Crime in Progress

From NRA News:

There's someone out there telling folks to buy guns illegally, and I think it's time we put a stop to it. He's directing contract employees to walk into gun stores, lie on the paperwork about who's buying the gun, and walk out after making a straw purchase.

Even worse, he's bragging about what he's doing. He's holding press conferences to tell the world about what he's done, but so far law enforcement doesn't seem to be listening.

Well, I think it's time we help out the ATF agents that enforce our nation's gun laws. We need to call their Illegal Gun Hotline at 1-800-ATF-GUNS (that's 1-800-283-4867) and alert them to this illegal firearms activity. Tell them that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is hiring private investigators to initiate straw purchases in several states, and you want them to enforce the law.

(more)

Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, possibly commits multiple felonies by hiring agents to intentionally and knowingly commit multiple federal felonies (straw purchases, etc) for his benefit and so far the ATF and DOJ have barely even blinked.

When I went to school we were taught that no person in America is "above the law"?

Update:

The straw purchases and associated misdeeds were performed by private investigators under contract. They did not have any law enforcement authority, and even if they did, they would have been far out of their jurisdiction. The only law enforcement organization with the authority to legally conduct a straw purchase sting is the BATFE because of the particular federal laws involved. If Mr. Bloomberg even asked the NYPD to take part in this scheme, he was likely laughed out of the room because the officers would understand that they would not be immune from federal prosecution operating well ouside of their jurisdiction and state.

The lack of jurisdiction is the reason that Bloomberg has threatened and pursued rememdies in civil court, because there is no legal authority for NYC to go after an out of state business for an alleged violation of federal law.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and good intentions are not a justification for breaking the law.

Update 2:

Bitter is asking people to contact their local news outlets and is even offering to research the media contacts for you so you can make sure to pester the right reporter.

If the press manipulates their readers, is it wrong for the readers to manipulate the press? vicious circles, fun while it lasts, road to hell, and all...

Shame on me

I keep forgetting to link to our buddy in Basrah: Brown Sand Sailor

Tim is a serious student of history and a terrific guy. Liz and I miss our late night conversations with Tim and another soldier (who can remain anonymous), sitting outside the trailer in Basrah enjoying the cool evening air.

I still can, however, look forward to getting back to the DC area where we can sit down with Tim and have a proper discussion, you know, with beer.

Helicopters small and smaller

I've had a life long obsession with helicopters, something that has almost lead me into the military several times, but my timing was always wrong. Despite this I've never actually managed to ride in one, but it is on my to do list.

Naturally my obsession with helicopters has lead to a hobby with Radio Control helicopters. I started several years ago with a medium sized (4 foot rotor-span) gas (nitro) powered helicopter, but I didn't have the time or timing to really learn how to fly it. I then moved across the country and finding a reasonable space to fly it became even more difficult.

Flying a helicopter is extremely difficult, and the smaller the helicopter, the harder it is to fly. "Balancing a ball bearing on a sheet of glass" is an apt metaphor for flying a helicopter. The most economical way to learn how to fly is on a computer simulator, and I did manage to get ok at that. Despite my lack of flying time and space I've followed the technology closely (RCGroups is a phenominal resource) and I got more excited as advances in technology kept delivering smaller and better rc helis at better prices.

In the early fall the new version of the Precision Heli Micron V2 was announced and I decided it was time to leap back into the hobby. I ordered the heli and plenty of spare parts ( you always need a good stock of spare parts with RC "toys") and timed everything to arrive about the time we got back from vacation to Afghanistan. Once we got back it was another month before I had the time to properly setup the heli and give it a go.

The memory in my thumbs, which are used to control the helicopter, was not up to speed, but fortunately the tough little heli was up to the abuse. I'm sure it helped that I was flying the heli in our small, well padded, room, but I only managed to break parts on the helicopter when I was taking it apart to "fiddle". The Micron V2 is very well setup and everything is preset and fixed so there are very few opportunities for the owner to change a setting (linkage length, etc) to their detriment (because they can't).

RC electronics have been mostly stuck in the dark ages up until about a year ago when a company named Spektrum came out with RC gear that takes advantage of the unregulated 2.4GHz band and spread spectrum signalling to deliver a high speed, rock solid signal, free of glitches. The difference between the old and the new is not something you can really understand without experience, except the new 2.4GHz DSM is much, much better than the old 72 MHz gear. The difference between the two can reasonably be simplified to the difference between analog and digital, but that opens a few cans of worms if taken too far.

Combine the advances in RC gear and helicopters and you arrive at the Eflite Blade CX2, which combines the latest Spektrum DSM radio with a small (13" rotorspan) co-axial helicopter. The CX2 is bigger than the Micron, and as a co-axial (two counter-rotating rotors), the CX2 is very stable and easy to learn on. The CX2 has been great to fly, though it is not as resilient as the Micron V2, it has done the job in helping me (re)learn how to fly helicopters. To purchase the CX2 and parts I used MyRCsupply.net and the prices and service have been terrific.

With my thumbs retrained, flying the Micron V2 has been much more successful and a lot of fun. I've managed to wear out a couple of parts on the Micron, and the service from the manufacturer, Precision Heli, has been great. I'm starting to get good enough that it's really just a joy to fly the little Micron and I'm starting to map out future projects (the next project on my list is mating the CX2's next generation digital brain to the Micron V2).

If you're looking for another new hobby, flying radio controlled helicopters is challenging, rewarding, frustrating, and fun. Spend some time doing good research, because there are a lot of mistakes to be made and money to be wasted if you don't take the time to learn from other's experiences.

Liz is not MIA

Liz is not MIA, she is not in hiding, despite the lack of Christmas, though the shortage of sunlight is leaving here a bit SAD, the problem is blogger being a PITA and not wanting to let her switch to the new version. This is also the reason the blog format is being jumbled around. There are workarounds, but they say the problems wil be fixed in a few days, so she'll probably just wait.

Liz does have new knitting pictures, but they are mostly Christmas presents, so the pictures won't be posted until the new year.

Welcome Rhys Phinneus

A very good friend and his wonderful wife, who I think would prefer to remain anonymous, are celebrating the birth of their first child, Rhys Phinneus [lastname].

Congratulations , and welcome to the world Rhys! May your life be full of learning, love, and joy.

Maybe the proud parents can send us a picture?

Just one question

The unending gun-rights freedom v. restrictions debate gets entertaining, but it also occasionally gets bogged down when you realize people are just talking past each other without any interest in actually listening, they are merely trying to make sure that their voice and viewpoint is added to the "discussion". In order to avoid said situations, it's occasionally expedient to boil out a few test questions that will allow the people involved to determine if there is going to be an exchange of ideas or a "discussion". Sometimes it's more expedient to just drop a question and wander away, occasionally checking back for an answer.

Hence Joe Huffman's "Just one question".

Handy, that. I think I need to firgure out how to link to it permanently.

In Search of the Second Amendment

David Hardy, a recognized scholar and lawyer, who blogs over "Of Arms and the Law" has completed a new documentary, "In Search of the Second Amendment".

Dave got the first batch shipped out over the weekend and was nice enough to let me know mine had shipped out. I'm looking forward to seeing the documentary and sharing it around the base. I would strongly recommend it to add to your education regarding the 2nd Amendment.

Best Powerpoint, ever

People tend to over-emphasize fancy graphics and silly crap when building Powerpoint presentations, burying the message and obscuring any points they were trying to make. Simplicity really is best, and I should know, I took a class on developing Powerpoint presentations in college [that was humor, by the way - though I really did take a class and got top marks for my final presentation].

Cpt. Trav presents "How to win in Anbar" (courtesy ABC News)

Unfortunately Cpt. Travis "Trav" Patriquin was killed by an IED last week. (more) Blessings to his family and friends, our hearts are with you.

Christmas cheer

A truly heartwarming story from LawDog, a small town Texas Sherrif's Deputy:

"You're Stealing Baby Jesus?"

Warning: (via buzz_knox) The following story should not be read while sipping hot coffee. Readers might find themselves in a difficult situation when the need to laugh is outweighed by the need not to spray coffee, but with both needs outweighed by the knowledge that attempts to swallow the coffee will result in burns down the windpipe.

Mail to APO addresses gets easier

One of the PITA's people run into when sending stuff to friends and family serving and working overseas is that you have to fill out a customs form to send to APO and FPO (Air/Army Post Office and Fleet Post Office) addresses, because they are outside of the United States for customs purposes.

The post office has now made that easier by putting the required customs forms online so you can fill them out and print them at home:

USPS Customs Forms Online

You can use form 2976 for packages under 16 ounces, or form 2976-A for any package.

[note: blogging is light - work has been very busy for the past week, and it'll take me a few days to get caught up now]

Would you believe?

We were equally amused at Clayton Cramer's comment of "Would you believe that there is a blog titled "Honeymoon in Iraq" and this is an accurate description of what this couple is doing?" The title is not quite accurate since we've moved over to Afghanistan, but the adventure is similar. We received matching job offers to come over to Iraq and work, so we got married about 5 months ahead of schedule and now we are getting paid to see the world on our "honeymoon", albeit a part of the world many people would choose not to see. After we were in Iraq for about 3 months the company asked us to move over to Afghanistan, so here we are.

It should be obvious that we believe in the mission over here that we are supporting. Two truly evil regimes have been deposed and despite what the Associated Press seems to want to believe, life is generally safer in Iraq and Afghanistan than it used to be. People no longer fear the secret police, women are allowed to go to school, work, and live beyond fear of their lives from the religious police, nutcases, and well connected psychopaths that used to rape and kill with impunity. Despite the efforts of a few determined extremists, both countries have established democracies with voter participation and electoral choice that exceeds the United States.

By working over here we are also building a nest egg for our next adventure, where ever that may lead us. Sometime next summer we'll return to Northen Virginia and figure out where next. My old job has been BRAC'd (Base Realignment and Closure) to Huntsville, Alabama, and the more we look into Huntsville, the more we like. We've found several good houses that fit our parameters as well as being about 1/3 the price of similar housing in Northern Virginia. Currently Liz is busy convincing me that I want to commute 20 miles to work so we can pick the place with 43 acres and expand her options in her future dream of being a dedicated sheep-herder. Ranching and sheep would seem to go well with raising and schooling a family, though I think it's partially a justification her her to buy a horse. I don't really mind as long as there is a suitable place for me to build a dedicated shooting range.

Insomnia? Still not my friend.

PUFFS PLEASE!

My nose is in serious need of some Puffs with aloe. Please help!

Yes, I am sick again. I'm good in the medication department, but I've been using TP for tissues and the PX only has generic tissues which aren't much better.

Clarification and Correction

For clarification, we are perfectly happy being all the way in the rear with the gear on a base that has not been attacked in quite a long time. We're also very appreciative of the people that go out every day making sure it stays that way.

Personally I find it cruel and unusual to send people out where they are going to be shot at without allowing them to shoot back. Fortunately, the Army agrees. Lowly contractors are pretty limited in where they can go for that reason, and the occasional mortar or rocket (Basrah) is about as much entertainment as we are paid to have.

Liz has insisted on correcting me about Bagram. Bagram is an Air Field (i.e. Army), not an Air Base (i.e. Air Force). This apparently explains the lack of a golf course, good food, and comfortable housing.

Insomnia is still not my friend.

If you every want to truly begin to despise the sound of your own voice, try editing several hours of video where you are somewhere near the camera. It's frightful. The wedding pictures and video DVD is coming along well, but the first round will just have the raw video. Winter project #7 will include editing the video down and making an "entertaining" DVD that should be less frightful.

Some people have a face for radio, I have a voice for publishing.

But, what's it like?

We get asked occasionally what it is like living in a "war zone". The short answer is that it's boring, very boring, once you get used to the sounds of mortars, rockets, mines, and gunfire.

The slightly longer answer is that you have to understand that we are about as far from the actual fighting as Manassas is from southeast D.C., or Hollywood from South Central L.A. We are truly in the rear with the gear, snuggled up in base, that we don't leave, that hasn't seen any hostile activity in well over a year. True REMF's in the military parlance.

We work long days, and we work most days, and it has a lot to do with why the number one activity out here is anything and everything that is not work and helps you forget where you really are. Video games are hugely popular out here. The PX/BX/AAFES is lousy at stocking video games, especially anything new, but it probably has something to do with how every time they open up a fresh case of games or DVD's they sell out within a day. Unless they suck. If you want to know what games and movies are just so abominably bad they won't even sell on the equivalent of a desert island, ask me what's on the shelf here.

So what is Bagram like? Bagram is like most small towns, just one you never quite leave. Bagram has one main street, a few sides streets, and a lot of low grade housing. Bagram has several "restaurants" serving the same vaguely edible food, and a random smattering of fast food joints. Bagram has one "supermarket", a convenience store, and a bunch of "craft" stores selling odds and ends. Bagram has two, count'em two!, four way stops, and no stop lights. If you've ever been to Roundup, Montana, they could be twins, right down to the mountains, weather, scenery, and general climate, except I haven't found the golf course.

The problem with not finding the golf course is that everyone in the world knows that there is no such thing as an Air Force base that doesn't have a golf course. Maybe the lack of golf course problem is the fault of the Soviets and their idiotic love of landmines. It is hard to go anywhere in Bagram without being within a houndred meters of a live minefield, but the cool guys with their nifty robotic bulldozers are clearing up that problem. Air base 101 SOP is to build a golf course and then use the golf course to correctly site and position the runway.

There is pretty tall totem pole of people out here in the war zone. There are the guys that live out in "Indian country" and occasionally stop in for supplies. There are the guys that live out in the tactical bases and spend most of their time out hunting and fighting. There are the guys that live out in the (bigger) forward bases, some of whom don't leave the base (roughly equivalent to where we lived in Iraq). There are the guys that live on the big bases but run out on patrols to keep us safe. There are the people that live and work on the bog bases and carry weapons every day and every where. And, then there are the REMF's: we live and work on the big cozy base, we don't carry weapons (it's a firing offense), and we don't leave the base other than in an some kind of armed and armored transport.

In summary, asking us what it's like out in the "war" is like asking someone in Hollywood with a telescope what it's like over in south central. For some reason Hollywood, though, is full of idiots who think they can sit back in their cozy mansions and tell the rest of us what it's really like living out in the real world. Fortunately, we're not that dumb.

The hat is finished and quite fabulous if you ask me. Next on the list is a matching scarf, yes another scarf, but a scarf with ribbing! Exciting yes? After that a poncho.

Made a little progress on the stocking while I was waiting for the yarn to come in. I've got Santa's face embroidered and appliqued.