Sunday, September 30, 2012

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Friday, September 28, 2012

Speak in English when you're talkin to me!

In the mid 1990's, I taught karate at the North River YMCA in Hixson, TN. At one point, I had a very interesting conversation with one of the students (sorry - I have long since forgotten his name). He was a smart kid - about 11 or 12 years old.

We were talking before class one night, and he mentioned something he saw on TV:

Student: "Yeah. I saw it on Boiwerhfosdfkjsdbakflbjalkasdnklf."

Me: "You saw it on what?"

Student: "Billerhfosdfkjsdbakflbjalkasdnklf."


Me: "I'm sorry, didn't come through on the universal translator."

Student: (emphatically) "BillNyesdfkjsdbakflbjalkasdnklf."

Me: (to his sister) "Do you know what he's trying to say?"

Sister: "Nope."

Class begins a bit later. Then ends. The student speaks to his mom when she picks them up. She comes over to me to translate...

Student's Mom: "I think what [junior] was trying to say was Bill Nye the Science Guy."

Me: "Oh. Who is that?"


-----

Of course, I learned who Bill Nye was shortly thereafter.
Now, I know exactly who he is.


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Not a bit of difference

Some people keep writing me, asking why I'm so hard on Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Simple - he is NOT conservative, and never has been!

Romney is on record - verbally, as well as voting record - as espousing the same socialist agenda that President Obama has been pushing since taking office.

Really: they have the same stance on:
- Abortion
- Gun control
- TARP
- Socialized healthcare
- Tax increases
- Stimulus package
- Amnesty for illegal aliens
- Time tables for withdrawal in war


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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Double standard

Mitt Romney is perfectly fine with his Secret Service bodyguards having guns (even if they lose them on a plane from time to time), he just doesn't want YOU to have guns!


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Evil things

I was looking at a liberal blog recently, and they scoffed at the fact that my wife owns a pink AR15. One of them said : "Please just go away. Forever."

Sounded to me like "Please just die."

No telling how frightened they were of a conservative woman and her scary "assault weapon." And after all, it is all those evil features that make it even scarier.

So I figured I'd count up the evil features her gun has:
- Bayonet lug. (We have no bayonet, but I've gotta have this because it makes liberals wet their pants)
- Telescoping stock.
- Pistol grip.
- 30-round magazines ("high-capacity").
- Flash suppressor.
- Muzzle device enabling the attachment of a muzzle grenade.


Pants are being wet as we speak.

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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Gotta try it

When it comes to trying new food, I find myself constantly reminding my children that they cannot honestly say they do not like it unless they try it first.

This past weekend, my son discovered (or rediscovered) he likes baklava.

I found out I like bun-free hamburgers.

Oh, and I already knew this, but anything cooked over an open flame trumps prepackaged food.


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Questions, questions

So who has to twist words more to prove their point - liberals or Calvinists?

Is there a difference?


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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Flip-Flop 2012

Let's look at the latest, greatest flip-flopper, Mitt Romney:

Abortion:
He was for abortion before he was against it.
"I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose." - Mitt Romney 2002
"I am a pro-life individual. I was a pro-life governor." - Mitt Romney 2012


Guns:
He was for gun control before he was for gun liberty.
"We do have tough gun control laws in Massachusetts. I support them..." - Mitt Romney 2002
"I have been pro-gun and continue to be pro-gun." - Mitt Romney 2012


Tax increases:
He was for tax hikes for Socialized Health Care before he was against tax hikes.
"It is not a tax hike. It is a fee, an assessment..." - Mitt Romney 2006
"Ours didn't raise taxes." - Mitt Romney 2012


Individual Mandate:
He was for an individual mandate before he was against it


Repeal of Obamacare:
Mitt has said he will repeal it... and he has said he will reform it. There is a big difference in repeal and reform!!!
"I will act to repeal Obamacare." - Mitt Romney 2012
"I never said I'd repeal Obamacare, I said I will replace Obamacare." - Mitt Romney 2012

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Natural selection at work


A man jumped into a tiger pen. Look at the surprise on my face when I report that he was mauled. (sarcasm off)


Again, predators will be predators. Idiots will be idiots.


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Monday, September 24, 2012

Lego Bible

Seriously - it is called the Brick Testament.

This is cool looking.


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Teh crazy

An actress recently lost her agent, publicist, and lawyer all at the same time. These types of people are used to dealing with crazy stars but they all three escaped at the same time???

Wow. How crazy must she be acting?
(either that, or the checks stopped clearing)


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Well isn't that special...

Recently, I was forced to switch banks. My old bank was allowing criminals to make fraudulent charges on my wife's old (supposedly cancelled) check card number.

When I demanded they deactivate the card number, the bank said they had done so, and said the criminals were "forced-placing" the charges onto the cards.

I knew this was not true for two reasons:
1. Authorizations were appearing first. When charges are force-placed, there is no authorization granted.
2. If the card was deactivated, no further charges can be placed.

Well, came to find out at the end of last week that yes, indeed, the bank (Bancorp South) had misplaced our card number along with a few hundred others. These cards had been destined to be deactivated, but that never happened.

Listen to people, folks. Learn.




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Friday, September 21, 2012

On rich people

I'm talking really rich people - not just the folks the Democrats call rich who are eeking out an upper-middle-class salary and living in the burbs. No, it's Forbes list of the top 10 richest Americans. Some interesting facts about this list:

- 4 of the top 10 are Walton family members (Wal Mart). 2 more have the family name Koch.

- If you confiscated the entire wealth of the top 400, you'd have enough money to balance the Federal budget this year and this year only.

- One way to get on the list: be Steve Jobs' widow.

- Another way to get on the list: Increase your wealth (2/3 of the top 400 did that in the past year).

- Bloomberg (mayor of NYC) is on the list.

- Newcomers earned their way on the list by providing great goods and services: Panda Express, Under Armour, 5-Hour Energy, and Twitter are the companies owned by some of the newcomers.

- None of the top 10 look severely overweight. Work ethic must abound in all aspects of their life (though some might argue that with the Waltons).


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Stupid is as stupid does

Seems as former NFL player Vince Young is now broke. A man who earned more than most will ever see has spent it all.

And he is not even playing in the NFL anymore.

Makes me think that the real score on his Wonderlic test was that 6 that he first got, and not the 16 that was later claimed.


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Thursday, September 20, 2012

And the difference is?

A few days ago, it leaked that (R) presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, indicated that nearly half of voters would not vote for him because they are dependent on the government and do not pay taxes.

The obvious contrast is that Obama's big-government policies attract that sort of voter (which is true) while Romney's stated positions might favor more tax breaks for middle and higher income voters.

Problem is, at his core, Romney is every bit a big-government man. The only difference is that he will have different companies benefit from free tax dollars than did Obama.


Gary Johnson 2012

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Calling the grass green

S. E. Cupp stated recently that the GOP is not doomed if Obama wins this year.

The article draws comparison to 1996 - when Clinton was reelected. At that time, the Republican party was forced to change. It became more conservative and enjoyed a super-majority until 2006. By '06, the party had leaned back to the left quite a bit.

We still aren't out of the woods on the leftist crap in the GOP. Don't believe me? Who is the (R) nominee for President???


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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

How to shut off a credit card

Don't ask Bancorp South.

I used to have a bank account with them, as well as a credit card I used for business trips. That changed recently.

It started out when some bunghole in California guessed my wife's old check card number. This card (as well as one in my name) at the time were supposedly shut off in January of 2011 by the bank. Bancorp South issued us newer, more improved cards with new features, and these old cards were rendered useless...

...or so we thought...

The thieves ran up a bunch of fraudulent charges. We contacted the bank, and the funds were restored. Then more fraudulent charges, even though we ordered the bank to completely shut off the card (since they obviously hadn't done that to begin with). The bank restored those.

Then, this past weekend, we had another $1100 of bogus charges applied. The bank kept on making excuses as to how these thieves were making charges apply to a card that was shut down, but none of the excuses match with what other banks or credit card companies say. In the end, the bank said that these thieves kept running the card over and over until they forced the charges onto the card.

What exactly was the point of "closing" the card then???

So, since the bank knows how to close a card, but evidently does not know how to keep the card closed... I am forced to switch banks. New bank seems to be perfectly OK.

Kinda reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where he tries to rent a car, and the car rental company ran out of cars. They knew how to make the reservation, just not how to keep the reservation.


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Observations on flag football

So my son is in a flag football league this fall. He loves every minute of it. I have watched a number of games, and made the following observations for age 8 and under flag football:

Running game
Ages 8 and under are best served by the running game. Thus far this season, I've only seen two running plays that were ineffective (net gain of 0 yards or worse). Every touchdown I've seen was scored on a running play.

Passing game
Kids aged 8 and under lack the strength, accuracy, and route running ability to make plays in the passing game. Thus far, I've seen exactly four passes caught. One of those was for an extra-point conversion. None for touchdowns. I've seen plenty of interceptions, though.

Kicking game
This league does not kick the ball.

Odd & Ends
Each team gets to start at the "20-yard line." They get 4 downs to make it to midfield. If they make it to midfield, then they get 4 more downs to score.

There are no timeouts.

20-minute halves.

The "20-yard line" is really the goal line for the other team. However, a fumble there is not a safety. Only a play that goes out of the back of the endzone would be a safety.

No blocking with the hands.

No tackling.

QB cannot run with the ball.

5 - on - 5

All players are eligible receivers.

To rush the QB (blitz), the defender must be at least 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Any defender may go after a ball-carrier at any time.

A "tackle" is registered when the flag-belt is pulled from the waist of the ball-carrier.

Ball carriers may "swat" away the hands of defenders trying to capture their flags.

North-and-south running trumps lateral running (big surprise, huh?)


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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

From a wise man

The problem with interpreting the Bible is the interpretation. The Bible was written to be read, not read into.

Interpretations are, therefore, man's ideas with a pitiful attempt to back it up with scriptures.


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Why not Romney, part 87

An interview with Romney on guns.

The man even tried to make it seem positive about his signing into law a ban in Massachusetts.

I just hear a politician telling someone what he thinks the voter wants to hear. Sounds just like what Obama was doing back in 2008.

FBHO
FWMR


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Monday, September 17, 2012

Differences

A student of mine made a special request for a blog post on the differences in Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. That is the topic of this post.


Japanese
Japanese Jiu-Jitsu (JJJ) has many styles and no single point of origin. It basically was refined through centuries of war. What worked on the battlefield was taught to the next generation. Eventually, it evolved into a standing system of self defense techniques designed to be used against an armed and armored opponent. Think Samurai of the late 19th Century.

Of course, this is a broad generalization, and there were certainly styles of JJJ that specialized in other techniques or methodologies. Indeed, Jigoro Kano, founder of Judo, was a master of two schools of JJJ: the Kito-Ryu and the Tenjin Shinyo-Ryu. Later, Judo incorporated a lot from the Fusen Ryu (mostly groundwork), but these systems were the primary emphasis among all the styles of Jiu-Jitsu.

To be sure, the old-fashioned methods used against armored samurai have survived. These styles have limited practical application, but look really neat and have a certain appeal to those who do not like competition. Broadly speaking, these fall under what is now known as Aiki-Ju-Jitsu. A modern offshoot of this is Aikido.

The majority of techniques used in these systems are standing wrist locks and arm locks. These are only really useful against a man wearing armor - slow, but incredibly strong and invulnerable to strikes and ordinary takedown attempts. 

Most JJJ systems do not have a free sparring element. They train with a predetermined attack which is singular in design, and the defender practices the defensive movements. Sometimes there are a couple of steps involved in the attack, but it is NOT active resistance. Some styles have what is called free practice (they may even call it free sparring): where the attacker may use any attack, not just a predetermined one. Still, since there is no active resistance, it is not actual sparring. 

JJJ rules (which are not sportive in application), therefore, favor the defense against an armored samurai.

There are a few JJJ schools (not styles) which practice more like Judo or BJJ, but these are the exceptions, and their respective rules are more similar to the sportive arts.


Judo
Now an Olympic sport, Judo is the most widely practiced martial art in the world. The majority of the techniques used in Judo today reflect the rules of the sport. There are old kata that preserve the self defense aspect, but these are about all that remains of the combat part.

Still, since practice is largely done against live opposition... and most frequently with varying degrees of resistance, practical application of the techniques is very high. The movements are refined by the student to actually work.

Still, the moves must be modified for straight up self defense, nevertheless, they more closely resemble practical than do the JJJ techniques. This is because of the active resistance one experiences in sparring practice. Both parties are trying to "win."

Judo rules favor throws from standing. There is minimal groundwork. 


Brazilian
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ)is an offshoot of Judo. Maeda took Judo to Brazil and taught it to the Gracie family. The Gracies used techniques to learn to beat other people in 1-on-1 competition with limited rule sets. What developed was two distinct offshoots: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (GJJ), which has a self-defense focus; and BJJ, which has a sporting purpose.

GJJ as taught today uses grappling and jiu-jitsu techniques and principles with a focus on likely situations for modern self defense. GJJ modifies techniques from BJJ for use against an attacker who might also be trying to punch and / or kick. Still, this style emphasizes sparring against active resistance, so it is clearly beneficial for self defense purposes, even if the techniques are different than the purely sportive ones.

BJJ is strictly sportive in purpose. It is a type of gi-clad wrestling where the old Judo groundwork movements (largely incorporated from the Fusen Ryu) have been refined into an attack and defense system. The rule set for BJJ also affects how and why certain techniques are used. Sparring is done, and there is, therefore, active resistance in the fact that both competitors are trying to win.

BJJ rules favor groundwork, and that is, therefore the specialty: holds, escapes, and finishes from the ground. 


Summary
As we can see, rule sets will dictate techniques and methodologies. However, for an emphasis on safety (which is REQUIRED to continue practice in a martial art), certain rules will be required. The question is what rules, and why. The question is also: is there active resistance sparring (both parties trying to win)?



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On resignations

From the Examiner:


There comes a point in almost every job when it is time to resign. The reasons vary, but usually can be lumped into one of a few broad categories: new job, unbearable working conditions, moving, and family/health circumstances. Here are some thoughts to keep in mind as you leave a company:

Notice
Traditionally, the mindset given by employers is that they want two-weeks of notice. Some employers will withhold benefits or PTO (Paid Time Off) payouts if a full two weeks notice is not given. In some states, payout is required regardless of length of notice.

Some companies will walk an employee out the door within moments of a given notice. Usually, these are companies that handle sensitive client data. Usually, the employee is given opportunity to gather all personal belongings - either at that time, or at a later agreed-upon time.

An employee needs to keep in mind how the company handles resignations when planning to hand in a notice. For example, if finances are tight, and that necessitates transitioning to a new job immediately after leaving a present employer, an employee will want to consider things like whether the current employer will immediately want to escort you out the door. It would be advantageous to give notice on the day you intend to discontinue work for the present employer as opposed to some time in the future. If PTO is paid out, it could seem like getting paid for two jobs at once, and that can certainly help a tight budget.

Burning Bridges
There are also circumstances when an employee needs to leave a job without two weeks of notice. Dangerous or hostile working conditions come to mind as an example. In this or a similar situation, it is important to remember not to burn bridges while leaving. One never knows when one will need those bridges anymore.

A common objection to avoiding bridge-burning might sound like this: "but I will NEVER work for Smith again!"

That's fine. However, Smith might get a job at a future employer of yours. Smith may or may not be in a position of subordination, leadership, or may simply be a peer in some capacity. It is not uncommon for a person like that to have been a supervisor in a previous position, and then be forced to take a job lower on the totem pole later because of inability to handle supervisory responsibilities. Be kind to people like Smith, who had to take a reduction in role: they are often outstanding workers at the lower level.

Alternately, that unbearable person might hold a position at a vendor or client in the future, and it would be inadvisable to sever those ties simply because "Smith" couldn't handle a supervisory position.

Work Ethic
Finally, if you turn in a notice, and still work for two weeks (or two months, or two hours, or whatever), make sure to give a full effort for your remaining time. Again, you may have opportunity to work with the same people in the future in one capacity or another, and leaving a positive taste in their mouth will be crucial.

Alternately, if there are coworkers whom you never plan to work with again, nothing shows more class than to demonstrate how you give 100% even in the "toughest" of situations.


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Guns used in self defense

Here is a really interesting blog post about guns used in self defense.

Some of my favorite quotes:
The majority of incidents (52%) took place in the home. Next most common locale (32%) was in a business. Incidents took place in public places in 9% of reports and 7% occurred in or around vehicles. The most common initial crimes were armed robbery (32%), home invasion (30%), and burglary (18%).
So home, work, or around your car will account for over 90% of the places you are likely to be attacked. Robbery, home invasion, or burglary will account for 80% of the attempted crimes.


Reloading was required in only 3 incidents. One of those involved killing an escaped lion with a .32 caliber revolver, which was eventually successful after 13 shots.
Hahahahahahahahahaha!



The most common responses of criminals upon being shot were to flee immediately or expire. With few exceptions, criminals ceased their advances immediately upon being shot.
More of them need to "expire."


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Saturday, September 15, 2012

Calvinist Corner - September 2012

Calvinism is not Biblical Doctrine. It's a human philosophy that appeals to proud-minded individuals.


Calvin himself was not even a 5-point Calvinist, according to a number of sources. Most theological seminaries teach that he was, at most, a 3.5-point Calvinist. Google it and see for yourself.



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Pretty much


Friday, September 14, 2012

Defender's Creed






Saw this on Facebook, had to post.



The Defender's Creed:


I accept and understand that human predators exist. Criminal or terrorist, they take advantage of our civilized society to prey upon the weak. They represent evil and must be confronted and defeated.
I believe that self-defense is a moral imperative, and that illegitimate force and illegal violence... must be met with righteous indignation and superior violence.
I will not rely on others for the security of myself, my family and my community.
I proudly proclaim that I run with a like-minded pack. I do not amble through life with the mind-numbed herd.
I will train with my chosen weapons, maintain them and carry them in a condition of readiness at all times.
I will be mentally prepared and physically equipped to effectively respond to an attack or emergency.
I will constantly test myself against realistic standards to discover my strengths and weaknesses. I will turn weakness into strength.
I will seek to learn new skills and techniques, and then teach what I have learned to other members of the pack.
Be it with firearm or blade, empty hand or blunt object, I will hit my enemies hard, fast and true.
I will live a quiet and unobtrusive life, but I will develop and retain the capacity for swift and decisive violence.
I recognize that I am the modern equivalent of the traditional Minuteman, and that I may be called to service at any time against heavily armed enemies. I will respond effectively.
I accept that I am a pariah among some of my countrymen, and a quaint anachronism to others. I will not hold their ignorance against them.
I will win, or die trying.
I swear this creed before God, my family and my fellow citizens.


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Paying it forward

Back in 2007, my brother was laid off from his job. His income that year was in the mid-$30k range. He asked me for help getting a job. I offered some help: not only in job hunting strategies, but in salesmanship in general.

Last year (2011), he earned over 4 times the amount of income he'd made in 2007.

OK, good for him, you say (but you don't really mean it).
Well, how about these apples:
He helped 7 people in 2010 and 2011 make job moves that increased their respective incomes 25% or more.


Yes, I had asked him to help others when I gave him the help.


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Thursday, September 13, 2012

Religion of "peace"

The embassy in Yemen was stormed yesterday and our ambassador killed. All this by people who were mad at a film about Islam.

Couple of points, here, folks:

1. When the media depicts false, belittling, or otherwise unkind portrayals of Christianity, you never see this kind of response.

2. Islam is not a religion. It is a system of hate, with a few pretenses of having some sort of "god" so that they can hide behind claimed "faith."


BTW - Islam is not the religion of peace... 
Islam is the religion of piece. 
As in, all that is left are pieces after they blow you up!


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Gun magazine... 'twill be no more

Recoil magazine made a boo-boo. They published an article which contained, in part, the following:
Like [sic] we mentioned before, the MP7A1 is unavailable to civilians and for good reason. We all know that’s technology no civvies should ever get to lay their hands on. This is a purpose-built weapon with no sporting applications to speak of.

Guys, I hate to tell you this, but the words "sporting application" do not appear in the Second Amendment. The whole purpose of the 2A was to make sure that "civvies" have full access to the best arms and the same stuff that the ".mil" has.


One more closet leftist mag I won't be buying. I encourage you do not, either.


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When is the revolt?

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney has admitted that he does not plan to repeal all parts of Obamacare. The parts he plans to repeal, he plans to replace. Tell me how this is better???

How long until he comes out of the closet and admits that he plans to ban guns, keep abortion, and otherwise show his leftist, statist roots???

By the way - I predicted as much when I made this meme.
And here. 


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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Zombie Gun review

So when the Zombie Apocalypse starts, what kind of weaponry should you bring?
Pistols are fine, but they are seriously underpowered.
Blades are good, but they need sharpening and they are best used up close. Too close for comfort.

You should have a pistol and a blade - one of each, at least - as backup.

Ideally, though, one would have a long gun as a primary weapon. Indeed, rule #6 applies here. A long gun is immensely more powerful than a pistol. But does it really matter which you choose? Let's talk about that.

Choice #1 - 12-gauge shotgun. 
They come in many varieties, and really pack a punch.

For the record, I cannot in good faith recommend any shotgun other than a 12 or 20 gauge:
- The 10-gauge and 16-gauge are fine with respect to power, but ammo is not commonly found.
- The 28-gauge and .410 are underpowered, and suffer from lack of available ammo.

A self defense shotgun needs to be pump action or semi-automatic. Remove any tube inserts which limit the number of shells that can be loaded.

Shells should be limited to buckshot or slugs.

Choice #2 - AR15 rifle/carbine.
They come in many configurations, and are highly customizable.

Caliber is not as important as with shotguns, as the most common AR calibers: .223, 7.62x39, 6.8, and .308 are all powerful enough. Only 6.8 suffers from low ammo availability.

Almost any commercially available ammo would be sufficient for most applications.


Which is superior?

Lets look at common and comparable attributes:

Power
Up close (under 25 yards) - advantage shotgun.
But the advantage is marginal:
The AR platform, even in .223, is plenty powerful.
Additionally, the AR will catch up in power beyond 25 yards.
Beyond 100 yards, the shotgun will be nearly useless, and the AR is just starting to stretch its legs.

Range
Regardless of which way you cut it, the AR will dominate this category.
The shotgun, loaded with buckshot, will have a maximum effective range of about 25-35 yards.
With slugs, that might be stretched to 75-100 yards for a good shooter, and maybe to 150 yards for a superb setup and superior shooter.
The AR15 in .223 is lethal too 60 yards with boring consistency in the hands of a competent marksman.
The AR15 in the hands of an average shooter can easily stretch to 300 yards.

Follow up shots
In the Zombie Apocalypse, there will be a need to shoot again and again.
The advantage goes to an AR15.
The 12-gauge has heavy recoil, and this will negate any power advantage it has up close.
The AR15 has mild recoil, and can be customized to have even less.

Capacity
Definite advantage to the AR15
Shotgun tubes rarely exceed 6 rounds in capacity. Extenders might take that to 8 rounds.
An average AR15 magazine holds 30 rounds.
Toting additional mags for the AR15 is easy, not so for a shotgun.

Reloading
Another definite advantage to the AR15 - again.
The shotgun is bulky and awkward to reload, at best.
The AR15 is capable of lightning fast reloads.

Sights
Big advantage to the AR15.
Shotguns typically have a bead sight.
Sure, you can add a red dot, peep sights, or other, but that is not what the platform is built around.
The AR15 is designed to be customizable. This includes sights: peep sights, red dots, ACOGs, scopes, and even combinations are easily possible. 

Accessories
Attaching a red dot, flashlight, or other accessory makes things convenient.
Both platforms do well, and have plenty of aftermarket suppliers.
However, this is an advantage to the AR15.

Summary
Too many advantages here for the AR15. It is a superior platform. Nothing wrong with a good 12-gauge, but the AR was designed as a fighting rifle, and it shines in that role.


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They finally get one right

The Federal Government is encouraging people to prepare for the zombie apocalypse.

Already there, man. Already there.


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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Time to rename the party

I watched a lot of the DNC last week. It was odd, and then I realized why. The term "democratic" as aname for the party is misleading.

For posterity:
A definition and explanation of democracy.

A definition and explanation of socialism.


A few main points that the Democratic party adheres to that are in direct opposition to true democracy:

1. Obamacare
Democracy would have no place for a government mandate of insurance. In a true democracy, and in true democratic fashion, laws inhibit A) the government from infringing upon the people, and B) people from harming other people.

Socialism, on the other hand, is dependent upon forcing "equality" on the public. This is done at the expense of the workforce and business. Hmmm... this makes Obamacare sound more like Socialism than democracy.


2. Abortion
Democrats intentionally hide the truth on this. Abortion is the killing of a child. A person. In a democracy, one of the two acceptable types of laws are those that prevent one person from harming another.

Socialism, on the other hand, prefer the government planning of the lives of the individual. This includes population control - the main reasons abortion is performed in the US today.


3. Business
In a democracy, the people are free to earn a living as they wish (provided it is not done via means that would harm others). Government is kept to a minimum, and burdens associated with government regulation and taxes are similarly kept to a minimum.

Socialism, on the other hand, necessitates the control of business by the government.



Summary
There are more, to be sure. But these really stood out at me.

By the way, the United States of America is a representative republic, the representatives to which are determined democratically. It could be called a democratic republic - and that term, though slightly not accurate with regards to the USA, is broadly acceptable as a definition of our country's political structure.

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Tribute

Where were you, 11 years ago today at this time?

Have you forgotten what happened?

Does it still burn in you?



Never forget.


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Why let this guy talk at all?

I watched as much of the DNC as I did the RNC - about half of it or so. While I fundamentally disagree with the party platform over 90% of the time, I can also appreciate the fact that some do not. One thing that both parties should be able to agree on regardless is the truth. Stand on your record, your lack thereof, or on your principles, but do not lie about it.

And don't gaffe about it.

Vice President Joe Biden did just that. Of course, they put him on immediately prior to President Obama. This was a move that is contrary to traditional thinking. The VP or VP candidate usually is the keynote speaker the night before the President. I cannot remember there ever being a time that the VP spoke right before the President.

It was designed that way to cover for poor Joe Biden and his tendency to say ridiculous things.A few of those from last week that stood out to me:

Joe Biden said:
Day after day, night after night, I sat beside him as he made one gutsy decision after the other to stop the slide and reverse.  I watched him stand up to intense pressure and stared down  enormous -- enormous challenges, the consequences of which were awesome.
Reality:
The President's decisions did not reverse the slide and the reverse of the economy. They sank us deeper into this "recession."


Joe Biden said:
You know, Barack and I, we have been through a lot together these four years.  And we learned about one another.  A lot about one another.  One of the things I learned is the enormity of his heart and I think he learned about me, the depth of my loyalty to him.
Definition of enormity:
1. The quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness.
2. A monstrous offense or evil; an outrage.
So Biden called Obama morally wicked???
I agree with that statement!


Joe Biden said:
Speaking of tough decisions -- speaking of tough calls, last week, we heard at the Republican convention, we heard our opponents, we heard them pledge that they, too, had the courage to make the tough calls. That's what they said. But folks, in case you didn't notice, I say to my fellow Americans, in case you didn't notice, they didn't have the courage to tell you what calls they'd make.  They never mentioned any of that.
So it was the Republicans who said "we must first pass this bill to find out what's in it" then?
NOPE!!!


Joe Biden said:
What they [Republicans] didn't tell you is that the plan to have already put down on paper would immediately cut benefits for more than 30 million seniors already on Medicare.  What they didn't tell you -- what they didn't tell you is the plan they are proposing would cause Medicare to go bankrupt by 2016 and what they really didn't tell you is, they -- if you want to know -- if you want to know, they're not for preserving Medicare at all.
Fact is, Obamacare actually cut Medicare more than anything else ever has.


Joe Biden said:
Look, President Obama knows that creating jobs in America, keeping jobs in America, bringing jobs back to America is what the president's job is all about.
Really?
Really???
Fact is, under Obama, unemployment has been over 8% for longer than any period since the Great Depression.


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Monday, September 10, 2012

Battle Blogging

Recently found out somebody who follows this blog has been battle blogging me without my knowledge. Wowza.

Not surprisingly, this person has gone on record as saying:
"I hate battle blogging. I hate that I ever got into it..."
Hypocrite.


I deleted my subscription to this person's musings (as well as several other liberal outlets I used to follow) several months ago, as there is nothing there that is either true, wholesome, or of any value. But, just for the entertainment value, I looked at it recently. Here are some answers to a few of this guy's delusions:

Some real quotes for this person should be:
"Hear me squeak."
"It's not about Him, it's about me."
"Lets see how far we can twist Scripture!"

At this person, I am about to level the most vile condemnation my brain can summon: you fraud! You who claim Christianity, yet know nothing of it in your heart. I pray you come to Christ one day!

I find it quite funny to see pathetic attempts to attack me in print. Almost as funny as him thinking there are six words in the statement: "The game is 60 minutes."
(in case those from Alabama are wondering, "sixty" is a single word)

Here... let me do that one real slow so even you can understand:
The game is 60 minutes.
 1       2    3  4      5

And again:
The game is sixty minutes.
 1      2     3   4       5

As you well know, the lie from Satan is that Galatians 6:1 is about a pretended "command" to confront, when the word "should" is used, and the clear direct object of the statement is "gently."

It doesn't hurt my feelings when someone shows me or any other person great disrespect. It hurts my feelings when someone dies and has not been saved. My mother was saved without a doubt. She wore her Savior on her sleeve. I do, however, distinctly doubt your salvation, and that saddens me. Your tree bears no fruits. You misuse the gospel to push your own sick, twisted agenda.

But I should have expected as much from an avowed leftist, who has pledged to vote for the Statist and Communist, pro-abortion, anti-gun, big government guy: Mitt Romney.

Well, that's all the attention this guy deserves to get on this blog... even if he does something else totally insane.

Waiting for it... 3... 2... 1...


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What you did there, I see it...

Archbishop Timothy Dolan gave the benediction at last week's Democratic National Convention (DNC). He slipped in some pro-life references in so doing.



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Saturday, September 8, 2012

Give me 3 steps

No, not the catchy tune by Skynyrd.


3 steps is all I need to disprove Calvinism - using deductive reasoning, and the scripture (untwisted):


Step 1 -
Calvinism depends on predestination.
(Without predestination, the entire concept crumbles.)


Step 2 -
If God predestined those who would be saved, then by default, He predestined who would not be saved.
(You cannot have one without the other)


Step 3 -
God wishes that none should perish, so He would not predestine a person to Hell.



II Peter 3:9
The Lord isn’t slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives.


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Cats make me laugh


Friday, September 7, 2012

Frakkin thieves 2

Thieves stole my money - bank gave it back to me this week. I feel for the merchants who were scammed in all of this.


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Do not re-elect

The old joke goes like this:
Q - Do you know the difference between God and President Obama?
A - God knows He is not President Obama.


Now we have proof. In the article, Obama is interviewed and defines sin as "anything that does not align with my (Obama's) values."

To be fair, most Calvinists feel this way, as do most atheists, most homosexuals, and most abortionists (aka murderers).


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Poison of the 21st Century

This Doctor calls modern wheat a "perfect, chronic poison."

What's more - he's right. I've never seen anyone lose any appreciable amount of weight without either:
a) eliminating wheat from their diet, or
b) resorting to massive amounts of exercise.

Why not just go moderate and cut the genetically modified wheat (including the so-called "whole grain" wheats) and enjoy a moderate amount of exercise with it?


By the way, these folks are not fans of wheat, either.
Want to get rid of Type-2 Diabetes? First step is cutting the wheat completely out of your diet.


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Thursday, September 6, 2012

In the paper


Who is your neighbor?

At my mother's funeral, I read Luke 10:25-27. There was more than a touch of irony, though. Follow me on this one:

Luke 10:30-36 - (Jesus had just been asked "who is your neighbor?")
Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?”

Now, Right Minded has drilled into us (those of us in his SS class) the fact that in Jesus' time, Samaritans were not looked kindly upon. No, it was worse than that, it was like how Hitler viewed the Jews. It was as bad as any of the racial tension that ever existed in America. Simply put: to the Jews, the Samaritans were outcasts.

So I thought it more than ironic that when my siblings and I were going through the pain that is the passing of a parent, a similar story took place.

To be fair, the church where my membership is did reach out to us: from the Evangelism Pastor - a man of the highest integrity; from the leader of the greeters (for whom my wife had volunteered for years), and of course from every member of our old Sunday School class (recently disbanded).

But this is the ironic part:
As we dealt with the grief, never once did I hear from a senior pastor. They simply crossed to the other side of the road.

As we dealt with the grief, a former member and one who wishes to pastor a congregation, not only "crossed to the other side," but actually sent proverbial kicks to a downed man with his disrespectful and unwarranted words.

But in comparison, a "pre-op" transgendered former coworker of my brother was there - not only the night of my mother's passing, but also at the funeral (a 150 mile drive) where he/she knew not a soul save me or my brother.

Modern day variation on the "Good Samaritan" story the way I see it.


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Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Know-it-all

When you are in the martial arts field, you get to deal occasionally with know-it-alls. These are the types that say idiotic statements such as "I've never seen XYZ, but if I did, I'd know what it looks like."

I had just such that sort come in for lessons back in 2005. A man and his 16-year-old son came in. The man wore an old Judo uniform (that was good!), as did his son. The man's belt had once been white, but was dyed green in a homespun fashion, and a bad one at that.

Throughout class, he made sure to reiterate his opinion that he was no "white belt"  and surely would be worthy of a yellow or green (or whatever) belt. Funny: since my adult class rank system is White-Blue-Brown-Black and has been since I've been teaching. Also funny since he clearly had some experience in throws, but no experience in groundwork.

I asked him about the four most basic movements: juji gatame (arm bar), ude garami (arm lock), hadaka jime (rear naked choke), and sankaku jime (triangle choke). He had "never seen these, but if he did, he would be able to immediately do them."  He went on to boast that he would do them better than anybody in the class after first learning them.

After the technique portion of class was over, he begged to be included in the sparring session. Normally, I refrain from allowing beginners to participate in sparring, but since this guy was "clearly not a white belt," and since he clearly needed a lesson in humility, I obliged.

His first opponent was a 15-year-old girl, who was a blue belt. She beat the man over and again with sankaku jime and juji gatame. He asked each time what they were. I let the girl apply the moves on me as a demonstration. He kept thinking, despite my clear indications to the contrary, that juji gatame was some sort of choke since one leg was over the head. He maintained this opinion even after he tapped to that move four or five times. Even after he agreed that the pain was in his elbow!

During this time, the 15-year-old girl's little sister (age 13, also a blue belt) was doing the same to the man's son (age 16, remember).

After the repeated drumming, he still maintained that he deserved a green or yellow belt. Even after I advised him that I do not use those belts in adult classes.

I'm sure the guy was a Calvinist, too. Sheesh.


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Priorities

I read a Facebook meme some time ago that stated a Bible in shambles was usually a sign of a person whose life was not (in shambles).


This is my mom's Bible:

This was the first page I opened to:



Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Predestination is wrong 5

Note:

God most certainly predestinates events and certainly did predestine to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for the World, so that the World, through Him, might be saved. However, God most certainly does not predestinate whom shall be saved. The notion that God determines whom shall be saved is called "unconditional election," and is a false doctrine. Those who would teach it are, by definition, false prophets. To teach false doctrine is, by definition, heresy.


The main, root problem:
The root of the problem with Calvinistic thinking - specifically with the notion that God predetermines who goes to Heaven (and by default, whom goes to Hell) - is pride. These people feel a need to be better than other people in some way and have found no other way to be better. It is a warped way of thinking and it is founded in pride.


In this series, I shall disprove the notion of the predestination of whom shall be saved.


Plan of Salvation:
Thought for this month on why predestination is heresy, and why those that preach it are not only heretics, but completely wrong and totally ignorant of scripture:

Why did God go through the song and dance of sending Jesus to Earth to die for sins if He was going to predetermine whom He would save anyways? 
Why is there any plan of salvation?

Cannot be answered whilst sticking to predestination cultist beliefs.


5/8 - Written 4/2012

Notes on death

Something my brother relayed to me about his experience performing CPR on my mother:

Her lips were not blue at all. Her cheeks were slightly blue - like they got when she was cold. As he did chest compressions, her cheeks flushed a more normal color.

Note:
This agrees completely with my CPR training (I am CPR certified and have been continuously since 2007). In fact, as compared to older CPR methodology, it is more important to do chest compressions than to do rescue breathing. We listened in class to a taped recording of a frantic woman saying: "why do my husband's eyes open when I push his chest, but he goes back to sleep when I breathe for him?"

At first, my brother felt guilt that maybe he had not performed CPR correctly. However, in 2010, my mother had a pacemaker and a defibrillator implanted. The idea is if something happened, the defibrillator would work like an external one and hopefully shock the heart back into action.

The EMS team discovered that the defibrillator had performed as designed, but to no avail.

My mom's phone was within arm's reach, and she hadn't even dialed 911. When she went, it was quick.

Monday, September 3, 2012

What's it like?

What's it like to have to pervert the Bible to accomplish your own objectives?

What's it like to want the Bible to say something it simply does not say?

What's it like to feel nothing when you twist the words into unintended meanings?

What's it like to want to place your own agenda ahead of God's?

What's it like to not really trust Him with being right?

What's it like?


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Fight with a gun

How to clear a room.

5 tactical skills.



Make yourself a better gunfighter.


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Saturday, September 1, 2012

.gov = hypocrisy



And I say that anyone who works for the .gov is subject to scrutiny for hypocrisy themselves. In fact, every government worker I've met, save one, have been huge hypocrites.


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