Medical Tobacco
"A master is one who, after studying a thousand techniques, finds three he can use any time, and to perfection." -- Shaolin adage.
From kaba:
"I sometimes wonder whether the socialists will issue an edict requiring all firearms to have a pink ribbon tied to the barrel, just to get a belly laugh as the panicked descendants of once-proud American patriots scurry to comply." -- Brian Puckett
Kevin Tuma - English - cartoon commentary on the coming switch of the American majority mother tongue. Chilling.
# Vox Day - You can't fix a corpse - America, as envisioned by the Founding Fathers, is dead.
There are those who say that a vote for a third-party candidate, such as the Libertarian's Michael Badnarik or the Constitution Party's Michael Peroutka, is wasted. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, these are the only votes that are not wasted, for positive change will only come from those outside the corrupt bi-factional system. After all, it was neither the Tories nor the Whigs who fought for American independence.
#
Charley Hardman -
Martha Judge Got Last Word - commentary on
this CBS News "Court Watch" story by Andrew Cohen. Remember folks,
Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in Camp Fed for telling a
lie to a fedgoon. They didn't convict her for committing any real
crime, hurting someone or stealing their stuff. She lied to someone
who probably deserves a bullet to the head for ruining innocent lives
by enforcing laws with no authority to be. [saltypig]
Mr. Cohen writes:
This came from a judge who ruled against Stewart and her lawyers on virtually every important ruling before, during and after the trial. This came from a life-tenured judge who has been around long enough to be completely immune to the public pressures of her job. This from a woman who no doubt heard Stewart defiantly reject the jury's verdict back in March. Judge Cedarbaum didn't have to take it easy on Stewart but she did anyway. Think Stewart would have done the same had the tables been turned? Me neither. Stewart didn't come by her tough-as-nails reputation for nothing, right?Mr. Hardman responds:
correct me if i'm wrong, but martha stewart has never threatened people with guns. why is it so hard for statists to see the difference? oh yeah, that judge had real moxie. just like an armed cop who gets in your disarmed face with the knowledge that one radio call will summon 20 other like assholes to bury you. that's real balls.Mr. Cohen writes:
Whatever the case, one tough woman on Friday changed forever the life of another tough woman. But even though Martha's a superstar celebrity and Miriam's an obscure judge, and even though both have well earned their reputations for succeeding as women in what used to be a man's world of law and business, it's important to remember that this judge was smart and tough and determined long before Martha Stewart became who she is today. And who Martha Stewart is today is a convict who's likely just marking time before she officially becomes an inmate.Mr. Hardman responds:
you heard it from andrew cohen. remember that name.There are more good stories at Mr. Hardman's blog today. Check it out.
this is too similar to the absurd reputation for toughness handed to george w. bush. standing behind a bank of thugs and being pigheaded isn't admirable behavior. it's not bravery. it's not strength. name one single truly brave thing george bush has done. hussein offered him the opportunity to duel, and he shirked it with false bravado. bush thinks it's better to say "bring it on" and watch other parents go to the resulting funerals. what a waste case he is. worse are the people who fall for his routine.
# Russell Madden - I Am Not Responsible - the modern world has rights and responsibilities all topsy-turvy. [root]
When it comes to defending myself, I am told I should leave that task to the professionals: the police, the armed forces, the National Guard. Since I cannot control a firearm, I should not be making any decisions regarding what weapon to purchase, how many rounds that tool may hold, when, where, or how I should carry it, or against whom I should wield it. I would probably just shoot myself or a loved one or an innocent bystander if I had a gun. No. It's the fault of the "gun culture" and gun manufacturers that we have so much violence in our society and that people like me erroneously believe a firearm will enhance my safety.
I am not responsible.
...
If terrorists hate and want to blow up Americans, it is in no way due to the way I cheered on my government as it sent troops to all corners of the world to prop up a plethora of dictators, "freedom fighters" who later attacked us, and whoever else the politicians found convenient to have as an ally for the moment, regardless of how reprehensible those leaders actually were. No. It is because Arabs are nuts and don't know how to run their own lives and don't appreciate all we are trying to do for them.
I am not responsible.
...
All those issues and more the politicians tell me I am unable to manage or control, that my power to direct my life in these areas is nonexistent. And yet...
Though I am not to be held accountable in these realms, I am, oddly enough, supposed to be "responsible" for everyone else through the money that is taken from me via taxation and regulation. Not that I am responsible for making any decisions in how that money is spent, mind you. I'm just responsible for paying for what the politicians decide to force me to do. And, of course, I am responsible for wholeheartedly supporting the State lest I become "unpatriotic" and a potential traitor.
In this Alice-in-Wonderland anti-universe in which we now find ourselves, we witness the inversion of logic and fallacy, right and wrong, justice and injustice. I am legally declared not to be responsible for those aspects of my existence that I should -- and want to -- be accountable for while I am simultaneously held liable for what I did not cause and over which I do not have or seek power or control.
# Don Lobo Tiggre at The Price of Liberty - The One Thing Guaranteed To Work - I linked to this essay back on April 19 when it was posted, but it's worth reading again. I work at respecting my kids' rights, but I'm not as good at it as Mr. Tiggre. [root]
So, I've come up with one thing I can suggest to even the most cynical people that is guaranteed to make the world a better place. It is this: teach your children freedom. More specifically: teach your children that they are free, and that no one has a right to hurt them, control them, or to take that which is theirs. Help them to grow up to be healthy individuals, self-aware of their free nature. A free society is composed of free individuals; the former cannot come into being without the latter. If you don't have children, this idea can be applied to nieces, nephews, students, and even employees; anyone to whom you become a mentor.
...
Now, back to politics: I challenge anyone to find a more potent way to end the ability of some people to rule over others than to bring into the world people who _will_ _not_ _be_ _ruled_. My nine year old has stood up to his school principal before and even a traffic cop! He doesn't hesitate to argue with his teachers about biodiversity. My seven year old took on his whole class when he was in kindergarten, over the Santa Clause Conspiracy (among adults). My five year old has no fear of telling me that I am wrong. Just try to imagine these boys growing up to say, "sure, take 90% of my paycheck in taxes, what right have I to keep what I earn?"
# Robin McKie at Guardian Unlimited - Warning: nicotine seriously improves health - the title was badly chosen, but there appears to be real evidence that nicotine slows Parkinson's and helps depression. I really like smoking. Too bad my lungs don't like it. After a couple of years of seven cigarettes a day (Sobranie Black Russians, mind you), I quit when it became plain that my lungs were going to go on strike. I still smoke one or two times a year, just for fun, but I've learned that more than that is hazardous to my health. Some people aren't as badly affected, though. In any case, they should be free to make their own choice about it, even if it kills them. But you knew that... [grabbe]
Some experiments have shown that nicotine can slow down the onset of Parkinson's symptoms; others have had revealed its power in curtailing the hallucinations of schizophrenics.
'A whole range of psychiatric conditions seem to be helped by nicotine,' said Dr Dan McGehee, a neurobiologist at the University of Chicago. 'However, such benefits do not justify smoking. The lethal effects of cigarettes far outweigh any help they provide. On the other hand, our research does suggest that derivatives of nicotine, administered medically, could help to alleviate a range of psychiatric problems.'
# Jeff Quinn at GunBlast - Bushmaster .308 Rifle - I'd love to get one of these, but $1,800 is a bit rich for my blood. [gunblast]
One of the best features of the Bushmaster .308 is its magazine. Unlike most of their competition, Bushmaster is supplying its rifles with twenty-round magazines. They are able to do this because they designed the rifle to use the readily available, cheap, and reliable surplus FAL rifle magazines. Since our US Congress banned the manufacture of magazines with a capacity greater than ten rounds for use by anyone but the military and law enforcement, manufacturers of AR-10 type rifles have been shipping their rifles with modified twenty-round magazines, or with magazines of ten-round capacity. Bushmaster chose to use the cheap and plentiful, but really durable, FAL mags, and the Bushmaster .308 can use either the metric or inch pattern magazines interchangeably. I have seen these magazine available at gun shows for less than seven bucks each! The engineer at Bushmaster who had this idea deserves a big hug and a bonus. Even when our elected representatives to Congress try to give us the shaft, it is good that somewhere, like in Windham, Maine, American ingenuity prevails.
# Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - ArmaLite AR-30 .338 Lapua Magnum Rifle - want a long range sniper rifle, but don't want to spring the bucks (pun intended) for a .50 BMG. Try the Armalite AR-30M. 3000 foot pounds at 600 yards. $1,600 (plus bipod, and I can't tell if the muzzle break costs extra, nor can I find a price for it). [gunblast]
