Bob Hope, RIP
BBC News - Comedian Bob Hope dies - he had been on the planet for 100 years. I remember him primarily for The Bob Hope Show, which was on television when I was a kid. [script]
Dieter H. Dahmen at KeepAndBearArms.com - Almost - a tale of terror from back in 1969, still vivid Mr. Dahmen's mind. Why concealed carry always and everywhere is necessary and proper. Why we have more to fear from our government gone amuck than from any unorganized gang of criminals. [kaba]
Alan R. Weiss at Rational Review - They're not here, and they're not coming (Part 2) - some ideas for how to make a living in the rapidly-downsizing tech sector. [smith2004]
Fred Reed at LewRockwell.com - Johnny Can't Add But Suresh Venktasubramanian Can - on the dumbification of America, evidenced by the high percentage of Asian and Jewish names on the rolls of high technology companies. Fred posted his copy here. [lew]
Massad Ayoob at Backwoods Home Magazine - Do rural homeowners need guns for self-defense? - sometimes, but you won't know that you need it until it's too late to make up your mind, so best to be safe and have one on hand.
The overwhelming majority of encounters between armed citizens and violent criminals end just that way, whether in the depths of the inner city or in the wilderness. Perpetrator begins to attack. Perpetrator sees gun pointing at him. Perpetrator suddenly decides that he has made a terrible mistake, and is about to die from what I've come to call "sudden and acute failure of the victim selection process." Perpetrator either flees or surrenders. End of story. Most of the time. Sometimes, the predator is so obsessed or enraged, so drugged out or drunk, or just so unbelievably stupid that he continues the attack. When this happens, the citizen/victim has no choice but to steady the gun and pull the trigger. This is the moment at which you will need not only the wherewithal to do what needs to be done, but the skill and familiarity with the firearm to allow you to do so.
The great defensive handgun expert Jeff Cooper once said that combat shooting training and practice was akin to lifeboat drills on an ocean liner. It was, one hoped, the last skill you would ever have to employ during your journey. But, if you did need it, it would be a skill you needed desperately.
Massad Ayoob at Backwoods Home Magazine - Cheap guns are good enough - a "Saturday Night Special" could just save your life.
Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk - The Terrible Cost of Government - commentary on the recenly passed cost of government day, a day that falls later every year.
Mailinator: "it's like flicking a booger at spam." If you need a one-time use email address, just give out anything@mailinator.com. You, and everybody else who knows the address you picked, can then see any mail that gets sent to that address until it is deleted in a couple of hours. [joel]