Fisking Clayton Cramer

...on his rediculous thoughts on Open Carry.

Clayton, you lose credibility when you say things like "It depends on your goals. If you want to win political battles, you don’t offend unnecessarily. If you want to express yourself, and don’t mind losing, then go ahead, open carry even when you don’t need to; it’s more important to express yourself than to win political struggles."

How the fuck is someone supposed to know when they NEED to carry? That's the point; preparedness for the unknown. You might be a good historian, but you are philosophically retarded.

Vindication

A few weeks ago, after some local political bullshit broke in the news, I looked at my wife and said "there is no longer any such thing as hyperbole in political argument with modern liberals." This morning, I was proven absolutely, without a doubt, correct. Death Panels? No longer hyperbole. Government Motors? No longer hyperbole. Obama=Communist? No longer hyperbole. I could go on, but why?

Congratulations to the Nobel Committee and Barack Obama for finally stripping Alfred Nobel's legacy* from any remaining legitimacy it had after Arafat, Carter, and Gore. I now have to wonder if the three US women who won for advancements in medicine were only considered because of their vaginas.

*Well, no one can take away the fact the man invented dynamite.

Jerk BBQ

My inspiration for this recipe came from the Pain is Good brand of hot sauces; they've got an excellent Caribbean-style sauce that I decided would be even better if it would caramelize and glaze well. Ok, you've already seen the peppers (38 habaneros and three serranos, because the scotch bonnets aren't ripe yet, or it would be half and half of the two habaneros varieties):
So, the peppers are roasted (this step is not necessary, but it helps the peppers to get nice and soft for the subsequent operations, and adds some smoky flavor) at 300*F for about 30 minutes, or until they just start to brown. If you don't have pre-roasted garlic, then roast three cloves worth now, and remember to take them out of the oven as soon as they brown or they can turn bitter (this is usually before the peppers are done).

While this is roasting, take 80oz. of Crushed Pineapple (in unsweetened juice, not syrup), and 56oz. of Diced Tomatoes and add them to a 8-10qt. stock pot and bring to a light simmer. Zest and juice four to six limes and add it to this mixture. Then, when the garlic and peppers are ready, chop them up and throw them into the mix:

The mixture should now look like this:
At this point, you can add cinnamon and salt to taste, as well as some allspice if that's your bag. Simmer whilst covered for at least two hours on low to medium heat (it should be boiling but not browning the stuff on the bottom). Stir occasionally, and enjoy the kitchen-clearing aroma.

After the simmer period, you need to remove the pot from heat, and let it cool down enough that it is safe to put into a food processor or blender. When it is, then frappe or liquefy it. Return it to heat, and add molasses to taste, which will give it a darker brown color. At this point, adjust you spice balance, and add any additional citrus flavor if necessary to retain the character.

Viola!
It works best if cooked with pork or chicken at 250*F for several hours wrapped in foil, then put on the grill for the caramelizing treatment (use at least three layers). Last year I used brown sugar instead of molasses for RibFest at work (my department cooks for this particular shindig), and that worked well also. I'm excited to try the new mixture, so I'll update after our end-of-summer family BBQ tomorrow at my little sister's house!

Mad Scientist?

...I must be mad, because I'm putting 38 habaneros and three serranos into something, and I plan to eat it. I'll walk you through my descent into culinary insanity in a little while...

Needed to host a pic.

Nothing to see here, just working on fabricating new fitting for the transmission cooler in the Cutlass...

Quote of the Day

From a conversation at my lunch table in the cafeteria at work:

Prole #1: Hey, listen to this. There's going to be a protest to
get government to pay people's mortgages.

Prole #2: (Facetiously) Really? How can I get involved?

Prole #1: Just keep paying your taxes.

Open Carry in National Parks!

...that are located in Wisconsin. As much as the credit card regulations in this bill make me want to vomit all over a socialist, Senator Coburn's amendment was voted through, and the House adopted the same bill as the Senate, meaning that there will be no conference committee, and it will go directly to Obama's desk. The White House Press Secretary has said Obama plans to sign it even with the firearms carry amendment, so nine months from his final pen stroke, people in Wisconsin will be able to openly carry in these areas.

It's nice to see this bill, as the Federal Rule change promulgated by the Bush administration did not apply to WI, as it would have required a CCW permit, mandated CCW, and also it would have applied the State Parks' rules to the National Parks in said State. This law says that you can carry in accordance with State law in any National Park.

Woot! I'll update when the bill is signed into law, and we can start our countdown.

Bicyclist will not be charged...

In this incident. See the news article here, or Gene German's Examiner.com article here.

It's good to know at least one WI District Attorney knows that this is not the proper application of the "Gun-Free" School Zone law.

Defensive Gun Use in WI

I will certainly not call this the State's first Defensive Gun Use (DGU), but it has the implications of such, as it is the first using an openly carried firearm in public in recent memory, or at least since the widespread media coverage of Attorney J.B. VanHollen's opinion a few weeks ago that Open Carry is not de facto Disorderly Conduct.

Interesting to note is that this took place within 1000' of a school property, meaning that his possession of a loaded and uncased firearm there was a felony under current (unconstitutional - See US v. Lopez and applicable State-level analogs) state law. It does not look like he will be prosecuted, but I do wonder how long the statue will stand once people start carrying more often, and realize that they are unable to walk through their own neighborhoods due to this restriction.

Thanks to Gene German for the pointer.

Value Wine

I'd like to lend my notoriety (?) to the Farnese Montepluciano d'Abruzzo. At $8-10 a bottle, it is probably the best wine for the money I've been able to find. Wine of the week updated.