He who places his hope on thee, O Virgin all-glorious, will prosper in all he does.

Inscription on Byzantine coin during reign of Romanus III



Friday, April 20, 2012

A Voice Of Reason In Russia

Moscow, April 18, Interfax - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev believes the Russian Orthodox Church sometimes brings attacks on itself.

'A reason was given [for the attacks],' Gorbachev told reporters after being asked to comment on the statements made by Patriarch Kirill on the recent attacks on the Russian Church.

'We should not create a holy union between the authorities and the Church,' Gorbachev said.

'I was amazed when clergymen flocked to become deputies in 1989. In my view, it's unacceptable,' Gorbachev said.


The Usual Suspect Babbles Mindlessly

Moscow, April 19, Interfax - Russia could resume efforts to put the state system on foundations alternative to capitalism, said chief of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin.

'A lot of good things were done in the Soviet era. Russia's heroic feat in the Great Patriotic War, the nation's outstanding achievements in science and technology, and a social model based on the idea of social justice, which caused such a resonance in the world, rank among our indisputable accomplishments,' Father Vsevolod told students of the State Governance University.

Baby Glock Update

For the new Gen 4 Glock .40 Model 27, I performed a few modifications for improved handling:

1. Substituted a smooth-faced trigger for the standard target-style serrated trigger. Smooth triggers are more suitable for fast defensive shooting.

2. Substituted a NY-1 leaf-style trigger module for the standard coil trigger spring. Some folks say that the former is less prone to breakage than the latter, but breakage is irrelevant. The Glock's beauty is that it'll still cycle when the trigger spring breaks until the mag runs dry. Emergency reloads without a trigger spring should number amongst one's malfunction drills.

The NY-1 trigger spring provides a revolver-like feel and increases the pull weight by a few pounds. I'm fond of sticking guns in belly bands, and the standard Glock trigger's short travel after take-up makes me nervous. I'm probably the only person in the world who prefers the NY-1's feel over the standard set-up.

3. Substituted a magazine extension for the standard floor plate. I've tried both Glock's and Pearce's extensions, and I like Glock's better. Both work fine.


And, yes, I am qualified to perform modifications.


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Colombian Hookers Weren't As Scary

The U.S. Secret Service is looking into a violent rant by 'Catch Scratch Fever' rocker Ted Nugent in which he denounced President Barack Obama and his top advisers as "evil" and urged National Rifle Association members to help 'chop their heads off in November.'

Burn-Out Priest Needs Help

The priest and his family were burned out of their home while he was serving the Liturgy. I've linked to Fr. Andrew's blog posting for details.

No matter how ardently the Welfare State continues its mission to crowd out faith-based charities, we find the means to persevere. Fr. Andrew rightly observes in his posting that whether donations are tax-deductible shouldn't matter. The problem is that tax deductions do matter, even though their importance lies only in reducing, not eliminating, the competing burden of involuntary donations to government-favored charities.

Sunday, April 15, 2012