Old Western Movies and TV Shows

Year’s End is traditionally a time of looking back, assessing not only the past year but the years of one’s life in general.

One of my favorite observations is that “Age doesn’t necessarily bring wisdom, but it does provide perspective.” The more years an individual has seen, the better viewpoint is available. Well, I perhaps have a few more years on me than most current bloggers. Okay, maybe a few more DECADES. I kind of enjoy it.

Old friend and coworker Robert Powell passed along a flash movie file called Those Old Westerns which provides a fascinating look back along the happy trails of my youth. Watch it now, or read my scribbling and THEN take a look. Do yourself a favor and spend the few minutes to watch the entire presentation. And make sure your volume is set to hear the accompanying music.




Western movies were a BIG deal when I was a kid. I was just a touch too young to recall the first-run days of the Saturday afternoon matinees founded on the rush-produced two-reelers. Most of those, I saw on a series of old, snowy, black-and-white television screens. Oh, I saw my share of Saturday flicks, too, and was enthralled by them. In the ensuing few years, there were literally dozens of western-themed television series advancing the cowboy culture ideal over the then-new medium. But TV did NOT replace the western on the movie screen, but rather was a valuable adjunct.

I believe one of the main meanings behind the site linked above is the reminder of the core values of that simpler, happier era. It’s hard to say if those films were primarily responsible for instilling the basic principles of the age in my malleable mind. I think not entirely. I learned much -- often without being aware of it -- from my family. Rather, I think the movies provided a backdrop, a visual aid, illustrating how strength, self-reliance, honesty, and loyalty would see us through in the face of adversity. Those western guys INSPIRED us, as did the all-too-few staunch, strong-willed female stars alongside ’em.

Anyhow, without going TOO far into this hip-pocket philosophizing, I submit the presentation. It was a valuable reminder of the kinder, gentler days of yesteryear. I enjoyed the look at the names of the heroes and villains. Some of them are as well remembered and timeless as John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. Others evoke a striking, “Oh yeah! I remember HIM.” And all too many were not recalled at all, simply providing a backdrop against which my favorites would perform.

Year-end nostalgia. Wallow in it. I did, and enjoyed every minute of it.

More on the GM Bailout Program - - INTERESTING!

I received most of this in an e-mail from my good friend, Doug Smith. My efforts to verify authenticity are detailed below.

Can we elect this guy president? He seems to have a clue. [Mr. Knox, that is -- the person who wrote the open letter reply, below.] He seems to have a clue. Truly the first sane voice I've heard in a very long time. Too bad logic like this is completely lost on liberal democrats (unfortunately their are a lot of POLITICIANS of all stripes in that group!!). I hear now that the SIPC is expected to pay out up to $500K each to the morons that lost their money in the Madoff ponzi scheme. How come no one wants to bail me out??? [I added the links to Doug’s e-mail.]

Abridged letter from Troy Clarke, President of General Motors. Please - - read through it and then carefully consider the response from Gregory Knox.

Dear Employee, next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis. As an employee, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.

Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.

Troy Clarke
President
General Motors North America

This open letter of reply is from Gregory Knox, President of Knox Machinery, a manufacturer of precision machine tools which supplies the auto industry.

In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for the United States automakers please consider the following and please also pass this onto Troy Clark, the president of General Motors North America for me.

You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades and whose plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new "messiah" to wave his magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream."

The dream is over!

The dream that we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities, and that still the masses will line up to buy our products.

Don't tell me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM , Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's and Tier ones for 3 decades now throughout the Midwest and what I've seen over the years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Mr. Clark, the president of General Motors, states:
"There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management. It is not."

You're right - it's not JUST management. How about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag Ass, so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time -- for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour week.

How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift...and for being too productive (mustn't expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?) Do you really not know about this stuff?!?

How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: “ . . . over the last few years we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors.”

What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!?

Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them?

The K car vs. the Accord?

The Pinto vs. the Civic?!?

Do I need to go on?

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades.

Time to pay for your sins, Detroit.

I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu, surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money." Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems, but despite what people like George Bush and Troy Clark would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day and something else would happen. Where there had been greedy and sloppy banks new efficient ones would pop up. That is how a free market system works. It does work, if we would let it work.

But for some reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the government to step in and "save us." Save us, hell! We're nationalizing and unfortunately too many of this once fine nations citizens don't even have a clue that this is what's really happening ... but they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams. Yeah, THAT'S important!

Does it occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now in this country?

How can that be???

Let's see. . .

Fuel efficient . . .

Listening to customers. . .

Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul . . .

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming, four decades ago . . .

Ever increased productivity through quality, lean and six sigma plans . . .

Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy" . . .

Efficient front and back offices . . .

Non union environment!

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into. My children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did at their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way,) I
make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work them through.

Radical concept, huh?

Am I there for them in the wings? Of course - but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government.

Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins.

Bad news people - it's coming whether we like it or not.

The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away" I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the vote count was tallied. "We might not do it in a year or in four." Where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for the office?

Stop trying to put off the inevitable.

That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000.

People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits.

That job driving that forklift for the big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year.

We really shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe.

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home.

Let the market correct itself people - it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it is a nation that appreciates what is has and doesn't live beyond its means. Gets back to basics, and redevelops the work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world and probably turns back to God.

Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news."

Gregory J Knox
President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin, Ohio 45005

Frankly, I’m usually a little leery of internet schtuph like this, with little or dubious attribution. A great majority of the writings that appear “too good to be true” are exactly that. In this case, however, when I ran a Google search on Gregory J. Knox, I found him: a real person, with a real company. Then I went to the Snopes.com Urban Legends page and found that the whole thing is properly attributed. There are even a couple of good quotes by Mr. Knox himself. Read it for yourownself. I know I enjoyed seeing it.

Hope everyone's enjoying the run up to the holidays.

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Things I've Done, Places I've Been

During the past week or so, I’ve seen this meme on some of the blogs I regularly read. Can’t recall where I saw it first, so I really can’t give proper credit ( - - or assign blame - -) for the idea. Still, it's sorta fun.

Here’s my list. Stuff I’ve personally experienced is shown in Bold, with explanations where needed.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.-
29. Seen a total eclipse. (Lunar, not solar)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run. (If pickup games after grade school count.)
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. (A short stopover at Llandrindod Wells, Wales; A drive through the North Carolina mountains.)
35. Seen an Amish community. Not a real visit - - Drove through a couple on my travels.)
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted (drawn.)
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie. (Low budget, made by a pal.)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business. (It lasted about four weeks.)
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Got flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades. Only from the air. That was plenty.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby. Did my part, anyway - - x2
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

If you have a blog, you are hereby invited to adopt and modify this one. It’s a way for us to know a bit more about one another.
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Not a Lincoln Town Car, but - - -

21.5 miles per gallon

Created by The Car Connection

I first saw this on Roberta X’s blog. Frankly, given my age and some other factors, I’m surprised I scored as well as I did. I believe they gave me the benefit of a doubt, on a couple of points.

Fun, huh? Give ‘er a click and let’s see what sort of vehicle YOU equal.
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Concerning HR 1022, Assault Weapons Ban renewal

It’s seldom you’ll read an out-and-out political article on this blog. There are so many writers more eloquent than I, more qualified than I am, that it seems presumptuous of me to try to influence others. Well, here’s a rather out of character bit of writing. Please bear with me for a few minutes.

My old friend Stephen A. Camp sent along the link to this petition, with the comment that he doesn‘t know if these do any good but doesn’t think they can hurt. I believe that the situation now pending compels us ALL, not just firearms enthusiasts and gun owners, to do all we can to halt additional restrictions on our liberties.

It is a lot of trouble to send personal mail, paper or e-mail, to each of your legislators asking that they ALL oppose HR 1022, the proposed reenactment of the “Assault Weapons Ban.” Bothersome, but definitely worthwhile. At least SOME of the lawmakers in Washington and in the state capitols recall that they are there because the voters sent them to represent our interests. Justice and basic human rights should NOT be a popularity contest, but the fact remains, most representatives see their PRIMARY job as being re-elected. I believe that if we show them that a great many citizens decide our votes based on how THEY behave in the capitols, we can get their attention.

A personal request, friends - - Whether or not you sign THIS petition, please take a look at it. It will cost you maybe five minutes to look it over, make your decision, and sign up if you agree. Lots of individuals want to “keep a low profile,“ and not be noticed, lest the faceless “THEY“ single them out for attention. Well, think of it this way: The more good people who DO NOT MIND being noticed standing up for their rights, the less likely the anonymous functionaries can victimize individuals. Per Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence: “. . . we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Now, RIGHT NOW, is the time to stand up and be counted. In two years, in even ONE year, we'll be too far behind the curve and it’ll be too late. Let us take every opportunity to place legislators on notice that we, the people, are watching what they do. Do they represent our best interests, or are they more concerned with silencing dissent? Please, write the letters, send e-mails, make phone calls, talk to friends who are NOT particularly active “gun people.” Don’t be shrill, but give them to understand: If the second amendment is trashed, diluted, ignored with impunity, what then of the REST of the Bill of Rights? Shall the government act “for our own good,” and regulate the news media? What about your church? Any thoughts on being secure in your possessions and papers? How about forced self-incrimination, or that bothersome idea of trial by jury?

Hey, make no mistake. I am NOT a rabble rouser. I do NOT advocate the violent overthrow of our form of government. Far from it. But, by the same token, I don’t want to see this government, our veery freedoms, “regulated away,” one step at a time. I spent an entire career as a peace officer, a minion of the government -- of LOCAL government, subject to laws and ordinances mainly enacted by my community and state. City councilpersons, county commissioners, or state legislators sent to Austin from their home districts - - If any of these fail to represent their constituencies properly - - Texas voters are not bashful about replacing them. The system is not perfect, but it can work. So why not insist it work in our nation’s capitol?

Help us, friends. Help YOURSELVES. Do all in your power to resist passage of HR 1022, the reenactment of the "Assault Weapons Ban.” If Amendment II is made to fade away, what hope is there for the other nine?

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National Ammunition Day

Internet pal Jay G (No, we’re not related,) operator of MArooned blog reminds us that today is (was) National Ammo Day. That last link explains the rationale in detail. In brief, the idea is to buy at least 100 rounds on WE19NOV.

Brigid, at Home on the Range tells HER reasoning about buying her 100+ from a locally-owned shop. She feels it important enough that she won’t buy it from a huge, nationwide chain. (Okay, SHE named WalMart - - why shouldn’t I?) I certainly can’t argue with her reasoning, and in fact would “buy local” if the option was open to me. Unfortunately, I can’t locate a home-based store that retails ammunition anywhere in the county where I live.

This evening, I mentioned to Beloved Bride that National Ammo Day had kinda snuck up on me, and I hadn‘t bought any. (The 500-odd .45 ACP I reloaded in the past week doesn’t really count.) She reminded me that she was shooting a tactical match this Saturday, and if I wasn‘t going to get off the dime and hand load her some 9mm, I could just go out and buy her some. I’d planned to be shooting in the same match, but I’ve been asked to assist on the range at a scout activity on Saturday.

Anyhow, at 7:30 p.m. I drove to the Wally World in the county seat. I bought some Winchester White Box 9x19mm for Holly to feed “my” Browning High Power. Oh, you noticed those quotation marks? They’re because she’s coming more and more to think of it as HER pistol. Hell, I’d already given her a Kel Tec P11 AND a Colt Officers ACP of her very own, and now I have to ask her where she’s stashed my/our Buckmark .22 as well as the 9mm. Every time I grumble about this fact, she sweetly reminds me that Texas is a community property state. Additionally, she rather smugly makes not-so-casual mention of how she single-handedly tracked down and bought a vintage Colt Super .38 for my last birthday. And she didn’t bat an eye at the last two .45s I purchased. I mean, it’s not such a bad arrangement, and I didn’t carry the P35 that often anyway.

Back to the primary topic - - It would indeed be nice if each and every one of the estimated 75 million gun owners in the USA would each buy a hundred rounds of ammo this week. (It’s getting a bit late in the day, and the effect will be very similar if the ammo is purchased any time this week.) How about if some of those who would sacrifice our Second Amendment rights were to notice that the ammo shelves at the local stores are darn near empty? I wonder if any of ‘em are perceptive enough to get the message. As Brigid pointed out, if everyone participates, this is 75 BILLION fresh cartridges in circulation.

So, please - - If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to go find a shop that sells what you shoot. Pick up a hundred rounds or so of center fire ammo, if you can possibly afford it. If you’re into .22 rimfire, maybe a couple of ten-box bricks would be nice. You’ll feel good about having it on hand, and you MAY just possibly be helping make a point with the gun grabbers. Besides, it’s nice to be able to drop word of your purchase into conversation.

Good shooting.
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Killer Contests?

In her always-entertaining blog, View From The Porch, my esteemed friend Tamara wrote a piece on 10NOV (Happy Birthday, USMC!) which she titled, Ninja combat powers, activate! The premise is that a recent publication, Guns & Ammo Book of Personal Defense, included
" . . . a piece by Chuck Taylor on how competition shooting will get you killed. Heck, even thinking about attending an IPSC event could get you grazed, and shooting an NRA Bullseye match is guaranteed to cause a mugging.. . . . the article was long on telling you that Chuck was a former world-class IPSC shooter, IPSC sucks, and... well, that was pretty much the long and the short of it, . . . ."

Tam’s article is well worth the reading, and I understand just what she’s saying, perhaps somewhat better than most of her readers. In 1980, I spent a week at Jeff Cooper's original Gunsite, largely under Chuck Taylor’s instruction. It is interesting that at that time, he was already a veteran IPSC shooter, but had nothing bad to say about that particular discipline. In fact, after my class, I stayed over an extra day to participlate in a large, local IPSC match, run by - - Guess who? Chuck put on an excellent and challenging match, during which I used to good advantage much of what HE had taught during the previous week. No, I didn't win, nor even place really high, but I was happy. At the end, I told Chuck that my decent performance was largely due to what I'd just learned from him and Jeff. He seemed quite gratified by my comments.

The International Practical Shooting Confederation was set up to provide a framework within which the PRACTICAL usage of firearms by individuals, and the Modern Technique of the Pistol embodying the principals Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas (Accuracy, Power, Speed) could be fostered and advanced. Founded in 1976, IPSC at first worked on the premise that, in a match setting, a shooting scenario would be posed, and it was up to the individual shooter to “solve the problem” within broad rules, mostly concerned with safety. In this manner would the state of the art progress.

Now, (why even bother to state it?) no match stage, no matter how well thought-out, can hope to exactly simulate all the stresses and variables of a true armed confrontation. But you should compare the IDEA of a match or stage so structured with a regular bullseye shooting match, or even the well conceived but totally obsolete Practical Pistol Course (PPC,) originated by the FBI. About all those two types of shooting have in common with IPSC, or the later IDPA, shooting are that they involve the use of handguns. When the shooter is required to exercise judgment in choice of targets, using strategy, tactics, and cover, while being scored for speed, noticible levels of stress are experienced. In matches which require the use of “street worthy” arms and holsters, frequently hidden by cover garments, a certain level of realism is truly present. A smooth, rapid draw, initiated by an external signal, combined with accurate hits, often on multiple targets, oft times needing to reload “on the clock,” is necessary to make a good showing in such a match. Who’s to say that these would NOT be good talents to possess if confronted by a deadly situation on a parking lot or in a dark hallway?

Whatever pressures are or are not present in this type of “game playing,” how could it fail to be more valuable practice and training than what we see on the range day after day? The shooter strolls up to the firing line (choosing a distance at which he feels comfortable) and loads up his pistol, often without even using a holster. Shooter takes his time, aims carefully, and fires off a magazine at a target. Shooter congratulates himself if he fires as many as TWO SHOTS A SECOND! We watch as the shooter repeats this same thing, over and over, until -- usually-- a box of ammo is expended. And you can see the same thing when the shooter is a police officer. The difference may be that the practicing cop USUALLY wears his duty rig on the firing line. Knowing that he is not being timed, the office seldom makes any attempt at a rapid draw. Periodic qualifications are about the only time that most officers make any attempt toward speed, and standards are seldom very high.

Speaking of periodic qualifications on the police range - - - I’ve been chided by more than one rangemaster, “You’re allowed 20 seconds on this string, JP. Why don’t you take your time and shoot a tighter group?” Well, there’s no good purpose to backtalk the guy in charge, especially in front of rookies. But I’ve been tempted to observe that while HE might give me a full third-of-a-minute, sumdood coming out of the Seven-11 with fifty-six stolen bucks and a Jennings .22 might not be so generous.

As I say, Tam’s article is good reading. Re-checking it while preparing this little effort, I note that some of her commentators also have some interesting and relevant observations. There is pretty wide agreement that, with proper mind set, participation in shooting matches is NOT necessarily an invitation to disaster on the street. Chuck Taylor has an impressive background in shooting, but I fear he may currently be sending a misleading message, just for the sake of controversy.