be able to buy ammo online, not to mention keep the gun you shoot it in (or at least not pay a $200 tax on each "assault" firearm and on every magazine),  you'd better work for a Republican-majority Senate, but that's up to you.

No, That's Not How That Works

Now that Biden is the presumptive president-elect.  People are imagining what his policies will be like once he emerges from the basement and sees or does not see his shadow.

USA Today: Biden's approach to tackling COVID-19 will be dramatically different, and quickly apparent

Of course the article argues that Biden will be much more scienc-y in his dealing with Covid 19.  

It claims he will be a much better communicator and of course use the best science.  

But then it really starts to go off the rails and argues he legally can require a national mask mandate:

Biden has said he would be in favor of requiring every American to wear a mask when in a public place or business.

Some question whether the president would have the authority to do that, given the limitations on federal executive power. But Dr. Michael Ewer, a visiting professor in the Health Law and Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, says Biden does.

"He has the power to say we will have a more uniform approach to public health measures," Ewer said. There will be people who oppose that, he said, but "do they have a leg to stand on legitimately? The answer is, from a public health standpoint, almost certainly not."

The answer from a legal standpoint, pace the professor,  is most certainly YES there is a leg to stand on.  So, what legal basis does this professor of Health Law and Policy argues that lets a president enforce a national mask mandate?

The Constitution gives the federal government the power to protect the general welfare, Ewer said, and the courts have generally supported restrictions on individual rights to that end. Seatbelt and no-smoking laws are examples.

Blink.  And this guy is a law professor and he's raising the general welfare clause canard and seatbelt and no-smoking laws as examples? Seriously?

The general welfare clause of the constitution is not a blank check to the Federal Government to do whatever it wishes, it's a spending power, not a regulatory one.  Nor have the courts "generally supported restrictions on individual rights to that end".

Seabelt laws are actually set at the state level and encouraged by the Federal government through threats of withholding funding for related items (highway funding in the case of seatbelt laws).  No-smoking areas are similarly set by the states, or if a federal building the federal government to regulate their own property.

While Biden could conceivably find some constitutionally approved hook to restrict state spending unless in return requiring the states to pass laws for compliance with a mask mandate such as perhaps some medicare funding or such. But, it is not going to constitutionally fly to just claim he can order the entire nation to wear a mask and it can be done under the general welfare clause.

Not that the progressives ever let the constitution stand in their way or anything but this guy is a law professor of all things and really should know better. After all, this is first-year law school stuff.

Sheesh.

Sunday USPSA Match Day

The last regular match of the season was held today.

I RO'd for my squad which was quit a bit of brain-sweat but I'm getting better at it.

Certainly many of the weird shooting events that could happen in the course of a match pretty much did including the ever awesome question of scoring when someone hits a no shoot touching the perf but also hits the scoring target its attached to - much fun ensued.

Also we had at least two master class shooters in my squad and some other serious competitors and they had no problem telling me how they wanted me to RO.  Yay.  Some were rather prima donas -  Give a make ready command and a few minutes pass as they air-gun the stage form the start position, then load, then air gun again and finally get ready for me to say are you ready.  They get pissed if you ask them the next command "Are you ready?"  if they haven't completed their ritual and it can be hard to tell when in fact they are actually ready to be asked if they are ready.  

For one of them I waited quite awhile and he wanted to know why I hasn't asked "Are you ready?"  and I simply said it didn't look like he had settled down enough for me to ask that yet.  He got better on the next and subsequent stages as a result.

Even had one call for an overlay, which led to a delay scoring to get one, when it was pretty clear from plain observation it was a C hit and not an A hit, and yes, I was right that it was a C hit.

On the Classifier stage 09-03, there was a technical problem - the stage description and the stage diagram instructions did not agree with each other.  If you want to read the two docs for yourself and see if you can figure out what the problem is, the COF and description is here.

They really need to fix that at USPSA HQ.  In short we had to call the match director and verify what we were doing matched what everyone else was doing and then we could shoot it.  In short the stage diagram description wins.

On the upside, I did decently, getting a high C class score on it and getting closer to a B score, but well, not quite.

I did as I normally do during a match or slightly better, a solid C class, nothing special unfortunately.  I need to move faster and increase my transition speed I think.

My last stage was rather good and enjoyable though as pretty much everything went according to plan, I actually had a decent plan, and moved right along through it pretty efficiently, and I got good hits and got a decent-for-me hit factor out of it, which was nice.

A nice match to close out the season and here's to looking for more ammo.

155 more rounds through the Masada with zero failures which was great.

Well, There Is A Small Bright Side To All This

Even with the news that Biden is announced as winning the election -- pending the court challenges for the questionable activities and statistically suspect results in PA, MI, WI and AZ -- We can at least take some small comfort:

The left with this result won't be running amok smashing windows and burning down our cities.

So we've got that going for us, which is nice.

Funny How These Mistakes Only Go In One Direction

The "mistakes" in this state just somehow always swing in favor of the Democrats.

First we had the mistake where Shiawassee County suddenly reported 138,000 votes all for Biden, allegedly due to a county clerk adding a 0 to the total - this was quickly caught as Shiawasee county doesn't even have that many registered voters, but it was a solid try.  

Yet another "mistake" was found after a local clerk sent absentee ballot results twice for counting.

WXYZ: Error in election results reveal losing candidate actually won in Rochester Hills Instead of losing by 104 votes, the Republican candidate for County Commisisoner actually won by 1,127.

Now, did this net 1231 vote shift get counted and applied and corrected all the way up the ballot? Were John James (where the race is tight enough that this could matter) and Trumps totals revised accordingly? Its unlikely that people who voted for a republican for county commissioner did not vote for Trump or James at the top of the ticket.

Throw in the "issues with Antrim county and the ongoing fun and games in Detroit and you have to wonder how many more "mistakes" are out there yet to be corrected.  You also need to wonder how it is that, defying the law of probability, do these mistakes always manage to favor the Democrats in this state?

And Our Schools Decide To Run And Hide Once Again

Just received an announcement that our school system will be ending its hybrid model and going back to all-virtual only.

Why?  Cause they got scared.

This is because Oakland County was now declared "Red" under the new protocol with an positive Covid test rate of 25 per 100,000 people.  Yep a 0.025 percent infection rate, complete and with this rate achieved with some rather dubious tests and some bad incentives has been considered high enough to close live schools yet again.

Never mind that not a single school-aged child has died of Covid-19 in Oakland County to date.  We must shut it all down for this non-event.

While there are a few immune-compromised teachers (including an absolutely fantastic one in teaching one of my kids right now)  - the problem is already solved and she is already appropriately protected with her teaching remotely from the safety of her home even to the live class.  This can be done and should be done without closing schools and applying a little common sense to a problem that is not going away.

Let's see how much harm this panicked overreaction will cause.  There will now be further disruption - parents of younger children who just were able to start going to work again will now be unable to go to work but will have to remain home with their kids and this is going to have some bad economic and social consequences as kids won't be able to see each other or socialize normally.

Not to mention that there have not been massive outbreaks in schools recently and no real cause for this shutdown.

Apparently Biden just hasn't won fast enough for Whitmer and co to end lockdowns.

The only upside?  High School will now start at a civilized 9 am rather than 7:30 am thus letting the kids sleep in and more closely match their teenage circadian rhythms.

This Election, Trump Is Just Not Beyond The Dem's Margin of Fraud And "Mistakes".

I fear Trump will not make it over the margin of fraud in this election. And lots of fraud there is.

Let's take Antrim County, Michigan for instance:

The Detroit Free Press: Antrim County election results investigated after red Michigan county turns blue

Officials are investigating wonky election results in Antrim County in northern Michigan that could add a few thousand votes to the tallies for President Donald Trump and Republican Senate candidate John James.

Antrim County Clerk Sheryl Guy, a Republican who ran unopposed and won a third four-year term Tuesday in the strongly GOP county, said results on electronic tapes and a computer card were accurate but it appeared that some of the results were somehow scrambled after the cards were transported in sealed bags from township precincts to county offices and downloaded onto a computer.

Why these "mistakes" seem rather one-sided and manage to scramble in favor of the Dems is always interesting.   Since multiple Michigan counties are using this same software, they likely all need to be checked over for a similar happy coincidental scrambling  error that just manages to erase Republican votes.

On top of that, the dead are apparently voting in Michigan: The Daily Telegraph: Dead Devoted to Democracy

Apparently, in one example given, and I'd like to see further verification, William Bradley of Wayne County (home of Detroit and an amazing 36,000 more registered than eligible voters) applied for an absentee ballot on 9/11/2020 and  it was received on 10/2/2020.  One minor problem with that vote is that the 118 year-old William Bradley died on June 1, 1984, so his voting from beyond the grave is rather a neat trick.

Add the shenanigans game is well and truly afoot where they are counting the absentee ballots in Detroit :

Republican counters shouted that they were unfairly being kept out, but Democratic challengers countered that it was not true because they were also being kept outside.

Yep, read that one over again, with feeling, especially when you realize the counters inside are Democrats.

Add to that the report int he Detroit news that "early Wednesday morning before 4 a.m., a new batch of 38,000 ballots were brought in for counting from an unknown location."  and the Detroit fix appears well and truly in.

There also appears to be a lot of shenanigans over in Wisconsin: Powerline: Massive Voter Fraud In Wisconsin?

This election points out yet again the absolute insecurity of our election system. That needs to change if anyone is going to believe in and abide by the result and truly believe it is both a free and a fair election.

A Buck A Yard

Saw this mighty proud young buck in our backyard tonight:

I'm loving this camera - 25,600 ISO, 24-105 lens at F4 and dusk became sharp and clear - through a window no less and it would lock in focus no problem.

 

The buck was strutting through the backyard like he owned the place.

He also rubbed his antlers against a tree

He then proudly marched off, following the trail of a doe that had come through just minutes earlier.

He's got some definite injuries to his front legs - when I posted the pic on Facebook,  an outdoorsman friend of mine and a veterinarian friend of mine both immediately picked up on it, noting the left is looking calcified and the right atrophied. 

 Pretty amazing how they picked up on that so quickly, and I got to sit back and learn some new things, which was very cool indeed.

He's been around the neighborhood for awhile now, but this is the first time he remained in our backyard for longer than a flash and with enough time for me to grab the camera.  Hopefully, he makes it through the upcoming winter and sticks around.

What The Absolute Frack UPS?

Today, finally after getting bounced along and around by UPS support including supervisor level support, I did get a return call from even higher level UPS support after I had left a few messages, to find out at least one interesting new thing today.

The firearm was not in fact stolen and diverted to Kansas City, MO, as they had previously indicated.

Nope, instead UPS seized the package and sent it to their secret fraud center in Kansas City, MO on suspicion of fraudulent activity.

Blink.

Why you may ask?

Why indeed.

Well, apparently about 5 years ago the UPS shipper id number I had been issued in late October of this year by Stamps.com had apparently been used by a fraudster in Texas for some nefarious purpose.  This nefarious purpose was not to be revealed to me, but it was indeed a purpose most nefarious and fraudulent.

5 years ago.

The shipping id number associated with the fraud was however then released by UPS to Stamps.com for use, but remained flagged in the UPS system as a fraudulent shipper id, and then sat there just waiting to pounce as my legal shipment entered their clutches.

One would think they would retire such an shipper number and not reissue it for use, but no.  My package then allegedly got intercepted solely based on that number.

I'm now told that my package is now going to be released and delivered on to the buyer sometime soon as I've now proven I'm not the fraudster in Texas and it is a legitimate shipment.   

Of course, they should have been able to figure this out themselves since the package was dropped off in Pontiac, Michigan not Texas. One would have hoped that a shipping company knew geography. Another clue could be it was legally declared as a firearm and the FFL of the receiver was provided and package was paid for, and it was not being sent from or to Texas. Or, maybe, perhaps they could have just contacted me at the outset, but what do I know?

Of course, this is after I've already spent time and reported it to the Sheriff's department that it was stolen based on their prior statement that it was intercepted and delivered to an unknown address in KC, MO.  It would have been nice if from the get-go they stated what was actually going on rather than stating the package had been stolen.

It would also have been real nice had they contacted me once the diversion happened rather than my learning about it on their tracking page solely from seeing the package marked "delivered" but to Kansas City and not its actual destination and no message at all regarding any delivery exception.

We'll now see if it really does get properly to its destination as promised and paid for.  Sheesh.

Voted. Civic Duty Done. Now We Wait.

Voted this morning.  

No waiting except for the two people in front of me who went to the wrong precinct because they couldn't read a map, they should have gone to Precinct 15 and instead they came to mine which is visibly marked Not Precinct 15, and decided to argue with the polling staff at length about it.

Did I mention at length?

Including having their IDs scanned repeatedly and being repeatedly told that they needed to go to precinct 15? Repeatedly.  Even given directions to it just down the street, can't  miss it?   Apparently there's a bit of a line over at Precinct 15 (which they knew about which is curious) and these two wanted to either vote faster, or they were going to try to vote in multiple spots.

The Poll staff did not give in and let them vote anyways, but directed them to 15.  

Repeatedly.  

Quick tip: If you're a registered voter in Michigan and even now don't know where to vote either check your voter registration card or even better go to: 

Where is My Polling Place 

enter your info, and then go to the polling place it indicates.  Easy-Peasy.  

That they didn't do this before they decided to show up does make me wonder about their overall civic intelligence, or what they were actually trying to do, but whatever.

Well, once they were taken care of I was able to get my ballot and go vote and get it done.

One weird part is instead of the ballot placing parties randomly on it, the Democrat candidates were always listed first in each category, then Republicans then other parties.  Not too typical, and I'm sure our Democrat Secretary of State had nothing to do with that change, which can also be seen on the sample ballot online.

It's a big ballot this year with lots of important races, so hopefully you've done your research and you choose wisely.

Some Self-Awareness That You've Been Fanning The Flames Would Be Nice

It's Wolf Blitzer folks, with a complete lack of understanding of causation and self-reflection:

Ya know Wolf, had you and yours not refused to accept the legitimacy of the 2016 election and been constantly characterizing the riots of the left as "mostly peaceful protests", we could be understanding of your sadness.

 Instead, you and yours have been busy excusing the leftist violent outbreaks going on in the blue cities around this nation and failing to condemn threats of further violence, and constantly reporting in ways to further genenrate such rage and outbreaks of violence.  

Had you maybe accepted the election result in 2016 and actually been accurate in reporting on the events of Crossfire Hurricane, BLM and the riots to date, and of police being ordered to stand down and not arrest rioters, then maybe this boarding up of buildings in anticipation of further leftist violence would not be necessary.

We'll see if you've learned anything or if you will fan the flames even higher during the 2020 Election.

We'll also note the buildings aren't being boarded up out of fear and anticipation of Trump supporters running amok, looting and breaking windows.

Dems Plan To "Peacefully Protest" The Day After The Election In Ferndale

Heard from a Democrat friend of mine that the local Dems are planning to have a large turnout on November 4th on Woodward at 9 Mile in Ferndale (a hip and fashionable suburb north of Detroit, a rather Democrat-dominated area).

If Biden wins, it will apparently be billed as a victory celebration.

If Trump wins, they state it will be a "peaceful protest".

Either way, if you're a business on Woodward and 9 Mile, I'd suggest investing in some plywood, or other window coverings, and some fire extinguishers, stat.  

It would also be a good idea to avoid the area.