Odds ‘n Sods:

There has been an e-mail widely circulating, with pictures of a Zeta drug cartel camp that was found near Higueras, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. They uncovered quite the little arms cache–enough guns to make even my old friend “Dan Fong” envious. These photos were recently posted to a web page. It is noteworthy that the Zetas are just one of the many Mexican drug cartels. By the look of it, the majority of the weapons came straight from the Mexican Army. No doubt some very large stacks of cash changed hands with some Generals. And to answer one criticism: no Nancy and Diane, most of these guns did not come from gun shows in the American Southwest. You can’t buy selective fire M4s with 14.5 inch barrels, RPG-7s, and 40mm grenades at gun shows. More about the M4s: If those had actually been smuggled commercial M4geries from the States, then they’d be in umpteen different configurations and have 16-inch barrels. Notice how those rows of M4s all look identical? Obviously, those were built to Ejército Méxicano contract specs. Now I suppose those two Barrett .50 rifles might have been smuggled from the States. They aren’t in the TO&Es of most Mexican Army units, but they are used by their Special Forces.

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Reader EMB sent a link to a brief entry at the Al Dente blog: A Helpful Home Canning Resource

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Thomas Sowell asks: Is U.S. Now on Slippery Slope to Tyranny?

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Trent H. Suggested this: “Gasland”: Will Natural Gas Save America … or Destroy It? FWIW, my next novel (now nearing completion) is set primarily near Bloomfield, New Mexico. Why? Not only is Bloomfield bordered by natural gas fields, it is also served by one of the few truly self-sufficient independent power utilities in the country, the Farmington Electric Utility System (FEUS).