Monday, May 30, 2011

Range Report 5-28-2011

Personal Shooting:
I went shooting Saturday morning, 5-28-2011. It was the first time I've had to shoot my AR15 with the 20" barrel from "field" positions. I shot at 100 yards. Due to the number of shooters on the range, I was unable to shoot an AQT at 25 yards. Didn't matter.

Using the AR15, and my Ruger 10/22, the morning was fun. With the heavy AR15, I was keeping all standing shots within an 8" circle at 100 yards. All sitting shots were within 5 inches, and all prone shots were within 2 inches.

Using the 10/22, all prone shots were within about 4-5 inches. (This was based on best estimates using a scope, not actual measurements - I shot this last, and left the target there.)

When I get firm pressure on the sling on the heavy-barreled AR15, shot displacement is 3" down, and 2" to the left at 100 yards. Yet more proof to the Appleseed folks that too tight a sling can hinder marksmanship.

Using an AQT target at 100 yards, I was able, from prone (with a sling), to shoot the 200-yard scale targets without missing at 100 yards. Since the AQT is designed to be used at 25 meters, this is roughly akin to making 800-yard shots. By the way - the 100-yard scaled target, at 100 yards (meaning it is roughly the same size in appearance as a target at 400 yards) was a piece of cake.

The ACOG is really nice.


Family shooting:
First, my son shot at 100 yards, using his Crickett .22, and using my Marlin 795. Both rifles use a peep sight. He was putting shots on a sheet of paper 11.5" x 20". I know many serious shooters who refuse to shoot at 100 yards with a .22. Don 't tell my boy, he thinks it is what you are supposed to do.

My wife commandeered my AR15, and overcame some personal issues about shooting at a distance. She had never shot beyond 25 yards before. So what did she do? Started shooting 4-5 inch groups from 100 yards the very first time she ever shot at 100 yards, and the very first time she'd ever seriously shot a centerfire rifle.

My son was keeping all shots on an 11.5 x 20 inch paper at 7 yards with a pistol.

My father in law was completely inside the 8-ring with all shots, and inside the 9- and 10-rings on most shots at the same range, with two different pistols (my Ruger Mark III, and his Beretta NEOS).

My mother in law was shooting well - completely on paper with all shots, and inside the 8-ring with most shots.



Almost bad stuff:
An individual just walked down range while we were all firing, without calling "Cold Range!" first. He was on the pistol range, and at that moment, the only other person shooting on the pistol range was my father-in-law - who was reloading, not shooting.

Meanwhile, we on the rifle range called the range "cold" - and shot a few comments loudly in his direction about how unsafe that was, and how none of us would have minded him asking for a cold range.

This was the first time my wife had seen such a dangerous activity.



Funny stuff:
Next to my wife on the rifle range were some guys, each had a large-caliber bolt-action rifle with a large, high-power scope. The were shooting from some nice bench-rests. The wife had only my AR15 and a makeshift rest using the rifle cases. These guys were not getting all of their shots on a man-sized target at 100 yards - and when they did, the shots were never closer than 8 inches apart.

At one "Cold Range" intermission, these men let out a couple of expletives under their breath when they saw my wife's groups, compared to their shots, which were lucky to have hit.

The range boss also took interest, as the wife now looks 100% like a pure shooter behind the trigger of any rifle.

Friday, May 27, 2011

This is not good

My sister and her husband came home today to find their house had been burglarized. The thieves stole their TV's, some jewelry, and some sundry monies that were there.

Some lessons learned today:

1. When seconds count, police are only minutes away. 
From the call (911) to the arrival, police took over 30 minutes to arrive. My father arrived (from across town) more quickly than did the police.


2. Really valuable stuff needs to be hidden in different spots. 
My paternal grandmother's wedding ring was among the jewelry taken. It was also, by far, the most expensive item - worth more than all the other things combined. Heirlooms and other special items of value should be put in a secret spot that is not immediately recognizable as a hiding spot.


3. Criminals fully understand the system.
These guys passed up three loaded guns. They know that selling a gun is more traceable, and that punishment for crimes involving guns are more harsh.

4. If seconds count, call my Pops.
Back in 1995, my truck caught on fire as I was driving. I first called 911 from a stranger's house (in front of which was my burning truck), and then called Pops - who was twice as far away as the fire station. Pops was there way before the fire and police men.
Later, my brother had a collision. He called the police first, then Pops. You guessed it, Pops arrived first. This scenario repeated itself a few years later, with the same result.
Now, today, my dad gets there before the police. Again, 911 was called first.
Remember, Pops can also hit center of mass on man-sized targets with a handgun at 100 yards.

5. Get homeowners / renters insurance. 
First thing my sister said was she was glad she'd taken my advice late last year by getting a renter's insurance policy that covered her wedding ring. Fortunately, all of the belongings (several thousand dollars' worth) were covered. The heirloom cannot be replaced, but otherwise, my sister will be made whole.


6. Seriously - get a gun and learn how to use it. 
Suppose my sister or her husband had been home when the burglars broke in? A couple of shots each from one of the loaded guns would have been enough to solve the problem. Both my sis and her hubby said they were glad to still have the arms.

A student with guts

In Louisiana, an atheist student complained and had the prayer taken out of his high school's graduation ceremony.

A student with some real guts, when given the responsibility to lead the crowd in a "moment of silence" spoke her mind, and counteracted the one student's wishes. Just so happens that the vast majority of the crowd agreed with her.

Link to article video.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Some interesting links

My daily reading provided two interesting links for the reading pleasure of my audience.

Link 1
Link 2

Both articles talk about the decline in marksmanship in the Army.

I like the way that the articles don't talk about gear as much as they do training. Right now, if you want to shoot well in the military, you'd better bring that knowledge with you, or sign up to be a Squad Designated Marksman (SDM). The basic troop doesn't get much.

That said, the USMC still teaches shooting to 500 yards, but by teaching the shooting with a sling, they are doing the Marines a disservice, as the sling is almost never used in combat. They should switch to teaching more like the Army teaches the SDM.

For those that want, anybody can buy from the CMP an instructional DVD on the training methods of a Squad Designated Marksman. When I bought my copy, it was about $7 plus shipping - the least expensive instructional video I've ever bought! While you're there at the CMP web store, pick up a couple more instructional DVD's - you can get 3 discs for about $21 plus shipping.

Most other instructional videos in other endeavors can run $50 - $200 or more for a set (usually 3-5 discs).

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Games 5-23-2011

We played the same team from two weeks ago. First game was close - 9-7. 2nd game, not so much: 12-1. We lost both.

I played the first game and sat the second as we had 14 players show. Coulda used one or two of them a week ago when we were forced to play a man short.

Strange stuff

This post just appeared, as though I had published it yesterday. Fact is, I published it over a month ago. I've checked my blog several times today, and it just popped up in the last hour or so.

Monday, May 23, 2011

And another funny one from the archives

After I posted this, I was reminded of another funny event that happened at the same time as this post.

One evening, the poor little girl from the second link above - the one that was wearing a curtain as a karate gi (uniform) - was still there after class was over and after I had changed back into regular clothes. No big deal as this night was one where I stayed late to clean up, and her mom had informed me of the situation in advance and had worked with me to make arrangements.

Also there was a young boy of about 9. He had just started in the class, too. His mother had been late picking him up every night. Tonight, she was VERY late. Classes ended at 7:00. I usually stayed to clean up once a month (and this was the night for that) until 8:00. She came strolling in at 8:55 (remember, class ended at 7:00 and she had not informed me she would be late).

By this time, the girl's mom had long since come and picked her up. She was wondering, too, about the little boy.

I advised the boy's mother that the YMCA's policy was that I was required to stay with the child until the parent or a legal guardian came to pick him up. The YMCA also dictated that if nobody was there to pick up a child after a regularly scheduled program, then there was a charge after 10 minutes of $15. The charge increased by $1 per minute after that.

Naturally the mom argued the point. Of course, I offered to let her speak to the General Manager if she didn't like my reciting the rule.

This mom wanted us to just leave her son there to his own devices while she was doing... whatever.

Somehow, when the management informed her that not only had I told her (the mom) the truth, but the fact that the YMCA was required to notify Child Protective Services and the Chattanooga Police Department if a child was left over an hour after a program without prior arrangements.

Then the mom told the management that I had made prior arrangements with her to stay "as late as need be" "without charges from the YMCA or from me (Usagi)" as often as she needed. The manager asked, then, why she was up there arguing about it in the first place. Especially since she had started the complaint by saying I had not let her just leave her kid there unattended.

That boy would be about 25 now. I do hope he's still alive.

Mixed feelings

At my range trip this past weekend, I got my new ACOG sighted in.
I found out that some of the ammo I have is really accurate.
I also found out that in my rifle, the M193 clone ammo, M855 clone ammo, and the match grade 75-grain ammo all shoot to within an inch of each other at 100 yards. Not enough for me to want to make a sight adjustment.

Also observed at the range: a fellow shooter had a Marlin 60 and had mounted a scope on it. He was keeping all of his shots to within 8 inches at 25 yards from a rested position. He asked at one point if it looked to me if he was "dialed in" with the scope. Eight-inch groups at 25-yards from a rest is horrible shooting. Especially since I'm familiar with his gun and ammo setup.

So I offered to sight it in for him.

He said he wasn't sure - didn't know if I could shoot well or not.

I told him I could shoot a similar group at 100 yards, standing, with my AR15. On a rest, with my gun, and at 25-yards, there would simply be one ragged hole less than an inch across.

He asked me to prove it, so I did. I shot an 8-inch group standing at 100 yards. Of the 20 rounds, two hit the edge of the target low. All the others were peppered evenly throughout the target (on the left side as we had a stiff cross wind).

He let me fire his rifle.

Ten rounds later, I fired a string of ten into a single ragged hole (all in the middle) at 25 yards on his setup. He thanked me and continued shooting.

He shot no different than he had when he was not sighted in. All shots were within an 8-inch circle at 25 yards.

I showed him how to make those 8 inch groups into 2 inch groups. 

Perhaps he will get some training one day... I hope. I offered him more, and my phone number.


If you go to the range with me, within a couple of hours, you will be shooting much better than this. Regardless of your current skill level, or lack thereof.

Follow Up range report

Previously, I had mentioned a test I planned to conduct regarding a heavy weight (match grade) ammo in my AR15 with a 1:9 twist barrel.

"Conventional" wisdom states that a heavy bullet (over 70 grains in weight) will not be sufficiently stabilized in a 1:9 twist barrel. Most shooters go to a 1:8 or 1:7 twist barrel to stabilize the 70 grain+ bullets.An under-stabilized heavy bullet will keyhole (strike the target sideways) - often by 100 yards.

A while back, I did some research on the topic, and found that in every instance of confirmed keyhole activity, the gun was an M4 type barrel (14.5 inches long with a 1.5 inch flash hider to make it "legal") in conjunction with 70+ grain ammo.

Also, I discovered that people with bolt-action .223's often shot 70+ grain ammo - and their rifles often only had a 1:10 twist. Also, their barrels were frequently 22-24 inches in length. They also got superb accuracy from the setups with the heavy bullets.

So would the 20 inch barrel with a 1:9 twist stabilize a 75-grain bullet? I used Privi-Partizan (a.k.a. "PPU") match grade 75-grain bullets. I discovered several things:
  • 75-grain "PPU" ammo definitely does stabilize in my rifle. No keyholes at 100 yards.
  • 75-gr ammo shoots sub MOA in my rifle. 10 shots all inside the 1 inch circle. 
  • Point of impact was almost identical to the 62-gr ammo I had sighted in with. 
  • I think this rifle and ammo combo would serve well in competition.
  • Sighting in ACOGs is an easy task.
  • If ACOG's were allowed in competition, I'd use one.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Funny from the job today

So, a coworker wrote this in an email today about a client:

"We suspect this client is going south and not for the winter."

Wow - just wow.

A Federal judge has said there is no constitutional right to carry concealed weapons.


Link to story.

Seems in all those years of law school, and whatever else he calls "training," he managed to not learn how to read. Let me demonstrate (from Wikipedia):
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

 Anyone else find it ironic that this clown's name is "England?"

Another good guy wins

An enraged man entered a restaurant and shot and killed his girlfriend - a waitress at the restaurant.

Link to story.

Another link.

The man was shot by a restaurant patron, who was legally concealed-carrying a pistol. The criminal then went outside and fatally shot himself in the head, ending the fight.

The local Sheriff will not be pressing charges against the patron, who acted in self defense. That patron was shot in the abdomen, but has been treated and is expected to make a full recovery.


Lessons learned:
  • I guess guns in restaurants that serve alcohol does work! Landry's restaurant (map) is a chain that serves alcohol. Here's their menu - offering mai tai's. Obviously, the good guy wasn't drinking and carrying.
  • Bad guys don't care about restraining orders.
  • Bad guys who are not allowed to carry guns (like when they have restraining orders against them) still carry guns. Criminals in general do not obey laws (hence the reason they are criminals).
  • Anything worth shooting once is worth shooting twice. Every person shot in this instance survived the first shot. 
  • Bullet placement is key. The Bad Guy shot the good guy in the abdomen, and it didn't kill him. He had to shoot his girlfriend multiple times to kill her. However, he killed himself very efficiently with a single shot to the head. Gruesome, I know - but true.

A Test

My AR15 is almost completely modified to my tastes.

It wears a 20" heavy barrel.
It has a Trijicon ACOG - model TA31F scope (John 8:12)
It wears a collapsible stock.
All that remains is a free-floated quad rail. That's next on the list.

As it stands, it is an exceptionally accurate shooter. I plan to sight in the newly acquired ACOG. While at the range, I want to try some match ammo out of it.

Here's where it gets interesting. The rifle has a 1:9 twist rate - considered by many to be too "slow" for heavy bullets (like the match grade ammo I have). But the problem with that line of thinking is based on 14.5 inch barrels - not 20" barrels. I can find evidence from people online that the longer barrel will shoot the heavy stuff just fine, despite the 1:9 twist.

So I will put that to the test when I hit the range. I will shoot all 20 rounds of the Privi-Partizan match ammo. It is 75 grain ammo. Some say that they would expect the rounds to fly off course, keyhole and strike the target sideways. I want to see if it will happen!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Movie review: The Karate Kid (2010)

Recently, we joined Netflix. Local video stores are a thing of the past - there are none at all in our city, or on this side of Nashville. Netflix has a lot of movies available for download, and many more can be delivered to your door.

I watched the download of the Karate Kid (2010). Being a big fan of the original movie from 1984, I was skeptical. That said, to be completely fair, this movie was quite entertaining.

It was neat watching the differences, yet seeing the similarities. One thing I liked is that this movie had a lot less foul language than the original.

Being a martial artist for over 25 years, I must point out that this movie would have been better titled: The Kung Fu Kid. Karate was virtually non-existent in the movie (save a brief appearance).

It was interesting to see how they made the love interest, especially seeing as these kids were 12 years old. Perhaps a bit overdone, but not inappropriate.

Also interesting was to see how Mr. Han (who took the place of Mr. Miyagi) handled a fight against the 12-year-old thugs. Never once did he strike the children - instead, he let them beat each other up with missed blows and kicks. This was important.

Gone was the "crane kick." Its replacement is... interesting.

Understand, all the martial arts seen in this movie are for the silver screen or competition only. There was no real-life effective stuff shown. But that's not the point. The point is something that must be elaborated on:

The Points of the Karate Kid:
1. Martial arts are a good way to learn discipline, respect, and generally how to be well-behaved.
2. Exercise is good.
3. Never judge a book (or instructor) by its cover.
4. Determination is something that cannot be taught, but it is something that can be learned.

Games 5-16-2011

Last night we played one of the other perennial powers in the league. As expected, we did not win either game. Unexpectedly, we kept it comparatively close and were not "run-ruled"  in either game.

We played with only nine men (typical is ten in the field). This created an unusual situation. The opposing team was hitting the ball hard to the outfield. With only three outfielders, we were giving up more bases than usual. So, in the second game, the coach had us use four outfielders and only three infielders.

The game plan was to have one man be the shortstop, or second-baseman, depending on whether the batter was right-handed or left-handed. It worked, because the score was much closer and we only "got burned" once by an opposite field ground ball.

I tagged two men out at home, and threw another out at first base. There were also three unsuccessful attempts to throw men out at home. I was responsible for one, not fielding a ball cleanly. Two other throws were well off the mark, and missed me by several yards. This was a lot of activity for a catcher.

My bat is decent this year - I am hitting over .500. However, I'm not driving the ball like I used to. Might have to work on that at the batting cages.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Let's eliminate some candidates.

People keep asking me who is best for the Republican nomination for President.

Trump has said he is out. Good thing, too. He's a liberal with *meh* ideas on how to financially run the country.
Pass

Newt Gingrich is in. But he likes Obamacare. Seriously, he's an establishment (read: liberal) Republican, with no true conservative values at his core.
Pass.

Mitt Romney signed into law a Massachusetts version of Obamacare in 2006. No true conservative values.
Pass.

Huckabee is out. He said so this weekend. Good thing, too, because at his core, he's a tax-and-spend democrat.
Pass.

Ron Paul is in. The pros are that he really gets it. He's likely the smartest man in Washington (only exception might be his son, Rand). He would do a good job. Cons: I don't see folks "in the middle" voting for him.
Pass (with potential to change that)

Mitch Daniels might run. And he might be a good candidate. What frightens me is that in his first term, he raised taxes to balance the budget (and it didn't work). What makes me OK with this to an extent, is that he realized it didn't work, so they then lowered tax rates, and slashed expenses.
Possible. 

Herman Cain. He has not officially announced - but he'd have my full support.
Definite.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Goal Setting

People in sales know all about goal-setting, and its importance.

Recently, I stumbles across this thread, in which I posted a response to the question: "What's on your 2010 wish list?" The thread was from January, 2010.

My response:
"In order of my personal preference... But I guarantee I won't get them in this order:

1. M1 Garand Rifle
2. 20" barrel / upper for my AR15.
3. Attain that Rifleman patch officially.
4. Get my 10/22 to where it will actually shoot.
5. Republicans gain control or pull even in either the House or the Senate.

If it has to be only one... I am stuck between #1 and #2... leaning toward #2."

Let's see how I dd on those goals:
1. M1 Garand Rifle - got this in September of 2010.
2. 20" barrel for the AR - got this in December of 2010. Had it put on in January of 2011.
3. Attain that Rifleman patch officially - did this in May, on the first AQT of the day.
4. Get my 0/22 to where it will actually shoot - did this in April.
5. Republicans gain control or pull even in the House or Senate - I didn't do this, of course, but it still happened.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Some people

Did you ever when there is a group of people together in a learning environment, there is always one big-mouth who hogs the attention of the instructor. This is done at the cost of moving forward with the material presented. They think they are God's gift to everyone and that he has a perfect right to motor mouth on and quote "facts" and act as if he knows more than the instructor, professor, seminar leader, etc.

But notice: you won't hear them in gatherings like that in boot camp or other military groups because they have to keep their mouths shut. But you will most certainly hear them waxing on and on in the barracks afterward.

This person is clearly saying: "Please look at me!" They want you to pay attention to them more than anything in life. People like this are extremely insecure and have neuroses or feelings they cannot handle in a normal fashion.

They do not feel that they speak too much - instead they feel they speak too little: they have so much to offer to everyone. Little do they realize that they speak so much that they prevent other useful input from other members of the group.  They do not feel good about themselves so they try to take from others to feel better about themselves. They do not know a functional way of feeling better about themselves so they use dysfunctional methods.

They realize that people will give them attention and feed into their manipulations if they take an organization, a person, or whatever and start picking at it, criticizing, accusing it of being (take your choice) dishonest, manipulative, a scam, etc, etc. Then these people get all kinds of attention under the guise of being honest critics. They are simply insecure people who use manipulation to feel good about themselves.

-----

I'm talking of course of a martial arts instructor I met some years ago at a seminar. Though in all fairness, this observation is true of more than one person I've met over the years, and in more than just the martial arts.  Some people do it in the shooting world. Some do it in church. Some do it in sports. The list goes on.

Often, people like this are bullies. Some have specific motives, while others have no clear motivation other than their own dysfunctional personalities or minds.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

My kind of Quote

Link to Right Minded. Excellent Quote.

Games 5-9-2011

Last night we played one of the perennial powerhouses in our league. As expected, we did not win either game. No unusual things happened.


However, there is some fun and some notes worthy of mention in my son's little league games of late.

Saturday, he was playing center field. A ball was hit out there. My son played it perfectly off the fence, and rifled the ball back to second base - getting an assist as the base runner tried to stretch the single into a double.
To be fair - most 6-year-old plays do not go as this one did, so it was a smart move on the part of the opposing coach to send the runner.

Last night, my son had two assists on put-outs at first base, and he tagged another boy out. In the last two games, he has gone 4-6 at the plate, and so he was awarded the game ball again (3rd time this year) last night.

To top it off, the coach's wife asked my wife to sign my son up for the summer (All-Star) league. What an honor!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Friday, 5-7-11 Softball

Last night, we played the make-up games from Monday's rain-out.

Really, the only remarkable thing about the games is the fact that we played our church's other team.

We won both, despite my worst offensive production of the year (3-6 at the plate).

Standardized Tests

Recently, I got an email from a reader:

"Hey, Usagi,
You've mentioned you have done well on the Wonderlic Test. I'm impressed. Just curious: have you taken any other standardized tests? And how did you do?
- RecoveringRedHat"

Thanks for the question. To date, I have taken many, many standardized tests. Most were when I was in school. A few have been since then. Here is a summary of the most common ones:


Tennessee P&C License (2009) - 99%
Only 1 question missed (70% required for passing score)

Wonderlic (2006) - 46
I have scored a perfect 50, but the 46 was my first score.

MCAT (1998) - 41 composite
(45-point scale)

GRE (1998) - 760 (Verbal) / 780 (Quantitative) / 790 (Analytical)
(Each was on an 800-point scale)
This GRE was administered by my school - UTC, and was not a part of a national GRE exam. Still, the results were comparable to "actual" exams.

ACT (1991) - 26 composite
(36-point scale)
I was 15 when I took this ACT, and it was good enough for full academic scholarship; therefore, I did not take it again my junior nor my senior year.


.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Quote of the day - 5.5.2011

Just saw this one:

"If the 1st amendment were as gutted as the 2nd, we'd only be allowed vowels by now."



Sad, but true. 

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

A quick reminder

Some people's responses to how OBL was brought to justice have reminded me to remind you all of wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs.

Here's a link to the summary.

Sheep:
"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident. ... There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial."

Wolves:
"Then there are the wolves who feed on the sheep without mercy. Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it."

Sheepdogs:
"Then there are sheepdogs ... I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf. ... But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the unsheltered path."

Society on Sheepdogs:
"The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep."

And a great quote on the warriors - the "sheepdogs:"
"Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back."

— Heraclitus

A quick thought

I've noticed some folks on Facebook who were horrified by the news that OBL is dead. Others still were rejoicing. Some showed the bittersweet feeling of relief.

My Christian side prevents me from rejoicing at the death of an unbeliever. Also, some of the partying that was done (much like other countries do) was un-American in my view. I think their intentions were good, but that their actions were less than honorable.

Another matter of fact is that the world is better off without OBL's scum and tyranny - and I appreciate that fact very much. The way the folks in New York gathered together in a completely civil manner to reflect on their own dead and the sacrifices made by so many others, was a classy way to do it.

Some might ask how I justify one in the light of the other?

Simple -
First we must recognize the efforts of those who brought OBL to justice.

Second we must not give more time and attention to OBL - hence the reason I will not spell out his name. His time is over.

Third we must never forget.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Could it be, Part 2

Former President - George W. Bush's statement on the death of Osama Bin Laden:


"Earlier this evening, President Obama called to inform me that American forces killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda network that attacked America on September 11, 2001.  I congratulated him and the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission.  They have our everlasting gratitude.  This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001.  The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message:  No matter how long it takes, justice will be done."

Could it be?

Just moments ago, there was an announcement that the President would be making an announcement at 9:30.

I have several sources telling me that the announcement is that Osama Bin Laden is now dead - killed by an air strike. We are supposed to be in possession of his body and have DNA proof.


This is good news!

The only way it could have been better is if he met his end via M16's carried by a Marine squad.  Then we could give another Medal of Honor to a living serviceman.


Post-edit:
Now the reports are saying that OBL was killed in a ground raid, and it was a week ago or more.