11/13/2022 - BLOG COMMENTS are again allowed and are moderated to exclude only the bots, advertisements, racial / ethnic pejoratives, and embedded links. I'll attempt to honor Chicago's historical "Bughouse Square" concept of free-speech and open debate --- spanning the curve from the far-left to the far-right. /JZ
Blogging to you from the Northeastern Badlands of The County of Lake, in the state currently known as Fatmanistan, DEEP DEEP DEEP DEEP DEEP inside the heartland of the Banana Republic formerly known as the USA, WELCOME TO THE NEXT CHAPTER! WARNING! ALL FORMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ARE ADDICTIVE; EXCESSIVE USE MAY LEAD TO MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS, REDUCED JOB PRODUCTIVITY, INSOMNIA, SOCIAL ALIENATION, GENITAL ULCERS, BLINDNESS, POLITICAL EROTICISM, AND / OR DEVIANT FUNAMBULISM. NOTICE: NO GUNS OR AMMUNITION ARE FOR SALE VIA THIS BLOG. (No, I will not trade my Colt Python for some lubricious adventures with your trophy wife and a future first-round draft pick.) CAVEAT: This blog is not suitable for viewing while at work, while inside a public library, while inside any public or private school, or while inside any public or private restroom. Do not view this blog while driving a motor vehicle or while piloting an aircraft. Viewing this blog may be illegal inside the EU, NYC, Chicago, Seattle, and other parts of the Third World. THIS BLOG CONTAINS (albeit often very childish) ADULT-CONTENT. DISCLAIMER: This blog is a hobby, it is not a livelihood. Even though much of what I blog about relates to firearms collecting and recreational shooting, I am not an expert (by any measure) on any facet of guns, shooting, hunting, or personal defense. Entries at this blog are akin to good old-fashioned campfire chats or post hunt bourbon-fueled barroom-bluster; I offer no opinion on what you should or should not purchase, or what you should be using or doing. What does or does not work for me could be rugged-country-miles away from your tastes and your needs. All products, places, and miscellany that I review for this blog are purchased / rented / leased at retail price by me. I do not accept payment, gifts, discounts, freebies, products on loan, distilled spirits, recreational pharmaceuticals, plea-bargains, probation, parole, Papal Blessings, Presidential Pardons, or sexual favors for doing any review or blog post. TRACKING COOKIES: Google et al stick tracking cookies on everybody. If you are online, you are being spied on via one method or another, for one reason or another; 'nuff said. You may be able to minimize your online DNA residue by using Tor and Duck Duck Go. Vive la liberté! Vive all y'all! Ante omnia armari. To each of you, thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Illinois debates “Assault Weapons” ban


The most politically corrupt state in the nation is still striving to disarm honest citizens.  Why am I not hearing any testimony as to the demographics of violent gun crimes in Illinois?  Where is the testimony on the failure of government to keep criminals in prison?  What good will “tougher” gun laws do when our politicians do not give our justice system the means to enforce the existing laws? 

Spare us the political grandstanding.  Illinois government is a collective failure.

Please boycott Illinois.


SOURCE PDF

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

If bigger prisons and jails save even one child’s life, wouldn’t it be worth it?


The murder of Hadiya Pendleton would not have happened if the shooter were behind bars where he belonged. The politicians prefer to grab headlines with their blather about “More bigger better gun laws” while ignoring the fact that they gang members arrested for gun violations see little jail time.  Instead of building more prisons to house the unsalvageable scum, Illinois is closing prisons.

Whether it is city jails, county jails, or state prisons, there is a revolving door for inmates in Illinois.  Politicians lie and people die. 


Sunday, February 17, 2013

The ever-practical ElZetta ZFL-M60 tactical flashlight

My pocket ElZetta is the low-profile bezel, two-battery-cell version, with the clicky off/on, twisty high/low tailcap. 


Why did I purchase ElZetta ZFL-M60 flashlights?  I hate to waste words when someone else says something better than I can; Grant Cunningham ‘splains it best.

I will offer that I am a practical person; I am not a tactical person.  If I don’t find something to be practical, I won’t spend my money on it no matter how fashionably tactical it may be.  The ElZetta ZFL-M60 is a premium flashlight, made in the USA.  With ElZetta, you do get what you pay for.  I have a house full of the inexpensive flashlights that activate via a click-shake-rattle-and-whack.  While those are fine for general use, there is always an occasion when I need instant gratification from my portable illumination.  During the many years before ElZetta, I did not find the “premium flashlights” to be any better than the cheap brands.  Finally, technology and craftsmanship have caught up with the hype.

Decades ago, if some marauding varmint required nighttime remediation, a cheap flashlight was fastened to a shotgun with friction tape and hose clamps, using a hand-carved block of wood as an offset spacer.  Today, courtesy of the ElZetta ZSM mount, such improvisations are not required.  On one of my Mossberg personal defense shotguns is the low-profile bezel, three-battery-cell version, with the clicky off/on, twisty high/strobe tailcap, shown perfectly positioned for thumb-activation when my hand is on the slide.




Friday, February 15, 2013

The taxman cometh


Tuesday I meet with my back alley accountant, Guido T. Barbarian, for the final crunching of the numbers.  Guido does taxes to supplement the income from his regular job as a freelance bill collector, something he refers to as “crunching heads.”  I was contemplating doing my taxes myself this year but fear that Guido is one not to take rejection graciously. 


Thursday, February 14, 2013

Amazon bans gun products



In fairness, gun owners should boycott Amazon and make some noise about it.

Do it for the children.  It’s only common sense.


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

One reason why I am an independent voter is because the Obama and Bush administrations agree on manure like this


Neither major political party has a monopoly on BIG BROTHER or BIG GOVERNMENT.  CLICK HERE to read about the unbelievable reality.  Below are some brief excerpts from the linked article.  If VOTERS don’t start making some serious noise, this shit will continue to grow out of control. 

“The President George W. Bush administration first announced the suspicionless, electronics search rules in 2008. The President Barack Obama administration followed up with virtually the same rules a year later. Between 2008 and 2010, 6,500 persons had their electronic devices searched along the U.S. border, according to DHS data.”

“According to legal precedent, the Fourth Amendment — the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures — does not apply along the border. By the way, the government contends the Fourth-Amendment-Free Zone stretches 100 miles inland from the nation’s actual border.”

EDITED to add: By virtue of proximity to Lake Michigan, my domicile here in northern Illinois is in the border zone; no warrant needed to confiscate my computer or cell phone.  If you are traveling to Chicago or Milwaukee, welcome to my third world.




Monday, February 11, 2013

ANTI-GUN Billionaire REPUBLICAN NYC Mayor Bloomberg campaigning against PRO-GUN Illinois DEMOCRAT



Not all REPUBLICANS are PRO-GUN, and not all DEMOCRATS are ANTI-GUN.  While you have every right to state your opinions loudly and proudly, the above is just something you may want to keep in mind before blathering about partisan stereotypes. 


Friday, February 8, 2013

Congress needs to investigate the out of control Los Angeles Police Department



There are no excuses for this idiocy.  The behavior on this and other incidents is nothing short of insanity.  The public DESERVES protection from bad cops, and the good cops need to be recognized and rewarded.

I foresee a future when federal law mandates that every on-duty police officer be wired for audio and visual; every word they say, every move they make, will be recorded, no exceptions.


Thursday, February 7, 2013

Long boot time with my MacBook Pro OS X Mountain Lion


The short of it is that I downloaded a fresh, unpatched, version of Mountain Lion from the App Store, installed it, and my boot time went from 8-minutes to under a minute, which is where it was when I bought it around 14-months ago.

The (condensed) longer version is that I spent a few days researching and performing a myriad of trials, tests, and solutions from others who had run into this problem, none of which did my machine any good, with the one exception being the idea of reinstalling OS X.  I’m not sure when the problem started on my machine because I only reboot once or twice a week (I usually just close the lid and let the laptop sleep between sessions) and am usually distracted during the spin time on startup.  When I originally went from Lion to Mountain Lion, I saw no problems with the boot time; for whatever reason, something went wrong on my end since then.

I find Apple products to be far less trouble than MS Windows systems, but I would not feel comfortable using the term “trouble free.”  IMHO, Apple is the best thing at this moment in time.


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Score another clean job for the FBI


From the many articles I have read, it certainly looks like the FBI (with other named and unnamed agencies) made all the correct moves inAlabama.  If there was another way for the situation to end, it was out of their hands.


Union holding Twinkies hostage



My far rightwing sources say that the GOP is drafting “Right to Twinkies” legislation to amend to any “Assault Weapons Ban.”  The far left can have Union Twinkies or a Weapons Ban, but not both. 


The No Drone Zone


Here comes the first of the ANTI-DRONE laws.  It reminds me of the old days when cities proudly posted those silly NUKE FREE ZONE signs. 

In other news, Obama can now drone-blast whomever he wants, including Americans.   I’ll wager it is code-named “Operation Skeet Shoot.”


Monday, February 4, 2013

Here is how to keep more guns from reaching the hands of the public


Quit trying.

Whether real or perceived, the threat of government banning or restricting guns and ammunition has put far more firearms into the hands of law abiding Americans than the NRA ever could.  I would have surmised that the great thinkers in our government would have figured that out by now. 

The late Mike Schrank of Waukegan once told me that “gun control” was the best thing that ever happened to his business.  He said that before the plethora of anti-gun zealot politicians, his business suffered ebb and flow from one hunting season to the next.  He said that guns used to be a discretionary purchase for most folks and that when recessions hit, his business suffered like all others.  When talk of gun bans became louder and more common, buying guns moved from being discretionary to essential, even during recessions.

I supposed that the bright side of all this is that guns and ammo sales has been one of the few true economic successes of the Obama administration.  It seems like the only time politicians get something right is by being wrong.

(In memory of Mike (seated) and John Schrank; we miss you both.  You were great friends and honest merchants.)


Saturday, February 2, 2013

Pro-gun activist David Codrea just tried to kill me


WARNING!  If you CLICK HERE, you might just die laughing.

My God, man!  I laughed so hard and so long that I almost had compound cerebral hemorrhages.  Bloody snot was coming out of my nose. 

David, you done stepped across the line.  Off to Guantanamo you go!


Friday, February 1, 2013

WWII Stalingrad war hero remembers



Please never forget the Russian heroes.  They were children, women, and men.  They were both soldiers and civilians. 

The evils that have come before can come again.


Does your AR-15 need a psychiatrist?



Next hit TV reality show may be “The Gun Whisperer.”


Thank you FBI 2/1/2013



A court of law will have final say on guilt or innocence.  Bad cops are few, but they deserve zero tolerance.  Good cops are many and deserve endless appreciation.


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Be they Republican, Democrat, third party, fourth party or beyond, make each candidate earn it. Vote NO MORE GUN LAWS!

'We the Politicians of the United States, in Order to avoid a more perfect Union, manipulate Justice, destroy domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common offense, promote general Warfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our Progeny, do blaspheme and eviscerate this Constitution of the United States of America." ("Zack," circa 1966 -1970)
Please consider RECURRING UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS of ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL POLITICIANS (including but not limited to school records, acquaintances, employment history, Social Media, financial, drug, and psychiatric screenings). Please consider TERM LIMITS; political power corrupts.