Smoke on the Water

Home Sweet Boat

It's been one hell of a long week. 

But I'm back home aboard the New Dawn, after having taken leave of her a full week ago, hardly daring to hope I'd ever stand on this deck again.

As I write this, I'm taking a short break from the almost unthinkable list of work that needs be completed to make this boat a home once more.  I'll be cleaning for a solid week, in between fielding job interviews and scouring the 'net for work prospects.

Tonight though, I'm pretty tanked.  I'll get a bit more cleaning done, then crawl into that masterberth, aft.  And I will sleep peacefully, soundly and deeply.

Tomorrow is a New Dawn.

That Which I Greatly Feared

18:20 CST, NW Houston, Texas

Scouting trips.

The reviews are mixed.  Today, I've engaged in two widely divergent scouting journeys, and have met with two wildly different situation reports.

First, I'll tell you a bit of welcome, but humbling good news.  The New Dawn rode out the storm, with nary a nick, scratch or scar. 

Perhaps you can imagine my awe at finding that her portside shroud's turnbuckle had sawn halfway through the 2"x 8" handrail that tops the pilings on my finger-pier.  Yet that did naught but polish the chrome finish on said fitting.

The odds of the New Dawn having fared so very well are quite simply, astronomical.

Belowdecks will require a herculean effort to set aright, as much was tossed from shelving and ship's cupboards.  Yet, in spite of the disarray, nothing was lost, nothing broken.  Not one tiny thing.

My joy lasted the two hours it took to drive back to the LaQuinta, where I embarked on a scouting trip of another kind.

I endeavored to catch up to the portions of the 'net that I call home.  And that which I greatly feared, came to pass.  Not to my house, but upon friend Dale, one of the truly good men in this world.

Further exploring the house, I found that I had water dripping inside from the damaged roof, so I spread some pans around to catch the drips and headed to my office to get a wet-vac and a ladder so I could suck up the water and put one of those blue tarps over the damaged roof.

When I got back, smoke was pouring out of my house. I called 9-1-1 to report the fire. After I finished reporting, I ran to the house to see if I could break in windows to let out my cats, but the smoke and the fierce heat coming off the building were so much that I couldn’t get within a few yards.

I know many of you have stayed with me here, and with the New Dawn as we unwillingly tangoed with Rita's whirling dance up from the Gulf and over the parquet of the rice fields, woodlands and cities of Texas and Louisiana.

I know that more than a few of you had thoughts of what to say banked against the horribly dreaded possibility of consoling me o'er what looked to be the sure loss of my beloved home.

I know that the suffering of my cats as we sojurned North touched hearts; I know their misery touched mine; their relief became that which drove me to arrive safely, no matter the cost. 

Viturally none of my fears have befallen me.  They have though, befallen Dale.  He has lost everything, friends. 

Every.  Thing.

I ask you to take those words, held against the fearful day that for me was not, and to please, go now and give them to Dale.

Mostly Cajun....... tonight, we're All Cajun, and all with you, my friend.

As are my prayers.

Rita No.12

09:39 CST, NW Houston, Texas

Roughing it in style.

As Rivrdog has so ably relayed my progress, I won't bore y'all with a detailed account of my holing-up in at the only available LaQuinta room for miles and miles.... other to say that air conditioning rocks!  A shave, a hot shower, access to news on cable.  A small refrigerator, a hotplate and a stock of food brought from the boat via the hacienda.  Comfortable perhaps, but it's certainly not home.

It was nice this morning to awake and find a live dial tone on the room's phone.  So, I'm taking advantage of it to check my mail  (thanks, everyone!) and give a quick update here.

In about 30 minutes, I'll take off from here on a solo scouting trip to Galveston.  Neighbor and fellow blogger Liberty reports having visited the New Dawn, and seeing that everything looked well. 

My friend and fellow liveaboard John rode out the storm on his self-built 44' ketch.  I spoke with him at length yesterday, and he said that the only damage he took was the loss of his portside rub-rail.  Though not a cakewalk to replace, that's what the rail is there for, to take the wear of bearing against pilings or other hulls.

Concurring with Liberty's report, John tells me that all appears intact with New Dawn.  Might I hope she came through with nary a scratch?

John's anenemoter reported steady winds of  ninety to a hundred and five miles per hour, with gusts to one hundred and twenty at the marina.  That most North wind eventually clocked 'round to a bit of a West wind as Rita passed.  It bore upon the boats  starboard sides for almost the entire time, quartering more towards the bows as the storm progressed.

That his ketch only suffered a lost rail, and the New Dawn appears to be fully intact, to me is half miracle, half damn good rigging by the ships' respective Captains.

After my scouting trip today, I'll leave the boat's air conditioning running, so she'll provide a cool and comfortable welcome home to the cats and I when we shift the flag to home waters after a week's absence.

Tomorrow's plans are to vacate the room here in Houston, and re-install my host family at their home near Dayton.  With moderating temperatures and the fact that electricity is returning to the area much sooner than expected, I anticipate no undue hardships to befall them after I take leave of their hospitality. 

Before I take the Crown Vic back to Galveston, I'll take the car down to Baytown for a quick air-conditioning repair and to top off with fuel. 

Then, and with much less urgency than a week ago, I'll load the car with gear, the cats and point the car once more Southward, with a purpose.

It will be good to be home.

Cap'n transferred his command, again

UPDATE 092705 1549 CST: I just a call from the Cap'n, who seemed to be in especially fine spirits. It seems that he has found out that most boats in Galveston Bay survived, and is even more sure that the New Dawn is OK. For now, he has joined the Knights-Errant of the Kingdom of Mercy, and he will be helping his host family return to Dayton and resume life at their house. It seems that Dayton got all it's power from Beaumont, and that town lies flattened by Rita, including the power plant and it's grid. Dayton will not have power for weeks, as the grid has to be rebuilt from scratch, and re-extended out to Dayton. If anyone knows of a generator set in Houston that isn't being used, let me know so I can pass the word. He mentioned that his hotel is being guarded by two cops from NOLA, who seem to be in no hurry to get back to their hometown. Very strange. He asked that I remind his "crew" to please refrain from calling him on his cell phone.

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UPDATE: 092605 1723 CST: I just tried to call the Cap'n to relay a message of importance to him, and got a "mailbox is full" warning from the phone service. IF I CAN'T GET THROUGH TO HIM BY VOICEMAIL, THE COMM SYSTEM IS HALF-ASSED. Please don't call Jim's cell number unless he has RECENTLY asked you to. He turns it off, and the mailbox fills up quickly, then none of us can get through to him. He asked specifically that I relay all messages to him from my email: [email protected] or from his or my blogs. I will do that as I am able, but now I've just lost an important part of my communications chain. Some consideration for Jim here, please.

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I just spoke with Cap'n Jim of the Sloop New Dawn. His position, and the position of his host family up in Dayton was getting a little too rough, with the Trinity River still rising from the inland effects of Rita, and no relief in sight from the utility outages.

The slit-trench latrine was getting a bit too basic, also. And the bugs, I imagine, and the heat and humidity as well.

So, they packed up their respective vehicles and moved into a motel on the NW side of Houston. There is power there, and air conditioning, and lots of fresh hot water for long showers. The stores are open, and vital supplies are available. Mint julep for those tropical evenings, don't you think? Mmmmmm.

There's no phone service, however, so still no internet for the Cap'n.

He's not going to make it to the New Dawn for a while yet, but he seems more sure than ever that she is OK.

We'll continue with the Yeoman blogging services for now.

H&DS...your msg authenticates, I'll keep you in the loop.

Rivrdog, listening, out.

Rita No. 11

13:55 CST, near Dayton, Texas

Brief update.

My generous host family and I have toured the area a bit today, and the damage seems mostly confined to downed trees, power lines.  Most of the structural damage in the vicinity is either light wind damage, or heavy structure damage due to the unloving kiss of a falling tree.

We're still without power or phone out at the hacienda.  However, a quick trip to a neighbor's working ranch on the other end of town is providing a water refill, a working generator and an open phone line.  So, here's a quick tidbit in the few moments I'll have available to send.

Per the news radio, Galveston Island is open to returnees.  I expect my area does have electricity, so I anticipate no major issues upon returning to the boat.  That said, I'm going to invest one scouting trip South, sans cats or gear, just to ensure that all is well and to properly prepare the boat for reboarding.

You may interpret that as re-rigging the ship's air-conditioner to full operation, ASAP.

While I'm on that scouting trip in a borrowed pickeumup truck, I'll have my car's AC being serviced in the Dayton area.  The return with the cats will not be the hell of the oubound journey. I'm seeing to that.

We're still unsure as to when power will be restored to the Dayton area.  Local relief was giving away food and drinks at a local fast food joint, but we collectively decided to eschew that option, as we're well stocked with foodstuffs.  Water is iffy, but as long as we can get to this working ranch every three days ro so, we'll have an ample (endless) supply of well-drawn water. 

After all, his generator is serviced by a thousand-gallon tank of diesel, with is supplying a large John Deere tractor, the PTO of which is spinning the 54,500 kw  (yes, that's fifty four thousand, five hundred watts) generator.

This morning at the hacienda, I dug a 4'  long, 15" wide and 18" deep military-style slit trench for sanitation purposes.  Much better to hold the bathtub full of water for other purposes than merely flushing a toilet.  Does a bear shit in the woods?  Well, of course, but here's one sailor who also does!

So, it seems I'm working on the preliminary aspects of making a return to Galveston.  But while I'm out in the hills, I'll be helping the owner of this ranch to clean up his spread, de-board his windows and anything else I can do to be of help.  Nothing really can be done at my hosts' hacienda until power returns there, so I'll do what I can through the course of a few trips out here.

On a personal note, I had only the time to merely scan the 100+ e-mails which await my reading in my inbox. 

You all have my most humble, and deeply heartfelt thanks.  Each and every one of you.  For now, I'll continue to give Rivrdog quick cel updates, as my 'net access will be brief moments at best, until services are restored to my hosts abode.

But you do have one promise from me, which I shall keep.

The voyage will continue.

Captain's Orders

Yeoman First Rivrdog here. I just spoke with Cap'n Jim, and he has orders...

He passes his sincere thanks to all who've been asking about him, but his situation is unchanged: he's holed up safely up NW of Houston, with no phone, internet, TV or electricity. He has a battery-powered radio, and can get the newsradio on AM out of Houston.

The Cap'n believes that he still has a boat afloat in Galveston Bay. He is VERY encouraged by that prospect, but he is a realist: there are as many as 3 million people that fled Houston and Galveston between him and the Sloop New Dawn. He knows that he won't be going back aboard ship for a few days.

In the meantime, he hopes to scoot over a few miles to a house he knows where they have telephone service, and get on the dial-up and blog some.

In the meantime, the Cap'n posts these Orders:

Don't call him on his cell phone. He is on an austerity program at the moment, being on a leave of absence from work, and can't hack the $1.40/minute for calling. He will do all his communicating through his Yeoman (me).

So, pass along the words you want sent in the comments, and I will write a short list of very short messages and pass them to the Cap'n on the occasion of the very short call I have with him couple times a day.

That is all.

For the Cap'n,
Rivrdog, listening, out.

It Doesn't Look Too Bad

Rivrdog here, posting some news of the Cap'n Jim.

He's safe in his hidey-hole up NW of Houston. The house suffered no damage and the storm has passed. His ship's crew, including his fur-bearing shipmates, are all OK. The house has no utility service at all, and no ETIC for those lost utilities. He did not give any return time, but that's going to depend on the authorities in Galveston, who are still assessing. I just heard a news bulletin that said that the Galveston Mayor and Emergency staff had made it back onto the island, but the bulletin didn't say how they got there, by bridge or whether they had to boat across the channel. That piece of info is vital, so if any readers know of any Galveston traffic cams still operating, please scan them and see if they still show intact bridges and post your observations in the comments below.

NOAA's harbor-level monitoring equipment DID survive and recorded the bay conditions as the hurricane passed to the east. The air pressure went down to 883mb, the water temperature dropped by 7 degrees (probably due to the colder water at the bottom of the bay getting stirred up to the surface) and the bay EMPTIED OUT. That is huge news.

With the bay dropping below minus two feet (at pier 21), the Sloop New Dawn probably ran aground in her moorings, which would prevent any damage from wind-waves, which wouldn't be high enough to damage her. Jim has told us that he tied her up in a way so as to prevent damage in case of this happening.

It may be a bit early to raise a hearty hoo-rah, but I'm guessing he WILL have a boat to come back to, and one that probably won't require much work to set right.

Stay tuned.

Rivrdog, listening, out.

Rita No.10

16:33 CST, near Dayton, Texas

Communicatons Advisory.

Well before Rita's formal introduction, her enterouge sallies forth, announcing her immenent arrival via the usual litany of problems which accompany a major storm.

Having helped to prepare my host's home with plenty of duct tape on the glass, the removal of loose items from the yard and the securing of some seriously pissed-off outside cats in to carriers in the garage, we decided to see what it looked like in town.

A ten mile drive later, Dayton lay bare, evoking images of a ghost town from the big screen.  But this was no fantasy.  This is the reality of a population laying low, wary, ready.  But still, some pockets of life were to be seen.  The two police cars parked left side to left side, the officer's doors exactly opposite, so they could converse easily, neither having to unsaddle from their crusers.  A small cluster of people operating the Coke machines and the herd of cars at the three open-for-business bars we passed.

You can always count on a Texas bar to host a good hurricane party.  Might be dumb as a box of rocks to go out into the teeth of the gale for a drink, but this is Texas, dammit.  Ain't no wind gonna stop the party...hell, the wind makes the party!

These crowds ought to be pretty safe, eighty miles inland.  But many a reveler, from the Carolinas, round Florida and through the whole Gulf Coast have sacraficed themselves on the altar of reckless abondon, chewed thouroughly by the teeth of the storm as wind and wave succeed in the application of Darwinian theory.

Returning to the strong brick house which is their home, and my shelter, the fortelling of what is to come can be seen in the sky.  Clouds scudding low across the sky at dazzling speed, yet the wind on the ground is at most, twenty miles per hour or so. 

Like the misleading caress of a lover who who is destined to betray, Rita gently touches the trees and overhead lines; ordinarily a most soothing and mellow kind of day. 

Behind that gentleness though, roars the mouth of the dragon, and this way she soon flies.

About those swaying power lines.  The local telephone lines are there as well.  Given I'm online via dialup on those very wires, I expect that local telephone service will fail in the next few hours.  The cable TV has already vanished.  How long it will take crews to effect a restoration of phone service would require a crystal ball.  Mine broke a long time ago, so I'll venture no guesses there.

Even now, down in Houston, the radio reports losses of power in the Katy area, about fifty minutes West of town.  I'm sure it won't take terribly long for Rita to work her way this short distance North.

But I do want to state this:  I am in a very strong, very well built brick house.  There is ample food and water, and the propane tank outside will allow for weeks of steady cooking on the gas stove.  Which of course, can boil a vast amount of water, if need be.  And yes, there's water aplenty on the shelves here.

So, please DO NOT WORRY if you don't hear from me for a while.  Especially while Rita passes by, and perhaps for a few days thereafter.  I will find the means to communicate my wellness to the outside world, and in such a way that Rivrdog will get word, and be able to report such. 

As I think that cellular communications will be the least affected by the storm, should I not find internet access to be readily available, I'll call Rivrdog and give him that situation report to be posted.

So, no matter what breathless, "If it Bleeds it Leads" reports you get from the Chicken Little Media, kindly trust in my ability to survive, and that I give a damn enough to report that survival to you, just as soon as I can.

Considering all the availabe reports, I expect winds at about 80 to 90 mph in this area.  We get thunderstorms that hit that hard, albiet for mere moments instead of hours of howling gale.  But still, 90 mph is a hell of a lot more tolerable than 155+ miles per hour, both for building and beast.

Obviously, reporting from ashore makes this just another storm-blog, and there's plenty of damned good ones out there to be read.  But, my neighbor John has decided to remain aboard his gorgeous 44' ketch, which he built by himself from the keel up.  Only took sixteen years or so, and it's very obviously worth every minute and drop of sweat he's put into her.

He'll surely tell me a sea story of the storm from his vantage aboard a ship only a two-hundred feet distant from the New Dawn

And I'll surely realte that tale to you here.  I'm truly looking forward to hearing it, first hand.

If all is well, he'll be relating that experince over cold beers, as we sit aboard the Sloop New Dawn.

I'm looking forward to that.  I truly am.

Rita No.9

08:40 CST, Near Dayton, Texas

Twenty-one hours for an eighty mile drive.

Before recouting the nightmare that was the trip to Dayton, let me first thank friend Rivrdog for posting that fine update.  If I can't get 'net service during or after the storm, I'll at least hope to be able to reach him by cel, so that he can post subsequent updates. 

As of this writing, the track for Rita is showing a projected ladnfall  just west of the Sabine River, trending North and a bit West.  The good news is that Galveston will be on the weak side of the storm, and rather than a huge storm surge, the opposite might occur, and Galveston Bay could be nearly drained of water as the winds push the bay out to sea.

Fortunately, my boat is rigged to remain upright and level while grounded.  We do get some extremely low tides in the Galveston Bay area, so several times a year I find that my boat is only half-floating, with her keel buried in the mud below.

But for now, I'm high n' dry near Dayton.  Only an eighty-mile drive, and one which I'd normally accomplish in about 90 minutes time.  Though not orginally intended to be my hurricane hole, I accepted the invitation of friends to hide-out here, once it became apparent that reaching Plano, San Antonio or even Area .45 would be nearly impossible, given the traffic and dearth of available fuel along the way.

Holding the fort

UPDATE: 092205 2200 CST: It appears now that the hurricane is taking a more easterly track than forecast. If this track holds, the eye will pass to the east of the Galveston/Houston area, sparing them most of the projected damage. If it continues to vary from the models to the east, it could pass close enough west of New Orleans to un-do the progress that's been made there. One thing's for sure, the petroleum industry will take another hit on the Gulf Coast, as there are several refineries in the Beaumont to Port Arthur stretch where the landfall is now forecast, not to mention dozens of offshore oil rigs in the path of Rita.

Looks like maybe "Ranger" decided that the Madam was too much for him, but figured he could use the old "draw off the enemy" trick that we used to see on the black and white Saturday horse operas. It may have worked...

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UPDATE: 092205 1140 CST: Lots of folks commenting, so let's use the comments as a sort of live-blog for a while. Also, AccuWeather has now called for the eye-hit to be on Galveston Island, with whatever winds the eyewall brings, and a 20-foot PLUS storm surge. Hard to say whether their seawall could take that. The fate of the New Dawn is not looking good.

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Rivrdog here, posting for the Cap'n, my blogfather, who is conning his lead sled due North out of Galveston as best he can. As of 2200 CDT when he called me, his position was 20 miles from the Bay. He was stopped on the road, was barely making progress, and didn't expect to make his destination some 80 miles North until dawn. His cats, not used to car travel, were unhappy and letting me know over the miles of air and wires.

Madam Rita isn't getting any weaker, but she may be losing her opportunity to bring Texas to her knees as her sister, Katrina, did to Louisiana and Mississippi. Texas is protected by a strong anticyclone, a high-pressure dome that is keeping Rita from making her turn onto the Gulf Coast. Now, there is hope that the storm will not come ashore near the heavily populated Houston area, but far enough West that her energy will be expended on lesser destruction. She's going to hit somewhere, and that somewhere will cease to exist as a coast town, but with luck it won't be the vital Houston/Galveston area.

I want to name the high pressure dome. NOAA won't, but I want to call it Ranger, after the legendary, but small group of lawmen that has protected Texas and Texans over the years. Ranger, meet Rita. Rita, this is Ranger. Y'all see that rifle Rita? See that Walker Colt? See that blacksnake bullwhip? Maybe y'all better stay out of Texas, ma'am.

Jim expressed hope to me that maybe, just maybe, the storm surge will be expended farther down the coast and the New Dawn will ride it out in her marina.

Let's all hope and pray with Cap'n Jim. Pray for his wheezy old Crown Vic. Pray for his frightened animals. Pray that he continues his cool, calm assessment of his risks and his rewards, and makes all the right decisions.

Finally, pray for "Ranger". His resolve, his firm placement protecting Texas is all the state has left to hope for.

Rivrdog, out.

Rita No.8

18:55 CST, Galveston, Texas

Casting Off.

A brutally hot and humid day, from beginning to end.......it's far, far from ended.

It is astonishing how much stuff a single Ford Crown Victoria can digest, and still have room for a wayward Captain and two ship's cats.  But that will be our home for the next four to ten hours.

All to reach a destination only eighty miles distant.  It appears I will be prevented from reaching my primary and secondary refuges for the night, due to the herd of scared and confused drivers, herded nose-to-tail in their desperate need to go somewhere, anywhere.... even though it's only a few miles for several hours of a snail's pace drive.

The road reports indicate a five hour jam 'tween Galveston and Houston.  In that my route into the remoteness North and East of Houston might avoid some of that sheepleish lunacy, I hope for a less grinding ordeal.  Especially with two anxious cats in the car.

The boat is as ready as she can be.  Bow and stern, port and starboard....all lines are doubled, save for the springlines which must be rigged to soften the fore and aft surge of the hull, more gently.  Every bit of windage abovedecks has been either struck below, or jettisoned into the marina dumpster.  I have been necessarily merciless in my decisions as to what stays; what goes.  It will be an expensive process to re-equip, if indeed and if there is even a boat to re-equip.

Immediately after posting this, I'll grab a much needed shower, don my road clothes and put the last of my gear in the car.  The A/C will then be nestled onto the cabin sole, the cats carried to the car, and while they wait, I shall dog tightly the main companionway hatch.  Already, heavy nylon cinch-down straps bear on the fore and aft cabin hatches, and all ports have been strongly torqued.

None of which is proof against the intrustion of water being blasted into the cabin at better than 155 mph.

First teasing with a landfall perhaps distant enough to save the New Dawn, fickle Rita then ups the odds to spin forward as the Queen of All Storms, reigning over the gulf as a Category Five bitch!

I fart in her general direction!

Several things before I go.  First, my heartfelt thanks to each and every one who has sailed aboard the sloop New Dawn here with me over these past few days.  You have been gracious and welcome guests.  I'm honored to have sailed with you.

Next, my thanks to Abbi of CNN News.  Thank you for your kindness and genuine concern, even while soliciting my release to run with the saga of the New Dawn's most challenging voyage, ever.

Thanks also to my blogsis, Baldilocks.  You're the best, and you know it.  To Michelle Malkin.  Wow.  Instawho?  I've had three so-called Instalanches....combined, they don't add up to a half-day's traffic from you, ma'am.  I'm honored.  Likewise, my thanks to Laurence Simon and Misha.

On my blogroll are some of my best friends, and some of the finest people I've had the pleasure to have met in my forty-seven years.  Looks like I've got a lot of adding to do to that blogroll, after the storm.

This goes to what follows.  I shall have to learn the patience of Job in order to do justice in thanks to all the commenters, e-mails and phone calls which have followed my words and my actions these past few days.

Thank you all, each and every one!  That is all I can do now, for it is time for me now to take leave of my beloved home, to trust her to the hand of God, and the to the will and the effort I have invested to keep her safe against the storm.

I shall drive away, unwillingly.  But drive I must, if only to not subject the pure love of my two cats to the hell that is due to descend upon these docks in but thirty-six hours time.

My course is uncharted, the waters strange and the waves of patterns yet to be learned.

But I will sail into this future determinedly.  It is the only future I have, it is the only course I can sail.

Finally, a word to friends, everywhere.  Please, please refrain from dialing my cel until the middle of next week.  I will be too intent on the minute by minute situation to dwell on the phone; such has cost me precious time today.  And time will compress as the storm draws nigh.  I'm sure the aftermath will present it's own challenges as well.

Know just that I shall be safe, I shall have shelter, I shall not want.  That, and I'm armed to the freakin' teeth, and I'll drop any sonofabitch who even thinks of carjacking the geezermobile not-so-New Dawn.

As I find 'net access in the coming days, I'll provide updates as to my status.  And as soon as I can return to this small peninsula which divides the backside of Galveston Island from the InterCoastal Waterway and the mainland beyond, I shall provide whatever report there is to give as to the fate of the New Dawn.

Once more I ask, prayers for her safety through the storm. 

That is all.  Carry on.

Captain, Sloop New Dawn; Departing!

Rita No.7

11:59 CST, Galveston, Texas

Welcome, Michelle Malkin visitors!

Stripping the boat.

Working steadily since my 04:00 wake up, I've reduced the windage topsides to a bare minimum.  Gone are the sails, the flagstaff, and the many gasket-coiled lines which festooned the taffrail.  All safely stowed in various havens aboard ship.  The bulky sails, to find a shelter ashore with a trusted neighbor and businessman.

Such is the harshness of the extra salty Gulf of Mexico, that I had to employ the rigger's tool of last resort to free the galvanized wire which serves as the main'sl halyard.  Bolt & wire cutters are not a luxury on a sailboat, but a necessity.  When dismasted at sea, one's speed and deftness of blade with the jaws of those cutters can make the difference between life and a wet, miserable death.  Today's use was less urgent perhaps, but just as vital to the odds of the New Dawn having a chance against the storm.

Good news on the radio as I'm typing this....   an announcement that the projected landfall for Rita has been moved twenty-five miles south and west, further down the coast from the mouth of Galveston Bay.  Dear Lord, please...another twenty-five miles, and the New Dawn may well bear the winds and ride the surge; even if barely.......and for me, barely will be blessely, enough.

Go away, Rita!  I can fix a damaged boat.  I cannot raise her from the dead.

Keeping on a positive note, the shop completed repairs on my car a while ago, and I'm now autonomously mobile once more.  One less statistic for the whiners to blame on Bush.  The problem was a defective thermostat and a blown upper hose.  Fixed, but with the towing, a painful bite of $180 out of the dwindling kitty.

What's next is process management.  I have four good steaks on board to process, and I intend to manage so doing.  Everything in the fridge is a "use it or lose it" proposition.  Those steaks, once cooked, will go into the ice chest to accompany me on the road.  I don't think it'll be a wasted effort.

I'll put all the other foods that I can't use, out on the peninsula for the semi-friendly feral cats.  They're used to only recieving a meager ration in the morning, having to fend for themselves at dark.  That they do that well is evidenced by the complete lack of mice, rats or or other such vermin around the marina.  Damn shame they're not effective on the two legged species of rat, but that's a story for another day.  Sadly, these may be their last meals.  I hope to make it a thing of wonder for them.

After lunch, I'll be systematically loading the car to it's maximum capacity.  Papers, clothes, minimal survival cookware.  My laptop.  Guns and ammunition.  All of it.

And of course, my two liveaboard cats. 

Harley, on my lap at the helm.  Fall, 2001.

Ariel and Harley, sister and brother...littermates.  They turned ten years old, this spring.

I would cut off my arm before I abandoned those two.

The impact of Rita is overwhelming, even days before her arrival.  The island is a ghost-town, yet is the scene of frentic activity as the lategoers hastily board up, buy up, load up and go.  Much hustle, and I'm sure, some hustling, but I've not the time to race the rats around town.

I realized just how harsh this mistress of wind is, when at dawn I struck-down the ship's colors from the top halyard.  At that moment, I knew I might be quite literally, ending the journey that has been the New Dawn.

A twenty inch by thirty inch United States Flag lies folded in a small triangle, in the side-pocket of my shooter's range bag. 

It's folds are salted with the tears of the Captian of the Sloop New Dawn.

Rita No.6

04:31 CST, Galveston, Texas

A three-hour snooze.

And I awake to Rita having blossomed to a Category Three storm.  Such a precocious girl.

I had to take a break from the preparations.  Stress and fatigue aren't conducive to clear thinking, and my gut tells me that clear thinking is going to be an essential value in the next few days.

Coffee a'brewing, I've just made the rounds of the council of weather gurus for my first morning update.  Hoping to learn of some odd favorable quirk or wobble in the storm's path, I'm not surprised to find that Rita remains steadfast and relentless in her two-step towards Texas.

That girl just plain bothers me!

It seems certain that Rita will summon forth her inner Category Four, with the threat and not-so-veiled-threat to ascend to the throne of the Queen of All Storms.  To be crowned a Category Five hurricane would be for her, an honor, and for her subjects; tyranny.

Is this when I'm supposed to start blaming FEMA for not being here soon enough?  Or to fault the President for a supposed late response, to something yet even to occur? 

Governor Perry has already recalled the Texas National Guard from Loisiana, putting them on standby and in pre-deployment preparedness in Texas for the aftermath of Rita.  Today is Wednesday.... he did that on Monday.

Note that I said aftermath.  On this side of the Texas-Loisiana border, it is well understood that the local civil servants, municpal, county and state law-enforcement, serve as the first responders.  The same applies to services provided by fire, EMS and all other divisions of our local governments.

The fault that my boat has nowhere to go to safety, is not George Bush's fault.  The fault that her refit founders far from completion is not FEMA's fault.

Damn my luck being a Constitutionalist.  Elsewise, I could blame this whole damn mess on the present eeeeeevvvill administration.  [tinfoil hat, on] Actually, I blame Rita on New Orleans Mayor Nagin and Louisiana Governor Blanco.  Damn permissive liberals, showing these storms they could misbehave with no limits or discipline! [/ tinfoil hat, off ].   Hey, if the screaming moonbats of the left can postulate all maner of insanity in their knowledgeless accusations of  failiure of President Bush and his administration, I can go just as far off to assign blame to the liberal, permissive left, can't I?   (eeeevil Vast Right Wing Consipiracy chortle n' grin)

Guess it's no wild shopping sprees with a FEMA Visa card for me, eh?   Damn.

I might humbly mention that the Pay-Pal tip-jar over on the right column may just have significant merit in the days to come.  Hey, what a thought!  A charitable contribution with no middleman!  I promise to spend generously on ammunition, modestly on cigars, and only to the minimum required rations of Maker's Mark.  I can't abuse the generousity of my readers by sqandering their largesse on stuff like food and clothing and shelter now, can I?

Damn straight I can, and unlike the wait-to-be-told-what-to-do-next crowd who yet linger in civic centers and churches in, I suppose, every state of the Union, I'm already working out plans for how to hit the ground running after the storm. 

I'll take some help from FEMA and their ilk, if need be.  But my days won't be spent standing in lines, waiting as Oliver Twist, bowl in hand and begging for "more, please?".  I know where  the "on" switch is on a shovel.  I'll do what I need to do, and I'll get things done.

But that's for later.  Right now, I've got lots of things to get done, right here and right now.

One question for y'all who have the luxury of time to do some research while I'm back at my toils.  Can anyone dig up what the tidal state will be for Galveston Texas, and the Houston Ship Channel, concurrent with the projected time of Rita's landfall?

I'd appreciate the information, as it will be of utmost importance in how I rig the boat's docklines, just prior to departure.  Please leave a description and link in your comments.  Thank you in advance!

Okay then.  The coffee's done brewing, the storm brews stronger still.  I've got a ton left to do here.

More, later.

West Houston Smoke & Powder Crawl IX

Yes, really.  It's on the calendar, and I'm going to post it, come hell or high water Hurricane Rita.

That bitch can't stop a good time, she can only postpone it.

You'll find contact information for the hosts of this event at the bottom of the extended post.  Please, give this event and fine group of people your support.  Show up, shoot 'em, eat hearty, smoke languidly and drink wisley and well.

If Rita sees fit to actually clobber the area, contact Richard to find out when the rescheduled Crawl will commence.

These crawls are legendary Houston happenings.  I'm looking very forward to going on one m'self.

WEST HOUSTON SMOKE & POWDER CRAWL IX
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2005

"Some people can never rest easy so long as they have a nagging suspicion that
someone, somewhere, is having fun."

I'm happy to announce the Ninth Annual S&PC!  Sadly, Houston restaurants no
longer allow smoking ... but WE do!  We will start at ASC and proceed in a cloud
of gunsmoke to stuff ourselves blind and smoke until we fall over.  The schedule
(feel free to join us at any point):

9:00 Start - American Shooting Center, 16500 Westheimer, 77082  281)556-8086.
Rifle/pistol at $8 per person, including a target and range officer (Not a
target -- give him cigars if you like).  For shotgunners, they have Skeet or
Trap, Five Stand or Sporting Clays.  The Shoot-out, at a one cigar buy-in, is
slated.

Rita No.5

21:32 CST, Galveston, Texas

Welcome CNN viewers!

My storm came early.

Not only having had no choice but to part ways with my employer today, while en-route home from the former salt mine, my car decides to have a nervous breakdown, shedding green-tinged tears of coolant on the side of I-45 south, only a dozen miles from the boat.

And so, I'm home now.  I have a night and a day's worth of sorting, packing, stowing and throwing-away to do.  Losing over four hours in waiting for a wrecker and a ride home was a severe blow to my timetable.  But I'll still make it out on time.  Sleep, though irreplaceable, is much less precious than the saving of what critical goods I can strip from the boat.

I may have to start a new life from scratch, but I do intend to lay that scratch with the largest knife I can.  So if I'm albe to bail-out with a car full of the most important papers, tools, goods, cats and clothes, I'll still be miles ahead of those pulled drenched and destitute from the hell of New Orleans.

Though not yet completely certain of abandoning ship, I'm preparing as if I were so doing.  As it stands now, AccuWeather.com is beginning to edge the anticipated landfall ever so gradually to the West.

We are estimating landfall between Galveston and Corpus Christi sometime between 6PM on Friday and 6AM Saturday. Ocean water analysis shows some cooler water in place about 300 miles off the Texas coast then warmer water again right near the Texas coast in our primary projected landfall area. So, intensity forecast at landfall will be a real challenge.

So long as the track keeps moving Westward, my hopes rise ever so slightly with every mile gained in distance from Galveston.  And if Rita sashays by at a reasonable distance, I dare even dream of not losing my floating home of these past six years.

I must add a bit here of praise for both Galveston and Harris county officials.  Such a contrast to the obtuse confusion to our East, these folks have been comporting themselves as professionals since it first became apparent that Rita might pay a visit. 

Yesterday, they even announced that all the municipal and school buses would be pressed into service for evacuating the ill, poor, infirm and all others without means of independent transport.

Mandatory evacuation.

Which means that I'm packing as if to move ashore permanently.  For that may very well be the case.  I will have all of my important papers.  Clothes.  The lockers will be berift of foods, and the fridge will stand empty and warm.  I'll have the hard goods aboard the car.  It may well be the most well-armed car on in the northbound lanes.

And of course, I'll have two cats who really don't care for the car there with me.  They don't ride in carriers either.  They'll ride quietly on my lap and by my side, but put 'em in carriers, and let the howls begin.  I'll have their food, and their litter box set just so.  They'll not suffer a bad ride, beyond the mere fact that they're in the strange, noisy room that moves.

So, by this time tomorrow, the New Dawn will be but a nearly empty shell.  Yet still, she will hold in her spaces my heart, my yearning and my very dreams.

I know that I'll fare well through the storm.  But I ask you, please.

Pray for the sloop New Dawn.

Rita No.4

14:20 CST, Alvin, Texas

From my desk at the place of my (as two hour ago) former employment.

Storms come in all kinds of interesting ways.

Having sought an extended leave of absence to best manage the advances of Rita, I find myself relieved to have parted ways with my employer.  Relieved, because some sales jobs just click, and this one really never did.  Spending almost as much for gas for the forty-mile each-way commute as I was bringing home weekly, was surely a recipie for the poor-house.   (and a Crown-Vic can eat plenty of gas!)

My desk is cleared, and now, I'm on my way back to the boat to spend the next two days, preparing.

So now, my mind is clear and uncluttered to weigh my options as Rita pirouettes just past the tip of Florida, en route to an even more passionate display of her fury to be spent upon the Texas shores.

As of this writing, the best guesses seem to center on landfall near Port Lavaca, Texas.  I would that Rita would continue her journey westward, where she might find the nearly empty beaches of the King Ranch, with a  mercifully sparce poplulation inland.

And should her path follow my prayers and wishes, then  I know that I'll be battered and pounded by her rage in passing.  But I'll also know that at the end, I'll emerge from the compaionway, ready.  I'll be ready to make repairs as needed, to help what neighbors need helping, and most of all, ready to get on with a new job, a new quest and renewed drive to the goals that I set and keep for myself to attain.

The first goal though, is merely to survive.  So, if Rita turn to show her viscious side to the shores of Galveston, she'll do so without the pleasure of beating me down.

Because I just won't be there for that.

Kim & Connie

Okay, y'all pay close attention here.

Earlier this morning, I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with Kim and Connie.  Take note that I did not use their last name in this post?

A message for everyone from them both, as related by me:

All is well.  Connie will soon publish, (and may have by time you read this), a brief explanation of their circumstances, and what it will mean to any future writing/blogging from either of them.  I can tell you that they are under no duress, save for the imperative of having to make a living and keep a roof over their heads.

I can also tell you that I am de-linking to the archives which I had pointed to, yesteday.  It is their earnest request that you all do likewise, and that, immediately.

Kim and I are discussing ways for me to host his essays, in such a manner that the KdT name does not keep popping up in Google searches.  Expect a delay of at least one month for this to transpire.

When Connie publishes her update, I shall copy it in full here, and any of you who host a interested blog ought to do likewise.  Please to that, rather than hotlinking to her site.  Again, the purpose is to lower their Google visibility as much as possible.

Be assured, Connie will give as much detail as is suitable to make public. 

Watch this space for further Kim & Connie developments.

UPDATE:  13:14 CST.   From Connie dT

If we could give an explanation we would. Since we can't, we can't. It's sort of the point that we can't (or we would have). For those who have expressed genuine concern: we're fine. We're needing to move to a new chapter in our lives. Our blogs are closed permanently. We're working to "move" the forum to another guardian/location. We apologize for the suddenness of it and for scaring some folks, but it really could not be helped.

Speculations about black helicopter scenarios and such should be stopped. It is nothing like that.

If there was a way of saying more or giving some sort of explanation, we would, but we can't.

Thanks to all who played.

Godspeed, Kim, Connie & kids.  We'll see you 'round the net when you're able.

Public Service Announcement, Update

Important Update!!!    12:02 pm CST, Tuesday, Sept. 20th

Huge thanks to the many, many gun-bloggers and other assorted blogs and websites who have sent your traffic to find my initial Public Service Announcement regarding a link to the Kim D* T*it Archives.

I will update this post, at this permalink, later today.  As promised, I'll be listing and linking to all the sites which sent their readers to find Kim's link.

Given that I'm offering to host Kim's essay archives here, I wanted to have some idea of what that meant in terms of bandwidth.  I think I can accomodate the traffic without undue pain, and I'll be discussing the options with Kim as soon as he's got that elusive spare moment or two.

For now though, do feel free to hook this URL up as link at your own blog....  though thankful for the traffic you've sent, like I said, I'm not looking to siphon off any of your readers.

Here's the raw link:  (raw link deleted)

And to any visitors who were first-time callers to the Sloop New Dawn.  Welcome Aboard!  Sad to say, it might be a brief journey on this wee vessel, what with Rita flirting with us from afar.  But you're welcome to stay for the duration, it ought to be a helluva ride.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled reading.

Rita No.3

08:07 CST, Galveston, Texas

Well, it's hell to wake up to all the Chicken Little radio voices all declaring The Sky is Falling!

Except this time, it very well may.

My projection of having until Friday to choose to dance with Rita or not, looks to be null and void.  The civic poobahs of Galveston County, may declare a voluntary evacuation today.  The radio talking-heads are saying that they'll throw the switch for mandatory evacuation as early as tomorrow.

That really throws a wrench into the gears.  I've tons of work to do to prepare.  Fact is, I really need to go into a full move off of the boat mode.  What a pain in the ass.  I could go through all of that for naught, if the storm gives but a glancing blow.  But with a solid punch, salvage takes on a very real and personal meaning.

I'm going to split the difference here.  I'll spend time loading up the car and getting a batch of the most imporant stuff inland, today. 

Now for a favor from some kind soul out there.  If anyone local has an older, but well-working digital camera they'd not mind risking into the storm....  I'd like to take some pics of the New Dawn for posterity, and maybe even cover what bit of stormblogging I can manage.  E mail me at SOTW_Jim  (at)  hotmail dot com.  I'll be happy to buy an old one if it's good..........and cheap!

Rita No. 2

23:07 CST, Galveston, Texas

All right then. 

I guess I'm going to have to blog at  least the approach of Rita.  It's going to be a challenge, even with five days warning, to get the boat properly secured and to be fully prepared to go for higher ground on a moment's notice.

It will be a much greater challenge to actually go to higher ground, knowing that if I must, I shall not have a boat to come home to. 

As I mentioned earlier, my decision to stay aboard and ride it out vs. hightailing it for high ground will be based on a rather complex matrix of factors.  These include what side of the cirulation makes landfall in relation to this marina, and whther Rita visits on a high tide, or low.

Couple that with sea-bouy reports of wave frequency and height, the offshore surge level, and just my overall read of those and several other measurable and instinctual factors.

I'll have to decide for sure, one way or another, no later than Friday morning.  After that, the egress routes will not be optional.  State and local police will block all exits off of the freeways, routing the traffic along restrictive, pre-planned routes.......and well, let's just say I'm not going to be stuck in a herd of car-borne sheeple.

But if it's at all possible, I'm going to stay abord the New Dawn, and see to her needs as the winds rage and howl.  It won't be the first time, but as always, I'll pray it's the last.  I don't have a death wish, but I'll do what I can to save my home.

I'm no stranger to the storm.

Public Service Announcement

This is my Four-Hundredth post here at  Smoke on the Water.

I'm proud to dedicate it to Kim and Connie DuT*it.

As a Public Service to all of you, and to honor and preserve as much of their work as possible, I'm happy to give you the following link. (delinked)

Kim DuT*it dot com Archives de-linked.

Save what you can, while you can. 

A favor to ask of y'all other bloggers out there.  Kindly link to this post with a post of your own, sending your traffic here to click-through to that web archive.  No, I'm not trying to steal your traffic, but I do want to have some measurement of how many people will seek-out Kim's archives.  In return, I'll update this post with a highlight back-to every sending blog.  Sort of a Carnival of Riflemen, if you please.

While some other sites out there have volunteered to carry-on with The Nation of Riflemen, I hereby offer to host Kim and Connie's archived essays here at Smoke on the Water. 

Thanks to Alphecca's commenter Kristopher, for the link!  Jeff, I'd have sent a trackback, but you didn't have one available.

This concludes the Public Service Announcement.

Here We Go Again

I've ridden out one hurricane, and two strong tropcial storms here aboard the New Dawn.

Living on a small sailboat, one becomes very attuned to the ways of wind, water and waves.  Great respect must be given to these forces.  No matter how prepared we think that we are, really.....we're not.

I'll be securing all the loose gear, clearing everything abovedecks, and I have the "go-bag" packed and ready.

Obviously, it's too early to project with any certainty where this storm will hit.  Could be anywhere from Northern Mexico all the way East to Beaumont.  Either way, no hurricane is to be taken lightly, so I'll watch, and prepare accordingly.

So, I'll be ready, either way.  I'll have a full 36 gallons of water tanked aboard, my diesel is topped off at sixteen gallons, and I can make all the electricity I need off of the alternator and inverter.  It's nice to have a 'fridge that runs off of 110 VAC or 12 VDC, as needed!

Of course, I have an ample stock of non-perishable food, flashlight batteries and other stores on board.

Need you even ask about defenses?  There won't be any looters on these docks, I assure you.

If Rita stays a Category Two storm or below, I'll ride 'er out aboard ship.  Two things will serve notice to me to abandon ship as she approaches.  A storm of Category Three or higher, or her arrival on a high-tide and a forecast storm surge of any more than ten feet.

The marina I'm in is actually a damned good hurricane hole.  If it was just that, I'd stay aboard even through a Category Three storm.

But I can't go around to the dozens of other, less well attended to boats, most with overaged docklines, loose rigging and gear, and get those boats ready to withstand a blow.

My neighbors and I have done what we can to strengthen the lines on those old boats, even to donating spare cordage from our own decks.  We do what we can, but it's never enough

Rita is a week or so away, so for now I'll just keep watching.  But unlike Mayor Nagin, I know when it's time go for higher ground.

More later, as developments occur.

Shameful Judgements

Frankly, I'm disgusted with some bitching and whining I've come across in comment sections out in the blogosphere.   Some truly offensive things have been posted regarding the manner of the disapperance of Kim's blog.

Consider this:

*   Over four years of constant posting, even logging posts in advance to go up during business travel, vacations and other absences from the screen.

*   Bandwidth out the wazooo, with expenses to match.  Without the advent of Blogads & Google ads, the site most likely would not have made it to this present day.

*   Unceasing attacks by critics, trolls and the whole assemblege of asshats from the left from every niche of the cesspools of socialism.

*   And lastly, a highly litigious and predatorily greedy corporate culture; ranging far beyond the norms of laissez faire captialism.

The sudden disapperance of Kim DuToit dot-com and associated sites has been called rude, by some.  I would say it was indeed, abrupt.  Calling it rude is an ill-judged conclusion, reflecting perhaps, the bias or selfishness of the accuser, especially given the absence of facts so far.

But in times of dire crisis, really, is courtesy always a possiblity?  Required, even?

On Chivalry

Okay, I'm going to plagarize m'self a bit here.

Earlier today, I left a comment on this thread over at the portion of Kim DuToit's website known as the Nation of Riflemen Forum.  An NoR member, writing as The Wizard, posted this query:

back in my day i was raised that men should open car doors, hold doors on the way in and out of buildings, and pull out chairs. i have noticed that very few people my age do any of these things. why is this? do you do any or all of these things? i hold doors nearly all of the time, car doors most of the time, the rest when i remember to. should men do these things or not? and may i ask why you feel that way?

You can go there and read the eight reader's answers which follow his question, but preceed my response.

Baker Blasts a Bigot

I've had the honor and pleasure of meeting this fine gent a couple or three times now.  I've briefly shared a firing line with him, talked and laughed endlessly over a great pizza here in Houston.  If one is to be measured by one's friends, Kevin is one of those whom I'd want standing by my side.

If you've not made a habit of reading The Smallest Minority, then do so without delay.  Be assured, it will be time very well spent.

Kevin practices what we all preach.  While many make noise about "writing your Congressman"... Kevin often does, and more.  To wit; his Letter to the Editor of the Tuscon Weekly is well worth your revue. 

"It would seem that Mr. Kates' characterization of bigotry is still spot-on, as evidenced by Renée Downing's Aug. 11 op-ed. To sum her up: Gun owners are all environment-raping, gas-guzzling-truck-driving, fat, ignorant, poor, frightened, racist rednecks."

"It appears that, with some, the liberal values of inclusiveness, understanding and acceptance of people with "alternate lifestyles" ends abruptly when it comes to those who advocate protecting the right to bear arms........."

And then he gets down to business.  Yeah, I'm making you go to the Smallest Minority to find the link to that letter.  You want I should do all the work here?

Read his "best of" posts over on the left sidebar, too.  Consider it a part of your continuing education...  a very important and vital part, not to be missed.

Show Me The Badges!

Three whole days after the Gestapo New Orleans Police, as joined by other jackbooted thugs hailing from coast to coast gang-raped the Second Amendment, the National Rifle Association rallies to the cause.

I am, and shall continue to be a member of the NRA.  That said, I truly wonder how much more impact today's News Release might have had if  it had been issued on September 8th, or September 9th?

Disaster Can’t Destroy Gun Rights

Monday, September 12, 2005

National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre slammed New Orleans authorities Monday for seizing legal firearms from lawful residents.

"What we’ve seen in Louisiana - the breakdown of law and order in the aftermath of disaster - is exactly the kind of situation where the Second Amendment was intended to allow citizens to protect themselves, " LaPierre said.

What we've seen from the NRA - the breakdown and delay of a forceful and orderly response in the aftermath of tyranny - is exactly the kind of situation where the National Riflemans' Association is counted on to stand up for citizen's unalienable rights as recognized by the Second Amendment.  For three days, in the face of an outright onslaught against the Citizens of New Orleans civil rights under the Second Amendment, the NRA laid dormant,or very nearly so.

"When law enforcement isn’t available, Americans turn to the one right that protects all the others - the right to keep and bear arms," LaPierre said. "This attempt to repeal the Second Amendment should be condemned."

Okay, Wyane.  Good point.  It has been condemned, and that on many fronts and by many people.  Further, Compass didn't really try to repeal the Second Amendment.  He usurped it!  Guess which one is the more onerous offense?  In all honesty, if thirty-eight states were to ratify a Congressional Bill of Repeal of the Second Amendment as a Constitutional Amendment, we'd be screwed.

But that won't happen, because there's no way in hell that even fewer than a dozen states would ratify such a piece of legislative excrement, let alone such a turd ever being flushed forth from the halls of Congress.

Chief Compass didn't repeal the Second Amendment.  He and his willing statist thugs bent, folded, stapled and mutilated it.  And that, just before doing the same to righteous, law abiding citizens who asked nothing more than that the State do it's job, and provide the proteciton their tax dollars had paid for.  Or, to get the hell out of their way so they could do it themeselves!

The New York Times reported last Thursday that no civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to have guns, quoting the superintendent of police that "only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons."

The Sloop New Dawn reported last Friday that no Statist Thugs in New Orleans or in Galveston will be allowed to take his guns.  Quote me here; I meant every word.  Law enforcement might take note; I'll decide what's allowed, or not, on my sovereign property.  (footnote:  fuck the SCOTUS re: Kelo! )

A Louisiana state statute allows the chief law enforcement officer to "regulate possession" of firearms during declared emergencies. "But regulate doesn’t mean confiscate," said Chris W. Cox, the NRA’s chief lobbyist.

Good call, Mr. Cox.  Damn shame it took so very many bloggers, letters and other organizations to shake the National Riflemans' Association out of their complacency!

"Authorities are using that statute to do what the looters and criminals could not: disarm the law-abiding citizens of New Orleans trying to protect their homes and families," Cox said.

No, Cox-breath.  Authorities are abusing that statute to disarm law-abiding citizens of New Orleans.  That's illegal, and ought be aggressively prosecuted as the Official Oppression that it most assuredly is.

Hell, this is a perfect case for the FBI to prosecute as a violation of Civil Rights.  C'mon, feebs.... you bust any Joe-street -op for any random offense of being rude to a crook...how bout y'all go after a real offense for a change?

Not that I'm going to hold my breath waiting for such a development.  But it should happen, even though the odds of it ever happening are about as good as Ted Kennedy passing a Basic Lifeguard Course.

"The NRA will not stand idly by while guns are confiscated from law-abiding people who’re trying to defend themselves," he said.

The NRA did stand idly by while guns were being confinscated from law abiding citizens who were trying to defend themselves.  For three whole days. 

Lord only knows how many rights were violated, how many guns confinscated in that seventy-two hour span.  Lord only knows, 'cause I damn well assure you, we never will.  The New Orelans P.D. will never, ever release those records, even if they made or kept any such records in their jackbooted haste to begin with?

"We’re exploring every legal option available to protect the rights of lawful people in New Orleans," Cox said, "and we’re taking steps to overturn such laws in every state where they exist."

Look, Coxbreath.... every legal option includes the concept of lawful people in New Orleans opening fire on any Oath-Breaking badge carrier who would dare rape the people of their lawful right to keep, bear and employ arms in the defense of their lives and their properites.  Have you explored that option, or is that a bit too politically daring for you and your besuited lobbyists?

"Local authorities in New Orleans are turning nature’s assault on human life into man’s assault on human rights," LaPierre said. "Four million NRA members intend to stop this unconstitutional power grab."

Wayne, I can't speak for the four-million fellow NRA members.  I can speak only for myself.

It's too late to "stop this unconstitutional power grab".

It has already transpired.

What remains now is to find, indentify, prosecute and punish those embadged tyrants who have usurped the rights of Citizens to keep and bear arms in the effective defense of their lives and homes.

Show me those badges hung on the wall like a pelt, and I'll show you my contiuned support.

I want to see those badges, Wayne.

Show me the steeking badges!

Nine Eleven

Two words which evoke all manner of meories, feelings, actions.  A day which changed the world, forever.

This morning, I visited each and every site on my blogroll.  And there are truly some superb rememberences of this date, four years ago.

But none so absolutely fitting as this.

.................................Kwok. Angela R. Kyte. Kathryn L. LaBorie. Amarnauth Lachhman. Andrew LaCorte. Ganesh Ladkat. James P. Ladley. Daniel M. Van Laere. Joseph A. Lafalce. Jeanette LaFond-Menichino. David LaForge. Michael Patrick LaForte. Alan Lafranco. Juan Lafuente. Neil K. Lai. Vincent A. Laieta. William David Lake. Franco Lalama. Chow Kwan Lam. Lt. Michael Scott Lamana. Stephen LaMantia. Amy Hope Lamonsoff. Robert T. Lane. Brendan M. Lang. Rosanne P. Lang. Vanessa Langer. Mary Lou Langley. Peter J. Langone. Thomas Langone. Michele B. Lanza. Ruth Sheila Lapin. Carol Ann LaPlante. Ingeborg Astrid Desiree Lariby. Robin Larkey. Judy Larocque. Christopher Randall Larrabee. Hamidou S. Larry. Scott Larsen. John Adam Larson. Natalie Janis Lasden. Gary E. Lasko. Nicholas C. Lassman. Paul Laszczynski. Jeffrey Latouche. Cristina de Laura......................

George Moneo.  Thank you.  You said it about three-thousand times better than all the words I could have written.

Be still now, and quiet.  And read to yourself, every name.

 

Badge of Dishonor

It's really very simple now.

The war; not only declared, but enjoined.

On the streets of New Orleans, today,  those sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America have abdicated their vows, and now actively violate the Second and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution.

That they do so with force, at gunpoint and with the promise to employ deadly force in order to extract compliance with their unlawful commands is shameful.  Absolutely, and completely shameful!

I have never been so glad as to no longer wear the badge as I am today.  As far as I am concerned such officers who willingly, cooperatively participate in such a rape of civil rights, forfeit all rights and protections of the badge, uniform and oath.

Doc Russia says it best, and believe me when I tell you;  he speaks for me, too.

And for all of those of you who are cops; before you start with the "don't paint us all with the same brush..." meme, let me quietly remind you that there are ZERO reports of cops walking away from such orders, or leaving in protest of their highly illegal nature. ZERO.

The Anarchangel comes to the only logical conclusion regarding the matter.

Let me be clear on this. There is no constitutional or statutory authority for this order. Not on the part of the police chief, not on the part of the mayor, not on the part of the governor; not even on the part of the president.

Martial law has not been declared, but even if it had been, martial law does not authorise the forcible disarmament of the citizenry.

Hope you've got the courage to go read both of those.  Moreover, I hope you have the courage to know them both as truth, and to act accordingly?

I've said this quietly before, and only in the presence of friends.

I am single, with no children or dependents.  Draw your own conclusion as to the meaning of that statement.

Meanwhile;  MOLON FUCKING LABE.  I'm locked and loaded, from this day forward.

I'll write more on the politics behind this, shortly.

Suffice to say, this is what you get when you trust any kind of liberals with your vote and with you your rights.  And no, I'm not much more confident in W. and his RINO ilk than I am in the Demopimp machine which ran New Orleans and Lousisana lo, these many years.

But the people in Mississippi and Alabama still have their guns.  For how long though? 

For how long.

That the question should even be asked in my lifetime grieves me.

Molon Labe, baby. 

Ain't it Garand ?

With thanks to Eugene, from Kim DuToit's Nation of Riflemen Forum.

Love him or hate him, ol' Rummy sure gets 'em riled up.

For all the anger directed at the Secretary of Defense, I do notice that the troops seem to respond very favorably to him, each and every time he's in their midsts.

I just wish he'd get that damned .5.56mm poodleshooter upgraded to the 6.8 SPC, soonest!

Oh, and Allah is so fucked if he's depending on mere Kevlar to stop an 'aught-six round.  (but don't tell him that!)

That Rummy.  Such the joker!

Hard Core

The lady who kicked me in the ass to get me to start a blog.......

....... Kicks More Ass!

Natural disaster happens. Disease happens. It is horrible, but we have really gotten arrogant if we think we are above acts of God. And I used that phrase on purpose. The Maker is not all about rainbows and silver linings. And when He delivers a wake up call, He does not do so with a flip phone.

Don't just casually sit down to read the whole thing.  Take a deep breath and brace yourself, first.

And thanks, Sam.  Good call, bro!

CIA: Accuracy Confirmed

It's official.

Today's CIA report confirms that superb writing, reflecting strong pro-American values is indeed out there for the reading.

And it's not always found on the mega-blogs.

I still believe in the power of the individual.  I believe that it is individuals that make a society great, not society that makes great individuals.

I still believe that victimhood robs a person and people of greatness.  I believe that a person or a people who rise up from and conquer victimhood are truly great.

The Cigar Intelligence Agency.  Formerly; Democrats Give Conservatives Indigestion. (DGCI) Thanks, y'all, for the great find.

A One-Two Punch

First, you're going to have to set some time aside.  Serious reading lies ahead.  It's worthwhile reading though, and at the end, you'll want to be printing out much, if not all of what you're about to read.

Anytime that Bill Whittle publishes a new essay is a time to set other less important matters aside, and to give full attention to his thoughts and words.  It matters that you do. 

Mr. Whittle is not alone in his assesment of the aftermath of Katrina.  But he says some things just do damned clearly that the power of his thoughts will change perceptions.  It's not just that he's right in his statements......it's that he's nailed the points with all the power of a sledgehammer driving a thumbtack into soft pulpwood, and doing it accurately with every swing of the doublejack.

That has nothing to do with me being white. If the blacks and Hispanics and Jews and gays that I work with and associate with were there with me, it would have been that much better. That’s because the people I associate with – my Tribe – consists not of blacks and whites and gays and Hispanics and Asians, but of individuals who do not rape, murder, or steal. My Tribe consists of people who know that sometimes bad things happen, and that these are an opportunity to show ourselves what we are made of. My people go into burning buildings. My Tribe consists of organizers and self-starters, proud and self-reliant people who do not need to be told what to do in a crisis. My Tribe is not fearless; they are something better. They are courageous. My Tribe is honorable, and decent, and kind, and inventive. My Tribe knows how to give orders, and how to follow them. My Tribe knows enough about how the world works to figure out ways to boil water, ration food, repair structures, build and maintain makeshift latrines, and care for the wounded and the dead with respect and compassion.

Mr. Whittle is far from alone in his assessment of the debacle in New Orleans and Louisiana. 

From Mr. Robert Tracinski, as found in the Intellectual Activist, September 2nd, 2005.

What Hurricane Katrina exposed was the psychological consequences of the welfare state. What we consider "normal" behavior in an emergency is behavior that is normal for people who have values and take the responsibility to pursue and protect them. People with values respond to a disaster by fighting against it and doing whatever it takes to overcome the difficulties they face. They don't sit around and complain that the government hasn't taken care of them. And they don't use the chaos of a disaster as an opportunity to prey on their fellow men.

Mr. Whittle and Mr. Tracinski are both exactly, entirely correct.

Dare you find flaw with their reasonings; for I find none whatsoever.

I know where I am in relation to the herd.  I know of what Tribe I to which I am enjoined. 

Do you?

Lowest Common Denominators

In my previous post, I advocated the discriminate, but immediate use of deadly force where the looters in New Orleans and other storm-affected areas are concerned.  From that brief missive:

"One goes to basic survival, the other presages an even deeper breakdown in societal bounds of community. There is a thin, thin line extant between rampant looting and raging riots. Left unchecked, looting invariably leads to even more base and decadent behaviors."

While I'm no prophet, I could not have been more accurate in my conjecture if I had written the script myself.

Sadly, it was not I who wrote this tale of horror, but rather, the soul-dead scum who through unimpeded wanton looting, eventually worked up the nerve to do this:

4:15 P.M. - (AP): Police say storm victims are being raped and beaten inside the New Orleans Convention Center.

About 15,200 people who had taken shelter at the convention center to await buses grew increasingly hostile.

Police Chief Eddie Compass says he sent in 88 officers to quell the situation at the building, but they were quickly beaten back by an angry mob.

Compass says, "We have individuals who are getting raped, we have individuals who are getting beaten."

He says tourists are walking in that direction and they are getting preyed upon.

In hopes of defusing the unrest at the convention center, Mayor Ray Nagin gave the refugees permission to march across a bridge to the city's unflooded west bank for whatever relief they can find. But the bedlam appeared to make leaving difficult.

The rapes did not just spontaneously happen there at the New Orleans Civic Center.  Were that so, such rapes would be no more remarkable there than in any back alley or poorly lit parking lot.  No, the brutal attacks today were the result of a preceeding two days of utterly unchecked lawlessness. 

I need say nothing of the base predators who commit such acts.  A bullet is a far better fate than they deserve, yet is the most expedient manner of ridding us of them and their ilk.  Those that prey on their own neighbors, who would despoil those who come to their aid, have adjudged themselves condemned as being unfit and unworthy to breathe the same air as their prey.

And just as low are those who would be apologists for such vermin.  Neville Chamberlains of victimology, forever finding reason to allow, to explain away, to forgive every offense of storm-victim-turned-predator.  And remaining blissfully ignorant the most heineous and despicable acts imaginable find their kindling in those lesser, unpunished crimes.

They relate to the scum of the earth, as they see eye-to-eye with them, being of the same base level of existence.

In that previous post, commenter & troll Greg Botello posts:

"The Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin ordered virtually the entire police force to abandon search-and-rescue efforts and stop looters. Why? The answer is - Authorities can not get to everyone in New Orleans and many people will die as a result. The excuse will be – Due to looters, we couldn’t get to everyone."

"Wal-Mart is insured. The items that are being looted most likely will not be able to be sold anyway and will more than likely be discarded during the clean-up."

"Let them LOOT, Let THEM LOOT, LET THEM LOOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Glad you made yourself known there, Greg.  If those women who were raped today ever go public looking for those responsible, I'll happily give them your name.  I can't give them the name of every tin-foil-capped barking moonbat from the Kos..... but your name?  That I can give them, and will.

And I'll hope they find you.  I pray that they find you. 

God may have mercy on you.  I doubt that those women will. 

Nor should they.