It's been done before
Rachel Lucas is piqued to no end about a fellow being tried for having an unregistered defensive tool. The prosecutors reduced the charge to a lesser offense so they could try him without a jury.
Tell it to Laura Kriho. They did that to her too. Her offense, by the way? Go read the links.
At times like this I wish Liberty magazine's online presence were, um, present. There was a wonderful article on how to prepare yourself for the examination to be put on a jury, so you can still render a verdict within your conscience but hopefully protect yourself from what happened to Laura Kriho. Vin Suprynowicz wrote something similar, reprinted in Send In the Waco Killers.
20030319
Maybe time to drop PayPal
Aubrey Turner discusses PayPal's change of policy to prohibit the use of its service for legal commerce in modern firearms. This merely puts PayPal's policy in line with that of their owner, eBay. The only time I ever used eBay was to try to replace a collectible that my son destroyed on a visit to a friend's house. I like the concept of eBay but I did not enjoy the experience of being sniped out of some POS knicknack.
I wonder, to what extent are these policies an attempt to avoid litigation, like the suits being brought by cities against the gun industry? Is there actuarial basis for companies to exclude activities like firearm transactions on the part of their clients because the companies' part in those activities exposes them to gun lawsuits? These don't sound like inspirations of a goo-goo dot-com executive, but policies influenced or even initiated by corporate counsel.
In any case, if they continue this policy, I will drop them and tell them why. Just like I'm about to do to the Denver Post.
Aubrey Turner discusses PayPal's change of policy to prohibit the use of its service for legal commerce in modern firearms. This merely puts PayPal's policy in line with that of their owner, eBay. The only time I ever used eBay was to try to replace a collectible that my son destroyed on a visit to a friend's house. I like the concept of eBay but I did not enjoy the experience of being sniped out of some POS knicknack.
I wonder, to what extent are these policies an attempt to avoid litigation, like the suits being brought by cities against the gun industry? Is there actuarial basis for companies to exclude activities like firearm transactions on the part of their clients because the companies' part in those activities exposes them to gun lawsuits? These don't sound like inspirations of a goo-goo dot-com executive, but policies influenced or even initiated by corporate counsel.
In any case, if they continue this policy, I will drop them and tell them why. Just like I'm about to do to the Denver Post.
Quote of the day (from yesterday, actually)
Jonathan Gewirtz at ChicagoBoyz
People who get shafted have long memories.
Jonathan Gewirtz at ChicagoBoyz
20030318
Get your finger out of that G-d-damned triggerguard!
Fox News Channel is interviewing Specialist Roberto Jimenez about his fighting load. As he was describing his service rifle, his magazine was seated, and his finger was in the triggerguard. The ejection port cover was down so nobody knows whether the bolt was in battery or his chamber was clear.
This stuff does indeed chap my ass. At least he was pointing his muzzle into the floor.
Fox News Channel is interviewing Specialist Roberto Jimenez about his fighting load. As he was describing his service rifle, his magazine was seated, and his finger was in the triggerguard. The ejection port cover was down so nobody knows whether the bolt was in battery or his chamber was clear.
This stuff does indeed chap my ass. At least he was pointing his muzzle into the floor.
... balloon man whistles far ... and ... whee
The latino man approached our table at the Pancake Place, sensing an opportunity to entertain Firstborn, Middlechild, and Boy with his balloon art.
"Hello, would jour children enyoy balloons?"
"Of course."
"Jour boy, he would like a sword?"
"He really likes airplanes," offered Barbaloot. Boy's winged LarryMobile already needs a new purple paint job. His little wooden JayJay has lost both of its engines. His aircraft get a lot of attention and a lot of wear.
But the sword was already done, and handed to Boy after a final squeaky twist. His syrupy hand seized it and he lost all interest in pancakes.
It was Middlechild's turn. "I want a cat, please."
"How about a hommingbord?"
"Please may you make me a cat." The terminal "t" was distinct.
"Hmmmm, what color chall I make this hommingbord?" Squeak squeak.
He drew big lunatic walled eyes on the head with a permanent marker.
"I wanted a cat." Softly, humbly. With disappointment.
"Here is jour hommingbord."
Firstborn is far less inhibited. "I want a puppy" she shouted, before he even reached to his belt for the inflating pump. A puppy she got, though it was improvised from the giraffe page of the Big Balloon Art Handbook.
The "head" of this gir-puppy sprang out, then popped and sagged in pink tatters, moments after she received it and its creator was tipped by her grandparents. Firstborn sobbed.
One week later, off again to Pancake Place after Mass. As we are seated, I scan the crowd for balloon artists. Noticing none, I take a seat and open the menu. Only then I see balloon swords in boys' hands at a nearby table. Behind the clink of flatware and the clatter of plates, the rubbery squeaks and pump hisses are faint but certain.
After our order is taken, he approaches. He makes eye contact with me, recognizes me. It must be my expressive face.
"Ohhhh, this is the family who wants balloons only after the children are done eating." He smiles, twinkles his eyes. "I will come back soon," then he turns to the other end of the Pancake Place.
Firstborn and Middlechild finished a ten-inch chocolate-chipped pancake between them without distraction. Boy cared only for link sausage.
The balloon man did not come back.
The latino man approached our table at the Pancake Place, sensing an opportunity to entertain Firstborn, Middlechild, and Boy with his balloon art.
"Hello, would jour children enyoy balloons?"
"Of course."
"Jour boy, he would like a sword?"
"He really likes airplanes," offered Barbaloot. Boy's winged LarryMobile already needs a new purple paint job. His little wooden JayJay has lost both of its engines. His aircraft get a lot of attention and a lot of wear.
But the sword was already done, and handed to Boy after a final squeaky twist. His syrupy hand seized it and he lost all interest in pancakes.
It was Middlechild's turn. "I want a cat, please."
"How about a hommingbord?"
"Please may you make me a cat." The terminal "t" was distinct.
"Hmmmm, what color chall I make this hommingbord?" Squeak squeak.
He drew big lunatic walled eyes on the head with a permanent marker.
"I wanted a cat." Softly, humbly. With disappointment.
"Here is jour hommingbord."
Firstborn is far less inhibited. "I want a puppy" she shouted, before he even reached to his belt for the inflating pump. A puppy she got, though it was improvised from the giraffe page of the Big Balloon Art Handbook.
The "head" of this gir-puppy sprang out, then popped and sagged in pink tatters, moments after she received it and its creator was tipped by her grandparents. Firstborn sobbed.
One week later, off again to Pancake Place after Mass. As we are seated, I scan the crowd for balloon artists. Noticing none, I take a seat and open the menu. Only then I see balloon swords in boys' hands at a nearby table. Behind the clink of flatware and the clatter of plates, the rubbery squeaks and pump hisses are faint but certain.
After our order is taken, he approaches. He makes eye contact with me, recognizes me. It must be my expressive face.
"Ohhhh, this is the family who wants balloons only after the children are done eating." He smiles, twinkles his eyes. "I will come back soon," then he turns to the other end of the Pancake Place.
Firstborn and Middlechild finished a ten-inch chocolate-chipped pancake between them without distraction. Boy cared only for link sausage.
The balloon man did not come back.
20030315
20030305
it's like telling them not to swear
Lt Smash reviews General Order Number Zero with his personnel.
See this also.
Lt Smash reviews General Order Number Zero with his personnel.
See this also.
20030303
They oughtta have 'em, too
I noticed a large plastic jug in our kitchen last night, with a label claiming that it contained "Pi-Mag treated water." Beloved wife Barbaloot says she got it from friends of hers, who offer various nutritional and alternative health products.
Her frown must have been in reaction to my facial expression of skepticism.
Later during dinner, after Boy was settling down from a tantrum, he crawled up into his mother's lap and asked for "magnet." Huh?
Barbaloot produced a little plastic shell holding two magnetized nubbled balls, which she rubbed over his back to soothe him.
My skeptical facial expression returned. We proceeded to discuss (quite energetically) these alternative health products, and how I thought they were hucksterism, and she thought I should be more open to possibilities that the white lab smocks don't have all of the answers.
The "infrared" blanket she had put on our bed did, in fact, make the bed more comfortable, though I woke two hours early, rolling back and forth with a splitting headache.
. . . twenty-four hours later . . .
I resume an article where I had left it Friday night, about how very small amounts of normally toxic chemicals or ionizing radiation can make one healthier---hormesis. Sorry, no online link to this article; see The American Spectator, July/August 2002, page 54, "Underdosed" by Tom Bethell. Like the guy in Repo Man says,
I noticed a large plastic jug in our kitchen last night, with a label claiming that it contained "Pi-Mag treated water." Beloved wife Barbaloot says she got it from friends of hers, who offer various nutritional and alternative health products.
Her frown must have been in reaction to my facial expression of skepticism.
Later during dinner, after Boy was settling down from a tantrum, he crawled up into his mother's lap and asked for "magnet." Huh?
Barbaloot produced a little plastic shell holding two magnetized nubbled balls, which she rubbed over his back to soothe him.
My skeptical facial expression returned. We proceeded to discuss (quite energetically) these alternative health products, and how I thought they were hucksterism, and she thought I should be more open to possibilities that the white lab smocks don't have all of the answers.
The "infrared" blanket she had put on our bed did, in fact, make the bed more comfortable, though I woke two hours early, rolling back and forth with a splitting headache.
. . . twenty-four hours later . . .
I resume an article where I had left it Friday night, about how very small amounts of normally toxic chemicals or ionizing radiation can make one healthier---hormesis. Sorry, no online link to this article; see The American Spectator, July/August 2002, page 54, "Underdosed" by Tom Bethell. Like the guy in Repo Man says,
Half-baked goggle-box do-gooders telling everybody it's bad for you. Pernicious nonsense! Everybody could stand a hundred chest X-rays a year. They ought to have them, too.
20030226
Calling for a declaration of war cannot be anti-war
There is a difference, though some will argue there is not, between several Congressional resolutions authorizing the President to use force in Southwest Asia on the one hand, and a declaration of war against an underground organization and its supporting states on the other.
Put me down as one of those who think the Congress should declare the war. Anything less is a delegation of powers to the President that were clearly intended to stay with Congress. It also affords our less honorable members of Congress with the opportunity to hide behind weasel words if the war does not succeed: "We passed a resolution allowing the President to use force to effect A. We didn't say anything about him invading B."
The President, as Commander in Chief, wages the war. He determines how and with how much. The Congress decides whether, and upon whom, the war will be waged. These roles were separated for a purpose.
Of course antiwar leftists are calling, and even suing, to force the President to stop preparations in Southwest Asia, until and unless Congress declares war. As Bigwig suggests, a fine way to silence them is to grant their wish.
If war is the continuation of politics by other means, then the decision to go to war is a political one. A decision of such gravity, of such consequences, deserves the public visibility of recorded votes for the genuine article, the real thing, the full monty.
There is a difference, though some will argue there is not, between several Congressional resolutions authorizing the President to use force in Southwest Asia on the one hand, and a declaration of war against an underground organization and its supporting states on the other.
Put me down as one of those who think the Congress should declare the war. Anything less is a delegation of powers to the President that were clearly intended to stay with Congress. It also affords our less honorable members of Congress with the opportunity to hide behind weasel words if the war does not succeed: "We passed a resolution allowing the President to use force to effect A. We didn't say anything about him invading B."
The President, as Commander in Chief, wages the war. He determines how and with how much. The Congress decides whether, and upon whom, the war will be waged. These roles were separated for a purpose.
Of course antiwar leftists are calling, and even suing, to force the President to stop preparations in Southwest Asia, until and unless Congress declares war. As Bigwig suggests, a fine way to silence them is to grant their wish.
If war is the continuation of politics by other means, then the decision to go to war is a political one. A decision of such gravity, of such consequences, deserves the public visibility of recorded votes for the genuine article, the real thing, the full monty.
Single-parent soldiers
Michael Reagan's radio program this evening discussed the plight of single parents in the Army of One (and the Air Force to which No One Even Comes Close, and so forth). The DoD should contract with accessing members, offering an annuity equal to one-half the value of the services they must provide to enlisted families. If the member makes it through the first term of enlistment (or to NCO status, whichever comes first) without taking on any dependents, the annuity is paid, in the form of a 401(k) with income taxes deferred. Any dependents, oops, no annuity.
Update: link to the radio program's website was corrected.
Michael Reagan's radio program this evening discussed the plight of single parents in the Army of One (and the Air Force to which No One Even Comes Close, and so forth). The DoD should contract with accessing members, offering an annuity equal to one-half the value of the services they must provide to enlisted families. If the member makes it through the first term of enlistment (or to NCO status, whichever comes first) without taking on any dependents, the annuity is paid, in the form of a 401(k) with income taxes deferred. Any dependents, oops, no annuity.
Update: link to the radio program's website was corrected.
20030224
Mark your calendar
The feast day of Saint Gabriel Possenti is 27 February. He is, or ought to be, the Patron Saint of Handgunners.
Update: Kathy Kinsley responds to this with "Ick." I think it has something to do with handguns versus any kind of gun, with which sentiment I disagree. Handguns are inherently less accurate than long-guns. Marksmanship with a handgun is, caeteris paribus, more difficult and thus more daunting to the goblins. It deserves its own term to distinguish it from other forms of marksmanship.
Coyote tells me that the Saint was also a lawyer.
Please drive some traffic, and drop some dollars, at the site for the Possenti Society.
The feast day of Saint Gabriel Possenti is 27 February. He is, or ought to be, the Patron Saint of Handgunners.
Update: Kathy Kinsley responds to this with "Ick." I think it has something to do with handguns versus any kind of gun, with which sentiment I disagree. Handguns are inherently less accurate than long-guns. Marksmanship with a handgun is, caeteris paribus, more difficult and thus more daunting to the goblins. It deserves its own term to distinguish it from other forms of marksmanship.
Coyote tells me that the Saint was also a lawyer.
Please drive some traffic, and drop some dollars, at the site for the Possenti Society.
20030221
Hey, hon, let's get patriotic
Bigwig describes how French kissing has become so, je ne sais quoi. Y'know. French.
Bigwig describes how French kissing has become so, je ne sais quoi. Y'know. French.
20030220
20030219
The sum of Tom Tancredo's fears, and Michell Malkin's fears
Read this discussion about crackdowns versus liberalization of immigration and their impacts on homeland security.
Then read Kathy Kinsley's take on it.
Then mine.
Read this discussion about crackdowns versus liberalization of immigration and their impacts on homeland security.
Then read Kathy Kinsley's take on it.
Then mine.
Close enough for me
Horsefeathers proposes a concise set of principles for foreign policy.
I disagree somewhat with his fourth point:
If our policy does in fact provide our trading partners and ostensible allies "Paradise at our expense," our choosing to no longer bear that expense will adequately offset any economic advantage they have over us. Japanese "steel dumping" should no longer be an problem, for example.
Found this via the Third Hand.
Horsefeathers proposes a concise set of principles for foreign policy.
I disagree somewhat with his fourth point:
We must help our businessmen to win out over our rivals in the great game of commerce.
If our policy does in fact provide our trading partners and ostensible allies "Paradise at our expense," our choosing to no longer bear that expense will adequately offset any economic advantage they have over us. Japanese "steel dumping" should no longer be an problem, for example.
Found this via the Third Hand.
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