Sebastian – Page 618 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Happy New Years Eve

Time to start thinking about the end of the year. Not sorry to see 2010 go, since much like every year since 2008, it’s mostly sucked. A lousy economy where I worry daily about my job, and to top off the whole soggy ice creamÂ cone, no mission to Jupiter. We did have the McDonald win, followed by the election win, so that was something, at least. But I’m happy to say goodbye to 2010, and here’s hoping to avoiding unemployment in 2011!

We’re celebrating tonight with some Navy Bean Soup I’m making out of the ham bone and ham I have leftover from Christmas. On top of that, we’ll be making a two cheese swiss fondue, along with a variety of dippers. For drinks we have Manhattans, Mimosas and some sparkling wine for ringing in 2011 at midnight. I also have some Kirschwasser leftover from the fondue recipe, which is a brandy made from distilled cherries. It’s not like cherry brandy, which is just regular brandy (distilled from grapes) with cherry flavor thrown in. It’s more like a cherry derived liquor you could probably run your car on if you tried. It has a certain knock you on your ass quality that regular brandy lacks.

What’s on your New Year’s Eve Agenda?

National Review Comes Down Hard …

… on Andy Traver. Looks like we’re not the crazy uncle in the attic to the National Review crowd anymore.

UPDATE: One slight error:

Most of the so-called assault weapons are the ballistic equivalent of sheep in wolvesâ€™ clothing; theyâ€™re basically scary-looking squirrel guns. The greatest part of them are .223-caliber semiautomatic rifles, which is to say that they are largely indistinguishable from the little .22-caliber plinkers boys have been knocking cans off of fence posts with for generations.

Little distinguishable in caliber, but the .223 fires at a much higher velocity, and with a heavier bullet than a .22LR. I would not consider the .22LR and the .223 to be comparable. Though he’s correct it’s not legal for deer hunting in many states for being too underpowered. The rest is spot on.

Safe Gun Handling

Probably should include keeping your guns away from your teenage kids who think they are neo-nazis and have a penchant for aiming pop’s Glock at old Rover. You’ll see what I mean at about 3:35:

Right to Keep and Bear Arms for DV Misdemeanants

New case in the fourth circuit. Covered by Dave Hardy here, and Clayton Cramer as well. There have been a few courts that have taken this issue seriously. What interesting about this ruling is that it would seem to have been decided under intermediate scrutiny:

We cannot conclude on this record that the government has carried its burden of establishing a reasonable fit between the important object of reducing domestic gun violence and Â§ 922(g)(9)â€™s permanent disarmament of all domestic violence misdemeanants. The government has offered numerous plausible reasons why the disarmament of domestic violence misdemeanants is substantially related to an important government goal; however, it has not attempted to offer sufficient evidence to establish a substantial relationship between Â§ 922(g)(9) and an important governmental goal. HavingÂ established the appropriate standard of review, we think it best to remand this case to afford the government an opportunity to shoulder its burden and Chester an opportunity toÂ respond.

Not a clear cut victory just yet, but it’s about as close as we can ask. The shame is this defendant seems a good bit less than ideal.

Good Things About Vacation

Some things I’m enjoying being on vacation:

Waking up when I feel like it.
When I do check into the office, I can do it in my underwear.
Mimosas. I generally don’t drink before dinner, but Bitter made Mimosas on Christmas, and we’re making them again tomorrow for New Years Eve. Starting the day with a buzz is a good way to start the day!
Time to think about the house, something I normally don’t have time to do. I’m determined to get a working master bath before January is over. I’m looking at a Neo-Round model from MAXX, their economy Advanta neo round base and walls, plus the Intuition doors. I figure I can do the installation, and Bitter can do the finish work.
Not paying as much attention to blog matters. I’m definitely on vacation this week. That’s why it’s all been Google alerts and not anything I’ve had to think about.

One of these days I’ll have time to get back into shooting again. I’m still trying to hit a match at least once a month, but lately that’s about all I have time for, considering I also have officer duties at the club too. We’ll get back to regularly scheduled programming when I’m back at work and the holidays are over, and we have a new fun Republican Congress to hate on.

More Home Improvement Blues

The drain I put in is leak free, but the shower is leaky beyond hope. The door leaks, the edges leak. The whole thing is a mess and it’s destroyed part of the underlay and vinyl tile I put in a few years ago. So needless to say I’m very displeased. I’ve dismantled the whole stall Â and determined no matter how well you caulk the thing, eventually it’s going to leak when the caulk deteriorates or gets its seal broken somewhere. It’s just a fundamentally bad design, no matter how you cut it.

We actually hate the shower anyway, and were contemplating replacing it outright, but I decided I’d rather have the shower back quick and dirty, so I set out just to replace the drain. Not going to cut it.Â The new shower bases have lips to prevent water that might get out of the door from leaking all over the floor, and their walls are more substantial than a piece of vinyl glued to the drywall. The existing shower is an outdated piece of camel dung, and there’s no getting around it. Sadly, this is also going to mean replacing the floor I put in a few years ago, since I don’t have enough tile left to replace what I need to take up, and they don’t sell that pattern anymore. It’s vinyl tile, so not particularly hard to bring up if you use a heat gun to soften the glue. I may have a tiler come in and tile the thing with ceramic tile so I never have to worry about it again.

I really hate having to fix things. I really really hate having to fix things I already thought I fixed once.

More Humor from Cracked

Nine major stories everyone got wrong this year. Christine O’Donnell and the Tea Parties:

By focusing in on the assclowns the media painted a picture that not only wasn’t accurate, but pretty much made constructive political discourse impossible. They didn’t just fail to do their job — they did the opposite of their job, and they’ve been doing it for years.

Sadly, that’s only funny because it’s true. RTWT.

Ruger Scout Rifle

John Richardson and Michael Bane are both pretty excited about Ruger’s new scout rifle. From a business perspective, I think this is another win by Ruger. They are making unique firearms I think people are going to want. From my personal point of view, I’ve never understood the Scout Rifle, or how the concept would be inherently better than, say, a Springfield M1A Scout. In a survival situation, I’d want a semi-auto, and I’m pretty sure finding parts for an M1A in a SHTF scenario is going to be easier than for a less common bolt-action.

Motion to Dismiss in Maryland Carry Case

John Richardson has the details. It looks mostly good from our point of view.

2A Rights for Non Violent Felons?

At least one 9th circuit judge seems willing to consider the possibility.