Going Out of Town

My husband, I should say first, doesn't carry. Certainly, he is the far better of the two of us at target shooting, but he's extremely hard of hearing and doesn't carry. Not that the two have anything to do with each other, but they do for this story.

We'd scheduled some down time and a few days of luxury at a hotel half-way between our place and my brother's (in a neighboring state) and he and his family were to join us, do the Cedar Point Park, etc. but we finally decided to drive down the day before and have a decent night's sleep before we plunged into days of activity. We made reservations at an unknown hotel and, upon arrival, found it to be a pretty lively place. Two stories but strip motel type place, tons of kids, lots of people with cases of beer being unloaded, etc. We ate, settled in, and later, as we both were relaxing at around 1:00 AM, reading books before we fell asleep, I heard something outside the door, too close, and it sent me into alert. Then I heard the sound of the lock clicking and saw the door handle moving. I jumped up, grabbed my P7, hurried to the door and said in my big girl, don't screw with me voice, "This is NOT your room!" I heard the individual for a heartbeat more but then everything got quiet and I moved a little closer to look through the peephole to see - nothing. Whoever had been trying to get in was now gone.

My husband, when I turned around and said, "They're gone," grinned like six kinds of idiots and said, "That's my girl." I turned and picked up my holster from where I'd tossed it, reholstered my gun and put it back on the nightstand.

I imagine some drunk just got the wrong door and then went away as soon as I informed them of their mistake but it was a perfect example of why every state needs reciprocity and no business needs to disallow visitors' safety by forbidding firearms on the property.

BTW, after I did the first LFI, I asked my husband (then fiance') what he would do if we were ever in a situation where a bad guy needed chastising. I worried that he would still try to do some macho thing even though I would be the armed individual. He told me he would move back and sideways and try to distract the BG to give me more time to do what needed to be done.

I think we're a perfect couple.

Anti-Michigan Initiatives

Last September, our legislators enacted a hunting season for doves. Hunters had fought long and hard for the right to hunt doves in Michigan. This is done in 39 other states successfully without any damage to the population, of course, and provides recreational opportunity, meat on the table, and significant influx of dollars to the economy. In Texas, dove hunters bring $22,000,000 to local economies as well as state coffers for license, etc.

Unfortunately, a national level radical group has targeted the state of Michigan, its hunters and its economy for destruction. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has decided that our legislators.

I'm going to let you in on a fairly well-kept secret. The Humane society of the United States is not associated with any state humane society, does not operate or assist any shelter, and has one agenda and one agenda only as far as wildlife population control is concerned.

"We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States ... We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state."
Wayne Pacelle, President of the Humane Society of the US (HSUS), formerly of Friends of Animals and Fund for Animals, Full Cry Magazine, October 1, 1990

Interesting, no?

Imagine. A group says, "We want to help animals." Then they sue the National Marine Fisheries Services for their part in research efforts targeted at saving a declining population of Steller sea lions, whose population in Alaska has declined by nearly 80% in less than three decades. Nice work, HSUS - how about we let them just end up extinct because your organization doesn't want any interference in their habitat?

Now I certainly recognize that research and hunting are two different issues but they are also quite intertwined, especially if you want a healthy population that lives in concert with the human population of any state.

Presently deer harvest management in Michigan is established primarily at the county level, with the exception of area specific regulations applicable to managed hunts. Because Michigan's diverse landscape is undergoing changes in deer habitat quality as well as variances in human demographics, deer population level objectives must be determined and redertimed yearly, which the Department of Natural Resources does at a State level. The MDNR examines harvest trends and develops new harvest strategies for areas with similar deer populations and land uses.

In Oakland County, where I live, in the year 2003 there were 1,761 deer-vehicle crashes. Statistics vary, as does theiravailabilityy for recent years but deer-vehicle crashes in Michigan in 1996 numbered over 68,000, showing an annual increase each of the preceding years, according to Michigan State Police Crash Statistics. How much does this cost the economy and individuals in terms of damage and human lives and injury? Nationwide, each year, there are more than 1.5 million crashes involving deer, causing an estimated $1.1 billion in vehicle damages, 150 lives lost, and more than 10,000 injuries.

There are fewer natural predators today than in pre-settlement times and there is no argument (other than from various lunatic groups such as the HSUS, PETA, ALF, etc.) that regulated sport hunting is the best way to control deer numbers. Without hunting, deer management and population control would be impossible but the HSUS wants to end all hunting, all animal population control (other than spay/neuter programs), all breeding, and even humane methods for euthanasia. From its web site:

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is commonly used for euthanasia and anesthesia of laboratory rodents. It is a common euthanasia agent apparently because of its ease of use, its relative safety, and its ability to euthanize large numbers of animals in a short time span. In large institutions and those with significant rodent-breeding programs, there are occasions when many rodents are euthanized in a short time, and an appropriate gas agent is often the best method.

They then go on to say that CO₂ should be reconsidered as a euthanasia agent and that "decapitation by well-trained personnel, using well-maintained equipment may be acceptable." Don't put them to sleep - that's inhumane. Decapitate them instead? What the hell? I'm sorry but these people are quite insane.

And I would contend that our state's hunting, fishing and wildlife management is really none of their business when their main focus is simply to stamp out or citizen's right to hunt, fish and regulate their own wildlifepopulationss.

The dove hunt law, passed by our legislature and signed by our governor is under siege by this group, which has been a driving force behind a petition drive to change our law and end dove hunting in Michigan. A Michigan-based citizen led group has been formed to oppose the 2006 ballot initiative that would ban the hunting of doves in Michigan. I freely admit to being involved in the effort and to volunteering to do their web site work. You see, I believe that it is wrong for anyone other than the citizens of our state to make the decisions that govern our hunting heritage.

Please visit the Hunting Heritage DefenseCommitteee web site and consider donating and/or endorsing our fight against an outsider group. Endorsement costs nothing, but helps us in our fight and no information will be sold or otherwise shared. Every dollar donated helps us in our efforts to educate the public on this ballot initiative.

We need your support against radical outside interests attempting to abrogate our rights and destroy our heritage.

American Pit Bulls...

My husband and I rescued an injured and malnourished pit bull the other night. Born October 1, 2004, the couple that had owned him had split up and after some passing back and forth, the dog, who had been named Ghotti and has now been renamed Lucky, was taken by one of the owners, hit by a car while in his custody, then later that night, dropped off at the ex-girlfriend's house.

I won't dwell on where I think he ought to be dropped off.

About a month later, we were at the dog's home and saw him, tied to a fence with clothesline wire, unable to move his hindquarters or walk very well at all and painfully thin.

He went home with us and we took him to the vet the next day, more than half thinking that the dog would have to be put down. The vet went over him with a fine tooth comb. First she had to let him get something in him as he was obviously starved nearly to death and the next day, she did x-rays and found a lot of fusion going on in his hips and legs. He was, at the same time, declared to be a sweet, loving dog by everyone who came in contact with him.

The vet discussed it with my husband (she is his long-time friend, veterenarian extraordinaire and treats all manner of living things) and while I do not know exactly what transpired in that conversation, the dog came home to our house, ostensibly "overnight" to see how he coped with life that included food.

The vet is a terrifc woman, located in Royal Oak, Michigan, with offices in three other SE MI areas. For the absolute best and most reasonably priced veterinary care contact:

Royal Oak Animal Hospital
824 South Main Street
Royal Oak, Michigan 48067
Telephone: 248.542.7330
FAX: 248.542.0306

We don't want another dog. We don't want a "crippled" dog. We don't want a pit bull. We don't want another male. If we ever get another dog, it will be a Chow.

Except.

Lucky's staying. He's a good boy, loving and terribly needy and he needs us. He'll get better and we'll take care of whatever he needs to get better. And unlike the Asshat who allowed him to get hit by a car and then dropped him off without a care in the world, we'll never train him to do things that make his life painful and angry.

I've been reading some interesting information on the breed.

http://www.workingpitbull.com/
http://www.dogexpert.com/HomePage/DogBiteStatistics.html
http://pitbulls.jentown.com/dogattacks.htm
http://www.dogexpert.com/Popular%20Press/Pitbullfriend.html
http://www.pbrc.net/home.html

Now, there are those people and groups who would love to see the breed "outlawed" - PETA for one. "It's a pit bull, it's dangerous, it was bred for killing, blah, blah, blah."

They were originally bred as a hunter's gripping dog, then bred to bait bulls. Gripping dogs have been used for thousands of years in many cultures to hold dangerous wild animals while hunters killed them. The pit bull has had a variety of jobs through his long history, first as a gripping dog for hunters, then as the work-mate of butchers. When you realize how large, strong and unfriendly most bulls (not pit bulls) are, you realize that ancient and medieval butchers had need of a strong, absolutely fearless dog which would, when called, race out and become a "living nose-ring" by attaching themselves to the noses of out of control bulls. From this work came the contest known as "bull-baiting" in which butchers and gamblers would set their dogs on a tied bull to determine who had the better bulldog. The dog which could grasp the bull by the nose and not be shaken nor thrown off, and which could subdue the bull by pinning its nose to the ground, would be the winner.

When bull-baiting was outlawed, certain types of people still wanted to watch animals injure and kill each other, so dog fighting became popular. Since a dog fight is much easier to hide from the police than a bull-bait, dog fighting has remained to this day the most popular way for enthusiasts of animal fighting to get their kicks. You also have a group of criminals who believe that they are the biggest and the baddest if they can turn a decent dog into a complete asshole.

Rather than put the dog down, I have a suggestion......

But, whatever the arguments against Lucky coming to live at our house, he has and he's going to stay.

May he live long and prosper.

Now, that was well said....

On Democrats:

Yet despite the fervency of their commitment against the unborn, they go to great pains to euphemize their position, saying they're actually pro-choice, not pro-abortion, and while greasing the skids to maximize the number of abortions, they insist they want to make abortion rare. Do you think they would play such games of deceit if they were as sure as they pretend to be that the majority of the public aligns with them -- and their abject extremism -- on this issue?

I like David Limbaugh better and better.

Tag, you're it....

Book Tag is a blogger phenomenon wherein various folks ask other folks to answer some questions about themselves and books. The idea is, answer the questions and "tag" five other people. You're all tagged.

Total number of books I've owned: Thousands and thousands. I was once incapable of giving away, throwing away, or even donating books. Since then I have learned that there are so many different groups and people who cannot get access to books as I do. Now, we still own a lot of books but I quite regularly give away books to my daughter, to kids at school, to various groups and to other teachers at school.

Last book I bought: Women of Mystery - a book of short stories by a group of very good mainstream women mystery writes. I bought it to give to a young girl at school who reads non-stop. She reads "bodice rippers" by African-American authors and after skimming through one, I decided she needed to broaden out her reading and thought introducing her to Faye Kellerman, Sara Paretsky, Ruth Rendell, Anne Perry and Mary Higgins Clark might be a step up. As an aside, she admits she never read at all before our school adopted the Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Program. Our children read twenty minutes each and every day at the beginning of their lunch hour.

Last book I read: White Male Infant by Barbara D'Amato - not much impressed.

Five books that mean a lot to me: They mean a lot to me for different reasons. Three of them are by Mark Twain.

The Diaries of Adam and Eve. If you love, or are loved, or want to make someone feel loved, this is a fine, fine book. It is available online as well. This truck a chord with me because when Felix and I were courting, and it was a very odd courting dance, for sure, I hit a point where I felt that my life, with my children, my volunteer work, my hectic schedule, teaching, and all of the other bits and pieces of my life, would really make his life too complex - change things too much for him. His life seemed so simple and ordered - I was afraid of changing it too much and having him resent it later. I quoted this part of the book to him:

This new creature with the long hair is a good deal in the way. It is always hanging around and following me about. I don't like this; I am not used to company. I wish it would stay with the other animals.

He immediately quoted back Adam's statement at Eve's grave, long after they were driven from the Garden:

Wheresoever she was, there was Eden.

Forty years after she came into being, in Twain's book, Eve writes:

It is my prayer, it is my longing, that we may pass from this life together--a longing which shall never perish from the earth, but shall have place in the heart of every wife that loves, until the end of time; and it shall be called by my name. But if one of us must go first, it is my prayer that it shall be I; for he is strong, I am weak, I am not so necessary to him as he is to me--life without him would not be life; now could I endure it? This prayer is also immortal, and will not cease from being offered up while my race continues. I am the first wife; and in the last wife I shall be repeated.

Letters From the Earth. It's a wonderful book and it really goes to the heart of the human race and all of its faults and foibles.

Mark Twain on the Damned Human Race. Nobody writes like Twain.

The Federalist Papers. - Hamilton, Madison and Jay, Edited by Benjamin F. Wright. Reading the Founding Fathers words, knowing how strongly they felt, what commitment they held to our beginnings as a country. It is truly very powerful to read their words.

Safe, Not Sorry by Tanya K. Metaska
It's one of the earliest books I read on self defense, taking control, and making positive change. It's got a lot of anecdotal stuff in it and it is not "perfectly" written, but it opened my eyes. It can be ordered at townhall.com for $17.95 plus shipping.

Addendum - when I was married to my ex-maniac, I got my college education so I could make my escape. I did so by "sneaking" to classes, hiding my books, etc. Terrible punishments were exacted whenever I was caught out of the house without permission. We also had a wood stove for heat (I wasn't allowed to use the furnace without permission). One afternoon, I came home later than I should because I thought he would still be at work. He had gotten fired that day and was (1) home very early and (2) in a foul mood and (3) stupid drunk. When I came into the house it was blazing hot and as I cautiously looked around for where he might be, I looked down the stairs into the family room where the wood stove was and there he sat with the door open on the furnace. Almost simultaneously, I realised that the bookshelves were empty. I opened my mouth to speak, but then he held up my journal and said, "This is what happens when you don't listen." He then threw it into the fire.

Every book in my home, my journals (more than 25 years worth), every magazine, all of it - burned.

Felix gave me a book at our very first meeting and our courting revolved around trips to the range, to Borders and dinners where we talked and talked and talked.

Every woman should be so blessed.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

General Orders No.11, WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 1868
The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.
We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.
If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.
Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from hishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.
It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to lend its friendly aid in bringing to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.
Department commanders will use efforts to make this order effective.
By order of
JOHN A. LOGAN,Commander-in-Chief
N.P. CHIPMAN,Adjutant General
Official:WM. T. COLLINS, A.A.G.

I cannot say it any better than so many before me have. In 2004, LTG James R. Helmly, Commander, US Army Reserve Command Chief, Army Reserve said,in part:

It is this love of liberty that motivates young men and women to continue to enlist in the Army even when they know that soon they will serve in dangerous places far from the land and people they love. It is this love of liberty that provides strength and pride to families and loved ones left behind. It is a source of strength for us all.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
God Bless you, your families, our fellow Soldiers and the United States of America on this Memorial Day.

May God Bless all who have served, who continue to serve and all who have made and continue to make it possible for me to know Liberty and Freedom.

Dear God...

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Please take care of my Doc. Keep him safe in his travels and comfort him when he rests. Help him connect where he wishes to and become invisible when he needs to. Help him and all of his brothers and sisters find whatever it is each of them searches for today and for all of their days. Give him solace and community and let no one, today of all days, hurt him or shame him. Please lend him strength every inch of the way. Give him peace, hope, and a rested soul. Amen.

I needed a grin...

I've had one of those deep, thoughtful days. When you teach, the most incredible lessons keep coming your way via the kids, other teachers, the world as it sometimes attacks, sometimes soothes.

I'll write about the lessons some other time. I need to make my peace with the big ones today before I give them away.

Meanwhile, someone sent me to take another of those silly personality tests. I'm a shotgun. What are you? The What's Your Signature Weapon Test.

American Daughter

Nancy (aka American Daughter) has a couple of articles that are terribly graphic and terribly true.

The Left-Leaning Mainstream Media says nothing about things like this, sadly enough. They are so absolutely committed to Bashing Our President that they will show only that which shows the US and our Administration in a negative light. They cause death and destruction with the lies and omissions and call it a "mistake", as in "When Newsweek accidentally causes riots..." but when it comes to the truth about what is happening in places like Iraq and Iran, their silence is deafening.

I warn you, American Daughter's stories are graphic. But they are necessary.

Read them, link to them, tell others about them, forward them in emails, talk about them at the office. Three weeks to an election that could mean everything to the people in these stories.

Silent Screams

Severed Heads

If you don't want to be called unethical...

.... then don't pull unethical crap because I call them as I see them....

I am considering posting every single email or other document on my hard drive. One by one, just because I am tired of being abused by one particular Asshat. And when I get done, I'm liable to file a lawsuit against him for libel and slander and interfering with my ability to make a living.

Unethical, my sweet Aunt Fanny.

And, oh, by the way, the definition of illegal is:

Illegal is a description for something that is in violation of statute, regulation or ordinance. Illegal does not necessarily mean criminal. Something may be illegal under a statute that doesn't require criminal intent, and is therefore a civil vilation subject to civil penalites such as a fine. Illegal acts that are civil violations include driving too fast, failure to register a business, etc. - US Legal Forms

Don't like hearing someone say you've engaged in illegal behavior? Then, I repeat, same as being called unethical - don't do it.