In search of a left-hand friendly single-stack carry .45 ACP

Got a letter from a reader who shares my left-handedness and is in search of a lefty-friendly slim, short-barrel single-stack .45 ACP for carry. He wrote in response to my writing about the S&W M&P .357 Sig, which is very lefty friendly with dual slide releases and reversible mag release. Since the article he read, I just added last week my second M&P .357 Sig in Compact to go with the full-size M&P.

I am in search of a left-handed pistol but have had problems finding anything that has a LH slide release. I came across your article, Baddest Tactical Pistol No. 5: S&W M&P 357 and it certainly caught my intreset.

In particular, I am intrigued by the following comment, "I'm not gonna know to act being able to reload without changing hands from left to right, not to mention being able to reach the slide-lock release button with my left hand, too." The M&P 357 truely sounds like a dream come true. Do you have any other recommendations in regards to a LH (personal protection) pistol? I would have purchased the Para-Ord Warthawg slimline (for carry), but the safety was all wrong. Do you have any recommendations in a slim-line (5-6 rd. cap.) model preferably in a .45acp?

Since he rejected a slim Para Warthog, he's apparently looking at 3" barrels, which is about the smallest functional .45 ACPs on the market. Unfortunately, I know of no slim, single-stack .45s with dual slide releases on the market. M&P's full-size .45 has dual slide releases and also dual ambi safeties and the FNP-45 has both, but neither is slim, single-stack or small. I think he's looking for that proverbial black cat in a coal mine that ain't there. So I offered a selection of the only slim, short .45s I know of that have ambi safeties. Here's what I responded with.

I just bought a subcompact M&P in .357 Sig which to date is my smallest carry pistol (with the exception of my backup Kel Tec PF-9 with 3" barrel). M&P calls is their compact model but it's 3.5" barrel is called subcompact by all other makers. And like the full-size M&P .357 Sig I already had (which has a 4.25" barrel and is called compact by all other makers) both sizes of the M&P have dual slide stops and reversible magazine release buttons. But M&P does not offer the compact in .45 ACP yet, plus it is not the single-stack .45 that you are seeking.

I do not know of any makers with a single-stack .45 ACP with dual slide locks or mag releases.

Kimber offers a 3" barrel single-stack .45 ACP in their SIS line they call the Ultra size which has ambi safeties but not dual slide locks or mag releases. They also have ambi safeties on their Ultra CDP II, but again not dual slide locks or mag releases.

Para has a 3" with ambi safeties and single stack called the PXT LDA in .45 ACP.

Springfield Armory has the Loaded Micro Compact with 3" barrel and ambi safeties in .45 ACP.

And if you will consider a non-1911, there's the Glock 36 single-stack .45 ACP with no safeties.

I'm sure there are other compact 1911s with ambi safeties, but those are the leaders I know.

If you want .40S&W or .357 Sig, there are other subcompacts like the S&W M&P.

If any of my fellow gun nuts/sharpshooters/marksmen/riflemen can help this gentleman out, I'll pass along your suggestions to him. He didn't tell me to share his email adress, so I won't.

A quiet miracle occurs unreported in the Arab Middle East

If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? Now we know definitively the answer to that old puzzler. Yes, it makes a sound, but if it's good news from Iraq, no one will hear it because the mainstream media will suddenly be stricken by nationwide blindness and deafness. Sir Charles Krauthammer has been paying attention as usual, and reports on the good news from Iraq despite the media blackout. They held an election and a peaceful one at that. And we won. Or more accurately, our troops won because it's been their blood, sweat and tears that brought this astonishing miracle to pass, the first peaceful democracy forming in the Arab Middle East.

Preoccupied as it was poring over Tom Daschle's tax returns, Washington hardly noticed a near-miracle abroad. Iraq held provincial elections. There was no Election Day violence. Security was handled by Iraqi forces with little U.S. involvement. A fabulous bazaar of 14,400 candidates representing 400 parties participated, yielding results highly favorable to both Iraq and the United States.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went from leader of a small Islamic party to leader of the "State of Law Party," campaigning on security and secular nationalism. He won a smashing victory. His chief rival, a more sectarian and pro-Iranian Shiite religious party, was devastated. Another major Islamic party, the pro-Iranian Sadr faction, went from 11 percent of the vote to 3 percent, losing badly in its stronghold of Baghdad. The Islamic Fadhila party that had dominated Basra was almost wiped out.

When Mookie and his Al Sadr thugs lose, we win, the Iraqi people win and Iran loses. Of course, it's still possible to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and Obama can still pull it off.

This is not to say that these astonishing gains are irreversible. There loom three possible threats: (a) a coup from a rising and relatively clean military disgusted with the corruption of civilian politicians -- the familiar post-colonial pattern of the past half-century; (b) a strongman emerging from a democratic system (Maliki?) and then subverting it, following the Russian and Venezuelan models; or (c) the collapse of the current system because of a premature U.S. withdrawal that leads to a collapse of security.

Averting the first two is the job of Iraqis. Averting the third is the job of the U.S. Which is why President Obama's reaction to these remarkable elections, a perfunctory statement noting that they "should continue the process of Iraqis taking responsibility for their future," was shockingly detached and ungenerous.

When you become president of the United States you inherit its history, even the parts you would have done differently. Obama might argue that American sacrifices in Iraq were not worth what we achieved. But for the purposes of current and future policy, that is entirely moot. Despite Obama's opposition, America went on to create a small miracle in the heart of the Arab Middle East. President Obama is now the custodian of that miracle. It is his duty as leader of the nation that gave birth to this fledgling democracy to ensure that he does nothing to undermine it.

Read the whole thing and get the news you missed from the MSM (AKA Obama News Network).

Ruger Mini-14 Tactical Rifles are back again -- to stay?

The on-again, off-again Ruger Mini-14 Tactical Rifle is back, plus a second compact tactical model. At bottom is the ATI 6-position collapsible and folding stock version and at top is the compact tactical flash suppressor version with synthetic stock. Both have the compact 16.125" barrels and come with 20-rd. magazines. I would say they're about the best buy out there for .223 assault rifles since ARs and AK variant prices have skyrocketed.

The gun shop where I'm working now has on Gunbroker what I suppose is an early release model of the flash suppressor version of the compact tactical, since it comes with only a 5-rd. magazine and no free scope rings. The two tactical models on Ruger's website say they come with scope rings and 1 20-rd. magazine. Of course, you can buy 20-rd. magazines from Ruger but they've finally seen the common sense to provide 20-rd. magazines in the box with some of their Mini-14 models. They should do it with all their models. I've always had a hard time with math ever since the 3rd grade, but I do know that 20 rounds is four times better than five.

Who has the right to kill an innocent baby?

I'm flip-flopping from guns to God today, so back on the topic of who's got a right to decide whether an innocent baby has got a right to live, I'll let this 12-year-old girl explain the facts of life to you.

Any questions?

Willl you be ready when the armed thugs come calling?

What would you do if four armed men attacked your home? Would you be ready? This man was.

Sorta makes you rethink your home defense plan. This fella had all his stuff in one sack.

Imagine if a single mother had not chosen life for her son

Here's the ad you didn't see during the Super Bowl broadcast. Imagine...

At first NBC's advertising sales department accepted this ad.

But then NBC rejected our ad once the liberal news people at NBC had a chance to watch it.

This is the ad liberals don't want America to see . . . because liberals have no answer for this ad.

Even though we created this ad just a few weeks ago, millions of Americans have seen this ad already . . . despite NBC's efforts to blackout Imagine.

Liberals are screaming about this ad.

Liberals hate this ad . . . because liberals have no answer for this ad.

But I have a feeling you will love this ad:
HelpAirTheAd.org


Brian Burch
President
Fidelis

P.S. You can also send a Message of Protest to NBC President and CEO Jeff Zucker -- a message that asks: "Why did you refuse to run this powerful and factual ad during the Super Bowl, an ad which has now been seen by millions of Americans?"

Again, here's the link:
HelpAirTheAd.org

Guess who invented 2+2? Hint. It wasn't a mathematician

Here's a book I'll try to find time to read, Is God a Mathemetician?

Did you know that 365 -- the number of days in a year -- is equal to 10 times 10, plus 11 times 11, plus 12 times 12?

Or that the sum of any successive odd numbers always equals a square number -- as in 1 + 3 = 4 (2 squared), while 1 + 3 + 5 = 9 (3 squared), and 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 = 16 (4 squared)?

Those are just the start of a remarkable number of magical patterns, coincidences and constants in mathematics. No wonder philosophers and mathematicians have been arguing for centuries over whether math is a system that humans invented or a cosmic -- possibly divine -- order that we simply discovered. That's the fundamental question Mario Livio probes in his engrossing book Is God a Mathematician?

Haven't read it, but I already know the answer. Yes. God invented math. Man discovered it.

Three Lessons Learned About .22 Semi-Auto Pistols

I bought a pair of .22 semi-auto pistols a while back and I'm just now realizing how good that decision was. The one at bottom was my first choice, a Smith & Wesson 22A-1, and while I was in the gun shop I spotted the one at top, a
Colt Huntsman.

I thought about that little Colt for a day or two and decided I had to have it too. I had a Navy buddy, lo many years ago, who had a Colt Woodsman which has got to the greatest shooting .22 I ever laid hands on. Buying a Colt Woodsman today is generally reserved for Colt collectors who have a heck of a lot more money than I do. But the Huntsman is the budget version of the Woodsman and this one was only $300, which is a real bargain. So I went back to the shop and bought it, too.

Turned out they were both great shooting pistols, but the S&W has the edge over the 30+year-old Colt. The proof, as with almost all guns, is in the trigger. Both had great triggers, but the Smith was the best. It measures with my Lyman Digital Trigger Gauge, at 1 lb. 12.4 oz., while the Colt measured at 2 lbs. 3.9 oz. And I speak about the Colt in the past tense because I bought it for $300 and then sold it two weeks later for $375 after deciding I didn't need two .22 pistols.

I used the cash and a little extra to buy a brand new in box S&W 21-4 .44 Special, the Clint Smith Thunder Ranch version revived by S&W as the start of their current Classic series. I bought it the highway robbery price of $425. I shoulda been arrested for taking advantage of a gun dealer.

S&W Model 21-4, 4" barrel, blue steel with factory Rosewood grips.

Anyway, back to the .22 topic. I chose the S&W 22-A1 over two other leading candidates, the Ruger Mk. III series and the Browning Buck Mark Camper series. I knew the Browning .22 pistols would have great triggers, Browning pistols all share that great trait, but didn't know from experience about the Ruger .22s. But I did learn one common fault of both the Ruger and Browning .22s during research. They are neither for the mechanically inept when it comes to field stripping for cleaning. If a klutz like me gets one apart, it will probably end up going to a gunsmith in a box of parts to put it back together. And I am a klutz for sure, so they're out.

And though I may still get a Buck Mark one of these days, I have learned something about the Ruger Mk. IIIs that makes me mark them off my list permanently. They have terrible triggers.

The recent newsletter from Brownell's (the greatest source of gun parts and accessories in the free world) had a gunsmith's article about how to install a decent trigger in a Ruger Mk. III.

The trigger was probably the only real shortfall. It had a good deal of take up or pretravel, there was a considerable amount of creep before it broke heavily, then there was significant overtravel. Additionally, the Ruger's trigger pivot is located far forward of the trigger's vertical centerline, causing the trigger to move upward in a tight arc as it was pulled. I like the parallel pull of a 1911 trigger or other designs that place the pivot over the trigger centerline. Pull was a heavy 4¼ - 4 ¾ lbs.

Between the upward arc of the trigger, its long pull and overtravel, I found myself pulling shots to the right. Groups spread horizontally as the pressure exerted on the trigger was directed above the plane formed at the web of my hand. I liked the gun, but the trigger had to go.

If you're mechanically inclined, or have a good gunsmith to go to, go get yourself a Ruger Mk. III. The Brownell's article tells you how to fix that bad trigger. As for me, I'll just hang with Smiths.

The Age of Obama begins with lipstick on a pig

As usual, Sir Charles cuts through the smog with a few, succinct words of wisdom. Today, Charles Krauthammer analyzes the so-called economic stimulus bill in Crisis, Catastrophe...

The Age of Obama begins with perhaps the greatest frenzy of old-politics influence peddling ever seen in Washington...

After Obama's miraculous 2008 presidential campaign, it was clear that at some point the magical mystery tour would have to end. The nation would rub its eyes and begin to emerge from its reverie. The hallucinatory Obama would give way to the mere mortal. The great ethical transformations promised would be seen as a fairy tale that all presidents tell -- and that this president told better than anyone.

I thought the awakening would take six months. It took two and a half weeks.

How the 'Greatest Generation' supported their troops

The Greatest Generation is almost completely gone as the World War II veterans pass on and I wonder what history will say about this generation. I strongly doubt there will be any stories like this one to tell about us. Maybe so, but it doesn't have to be that way. Go to militaryministry.org.

When the "Greatest Generation" passed through North Platte, Nebraska during WWII, they got a hug and a handshake, homemade cakes and cookies, and a moment of respite and prayer provided by thousands of volunteers from the surrounding communities. This spirit of service is vital to America today. You can give something back to our military members and their families. Visit militaryministry.org to see how!

How to get audited by the IRS and make a profit

How 'bout a little humor to start your day, stolen whole hog from Brownell's newsletter:

The IRS decides to audit Grandpa, and summons him to the IRS office. The IRS auditor was not surprised when Grandpa shows up with his attorney. The auditor said, "Well, sir, you have an extravagant lifestyle and no full-time employment, which you explain by saying that you win money gambling. I'm not sure the IRS finds that believable." I'm a great gambler, and I can prove it," says Grandpa. "How about a demonstration?" The auditor thinks for a moment and said, "Okay. Go ahead." Grandpa says, "I'll bet you a thousand dollars that I can bite my own eye."

Kinks T-Shirt

The auditor thinks a moment and says, "It's a bet." Grandpa removes his glass eye and bites it. The auditor's jaw drops. Grandpa says, "Now, I'll bet you two thousand dollars that I can bite my other eye." Now the auditor can tell Grandpa isn't blind, so he takes the bet. Grandpa removes his dentures and bites his good eye. The stunned auditor now realizes he has wagered and lost three grand, with Grandpa's attorney as a witness. He starts to get nervous. "Want to go double or nothing?" Grandpa asks "I'll bet you six thousand dollars that I can stand on one side of your desk, and pee into that wastebasket on the other side, and never get a drop anywhere in between." The auditor, twice burned, is cautious now, but he looks carefully and decides there's no way this old guy could possibly manage that stunt, so he agrees again. Grandpa stands beside the desk and unzips his pants, but although he strains mightily, he can't make the stream reach the wastebasket on the other side, so he pretty much urinates all over the auditor's desk. The auditor leaps with joy, realizing that he has just turned a major loss into a huge win. But Grandpa's attorney moans and puts his head in his hands. "Are you okay?" the auditor asks. "Not really," says the attorney. "This morning, when Grandpa told me he'd been summoned for an audit, he bet me twenty-five thousand dollars that he could come in here and pee all over your desk and that you'd be happy about it."

Say thank you. You're welcome.

What does it mean to be a Republican?

As somebody said, it's always darkest just before it gets pitch black. But in this winter of discontent for all conservatives and Republicans who aren't RINOs, I'm beginning to get a bit hopeful. The complete boycott of Obama's "economic stimulus bill" (AKA "crap sandwich") by Republicans in the House is hopefully the beginning of the return to sanity by the party I've been a member of since James Earl Carter Jr. ran me out of the Democrat party in 1977. I said then that never again would I vote for a liberal Democrat. (I sorta broke that pledge to vote for Hillary in the primary, but Rush told me to, so I did it. It didn't work to stop the Obama nomination, but at least I can say I tried.)

Anyway, here's a video from the "Rebuild the Party" YouTube channel that gives me hope.

Let us work together to return the GOP to Joe the Plumber, Sarah Palin and the proud traditions and principles laid down by Ronald Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

And speaking of Rush Limbaugh, guess who Obama has already decided is his Enemy # Uno? I'll give this to the President, he's right about this. Rush led the charge that gave the House Republicans the backbone to unanimously refuse to swallow Obama's "crap sandwich" stimulus.

And MSNBC, surprise, surprise, doesn't like Rush one little bit, calling the GOP vote "a big mistake" for failing to bow down to His High and Mighty Obamaness. Oh really? We shall see. Last opinion poll I read shows the public support for the "stimulus" plan is sinking fast, already well below a majority, down to 42 percent.

Thank God for Rush Limbaugh. He may be the Moses to lead us from the wilderness. Again.

Back to the future in the Middle East with Jimmy Carter III

I wonder if Barack Obama is so young and ignorant of history that he doesn't know what happened the last time we had a liberal Democrat President who bent over backwards trying to make Islamic "friends"?

I refer, of course, to James Earl Carter Jr., whose long, miserable four years in office led to the Arab oil embargo that crippled our national economy and the Iranian terrorists' takeover of our embassy there leading to 444 days of American hostages held by our Islamic "friends."

As usual, Charles Krauthammer provides a history lesson to point out the utterly astonishing stupidity of Obama's speech about the need for the U.S. to become "friends" with Islam again.

Is it "new" to acknowledge Muslim interests and show respect to the Muslim world? Obama doesn't just think so, he said so again to millions in his al-Arabiya interview, insisting on the need to "restore" the "same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago."

Astonishing. In these most recent 20 years -- the alleged winter of our disrespect of the Islamic world -- America did not just respect Muslims, it bled for them. It engaged in five military campaigns, every one of which involved -- and resulted in -- the liberation of a Muslim people: Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The two Balkan interventions -- as well as the failed 1992-93 Somali intervention to feed starving African Muslims (43 Americans were killed) -- were humanitarian exercises of the highest order, there being no significant U.S. strategic interest at stake. In these 20 years, this nation has done more for suffering and oppressed Muslims than any nation, Muslim or non-Muslim, anywhere on earth. Why are we apologizing?

And what of that happy U.S.-Muslim relationship that Obama imagines existed "as recently as 20 or 30 years ago" that he has now come to restore? Thirty years ago, 1979, saw the greatest U.S.-Muslim rupture in our 233-year history: Iran's radical Islamic revolution, the seizure of the U.S. embassy, the 14 months of America held hostage.

Which came just a few years after the Arab oil embargo that sent the United States into a long and punishing recession. Which, in turn, was preceded by the kidnapping and cold-blooded execution by Arab terrorists of the U.S. ambassador in Sudan and his charge d'affaires.

This is to say nothing of the Marine barracks massacre of 1983, and the innumerable attacks on U.S. embassies and installations around the world during what Obama now characterizes as the halcyon days of U.S.-Islamic relations.

As my dear wife has commented, Sir Charles can say more with fewer words than anybody when he cuts through the smog of fuzzy liberal thinking to lay bare the truth of what's going on here.

Exhibit 2 on Obama's stupidity/blindness/whatever on how to be "friends" to Iran.

Barack Obama is drafting a letter to the "Iranian people," which, as the linked BBC piece points out, is designed to reassure the delightfully cordial Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

State department officials have composed at least three drafts of the letter, which gives assurances that Washington does not want to overthrow the Islamic regime, but merely seeks a change in its behaviour.

In other words, Barack Obama intends to validate the repressive regime that currently perpetrates numerous (and heinous) human rights violations. And it will make the lives of dissenters infinitely more difficult.

Jimmy Carter didn't get it, when he played pen pals with Iran's leadership in 1988. And now, it seems, neither does the Obama administration.

I rest my case. God help the U.S. of A. And please Lord, lead us out of this 4-year nightmare.

The British called - They want their guns back!

The British government banned guns nationwide and guess what happened? Gun crime is up 40% since the gun ban. Imagine that, criminals with guns who take advantage of legal unarmed citizens.

Take 9 minutes and watch this video for a preview of what America will be like if it happens here.

If you're a gun owner, or want to be, there's only one nationwide organization that's fighting for your gun rights. Join the National Rifle Association. If you're a gun owner and not a member, you oughta be ashamed of yourself.

Some like it hot, some like it cold... Obama switch hits

My friend Mary Katharine Ham nailed His Mighty Obamaness, who never does any wrong. This was so good I just stole her whole post from The Weekly Standard on Obama and the weather.

Perhaps it's the weather that's confusing President Obama. After all, anyone could be thrown for a loop when Al Gore is testifying on the Hill as to the impending doom of the planet Earth due to global warming while the Hill is blanketed in snow and ice.

Maybe that's why Obama was ridiculing Washington, D.C. residents for their panicky response to several inches of snow on Tuesday:

"Can I make a comment unrelated to the economy?" -- and launched into weather remarks (please check transcript):

"My children's school was canceled today, because of what? Some ice," he said, and all at the table started laughing.

"As my children pointed out, in Chicago school is never canceled," he said, joking about how kids go out for recess on snow days. More laughter.

POTUS said he would have to instill "some flinty Chicago toughness" into Washingtonians.

"When it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things," POTUS said.

Only to have David Axelrod explain the change in Oval Office dress code (no jackets required) by invoking Obama's Hawaiian roots, just days later:

The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.

“He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”

We D.C. folks could stand to learn a few lessons from this flinty Chicagoan who is ready to brave the 50-foot, indoor commute to his office in a 75-degree White House.

Update: Heyyyyy, wait just a second. Who was it that lectured us about how we can't keep our thermostats at 72 degrees?

Oh, that's right. Obama, On Your Shoulder.

And while we're talking about clueless, believe what I say, not what I do President Obama, here's another one I gotta steal from MKH, how Obama can't find the Oval Office door.

President Obama tries to walk into the Oval Office through a window, somehow escapes weeks of wall-to-wall coverage and ridicule of mistake.

Stop, MKH, I can't stand anymore right now. Whew. Gimme a minute to catch my breath.

Bill Kristol, Carlos Slim and The Gray Lady's Last Dance

Perhaps my favorite columnist, Emmett Tyrell, honcho of the best conservative magazine on the planet, The American Specator, has the inside story on why The Noo Yawk Times has seen fit to purge its ranks of the sole token conservative on its op-ed page or the entire staff, Bill Kristol.

I can report on copper-bottom authority that The New York Times let Kristol go owing to public health concerns. As the Times' financial condition has grown fragile, the publisher of the Times, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., has become apprehensive that Kristol's conservative views could endanger the health of some of the newspaper's neurotic liberal readers. During the past year, readers unexpectedly encountering Kristol in the otherwise lenitive company of Paul Krugman and Bob Herbert have complained on the correspondence page of various discomforts. None appeared life-threatening, but what if an aged environmentalist or an infirm McGovernite lost in reveries of 1972 actually suffered a coronary? The trial lawyers would move upon the Times in an instant. Sulzberger might not survive.

Of course, the Times might not survive anyway. It labors under $1.1 billion of debt. So precarious are its finances that it recently had to accept a $250 million loan from a Mexican with the unlikely name of Carlos Slim. Whether he really is a Mexican is not clear, and the Times' team of investigative reporters is now so tiny that executive editor Bill Keller has not been able to spare even one reporter to inquire. So far as I have been able to ascertain, no reporter has even googled to verify Mr. Slim's nationality. He might be Portuguese. He could be dangerously overweight. Actually, I am told that investigative reporters at the Times now, in an effort to economize, rarely leave their offices and conduct many of their investigations on the telephone. Mr. Sulzberger likes them to call collect.

Carlos Slim? I knew the old Gray Lady was on her last legs but I hadn't considered how shaky The NY Times must be if they're staying afloat with a loan from an unknown Mexican benefactor. I'd say since the last conservative has left, it's time to turn out the lights in Noo Yawk. The old Gray Lady is taking her last dance as midnight approaches. All I can say is don't let the doorknob hit ya where the Good Lord split ya. Say good bye to the Noo Yawk Times.

And if you haven't already, say hello to Bill Kristol and The Weekly Standard and especially the Weekly Standard Blog. While there, be sure to read anything by my beautiful young friend, Mary Katharine Ham, who keeps up with the crazy world events in The Daily Grind.

'The Liberal Victimhood Game' and how it plays voters

What do Rod Blagojevich, Caroline Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and President Barack Obama all have in common, other than they're liberal Democrats?

They're all victims. Or more accurately, they have used the cloak of victimhood as they rose to power in politics. I'll let Ann Coulter explain. Nobody explains liberals and how they manipulate their way into power better than Ann in her column today: Liberal Victimhood: A Game You Can Play at Home

I notice that liberals have not challenged the overall thesis of my rocketing bestseller, "Guilty: Liberal 'Victims' and Their Assault on America," which is that liberals always play the victim in order to advance, win advantages and oppress others.

I guess that would be hard to do when the corrupt Democratic governor of Illinois is running around comparing himself to Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.

Indeed, you can't turn on the TV without seeing some liberal playing victim to score the game-winning point.

You really need to read the whole thing to understand how liberal "victims" weasel their way to power with the considerable help of the liberal-dominated mainstream media, of course.

The Second Coming of James Earl Carter Jr./III?

You gotta love somebody who agrees with you and Michael Medved read my mind this morning by comparing the early days of President Obama's administration to the disastrous presidency of James Earl Carter Jr, who Medved calls "the century's worst president."

Back during the campaign it occurred to me that Obama's promises to bring the wonders of socialism to our government sounded a lot like Jimmy Carter and I created the campaign poster at right for a blog post. BTW, that guy on the right looks like Carter with whiskers, but it's not, it's another famous socialist, Lenin. Same, same. I picked him because Obama's own campaign icon of himself bears a striking resemblance to Lenin's huge posters of himself hung all over mother Russia. And like Lenin demanded and got of the masses in Russia, the mainstream media and masses were then and now bowing down in worship of their new messiah, Socialist Barack Obama.

Here's a bit from Medved's reflections on the second coming of Jimmy Carter:

In the sweep of recent history, James Earl Carter, Jr., stands utterly alone in leading his party to capture the White House with overwhelming Congressional majorities (61 Senators, 292 members of the House – far bigger margins than Obama!) and then, after a brief four year demonstration of almost unimaginable ineptitude, handing the reins of government back to the opposition.

In looking ahead to the Obama administration, no one wants an economic or foreign policy repetition of the nightmarish Carter years – the Republic can hardly afford that sort of long-term damage.

But GOP loyalists should legitimately hope that the new president does manage to follow Little Jimmy’s political example – repeating the Carteresque feat of losing the presidency for his party after a single term of office.

In this regard, President Obama’s first week has already provided a promising start—displaying some of the nastiness, small-mindedness, insecurity, and self-righteousness that notably characterized the Georgia Peanut. The Inaugural Address included graceless digs at President Bush that undermined the promised theme of “unity,” while touchy, grumpy comments to the White House press corps stunned reporters who had previously displayed their infatuation with the new president. The odd remarks scolding Republicans with a reminder that “I won” and warning them not to listen to Rush Limbaugh, hardly characterize a self-confident, optimistic, coalition-building leader in the style of FDR, JFK or Ronald Reagan.

Maybe, like Carter, Obama will bury himself in his own hubris and we'll get rid of him in just four years. That's about as optimistic as I can get. But good Lord, he can do a lot of damage in four years. Will we still have a republic standing after four years of Obama-Carter socialism?

Why not?

Seeking answers for our nation: American Solutions

Did you sign the "Drill Here, Drill Now!" petition, like I did? If so, you're part of a countrywide movement led by a group called American Solutions. Here's a video of what they're about.

From igniting the energy debate with the Drill Here, Drill Now petition, to developing the Platform of the American People, to pushing a message of education reform at the Republican and Democratic Conventions, to colloborating on solutions for the economy during the second annual Solutions Day, we've worked hard to be your voice this past year.

In 2008, American Solutions grew to 1.7 million members and we wouldn't be here today without your help and support.

Take a moment to watch one of our members of Louisville, Kentucky tell the story of 2008:

Obama's 'regulatory czar' is anti-hunting PETA wingnut

Just got a Townhall.com alert about an unknown Harvard professor who Obama has slated to become his "regulatory czar." Sounds harmless until you look at what this guy believes. For starters, all hunting should be outlawed! Animals can sue humans in court! Really. Can't wait.

Forget about Barack Obama's income tax-challenged Treasury Secretary or the conflict of interest controversy at the State Department. The most outrageous Obama appointee just might be Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor who's flying under everyone's radar and into a job that hardly anyone has ever heard of.

Cass Sunstein is slated to run the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. He's going to be America's chief "regulatory czar." And shocking new research from the Center for Consumer Freedom shows that he's a dedicated animal-rights zealot.

Hold on to your sirloin.

The anti-meat nuts at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the anti-hunting lobbyists at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) used to think that putting Dennis Kucinich in the White House would be their best hope of wielding real power in Washington . But even they didn't see Cass Sunstein coming. Sunstein has the legal mind of Chief Justice John Roberts and the animal-rights agenda of PETA president Ingrid Newkirk.

We're not talking about animal welfare---the idea of making sure we don't cause animals unnecessary suffering when we use them for food, clothing, entertainment, or lifesaving medical research. Sunstein believes in animal rights---the notion that people shouldn't "own" or "use" animals at all, for any purpose, no matter what the stakes are for mankind.

Cancer research? Not if lab rats are used against their will.

Hunting? Absolutely forbidden, especially if it's for sport.

Leather jackets? The cows need their skin more that you do.

Seeing-eye dogs? They're nothing more than slaves.

And that T-bone steak? Fuhgeddaboudit! If animals have any "rights" at all, the right to not be your dinner is at the top of the list.

All of this makes perfect sense to Cass Sunstein, who organized the "Chicago Project on Animal Treatment Principles" at the University of Chicago. He will soon have the political authority to push for a radical overhaul of the way the federal government regulates everything Americans do with animals.

How radical? Sunstein supports making sport hunting illegal, and completely phasing out the consumption of meat. And if that's not nutty enough, he's actually in favor of giving animals the legal right to sue people.

Think we're joking? Think again. Here's what Sunstein wrote in his 2004 book, Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions:

"[A]nimals should be permitted to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives ... Any animals that are entitled to bring suit would be represented by (human) counsel, who would owe guardian like obligations and make decisions, subject to those obligations, on their clients' behalf."

Conservative commentators have been openly fretting that Barack Obama may try to turn welfare entitlements and single-payer healthcare into a new Bill of Rights. But Cass Sunstein threatens to expand the whole concept of "rights" to include the rest of the animal kingdom.

That fish wriggling at the end of your hook could soon be a federal offense (if the fish doesn't file a lawsuit first). Don't say we didn't warn you.

Find out more at ConsumerFreedom.com.

Pre-inauguration Chicago politics as usual for Obama

So far, so bad, to turn a phrase. President-elect Barack Obama hasn't been sworn in yet, but so far, its been Chicago politics as usual. No surprise. As Dr. Phil says, How's that working out for you? New TV Ad points out that Obama has faltered in his initial decisions - seeking billions of taxpayer dollars for federal bailouts and surrounding himself with a team of individuals mired in scandals.

From OurCountryPAC

Who lit the fuse to set off "The Big Bang"?

Got a couple of hours to consider the most fundamental question in the universe, who laid the zillion tons of dynamite and lit the fuse for the Big Bang? Watch the below video from CrossExamined Blog between Christian author Frank Turek and atheist author Christopher Hitchens as they debate the origin of the universe and whether God had anything to do with it.

Frank Turek writes the short version here at Townhall.com, including this teaser:

When I debated atheist Christopher Hitchens recently, one of the eight arguments I offered for God’s existence was the creation of this supremely fine-tuned universe out of nothing. I spoke of the five main lines of scientific evidence—denoted by the acronym SURGE—that point to the definite beginning of the space-time continuum. They are: The Second Law of Thermodynamics, the Expanding Universe, the Radiation Afterglow from the Big Bang Explosion, the Great galaxy seeds in the Radiation Afterglow, and Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

While I don’t have space to unpack this evidence here (see I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist), it all points to the fact that the universe began from literally nothing physical or temporal. Once there was no time, no space, and no matter and then it all banged into existence out of nothing with great precision.

Turek vs. Hitchens Debate: Does God Exist? from Andrew Ketchum on Vimeo.

My new Gun Shop career-change launches today

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Really. I got laid off yesterday at my full-time job as a technical writer/photographer for a local industry. A recession is when other folks are getting laid off. A depression is when you get laid off. But I ain't in no depression. The Good Lord looks out for fools and drunks and me, too. I have already been working part-time in a local gun shop and today I start my latest new career, full-time. I've been keeping pretty busy just doing gunbroker.com pages for one gun shop. Now I plan to add two or three or four more, as many as it takes to add up to one full-time job. Let's see, I started out in '75 right out of Missouri U J-School as a photojournalist and since I've worked at newspapers doing that, worked for a health-food business as webmaster and catalog creator, worked as a full-time web developer for an Internet business, worked for myself as a web designer (poorest paying boss I ever had), taught classes in web design and Photoshop at a community college and then worked as a technical writer/photographer for the past four and half years. And guess what business ain't suffering from the recession but is actually booming? Gun shops. Is God's plan perfect or what?

So this is career change number six and counting. Time to go to work. See y'all later. Among the many things I love about working at the gun shop is I can go to work with open carry. Hoo-ra!

Classical music for 'Gun Nutz R Us', Military Division

Enjoy.

Hoo-ra!

Ruger playing shell game with new Tatical Mini-14

Ruger is playing "hide the assault weapon," for some strange reason.

Now you see it, now you don't is the game Ruger Firearms is playing with a new Tactical Mini-14 with folding stock. What's up wid dat? Here's the image that was on the site, nabbed by Firearm Blog, plus a screen cap from the Ruger site before the page disappeared.

Certainly good news for Gun Nutz 'R' Us, a folding tactical stock for a Mini-14, just in time for the Obama Assault Weapons Ban, coming to a gun store near you as soon as he can.

Features, from the now-missing page at the Ruger site, are:

* Folding and collapsible stock
* Ergonomic pistol grip
* 20 round magazine
* Quad rails
* Polymer stock

What's not to like? Personally I was leaning more toward the Ruger Mini-14 Target Model, which does something no Mini-14 has done before, hit exactly what you're shooting at, as in:

"The heavy barrel Mini-14® Target Rifle delivers minute of angle accuracy when tuned using the adjustable harmonic dampener."

Regular Mini-14s deliver something closer to hour of angle accuracy, sorta in the same ballpark, but it's a semi-auto so you can saturate the zone with 20 rounds of .223, as in spray and pray.

But if you're gonna shoot a spray and pray model, it is nice to have folding stock on it. Whatever.

Just thought I'd post something on guns on a Sunday evening and this is it. See y'all later.

No-experience President names no-experience CIA chief

I haven’t been blogging about incoming President Barack Obama on purpose. Figured I ought to at least let him get in office before I start taking shots at him (rhetorically).

But his appointment of former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta as his pick for CIA Director has not only blown my cool, it’s also raising hackles and getting outright criticism of Obama for the first time on Capitol Hill. And that’s just from the Democrats all up on their dew claws.

On Capitol Hill, Democrats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence were still stewing over Obama not consulting them on the choice before it was leaked Monday and continued to question Panetta's intelligence experience. Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. acknowledged that the transition team had made a "mistake" in not consulting or even notifying congressional leaders, and Obama telephoned committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and her predecessor, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), yesterday to apologize.

Note Biden said it was a “mistake” to stiff-arm the Democrats on the Hill, not that it was a mistake to choose Panetta with no qualifications.

David Ignatius at The Washington Post, who of course is an Obama supporter, tries to make a good case for Panetta’s appointment.

As White House chief of staff during the second Clinton term, Panetta was one of the few people who could discipline the omnivorous President Bill Clinton. He sat in on the daily intelligence briefings as chief of staff, and he reviewed the nation's most secret intelligence-collection and covert-action programs in his previous post as director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Now that really gives me the warm fuzzies. Panetta could discipline Clinton? On what and when did it happen during the eight years of the most undisciplined president in our nation’s history? Omnivorous is a very good description of Clinton and Panetta didn’t curb his undisciplined appetites. Where was Panetta when Monica was under the desk?

During those eight years, Panetta and Clinton were busy doing something but it wasn’t paying attention to Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda’s alarming spread from local Mideast terrorists to worldwide terrorists. U.S Embassies were bombed, USS Cole bombed; Clinton and Panetta fiddled while the world caught on fire, bowing out stage left just prior to 9-11 when the threat of Osama finally became obvious to the world.

And that’s Panetta’s only “experience” claim to be CIA director, in charge of the most crucial agency in charge of our national security? Yikes!

Even The Washington Post newswriters don’t agree with Ignatius’ rosy view of Panetta as “experienced” in intelligence from his Clinton post.

A (CIA) official who had worked with President Bill Clinton's national security team while Panetta was chief of staff said he had no recollection of Panetta taking an active role in intelligence briefings or discussions of CIA policy and practice.

"He just didn't make an impression," said the official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity so he could discuss the matter freely.

There at the daily intelligence briefings with Clinton, but asleep at the switch. Wow, that really makes me feel a lot better, how about you?

We’re in for a long, cold eight years. A President with no executive experience himself is going to staff the agency in charge of our security with someone just like him, no experience at spying, or even listening to talk about it. Panetta will be a disaster added to the coming Obama disaster.

10mm Pistol's Demise 'Greatly Exaggerated'

In addition to being gun nut in general and a pistol nut in particular, I'm even more peculiar than that. I'm a weird caliber lover. Love .357 Sig. Love .44 Special. Love 9x25mm (DoubleTap only).

Had a brief fling with .38 Super and 9x23mm Winchester, but they didn't work out. Not due to the calibers but because the barrel to convert my Glock 20 was "experiental" and it wouldn't feed properly. I'm still hopeful of a conversion barrel for my G20 that will actually work.

But until then, I am also a certified 10mm nut. First pistol I bought after 9/11 was a S&W 1076, the FBI duty weapon from 1990-95 until the feds wimped out and went with .40 S&W. I traded it straight up for a highly customized G29, the "baby" Glock in 10mm with a 3.76" barrel. Can you say pocket rocket? And of course, I also bought a G20 which is fine full-size 10mm pistol. (See my pair of 10's above, G29 and G20.)

And lo and behold, after being written off as dead, 10mm caliber is making a comeback, almost as if it's quoting Mark Twain, saying "Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated."

One of my gun-nut buddies says:

10mm is making a little bit of a comeback:

Glock is supposed to release the G20SF and G29SF this month.

Colt is making a new 1911 Delta Elite 10mm that should be out soon.

EAA has a bunch of 10mm options.

The latter refers to European-American Armory, which imports the full line of Italian Tangfolio pistols which are available in compact, full-size and even long slide with scope mounts in 10mm, as well as .38 Super, 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. Swap a slide and you got any caliber you want.

And now in other 10mm comeback news, the daddy rabbit of all the 10mm pistols, the very first one which was almost still-born, the Bren Ten, may be resurrected soon under a new name!

Quote:

Tucson, AZ - Feb 01, 2008 - Vltor Weapon Systems today announced the launch of the Fortis Pistol Project, a modern version of the famous Bren Ten style pistol. Originally released in 1982, the Bren Ten pistol was designed to advance the state of the art in handgun technology. Designed to fill the need for a full size, full power, double action pistol, the Bren Ten created immense interest as a potent choice for law enforcement and military use. Developed as a pistol and cartridge combination, the Bren Ten was the first production pistol to chamber the powerful 10mm Auto cartridge. In its original loading, the 10mm Auto was capable of launching a 170gr buller at 1,300 fps - generating over 600ft/lb of muzzle energy. Unfortunately, the original Bren Ten and its successor fell victim to business management and financial problems - but the demand for a high quality American made, full size, double action pistol has still not been filled. According to Eric Kincel, the General Manager for Vltor, the Bren Ten may have truly been a design that was ahead of its time; "Now is the time to make this pistol. With today's precision manufacturing techniques and the superior materials available, the Fortis will be a pistol line that is everything people hoped previous attempts would be." Eric pointed out that the Fortis is nearly identical to the original Bren Ten in exterior appearance and ergonomics, but that some changes have been made to improve reliability, safety and strength. "The Fortis, while based on a twwnty-five year old idea, is very unique. It offers a high tech, high quality pistol that more than fills the demands for a full size, magnum power auto loader." The first released Fortis will be a "duty gun", a full size, all steel, high capacity 10mm Auto that will reliably answer the call of professionals and sportsmen that rely on a good pistol. However, Eric is quick to point out that the Fortis Project is a line of pistols based on one common design. "There will be other versions of the Fortis...different calibers, sizes and options specific to certain applications." When asked if they intend on releasing a faithful reproduction of the original Bren Ten, Eric's answer was simply "We sure want to". Fortis Pistol Proposed Specifications (subject to change in final production) * Manufacturer - Vltor Weapon Systems * Model - Fortis (original release) * Type - autoloading pistol * Operation - Semi-automatic, Double/single action * Caliber - 10mm Auto (others to follow) * Barrel length - 5.00" * Overall length - 8.75" * Height - 5.75" * Width - 1.30" * Weight - 38 ounces * Safety - reversible thumb and firing pin block * Sight radius - 6.88" * Sights - Adjustable, 3-Dot combat style * Rifling - 5 Groove, radiused, RH twist * Stocks - Engraved polymer panels * Capacity 0 12 rounds * Finish - Black Steel Slide and Subdued Finish Stainless Frame" http://www.vltor.com/ and http://vltor.wordpress.com/

From the most recent entry on the Vltor-Fortis Pistol blog, Dec. 10, 08:

Quote:

Fortis Pistol receivers after undergoing final QC inspection and waiting for the machine operations -- by the time you read this, they will be being made into the last run of pre-production guns, the next round will be for delivery!

Last word is they're shooting for SHOT '09 for the unveiling of the new Fortis/Bren Ten II, which is Jan. 15-18 in Orlando, Fl.

No photos of the complete Fortis pistol on their site except this thumbnail.

Here's what some of the originals look like from Bren-Ten.com, the definitive source:




Sounds like a good plan to me.

What iz it? It'z a Browning BDM 9mm Ambi Pistol

One of my gun nut buddies identified the "What iz it" gun photo I posted earlier. Ain't it great to have gun nut buddies all over the world linked up on the Wide Wonderful Web?

I shoulda known, it's a Browning. See that little Buckmark logo at the top of the grip right behind the trigger? That's what detectives call a clue.

Next photo down is a Browning BDM from the World Guns site, which gives the nomenclature.

"BDM stands for the Browning Double Mode (or Dual Mode), and it means that the pistol can be had in either traditional Double Action mode or in Double Action Only Mode ... in the same gun, and the change of mode can take a split a second, not more.

"It is done via the small slotted switch in the left side of the slide. The switch has two positions, marked "P" and "R". P stands for Pistol, or DA mode, R stands for revolver, or DAO mode. The switch can be turned from one position to another by any sharp-tipped tool such a knife, screwdriver or even a coin. BDM is equipped with ambidextrous, frame-mounted safety / decocker levers. To engage safety (and decock the hammer in DA mode) one must pull the lever down, and the lever will stay in this position. To disengage safety the lever must be pulled up, so a red dot will show on the frame."

And the last photo is a current Browning by FN, the Hi-Power Mark II 9mm, which also a lefty-friendly thumb safety on the right side in addition to one on the normal left side for righties.

Mystery solved. I'll be on the lookout for one of those Browning BDMs, now out of production.

Another of my gun nut buddies also came up with a link to a fellow gun nut who hacked an inch off the grip and 3/4" off the slide and barrel to create a short Browning BDM.

What iz it? Plus, How You Can Make A Difference

Was reading stuff this morning online and saw this, which is identified only as a 9mm pistol in a gun shop in Sacramento, Calif. What the heck is it?

It got my attention because it has a thumb safety on the wrong side, so to speak, the right side, which is what us lefty shooters really appreciate.

I downloaded it and opened it up in Photoshop for a closer look but the writing on the slide it too pixelated to read. If anybody knows, speak up.

It was displayed with an interesting column on Townhall.com: College Students Seek to Use Concealed-Carry Permits by William Perry Pendley.

Quote:

One minute, Suzanne was eating lunch with her mother and father. The next, the happy hubbub of the restaurant was silenced when a pickup truck crashed through the brick, mortar, and glass. How could that happen? The driver emerged, but Suzanne noticed he wasn’t dazed or drunk; he was angry and purposeful. Then, she saw the guns. He stepped over the debris and began to shoot patrons. She must be dreaming. Her father leaped to his feet, charged the gunman, was shot, and fell to the floor. When the gunman turned his back to shoot others, she remembered: she had a gun! Where was it? She had to find her gun! Oh no, it was in her car. She crawled, then ran toward a window to escape, to get her gun, and to return to save her mother. Was it only a nightmare?

The scene is the infamous murders in Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas. Suzanne is Dr. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, a chiropractor who became one of the nation's most effective advocates of concealed-carry laws for civilians after that 1991 incident, leading to a "shall issue" carry law in Texas in 1995 and has since spread to almost all states, with a few exceptions.

Quote:

The massacre that killed Dr. Hupp’s parents was the deadliest shooting rampage in American history, that is, it was until the Virginia Tech Massacre of April 17, 2007, when 32 were killed and 17 wounded. Subsequently, on February 14, 2008, a gunman killed 6 and wounded 18 at Northern Illinois University. Little wonder, therefore, that students on CU’s campuses in Boulder, Denver, and Colorado Springs—who have a license to carry concealed weapons almost anywhere else in Colorado—wish to exercise that right in what, in their view, is one of the most dangerous settings they will encounter: “a gun-free zone.” Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), a national advocacy group with over 30,000 members that supports the legalization of concealed carry by licensed individuals on college campuses, agrees. Last month, SCCC, two CU students and a recent CU graduate filed a lawsuit in Colorado state court seeking a ruling that CU’s policy is illegal and unconstitutional!

See what one determined person can do when they set their mind to it?

Retrosexual man -- an endangered species fights back

A buddy of mine stole this from somewhere without credit. But I like it so I stole it, too. Hereinafter, please refer to me as "Retrosexual Man."

The Retrosexual Man of the 21st Century

Please allow me to vent. I have had it. I've taken all I can stand and I can't stand anymore.

Every time my TV is on, all that can be seen is effeminate men prancing about, redecorating houses and talking about foreign concepts like "style" and "feng shui."

Heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transsexual, metrosexual, non-sexual; blue, green, and purple-sexual - bogus definitions have taken over the urban and suburban world!

Real men of the world, stand up, scratch your butt, belch, and yell "ENOUGH!" I hereby announce the start of a new offensive in the culture wars, the Retrosexual movement. Formerly known as NORMAL!

The Code :

A Retrosexual man, no matter what the women insists, PAYS FOR THE DATE.

A Retrosexual man opens doors for a lady. Even for the ones that fit that term only because they are female.

A Retrosexual DEALS with IT, be it a flat tire, break-in into your home, or a natural disaster, you DEAL WITH IT.

A Retrosexual not only eats red meat, he often kills it himself.

A Retrosexual doesn't worry about living to be 90. It's not how long you live, but how well. If you're 90 years old and still smoking cigars and drinking, I salute you. If you are still having sex, you are a God.

A Retrosexual does not use more hair or skin products than a woman. Women have several supermarket aisles of stuff. Retrosexuals need an endcap (possibly 2 endcaps if you include shaving goods.)

A Retrosexual does not dress in clothes from Hot Topic when he's 30 years old.

A Retrosexual should know how to properly kill stuff (or people) if need be. This falls under the "Dealing with It" portion of The Code.

A Retrosexual watches no TV show with "Queer" in the title.

A Retrosexual does not let neighbors screw up rooms in his house on national TV.

A Retrosexual should not give up excessive amounts of manliness for women. Some is inevitable, but major reinvention of yourself will only lead to you becoming a froo-froo little puss, and in the long run, she ain't worth it.

A Retrosexual is allowed to seek professional help for major mental stress such as drug/alcohol addiction, death of your entire family in a freak treechipper accident, favorite sports team being moved to a different city, favorite bird dog expiring, etc. You are NOT allowed to see a shrink because Daddy didn't pay you enough attention. Daddy was busy DEALING WITH IT. When you screwed up, he DEALT with you.

A Retrosexual will have at least one outfit in his wardrobe designed to conceal himself from prey.

A Retrosexual knows how to tie a Windsor knot when wearing a tie -- and ONLY a Windsor knot.

A Retrosexual should have at least one good wound he can brag about getting.

A Retrosexual knows how to use a basic set of tools. If you can't hammer a nail, or drill a straight hole, practice in secret until you can -- or be rightfully ridiculed for the wuss you be.

A Retrosexual knows that owning a gun is not a sign that your are riddled with fear, guns are TOOLS and are often essential to DEAL WITH IT. Plus it's just plain fun to fire one off in the direction of those people or things that just need a little "wakin' up".

Crying. There are very few reason that a Retrosexual may cry, and none of them have to do with TV commercials, movies, or soap operas. Sports teams are sometimes a reason to cry, but the preferred method of release is swearing or throwing the remote control. Some reasons a Retrosexual can cry include (but are not limited to) death of a loved one, death of a pet (fish do NOT count as pets in this case), loss of a major body part, or loss of major body part on your truck.

When a Retrosexual is on a crowded bus and or a commuter train, and a pregnant woman, heck, any woman gets on, that retrosexual stands up and offers his seat to that woman, then looks around at the other so-called men still in their seats with a disgusted "you punks" look on his face.

A Retrosexual knows how to say the Pledge properly, and with the correct emphasis and pronunciation. He also knows the words to the Star Spangled Banner. A Retrosexual will have hobbies and habits his wife and mother do not understand, but that are essential to his manliness, in that they offset the acceptable manliness decline he suffers when married/engaged or in a serious healthy relationship - i.e., hunting, boxing, shot putting, shooting, cigars, car maintenance.

A Retrosexual knows how to sharpen his own knives and kitchen utensils.

A Retrosexual man can drive in snow (hell, a blizzard) without sliding all over or driving under 20mph, without anxiety, and without high-centering his ride in a snow bank.

A Retrosexual man can chop down a tree and make it land where he wants. Wherever it lands is where he damn well wanted it to land. Except on his truck--that would happen because of a "force of nature", and then the retrosexual man's options are to Cry, or to DEAL with IT, or do both.

A Retrosexual will give up his seat on a bus to not only any women but any elderly person or person in military dress (except 2nd Lt's) NOTE: The person in military dress may turn down the offer but the Retrosexual man will ALWAYS make the offer to them and thank them for serving their country.

A Retrosexual man doesn't need a contract -- a handshake is good enough. He will always stand by his word even if circumstances change or the other person deceived him.

A Retrosexual man doesn't immediately look to sue someone when he does something stupid and hurts himself. We understand that sometimes in the process of doing things we get hurt and we just DEAL WITH IT !

A Restrosexual Man is Normal.

There. I feel much better now! (Belch)

Try it guys. You'll feel better, too. I guarantee it.

Panthers perform cardiac comeback for No. 2 playoff seed

How 'bout them Panthers?! The Carolina Panthers just clinched the No.2 NFC playoff seed, a first-round bye and a home playoff game either Jan.10 or 11 by winning a 33-31 thriller at New Orleans. At right, Steve Smith of the Panthers outfights two Saints defenders for another long, crucial pass in the game. Smith just kept performing miracles and so do all the Panthers. Playoffs, here we come! I oughta say Superbowl here we come, but I don't wanna jinx 'em.

How to survive hell -- in seven easy lessons

I really like Doug Giles. He's a great writer, talk show host and even a preacher. And he's one of those Christians who ain't afraid to stand up and give you the truth, consequences and all.

His column today is called If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going. Here's his seven points. You gotta read his column to get the rest.

Here are seven observations and exhortations to help us keep plowing through tough times.

1. Jesus Promised Pain.

2. Are You Gonna Cowboy Up or Lay There and Bleed?

3. It’s About Character, Stupid.

4. Don’t Blame God if You Brought This On.

5. Solomon Says, “Relax.”

6. The “Gift” of Hell.

7. Once You’ve Made it Through “Hell”, Don’t Become a Jerk.

Again, read the whole thing. It just might help you get through your personal hell today.

Hanging out with the 'Baby Dolls' for the holidays

I've been too busy to blog for a while, but that's a good thing. I had some time off my regular job for the holidays, so I took a part-time job with a local gunshop to keep busy. As a certified gun nut, I shoulda been paying them but they paid me so I didn't argue. What I've been doing is taking photos of their guns for sale on gunbroker.com and posting the photos and info for sale.

I had shopped there and bought guns previously but had never seen what they call the "Baby Doll Counter," down on the pawn shop end of the business, away from the other guns. This counter is full of classic, mostly out-of-production revolvers, almost entirely Smith & Wessons and Colts. And there I saw for the very first time a Colt revolver I'd never seen, a Colt King Cobra .357 Magnum (above) in Colt's Royal Blue finish. See why they call 'em baby dolls?

They also have a Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum, two Colt Pythons .357 Magnum (0nly the blue one is for sale, the Stainless one is reserved for one of the owner's Christmas presents) and a Colt Diamonback .38 Special, none of which I had ever seen before in the flesh, so to speak.

Colt no longer makes any of these revolvers, the Single-Action Army being the sole survivor of what was once a lineup of some of the best revolvers ever made. But they sure knew how to name 'em, didn't they? The Diamonback'll bite you and the Python and Anaconda eat you alive.

On the other hand, you have Smith and Wesson, who used to have some great names, the K-38 Combat Masterpiece, the K-38 Masterpiece, the very first .357 Magnum, the .357 Registered Magnum, and of course, the original Military & Police .38 Special revolver.

And then some marketing "genius"/idiot at S&W decided all those great names had to go. In 1957, the above pistols became, respectively, the Model 15, Model 14, Model 27 and Model 10.

Really gives you the warm fuzzies, don't it? But they're still great pistols and being a Smith guy, I expect one of more of them will end up going home with me. First on my list is the .357 Combat Magnum, but I ain't giving you no link to that bad boy. It's mine, all mine. Get yer own.

Don't forget the real meaning of Christmas

Merry Christmas! In case you don't know or forgot, here's what Christmas is all about.

And Happy New Year, too!