Geert Wilder's new film is frightening

if you haven't heard by now, there's a new short film out along the lines of the one that got theo van gogh killed. it's by geert wilder, and i don't know how long the link will be up, but here's a link to the English language version of FITNA the movie.
go, watch, come back, comment.
me, i've been out and about the web reading reactions. i can't believe how many people there are out there that said this is the first time they've heard/seen these things. all i can figure is they must live in a perfect vacuum.
EDIT:

well, that didn't take too long. there are versions out there still, but a very credible threat of physical harm to the folks at liveleak has caused them to pull the video. it took less than a day. want to know why we need to be frightened of the islamists? you don't need to look any further than this post.
what really bothers me is that i know a number of muslims, and they are nothing like the hate filled murderous bastards that are fomenting all of this. i fear for my friends, because it will not take too long before those among us that want freedom and security, those diametrically opposed to the message these cretins spout (i.e. kill americans, fuck the jews, fuck free speech) take it on themselves to make their point. the point? islam in its current public state is on a collision course with history. kind of reminds me of the old joke about a syrian kid asking his dad why there were no arabs on Star Trek. a bystander answered, "because it's in the future."

UPDATE i guess it's the old trying to put a lid on a boiling pot. something is going to get by. i went looking for, and found a link to the video. it's out there in a number of places. here's one that doesn't require any fancy stuff to see in my brower (firefox). Shoutfile link to FITNA

electoral equality?

i was driving home from work the other day, and tuned in to KGO radio for a traffic update as i left the Sacramento radio sphere. the host was Gil Gross, and the topic under discussion was Geraldine Ferraro's flap about whether or not Obamamessiah was qualified to run. several callers mentioned they would vote for their candidate strictly on race or gender (that would be the dems.).
now usually, i think Gross is a good fit for San Francisco radio, since he and i have very different views, and his dovetail nicely with the target audience. but he said something out loud, on air, that i've been thinking for almost this entire political season. his comment, loosely transcribed:

"so if you are a woman, you should tell everyone you know that they should vote for hillary, because she's a woman. and if you are african-american, your only choice is obama. does that mean i should be going around telling everyone to vote for McCain, because he's an old white man? imagine the uproar that would cause"

i agree. i guess it's only sexist or racist if it is a white man saying it.
i'm not telling anyone who to vote for. i'm just (again) agog at the pure unfairness of the political correctness of it all... why aren't those people being pilloried for their views as a white male would be using the same logic?

sweet 22s

sweet 22s
Originally uploaded by bothenook

can you tell I like .22s?

Picked up my newest pistol tonight

the interminable 10 day waiting period is over! i went down the range and picked up the newest addition to my collection of .22 target pistols. these are not bullseye pistols, or major accuracy competition pistols. they are more "pretty accurate" plinkers rather than highly accurate target tuned competition pistols. for what i use them for, they are way way more accurate than i can usually shoot.
so i picked up the pistol, signed all the final signature blocks, and headed downstairs to the range built under the shop.

click for larger options
the left target is the first magazine, 10 rounds fired offhand from 7 1/2 yards, right out of the box after i tore it down, cleaned, lubricated, and inspected the pistol. the right target the last 20 rounds (2 magazines) of 100 fired this evening, shot offhand from 15 yards.
i think i'll like this just fine! this shoots pretty damned fine right out of the box. i'll probably tear it down, hone the trigger sear, and replace the trigger spring, firing pin (with titanium) and spring. i won't mess with it until it's been settled in with a bunch of ammo.

David Mamet has an epiphany

David Mamet, one of America's noted playwrights, has had an epiphany. He's realized he's no longer a "brain-dead liberal", in his own words.

here's a link to the article in The Village Voice. yeah, you heard right. the village voice. the only reason i found the article was that it was linked by neo-neocon.

his transition "to the dark side" mirrors one of my favorite intellectual's own epiphany. neo-neocon went from a well educated jewish liberal to something much more. in her words, a neo-neocon. if you have the time, go back to the beginning of her blog and read about her "conversion". there is hope out there!

and don't forget to read the comments. there are a ton of them, but most are quite interesting.
too many caught my attention to pass on, but here is one that i especially thought said what i've felt for years:

This is exactly what has happened to me, only I am a professional historian who has lived all over the country. What I have seen the government do with its programs has made me believe that the only people who really benefit are the bureaucrats who are in charge. It has also created a new slave class of people who have to live up to all government requirements in order to benefit, but not get ahead in life. Thus, this class becomes indebted to those who gave them the programs, convinced that they are unable to do for themselves. This keeps some politicians in power, but actually keeps this slave class in a permanent dependency.

As an educator, I also see this in our education system. So many of our school districts are top heavy in administrators that those who teach do not even know what some of these administrators are supposed to be doing. These administrators are out of touch with what is going on in the classroom and just basically are concerned with keeping their jobs. Combine that with parents who are both working to provide their children with the basics and we have children who are on their own and behave like it as well. With little discipline at home, they feel like they should have free rein in the classroom as well. Teachers, having to deal with classrooms as large as 30-35 students, spend most of their time trying to discipline rather than teach and soon burn out.

and one more

So many entries here are proving Mamet right. He's Big Brother. A dictator-lover. He's racist, or nearly so. He's thrown in with the Authoritarians. He's for the Evil Corporations, or he doesn't realize the stranglehold Wall Street has on the political process, i.e. he's too stupid to know. Or he's gone from brain-dead liberal to brain-dead-conservative.

What next? He's Darth Vader? Why the vitriol and personal attacks, instead of refuting in an erudite, calm and civilized manner the finer points of his piece?

I know why. It's easier to smear and slander someone you disagree with than it is to debate them, isn't it? Debate requires thought. Slander does not. It is lazy, instinctual ideological knee-jerking, not rigorous intellectual discourse. It requires no thought. It is autonomic mental regurgitation driven by anger, not reason.

In other words, it is brain-dead spew. And on that note I, and David Mamet if I may be so bold, rest our case.

coolest flashlight on the block.

check this out. you know, when i was a kid, the Man From U.N.C.L.E. was the rage, and they had some really cool toys. of course, my buddy Johnny Z. and i spent every damned dime we could beg, borrow, steal, earn (i had a paper route), or cajole our parents to buy the entire collection of toys. let's see, there was a camera, that turned into a cap gun, and a briefcase that was both a gun and a camera. i don't remember any of the others, but between us, we had all of them, and killed an unimaginable number of bad guys and spys in our little town of Burns Oregon. they were the coolest, and made the more modern Transformer toys seem like, well, toys. OURS fired caps.
so i'm guessing the design team for this little jewel were fans like John and I were.

i'm not sure what i'd do with it, but i want one!

follow THIS LINK to watch the sales pitch.

this must make the gun control weenies sweat in their sleep.

editlooks like i'm not the only one that thinks this is a pretty cool gizmo. the armed liberal over at Winds of Change posted too, and the comments are great. one of his comments has a link to what looks a lot like the toys i talked about at the beginning of this post.

how bad things are getting from the gun control lobby

here's an article that i'm lifting in toto from the local paper. my experiences with purchasing anything "gun related" when i lived in Napa County were all negative. as in, no we don't sell stuff to napa county.
crazy. but this dude has at least put a humorous spin to things. he points out the one of the really asinine things that has come about from the whole control issue. read and enjoy:

Italian cobbler threat looms
By Brian Hamlin
Article Launched: 03/09/2008 08:13:37 AM PDT

As a recreational shooter and dedicated armchair adventurer, I delight in prowling through dusty military surplus stores and poring over the mail order surplus catalogs that find their way into my mailbox with alarming regularity.

With the passage of time, however, I've found that regulations have changed drastically as to what sorts of surplus treasures can be ordered from one's favorite catalog of used military hardware.

Many states have enacted tough regulations about what cannot be shipped across their state lines. Although I don't necessarily agree with all of the restrictions, I can understand how some misguided lawmakers might think it best not to ship realistic - but nonfiring - rocket-propelled grenade launchers to California, or surplus East German flare guns to New York.

I was, however, somewhat taken aback last week when, while thumbing through one of my favorite surplus catalogs, I discovered that antique Italian military surplus shoe makers' kits had been placed on the restricted shipping list.

Although not something I would ordinarily purchase, the antique Italian shoe maker's kit with hammers, shoe nails, heavy thread, leather knives and punches seemed like a real bargain at $69.97.

The kit looked pretty innocuous, but it bore not one, but two, restricted shipping warnings.

The first read: "Cannot be sold to minors, convicted felons, those convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or chemically dependent...".

The second warning advised that the kits could not be shipped to Marin, Napa, Yolo or Ventura counties.

A puzzler for sure, amigos.

Do convicted criminals spend all their time feverishly scheming about how to get their hands on antique Italian shoe makers' kits the moment they get out of jail?

Are they going to stroll into the nearest bank with a note that reads, "Gimme the cash. I've got a shoe."

Weird ...

Then there are the county restrictions. Exactly what do Marin, Yolo, Napa and Ventura counties have against antique Italian shoe makers' kits - or is this simply a politically expedient way to discriminate against elderly Italian shoe makers?

Fortunately, there's no restriction on ordering these kits in Solano County and I think I can make a handsome profit by sending off for a dozen or so and then slipping over nearby county lines after dark to peddle my contraband on the mean streets of Davis or Yountville.

"Pssssst! Hey, buddy - lookin' for an antique Italian shoe maker's kit? You got two hundred bucks? Yeah? I think we got a deal ..."

Brian Hamlin can be reached at courts@thereporter.com.

"Old Time" recipe: Quick Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Cookie tagged me to post an "old time recipe that that no modern health conscious person in their right mind would eat today at this post.

ok, so i don't play these reindeer games of answering up to tagged memes and the sort anymore. but this is a challenge i couldn't pass up, because i have one that is so good, and probably so bad for you, that it is definitely on my "make it again" list.

first of all, i didn't make this recipe up. i saw it on Paula Deen's Food TV show. i'm going to lift the recipe in its entirety, because it's so easy, and so good, that i won't modify it. if you want to go visit Paula's website, here's a link

Please note that if you DO make this, back off on the salt. between the corned beef and the bacon, you will probably be just right. any extra salt should be added at the table, to taste.

Also note that if you have arterial blockage or problems with cholesterol, you might want to avoid this dish. but if you do, too bad.
now, here's the exact recipe lifted off of Paula's site.

• 4 slices bacon
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 head green cabbage, coarsely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 can corned beef

Cook the bacon in large pot over medium heat until almost crisp. Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside. Melt the butter in the pot with the bacon grease. Add the cabbage, stirring well to coat the cabbage in fat. Add about 1/3 cup water, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cover pot with a lid, and cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the bacon into small pieces.

Remove the lid from the pot, and scatter chunks of corned beef and chopped bacon over top of the cabbage. Cover and cook until desired doneness. I personally like a little bit of crunch left to the cabbage.

Tip: Cabbage is one of those vegetables that naturally contains water in its leaves. Begin by adding just a small amount of water. As cabbage cooks, if it needs more liquid, then add more water.

got it? ok, here's my take. as i said before, back off the salt. and you might not like this because of the canned corned beef. my kids all say it reminds them of cat food, but then, they don't like seafood either.
as a great substitute, try kielbasa instead of canned corned beef. you could even add carrots and spuds to this, but then it will no longer be a "quick" recipe.
enjoy.
this is the second recipe i've done exactly as she's published it. the first was pecan stuffed dates wrapped in bacon.
this lady doesn't cook low fat, but damn does she cook good food.

i'm not tagging anyone, but feel free to participate. if you do, let me know so i can steal your recipe too.

if you have an extra can of corned beef, and are wondering what to do with it, might i suggest trying the canned corned beef hash sandwich spread. it's damned tasty, and easy to make.

as always, if you try this recipe, or it inspires you to try something different, please let me know how it turned out. i'm always looking for fresh and clever ideas to improve my own cooking skills and recipes.

for a complete list of my online recipes, follow the link here