Gunpowder Treason

VIDEO REDUX

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:03:00 +0000

I spent a few minutes last night searching through an old drive, looking through all the various projects I've done for work over the years. Luck decided to play a part, and I located the original video mentioned in yesterday's post.

The next problem I was facing had to do with YouTube's limit on video length. When I recorded this about 4-5 years ago, they wouldn't allow an upload longer than 10 minutes - which was why it was hosted on a now-defunct site. Luck strikes again, though: at some point, YouTube removed that restriction.

So I'm pleased to announce that I've been able to get it uploaded and hosted on YouTube. The quality isn't as nice as I'd like, but hopefully it might be helpful to any P99 owners out there who want to go a bit beyond field-stripping.

You can find it here, or just click the GT Videos button on the left.

VIDEO DOWN

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:25:00 +0000

It seems that LiveVideo.com has left the building - I've read they had problems with copyrighted content appearing too often.. I don't normally click on the video link on a regular basis, so I've no idea how long the site has been down.

So... it's likely my vid on cleaning the P99 is no more, as I lost the original footage somewhere along the way a couple of years ago. If anyone out there has it downloaded, drop me a line. It was longer than YouTube will allow, but I could split it into two parts if I had to.

11.05

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:53:00 +0000

Can you hear the cannons, Nancy?

OFFICER CHARGED WITH BEATING CITIZEN

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:53:00 +0000

After the altercation, Officer James Mandarino charged the motorist with DUI and Resisting Arrest (the charges were later dropped.) Imagine how this case would have ended up if the patrol car had not been recording video.

2ND AMENDMENT : EXTREME

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:05:00 +0000

I've not a fan of Bill O'Reilly. I'm not going to waste time listing the reasons why. But on Thursday night he did an interview with the founder of Oath Keepers, and in the process stated that swearing to uphold the Bill of Rights is "extreme".

In previous posts, I've often written critically of a situation involving police officers. On other sites, I've been labeled a troll, a cop hater, a cop lover, a liberal, and a closet Obama supporter. So let's clear something up:

My grandfathers were WWII vets. My father is a vet. My stepfather was a vet. My favorite uncle was a cop, who was shot in the line of duty (and thankfully, survived and went on to have a great life with his future family). I am not anti-military or anti-cop. What I am is someone who despises people who are entrusted with protecting American citizens, and abuse that power through either ineptitude or advancing/protecting their own self-interests.

In case you aren't familiar with Oathkeepers, here's a description from their website:

Oath Keepers is a non-partisan association of currently serving military, reserves, National Guard, peace officers, fire-fighters, and veterans who swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic … and meant it. We won’t “just follow orders.”

Oath Keepers deserves respect, not a condescending brush-off from Bill O'Reilly. They are the best of the good guys, taking a public stand and saying "We will do what we swore to do." The men and women of Oath Keepers will not trample the rights of their fellow citizens, merely because a superior orders them to. They will use their own morals, their intelligence, and their love of their country's Constitution to protect the rights of everyone. Their views are not "extremist"; they are the epitome of professionalism and personal honor.

After the illegal confiscations in New Orleans after Katrina, several good laws were passed to protect 2A rights from being disregarded in the future. Bill O'Reilly believes this is extreme. One wonders how he would feel if he was told that during a state of emergency, he would not be allowed to broadcast his views. I doubt he would support the same "part time" validity of the First Amendment.

EZ-JECT

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:52:00 +0000

My upgrade kit arrived in the mail this afternoon, along with some spare parts I'd ordered. So armed with an allen wrench and a clamp, I installed it just after I got home tonight. The process is very simple and took no longer than 20 minutes. The instructions are easy to understand. If you'd like a video step-by-step, stop by Ultimate Reloader and you'll find what you're looking for.

The only part that is tricky is removing the spent primer tube, but it's not exactly a trick - it's just a step you need to do carefully. Hornady includes a small tool to assist in the process, to keep the tube from being crushed during removal. It's very easy to remove the tube, just be sure to do it the right way.

There are a couple of modifications beyond the ejection. The trench that the retention spring moves through (near station #1) has new bevels around the edges. I suspect this is to help the spring rotate more freely. There's also a new bolt for attaching the shell plate to the hub. It uses an allen wrench instead of a standard wrench for removal - conveniently, one is included in the bag. I don't know the reason for this change, but it does look nicer.

The shell plates have been sent to Hornady for the machining, and I hope they'll be arriving next week... I can't wait to try it out.

PRICE CHECK

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:02:00 +0000

Ever since the Presidential election and the subsequent "Buy Before They Ban" shopping started, gun owners have been buying ammo faster than retailers can restock it. The highest I've seen someone charging for 9mm was $35 for a 100rd box. This wasn't high-end defensive ammo... no, this was the same budget ammo that "normally" sells for around $22/box.

Those of us that reload our own ammo think paying $22 for a box of WWB is incredibly amusing, by the way. But I digress.

Along with the fear of future bans, there's always talk of the increasing price of ammo. This is reportedly due to one or more factors: the war, China's manufacturing, EPA regulations, increased orders by law enforcement, price gouging retailers, global warming, the economy, the price of oil, sunspots, etc. It's often said that whatever your reasons for buying 10 more cases of 9mm - the sooner, the better - as prices never go down.

I was reading The Firearm Blog and came upon this picture. It's an advertisement from a gun magazine, in 1959. Note the price of 9mm: $9.50 for a hundred rounds.

In 2010 dollars, that comes to $70.99.

It kind of deflates that "ammo prices never go down" argument.

1A VS 2A?

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:50:00 +0000

From MercuryNews.com:

East Palo Alto cop takes heat for Facebook remarks

An East Palo Alto police detective is taking heat in online forums for allegedly posting comments from his Facebook account that advocate shooting Open Carry gun advocates.

Detective Rod Tuason apparently made the remarks in response to a friend's status update, which joked that gun advocates who carry unloaded weapons in plain view as a political statement should start doing so in places such as Oakland, Richmond and East Palo Alto "and not limit themselves to hoity toity cities."

"Haha, we had one guy last week try to do it!" Tuason replied, referring to a Redwood City man who strolled into the Mi Pueblo Food Center in East Palo Alto on Jan. 27 with a gun on his hip. "He got proned out and reminded where he was at and that turds will jack him for his gun in a heartbeat!"

After several more comments in the thread, Tuason apparently joked that officers should shoot the advocates, who have made recent headlines throughout the Bay Area for sipping coffee at cafes and performing other everyday acts with visible weapons.

"Sounds like you had someone practicing their 2nd amendment rights last night!" Tuason wrote. "Should've pulled the AR out and prone them all out! And if one of them makes a furtive movement ... 2 weeks off!!!" [Ed: IE, shoot them]

For those unfamiliar with California law, it's illegal in most cases to Open Carry with a loaded firearm. However, one may Open Carry if the gun is unloaded - this is often abbreviated "UOC".

Further down in the article is a mention of the forum at calguns.net, a discussion forum for 2A supporters in California. A member named .45Shooter claiming to be Det. Tuason has made at least 2 posts trying to both apologize and clarify his remarks.

While I find Det. Tuason's facebook comments to be troubling, his department's reaction is no less so:

East Palo Alto police Capt. Carl Estelle said the department's professional standards division is looking into the Facebook remarks to see if they violate any rules or policies.

"We have to be careful because they're on his own personal private Web page," Estelle said. "We have to be careful not to violate his First Amendment rights."

Capt. Estelle, it's irrelevant that his comments were on a "personal private Web page." You seem to be taking the same position that Det. Tuason holds in his "apology", when he stated "I know now that there are certain comments or expression of views are better off not said!".

This isn't a problem of privacy or First Amendment. It's the matter that of one of your officers finds it amusing to forcefully detain citizens who are not breaking a law, and his only regret appears to be that he vocalized his enthusiasm for such things on Facebook. It's offensive that you're more concerned about the 1A rights of your officer than the abuses your officer has been directly involved in.

EJECT

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:54:00 +0000

As regular readers know, I reload my ammo on a Hornady LNL-AP press. Though it's quite capable of reloading rifle ammunition, I don't shoot my rifles enough to bother with reloading for those. Perhaps it seems a bit of a cardinal sin to a few, but buying $100 worth of dies and equipment instead of buying 2 boxes/year doesn't seem like a great financial idea to me.

I do load all my own centerfire pistol ammo, of course... both 9mm and 44mag. I use Hornady dies almost exclusively, with the exception of an RCBS powdercop die. I've found that they are of very high quality, and with proper maintenance will keep performing as the day they were new.

The press itself is also very solidly built, and almost perfect in my opinion... solid, smooth action, and predictable behavior. For example, I've never had a primer insert upside-down... nor any other kind of feeding strangeness that I've read with about other presses.

But if there's one thing that the LNL-AP has been not-so-great at, it's been ejecting the finished round. Their ejection wire works fine with larger calibers, but smaller ones (such as 9mm) have a tendency to bind at the last moment, and not eject into the bin. There are several home-made fixes for this; most involve bending the wire itself:

However, it's not a perfect solution. In my case, the modified wire won't work with 44mag - so in addition to changing the shellplates, dies, and primer seating pin, you also have to change the wire.

A few months ago, Hornady finally fixed this problem by modifying their subplates and shellplates. Owners of an "old" LNL-AP can purchase a conversion. Nearly everything I've seen from owners that have the new parts are very enthusiastic about it.

I've been putting it off, as it would require sending my shellplates to Hornady for modification. In the meantime, I'd be unable to reload anything. I'm told the first 2 are done free, so it wouldn't cost me anything but a couple of dollars in shipping. The new EZ-Ject replacement parts are only $30.

I think I may reload some extra boxes this weekend, just in case my press is out of commission for the next 2-3 weeks - but for that price, I think it's time to take advantage of the deal.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:10:00 +0000

Rudy Giuliani, on terrorism:

“What he [Obama] should be doing is following the right things that Bush did -- one of the right things he did was treat this as a war on terror. We had no domestic attacks under Bush. We’ve had one under Obama.”

Except for the one on September 11, of course.

PRORITIES

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:08:00 +0000

Why does it seem as if Congress is more concerned with how the Salahi couple attended a White House dinner, than with how Janet Napolitano's agency allowed a suspected terrorist to board a flight with explosives?

P99 FACTORY MAGS, PT 2

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:56:00 +0000

Note to self: next time there's a 2-part question, stick to the self-imposed original deadline. My apologies for the delay.
Moving on...

In the previous post, the question was posed as to which of the magazines in the image were factory/OEM magazines... and the answer is: only the 10rd mag, which is the horizontal one. The mag inserted in the gun, and the rest along the bottom row are all aftermarket products.

I haven't seen the first 2 in person, but based on the oval indent near the floor plate I believe those are made by National Magazines. The last 3 are clearly ProMag.

So the question becomes: without being able to examine them in person, or read the markings in an image (if there are any), how can one tell the difference? It isn't the side of the mag, as the 10, 15 and 16 capacity mags have different indents along the sides. The answer is: look at the floorplate.

OEM Walther magazines are nearly flat, as opposed to the wedge shape you'll see in the others. This is important, as it relates to how the mag will fit into bottom on the grip when inserted. While I have no personal experience with ProMags, I have read on several occasions that they don't fit very well into the P99. I suspect it's due to the fact that the floorplate is too high and binding against the bottom of the grip. This is likely to cause feeding problems.

OEM mags also have a more tapered front edge on the floorplate. Without personal inspection, I don't know if this is a factor. However, I suspect it cannot be a good thing to deviate that much from factory dimensions.

On a side note: the actual markings on an OEM mag will vary. Some will have a Walther banner, while others will say Mecgar, or perhaps nothing at all except "MADE IN ITALY". All 3 are true OEM products. Mecgar is the official mfg of P99 magazines. Though I've no idea why they've changed their markings several times over the years, it's not a factor to be concerned with.

If you own a P99, this is something you should be aware of. I've seen people on GunBroker (and other places) try to pass off a ProMag product as a "factory OEM mag". I've also seen online stores selling such mags with no distinction at all. Given the sketchy performance of aftermarket mags, it's important to know what you're buying.

For the record: the seller whose gun is pictured did not misrepresent the magazines as OEM. In addition, he was asking a very good price for the package - the aftermarket mags were practically thrown in at no cost. So his buyer got a very good deal.

P99 FACTORY MAGS, PT 1

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:02:00 +0000

Not all of these are factory Walther magazines. Anyone care to guess which ones aren't?

And no fair cheating with Google images. ;)

Answer coming tomorrow...

IT'S JUST UNSUSTAINABLE DEBT, AFTER ALL.

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:59:00 +0000

From The Washington Post:

Democrats to seek higher limit on the federal debt

With the national debt projected to soar by nearly $1.4 trillion this year, congressional Democrats are planning a year-end push to dramatically increase the legal debt limit so they don't have to revisit the politically uncomfortable issue before facing voters in November.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that she will include legislation to raise the debt ceiling in a must-pass defense spending bill headed to the House floor next week.

In other words, do it now so it won't affect the incumbents' chances in November, and attached to the must-pass Defense bill so that it makes it more difficult (if not impossible) for the more fiscally responsible members to vote against it (and thus be painted in the future as "not supporting the troops).

Here's an alternative radical plan, that I often employ when dealing with my own budgetary matters: when you don't have enough money to cover your expenses, spend less.

TRUTH AND ANGER

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:30:00 +0000

America is in that awkward stage.
Soon the awkward stage will be at an end.

You just keep right on pushing, fascists.
I want you to.

Because I want to see your heads on pikes.

:: Anonymous forum poster

There's quite a bit of anger in America these days... and not all of it unjustified. Americans are only willing to bend so far, when they believe their freedoms and liberties are at risk. From climate to healthcare, the new government is doing everything they can to rewrite the laws before the next election. When facts and history don't support their agenda, they simply misrepresent the facts or ignore history altogether.

Senator Harry Reid recently compared those of us that oppose nationalized health care to those that supported slavery, and opposed civil rights.

"You think you've heard these same excuses before? You're right," he said. "In this country there were those who dug in their heels and said, 'Slow down, it's too early. Let's wait. Things aren't bad enough' -- about slavery."

One may note that it was the Southern Democrats that opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. Senator Robert Byrd - who still sits in the US Senate - filibustered for 14 hours to stop the bill. Yet Senator Reid conveniently forgets this truth - as well as forgetting that it was a Republican president that freed the slaves.

I find it ironic that Senator Reid chose to invoke the slavery analogy... especially in a time when he's seeking to create a new class of slaves.

11.05

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:44:00 +0000

People should not be afraid of their governments.
Governments should be afraid of their people.

30-30, NEARLY 30 YEARS LATER

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:58:00 +0000

When I was around 10-12 years old, my Dad bought a new deer rifle... a Winchester Model 1894. I can't remember if I ever shot it back then. If I did, it was probably only once. I was a very small kid, and even a 12ga was more than I could handle without fear of recoil.

After he died about 16 years ago, my mom arranged for a family friend to take custody of his guns. Last year, I was able to make arrangements to have them returned to me. The friend had kept them in pretty good condition. They needed some cleaning and removal of long-expired gun oil, but there was no "bad" damage due to age nor neglect whatsoever.

I started shooting his Ruger 44Mag a few months back, and have since developed a nice soft load I can enjoy shooting occasionally. It's a massive gun with a mile-long barrel... a bit larger than my hands can control for too long, but it's a fun range toy every month or so for a few shots.

Today I decided it was time to shoot his 30-30, possibly for the first time in nearly 15-20 years. I didn't even know where to start on different bullet specs for it. A gun store employee I trust asked about my goals for the rifle, and I replied it was just for some quick enjoyable shooting. He suggested some Remington 150gr rounds, advising they'd be easier on my shoulder than some of the other rounds normally used for hunting.

I admit there was a bit of boyhood fear in me as I raised it up... would it hurt like that old Browning 12ga did? Did I look like an idiot, standing there shooting offhand, without even a sling to steady my shot? Was the scope (apparently mounted upside down long ago for reasons I can't determine) even remotely still close to accurate?

I put the target around 10 yards, set up on the iron sights... slow squeeze... wham-thud hits my shoulder. But apparently I have grown up a bit over the years - it wasn't scary nor painful... it was a pleasant hard-push recoil, if such a thing makes sense. The bullet had hit somewhere around the "X" - and honestly I was just pleased I hadn't missed the paper entirely.

I decided to try the scope on the next shot... and this time, I've no idea where the bullet went, as the paper was undamaged. I smirked at myself, fully confident the problem was with the shooter. So for the final 3 rounds, I pushed the target to the range limit at 25 yds, and scoped the X. 3 Careful slow shots, and I had about a 4" group.

Great marksmanship? Definitely not. But highly enjoyable. I decided to keep the other 15 rounds in the box, for a time when I can more properly shoot the rifle on an outdoor range.

It was a good day of shooting.

BURGLAR 1, HOMEOWNER 0

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:06:00 +0000

Unfortunately, mistakes do happen. Equally unfortunate is how often it's only the victim that pays for the mistake.
It's amazing how much latitude comes with a badge.

CARRY DIFFERENT.

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:52:00 +0000

Normally I'd try to compose some witty comment to lead into a news article, but this time... it's kind of hard to top the story itself.

A frustrated customer at the Kenwood Towne Centre Apple store Thursday afternoon ended up going to jail after police say he showed an employee a gun.

He told the employee he was, "So mad, I could pop a 9mm at it."

The employee allegedly told Goodrich there was no need for that, then Goodrich allegedly told the employee, "I'll do it right now. Look!"

Goodrich then allegedly opened the right side of his shirt, displaying a black, 9mm handgun.

[Full Article]
Now that I think about it, about this time yesterday I was at Kenwood Towne Centre getting some Chick-fil-A for lunch. When leaving the mall, we walked by 5-7 deputies cuffing a guy and putting him into the back of a squad car. I'm guessing it was probably this guy with the problematic iPhone.

MORE ON KOSTRIC

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:05:00 +0000

John Lott has an nice followup article on William Kostric's appearance at the President's recent town hall meeting.

Have a preview:

Yet, the most amazing thing about the news coverage was how much the media missed. Far from being a hot head, Kostric and a friend had been roughed up by a union member. The union member had spit on and kicked the person who was with Kostric. But Kostric didn't threaten the union member, and didn't respond physically in any way. Kostric and his friend notified the police of the incident, but the police officer shrugged and went away. Kostric's gun did however defuse the volatile situation with the union member -- once the union member saw Kostric's gun in its holster he backed up and moved away.

Anti-2A Americans regularly discuss the potential horror of a gun owner losing their cool, and violence erupting... but time and again, citizens that legally carry fireams prove that they're able to deal with verbal conflict without clearing leather.

Of course, this rarely merits a headline.

FALSE ASSUMPTIONS

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:06:00 +0000

A few days ago, the President held a town hall meeting in New Hampshire to discuss his proposal for health care reform. Among the many Americans that decided to protest at this event was William Kostric, who decided to open carry his firearm during the event.

MSNBC offered a fair amount of coverage on this event, and soon afterwards Kostric was interviewed by Hardball's Chris Matthews.

Some of you may agree with me when I note that Chris Matthews' demeanor appears a bit crazier than Kostric; the interviewee is patiently trying to answer questions, while the interviewer is practically spraying froth all over the screen.

In any case.

After the interview, Kostric did a small one-on-one interview with a friend. It's been posted on YouTube... fairly low vid quality, but the clip is good enough that the message itself is clear.

Several sites on the internet (such as Salon) have begun to delve into Kostric's personal life... posting his MySpace page, various forums that he's had discussions in, etc. Depending on your point of view (and your politics), he's either a level-headed FreeStater or a closeted wingnut.

But one thing I've noticed in all of this is the assumption by many in the media (reminder: I'm a member of the media) that merely carrying a gun during a protest automatically means that violence is going to follow. This has no basis in fact whatsoever.

One could assume that a man that was nominated and confirmed to be the Secretary of the Treasury would himself have a clean, pristine personal financial background. However, this isn't true... as Timothy Geithner failed to pay $35,000 in self-employment taxes for several years, and only did so after his confirmation hearings started.

One could assume that the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee - the committee which writes the tax code - would be not only familiar with tax law, but follow the law as well. This isn't the case.... as Charles Rangel failed to declare $75,000 in rental income, and owed back taxes for at least 3 years.

When the President of the United States attends a public function, he is surrounded by people with firearms - not only his personal bodyguards of the Secret Service, but local law enforcement as well.

Why does the press assume that each and every one of these LEOs presents absolutely no threat to the President, but a private citizen does? Why does a badge automatically remove any and all suspicion from a person's inner politics and motivations?

In other countries throughout history, leaders have certainly been killed by people they trusted to protect them; historically, being given a badge and label of bodyguard does not automatically ensure that their safety is guaranteed.

Please let me be clear on this: I am not questioning the motives of some unnamed police officer, nor am I implying that somewhere out there is an LEO with thoughts of violence towards our leaders. I'm simply pointing out that there's no factual reason to believe that a peaceful, armed citizen presents more of a threat to the President than a a cop that's pissed off how the Crowley/Gates situation was initially handled by the White House.

Merely carrying a gun doesn't make one an assassin.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:15:00 +0000

The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out
of other people’s money.

:: Margaret Thatcher

WORK HARD, FLY RIGHT INDEED

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:33:00 +0000

This past weekend, 47 Passengers on Continental's ExpressJet Airlines spent 9 hours trapped in a plane on the tarmac - waiting to travel 87 miles. I'm familiar with airline regulations, policies, TSA, the laws regarding interfering with flight crews, etc etc - yet I find it hard to believe no one tried to get off the plane.

At what point would you, personally, decide you weren't going to stay in such a situation any longer? 3 Hours? 6 Hours? A couple of days? I suppose it's one thing when you're on the runway, waiting for your plane's turn to take off. But it's another matter entirely when the plane is just sitting there doing nothing at all, with no plans in the near future to get airborne again.

I wonder if this the real reason Congress wants more private jets.

SMILE.

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:11:00 +0000

JET SETTING

noreply@blogger.com (thorn) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:10:00 +0000

As I was having the morning coffee, I came across this article whilst catching up on everything that had happened since I went to bed last night. Sen. Claire McCaskill (a Democrat) is standing up to some fellow Congressional members and pointing out the poor judgment they're demonstrating by planning to purchase jets that the military doesn't even want.

When I first saw the headlines on this a couple of days ago, I (wrongly) assumed that these were fighter jets; the F22 is either being killed or being renewed, depending on the day. But no, these aren't fighter jets - these are passenger planes. Specifically, a govt/mil version of the Gulfstream V business jet.

My favorite bit from the article:

Though two of the C-37s reportedly are to be assigned to units at Andrews Air Force Base that routinely transport government officials and members of Congress, the aide disputed the notion that Congress was just awarding itself an upgrade, saying both types of jets can be used for "many purposes" including transport of military personnel -- not just elected officials.

"It's not like Congress is buying Congress planes here," the aide said.

That's not how McCaskill saw it. Her statement said the jets would be "dedicated to travel for government executive-level personnel."

I'm reminded earlier this year when executives from Detroit flew to Washington DC for hearings on bailing out the auto industry... Congress and the President were pushing each other out of the way to be the first to decry the use of private jets during a time of potential bankruptcy in these companies.

And yet during a time of massive deficit spending in Washington, buying private jets for govt use is perfectly acceptable.

But the topic of over-spending in the military budget is a sensitive one. Cutting funds doesn't just raise concerns about national security -- it affects jobs.

It also affects the personal finances of American Taxpayers, who are ultimately the ones paying for Gulfstream business jets so that govt executives don't have to take commercial flights like the rest of us.

Sen. McCaskill - please keep fighting the good fight.