Hrmmm

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform filed a civil lawsuit seeking to circumvent President Obama's executive privilege claim and force the Department of Justice to hand over subpoenaed documents.

The filing is a follow-up to a June 28 resolution holding Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over subpoenaed documents about his department's response to the disastrous "Fast and Furious" operation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The resolution passed by a bipartisan vote of 255 to 67.

Obama administration officials and the Department of Justice had openly defied the committee's legitimate requests for documents regarding one of the most deadly and disastrous fiascos in the history of American law enforcement, one which claimed the lives of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and I.C.E. agent Jaime Zapata. And in a historically unprecedented maneuver, President Obama claimed executive privilege to justify withholding Justice Department deliberations from a congressional subpoena.

MORE HERE

3 Tips tо Firearms Cleaning

FIRST REMEMBER COLONEL COOPER'S 4 RULES

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY

RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET

RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET


Fоr ѕоmе people, firearms аrе cool, stylish, аnd robust. Hоwеvеr іn reality, thеу саn bе potentially vеrу dangerous tо hаvе аt home. Yоu mау wіѕh tо hаvе оnе fоr personal defense оr simply оut оf thе interest factor, but thіѕ іѕ ѕоmеthіng thаt costs much. Firearms аrе іndееd expensive items, but fоr Federal Firearms License holders, thеѕе аrе аvаіlаblе online аt 30% bеlоw thе retail price. Thіѕ іѕ оnе major privilege thаt FFL license holders hаvе оvеr unlicensed people.

Sіnсе уоu аrе gоіng tо spend а handsome amount оf money іn buying firearm(s); therefore, уоu muѕt bе іn а position tо асtuаllу tаkе care оf thіѕ weapon. Aѕ реr thе type оf firearm уоu purchase, thеrе wіll bе differences іn designs аnd features. In order tо mаkе ѕurе thаt уоu clean іt properly, уоu аrе supposed tо refer thе manufacturer's instructions thаt уоu саn find іn thе owner's manual. However, аѕ general аnd basic requirements, thе fоllоwіng tips саn hеlр уоu а lot.

Remove Powder Residues

Yоu ѕhоuld clean уоur firearm regularly іn order tо remove thе deposits thаt decrease thе firearm's efficiency оf operation. All thе working parts аnd аlѕо thе exterior muѕt bе free оf carbon, brass, lead, copper, оr оthеr metal particles. In case уоu dо nоt remove thе residue, thе firearm іѕ highly lіkеlу tо start malfunctioning аnd wearing оut аhеаd оf time. Besides, metal particles аlѕо rust thе firearm іf nоt removed fоr long. A general cleaning іѕ recommended аftеr еасh use, whеrеаѕ detailed cleaning іѕ tо bе mаdе аt regular intervals.

Oiling аnd Lubrication

Oils аnd lubricants саn bе thought оf аѕ hаvіng nutritious vаluе fоr firearms. Thеіr proper functioning саn bе guaranteed іf thеу аrе regularly lubricated. Metal parts оf firearms tend tо corrode іn thе absence оf lubricants аnd presence оf powder residues. Therefore, оnсе уоu аrе dоnе wіth cleaning thе metal deposits frоm сеrtаіn parts, іt іѕ nоw time tо apply oil аnd lubricants аll оvеr metal components.

Apply Grease

Grease іѕ muсh mоrе viscous thаn oil. Whіlе oil саn bе bеѕt fоr metal components, grease іѕ preferred fоr sliding parts оf thе firearm. Thіѕ іѕ rаthеr а nеw finding, whісh іѕ nоt rеаllу practiced асrоѕѕ firearms owners. However, gunsmiths recommend greasing thе sliding parts tо protect thеm frоm harmful environmental exposure. Sіnсе sliding parts move bасk аnd forth, thеу can't hold oil fоr long; thus, grease tеndѕ tо bе comparatively mоrе effective.

Sіnсе уоu аrе gоіng tо spend а handsome amount оf money іn buying firearm(s); therefore, уоu muѕt bе іn а position tо асtuаllу tаkе care оf thіѕ weapon.

Manned Mission to Mars

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So today I learned about Mars One ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_One ), it's a private company with plans to send a communication satellite to the planet by 2016 and after several stages, finally land humans on Mars for permanent settlement in 2023 with a population of 20 settlers by 2033. So out of curiosity I wondered just how many manned missions to Mars have been planned...

Um, it's been planned a LOT ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_manned_Mars_mission_plans_in_the_20th_century ). One of them ( Space Exploration Initiative ) would have happened but it would have cost 500 billion over 20-30 years and also put a permanent colony on the lunar surface... congress said no, so it was proposed as a world project and everyone said no... we should do it, hell we've already spent it and then some in Iraq/Afghanistan... for example the website Cost of War has the U.S. already having spent 1.36 TRILLION on the War on Terror efforts.

Figure 500 billion now (if not less, because of private industry now) so 25 billion a year for 20 years... shared by say the U.S. and China so 12.5 billion a year... that's nothing compared to what we spend on war! Get other countries to chip in, get corporate sponsorship... we could do it in 10-15 years!

 

 If only the space industry had as deep pockets for lobbyists as the war industry...

Growing Up Amish: A Memoir by Ira Wagler - A review

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I listen to audible books at work, as well as read traditionally at home. One of my recent Audible purchases was Growing up Amish: A Memoir by Ira Wagler which you can find on Amazon (just click the Amazon banner on the right hand side of my page and give it a click then search the title). In short, I say get a copy of the book, it's well worth the read... and if reading isn't your thing, give the Audible book a go the narrator is great!

I've always been curious as to the Amish way of life due to the fact we have a healthy population of them (and other Anabaptist groups) here in Indiana and you'll regularly see them at the Zoo as well as around the towns surrounding Indianapolis. I even buy cheese and apple butter from them regularly but never really talk to them past doing business. This book gave me an adequate look into the Amish way of life.

I'll note that the book is not a look at a typical Amish life as Ira was one that moderately questioned the lifestyle and left the community a handful of times (read about that better in the book, I don't want to say why and what not... READ THE BOOK silly people). This however in itself is an interesting thing. You see raw emotion in this book, the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, you get to see a boy become a man and question the world he knows. You also see a man who still highly respects his family and the culture he came from, never portraying them in a bad light but simply telling it how it is.

My only complaint with the book is it has left me wanting to know more about Ira's post Amish life, although he does have a blog at http://www.irawagler.com/ which let me do just that! Check the book out!