Sticking my head up

 Well the past few months have been 'interesting', as in the ancient Chinese curse 'May you live in interesting times.' meaning.

First: The assassination of Charlie Kirk, the head of Turning Point USA last week.

A definite tragedy all the way around, regardless of his ideology, this reminds me much of the shooting of MLK in some respects.  In both instances, the shooter was someone who feared the words of the victim, felt 'threatened', and decided the violent approach was the only way to go.  When one brings violence and bloodshed to the political arena in order to initiate the furtherance of a political objective, that is terrorism.  

And per the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of terrorism is:

    the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

So here we are not too clear yet on Kirk's shooters actual motivations, but it should flesh out more as the investigation continues, and I will always try to keep an open mind.

Second: ICE deportations.

An extreme solution to the problem of illegal criminal immigrants in this nation, but unfortunately justified given the Biden admin's previous 4 years of throwing open the floodgates so to speak.  However, this just needs to reinforce the need for a proper 'guest worker' program to be implemented which will allow those who want to work to come into the US to do so but at the same time do two important things:

    1. Protect the ability of US citizens to work, and...

    2. Ensure that the guest worker does not get a 'free ride' on the public trough.

In addition, ICE needs to continue to focus on criminal illegals, not just the regular working folks just trying to make a living, and who actually pay into the system (i.e. taxes, social security).  Let's clean up the trash first, and hopefully by then both the deplorable D's and reprehensible R's can come up with a workable bipartisan solution.  

As you may be aware, I am registered as a Libertarian, but I do not hold with the 'open borders' portion of the national party's plank.  

Without borders, you do not have a nation.

'Nuff said...for now at least.

Happy 249th, America!

 I know it's late but wanted to get it in.

Plus anyone who can, please send good thoughts to Big Country as he is going through some personal bad stuff at the moment.  Hopefully things will be on the upswing for him very shortly.  If you want details go check his blog out, definitely worth the time.

Some random thoughts for a Wednesday morning

 I have recently noticed with interest some posts by Peter and a rebuttal by Divemedic on the efficacy of various pistol calibers in a self-defense situation, and how oftentimes the best use of a pistol is to allow the user to get to the rifle that will really get the job done post-haste.

I am a very good shot with my Glock 17 Gen 3, although not competition quality I did receive complements from the range master and CCW instructor on my groupings on target at 5 and 7 yards, which by most accounts is typical ranges for a self-defense scenario.  I do have my M4gery in 5.56 NATO handy with a full mag when needed at home in a good spot that I can fight to it when needed.  I did note in DM's posting that:

Still, I wouldn’t feel undergunned with that M&P9. In fact, I have fullsized M&P’s in 9mm, .357Sig, .40S&W, .45ACP, and 10mm. I love the M&P platform, and any of those calibers would suit me fine.

The problem is that I live in Florida. It’s hot. It’s humid, and open carry it illegal. So as a result, people wear lightweight clothes that make it a challenge to carry full sized handguns, so you leave it at home. 

Living here in a similar, albeit less-humid, environment also causes some difficulties in carrying a full-sized pistol.  However, unlike in Florida, Nevada does allow open carry so it is easier in some respects to have the means to defend yourself.  The unfortunate part is that open carry in the resort corridors and some businesses is very highly frowned upon, to say the least.  Besides, why try to give the bad guy an easy target when the next mass shooting takes place?

On a personal level, I have been having some serious ups and downs emotionally.  Fortunately thanks to some good friends that's been managed really well.  So overall I am doing good and just doing my best in dealing with life in general.

I have also been sitting back and watching Trump 2.0 trying their best to fix the country and the opposition totally losing their collective minds and shit trying to oppose it.  I think we're barely still in the first 100 days of the new administration, and things are still in a massive state of flux.  I think by the 4th of July everyone will have a better read on how things will go for this nation, and meanwhile I just keep the snacks handy.  

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah

 May the holiday season be good to you and yours.  See you all next year.

'The Lonely Libertarian' blog is back up

 After taking a nearly 5 year hiatus, The Lonely Libertarian is back up and active.

I haven't noticed until earlier today that there's been new uploads by Angel, and I am so happy to see her back up, and I look forward to seeing what she has in store for us blog readers.

So I've been doing something different

 I have recently been going to a local swinger's club with my lady friend here locally, and have been having a good time overall.

The club is a small local hangout that's been around for a very long time.  Admission is $40 for couples, and when you go in on Wednesday nights, you get a card for free return admission on subsequent nights until Saturday.  Pretty good deal in our opinion, and the fun usually lasts until 1-2 am.

There is a dance floor with DJs, a bar (it's BYOB), a pool and hot tub (very nice and well worth the price of admission alone), and multiple private bedrooms plus an orgy room for the pleasures.  On Friday and Saturday nights, there is an upstairs area reserved for couples only (no singles allowed), plus they also serve some food.  Very well-behaved bunch of folks as the first rule is 'No means No', and violators are asked to leave if they persist.  So no crazy shenanigans to be had unless it's with consent.  Also, no photography or cell phone usage are permitted inside the club.

It can be real easy to get yourself lost in all the lust, so my friend and I agreed to basically just go every other week and give ourselves a break in between.

There are other places in the Vegas area, but this one we seem to be more comfortable in, and less cliques involved than the other places.  It just gives us a chance to relax, be ourselves, and socialize with other like-minded individuals. 

This evening I am chilling at work awaiting a call, and hope things stay frosty tonight.

More to come later as usual...

A good point made by the Bayou Renaissance Man

 I came across this posting from Peter regarding the fragility of our infrastructure, which made me think of the potential for mayhem here in Sin City.

Contrary to popular belief, Hoover Dam only provides a small portion of electricity for the Las Vegas area; most of our power comes from natural gas turbine generator plants, with a bit of solar and geothermal power generation thrown in.  The natural gas supply mostly comes from western Texas and eastern New Mexico via pipelines thru Arizona, and IIRC there's also one coming from Wyoming via Utah.  Altogether, those are vulnerable to disruption from natural disaster, malevolent actors, etc.

Water is also an issue as almost all of it is pumped from Lake Mead, and over 90% of what we take out is put back in after it's treated.  Granted, it's still vulnerable to various things, and lord help us if the pumps fail.  The fabled Las Vegas Springs are just a memory as they literally stopped being a source of water here after the 1950's.

And since Clark County has been pretty much a big D stronghold since before I moved here (in 1991), expect the usual mindset from similar voices in other dastardly D areas.

Prep quietly, keep things low key, and keep your powder dry (easy to do with all the heat).