Sunnicrapistan
# My son Christopher defeated this morning the Nintendo Gamecube game "The Legend of Zelda: the Windwaker," after playing it on-and-off for the last three months. CyricZ's walkthrough was invaluable. The only other game that kept him occupied for nearly as long was Mario Sunshine, which he got tired of before beating.
# Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk - Free Market Medicine - On the benefits of cash-only medical care. We don't need no steenking gummint health care pogram.
Last week the congressional Joint Economic committee on which I serve held a hearing featuring two courageous medical doctors. I had the pleasure of meeting with one of the witnesses, Dr. Robert Berry, who opened a low-cost health clinic in rural Tennessee. His clinic does not accept insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid, which allows Dr. Berry to treat patients without interference from third-party government bureaucrats or HMO administrators. In other words, Dr. Berry practices medicine as most doctors did 40 years ago, when patients paid cash for ordinary services and had inexpensive catastrophic insurance for serious injuries or illnesses. As a result, Dr. Berry and his patients decide for themselves what treatment is appropriate.
Freed from HMO and government bureaucracy, Dr. Berry can focus on medicine rather than billing. Operating on a cash basis lowers his overhead considerably, allowing him to charge much lower prices than other doctors. He often charges just $35 for routine maladies, which is not much more than one's insurance co-pay in other offices. His affordable prices enable low-income patients to see him before minor problems become serious, and unlike most doctors, Dr. Berry sees patients the same day on a walk-in basis. Yet beyond his low prices and quick appointments, Dr. Berry provides patients with excellent medical care.
# Vin Suprynowicz at The Las Vegas Review-Journal - OK, here's what to do in Iraq - split it up into the three countries that properly represent its three major ethnic groups: Kurdistan, Shiastan, and Sunnicrapistan. Vin does not like the Sunnis.
# Luke Harding at Guardian Unlimited - Torture commonplace, say inmates' families - more personal tales of torture of Iraqis by Americans. I said I wouldn't say anything more about this, but I feel compelled to link to this story. Even if you believe in the war, I can't imagine that you would condone this torture. [whatreallyhappened]
The photos of US soldiers abusing and humiliating Iraqi detainees may have provoked outrage across the world. But for Hiyam Abbas they merely confirmed what she already knew - that US guards had tortured her 22-year-old son Hassan.
Breaking down in tears, Mrs Abbas said US guards had refused to let her in. She had so far only managed to see Hassan once - two months ago - following his arrest last November.
"He told me: 'Mum, they are taking our clothes off. We are nude all the time. They are getting dogs to smell our arses. They are also beating us with cables.'
"It's completely humiliating," Mrs Abbas said. "My son is sick and suffering from hypertension. During the interview the American soldiers were standing so close to us. My son was crying."
Her son had been detained in the Baghdad suburb of Al-Dora, after a gang broke into their house. What did she think of the Americans now?
"They are rubbish," she said. "Saddam Hussein may have oppressed us but he was better than the Americans. They are garbage."
...
Relatives, however, insist that the majority of "security detainees" are innocent, and claim they are often victims of random arrest following attacks on coalition forces. Either way, the images of torture and humiliation would merely serve to fuel the armed struggle against US occupation, Majid al-Salim, the brother of the imprisoned sheikh, said.
"The Americans are driving people into the arms of the Maqawama [resistance]," he said. "We now look back at Saddam's era with nostalgia," he added. "He was a good leader. There was security. We hope he comes back."
# Ed Lewis at Liberty for All - Forced Compliance - on the absolute fraud of the property tax. Don't pay it. Defend your property with extreme prejudice. [kaba]
People have been led to wrongfully think of themselves as "citizens of the United States." Well, unless one is a permanent resident alien or a naturalized "citizen", one is not a "citizen [person] of the United States. This is an artificial entity under the 14th Amendment, a "person/citizen created by the federal government (or one born in the District of Columbia).
THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT CREATE FLESH AND BLOOD MEN AND WOMEN; it may only create artificial entities. To repeat - flesh and blood creations are not artificial entities made by government and are, therefore, NOT under the jurisdiction of any level of government. Thus, government is subservient to the sovereign and no regulation, law, statute, or mandate made by people in government can apply to them.
# Kevin Landrigan at The Nashua Telegraph - Concealed weapons bill fails in House - more details on the voting down last Thursday of SB454 by the New Hampshire House. [smith2004]
# R.K. Campbell at Gun Week - Modern Technology Creates New Baseline in Revolvers - modern revolvers are a large improvement over their ancestors. [gunweek]
Modern guns better than the Triple Lock or the Five Screw? While that is a bold statement in the light of the respect we give old paragons, I think an honest appraisal shows it to be true that modern revolvers perform better overall than anything previously made anywhere. Another qualified statement may be made that it is erroneous to see the revolver as an ancillary arm to the autoloader.
The auto is first in combat and the revolver is placed in the category of backup or as a hunting firearm. This perception of a secondary position can be put to rest. When people speak of the disadvantages of the revolver, most are related to firepower. But revolvers also have advantages in civilian and police defense, most of them related to close-quarters combat.
As an example, I have on file reports of several incidents in which a victim was nearly overpowered but managed to thrust a revolver into the adversary's body and fire the gun repeatedly, ending the threat. In one case the deadly assault came from a bear! An autoloader would have failed to function in these cases.
Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - The New .204 Ruger - another new caliber introduced at the 2004 SHOT show. Fires a 32 grain bullet at over 4300 fps or 40 grains at over 4000! Mr. Quinn was able to get 1/2 MOA with a Ruger Number 1 in 204 Ruger. [gunblast]
Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - Smith & Wesson Model 25 .45 Colt Mountain Gun - the Mountain Gun has been very popular over the years. Mr. Quinn is very happy with the it latest incarnation in blued carbon steel chambered in .45 Colt. [gunblast]
The legendary gun writer John Taffin once stated about the .45 Colt cartridge: "There is an old Indian legend that says when all else is gone, still will remain the coyote. I would expand upon that and say still will remain the coyote and the .45 Colt. No other sixgun cartridge has ever been pronounced dead so many times. No other sixgun cartridge has so many devoted followers."
