Bishop Rayford isn't High. Or is He?

It's freezing outside, even though it isn't snowing, which is weird, seeing as how our carbon footprints have made everything so much warmer. To beat the chill, I cooked up some bacon and pancakes. Then I put maple syrup on both. But I won't repel you with a picture of my climate disruption snack, here's one of Bishop Rayford High, instead.

This is part of what the curiously named "High" had to say about his church's recent defeat in Tarrant County:

“Be of good heart. The Episcopal Church, including its continuing Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, welcomes everyone, no matter where they are on their spiritual journey. The mission of The Episcopal Church is to reconcile the world to God through Jesus Christ and that work continues.“

Welcomes everyone? Oh yeah, of course, in court. 

So be of good heart, they lost.

LSP

Snowblind

The snow started to come down fast a little before midnight; I found that exciting. Of course snow used to be rare in Texas, before it got colder because it's hotter.

Blue Ice Age had fun romping about in the white stuff this morning, though he seemed angry at the kids making snowmen on the sidewalks. I don't know why.

And now it's melting away, like the membership of the Episcopal Church itself, which keeps losing lawsuits and still keeps suing. Like a snowblind crazy person.

Be careful on the ice,

LSP

Bishop Rayford Got Himself High.

A fierce storm has blown in from the north. Rain, mixed with hail, rattles off the house like so much wind-driven shrapnel. My dog doesn't care, he seems to find it comforting.

In the meanwhile, the Episcopal Church refuses to accept that it lost in Texas and seems set to pursue its losing strategy in the courts. 

Here's the oddly named bishop High:

“We are disappointed with this decision but quite hopeful for the future. This sacred property was built up over 170 years in this part of Texas by generations of Episcopalians for the use of The Episcopal Church so it will be available for use by generations of Episcopalians to come as they do the work of the Church."

This sacred property? Which is part of some holy trust, kept by the Episcopal Church for whom? Moloch? Bishop High, you've made one too many trips to the meth lab. 

In the meanwhile, TEC, like the old pop song, keeps coming on, even though they don't have a case. Bankrupt your opponents? Well that's one strategy. If you're High.

Carry on,

LSP

Deadly Assault Rifle Hi-Jinx

Because I'm a patriot, I have an AR15. It's made by CMMG and I've had several years of shooting fun with the little gas-driven blaster. But I wanted to change it up; swap out the stock handguards with a free-float tube, install a gas block, and a single point sling mount. 

Go On, Take Your Gun Apart

Off went the flash hider, the barrel nut and the front sight gas block. Fine, but the gas tube roll pin didn't want to come out. It did in the end and the new one, that came with the new gas block, didn't want to fit in it's allotted hole. After a lot of aggro, I filed it down slightly and drove it home.

The Old D Ring

The new barrel nut went on easily enough, along with its Yankee Hill handguard, and the sling mount was simple to install. I'm pleased with the end result, but there was an adventure half way through the project.

Oh No, We Can't Sell You That!

Looking down at my old, dirty, gas tube, I thought why not get a shiny new one? So I drove to Ray's and asked for one.

"Do you sell carbine length gas tubes?"

"Oh no, we don't have any."

"But what's that, there, in a plastic bag? Look you have about five of them."

"Hunh! We do!"

"Well that's great, I'll buy one."

"I'm sorry, you can't."

"Excuse me?"

"No. You can't buy those."

"And why not?"

"You can only buy one if we install it for you."

"Of course. And how much would that cost?"

"I don't know, sorry."

"Goodbye."

I felt, for a moment, there in the gunsmith's section of Ray's, that the world had gone completely mad. 

Looks Good, Does It Work?

As soon as it stops raining and snowing, I'll take the gun out to the range and see how it shoots. The free float tube should improve accuracy, we'll see.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Liar

Hillary used private emails and a DIY server to conduct business when she was Secretary of State. She obviously didn't have anything to hide.  And remember, the Benghazi attack was all about a video.

Except that it wasn't.

LSP

The Diocese of Fort Worth Wins. TEC Loses.

Despite spending over $40 million in a zero-sum game of scorched earth litigation, the Episcopal Church (TEC) was defeated today in Texas' Tarrant County Court, with Judge Chupp ruling in favor of the traditionalist Diocese of Fort Worth.

The Diocese of Fort Worth voted to leave the Episcopal Church in 2008 and was sued by the denomination for all its property and assets. TEC claimed that these belonged to the national church and had been held by the diocese "in trust."

Chupp's order denies TEC's claim, and follows earlier decisions by Texas' Supreme Court, which stated that TEC's lawsuit should be tried on neutral principles of state property law and that there was no "trust relationship" between churches, dioceses and TEC.

Crazed

The Tarrant County ruling is the third in a series of legal reversals experienced by the Episcopal Church, following defeats in South Carolina and Quincy.

TEC, you lose, and perhaps $40 million+ might have been spent more wisely. 

LSP

Redder Than Russia? #1

Do you remember the Cold War, when NATO and the Free West stood against the Red Communists? One of the things we didn't like about the Soviet system was its forced "equality," where profiteering capitalists were disallowed, in the name of "wage equality." 

That was replaced by an all-powerful central state, which doled everything out equitably. Except that it didn't.

In today's Russia there's a 13% flat tax, in America the tax rate tops out at 39%.

So who's redder? America, or Russia?

You be the judge,

LSP

Sunday Night at the Compound

Its a pretty regular Sunday evening here at the Compound, cleaning guns, listening to marching songs on the jukebox, and frying up steak and eggs on the grill.

Blue M4 doesn't care, all he thinks about is "eye relief," "doping the wind," and "MOA." And food. He ate a block of cheese the other day, which I'd left out on the counter to get to room temp. I was looking forward to that cheese.

You're getting dangerously close to the edge, my furry friend.

God bless,

LSP

Bishop Michael Ingham Found on Mars?

The famous Bishop of New Westminster, Michael Ingham, may have been found, on Mars. 

Pictures from NASA show what appears to be an ordinary rock, standing by itself in the dust of the red planet. But when the image is enlarged, a different picture emerges, revealing what seems to be the face of Bishop Michael Ingham.

While some have dismissed the face of the bishop as being a photshopped rock, others disagree.

"Very interesting," stated one expert, "Eyeball and teeth in a half face.It's clear from the original NASA photo that this hasn't been shopped. And the flat areas seem also artificial. Strange."

Photoshopped space rock, or head of the Bishop of New Westminster?

You decide.

LSP

Jihadi John Anglican Schoolboy

Do you remember Jihadi John? The Fortran programmer from West London who couldn't get a good mainframe gig in England, so he travelled to Syria for better "opportunities for jobs," and went Full-Jihad?

Sure you do, but what you may not know is that he attended a Church of England school. Thanks, Samizdat, for letting us know.

Way to go, Welby. Who knows, if Mohammed Emwazi had had the chance to be taught by the new Stonewall curriculum everything would be better.

Or not.

LSP

Elves

Maybe it's the cold, maybe it's something else, like the destruction of Apostolic Order in the Church of England, but whatever the case, there's a lot of elf chatter going on at the moment.

Matters came to a head in Iceland, where a new road project was blocked due to concerns it would destroy an elf, or "huldufolk," habitat, including an elf church. Local authorities were unwilling risk the elves' "displeasure" and halted the construction. 

"Mainly they're a peaceable breed but if you treat them with disrespect, for example by blasting dynamite through their rock houses and churches, they're not reticent about showing their displeasure," stated Emma Kirby, for the BBC.

According to surveys, 62% of Icelanders believe in elves, Here in the US, construction of the Keystone pipeline has been vetoed by President Obama.

No one knows for sure how many elves live in America.

LSP

Ice Age Apocalypse

So far it's been another day of climate disruption here in Texas, with freezing wind and driving snow. 

Unfazed by the icy apocalypse, I drove down Highway 22 to do some trading in Whitney. Snow was drifting in places on the small country road, and it's not too often that you see that in Texas.

Blue Eschaton doesn't seem particularly worried about the imminent destruction of the world by snow and ice. He may not be aware of research showing that the earth could have entered an intergalactic cloud, with untold consequences for the heliosphere, the sun itself, and life on earth in its present form.

Extremely Sensible Ears

In the meanwhile, tiny crystals of ice are falling from the sky.

Keep safe,

LSP