Another Reason to avoid California, if at all Possible

Their new gas tax that's in the works.

Palestine and the International Criminal Court

Palestine has no business being on the ICC, but given the nature of the beast, this is more of a propaganda gambit than an actual attempt to bring the UN down on Israel. The ICC can only affect those countries that let it affect it - and it looks like the Israelis have no intention of letting it affect them.

Palestinian Resolution Flops

The Palestinians had a resolution to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in three years. It made it all the way to the UN Security Council, and then failed to get enough votes to continue. It needed nine of the fifteen members to vote for it, and even then, given that the two who voted no where the US and Australia, it still wasn't going to happen. After all, the US has veto power.
Even if it had passed, how, exactly would they have enforced it? It was, like pretty much every other UN resolution ever, a propaganda gimmick.

Sensationalism: An Epidemic?

Apparently this flu season has reached epidemic levels with 15 kids dead since the beginning of the flue season this fall. I call bullsh*t. These are the same people who say that obesity and gun violence are epidemics. I'll believe its an epidemic when I see most of my coworkers call in sick.
The sensationalism of the media is rather annoying. They like stories that involve people dying (with the implication that you could be one of those people soon), the latest celebrity gossip, or both. And they're not above making something that is, at worst going to somewhat inconvenience you seem like it'll end your world.

Merry Christmas to all

And a Happy New Year!

Mosin-Nagant part 2

Pictures of a battle classic. I took pictures of both of my Mosin-Nagants. One pre-war hex receiver from 1932 and the other a war rifle from 1943. It's not too hard to see the changes made due to the increased demand caused by WWII. 

Update on New Mosin

During the ten day waiting period, the pawn shop where I bought the gun managed to find the bayonet for it in their back room. As with the rest of the gun, serial numbers matched. Unfortunately, they didn't include it in the original deal and I had to buy it separately (although for less than the normal market value of a bayonet). I find the "lost and found" bayonet to be mildly suspicious, and have no plans on buying any other guns there, unless they're a really good deal. Pics later.

Hamas vs. Egypt

Rather than deal with Hamas using tunnels to get into and out of Egypt, the Egyptian government has decided to build one hell of a moat.
And I quote:

And unlike the fierce resistance and international public relations campaign Hamas mounted against Israel in August, the terrorist group that governs Gaza appears to not be seeking a head-on fight with Cairo.

The difference is, Israel cares about what the international community of the very caring and sensitive says and thinks about them.  The Egyptian government doesn't.

New Mosin

In ten short days (@$!#ing CA waiting period) this will be mine. An M91/30 hex receiver Mosin in great (for a Mosin anyway) shape. All serial numbers match, but it is unfortunately missing its bayonet. I'll be acquiring another bayonet to replace the missing one, but it just won't be the same as the original bayonet would have been. Even so, this is still a pretty good find.

The Unarmed Felon

By law, felons can't own guns. This seems like a good idea on the surface. After all, felonies are serious crimes, and felons are often dangerous criminals. It only makes sense to keep guns as far away from them as humanly possible.
The problems with this line of thought are as follows:

1. Career criminals don't really care about laws. Their options for procuring a firearm illegally range from making it themselves out of PVC pipe, a nail, and a rubber-band (although some "garage guns" meet or exceed the safety and effectiveness of professionally manufactured firearms) to buying off of the black market. And if all else fails, they can default to items which are, used properly (or improperly) quite dangerous, such as knives or baseball bats. The lack of a gun does not magically make a dangerous criminal into a law abiding citizen, as certain mentalities can always find something to use as a weapon, to deadly effect, no matter the situation.
2. Reformed felons do care about laws. This means that, by choosing to reform, they are limited in their self defense options. An unrepentant felon will always have an advantage over a reformed one, simply because the reformed is no longer willing to break the law.
3. It is effectively impossible for any single human to be aware of every single felony that it is possible to commit. Moreover, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Thus, it is entirely possible for generally law abiding citizens to commit felonies and not find out about the existence of the felony until the handcuffs are being applied.