Doomed To Fail

Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:

Bankers were seriously panicked over the last shut-down, fearing government might actually stop paying welfare.  Bankers were willing to fund the welfare system while Democrats kept ratcheting up the hysteria to force the Narrative on the public.  How much of the bankers’ war-gaming was spent lobbying Republicans to turn the spigot back on?

Like the illegal drug business, banking is so immensely profitable that there is nearly no way to take them down from the outside.

And what happens in January, when the short-term-agreement ends?

For Christmas, all my kids are getting bricks.  Of .22’s.

Joe Doakes

This country does need a serious realignment.  Of course, every splinter party and every faction thinks the same thing. The problem is making sure the right splinter or faction drives that realignment.

Also – Joe, you’ve actually found .22LR?

I’m Going To Pull This Car Over

All of you “The GOP Let Us Down, Why Should We Ever Support Them Again?” types:   To quote LTCDR Montgomery Scott, “you can’t change the laws of physics”.  Or the Constitution, in this case.  The Republicans – RINOs, Tea Partiers, Cruzes and Boehners alike – control one chamber of the Congress.  The Dems have the other one, and the Presidency.  No law is going to be changed while we are the minority.  The best we can hope for is to stall some of the Dems’ plans until, hopefully, somehow, someday, we get majorities in both chambers and the Presidency.  Someday.

All of you “What has Ted Cruz gotten us?” folks:  Hopefully, a sense from the base that there are some people on Capitol Hill who aren’t cowed by the system, and among independents that someone is publicly bucking against the insurance plan that’s jacking their rates up through the ceiling.

Remember the 2012 election?  When the GOP base and not a whole lot else came out to vote, tepidly, for Mitt Romney and the guy who should have been the candidate?  That’s what going along and being polite and playing the Beltway’s game the beltway’s way gets us.

To Both Of You:  Not a single concession?  After all that?  Are you kidding me?

More Monday.

The “Shutdown” Cage Match

On the one hand, Jennifer Rubin at the WaPo points out 15 signs shutdown fans have “drunk the koolaid“:

There has been, to put it mildly, some mass self-delusion going on in right-wing circles. Here’s how to tell if you are suffering from the ill-effects of the echo chamber.

On the other hand?  Steven Hayward atPower Lineis a convert:

First of all, like the sequester, have the majority of Americans noticed its effects beyond what the media has been screaming about?  The bullying tactics of forcibly shutting off public spaces like the World War II memorial on the mall has surely inflicted damage on Obama that, had he behaved with minimal restraint, he might have been spared.

Beyond this, have there been riots or even public demonstrations against the shutdown?  The political-financial crises in Europe and elsewhere in recent years have seen mass protests and street riots (Spain, Brazil, Greece, Bulgaria, etc).  Where is Occupy Wall Street when Obama needs them?  To the contrary, much more of the political energy appears to be on the Tea Party side right now.  Pretty clearly the shutdown terrifies liberals and journalists—and that’s about it.

Of course, it might be pointed out that this is a faux-shutdown: 80 percent of the government is up and running.  This is analogous to TSA airport security: it is shutdown theater rather than the real thing.  Stop sending Social Security checks and see what happens.

A fair point, but this leads to the next big question: which party most needs the government to be up and running?  Ask yourself which party is the party of government and you’ll know the answer.  With 90 percent of the EPA furloughed, what’s the downside here for Republicans?

More seriously, to the extent that shutdown and “government dysfunction” in Washington causes the public to hold Washington in even greater disgust than usual, who does this hurt the most?  Democrats need the public to have some degree of confidence in government for their expansive schemes to succeed.  Which brings me to the latest soundings on public opinion that Karlyn Bowman and Andrew Rugg have put together and displayed in the charts below. 

Bottom line: public confidence in Washington D.C. is at lows not seen since the 1970s.  (And we know what happened at the end of that decade.)

The takeaway?  I think a competent GOP leadership could make this into a net win in 2014 for the GOP.

Which means we’re screwed.

But for the Tea Party, anyway.

Signs We’re Overgoverned

Vacationing senior citizens kept under armed guard in a hotel…

…to keep them from seeing all that shut-down federal land:

Vaillancourt was one of thousands of people who found themselves in a national park as the federal government shutdown went into effect on Oct. 1. For many hours her tour group, which included senior citizen visitors from Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States, were locked in a Yellowstone National Park hotel under armed guard.

The tourists were treated harshly by armed park employees, she said, so much so that some of the foreign tourists with limited English skills thought they were under arrest.

When finally allowed to leave, the bus was not allowed to halt at all along the 2.5-hour trip out of the park, not even to stop at private bathrooms that were open along the route.

“We’ve become a country of fear, guns and control,” said Vaillancourt, who grew up in Lawrence. “It was like they brought out the armed forces. Nobody was saying, ‘we’re sorry,’ it was all like — ” as she clenched her fist and banged it against her forearm.

It’s time for Real Americans to get out and fight this banana-republic tyranny with the only weapon that matters (until November of 2014); mockery.

Which brings us to a question:  I’ve been looking for a federal monument in the Twin Cities area that’s been closed by the Feds, with an aim toward getting the biggest group of people I can, with the most cameras possible, to do some “civil disobedience”.

This weekend turned bad, naturally.

But I’m looking for a federal installation.  Ideally a monument, but a recreational area will also work.

Ideas?

Two Americas: Shutdown Edition

Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:

The Obama Administration’s effort to punish ordinary Americans until they agree to unlimited debt, continues.

 Catholic priests aren’t even allowed to volunteer to serve the troops.  Why not?  What’s it hurt?  Does this affect other religions, too?

 Families of soldiers in combat aren’t getting death benefits to attend funerals.  When did the military become “non-essential?”

 The feds closed everymemorial, monumentboat launch, permitted operator,scenic overlooks and evenparts of the ocean to ordinary Americans; except open border Liberals who get to hold their rally on The Mall.  Why am I not surprised?

 Joe Doakes

The founders’ vision of theirs country was “a free association of equals”.

Obama’s is “unruly children who need to be brought into line”.

 

 

The Potemkin Limit

When your liberal friends, or even your less-informed Republican friends start yapping about the imperative to hike the debt limit, have them read this.  It’s John Hinderaker, and it points out that the government doesn’t constitutionally have the option to default:

So what will actually happen if Congress doesn’t increase the debt ceiling by approximately October 17? The government’s debt obligations will be paid, but reductions in other spending will start to become necessary. In effect, leaving the debt ceiling as is would function as a spending cut. This is why the Democrats hate the idea so much. They know there is zero chance of default, but they are horrified at the prospect that voters and taxpayers may find out that there is a relatively simple way to bring about spending reductions that would create, in effect, a balanced budget. Hence the hysteria.

And hence the ratcheting rhetoric.

Look for a racial angle any day now.

That’ll Learn Ya

A friend of mine emailed:

A friend of mine sent this to me today while vacationing near White Mountain National Forest in Vermont.

By the way if you want to visit a federal open air sculpture garden that is still open, you can’t go to the national Korean War memorial. But you can to the the front of the U.S. Courthouse in Minneapolis and have your picture taken by the cute little animals sculpted there. So why is that open but not the open air Korean War memorial. Is the sculpture garden in front of the courthouse more necessary? Just a thought.

I’m gonna guess if we organized a “cute little federal animals tour” with a couple hundred people, we’d see barricades.

Guardians Of The Narrative

NPR News this morning:

The officers who shot the woman at the Capitol are among the hundreds of thousands of government employees not being paid…

Tax money well spent.

UPDATE:  This was just  flip little thing I’d toss off onto the blog while I was sitting at a stoplight on my way to work. 

But the whole “federal cops are unpaid!” bit not only seems to be a coordinated bit of lefty narrative

but it’s completely wrong

So apparently the “top flight journalists” at National Public Radio are reporting lefty twitter-cant as fact, now.

Our Smug, Bitchy Overlords

They warned me that if I voted for Mitt Romney, we’d get an omnipotent police state with no right to privacy, the police breaking into our houses at night, and authority flexing its idiot muscles at every turn.

And they were right.

On Government Radio last night, Melissa Block interviewed the grand poobah of the National Park Service.

Now, like many of you, I’ve been to DC.  Last time I was there, in 1995, you could most certainly go through all the monuments, pretty much 24/7.  There was security there – preventing vandalism, yadda yadda – but they were open.  Because they’re statues and walls and big rocks with things carved into them, and if you prevent idiots from spraying graffiti or chipping off Lincoln’s nose for a souvenir, you’ve pretty much got it covered. 

And to her minuscule credit, Block pointed that out to the NPS poobah.  Who responded “there are people there.  You don’t see them, but they’re there”. 

Which people?  When?  Where?

Well, he answered that; security people.  Who are still on the payroll!

The cutoff in appropriations also apparently forced the Feds to have to rent thousands of barricades, not only to block off open-air sculptures from the public, but to block parking spots on federally-owned roads

Which have already been paid for

This is Hope and Change.

Why Do Reps. Ellison, McCollum, Walz And Nolan Hate Veterans?

Four of Minnesota’s five House reps voted against funding veterans benefits during the shutdown (Collin Peterson did the right thing).

Now, their explanation will be that the Democrats’ congressional leadership – Reid and Pelosi – want the whole budget passed, not a bunch of piecemeal mini-budgets – because that’s just not the way we do budgets, apparently.

Of course, the Democrats don’t do budgets at all But I digress.

It’s buncombe, of course; the GOP’s strategy, making the Democrats justify their spending piece by piece rather than having it all jammed down in full tantrum mode – might just show the people that there’s an alternative in DC.

That’d make the Democrats in DC very upset.

So the real question is why do DC Democrats hate taxpayers?

Tear Down This Wall

It may not be the definitive image of the Obama regime – unionized government employees putting up barricades around the World War 2 memorial in the face of World War 2 veterans whose wheelchairs they are scarcely fit to push.

But if I have any say over it,  it will be

A new wave of veterans were forced to move barricades at the WWII Memorial in Washington Wednesday morning to gain access during the government slimdown, a spokeswoman from Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told FoxNews.com.

Bear in mind that these monuments and memorials are usually accessible 24/7, without the need for government workers to be standing around. 

But no matter.  Harry Reid’s passive-aggressive snit must be carried out – veterans be damned. 

The WWII veterans, from Ohio, Kansas and Missouri, arrived at the memorial one day after another group relied on the assistance from elected officials to move the barricades to allow access. Parks police did not prevent the first group from entering, nor did they interfere with Wednesday’s group.

Harry Reid’s kamikaze mission strikes again.

The veterans vowed to make the trek to D.C. regardless of the situation in Washington. When asked how they were going to visit the World War II Memorial when it’s closed, Ian Drake, a WWII veteran, told Fox4KC.com the group will “find a way in, one way or another. We might have to climb or something. It’s no problem. Well work it out when we get there.”

Heavy flak then, heavy flak now.

The veterans are traveling as part of Honor Flight , a program that enables World War II veterans to partake in an expense-paid trip to view the memorial.

“A lot of my old comrades were lost in World War II,” Ian Drake, a WWII veteran told the station. “Eighteen of 100 in my graduating class were lost in World War II, so it’s important for me to show my respect at the memorial.”

It’s not the first bunch of barricades they’ve pushed aside, after all.

 

Keep it up, Democrats.

Hot Gear Friday: Special Tuesday Government Shutdown Edition

It’s Day One of the Government Shutdown.

 So as we watch society collapse all around us due to the lack of government, and await the hordes of crazed bandits, hungry for human flesh, that will doubtless be descending on society, people are asking me “what sort of collection of firearms do you recommend for a post-shutdownpocalyptic world?”

Let me make sure I’m clear here; I’m no expert.  Far from it.  But if I had to bet my life on it – and with the government shut down, I do – I’d bank on the following.

The Task At Hand

With the government shut down, we’re naturally all completely on our own.  There is no law enforcement out there; picking up 911 will at best get you a dead line, and at worst an insane reaver on the other end of the line shrieking for your intestines on a stick.

So what do you need?  Well, for my two cents, you really need four basics:

  • An absolutely reliable battle rifle
  • A solid combat shotgun
  • A defensive handgun
  • A “working” gun, useful for foraging as well as defense in a pinch.

We’ll go through each of the categories below.

Battle Rifle:  While this past year has brought a lot of attention to the AR15, this is (IMO) not an ideal weapon for a post-apocalyptic world.  The AR (like the M16 on which it’s based) is a fine rifle, but it is also widely known as an incredibly temperamental piece that is very prone to jamming if you don’t keep it immaculately clean, and sometimes even then.  And since you’ll be too busy scraping for food to keep your rifle clean, this might be a matter of life or death.

The point of a battle rifle is to never, ever, ever, ever jam, and to not run out of ammunition until  your oppponent runs out of attack.  No matter how many of them there are. 

So I recommend an AK-series piece:

The classic AK47

It’s a little heavy, and its accuracy drops off at 100 yards or so – but be honest, not only are you probably not that great a shot even at a rifle range on a clear day, but the odds that you’ll get a clean shot at a horde of bandits beyond 100 yards are pretty nil anyway.  And with the AK, you can dip the bullets in toothpaste and roll them in dirt, load the magazine, and the gun will still work.  And in a post-collapse world, that’s all that’s going to matter. 

Added bonus – its ammunition (7.62mm Communist) can actually be found, unlike the AR’s 5.56mm round.

Combat Shotgun:  One of the benefits of every police department in US being awash in DHS counterterror money is that they all went out and bought M4 Carbines and H&K MP5 submachine guns to replace their good old Remington 870 Express police shotguns. 

Which means they are on the market modestly cheaply these days.

It’s not as “tacti-cool” as an M4, but it’s short enough to use indoors, its reliability is every bit as legendary as the AK, and there is no better close-in weapon in the world for when a gang of cannibalistic bandits breaks into your family perimeter at 4AM and you need to, er, organize your community. 

Defensive Handgun:  Let’s call a spade a spade; for the time when you absolutely need a handgun to defend yourself against an immediately, lethal threat to your life, any gun you have is better than any gun you don’t have. 

But when you’re facing a ravenous cannibal in a dark alley while you’re dumpster-diving for oats, there is no substitute for the best man-stopper there is – any handgun in .45 ACP caliber. 

A Colt 1911, a Kimber Pro-Carry, an HK45, a SIG P220, or even a P250 with the conversion kit?  A Paraordinance 15/45?  Take your pick.  There is no substitute. 

Working Guns:  These are the guns that you use for dealing with varmints and foraging for small targets of opportunity to throw in the stew pot.  For this, I recommend the Taurus Judge revolver…

….which has the huge advantage of firing both the .45 Long Colt cartridge (not to be mistaken for the .45 ACP above) and .410 gauge shotgun shells – making it useful for dealing with large varmints like wolves and bears, as well as rodents and fowl that haven’t been already hunted to extinction and stripped to the bone by ravenous refugees. 

Your mileage may vary, of course – but this is intended as a starting point.

Except that with the government shut down and the ravenous mobs of bandits and reavers already dominating the streets, the time to start was yesterday.

Oops.  Sorry about that.

Continue reading

Scenarios

Scenario 1:  Obama wants the shutdown.  

The government shutdown will be a bonanza to Obama.

Pro:  It’ll draw attention – with the aid of his Praetorian Guard, the media – away from the mounting disaster that is the Obamacare rollout, to say nothing of the IRS, NSA and Fast and Furious scandals.  With the aid of his lackeys in the media, he could actually play it into a big win, a la Clinton vs. Dole in 1996.

Con:  This isn’t 1996. Back then, this was a pretty trivial country, awash in a boom.  This country could still get away with fripperies like electing Jesse Ventura, for crying out loud.  Now, people are hurting, and seeing the way government behaves with the money it’s borrowing from our grandchildren is galling at least.  And the only people it’s going to affect are those who are never going to vote Republican anyway.

Scenario 2:  Obama Doesn’t Want The Shutdown

Pro: Remember “sequestration?”  Despite the best efforts of Obama’s Praetorian Guard, which tried to portray it like Operation Barbarossa gathering on the Atlantic seaboard, either do most of you. Obama counted hard on “sequestration” to do for him what the 1996 shutdown did for Slick Willie.

That didn’t work, did it?

Con:  John Boehner could screw up a third date with a drunk Lindsay Lohan.

And even if Boehner and the DC establishment don’t screw the pooch, the media will, will will be out there working overtime to represent, and misrepresent, for Obama at every turn.  If there’s a low-information voter to be convinced, the MSM will be there to carry whatever meme Media Matters and Organizing for America need carried.

Discuss.