Breaking the Golden rule (Pennsylvania ruling)

In what is now becoming all to common with more concealed carry criminals are learning the Golden Rule, and variants of it.

Mills entered 264 Rear High St. just before 7 p.m. with a crowbar. Once through the door, he grabbed a samurai sword off the wall and tried to rob two men and a woman inside the house.

Amid the ensuing chaos, someone called 911 and the two men fled the residence.

When Mills tried to rob the woman, she pulled out a gun and shot Mills in the leg. Then she ran out of the house.

"Never bring a knife to a gun fight" now has the Pennsylvania ruling of "Never bring a crowbar and sword to a gunfight". This ruling now applies to all states, districts and commonwealths. Please make note of it.

You are the wrong hands

Well according to this politician.

An Oklahoma legislator said he hopes to make some changes to a new law that makes it illegal for authorities to confiscate weapons during a state of emergency.

State Rep. Mike Shelton said House Bill 2696 has placed the power of the law into the wrong hands.

"During states of emergency, I think police need total control. They don't need to worry who has guns and who doesn't. If the governor calls for Oklahomans to relinquish their guns, the public needs to do so," Shelton said

He also is against the Stand-your-ground law as to him it is un-needed.

The stand-your-ground law has already passed the Senate. It would allow you to protect yourself with lethal force if you feel threatened in a public place, such as a mall or a restaurant.

Shelton said it's up to law enforcement to protect citizens in public places.

So cops will protect us.

All the time? That reminds me of a cartoon that swept the net after a politician voted for an anti-abortion bill.



So are we supposed to call the police for an escort everytime we go out? Maybe we should call Mr. Sheltons main office at (405)557-7367 or his local office at (405) 427-0000. That way he can tell you when it is safe and when it isn't. After all when you disarm someone you become responsible for their well being and that is what he desires. To protect you.

One morning, a man awoke and heard a voice, clearly and distinctly, saying,

"Quit your job, sell everything you have and go to Las Vegas."

The man was surprised and somewhat disturbed, and he chose to ignore it. The next morning, however, he heard the voice again.

"Quit your job, sell everything you have and go to Las Vegas."

Again, the man chose to ignore the voice, but it kept coming back every morning. After several days, it became more frequent, and he would hear it three or four times during the day.

"Quit your job, sell everything you have and go to Las Vegas."

Finally, the man concluded that he must comply. The very next day, he quit his job. He sold his house at a loss within a couple of days, sold all of his belongings, and bought a ticket to Las Vegas. When his plane arrived, he had no idea what to expect next, but as he was walking through the airport, he heard the same voice again.

"Go to Caesars Palace."

The man jumped into a cab and went to Caesars Palace. When he arrived, he heard the voice again.

"Go to the roulette table."

He went straight to the roulette table, where he heard the voice again.

"Put all your money on 22."

The man emptied his wallet, which represented everything he owned, and bet it all on 22.

The dealer spun the wheel and dropped the ball. It landed on 15. The voice said,

"Damn!"

To have no proud monarch driving over me with his gilt coaches; nor his host of excise-men and tax-gatherers insulting and robbing me; but to be my own master, my own prince and sovereign, gloriously preserving my national dignity, and pursuing my true happiness; planting my vineyards, and eating their luscious fruits; and sowing my fields, and reaping the golden grain: and seeing millions of brothers all around me, equally free and happy as myself. This, sir, is what I long for. -- General Francis Marion, American War of Independence, Georgetown, SC [Source: 'Marion, The Life of Gen. Francis Marion' by M. L. Weems, Ch.18]

Political con games

In what could easily be called the picture of the year for politicians saying one thing and doing another, this one wins.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Ill., center, gets out of a Hydrogen Alternative Fueled automobile, left, as he prepares to board his SUV, which uses gasoline, after holding a news conference at a local gas station in Washington, Thursday, April 27, 2006 to discuss the recent rise in gas prices. Hastert and other members of Congress drove off in the Hydrogen-Fueled cars only to switch to their official cars to drive the few blocks back to the U.S. Capitol.

"Lead by example" is obviously not a phrase this political worm knows.

More at Wonkette

Now I wonder if he will release a statement or simply make no statement hoping this all blows over?
[via Hammer of Liberty]

They should have stopped with "Congress shall make no Law..."

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds,--and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless falls of air...
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor eer eagle flew--
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high, untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

by John Gillespie Magee

Oh please God no!

One book that I always make sure there is a copy of in my house may be made into a movie. The possible selection of thespians is unsettling.

As for stars, book provides an ideal role for an actress in lead character Dagny Taggart, so it's not a stretch to assume Rand enthusiast Angelina Jolie's name has been brought up. Brad Pitt, also a fan, is rumored to be among the names suggested for lead male character John Galt.

"Atlas Shrugged," which runs more than 1,100 pages, has faced a lengthy and circuitous journey to a film adaptation.

Unless they can pull out a performance of a lifetime I see nothing good coming from this. Sort of like that crime of a movie called "Starship Troopers".

You don't need them anyway..Right?

The Senate of Arizona said "screw you" with it's vote today.

The Republican-led Arizona Senate narrowly voted against overriding Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano's veto of a bill that would have prohibited the imposition of firearms restrictions during a declared state of emergency.


"This is America. This is not a police state," said Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City. "This is the governor by her veto trying to take her authority over the Second Amendment."

The vote on the rare override attempt was 19-9, just one vote short of the required 20 votes, two-thirds of the 30-member Senate.

So the time you likely would need them the most they can take them away.

Thanks Governor.

Sig Arms is giving away in their contest a nice SIG SAUER P220 Carry Two-Tone SAO pistol with a value of $999.95.

P220R Carry Two-Tone SAO
This 8+1 capacity pistol features a crisp 5-pound SAO trigger that breaks like glass and an ambidextrous thumb safety. The combination of SAO trigger, cold hammer forged barrel and near perfect lock-up offers shooters outstanding accuracy that sets the P220 Carry apart from other 45s. The P220 Carry Two-Tone SAO slide is machined from stainless steel bar stock and finished in a Natural Stainless finish. The lightweight alloy frame is hard-coat anodized and outfitted with a Picatinny rail for tactical versatility. The P220 Carry Two-Tone SAO comes with either contrast or SIGLITE® night sights. NOTE: This pistol is scheduled to ship in April 2006.

Be the first on your block to own this model.

Entry is one per person and the contest end May 31st.. Good luck.

We'll take one step at a time, and the first is necessarily - given the political realities - very modest. We'll have to start working again to strengthen the law, and then again to strengthen the next law and again and again. Our ultimate goal, total control of handguns, is going to take time. The first problem is to slow down production and sales. Next is to get registration. The final problem is to make possession of all handguns and ammunition (with a few exceptions) totally illegal. — Pete Shields, founder of Handgun Control, Inc., New Yorker Magazine, June 26, 1976, pg. 53

I believe that every individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruits of his labor, so far as it in no way interferes with any other men's rights. — ABRAHAM LINCOLN

WWW?

I have always thought that the WWW stood for World Wide Web. My question is how important is the WWW to getting to an address?

I have mentioned previously the trouble I have been having getting to the Keep and Bear Arms news pages. I came across something odd and am not sure what it means so will throw this out to you to answer.

If I go to the link that says this.

Newslinks for Thursday, April 27

and click on it I get an error page.

I was looking on the bottom of the main page as they sometimes had individual links to some articles when I noticed the calendar. I clicked on today's date and went right to the page I wanted. I then looked and noticed a slight difference between the link on the page and the calendar link.

Here is the link hyperlinked in words "Newslinks for Thursday, April 27" and it DOES NOT work for me.
http://keepandbeararms.com/news/nl/disp.asp?d=04/27/2006

Here is the link hyperlinked in number on calender that DOES work for me.
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/news/nl/disp.asp?d=4/27/2006

The only difference is the WWW in the link. Why would that keep one link from working for me and not the other?. I wonder if a setting in my computer has changed to make the WWW needed or something.

Any thoughts out there?

Computer add-ons we all want and desire.

I want a Freeware Utility to ... 450+ common problems solved.

You ever have one of those days that there are so many things going wrong you feel like God is simply out to get you? They could write a damn country song based on the last hour or so.

This is what the war on drugs sounds like.

Sickening

You’re not f***ing listening. You hear what I told you? I told you not to be talking. Didn’t I tell you not to be talking? That’s just the f***ing beginning. This motherf***er right here, he loves seeing blood. He loves it. He loves seeing blood. You’re talking too much. Listen to what I’m telling you. He loves f***ing seeing blood. He’ll beat your ass and lick it off of you.

The war on drugs has been lost long ago. what is left is the final struggle to keep it going.

NRA Travel-Affinity Travel are giving away a Remington Wingmaster NRA edition in this contest. A shotgun valued at $685 could be yours to take home.

This contest is one per person/per email. It ends Sept 15th.

Good luck.

In Florida the truth can hurt you

The legislature is working on stopping the effects of an old law on modern free speech.

Florida lawmakers are running short on time to patch a hole in the First Amendment created by some misguided state-court rulings. Their failure to act could pinch the flow of information vital to a vibrant democracy.

Under the rulings at issue, news organizations and other businesses can lose lawsuits if they truthfully report information that upsets or embarrasses the subject. This legal interpretation harks back to colonial times, when newspapers could be punished for reporting the truth if it offended government officials or other powerful people.
..........
Other businesses, including those that use public records for credit checks or job-applicant profiles, also could lose suits based on unflattering but truthful reports.

The legislature is less protecting free speech then it is quitting the old habit of hurting it.

Why Wyoming?

This interactive map shows the average price of gas in each county. Any Wyoming residents know why you get the best deal, and do you mind if I move in for a while?

Central Tennessee bloggers.

This is Smyrna is reporting that a young child has gone missing from an apartment complex. Drop by, take a look, and see if there is anything you can do.

Thanks.

Tennessee justice?

My state became the center of a torture case that involved the war on drugs. Many prisoners say the cops tortured them and most just think it is BS. That changed when one man here in TN was not only tortured by the police, but he recorded it. The recording was not out as far as I knew until I found that The Agitator linked to it today as a followup to his earlier post.

In February of last year, I told you about Lester Eugene Siler, a Tennessee man who was literally tortured by five sheriff's deputies in Campbell County, Tennessee who suspected him of selling drugs. The only reason we know Siler was tortured is because his wife had the good sense to start a recording device about halfway through the ordeal.

The audio is now available online (read the transcript here). Drug war outrages lend themselves to overuse of superlatives. But I gotta say, this may be the most horrifying 40 minutes of audio I've ever heard.

The police denied it at first, as always, until the tape came out.

Go and listen to 40 minutes of the war on drugs.

To serve up a beating and protect their own butt when the tape came out.

This is what the war on drugs sounds like.

He is already moaning.

Webber is heard first, telling Siler his "dope dealing's over." Franklin chimes in, telling Siler the lawmen are shutting down his drug business. Monday speaks next.

"It's (expletive) over, son," Monday says.

The beating begins then.

There is no way to tell from the transcript how long the first assault lasts. At some point, Franklin instructs Carroll to hold off.
..............
"Look, you sign this (expletive) or I'm gonna hit you again," Monday says. "One. Two."

Slaps and blows are again documented on the transcript, with Monday continuing to order Siler to sign.

By now, Siler is crying.

Threats come next. The lawmen tell Siler they will jail his wife and have his children taken away from him. The transcript details more beating sounds, more moaning from Siler, who repeatedly asks to talk to Webber.

"You ain't talking to nobody," Green responds. "You're gonna sign this (expletive) paper."

Siler screams. More blows are heard. The lawmen continue to order Siler to sign. He responds with moans and more screams. But there would be no reprieve.
...............
At some point, one of the officers shows Siler a pellet gun apparently found in the house. Siler tells the officers it belongs to his son. Monday sees the find as another way to convince Siler his life is hanging in the balance.

"Eugene, you're gonna sign this right here or I'm gonna (expletive) put a bullet in your damn head, and we're gonna (expletive) plant this BB gun," Monday says.

Webber later adds, "Hey, Eugene, what loss do you think it's gonna be to us if you die, buddy? It's going to be no loss to us."

40 minutes of the war on drugs and they may change your mind on what is causing the most damage to the country. A joint or the war on that joint.

A LOUD musical moment for your enjoyment.

I like music with odd flare. The cookie cutter machine produced music on the radio is bearable, but just barely. That is why I search the wastelands and look into the shadows for good music, or just damned odd music. Anything with originality and spirit. Is that to much to ask from these musical dullards today? I guess so.

I found this next piece on The Freehold and thought you would enjoy it.

Pachelbel's Cannon on guitar(electric)


Enjoy.

Paper please..

Well at least in this state that line will have to be said for a reason and not as a form of fishing.

On Thursday, the Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously found the use of roadblocks to check identification papers, driving licenses and automobile registrations to be unconstitutional. The court struck down a Chattanooga Housing Authority (CHA) "residency" checkpoint at Poss Homes on 2409 Washington Street. The authority, which has its own police force, claimed the stops would protect residents from crime and illicit drug use by turning away non-residents.

A win among all the losses.

NRA Travel-Affinity Travel is giving away a KIMBER 8400 SUPERAMERICA in this contest. At a value of over $1500 and in a caliber of you choice from this list.

.223 Rem.
.243 Win.
.260 Rem.
7mm-08 Rem.
.308 Win.

Well worth your time to enter. They have working opt out so spam is not an issue.

This is one per person, per email and ends May 31.

Good luck

or not!

New York mayor Bloomberg is attempting to wrap himself in the constitution when it comes to 2nd amendment PROTECTED rights with this comment

"Believe this or not, I am a defender of the Second Amendment," Mr. Bloomberg said. "I see nothing wrong with people having guns. But that doesn't mean you can have a gun everyplace. And concealed weapons or even weapons out in the open in big cities, in city streets, does not make a lot of sense to me."

I simply say "or not", and there seems always to be a but(t) and he was the one quoted.

Article may be password protected. Trust me when I say it is not worth your time to read it.

SHOOT! magazine is giving away this "Seven seas" derringer in this months contest.

Remember years ago seeing ads for classic model single barrel muzzleloading derringers at unbelievably low prices? Well, those days are back.

This Single shot, .36 caliber smoothbore, with brass action has accents and steel barrel.

They have multiple drawing for the winner so good luck.

PLEASE ENTER THIS SURVEY ONLY ONCE PER MONTH. Every completed survey gives you one entry into our monthly drawing and one entry for our Grand Prize and 2nd Prize Drawing held in July 2006.

Remington is giving away this month a New model 597 LS HB Magnum rimfire.



This contest is one per person and membership at the Remington website is required. I can say that they are spam free.

If you come across any firearm related contest or giveaway please contact me so i can post it.

Hello Insta-readers.

For some odd reason Instapundit linked to the whole month so to read the article getting me all of the hits go here.

Thanks.

A musical interlude brought to you by Lasalios

Described as a garage band from Japan I came across them while looking for a jazz piece on youtube.



Official site and another video gives you an idea of their polished sound.

Bad New Hampshire?

In a recent conference on RFID chips, one state was mentioned as being real unfriendly to the new technology.

Signorino said the political climate in New Hampshire has made it especially difficult for the industry to make a case for itself. The Granite State has been particularly active on the ID front. House lawmakers there last month passed a bill to reject a 2005 federal mandate for standard driver's licenses.

"We're scared to go to New Hampshire," he said. "They have gun racks on their motorcycles. They don't want anyone telling them what to do."

I think that is a form of the liberty based mentality that started this country.

Guns magazine's Gun of the month contest is giving awau what can best be described as a big damn gun. A Magnum Research BFR .50 AE Revolver.

Big-bore, big-boomin’ fun with the BFR (Biggest, Finest Revolver) is going to be possible for one lucky reader this month. There’s nothing quite like the 1/2" bore to light up the day and this 81⁄8"-barreled .50 AE will do so admirably. The cylinder features a free-spinning pawl in case recoil causes a bullet to jump its crimp and dropping the loading gate is all that’s necessary to load or unload. The transfer-bar ignition system means all five chambers (it’s a 5-shot sixgun as John Taffin would say) can be carried loaded safely. The revolver is loaded and unloaded with the hammer at rest.

Other accessories included are a scope base for Weaver-style rings and a shorter front sight to adjust the revolver to different loads without using up all of the adjustable rear sight’s elevation. You can’t win if you don’t enter, so mail those postcards in soon.

To enter send a postcard yto the following address by May 1st.

Use a postcard (no envelopes, please). Send to GUNS Magazine, GOM OCTOBER, P.O. BOX 502795, San Diego, CA 92150-2795. Entries must be received before MAY 1, 2006.

One entry per household.

Good luck!

A lovely line

Hu is a dictator and Bush sure seems to like him. The last several presidents also seemed to like Chinese dictators.

So when I came upon these lines at Rational Review I knew I would have to share it.

Bush leaned over and whispered to Hu, 'You're OK,' indicating the Chinese leader should proceed. Hu, who had paused briefly, resumed speaking even though the woman kept screaming for several minutes before security officers forcibly removed her. ... Outside the White House gates, hundreds of banner-waving protesters loudly demonstrated against Hu's visit. The clamor could be heard faintly during an elaborate lunch Bush gave in Hu's honor." [editor's note: "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which" - TLK, channeling George Orwell]

Oink!

QUOTE

The said Constitution be never construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms. — Samuel Adams, during Massachusetts's Convention to Ratify the Constitution (1788).

Gallery of Guns is offering a Model 12 Long Range Precision Varminter– with AccuTrigger for this months contest. With a value of $967 it is worth entering. One entry per person and good luck.

Concealed Carry clothier is offering a contest to win a free tropical carry vest. Designed for concealed carry and comfort.

From the rules

You only need to enter once, as your name will stay in the pool for as long as the contest runs.

Good luck

Her crime

The news is running with the story of the reporter who yelled at the visiting Chinese official and the resulting furor.

A Falun Gong protester who heckled Chinese President Hu Jintao on the White House lawn today is to be charged with disorderly conduct and "intimidating" a foreign official.

The US Secret Service says Wang Wenyi, who was working as a reporter for Falun Gong's United States-based newspaper Epoch Times, shouted pro-Falun Gong slogans as Mr Hu made brief remarks before he held talks with US President George Bush.

She was led away by uniformed Secret Service agents.

I can understand the charge of disorderly conduct for the most part, but not totally. It is the charge of "intimidating a foreign official" that has puzzled me.

What is intimidating? On the surface you and I know what it means. The problem is that the reality and logic of the regular Joe is trumped by the leviathan known as the American law system. So what is intimidating to the government?

I went and found what I believe is the law she will be charged under.

Sec. 112. Protection of foreign officials, official guests, and internationally protected persons

The word intimidate is in it several times

(b) Whoever willfully -
(1) intimidates, coerces, threatens, or harasses a foreign
official or an official guest or obstructs a foreign official in
the performance of his duties;
(2) attempts to intimidate, coerce, threaten, or harass a
foreign official or an official guest or obstruct a foreign
official in the performance of his duties; or

The problem for me is that the word "intimidate" is so vague that it could be used to quash any speech that you may not like in the name of protecting a person.

I'm going to throw this question about intimidating by another legal blog I know of and see what they think of the issue.

I guess what is bothering me is the past acts against her here and here by the Chinese gov is just OK with Bush, but her vocal act is just sending some overboard.

source of government data.

Attorney general Gonzales has been pushing the welfare of children on the net a lot lately. Enough that some fear subtle attempts to regulate for their good. In an address to the Employees at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children he mentioned the source of some of his hard data on this threat.

But I welcome the media's recent focus. It's important that the public learns how serious and widespread this threat actually is in America today because of the ease and anonymity of communication over the Internet.

According to one study, one child in every five is solicited online. The television program Dateline estimated that at any given time, 50,000 predators are on the Internet prowling for children. It is simply astonishing how many predators there are, and how aggressive they act.

When the government wants numbers to scare you. They go to Dateline NBC.
[via reason]

This is eye opening

It is not common when you hear of an accused criminal demanding that charges NOT be dropped. Stemming from the whole paternal government nature that has swept the nation a man was arrested for being intoxicated in a bar. (((pause for effect))) I will repeat myself. A man was arrested for being intoxicated in a bar.

After being ticketed by state alcohol police for public intoxication, Chris Nash is worried about the strangest thing. He's fretting that the charge against him will be dropped following public outcry over the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's undercover bar stings. So he's working with a lawyer to make sure he has his day in court.

"If they don't let me challenge them, the dismissal doesn't have any weight," says Nash, who works as a systems engineer. "It allows them to duck and run. I want to confront my accusers."

I like his reasoning. It even gets better on what he wants to do.

he and his attorney Lee Bright are researching their legal options to make sure they'll have a chance, in essence, to humiliate their accusers in court. "I've talked to judges about it, and they've asked me why wouldn't I want a criminal charge dismissed?" says Bright, who is representing Nash at cost, in part because of the principles involved in this case. "Don't accuse somebody, don't file charges and disrupt their life and when they want to defend themselves deny them a chance to confront their accuser."

The crackdown, or I like to refer to it as a show of force, has been stopped. Why? Well the agencies budget was coming under review and the bad press could have hurt their bottomline.

Good luck Mr. Nash.

Thank you Major Bloomberg

His quote from a story kicked me into action.

"Illegal guns are hurting innocent people across America, whether you are east of the Mississippi or north or south of the Mason-Dixon line," Bloomberg said yesterday.

Well I marched my unregistered guns out and gave them a good talking to. It seems that most of them knew they should not go out after dark or let themselves be found on the street.

Except my Mossberg. He smelled of cheap booze and refused to look me in the eye. His "Whatever dude!" comments started to get on my nerves.

I'm so worried he will end up in a life of crime and other sorry deeds. What is a dad to do?

Damn nice of them

A judge has ruled that a group can identify themselves.

After fighting ferociously for months, federal prosecutors relented yesterday and agreed to allow a Connecticut library group to identify itself as the recipient of a secret F.B.I. demand for records in a counterterrorism investigation.

The line between secrecy and outright paranoia has been passed long ago people.

But federal prosecutors asserted that the Patriot Act required that the group's identity remain secret and that the government would suffer irreparable harm if any information about its investigations became known.

What of the harm to our rights?

Wow!

I may not like the current administration a lot, and the damned government gets on my nerves daily, but there is a limit to my dislike of them.

Another blog had these comments on one post.

Why is this man not in jail?

This administration has no shame.
They are "do as I say, not as I do" people

REPREHENSIBLE, totally devoid of any moral values, ...a true, dyed-in-the-wool Robber Baron.

what i'd like to know is when will the US population stop accepting this criminality? when will they get up & protest until the bums are kicked out???

They will all continue their criminal behavior for thei own profit because they know that Bush will pardon each and every one of them when he leaves office. Bush needs to be impeached so that these pardons don't occur.

They are talking about Dick "Shotgun" Cheney and the fact that after giving 77% of his adjusted gross income to charity is taking a tax write off. 77% of his AGI is $6.8 million in donations. They also seemed upset that the charities had nothing to do with Katrina. As if Katrina is the only thing bad to happen in this country.

Hate Bush and Cheney for the evil they do. Blind hatred will only destroy you also. Look how much your hatred hurt Dean during the last election. That blind hatred from Moveon.org likely helped Bush.
[via WSJ]

Keepandbeararms

I can now get the main page to load but damned if I can get any of the daily update pages to load. Never had this trouble before.

Definiiton

SEDITION - Conduct which is directed against a government and which tends toward insurrection but does not amount to treason. Treasonous conduct consists of levying war against the United States or of adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort.

The raising commotions or disturbances in the state; it is a revolt against legitimate authority.

A simple letter lead to a investigation into sedition.

It regards a letter to the editor written by psychiatric nurse Laura Berg that was published in September in the Alibi, an alternative newspaper in Albuquerque.

In the letter, Berg criticized the federal government on several issues, including its actions in Iraq and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"I am furious with the tragically misplaced priorities and criminal negligence of this government," she wrote.

Berg identified herself as a VA nurse in the letter.

Within weeks of her letter's publication, Berg said Mel Hooker, Veterans Affairs Medical Center human resources chief, and other staff confiscated her work computer and later told her she was being investigated for possible sedition.

Looking at some of the blogs out there from the left and right I see a lot of seditious speech. I'm also damn glad to see it.

While the article does not give the whole letter it does have a small bit of it quoted.

In the letter, Berg criticized the federal government on several issues, including its actions in Iraq and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"I am furious with the tragically misplaced priorities and criminal negligence of this government," she wrote.

That pretty much sounds what I say here on a daily basis.

A musical pause in your busy day brought to you by Wyclef

What of the students?

A bit of controversy has surrounded one school in Kentucky and a case of teacher induced vandalism. The teacher, Sally Jacobsen, after class one day told some students that they should express their feelings and vandalize a memorial against abortion. They did and she got in trouble.

Oh she did apologize for her acts.

"I deeply regret my impulsive action in dismantling that display."
......
"I really love NKU and care very much about my students and don't want them to be harmed. It was a mistake of judgment for me to invite my students to participate in that action. At this point, I really want the university to be able to defuse the firestorm of attention around this."

Now I went to Google and scanned several articles from the whole fiasco and noted what seems to be missing. The students who did the act. The teacher has lost her job and will retire early. I think that is getting off pretty lightly. My question is why has there been nothing written about the students?

I went to the Northern Kentucky University online newspapers and found that the students who did the vandalizing are going to be prosecuted as of the time of the article(Apr 12th).

Members of the Northern Right to Life are camping out Thursday to protect their display of anti-abortion crosses, following the damage and removal of the display on Wednesday by protestors.

The group has decided to press charges against those responsible.

"We called the police and told them that we decided to press charges," said Julie Broering, treasurer for the group. The members reached their decision after a day-long deliberation

Why the article calls them protestors and not vandals is beyond me.

What I did find unusual was this line.

Approximately 10 students accompanied Jacobsen to the crosses and helped her to remove them

The larger news networks seems to imply she simply told them to, but the local paper says she had their help to do it.

Freedom of speech is about protecting the speech of ones you do not like, as much as ones you do. Maybe they should teach that.

Damn we must be evil

The Plane Dealer out of Cleveland did a piece on gun shows. According to them we all must be the most evil sons-of-bitches in the world. There is no one part worth quoting as it can only be considered Yellow journalism.

Let's just say that I'm not a racist, bomb building, machine gun making killer just waiting for some poor minority to walk on my grass.

New Orleans

The weapons the gov took from the people, while saying they were not and did not have them, are now being given back, unless they aren't

A handful of people showed up Monday to try to get back guns confiscated by the New Orleans Police Department after Hurricane Katrina — and not many of those walked away with a weapon.
"They told me the police took them the first two weeks after the hurricane, after that it was the ATF," said Charles Clark, 62, a retired law officer, who had an antique gun taken from his house after the Aug. 29 storm. "It's very frustrating. I know we had a storm and all, but there should be a way to find out who has your property."

I do like this quote.

Chief Warren Riley denied on Monday that his officers indulged in mass confiscations after the hurricane.

"If we took a gun from you and you were walking down the street, you went to jail," Riley said. "We took guns that were in homes. We took guns that were stolen that were stashed in alleyways. If we went into an abandoned house and a gun was there, absolutely we took the weapons. Obviously there were looters out there. We didn't want some burglar or looter to have an opportunity to arm themselves."

Just walking on your own street became an arrest worthy crime. Sure sounds to me like they "indulged in mass confiscations".

Of course they are making it damn near impossible to get them back.

I got meme'd

So here is the Meme of four.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
Stripper
laundry room attendant
McDonald's slave
Pizza maker

Four movies I could watch over and over:
Until the end of the world
M*A*S*H*
The General
Seven samurai

Four websites I visit regularly:
Drudge Report
No Quarters
Instapundit
Zion's Camp forum

Four of my favorite foods:
Macaroni and cheese
Breyers Ice cream (Vanilla bean)
Mash potatoes with cheese
Brown beans(with cornbread)

Four most wonderful places I've been:
River Front(Owensboro Kentucky)
High Museum of Art
Rifle range(ANY)
Home

Four songs I could listen to every day:
Pink Floyd - comfortably Numb
Messiah - Choral pieces
Adagio for Strings
Canon in D

Four people I'm tagging:
Elizabeth - Harelipforg

That's my Meme of four.

PC

Maybe it's just my "bigoted nature" but I hate the modern way of dating occurrences. When I was young it was all based on AD and BC. Now it is BCE and CE. Why? Outside of a few individuals who look for something to bitch I do not see the problem. Now on a lot of subjects I will admit to being unenlightened. I'm not proud of that ignorance, it is normally an issue of not being able to get my mind wrapped around the subject. This one seems to be a created problem that was solved according to PC rules. I know the sad reasoning behind it. The desire not to insult a (insert racial or religious minority group), but screw that.

Just in a pissy mood today I guess.

Need a favor

Could you go to this site, KeepandBeararms and click on one of the links in the center with a date like this

Newslinks for Monday, April 17

I have not been able to read them since last Thursday and I am wandering if it is my system or theirs.

Walmart

Seems the super stores may not be that super for some.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) has decided to stop selling guns in about a third of its U.S. stores in what it calls a marketing decision based on lack of demand in some places, a company spokeswoman said Friday

Not sure if ammo sales will stop also but it seems likely. Is WalMart the only place to get Winchester White box?

Red red wine

Well what I have is more creamy lemonade looking then red, but will do. Just got back home from a visit to my mom's and my dear brother presented me a large aquafina water bottle full of homemade Dandelion wine. From a basic recipe pulled from the web he made a few gallons of the strangest concoction I have ever had in the realm of low-tech drinks.

What surprised me is the amount of alcohol I can taste in just the short time he has fermented it.

Made in a plastic three gallon carboy purchased from WalMart his tools were "whatever was on hand". Since he was not sure where to get brewers yeast he used standard bread yeast packages from the kitchen. I have since introduced him to the address of the local brewing supply house so the next batch can use the proper champagne yeast. After filtering it through the cleanest t-shirt he had in his drawer the final product was ready to bottle.

Every empty water bottle and soda bottle in the house was sacrificed to the bottling process. Mine ended up in a one liter Aquafina bottle I had left earlier in the week. We have found that the fermenting process is not over as the first several bottles started to expand as gases were still being produced. My bottle is sitting on the shelf with a loose cap waiting for me to get thirsty.

A finer vintage I have never had. Sunday.

ATF store
this post is Ninja free.

You've likely heard of this old saying

"Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency"?

Seems it is true.

LAST ATF VERSES NINJA POST... I Hope

The students of the Georgia university have not taken the Ninja threat sitting down. Such scathing letters to the editor shows their resolve to keep going forward into the future no matter the threat.

I think everyone at the University agrees cultural diversity and understanding should be promoted. So, as a ninja, I’d like to clear up some misconceptions that may have come up due to recent events. Jeremiah Ransom does not represent us. He was said to be wearing two red bandannas when he was apprehended. C’mon dude, that’s just tacky. Red is a great color for sneaking around on game days, but it’s really not a ninja color otherwise. Upon getting caught (not that ninjas get caught), a real ninja would have done something like throw smoke bombs to aid his escape, or at the very least, wheeled around and kicked the ATF in the genitals (note: I’m not promoting violence against policemen. They are good people).We ninjas are a sensitive people, and we deserve to be understood. We’ve been misrepresented in the media so often (those ninjas in the 80s movies? Totally not real ninjas).But I guess writing this letter kinda kills the whole ninja shtick for me, so I’ll probably have to drop out of the University and go into seclusion in the mountains for like 30 years. Thanks a lot, Ransom.

KAO-WEI CHUA

And of course do not forget the bias issue of why a Ninja was taken down and not a pirate.

I was appalled when I read about the actions of the ATF officials in their apprehension of the University ninja.While clearly something should have been done, as there is no threat known to man that can equal that posed by the ninja (though a civilian should never be a hero when it comes to ninjas), I think I speak for many students when I say that this blatant pirate-favoritism has no place in a federal agency.

ADAM LILL

Then the editorial cartoon for the day even took a moment to comment on the Ninja threat.

The ATF really stepped in a pie pile of mockery this time.

Good Morning ATF!

I noticed on my sitemeter log an unusual and humorous visit. I've been simply enjoying the ATF verses the Ninja story. So much so that Justin Buist said the following

Gunner is all over it like a hobo on a ham sandwich.

Well as things go someone from the ATF wanted to see who is out there eating of that said same Ham sandwich.



I guess what I find so hilarious is that someone from the ATF took the time to look up on Google ATF and Ninja. I should note that I am search return number 22 at the present.

Just for your viewing pleasure please notice that the person doing visiting me and looking at what I wrote came from the Executive Office of Asset Forfeiture.

What out ATF. Ninjas are everywhere today.

Is that a gun in your pocket or are you glad to see me?

The tale of the ATF verses the ninja gets a bit funny in my view. Make that damn funny. The school paper that brought us the original story brings us a followup with an interview with the ninja in question.

Ninja vs. Pirate day started as an innocent way to meet people and invite them to the Wesley Foundation, the United Methodist group on campus.

Ninjas were supposed to say, “Hi-ya doing?” while pirates would introduce themselves to students with a “How arrrr you doing?”

Unfortunately for Jeremiah Ransom, the sophomore detained by Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm agents Tuesday, he was introduced to an agent’s knee.

“I have a good bruise on my back where he had his knee on me,” Ransom said.

Now the base staor has not been added to much, their is one statement that simply needs to br brought to your attention.

“One of the guys yelled I had a gun, tackled me and asked where my gun was,” Ransom said.

After telling agents he only had his keys, wallet and cell phone on him, Ransom said the agent pinning him to the ground responded that, being trained officers, they would not mistake any of those items for a gun.

Being trained officers. I read that and had a massive flashback to the "Mr. "I'm the only one in this room professional enough". But the officer is right that the young man had a gun...sort of

Repeat after me

This is my rifle
this is my gun,
this is for fighting
and this is for fun!

So I guess the young man did have a "gun". Maybe the ATF agent realized his "gun" was smaller and it bothered him.

Conservatives go ouch!

A rather telling difference between the liberty based ideals of conservatives and libertarians. Ouch!

==========================

Dear spaz's.

GET A LIFE.

==========================

Homeland insecurity

What is homeland securities big plans for getting ready? Guess.

"We're going to spend money!" George Foresman, the homeland undersecretary for preparedness, said when asked at a session yesterday about his "budget priorities."

I feel safer already.

God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it. — DANIEL WEBSTER (1834)

Speed bump

Today's comic from Speed bump is blog related and rather funny. Just thought I would share.

The government and cameras. For them, not for us.

They like to take your picture at will and justify it as a tool. The problem is when people try to take their pictures.

They do not seem to like that a lot.

On March 27, two volunteers from the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives were detained for taking pictures of police officers' private cars, which were parked on the sidewalk outside the Fifth Precinct in Chinatown. The volunteers say they were held and questioned at the precinct for about 20 minutes and instructed to erase the pictures.
.......
He said, 'Do you know this is my car? What are you doing?' " Hoberman recalls. "I told him we weren't targeting police or any particular people's cars, and that it was just a general survey, but he kept haranguing me, so I walked away." Hoberman says he resumed taking pictures, then turned back when he noticed his fellow volunteer being held up by a different officer.
.......
On January27, Jan Lee, a Chinatown antique dealer, says he was stopped after photographing two cars—one bearing an NYPD placard and another belonging to a court officer—that were blocking a fire hydrant on Mott Street.

Lee says he was leaning in to capture the court officer's placard on the dash when an undercover detective shouted at him: "Who are you? What are you doing?" Unaware the officer was a cop, Lee kept shooting and snapped a photo of the detective, who he claims brushed the camera away, telling him, "You cannot take pictures!"
..............
According to Lee, the detective pushed him against a roll-down gate, then dragged him by the collar to the NYPD kiosk on Park Row. Lee, a prominent community advocate and business owner, says he was handcuffed and forced to kneel on the street for about 15 minutes while the detective and another uniformed officer radioed for backup.

Now I copied a good chunk of the article to show you that this was not a brief meeting on the sidewalk and just a few words were exchanged. The problem is that these detainments and threats somehow were not recorded.

Officers at the Fifth Precinct referred all calls to the NYPD's public information office. A spokesperson there, Deputy Chief Michael Collins, told the Voice he was "unable to find anyone familiar with the incident."
.......
'There's a right way and wrong way to take photographs, and you're doing it the wrong way,' " Lee recalls.

The NYPD told the Voice the department has no record of this incident, either, though Lee says the commander of the Fifth Precinct visited his antique store on Mott Street to speak with him about it a few days later, after Lee called civil rights attorney Norman Siegel and Community Board 3.

No pictures or recording means it did not happen. DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING.

Thank the Lord!

Divine judgment is mine. In the unemployment line.

Shotgun flashlight

Maybe a .410 shotgun flashlight is what I want for Christmas. Although the .380 maglight is also very enticing.

War on drugs

At least one sheriff is being honest about the failed war on drugs

"We're not going to stop this stuff coming across the border," the sheriff said. "They couldn't stop Prohibition, and we're not going to stop the drug trade."

society is not the victims of the drugs. We have become the victims of this press politically driven war on drugs.

Ninja verses the ATFE

In a frightful attack the ATF took down a deadly Ninja threatening the University of Georgia.

ATF agents are always on alert for anything suspicious — including ninjas.

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm agents, on campus Tuesday for Project Safe Neighborhoods training, detained a “suspicious individual” near the Georgia Center, University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said.
.......
After being held in investigative detention, he was found to have violated no criminal laws and was not arrested.

“It was surreal,” Ransom said. “I was jogging from Wesley to Snelling when I heard someone yell ‘freeze.’”

Ransom said he thought a friend was playing a joke before he realized officers had guns drawn and pointed at him.

ATF agents had noticed Ransom’s suspicious behavior and clothing and gave chase, apprehending him, Williamson said.

Now the humorous and sad part was the reason they took him down and detained him.

“Seeing someone with something across the face, from a federal standpoint — that’s not right,” McLemore said, explaining why agents believed something to be amiss.

Masks? Like this? So if I see masked people come through the door I would be justified to shoot because "That's not right"?

Oh. Wait! Only the feds can fear masks. We have to understand the masks are worn by the authorities and we should be happy. Screw that!

Mr. "I'm the only one in this room professional enough" is in the news again

This time he's the only one professional enough to sue the government for his own stupidity.

A Drug Enforcement Administration agent who stars in a popular online video that shows him shooting himself in the foot during a weapons demonstration for Florida children is suing over the tape's release, claiming that his career has been crippled and he's become a laughingstock due to the embarrassing clip's distribution. Lee Paige, 45, blames the video's release on DEA officials in an April 7 federal lawsuit filed against the U.S. government.

Details of the original shooting can be found here.

Flee from the blinding light


A politician charged with the crime of using your tax dollars for his own campaign made an escape from the cameras in truly a criminal manner.

State Senator Gary Siplin (D-Orlando) jumped over a fence to avoid Channel 9's cameras minutes after learning he was charged with two crimes. The state attorney said Siplin used taxpayer money to pay for part of his campaign

Now I will sat that a good way to treat and work with politicians is to assume that they are criminal in nature and addicted to your money and power. With that in mind they can be handled properly.

The description of this scurrying politician is simply an enjoyment to read.

Siplin turned himself into the Polk County jail late Monday afternoon and bonded out. Before that, Siplin made a dramatic exit from his office Monday. Even for a politician who has become known for some unusual behavior, it was jaw-dropping.

Siplin scaled a chain-link fence behind his senate office in Pine Hills and jumped into a waiting car. Just an hour and a half before, State Attorney Lawson Lamar announced a third-degree felony charge of grand theft had been filed against Siplin, as well as a misdemeanor of using services of officers or employees. He apparently was trying to avoid being seen by Channel 9 cameras waiting at his office

They even have a short video of his flight from the cameras.

Both the oligarch and Tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of arms. — Aristotle

Your business and red flags



Setting off a red flag with your money can be done by a simple, complex, or an innocent act as I have posted on before. Red flags that can lock your account and ruin a business. Guilty and punished before the trial even begins.

I came across a post at Overlawyered.com that involved a list of red flagged people, and groups. A list similar to the infamous TSA list that has been in the news so much lately. This list could easily ruin you and your whole life.

It is a list of foreign persons and entities suspected of certain terrorist or criminal activities and associations. Per federal law, American businesses are forbidden to engage in transactions with those listed, on pain of "harsh penalties that include 30 years in jail and fines up to $10 million against corporations, and $5 million against individuals, and civil penalties of up to $1 million per incident".

That is simply put a whole lot of pain for dealing with these people. Now before you say that you are likely never going to deal with a foriegn national in a transaction like this read on.

law's regulatory reach is wider than one might think, because it "prohibits anyone, not just car dealers, from doing business with" those on the list, so that selling a newspaper, or a bottle of soda pop, or a shoeshine, to one of the malefactors, is equally unlawful.

Now pause and cry "Bullshit". They would never go after a person on such a BS charge.

I then bring up the fact that the raid on WACO was over a 200 dollar tax on a rifle. If the government wants you this is a nice tool to shaft you on.

If you do any business in life. You sell your car or worse, a rifle. You are expected to know who is on this list.

The problem is that people are getting red flagged for no reason, just like the TSA list. Go figure.

Alan Dessoff was. Just as Dessoff was about to sign on the dotted line for a new 2006 Toyota Camry XLE at Coleman Toyota in Bethesda, the sales manager glanced up from the printer and casually mentioned that Dessoff wasn't on "The List."

Dessoff gulped, "What list?"

Welcome to the jungle.

America needs fewer laws, not more prisons. — JAMES BOVARD

Bad police. Bad

2+2=racism.

New comment spam tool, sort of.

Most people who leaves comments struggle to read those deformed words using the captcha system. Someone has come forth with a new picture based system that might be just what is needed to stop comment spam for the time being.

Your money and red flags


With the patriot act and other to numerous to count acts placed upon us to control our money and lives it is hard to know what will set off a red flag. While in a just world you could do with your money as you see fit. Sadly this has not been a just world for a long damn time.

On SurvivalBlog they gave a link to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering InfoBase. Their section on what can set off flags and get you investigated is worth reading.

Red flags under general are such evil acts as

Even dollar transactions. Numerous transactions are conducted in even dollar amounts. NOTE: Money laundering and check kiting schemes have similar characteristics.

So always add a nickel to slide by on this one.

In safe deposit boxes a red flag could be

Frequent visits. The customer may visit a safe deposit box on an unusually frequent basis.

That's it. Visit it a lot and BAMM! Investigation.

Now one of the best is under the section titled "other activities involving customers and/or bank employees"

Short-term or no vacations. A bank employee may be reluctant to take any vacation time or may only to take short vacations(one or two days).

While they have most of these files in PDF form it may be worth you while to take a moment to read them.

idiot alert.

Just because he is a professor does not mean he cannot be a total idiot of grand proportions.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer: Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away. - Henry David Thoreau

7. All animals are equal, but some are more equal



In another Animal farm moment we see the rules for you and I are much different then for the ones in power..and their minions.

Off-duty cop clocked at 99 mph in a 45 zone -- gets a warning, not a ticket

Fletcher police officer Adam White stopped Highway Patrol trooper Sergeant Kevin Bray, for allegedly speeding 99 miles per hour down Mills Gap Road on Tuesday.

Sergeant Bray was off-duty and was not driving a state car. He also did not have his driver's license with him.

Following a conversation with the trooper, White did not issue a citation.

All people are created equal seems to have gotten a nice kick in the balls. Thanks North carolina for this small lesson.

911

Just call 911. They'll be there for you. At least that's the rumor.

But do not worry. The operator is protected.

Officials said the 911 operator will be disciplined, but because of her years of service she will not be fired.

I just wish we were from them.

Students get a lesson in controlled speech

Some BYU students decide to have a forum on free speech. It was cancelled because they did not have permission.

Some Brigham Young University students were surprised Thursday night when they came to attend a free-speech forum that was canceled because the meeting was not authorized.

Maybe they learned all the lesson they needed to.

Some though did not sit quietly

In response to the cancellation, Greenstreet, a former BYU student, funneled students who came to watch the forum to another empty classroom, where he showed his documentary and a discussion took place. Approximately 20 students, some of whom participated in last week's protest, watched the film and ate "freeze peach" ices in honor of the subject matter.

Good show!

A criminal with class

Normally criminals that prey on people get no respect from me. This one did.

The would-be robber made threats and demanded keys to a van.

The van's owner was having a rough day already.

The bad guy ended up with a fist in the face and a trip to jail.

"The suspect attempted to rob the wrong guy and got more than he could handle," Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said Wednesday.

An Arlington contractor was the wrong guy.

A simple theft goes bad. After a proper beating at the hands of his intended victim it is what happened next that to me shows character, even for a thief.

Bystanders urged the men to quit fighting. John stopped. He was floored when the man reached out to shake his hand.

"He said he hadn't had his (expletive) kicked that good in a while," John said.

Even criminals have class.

Emergency drill ..Day 2



I just got off the phone with the volunteer coordinator and most of the activities for tomorrow have been cancelled due to a real natural disaster.

A line of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes marched across Tennessee on Friday, pulverizing homes, flipping cars and killing at least 10 people, officials said.

Eight people died in Sumner County, a suburban area northeast of Nashville, and two deaths were reported in Warren County, about 65 miles southeast of Nashville, state officials said.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Eddie Boatwright said the deaths were confirmed by hospitals and emergency workers, but names of the victims were not yet unavailable.

What this means is the pictures and report for tomorrows volunteer work will not happen.

Damned good line from Jed

Bush, through his lapdog, has put forward the idea that he can damn near bug and tap any phone he wants. Total BS but I simply like the clean cut quote from Jed at Freedom Sight.

Apparently, this administration thinks that "al-Qaeda" is a magical phrase which grants it special powers not contained in the U.S. Constitution.

Sadly he is correct.

"If this is Homeland Security, I think we ought to be a little afraid"

This is likely the quote for the week for me. Spoken by a guy handcuffed and threatened by a homeland security agent(will not use the word officer for this ass). His crime was asking the man to move from a no parking zone so school buses could move.

"He's well loved by everyone because he's willing to do anything to help children," said the Englewood Elementary Principal Gail Brinson.

However, Tuesday afternoon Pickett's niceness turned to anger, disappointment, and betrayal when, as Pickett was directing bus traffic, he said he was handcuffed and roughed up and humiliated by the very people that were supposed to protect him.

"I walked up to him and said, 'Sir, you need to move.' That's when he said 'I'm a police officer. I'm with Homeland Security ... I'll move it when I want to.' That's when he started grabbing me on my arm," Pickett said.

Of course the government says the story this guy has told is ALL wrong. Sadly for the government ALL the other witnesses tell a story that backs up Mr. Pickett's story.

The provision in the Constitution granting the right to all persons to bear arms is a limitation upon the power of the Legislature to enact any law to the contrary. The exercise of a right guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be made subject to the will of the sheriff. [People vs. Zerillo, 219 Mich. 635, 189 N.W. 927, at 928 (1922)]

Disaster drill

What is unusually odd and yet funny is that today the whole area is under a Tornado watch. My mom who works just off of downtown Nashville is with the other employees in the basement.

Emergency drill ..Day 1



I was scheduled to get to Skyline hospital according to the email at either 10:30am, or 11am. I got there at 9:30am instead. When I arrived I circled the hospital looking for either practice drills going on, personal decontaminating people, or even a sign on where I was to go. I saw nothing. After circling the building two times I saw a security guard and asked him where to go. He simply directed me to the front information desk as that is where we were supposed to go. The first people inside gave me bad directions and I ended up sitting in the lunchroom for the next 30 minutes watching the door they said it was all going to happen in never open.

I finally received good directions and found the nurse in charge of "victims". When I told her I was instructed by the email that I would be a volunteer coordinator she asked me why. Seems she was doing alright and she was sure she could handle it all. So I became a victim.

I went into the waiting room and found a solitary person. Her story was that she had shown up at 7am to be a victim and all they did was hand out ID pouches on lanyards and gave them times to return during the day. By the time we became victims she had blown 4 hours plus just waiting.

My victim ID pouch listed me as a 49 year old male with a compound break of my femur. People started to slide in and the group of two grew to a group of 7. From the pouches we found that we were all victims of a chemical explosion.

Yipee! Decontamination time.

When it came time for the drill, after we enjoyed a free lunch for the wait, we all went to the emergency room entrance. Standing there as we had just been dropped by an ambulance we each got to go through the little decontamination building the had built. As we all had a different "illness" I found some humor at this point. As I had a broken femur I was laying on the ground next to the unconscious man with the hemotoma(?). What I thought was funny was the fact that I and the other "big" guy in the group were immobilized. Moving us would have been hard, but getting us into this little wash building for decontammination would have been impossible.

We then were whisked into separate rooms and examined, tubed, and diagnosed as needed. I then spent the next 20 minutes watching the nurses fill paperwork out so they could treat me and such. Even the drill needed the paperwork done and witnessed.

When the initial part was done and the individual patients were going their own way. Myself and several others to pre-op, and one to the Vandi burn unit they took my pouch. That is nice and all but the sheet that described who I was for the drill had my evaluation on the back. When I returned to the breakroom to get my stuff the nurse asked me for my pouch. When I informed her that they had it she replied "No problem. Some they keep and some just send them back. No one knows what to do with them". As these were supposed to be used to evaluate them I do not see this part of the final report being in depth. At least in this hospital.

My thoughts are that the people at the hospital were not told what to expect and were simply doing the best the could when it came to us volunteers. No way could they properly handle a big chemical incident as the one decontamination building they had could not handle a big influx and expect to clean them all. I also asked and they only have that one. When lying there in the hospital bed the two nurses doing the workup on my spent 2/3 of the time doing paperwork.

Since we were walkups and such I did not get to see anything from the fire department and other agencies in action.

Ok, but a lot of money for what I saw. If things work out tomorrow I will have pictures from St. Thomas here in Nashville.

Immigration, page 302, and what it means to you.

Some people may not be happy with this small item

Like that surprise hidden on page 302 - which would replace the country's entire bench of experienced immigration judges with pro-immigration advocates.

With a few exceptions, today's immigration judges (who serve for life) are dedicated to enforcing the law, and they do a difficult job well. This bill forces all immigration judges to step down after serving seven years - and restricts replacements to attorneys with at least five years' experience practicing immigration law

Virtually the only lawyers who'll meet that requirement are attorneys who represent aliens in the immigration courts - who tend to be some of the nation's most liberal lawyers, and who are certainly unlikely as a class to be fond of enforcing immigration laws.

I have no strong emotional position on the whole immigration issue. I just have a strong hatred for political card games like this.

Laughing at New Orleans..again!

The school buses that the mayor did not call out and let get flooded, are now more then worthless, they are unauctionable.

Rice on arms

Many gun owners were crowing about Rice and her comments on gun ownership and registration last year. Sadly she might have been speaking for the moment and not what she really felt. Because I find from Justin Buist's site a quote from her that does not settle to well with me.

"You can't have in a democracy various groups with arms , you have to have the state with a monopoly on power," she said.

While she was addressing the subject of the militias, it does show a nature to say what is best at the time.

In another word she was, and is, a career politician. Keep her at arms length.

On her knees

A letter to the editor needs a short reply

I write in response to Dave Ludeker's recent letter ["Don't be flip about gun rights; they may be needed," March 29].

When Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany on Jan. 30, 1933, he did so to the popular acclaim of the German citizenry. To suggest that the evils of Auschwitz would never have occurred had the forefathers of these 20th-century Germans had the foresight to provide them the legal right to bear arms is nonsense.

Germany/Prussia had been a militaristic state since the early 18th century. Anti-Semitism was rife in Europe in the 1930s, as it had been for hundreds of years. Does anyone think that the Germans (let alone the Jews) would have risen up, weapon in hand, to defend themselves?

I think not. Germany was what the Germans had made it. Their system of government was not superimposed, but rather the wish of the German people.

Warsaw Ghetto and a dozen other uprisings including uprisings in camps with homemade weapons comes to mind. Yes. They did rise up and fight. Most died, but not on their knees. Most died with a weapon in hand. Please study history so you will nto repeat it. Please.

The whole of the Bill of Rights is a declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as individuals. It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of. — Albert Gallatin of the New York Historical Society, October 7, 1789.

Beware the Dogs of war

The government might have finally gone to far.

Sometimes I hate that feeling I end up with due to compassion. That sounds odd but it is true. I have always felt that compassion for someone you don't know is the main dividing mark between us and the animals. The ability to have an instant emotional feeling and connection for someone you have never met and will likely never see again in your life. I had it last night and like always ended up feeling like crap.

My wife and I went to the grocery for our monthly big shop. Better then a weekly and easier to plan things. In the grocery we came across this nice little old lady. She looked at me and made a nice comment about my beard. Seems she likes beards. I explained why I had one and we talked for just a moment then she gave me a small hug and said "God bless you". A simple kind gesture in this selfish world we live in. Just in those few moments of talking to her I could tell several things. One was that while she was long in the tooth her clothing was a bit longer. Her small basket had just a few items of food and those of the generic labeling.

I'm the type in life that asks questions that no one answers "Why is she alone at night", "where is her husband", "is that all she can afford", and the worse "she seems alone".

She checked out behind us and by the time we had unloaded our food she was at her vehicle. My wife said to look as it seems she was having car troubles. She had the hood up and was tinkering inside of this hatchback that I swear looked like a Yugo. A vehicle that was even older and more decrepit then her. I know absolutely nothing about cars but as I was about to say "I'll see what I can do" her car started. She then stood up and had in her hand a screwdriver. That hurt. What it meant was something was broken and she had to make do by opening the hood everytime she needed to start the car. "Could she not afford to fix it" and "where the hell is her son/husband/nephew to help her" went through my mind.

I just sat there and watched her drive slowly away across the parking lot into the night. Looking very alone in this world.

That's when I started to feel like crap. You see there are always nice news stories of $1000 tips to pregnant waitresses that inspire comments of "how nice" and other hollow platitudes. In life I am one of the most unskilled, untalented, poor son of a bitch I know of. My ability to reach out and help change the path of someone is less then nil. The problem is that I have compassion for the people like this. I want to help them and damned if I cannot do a damn thing. I want to move the world, and yet cannot even move a pebble.

So I end up feeling like crap like normal. That knot in the pit of my stomach accompanied me home last night. A feeling I am used to.

Where is her family? Why does she seem so alone?

Why is it that 50 years ago she would have been living with her daughter or son in the bedroom in the back of the house? Watching the kids as the adults went about their daily lives and duties. What happened to this society that the old are now a problem and not a blessing? Does her MTV mutates grandkids even know where she lives?

I know one day my mom will get old(er) and I will have choices to make. I also know what answers I will give when that day comes. Some of you may comment "well you don't know till it happens". Bull! I do know.

I sometimes hate compassion. It hurts.

England has fallen

What can best be called the deballing of the English police has occured. Sadly by it's own government.

Burglars will be allowed to escape without punishment under new instructions sent to all police forces. Police have been told they can let them off the threat of a court appearance and instead allow them to go with a caution.
The same leniency will be shown to criminals responsible for more than 60 other different offences, ranging from arson through vandalism to sex with underage girls
.......
Some serious offences - including burglary of a shop or office, threatening to kill, actual bodily harm, and possession of Class A drugs such as heroin or cocaine - may now be dealt with by caution if police decide that would be the best approach.

And a string of crimes including common assault, threatening behaviour, sex with an underage girl or boy, and taking a car without its owner's consent, should normally be dealt with by a caution, the circular said.

Wow.

Reminds me of a punchline of a bad joke I once heard. "Stop! Or I'll say stop again" .

You damned electorate.

Seems one politician is open on his hatred of you damned voters. How dare you tell your representatives what to do!

Lott vigorously defended the rail-line plan: "I'll just say this about the so-called porkbusters. I'm getting damn tired of hearing from them. They have been nothing but trouble ever since Katrina."

How much pressure does a politician have to be to say something like this in the open.

I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those electorate.
[via Rightwing news]

Hah!

A line like this deserves a simply intro.

Honestly, I really don't think that anyone intelligent can possibly see politicians as parental figures, unless they had a very bad childhood

Read on.

Do not sing the Beatles

A poor sap in England was detained as a terror suspect and pulled from his flight because he liked The Clash.

British anti-terrorism detectives escorted a man from a plane after a taxi driver had earlier become suspicious when he started singing along to a track by punk band The Clash, police said on Wednesday.

Detectives halted the London-bound flight at Durham Tees Valley Airport and Harraj Mann, 24, was taken off.

The taxi driver had become worried on the way to the airport because Mann had been singing along to The Clash's 1979 anthem "London Calling," which features the lyrics "Now war is declared -- and battle come down" while other lines warn of a "meltdown expected".

Glad he was not singing a famous beatles song

You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world

Terrorists are everywhere, be on the lookout.

QUOTE

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. — LORD ACTON (1887)

quote

The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. — JUSTICE LOUIS BRANDEIS (1928)

I SPY - WASTE


I left a shadowy post that I was tingling and gave no reasons why. I figured I would tell you why and what I hope to do in the next few days.

Near the middle of last year I heard of a large government emergency drill that was going to be occurring here in the Nashville area and it gained my attention for many reasons. One was the fact that "big drills" normally are more for show and less for true testing of the system.

There is an old saying that "Every War Plan Looks Good On Paper Until You Meet The Enemy". Well for natural disasters no finer example works for this saying then the whole Katrina fiasco. They had plans down there, at least on paper, and lines of authority and responsibility, also on paper. I cannot ask you to guess what happened as the nation viewed it for weeks on the cover of every magazine and newspaper in every language possible. The system collapsed and a cluster fuck occurred of historical proportions. The "system" met the enemy and collapsed like a house of cards.

This drill, called the "Emergency Preparedness Challenge", was scheduled for last year right about the time of Katrina. Due to the fact that so many of the FEMA people were down there or in Washington the drill was rescheduled to this year.

At this point my instinct was to cried out "BS!". If you want a challenge then have the drill when a lot of the leaders are gone. Now that's a drill!. That's real life. Natural disasters do not occur on a nice scheduled plan when you can make sure everyone is here and not on vacation, all trucks are fueled and well stocked, and overtime has been ok'd from the boss upstairs. The terror felt by the fifth man down on the food chain having to make choices well above his pay grade because their boss is in Washington helping sound bite the blame of the Katrina mess elsewhere then Bush baby. The turmoil of crews going into a rescue mode with half their people gone and not knowing if anyone still here is trained on that new wizbang device homeland security grants just purchased for them. The locked file cabinet with the "plans" on it and the nearest key is on the belt of a worker in Louisiana.

That's what I would have called a real life challenge. That would have almost gained them a little respect in my eyes. Making due with what you have on hand is the nature of an emergency, not some well planned scheduled photo opportunity that this seems to be organized as.

Sadly no. The plan must be held to so the whole activity was rescheduled for a "safer" time. Now.

Now on my previous post I mentioned $500,000 dollars being wasted. I first heard of this drill when I read an article in August of last year that they needed volunteers badly. 2,500 to be precise and they had only 100 registered by then. The article as quoted said this.

Metro officials are spending $500,000 on a massive emergency-preparedness drill next month that requires 2,500 volunteers - but only 100 have signed up.

The Mayor's Office of Emergency Management has been planning, holding meetings and putting out updates for months now for the 2005 "Emergency Preparedness Challenge," slated for Sept. 23-25.
........
The drill is being put on as part of a $1.1 million contract Metro has with a Virginia-based company, Systems Research and Applications Corp., which has technical expertise in planning and executing government emergency drills.

The numbers and my natural skepticism made me volunteer in a heartbeat. I wanted to see this waste of government money up close and personal.

Then it was put on hold due to it not being a good time to test themselves.

I went to their website and registered my blog email address for updates so I could know when to get in touch with them for volunteer work. I of course did not get contacted at all and had to email them just a week ago to see if they still needed me. They responded and immediately placed me as a volunteer coordinator in a hospital. A comment of "they must be desperate" will not be overly used, but implied.

I'm in!

Friday morning I shall show up at the hospital and help do whatever they tell me to do and with trusty digital camera in hand I will record, take pictures, and report back. I just wish I had a trenchcoat and fedora to go "Sam Spade" on them, but alas a pocketed t-shirt and slacks will do for this infiltration of their group.

If any other bloggers in the middle Tennessee area want to volunteer drop them a line and blog on what you experienced. I will admit I see things through skeptical eyes and other bloggers views of it would be great. If you do email me a link to your post. There are many openings still for volunteers and we bloggers can have a field day. Just last week the mayor said they only had "13- hundred" volunteers and needed three times that many.

So this is how I will help blow $500,000 this weekend. Wish me luck.