DISASTER!

I saw Irwin Allen's EARTHQUAKE!* San Andreas today.  I did, in fact, see the original Earthquake when it hit theaters in 1974.  San Andreas is very much like that film, only cranked up to eleven.  SQUARED.  That is, not much plot, but lots of destruction.

It's worth the matinee price just to see the special effects.  I'm serious - the devastation is spectacular in every meaning of the word.

And Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson actually acts in the film, which was kinda surprising.

But the plot, what there is of it, is....  I was going to say "secondary" to the disaster porn, but that wouldn't be right.  Not even "tertiary."  What's the expression for fifth- or sixth-order of importance?

But turn off your plot-hole analyser, shut down your "it doesn't work like that!" processor, set your brain to "numb," and watch Los Angeles and San Francisco collapse in glorious big-screen style.  (I saw it in 2D.  I've read that 3D mutes the colors somewhat.)

And try not to enjoy it too much.  Remember, if it ever does happen who will be footing the bill.

(*Yes, I know Irwin Allen didn't make Earthquake!, but he was the king of disaster porn movies in the 70's.)

Your Moment of Zen

Via email from a reader:

Republicans, They Thirst For Death

I used to think this was just a snarky saying, but I've come to realize it's the truth.

I received in the mail this week a survey from the RNC.  Attached was a letter, supposedly penned by Reince Priebus, that begins:

Preparing for the 2016 Presidential Election is going to take a massive grassroots effort all across America.

As Tam once observed about the gun control crowd, "they've been playing on astroturf so long that they don't know grassroots even when fed a mouthful of divot."

The survey has four sections before it gets to begging for money. The first section is demographic data gathering - what do I consider myself to be politically? Am I planning on voting in the 2016 election? How old am I? Am I willing to volunteer at a local Republican Party office or help campaign for a Republican candidate? Where do I get my news? But the last two questions set the tone for the rest of the survey:

10: Do you believe the Republican Party should continue to embrace social issues or are these too divisive when it comes to winning elections?

_Embrace
_Too divisive
_No Opinion

11: Please register your opinion on the following social issues, 1 = SUPPORT, 2 = OPPOSE 3 = NO OPINION

_School Prayer
_Faith Based Initiatives
_Ban Burning of the Flag
_Fight against same sex marriage
_Ban human cloning
_Ban Federal funds for birth control
_Ban all abortion
_Ban Federal funds for abortion
_Other__________________

(*sigh*)

What happened to SMALLER GOVERNMENT?!?

Section 2 covers "General issues" such as do I believe the country is headed in the right or wrong direction, what three issues do I believe are most important to people in my area, and which party is better able to handle these issues? I'll skip that except to say "government overreach" wasn't on the list except as the write-in "Other."

Section 3 covers "Domestic issues." Here I'll start quoting in full:

1. How confident are you that America's economy will improve in the next year?

Five choices from "Strongly Confident to Not Confident at all.

2. Which of the following is the single most important economic issue facing you and your family?

_Unemployment
_Inflation/Rising Prices Overall
_Cost of Health Care
_High Taxes
_Concern over funding for Social Security and Medicare
_Other ____________

Another vote for "Other."

3. Do you think our Republican leaders in Congress should be aggressive in forcing the Obama White House to work with them to create jobs, cut taxes and regulations, end economic uncertainty, and make America more competitive?

_Yes
_No
_No Opinion

Hint: The government doesn't "create jobs" except when it creates or expands another bureau or regulatory structure.

4. Do you favor efforts by Republicans in Congress to cut the present corporate tax rate (currently on of the highest in the world) in order to help bring more businesses back to the U.S., where they can invest their dollars in expanding their operations and creating new jobs?

_Yes
_No
_No Opinion

Holy shit! A reasonable question!

5. Do you favor a major overhaul of the current Federal Tax Code - currently thousands of pages long - that would replace today's burdensome tax system with one that is simpler and fairer?

Now they're just teasing, the bastards.

6. How concerned are you that our federal debt - presently $18 trillion - will seriously jeopardize our nation's economic security for future generations?

Like they're actually going to DO anything about it except make it bigger?

7. Are race relations in America today getting better or worse?

Well, they told me if I voted for Romney....

8. The Obama White House and Democrats in Congress are aggressively pushing for a higher federal minimum wage. Do you feel that forcing employers to pay higher wages will hurt or help the economy?

Well, the government doesn't "create jobs," but it can certainly destroy them.

9. Should Republicans in Congress stand firm against actions by the Obama White House to bypass Congressional votes and enact new regulations, fees, and other freedom-destroying measures via unilateral Executive Orders?

Uh, READ THE CONSTITUTION whydoncha?

10. With revelations of "Fast and Furious," IRS abuses, the Benghazi cover-up, and other major scandals in recent years, do you feel Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill have the right to hold government bureaucrats' feet to the fire and demand more transparency from the Obama administration?

They have the authority. They don't have the SPINE.

Do you believe more federal laws that impede individuals' Second Amendment rights are the proper response to recent gun violence in our nation?

"Gun Control: It's what you do instead of something."

12. Do you support Republican efforts to defer fully implementing ObamaCare and replacing it with something that will address the high cost of health care while maintaining the quality of care?

No, I think the whole thing should be repealed, period. Forget trying to "fix" it. THAT target will never stop moving.  But the Republicans won't do that, so they're signalling that they want to "delay" it until they can legislate an (equivalent) alternative.

13. Do you think one of the government's top priorities should be to preserve the financial stability of Medicare and Social Security?

I think one of government's top priorities should be to get people to understand that both programs are operating deeply in the red, and they CANNOT CONTINUE as they are, nor can they be EXPANDED. But I'm fully aware that the job of the politician is to get elected and keep getting elected so that's not a position any politician is going to take.

14. Do you favor Republican efforts in Congress to better strengthen our borders and fight President Obama's unconstitutional, unilateral decrees in writing new immigration policies?

You mean like you fought his unconstitutional, unilateral decrees delaying the implementation of ObamaCare? Just askin'.

15. Would you support immigration reform that included securing our nations borders and a path to citizenship for some people living in the U.S. illegally if they were required to learn English, go to the back of the citizenship line, have a job, pay taxes and pass a criminal background check?

Being here illegally, wouldn't they fail the criminal background check?

16. Should the federal government open up more federal lands to energy development in order to further foster America's energy independence?

Shouldn't the federal government own less land in the first place? It owns, for instance 61.8% of Alaska, 42.3% of Arizona, 36.2% of Colorado, 61.7% of Idaho, and 81.1% of Nevada. Why?

17. Do you feel that actions by the Obama Administration in recent years have seriously eroded America's individual freedoms?

I'm not blaming all of that on him. I will blame serious erosion of our foreign policy on his administration, but the DHS, the TSA, NSA spying and the like did not originate with Obama. The dismantling of our foreign policy and our influence around the world, on the other hand....

This completed the "Domestic Issues" questionnaire. Section 4 covered "National Defense":

1. Are Republicans in Congress right to fight back against the Obama Administration's efforts to severely cut America's military power?

Duh.

2. Do you think it is in the United States' national interest to take military action against ISIS in Iraq and Syria?

Hell, there isn't any good answer to this. All options suck.

3. Should America take military action if necessary to keep Iran and North Korea from obtaining nuclear weapons?

Doesn't Lil' Kim already have some wet-firecracker nukes?  As former Secretary of State Madeleine Not-so-Bright told us about North Korea and Clinton's treaty efforts:

"No, what they were doing, as it turns out, they were cheating."

But we should trust the Iranians.  It's not like they have special religious dispensation allowing them to lie or anything.  Not that politicians give a damn about telling the truth ever anyway.  How about we let China deal with Lil' Kim and Israel deal with Iran?  We'll just provide Israel MigCAP and KC-135 support.

4. Do you agree with Republicans' commitment to continue to fully fund a "missile defense shield" for our nation to protect us from future missile threats?

Define "fully fund."  How much?

5. Do you believe our government is doing enough to protect the homeland from future terrorist attacks?

You mean setting up people in "terrorist sting" operations?  "Thousands Standing Around" who have yet to prevent one terrorist act on a flight?   Telling us that a guy yelling "Allahu Ackbar" while shooting up a military base was actually committing "workplace violence"?  Yeah, redefining "terrorist attacks" as "workplace violence" helps "protect the homeland"!

Hey, I know!  Let's have the NSA record every single phone conversation in the U.S.!  I'm sure that'll help!

6. Should the U.S. take a more muscular attitude toward Russia as it moves toward re-establishing itself as a military and economic superpower?

Maybe we should encourage Europe to take a "more muscular attitude."  Or at least a less supine one.

7. Do you agree that it is essential for our nation to better prepare for cyber-warfare and create a comprehensive strategy that will enable us to respond decisively to cyber-adversaries?

Not so long as that "comprehensive strategy" is "Hey, software and hardware creators - give the .gov a back door into everything you make so we can 'protect' it!  Nice product you got there.  Be a shame if something happened to it."

8. Do you believe that President Obama went too far in moving to reestablish diplomatic relations with communist Cuba without demanding concessions that would give Cuban people more freedom?

Of course I do!  Given another fifty-five years, I'm sure the Castro brothers would have finally surrendered!

9. Fundamentally, do you feel the U.S. should play a major leadership role in the world, or do you feel we should concern ourselves only with matters of immediate national interest?

I think we need to get our own shit in one sock before we try to tell everybody else how, but we're stuck with the role we took after WWII.  Letting go of it completely invites chaos.

So basically the RNC just informed me that the Party of Smaller Government will talk big about Protecting America from its Enemies, National Defense, and ObamaCare, but when it regains power it'll define America's Enemies as TheGays and women who want abortions and birth control. 

It's what they do.

Not a dime, Reince.  You're not getting a single damned penny.

"But What About Free Will?"

I caught the movie Tomorrowland at a matinee on Saturday.  If you haven't seen it yet, or if you don't want spoilers, then don't go below the break, but let me say that it was not the film I was expecting.

Nor was it the Politically Correct Social Justice Warrior Global Warming propaganda piece some are claiming.

Six Seconds

Go.  Read.

Memorial Day isn't about sales and grilling.

(h/t Tam.)

I've Seen This Happen

Following a 360 Ton haul truck on a rain-slick pit road.  (That's how much it carries, not what it weighs.)  Exciting doesn't cover it:


I'm just glad it wasn't behind me.

UPDATE: The Cat in this video is a 777 - a baby haul truck. It's only rated at about 100 tons.  The big ones these days (like the 797) go 400 tons.  This truck would easily fit in the bed of a 797.

Gun Pr0n - Something You Don't See Every Day

A tactical shopping cart:


Not much of a shield in front of him, and I'm guessing the cart doesn't absorb recoil all that well either, but it looks like it could carry a pretty good load of ammo!

This Blog is Twelve

I just realized today that I missed the 12^th blogiversary of TSM.  It was May 14.

See last year's post to understand why.

An Added Incentive to Come to the Rendezvous

If you're a blogger, there's extra added incentive to come to the tenth annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous:

Ammo.

This year LuckyGunner.com is organizing the Rendezvous, and being an ammo supplier, they've stepped up to the plate.  If you're a blogger and register before June 1, you will receive a voucher good for $150 worth of ammo.

Registration is $35.

Helluva deal.

Quote of the Day - Free Speech Edition

From an answer over at Quora.com to the question: "What do normal Americans think about 'Draw Prophet Muhammed Cartoon Contest' organized in Garland, Texas?  Was the event about freedom of speech or did it focus on developing anti-Islam sentiments?"

The whole answer is excellent, but I wanted to archive this portion:

We are as viciously, passionately, ready-to-wage-warringly, married to our freedoms as Muslims are to their prophet Muhammad. Never presume that your beliefs are somehow magically more super-duper special than ours just because they are attached to a religious idea. Never fool yourself into believing that others aren't as dedicated to their philosophical perspective just because you think that your belief is right and theirs is wrong.

Gun Blogger Rendezvous X

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls!  There WILL be a Tenth Annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous!  Originally conceived and executed by Mr. Completely, this year the helm is being run by multi-year sponsor LuckyGunner.com.  One other change, the date has been moved up slightly to August 20-23.  The venue remains the very nice Silver Legacy Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada.  All the details for early registration are available here.

The tentative schedule so far:

Thursday, August 20: The rendezvous kicks off with a welcome dinner at The Silver Legacy Hotel & Casino. Early arrivals will allow time to stock up on ammo, get a lay of the land in Reno, and check out some of the local gun culture.

Friday, August 21: Breakfast followed by a day of long range rifle and pistol shooting at the Washoe County Shooting Facility. After the range we'll head back to the Silver Legacy for dinner and to hear about some of the new products hitting the shelves.

Saturday, August 22: Breakfast followed by an introduction to International Steel Shooting Association Action Pistol shooting at the Washoe County Shooting facility. Expect a lot of time to hit the range Saturday! That night, we'll reconvene at the Silver Legacy for dinner, our prize giveaways and the raffle.

Sunday, August 23: Breakfast at the Silver Legacy followed by a trip to U.S. Firearms Academy where we'll have a chance to check out Reno Guns, Battleborn Firearms and experience a digital scenario shooting.

And of course, every evening the Hospitality Room will be open for bloggers and readers and other interested types to gather and talk.

I've attended all nine of the previous Rendezvous' and enjoyed every one. If you're a gun blogger or a reader and have any interest in meeting some of the people you interact with on the web every day, plus get to throw a lot of lead downrange, I urge you to come to the tenth iteration of this event! If you're unfamiliar, just click this link for my complete coverage of previous events.

UPDATE:  And if you're a blogger, there's an added incentive to go.

Bill Whittle's Latest: Progressivism's Empire of Lies

Missed this one when it came out.

Quote of the Day: Tam Edition

If government is competent at one thing, it's incompetence.

Can't do it any better than that.

Yes she can:

Whoever wrote that article knows what the windows on the short bus taste like.

Eulogy

Here's the eulogy I gave for my Mom at her memorial service Saturday:

Too Little, Too Late?

An interesting op-ed piece on CNN.com was brought to my attention by way of Facebook.

Read 'Lord of the Flies' comes to Baltimore.

Then read my June, 2004 piece "(I)t's most important that all potential victims be as dangerous as they can."

May Victims of Communism Day

Today is the seventh annual Victims of Communism Day, a day to remember the people murdered by their own governments in their quest to achieve a "worker's paradise" where everyone is equal, where "to each according to his needs, from each according to his abilities" is the beautiful dream lie.  R.J. Rummel, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Hawaii, has calculated that the total number of victims of Communism - that is, the domestic victims of their own governments - in the USSR, China, Vietnam, North Korea and Cambodia is 98.4 million people.  For all Communist governments during the 20^th Century, he puts the estimate at approximately 110 million.  And this wasn't in warfare against other nations, this was what these governments did to their own people - "breaking eggs" to make their utopian omlette.

Six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, and another six million people the Nazis decided were "undesirable" went with them.  "Never again" is the motto of the modern Jew, and many others just as dedicated.  But "again and again and again" seems to be the rebuke of history.

The Communists are hardly alone in these crimes.  Rummel estimates that the total number of people murdered by their own governments during the 20^th Century is on the close order of 262 million, but the single biggest chunk of that truly frightening number is directly due to one pernicious idea:  That we can make people better.

Why do I own guns?  For a number of reasons, but one of them is this:

And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?  --  Alexandr Solzhenitzyn, The Gulag Archipelago

--

The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed - where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once. -- Judge Alex Kozinski, dissenting, Silveira v. Lockyer, denial to re-hear en banc, 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2003.

I intend to repeat this post each May 1 that I continue to run this blog.  This is the fifth time I have put it up.

Four years ago, Sipsey Street Irregulars had a post to go along with this one.  It's still up.  STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.