Israel Hits Iran

A nuclear-armed Iran is a threat not just to the region, but the world. 

The world's leading sponsor of terrorism, supporting the Houthis, Hamas, Hezbollah, and others, Iran has attacked Israeli and US personnel around the world.

When even the UN finally admits that Iran is on the road to acquiring a bomb, and has been actively hiding its activities from inspectors, it is more than late in the game to stop it.

UN.org: Atomic watchdog says Iran not complying with nuclear safeguards

It's more than overdue that action is taken to stop them from getting a working nuclear device, especially as they have continually worked to enrich uranium beyond the level required for "peaceful" nuclear power and towards the level for a bomb.

 PJ Media: BREAKING: Israel Bombs Iran in Preemptive Strike 

In addition to hitting research sites in Tehran, the main enrichment site at Natanz has reportedly been hit:

Fox News: Israel hits the ‘heart’ of Iran’s nuclear program in Natanz facility strike

Hopefully, the strikes are successful and Iran is setback yet again from its path to nuclear weapons. 

Mexico Dips In To Fight For Remittances

Mexico is concerned that remittances from the USA might be taxed. 

Yahoo News:  Claudia Sheinbaum denounces proposed US remittance tax as ‘unacceptable’

El Paso Times: "This is worrying": Remittance tax would take money needed to support migrant families

The tax of 3.5% (and it should be more, the originally proposed 5% would have been a decent start) would hit the $64.7 billion sent to Mexico from the USA and raise two and a quarter billion dollars to the treasury, helping defray some of the costs imposed by illegals.

This was one of Trump's failures in his first term - had he pushed for, and imposed a tax on remittances then, Mexico really would have paid for the wall.

The remittance tax needs to become a law. 

Well, That Was A Fun Way To Start Off The Morning

 

A quick reminder for people on how to use roundabouts (traffic circles):

 

1.     When the way is clear, you enter the traffic circle.

 

2.     Once you enter a circle you proceed and you do not suddenly slam on your brakes for no damn reason (allegedly because you see a car coming from the other side of the roundabout that isn’t an actual factor), causing the car behind you that was following and had also entered the circle to slam on their brakes.

 

On the upside, speed in the traffic circle is low, and my brakes work really, really good, even with the surprise factor of the elderly lady deciding to lock up her brakes right in front of me in the circle as she apparently got confused as to roundabout operation.

 

Not even a scratch on either car, nor any injuries, which is nice.

 

Startle response and blood pressure increase to start the morning off, not so much.

So This Makes Sense To Them

Let's see if we get this straight: 

The rioters are rioting against being deported from the USA.

They are rioting because they do not want to be deported back to the country whose flag they happen to be proudly waving around at the riots.

So they proudly wave a Mexican flag around while they burn cars, burn American flags, and assault police officers to protest their being deported back to Mexico after being here illegally, from Mexico.

 This apparently makes perfect sense.

Range Trip - IWI Carmel

I went to the range with Spencer today, and I brought along a new rifle I had just purchased to try out.

It's the IWI Carmel.

The Carmel is a short piston operated semi-auto rifle in 5.56.  Fully ambidextrous, it also has a folding and highly adjustable stock where you can adjust the comb height as well as the length of the stock.

The Carmel can also be easily fired with the stock folded. Due to it being able to do so, and with its overall length with the stock folded, it has the interesting dual identity of being a rifle under federal law but a pistol under Michigan law. 

This means that with a CPL, you could have it loaded in your vehicle or elsewhere where you normally must keep a rifle in unloaded condition in Michigan.  Rather convenient, that

 

I put a Vortex 1-8 LVPO on it, and likely will add a red dot mounted in an offset mount  soon.

Shooting 62 grain 5.56 I bought from Widener's at a good sale price, I soon had the scope zeroed in at 25 yards.

It's very fun to shoot, easy to handle, and recoil impulse is even less than a comparably sized AR-15. Accuracy was excellent, and the trigger is darn nice for a box-stock trigger.

Spencer also liked it quite a lot as well.

Right out of the box, with just a little lubrication applied to the bolt and carrier, 200 rounds through with zero malfunctions or any issues, as would be expected.   Shooting it with the stock folded was no problem, either.

Spencer also had a new to him SIG MCX in 5.56 that he had purchased used.

 The rattle-can paint job came with it.

  It worked fine for the most part. but had a weird habit of the bolt locking halfway back which caused lots of issues.  

Hitting the bolt catch, you could lock the bolt so it was half of the way clear of the ejection port and then you'd seat a mag, send the bolt home, and it obviously would not pick up a round, as the bolt was on top of the rounds in the magazine and not behind it. You then had to work the bolt all the way back to do so.  I haven't seen that before and it may be due to it being used and someone may have messed with it, or it is a quirk of the MCX.  Still, it is quite a nice firearm, even with the recoil impulse being noticeably different, than the Carmel, but still not bad, just a bit more thumpy, as much as a 5.56 gets thumpy, which isn't much.

In any case, we zeroed both rifles, shot them, and enjoyed the experience. 

I'm rather liking the IWI Carmel and its quite a fun, reliable (200 rounds isn't much, but it's a positive start), and accurate rifle so far. 

Import The Third World And All That

Arabs have a tradition of cranking off rounds into the air to celebrate things. 

They combine this with a very Insha'Allah attitude as to where the rounds may end up.

This tradition has serious issues when it meets in modern society, especially when done from a vehicle, on a highway.

The Detroit Free Press: Gunfire from rented Lamborghini during wedding procession in Dearborn leads to arrest

A wedding celebration shifted from festive to dangerous when shots were fired from a purple Lamborghini Huracán on the evening of Sunday, June 1.

The celebration involved a procession of honking vehicles that stretched from Canton to Dearborn.

Dashcam footage captured the moment someone fired a handgun out the passenger-side window of the luxury sports car near Ford and Evergreen roads, prompting an investigation by Dearborn police.

Officers tracked the festivities to a banquet hall in Dearborn Heights, according to Dearborn police. The rented Lamborghini was impounded, and an anonymous tip later led to the arrest of a person of interest now facing a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm.

No matter how happy you are that someone tied the knot, you don't drive down a highway cranking off rounds into the air, flashy car or no.  The article has a heckuva nice picture of the shooter in the Lambo cranking off some rounds.

You're responsible for every round that leaves your firearm. It's not just unacceptable to hoof rounds into the air in traffic (or just about anywhere else for that matter), it is irresponsible and indeed criminal to do so.  So, don't.

Tuesday Fly Day - Now With More Instrument Currency!

I got up early this morning and met up with Joel at the airport.

It was time to take the Dakota up as the Archer has some maintenance being done.

Did the pre-flight and then headed to Flint to get some approaches in.

It was quite hazy at 3,000 feet and above, likely due to the Canadian wildfires. Haze got impressively worse but we still had six miles of visibility but good luck seeing anything farther away than that.

I first did the ILS 27 at Flint, then did the RNAV 18 there for a change as the wind was favoring that, even as it was getting a bit gusty.

Both approaches went well, then I headed back to Pontiac and did the RNAV 27L in even more haze and a very gusty crosswind of 15 knots. I rode the glidepath like it was on rails and it was a great approach and landing.

Joel complimented me on my landing, and didn't scream even once during all three approaches, so I must have done something right.  Tower had me roll to the end, cross 27R, and then head back to the hangar.

The approaches went very well and I'm now current for another six months. It was worth getting up early to get a nice and useful flight in.

That's 1.2, 1.0 simulated instrument time, 3 approaches, and one very nice landing. 

Well, At Least They're Only Commiting Vandalism So Far Around Here.

The Red-Green Axis are essentially vandals and indeed can be rightly called terrorists.

The Detroit Free Press: Hundreds of peonies cut, pro-Palestinian signs left at popular Ann Arbor garden

The Detorit News: Pro-Palestinian messages left at scene of flower vandalization, UM police say

Apparently it was  not hundreds - but thousands vandalized. 

Yes, some leftist progressive idiot destroyed hundreds of flowers in an arboretum at the University of Michigan.  

For Hamas, of course. 

Because nothing says you support Hamas terrorism like destroying property. 

This follows quite a string of acts of vandalism by Pro-Hamas scum around the University and at private residences to boot. 

It could be worse, the Red-Green axis has set fire to the Pennsylvania Governor's mansion,  Killed two Jews in DC, and most recently an illegal alien Egyptian pro-Hamasnik attacked Jews with a flamethrower in Colorado.

Getting rather sporty out there with Leftist violence on quite the uptick.

Sunday Flyday - Instrument Currency Work

Yesterday was our flying club's Wash 'n' Wax and General Membership Meeting.

The planes were washed and waxed to a shine and then we held our meeting and took care of business. 

So this morning, I got up early and got to the Airport at 7:00 am to get some club paperwork handled. I then met James at 7:30 at the airport and we did a preflight of the Archer and then headed off to Flint so I could get some approaches in that would count with him along as a safety pilot.

It was a beautiful morning to fly, with a light crosswind of 5-8 knots from 300 degrees. 

 I put the foggles on after takeoff and got setup with Detroit Approach and the Great Lakes Approach.  I had got the ATIS at Flint, checked in and requested the ILS 27 as the first approach with a  full procedure.

I got it and did the hold and then did a good approach.

Then I went missed and got vectored for the RNAV 27, and was first lined up on it and then vectored off it for spacing which was fine.  I got vectored back at the final approach fix so things got a little fast but it was a decent approach.

I then did it again for a fantastic approach nice and smooth and on the glidepath perfectly which was nice. 

We then headed back to Pontiac and I did the RNAV 27L and I got vectors from Detroit Approach, and passed by the airport to get to the fix.

 

I then rode the approach like it was on rails, and it ended with a smooth full stop landing.

We then pulled off and switched seats and James did two touch and goes and a full stop in 0.4 to keep his VFR passenger currency active.

 

He did some good patterns on 27R, even as he had become a little rusty, but all was well and he got better with each one.

That's 1.7 for me with 1.5 simulated instrument time, 4 approaches, a hold, and 1 great landing. I still need a couple more approaches done  in the next 30 days to stay current, and I'm gonna go get them.

Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Proposal

Hamas' refusal to accept the United State's ceasefire proposal is not unexpected, after all they expect to get bailed out and are taking the statements by Britain, France, Canada, and Germany warning Israel not to win as proof that they will get bailed out and stopped form losing the war they started. 

Yahoo News:  Hamas to reject US Gaza ceasefire plan

BBC: Hamas official says it will reject new US Gaza ceasefire plan backed by Israel

On the upside, Hamas' rejection of the deal, which was quote favorable to it leaves the door open for continued Israeli pressure to get them to come back tto the table. The US-made deal featured yet another lopsided exchange of 10 live and 18 dead Israeli hostages held by Hamas for 1,200 Hamasniks.  This was not a good deal for Israel by any stretch of the imagination.  The deal still left approximately (as we don;t really know if they are alive or not) 10 live Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas for another 60 days.

Hamas figures it can wait for external pressure on Israel to stop Israel from decisively defeating Hamas, and let Hamas remain to commit more terror attacks in the future.  

Unfortunately, they may just be right.

Stupid Criminals: Tailgating Cops While Under A Deportation Order Is No Way To Go Through Life Son

If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough. 

The Detroit Free Press: Border Patrol arrested a Detroit student on a field trip. He now faces deportation.

 So, an illegal in high school at age 18 was driving with three minors in the car and was tailgating a police car.  Not the smartest move, really.

Note the semantics in the article - the illegal is referred to as an "18-year-old Detroit man"  or "Detorit student" rather than as an "18-year-old illegal alien from Colombia" and is referred to only as an "immigrant from Colombia". This follows the linguistic games like that of the Maryland man of MS-13 fame.

So the 18-year-old illegal then gets pulled over, has no driver's license, and then plays the "no speak English" game. 

The police call the nearest Spanish-speaking officer to come by and support the stop, who just so happens to be CBP, and they find in no short order that the driver is not just driving illegally, but is in the country illegally. 

Apparently as noted in the article some are upset because this is, to them, considered "profiling".

To them, an illegal using tax resources by going to high school here, driving on our roads without even bothering to get a license, which is a misdemeanor in this state, and playing the fool by tailgating cops, is just fine and dandy. 

This is not profiling, the fellow was pulled over for a stupid traffic violation and his stupidity then caused things to escalate. 

Again, he was found to be driving without a license.  He then failed to speak English so the locals called the closest law enforcement officers available who could speak Spanish, who, most fortuitously, happened to be CBP, and lo and behold, the fellow is indeed an illegal, driving illegally.

Oh, and funnily enough he had already been ordered deported and was still remaining in the country illegally, and driving illegally to boot. 

It is most likely the people that are angry that someone who is in this country illegally and driving illegally, while already having an order for deportation are likely the same people who were shouting "No one is above the law" just a few short months ago. No one is above the law - in their view except for illegal aliens.  Apparently, they can become a "Detroit man" but remain exempt from following the law or consequences for doing so, unlike actual Detroit men. 

Gun School - Definitive Shotgun - Day 2

Day 2 began with a discussion about Slugs and their usage.

We then fired some slugs at some steel targets, with amusing results, including one slug that when it hit the steel target, the wood post holding it snaped in two from the hit.  

Then we moved on to buckshot and its usage at longer range.

Good Buckshot can hit a target out to 70 plus yards, and we demonstrated that.

The issue is it will hit the target and likely the target beside it if it is shoulder-to-shoulder.

A realistic usage case for buckshot at such a range is if you're being attacked by a shooter standing alone at that distance and you don't have or cannot switch to a slug for some reason - you can still get hits. Indeed, using FliteControl, we got some very tight hits as opposed to the cheap stuff that we used for comparison that sprayed everywhere - and in 20 gauge  on the vast majority of shots taken, the cheap buckshot actually missed the target entirely with its pattern at that range.

The less realistic and in my opinion far more legally risky usage case that was discussed for buckshot at such a range, is if you're being attacked by a vehicle or a mob bent on destruction.  

Justifying such a long range shot against a group of people, especially as at that range you are going to hit multiple persons with shot,  may be rather hard to do. Short of all of them possessing ranged weapons that can reach you and they've demonstrated a willingness or viable threat to do so it;s going to be hard to justify.   Such justification, while never totally impossible, is still pretty unlikely and I'd recommend not trying to shoot at a mob of people or vehicle from 70 yards away, knowing your shot is going to hit multiple persons.  Short of an end-of-the world, breakdown of society-type scenario, it is likely going to legally end rather badly.

We then worked on ammo select drills - switching from Buck loaded in the shotgun to Slugs when the transition was called for.

Had I been allowed to use the Tavor as designed, I would have had one tube loaded with slugs and the other two with buck and transition would be a cinch, and I woulda seriously smoked everyone else's time doing so, by a wide margin.

That was not to be. Instead, I had to eject a buck round, rotate the tube to the loading gate, load a slug from the shot card on the outside of the gun into the tube, rotate it back and load it and get it done.  Quite a but slower.  It was, however, excellent manipulation practice for me, but I sure wasn't winning the competition that way.

After that, we did some further drills, and then got a chance to try other people's shotguns.

Quite a few people wanted to try the Tavor, and they rather liked it.  I also demonstrated a full 16 round tube rapid dump on target with the Tavor, running it as designed, which is always a lot of fun.

I tried a Beretta 1301 and I do indeed find it to be a very nice and well-designed shotgun. It's impressively ergonomic, well though out and easy for mounting a red dot. I don't think anyone would go wrong by purchasing one and using it as a defensive/tactical shotgun, and it's likely the current top dog in that category.  Of course,  I personally believe the Tavor TS-12 is a similarly worthy competitor for that title and also a top-notch choice for a defensive/tactical shotgun. 

 It was a great class, with a great instructor.  I also ended up meeting a bunch of great people who attended it and it was a great time. I certainly improved in manipulating the shotgun from this class.

Definitive Shotgun is definitely a "Learn to use your tactical shotgun at a fundamental level" type of class, and it excels at that.  Zach Bush as an instructor is very clear with his instruction, explanations, and demonstrations. It is a very comprehensive class on the use and operation of a shotgun for defensive purposes. 

If you're looking for an in-depth class on the fundamentals of shotgun usage, I can recommend Definitive Shotgun. 

Gun School - Definitive Shotgun - Day 1

On Memorial Day Weekend, very bright and early at 5 am on Saturday morning, I met up with Tosh and we drove down to New London, Ohio to attend Definitive Training Solutions - Definitive Shotgun Class.

We arrived at the range at 7:45 and checked in to the class, and did the waivers etc and got our gear set up and set out.

With 16 students attending, it was a full  class. 

Shotguns ranged  in the pump department from a couple Remington 870s, a couple few Mossberg 590s, including two in 20 gauge brought by the two female shooters attending the class.

In the semi-auto category, there vast majority were Beretta 1301s, one Beretta A300, and my Tavor TS-12.

Only three years ago, at MDFI's shotgun class, the Benelli M4 series dominated.  Now there was not a single one on the line.

The class began with a safety brief and an introduction to what we would be doing and some note-taking on shotgun usage.

We then began by patterning the shotguns with our choice of high-quality buckshot.

 

Two words when it comes to quality buckshot - Federal FliteControl.

Some people tried cheaper buckshot and the difference - in their own shoguns when they tried FliteControl was night and day in terms of putting buckshot on target.

We patterned at 5, 7, 10, 12, and 25 yards. 

Using FliteControl, as seen above, the Tavor TS-12 kept some nice tight patterns, and even at 25 yards kept all the shot on target.

 The ladies using the 20 gauges had major issues patterning. Neither of them had the rare 20 gauge flitecontrol buckshot, and the buckshot they had looked like it had been thrown all over the target at 5 and 7 yards, and most of the shot was off target when shot from farther away. 

Interestingly, the malfunctions this class were all with the pump shotguns -  both of the ladies' Mossberg 20s were new and had issues including the end cap working loose on one and the safety coming loose and off on the other. First time for both of them using shotguns and they brought these new to class and both needed lubrication.  After some teething troubles, they worked but were simply not as accurate as the 12 gauges on the line, especially with buckshot.

In short, ladies certainly can, and probably should, handle 12 gauge shotguns for defense for the benefits from FliteControl alone, and for the much better ammunition choices that are available when using a 12.

Other malfunctions included some jams when port-loading a Mossberg 590, which was caused by the angle the gun was held at the time and was easily solved accordingly.  

The Tavor TS-12 ran like a champ, zero malfunctions.

 

After the buckshot patterning, we switched to bird shot for the rest of the day.

Lots of manipulation drills - loading via both the magazine tube and port, including under pressure during rolling thunder and Peel drills tom get used to moving with a shotgun.

We had an awesome lunch prepared for by the range owner and his wife and it was great - absolutely top rate hospitality and great people.

We also did one handed-manipulation and reloading drills as well. 

We finished up with a drill under competitive pressure which was fun, but the drill as structured didn't let me use the benefits of the Tavor to its fullest extent - namely its multiple tubes for very fast reloading. Instead, I had to load ammo that was loosely in my pockets compared to others who had them on cards secured via velcro on the gun.   This pocket retrieval was notably slower.

The next morning, I installed the cards on the sides of the Tavor.  If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

After the end of the class day, the entire class went out to dinner together.  The Tosh and I headed back to the hotel and got ready for Day 2.

It was a great start to the class.  We prepared to slug it out on Sunday. 

Memorial Day Flying

I had planned to fly to Mackinac Island yesterday, but complications and circumstances intervened to prevent that.

Instead I flew a friend in the Dakota from Pontiac to Jackson for their first flight ever in a small aircraft.

I did a thorough pre-flight as usual, and explained everything I was doing. I did the same with the run up and had my passenger read the checklist out so they could participate and see what I was doing.

An absolutely gorgeous and perfect day to take someone up for the first time.

Winds were light and variable and it was pretty much CAVU when we took off at 9:00 am.  I had flight following setup.

Flying along at 4,500 feet we soon got close to Jackson.

I soon had the field in sight, pointed it out to my passenger, and let Great Lakes Approach know I had it, they cancelled flight following and had me contact Jackson Tower, which I did.

Jackson tower had us enter a left downwind for Runway 7 and I did a nice landing. We then got to taxi to the apron and he stated I could park by the restaurant fence right at the front, and I stated I appreciated the premium handling.

I parked perfectly lined up on the fence, and Tower complimented me on the parking job. 

Jackson tower is always awesome.

Some kids at the fence were waving as we pulled up, so after I had shut down and got out, I walked over invited them and their parents to see the plane. The kids got to sit in the plane and play with the yokes and had a good time.

The two of us then went in to have a late breakfast.

I had a coffee and the Pilot's Omelette, of course. 

Outstanding as usual, and I tried the sourdough bread rather than my usual rye this time.

Suitably personally fueled up, we headed back to the aircraft.  I did a preflight and we were soon off again.

It was a little bumpier on the way back, and we flew at 3,500 as there was a scattered layer of clouds at about 4,500.  Even with the bumps, my passenger reelaxed enough to have a small nap.

 

Still a gorgeous day.

We overflew the President of the Flying Club's house and he got a suitably patriotic picture of us.

 

Yeah, that speck to the upper right of the flag above the cloud is us.  Next time, I need to try to overfly his house as its just inside Pontiac's Delta airspace.

Pontiac Tower first had me line up to enter the left downwind for 27L, whcih i did.

Then, he changed his mind and had me overfly the field and enter the right downwind for 27R.

Then he stated I should extend the downwind and he'd call the base turn.  So, I stayed up at pattern altitude motoring along.  He then calls my base right at the normal base turn location.

A bit of a diving turn ensued as I hadn't lost any altitude on the downwind and had kept my speed up on the downwind as he had been seeking to extend me for spacing before he changed his mind.

I then still made a good landing.

My passenger stated that the runways looked rather small as we came in to land, but was impressed with how smooth the landings felt and my passenger said they would fly with me again without any reservations.

I then taxi'd to the hangar, got the plane refueled, and cleaned off and that was the experience. 

That's 1.4, and 2 very good landings, and the first flights ever for a friend in a general aviation aircraft.

That Is Not Going To Buff Out

On April 30, quite a storm rolled through Oakland County.

While the winds were gusting heavily, the flight school successor to Flight 101 that currently owns N73455, a Cessna 172M, was apparently trying to move it to shelter with a tug.

Unfortunately they had decided to get it to shelter, and then tried to do so, but too late.

 

It flipped and was damaged.

A recent photo taken by a friend who saw it this week, shows it was even more substantially damaged after that first photo was taken, with the damage possibly occurring when they went to flip it back over afterwards. 

A sad end to the plane I did my first solo in.

N73455 was, verily, a flying aluminum beer bucket of bolts (with non-essential pieces of the interior consistently falling off).  

So much so, that at least one local DPE had consistently refused to ever do a checkride in it (and all the other aircraft in that flight school) because of its condition.

But for all that, it was still a great and smooth flying aircraft.  When you were a student and didn't know any better about what condition an aircraft should be in, it was great. 

So farewell to N73455, she had a rough life, and wasn't cared for as she should have been, and her life was ended due to the same neglect she suffered all her life as a flight school aircraft.  

For all that, she always flew true, and gave many a student pilot their first thrilling gateway to a future of flying.  

When You Impeach President Trump And Still Lose The Support Of The Progressive Left

Congressman Shri Thanedar's performative impeachment action of President Trump, intended to shore up the progressive wing of support in his Democrat-lock district has failed, bigly.

The Detroit Free Press: Rep. Rashida Tlaib endorses Donavan McKinney in Democratic race against Shri Thanedar

There are two strikes against Thannedar:

1.  He's not pro-terrorist so he lost the "progressive" Islamist and Arab vote; and

2.  He's not Black.  Yes, Democrats are all about race. He's in a solidly Democrat Black district, and the Black Democrat powers-that-be want a Black representative.

Congressman Thanedar needs a T-shirt that reads: 

 "I filed impeachment articles against Trump, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."

Nice Plate There

Well done, Doctor.

 

 

The new model Odyssey TARDIS Edition by Honda.

AG Nessel Folds To Her Progressive Base

The Detroit Free Press: Michigan AG Dana Nessel drops all charges against U-M pro-Palestinian protesters

In yet another example of two-tier justice when Democrats are in  charge, Attorney general Dana Nessel has dropped all charges against the pro-Hamas protestors at University of Michigan.

One cannot imagine her doing so for non-leftist approved criminal acts during protests.

Since she is most likely be running for a US Senate seat this year, she had to shore up her leftist progressive base by supporting the pro-Hamas wing, and this is the result.

Flying - A Solo Brunch Flight To Jackson

The weather was perfect for flying today.

Light winds of 7-11 knots out of 080-110 at Pontiac and similar at Jackson.

So I get the Archer all pre-flighted and was soon had picked up flight following and was up and away. 

Over the auto proving grounds I went.

 Sky was completely clear, and I got routed around some glider activity by Detroit Approach on the way to Jackson.

The heading change put me right due East to Jackson and I soon had the airport in sight.

 

I told Approach I had the ATIS and Jackson in sight, and was told to contact the Tower.  Called them up and they set me up to enter the right downwind for Runway 7.

Entered the downwind, turned base and landed on Runway 7 a tad fast and long, yet smooth. Not my best visual approach by any means, but it worked. I got to report a bunch of ducks waddling across  the runway for the next pilot who was about to take off.   No ducks were harmed during the landing nor the other plane's takeoff.

Had a nice brunch, albeit with quite a wait as they were slammed with people for Mother's Day, and then headed back to the plane and did a pre-flight before departure. 

Jackson Tower was having radio issues with their Tower frequency so they kept me on Ground for the takeoff clearance.  No problems, and they even set me up with flight following.  Always a great and friendly bunch at Jackson Tower.

A nice departure and I headed straight out from Runway 7 towards Pontiac.  

I then flew past Brighton airport.

 Flight following was useful as Detroit Approach warned me of some traffic, and then, as I got closer to Pontiac, requested I descend from 5,500 to 3,500 for traffic, and I was happy to oblige that request.  So, I descended earlier than expected but it was fine and actually got me in a nice position for the approach to landing.

Then I got handed over to Pontiac Tower who had me head straight in for Runway 9R, which I did. For practice, I backed up my visual approach with the RNAV 9R approach, and did an excellent and smooth landing. I mean, it was a very nice landing.

Then they had me roll down the runway to Juliet taxiway, cross Runway 9L without delay, and back to the hangar I went.

A great day to fly.

That's 1.5 and a good landing and a great landing. 

Chat GPT - Don't Trust, But Verify

Chat GPT as a large language model AI that is supposed to make your research easier.

Just for fun, I decided to give it a try and asked it a legal question regarding a point of law on a case I'm working on. 

The answer is known to lawyers quite well as it is a pretty basic property principal that a possessing joint owner of a property does not owe rent to a non-possessor joint owner except under certain circumstances.

Finding Michigan state case law on this principle is somewhat difficult - because everyone knows the rule so there really hasn't been cases litigating it (there's some good cases on this situation when they are tenants in common but that's not the same as a joint tenancy).

So, I asked Chat GPT the question and it came back with the rule as expected, that rent isn't owed except under certain circumstances, and very quickly, too. 

It also came back with two Michigan cases with quotes supporting this rule - complete with very nice authoritative and proper legal cites to the two cases it helpfully cited.

Which do not exist.

Nor do the quotes themselves exist. 

Yes, I checked.

The citations, while looking completely correct, do not go to the case names Chat GPT identified as the cases, but to other totally unrelated cases, and those case names themselves either do not exist or are cases with completely different citations and for completely unrelated issues.

Chat GPT completely made up two case quotes and legal citations to them, probably trying to be helpful.

It's a good thing I did not blindly accept such good sounding quotes as factual but tried to verify them on a proper legal research tool.  I'm rather suspicious like that, and as an attorney you can never use made up cases to support your position.

Chat GPT is certainly not ready for prime time when it comes to legal research and I would be rather skeptical of it being an authoritative source for anything else without using it as a springboard to find verifiable and authoritative sources. 

Caveat usor. 

Compare and Contrast - Ages and Stages

The [Democrat-dominated] Michigan Supreme Court has now ruled that 19 and 20 year olds murderers cannot be sentenced to life without parole for their crimes.  This is an increase from the prior 18 and under ruling that barred life without parole for those 18 and under.

MiLive: No mandatory life sentences for 19- and 20-year-olds, Michigan Supreme Court rules

600 (yes, six hundred) 19-20 year old murderers in Michigan will now need to be re-sentenced.

The ruling is based on the idea that even 19-20 year old's brains are not fully developed and thus its unfair to impose a life sentence for a decision they made then:

The central arguments for exempting juveniles and young adults from mandatory life sentences has been that their brains are simply less developed, their character less fixed and their control over their environments more limited than is true for adult offenders.

“Children have a ‘lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility,’ leading to recklessness, impulsivity, and heedless risk-taking,” the United States Supreme Court wrote in 2012 in Miller v. Alabama, ruling that sentencing juveniles to life without parole constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

Yet, also in Michigan, a person with an brain that is, verily as determined by law, simply less developed can get "gender affirming care"  and irreversibly change their bodies at a far younger age than that.

The Detroit News:  Trans kids' treatment can start younger, new guidelines say

With puberty blockers permitted to be taken in Michigan at as young as 8 years of age, and hormone treatments at 14, not to mention surgery - far, far below the "recklessness, impulsivity, and heedless risk-taking" of a 19-20 year old. 

But, it's totes ok to impose a life sentence on children with irreversible changes to their bodies.

The lack of consistency is rather impressive.

The Houthis FA'd And Now They FO.

So the Houthis launched a ballistic missile that hit nearby to Israel's main airport, the missile's likely intended target. Thankfully, there were no deaths but 8 injuries were reported from the attack.

So Israel, in response, just destroyed the Houthis' main sea port and airport, preventing two easy access points from being used to funnel in more missiles to the Houthis from Iran. 

We will see if the Houthis learn anything from this, or if they need to find out further.

Jai Hind

So it looks like India has finally had enough of Pakistan's FA, and is having them FO the cost of having proxy Islamic terrorist groups attack India.

After Pakistan has been funding, sheltering, and using not-really-deniable terrorist groups as proxies, the Indians have finally had enough.

AP:  India-Pakistan Live: Islamabad vows retaliation after India's 'Operation Sindoor' strikes kill 26

Pakistan's latest supported terrorist group's terrorist attack in April was a step too far for India to tolerate.  Pakistan had been the supplier and base for the Mumbai attacks and countless others and they've gotten away without retaliation for doing so.

Until now.

India hit terrorist training sites in Pakistan in response to the latest attack. Part of this is due to India's new more friendly relationship with the United States and both nations troubles with Islamic terrorism.  The USA had long backed Pakistan over India as India was semi-involved/kinda sorta/it's complicated,  in the Soviet sphere of influence, but that support has worm thin, especially as Pakistan was supporting the Taliban against us in Afghanistan.

This does up the stakes, as Pakistan and India have had open warfare before and as each side has nuclear weapons things can get out of hand unless overall deterrence is reestablished.

However, a relationship where Pakistan can continue to send terrorists over the border to attack Indian civilians without any response is no longer tenable or acceptable, nor should it have been. 

Pakistan has long organized, trained, sheltered, funded, and then sent terrorist groups over to India and then  said "Who, Us?" each time after an attack, and continued a low-level conflict.

India is no longer permitting that, which is a good thing and may just re-establish an overall deterrence to have Pakistan stop the continued attacks when there is a cost imposed on Pakistan for these acts.  

It's a high-risk situation, but the current status quo of ignoring Pakistani responsibility for the myriad of terrorist attacks is not acceptable to India, nor should it be.

May The 4th Be With You!

 

Spring Cleaning With TSP

As part of the results of hair-shirt environmentalism and enshittfication of everything you likely have noticed that your clothes are not as clean as they used to be some years ago, even as you've had to buy high-efficiency washing machines and detergent.

 This is because environmentalists and progressives worked to remove phosphates from laundry detergents. Clothes haven't been properly clean since.

This has not gone unnoticed: Why Everything Is Dirtier

Strangely enough, one can find trisodium phosphate,  TSP on Amazon. 

Now I'm certainly not suggesting that one should theoretically take 1/4 cup of TSP, dissolve it in hot water (beign careful not to splash it one yourself), and then add it to your laundry washing water, add detergent and then add your dirty clothes and run the laundry.

But, if you theoretically did, and again certainly not advocating doing such a thing, you might very well notice they come out one heckuva lot cleaner than without the added TSP.  

Michigan Democrats Against Securing Elections

Compare and Contrast:

The Detroit News: Proposal requiring proof of citizenship to vote falls short votes in Michigan House

and

NPR: Michigan election review finds 16 non-citizens likely voted in November 2024 presidential election

We've gone from Democrats in the state saying:  No non-citizens are voting in our elections, our elections are totes secure;

to Democrats now saying, well, at least one non-citizen voted in the 2024 election, and his ballot counted, but it's not a real problem;

to Democrats now saying at least 16 non-citizens voted in the 2024 election but it's still super rare and just fine;

One can expect Democrats to start saying it is just fine and dandy that non-citizens are voting any day now.  

Given that you can vote in  Michigan with no ID at all, using an affidavit claiming you're a citizen,  and you can vote with just a student id card - which does not establish citizenship in any way, it's a rather clear and unnecessary vulnerability. Combine it with motor voter registration, and its an open door for non-citizens to vote in this state, and other shenanigans.

But, Michigan Democrats won't close the loophole. Instead, they consistently vote against measures to prevent that happening.

Funny, that. 

Mr. Taggart, Your Dimes Have Arrived

Anybody got a dime?

The Detroit News:  Cha-ching! Millions of dimes spill onto Texas highway after truck rolls

No report as to whether a toll booth was nearby.

A Bit More Canadian Content: Hockey

So tonight, we will see if the Toronto Maple Leafs can close the deal and beat the Ottawa Senators to advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Playoff hockey is the best hockey. 

The Leafs took an early lead in the series winning the first three and then lost two in a row with Tuesday's loss in Game 5 being most especially egregious.

All that can be said about the 4-0 loss, including two empty net goals is:

 

So will the Leafs pull off a win tonight, or will the Curse of Harold Ballard continue? The game has now begun, so we shall see.

All I want is one Maple Leaf Cup Victory in my lifetime, which really shouldn't be too much to ask, but it hasn't happened yet, and it looks a long way still to go. 

Update:  And the Leafs win tonight 4-2 in a very hard-fought game.  Now to take on the Florida Panthers.

More On Canada

Yes, pun intended in the title.

Understand dear readers, the main element of the Canadian identity is one thing and one thing only.  It's not poutine, it's not hockey, it's not peacekeeping, its not even the reason the Geneva Convention is now referred to as the Geneva checklist. 

It is one thing and one thing only:

 They are not American. 

The Canadian psyche is locked in on differentiation from being American.

Ask them what is a Canadian, they're going to almost reflexively say Not American.

They may then proceed to other elements of their national essence like Government-run healthcare and gun control, but again these are simply enumerating ways how the country is different from America.

Indeed so much of Canadian identity is simply being not American or trying to differentiate itself frrm the US.  From a reaction to the USA's  melting pot, Canada announced the policy of multiculturalism. Most things Canadian are simply reactions to America.

So much so that they threw the election to the Liberals, after almost a decade of Liberal misrule and decline.  

The Liberals immediately got a campaign issue by immediately championing standing up to Trump for Canada and claiming to be preservers of Canada's unique (non-American) identity.

This  championing is even as the Liberals have: consistently degraded the Canadian identity; gone woke on the nation's history; imported tons of immigrants with no attempt to Canadianize them; and have tried to trade in what it means to be Canadian for a more universalist, citizen-of-the-world, euro-type definition. 

And Trump came along and threw the Liberal party and Mark Carney, who is perhaps the very definition of a citizen of the world, not just a lifeline, not just some red meat patriotism to campaign on, but a literal red carpet to hold onto power.

Even further polling showed that Trump running his mouth cost the conservatives. Politico: Poll: Canadians despise Trump and distrust US

Had Trump not decided to inject himself into Canadian politics with the repeated stupid "51st state" nonsense, and then did his quixotic tariff attack over the questionable claim of fentanyl being illegally smuggled over the border,  there would be a conservative in power in Ottawa right now to turn Canada around. 

So yes, the results of this election is Trump's fault.  This was an absolute blunder and completely counter-productive.

The more on Canadians certainly share the blame and will get the government they voted for good and hard as a result. But, had Trump not decided to run his mouth, the results would have been far different.

The Conservatives would have been a far better friend and ally to the USA than what we're about to get.

On the upside, with the Liberals back in power and likely pushing ahead full steam with corruption, net zero, and other progressive economic bromides, it can be predicted that Canada's per capita GDP for the entire country will now continue its drop and slip below that of the state of Mississippi.

So, they've got that decline going for them, which isn't nice, but, at least it will be very Canadian.

Shri Thanedar Moves Farther Left To Protect His Flank

Facing a challenge in Detroit due to his not being Black enough,  and for not being crazy progressive enough, Shri Thanedar decides to dabble in leftist performative irrelevance.

Congressman Shri Thanedar Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald J. Trump for High Crimes and Misdemeanors

The announcement about the impeachment has all the right proggy buzzwords, like tyrannical overreach" even though it doesn't actually identify any real impeachable offenses, basically it is "Orange Man Bad".

Shri is facing at least two primary challengers, both from the farther left end of the spectrum:

From the more left:

The Detroit News:  Adam Hollier running for Congress again, aiming to defeat Shri Thanedar

Hollier is basically running as a challenger yet again on the "Thanedar is not Black and I am so you Black Detroiters should vote for me" angle, with likely the same results as last time.

But, Thanedar is also facing a challenge from the much farther and less sane left:

 The Detroit News: Detroit lawmaker Donavan McKinney jumps into race to unseat Shri Thanedar in Congress

[Donovan] McKinney, first elected in 2022, starts out with the backing of the progressive group Justice Democrats that helped elect Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Detroit, and the endorsements of 14 current and former  state lawmakers, many of them representing parts of Thanedar’s district that covers a swath of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes and Downriver communities.

So Thanedar, after basically acting as a relatively sane Democrat in Congress, loudly announces he is impeaching President Trump in response to this announcement of a progressive challenger.

Because nothing, absolutely nothing, helps establish your far-left bona fides and gets the progressive left vote like tilting at windmills by filing impeachments against President Trump.

Since the 13th District is a complete Democrat lock, the winner of the Democrat primary is the representative in Congress so Shri is just trying to catch some of the loony left vote early and shore up his vulnerabilities in that area with this forlorn hope of an impeachment filing.

President Trump's Unforced Error - Woe Canada

An election that Canada's conservatives had in the bag after years of Liberal Party misrule and the promise of further misrule was lost due to President Trump unnecessarily injecting himself repeatedly into the race.

The Detroit News:  Mark Carney’s Liberal Party wins a Canadian election upended by Trump

The Liberals looked headed for a crushing defeat until the American president started attacking Canada’s economy and threatening its sovereignty, suggesting it should become the 51st state. Trump’s actions infuriated Canadians and stoked a surge in nationalism that helped the Liberals flip the election narrative and win a fourth-straight term in power.

Yep, Trump unfortunately often says stupid stuff, and then keeps saying stupid stuff, and this just cost him an ally as a result and put a

 Instead of the campaign being about Liberal party misrule, it became all about Trump.

CBC: Carney vows to govern for all Canadians after winning election upended by Trump

Mark Carney achieved what seemed like an impossible feat just a few months ago, leading the Liberals to another victory after an election that was shaped by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and threats of annexation. 

. . .

Then came Trudeau's early January resignation, U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and persistent barbs about making Canada the 51st state — flipping the political script.

With Trump announcing, pausing, then re-announcing devastating tariffs on Canadian goods, the campaign largely became a race about who is best to steer Canada through global uncertainty.

Carney focused campaign on Trump

Carney tried to define himself as a steady, mature outsider who is best to deal with the unpredictable president and map out a new economic and security relationship. Heading into the campaign, Carney did not have a seat in the House of Commons. That changed Monday as CBC News projects he's won the Ottawa riding of Nepean.

While criss-crossing the country, the freshly minted leader pointed to his time as the governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 global financial crisis and head of the Bank of England during the Brexit years as evidence that Canadians should trust him to steer the country's economy through turbulent times.

This is the result of a completely unnecessary and unforced error on Trump's part.

Catching And Deporting Predators From Michigan

The Detroit News: 2 accused of trying to meet girl for sex, being undocumented immigrants arrested in Livingston Co.

First things first:  Kudos to Bikers Against Predators for their work, including this latest excellent job in catching two alien scumbags trying to take advantage of underage girls.

These two illegals possibly arrived in to Michigan via one of Biden's many illegal alien flights to our state,  or simply perambulated along to end up in Livingston county. These two illegals instead of "doing jobs Amwericans won;t do" as the bromide goes, instead decided to do some highly inappropriate conduct with underage girls.

Thanks to Bikers Against Predators, they got caught.

Second, it's high time to quite using the term "undocumented immigrants" and restore the accurate and legal term illegal aliens as the proper description for those whom illegally cross our borders.  

While we have yet to call drug dealers undocumented pharmacists, nor shoplifters undocumented purchasers, one can expect the progressives to do so eventually.  

Let's quit using language designed to mislead and not reflect reality.

Flying - A Pleasant Ride To Mt. Pleasant And Back

Today was a great day to fly.

Absolutely gorgeous weather.

Got the Dakota pre-flighted and was soon on my way to Mt. Pleasant to meet up with Mr. B.

 

 The weather was nice and I was soon doing 140 knots groundspeed at 6,500 feet.

After a very pleasant 45 minute flight I landed at Mt. Pleasant on Runway 9. Bit of a crosswind, but a nice, easy landing.

Soon afterwards, a very nice Scottish Aviation British Bulldog aircraft landed.

 Had a chat with the owner. Very nice guy. Not a lot of Bulldogs are in the USA apparently only 35, and his is now out of a fresh annual and ready for flying.  It does look absolutely amazing.  He soon took off and went on his way.

 

Mr. B. arrived soon after that with his friend.

We then took the shuttle to the casino and played craps there for a couple hours.

I managed to come out a little bit ahead which was nice and bought dinner with the winnings.

Then we headed back to the airport, got our preflights done, and headed on our ways home. 

The flight home was as smooth as the way there, flying at 5,500 feet.  I had flight following and did a practice RNAV approach to 27L.

 

 

Soon I overflew Flint Airport.

Then I got handed off to Detroit Approach and had Pontiac airport in sight.

 For practice I did the RNAV 27L approach and did a very nice landing on 27L. Will need to do some simulated instrument approaches soon to maintain proficiency, so this practice one was not a bad way to get back into the procedures.

 Then I crossed 27R, and headed back to the hangar.

Got the plane refueled, cleaned off the bugs, and put it to bed in the hangar for the night.

That's 2.1 with 2 good landings and a great pleasant time with Mr. B. in Mt. Pleasant. Flying is better when you can do it to meet your friends.

Range Trip - Shooting The Rust Off

Went to the range today with Tosh. It had been quite awhile since I got some shooting time in.

Did a little bit of everything today.

First, shotgun.  

I shot the Tavor TS-12  and ran it through its paces.  Birdshot, buckshot, and slugs all functioned through it flawlessly. Nothing like pumping out 16 rounds of shot as fast as you can pull the trigger and rotate the next tube into firing position. Much fun was had.

I patterned some 9-pellet 00 Buck Federal Flite Control I bought at Lucky Gunner with very good results at 10 and 25 yards. The buckshot was a nice tight group at both distances, staying in the chest of the USPSA target. Quite spiffy, that Flite Control.

I also shot some Federal Truball slugs and again they hit their mark most impressively.  The first one, shot at a steel reduced size USPA target Tosh had setup, knocked the heavy steel target right off the post at 25 yards, even with the retaining clip being in place.  Slugs tend to have a lot of kinetic energy and all of it got transferred to the target there.

I also got to shoot Tosh's Mossberg 590, which was very nice indeed and a joy to shoot, and he got to shoot the Tavor.  Much shotgun fun had by all.

Next was rifle.  I had my SBR'd AR-15 300 Blackout along.  With the AAC 7.62 SDN suppressor and shooting subsonic ammunition, it was pretty much hearing-safe shooting and the loudest sound was the bullet hitting steel 25 yards away. Much fun, and very civilized in terms of noise level.

Next we did some handgun.

I brought the Israeli marked FN Hi-Power to the range and as expected it ran flawlessly. Shooting an all-steel pistol in 9mm after shooting polymer pistols really makes you realize how much a steel pistol sucks up recoil, as in it didn't feel like there was recoil by comparison. Plates fell with aplomb to the pistol and it functioned 100%. Tosh liked it as well. The Hi-Power feels great in the hand, points onto the targets very naturally, and the single-action trigger is rather nice.

It was good to get some iron sight practice in after regularly using red dots.  Fundamentals are the same, but it does feel different, but the time with the dot seems to have made even my iron sight acquisition and accuracy better, whioch is interesting.

Next I got out my Sig P365 and at 7 yards we ran single shot drills form concealment and then bill drills on an A-Zone target, and then shifted to single shot from concealment at 25 yards.

In short I sucked.  7 Yard singles were around 2.0 - 1.7  seconds, and Bill Drills were in the 3.4+ second range.  Single shot at 25 yards were 2.0+.  

Pretty ugly, and certainly shows what happens when you don't practice and haven't shot recently.  Pistol shooting is a perishable skill.

I could of course make an excuse that I'm using a rather small pistol to do the drills, but since I often carry it, I ought to work to be good with it.  I will do the drill with the larger handguns as well as I should get better with them, too.

So, lots more handgun practice is needed, and I expect to get to the range more regularly, especially now that winter has left the building.

A darn nice morning at the range.  Then home to give them all a nice thorough cleaning.