The Newbie Shooter is now officially southern.
Headed Home
Time to go back to Pennsylvania. Tomorrow there’s a Kalashnikov match at Langhorne Rod and Gun Club that I’m going to try to attend. I’ll be shooting the AK-74, though I’ll probably take the 7.62 Romanian Kalashnikov too, just in case I feel like shooting that instead.
UPDATE: Back in Pennsylvania. We got a new GPS for Christmas, and decided we liked being bothered by the American guy the best. The British woman pronounced “Skippack Pike” wrong and it just annoyed me. It works very well though. We threw it for a loop a few times by deviating from the prescribed route. Someone needs to make a gun nutty GPS navigation unit that can take you the shortest distance for states with no reciprocity.
Star City of the South
Bitter and I decided to head to Mill Mountain to see the giant neon star that looks over the City of Roanoke, Virginia. We used our new GPS navigator that Bitter’s mom got is for Christmas, and it worked pretty well.
Quote of the Day
SayUncle on the Pope’s Christmas message:
He says don’t be selfish and help those who live in places where the basics needed for survival are missing. He said this from an extravagant mantle, on a gold throne with jewels, wearing a priceless gold cross, and some expensive clothes.
Good message there, chief.
UPDATE: The spiritual leader Governor of the Anglican Church, gets her Christmas message right, I think. The message is appropriate, and the backdrop is not ostentatious:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gOdaPvGsw0[/youtube]
UPDATE: More from Wolfwood here. I was incorrect as to the title of Queen Elizabeth within the Church of England.
Best Chrismas Card Ever
I think that one has to go to Blackfork.
Artery Clogging Goodness
I see Tam has discovered the unmitigated joy of the Brazilian Steakhouse. I went to one in New Hampshire with friends a few years ago and though I had died and gone to heaven, only instead of spending an eternity with Jesus, I would spend it with “our servers providing continuous table side service, gallantly walking among the dining room with sizzling skewers of the hottest, most delicious rotisserie-cooked meat. Every bite is perfection.” I thought suggesting their servers were gallant was a pretty bold statement, but afterward, I had to agree, they were pretty damned gallant.
There’s one in Philadelphia I’ve been meaning to go to, but I need to starve myself for a few days beforehand, so there’s room for all that delicious meat. Maybe I’ll take Bitter there to celebrate when she gets a job finally. If you have a Brazilian steakhouse in your city, go. You can find it by following in the opposite direction from the fleeing vegans and PETA members.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to you all. Let’s all enjoy it. The Grinch is coming to town on January 20th, and we don’t yet know which presents he’s going to try to take away.
Guns Stolen from Class III SOT
Looks like one of the Class III dealers attending the Valley Forge Gun Show decided to stop and have some dinner with $200,000 worth of inventory in the back of his truck, and $5,000 cash. It got broken into, and the contents stolen.
If I had $200,000 dollars worth of Title II firearms in the back of my truck, and I got hungry, I think the drive through would work just fine. Not only are those firearms now in criminal hands, they are no longer available to the civilian market. If I am ever in the market for a machine gun, I won’t be buying it from Arms & Ordnance.
Getting Your Letters Published
American Manifesto managed to get a letter to the editor published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. He followed Bitter’s advice about waiting until they actually publish the letter before blogging about it. It’s a good idea, since papers won’t print what’s already been printed.
Merry Christmas Eve
I hope you’ll keep the important things in mind today and tomorrow. I know I’m looking forward to the small things about Christmas.
For those of you who received a little extra something from either work or gifts, I leave you with this excerpt from an article on the state of charitable giving. Read it all the way to the end, as the last number may surprise you.
Charitable organizations are feeling the effects of the economic downturn, too. A recent news story entitled “Giving season struggles to earn its name” lamented that this year’s charitable giving total is unlikely to top last year’s total of $306 billion. It will be only the second time in 40 years that charitable giving failed to grow from one year to the next.Certainly, that’s bad news for organizations that depend on private contributions, particularly given that the poor economy will increase demand for many charitable services. Yet there is a very “glass half-full” way of looking at the statistics: Americans’ ongoing willingness to give, even as their household wealth shrinks by trillions of dollars, is testimony to the true generosity of our citizens.
Americans stand out in the world for their commitment to private charity. Americans don’t lead the pack just in terms of total dollars donated but also when giving is measured as a percentage of gross domestic product. In 2005, private giving in the United States was 1.67 percent of GDP, more than twice the next most charitable country, the United Kingdom, which gave away just 0.73 percent of its GDP.
A recent report released by the Philanthropic Collaborative shows that Americans’ commitment to charitable giving is more than a sign of compassion. It’s also an important investment in the country’s well-being. The report measures the impact of private and community foundation giving, and it suggests that the grants made by these organizations produce very large economic returns. The authors estimate that each dollar of grants provided by the foundations generates $8.58 of economic benefit.