Texas' Original Sin

December 29, 1845

U.S. Congress approves annexation of Texas

On this day in 1845, the United States Congress voted to annex Texas. Statehood was first proposed in 1837, but was rejected by President Martin Van Buren. Constitutional scruples and fear of war with Mexico were the reasons given for the rejection, but antislavery sentiment in the United States undoubtedly influenced Van Buren and continued to be the chief obstacle to annexation. Under President James Polk the United States Congress passed the Annexation Resolution in February 1845. Texas president Anson Jones called the Texas Congress into session on June 16, 1845, and a convention of elected delegates met on the Fourth of July. Both the Texas Congress and the convention voted for annexation, and a constitution was drawn up. The document was ratified by popular vote in October 1845 and accepted by the United States Congress on December 29, 1845. On February 19, 1846, President Jones of the Republic of Texas handed over control of the new state government to Governor James Pinckney Henderson.

http://www.tshaonline.org/

Hunter-Killer Watch - Drone lands in ND

Ok - yes, economic woes aside, we are still heading towards The Singularity and all of the interesting changes and shifts that includes.

A predator drone has been moved from Arizona to North Dakota to patrol the northern border between the U.S. and Canada.

Here are some details:

After two failed tries, an unmanned aircraft expected to be the first to patrol the northern U.S. border completed a flight from Arizona to North Dakota.

U.S Customs and Border Protection officials said the Predator B drone touched down Saturday at the Grand Forks Air Force Base after a six-hour flight from Libby Army Airfield in Sierra Vista, Ariz.

Is it me, but isn't a little unnerving to think about unmanned aircraft flying across our skies? I wonder how many of these flights that we don't know about.

More details on the Predator:

The Predator weighs 5 tons, has a 66-foot wingspan and can fly undetected as high as 50,000 feet. It can fly for 28 hours at a time and will be equipped with sensors and radar.

They can also be equipped with Hellfire missiles and other nasties for offensive work.

Yikes!

Sha-bam . . sucka!

Well, what goes around comes around, doesn't it?


"But wait . . . gloves . . . didn't fit. I thought that . . . er . . . "

The best things do come to those who wait.

$1000 is the new $500

I went to the SAXET gunshow this morning with some of the crew and was pretty put-off by the amount of price gouging going on with some of the more shady dealers. I expected a little bit of shenanigans due to the recent election, but a quick browse through Shotgun News will show that recent reports of the end of gun ownership in America are a bit premature.

I saw a $700 Golani going for $1100. An Armalite AR-180 selling for $2,599 (not a typo). Wall-to-wall crowds of sorry looking hopefuls trying to find their last chance to get a (gasp!) assault rifle before the laws get passed (no new laws have been suggested).

But the belle of the ball was a Mak-90 (yes - that Mak-90) selling for $1600. The best part was the "faux operator" behind the table (thigh rig, cropped hair cut, 80's aviator glasses) assuring all of the unwashes masses that these were the absolute last ones they could ever hope to get and the The Man was going to come to the show personally by the end of the weekend and collect up anything that hasn't sold.

Sort of a reverse Santa, I suppose.

For shame.

Happy Day of the Ninja!

From the website:

Prepare for the Annual Day of the Ninja. Forget 'Talk Like a Pirate' Day. This will truly be our chance to show the world what ninja are made of.

Every year, December 5th is the Day of the Ninja. Plague your co-workers with ninja-ness and wear a ninja mask to work! Got the day off? Run wild in the streets, or dress like a ninja at the mall! Just show the world that YOU ARE NINJA!

More details here.

Paintball this weekend - Orion Valley - December 6, 2008

We will be playing this Saturday, December 6th in the Valley.

If you had planned on bringing on someone as a guest this weekend, just remember that they should be there no earlier than 9:45am. And also please let me know in advance, so that we can have some gear put aside for them. Bring a ruck and what you need to sustain while playing. The weather looks like it will be perfect. We also have a game scheduled on 12/20, but I know that is getting really close to the Big Day (stockings, Grinches, woo-hoo!), so let's talk this weekend about whether or not we should cancel. I'd also like to do an Orion Camp in January, so please bring your thoughts on dates that would work for that event.

Look forward to seeing everyone there!