Thursday, February 28, 2013
Note To Republican Politicians/Pundits
If you don't have effective control of both the House and Senate, shut up with the impeachment talk. It just makes you look stupid.
Some Advice On Where To Draw the Line
via Sipsey Street Irregulars.
LESSON NO. 1: If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and take you someplace you do not want to go because of who you are or what you think -- kill him. If you can, kill the politician who sent him. You will likely die anyway, and you will be saving someone else the same fate. For it is a universal truth that the intended victims always far outnumber the tyrant's executioners. Any nation which practices this lesson will quickly run out of executioners and tyrants, or they will run out of it.
LESSON NO. 2: If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and confiscate your firearms -- kill him. The disarmament of law-abiding citizens is the required precursor to genocide.
LESSON NO. 3: If a bureaucrat tells you that he must know if you have a firearm so he can put your name on a list for the common good, or wants to issue you an identity card so that you be more easily identified -- tell him to go to hell. Registration of people and firearms is the required precursor to the tyranny which permits genocide. Bureaucrats cannot send soldiers to doors that are not on their list.
Click the link to read the clear-eyed rest of it. #1 sounds like it could have been written by Heinlein.
LESSON NO. 1: If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and take you someplace you do not want to go because of who you are or what you think -- kill him. If you can, kill the politician who sent him. You will likely die anyway, and you will be saving someone else the same fate. For it is a universal truth that the intended victims always far outnumber the tyrant's executioners. Any nation which practices this lesson will quickly run out of executioners and tyrants, or they will run out of it.
LESSON NO. 2: If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and confiscate your firearms -- kill him. The disarmament of law-abiding citizens is the required precursor to genocide.
LESSON NO. 3: If a bureaucrat tells you that he must know if you have a firearm so he can put your name on a list for the common good, or wants to issue you an identity card so that you be more easily identified -- tell him to go to hell. Registration of people and firearms is the required precursor to the tyranny which permits genocide. Bureaucrats cannot send soldiers to doors that are not on their list.
Click the link to read the clear-eyed rest of it. #1 sounds like it could have been written by Heinlein.
Should It Surprise Anyone...
...that the Obama White House plays smash-mouth Chicago-style politics?
They've always done that. It's just that some of the reporters who consider the Obama WH friends and allies are apparently surprised that those rules apply to them, too, if they stray off the reservation.
They've always done that. It's just that some of the reporters who consider the Obama WH friends and allies are apparently surprised that those rules apply to them, too, if they stray off the reservation.
Meanwhile, In Albemarle, NC...
...laptop-shooting NC father Tommy Jordan has opened his very own shooting school.
About
The finest education in firearm safety you can get. Our classes are kept small and a great emphasis is put on proper education.
Mission
It is our goal to turn out highly competent gun owners who are well versed in the practical knowledge of shooting, but who also live and breathe safety-first. Sacrificing proper knowledge on gun safety has caused too many accidents to count in recent years. We fully support everyone’s right to own a firearm, but we’re going to be 100% sure you have the proper training to carry with confidence and to safely use, clean, and store your firearm before we issue a certificate of completion. We do not guarantee 100% pass rates for our classes, unlike many instructors who simply want to take your money and put as many students in a room as possible.
I wish him good luck with it. Maybe after he gets it established and running for a while I'll enquire about a class, but I think I'll give the local fella my money first.
About
The finest education in firearm safety you can get. Our classes are kept small and a great emphasis is put on proper education.
Mission
It is our goal to turn out highly competent gun owners who are well versed in the practical knowledge of shooting, but who also live and breathe safety-first. Sacrificing proper knowledge on gun safety has caused too many accidents to count in recent years. We fully support everyone’s right to own a firearm, but we’re going to be 100% sure you have the proper training to carry with confidence and to safely use, clean, and store your firearm before we issue a certificate of completion. We do not guarantee 100% pass rates for our classes, unlike many instructors who simply want to take your money and put as many students in a room as possible.
I wish him good luck with it. Maybe after he gets it established and running for a while I'll enquire about a class, but I think I'll give the local fella my money first.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Sharp & Pointy
A couple of knives I picked up yesterday from my friend Mike McRae of Scotia Metalwork. These are a ballock dagger with an African Blackwood handle (top) and a sgian dubh with a brass guard and a handle of stabilized elmwood burl. Both are forged of 5160 steel and differentially hardened.
Shirtsleeve Weather
Nice spring day here in NC, although it's not officially spring yet. When I go out to take my walk around the neighborhood today it will be shirtsleeve weather.
Monday, February 25, 2013
A History of the US Navy In 100 Objects
via US Naval Academy.
The first object: The crypt of John Paul Jones.
I've never been to the Academy, being an enlisted man. The building and the crypt are breathtaking.
The first object: The crypt of John Paul Jones.
I've never been to the Academy, being an enlisted man. The building and the crypt are breathtaking.
Tale of the Tape
"Size DOES Matter: Pollution Which Is 'Shrinking' Otter Penises Could Be Affecting Humans, Too."
Scientists have uncovered a worrying trend in 'shrinking' male sex organs in otters - and warn it could start be affecting human men too.
Research into the water mammal suggests that modern chemicals may be to blame for the alarming phenomenon of shrivelling organs.
A report by the Cardiff University Otter Project indicated the animal - one of Britain's best-loved predator species - is not in the rudest health.
Analysis found a decrease in the size of penis bones in male otters along with other changes that gave 'cause for concern' about the size of sex organs.
It questions if endocrine disrupting chemicals - also known as hormone disrupters - could be to blame.
And experts are warning the study could be behind similar problems in humans with increasing number of boys born with undescended testicles, sex organ malformation and reduced sperm counts.
I've Got Some Bad News For You and the Missus.
Scientists have uncovered a worrying trend in 'shrinking' male sex organs in otters - and warn it could start be affecting human men too.
Research into the water mammal suggests that modern chemicals may be to blame for the alarming phenomenon of shrivelling organs.
A report by the Cardiff University Otter Project indicated the animal - one of Britain's best-loved predator species - is not in the rudest health.
Analysis found a decrease in the size of penis bones in male otters along with other changes that gave 'cause for concern' about the size of sex organs.
It questions if endocrine disrupting chemicals - also known as hormone disrupters - could be to blame.
And experts are warning the study could be behind similar problems in humans with increasing number of boys born with undescended testicles, sex organ malformation and reduced sperm counts.
Swamp Eels and Piranhas
A "secret" report by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources speculates how the state would cope with a warming climate.
A draft of the committee's findings determined that if temperatures rise in the South by 9 degrees as projected by some over the next 70 years, South Carolina would see more beach flooding and invasion of non-native species such as piranha and Asian swamp eels, according to a draft of the report obtained by The State of Columbia.
One scientist involved in the initial work on the report for the Department of Natural Resources said there were political concerns whether readers of the report would accept that global warming was happening and was a danger.
"There were concerns about the political nature of it," Barry Beasley said.
A draft of the committee's findings determined that if temperatures rise in the South by 9 degrees as projected by some over the next 70 years, South Carolina would see more beach flooding and invasion of non-native species such as piranha and Asian swamp eels, according to a draft of the report obtained by The State of Columbia.
One scientist involved in the initial work on the report for the Department of Natural Resources said there were political concerns whether readers of the report would accept that global warming was happening and was a danger.
"There were concerns about the political nature of it," Barry Beasley said.
To Keep Cursive Alive
"Bill Would Require N.C. Schools To Teach Cursive Handwriting."
In the age of texting, tweeting and other technological ways of communicating, North Carolina’s elementary school students could soon have to master a more old-fashioned craft: writing in cursive.
A bill introduced in the state House this week would once again make cursive handwriting a part of the curriculum in state elementary schools. The “Back to Basics” bill also would require elementary students to memorize multiplication tables, though state education officials say that’s already part of the curriculum.
North Carolina’s move to bring back cursive comes at a time when other states from California to Massachusetts also are trying to revive what’s become a lost skill.
We're in a transitional stage at which we can either let cursive die, or make a determination to keep it alive. Why would you want to? Well, our founding documents - - The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are written in cursive. Certainly you can find printed versions on the internet, but what if you were standing in front of one of the documents itself? You'd be lost without cursive. Say that you found an old diary in the attic, written in cursive - - you cannot read it; are you willing to trust it to a stranger to read for you? Anything that was written down before the advent of computers was probably written in cursive, and that is still a lot of material. Are we simply losing our capacity as humans to absorb lots of skills? Must we admit that we're less capable than our parents and grandparents? I'd hate to think so.
In the age of texting, tweeting and other technological ways of communicating, North Carolina’s elementary school students could soon have to master a more old-fashioned craft: writing in cursive.
A bill introduced in the state House this week would once again make cursive handwriting a part of the curriculum in state elementary schools. The “Back to Basics” bill also would require elementary students to memorize multiplication tables, though state education officials say that’s already part of the curriculum.
North Carolina’s move to bring back cursive comes at a time when other states from California to Massachusetts also are trying to revive what’s become a lost skill.
We're in a transitional stage at which we can either let cursive die, or make a determination to keep it alive. Why would you want to? Well, our founding documents - - The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are written in cursive. Certainly you can find printed versions on the internet, but what if you were standing in front of one of the documents itself? You'd be lost without cursive. Say that you found an old diary in the attic, written in cursive - - you cannot read it; are you willing to trust it to a stranger to read for you? Anything that was written down before the advent of computers was probably written in cursive, and that is still a lot of material. Are we simply losing our capacity as humans to absorb lots of skills? Must we admit that we're less capable than our parents and grandparents? I'd hate to think so.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Who Is the Enemy?
We wonders, Precious, aye, we wonders!
The southeast Georgia town of Bloomingdale is tiny but well armed.
Metro Atlanta police departments and sheriff’s offices have armored trucks and personnel carriers in their arsenals.
And the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office has in its possession four grenade launchers should there be a need to send canisters of tear gas or bean bags into a volatile situation.
All donated surplus military equipment is available to law enforcement agencies nationwide — large and small.
Some people are upset that there are local law enforcement agencies armed with such weapons of war. But the agencies that got the guns, armored vehicles and grenade launchers say it sends a message to would-be criminals: Officers “are armed to meet any threat,” so criminals should just stay away, said Bloomingdale Police Chief Roy Pike.
From the so-called 1033 program operated by a U.S. Department of Defense unit, Pike’s department of 13 officers acquired a grenade launcher for shooting tear gas, two M14 single-shot semi-automatic rifles and two M16 military-style rifles converted to semi-automatic from automatic.
The Cato Institute, a Washington-based think tank that promotes individual liberty and limited government, believes the military surplus program should be shut down, said Tim Lynch, director of the criminal justice project.
“When this equipment is given away, police departments start saying, ‘Let’s grab it.’” And once the equipment is in the hands of law enforcement, “we have militarized units going into the community in situations where they aren’t warranted,” Lynch said.
“This is one of the most alarming trends in American policing,” Lynch continued. “We used to call them peace officers and they would treat people ... with more respect and civility. We’re getting away from that. We’re getting into these military tactics and mind-set that the people they (police) come into contact with are the enemy ... and part of this is the militarized units in police departments.”
Candace Garrett Daly, a Cobb County homemaker, is equally unnerved.
“What are we headed to?” Garrett asked. “Whatever it is seems to be already in motion at a breakneck speed. The police are preparing for an enemy. My question is, ‘Who is the enemy?’”
The southeast Georgia town of Bloomingdale is tiny but well armed.
Metro Atlanta police departments and sheriff’s offices have armored trucks and personnel carriers in their arsenals.
And the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office has in its possession four grenade launchers should there be a need to send canisters of tear gas or bean bags into a volatile situation.
All donated surplus military equipment is available to law enforcement agencies nationwide — large and small.
Some people are upset that there are local law enforcement agencies armed with such weapons of war. But the agencies that got the guns, armored vehicles and grenade launchers say it sends a message to would-be criminals: Officers “are armed to meet any threat,” so criminals should just stay away, said Bloomingdale Police Chief Roy Pike.
From the so-called 1033 program operated by a U.S. Department of Defense unit, Pike’s department of 13 officers acquired a grenade launcher for shooting tear gas, two M14 single-shot semi-automatic rifles and two M16 military-style rifles converted to semi-automatic from automatic.
The Cato Institute, a Washington-based think tank that promotes individual liberty and limited government, believes the military surplus program should be shut down, said Tim Lynch, director of the criminal justice project.
“When this equipment is given away, police departments start saying, ‘Let’s grab it.’” And once the equipment is in the hands of law enforcement, “we have militarized units going into the community in situations where they aren’t warranted,” Lynch said.
“This is one of the most alarming trends in American policing,” Lynch continued. “We used to call them peace officers and they would treat people ... with more respect and civility. We’re getting away from that. We’re getting into these military tactics and mind-set that the people they (police) come into contact with are the enemy ... and part of this is the militarized units in police departments.”
Candace Garrett Daly, a Cobb County homemaker, is equally unnerved.
“What are we headed to?” Garrett asked. “Whatever it is seems to be already in motion at a breakneck speed. The police are preparing for an enemy. My question is, ‘Who is the enemy?’”
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Orton Plantation Acquires Girl Scout Camp
Camp Pretty Pond, like Orton itself, now becomes a billionaire's possession, and common folk are most assuredly not welcome any longer.
Sad that the girls won't be able to enjoy the camp any more; I guess the fact that the owner is going to use the property to restore longleaf pine forest is something of a consolation; he could just as easily have turned it into condos or a shopping center.
Sad that the girls won't be able to enjoy the camp any more; I guess the fact that the owner is going to use the property to restore longleaf pine forest is something of a consolation; he could just as easily have turned it into condos or a shopping center.
Fun Poetry of the Day
A bit of Kipling:
As the Bell Clinks
As I left the Halls at Lumley, rose the vision of a comely
Maid last season worshipped dumbly, watched with fervor from afar;
And I wondered idly, blindly, if the maid would greet me kindly.
That was all -- the rest was settled by the clinking tonga-bar.
Yea, my life and hers were coupled by the tonga coupling-bar.
For my misty meditation, at the second changing-station,
Suffered sudden dislocation, fled before the tuneless jar
Of a Wagner obbligato, scherzo, doublehand staccato,
Played on either pony's saddle by the clacking tonga-bar --
Played with human speech, I fancied, by the jigging, jolting bar.
"She was sweet," thought I, "last season, but 'twere surely wild unreason
Such tiny hope to freeze on as was offered by my Star,
When she whispered, something sadly: 'I -- we feel your going badly!'"
"And you let the chance escape you?" rapped the rattling tonga-bar.
"What a chance and what an idiot!" clicked the vicious tonga-bar.
Heart of man -- O heart of putty! Had I gone by Kakahutti,
On the old Hill-road and rutty, I had 'scaped that fatal car.
But his fortune each must bide by, so I watched the milestones slide by,
To "You call on Her to-morrow!" -- no fugue with cymbals by the bar --
You must call on Her to-morrow!" -- post-horn gallop by the bar.
Yet a further stage my goal on -- we were whirling down to Solon,
With a double lurch and roll on, best foot foremost, ganz und gar --
"She was very sweet," I hinted. "If a kiss had been imprinted?" --
"'Would ha' saved a world of trouble!" clashed the busy tonga-bar.
"'Been accepted or rejected!" banged and clanged the tonga-bar.
Then a notion wild and daring, 'spite the income tax's paring,
And a hasty thought of sharing -- less than many incomes are,
Made me put a question private, you can guess what I would drive at.
"You must work the sum to prove it," clanked the careless tonga-bar.
"Simple Rule of Two will prove it," lilted back the tonga-bar.
It was under Khyraghaut I mused. "Suppose the maid be haughty --
There are lovers rich -- and forty -- wait some wealthy Avatar?
Answer, monitor untiring, 'twixt the ponies twain perspiring!"
"Faint heart never won fair lady," creaked the straining tonga-bar.
"Can I tell you ere you ask Her?" pounded slow the tonga-bar.
Last, the Tara Devi turning showed the lights of Simla burning,
Lit my little lazy yearning to a fiercer flame by far.
As below the Mall we jingled, through my very heart it tingled --
Did the iterated order of the threshing tonga-bar --
Try your luck -- you can't do better!" twanged the loosened tongar-bar.
Do you recognize that rhyme pattern and meter? It's very famous:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'
Yes, Kipling wrote As the Bell Clinks as a pastiche of Poe's The Raven. It is an early work, when he was learning his craft. More information on the poem here.
As the Bell Clinks
As I left the Halls at Lumley, rose the vision of a comely
Maid last season worshipped dumbly, watched with fervor from afar;
And I wondered idly, blindly, if the maid would greet me kindly.
That was all -- the rest was settled by the clinking tonga-bar.
Yea, my life and hers were coupled by the tonga coupling-bar.
For my misty meditation, at the second changing-station,
Suffered sudden dislocation, fled before the tuneless jar
Of a Wagner obbligato, scherzo, doublehand staccato,
Played on either pony's saddle by the clacking tonga-bar --
Played with human speech, I fancied, by the jigging, jolting bar.
"She was sweet," thought I, "last season, but 'twere surely wild unreason
Such tiny hope to freeze on as was offered by my Star,
When she whispered, something sadly: 'I -- we feel your going badly!'"
"And you let the chance escape you?" rapped the rattling tonga-bar.
"What a chance and what an idiot!" clicked the vicious tonga-bar.
Heart of man -- O heart of putty! Had I gone by Kakahutti,
On the old Hill-road and rutty, I had 'scaped that fatal car.
But his fortune each must bide by, so I watched the milestones slide by,
To "You call on Her to-morrow!" -- no fugue with cymbals by the bar --
You must call on Her to-morrow!" -- post-horn gallop by the bar.
Yet a further stage my goal on -- we were whirling down to Solon,
With a double lurch and roll on, best foot foremost, ganz und gar --
"She was very sweet," I hinted. "If a kiss had been imprinted?" --
"'Would ha' saved a world of trouble!" clashed the busy tonga-bar.
"'Been accepted or rejected!" banged and clanged the tonga-bar.
Then a notion wild and daring, 'spite the income tax's paring,
And a hasty thought of sharing -- less than many incomes are,
Made me put a question private, you can guess what I would drive at.
"You must work the sum to prove it," clanked the careless tonga-bar.
"Simple Rule of Two will prove it," lilted back the tonga-bar.
It was under Khyraghaut I mused. "Suppose the maid be haughty --
There are lovers rich -- and forty -- wait some wealthy Avatar?
Answer, monitor untiring, 'twixt the ponies twain perspiring!"
"Faint heart never won fair lady," creaked the straining tonga-bar.
"Can I tell you ere you ask Her?" pounded slow the tonga-bar.
Last, the Tara Devi turning showed the lights of Simla burning,
Lit my little lazy yearning to a fiercer flame by far.
As below the Mall we jingled, through my very heart it tingled --
Did the iterated order of the threshing tonga-bar --
Try your luck -- you can't do better!" twanged the loosened tongar-bar.
Do you recognize that rhyme pattern and meter? It's very famous:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'
Yes, Kipling wrote As the Bell Clinks as a pastiche of Poe's The Raven. It is an early work, when he was learning his craft. More information on the poem here.
Friday, February 22, 2013
The Possum Will Drop Again
A victory over PETA:
New Years Eve apparently include a possum drop again this year in the North Carolina mountain community of Brasstown.
The state Senate voted 41-2 Thursday in favor of a bill that would give a state agency the right to issue a permit to organizers of the annual Brasstown Possum Drop.
The event, in an unincorporated community in Clay County, began nearly 20 years ago. Organizer Clay Logan said he wanted some sort of fun way to bring in the new year. Rather than raise a ball, as in New York City, he and other event sponsors put an opossum in a large, glass-walled box, and slowly lowered it to the ground.
The animal is then released, Logan says.
But the event was blocked two months ago by PETA, which claimed it amounted to animal abuse. PETA successfully got a court order stopping the event, saying the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources did not have the authority to grant a permit allowing someone to temporarily hold a wild animal.
Don't know if this means that PETA will surrender on the issue, though. Liberal groups are stubborn about such things.
New Years Eve apparently include a possum drop again this year in the North Carolina mountain community of Brasstown.
The state Senate voted 41-2 Thursday in favor of a bill that would give a state agency the right to issue a permit to organizers of the annual Brasstown Possum Drop.
The event, in an unincorporated community in Clay County, began nearly 20 years ago. Organizer Clay Logan said he wanted some sort of fun way to bring in the new year. Rather than raise a ball, as in New York City, he and other event sponsors put an opossum in a large, glass-walled box, and slowly lowered it to the ground.
The animal is then released, Logan says.
But the event was blocked two months ago by PETA, which claimed it amounted to animal abuse. PETA successfully got a court order stopping the event, saying the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources did not have the authority to grant a permit allowing someone to temporarily hold a wild animal.
Don't know if this means that PETA will surrender on the issue, though. Liberal groups are stubborn about such things.
Maybe They Should Rename It...
...the Lost Dumbass Mine.
David Bremson sees plenty of rescues in the Superstition Wilderness, like the 51-year-old woman who had to be pulled from the mountains for the second time in three months Wednesday after she got lost seeking the legendary Lost Dutchman's gold.
Typically, the weather is nice. People go hiking, hunting or seeking their fortune, and when someone gets lost or injured, search-and-rescue volunteers are called. Bremson, operations chief of the Central Arizona Mountain Rescue Association, doesn't mind doing rescues. But he has a message.
He doesn't believe the Lost Dutchman's gold exists, so his advice is don't endanger yourself looking for it. But if you do get in a jam, his team is not going to bill you for their work.
"Most of the body recoveries we've done out of the Supes have been Dutch hunters," Bremson said.
David Bremson sees plenty of rescues in the Superstition Wilderness, like the 51-year-old woman who had to be pulled from the mountains for the second time in three months Wednesday after she got lost seeking the legendary Lost Dutchman's gold.
Typically, the weather is nice. People go hiking, hunting or seeking their fortune, and when someone gets lost or injured, search-and-rescue volunteers are called. Bremson, operations chief of the Central Arizona Mountain Rescue Association, doesn't mind doing rescues. But he has a message.
He doesn't believe the Lost Dutchman's gold exists, so his advice is don't endanger yourself looking for it. But if you do get in a jam, his team is not going to bill you for their work.
"Most of the body recoveries we've done out of the Supes have been Dutch hunters," Bremson said.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
