Sleepless in Midland

George H. W. Bush - WWII brush with death

Author James Bradley told a riveting story this morning on Imus in the Morning. His book, "Flyboys", is about the eight American airmen who ended up as Japanese prisoners in 1945 on the island of Chichi Jima, the next island over from Iwo Jima. [See Amazon reviews here.] They were held there for two weeks until their Japanese captors beheaded the eight Americans.

But, there could have been a ninth. The Japanese soldiers watched from the mountain as an American pilot parachuted into the ocean off shore. They merely had to wait until his oarless raft drifted ashore so they could capture him. But, an American submarine surfaced and took the pilot, George Herbert Walker Bush, on board.

James Bradley wrote a book titled "Flags of Our Fathers" about the soldiers, including his father, who fought the battle and eventually raised the flag on the island of Iwo Jima. [See Amazon editorial reviews here]. After the book was published Bradley received a phone call from a man who had been an ensign in 1946 and had witnessed the war crime trials of the Japanese soldiers who had executed the eight Americans. The proceedings were classified until recently, and the former ensign, who became a lawyer, sought out the documents related to that trial. And he shared them with James Bradley who shares them with us. It was a fascinating story.

Fox vs CNN

CNN's Tucker Carlson Angry Over Phone Flap

"While defending telemarketers during a segment on 'Crossfire' last week, the bow-tied co-host was asked for his home phone number. Carlson gave out a number, but it was for the Washington bureau of Fox News, CNN's bitter rival.
...
"The bureau was deluged with calls. To get back at him, Fox posted Carlson's unlisted home number on its Web site.
...
"In an interview with The Washington Post, [Tucker] Carlson called Fox News 'a mean, sick group of people.' "

Who leaked?

The big news of the day seems to be the alleged leak by someone associated with the Bush administration to Robert Novak some details that should have been kept private. The theory is that someone wanted to discredit Joseph C. Wilson because he went to Niger and returned with the opinion that some documents alleging a uranium sale to Iraq had probably been forged.

The folks at National Review Online might be the only ones currently defending the White House in this latest whiff of a scandal.

While the big interest now is the question of who leaked the fact that Wilson's wife was a CIA operative, Clifford D. May asks why would anyone send a Bush basher like Wilson on any sort of mission that might be crucial in proving any involvement of Saddam with weapons of mass destruction. Jonah Goldberg summarizes the article nicely in the Corner, as follows:

"I've got a few thoughts on it. First, I think Cliff is right when he suggests that Joe Wilson's trip to Niger was fishy all along and that perhaps Wilson's wife's job at the CIA explains some of that fishiness. Wilson was either lying or wrong when he said Dick Cheney sent him to Africa."

This doesn't answer the question of who leaked the info. And, the facts aren't all known yet, but that has never stopped anyone in the past.

As an interesting aside, Wilson is described as a former ambassador. And his wife is now apparently an exposed spy. We are always hearing about spies operating out of various ambassadors' offices, but I have to wonder how effective a spy could be if she's married to the ambassador. Did she put on black clothes and sneak out at night James Bond style?

Talk About One Small Step and One Giant Leap!

Thursday, the Shariah Court of Appeals in Nigeria acquitted Amina Lawal. She had been convicted of getting pregnant after her divorce and had been sentenced to be buried up to her neck and stoned to death. The court reversed the lower court because Ms. Lawel was already pregnant when the Shariah law was implemented in her province. So, she was basically acquitted on a technicality, and this barbaric sentencing procedure could be repeated with some new victim.

So, just two days later there's news that Nigera has launched its very first satellite into orbit using a Russian rocket.

It's as if the Flintstones morphed overnight into the Jetsons. But, if it's a joke, no one is laughing. The time zones in the United States place people on each end of the country four hours apart. In Nigeria that time span must be four centuries.

Liability Release Agreement as Tool for Ridicule

The restaurant is doing it as a joke, but fans of liability release agreements should love this. A Seattle restaurant is requiring customers who order a high calorie dessert called "The Bulge" to sign a liability release agreement.

"I will not impose any of sort of obesity-related lawsuit against the 5 Spot or consider any similar type of frivolous legislation created by a hungry trial lawyer," the release says. After a diner signs it, a waiter hauls out a sugarcoated, deep-fried, ice cream-swaddled, caramel-drizzled, whipped-cream-anointed banana.

Iraqi Resistance Assassination Attempt on Uday - 1996

A fascinating account of the assassination attempt by a resistance group on Uday Hussein in 1996 reported in csmonitor.com:

"We knew we had a 1 percent chance of returning alive," Mr. Sharif says today, sitting crosslegged on a carpet-strewn floor as, for the first time, he recounts to a foreign newspaper the daring attack he led. "Strict security made this kind of operation almost impossible."

But after months of careful planning, the four man hit squad drawn from a shadowy resistance group was determined to go ahead. As Uday Hussein drove his golden Porsche slowly up a busy street in one of Baghdad's smartest districts, just after dark on Dec. 12 1996, two gunmen responded to Sharif's command with a hail of bullets from their AK-47 rifles.

"We were sure we had killed him," Sharif recalls. "We fired 50 rounds into that car."

In fact, he discovered later, Uday had been hit 17 times but survived. He was crippled for the rest of his life, and - according to popular belief - rendered impotent (a special kind of justice, Sharif said, because of the elder Hussein son's reputation for brutal womanizing), but he lived.

Very brave men.

Mustang P51 - the most beautifully designed airplane ever

This weekend the Commemorative Air Force air show will take place at the airport in Midland, Texas. Those shows are spectacular!

In addition to the old warbirds, there will be many other events typical of air shows. Last year the most interesting of them was a custom built red biplane that looked like any other biplane except for, uhmmmm, the jet engine attached underneath.

Most biplane aerobatic acts will feature the plane heading straight up until it reaches stall speed at which point it will tumble downward until it regains airspeed. But, the little red biplane would head straight up, and instead of stalling, the jet engine would kick in, and the plane would just keep going straight up. What a sight!

The old warbirds are the real stars of the show, though. And they are beautiful. And, rides in some of those old planes are available at a price. For example, anyone wanting to ride as a passenger in a Mustang P51 can take a 20 to 30 minute ride for a mere $660. (Gee, I sure do miss the financial bubble.)

Midland Shooters Association Alert!

The secretary of Midland Shooters Association has mailed out a notice of a board of directors meeting. Here's the text of the message:

"Notice: MSA board of directors meeting Thursday October 9th, 7:30 pm until 9:30 pm* at the shotgun range

"Directors will review the recommendations from their attorney on the membership application liability release requirements, orientation class requirements and liability release requirements for range usage by members, guests and visitors.

"If you wish to discuss any matter with the board; please send a letter to the secretary at the above po box, post marked no later than October 6th and your name will be included on the agenda. Each member will be given equal time according to the number of members requesting time.

"The board will meet in executive session with their attorney at 7 p.m." *Closing time may be extended. Secretary"

As a non-practicing lawyer, the first thing that jumps out at me in that notice is the reference to "their attorney", meaning the "board's attorney". An attorney with a corporate client is supposed to represent the corporation and not the board of directors or any individual board member. So, if the attorney is representing the board against the members then the attorney's fees should be paid out of the board members' own pockets and not by the corporation.

But, I'm optimistic. Sometimes attorneys are called counselors - often for good reason. I'm hopeful that the attorney for Midland Shooters Association, Inc., will have a heart to heart talk with the board members and point out some common sense things. For example, if the board members are only concerned about any individual liability they might incur simply from having served as a board member, then a simple release agreement could be written to do that. But, requiring all members to give up all right to sue anyone is not in the best interest of the corporation or the members.

If one is afraid that a mouse might get into the hay loft, then setting fire to the barn is not the best approach.

New From Google Labs - search by location

Google has a new beta version of a search engine designed to allow a search limited to a particular location. It's accessible here.

An informal test with the words "airsho.org" in Midland, Tx, failed to turn up airsho.org, the website for the upcoming CAF air show at the Midland airport. (But, it's possible that the air show webpage simply doesn't have the location on the page in the proper format for a Google pickup.)

On the other hand, "catcus" at Midland, Tx, brings up lots of hits.

In any event, the Google service could have a lot of potential.

Old West Shootout

This weekend is going to be a big one here in Midland, Texas. The Comanche Trial Shootists are going to have a shootout at the Midland Shooters Association pistol range this Saturday and Sunday (September 27 & 28) beginning at 9:00 a.m. each day.

The participants dress in authentic old western style clothes and use old west style handguns, rifles and shotguns.

Those things are loads of fun to watch if for the costumes if nothing else. I watched a match one time and there was a female shooter in a rather unusual outfit. She was wearing a fairly plain print outfit with mid length sleeves and legs that went to mid calf. And, of course, she had thick belt with a couple of six guns hanging off of it.

An hour or so later I was sitting in a restaurant having lunch when I figured out what she was wearing and just started laughing out loud. She was wearing underwear of the era! What a hoot!

Spectators are welcome.

(Update: I'm assuming that there will be no charge to spectators. I've emailed the two addresses that appear at the Comanche Trails website for confirmation, but after 48 hours I still haven't received a reply.)

Laughing it up on the Arab Street

Prior to 9-11-01 it was said that a joke on the Arab Street went something like this:

Question: "What happens if you bomb an American Embassy?"

Answer: "They'll sue you."

They failed to take into account the regime change that occurred in the U.S. once the 2000 election was resolved. And after we responded to the 9-11 attack and continued with the elimination of a threatening dictator, here's a joke rolling around on the Arab Street:

"Two Iranians lament the state of their country. Finally, one says to the other, 'What we need here is a bin Laden.' 'Are you crazy?' his friend gasps. 'No!' the first Iranian says. 'That way the Americans would come and rescue us."

This is according to Bernard Lewis, professor emeritus of Near Eastern studies at Princeton, as relayed to us by Tunku Varadarajan in opinionjournal.com. Professor Lewis told another one:

"What is the real slogan in the Middle East?"

"It's 'Yankee go home . . . and take me with you!"

Mr. Varadarajan summarizes that message with the following:

There you have it--a pithy lesson, worth hours of CNN, in modern Middle Eastern truths.

Yes, it speaks volumes. We are probably winning the hearts and minds of the Arab street more readily than we are winning the hearts and minds of big media.

Clarification: Okay, Iran isn't technically "Arab", but it's close enough for this west Texan.

First letter, last letter correct - All that's needed.

A friend found this on a stock market message board and steered it my way. It has probably circulated on the internet extensively by now, but if you haven't seen it already it's rather interesting.

"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn'tmttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe."

(Tnahks Bob.)

A note about the links

The links you see on the left are to websites or blogs that are very interesting.

The Ready Line is part of the Midland Shooters Association unofficial watchdog group and contains some information every member or ex-member of that organization should be aware of.

Within the medical profession one can probably find the entire spectrum of personalities, but as a general rule I've found doctors to be very intelligent, knowledgeable caring people who are glad to share their knowledge. So, a couple of the links are to doctor blogs.

The Gruntdoc's Blog is run by an emergency physician in Dallas who grew up in Odessa and did his residency in Midland. Look at his website and you'll see that he fits all of the characteristics I described. (I discovered this site at Jessicaswell, see below.)

Kill as few patients as possible is an east Texas doctor who provides us with useful, helpful, and interesting information at his web log.

Crimlaw is a criminal lawyer somewhere in New England who is a constant source of valuable and/or entertaining information for anyone interested in law and civil liberties.

Jessicaswell was the first Midland blog I became aware of. What a thrill it was to find one originating right here.

The Fire Ant Gazette is a blog run by a web designer - take a look at his list of clients and follow the links for a sample of his work. He's good. He came to my attention because the Midland Shooters Association has utilized his services for their new website - excellent choice.

The Kirkreport is an informative and frequently updated page about the stock market.

I'm sure I will be adding more in the future.

A Comment on the Comments

Visitors, be sure to look at the insightful comments - links are on the right.

Ann makes the hilarious analogy between the Midland Shooters Association board of directors' attitude of "Problem? What problem?" and the former Iraqi information minister's inability to see the U.S. Marines until they were coiling up his microphone cord. Hmmmm. Carrying this analogy forward, maybe a "regime change" might be the next logical step.

Redman suggests the possibility that FEMA's effort to redraw the nation's flood maps might be another example of bureaucratic make-work. According to the article, FEMA selected Michael Baker Corp. to do the work, and the total cost is expected to be $1 billion. And, according to the article, the National Weather Service estimated flood related property damage is currently around $6 billion a year compared with around $3.3 billion a year in the 1980s. FEMA collects insurance premiums, but I don't believe those premiums are enough to equal the out flow for insured flood claims. So, a more accurate map might help to balance the outflow with the inflow of money and thus help the tax payers a little bit. Some people will end up buying flood insurance for the first time, so for their sake I'm sure we all hope that the new map will be accurate.

Eric made the observation that development along loop 250 in Midland could possibly result in a broadening of the flood zones in that area if the new drainage ditch doesn't provide for adequate rain water runoff. He noted that it's a toss up. I hope the ditch works, but we'll just have to wait for the rains and see what happens. Some regulatory agency probably approved the construction conditioned on the improvement of the drainage ditch, so it would really be a bad situation if the new flood map suggests that the ditch would fail to do it's job.

Update:
Another Eric may have provided the answer. He informs us that the Midland's Flood Insurance Rate Maps were last revised in December of 1999, and that a developer has to demonstrate that any new development will not increase the 100 year flood plain. Very informative!

Thanks to everyone for the insightful comments.

Gosh I love Midland!

Redrawing Nation's Flood Maps

According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) the U.S. has launched an effort to redraw the nations flood maps.

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency is about to launch an extensive nationwide effort to redraw the maps that predict where floods are likely to occur, a move that will have major financial implications for homeowners, property developers and the government-run flood-insurance program.
...
"Flooding is our most frequent and most costly hazard," says Anthony S. Lowe, director of the Mitigation Division at FEMA, which earlier this year joined the Department of Homeland Security. "These maps are used 25 million times a year," he says. "We're talking about a huge variety of people, from insurance professionals to folks in communities to decide where to locate their homes." Three-quarters of the 100,000 flood maps nationwide are over a decade old.
...
"New flood maps can create deep puddles for homeowners and real-estate developers. Landowners have a strong financial interest to keep the map lines off their property since being in a flood zone increases construction and insurance costs. Zoning ordinances often restrict development on land that falls in a mapped flood zone or require mitigation techniques such as keeping building heights two feet above where floods are common."

I have to wonder how that will affect those of us in drought stricken west Texas. I suppose the rains could come again some day. After all, our rainfall this year is currently 86% of normal - that's a lot of rain compared to recent years.

But, after years of drought water below ground has to have been depleted just as the above ground lakes have. So, it would seem that rain water would run off and soak up much faster.

Officially designated flood zones are a real nuisance. I don't know if any living person could recall a flood at the Midland Shooters Association rifle range southeast of Midland, but it is supposed to be in or near a flood zone. (Joe can tell a tale about the regulatory hoops that had to be jumped through before authorization could be obtained to build a new building and install a septic tank at that location.)

So, what would a new flood map of Midland County look like? I wish I knew, but hopefully the current flood zones will have shrunk.

Aside: Casual visitors to Midland like to chuckle at the rivers that rush down certain streets when it rains. But, it really is a very efficient and cheap way to disperse rain water. Well, okay, you can't go anywhere when it's happening. But, it's much better than the standing lakes that form within cities like Houston and San Antonio each time it rains.

Ready Line - update

Midland Shooters Association members and exmembers - If you haven't looked at it in a few days be sure to go to The Ready Line.

Weekend in Midland

Just a reminder -

Saturday at the Midland Shooters Association pistol range a Practical Pistol match will be held. Sign in is at 8:30 a.m. Those things are lots of fun for everyone from novice to expert.

And, there will be a gun show this Saturday and Sunday at Midland Center.

Update: A local law enforcement officer won both the rifle and pistol portions of Saturday's Pistol Match. We hear the phrase "suicide by cop". Anyone attempting to engage in a gun fight with these law enforcement officers would certainly have to be suicidal.

"Alicia Debris Still in the Streets"

Occasionally a hurricane does hit hard. Hurricane Alicia was a big one that did some damage in Houston a few years ago. I had to go downtown on the morning it was due to hit, and the winds were horrendous especially in those artificial wind tunnels typical of all downtowns everywhere. I drove into the multi story parking garage, and the wind had the parked cars that were left in there just rocking. And, every car burglar alarm was blaring. Very noisy.

One tall downtown building had every single window on the north side knocked out. I didn't see it happen, but the short building across the street had gravel on the roof, and those chunks of rock became little missiles. No doubt the building code got changed shortly thereafter.

I lived about a block away from an elected city councilman, and the power companies made sure that those neighborhoods didn't suffer from lack of power like the others did. Our loss of electrical power lasted for minutes, but other neighborhoods didn't have electricity for days.

It was eerie. I would walk outside at night, and my block had lights, but a block away on each end it was completely dark. I half expected Rod Serling to step out from behind a bush and give the Twilight Zone speech.

I heard that those people who lost their electricity had huge backyard barbeques in which they would cook all of the fish and meat from their freezers that would have spoiled otherwise. But, those of us in the Twilight Zone didn't get invited. Can you blame them?

Final note. Days later the Houston Chronicle headline screamed "Alicia Debris Still in the Streets". And, later that fall a friend of mine came to a Halloween party dressed as "Alicia Debris" - obviously a street walking hooker. What an uproarious time we all had once it was all over!

A hurricane. The weather reporter's dream.

Andrew Sullivan sums it up perfectly:

"HERE SHE COMES: My favorite thing about hurricanes is the coverage. Matt Drudge is getting the vapors, the way he does. Others are getting a little uptight. I also love the way weather people on the telly pretend to be terribly upset that a hurricane may come and give us hell, when quite obviously they're having the time of their lives. The crushing look of disappointment they feel telling viewers it isn't going to be as intense as they first 'feared' has to be seen to be believed. My own rule of thumb with hurricanes is that if they warn you about them, it'll be ok. It's the ones they don't tell you about that'll kill you. ..."

That sums up my feelings exactly. I lived in Houston for a number of years, and every couple of years a "hurricane of the century" would be swirling around out in the Gulf of Mexico with it's eyeball staring right at Houston. The weather reporters would go absolutely nuts!

And it was contagious. Those people too foolish to have stocked up on things early would rush to the stores, and wipe out all the shelves of canned goods, bottled water and batteries, and they would stand in long lines trying to buy all the other stuff you're supposed to have already. What a bunch of idiots! So, there I was standing in a crowded store wishing I had stocked up earlier.

As I stood in the long checkout line I struck up a conversation with an old fellow who was just smiling and shaking his head and laughing at all of these panicky people. It won't hit here, he said, they never do, he said. The guy must have been crazy!

Then, while still a few hundred miles out the hurricane would head north toward Louisiana. We were saved! And those dented cans of stuff I would never eat got tossed out.

After a few of these experiences I became like that crazy old man and began to think of it as just a part of life near a coast.

Telephone scam alert

The Midland Police Department has issued the following alert:

Midland Police want to warn citizens of a scam that has involved local residents.

Little is known about the scammers. The suspects have a strong accent.
They call residents informing them they have $2.5 million in the Bank of
Jamaica. The caller then asks for personal information including a bank
account number. The scammers claim they will wire the money to their
account. In at least one incident, the caller was persistent enough to call
multiple times.

If you have had such a call, please contact the Midland Police Department at
685.7108.

Divorce, German style

Here's a remarkable development. Apparently, in Germany if both members of a divorcing couple are receiving a pension, then the one with the larger pension has to turn over part of that pension to the other party to balance it out.

In this unbelievable story, a divorcing couple had entered into a settlement agreement in which the wife got a portion of the husband's pension. The woman remarried, then died, apparently with a will. And she left to her new husband the share of the old husband's pension that she got from the divorce. So, the court says that the new husband gets to keep it. Ouch!

Via Courreges.

New indoor shooting range being planned

Mike has left a comment regarding the new indoor shooting range he has proposed. It sounds like a very ambitious project, and the location looks ideal for residents of both Midland and Odessa. Entrepreneurs - the life blood of the American economy - deserve all the support we can give them. Here's what he said:

Yes, we are in the process of building an indoor range in the Midland/Odessa area with a planned opening in the Spring of 2004.

The proposed location is the NE corner of 191 & 1788. (Next door to the
radio station). We are in the planning and design phase, but current
plans are for a 12 lane, indoor range with private bays. There will be
a 3700 square foot "Pro Shop" with classroom training facilities and
lounge area. The "shop" will be stocked with a wide assortment of
hunting and shooting supplies including ammo, cleaning supplies, stocks,
camping supplies, binoculars and scopes, feeders, personal protection, etc...
Safety, Hunters ed and CHL classes will be offered.

We have no plans to sell firearms, but will have a wide variety of
rental guns. Our goal is to work with the local gun dealers in a "try
before you buy" program. We WILL offer consignment services for clients
wishing to sell their personal firearms.

Fees will be a based on per visit basis (10 bucks a visit) and annual
unlimited use memberships.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 432-522-2500

If you are interested in an investment equity with a "Lifetime" membership,
Call me at 522-2500 and I will send you a prospectus.

Mike

I signed the Midland Shooters Association release agreement.

After a long period of indecisiveness I decided to go ahead and sign that release agreement that the board of directors of Midland Shooters Association has required for renewal of membership in the organization. I'm doing this so I can work within the system to help improve club, and the main objective would like to work toward eliminating that release agreement as a requirement for new and renewing members.

The first renewal form I sent in omitted the release agreement but contained the NRA pledge thereby precisely tracking the bylaws. But, they decided to reject it.

I've heard from people who signed the release agreement after notifying the board of their dissatisfaction with the way the board is managing the club. And, the board refused to renew their membership. It appears as if the board members are merely trying to hang onto power by picking and choosing to renew only those people who haven't voiced disapproval. In other words, they appear to be trying to keep only those who they think will vote to keep the incumbents in office. Maybe they are just trying to hang onto power, or maybe they honestly believe that this is in the best interest of the club. Board members, make your case.

Board members of Midland Shooters Association - please make your case

I haven't yet heard from any board member. But, I'm very anxious to hear the board's side of the argument. Is requiring members to sign that release agreement in the best interest of the club?

I've expressed my opinion. In the interest of being "fair and balanced" you can have the space you need on this weblog to make your case. Please contact me, I'm very easy to reach. Just click on the "email me" button, above.

Medical malpractice insurance - how much does it cost?

If you've wondered what doctors have to pay for medical malpractice insurance, here's what one doctor said on his blog.

"It varies, but for a family doctor doing OB, average salary nationwide of $150,000, the annual premium in Texas would be around $45,000. Pretty unbelievable, if you ask me. Certain surgical subspecialists could pay well over $100,000 a year in medical malpractice."

(Look at the comments under his post titled "Proposition 12 passes" for that response.)

Yes, that's pretty unbelievable all right - almost a third of the gross.

Which Greek God are you?

Well, I guess for it to work it should be gender neutral. But, that aside, I just love those little internet quizes. Here's one that will tell you which Greek God you are.

See Quizilla for other good ones.

All 22 Texas constitutional amendments pass

All of the 22 constitutional amendments were approved by Texas voters. It's interesting to look at the vote count at the Secretary of State Election web page, although the results could yet change as the count is still unofficial.

Prop 12 which allow the legislature to set monetary ceilings for non economic damages in certain lawsuits, easily the most controversial amendment, won by a mere 51.12%.

Prop 9, about the treatment of certain income of the permanent school fund, won by the lowest percentage, 50.31%.

And prop 10 authorizing cities to donate surplus fire fighting equipment to volunteer fire departments won by a whooping 91.67%.

If nothing else, the difference in winning percentages between prop 9 and prop 10 shows that voters clearly perfer choices in which the consequences are obvious.

Gun show in Midland next weekend

The Texas Gun and Knife Association will be holding its next gun show at Midland Center on September 20 and 21. The times are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Sunday. Here's their schedule.

Practical Pistol Match - Saturday 9/20/03

This coming Saturday there will be a practical pistol match at the Midland Shooters Association pistol range.

Anyone who shoots handguns should try to attend, and you don't have to be a member of MSA to participate. If you are good, then there will probably some pretty good competition for you. Or, if like me, you just enjoy shooting handguns, then it can be loads of fun.

It looks like each shooter will need to bring at least 100 rounds for his/her hand gun. And there is an optional tactical rifle match - participants in that side match will need 40 rounds for the rifle.

Freddy would probably appreciate some help Friday evening from MSA members in setting up the targets, obstacles, etc., for the scenarios. (My MSA membership is currently in limbo, so I won't be going onto the property until the morning of the match.) If you would like to help then give him a phone call to find out what time he plans to set up. Go to The Ready Line - Matches link for his phone number.

Date: 9/20/03, Registration: 8:30 a.m., Start: 9:00 a.m. And, it will probably be over by noon.

Mission Statement

There are two kinds of criticism: criticism intended to help, and criticism intended to hurt.

Most of us put criticism into those two categories without realizing it. The criticism that was intended to hurt gets tossed out immediately. But, if the criticism is intended to help then that should get our attention, and we should be appreciative of the opportunity to get valuable feedback.

So, as part of the Midland Shooters Association unofficial watchdog group I want to make it clear that I want to help and not hurt.

The MSA was once a great organization. The board of directors seems to have veered off onto a course that is hurting the club. But, it can be great again. And, I intend to work toward that goal.