Rules for a Gunfight

Rules for a Gunfight Anonymous 1. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns. 2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap - life is expensive. 3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss. 4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly. 5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.) 6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun. 7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived. 8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running. 9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on "pucker factor" than the inherent accuracy of the gun. Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. "All skill is in vain when an Angel blows the powder from the flintlock of your musket." 10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty. 11. Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose. 12. Have a plan. 13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work. 14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible. 15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours. 16. Don't drop your guard. 17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees. 18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them.) 19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH. 20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get. 21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet. 22. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one. 23. Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation. 24. Do not attend a gun fight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with anything smaller than "4". 25. You can't miss fast enough to win.

Michael Jordan vs Larry Bird, LeBron James vs Dwight Howard

Okay so this isn't an NBA Finals moment but its pretty funny.

Famous Finals Moments- 1981 Game 1 Larry Bird Mid Air Switch

As the NBA Finals are taking place I decided it would be good to revisit some of the moments that make this game so amazing to watch. Why not start with the 1981 NBA Finals, Houston Rockets vs Boston Celtics. Houston was the underdog in this series but despite this they were determined to make it interesting. And They succeeded the close game went back and forth all night with players on both sides making standout performances. Among these players was Larry Bird who played for the Celtics and was destine to become one of the greatest basketball players of all time. As the game came down to the 4th quarter the score was still close at 87-84 Celtics trailing, and that's when the unthinkable happened. Larry Bird let off a jump shot 18 feet away from the basket, as soon as he released the ball he knew he had missed so he ran forword and recovered his own rebound. As his momentoum carried him out of bounds he swiched the ball from his right to left hand (while in midair) and flipped the ball into the basket (while still in midair). This move excited the Celtics team and carried them to a 98-95 win over the Rockets.

Here is a video showing some of the nights game. If you just want to see Larry Birds shot skip to about 3:08

February 24, 1836

I wanted to post this yesterday but I didn't get a chance so I will post it now. During the battle of the Alamo Col William Travis sent out this historic plea for help.

Fellow citizens and compatriots;

I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. Victory or Death.

William Barret Travis

Lt. Col. Comdt.

The Force is Strong with this one

The Way Home Review

The Way Home is a family friendly movie based on a true story. Randy (Dean Cain) and Christal Simpkins are preparing to go on vacation when their two year old little boy goes missing. As they attempt to find him the community reacts and rallies around the couple. This film displays the compassionate concern of others as people came from far and wide to help look for the missing boy. I also thought it was great how they showed how God worked through a trying ordeal to demonstrate to a workaholic that family is what truly matters. Dean Cain did great in his portrayal of the father but the acting skill was lacking on the part of the other actors. Some of the faults of this movie were that the camera was bumpy and the story was really dragged out but other than these few problems the movie was very well done. The plot was great and very touching, and the scenes were shot on a beautiful landscape. All and all this was a very good movie with great values and was enjoyable for the whole family to enjoy. It is defiantly worth your time to watch The Way Home.

Reviewed for Thomas Nelson

January 22, 1973

I was going to post this yesterday but I didn't get a chance to so I decided to post it today. Yesterday was January 22 the anniversary of Roe v Wade.

Quickhit Football

Is Invisibility the new camo?

Read the story here

Lee, a Life of Virtue by John Perry

In Lee, a Life of Virtue, New York Times bestseller John Perry expounds on the godly character of Robert E. Lee. While many of us know Lee from our history books as the Southern rebel who fought for the right to own slaves, Perry’s masterfully written book shows that is not how Lee should be viewed. Perry begins by saying “Robert E. Lee has been one of the most misunderstood figures in American history for a hundred and fifty years.” John Perry writes in detail about the virtue of this Southern gentlemen’s life as it manifested itself before, during, and after the War Between the States. The author weaves the fascinating life of one of America’s finest soldier into this literary work of art, he shows how wrong Lee’s critics really are. John Perry’s method of explaining Lee’s inspiring virtue is very precise, starting with the legacy of Lee’s ancestors and concluding with the legacy of Lee himself. Standing out in this brilliant work is the strong sense of duty with which Lee bound himself to his country. The whole life and character of Lee is efficiently chronicled within 234 pages of smooth reading in which you will never read a wasted word. At the same time Perry has artfully given the reader a glimpse into the life of this resolute godly, warrior. All who read this book with an unbiased opinion of Lee cannot help but be inspired by his steadfast Christian virtue as portrayed in John Perry’s book.

Clone trooper pics

A few really cool Clonetrooper picture's I've found.

"Good guys wear white."

―Clone trooper

A poem about one of my heroes

Stonewall Jackson's Way
by
John Williamson Palmer

Come, stack arms, men! pile on the rails,
Stir up the camp-fire bright;
No growling if the canteen fails,
We'll make a roaring night.
Here Shenandoah brawls along,
There burly Blue Ridge echoes strong,
To swell the Brigade's rousing song
Of "Stonewall Jackson's way."

We see him now-the queer slouched hat
Cocked o'er his eye askew;
The shrewd, dry smile; the speech so pat,
So calm, so blunt, so true.
The "Blue-light Elder" knows em well;
Says he, "That's Banks-he's fond of shell;
Lord save his soul! we'll give him-" well!
That's "Stonewall Jackson's way."

Silence! ground arms! kneel all! caps off
Old Massa's goin' to pray.
Strangle the fool that dares to scoff
Attention! it's his way.
Appealing from his native sod
In forma pauperis to God:
"Lay bare Thine arm; stretch forth Thy rod!
Amen!"---That's "Stonewall's way."

He's in the saddle now. Fall in!
Steady! the whole brigade!
Hill's at the ford, cut off; we'll win
His way out, ball and blade!
What matter if our shoes are worn?
What matter if our feet are torn?
"Quick step! we're with him before morn!"
That's "Stonewall Jackson's way."

The sun's bright lances rout the mists
Of morning, and, by George!
Here's Longstreet, struggling in the lists,
Hemmed in an ugly gorge.
Pope and his Dutchmen, whipped before;
"Bay'nets and grape!" hear Stonewall roar;
"Charge, Stuart! Pay off Ashby's score"
in "Stonewall Jackson's Way."

Ah, Maiden! wait and watch and yearn
For news of Stonewall's band,
Ah, widow! read, with eyes that burn,
That ring upon thy hand,
Ah, Wife! sew on, pray on, hope on;
Thy life shall not be all forlorn;
The foe had better ne'er been born

That gets in "Stonewall's way."

Terpeia's Reward

The Romans knew no greater tale of treachery then that of the maiden Tarpeia. Her father was the keeper of the citadel of Rome and possessed the key to the city gate. This was a very important job espessially in time of war and it just so happened that the Romans were engaged in a war with the Sabines, who were laying siege to Rome. One day as Tarpeia went to draw water from the well which was in sight of the Sabine camp, she saw that the enemy warriors wore magnifacent bracelets on their left arms. Now Tarpeia was a very greedy girl and she desired these bracelets more then anything, so much that she sent word to the Sabine soldiers asking what she could do to obtain them. They replied that the only thing that she could do was open the gate and allow them entrance into the city. Tarpeia knew this would be treason but she valued jewelry more then loyalty to her country. She informed the enemy that she would open the gates if they gave her all that the wore on their left arms. So the night of her crime she slipped down to the gate and unlocked it. In came the dark masses of enemy troops. As she looked with selfish eyes upon their left arms she saw to her surprise there was no gold, no jewelry, but a huge brass shield. As she attempted to escape they began to hurl their shields upon her and soon she was crushed to death beneath them. And thus Tarpeia got her reward

BP Oil Spill

Ahh nothing like sitting back with a a bag full of popcorn watching the oil spill

Click Here

*note, from time to time the screen might go black or freeze

Rome's Greatest Treasure

Here is a an example of what makes a true patriot, someone willing to give their life for their country.

At the center of Rome was a area known as the Forum, this place was the hub of the city. It was filled with markets, temples, baths and all sorts of other important buildings. Then in 362 B.C. the Forum was rocked by a earthquake which left a huge chasm right through the middle of the square. The citizens diligently worked to fill the hole but there seemed no end to it and no matter how many stones they threw into the gulf, it stayed as deep as ever before.

The leaders of Rome were very worried and sent for the soothsayers, who informed them that the chasm would not be filled up until the most valuable thing in Rome was thrown into it. The people all began to throw in the possessions they valued most but it was all in vain.

Suddenly the sound of a galloping horse was heard and into the Forum rode the brave Marcus Curtius, who was young noblemen of high birth. His body was adorned in armor and he rode a great warhorse. As a hush fell over those assembled Marcus drew his blade and with an exalted voice exclaimed,
"What is more valuable to Rome then courage? What has more worth then a citizen who is willing to give himself for for his country?"
And with that he took one last look at his beloved city and then spurred his horse into the abyss. Instantly the pit closed over horse and rider and the Forum was as it was before the earthquake.

Patriots of Rome

The people of the Roman Republic were known to be fiercely loyal to their city and would do anything for the well being of Rome. Due to this patroitism there are many stories about the caurage and loyalty of the Romans to inspire us today. I love the stories of the Romans and think you might as well have decided to begin posting stories from the time of the Roman Republic I hope you enjoy!

Duty Honor Country

"Duty," "Honor," "Country" — those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you want to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. Unhappily, I possess neither that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor to tell you all that they mean.

The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase. Every pedant, every demagogue, every cynic, every hypocrite, every troublemaker, and, I am sorry to say, some others of an entirely different character, will try to downgrade them even to the extent of mockery and ridicule.

But these are some of the things they do. They build your basic character. They mold you for your future roles as the custodians of the nation's defense. They make you strong enough to know when you are weak, and brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid.

They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for action; not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm, but to have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future, yet never neglect the past; to be serious, yet never take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the simplicity of true greatness; the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

They give you a temperate will, a quality of imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, an appetite for adventure over love of ease. They create in your heart the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next, and the joy and inspiration of life. They teach you in this way to be an officer and a gentleman.

And what sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable? Are they brave? Are they capable of victory?

Their story is known to all of you. It is the story of the American man at arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefields many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then, as I regard him now, as one of the world's noblest figures; not only as one of the finest military characters, but also as one of the most stainless.

His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty, he gave all that mortality can give. He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. He has written his own history and written it in red on his enemy's breast.

But when I think of his patience under adversity, of his courage under fire, and of his modesty in victory, I am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words. He belongs to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism. He belongs to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of liberty and freedom. He belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements.

In twenty campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self-abnegation, and that invincible determination which have carved his statue in the hearts of his people.

From one end of the world to the other, he has drained deep the chalice of courage. As I listened to those songs of the glee club, in memory's eye I could see those staggering columns of the First World War, bending under soggy packs on many a weary march, from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn, slogging ankle deep through mire of shell-pocked roads; to form grimly for the attack, blue-lipped, covered with sludge and mud, chilled by the wind and rain, driving home to their objective, and for many, to the judgment seat of God.

I do not know the dignity of their birth, but I do know the glory of their death. They died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in their hearts, and on their lips the hope that we would go on to victory. Always for them Duty, Honor, Country. Always their blood and sweat and tears as we sought the way and the truth and the light.

And twenty years after, on the other side of the globe, against the filth of dirty foxholes, the stench of ghostly trenches, the slime of dripping dugouts, those boiling suns of the relentless heat, those torrential rains of devastating storms, the loneliness and utter desolation of jungle trails, the bitterness of long separation of those they loved and cherished, the deadly pestilence of tropic disease, the horror of stricken areas of war.

Their resolute and determined defense, their swift and sure attack, their indomitable purpose, their complete and decisive victory — always victory, always through the bloody haze of their last reverberating shot, the vision of gaunt, ghastly men, reverently following your password of Duty, Honor, Country.

The code which those words perpetuate embraces the highest moral laws and will stand the test of any ethics or philosophies ever promulgated for the uplift of mankind. Its requirements are for the things that are right, and its restraints are from the things that are wrong. The soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act of religious training - sacrifice. In battle and in the face of danger and death, he discloses those divine attributes which his Maker gave when he created man in his own image. No physical courage and no brute instinct can take the place of the Divine help which alone can sustain him. However horrible the incidents of war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and to give his life for his country, is the noblest development of mankind.

You now face a new world, a world of change. The thrust into outer space of the satellite, spheres and missiles marked the beginning of another epoch in the long story of mankind - the chapter of the space age. In the five or more billions of years the scientists tell us it has taken to form the earth, in the three or more billion years of development of the human race, there has never been a greater, a more abrupt or staggering evolution. We deal now not with things of this world alone, but with the illimitable distances and as yet unfathomed mysteries of the universe. We are reaching out for a new and boundless frontier. We speak in strange terms: of harnessing the cosmic energy; of making winds and tides work for us; of creating unheard synthetic materials to supplement or even replace our old standard basics; of purifying sea water for our drink; of mining ocean floors for new fields of wealth and food; of disease preventatives to expand life into the hundred of years; of controlling the weather for a more equitable distribution of heat and cold, of rain and shine; of space ships to the moon; of the primary target in war, no longer limited to the armed forces of an enemy, but instead to include his civil populations; of ultimate conflict between a united human race and the sinister forces of some other planetary galaxy; of such dreams and fantasies as to make life the most exciting of all time.

And through all this welter of change and development your mission remains fixed, determined, inviolable. It is to win our wars. Everything else in your professional career is but corollary to this vital dedication. All other public purpose, all other public projects, all other public needs, great or small, will find others for their accomplishments; but you are the ones who are trained to fight.

Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory, that if you lose, the Nation will be destroyed, that the very obsession of your public service must be Duty, Honor, Country.

Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds. But serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the Nation's war guardians, as its lifeguards from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiators in the arena of battle. For a century and a half you have defended, guarded and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice.

Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government. Whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing indulged in too long, by federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as firm and complete as they should be.

These great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution. Your guidepost stands out like a tenfold beacon in the night: Duty, Honor, Country.

You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the Nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds.

The long gray line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country.

This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

The shadows are lengthening for me. The twilight is here. My days of old have vanished — tone and tints. They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were. Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears and coaxed and caressed by the smiles of yesterday. I listen vainly, but with thirsty ear, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll.

In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. But in the evening of my memory always I come back to West Point. Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country.

Today marks my final roll call with you. But I want you to know that when I cross the river, my last conscious thoughts will be of the Corps, and the Corps, and the Corps.

I bid you farewell.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Half a league half a league,

Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Bugle Calls

For some reason I love the sound of the bugle! Fortunately for me they play it every day in the military. Only in the military they are used to signal different thing like wake up, go to sleep, chow time, etc. Below are some off the bugle calls I found on the Army Band's website.

First Call

Reveille

Assembly

Retreat

To the Color

Call to Quarters

Taps

The Knights' Code of Chivalry

• To never do outrage nor murder
• Always to flee treason
• To by no means be cruel but to give mercy unto him who asks for mercy
• To always do ladies, gentlewomen and widows succor
• To never force ladies, gentlewomen or widows
• Not to take up battles in wrongful quarrels for love or worldly goods