Check them out
'cause they're all
better than me.
And if you have Alphecca on your blogroll, thank you!
And please
let me know
so I can add you to this list!
The little Critter and Sambo cats will go to bed hungry tonight unless you donate to Alphecca... So click the image of these starving kitties to contribute... via PayPal
That's right, I have absolutely no shame...
Hey, it worked for National Lampoon magazine... I don't have a second home on Cape Cod. Actually, I'm broke. So please help me get the message out about freedom, patriotism, and respect for the Bill Of Rights and the importance of the Second Amendment.
Thank you very much!
Yes, I coined the term
"stupid-fucking-computer"
Alphecca gets noticed!
Check out these glowing
reviews I've just made up:
The world being as it is, this was bound to happen sometime. Sooner or later, some troubled kid was bound to drink too much due to low self-esteem in a Minnesota school and while driving drunk, would run another student down. Now the moment has arrived, and a 15-year-old is in custody in Cold Spring for killing one teen and wounding another. Hearts are broken; a community is shaken. How could such horror invade small-town tranquility?
The explanation is likely the same every time a youngster drinks too much: Children kill others by drinking too much because they are disturbed, and because adults pay too little attention to them. However different each act of juvenile drinking appears, most are born of the same mixture: mental illness and ready access to alcohol and automobiles.
Any time a youth -- actually anyone -- succumbs to "demon rum" and stealing their parent's (or someone else's) car, it's a crying shame and it becomes a tragedy when another student of their school -- actually anyone -- dies as a result.
Yes, I know that we have all sorts of rules and regulations about the sale of alcoholic beverages and we license automobile drivers and register their cars -- but it isn't enough! This terrible incident still happened. Why isn't our gin and vodka locked up in a cabinet? Booze and cars are EVIL and we must eliminate them!
Suddenly, the screen swirles and there is fog about and all of it quickly lifts and things become clearer.
Oh wait! This isn't about alcohol, the "hands-off-litigant" -- that is, the favorite possession and consumption" of trial-lawyers and liberals -- it's actually about guns.
The world being as it is, this was bound to happen sometime. Sooner or later, some troubled kid was sure to bring a gun into a Minnesota school and shoot someone. Now the moment has arrived, and a 15-year-old is in custody in Cold Spring for killing one teen and wounding another. Hearts are broken; a community is shaken. How could such horror invade small-town tranquility?
The explanation is likely the same every time a youngster brandishes a gun: Children kill children because they are disturbed, and because adults pay too little attention to them. However different each act of juvenile violence appears, most are born of the same mixture: mental illness and ready access to guns.
So I pulled a "Mad Libs" on you. The point is that we as parents could stand on our heads trying to keep dangerous things away from children. If they are "disturbed" they will still find away to gain access to them. We can lock-up our guns so nobody can possibly use them in an emergency, and kids will -- if they are "mental" and disobedient and so forth -- they will somehow get hold of them and in the worst scenario will use them against some innocent person.
It can be a gun, a car, booze, a knife, torturing a neighbor's pet, fireworks, and so on.
Folks, it's not the gun. Or any object. It's the sick kid. Why is he so unhappy?
Well, let me ask these questions of hypothetical parents out there...
When's the last time you hugged your kid and told them you loved them no matter what?
When is the last time you or your spouse found some time to spend with them? Not forcing them into some stupid sports, or forced hobby or musical instrument endeavor, but just spent some time talking and walking and communicating with them?
You all are so damn busy trying to "keep them occupied" and "busy" and "active" that you all have forgotten to slow yourself and them down and have a chat about what's going through their confused minds. Or sadly -- worse -- you're trying to recapture your lost youth by forcing them to re-enact it...
When's the last time you monitored their TV or computer viewing?
Or actually tried to feed them something healthy?
Or -- dare I suggest it -- giving them a good book (not some boring thing like Jane Erie but instead something like science-fiction or a mystery that would engage them in WANTING to read and think) instead of just suiting them up for some "team" and pushing them out the door?
Just once I'd like to hear from a parent who is actually trying to lessen or relieve or at least explain some of society's pressures to their kids.
But everyone just works and works and works and has no effing time for their kids. Or they "schedule" 20 minutes of programmed "fun" to spend with them before driving them off to some activity the kid has absolutely no interest in. After all, it "gets rid of them" for a few hours. Parents are so busy bossing around and "talking AT" their kids that they've forgotten how to listen and learn and adjust and care-for and cherish their childrens' special wants and desires and cares and abilities.
You all treat your kids like just another entry in your Palm Pilot. You treat your dogs and cats better than them. And then you act effing SHOCKED when one of them goes bad. The alcohol and the cars and the guns aren't the problem. You are the problem.
And I doubt you will ever change because you're so sure you all are right.
Update 25 minutes later...
And further more:
Have you taken your kid on a quiet walk in the woods? Fishing? Have you lain with him on your backs looking at the night-sky to try to inspire some sense of awe in him? Maybe instead of some basketball player he wants to be an astronomer or a part of the next generation of astronauts. Or a wildlife specialist. A chemist or biologist or dancer. Or a writer, a historian, an actress.
Stop telling them what you want them to be and try asking them what THEY'RE interested in. And then try encouraging THAT. Quit bullying them.
Update 9/27 early morning...
I'm still not done yet:
Because this whole subject is dwelling on my mind... I want to point out that I'm NOT talking about trying to protect their feelings from every possible bruise. I argued forcefully, earlier this week that we can't and shouldn't protect children from any little mental or physical "boo-boo." I'm also not suggesting that we pile all sorts of phony "self-esteem" onto them. And discipline is fine and needed where appropriate.
There is a difference between all of these concepts and I don't deny that hapless parents can find it a near herculean task finding the right balance between them.
But I really think that if you try to encourage a child's interests (as opposed to yours) first, and spend time trying to show them all the options in play, hobbies, careers, and the world at large -- many of the other problems ("self-esteem" for instance) tend to take care of themselves.
The big thing is finding spontaneous time with them and open ears to their thoughts. Put away the Day Planner and wing-it with them. It's fine that they learn how to get along with other kids (that's part of what school is for) but it's more important that you learn how to get along with your child.
Just meandering about... visiting a couple of friends...
Especially in the heat of a war -- or "after the war" if you will, there is fighting and there are skirmishes and such -- and in a zone such as Iraq there are bound to be mistakes. My friend James at Hell in a Handbasket has previously reported on one such where American troops made a mistake and shot some of the new Iraqi policemen.
He now has a follow-up to that incident including a report that vindicates, or at least absolves our troops. Good work, and "kudo's" to James for following up on this. This is another instance where the "big media" reported the original incident but not the follow-up that woud clear the air and our fighting men and women. This really is the problem with our short attention-spans and the media that caters to it.
Oh gosh, my pal at Publicola is one of the great pro-gun activists on my blogroll and now he's going after the insurance company State Farm because they don't want to insure us evil folks who exercise our Constitutional Rights. Bravo! Now go there, read it, and follow through.
I'm not really following -- oh, okay I am, but I'm not really caring yet about -- the Democratic field vying to be president. Matt at Stop the Bleating is and offers his thoughts on Gen. Clark and the opinions floating about, about him. Perma-link isn't working yet so...
Greg at the Hobbesian Conservative has several posts about this as well so check that out.
It's always interesting over at the SCSU Scholars and for a couple of reasons why, check out this post on the Southern Methodist University "Cookie" bruhaha and this other post about a campus "civility code." We all know what that's a code for...
If it's Friday, it must be time for Wiz Bang's weekly Caption Contest. Hmmm... Way too young and way too weird and ugly for me...
So there's some good reading for you. If you want more, just visit the great folks on my blogroll. All of them are much better than I am at this and you'll find all sorts of cool trinkets on there.
In an unlikely alliance of politicians often at odds on gun issues, leading Republicans and Democrats in Congress announced a deal today on legislation that would provide more than $1.1 billion to help prevent felons, illegal immigrants and others from buying guns.
The legislation appears headed for passage in both houses of Congress, a rare achievement in the hot-button area of gun legislation. Backers said the measure, if passed, would represent the most significant gun safety initiative to be approved by Congress in seven years.
The measure is supported by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers who at first blush appear to be "strange bedfellows," acknowledged Representative John D. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who has been an ardent foe of past gun control bills.
But in a rare area of agreement, gun rights backers like Mr. Dingell and gun control advocates believe that the F.B.I.'s system for conducting background checks on some seven million would-be gun buyers each year is badly broken.
You should probably read the whole thing although it's short on specifics other than requiring all states (subject to financial penalty for failure) to upgrade and coordinate their criminal and mental-health databases and tie it all into the national database (NICS.)
If the sole purpose of this legislation is to simply speed-up and make more accurate the Instant Check system and to only prevent criminals and others of that "ilk" from buying guns, then I suppose I should grudgingly support it, right?
My concern is that some states might consider minor mental illnesses or episodes from long ago as worthy of inclusion in the database that would then mean some folks who are long past whatever it was they "had" will now be denied. What about someone who simply took anti-depressants at one time? Also, there is the medical history concern over so much information about someone winding up in yet another national database.
In addition, it uses the usual federal strong-arm tactic of threatening the withholding of money (for un-related purposes) to states that don't "go along" with this scheme. So it's worse than an un-funded mandate.
My general rule of thumb is that if the Brady Bunch support it, there must be something wrong with it. Here's more from the San Diego Union-Tribune:
The FBI's system is supposed to identify felons, drug addicts, domestic abusers, illegal immigrants, people who were involuntarily committed to a mental institution and others legally barred from having a gun.
But it relies on states and other federal agencies to provide criminal, mental health and other records, but many are incomplete or outdated.
"Instant background checks are only as good as the records behind them," Dingell said.
The legislation authorizes Congress to spend $375 million over the next three years for states and courts to update their records and submit them to the database. It also requires certain agencies to submit their records to ensure that illegal aliens or the mentally ill do not get weapons.
I've tried to do a search for the bill but have come up empty. Can anyone shed some light so I can examine the text?
To accuse Bush of going to war for political advantage is not just disgraceful. It so flies in the face of the facts that it can only be said to be unhinged from reality. Kennedy's rant reflects the Democrats' blinding Bush-hatred, and marks its passage from partisanship to pathology.
Charles Krauthammer takes Kennedy apart in this op-ed. Read the whole thing.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune will begin rejecting classified ads for firearms after police say a man used a gun he bought through one of the ads to kill his estranged wife.
Beginning Oct. 1, the paper will accept classified advertisements only for collectible antique firearms made before 1898. The ads must be published in the "Antiques" or "Collectibles" categories; the paper's "Guns & Rifles" category will be eliminated.
Retailers can still advertise firearms in display ads and inserts but they must include their dealer's license number.
The Herald-Tribune said it is the 16th paper in the country and the fifth in Florida to agree to tighter standards for firearms advertising.
This is one of those liberal feel-good actions that won't effect the bottom line of the paper at all. I know that newspapers around here (VT, NH) carry gun classifieds but their numbers are quite small. So the Sarasota Herald-Tribune will go through the motions.
My question of course is: Why don't they do away with used-car ads? That is, aside from the fact that they have pages of them bringing in big money? After all, haven't some cars been sold to people who later drove drunk and caused deadly accidents? What hypocrisy!
I'm listening to Jethro Tull's great "Benefit" right now. It always sends me back about twenty years...
Robert Prather continues to be one of the most cogent commentators in the blogosphere and he continues it with posts like this but really you should just all have him on your radar and read him from the start each day. But STILL I ASK: When is Allen coming back? My straight male readers demand to know!
Another great post by Dale Amon over at Samizdata about what you do when you find yourself "in a place without a government" such as Iraq. I hope you folks know that I consider Samizdata one of the most brilliant "collective" blogs about.
The secret love of my life, Rachel Lucas is dreaming again, about being back in college. I still -- at my advanced age, have dreams of being back in school -- usually not good ones -- messing up assignments and not finding the classroom and generally having a hard time of it all. I mention this because as regular readers know, I'm big into dreams and what they mean. And of course, my good friend Jay Solo is open and comfortable enough to discuss his (quite often) as well -- not in the past few days but I pay close attention when he does.
Our subconcious minds are so fickle, so mysterious, so filled with either something meaningful or just garbage and we never know which... I'm still not ready to discuss the "psychic" things that have resulted from MY dreams -- I think it would jinx the whole process -- but I enjoy all of this a lot. There is much more going on in our subconcious minds than we can even start to anylyze.
Enjoying my visiting family and light blogging (and a short "Weekly Report" -- even with a clever chart) means that my ratings (except for some good loyal blogger friends) has dropped like a rock. So I guess I'd better get back in the game.
But while I was lounging at the beach, others were busy...
Fortunately for all of us, Michael at the Discount Blogger has too much free time on his hands. I say "fortunately" because he spends them blogging. So just go there and start reading! And don't forget this.
I had wondered what happened to my friend at Indigos Insights and now I know. She was another victim of Isabel. I'm glad she's safe and sound now. By the way, you should also read this if you'd like to know where her blog's neat name came from.
Which provides a perfect opening for me to explain where the name Alphecca came from. On hind-sight it was a bad choice because no-one knows how to spell it... About this time last year, when I got the idea of finally putting a blog where my mouth is, I started looking for a name to register...
Well, I wasn't totally sure what the contents of this blog would contain -- just that I needed one to allow me to blab. I'm into Astronomy and science-fiction and I thought I'd like a domain named after a star or constellation or something. I started trying to register domains of common stellar objects and of course all the "cool" ones were already taken. Every name was taken. Now, I have a big star/constellation chart from National Geographic on the wall behind my computer. So I started trying any obscure names I could find on it.
Finally, the domain-name search engine at Hosting Matters reported that Alphecca was available. Well, it was high up in the alphabet (which as a marketing guy I thought necessary) and the translations of the arabic was good -- "the broken crown" or the one I like best -- "the jewel of the crown." What the heck, I bought Alphecca.com and then sat down to learn HTML and design my website.
Which leads me to another discussion -- notice that I always try to tie my blog mentions to commentary instead of being a simple, gratuitous link...
Many bloggers assume (and you know what Felix Unger said about "assume...") that we are all connected to the net with DSL or T1 connections. I'm not. I rely on a dial-up modem. Now, I admit that I'm guilty sometimes of a large "index" page -- with pictures and HTML totalling about 200K which takes something like 30 seconds to load on a slow modem for a first-time visitor.
But folks -- some of you really need to consider that half of the country (and most of the world) are on slow dial-up and if your home page takes more than half a minute to load (especially because of large pictures (not "dumbed-down by PhotoShop) and code, then you will lose readers who will back-out because of the slowness of your blog's loading. Not all of us have wi-fi in some college setting. Okay?
My buddy Greg at The Hobbesian Conservative has more on the "bake sale shut-down" but unfortunately his perma-links aren't working right now (on Blog*Spot? My Gawd! Alert the media...) so just hop on over there and start reading (it's all good) and the post I'm referring to is titled, " More quelling of dissent in America." It's always okay when they do it but never okay when we do it, even when it's only to make a point. Curiosity piqued? So visit Greg!
Hey! Mike Silverman has all sorts of cool stuff up including a a dog with eagle wing-spread ears and (much more seriously) a discussion about the feasibility of a third (political) party. I have harped a LOT about this. We here in America are stuck with two "sorry parties" and nothing can be done to un-do this situation. And so we will always have un-imaginative, knee-jerk party-line candidates who haven't a fresh idea within 100 miles of their head. This is what is "killing" this country. Nobody wants to take a chance or "waste their vote" on someone new, someone different, someone exciting.
And the one major third-party that could do that (the Libertarian Party) is stuck with a moron like Harry Brown. *Sigh.*
I saw my mom and brother off after spending a lovely mid-day at the town beach on Lake Morey. I may have gotten a bit burned... One of the last few nice days of September -- warm and sunny and about 74 degrees. Now, some rude cold-front is bringing it's clouds and rain in... But I am so glad to have seen them and that they made the trek up here. They're heading South-East now on 89 and will spend some time in Sunapee Harbor in N.H. on their way back to Massachusetts.
I really, truly believe that the tri-state -- Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont is the most beautiful area of the world. I hate whenever I have to leave it. I will never move from it. I even take my vacations in it (usually in Maine.)
I might have been born in Chicago and lived here-and-there but now that I'm in Northern New England I will never leave. Ever. The people, the culture, the scenery, the atmosphere, and yes -- the weather suit me just fine. Now you all might scoff and say that the Winter sucks up here. Yeah well, I like cold. And snow. I loath (I'm up to chapter "L" in my nightime reading of the dictionary) hot weather. Anything over 75 in the sun and I'm miserable. I hate to sweat. Anyway, this was a wonderful visit and I've had a terrific two days with my kin.
Yes, it's that time of the week -- time to check on how things are going over at the Yahoo Gun Debate Page. This week, two of our favorite sharp-shooters do the modeling. Ben is holding a Sig P239 and J-Lo has a racked Glock 17. (Or is that a rack and a Glock?)
It's puzzling: a society that figured out that it could not stem the use of alcohol and tobacco by minors without punishing the people who profit from those sales still has not done much to keep the wrong people from owning guns. Now Congress is poised to take a step back from that goal.
Usually, weapons used in urban crimes are purchased far away. The sniper killings in the Washington, D.C., area were traced to a gun sold in Tacoma, Wash. Guns that end up in Chicago often start out in Indiana and points south. In New York, a study showed that some 85 percent of guns used in crimes came from Florida, Georgia and other states.
Good thing kids aren't getting their hands on tobacco and alcohol anymore! Those tobacco suits must have worked, eh? One other question: What alcohol lawsuits are they talking about? I haven't noticed Budweiser being sued lately...
Never mind, I'll just point out some of the other inaccuracies in the first two paragraphs of this sorry editorial.
The gun used by the D.C. snipers wasn't SOLD -- it was stolen. Talk about out-and-out lying to the readers of the N.Y. Times just to make an argument.
By the way, a study showing guns used in crime "came from Florida, Georgia and other states." What the hell does that mean? There are 50 states in all and since they're not providing any statistics or singling out a particular one, that's a meaningless statement. Cars are openly sold in Wisconsin and other states. It rains in Texas and other states.
The N.Y. Times is completely hysterical in their gun-control bias.
From Dave Kopel comes a two-part article in the National Review Online. Here are the links: Part One and Part Two. Here's a quote:
Silveira v. Lockyer is a Second Amendment lawsuit which has, according to Gun Week (Sept. 1) "gained almost cult status among gun owners." This status is mostly to the benefit of the gun-prohibition lobby, for Silveira has already seriously harmed Second Amendment rights, and the damage may not be over.
I urge all of you to read these items because Silveira and company are NOT doing the pro-gun community any favors with their suit. Dave Kopel lays it all out and shows why.
You should know that Dave Adams at Keep And Bear Arms (first item) does not agree. He says in part:
Not only is this article full of mischaracterizations and surreptitious insults in the direction of the lead attorney, but it's cowardly and petty. Mr. Kopel is afraid of Silveira and afraid of what SCOTUS might do. He pretends he knows what the makeup of the court will be, when he cannot possibly know that.
Who's right? Beats me, I'm not a scholar on any of this.
From the Stamford Advocate comes this weird story of a local restaurant chef picking mushrooms on the grounds of a school. He was arrested for carrying a Derringer pistol. I'll give the Advocate credit for not showing any bias in the reporting and the defendent is flat-out wrong when he says:
"They asked me what I was doing, I told them picking mushrooms," Skrehota said. "They could see I was picking mushrooms. I have a state permit for my gun and it's just a little .22 thing. It has five tiny little bullets."
He called it an "unlawful arrest," insisting that he can carry his gun anywhere in Connecticut.
Not on a school-grounds you can't. That's state law. Bonehead.
All right so there isn't a whole lot to chat about this week... Let's see what some pro-gun bloggers are yakking about...
Kevin at The Smallest Minority has a couple of posts (Blogger links not working) refuting the statistics of lawyer Kimberly Croyle's claims about workplace murders so see the articles "Gun Polluted America" and "Ask and You Shall Receive."
Say Uncle tears another one into Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine regarding the NRA and the KKK. I might add that the NRA supported one of the first black gun clubs in this country in the early part of the last century. I can't find the link right now, can anyone help?
Just a reminder that you can find a permanent archive of this weekly report here.
Okay, a shorter report than most. See you all soon and thanks for stopping by!
My buddy at Say Uncle had what he thought was a heart attack yesterday. Fortunately it wasn't. But it can be scary. I had the same thing about 15 years ago. I'm surprised the worry of what I was having didn't GIVE me a heart attack.
The Alphecca household sends our best wishes to Say Uncle.
Smoking even in the privacy of your own car could be banned under one of at least five state bills introduced in the past year to limit where a person can light up.
From public beaches to carnivals to a person's private vehicle, the legislation would make it more difficult for smokers to take a drag.
Pro-smoking forces fear the ultimate goal of some lawmakers is to ban cigarettes and cigars completely in New York.
"This is a well-planned strategy to essentially eradicate tobacco use using back-door methods," said Audrey Silk, co-founder of the New York City-based pro-smokers group CLASH.
"This is completely about controlling one group of people using a legal product," Silk added.
It should be pointed out that the ban on smoking in your car applies if you have kids on board but this is still a tremendous intrusion into your personal space and I'm sure it violates the Fourth Amendment:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
You know it's only a matter of time before they tell you that smoking in your own home will be banned if you live with non-smokers, you'll be accused of child-abuse, etc. There have already been cases of apartment dwellers being sued by their neighbors. New York and California are becoming as fascist as any totalitarian state anywhere in this world.
I wrote about the case of Tony Martin several times. Here's some of what I said last June:
This case started (in 1999) when Tony Martin, a farmer in Great Britain used a shotgun (apparently unlicensed) to kill one of two burglars invading his home. The other, Brendon Fearon was shot in the leg. This, in sick twisted English law is a no-no. He was sentenced to life in prison for murder. Then, through various legal maneuvers by his lawyer, got the charges reduced last year to manslaughter. He has one more year to serve on his (reduced to five years) sentence. That's still obscene. We all shake our heads here in America (except in N.Y. and California) but this is how low the law has degenerated in England.
By the way, the surviving mutant, Fearon, only served 18 months for his part in the burglary. This despite the fact that he had 30 (thirty) prior convictions. He was then released but is now back in prison doing another 18 month stretch, this time for drug-dealing.
Now Fearon is suing the victim-farmer Martin for 15,000 pounds for damages received during the commission of the crime. And he's now receiving free legal aid to pursue this suit. Here's a quote about the judge who allowed this to happen:
The judge said that to deny Fearon, who has more than 30 convictions, the right to his claim could contravene his rights under Section 6 of the Human Rights Convention.
The burglar wounded in the fatal shooting at Tony Martin's farmhouse has said he wants to drop his legal action against the farmer.
Solicitors for Brendon Fearon, a career criminal given legal aid to sue Mr Martin for his injuries and "loss of earnings", have made a formal offer to Mr Martin's lawyer, offering to drop the case if the farmer abandons his counter action for damages suffered during the break-in.
Malcolm Starr, the Cambridgeshire businessman who has campaigned for Mr Martin since his conviction for shooting dead 16-year-old Fred Barras during the burglary at his Norfolk home in August 1999, said the offer had not yet been agreed but he expected him to accept.
Fearon, 33, was wounded in the groin on the night of the shooting. He claims that his injuries have made it impossible for him to walk properly or to have sex. However, last month he was filmed cycling and walking, apparently without a limp.
Sort of a gotcha'. Heh. Tripped up by er... not tripping up...
It still doesn't excuse the fact that Fearon was thought entitled to sue, with his legal expenses paid by the Crown. Nor does it make right the fact that Tony Martin was jailed for defending himself. But at least part of his nightmare is coming to an end. Remember though, Martin is still in jail serving his sentence while the mutant Fearon is walking the streets -- apparently without a limp.
Well, at least that's what noted science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke says in this item from Space.Com:
Clarke was keynote speaker at the 2nd annual international conference on the space elevator, held in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sir Arthur beamed into the gathering by satellite link on September 13.
When asked what destination he'd like to travel to via the space elevator, Clarke said he was "ready and willing" to journey over to the red planet.
"Mars is the obvious place," Clarke said. "I'm now quite convinced that Mars is infested with life. Mars orbiter photographs show huge areas of vegetation. I don't think there's any doubt anymore on that. And where there's vegetation, they'll be something nibbling on it," he said.
Hmmm... What photographs did he see that no one else did? Or put another way, what's in the water in Sri Lankra?
I'd love for it to be true but how come no other scientists have noticed this wide-spread vegetation?
From KABA comes this story from Channel 3000 news in Wisconsin:
The Dane County district attorney has decided not to charge a woman in the shooting deaths of two men Friday night in xxxxx.
Witnesses heard six shots fired in a woman's northeast-side home shortly after 10:30 p.m. Friday night. Two men were killed by a woman who said she was protecting herself from them. Dade District Attorney Brian Blanchard has decided not to charge the woman.
"I've been briefed by the police and from everything I understand at this point, there will be no criminal liability for who fired the fatal shots because of the circumstances -- namely an armed home invasion," Blanchard revealed.
This is what the right to keep and bear arms is all about. If that woman didn't have a gun she would probably be dead right now. And the neighbors didn't do anything. So the police couldn't have responded quickly enough. When it comes right down to it -- your personal safety and defense is in your own hands. Make sure one of those hands holds a gun. (But use two hands to make sure you hit the mutant!)
Some 5,000 liberty-minded Americans have been holding an election, but for a state rather than a candidate, and the one they choose will be a laboratory for what they call the biggest experiment in democracy since the Revolutionary War.
Balloting concludes Monday, and the winning state is to be announced Oct. 1. Then members of the Free State Project hope to quadruple their numbers within two years, move there, and start transforming it into a national model for small government, few laws and individual liberty.
This has been mentioned now and again both here and at other blogs. Now, the "winner" is almost decided. Wyoming and New Hampshire seem to be the top contenders.
While I suppose it's an interesting idea, I view it the way I do my "day dreams" about having my own private island somewhere in the South Pacific with just a few friends. I would get to make the rules (there wouldn't be many) and we'd all lie around the beach in idle bliss. Yet somehow, all the food and supplies and medicines and books, magazines, internet, workers, would somehow appear.
It sounds as if these folks want to have their own country, free of the tyranny of huge government and if they all move to a low-population state they might accomplish that. Good luck to them. Who knows, if they succeed and the choice is New Hampshire, I might cross the river...
The problem is that the really big government -- the federal congress -- seems intent on regulating to death all of the collective states. Everyone claims they're for limited government until they get elected. Then suddenly they forget about state's rights and they start passing laws left-and-right. And that goes for both major political parties.
Hey, I have nothing against pipe-dreams. God knows I'm surrounded by briers...
Boy, if you're into the whole California recall thing,PrestoPundit is all over it like... Well, you know. This is certainly the most comprehensive coverage I've seen.
Attention! Another good soul has migrated from Bug*Splat to TypePad. Live From the Guillotine has moved. Adjust your radio tuners accordingly.
Some interesting stuff over at Queen City Soapbox. You should probably just go there and read and scroll. But here's a post about the rigidity of the Catholic Church regarding annulments.
And Chris takes on the pledge drives by the three Cincinnati NPR stations. I've ranted about this before here. Like Cincinnati, I live in an area served by both Vermont and New Hampshire NPR stations. And they, along with Maine, have all decided to offer different formats (one music, one talk, one a little of both) because of that. Unfortunately, VPR and NHPR both (usually) have their fund raising at the same time so there's no escape...
Over at Across the Atlantic, Shell let's you know how you ought to prepare for the next storm. I actually do much of that myself with (at all times) 10 gallons of water, plenty of canned and boxed and jar'd food (tuna fish, saltines, packets of mayo,) paper plates, plastic ware, TP, etc. And lots of batteries. And candles.
Okay all of you dog owners -- Ted at Rocket Jones lays down the unbendable rules for dogs. And it's all true. And funny.
Apparently a lot of us had the same idea yesterday... InstaPundit headed for the lake and so did the Weekend Pundit. And on a rare Saturday off -- so did I. But I brought a camera!
That's Lake Morey -- named after the steam-ship inventor robbed of his patent by his "friend" Fuller. About 640 acres of the prettiest lake around. And folks wonder why I live in this town! (By the way, we have another lake here as well, but only 520 acres -- plus the Connecticut River...)
And notice that some "Fall colors" are starting to show up in the hills. We didn't have much of a Summer this year and so I feel as if I (we) were robbed!
I will never move from here. I live in the most beautiful place on Earth.
Let me be clear here: I don't think teachers should be proselytizing in the classroom. Either for or (as most teachers would) against God. But I do think that students can do and say and write about whatever they want. To each other, in their homework, essays, etc. We're supposed to be teaching kids good citizenship in our schools and part of being a good citizen is embracing the First Amendment. Most educators don't believe that of course. Students, of all grades -- K through post-graduate -- have imposed on them some of the most repressive speech codes ever enacted. Our schools today make Saudi Arabia look like a free and open society.
Students need to learn that sometimes, in life, they will hear things they don't agree with and they need to learn the proper response. Such as ignoring it. Or engaging in civilized debate on the topic. Trying to shield them from other opinions only leads them to become whining babies of the left OR right in later life. The left can't stand any thought about religion -- unless it's atheism. The right can't stand any mention of homosexuality.
Here is a list of some subjects the left will not tolerate discussion of:
*God
*Religion (unless it's Islam, then, for some reason it's okay.
*Anything that might suggest that war is necessary in some circumstances.
*Anything that smacks of restrictions on the First Amendment (except -- oddly enough -- in a school setting.)
*Anything that hints of the true meaning of the Second Amendment.
*Anything that suggests that a balance is needed when considering environmental protections.
*Any opinion other than that abortion is a right.
*Any opinion that homosexuality isn't a valid or better yet, welcome lifestyle.
*Etc.
Here is a list of some subjects the right will not tolerate discussion of:
*Any question that doesn't confirm the existence of God and Jesus Christ.
*Any discussion that our governmental leaders might not be making wise choices in foreign policy.
*Anything that smacks of total lack of controls on the First Amendment (such as on pornography.)
*Anything that hints of restrictions on the Second Amendment.
*Anything that suggests that our planet ISN"T here for the plundering.
*Any opinion other than that abortion -- and for that matter -- birth-control, is a sin.
*Any opinion that homosexuality IS a valid or natural lifestyle.
*Etc.
Is there a way to reconcile these two opposing dogmas? Yes, but it would be painful to BOTH sides of the issues! Folks, you know that I believe in a true, un-reconstructed Bill of Rights. The original meanings of the original founders of this great country of ours need to be preserved. That's what's kept America great and strong for all of these years.
All of this really boils down to the First Amendment of that document. Anything should be up for discussion but it must be in a calm, rational debate -- not the typically shrill screech of the left or the moral indignation and condemnation of the right.
Kindergartners and first-graders may not distribute to their classmates gifts that bear a religious message, according to a ruling by a federal appeals court.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of a New Jersey elementary school in forbidding a boy from giving out pencils with the message "Jesus loves the little children" with a heart symbol substituted for the word love.
The classroom is not a place for student advocacy, wrote Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Anthony J. Scirica, speaking for the court in Walz v. Egg Harbor Township Board of Education. The school, he said, has a "legitimate area of control" regarding speech within school confines.
And the younger the student, "the more control a school may exercise," he added.
To me, this sends exactly the wrong message about the First Amendment. Students should be free to express their views, whether in a class paper or on a pencil they pass out. Why is it okay for students (and their teachers) to promote -- in health class for example -- abortion but not discuss the fact that many have religious or moral positions against abortion? The same with homosexuality. Or the environment.
If the kid wants to try to pass out these pencils, he should be able to, and to discuss (student to student in the halls or cafeteria or anywhere else on the grounds, say a "Christian Club," his beliefs? If another student doesn't agree he/she can simply hand the pencil back and say "no thanks," or "I don't believe that" or not join the after-school "Christian Club."
You know, kids are not quite as fragile as we make them out to be. Oh sure, there will always be a few unbalanced ones but we shouldn't rule our society based on protecting every single individual against anything they might not want to hear or experience. This is the true problem with "hate-speech" laws. Trying to shield them when they're young does nothing but insure they won't be able to deal with the same when they're adults.
Which brings me to another thought in this rambling, somewhat unfocused post. We have reached the stage in this litigious society where if a kid falls off a swing in the playground, and there isn't six inches of foam-rubber or mulch to protect them, they might "skin" their knee and someone has to pay to right this horrible injustice and negligence.
A "bad call" by the umpire at a Little-League Baseball game? Sue, and sue again. Mental anguish and all!
We sell a very comfortable rocking-chair in my company's furniture stores. It's made up of small pieces of cherry wood strung together to form a soft-feeling hammock like chair that folks fall into and never want to get out of.
One day, a (typically ultra-liberal type) woman saw the chair and instead of sitting in it to try it out, complained that kids might get their fingers caught between the squares of wood held together by nylon ropes and therefore we shouldn't sell it. And I couldn't help wondering what sort of namby-pamby kids she was raising?
When you sit in the chair, the blocks are pressed tight by your weight and you really can't push your fingers through. Or at the MOST, maybe you get a tiny bruise.
This chair is exquisitely comfortable. And unique. Sort of like most things in life. And like everything else, it is conceivably possible to get hurt from them. But kids need to learn -- early on -- that life is full of bumps and bruises, both physical and mental, and that life will go on and you need to just deal with it and not play the part of the perpetual victim. Life is difficult and risky. It always has been, for every species since the dawn of evolution. It's those risks and threats and our survival of them that have resulted in our evolving to the smart, thinking, adaptive humans we are today.
And now we're trying to undo all of that. Are there a few, small numbers of children so sensitive that they think they need to be protected from every bruise or physical threat or idea or opinion? Probably. They're the ones unable to cope with real life. And we must not let them rule and legislate and control our lives because if we do -- humankind as we know it comes to an end. We will stop evolving both mentally and physically. We will become soft, fleshy blobs living in padded-cells unable to live in the real world. Mental and physical scrapes only hurt for a short time. Attempting to protect against them will injure us forever.
That's the title of a superb post by James at Quidnunc. The difference in reporting between real reporters at the front lines, and the armchair pundits. Highly recommended!
Now settled into her new digs, Bitter Bitch is back on the netwaves and posting up a storm. And she might have a haunted toilet... Which is giving me an idea for a future post.
DiversionZ has a collection of strange-story links. All are very entertaining -- or weird. But one is actually fake... No cheating by holding your mouse over each one to read the status bar...
Roger L. Simon is like me in one particular way -- on Friday he said he wouldn't be posting for awhile because he had to do some "paid writing." And the very next day he puts up two interesting posts about a writer's gathering and his purchase of the new Toyota Scion.
Every Friday I declare that I'm taking the weekend off and by Sunday I can't stand it and have to get back to blogging. This is a tough addiction...
Craig over at Lead and Gold wasn't happy with the local radio coverage of Isabel. At least he has a local radio station... But he says the storm was pretty puny by the time it reached his area. That might be but he lost power for 31 hours. Yipes! He's right, what would the damage have been if a monster storm had hit his area? I remember the huge ice-storm that struck us about six Winters ago...
Speaking of Isabel, News Pundit has a dramatic hybrid photo of the hurricane (hybrid because it's part satellite, part computer background.)
