This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Geezer Alert!

  • Sometimes You Get the Bear…

    A Boundary County man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to unlawfully killing a female grizzly bear in his yard.

    Supporters said that Hill, a father of six, acted responsibly in shooting the female grizzly on May 8, which appeared with two cubs in the yard of his home near Porthill, Idaho, while his children were playing outside.

    “It seems unjust to me that someone would be charged when they were protecting their family,” state Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, said after the hearing. “I’m at a loss to understand why the U.S. government is pursuing this in the manner they are.”

    State and local officials declined to file charges, but Uncle Sam did.

    Meanwhile, Boundary County commissioners sent letters to Idaho’s congressional delegation and state legislators, asking for support for Hill. They also issued a news release, saying that Idaho Fish and Game officials had recommended against filing charges in the case, and that local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials had concurred.

    Chip Corsi, Idaho Fish and Game’s regional manager, declined to comment on his agency’s stance on charges, but said: “He had three grizzly bears in close proximity to his kids, family and livestock. He had reason to believe there was a threat.”

    Joan Jewett, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Portland, said she couldn’t comment on the case specifically. In general, however, “we do an investigation and turn over our information and evidence to the U.S. Attorney’s office and the U.S. Attorney makes the decision on whether to prosecute or not.”

    Nothing to see here; moving on.

  • When The Musics Over – Yet More Hyperbole?

    John Hinderaker over at the Powerline weighs in:

    It has come out that Juszkiewicz is a Republican donor, while the CEO of one of his principal competitors, C.F. Martin & Company, is a Democratic donor. Martin reportedly uses the same wood, but DOJ hasn’t raided them, leading to speculation that the Obama administration is sending a warning to Republican businessmen that they had better not oppose his re-election, lest they face criminal investigations. Normally such speculation would not be credible, but Eric Holder has politicized the Department of Justice to a point where such questions must be taken seriously.

    Made me smile anyway. YMMV.

    Perhaps, as I noted earlier, pointing out a pattern isn’t hyperbole after all? Or is it?

  • A Young Cindy in the Making?

    Grief is an odd thing. It’s quite real, and has a place most of us can recognize.

    But sometimes it takes on a form that requires either additional pity or speculative rancor to deal with from the outside?

    Cindy Sheehan is one case in point, now we seem to have another.

    Army Ranger’s widow expelled from book signing

    Ashley Joppa-Hagemann told The News-Tribune on Saturday that security officers for the former secretary of defense escorted her out by the arm. She and the executive director of a Lakewood-based anti-war group confronted Rumsfeld as he promoted his memoir, “Known and Unknown.”

    She had introduced herself to Rumsfeld by handing a copy of her husband’s funeral program to the former defense secretary. She told him her husband had joined the military because he believed the lies told by Rumsfeld during his tenure with the Bush administration.

    I haven’t yet dug into the details, but the article says she was in the company of someone from an “anti-war group”.

    Dealing with grief  in almost any context can be a challenge, and with Cindy as an example, some don’t do it well at all.

    Let’s hope this particular new case doesn’t follow THAT pattern.

    I kinda like my villains clear cut.

  • A New Home for a Broken Heart

    A happy ending to TSO’s Post

    Loyal Canine Companion of Slain Navy SEAL Has a New Home

    It is hard to know whether a beloved pet ever forgets his master, but Petty Officer Tumilson did not forget his loyal companion.

    In his will, the fallen hero had the foresight to specify that if he predeceased Hawkeye, he wanted the dog to live with Scott Nichols, a trusted friend and the man who looked after Hawkeye when his master was on a tour of duty.

  • When The Musics Over…

    The Gun Grabbing Fascists are now killing the music as well.

    Via Michelle Malkin et al

    US Fish and Wildlife officials have raided the famous Gibson Guitars. And the instrument-maker isn’t alone. Antique piano dealers are also in the crosshairs. Why? Because rare, beautiful instruments made of ecologically incorrect materials must be sacrificed at the green altar. Talk about hitting a sour note.

    I’m a semi-retired recording engineer with a certain reverence for Gibson guitars, hence this post. Akin to ‘the guv’mint’ deciding what firearms we can handle and how they are configured, etc; they have determined that foreign laws take precedence in manufacturing guitars. I’m just paranoid enough to wonder if the UN is behind this?

    From further down in the article:

    “The government’s position is, that is the law of the land in Madagascar and they are saying that is the law of the land in India. That is not the case. The fact is, we have affidavits from numerous government officials – and this court case, specifically now, is forMadagascar wood. We have affidavits from virtually every govt official saying that it is legal, that their definition of what is legal is a fingerboard blank and its been exported within every certification that is necessary. So they have the arrogance to interpret Madagascar law differently than the people of Madagascar.”

    Our firearms, our food, our livelihoods, and now our music? Picture a country music station being told that they must include Arabic music for the sake of diversity.

    A mental/logical leap into conspiracy land? Maybe, but I wish the hurdles were a bit higher than they seem to be on that particular track to bizzarro world.

    ETA: Seems there are some who see the simple acknowledgement of a visible pattern as hyperbole? I thought my closing sentence was clear, but perhaps not?

    While it has been said that ignorance of a law is no excuse for breaking it, we must also accept that trying to navigate a constantly shifting landscape is excruciatingly difficult.

    In the Gibson case it appears that they felt they were in compliance because THIS IS NOT THEIR FIRST EXPERIENCE in the matter cited. There are any number of similar cases in Second Amendment land as well.

    I lay no blame at the feet of those with boots on the ground. Been There, Done That!

  • Oh Heck… This Is Your Tax Dollars at Work.

    If I had only seen this earlier: U.S. military to help launch interstellar space travel it may just be sillier than the Fart story?

    Darpa, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is looking to award a $500,000 grant to an ambitious organization to figure out just what it would take to transport humans to stars orbiting beyond our galaxy, according to a report in the New York Times.

    You folks will have to live with a different retirement program, etc. But some brainiac is aiming for the stars using DOD funds?

    To be absolutely clear. The idea is way more than just intriguing from this seat.  Still, who decides when to rob Peter to pay Paul?

     

  • The Cats Away, So To Set The Tone… A Fart Story.

    Been sitting on this story (no pun intended) for a day or so.

    So here’s the news:  audible farting has been banned for some Marines downrange because it offends the Afghans.

    I know there are many things in the Afghan culture that don’t seem normal to Americans and it’s hard to spend seven months working in someone else’s back yard.  Still, the Marines I saw downrange are doing a pretty good job at trying to do the right thing around the Afghans.

    They’re not supposed to cuss because it could be misunderstood (that one goes out the window a lot). And they stay away from talking about politics, religion or girls because those topics could escalate into major disagreements (they can’t communicate anyway because of the language barrier).

    But farting?  That’s practically a sport.  Ok, it’s not soccer, but a good contest could open the door for cross-cultural exchanges, jokes and other gallows humor.

    So, for all Marines getting ready to go downwind, I mean downrange, be forewarned — you may have to hold it in… at least until you get back to your hooch where you can loudly crop dust your friends.

    Dunno just what the Jarheads in A’Stan eat, but I’m trying to relate? Should those fine groups that organize care packages for those deployed send Beano?

    It’s a cultural thing I reckon? So let us help those folks downrange deal with this before it causes an international incident.

  • Suicide Is Painless

    Ah, The Arab Spring… a thing of wonder with democracy replacing tyranny in many places. We should do all we can to bolster the efforts.

    Including aiding NATO in Libya? I can’t vouchsafe this source, but it does seems to agree with other reports.

    Libyan Draft Constitution: Sharia is ‘Principal Source of Legislation’

    Under this constitution, in other words, Islam is law. That makes other phrases such as “there shall be no crime or penalty except by virtue of the law” and “Judges shall be independent, subject to no other authority but law and conscience” a bit more ominous.

    Then in Egypt:  Protesters outside  (the Israeli)  Cairo embassy call for envoy’s ouster

    Hamdeen Sabahy, a presidential candidate with the Nasserist Dignity Party, issued a statement saluting Shahat, “the public hero who burned the Zionist flag that spoiled the Egyptian air for 30 years.”
    In an interview with Al Jazeera’s recently launched Egyptian channel, Shahat said he gave a thumbs-up sign to an army officer standing behind a window on the building’s eighth floor, and the officer returned the favor.

    Is anyone keeping score? Meanwhile American assets are currently in play over Tripoli?

    Oh yeah… our support of The Arab Spring will create many new friends… or encourage our enemies by showing us to be weak willed dolts.