Saturday, March 30, 2013

Another Way of Voting


With the recent success of the "Colorado Model" progressive agenda in Colorado, the passage of stupid gun laws, and the stifling of local voices in favor of outsiders, I am done with the Democrat Party and Democrats.

In the past, I've contributed to various candidates resulting in being on  a lot  of email solicitation lists.

As I receive these emails, I "unsubscribe". When I do, a window pops up asking me why I'm unsubscribing. This allows me to tell them exactly what is on my mind. I hope it is more effective than "writing a letter".

Money talks?

Notice to the dead elephant party. I am not ready to go over to the dark side. You keep putting up candidates that should be in front of a grand jury instead of voters. Get your head out of your asses, or get a glass belly button so you can see where you are going.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Pop Psychology



In trying to understand what motivates gun grabbers and their fellow travelers, came up with this bit of pop/freshman psychology.

Three motivators; fear, revenge, and punishment.

A lot of people flat fear firearms. They are not the least interested in learning anything about firearms; they “cling” to their fear.

When something like school or theater shootings occur, there is a strong desire among people for some sort of revenge.

Along with revenge is the desire to punish someone. So lets punish the firearms owners. After all, if it weren’t for firearms owners’ obsession with their toys, there wouldn’t be firearms. By extension, there wouldn’t be shootings.

I think may of us believe there are nefarious schemers who want us disarmed so they can more easily pursue their schemes. They are proficient in tapping into the fellow travelers psyches and use them as a weapon.

So, how does one discuss the subject with those who are not rational?

Why do I allow my basic biological urges to  influence my choice of female companionship? Probably because I’m a well seasoned fool.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Welcome, Spring

 Shamelessly lifted from a received email.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Ah, Spring in Colorado


Started last night and is expected to last until tomorrow night. Cleaned off my deck and stairs at 6 am and need to do it again. Very happy I'm not out driving in this mess.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Evil Car Salesmen Test Drives



By way of Peter at Bayou Renaissance Man, a test drive from hell.


Jeff Gordon in disguise. Understand it has thousands of views.

Not as bad as this one.


My favorite movie.

Since a good portion of my adult life was spent retailing cars and trucks, I’ve had a few memorable test drives. My response to stupid driving was usually to turn off the ignition. Scary when you are in traffic, but better than the idiot running into something.  After coming to a stop, we would have a short conversation followed by a return to the lot.

One night a young (17?) man and his mother came in. He was hot for a Mustang GT, 5.0, 5 speed. OK, off we go with me driving. We changed seats in a large, empty parking lot. His first effort to launch resulted in a 270 degree spin. Scared him, and his mother. I drove us back to the lot where they purchased a 4cyl Mustang with an automatic.

The one I won’t forget was a literal life or death. Young  gangbanger type pulled a gun on me.

Back story. Pre cell phone days. The dealership had a set test drive circuit. The salesperson drove off the lot. Drivers changed at an isolated cul- de -sac. No deviations allowed.

At the changeover, he pointed a PPK clone at me. Looking into his eyes, I saw someone with no soul. I also saw he still had the safety on. Thank you Army training. Grabbed the slide, racked it back, twisted the pistol breaking his finger, and gained possession of the pistol. Hit him with it as hard as I could. He went down. I jumped into the car and drove to the nearest pay phone. When the police arrived at the cul –de- sac, he was still there, and was arrested. Fortunately, he was eighteen so no juvenile justice blow back.

Later, back at the dealership, the owner, the asshat who designed the test drive route, and I,  had a heated conversation. Our sales staff was about 50% female. They hated the changeover point; didn’t feel safe. You couldn’t fault them. Net result was the test drive route was changed. Never learned why, but shortly after that the asshat got fired. Sincerely hope I contributed to that decision.

There was the lady, fresh from Japan, who decided to drive on the side of the street most familiar to her.

When we were selling Suzuki Somersaults, er, Samurai, we had an off road course we could use. Lots of fun for the test drivers. Lots of bouncing around. One young braless lady bounced around so much, her bouncers fell out of her top. That was fun (grin). Even more fun when she “let it all hang out” laughing the whole time.

We had a female salesperson that raised some eyebrows. When she had a male customer, I knew how close she was to a deal by the number of buttons undone on her top. At the third or fourth “pencil” her third or fourth button would be undone. She would lean forward and say, “You can afford that payment, can’t you”? Done deal. Some of her test drives were unusually long. My policy? Don’t ask, don’t tell. With our other saleswomen going on a test drive with male only customers,  I made it a policy that one of us would come over and say, “Please don’t be gone too long. We have someone on the way to look at this car”. While doing this, we would make eye contact with the customer. No one left our lot until we made a copy of their driver’s license.

One thing all long term salespeople do agree; there are a lot of very bad drivers.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Racist Rant



Two “minority” members at my last job (one Chicano, one Black), are Obama supporters. They have convinced themselves any Caucasian who opposes Obama does so because he is “black”. Therefore, any failures on Obama’s part aren’t his fault because White racists are opposing everything he does.

Hear the same line from White Liberals.  It must be comforting to have a scapegoat so you don’t need to look closely at your hero and his feet of clay.  You can dismiss any criticism by labeling the critic a “racist” and avoid considering the argument
.
“Oh, poor Berry. Look at the mess he inherited.” It seems now he has inherited his own four year mess.  Still, it is blame Bush, and blame White racists.

As an aside, anyone who thinks I ever supported Bush need only read some of my old postings.

Just who is the racist? A person of color, or a woman, in positions of authority can’t be criticized? Why, because they should be immune on grounds of political correctness; that they somehow need “special” dispensation? Why, are they less capable than a “white male” and need coddling?

Yes, I know, I’m pissing into the wind.  What bothers me the most is the polarization of the people who do involve themselves, who are not sheeple, and the lack of simple courtesy. I’ve never seen such deep animosity, and I was in both the Army and college in the 60’s. I saw up close and personal, the antiwar and civil rights uproars.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Thank You For Your Service, Now Fuck Off



So good to know my son, his wife, and their five children are living a lavish life style at Dugway, Utah.


So why is it they qualify for food stamps, WIC, and school lunches? 30% savings at the Commissary? Where did the author come up with that? When they were at Fort Carson, my frugal daughter in law shopped at WalMart.

Then there is this gem.

During Friday’s marathon gun control hearing in the Colorado Senate, Republican Sen. Kent Lambert offered an amendment to exempt active military members, veterans and their families from the gun magazine ban.
Enter Sen. Mary Hodge, a disgraceful Dem who urged fellow lawmakers to oppose the exemption because “some of them come back with significant mental health problems.”

This is my State Senator. Always thought she was sensible and fair minded. I’m shocked she is caught up in the “Chicken Little, We’ve Got to Do SOMETHING” hysteria.  The next time I see her in person, I’m telling her just how offensive I find her remarks.



Sunday, March 10, 2013

Unintended Consequences


Been reading tips on keeping mental sharpness. One technique discussed in getting dressed differently. For instance, using your left hand to button your shirt. My whole life, I've put on my pants left leg first. Tried putting them on right leg first. Fell on my ass.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

I'm Perpetually Pissed Off


Doc Bailey, AKA The Mad Medic, posted something today that struck home.

http://themadmedic.blogspot.com/2013/03/certainly-one-way-to-gut-military.html

The part that caught my attention:

Tuition Assistance is not just for the troops.  May of the wives would wish to better themselves.  Imagine being stuck on a post in the middle of nowhere (which is where most Army bases are now a days) and having nothing but your husband's paycheck.  You'd probably want to better yourself too.  You could get everything from an AA, BA/BS all the way up to a Masters if you were so inclined.  I say could, because now that the Army has suspended Tuition Assistance, along with the Marine Corps that is very much in doubt.

FDIL (Favorite Daughter in Law) and my youngest son are living in one of the more isolated Army posts in the country. They are 38 miles from the nearest small town and an hour+ drive from a large city. She is always improving her education while raising five kids and dealing with the challenges of being an army wife (deployments, TDY, 48 hour duty shifts, etc). Can’t be easy, but she hasn’t quit.  She may be a dependent, but she isn’t dependent, and is working toward their future.  I’m terrible proud of both of them.

Now for the hypocrisy.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-04-13/politics/military.families_1_military-families-military-spouses-obama-and-biden?_s=PM:POLITICS

Why am I not surprised?  Politicians have always been willing to sacrifice soldiers and sailors for political ends. I’ve always hoped our country is better than that. Faint hope, to be sure. This crap never ends. As for Micelle Obama, I doubt she gives one half of a rat's ass about military families.

On another note, see more folks are following this blog. Wish I was smart enough to identify you. In any case, welcome, and thank you.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Glad Momma Fargo is Retired


Driving in Momma Fargo's old stomping grounds last night, forgot I was in a 24' box truck instead of a one ton van while going under the bridge on McKinley. Not a pretty outcome.

What I didn't do was call the po po. Instead, hauled my scofflaw ass down the road.

Were Momma Fargo still on the job (this happened on her old shift), she probably would have tracked me like a bloodhound and issued an impressive good citizen award.

Think I used up all my brownie points with the boss and owners.  Since they didn't immediately fire me, there is hope.

Oh well, bad decisions lead to good stories. There is a reason my blog is titled WSF!

Monday, March 4, 2013

The Way We Grew Up


My sister and I, most of our 50 or so cousins, and most of our peers were raised with this ethic.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Meandering



The following is a meandering ramble by an unfocused mind. Read at your own peril.

Always easy to find fault with government programs, and government employees. Fraud, waste, mismanagement, cronyism, political payoffs and the like are easy to  point out. But, is this typical or an aberration? How many government employees and contractors are doing their best to deliver a quality product or service? And doing so with little praise or acknowledgement from the public at large? Anybody want to weigh in?

How do you evaluate the success of a blog? Mine is getting more and more page views. I think mainly this is from  being linked by other bloggers. I am grateful, truly I am. The blog is my personal sounding board. Some of my extended family read it just because we are a family. That others find it interesting is an ego boost. However, if success can be measured by the number of Anonymous comments that are spam, seems I have a hardcore following in that community.  Oh well, takes just a few moments to send them off to Google spam land.

Reading Peter’s blog on the problems of California, and Old NFO’ comment about the spread of California mindset to other states,  prompts a thought or two.

http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2013/03/is-california-past-point-of-no-return.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BayouRenaissanceMan+%28Bayou+Renaissance+Man%29


Always seems to be a split between rural and urban with the concentration of wealth and votes favoring the urban areas (Illinois and New York, anyone?). The more rural, the more self reliant the people. Then you have the rural areas that attract the wealthy. In Colorado, Steamboat Springs comes to mind. Routt County now has the one of the highest per capita income levels in Colorado. The county has some of the largest deposits of coal in the United States. It also has some of the finest grass for livestock to be found anywhere. Great hunting in the area. The conflicts that rage along the Yampa River are epic.



During 2002-2004, my employer held car sales in various communities around Colorado. My job was organizing and managing the sales. Each sale was like opening a new business from scratch. My experience was the bigger the town, the more hoops we needed to jump through. The owner’s directive was simple. “Do it right, do it legal, don’t cut corners”. Some places, like the Peoples Republic of Boulder, made you question the sanity of anyone opening a business there.  Drive around Boulder today and you can find all kinds of commercial buildings and office parks sitting vacant, both in the city and in the county.

When examining the structure and function of government, perhaps we should heed the words of a Russian philosopher,  Admiral of the Fleet Sergey Gorshkov, “Better is the enemy of good enough”. (Thanks, old NFO).

Regarding politics and politicians. They are necessary. Too many are twits; damned if I understand how they get elected. As for the need part, here is part of the general email my State Senator puts out.

Several of the bills I'm carrying this session have passed the Senate and are now being considered in the House: SB13-041, which protects water storage long-term use, SB13-072 which deals with conditional water rights, like those belonging to the Town of Bennett, SB12-074 which addresses legacy ditches, and SB13-118 which establishes procedures for private individuals when originating loans. 
Likewise, two House bills I'm carrying have been introduced in the Senate. HB13-1053 repeals the requirement that clerks of district courts execute surety bonds and is already awaiting a final vote in the Senate. HB13-1117 would consolidate several early childhood programs in the Department of Human Services and is currently awaiting a hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. 
SJR13-005, which deals with spending on water infrastructure in Colorado has passed both the House and Senate and does not need the Governor's signature.

Boring stuff, but important to many people. These are the things that need worked on, not “Gun Control” and the like. Yeah, WSF, dream on.

Speaking of the anti gun sentiment, why does MSN Live.com “Smart Filter” always block GunActionNewsletter and not anything I receive from the Democrats?



Regarding my “Living Large” purchase of the Mighty Max pickup for $1,000, was offered $2,200 for it last Wednesday. Very difficult for this old car salesman to say, “NO”. Goes back to something I learned early on from a very wise used car manager, “It is harder to buy the right merchandise than it is to sell it“. 

Finding good stuff among the dross gets even harder at the lower price points. The search goes on for a 1991-1997 Lincoln Towncar. My last one died at 240,00 miles.  Might substitute the right Crown Vic. Something in 4x4 might also get my attention.


Light work week. Two short runs and one 750 mile Wyoming trip. Fun on the return after dark. Blowing snow, two hours of black ice from Douglas to Cheyenne,  with 35 mph wind and 50+ gusts. Wind shut down I -80 from Cheyenne to Laramie. In less than a year on this job have been in fifteen states and one province.

If you haven’t quit in boredom, thanks for reading this far. Hope to have something more interesting soon.



Friday, March 1, 2013

Range Time



Being a great teacher is something I admire as I am not the best coach.  Did have a small success with a very bad shooter years ago.

An Army Captain and aviator in my Engineer Group had a Marksman badge. He felt not having an Expert badge hurt his promotion prospects. I had an interest in helicopters. We worked out a trade; bootleg dual in a H-13 for shooting lessons.


One of the things that helped keep me sane was our Rod and Gun Club. We had access to a rifle range on Saturday afternoon and Sunday where we could shoot our privately owned firearms. We could also draw and shoot our assigned M-14s by jumping through some complicated hoops. Meant our Company Commander had to put his ass on the line. Thankfully, two of the three Company Commanders I served under had clangers. Via the Rod and Gun club, we could buy surplus, mainly Belgian, 7.62 NATO Ammo.


Started the Captain on a .22 rifle.  He had a horrid flinch. It took about six range sessions to overcome that. He was damn accurate when he didn’t flinch. Next, we started with my personal Mannlicher-Schoenerauer .308 with a set trigger and thick butt pad. The rifle was scoped. He would work on his form and sight picture while I would stand to the side and operate the trigger. Once he saw he could hit the targets, he gained confidence. Next, he started squeezing the trigger. With the set trigger, trigger pull was extremely light and, with the butt pad, recoil was tame. He  stopped flinching.



When we moved on to the M-14, used the same procedure. He would sight it and I would fire it. After two sessions, he took over the trigger. At the next qualification day, he shot Expert. He only made it by three or four rounds but he made it.


The rifle range was a lot of fun. A sergeant in my unit held a Distinguished Marksmanship Badge and was a regular Sunday shooter. He was also a great  coach and worked with me and the Captain. Most of what the Captain and I did was based on his suggestions. One thing he taught me was to hang a small plumb bob off the trigger guard to insure I had the correct vertical plane position. That eliminated many of my flyers.



Our range time was a carefully guarded privilege. No alcohol, no horseplay, not unsafe practices or you were out. No different spanks for different ranks. There was an O-6 member who backed the range master 100%.

Access to the H-13 was a problem. He had to have a solo mission and I needed to get off duty. Over a year, got about 10-12 hours dual. Big problem; could not master hovering in ground effect. Give the Captain credit, he tried. Even arranged for me to go with another pilot a couple of times. Probably for the best. 1966 might not be the best time to become an Army aviator.