A Pin Up of one of the sexiest Net cartoon characters is up for auction. Beautiful, enticing and armed Sam from Day by Day by Chris Muir poses for Honor the Troops event. Get Sam and help Honor the Troops.

UPDATE: The auction is over. $511 were collected and our heartfelt thanks to the winner!

Nowadays, most Hollywood actors are nothing more than spotlight whores. The biggest the scandal they can produce, the better.  I was raised watching old black & white movies and I have to say some of my favorite actors are from that era. Watching Audrey Hepburn’s eyes makes you believe in absolute love. Nobody wears a tux like Cary Grant and nobody can make you laugh like that wearing the darn tux. The Duke’s word was cast in stone and so were his fists. The chemistry between Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn is still so fresh that puts modern Hollywood couple’s to shame. Too many to go on.

One of my favorite tough actors was Lee Marvin. I can go on and praise his life and movies but it is his grave that perhaps shows the man.

This is Lee Marvin’s headstone at Arlington National Cemetery. A PFC just among many other fallen servicemen.

As I said, Class. So lacking nowadays.

Why do Liberals Bleed? is article posted in one of the forums I belong.  An Internet search reveals that the author, Robin of Berkeley (probably a Nom de Guerre) has published this and other articles in American Thinker.  I have no idea who she is but I’ll give American Thinker the benefit of the doubt.

It makes for a interesting reading.

But it was a major street, at high noon, and I didn’t want to seem racist, so I turned the corner a few feet to reach my car, and a minute later, had my purse stolen as well as all my feelings of being safe in the world

“Berkeley is a city of victims.  You try to understand the street people and the criminals and sit down and talk to them and then they hit you on the head and steal your purse.  The police come and then you refuse to press charges.  The criminals know this and prey on you.”

As a good, loyal liberal, I always expected others to take care of me.  If I gave my unqualified loyalty to the system, I could sleep well at night.  But now, with victims left bleeding, a dangerously naive government, and sheep like masses, I see the absurdity of my thinking.

Besides the obvious political viewpoint on self defense and guns, what I thought was more amazing was the absolute lack of proper mindset that the victim showed. Let’s ignore the political cause of such failed strategy since it is not important in a general level; even though the signs of danger were present and acknowledged and the gut was screaming the alarm klaxon, the victim made a conscious effort to ignore them resulting in an attack and its consequences. Ignoring warning signs is stupid and stupid hurts. Sometimes we choose to ignore them because we are tired or we feel cocky as in “He wouldn’t dare” or the old “It won’t happen to me”  for those who live their lives in a constant state of foolish optimism.

The old adage of Trust Your Gut is valid. Act upon it and stay safe.

I am one of those freaks that believe in IDPA as a valuable training tool. I shoot any stage as if the cardboard targets had the ability to shoot back and produce involuntary ballistic piercing in my body. Today was an absolute manure maelstrom of a match for yours truly. Between doing scores in the computer, BSing with other shooters and just not paying attention, I got my carcass raked over the coals of procedurals. I had my mind so disengaged that I did not scan for targets and in two stages I was about to get Failures to Neutralize but for the good graces of the Safety Officer who was kind enough to point out the pristine targets requiring my attention. I got the procedurals because I opened myself to the “unseen” targets so much they had a good chance to pop my arse without a sweat. First I felt stupid but later I was absolutely pissed at myself. My mind was not in the fight and I got self-screwed by it. I failed to do such a simple thing like PAYING ATTENTION and I mildly suffered in my scores but in real life, my wife would be collecting the life insurance and paying all debts incurred.

I got cocky, my mindset was off, I paid a cheap price but I learned my lessons. In Real Life you don’t get second chances.

PS:We do our IDPA scoring courtesy of Beach Bunny Software. If you dont use it, you are working way too much on those scoresheets.

Well, I took the classes, passed the tests and waiting for the NRA to send me the card/certificate.  Working on my presentations and making a list of all the ancillary  I will need. And truth be told apprenhensive about the responsibility of teaching people about firearms.

One thing I know is that I am not one of the Great Ones. My last name is not Tarani, Awerbuck, Cain, Rogers Cooper or Smith. Even though Mr. Ego wants to go there, I have to plant myself into the reality of what can I teach and make it the best possible. I want to concentrate into bringing new people on the Gun Culture by the way of Safety, Responsibility and the development of Mindset.

We’ll see.

A day when Uncommon Valor was a common virtue

I just finished with my NRA Instructor’s classes and one of the things covered was the need to have talk with counselor/chaplain/shrink after a self-defensive shooting. I have to admit that the one thing I never thought about but makes to have an understanding person so you can open up and share the events with confidence.

I understand that we civilian shooters tend to be independent and that we firmly believe on depending on the fewest amount of people possible (and zero from the government) but the aftermath of a defensive shooting is something not to take lightly or be unnecessary proud to ask for help. Let’s imagine (God forbid) that you have just shot a Bad Guy that attacked you or your loved ones, there are plenty of witnesses that will corroborate the righteousness  of your actions and even plenty of video cameras that recorded the whole thing. The police arrives and if they are any good, they will initially treat you and anybody still standing as suspect. It makes sense, they were not there where it happened and they must perform an investigation. You are still draining adrenalin and this guy in blue will listen with detachment, keep you at arms’ length and you will feel bothered at best, insulted at most. You know you did the right thing. All the training paid off, you saved a life and yet it is not recognized by the responding officer and later by the investigators. That will shake anybody at anytime and you are not the exception.

Later, and depending where you live, you may have to go through the hands of the local district attorney and even a grand jury. You will be put under the microscope, examined up and down, questioned, challenged and doubted. Even though if the D.A. decides to call the shooting self-defense and announce it to the world, even if the Grand Jury returns with a No Bill, the experience will affect you. And let us not forget our dear Media people, desperate for news and your comment more likely to portray you as a rabid vigilante while showing the crying mother of the critter saying that her little angle was not a criminal and spewing venom against you. This will enrage you.

And last, your friends and neighbors. You will have those that will see you with new eyes and not the best. You have broken the ultimate societal taboo: You killed a human being: The Mark of Cain.  Whispers will be exchanged as you walk by. Some parents will tell their kids no to walk by your house or play with your kids. Some will openly question your actions and offer alternative solutions on how you should have faced the situation. Each and every comment, gesture, look will lay heavily on your mind and may change you for the worst. At the end, you will find yourself wallowing in self doubt, self recrimination and an assorted menu of feelings that will make you miserable.

Police and Military are smart. They have established support systems to deal with this kind of stuff. First the individual belongs to a fraternity that will immediately support his fellow officer or serviceman. Then they have counselors standing by and even make it mandatory for the individual to attend. Even if the person involved in the shooting gets unloaded upon by civilians and the press, he has a group of supporters backing him up. We civilians do not have that. It is up to us to prepare for it.

At the class I mentioned earlier, I was lucky to meet a counselor for a local police department. He is a Rabbi and a shooter plus his experience with officer involved shootings give him a special outlook on what happens to an individual after a self defense situation. I spoke some with him and he struck me as a very well prepared and empathic person who knows when to listen, when to comfort and when to counsel. He even offered one other advantage about talking to a counselor/chaplain/shrink: Confidentiality. What you say to a counselor/chaplain/shrink, stays private and privileged under the eyes of the law.

Right now his card is in my wallet, a part of my urban survival kit. I hope I never have to call him other than saying hello and invite him over to shoot with our club.

PS: I forgot to mention something. I am catholic (way lapsed) and have a rabbi on standby. You don’t have to be choosy about what type of counselor you need, just find somebody who will help.