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Seems like a good time, on this INTL Day of TomFoolAssery, to check those mags that have been loaded for a good long while...5 years. Empty them, clean and a lightlube and reload. Anything else?? Good for another 5 years. Carry On. G

Just to let people know the people that worshiped there. First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas Youtube Channel

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A soldier and his wife stopped a robbery on Tuesday night when the soldier pulled a gun on the assailants and fired, police said. The husband and wife had just been transferred from Fort Hood to Colorado Springs. They were taking a walk in their new neighborhood at 10 p.m. when they were approached by two masked assailants, police said. When the assailants ordered the soldier and his wife to the ground, the soldier told police he pulled out his handgun. The soldier told police the men started to run off, but when one of them...

Colorado Springs State Bank was last in state publicly doing business with the industry . The last bank in the state of Colorado that was publicly doing business with the medical marijuana industry decided it will be closing all of those accounts by the end of September, leaving dispensaries across the state scrambling. The Colorado Springs State Bank sent out a letter last week to its medical marijuana account holders requesting them to have their bank accounts closed by Sept. 30. "There are unresolved issues with regulations, law enforcement and other agencies that need to get resolved before the industry...

I apologize (again) for being off-schedule; I've had these pictures ready to go for awhile, but I haven't been ready to go. Also, look in the first comment for a REAL bonus. Anyway, the hot springs at Dallol, Ethiopia have been very "wet" recently, due to anomalously high precipitation, leading to some really remarkable (other-worldly) scenery. Below are a few, with links to where the others are. Dallol (the recent pictures are at the bottom of the page) Dallol in January-February 2011: Large and colorful ponds

Small government conservatives in the city of Colorado Springs began slashing government services and taxes earlier this year and show no sign of slowing down. Everything from trash collection to streetlights to police coverage have been phased out in the quest to get closer to the free market model espoused by libertarians such as novelist Ayn Rand. The changes have turned Colorado Springs into something like a city-sized experiment in just how small government can get. So when pundits debate the Colorado Springs experiment, they're also debating the hard-line libertarian philosophy behind that experiment. Does drastically cutting services and taxes...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE TARIN KOWT, Afghanistan, Aug. 11, 2006 — When a suicide bomber slammed and ignited his missile-laden vehicle into the Humvee in front of Staff Sgt. Eric Mathiasen, the Air Force medic exploded into action. He said he did not think about his wife or two children, or that there was unexploded ordnance lying about. He just grabbed his medical bag and sprinted toward the blast area. "While I was running to the wounded guy, I just hoped I could help him," Mathiasen said. "I just hoped I wouldn't screw anything up." He had questioned his abilities before...

Active lava pond in the East Pond Vent, Pu'u O'o, Kilauea, Hawaii: CHALLENGE: Find a good picture of a freshwater spring sand boil. This is where the water of a spring is emerging from a sandy bottom, and the sand "boils" where the water flow is strongest. Example: The white area is a sand boil in a Florida freshwater spring. What I need is a high-quality close-up example of this for a demonstration. (Not critical, but it would be helpful.)

JimRob's Big Adventure (April Roadtrip) Greetings FReepers, I'll be traveling with Jim and Shiela Robinson. We'll be attending a Heritage Foundation seminar/workshop in Colorado Springs, CO. Jim will be representing FreeRepublic.com and I will be there representing VetsCoR. Our itinerary will be: Depart from Date time miles Arrive at Date Time Approximate Driving time Fresno, CA* 4/13/06 ??? 171 mi Mojave, CA 4/13/06 ??? 4 hours Mojave, CA* 4/14/06 ??? 172 mi. Death Valley,CA 4/14/06 ??? 4 hours Death Valley, CA* 4/16/06 ??? 171 mi. Mojave, CA 4/16/06 ??? 4 hours Mojave, CA* 4/16/06 1330 256 mi. LHC, AZ 4/16/06...

While sometimes I feature the work of professional photographers, I found these three at the linked site. Interested readers are invited to search and post their own favorites of these features, if so inclined. Lassen Peak Bumpass Hell Burney Falls -- a beautiful and unique waterfall I'd never heard of before

Clinton greeted by anti-war protesters A group of anti-war demonstrators gathers outside the Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005, as U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., attends a luncheon inside. (AP Photo/Tim Roske) SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was greeted by anti-war protesters today at a local Democratic fundraiser in Saratoga Springs. More than a dozen Iraq war protesters waved signs and called on her to support an immediate withdrawal of troops. Barbara Murphy, a retired state worker from Clifton Park, said she voted for Clinton in 2000. But she said she won't...

Two Saturday sessions - Feb. 5 & 12. The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) will offer a hunter education class in Colorado Springs specifically for women and girls. The course will be divided into two Saturday sessions on Feb. 5 and Feb. 12. Sessions run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the DOW office at 4255 Sinton Road. Participants must attend both sessions to receive hunter education certification. “Many women have told us they are interested in becoming sanctioned to hunt in Colorado but are worried about feeling uncomfortable in a hunter safety class with mostly men and boys,”...

Link post: click the link and view the image and discussion, and post comments on that thread: Geology Picture of the Week ALERT: Ikonos Views Yellowstone!

I hadn't checked Earth Observatory for a few days, and the images for the last three days were rather blah. But I checked the archive, and found this stunning Ikonos view of the "central" Yellowstone thermal feature area. The Old Faithful/Upper Geyser Basin is largely out of the picture to the south, but there's a lot to see here. I linked the image/article page at the top. Below is a link to the full-resolution image. I'll provide a brief guided tour. Go to the linked article below (also linked above) and click the full resolution image link): Grand Prismatic Spring,...

Gun Mandate Geuda Springs Associated Press Residents in the tiny south-central Kansas community of Geuda Springs have passed an ordinance requiring the heads of households to equip their homes with firearms and ammunition. The City Council voted 3-to-2 earlier this month in favor of the ordinance. Council members believe it's necessary to provide protection in a town that does not have its own police force and relies on the sheriff's department for protection. Under the ordinance, non-complying residents could be fined ten dollars. The ordinance has not gone into effect. Not everyone thinks the ordinance is a good idea. Sumner...

A Second LookArmed with better technology, archaeologists return to the resting place of North America’s oldest known inhabitant Revisiting the past is never easy, and revisiting an old excavation site on a canyon wall makes for a particularly dicey trip. Especially when it no longer exists. Yet a recent return by scientists to the final resting place of Arlington Springs Woman, the oldest known inhabitant of North America, has provided a striking demonstration of new technology's power to restore the past and preserve it well into the future.SNIP ( click here for entire article) So far, he's obtained 16 dates...