Until this week, Utah had 24 state symbols, from tree (the blue spruce) to insect (the honeybee) to even cooking pot (the Dutch oven).
Now it’s added an official state firearm — the John M. Browning-designed M1911 pistol, becoming the first state in the nation to have one, according to the state legislator who sponsored the law.

Gov. Gary Herbert signed the new symbol into law this week, making Utah the first state to do such a thing.  How cool is that!?!!

Pennsylvania lawmakers apparently tried this before, but sadly the measure eventually failed. Maybe they can try again this year, considering the change of it’s political colors in 2010.

Bill would require all S.D. citizens to buy a gun

Five South Dakota lawmakers have introduced legislation that would require any adult 21 or older to buy a firearm “sufficient to provide for their ordinary self-defense.”

The bill, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2012, would give people six months to acquire a firearm after turning 21. The provision does not apply to people who are barred from owning a firearm.

Nor does the measure specify what type of firearm. Instead, residents would pick one “suitable to their temperament, physical capacity, and preference.”

The measure is known as an act “to provide for an individual mandate to adult citizens to provide for the self defense of themselves and others.”

Rep. Hal Wick, R-Sioux Falls, is sponsoring the bill and knows it will be killed. But he said he is introducing it to prove a point that the federal health care reform mandate passed last year is unconstitutional.

“Do I or the other cosponsors believe that the State of South Dakota can require citizens to buy firearms? Of course not. But at the same time, we do not believe the federal government can order every citizen to buy health insurance,” he said.

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Santa Claus is coming to town!!

Hoppe’s Introduces Air Freshner With No. 9 Fragrance

Overland Park, KS – In 1903, when Frank Hoppe developed a mix of 9 different ingredients to create the original Hoppe’s No. 9 gun solvent, he had no idea that history was being made. Over the last 107 years the smell of Hoppe’s No. 9 has evoked fond memories of fathers, grandfathers, memorable hunts and great days in the field.

In response to consumer requests, Hoppe’s now has an air freshener with the unique No. 9 smell. The freshener has a string for hanging it in your gun room, car, garage, or anywhere you want the nostalgic smell of Hoppe’s No. 9.

Brett and Kate McKay, authors of the book “The Art of Manliness” list Hoppe’s No. 9 as one of the top 15 manly smells.

The Hoppe’s No. 9 Air Freshener will be available at your favorite sporting goods and/or hunting store and will sell for a suggested retail price of $3.99.

Visit www.hoppes.com for more information on all Hoppe’s and Hoppe’s Elite Products.

Bushnell Outdoor Products is a global manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer products based in Overland Park, Kansas. Bushnell Outdoor Products sells its products worldwide under the Bushnell®, Tasco®, Serengeti®, Bollé®, Uncle Mike’s Law Enforcement®, Stoney Point®, Hoppe’s®, Butler Creek®, Kolpin®,Uncle Mike’s®, Millett®, Simmons® and Final Approach® brand names. For information about any of these brands or products, please contact Bushnell Public Relations at (913) 752-6105.

In 1903, Frank August Hoppes mixed up nine chemicals and created the world’s most potent gun cleaning solvent. Since that time, Hoppe’s has emerged as the leading gun care company in the world. Bushnell provides Gun Care For Every Barrel with Hoppe’s #9, Hoppe’s Elite and M-Pro7 Gun Care Products.
Contact:
Jen Messelt, Bushnell Outdoor Products (800) 423-3537 or jmesselt@bushnell.com
Mike Capps (573) 898-3422 or mcapps@howardcommunications.com

Now they just need to make a cologne!

Bacon Bash: A day to celebrate one of Pittsburgh favorite foods, BACON!

Pittsburgh’s only bacon event, Bacon Bash, will take place at the Harris Grill in Shady Side on Saturday, August 14 from 11 am to 4 pm. Bacon Bash follows last year’s Blue Ribbon Bacon Tour stop in Pittsburgh, which saw more than 85 people the day after the G20 summit. Event organizers Jason Mosley (better known as Mr. Baconpants) and the Harris Grill plan to take what they did for the Blue Ribbon Bacon Tour and kick it up a notch for Bacon Bash.

“We want to make this a yearly gathering of bacon lovers” said Mosley.

To help do that Sugardale Foods, a leading supplier of smoked meats based in Canton, OH, will supply bacon for the event along with a few other bacon purveyors. Sugardale will also help promote the event and are excited to increase their exposure in Western PA.

Several bacon appetizers and small plates will be served at Bacon Bash. The event also will feature the Bacon Eating Contest for a chance to win fabulous bacon prizes.

Tickets are $35 and go on sale online at Store.MrBaconpants.com and at the Harris Grill (412.362.5273) July 1, 2010. Bacon Bash is Pittsburgh’s only bacon enthusiast celebration and tickets are limited, so to be sure to claim yours today.

Jason Mosley, aka “Mr. Baconpants”, is a local blogger and bacon enthusiast. Other Mosley blogs include Startup Pittsburgh and OMG! Play This. Posts written by him have appeared on Crunch Gear, Mobile Crunch, and Touch Arcade.

The Harris Grill, known for it’s “Tuesday Bacon Night” in which post-happy hour patrons are treated to free bacon, is located at 5747 Ellsworth Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15232. Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday, 11 am to 2 am, with Sunday brunch from 10 am to 3 pm.

2010 Bacon Bash Details:

• When: Saturday, August, 14th, 2010 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
• Where: Harris Grill
  5747 Ellsworth Avenue
  Pittsburgh, PA 15232
  (412) 362-5273
• Tickets: $35 per person
• Ticket Includes: admission to the event, several bacon appetizers and small plates prepared by Harris Grill, one beverage ticket (draft beer or frozen cosmopolitan), optional entry in the bacon eating contest, and more.

Menu will include, but is not limited to: bacon pierogies, mini BLT sliders, bacon-wrapped meatballs, chocolate-covered bacon, bacon sushi, bacon horseradish spread with pretzels, bacon breadsticks, bacon shot glasses filled with cheesy mashed potatoes, bacon cupcake, and bacon wrapped tofu!

More details found here.

If you’re around my area (Philadelphia/Bucks/Montgomery counties), and you’d like to join in on, message me and we’ll coordinate some kind of driving pool. My truck comfortably seats six, and I’m sure we can get other vehicles together if more is needed.

From Topless Robot, The RPC (Rocket Propelled Chainsaw):

The rocket chainsaw launcher. Tell me it wouldn’t be worth getting eaten alive by the living dead if you got to fire this thing into a crowd of them first. Hell, I’d be too busy cackling with delight to reload even if I had any extra ammo. Thanks to everyone who sent in the tip.

How cool is that!!?!

Just a little treat to all you movie buffs out there… Guess what today is? Today’s the day Marty McFly arrived in the future after hitting 88 mph in Doc Brown’s Delorean from 1985:

I can’t believe it’s been 25 years now since that movie came out…makes ya feel old and all, when you remember seeing it in the theater.

Of course, as with many other movies (2001: A Space Odyssey being another), present day isn’t exactly the future envisioned in the movie – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing either, as I recall from that sequel.

Apparently, it’s National Man Day, as per my new Android phone (that’s getting it’s calendar synced from Google).

From the calendar:

Be a MAN!!
Hosted by: Every Man!
Location: Everywhere a man is!
Description: This day  is the day for all men to stand up and say, “Yes, I am a Man.” And “Yes, I will step up and do manly things and whatever I want to do on this glorious day!”
Come, make history! Be a part of National Man day. Take the world by the throat and tell them it’s ok to watch  Rocky movies all day. Tell them it’s fine if you sit in your favorite chair and scratch yourself. Tell them it’s normal to go shoot stuff or blow something up. Why? Because YOU ARE A MAN!!!
You aren’t some nancy that likes to frolic in the fields, unless it’s a field of mines and you have an AK47 and a hand full of grenades… Then you really are a man!
Yes on this day, men across the nation will be saying, “Screw you salad bar, with your salad and light dressings!” Men will step up and say, “I’ll take that 20 oz steak, and yes, I’ll eat it all. Because I’m a man!”
I’m not asking you to throw some sissy party, or to go buy a new power tie because you’re a man. All I’m asking you to do is step up live this day like a man would. Blow something up, shoot some animal, punch your buddy in the face for no reason, be a good father, play football and literally knock someone’s head off… Do something manly. Be a man like God intended you to be…

Take this day and celebrate your manhood!

So, all of you men folk out there – rejoice and celebrate!  Go forth and conquer! Head out to the range and do some shooting, pickup some red meat and do some grilling, and of course – pop open a cold one and just relax.  Why? Because we’re MEN! Hear us grunt!