Coming Up This Weekend...

• NRA and SAF kick butt as a federal judge agrees that Nazi weasels in New Orleans can't suspend the Constitution to prove how big their wee-wees are: Joining LaPierre in hailing the U.S. District Court decision was NRA chief lobbyist Chris W. Cox.

“This is an important victory. But the battle is not over. The NRA will remedy state emergency statutes in all 50 states, if needed, to ensure that this injustice does not happen again."

Hey Sturmfurher Compass III, maybe you can get a job as Superintendent of Police in, say, Haiti!

• Tequila's hanging in there in Texas...he says it has been a really kick butt day and he's exhausted. With Rita heading east, his little community is breathing a tentative sigh or relief. Now, if they jusy had some gasoline!

• I picked up my de-blinged S&W M21 .44 Special revolver today. As you recall, I haven't been a big fan of the Thunder Ranch P. Diddy version, with its 3-large over what it should have been price tag and its OG (over-gold) stampings. Apparently, I wasn't alone — RSR and CDNN have been blowing out Thunder Ranch at...surprise...about $300 off list. Now S&W has introduced a plain-Jane version at a sane price, so I snapped one up. I'd suggest you .44 Special fanciers (and you know who you are!) do the same, as .44 Special revolvers have never met the kind of success in the marketplace that the guns have among the .44 Special FANATICS. I have to admit that I'm one, having been unduly influenced by Skeeter Skelton back when he was writing flawless columns for SHOOTING TIMES. S&W has been pretty good at introducing various and sundry .44 Specials (the L-frame 696, the Scandium-framed 296 snubby and 396 Mountain Lite, the M24/624 N-frames), but they tend to disappear just when you've scraped up the bucks to get one). BTW, I still stand on my comments that if I had to pick a single "fighting revolver," it would be a 3 or 4-inch 625 .45 ACP with moon clips! If it don't rain and the crick don't rise, I'll take it to the range tomorrow or Sunday.

• I'll also be whining about how sore I am from my second day in the pool today. I ground off 1000 meters, moving with all the grace and speed of a severely injured manatee. Thank god I wasn't in open water, or I'd have been in danger from a Japanese whaling ship!