28 August 2008

Patriots, None and All

Don't talk to me about patriotism. None of you. This coming from a man who is not the patriot he could be.

First of all, the word is tainted in the modern context. Patriotism is not a bumper sticker or a ribbon. It is not the hollow words "support the troops." It is not blind allegiance to the flag.

You may believe that you support the troops, but what have you really done but say the words? Did you buy a t-shirt or did you put a magnetic ribbon on your SUV?

That same gas-guzzling behemoth that ships your petro-dollars to Saudi Wahhabi princes who then use that money to fund terrorists? Good job, Patriot.

Do you pay attention to politics? Do you vote? Do you volunteer your time or money? What civic virtues do you believe in? Do you actually know which candidates hold those same values? Do you even know what a "civic virtue" is?

Or do you vote a single issue and listen to slanderous mischaracterizations and vote on who you "feel" would be the best candidate?

Are you so ignorant that you wouldn't even know how to answer many of the questions above?

Enough questions. Too many Americans are satisfied to be ignorant. From rednecks and gang-banging thugs to soccer moms to businessmen in suits; ignorant one and all. Fat, dumb, and happy.

Modern pop culture is an incredible force for stupidity and ignorance. The Paparazzi and the obsession of the moment makes us stupid via distraction. Brad and Angelina adopted another baby? Who fucking cares!? MTV has been turning our teens into idiots for over two decades now.

Millions expend their energy tracking the lives of the famous when they should spend that energy in a way which might actually benefit themselves or their community. Watch C-Span if you must be a voyeur of the famous. You might just learn something.

Patriotism is love of the American Dream, not the flag or a President. Patriotism is a burning fire whose fuel is blood and sweat. With that blood and sweat we purchase freedom and opportunity. It is in serving country and community that we sweat and bleed. Service is the coin of patriotism.

And so we're clear on this - unquestioning patriotism actually goes by another name altogether. It's called fascism and it's completely un-American.

If I have to hear one more able-bodied man under the age of 50 tell me about how he supports the troops and we should invade Iran I will just loose it. Go volunteer if that's the way you feel. They'll take you these days, believe me. Shut the fuck up and put your own ass on the line if you think we should start a war that would spread across the Middle East, because you can't have my kids.

I swear to God, if this war is going on by the time my son turns 18 I will murder anyone who tries to take him off to fight in that tragedy. I mean that - I will stab you in the eye if you try to take my babies to go fight in a petro-war started by a retarded addict from Crawford.

But these same chickenhawks won't volunteer themselves because they are cowards. They are scared all the time because they're ignorant and they believe the local newsman when he says that there's "something in your house waiting to kill your children!!!" So of course they believe the President and other high officials when they intimate that Iraq will detonate a nuclear bomb in America.

These same officials who got six deferments themselves during Vietnam now want to commit our soldiers to wars everywhere. Fucking hypocrites. Fucking cowards. That's what enrages me about these couch-potato commandos: they assume since I don't like Bush and I think Iraq was a mistake that I must be some hippy-dippy left wing pacifist.

And in case you were wondering - yes, I have served a stint in the military myself. I was lucky enough to serve in a time of relative peace and under a President who didn't casually squander the lives of the military. I have spent time behind a trigger in the name of America. Have you?

I am no pacifist, ladies and gentlemen. I own 4 guns and I have served my country. I hate the Grateful Dead and love punk, metal, and rock. There's not a damned thing pacifist or hippy about me. Those who truly know me think I'm a bit on the militant side, as a matter of fact.

I volunteer my time and money to the causes I believe in. I serve on my neighborhood's HOA Board, I volunteer for candidates I believe in, and I put my proverbial money where my mouth is.

I recycle, am energy-conscious, I walk or bike to work, and I instill these actions as values in my children. Because what's more patriotic than taking care of the environment we all share? What is more an intrinsic part of our national heritage than the actual physical nation we leave our children?

And I think I should be doing more.

15 August 2008

Hilda Gets an Eye

I just added a "red dot" sight to Hilda. A friend of mine loaned it to me and said if I liked it I could make him an offer. It's a pretty cool little item.

For those who are unfamiliar with what a red dot sight is, basically it's a lense against which a laser is projected (the red dot). The lense sits atop your rifle. To use it you keep both eyes open and look past or through the scope. The effect is an optical illusion of a red dot being projected downfield onto where the gun is pointed.

It was so cool that the wifey actually held Hilda! Guns make her nervous - or she just doesn't like them. I couldn't say for certain if they actually make her nervous. In any event, she held Hilda and peered through the scope.

There were ooh's a and ahh's as I toggled throught the different sight options. You can either have the laser project a red dot, a crosshair, or "T" style sight. Frankly I was quite surprised that she deigned to touch the gun. As I walked over to her I full expected her to recoil and go "Ewwwwwww... guns!"

Maybe this Sunday I'll work on sighting it in.

06 August 2008

Wigging Out

My wife is getting a wee bit wigged out these days when I start talking about the Apocalypse. Odd, since she was the one who suggested I start this blog.

And just for clarity's sake - I don't mean Apocalypse in the Biblical sense. I mean gridcrash. I mean massive economic depression or civil disorder on a grand scale. We stare so many imminent crises in the face that they’re tough to list. Let’s try, though!



  1. Economic Depression


    1. Oil - with oil prices only going one way in the long haul and with global supplies shrinking and demand rising, we’ll go through the last half of the world’s oil a lot faster than we went through the first half. Oh, yeah. We’re way past Peak Oil.

    2. Inflation - Such a rise in energy costs will definitely increase inflationary pressures, leading to a whole list of woes. Add to that the housing market bust and credit crunch and the dollar has had better days.

    3. Debt! – The United States has become the biggest debtor nation in history. Ever. Let me clarify that a bit… Shithole-istan is less of a debtor nation than the U.S. Fucking Mexico looks at us and goes, “Holy frijoles, look at those guys, amigos. Hide your wallet!” Oh yeah – and debt relative to income in this country hasn’t been this high since – you guessed it – the Great Depression! So chin up, America! We’re #1! We’re #1!

    4. Manufacturing Job Loss – America used to be a manufacturing powerhouse the likes that the world had never seen (until China). Now with all of those jobs just about gone (and I mean all of them) what are we going to do? We can’t all be in service jobs. Somebody has to make something in order for the economy to work.

  2. Global Warming


    1. Too little, too late – we may have gotten started too late to reverse this, especially considering the developing world has no touchy, feely reservations about cutting down rainforests or burning coal and oil. Plus idiots in this country still insist on driving alone to work in a giant, gleaming SUV.

    2. Weather Pattern Changes – It looks like a symptom of global warming is a massive change in things like hurricane strength and frequency but most importantly, global rainfall patterns…

    3. Water Shortages – Atlanta. Right now. Need I say more? Now imagine a massive drought strangling Southern California or Las Vegas.

  3. The Dumbing Down of America


    1. Not a Cliché – I am certain that literacy rates in the U.S. are much lower than supposed. I think this for a number of reasons. Chief among them is the fact that people that would be counted as literate I would count illiterate. You’ve all gotten the email(s) from a coworker where the purpose or gist of the email was completely inscrutable. These people can read, sure, but they aren’t capable of stringing together a coherent thought in written form. Don’t act like you don’t know someone (or many people) like this. Many of these idiots have college degrees!

    2. Failing Education System – Most public schools in rural and inner city America are in critical condition. Many suburban schools are in serious condition. Fewer and fewer kids are graduating and going to college, especially considering the constantly rising cost of college.

  4. Gridcrash


    1. Energy shortages – due to the short-sightedness mentioned above, we may not have the political and social will to implement the changes in our energy infrastructure on the scale and with the speed needed to avoid critical shortages in energy including regular brownouts and blackouts.

  5. Civil Unrest


    1. The Final Symptom – Once enough of the above situations manifest themselves, people will get fed up on a scale that we haven’t seen in many decades in this country. If any one of the above situations gets too far out of hand we could see riots, famine, and widespread migration. Never mind if a combination of situations should go too far afield...

Looking at all of this I choose to prepare. This is what makes her a bit uneasy. I tend to be right about things on the macro level.

For instance, I was at this bar with a friend of mine in February 2003 and he asks me, “So what do you think about Iraq? What’s gonna happen there?”

To which I replied, “Well, we’re invading. That part’s fait-accomplis. You don’t mass that much men and equipment just for show. They’ll cross the border for sure. Now as far as the war goes, we’ll sweep aside Saddam’s army like it was nothing. The occupation is what’s gonna kill us.”

Another example – we have a friend who’s a real estate agent. We were at some party (maybe a kid’s birthday?) about two years ago and I said, “Hey – what do you think about the housing market? I mean, wages aren’t nearly matching the rise in housing costs. When’s this bubble gonna burst?”

“Bubble!? There’s no bubble…” (N.I.N.J.A. loan)

The point is that Stacey may be getting nervous because she’s afraid I’m going to be right again. She sees me stocking up on non-hybrid seeds, ammunition, manuals on everything from organic gardening to wilderness survival to edible and medicinal plant guides. I don’t know. The last time she and I spoke about these matters, she had a real nervous look in her eyes.

05 August 2008

Stoney Point Hood Militia, part deux


Brother with Hilda in KungFu Action Stance


Bro and I simultaneously shooting at a target

My son shooting the Ruger.

Hilda moonlights...

04 August 2008

Stony Point Hood Militia



Just kidding, of course. We're not a militia... but we're armed like one! The pic on top is my brother with the Bushmaster and my friend with his S&W .357 snubbed nose. The one below is my buddy with the Bushmaster.

Hilda's First Run

I took Hilda out to the range for the first time post-makeover. I have to say that it's like shooting a completely different gun. The pistol grip, adjustable stock, and lighter weight give the gun a very different feel.

With the telescoping stock I can adjust the length of the weapon to fit me perfectly. The pistol grip gives the weapon a much more natural and stable carriage when sighting in and the lighter weight further enhances stability when aiming the weapon.

After a brief series of jams (two, to be exact) the weapon put another 50 rounds downrange without a single jam. I am confident that, had I brought more bullets, there would have been no more jams. So the composite magazine seems to perform well. I'm probably going to go ahead and order two more.

So many things about this makeover excite me, but the prospect of having a source of reliable magazines for Hilda has to be near the top of the list. I have a total of four metal, thirty round magazines for Hilda, only one of which actually works.

That's been my experinece, at least. Maybe if anyone actually reads this blog (doubt it) they could share any SKS magazine issues they may have experienced. I have had the worst luck with them. No more, though. I think this Tapco Fusion kit may have been the best gun investment under $300 that I've ever made.

03 August 2008

Another Day on the Range




More pics to come... The top two are me shooting my buddy's AK-47, and the one at the bottom is me holding my brother's Bushmaster. My friend brought the camera, and I'm waiting on pics of Hilda in action.


02 August 2008

Hilda Makeover

Things have been busy lately, hence the lack of posts.

Anyway - I recently completed a project to take my SKS off of it's original wooden body and stock and replace it with a Tapco Fusion system. And what a difference it's made.

I now have a pistol grip, composite body, stock, and magazine, as well as a telescoping stock and rail for mounting a sight. It now no longer looks like an antique. I have a shoulder strap and the pistol grip has a stash.




It took me about three hours to complete. Before you laugh, keep in mind this was the first ever gunsmithing of any kind I have ever undertaken. In terms of understanding how to do it, the Y00Tube video I linked you to above is very helpful.
I should mention that the strap was bought seperate from the Fusion system (for about $10). All told, the bill came out to $120 with shipping. I would link you to the Tapco site, but it seems to be down at the moment. [edit] Tapco site is back up. Here's a direct link to the kit I bought.[/edit]
I ended up removing my bayonet. Hopefully one day I'll replace it with a bipod.
Tomorrow morning I'm going out to Barboursville to try it out. I'll post on how that goes. This will be the kids' second time out to the range.