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Best Iron Maiden AlbumsPlease add the albums missing and vote a lot. Thanks.
The Top Ten
Songs like Aces high and 2 Minutes to Midnight just prove that you can have 2 legendary tracks on one album and still not be done with a great track, the rest of it is still top notch like the Rime of the Ancient mariner, I just love it so much
One of the albums where all songs are of equal high quality. Amazing vocal performances in Aces High, Flash of the Blade and Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and then there's of course the incredible guitar play throughout the album.
Best Maiden album ever. I just love it. It has Metal hymns like Aces High and 2 Minutes to Midnight, and also very heavy songs like Flash of the Blade, Powerslave and Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It's clearly Maiden's heaviest album ever, and I thing they did it just perfectly.
Number of the Beast is waaay overrated. That title track is mediocre and songs like invaders and gang land are on par with holy smoke, quest for fire or angel and gambler.
1. Powerslave
2. Seventh Son
3. Somewhere in Time
4. Book of Souls
5. Brave New World
6. Piece of Mind
7. X Factor
8. Number of the Beast
9. Final Frontier
10. Killers
1. Invaders 10/10
2. Children of the Damned 10/10
3. The Prisoner 9/10
4.22 Acacia Avenue 10/10
5. The Number of the Beast 11/10
6. Run To the Hills 11/10
7. Gangland 7/10
8. Hallowed be thy Name 12/10 - RedHotChiliPeppers7
Total Eclipse is only on the remastered release, not the actual album, so no there are not 9 songs - dubsinthetubs
The definitive Iron Maiden Album. I would actually say that Power slave is better to listen to but tracks "Number of the Beast" and "Run to the hills" are all time classics and were so important for metal and Maiden at the time. "Hallowed be thy Name" is an absolutely fantastic track also. If you want to get into Iron Maiden, get this and Power slave and you will be hooked. Guaranteed.
One of the best albums through out history, and ofc Iron Maidens best album, with one of the worlds greatest songs ever, Hallowed Be Thy Name.
Invaders 10/10
Children Of the Damned 9/10
The Prisoner 9/10
22 Accia Avenue 8/10
Gangland 7/10
One of Metals Best albums. Every song is original and very well played.
1) Moonchild 10/10
2) Infinite Dreams 10/10
3) Can I Play With Madness 10/10
4) The Evil That Men Do 100/10
5) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 10/10
6) The Prophecy 8/10
7) The Clairvoyant 10/10
8) Only The Good Die Young 10/10
Just a superb Album from a Superb Band Up the Irons from the UK
Best album from Iron Maiden PERIOD!
1#Monnchild(best opening song from any maiden album 10/10)
2#Infinite Dreams(so beautiful and melodic song 10/10
3#Can I Play With Madness(very good and catchy song 10/10
4#The Evil That Men Do(awesome SONG 10/10)
5#Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son( IT'S THE BEST IRON MAIDEN SONG!
6#Prophecy(Very underrated song 10/10)
7#The Clairvoyant(awesome bass intro and the whole song is just pure ORGASM! 10/10)
8#Only The Good Die Young(Perfect way to end a perfect album 10/10)
A masterpiece concept album. Has to be their best in my opinion. Moonchild has a fantastic opening which goes into an action packed brilliant song. Infinite Dreams is so flawless and beautiful. Can I Play With madness is so cool and so catchy. The Evil That Men Do is just so amazing. Seventh Son of A Seventh Son is an unbelivable masterpiece. The Prophecy is ok, but it lacks the quality as the rest of the songs. The Clairvoyant is just so brillaint. One of my favourite short iron maiden songs ever. Then the awesome album ends with the fantastic Only The Good Die Young! That track has this rhythm that is unforgettable. SO AMAZING! THEIR BEST ALBUM EVER!
From the acoustics that introduce the album with the song 'Moonchild', to the epic and brilliant 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son' and the classic 'The Evil That Men Do' make this album a classic, but the fun doesn't stop anywhere on this album, every song is fantastic, Maidens best by farV 82 Comments
From the moment I heard this album I fell in love with it! From the awesome drum intro of Where Eagles Dare (what a fantastic baptism of fire for Nicko! ) Right through to the last strains of To Tame A Land it's a masterpiece throughout! I also have to add that this is my favourite production of any Maiden album! The levels are perfect, everything can be heard clearly and the guitars just chime throughout! Also this album contains my favourite Maiden song EVER in Revelations!
Definitely should trade places with 'The Final Frontier' on here.
This album should be the top of the all Iron Maiden, because it has a longer amount of songs due to their singing and backgroung vocals. But there are 7-8 awesome and amazing tunes of their music and hardwork they done for the songs they can play and even more... But also Maiden's awesomest song of that album was The Trooper, because it was more rare and had a good sound, but it was related to Hallowed Be Thy Name, which did turn out to a great success due to everything they put into their music.
Classic. Every song is good. 80s metalV 38 Comments
This is Adrian's album. Every solo, every song is amazing. Maiden experimented with synth guitars, and they succeed.
Bruce's lyrics are absolutely great specially on the closing track Alexander The Great. This album also has the more-mainstream track ever "Wasted Years" which happens to be my favourite. This is definitely Maiden moving forward from the early 80's straight forward rocker anthems onto something more progresive. 1 step closer to the magnum opus 7th Son of a 7th Son.
1. Caught Somewhere In Time 10/10
2. Wasted Years 10/10
3. Sea Of Madness 8/10
4. Heaven Can Wait 10/10
5. The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner 7/10
6. Stranger In A Strange Land 9/10
7. Deja-Vu 10/10
8. Alexander The Great 11/10
From start to finish great! In aesthetic way sounds like concept album! Very unique for Iron Maiden history!
Underrated but to me the best ever!V 59 Comments
Amazing album from start to finish. Wicker man is the best opening track on any Maiden offering other then maybe Aces High. Additionally, this CD is full of some of Iron Maiden's greatest songs of all time including Ghost of the Navigator (my personal favorite), Brave New World and Blood Brothers. There is not a weak track on the whole CD.
From beginning to end a fantastic album. One of those albums where you never need to hit the "track forward" button. Dickinson's voice on "Brave New World" alone is worth the album cost
Brave new world (the song) is better than all of these albums apart from the number of the beast which has my all time favorite iron maiden song run to the hills which is about the white men coming to wipe out the Indians but also the picture of brave new world is astonishing people would love to hear brave new world.
The chorus is "our brave new world... In a brave new world.
Complex, dramatic, comes with transformation and reborning of Iron Maiden. If you don't listen only metal, but another kind of music, you can love this.
When comes storm, you must listen Thin Lines Between Love and Hate.
The Di'anno era was amazing, and this album is a perfect example of such. It has great songs such as Prowler, Charlotte the Harlot, and also, the most popular song on this album, Phantom of the Opera. It also contains Transylvania, a wonderful instrumental. Oh, and not to forget the band's signiture song: Iron Maiden. Overall, an outstanding album.
I mean: Charlotte the harlot, Prowler, Running free, Remember tomorrow, Iron maiden, Phantom of the opera...
I love this great album... Should be no.1!
paul dianno is a very good singer and especially in the song: iron maiden. It is for me one of the best songs from iron maiden. But I also all the other songs but this is for me the best album from iron maiden. UP THE IRONS! :D:D:D:
My top five Iron Maiden albums:
5.Piece Of Mind
4.Fear Of The Dark
2.Iron Maiden
Killers is a real classic. Songs like wrathchild, Murders in the Rue Morgue are very good songs
I know I'm in a minority here but I always preferred Dianno as the vocalist. Killers is a classic.
Easily the most underrated album. I prefer PD's voice over Dickinson but you can tell he had reached the ceiling. Song for song, no album can match this one. And looking at the heavy hitters = Killers, Wrathchild, Murders...and my personal favorite, Drifter - they match the top 4 of any other album. I must say that just after 1 listen thru The Book Of Souls there is a strong possibility that this album gets bumped to #2 for me. - KidsHaveNoRock
When I was young my dad used to have this cd in his car. And we listened to it every time we were going somewhere. This was what introdused me to Iron Maiden, and heavy metal all together. The memories...V 26 Comments
Flawless. More diverse and more consistent than their "classic" albums (which I love to bits mind you) there are so many different soundscapes, from the dark and brooding (mother of mercy, end part of When the wild wind blows) to the exotic (Isle of Avalon, Middle section of The man who would be king) and space (title track and Starblind) but it doesn't feel unfocussed either.
Just wonderfull. It has some of the most original maiden songs, a strange mix of prog metal with classic heavy metal and a touch of psychodelic rock. A song that specially caught my attention was the magnific Isle of Avlon, wich for me is the most progressive and creative maiden song ever.
A great Album an a worthy heir in the "classic" IM-Line Number of the Beast and Powerslave. Features great songs as "The Alchemist", "the Talisman" and one of my favorite songs of all time: "Coming Home". The title track is solid work, although half of the song consists of something that sounds like a jamsession.
All in all, a very typical Iron Maiden Album.
The best of allV 19 Comments
Just heck yes! It will be very difficult for Iron Maiden to top this album. Almost every (all but like 2) songs on this album are 5 star songs in my opinion. The Legacy, For the Greater Good of God and The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg are just so wonderful!
Underrated, deserves to be higher up. Several songs here are 5 star quality. These Colours Don't Run, Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, Out of the Shadows and The Longest Day are in my opinion, some of their best material. Brilliant from start to finish, and those who have never heard it seriously need to check it out. You will not be disappointed. UP THE IRONS!
I love this album just for the sheer consistant quality of the tracks. I love all of them, and I think bruce's vocals are just amazing in this album. I prefer Maiden's newer material over there old stuff just because I believe they are more serious and have better lyrics.
Great music and also awesome lyrical content - SoldierOfFortuneV 35 Comments
The Contenders
The book of Souls has to be voted by many people next month is released, because is maybe not the best, but one of the best Iron Maiden albums of all time, deserves to be in the top 5 at least, amazing album, If Eternity Should Fail, best opener since Moonchild, The Great Unknown is amazing!, the Red and the Black one of the best epics since Bruce and Adrian returned, same with The Book of Souls, one of the most incredible songs Janick and Harris have written, Death and Glory a good quick song with powerful singing, Shadow of the valley is also amazing, Tears of a Clown, a really good tribute to Robbin Williams, I love the solos of that song, The Man of Sorrows is one of the best contribution of Dave Murray to the band, really different but a lot of amazing melodies combined together, and of course, one of the best epics... If not the best Iron Maiden epic, Empire of The Clouds written by Bruce, oooh man, what an incredible journey is that 18 minutes song, the melodies of the piano ...more
I have listened to many an Iron Maiden album, and like any album by any band, there are songs on each that I don't care for (ironically, most of them tend to be the title track). In fact, most Iron Maiden albums net me three, maybe four songs that I listen to again and again. I love 'em, but they're not perfect.
That being said, Book of Souls is the closest thing to perfect they've ever made. EVERY song I enjoy to some degree. EVERY track has a reason to be here. While The Book of Souls may not necessarily contain the BEST songs Iron Maiden has written, it contains no bad ones. Even the big ones like Number of the Beast or Somewhere in Time have at least one track that I can't stand to listen to. The only complaint I can bring against Book of Souls is that some of the songs go on a bit too long. Yes, my one and only gripe is that Book of Souls contains TOO MUCH Iron Maiden.
Iron Maiden returns after 5 years with an incredible 92 minutes masterpiece. They push their progressive elements even further and after over 30 years of making heavy metal music they are still able to make interesting and great compositions. In my opinion it's definitely the album of the year. Personal favorites are "The Book Of Souls", "The Man Of Sorrows" and of course "Empire Of The Clouds. You can't miss out on this album. It doesn't matter if you're an Iron Maiden fan or just fan of heavy metal music. You have to get this album.
This was the greatest album ever created because it features the song death or gloryV 58 Comments
Should be way higher than this. Fear of the dark's guitar solos are absolutely epic, one of their best songs. Anyway, I can not argue with some albums higher, but 12 is just too low.
Definitely one of my favorite Iron Maiden albums. I think it deserves a higher place on this list for it's brilliant vocals, song structures and guitar riffs. My personal favorites off of this album are Be Quick Or Be Dead, From Here To Eternity, Afraid To Shoot Strangers, Childhood's End and Fear Of The Dark.
This is an incredible album, not THE best but it definitely has to be in top 5. In my opinion the best Maiden song - Fear Of The Dark - is on this one. Also - great cover, Eddie's scarier than ever. Although boogeyman checks his closet for Chuck Norris, Norris ckecks under his bed... For EDDIE - Moonchild
I have to vote for fear of the dark. I think this is very good album overall but way too underrated. This album contains so many good songs like fear of the dark, afraid to shoot strangers, be quick or be dead and so on. If you haven't listened this album or just once or twice, you should definitely get to know this album better it deserves it.V 28 Comments
This has to be in the top 5 and would live to hear this album live, Epic!
Amazing lyrics, melodies, solos structure.
The only album that ends with an acoustic song! Journey man has got to be like the best acoustic song iv ever heard.
I think that Iron Maiden has been at its best since Bruce and Smith came back in 1999. Their albums recorded during the first decade of the century have just been epic and at another level. All Brave New World, Dance of Death, A Matter of Life and Death and Final Frontier are Maiden playing luxury heavy metal. Dance of Death is perhaps my favorite, but AMOLAD and Final Frontier are equally as good. All epic songs that take you places. I love ALL Maiden albums, but in my opinion Seventh Son of A Seventh Son is the only album that can compare to their latest 3 albums.
Best by farV 47 Comments
Veru Good Album
The Music In This Album... I Think It's Very Strangier Than The Other Albums
In My Opinion It's The Darkest Album Of Their Discography
Songs Like ''Lord Of Files''Man On The Edge''Judgement Of Heaven''Fortunes Of War''Blood On The Worlds Hands''The Edge Of Darkness''
Awesome album. This is Iron Maiden making exceptional elite music. It surely sounds darker and different than most Maiden albums, but this band's sound is unmistakable and you still recognise the unique Maiden playing. Of course Blaze is a different kind of singer than Bruce, but he does an excellent job here. The album's darker music and production go great with his voice.
Choosing a best Maiden album is too hard for me. In my opinion, this is their best album of the 1990s (yes, even better than Brave New World), and one of their all time best. From the 1980s, their best work is without a doubt Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Picking their best album from the 2000s is harder, as they are all among their best of all time. It's a close pick between AMOLAD and Final Frontier, although Dance of Death is also spectacular. Incredibly, Iron Maiden have overall been more prolific, sound tighter and write better music in the 2000s than any other time in the band's long history.
It's ridiculous that the x factor is this low. Steve Harris himself stated that this, along with SSOASS and Piece of mind are his favourite albums. Out of 11 songs there are only 2 of them that don't make you feel chills. Come On! Sing of the cross! Fortunes of war! Lord of the flies! Look for the truth! Judgement of heaven! The edge of darkness! This is heavy metal! Please vote for this epic, dark album
This album has very good music in it I like specially 2 am it talks about the hard life that sometimes we can haveV 23 Comments
Perfect Live album... Showing the awesome prowess of the band live... Everybody should own this album, it is a metal pre-requisite!... From the spine chilling churchill's speech to the final curtain call
One of metal's greatest live CDs. From the album artwork, to Churchills speech, Rime of the ancient mariner, all just amazing. Iron maiden rule live, and this album captures that amazing raw energy. One of those bands that have some songs sound better live.
I understand why it doesn't get the same attention as the studio albums (at least these days), but this captures the band at its absolute peak with many of the best songs from my favourite period.
Represent the live show in your roomV 6 Comments
Definitely not their best, but FAR from their worst. This is really good. Don't stop yourself from checking this out, just because all the hardcore fans hate this. Listen to Futureal and The Clansman, and you'll see what I'm talking about
As much as I love most Iron Maiden albums, this one takes the prize. While it can be repetitive, it's also very rewarding to listen too; the repetition also can establish a good groove/vibe, such as with 'The Angel and the Gambler'. Blaze's performance is excellent as usual, Steve's bass clicks it's way along the record with straight-up rocking bass lines, and the guitar duo delivers memorable riffs yet again. Oh, and did I mention Nicko's simplistic (not overdone) but always great drumming? Fantastic album. It definitely grows on you and has stood the test of time.
Lastly, don't like Blaze? Check out his solo versions of 'Futureal', 'Sign of the Cross', etc. - Blaze's voice is doing better and he can just go all out, and it sounds awesome.
Awesome album, I love all the songs, all of them are gold in my eyes! When this album first came out, I listened to it day and night! Best songs: Futureal, Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger, The Educated Fool, Como Estais Amigos.
1: Futureal 10/10
2: The Angel and the Gambler 8/10
3: Lightning Strikes Twice 9/10
4: The Clansman 10/10
5: When Two Worlds Collide 7/10
6: The Educated Fool 10/10
7: Don't Look to the Eyes of a St. 11/10
8: Como Estais Amigos 10/10
Definitely not my favorite, but it FAR from sucks. It has some amazing songs like Futureal and Don't look to the eyes of a St.V 13 Comments
The best live album that they have done, in my opinion
Recommended Lists
Related ListsBest Iron Maiden Live Albums Best Albums Between Metallica and Iron Maiden Top Ten Iron Maiden Albums With Bruce Dickinson Most Underrated Iron Maiden Albums Best Albums Between Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio, and Black Sabbath
List StatsUpdated 21 Sep 2017
29 listings
8 years, 126 days old
Top Remixes (109)
2. Fear of the Dark
3. Powerslave
2. Somewhere in Time
3. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
2. Powerslave
3. Piece of Mind
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I don't know about you, but I for one am sick to my stomach of having to repeat the same facts and statistics over and over again. For years, decades even, we have beaten the drum and recited the same litany. Any man willing to sit calmly and listen to the facts, to history, will understand that civilian disarmament has always led to the abuse of the populace, whether by vicious criminals or an authoritarian government . . .
Additionally, Dr. John Lott did yeoman's work when he researched and compiled the material for "More Guns, Less Crime" his extensive report on gun ownership and specifically concealed carry. It should be old news to this audience that Dr. Lott found the instances of violent crime against citizens dramatically dropped in areas where concealed carry was lawful and prevalent. Subsequently, in restrictive areas, such as Chicago (Cook County IL) and Washington D.C., where citizen gun ownership was the most restricted and nearly non-existent, violent crime; rape, robbery, and murder were rampant.
We have the demonstrable failures of the British and Australian gun bans. The citizens of both nations now lay exposed and vulnerable to all manner of criminal villainy, including the terrorism of home invasion, which is epidemic in Great Britain.
Those Who Should Know Better
This article is not being penned for the benefit of Sarah Brady, Herr Bloomberg, or any of the useful idiots and naked hypocrites in Hollywood. This text is for the supposed choir, those who should know better but seem not to.
During the last big offensive on civil liberty involving firearms, the 1994 (it was a) Crime Bill, we lost, not because the opposition had a more convincing argument, but because of the "reasonable" and the compromisers on our side. Self-appointed traditionalists, sportsmen, and hunters saw the gun ban as someone else's problem. They looked at it and reasoned that they could still enjoy their favored recreation or play their game of choice.
It has been better than fifteen years, but I can still remember standing in my favorite gun shop when one of the regulars pointed to a black rifle and said, "Well, I can see banning certain kinds of guns." Out of respect for the owner of the shop I secured my mouth and simply left feeling disgusted. Somehow I doubt I would have that level of self-control today.
More recently I had a skeet shooter attempt to explain the reason the local outdoor range specifically forbid concealed carry on the club property. During the discourse he said to me "Have you seen those concealed carry people? They scare me." All the while he was balancing the muzzle of his shotgun on his foot. I didn't exercise the previous restraint and congratulated him for saying the stupidest thing I had heard all week.
Should you count yourself among the reasonable hunters, traditionalists, or sportsmen today and believe you will be spared any inconvenience from the upcoming assault on civil liberty you are willfully naïve. If you think it's alright for the government to confiscate your neighbor's AR-15 as long as you get to keep your Remington 700 you are a selfish and vile creature and I have no respect for you.
Games are not Liberty
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Second Amendment enumerated in the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution has nothing to do with hunting, collecting, or playing shooting games. Games are not a substitute for liberty. In the vaunted European nations who still claim that their citizens can "own guns," the only guns they can claim ownership to are those suitable for play, not for fighting. Their governments have also seen to it that playing with firearms is a rich man's game. Licenses, fees, club memberships, storage costs, and various taxes have taken even play guns out of the hands of the common man.
For all of you weekend trap shooters, annual deer hunters and seasonal competitive marksmen, you had better think twice before throwing your concealed carry neighbor under the bus. Adopting the "civilized" European model may very well price your favorite hobby far out of reach. Do you think ammunition is expensive now? Wait until the Federal Government institutes their new form of taxation on it.
Do you appreciate the wide variety of firearms, ammunition, and accessories from which you have to choose? Kiss those days goodbye. Without the profit incentive to offer a large number of products, most manufacturers will be forced to either fold up completely or cut back on their manufacturing numbers.
The vast majority of accessory makers in the firearms industry are legitimately small business owners. The draconian taxation that is being put in motion will financially crush the vast majority of them. Those who manage to stay in business will only do so by dramatically raising their prices. Imported firearms accessories will be banned outright or taxed to extinction. The days of the $200 riflescope or the $50 set of binoculars will be long gone. Bargain prices on imported ammunition? Nope, that will be gone as well.
Hurt Feelings?
If this short bit of text hurts your feeling or strikes a nerve, tough. It's time to either man up and grow a pair or just admit you are not really a son of liberty but a comfortable slave seeking permission from the king to play your favorite game. And, to the moderate man, who feels that I may have erred for calling out the recreant, it is exactly that moderation and compromise that has brought us to the precarious position we are in right now.
I am reminded of the immortal words of Dalton in the venerate tale of the Roadhouse. "I want you to be nice until it's time not to be nice." Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come not to be nice.
Paul Markel © 2013
About the Author
Paul Markel has been a firearms industry writer for twenty years and is the author of the new book "Student of the Gun; A beginner once, a student for life." Paul hosts and produces "Student of the Gun" a show dedicated to education, experience, and enjoyment of firearms. Episodes of SOTG can be viewed by simply going to www.studentofthegun.com and clicking the "play" icon.
92 Responses to A Memo to Those Who Should Know Better
To those hunters and target shooters who feel that "High-Powered Assault Weapons with High Capacity Magazines" should, indeed be limited or banned all together:
You know, of course, that next on the list is your "Sniper Rifle"……
Of course…. Because what do you need a scope for. If you can't hit a deer without a scope then you're just a bad shot and the deer deserved to get away. Scopes are accessories designed for snipers on a foreign battlefield or for "terrorists." there is no reason any civilian needs to shoot at something that far away!! (And on and on it will go)
Common sense tells me that only dangerous psychopaths lurk around in the woods to murder Bambi and her mother.
That comment was deep man. I had never thought about it til now and I think your absolutely right. What kind of psycho would want to hunt something absolutely delicious like a deer? Are you a vegan? Yeah I bet you're a vegan.
And pretty soon shotguns will be limited to 3 shells or something like that.
Let's not forget the Remington 870 "street sweeper" or the s&w 686 "magnum cop killer".
Just imagine:
"These military style SNIPER rifles shoot a bullet THREE times bigger than an M-16's, and have TWICE the range. If you need to shoot from such a distance, I'd have to say you're a pretty bad hunter."
I have been saying this for nearly 30 years and it deems I will soon be proved right because BA's are being targeted as well by our Overlord, almost as if he, or his Master had planned this all along
Who needs a bolt action anyway? If you can't hit a deer on your first shot, you're a pretty bad hunter.
*several more bans later*
"If you have to use a recurve bow to hit a deer instead of walking up to it and stabbing it in the heart, you're a pretty bad hunter"
Don't be silly. Knives will be banned by then. You'll have to choke the deer to death.
True! True! True! Amen brother.
The NRA caved in 1968, 1986 and 1994. Since Bush I tore up his NRA membership in defense of the JBT's they have been a compromised organization.
If you expect the NRA to save your guns from Obama, think again.
Name a single more effective gun rights organization than the NRA.
Just. One.
This. I also find it absurd that with the millions (billions?) of dollars the NRA gets every year that they can't pay for commercials with actual numbers or victims talking about how they or their children would be dead if they hadn't used a gun to defend themselves.
~4m members * $35/year = NRA yearly income is probably around ~$140m annually. Give or take, there are some ways to get discounts.
It's kind of surprising that they're that small, really. Bloomers and several other notable grabbers are billionaires, and could easily finance a comparable organization. Or just buy gun manufacturers and shut them down.
You guys are joking, right? Terrific organizations, but not one-tenth the juice of the NRA. I said "effective", not "ideologically pleasing."
Schizuki, you are correct, there is no other gun rights organization more effective at compromising our rights away than the NRA.
If the NRA sucks so bad, why do the gungrabbers hate them so much?
Stop with the anti-NRA diatribe. You're dancing to Bloomberg's tune, fools.
Ralph, I didn't say the NRA didn't have power. Gungrabbers hate them for not only their power, but also for they're perceived power. No matter what the group does, they still have 4 million members and that is huge. I was going to say that the NRA is good as education goes but the NRA-ILA is far to willing to cave to the left or just cave if they aren't affected by the legislation. I then realized if the NRA were a good group, they would be out there using the hard earned money they get from their members to run ads explaining the facts of firearms. Instead, they set back while Bloomberg, Schumer and all the other anti-gun people spread falsehoods about firearms. The NRA caved in 1934, 1968, 1986 and many more places. They were willing to let the First Amendment be infringed after they received a special wavier from the legislation.
I do not dance to Bloomberg's tune nor will I dance to the NRA's tune. I will defend the Constituiton as is the duty of every American.
Whatever you think of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, the non-legislative part of the NRA is the only reason we're still armed. No other pro-gun organization fielded tens of thousands of instructors and taught millions of people how to shoot.
And that's where all the pro-gun voters came from.
So join back up. Support other organizations for legislation if you must, but get involved in activities like Friends of NRA, because it's the non-legislative grants and funding that will provide the next generation of gun-rights voters.
Well said
"It's time to either man up and grow a pair or just admit you are not really a son of liberty but a comfortable slave seeking permission from the king to play your favorite game. "
Many pretend to be defenders of liberty. It's easy to find out if they speak the truth. Tell them it's time to remove two of the largest parts of the federal government, Social Security and medicare. It will then become obvious if they are defenders of liberty of protectors of Tyranny. They will most likely whine and cry. Many will give up their arms before they give up their government check.
This. As a child I always heard my parents railing against government spending, unions, etc. Once I got older I realized that they were full of crap and that they wanted their government checks and were happy to trade freedom for it. I lost respect for anything they have to say politically after our state passed a law limiting the power of government unions – then, despite years of saying union workers are overpaid and how it hurts taxpayers, all of the sudden unions were wonderful when it was my mom's overpaid salary that was in jeopardy.
"Tell them it's time to remove two of the largest parts of the federal government, Social Security and medicare."
I don't support the eternal global-police war-making policy of the USG. It is the behavior of an imperialistic empire and not that of a morally clean democratic-republic. The US military budget is huge and year after year it pushes America into ever deeper real debt. Eisenhower was right about warning America to beware the military-industrial complex.
National defense is only 19% of the Federal budget. Entitlement programs are 62%. Also, national defense is an Constitutional authority of the government, entitlement programs are not. That said, I agree there is a lot of waste in the military industrial complex.
Our current foreign policy would be better categorized as a national offense.
I've read that the US military budget is more like 50% plus of the federal budget. Based on what I've read, the politicians play games with the reporting of the numbers to put military costs such as those of Afghanistan and Iraq under other budget categories. Allegedly, the CIA's drone program for the Middle-East and South Asia is about $60 billion. The Founders were against having a large standing army because of the financial cost and threat to liberty. I think the Founders offered some good advice.
National defense is only 19%
The anti-2A Standing-Army is the biggest Welfare Tit-sucking noise in Washington.
Total Outlays (Federal Funds): $2,650 billion
MILITARY: 54% and $1,449 billion
NON-MILITARY: 46% and $1,210 billion
Ivy, I read a .org site that said that 9/11 was perpetrated by the Gov and the people in the planes were taken off before the crash and stored somewhere? I won't take the war resisters dodments at face value but I will study them. I got my information from my Rep who is a Dem. I don't take it at face value either but I would expect a Dem to pump up the Defense side and deflate the entitlement side.
No, it's not just because there is a lot of waste, it's because there is a lot of expense. What most people don't know, is how our MIC creates, develops, and tests the new weapons that keep us safe. In our defense industry, for purposes of secrecy and security, the word is always, compartmentalization. This costs lots of money to do. End of story. Secrecy and security are the reason our defense costs are what they are. Waste is throwing money at bad things that don't work. Expense is throwing money at good things that absolutely, positively have to work.
Azimuth, I work for a government contractor. We have so much waste, it isn't even hidden. When I contact the OIG, they don't even care. When visiting DOD sites, the waste is just as obvious. There is no oversight so waste is easy. You can believe what you want but I have seen it.
Aharon, I paid into Social Security for over 40 years. To get all of my money back, I'd have to live to 183. Had I been allowed to invest my FICA withholding in stocks or precious metals, I'd have an extra $10 million or so laying around.
Social security was and is a ponzi scheme, but the G ran it, I was forced into it and now the G has to pay up. I want my f^cking money back.
Ralph, you might have paid into SS for over 40 years. I have paid into it for 37 years. We both did nothing when the Congress stole the money from SS and replaced it with IOUs. We didn't get to invest our FICA witholding in stocks or precious metals because we were too cowardly to stop the Tyranny back then. We should not saddle future generations with more debt because we were cowards!
I've collected SS for 2 fuc.ing months & he wan'ts it to stop? Like you, I paid into it & want my money back, Randy
It's going to stop. We don't have the money to sustain it. We can't steal enough from the "rich" to pay for it. I realize we've all been forced to pay into it for decades. However, all that pay FICA have been paying less into it for the last several years. The FICA rate was not extended in the "fiscal cliff" deal so it is back up to 6.2% from 4.2%. I didn't hear anybody complaining about the extra money in their paychecks but I do hear people complaing that it is going back up.
Ralph, even if you paid in the maximum amount of SS taxes for 40 years and had that amount invested at 12% per year (average yield of the stock market the past century) compounding during that time, you would only have $1.4 million, which is only slightly higher than the present value of the maximum social security benefits with COLA increased in perpetuity, which is $1.25 million. And that's based on the maximum taxes, which are paid by about 5% of people. Yes, people are getting screwed, namely me at 25 having to pay for your ass in retirement. You were not.
Nathan, I paid my dues and now I want my f^cking money back. I don't want your money. I want mine.
I don't blame you. When I retire, if I ever can with the future value of our currency continuing to drop, SS probably will be no longer paying since the foreign lenders will have stopped buying US bonds.
Ralph, once you give your money to the gov, it's no longer your effing money. Your money was spent long ago, along with mine. If you want it back, your going to get it on the backs of your children and your grandchildren as well as Nathan and many others. I refuse to burden future generations with debt that I was to lazy to stop.
The desire to get your money back is how they keep you people invested in the con. Until that changes, the program won't. My business pays $1200 a month to local schools my kids will never attend, and I'll never see that money, or anything I'm paying into SS now. The voters should have never let the government 'invest' their money for them. Crashing and burning is the only way it will end now, and it will.
Yep, exactly.
I expect to get nothing from SS/Medicare. I expect it to be means-tested before I reach the age where I could collect, so I've planned my life accordingly.
In interest of disclosure, I pitched a deal to Harry Reid in 2001 (in person, while he was on a sagebrush jaunt of scaring all the seniors in NV about those rascally Republicans) that I would officially foreswear collecting one dime of anything I'd put into FICA taxes… if I would never have to pay into the system ever again.
Harry looked like a deer in the headlights of a Peterbilt, gave the standard pat DNC speech about the viability of SS and left town in three minutes. Never came back to that small town, either, because all the seniors in town were grinning like fiends at my proposal. Harry realized he'd lost the argument.
DG, do you live in NV?
Good job. I would take that deal in a second.
This is why we must frame the "debate" as a zero-sum game. Either we have the right to keep and bear arms, or we do not. There can be no compromise, no ground given in the hopes of appearing "reasonable." We must make our case clear: We have already been saddled with compromises, and will stand for no more.
Every new law infringing on our protected rights is an insult to the men and women who have died defending them. This is not the America that was envisioned by the framers of the Constitution, and we must present a united front in this matter. Mr. Markel is exactly right on this.
I concur, well said, sir.
NickS, you nailed it.
My only point of disagreement is this: You erred in how you spelled "all right."
To add to the thought in the article, remember that one kind of standard hunting rifle is a centerfire bolt action. Those are still used by the military and law enforcement, and they were the G.I. weapon for a long time. When the control freaks talk about "military-style weapons," they mean anything that shoots.
Colt LE6920. Arsenal SGL-21. Mosin-Nagant M44.
Which one of these models has been issued to a military?
Amen! I do fear that this past election told us something about the trend in this nation that we all suspected; an ever growing majority of this population have now decided that the Founding Fathers, while quaint old men, were probably foolish and their wrtings, superfluous in the 21st century. I also am convnced that the past 40 years of government "guided" education has insured that our history will remain buried in the vault of complacency and the newly drug addled minds of the apathetic.
I write to bring some understanding of our unenlightened and tragic vision of our present enemies in far away lands and the affect it is having on our war fighters. What I have learned is that the general population and those they have elected to represent them, largely don't know, don't want to know and frankly, do not care. As this pertains to the gun control argument, there is an equal amount of ignorance about our history and the actual intent of the 2nd Amendment. Our fat, happy and stupid segment of the population have ost the ability for critical thought and rely on emotional response and the actions of those they have sent to DC. Unfortunately even the "good guys" down there would rather not be "troubled" with facts, history or doctrine. Instead, they seek the path of least resistance which they assume is paved with future votes, for the next pass in Congress.
I do not believe this can be turned around and certainly not during this current adminstration's tenure or most likely, the following 2 terms which will almost certainly be manned (maybe by a woman), of like mind.
There is a Bible warning that is appropriate about now: "Gird your loins…"
"newly drug addled minds"
Was that necessary? I know several successful, intelligent people who use recreational drugs. I also now many unintelligent, apathetic people who have not used a recreational drug in their lives other than caffeine. Did you have coffee today? You do realize caffeine is a drug don't you? I also know people who regularly take opioid pain killers for medical conditions. But for these drugs, these people could not function or hold down a job. Like guns, many who talk about drugs have no idea of what they speak.
Bill Maher is recreational drug user, and for his mouth there springs forth some of the most idiotic comments I have ever heard. Certainly some folks can use drugs and still be productive, but the "drug addled kids" concept is not without merit.
I must assume that by "drug addled kids," you are talking about psychotorpic drugs like prozac? I will agree that many kids are put on these drugs without thougt to consequences. As a parent, it is far easier to drug them than deal with them. How could a parent spend all day on facebook or at the bar if their children have issues? However, we can't escape the fact that many of the children that have done horrible things while on these drugs had problems that caused them to be on the drugs. Again, I'm not in favor of drugging people for the purpose of control but I also won't call people "drug addled" just because they don't agree with me.
Then both concepts have merit and should cancel themselves out of the discussion…move on, shall we?
Sure Billy, we'll only talk about what you want us to talk about. What is that sir?
Maybe we need to create just such a false flag now. I'm not savvy enough to get it started but it sure sounds like a good Alinsky'ish tactic to get the low speed high drag crowd involved.
Well written and true. Thank you!!
Anyone so simple or complacent as to doubt Mr. Markel needs to watch"Innocents Betrayed" by Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. Registration is ALWAYS the prelude to confiscation; genocide soon follows. Just because I don't own your type of(or any) gun, or I don't play your particular game, does not mean I'm not obligated to defend it!
ALL gunowners must hear and believe Ben Franklin's admonition to the founders after they signed the Declaration of Independence:"Now, gentlemen, we must now all hang together,or we will surely hang separately."
Excellent script.
Ugg, I just realized that Shrillary could be described as surviving a mortal head wound, as well as that AZ lady who was shot in de heed and is now a rabid anti-gunner
Excellent write up! Bravo!
Between this and Nick's piece earlier, some great stuff today.
Here here! Good piece of writing Paul. Now how do we get it to the right people (non-gunnies and pols)?
I'm of the opinion that its past time for gun rights associations to purchase bilboard space in every city and have ads on every station. The anti's do it. We need to also.
"If you think it's alright for the government to confiscate your neighbor's AR-15 as long as you get to keep your Remington 700 you are a selfish and vile creature and I have no respect for you."
Paul, thanks I enjoyed reading your post. Yesterday, I sent a form letter provided by OFF (Oregon Firearm Federation) to all of the states representatives and senators. All that replied to me strongly stated they support the 2A and will not vote for new more controlling laws. Unfortunately, less than 10% have replied so far.
Oregon Rep John Huffman sent me this reply:
"(I)… believe every Oregon school has employees who are ex-police and ex-military that already have some training and would volunteer for regular/continued training to be a school protector. Or, possibly retired police officers that would like to do some volunteer work or work part time for a small amount of money to patrol a school. We believe these are possible options for consideration. Additionally, we realize that we need to consider other factors like mental health, and access to weapons by mentally unstable people.
I recently talked to the chief law enforcement officer in one community that is developing a plan with business people and employees within a two block area of the local school to be trained and act as school protectors. We can figure out how to keep our kids safer at school, and do it safely and cost effectively without banning guns and stripping law abiding citizens of their Constitutional rights."
I think people, when talking about the 2a, need to also remember the "forgotten" 9th amendment that guarantees the rights to the people that are not expressly written in 1a-8a . If you have the right to bear arms in the 2a, the 9a should also guarantee the right to bear whatever kind of d@#n arm you feel. It's crazy when the liberal gun grabbers say the founding fathers didn't have today's kind of weaponry in mind. You mean to tell me some of the smartest men during the enlightenment (some prominent & great inventors) wanted to limit the people to technology of the time. They didn't include technical details like "right to bear muskets" to account for innovations. They wanted the people to have greater/equal power to the gov't/ standing military and tried to additionally protect the people with the 9th. If the gun grabbers don't believe the 2a gives certain rights, the 9th should remind them the people are to be left alone and have as much liberty as possible.
Whether it is one category of guns or one category of people, I have learned my lessons from studying the history of gun registration-confiscation-mass murder. Government 'servants' should never become all powerful and have a monopoly of life and death over its fellow citizens.
You know who's as contemptible as the Fudds? Gun owners who don't vote, and who don't write their their Congressmen. Neither costs a dime and both are easy. Thomas Paine would shudder at how cheap we hold our rights. "Sunshine patriots" is too nice a term for these useless oxygen thieves.
Wait, I'm an oxygen thief because I won't use the guns of government to force my views on others? You realize the voting is just tyranny of the majority, right?
If we are in the majority, then I'm fine with it. If we're not in the majority, that's why we have guns.
It is when the party or issue you happen to disfavor wins. I'm just kidding; actually voting itself is sometimes tyrannical.
If democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner, then stupidity is two wolves and three sheep voting on what's for dinner and two sheep abstain. Jesus God, get serious.
A well written article, like all on this site.
And I greatly enjoyed Student of the Gun, I wish Sportsman still played it.
Nine: Watch the show every week at http://www.studentofthegun.com No Cable, No Dish needed.
I live in a county in Eastern PA that is like 55 to 45% in favor of conservative which isn't a huge majority. My local school district just had a meeting dicussing new security features they could get in the budget for the district and are actually going to look into training some faculty in firearm/CCW use because the school board president realzies all the cameras and plexiglass in the world won't stop someone determined to get into a school with a weapon.
Kudos to him on that, even though we home school our kids due to various issues with the district and medical issues with our kids, at least they are on the right track with the security of the kids.
WTF does "in favor of conservative" mean? Words have meanings and uses, neither of which seems important to you.
Wow, way to be. In favor in the context of the sentence meant just that 55% conservative/republican 45% liberal/democrat
I didn't have a problem understanding Adam.
Watch video http://youtu.be/MUAfft7l4wQ for details and check out http://www.guncontrolmorecrime.com. This is another in a series of many Calls to Action (CTAs) here in TNP as we work as a unified team to defeat anti-self defense gun legislation in 2013. The proposed AWB seeks to criminalize millions of good Americans is a power grabbing, Marxist attempt at people control. We stand and be counted NOW, not cower in our houses hoping for the best and ranting anonymously on the internet about crap that doesn't matter. Time to nut up or shut up.
● Pledge not to use an Executive Order to restrict the 2nd Amendment rights of law abiding Citizens.
● This is a petition to prevent the Obama Administration from issuing Executive Orders restricting the 2nd Amendment rights of law abiding citizens.
Secure the borders of the United States for the safety and security of American citizens.
Secure the borders of the United States for the safety and security
➪ Disregard and Dismiss Senator Feinstein's proposed Gun Control Bill.
"A free people … should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government. – George Washington"
➪ PLEASE Share these links & Get over there & sign it!
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Hell yes to all of this!
If you are repeating them over and over, this means people aren't listening. The media has already made up their for them.
WTF does "The media has already made up their for them" mean? People in glass houses…
Personaly, I nevr make misstakke. 🙂
Those hunters and other sport shooters who would compromise should just quit now and take up golf.
I swear, the next person who tells me something to the effect of , "I'm a hunter, and I own a couple of guns. No one needs a (assault rifle/30 rd. magazine/etc.)", I'm going to just punch in the face.
Ok, rant mode "off". For now.
I agree. The second amendment isn't for shooting deer. It's for shooting tyrants.
Two points: The Australian gun ban did exactly what it was written for- It stopped mass shootings. Not just a reduction. Stopped. Australia went from 13 mass shootings in 18 years to none in the past 16 years.
Secondly, Lott is NOT the only one who studied the effect of conceal carry weapons. He is constantly cited by pro-gun articles, without mentioning that there are other studies don't back-up his conclusion. Here is a 2009 study: http://econjwatch.org/articles/yet-another-refutation-of-the-more-guns-less-crime-hypothesis-with-some-help-from-moody-and-marvell
God guns and guts made America free, at any cost lets keep all three! I can't remember who made this quote but it's one that has always stuck with me!


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The annual Halifax review of the cost of owning and running a home shows the typical annual cost associated with owning and running a home in the UK stood at £9,393 in January 2012, the highest average annual total since January 2008 (£9,406).
Over the past year, the cost of housing has risen by 2.7% (£243) from £9,149 in January 2011. The increase, however, was less than the 3.6% rise in consumer prices over the same period.
In monetary terms, the largest upward pressure on housing costs came from a £218 rise in gas and electricity bills, accounting for 89% of the total rise.
The increase in gas and electricity was more than seven times the rise in the cost of home and garden tools (+£31), the second biggest contributor to the increase in housing costs.
Nine of the 11 housing expense categories tracked have risen in cost over the past year. In contrast, the most significant downward pressure on costs for homeowners came from mortgage payments, which fell by an average of £66.
Housing costs have risen across all UK regions since January 2011. Nonetheless, just two of the 12 regions – Northern Ireland and Wales – saw costs rise at a faster rate than consumer price inflation (3.6%).
Those living in the East Midlands and London saw the smallest rises (both 1.9%).
Unsurprisingly, total annual costs of owning and running a home are highest in London, at £11,843. This is 52% (£4,051) higher than in Northern Ireland (£7,793), which has the lowest costs.
The typical annual mortgage payment has fallen by 23% (-£1,036) over the past four years from £4,521 in January 2008 to £3,485 in January 2012. This decline reflects both the significant fall in mortgage rates and the reduction in house prices over the period.
The cost of each of the other 10 housing expenditure categories tracked has risen since 2008. Utility bills recorded the biggest increase (50%), followed by home and garden tools (28%) and home maintenance (20%). Consumer prices, in general, increased by 15% over the period.
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "The typical costs of owning and running a home has increased over the past year, returning the overall level to that of four years ago.
"This has happened despite the substantial fall in mortgage payments over recent years, as all the other costs associated with home ownership have risen.
"The prospect of declining consumer price inflation through much of 2012 may help the costs associated with running a home to ease as well, providing some welcome relief to homeowners."


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Jerusalem (Jan. 4)
After being sent backwards and forwards for a week between the northern frontier of Palestine and Syria, the future of twenty Jewish emigrants from Afghanistan holding tourist visas was provisionally settled to-day. The Jewish Agency obtained permission for a family of four and two single men to enter Palestine, and the rest have been given permission by the French authorities to stay temporarily in Damascus, where they were at first refused refuge. The group includes several women and children who have been suffering want and exposure during the past week, having no place where to rest.


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Printed letters, Aug. 8, 2011
The top three finishers of this year's Tour de France recently announced their decisions to participate in Colorado's USA Pro Challenge bike race Aug. 22-28. This is a race that will be viewed worldwide and is 2011's premier U.S. bike event.
Our Colorado National Monument could have easily been chosen as one of the race stages. The Coors Classic races we hosted in the 1980s brought excitement, tourism and highlighted the stunning beauty of our valley.
It is sad that the decision by the former Colorado National Monument superintendent and our ever-worsening, onerous government rules prevented using the Monument's road for four hours to accommodate this race.
Grand Junction
Government should not attempt to create jobs
In his Aug. 2 column, Jim Spehar disparaged those who disagree with his view that government creates jobs.
He ponders whether "the sloganeers who insist it's the private sector" that creates jobs have ever checked the Chamber of Commerce's web site. He points out, with apparent pride, that there are a number of government entities (five) in the list of top 10 employers. I would prefer there were none.
Spehar and his statist cohort won't acknowledge that "you know, non-job creators" such as police and firefighters, among others, are civil servants. They are hired and paid by the tax paying residents of Grand Junction and Mesa County.
Capitalism creates jobs, government does not.
Grand Junction
Government jobs cost private-sector employment
I am writing in response to Jim Spehar's commentary about our complicity in the rise of the public debt. He mentions the traditional political parties and their "fractious tea party and progressive wings."
He talks of one faction, obviously the tea party, that sees government as oppressive, "instead of the way we band together to do things none of us can handle individually." The choice of the words "instead of" seems to imply either-or, but not both. If government is oppressive, then all government should be opposed.
I view government as frequently oppressive and I'm for limiting its scope and power so we can afford the necessities such as national defense and infrastructure.
Many of us in America hold this view because we have seen not only the federal, but state and local governments, getting out of hand.
We have run up unbelievable debt and crippled free enterprise with thousands upon thousands of pages of regulations. We look to the private sector for debt payment and see that this producer of wealth has been shot through the heart. We no longer look at our government as being of the people and for the people. We see it as a growing cancer.
Sure the private sector loves to sell goods and services to government entities. Government funds do create jobs. However, these funds come directly from the wealth held by the private sector. When this money comes back, it has not been multiplied by two or three, it has been multiplied by point nine.
For those of you who are math challenged, this means that for every job created by government funds, a little more than one job is lost. Look around and see the results of this experiment for yourself.
Grand Junction
Government wants to keep people off public lands
I have never seen as much baloney as there is in Lew Evans' letter to the editor regarding legislation to reduce the overbearing restrictions the federal roadless rules have applied to our own public lands. You can try to convince those who fish and hunt that these rules protect the sport, but, in fact, they deny access to public lands for those who cannot hike or ride horses.
The reality of this obviously unconstitutional set of rules is that the federal government wants to bully its way into controlling, and therefore, owning our public lands. Here in Colorado, federal government officials want to keep development, as it pertains to mineral rights, off what they consider as their lands. Rather than controlling development, they want it denied to the bulk of Americans and only available for the hikers and horse people.
If Evans supports denying the majority of Americans access to their own lands, then say it that way. Don't pretend that you are concerned about the fishing or hunting. What a laugh that is.
Grand Junction
McCallister's column makes science fun
Professor Gary McCallister's column, "Simply Science," is a breath of fresh air in an era of contentious political verbiage. His clarity of thought, humorous writing style, practical information and insight about science is a reminder to all of us that science is everywhere and it is fun. Many thanks.
Grand Junction


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As you file your tax return, do you wonder whether you're likely to get audited?
You can take some comfort in the fact that audits are remarkably rare, hitting about 1 percent of taxpayers each year. However, the rate is rising, and if you happen to pull a few audit triggers, your chance of getting that ominous letter or phone call from the Internal Revenue Service can soar tenfold or more, experts say.
"I am hearing about more audits than I ever have," said Roni Deutch, a California tax lawyer who has been practicing for 17 years. "People will try to alleviate your fears and tell you that an audit is not a big deal. It is a big deal. It's like having a root canal without Novocain."
The number of returns audited by the IRS jumped 7 percent last year to 1.38-million, up from 1.29-million in 2006.
If you're an honest taxpayer, you should never avoid taking a legitimate deduction just because it might trigger an audit, said Jeff Schnepper, author of How to Pay Zero Taxes.
But you do need to be aware of the things that might get you audited, the different kinds of audits and how you ought to deal with them.
The triggers
Your odds of an audit hinge partly on something called a DIF score. The formula is closely guarded by the IRS, but tax experts have identified some factors that are likely to boost your score and thus your chance of an audit:
• Unusually high deductions. Deductions that stray from a normal range will cause your return to get further scrutiny. But what's normal? Each year, the IRS publishes a "Statistics of Income" book that shows the averages.
• High income. Your neighbors may envy you if you make $1-million or more, but they won't be so envious of your status as an IRS target. In its latest fiscal year, the agency audited 31,382 million-dollar earners, up 84 percent from the year before.
• Cash businesses. If you have a job in which you might be paid in cash — say you're a bartender or a hairdresser — the IRS is likely to look closely at your gross income to determine whether you failed to report everything you earned. A telltale sign: You deposit more in your bank or brokerage accounts each year than you report as earnings on your tax return.
• Self-employment. Tax authorities target self-employed people because they're often aggressive — sometimes abusive — in writing off day-to-day expenses.
• Errors. You gave $1,100 to charity, but your finger stuck on the "zero" key when doing your taxes and you reported $11,000 instead. Or you transposed two digits in your child's Social Security number — or failed to report $57 in income from your bank checking account.
Types of audits
There are two types of IRS audits: correspondence audits and field audits. The good news is the vast majority of audits are correspondence audits, which can be as simple as the IRS asking you a question by mail and having you respond by mail. The simple errors described above, for instance, are likely to generate a letter asking you to explain the discrepancy.
If you goofed, admit it and pay whatever additional tax you might owe. If you didn't, provide the requested information and an explanation.
If you are called into the IRS offices or an agent wants to visit you to see your records, the review is likely to be broader and more serious than a correspondence audit. If you don't have one, it may be time to consider hiring a professional to represent you.
Defense strategies
Some other ways to deal with an audit — or the prospect of being a high audit risk:
• Head 'em off. When you claim an unusually large deduction, Schnepper said, consider adding a note to your return explaining the writeoff.
• Prepare. Always keep good records and keep particularly meticulous records of anything that you know is likely to be an audit trigger.
• Focus. The IRS will always tell you what information it is looking for when you're being audited. Provide that information and no more, Schnepper said.
• Be polite and professional. If you're angry about the audit, keep it to yourself or seek therapy. Don't take it out on the auditor.


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When I am in vodahost my pages look fine, when i preview them they look fine. when i go on the internet and look at site, i have half my images and links from the "snow dogg page" mixed with my western page" and same thing with the boss page. why is all my pages getting scrambled into one another? everything was fine. then boom.. here is the web site. I hope someone can help me solve this asap or I am gonna have to shut it down so I dont get in trouble from my boss.
www.snowplowsolutions.com the pages that are getting scrambled are under the snowplows in brand page? Please help me.
thank you- oh and I tried refreshing doesnt change.


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Customer Reviews
* FTC Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by contributors of the product reviews are their own and not necessarily those of Netrition.com. These reviews should not be taken as recommendations but rather customer opinions of the products that they may or may not have used. Furthermore, Netrition.com makes no warranty or representation, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information contributed by outside sources, and assumes no responsibility or liability regarding the use of such information. Netrition.com does not warrant the performance, effectiveness or applicability of any materials listed or linked to on Netrition.com.
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Almost six years after stabbing to death her University of Arizona roommate, Galareka Harrison was again sentenced to life in prison.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Scott Rash sentenced Harrison for first-degree murder in the 2007 killing of Mia Janelle Henderson, 18.
After that conviction, Harrison was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
But Harrison's attorneys argued for resentencing of their client, saying information about her had not been presented by previous attorneys during the original trial.
Monday's sentencing alters the original ruling, providing her with the chance of parole after 25 years in prison.
The girls were roommates in a UA dormitory when Harrison, 24, stole Henderson's checkbook, debit card, Social Security card and other items. Harrison later stabbed Henderson 23 times with a knife she bought days before the crime.
About 25 members of Henderson's family from the Navajo Nation attended Monday's sentencing, many of whom also gave victim-impact statements to court.
"I always raised my children to be contributing members of society, to be a blessing to others," said Mia Henderson's mother, Jennifer Henderson.
Jennifer Henderson told Rash it was customary in the family's Navajo culture to get rid of all of deceased family members' belongings once they die. She explained how she and Mia Henderson's father burned all of their daughter's belongings after she was murdered — everything except for a pair of infant booties their daughter wore.
"Talking about her now is something that I rarely do," Jennifer Henderson said.
Mia Henderson's father, Henry Henderson, said he would be able to forgive Harrison for killing his daughter if she repented for the crime.
"If only Miss Harrison would have given her a chance, I think it would have been a win-win, because she could have learned from her," Henry Henderson said.
All of Henderson's family members who spoke asked the judge to reaffirm the life-without-parole sentence Harrison received in 2008.
"I enjoyed getting to know your daughter through the letters and videos," Rash told the Hendersons before handing down the sentence.
Rash himself became emotional during the sentencing hearing, pausing at one point to prevent his voice from further quavering.
"No parent should suffer the loss of a child," Rash said.
The judge also said the sentence imposed on an offender does not reflect on the value of the life that was lost.
Rash also said the UA bears some responsibility for Henderson's death. He noted Harrison should not have ever been admitted to the university because her grades were inadequate.
Harrison's attorney, Alex Heveri, agreed Harrison was ill-equipped for university life.
Heveri said Harrison showed up at the UA campus without any money or the life-coping skills she needed. Harrison also moved from the Navajo Nation to attend the UA.
"When Miss Harrison stole from Miss Henderson, she was absolutely desperate at that time," Heveri said.
Heveri described Harrison as a good person without a criminal history who was under "exceptional stressors" when she killed Henderson.


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Duchess of Cambridge 'takes cooking lessons'
Britain's Duchess of Cambridge is learning to prepare "delicious" Italian dishes from the royal couple's new housekeeper.
Catherine's new housekeeper Antonella Fresolone is apparently teaching the pregnant royal to whip up sumptuous Italian dishes.
The sessions are taking place in Catherine's kitchen in Nottingham Cottage situated in the grounds of London's Kensington Palace.
According to a source the 31-year-old mother-to-be is keen to learn "a number of new dishes" from the aide, who is known for her "delicious" homemade pasta and fresh bread.
"The expectant royal has been indulging her domestic side more and more in recent weeks, as her July due date grows ever closer," Us Weekly reports. "Earlier this month, she was spotted shopping for decor for the home she shares with Prince William. And on Saturday, she and her husband spent a 'lazy weekend' together in London."
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recently hired Antonella, who has worked at Buckingham Palace for 13 years, to help them adjust to parenthood when their baby arrives in July.
One of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II's top three maids, Miss Fresolone beat off stiff competition for the £23,000-a-year position.
The 42-year-old housekeeper will be cleaning all areas of the residence, looking after Prince William and Catherine's clothing, silverware and glassware as well as doing all the laundry. She is also required to run errands, prepare basic meals and look after the couple's pet dog Lupo.
"Antonella is renowned for being very hard working. She is extremely dedicated and fully intends for this job to become her whole life," a palace insider revealed. "The queen will have given it her blessing. She does not like to stop people progressing through the ranks and will be happy that William and Kate have someone they can trust."
© Cover Media


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January 31, 2010
On the Beat
Weekend Update
The World Series has been over for nearly three months, spring training begins in a little less than three weeks, and Charlie Manuel is nearly 60 pounds lighter than he was at this time a year ago. Yet it still stings when the Phillies manager thinks about how his team missed its chance to become the first National League team since the 1975-76 Reds to win back-to-back World Series in 2009, losing in six games to the Yankees.
The Yankees entered the World Series as the favorite after leading the major leagues with 103 victories in the regular season and polishing off the Twins and Angels in the American League playoffs. Yet the Phillies had momentum going, too, having beaten the Rockies in four games in the National League Division Series and the Dodgers in five games in the National League Championship Series.
Manuel felt sure the Phillies were going to win back-to-back Fall Classics. The loss has left him openly rooting for a rematch in the 2010 World Series, reflecting on last year's Series by noting, "We didn't really play as good as we can against the Yankees. It might have been because of their bullpen and their pitching. We ran into a situation in the World Series where the Yankees were a well-balanced team with their offense. At the end, (closer Mariano) Rivera did what he's been doing all these years. We can play better and we can pitch better. I felt like in the ones they beat us, they were like a step ahead of us. We were always chasing them and trying to catch up. It was who got the breaks, and they got the good breaks. We can beat them. At the end of the World Series last year when I talked to our team, I told them that I feel like we owe the Yankees one."
The Phillies will get a crack at the Yankees in their first Grapefruit League game on March 4 in Clearwater. Of course, that won't be the same as playing in October or, as was the case in 2009, November, as the exhibition lid lifter will deteriorate by the middle innings into a game, with plenty of guys wearing numbers like 72 and 85.
When the Phillies convene in Clearwater, they will have an almost identical lineup to the one that won the pennant in 2009 and finished first in the league in runs scored, with an average of 5.06 a game. The Phillies allowed third baseman Pedro Feliz to walk to the Astros as a free agent and replaced him with free-agent Placido Polanco. Polanco signed a three-year, $18-million deal after a lackluster season with the Tigers that saw him post a .254 EqA, which was just eight points higher than Feliz's .246.
Manuel plans to break up the top two in his batting order this season. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins will continue to bat leadoff despite a .257 EqA and a .296 OBP last season, and Polanco will now hit second despite having a .331 OBP during his poor 2009. Meanwhile, center fielder Shane Victorino will be moved from the second spot to the seventh, despite posting a .287 EqA and .358 OBP a year ago.
"I look at Polanco as a top-of-the-line hitter in the two holes," Manuel said. "He makes good contract. He puts the fat part of the bat on the ball as good as anybody on the team. He plays situational baseball and can move the runners. I look at Shane, and he's the type of hitter that gives us some options."
The Phillies' biggest off-season move, though, came in the starting rotation, as they acquired a premier pitcher but then traded one to make room. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has taken his share of heat for trading left-hander Cliff Lee to the Mariners at the same time he acquired Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays. Amaro's rationale was that he was able to get Halladay to agree to a below-market contract extension of three years and $60 million that runs through the 2013 season, and Lee is eligible for free agency at the end of the season. Furthermore, Amaro liked the idea of acquiring three prospects from the Mariners to keep the farm system stocked after giving up three prospects to the Blue Jays.
The Phillies could have had a terrific starting staff, with Halladay and Lee fronting a rotation that would have included lefties Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ and right-hander Joe Blanton. Manuel didn't go so far as to lobby Amaro to keep Lee, but he admits he would have loved to have the lefty as his second starter.
"Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball right now, and Lee may be a tad behind him," Manuel said. "Of course, it would have been nice to have Halladay, Lee, and Hamels. I'd be looking good. I might be buying more expensive furniture than me and the missus have been buying lately. Baseball is baseball. I have my own opinions and suggestions but, like everyone else, I have a boss. The Phillies, over the last two or three years, have made good decisions. You get into a situation where you have to make decisions. I trust them. What we got is what we will play with until we see something we need to improve on."
The Phillies' bullpen needed improvement after closer Brad Lidge posted a -3.257 WXRL, the worst mark in the history of the statistic, and then underwent arthroscopic elbow and knee surgeries this winter. Left-hander J.C. Romero is also coming back from a season that included elbow surgery and a 50-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. However, Manuel is excited about the signings of veteran free agents Danys Baez (0.569 WXRL for the Orioles in 2009) and Jose Contreras (0.481 WXRL with the Rockies).
"We have two guys if they're sore or stiff or have a headache, they'll pitch and I know they'll pitch," Manuel said. "They are mentally tough guys. They are not going to the trainer or the doctor. That makes me feel good."
Losing weight has also made Manuel feel good, as he has slimmed down from 286 pounds at the start of 2009 to 228, as he noted, "I looked at a picture and my stomach was over my belt. I had a pretty big gut." Now he observes, "I definitely have more energy. My knees feel a heck of a lot better. I can move quicker and still hit a golf ball pretty good, too."
It was five years ago that the Nationals relocated from Montreal and GM Jim Bowden had to hurriedly put together a skeleton front-office staff both because of time constraints and because the other 29 owners wanted to run a bare-bones operation in order to milk as much profit as possible from a franchise that was then a ward of Major League Baseball.
Bowden resigned last March in the wake of allegations that Nationals scouts were taking part in a bonus-skimming scam in the Dominican Republic, and assistant GM Mike Rizzo took over the baseball operations. Rizzo was promoted to GM in August and has been given the go-ahead by the Nationals owners, the Lerner family, to put together a full front office.
During the offseason, the Nationals have hired two assistant GMs in Roy Clark and Bryan Minniti (a future GM candidate), two new senior advisers in former White Sox GM Ron Schueler and former major-league manager Davey Johnson, a new director of baseball operations in Jay Sartori, and a new director of player development, Doug Harris. They also promoted Kris Kline to director of scouting and added a number of scouts to their staff, including two well-respected ones in Jay Robertson and Kasey McKeon.
Robertson told the Washington Post's Chico Harlan that the reason so many talented people wanted to come work for the Nationals, even though they had the worst record in the major leagues at 59-103 last season, is Rizzo. "You need some identity, and I think the Nationals were void of that," Robertson said. "That's what Mike has changed in the last six months."
Rizzo is well respected among scouts, as he was one of them long before he became the Diamondbacks' scouting director and before his move to the Nationals. Thus, it was easy for Rizzo to recruit good people for the organization. "There were a lot of well-wishers in the industry, because I was a guy who came from where everybody else started and ascended to the general manager's job, which was a good story, and along the way, it wasn't an overnight thing. It took me 28 years to get here," Rizzo said. "People were happy for me. And then, with my years of experience in the game, I knew who I wanted to go after. A lot of people want to come here. And there is a momentum. There's a synergy here that's attracting people. If you'd told me coming off a 59-win season that we would have all this interest from people, it's really remarkable. People in the industry get it. They see what we're doing."
It is not very often that a team and player go to an arbitration hearing over an injury grievance, but the Twins and left-hander Glen Perkins almost did so this offseason. A strained left shoulder bothered Perkins for much of last season, a situation that left some Twins officials privately questioning his pain tolerance and willingness to compete. He was on the disabled list and going through rehabilitation at the Twins' spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida, on August 30 when GM Bill Smith decided to activate Perkins from the DL and option him to Triple-A Rochester.
The move cost Perkins the needed service time to become eligible for salary arbitration as a player who would have been among the top 17 percent of players with at least two seasons of big-league time but less than three years in the major leagues.
"We had confidence we were doing things within the rules," Smith told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Joe Christensen.
Perkins and his agent, John Courtright, didn't share that sentiment and filed a grievance. A hearing was set for November 13 in New York, but the sides settled on a deal that would give Perkins an additional seven days of service time but still leave him short of being arbitration-eligible. Thus, Perkins will have a salary of around $450,000 this year instead of possibly making as much as $1 million through arbitration.
"I guess I really found out the hard way that it's a business," said Perkins, who has been mentioned in various trade rumors this winter. "I grew up (in Minnesota) and spent my life cheering for that team. I got drafted by them (in 2004) and got to the majors quick (in 2006), and two weeks later we're in the playoffs. I had a really good year in '08 and everything was rosy. You find out the hard way that it doesn't really matter."
Kenny Lofton was a rare speedster in the Steroid Era, a time when baseball got away from the stolen base and became all about home runs. Now that Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, and other sluggers have either admitted using performance-enhancing drugs or have been implicated in their use, Lofton can sit back and say, "I told you so."
"It was obvious what was going on," Lofton said. "I mean, guys weren't openly doing the drugs, but you knew something was up by the way guys' bodies were changing. I've always been a believer, though, that if something bad is happening that it will eventually be brought into the light, and it has been."
Lofton stole 622 bases and hit 130 home runs in his 17-year career as a center fielder from 1991-2007. He played for 11 teams. The announcement this past week that he will be inducted into the Indians' Hall of Fame this summer gave him an opportunity to reflect on what his chances of getting into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown might be if he had tried to enhance his power output.
"I could have hit more home runs and gotten more notoriety, but I never used steroids and I never even thought about using steroids," Lofton said. "It was frustrating for those of us who were clean, though. I just sat there and watched guys do things on the field that weren't natural. It was frustrating to have to compete against that type of competition because it wasn't fair, but I'm proud that I was still able to have a good career."
MLB Rumors and Rumblings: The Twins have made so much progress in their attempt to sign catcher Joe Mauer to a long-term contract extension before he becomes eligible for free agency after the 2010 season that a deal is likely to be announced before pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers. � While free-agent outfielder Johnny Damon says he is receptive to any offers at this point, he would prefer to sign with the Rays, as he lives in nearby Orlando. He has not completely ruled out a return to the Yankees, even though they have signed Randy Winn to presumably take his place on the roster. � The Mets are attempting to sign free-agent righty Braden Looper to bolster their rotation. They also have interest in John Smoltz and Chien-Ming Wang on the open market. � The Reds have offered outfielder Jonny Gomes the chance to return on a minor-league contract. � The Tigers are looking into signing free-agent infielders Hank Blalock and Adam Kennedy as insurance in the event rookie second baseman Scott Sizemore shows he isn't ready for the major leagues, and if third baseman Brandon Inge's balky knees act up ... Look for former NFL star running back Jerome Bettis and hockey Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux to join the Rangers' ownership group that is headed by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan. The group is awaiting official approval to begin running the franchise. Lemieux, who owns the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, also has serious interest in buying the Pirates, but Bob Nutting is making so much money off revenue sharing that he has little incentive to sell despite declining attendance and revenues.
The Rockies are in serious talks with free-agent reliever Kevin Gregg. � Twins GM Bill Smith dispels the idea that he signed Jim Thome as a free agent with the idea he would be the regular designated hitter and DH Jason Kubel would shift to left field, forcing the disappointing Delmon Young into a reserve role. "We've been very up-front about this, that we're looking at Jim in a back-up role, as a threat off the bench," Smith said. � Manager Terry Francona is all for the Red Sox revamping their lineup with an eye on defense, as third baseman Adrian Beltre, shortstop Marco Scutaro, and center fielder Mike Cameron have been signed as free agents. Jacoby Ellsbury will move from center to left field to replace Jason Bay, who signed with the Mets as a free agent. "Our goal isn't to lead the American League in runs scored, but to win as many games as we can," Francona said. � Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik admits he has to temper the fans' enthusiasm in the Pacific Northwest in the wake of trading for Lee. "You have to remember that we still finished third (in the AL West) last year with a good team. The Angels are a good club that knows how to win and the Rangers are a very formidable foe."
John Perrotto is an author of Baseball Prospectus.
18 comments have been left for this article.
BP Comment Quick Links
Mets + Braden Looper. Please shoot me now.
Jan 31, 2010 10:31 AM
On the other hand, Charlie M.'s projected lineup has to gladden you.
Jan 31, 2010 14:16 PM
Hardly. The Mets are the least of Philadelphia's NL east concerns. They'll be at least 15 games behind the Phils by September.
Jan 31, 2010 17:34 PM
Kenny Lofton, you rock.
Jan 31, 2010 10:33 AM
Dr. Dave
I think Kenny (and John) have forgotten that the link between steroids and sprinting is MUCH better established than the link between steroids and hitting baseballs... Nothing would surprise me less than to learn that (say) Vince Coleman was a Ben Johnson Fan Club member.
Jan 31, 2010 13:38 PM
And those guys *always* "could've hit more home runs." Just like Andre Dawson "could've gotten on base more." Right, guys.
Feb 01, 2010 08:07 AM
The Perkins story reminds me of the way the Royals treated the shoulder injury of Coco Crisp last year. Sigh.
Jan 31, 2010 12:06 PM
"but Bob Nutting is making so much money off revenue sharing that he has little incentive to sell despite declining attendance and revenues."
Jan 31, 2010 12:09 PM
Any good articles on the Pirates/Nutting revenue-sharing scene? That is horrifying.
Jan 31, 2010 12:10 PM
...you mean revenue-sharing "scheme" when you are talking Bob Nutting.
Jan 31, 2010 13:20 PM
Steven Goldman
BP staff
I just want to know how Manuel dropped all that weight.
Jan 31, 2010 17:28 PM
Some perceptive folks in the Nationals' blogosphere pointed out that the Washington Post (in their feeble coverage of the club), also touted the scouting team Jim Bowden had put together in 2007. This was supposed to be the start of better scouting, and was to be a team envied around baseball. It doesn't seem to have worked.
Feb 01, 2010 04:59 AM
Richard Bergstrom
Rizzo was a part of that team Bowden hired.
Feb 01, 2010 08:54 AM
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The process com.sonyericsson.android.wakeup what made or how I can desactivate because use a huge percent of my Battery. I think is the mobile data or Fast dormancy I guess
I need a explain or what I can made because my battery drains so quickly on 4.3.
I have a Smartwatch 2 but It not use a power on my phone in 4.2.2 I have a duration approximate of my battery for 15 hours and in 4.3 I have a duration of 7 to 10 hours only.
Sent from my C6502 using Tapatalk


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AEG's Season of Giving to Honor Red Cross with $85,000 Tonight at L.A. LIVE
Tonight, December 16th, during its annual Season of Giving charitable campaign, AEG is dedicating its holiday efforts to the American Red Cross with a special check presentation at LA Kings Holiday Ice at L.A. LIVE. The presentation will feature 94.7 The Wave's Night Grooves host Keri Tombazian and Paul Shulz, CEO of the American Red Cross of Greater LA.
Throughout the month of December, Season of Giving, an AEG initiative, highlights a different non-profit organization at the Los Angeles Kings Holiday Ice at L.A. LIVE.
The Nokia Plaza at L.A. LIVE is located at 800 W. Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, Calif.
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies more than 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, visit redcross.org or join the blog at blog.redcross.org.
AEG's Season of Giving is an initiative designed to raise funds and generate awareness in support of non-profit organizations working on issues of hunger, homelessness and healthcare. During the month of December, a different non-profit organization will be highlighted during a brief program at the Los Angeles Kings Holiday Ice at L.A. LIVE.


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It's a 1st birthday luau for an island girl! This photo island girl birthday invitation celebrates your princess with 1-5 photos and pretty colors, customized to match your photo or party colors. We can tint any of your photos in black & white (shown here) or sepia, and we can also change the purple, orange, green, and pink colors to your personal taste.
See more ideas & personalize this card on the product page here: Island Princess Photo Birthday Invitation.


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New Details On Mass Effect Beauty...
To insure your action figure collection, get in touch with Collectibles Insurance, the official insurance company of the Figures.com network. Say "Figures.com" to get 5% off your first term premiums.
To buy action figures, take a look at BigBadToyStore.com, Toynk.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, and MonkeyDepot.com.
Kotobukiya has posted new photos and details regarding their female Commander Shepard (BioWare Edition) Bishoujo statue. This exclusive release is limited to 2000 pieces and features an interchangeable N7 Eagle Pistol and Biotic hand. Pre-orders are taking place now through the official BioWare store (biowarestore.com).


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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Not all of this week's attention in the Mountain West Conference is focused on Saturday's showdown in Las Vegas.
While 14th-ranked UNLV (21-4, 5-2) plays host to 13th-ranked San Diego State (20-3, 6-1) in a huge league matchup that afternoon, much of the talk on Monday's weekly teleconference was about the hottest team in the league right now – New Mexico (19-4, 5-2).
The Lobos lost to both San Diego State and UNLV in the first half of league play, but have since won four straight games by an average of 26 points. After playing host to Wyoming (18-5, 4-3) on Saturday, the Lobos visit San Diego State on Feb. 15 then play host to UNLV Feb. 18 in the rematches.
"I think, without question, (UNM) is the deepest team in the league," TCU coach Jim Christian said. "In my mind, from top to bottom, I think they're the deepest team I've seen in my four years here. Because the guys who come off the bench impact the game. (Phil) McDonald comes off the bench, to shoot the percentage he does (46.6 from the field); there's just different guys. (Jamal) Fenton comes in, it gives them no loss at all, or not much of a loss, between their 1 and 10.
"I think that's certainly going to help them because of the travel in this league and because of how deep and how good the teams are in this league."
TCU lost to UNM 71-54 in the Pit just more than a week ago.
Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds, whose team was bombed 81-42 at home by the Lobos last week, also talked about UNM on Monday.
"Overall, they probably have the best inside-outside scoring ability of any team in the league," Reynolds said. "Everybody has good size, but their size has the ability to score. They shoot the ball extremely well from the perimeter and they defend extremely well. You add on top of that, they have 10 guys they can go with."
UNLV/SDSU II: The Aztecs won the first meeting 69-67 in San Diego but will be the underdogs this time. UNLV won five straight after that loss, but had that streak snapped with a 68-66 loss at Wyoming on Saturday.
In the first meeting with SDSU, the Rebels shot just 28.6 percent (10-35) percent from the floor in the first half and 35.3 percent (24-68) for the game. But Rebel coach Dave Rice says he expects those numbers to improve this go-around.
"Anytime a team wins a game, you have to give the majority of the credit to the team that wins the game," Rice said. "Having said that, we are very confident that if we get the looks on Saturday that we got at San Diego State, we're pretty confident we're going to make those shots.
"We understand the challenge against playing against a terrific defensive team, but we'll be very confident shooting the ball, especially on our home court."
CHALLENGING SLOGAN: While the Lobo players and media have latched on to calling the last two weeks "13 days of hell" for the program, Alford says that's not a phrase he ever used – in public or to his team.
Following the back-to-back losses to San Diego State and UNLV, on Jan. 27, Alford said the next two weeks would be "13 days of challenge" for his team, in an effort to make his team tougher.
A couple of the Lobos referred to the period it as "13 days of hell," and the rally-cry took off.
"That's all we've ever called it," says KNML's Erik Gee, host of his station's afternoon talk show. "I think Brandon (Vogt, Gee's co-host) came up with it at a press conference. We've never called it 13 days of challenge – that sounds like a weight-loss program."
On Monday, Alford said he hadn't realized the term was being used until reading it in that morning's Journal.
NOTES: San Diego State's Jamaal Franklin was named the MWC player of the week. The sophomore guard averaged 20.0 points and 9.5 rebounds and was a combined 10-of-20 from the floor and 18-of-20 from the foul line in wins over Boise State and TCU.
… The Lobos received five points in this week's AP Top 25 and 13 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. The Journal voted the Lobos 24th this week, giving them two of the five points in the AP writer's poll.
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal


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How can I wire an alternator to a battery?
Usualy there are 4 wires, one wire is from the casing which goes to the negative terminal of the battery, then out of the other 3 wires, one is the field wire which you should connect to positive but make sure you put a basic on off switch, turn switch on when starting alternator, turn off once running and leve off when not in use. the other two wires go to the positive terminal of batery, if you cant get the thing to spin fast enough to generate electricity, try addin a resistor between the field wire and the positive.
BUT.. for me that has NOT done anything of this nature in a LONG time.. HOW to do JUST THIS successfully is my question..? without making it sound like rocket science. As i go along and get to finish the first attempt.. i'll be able to improve on it.
An automobile alternator is essentially an AC generator. If you spin it fast enough, long enough, you can put the output through rectifying and regulating circuitry and use the output to charge up a battery. The simplest solution, of course, is to use the car's own existing circuitry to charge the car battery.
BUT.. for me that has NOT done anything of this nature in a LONG time.. HOW to do JUST THIS successfully is my question..? without making it sound like rocket science. As i go along and get to finish the first attempt.. i'll be able to improve on it.
Generally alternators produce three phase. Old dynamos work like motors in reverse with just a positive and negative but are very inefficient. You find them on ancient 6V machines.
Nearly everything these days uses proper alternators with three phases, which means you require a rectifier and you might want to consider a regulator.
The rectifier has a bunch of diodes, at least 3, which take the three phases and convert them into something useful. You get like three displaced sine waves of 8V or so I think. When rectified and overlapped these give you the 13V needed to keep your 12V battery charged.
The rectifier is the key here. All vehicles with an alternator have one, even motorbikes.
The regulator is a separate issue. It wastes off excess energy as heat through a resistor, it switches in when the engine is revving hard making lots of power but you've got a well charged battery and aren't running, lights, wipers, radio, etc. Otherwise you risk overcharging your battery. This may not be an issue for you though depending what you're driving the alternator with.
A quick google search for alternator rectifier circuit turned up this
the schematics say it all
Go to this site and look at the second diagram down. That's all it takes to get a basic alternator wired. Not shown in the diagram is something to turn the alternator. Most alternators won't even turn on until about 3000 rpm. It's the way they are built.
Most alternators have the rectifiers built in. I'll bet you will have a hard time finding one that isn't built in. But I've only handled 5-6 different alternators in the last 10 years so check.
Alternators have to have a battery to start the charging since they have no permanent magnets like a generator.
G00gle, "one wire alternator" or "simple alternator diagram" etc. to find out more information.
Good luck.
Then, once it's connected, you just need to rig something up to run the alternator. Like a wind-mill or a small motor. Personally, I like the idea of the wind-mill, but that's just me.