Senseless

Senseless tragic events happen daily, everywhere, but we should try to not become blasé, IMO.

Here was a fireman on his way to work. A doper crosses into his lane and hits his motorcycle. The rider dies. The doper leaves the scene of the accident in his badly damaged SUV and flees to the open farmland. A senior LEO on his way to work learns of the incident on his radio, spots the SUV, and makes the arrest.

Until last February when I moved across town, I traveled that street frequently. In the place the accident occurred, the street is very wide even with curbside parking. Dry, sunny morning with no weather factors to contribute to problems and the SUV driver wasn’t headed into the sun. Conclusion? He was stoned.

In general, I mind my own business. You are free to go to hell in whatever manner you see fit. I do draw the line at assaults, child and/or spousal abuse, and impaired drivers. On all, I will drop a dime, snitch, whatever you want to call it. Cell phones make it easy.

The SUV driver is from a tiny town near where Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado meet. Residents of small towns are usually close knit and the impact of one of “theirs” involved in such a stupid act will cause a lot of pain and even shame to them. Not at the same level as the victim’s family and co-workers to be sure, but it will be there.

The young SUV driver? Such a wasted life. In this city and this county he will not get a sweetheart deal.

For those interested in more detail, the local rag covered the story.

https://www.greeleytribune.com/news/1-taken-to-hospital-after-hit-and-run-involving-motorcycle-in-northeast-greeley/

R.I.P.

Political Angst, (P)regressive Community

So maybe Slo Joe isn't completely dumb. Announced he asked the Lightbringer to not endorse him. Saves all those embarrassing questions later as to why the Lightbringer didn't endorse him.

Extreme angst. Assume you are a megadoner. You want to insure you have an entre to the new administration. Who, among the 21 announced candidates do you bribe? How do you time your donation(s)? 

Next up are the Congressional seats. Donate to the established Donkeys? Donate to the (P)regressive flamers who will probably win the primary but lose the general to someone sane? After all, bribe money only goes so far. How sure are you the politician(s) you bought, stay bought?

Finally, Crazy Bernie, the turd in the punchbowl.

Decisions, decisions.

Big Doings

Opened yesterday in our little burg with long lines and traffic jams. Very welcome. For years only one KFC in town, dirty and poorly managed or the usual grocery store deli chicken. Will check it out in a few days.

Wow! What next? Maybe a Waffle House?

Dallas, WTF?

Guess Dallas has joined Austin in becoming California lite. Behold, it is now ok to steal if you really, really need the money/goods.

http://www.unz.com/sbpdl/in-29-white-dallastx-new-black-district-attorney-reveals-plan-to-stop-prosecuting-thefts-under-750-to-help-people-of-color-from-being-arrested/

Far be it beyond me to tell others what to do but I do have a question.

What position will this DA take when some citizen uses a firearm to protect their property? Any guesses?

Gun Control

On a personal level I don’t use the word “gun” unless talking about smoothbore firearms. The recent Sol Pais episode and Red Flag legislation has been a hot topic here at grey and wrinkled headquarters, aka Peakview Trails.

I try to be informed and not let my feelings become facts when discussing the topic with others.

Poking around the internet leads one to all types of propaganda. Consider, “The Trace”.

https://www.thetrace.org/2018/12/gun-violence-facts-statistics-2018/

Don’t know to what choir they are preaching but they certainly are passionate.

That bastion of journalistic integrity, CNN delved deeply into the subject.

tps://www.cnn.com/2018/12/13/health/gun-deaths-highest-40-years-cdc/index.html

All kinds of neat charts and, oh my god, conclusions.

Here is another statistic I like to quote.

United States Population 2019. According to the US Census Bureau's population clock, the estimated 2018 United States population (February 2018) is 327.16 million.Nov 21, 2018

When I get a chance to talk to people who might, just might, have an open mind, I point out that 40,000, 60,000 or even 100,000 deaths out of a population north of 300,000,000 won’t make a pimple on a statistician’s ass. Usually gets a laugh or two.

Going further, I do agree if you are caught in a firearms violence situation, or have family caught in that situation, numbers are of no comfort. The numbers of accidental injuries are harder to pin down.

Why is “gun control” so popular with (P)regressives? Many reasons but the number one reason, IMO, is it allows them to assume a perceived high moral ground, to make much noise, and obscure their lack of enthusiasm for tackling hard, even insoluble, problems. It is possible they even believe their own emotional bullshit.

Out there is someone who will say, “Just wait until it happens to you, WSF”.  My reply, it has. A cousin died from a .22 round to the head when his rifle went off while he was riding in a vehicle. His parents, his siblings, and his relatives were saddened but not one thought banning firearms was an answer.

On another occasion my co-worker and I were standing on either side of the cash register paying for our coffee to go. Dumb shit steps between us, points a semi-auto at the cashier and announces a robbery. He immediately got two hot cups of coffee in his face. While my co-worker grabbed the handgun and racked back the slide, I stomped on the dumb shit’s ankle. (400 block S Colorado Blvd, Denver, 1970).  The point? Two individuals (veterans) with knowledge of firearms who weren’t paralyzed when confronted with an armed individual didn’t become “victims”.

My NRA membership has lapsed. When we have both houses of Congress in GOP hands, plus a kick ass GOP President and National Reciprocity isn’t passed, I ask myself why support the organization? Yes, they do other important work in safety and education. They also have a president I dislike and several board members I consider buffoons. YMMV.

The insolence of (P)regressives across the country will hopefully provoke such revulsion in the general population that the next election will see many thrown out of office along with the go along, get along RINOs. Maybe we will see a resurgence of the Tea Party or something similar. I can only hope.

For me, it is all academic. All my firearms were lost in a boating accident on Horsetooth Reservoir and I’m too poor to replace them.  

The Short Saga of Sol Pais = Something Stinks

An 18 year old nut case “obsessed” with the Columbine High School Massacre buys three one way tickets for three separate days from Miami to Denver.

She uses a “ride share” to visit a firearms merchant near Columbine High School where she supposedly bought a pump shotgun and ammo.

The authorities are alerted, schools are locked down or closed, and‘massive’ law enforcement effort is started.

She again uses a “ride share” to take her to Echo Lake Campground. This morning her corpse if located there, dead from a reported self inflicted gunshot.

The conspiracy theorists will be working this for years.

What bothers me is the choice of Echo Lake Campground. A more obscure, hard to reach place that is still close to metro Denver would be hard to find. Just below the crest of the Continental Divide, it is closed and most likely snow covered this time of year. The only commercial establishment for miles around is the Echo Lake Lodge, closed until Memorial Day May 27^th. Not sure if anyone lives there year around. The Squaw Pass Highway (CO 103) has little traffic.

What will fuel the conspiracy theories is the recently passed, and signed by Gov. Polluted, “Red Flag Law”. She is part of a big setup to justify the law, maybe. The "Gang of Four" certainly have enough money to hire Shillary's crew.

One glaring question? Where does an 18 year old get the funds necessary to do all this? That answer may be interesting in itself.

I haven’t any conclusions and will wait for more information.

Right now all the “Recall Polis” sites on Facebook are exploding with speculation and acquisitions.  More fuel for the conspiracy theories or a diversion? 

Remember, just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to fuck you over. 

Peakview Trails Follies

More Peakview Trails news. Seems the concrete contractor's people broke some plumbing already installed while pouring the first floor slab. Rather than having the plumbing contractor make repairs, their crew did it themselves.

The above picture is the plumbing contractor repairing the repair. The mind boggles. One guess as to who is the master plumber and who is the apprentice.

With summer coming, some residents are concerned about a/c. Seems it hasn't been hooked up. 

Lucky me, I live on the third floor. Some insulation wasn't up to the winter temperatures and several pipes froze and broke. The damage was confined to the fourth floor. My upstairs neighbor had a few nights in a motel while her apartment was repaired. She was not a happy camper!

One bright spot is the resident building maintenance man. He does a great job and is quick to respond to any problem. He did fray my "man card" by having to show me how to reset a circuit breaker. My excuse? I've never seen the type used in this building.

Had a business trip to Sterling, CO in NE Colorado last week the day after a spring blizzard come through. Had to bypass on of my favorite places.

Mud. Even the gravel county roads are treacherous when soaked. Best to have good mud tires and 4wd, neither that equip my Taurus.

Ah, summer will be here soon enough.