Good or Bad for the Jews

"Good or Bad for the Jews"

Many years ago, and for many years, I would travel to Morocco to visit uncles, cousins, and my paternal grandmother. Some lived in Tangiers;...

Friday, September 30, 2016

"The future ain't what it used to be" -- Tom Petty

The cheery thought in the title of this post was going to be the basis for another rant about everything going to hell. Much of that rant-to-be was inspired by reports that the Washington mall shooter, a Turkish migrant who is not a US citizen, managed, nevertheless, to vote in three elections. Now, since he is a Democrat and a Hillary supporter we can't expect the media to make it much of an issue. Imagine, however, that he had been a white German or Canadian migrant who happened to vote three times and was a Trump supporter. Well, I think the reaction would have been different. I have written quite a bit about this issue of electoral fraud (here, for example) and won't go over it again except to say that our election system is increasingly a farce. Electoral fraud is rampant and getting worse. It is to the point where it can and will affect elections.

Instead of that rant, however, I will write about something else: cars, dogs, and guns. First let me start by saying that the Diplowife and two of the Diplokids are in Spain for a wedding. They went the other day to see a soccer match between Atlético de Madrid and Bayern München, which Atlético won 1-0. Thanks to modern communications, the kids sent me lots of video of them at the game just as a way to remind me that they were having more fun than I.

In an effort to prove that I, too, could have fun, I loaded a couple of my guns into my 1966 Oldsmobile 442 and . . . nothing. Not even a Hillary cough when I turned the key. I had allowed the Diplowife to drive the Olds into the garage a week ago and, yes, she did a Jesse Pinkman (a "Breaking Bad" reference for the enlightened insider) and left the ignition in the ACC position rather than in the OFF position. Needless to say, but I will say, the battery was dead, dead as dead can be. Not even my usually reliable FAT MAX battery jumper could bring life to the beast. I had to buy a trickle charger and the poor innocent senior is now hooked up. With luck, tomorrow I will be able to fire her up, head down to Poway, and burn off some 45s: I want to get proficient with my two Kimbers. Instead, therefore, of going to the gun range, and in anticipation of coming holidays which promise to deliver child creatures to the main Diploresidence, I went over to Turner's and bought a very nice Made in USA Winchester gun safe--they have moved production from China back to the US--which will be delivered some time next week. The safe is fully compliant with California's increasingly bizarre gun laws, and can withstand the latest Iranian and Nork nuclear weapons . . . well, maybe that's an exaggeration.

My dogs are fairly large brutes, both in the 100lb-plus category. One is a very handsome but grumpy Akita/Shepard mix and the other is also handsome but a very high-strung Dane/Shepard mix. They are inseparable. It looks as if it is one dog with two heads, some weird Soviet experiment of the 1950s. They are always tightly together, and always staring at me. They have a rather unnerving and unblinking stare of great seriousness which conveys more clearly than words the question, "Well, what are we doing next?" I have this two-thirds Cerberus following me around the house almost 24 hours a day, with that question broadcasting from its four hazel eyes. Since the Diplowife is gone, the mini-Cerberus has access to the master bedroom. At around 0530, the beast sits next to my bed, four eyes about 12 inches from my face staring at me with laser-like intensity, letting me know that the beast is wondering when I will get up and direct the day's activities. It is an awesome responsibility.

Running for President is nothing compared to dealing with this pressure:

Well?

I will rant the next time. Sorry for this apolitical break.


22 comments:

  1. I hope to see you at Poway Weapons and Gear tomorrow. If you aren't a member, you can be my guest and I'll buy a box of rounds for you as a thank you for your blog and service.

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    1. I am a member and just went there. They're having some mess up with their computer

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  2. In my county (Lee, Fort Myers and Cape Coral) jury pools are made up from the voter registration list. Before the jury selection, the judge asked if there were any who were not US citizens. Three raised their hands and the judge excused them.

    This is just another example of how voter fraud permeates elections.

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    1. +Praying that enough of them fail their ID check at the Polls, that they fail to elect Hillary CinC!
      On Watch~~~
      "Let's Roll"

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  3. We have two great big dogs also...one Rottweiler (female) and one Rottweiler-Shepherd (male) pound dog. Since they're not very politically-correct, they adore the alpha-male by default (my husband), and he adores them back. I feed them real meat or tasty baked-goods when he's not around, though, just to earn a little status with them. Interestingly enough, they guard me meticulously although they have never been trained to do so--the male always walks maybe 5-6 ft ahead of me, and the female flanks very close to the right or left. This behavior never varies unless my husband is with me, in which case they split up and one goes with him, the other with me. I have no idea how they decide to do these things. We have a small ranch in a very rural area with mountain lions, so this behavior is greatly appreciated. They are amazing animals, I can understand why you love yours so much.

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    1. I love dogs. Just wished they lived a lot longer

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    2. Amen!
      and parting is such sorrow...
      This year we buried the last of our *Marsh Hound's
      All seven died at home of natural causes, most over 10 yrs, the last male at 14... We kept them all because my 7 year old daughter couldn't part with any of them, so I honored her wishes, even tho I had reservations...

      All in All it was more than a wonderful experience and taught us a dimension of love and caring (the pack) that none of us had imagined. I could go on and write a book, but think I'll save that for a chapter in my memoirs, or maybe my daughter should write it?

      Suffice to say we miss them dearly, and agree with Dip, "wish they lived longer", but can't find the heart to go out dog-shopping yet. Soooo as nature is apt to do when we drag out feet, she sent us another creature from the marsh to assuage our tribal grief, a single raccoon who keeps his distance somewhat, but is obviously calling our backyard on the marsh, His Home, and we evidently, his family! So, no more dogs around here, till he or me checks out! Gulp!

      On Watch

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  4. Kimber .45s and an Olds 442; you have the perfect toys. Jealous much!

    In the Land Downuder, or at least the part in which I live, we aren't trusted with a .45. I do however have a Colt .38 Super that makes a very satisfactory substitute and noise. A much under rated calibre in the US.

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    1. You're right. The 38 super is not very common and often gets confused with the 38 special. I love the 45, however

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    2. I love the .45 as well; just not permitted to own one.

      Do try .38 Super if the opportunity arises; they are a fun thing. Make a great noise.

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  5. I believe your quotation ("The Future Ain't What It Used to Be") is normally attributed to Yogi Berra.

    http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/12/06/future-not-used/

    I'm not familiar with its use by Tom Petty, though Meatloaf sings a song with that title.

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    1. You could be right. I picked it up from a Tom Petty song titled, "Spike."

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    2. "So whatdaya like Spike!"
      Reminded me of some of the
      Hogtown underground irregulars...
      One of the joys of pursuing a
      a graduate degree in psych at UF...
      hOWling~~~

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  6. Our huskies are real sweethearts but can't imagine opting for the breed again. Too much bounce, not enough loyalty. Sheppards are smart *and* loyal. I know you've had them for a fair while now, but good choice.

    - reader #1482

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  7. The mall shooter voted in WA state. This explains many things. We are strictly vote by mail. States always sneak this in without allowing a vote on it. There's very little punishment if you are caught actually voting for someone else. It's a smaller fine than a traffic violation, I believe. They continue to mail out ballots to old addresses, even when you request that they stop delivering mail to that person. I have also read, but can't confirm, that the state does not ask for verification that you are a legal citizen when you register to vote.

    Interestingly, I had my mail carrier decide, on his own, that I was no longer getting mail at the property I owned. I suspect it was because I get flyers from Hillsdale college, as we still can't get him to stop delivering mail there from people who have been gone for several years. I had requested a replacement ballot, which I didn't receive, then found out that my paystubs from work were being returned. I went into the main post office and asked to speak to the supervisor. He tried to tell me that this was acceptable behavior for someone delivering mail. I told him there would be hell to pay if I did not get my ballot in time for the election. I've not had problems with him since (although he still delivers mail to all those people that don't live there any more.)

    Vote by mail is a total scam and should be restricted only to those voting absentee. Electronic voting machines that don't create a paper trail should be outlawed. If we had an actual party of opposition, they would demand that we reform the voting process and pass a law preventing the federal government from taking over the oversite.

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  8. Oh, and dogs! I have an older female golden retriever/springer cross. About a year and a half ago, we got a 10 month old male springer. She hates him with a passion. This last month, I guess she decided he isn't leaving, so they finally play together.

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  9. Good looking dogs. Get one more, though, and you'll need your horse farm just to feed them.

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  10. I heard a tale yesterday of some daft old bat in the South of England who fed her cats on butchered rabbits sent down from Harrods. This was answered by someone who'd lived in Nova Scotia where he fed his dog on lobster tails.

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    1. Adds another dimension to "Living High of the Hog", dear! :)
      OW~~~

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  11. Battery Tender. (Increases life of motorcycle batteries by almost a factor of 2)

    Depending on its age, I suspect your car battery may be toast.

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  12. I have had basset hounds for 20 years. They are not exactly guard dogs but they do hear much better then or my wife do so they function as doorbells.
    Next weekend we are going over to Tucson to shop for a house. I have finally had it with California after 60 years. Maybe I can shoot my black powder guns again, as I used to do when we had a gun range in less than an hour distance. The flintlock was great fun. A little boy came over to me to watch one time and I gave him a lead bullet for one of the black powder guns. It was a treasure for him.

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    1. I've got several black powder guns. They are tremendous fun when you can find a place to shoot them.

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