The End Times Are Nigh!

The Times recommends: Rob McKenna for governor | Editorials | The Seattle Times

Another twist in the Obamacare Decision saga

In my previous, much updated post on SCOTUS ruling that Obamacare is Constitutional, because the Individual Mandate, previously explained away a s"No, no, no, it's NOT a tax, not at all!!!" is really a tax after all, I had linked to a post on Poor Richards News in which it was pointed out that, since the Individual Mandate originated in the Senate, it is, in fact, unconstitutional, since the Constitution decrees that all taxes must originate in the House of Representatives.

Today, David White Wolf @ Random Nuclear Strikes linked (Why The Next Lawsuit Will Destroy Obamacare) to a USA Today column (!) (well, Opinion Piece) which points out a few other issues with the debatable legality of said taxes: If ObamaCare survives the Supreme Court, legal battle has just begun – USATODAY.com

Obviously, a gun problem

Teens beat Seattle man with pool cues, steal car | The Today File | Seattle Times

God damn them -- Updates!

The Supreme Court upheld the alleged constitutionality of Obamacare.

As a tax.  (Hmmm: Video: Obama and Kathleen Sebelius Saying Obamacare Not a Tax | Video | TheBlaze.com)

UPDATE I: More at Daily Pundit, excerpts from live blogging: Political Problem is still Political

UPDATE II: Cantor: House will vote on repeal on July 11 - POLITICO.com

UPDATE III: Lost the link--I'll post it if I can find it--but Romney says he'll work for repeal if elected:

• Now it's up to you, America | Mitt Romney for President.  "Obamacare is bad medicine, it is bad policy, and when Mitt Romney is president, the bad news of Obamacare will be over."  Hits you up for a donation.
• Mitt Romney for President has a petition to sign "if you agree that big government and irresponsible spending is not the answer to rising health care costs, and rather it's time for real health care reform."

So either he's seen the light after cramming Romneycare down Taxachusett's collective throat, or he's seen the light that the best way to get elected is to oppose everything that His Imperial Majesty has done.  Either way*, well, he's not the guy I wanted for president, but he's gotta be better than the SCOAMF.

Update IV: Here's an interesting twist: Poor Richard's News - Constitution Article 1 Section 7: “All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.” Obamacare originated in the Senate.   so it's an UNCONSTITUTIONAL TAX. (h/t genes in comments @ Daily Pundit.

I'm sure that'll go a long way...


*Third possibility:  he wasn't that crazy about "Romneycare", but support was strong enough he didn't feel he could veto it.  I don't know enough to know whether that could have been the case.

Bipartisanship at last!

17 Democrats voted with the GOP members of the US House of representatives to find Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress!
Holder in contempt; 17 Dems cross aisle - Seattle gun rights | Examiner.com

Colorado Wildfire Maps Online

Courtesy Emergency Management magazine:Dynamic Maps Track Colorado Wildfires

Google Crisis Response map.

Esri map.

While our time in Colorado Springs was not unalloyed bliss, we do have fond memories of the area, and are watching the news closely.

It's Too Late!

Or is it?
How to get a refund on an app from Google Play beyond the 15 minute time window | Android Central

I still think Google re-naming the Android Market (and Google Music and Books, and...) "Google Play" was stupid. 

Seen this?

AKA How We Know We're Winning: I saw it, but was too busy doing yard work and work work to post. This is from Sebastian, by way of Bill.

Issa calls out HIMBHO

Issa confronts Obama on Fast and Furious executive privilege | The Daily Caller

In a letter obtained by The Daily Caller, House oversight committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa pressed President Barack Obama directly on his assertion of executive privilege over documents related to Operation Fast and Furious.
“[Y]our privilege assertion means one of two things,” Issa wrote to the president in a letter dated June 25. “Either you or your most senior advisors were involved in managing Operation Fast & Furious and the fallout from it, including the false February 4, 2011 letter provided by the attorney general to the committee, or, you are asserting a presidential power that you know to be unjustified solely for the purpose of further obstructing a congressional investigation.”

Liberty News Network breaks this down further:

Essentially Issa is saying that either:

1. Obama is involved
2. Obama is obstructing the investigation

We've been comparing His Imperial Majesty, Barack Hussein Obama I to Jimmuh Cahtuh; maybe Richard Nixon would have been closer...

6/25/50 + 62.003

Yesterday was the 62^nd anniversary of north Korea invading the Republic of Korea, AKA ROK, South Korea.

If you've been reading this for long, or if you've seen me on other internet fora of any description, you are probably aware that I'm a retired US Army senior NCO, and you may be aware that I was a Korean linguist.  This means that, in my slightly more than 20 years of service, I spent about 9 of this years on the Korean peninsula.  So this was kind of a big frackin' deal, and I've always marked it before, but not this time.  (Well, OK, one day late this time.)  Combination of going full-throttle at work, plus lots of chores at home, plus...

Anyway.

When the Russians released previously secret Kremlin documents of the USSR, it was revealed that what pretty much everyone who wasn't a full-on sell-out to the commies knew all along was true: Kim Il Sung went to Joe Stalin and said "I have this plan" and Stalin said "Sure, why, go for it!"

The commies, of course, insist that the USA and ROK attacked them, first. 

The Soviet Union, of course, was outraged that the US would suggest that the United Nations should take action against this egregious violation of international something-or-or-other, and walked out of the Security Council meeting.  In what I can only regret as an entirely uncharacteristic taking advantage of an opponent's unforced error, the US got the UN to vote in favor of taking action.

The USSR never missed another meeting*.

Most member nations sent what would be considered "token" forces, a battalion at a time.  OTOH, a brigade or a battalion for a country the size of Columbia or Ethiopia is a fairly large contingent, especially for what is a moral cause.

Speaking of the Ethiopians, S.L.A. Marshal said that, despite the reputation of the Turkish Brigade, the Ethiopian Menelek  battalions were the best UN troops, bar none.  He reported watching a squad or so climb out of their trenches at high noon, saunter across No Man's Land, enter the Chinese trenches, and then run back with prisoners, without losing a man.

I have a few photos on the computer, my last "visit" was pre-affordable digital camera

The "Brothers Memorial" at the Korean War Museum

***

 Last year's post, with links to previous posts.

***

*Actually, I believe they boycotted quite a few immediately afterward, in hopes that they could get other nations to take their position, that any action without them was illegal.  Even the French didn't fall for it...

NRA-ILA Legal Update - June 2012

NRA-ILA | NRA-ILA Legal Update - June 2012

Contents:

• Oral Arguments Presented in Illinois Right-to-Carry Case
• Federal Court Finds More Limits to Chicago Gun Restrictions
• After 13 Years, Ninth Circuit Nordyke Ruling Allows Gun Shows On Alameda County Fairgrounds
• Second Amendment Challenge to Cook County Gun Ban Moves Forward
• Kentucky Supreme Court Protects Campus Workers and Visitors
• Fifth Circuit Rules Against Indefinite Firearm Seizures
• Court Filing Challenges Los Angeles’ 17 Years of Defiance on Carry Permits
• Michigan Court Clarifies Limits on “Gun Free” Zones
• Federal Court in Arizona Rules for Sportsmen and Conservationists     

There is also a list of other cases pending, and info on how to help.

WTF? of the day

From Gun Goddess: A gun image on a t-shirt could be hazardous to a DMV clerk’s health

I'm afraid I've reached the point where these things don't surprise me anymore...

QOTD, 06/25/2012

There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by the gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpation. – James Madison http://bit.ly/MM0q9x

Kinda surprised it took this long...

My father sent me this news item today:
Two firefighters hurt as blaze doused at old Redford High School | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

Detroit— Two firefighters were injured battling a two-alarm blaze that has been extinguished at the former Redford High School.
Fire officials received a call at 9:56 a.m. Thursday and found the three-story brick building ablaze.
No one was inside the building at the time of the fire but the school suffered extensive interior damage, Detroit fire Lt. Gerod Funderberg said. The blaze began in a second-floor gymnasium.
Funderberg said the two injured firefighters were taken to the hospital. One suffered from heat exhaustion and the other suffered a twisted knee, he said.
Meijer Inc. plans to build a 217,000-square-foot retail and grocery store at the site at Grand River Avenue near Six Mile in Detroit.
The company's plans call for demolishing the school, which opened in 1924 and closed in 2007.

Does Ted Nugent know that our alma mater caught fire?  Does he know it closed, and is going to be turned into a Meijer's Shifty Takers Thrifty Acres?  Does he care?

Note I don't ask if he knows that he and I went to the same high school. Let alone cares...

NOT out, standing in a Field, Day

So, today is Amateur Radio Field Day.  It's always the last full weekend of the month.  The idea is for hams to go out and set up in the field someplace and out into practice not only radio communications skills, but also skills which may be necessary for emergency/disaster response.  Also, there's a strong public outreach/educational component, teaching the general public about amateur radio--"They still do that?!"--and, hopefully, recruiting new people to the hobby.

This year, the club was planning on going back to the same park we had been at the last two, which is adjacent to the athletic fields of the middle school Mrs. Drang attended.  We were all happy to hear that a couple of obstructions that limited us to the space we could use were being demolished.

We were dismayed in April to learn that said demolition was in preparation to expand the softball fields, pretty much ruling out using that park for Field Day.

The scramble began to find an alternate venue.  By the May meeting, things were getting desperate.  Then it was discovered at the board/business meeting that most of the club officers and trustees were going to be out of town this weekend.  A poll was taken at the general meeting, following, at which it turned out that there were going to be insufficient club members available to plan and run a club Field Day site.  (I had planned to take the day off; at this point, I changed my mind.)

*s*i*g*h*  (This is what happens when you have a small, but very active, club.  People are active...)

The offer was made that any members who wished to use club equipment, especially if they were willing to host other club members, was welcome to do so; to the best of my knowledge, no one took the club up on the offer.

Based on comments seen on Facespace, the fact that it was raining buckets for most of the day kind of reconciled most members who are in the area to the idea of NOT being outside putting up antennas and operating generators, I think.   (Certainly solar power was not a viable alternative...)

I suspect that the club is going to start verifying the where, not to mention the who and how, etc., earlier next year.  We may also see more active participation by the general membership in planning for events, which would be a plus.

WTF? of the day, 06/23/2012

Weasel Zippers » Blog Archive » Obama Asks People Getting Married To Forgo Gifts, Ask Their Guests To Donate To His Campaign Instead…

I heard about it earlier, thought it was a joke.

Kinda like this president...

Every once in a while...

A liberal Gets It.

John Stewart is notoriously a liberal, and infamously has racked liberals in general, and His Imperial Majesty Barack Husein Obama in particular, over the coals.
Like in the first eight and a half-or-so minutes of this episode, where he addresses SCOMAF's reliance on Executive Privilege to keep Holder from Telling All: June 21, 2012 - Bassem Youssef - The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - Full Episode Video | Comedy Central

That's nearly Tam-worthy, weapons-grade snark, there, that is.  

Well, this is an interesting development...

For years I have resisted all urges to play computer games besides your basic solitaire/puzzle type games.  And not even many of those.

Then I got the latest Baen Publishing Newsletter, and now Mrs. Drang and I are both hooked on the Planet Baen game.

Haven't won any ebooks yet. 

Send bliss and food! 

From the "So What?" File

North Korean flag used as target practice by US and South Korean troops - Telegraph
If, by some wild mis-chance, I was inclined to feel sympathy for the commies (giggle) I would simply reflect on all the commie propaganda I've seen ove the last 3+ decades of watching their inexorable goose-step to hell, and theier determination to drag the rest of us with them, and I would be forced to conclude "meh."

Ruling forthcoming?

Via Tea Partyrf Patriots, Road to Repeal: SCOTUS Set to Rule:

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) did not drop a ruling on Obamacare this morning, which means that likely within the next week we will know the fate of Obamacare. Experts say the ruling will likely come down on Monday, June 25 or Thursday, June 28, but there is no guarantee and it could happen any day between now and then.

The Most Arrogant Man In The World

Holder’s Contempt Vote Today -- UPDATE

Issa Says Holder’s Contempt Vote Will Go Through Today | Liberty News Network

In view  of Reichsmarschall Holder getting His Imperial Majesty Barack Hussein Obama I to declare Executive Privilege in re: All documents regarding Fast and Furious/Gunwalking, all I can say is

1. It's long overdue, and
2. It's a start.

I don't usually go in for that kind of thing, but opportunity to fisk the Declaration of Independence, substituting the Obama mis-administration's abuses of authority and power, is moving beyond satire, through low comedy, and into the realm of "Well, duh!"

Note: America… Land of Tyranny | Liberty News Network.

tyranny [tir-uh-nee]
noun, plural tyr·an·nies.
1. arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority.
2. the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler.
3. a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler.
4.  oppressive or unjustly severe government on the part of any ruler.

Oddly, Wiktionary's Word For The Day is

demagogue n

1. (pejorative) An orator or leader who gains favor by pandering to or exciting the passions and prejudices of the audience.

UPDATE:  House Votes to Hold Holder in Contempt of Congress – Updated with Video | Liberty News Network

Today the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 23-17 to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his refusal to deliver documents related to the Fast and Furious investigation

So, now what...?

Minutes after the panel’s decision, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) announced that the full House will vote on the contempt measure next week.

I expect that, just like the Committee vote, the House vote will be "All GOP for, All Democrats against."

I could be wrong, though, the Dems could be overcome by the spirit of bipartisanship...

Hurrah for Texas!

Dad who beat daughter's molester to death won't be charged

Unfortunately, the article does not say whether, as I predicted, the Grand Jury also awarded the father a Standing O', the keys to the city, and a barbecue in his honor...

Heh

Seen on Shooters Northwest.  Swiped as much to piss off the Kool-ade drinkers as anything else.

Can't you tell I'm ignoring you?

Just got another thick envelope from the VA.  They still want blood/DNA samples.
They included a questionnaire.
And they want me to come in for interviews. "If possible, we will schedule a study visit on the same day as another VA appointment."
Stupid bureaucrats are too stupid to realize I don't use their pathetic excuses for death camps clinics.

Hmmph.  Looking back at other posts I've made about the Veteran's Mis-Administration, I see that, back in August of 2009, The Clue Meter: More on "End Of Life Counselling" made reference to a VA program under Clinton, which, among other things, asked vets if they had trouble "shaking the blues."

The questionnaire they sent me yesterday asked about mood and ability to do normal activities, and if I had trouble shaking the blues.

Get off my lawn, you God-damned nosy bureaucrat!

Trauma Kit

Lately there have been a few posts on medical kits, and especially trauma or "blow out" kits for range trips.  (Looks like Carteach went for a more comprehensive approach than I)

This is the kit I put together for my range gear, which is very close to ones I've put together for our "Bug Out Bags."

Condor Rip-Away EMT Pouch, front view.  Top of pouch is to right; velcro patch for name patch, or allergy information, or, I suppose, morale patches.  (Still waiting for Mil-spec Monkey to make a "Clue Meter" patch, I can't understand why they don't...)
PALS webbing at bottom for MOLLE attachments, or to hold items with clips.

Side view. Not a lot of detail in this pic, but you can get an idea of the depth of it.

Back view. The back of the pouch itself is covered by velcro-type hook side; this picture shows the back "rip away pane", which has velcro-style loop fabric on one side, and PALS webbing for attachment to MOLLE gear on the other. Again, the top of the pouch is to the right, showing the carrying handle.  There are also a pair of d-rings, so you can clip it to a shoulder strap if you want to carry it that way.

Here the rip-away panel is separated from the pouch; the panel stays attached to your bag or pack. On our BOBs, we can just grab the trauma pack if we need it. The strap seen in the front view is attached to the rip-away panel, to keep the two halves from separating when not wanted.

The pouch opened up.

Top panel. Two pockets, three elastic loops. Quikclot in one pocket, first aid manual in other.  The elastic loops usually hold a couple of "rescue blankets."

Middle panel.  Another pocket with a pack of Quickclot, an Israeli bandage, and some kerlix-sytle gauze.

This shows that the smaller loops of elastic on this panel are attached to a large sleeve.  I don't actually have anything there, right now, I just put the QuickClot there for the picture.

Bottom section is a zippered mesh pocket which holds some single-use pouches of Neosporin and some band-aids. (Includes butterfly, knuckle, and fingertip bandaids.)
Not shown: Gauze pads, pencil, notebook, and bandage scissors.

Not included:  Cell phone, source of fire, duct tape.  This kit is intended for use when and where I'll have other sources for those.  No SAM Splints, ditto.  Also, no "Bolin Chest Seal" or similar device which I don't know how to use.

A Mere Trifle

Strawberry Lemonade Trifle
8 oz jar of lemon curd
Container frozen non-dairy topping
 Strawberries
Pound cake (We substituted a lemon pudding ring cake)
Slice the strawberries, cube the cake, mix the curd into the topping, and layer all in a trifle dish. Except we couldn't find the trifle dish. Oh, well.

Berries, check.

Cake, cubed.  Could have gone smaller.

Whipped topping + lemon curd.

First layer.  Like I said, the cake maybe should have been cubed smaller

First dab of lemon crud cUrd topping.  Maybe used too much per layer.

With a "real" trifle bowl, the sides are straight, so the layers more even, and are easier to see.

I suppose I should have gotten pictures of it dished up, but we had to eat it quickly to keep cats out of the topping...

I think I read somewhere the "trifle" started out as a way to get rid of cake that was old and dried out. ISTR someone making a trifle for a Christmas gathering that had booze in it, but that was a long time ago...

Video of the day, 06/14

Flag Day, 2012.
This is also the 237th Birthday of the US Army. I couldn't find any videos I wanted to post here. It should be noted that many individual units--mostly, if not all, National Guard units--in the US Army predate the formation of the US Army by years; in at least one case, by over a century.

A follow-up

As a follow-up to my post "What's going on?", I saw this on Facebook this morning:

Source: Initiative 1183 Supporters. Text:

Sometimes, it really is just taxes. If we assume that Costco pays the same base cost (1) for the same Bourbon used in its Kirkland Signature brand and that the markup between CA and WA (2) is roughly the same, we can see that taxes really do make a difference. There are no distributors involved in this example. The prices are actual prices from Tacoma and Temecula on a 1 liter bottle of Kirkland Signature Bourbon.

Pretty bad when California's tax system is more taxpayer-friendly...

QOTD, 06/12/12

Obama’s spent more time in a madrassa than he has in the private sector.

Tamara K, View From The Porch: Ignorance is bliss.

Let me know when the Senate follows suit...

House members vote to freeze their own salaries - Oversight - GovExec.com

House members voted on Friday to pass the Legislative Branch budget for fiscal year 2013, which includes their own salaries as well as those of their staff. Though funding across the House of Representatives has been reduced by 10.5 percent since Republicans took control of the chamber in 2011, according to House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., salaries and members’ representational allowances will remain unchanged in 2013 if the Senate approves the bill.
The total for operations and maintenance of the House in fiscal year 2012—and now proposed for 2013--is $1.2 billion.

Happy Birthday...

...Sergeant Schlock. To save you time, here's the beginning.  Sort of.  Well, not really.* That's OK, no need to thank me.

***

*"Not really" saving you time, that is. 

Aaaaall righty then...

Number2Holster | Your number 2 holster for when ... you know

A Meta sort of day...

Day by Day meets the View From The Porch.

And PowerPoint Ranger meets Schlock Mercenary.

Update in comments.

Pathetic

New definition of "pathetic": Happiness at noticing that the price of gasoline has dropped from $4.18⁹ to $4.16⁹.

Plus, of course, the whole three cents a gallon "club card holder" discount.

I'm thinkin' the next Drangmobile will be a diesel, it's running three or four six or seven {fixt--DWD} cents a gallon less than low-test no-lead.

If D Day Were Today

@PowerPoint Ranger.

Oops

Went to check the Comments Spam folder, and accidentally marked the links to pirated games and knock-off purses and pr0n as "Not Spam", not "Nuke It From Orbit."

Fixed it, but... Ooops.

"Did you feel that?"

Evergreen Quake

Puget Sound Area Earthquake Exercise, June 5-6 2012.

"What's going on?"

"Safeway's lot seems awful crowded for mid-afternoon on Friday..."

"...Oh, yeah, today's the first day they can sell the Good Stuff..."

"...But no one seems to be buying.  Wonder why...

"...Oh."