The Government is Your Friend

I heard an interesting thing at the ecumenical men's prayer breakfast this morning. The pastor who gave the message, which was good, said at one point that we die when we've reached the right level of spiritual achievement, or maturity. "I don't want to have to live to be 100 to get there!" he said jokingly.

He was implying that God takes us to Himself when the time is right, and I questioned him about this. "What about the 18 year old Confederate soldier who dies at Gettysburg. Did God kill him, or did Satan, in the form of a Yankee?" Or more seriously, "When a baby is killed in the womb, is its life ended because it's reached the level of spiritual development that God intends for that child?"

But let's not be too quick to judge. Death is a catastrophe and against God's will, but it's overseen by Providence and, ultimately, redeemed by the sacrificial death of Christ. With that in mind, I can think of several, perhaps many, who seem to have died at the right time.

Does that sound somehow gloomy and morbid? Well, consider this popular opinion, Viz. The Government is your friend.

No. It's not.

LSP

Black Gun May Day Mayhem!

It was a beautiful sunny morning in Texas, crisp and bright, so I thought I'd better make good use of time and head down to the range with a collection of black guns. Don't get me wrong, I like wood and steel, I prefer it even, but these were the guns I wanted to shoot today.

5.56

So I did. The AR's performed flawlessly, which pleased me, because I had a hand in building them. It's always good when something you've worked to create works well. The rifle variant is well-capable of MOA awesomeness, which is exactly what I was hoping for. The Ruger American .17HMR shot well too, producing the best group of the day, 3 rounds in the same hole. Then it was pistol time.

.17 HMR

I'll be honest. I wasn't too pleased with my pistol performance during LL's visit, and I wanted to fix that. "I know," I thought to myself, cleverly, "If I get a Blackhawk Serpa holster, I'll shoot my .45 like a pro." 

Whatever

The Serpa's a good holster, no doubt about it, it holds your sidearm in a vise-like, mechanical grip, and has a smooth trigger finger release. The paddle system hugs your hip too; it isn't going anywhere. Get a Serpa, just be sure to properly index your trigger finger as you draw your weapon from the holster, otherwise you might shoot your foot off. Bad result.

Serpa

But, did the holster make me a better shot? No. It didn't, and I had to shoot off a box of cheap Federal ammo at 25 yards before I got in the swing of things. 

Message to market. Neat kit is no substitute for rounds down range. There's a moral in that, if you care to draw it.

Typical Texas Range Scene

Have a great May Day evening and remember, May is Mary's month.

God bless,

LSP

Iron Horse

Since this is becoming a transport focused forum, it's only fair to say that my old pal, Lukeya, isn't just keen on trains, he also likes bikes, and has a nice-as-you-like Norton Commando. 

LL has a motorcycle too, a Ducati Diavel, which some believe to be only marginally slower than chain lightning.

Fredd also had a bike, the iconic Kawasaki 750 triple, and believes that riding it was a lot like having a timber wolf, for a pet.

"So," you ask, "Where's your motorcycle, so-called 'LSP,' if that's your real name, which we doubt."

That, readers, is a very good question.

LSP

Marie Harf Epic Fail

There's a cancer eating away at our world, the deadly, contagious disease of Violent Extremism. Luckily, the University of Virginia is on the case in the form of Marie Harf, who shills for her Harvard overlords.

We can't "kill our way" out of ISIS savagery, she says, instead we've got to get down to the "root causes" of Islamic Violent Extremism that obviously isn't Islamic. Root causes like "lack of opportunity for jobs."

Before you cough up your Ash Wednesday Clam Chowder, take the time to read this, from the Atlantic. Seriously, worth the time.

I disagree with his Salafist antidote, but like the good analysis of the causes that Ms. Harf so epically fails to note. Causes that are, in the end, inherent with Islam itself. Or, to put it another way, why should the followers of the Prophet be expected to behave differently than the Prophet himself?

Good question and, Ms. Harf, you fail.

ISIS continues to laugh.

LSP

A Tale of Skulduggery and Vice

By now we all know that the Suffragan Bishop of Maryland, Heather Cook, is looking at a 20 year stretch for killing a man in a hit-and-run. We know, too, that she had a prior DUI in 2010, along with narcotics possession (and vomit on shirt etc.). Messy, and I hope she can put her life back together and find redemption; I hope the same for Palermo's family.

Eugene Sutton

But did the Bishop of Maryland, Eugene Sutton, and the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, know about Cook's DUI/Narcotics bust before she was consecrated, and did they hide this information from the selection process.

And then, when media heat was turned on the diocese, did Sutton hire a "communications consultant," Meredith Gould, who just happened to be the wife of his Canon for Evangelism and Ministry Development, Dan Webster?

Katharine Jefferts Schori

It seems that he did and you can get the drill-down, in all its malfeasant detail here, at Race Radio and the comments section of the Baltimore Brew. And by the way, the same Dan Webster, who is married to Meredith Gould, PR spin to the Diocese of Maryland, apparently said this, when he was Communications Director of the Diocese of Utah:

"It is about power and control. It is about 'doing it my way.'”

I really hope he didn't say that and if he did, that it's out of context.

That is all,

LSP

What Difference Does it Make?

So what difference does it make? 

Good question.

Ask the monkeys.

And Ambassador Stevens.

And our friends in Saudi, Qatar and Raqqa.




In case you're wondering, our soldiers fighting Ebola in Liberia won't get hazmat suits. After all, what difference does it make?

Ask the monkey.

God bless,

LSP

Iron Horse, Real Horse

Iron Horse, Real Horse

Found myself scouting about the used car shops the other day, checking out 4x4 pick-ups, when I saw a chopper nonchalantly parked up in a place of its own. It reminded me of Nam, Chelt'Nam, that is, the town's bikers and, of course, "Iron Horse" by Motorhead. But all that was a very long time ago.

Now I get to go on a real horse and find myself returning to basics - spent the morning walking JB around obstacles and over ground poles, with special emphasis on circling to the right. She's forward now, so it seems time to concentrate on control, which'll make a good base for going very fast and jumping over things. That's my plan, anyway.

She managed three successive flying changes the other day; people tell me that's very impressive and it indicates high athletic potential on JB's part. I wish that I'd asked for them deliberately...

Stay on the horse,

LSP