Around The Blogs 2014-02-23

Lots of interesting bits and pieces tonight.

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Dustbury brings us the tale of a vending machine sale that proved rather more costly to the purchaser than he'd planned.  Of course, self-control would have helped . . .

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Captain Capitalism links to the account of a young American lady who finds out the hard way that she can't really make that much of a difference in the Third World.  I found her story cynically familiar, having observed the antics of the Peace Corps in much of Africa.  They'd arrive in breathless anticipation, sure they were going to solve all the problems in that part of the world then ride off rejoicing into the sunset.  Not so much . . .

Also, in a guest article at Return Of Kings, Captain Capitalism points out that 'You’ll Never Find A “Good” Corporate Job Like Your Parents Did'.  His analysis of the present and future job market is sobering, even depressing - but it's reality.  Useful input to help shape your thinking about your future.

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Two contributors at 'Bring The Heat, Bring The Stupid' entertain us this week.

First, Ultima Ratio Regis links to an article analyzing potential problems with the senior leadership of the US Army.  It's titled 'Seduced By Success; An Army Leadership Untrained for True War?'  Thought-provoking reading.

Next, XBradTC reminds us of the joys of Army cooking.

Hmmm . . . I see some of the cooks I remember from the South African military have made their way into the US armed forces!

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While on the subject of the US Army, American Mercenary examines 'Officer Culture:  Understanding The Numbers Argument'.  It's a useful study of officer-to-enlisted proportions, so-called 'command culture', and their consequences for military effectiveness.  Worthwhile reading.

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Matthew has a sad, draining tale of being called in to help trace a young girl who was kidnapped . . . too late to help her.  I haven't had to do his job, but I have had to be the pastor/chaplain who delivered the bad news.  I don't ever want to have to do that again . . .

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The Outrider made me laugh out loud by linking to customer reviews of a banana slicer on Amazon.com.  As usual when the Amazon crowd gets a bee in its collective bonnet, the reviews (approaching 5,000 of them already) are hysterical!

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Mike Miles (caution:  his blog is sometimes NSFW, although not this particular entry) brings us 'Amazing Wartime Facts from WWII'.  They include:

• At the time of Pearl Harbor, the top US Navy command was called CINCUS (pronounced “sink us”), the shoulder patch of the US Army’s 45th Infantry division was the Swastika, and Hitler’s private train was named “Amerika”. All three were soon changed for PR purposes.
• A number of air crewmen died of farts. (Ascending to 20,000 ft. in an un-pressurized aircraft causes intestinal gas to expand 300%!)
• Among the first “Germans” captured at Normandy were several Koreans. They had been forced to fight for the Japanese Army until they were captured by the Russians, and forced to fight for the Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans, and forced to fight for the German Army until they were captured by the US Army.
• During the Japanese attack on Hong Kong, British officers objected to Canadian infantrymen taking up positions in the officer’s mess. No enlisted men allowed!

There are more at the link.  Interesting stuff.

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Clayton Cramer links to a useful article by his daughter and son-in-law titled '5 Tips for a Strong Marriage'.  They have some worthwhile ideas.

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Karl Denninger fisks an anti-gun editorial in a Connecticut newspaper, pointing out that it's effectively advocating violence against local citizens who are exercising their Constitutional rights in the face of an unconstitutional law.  He's his usual uninhibited self (I'm pleased to say!).

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Rev. Donald Sensing brings us 'a handy guide to what's wrong with the American diet in 11 simple charts'.  Very useful and informative.

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Daniel Greenfield writes about 'The Inequality of Access'.

When government is big, then true inequality is not of wealth, but of political access ... Access isn't about money; it's about becoming useful to those in power.

There are two cities and two countries in America; the land of the politically connected who are part of a network that can score anything from millions in cash to open door prisons and the land of the politically unconnected who don't understand why the government won't leave them alone. It won't leave them alone because in a corrupt system, being left alone is a special political favor.

. . .

In a city or a country run by income inequality campaigners like Barack Obama or Bill de Blasio, the inequality of wealth takes a back seat to the inequality of access.

There's much more at the link.  An interesting, cogent and depressingly accurate analysis, IMHO.

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Finally, Borepatch links to Gerard Vanderleun's 'Notes On Love And Death'.  I'd read the latter's blog before, some years ago, but had forgotten about it until this reminder.  Thanks, Borepatch!  It's worth renewing my acquaintance with his writing.

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That's all for this week.  More soon.

Peter

Blogging delayed due to crud

I'm still a bit under the weather tonight, as well as dosed up on three different kinds of medication (over and above what I take every day for other problems).  I just don't have the energy to blog much right now.

Please go read some of the folks in the sidebar, and come back in the morning.  I'll put up more posts then.

Sleep well, y'all.

Peter

The dreaded lurgy has me in thrall

I've been running a fever all evening, and took to my bed about 7 p.m.  Woke up shivering to beat the band, so I got up, had a glass of water, am now drinking a mug of hot tea, and I'll finish with a mug of Theraflu with an added shot of white rum before I head back to bed.  Guaranteed to help you sleep!

As a result, blogging will be sparse tonight.  I'll put up more posts in the morning.

(If you're wondering what 'the dreaded lurgy' means, it's from a famous Goon Show episode first broadcast in 1954, 'Lurgi Strikes Britain'.  It never fails to crack me up.  It seems insane to think that the show was broadcast 60 years ago . . . )

Peter

Around The Blogs 2014-02-15

I've had a very busy week preparing the print edition of my latest book (of which more in the next post), so I haven't been cruising around the blogosphere as much as usual.  Nevertheless, several articles caught my eye.

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Karl Denninger takes an irascible, cynical, jaded look at the tertiary education nightmare in the USA in three blog articles:

It's That Time Of Year Again

So About That College Degree . . .

College:  Probability, Investment Odds And Outcomes

If you have kids about to enter the college or university system, you really need to read all three articles.  More to the point, make them read the articles, and see the trouble the system is storing up for them.  Karl's conclusion:

Debt-funded post-secondary education, on the numbers, especially when the quoted figures are intentionally understated by as much as 50% for the typical case, is simply not a supportable decision.

To support his contention, I refer you to three articles that appeared in mainstream media over the past couple of weeks:

The First Person in My Family NOT to Go to College

Captive Consumers: How Colleges Prepare Students For a Life of Debt

Finally, a Law That Would Protect People From Student Loan Hell

All three articles are also worth reading.  Bottom line:  college is a financial risk so great that its utility is questionable - so question it for all you're worth!  (Pun intended.)

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Max Velocity brings us a very funny video on 'How To Be Tacticool'.  Not safe for work!

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Commander Zero loses his cool (you should pardon the expression) at the driving habits of Southerners when it comes to snow and ice.  A sample:

Apparently the only thing that caused more destruction in the south than the Civil War War Of Southern Overconfidence is a couple inches of snow.

. . .

Despite what television commercials tell you, four-wheel drive (or All-wheel drive) does not make you an automotive Superman. All it does is let you get overconfident and get stuck in really bad ways that folks with two-wheel drive vehicles could only dream of. It is amazing the number of ‘soccer moms’ who bought SUV’s because ‘they're safer’ and now think that they have had some sort of magic ability conferred upon them that allows them to defy physics and ignore frictional coefficients. Bonus points for her if she’s yapping on her cellphone as the blows down the interstate at 75 mph and cuts in front of the plow.

(Miss D., being from Alaska, wholeheartedly agrees with him!)

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Monday made Odysseus laugh.  Go to his blog to find out why.  (Yes, I laughed too!)

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American Mercenary has a series of articles describing how he, his wife and their two young children fared when they decided to test a 30-day survival food pack from Augason Farms to see whether it would actually feed and satisfy them.  In sequence, his articles are:

Survival Food

Survival food, day 5

Survival food, day 10

Valentines Day

Interesting reading with many lessons to be learned, particularly for those of us who store emergency supplies.

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The Adaptive Curmudgeon's word for the day is 'Negative Knowledge'.  He has plenty of examples, including:

• I do not know what “twerking” is. I think it’s associated with someone formerly called Hanna Montana and now known as Miley Cyrus? A 3 second Internet search indicates a young lady(?) who apparently divides her time between looking like a teenage boy and acting like fembot who drank too much Red Bull. I don’t care to know more.
• I do not care that hotels at the Olympics are funky. It’s Russia! Three quarters of a century as a socialist paradise followed by Putin’s iron fist led to the crap you see. If you want clean roomy hotels stay in Cincinnati.
• If you’re from Cincinnati and don’t like my analogy, I don’t want to know that either.

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Finally, Blue tells us what's really wrong with society.  Reading the headlines, I find it hard to disagree with him . . .

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That's all for this week.  More soon.

Peter

Around The Blogs 2014-02-08

Here goes with this week's roundup.

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Rev. Donald Sensing points out that 'idle people will not get health insurance without work'.

It is the Left's usual M.O. First they make health insurance mandatory by law to buy. Then they create a premium and subsidy structure that guarantees most of the bottom 50 percent of earners will have to be subsidized. More importantly, though, is that those people soon realize that they cannot earn much more money or their subsidies will be yanked. The financial flogging that would follow therefrom would be unbearable. So they stay poor and dependent on the government simply to stay in stasis.

To the Left, that is not a bug, it is a feature.

Word.

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Carteach0 brings us a few lessons learned during several days without power.  Looks like he came through it fairly well.  (By the way, I have most of the products he found very useful during this limited emergency, and I second his recommendation of them.  See his post for more information.)

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A law officer writes to Survival Blog with some interesting information about a survival cache that was discovered by youngsters.  He has several thoughts on the matter, including suggestions to avoid similar complications.  I don't maintain buried caches of supplies - I can't afford excess supplies for that purpose, and if I have fewer supplies in the first place I want them where I can get at them! - but if you do, or are considering it, you'll find this useful.

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Wirecutter brings us another reminder of why there's America . . . and then there's California.

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Ben Horowitz brings us an interesting story of how being legally astute and very careful helped him to avoid going to jail - but landed his former Chief Financial Officer behind bars.  Moral of the story:  be careful whose advice you take . . .

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Blue brings us two very amusing posts this week.  First up is a reminder of why the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  Second is a tale that aptly sums up the difference between teachers and educators.  Both made me laugh out loud.

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JayG brings us news of the progress of an interesting hybrid between a light car and a motorcycle.  He's thinking of putting down a deposit for one.  After reading his account, I must admit, I'm thinking about it myself.

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Eric S. Raymond can't resist the temptation to go 'Down the feminist rabbit hole'.

I think this sort of bitter involution is what eventually and inevitably happens when you marinate in left-wing duckspeak for long enough. (Clue: if you find yourself using the word “neoliberal” as non-ironically as these women do, you’re there. For utter lack of meaning outside of a dense thicket of self-referential cod-Marxist presuppositions disconnected from reality, this one has few rivals.)

Accordingly, George Orwell would have no trouble at all identifying the language of the feminist twitter wars as a form of Newspeak, designed not to convey thought but suppress it. Indeed, part of the content of the wars is that some of these women dimly sort of get this – see the whole argument over “callout culture”. But none of them can wake up enough to see that the problem is not just individual behaviors. Because to do that they’d have to face how irretrievably rotten and oppressive their entire discourse has become, and their worldview would collapse.

Don't hold back, Eric - tell us how you really feel!

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C. W. Swanson brings us photographic evidence of a doctor with a problem . . .

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XBradTC reminds us of an old, but still amusing commentary on the difference between AK-47, AR-15 and Mosin-Nagant rifles.  This one will appeal to the gunnies among us.

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Finally, Og the Neanderpundit made me spit tea all over my screen with visual evidence that there is, indeed, a factual foundation to blowing smoke up someone's ass.  Ye Gods and little fishes . . .

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That's all for this week.

Peter

Around The Blogs 2014-02-01

I've been hard at work on Maxwell Volume 3 this week, so I haven't been able to drop by as many blogs as often as I'd like.  Even so, several articles caught my eye.

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XBradTC has one of the Budweiser Super Bowl advertisements, 'A Hero's Welcome', plus a 'making of' featurette.  Interesting - even though I'm afraid that, to my palate, Budweiser tastes like it should be poured back into the horses they feature so proudly!  (I was brought up on German-style lagers and pilseners.  To me, most mass-produced American beers taste faintly of soap . . . )

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PDB opines that "being able to hit a dip can as far away as one can see a dip can is a pretty decent test of rifle and shooter".  For those who don't have dip cans to hand, he provides a printable target with five dip-can-size circles.  I'm going to have to try my hand at that.

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Francis Porretto examines the lack of respect by government for the rights of individuals, and points out:  "Whether it goes by licensure, permittage, or any other name, the imposition of State selectivity upon the exercise of one's rights is merely a back-door method for denying those rights."  True, that.

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Captain Capitalism points out 'How the Federal Reserve is Jesus Christ'.  He's not trying to be blasphemous, I think, so much as pointing out how the Fed is regarded with blind faith by Keynesian 'true believers', who intercede with it as fervently as people of faith do with God.  Funny, but also a telling commentary on the state of economic knowledge and wisdom (or the lack thereof) in this country.

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Paul Caron, better known as TaxProf, comments on 'Law’s Long Bitter Descent and its Tragic Human Toll'.  He points out that "... the legal world’s traditional business model is done. Decimated. Dead. It is NOT coming back ... without massive industry-wide changes – practicing law won’t be rewarding for MOST of the people jumping into the fray."  Sobering thoughts for those in that profession - and those who use their services.

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The Two-Way Blog at NPR reports that the man behind Oregon's infamous 'exploding whale' of 1970 has died.

Oregon highway engineer George Thornton, who in 1970 led an operation to blow up a dead beached whale with half a ton of dynamite, died this week at age 84. Thornton's decision resulted in a foul shower of whale blubber...

There's more at the link, including an edited, sharpened, cleaned-up version of TV footage of the massive explosion and the falling chunks of blubber.  They caused an impressive amount of damage to spectators' cars.

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Jeff Soyer reports that a New Zealand school tried abolishing all the petty rules and restrictions governing kids during playtime - and was very pleasantly surprised by the results.  Now, if we could just get our 'Nanny State' school authorities over here to do likewise . . .

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Daniel Greenfield points out that 'The Solution Is The Problem'.

The problem with our problems is usually their solution. If we were to take a closer look at many of our problems, it would turn out that many of them are actually solutions that were meant to solve those very problems. Our War on Poverty has spread poverty. Our attempts at fighting racism have perpetuated it. Our campaigns for energy efficiency invariably waste more energy than they save.

We tried promoting populism to solve terrorism in the Middle East and got even more terrorism for our troubles. The more resources we put into education, the more the educational system runs backward. Every attempt at creating jobs seems to vaporize more jobs than it creates.

Solving problems isn't a bad thing, but the place to start is at the problem, not the solution.

There's more at the link.  Thought-provoking and highly recommended reading.

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Finally, a liberal moonbat postulated at Tor.com (a science fiction publishing house) that:

I want an end to the default of binary gender in science fiction stories ... Post-binary gender in SF is the acknowledgement that gender is more complex than the Western cultural norm of two genders (female and male): that there are more genders than two, that gender can be fluid, that gender exists in many forms.

My friend Larry Correia was utterly unable to resist the temptation to fisk this drivel all the way there and back again.  He went on a magnificent rant, demolishing the opposition left, right and center.  They then made the mortal error of trying to wear him down, which gave him the opportunity for an even more humiliating smackdown.  You'd think they'd have learned not to aggravate the big man by now, but no, apparently they haven't.

I love that guy . . .

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That's all for this week.

Peter

Around The Blogs 2014-01-26

Here goes with another blast from the blogosphere.

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Murphy's Law has a great video of Jimmy Stewart looking over a venerable DC-3.  I've flown uncounted thousands of miles in those planes across Africa . . . many, many memories.

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Matthew over at Straight Forward In A Crooked World has some excellent advice for teachers (and students, for that matter) over how to cope with a threat in the school environment.  Excellent stuff, and well worth reading - particularly if you, or any of your family, works or studies in that environment.  This man knows whereof he speaks.

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The Miller brings us this spectacular adaptation of an RV into a Zombie Apocalypse bug-out vehicle.

I like it . . . but I'm sure I couldn't afford the fuel bills.

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Karl Denninger goes off at the influential folks gathering for the World Economic Forum at Davos.  Here's a sample.

Amazing crap coming out this morning from Davos on bubblevision.

I didn't catch the jackass's name but I did catch the comments -- that we (the US) need immigration reform because we don't have the people here that we need for economic progress.

That's utter and complete crap, but what's worse is that to the extent the claim is true it's self-inflicted injury and all of these jackwads over there that are making the claim are part and parcel of the reason that the condition exists.

First, let's have some facts, shall we?  There are 12,385,000 more people of working age (16-64, inclusive) today than there were in September of 2008.  America is not suffering from a contracting workforce.

Period.

There's more at the link.  It's good stuff.  Go read.

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Glenn Reynolds brings us some time-honored time management advice.  I've seen it many times before, but it's always good to be reminded of basic reality like that.  Very useful.

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Speaking of Glenn Reynolds, Francis Porretto cites him in a very insightful article dealing with 'Propaganda and Education'.  For example:

A great deal of the criticism of American education stems from the weak correlation between one's acquisition of a college degree and one's subsequent occupational attainment. There appears to be a widely held assumption, explicit more often than not, that a college education's primary purpose is to ready those who pass through it to perform economically.

In historical terms, that's a very recent emphasis. And there's a very good chance that it's at the heart of what's "wrong" with American higher education.

Wisdom.

On the same subject, Matt Walsh thanks God he wasn't college material.

Something has to change. Listen to me on this one. Something HAS to change. This can’t continue. It is not a sustainable model. There are millions of kids with no assets, no plans, and no purpose, taking out enormous loans to purchase a piece of paper they’ll likely never use. It can’t go on this way.

. . .

This is madness. And there’s only one way to stop it: don’t go to college.

Don’t send your kids to college.

If they aren’t actively pursuing a career that fundamentally requires a college degree, don’t encourage them to go.

More wisdom.

Finally, Daniel Greenberg slips the knife between the ribs of the educational elite with his usual inimitable style in an article titled 'Academics In Wonderland'.

Academia is a magical world where nothing is truly fixed and everything exists on belief. Change the belief and you change the reality. It's a meta-world that has a certain fanciful appeal for intellectuals, but little relevance to the real world where things do not change because the theory does and where outcomes are hard and real and the consequences of a bad theory can mean lives lost.

Ouch!  Go read all three articles.  They're worth your time.

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Dr. Grumpy has a series of tips for drunk drivers - one driver in particular.

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Captain Capitalism notes that in terms of socialist attempts to 'transform' Western capitalism, 'the parasite will never be bigger than the host'.  True, that - or, as Margaret Thatcher famously observed, "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money".

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Ace Of Spades has an excellent analysis and rebuttal of the arguments of a self-styled 'expert', pointing out that "experts themselves do not recognize the limitations of expertise, and need to be reminded of them".  So true!  Highly recommended reading.

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Old Retired Petty Officer asks, "What do you call a psychic dwarf on the run?"

Not to be outdone on the comedy front, Old NFO brings us a selection of classic Rodney Dangerfield one-liners.

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That's all for this week.  More soon.

Peter

Tired puppy

I've been working too hard on revisions and editing of Maxwell Volume 3, now only a couple of weeks from publication.  I'm stiff, I ache, and my eyes are dry and scratchy from too many hours staring at a computer screen.  I go bed now.  You come back tomorrow for more posts.

Sleep well, y'all.

Peter

Around The Blogs 2014-01-18

Here's this week's roundup from the blogosphere.

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Vox Day points out that the USA is now effectively a police state.

The USA's spying program is ALREADY much worse than Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, or even East Germany. The gloves are coming off. One can no longer reasonably pretend that the USA is anything but an imperial police state wearing an increasingly thin quasi-democratic, faux constitutional veil.

Remember this the next time you dismiss something as conspiracy theory or claim that a government agency couldn't possibly keep a secret from the American people. The real NSA conspiracy against the American people is much more extensive, and has been around longer, than even the hard-core conspiracy hunters suspected.

There's more at the link.

The question is, what are we going to do about it?  Far too many Americans seem all to willing to roll over and play dead in the face of this catastrophe to the constitution.  I'm not.  The oath of office I swore said, amongst other things, that "I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same..."

That oath has no expiry date.  Neither does the Constitution.  Those two realities mean that giving up and 'knuckling under' is not an option.

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Greylocke links to a picture essay showing that you can't afford to be sick in America.  Here's one example of why not.

Divide that total by at least ten to get the true costs involved - and even those are inflated.  Blame EMTALA, a dysfunctional medical system, and (lately) Obamacare, which has only made all the existing dysfunctions even more dysfunctional.

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I'm sure many of us are familiar with the old joke about political systems being explained by cows - for example:

CAPITALISM:  You have two cows.  You look after both of them and sell the milk at a profit.

I grew up knowing a fairly limited selection of them.  Well, it seems the list has grown awfully long since my teenage years . . . and Mr. Garabaldi has them all!  Go read, and enjoy.

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Borepatch informs us that Linux Mint is a worthwhile alternative for those looking to upgrade from Windows XP, for which Microsoft will soon cease support.  I may have to try installing that on an older machine, and see how I like it.  I'm certainly not impressed with Windows 8.1 - in fact, I'm thinking of 'retrograding' back to Windows 7 . . .

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The Art of Manliness has a very interesting guest post on how to obtain an undergraduate degree by 'testing out' for some or even all of the credits required.  I hadn't known that the US tertiary education system would allow you to do that.  The author claims you can save tens of thousands of dollars (even to the point of graduating debt-free), and several years that would otherwise be wasted on conventional courses, if you do it that way.

The same blog also has a very useful article on study tips and techniques.  I've completed four graduate and post-graduate qualifications, and I can tell you, I wish I'd known some of those techniques while doing them!  Highly recommended reading for everyone studying towards a degree, or taking any course at all, or who may have friends or relatives doing the same.

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Commander Zero links to a blog post about an attempted 'bug-out' in an emergency situation that went seriously awry.  In this case, very fortunately, no-one was killed or injured;  but if the same thing were to happen again, who knows?  There are valuable lessons to be learned here.

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Tin Can Assassin is on his way out of Kalifornia to a freer part of these United States (although that freedom is under threat everywhere, as noted in the first linked article in this post).  In parting, he tells his boss, his fellow workers and his customers just what he thinks about them.  (It's not complimentary!)

I note that he passed through Jennifer's part of the world on his way out.  Hey, TCA, if you pass through central Tennessee, drop me a line.

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In a glimpse of the seamier side of law enforcement, Shooter describes how the pornographic novel 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' seems to be leading some 'ladies' to do things in public places that were best performed in private.  Sounds like "Ewww!" moments to me . . .

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Three articles about the economy and economic policy caught my eye over the past week.

• Nicki points out that so-called 'income inequality' is, in fact, the normal result of productive effort, and that any attempt to rectify it through redistribution of wealth is doomed to failure.  A sample excerpt:  "You know why a doctor makes more money than a McDonald’s fry cook? Because the doctor went to school, worked his ass off and developed an in-demand skill. Not everyone can be a doctor, but fry cooks are a dime a dozen. Supply and demand, boys and girls. Those whose skills are in demand will cost more to hire. That’s just basic economics. But the moment a government tells a doctor that his labor is worth no more than a fry cook’s and prevents the doctor and his customers from setting their own values on the exchange, that doctor will likely put forth the effort that’s only worth $8 per hour. Why bother? His labor isn’t worth any more than a fry cooks, despite the schooling and hard work."
• Karl Denninger points out that the reason Google has just paid billions to buy a thermostat company is to gain access to the 'Internet of things' inside our homes.  "That means Google now knows if you're home, because if your thermostat is set back, you're not.  They know when you're home, when you're not, when you're on vacation, if you like to get up early or late, how late you stay up and more.  And if they want it to they can have it enumerate all the WiFi (and cabled) devices that are in your house network too, because this thing is on the inside."  So much for what remains of our privacy . . .
• In another article, Mr. Denninger notes that holiday season retail sales in stores have declined by almost half over the past few years.  He blames the problem on the death of expertise among sales staff, and asks "If I'm not going to get expertise why would I pay for it, even if the only price is gasoline to go in the car to get to the store?  What's the value proposition that the retailer offers?"  However, he doesn't see a much brighter future for online retailers either.

All three articles are well worth reading in full.

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Finally, American Mercenary discusses 'Why the collapse is coming, we can't do anything about it, and we can't get people fired up about liberty'.  He's not very hopeful about the future.  Neither am I, but I am hopeful that we can stave off collapse and sustain something viable until the worst of the problems can be fixed.  Others, of course, regard that as wishful thinking.  I guess we're going to find out who's right, and probably sooner rather than later.

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That's all for this week.  More soon.

Peter

Around The Blogs 2014-01-11

Lots of interesting stuff in the blogosphere during the past week.

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Ace Of Spades linked to an article about a Republican pollster who has very gloomy and dismal views about the US electorate and its passion for government handouts.

Sarah Hoyt responded, discussing the pollster's fears and reactions to them, and pointed out that the solution is in our hands - no-one else's.

Yes, us hard core liberty lovers are a minority, but we are a minority that is armed, and dangerous, and by this I don’t mean physically.  We are people who read, who talk, who work for what we want.  And because liberty is as essential to us as the air we breathe, we fight with the despair of cornered beasts.

Is it enough?  Are we enough?

I don’t know.  Less than us was enough before.  It did for the British, and it lit a great light of freedom.

Cry no more.  Stop lamenting and put your shoulder to the wheel.

Our ancestors might have lived in caves and eaten acorns.  We, thank the Lord, hope to be spared having to do that.  The culture is what you make it.  You’re part of it, not a passive observer.

Now stop lamenting and work.

Amen, Sarah!  Preach it!

She has another excellent article in which she linked to a discussion about a radical feminist's perspective on sex and relationships, and concluded:  "When a significant portion of the population gets this far away from reality and CAN live, our society is so wealthy that most of us can afford to be like Henry VIII completely divorced from reality."

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Rev. Paul has three articles in which he examines the crisis in our nation from a religious and spiritual perspective.  If you're neither, you probably won't enjoy them;  but for those of us who profess Christian faith, they offer much food for thought.  You'll find them here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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Western Rifle Shooters Association reminds us that Matt Bracken is offering two more free give-away days for his novels, on 15th and 16th January.  I personally don't like the books much;  but I'll be the first to admit that he appears prescient, in that many of the scenarios he portrayed fictionally have come to pass since publication.  For that reason alone, I think they're worthwhile reading.  Details here.

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Fellow blogger PDB also writes professionally at Gun Up, an online magazine for shooters.  He's written three very useful articles on the care, feeding and maintenance of the AR-15 rifle.  You'll find them here:

My AR-15 Pet Peeves: Hardware

My AR-15 Pet Peeves: Maintenance

My AR-15 Pet Peeves: Software

# # #

Karl Denninger notes an unholy alliance between a bank, a state police force and federal agencies to monitor protesters.  He points out:

Now there's nothing here that indicates that either Bank of America or the various government agencies involved did anything other than use publicly visible data in these processes.  Maybe they did and maybe they didn't, but the evidence for that (which would implicate a possible violation of the law) is missing in the article.  In fact, one of the references here is to Bank of America having a team that specifically looks through public information such as social media.

That's not against the law.

But it is, to many people, distasteful.

So how do you stop it, since you can't sue or prosecute.....

I wonder if turning the tables on both the government agencies and Bank of America would finally convince some of these people that this kind of crap is a bad idea?

Perhaps if, for example, concerned citizens were to make a point of photographing (with GPS coordinates attached from their phones, of course) cops, bank employees (including executives of course) and anyone affiliated with (that is, traveling with) either and started crowdsourcing a public database of all that information that could be easily searched and overlaid on, oh, Google Earth?  KML database integration for the win!

Now I'm not suggesting that anyone's privacy be violated.  After all, these folks -- both cops and private industry -- have made the quite-cogent (and legally-defensible) claim that you have no right of privacy when traveling on a public road, walking on a public street, or otherwise out and about where anyone who wishes to can see you.

Well that may be just fine, but that sauce tastes really good on both goose and gander.

There's more at the link, with more suggestions for an activist response to this Big Brother-ish intrusion.  Worthwhile reading.  I wonder what would happen if we applied those same measures to the NSA bureaucrats, administrators and staff who've ridden roughshod over our constitution . . . ?

# # #

'Historian', blogging at 'Views From Liberty Hollow', takes a rather more extreme position than myself on the extent to which the constitution has been degraded and disregarded by the federal government, and on how to correct the problem.  Nevertheless, I find it interesting to read his perspective on the situation (one that's shared by more than a few of those whom I describe as 'radical patriots').  You'll find his three articles here:

Using the Myth of the Constitution, Part 1

Using the Myth of the Constitution, Part 2

Using the Myth of the Constitution, Part 3

Recommended reading.  His thesis calls to mind the perspective of Daniel Greenfield, who blogs at 'Sultan Knish'.  In June 2012 he stated flatly that 'There Ain't No More Middle-Ground'.  I suspect he'd probably agree with many of Historian's views.

# # #

Aesop, in his second blog 'Shepherd Of The Gurneys', describes New Years Eve in the emergency room of a hospital.  It's bloody, violent and alarming . . . and very true.  I know - I've been in ER's at times like that.  If you're not squeamish, I highly recommend his article.

# # #

Warren Meyer celebrates the closing of his business in Ventura County, California.

Normally, the closure of a business operation or division is not grounds for a celebration, but in this case I am going to make an exception.  At midnight on December 31, I not only drank a toast to the new year, but also to finally getting all my business operations out of Ventura County, California.

Never have I operated in a more difficult environment.  Ventura County combines a difficult government environment with a difficult employee base with a difficult customer base.

There's more at the link.

His story and the endemic corruption he encountered were chronicled in a different form by Silicon Graybeard, who writes that the 'Corruptocracy of California is Corrupt'.  Go read the whole thing.  After doing so, you'll never want to settle or work in California again!

# # #

The good people at Dark Roasted Blend have compiled a list of their 'Greatest Hits' articles for 2013.  Highly recommended reading and viewing.  They always come up with very interesting stuff (which, of course, is why they've been in my sidebar since I started blogging back in January 2008).

# # #

Marko Kloos fisks a very left-wing socialist rant about the US economy, and gives it "two out of five Che's".

# # #

Weaponsman brings us '3 Video Lessons from Arab Insurgencies'.

WARNING:  The videos show people in the act of being killed, through mistakes made by themselves or by others.  They are NOT for the squeamish!

Nevertheless, I include his article in this roundup because it illustrates the ineptitude typical of many so-called 'liberation movements' or 'freedom fighters' all over the world.  I ran into more than a few of the type during my years in Africa.  They were usually more of a danger to their own side than they were to the enemy.  (That's one reason I'm still alive.)

# # #

Finally, Rev. Donald Sensing reminds us that the 'War on the poor continues hammer and tongs'.  He points out that the answer to poverty isn't government handouts:  it's jobs.  Word.

# # #

That's all from the blogosphere this week.  More soon!

Peter

Around The Blogs 2014-01-04

Time for another stroll around the blogosphere.

# # #

There are a few interesting articles about preparing for emergencies and potential disasters this week.

• Brigid has a very useful checklist of supplies and necessities you might not have thought about.  I found some holes in my preparations when comparing them against her list.
• Jane of Virginia revisits fire hazards, and examines ways to mitigate them.
• I thought, in the light of both of the above articles, it would be worth mentioning MicroBalrog's article from 2012 about lessons learned in Bosnia by one who survived the civil war there.  It's in the same vein as my article about lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.  If you think the same thing couldn't happen again during another disaster here, you're wrong - it happened after Hurricane Sandy last year, when the response by FEMA and other relief agencies was as tardy, if not more so, than in New Orleans seven years earlier.  Unless you'd made your own preparations, you were in trouble.

All the above articles make worthwhile reading.

# # #

C. W. Swanson has fun with cats.

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There are an increasing number of articles taking a gloomy look at the state of nations, politics and culture, in the USA and elsewhere.  I don't want to be a wet blanket so early in the New Year, but they're worth reading, if only to understand different aspects of what's likely to confront us during 2014.

• Borepatch offers 'Lessons for the American Republic from the fall of the Roman Republic'.
• Nick Land analyzes what he calls 'The Dark Enlightenment', and wonders whether freedom and democracy are still compatible.  It's a long series of articles, and fairly heavy reading.  I can't say I agree with all his conclusions, but he certainly made me think.
• That brought to mind Prof. Bruce Charlton's series of essays on the 'Decline Of The West'.
• The inimitable Al Fin republished an older article titled 'We Are Marching to Utopia: We Will Soon Be There'.  Excellent and thought-provoking stuff.
• XBradTC asks:  "Is 2014 like 1914? I’m not sure but I think the historical parallels are very interesting considering what’s going both overseas and domestically. I know only that time will tell and we’ll find out as this year marches on."

They're all interesting and worthwhile reading.

# # #

Rev. Paul can't resist the irony.  Neither could I . . .

# # #

Warren Meyer reminds us of the Atlantic 'triangle trade', and links to a real-time chart of winds around the world.  Click on the globe and drag the part you want to see to the front.  Fascinating!

# # #

Tamara points out:

"It is an easily demonstrable fact that gun registration does nothing... indeed can do nothing... to prevent crimes: I will write my name and address and the serial number of a gun on this sheet of paper and hand it to you. Then I will leave the room. Using that piece of paper and nothing but that piece of paper, stop me from shooting something with the gun. I'll bet you twenty bucks you can't."

I wish the gun-grabbers would listen to reasoned arguments such as this . . . but they won't.  They're not interested in truth or logic - only emotional, knee-jerk reactions.  That's why they're wrong.

# # #

Glenn Reynolds links to what he describes as 'the best law review article ever':  a review, purportedly by the devil, of a book titled 'Knowledge and Politics'.  It's erudite, analytical and thought-provoking.  Recommended.

# # #

I'm sure most readers are aware of Jeff Foxworthy and his famous (and never-ending) series of jokes claiming that "If X, then you might be a redneck".  My personal favorite so far:  "If your hairdo has ever stopped the ceiling fan, you might be a redneck."  For the benefit of overseas readers who may not be familiar with his comedy, here's a sample.

In similar vein, a couple of years ago Sheriff Jim Wilson produced two articles claiming that "you might be a tactard" (i.e. 'tactically misguided') if you do certain things, or possess certain items, or espouse certain views.  For those of us in the firearms community, his points ring all too true.  For example:  "Your dresser drawer is full of camo underwear."

There are more at both links.  Enjoy!

# # #

Six, one of the contributors at The Warrior Class, apparently reacting to the Duck Dynasty brouhaha, says bluntly:

"Leave me alone and I'll return the gesture. Defend my freedoms and I'll do the same for yours. But stop pushing me. ... It has to do with my own personal and deeply held faith and the idea that I am either free to live my life as I deem fit or we as a people are a lot less free than we imagine. Thought Crime persecution isn't on my side, it's on the side of the rabidly atheist, humanist, politically and power driven left. I desire no authority over anyone's life and it infuriates me that others do. On any side of the die."

Word.

# # #

Gonzalo Lira, whose economic articles we've sometimes discussed in these pages, is writing a novel about what he sees as a looming financial and social dystopia. It'll be ready for publication in late February, but you can read an opening excerpt from it on his blog.  Looks interesting.

# # #

Finally, Mr. Garabaldi brings us a very interesting article on '100 years of commercial Aviation....January 1 1914 to January 1 2014'.  I hadn't realized that the first scheduled air service was inaugurated on New Years Day in 1904 between St. Petersburg and Tampa in Florida.  It had room for only the pilot and a single passenger, but it was the first step towards the national and international commercial aviation services we have today.  Fascinating to think things have come so far in what is, from an historical perspective, a very short time indeed.

# # #

That's all for this opening week of 2014.  More soon.

Peter

Around The Blogs

Here we go with the last Around The Blogs roundup for 2013.

# # #

In The Middle Of The Right reminds us of the importance of keeping a supply of cash on hand, in case banks decide to restrict our ability to withdraw from our accounts - as customers of Target found out recently.  I couldn't agree more.  I've written about it in the past, and keep not less than one month's expenditure on hand, in cash, at all times.  I'm seriously considering increasing that to two months' expenditure as soon as I can afford to do so.  In an emergency, cash is king.

# # #

Clark at Popehat fulminates about the American political and legal 'system', and points out that:

The older I get, the more I see, the more I read, the more clear it becomes to me that the entire game is rigged. The leftists and the rightists each see half of the fraud. The lefties correctly note that a poor kid caught with cocaine goes to jail, while a Bush can write it off as a youthful mistake (they somehow overlook the fact that their man Barrack hasn't granted clemency to any one of the people doing federal time for the same felonies he committed). The righties note that government subsidized windmills kill protected eagles with impunity while Joe Sixpack would be deep in the crap if he even picked up a dead eagle from the side of the road. The lefties note that no one was prosecuted over the financial meltdown. The righties note that the Obama administration rewrote bankruptcy law on the fly to loot value from GM stockholders and hand it to the unions. The lefties note that Republicans tweak export rules to give big corporations subsidies. Every now and then both sides join together to note that, hey! the government is spying on every one of us…or that, hey! the government stole a bunch of people's houses and gave them to Pfizer, because a privately owned for-profit corporation is apparently what the Constitution means by "public use".

What neither side seems to realize is that the system is not reformable. There are multiple classes of people, but it boils down to the connected, and the not connected. Just as in pre-Revolutionary France, there is a very strict class hierarchy, and the very idea that we are equal before the law is a laughable nonsequitr.

There's much more at the link.  Highly recommended reading.

Sadly, I'm forced to agree with Clark - but what to do about it?  We can't all just 'drop out' of the system.  Nonetheless, Joel has, and responds to that article with his own thoughts.  He also links to Claire Wolfe, who tells us how to become a 'freedom outlaw'.  Both articles are well worth reading.

# # #

In a similar vein, Francis Porretto asks 'Who Rules America?', and links to this article at Lew Rockwell that provides some interesting answers.

# # #

The inimitable Karl Denninger has some sobering post-Christmas thoughts that tie in, from an economic and personal-responsibility perspective, to Clark's fulminations from a political and legal perspective.  He ends with three questions that we'd all better answer right smartly.

• Who do you associate with, and who do you shun?  Which of those you associate with are people who you are very sure will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you when things get bad? If they can't keep their dick in their pants, why do you think they won't shoot you and eat you if they're hungry?  How sure are you?  If you're wrong, you're dead.  How's that going to serve those who depend on you and those who you love?
• How do you behave?  Leave aside the distant past.  If you're perfect and have never sinned in that regard, you need to go apply to see if you're really Jesus.  You know damn well you have, and that you're not perfect.  The real question is how have you been doing in the recent past, and how are you doing today?  Have you learned something in your life?  Are you happy with who you are, how you comport yourself, how you live?  If you're not, are you -- right now -- doing something about it?  Be honest -- because there's nobody grading this test but you.
• What are you doing right now to cut the dependence cord?  Are you running some sort of scheme?  Do you depend on the government, or someone else's largesse?  Are you up to your eyeballs in debt?  What happens if the means to service that disappears?  Are you one of the people who believes in the poverty pimp game -- or even one of the beneficiaries of it?  For how long have you been able, but unwilling, to do anything about your dependence?  Months? Years?  Decades?  Guess what -- it's going to go away, and not voluntarily either. When are you going to face the fact that it is precisely what you demand and in fact vote for, in the main as a people, that you get and when you demand an impossibility what you are going to get, inevitably, is pain.

Again, more at the link, and very highly recommended.

# # #

Daddybear has a Congressional wish list.  I not only endorse every one of his points, I'll gladly raise money for him and campaign on his behalf if he ever decides to run for Congress himself!

EDITED TO ADD:  Captain Tightpants weighs in with his contribution.  I'll vote for him, too!

# # #

Borepatch discloses 'how he rolls' as a blogger.



(On the other hand, Jason Kottke claims that 'The blog is dead, long live the blog'.  Uh-huh . . . )

# # #

Quote of the week comes from Jay G., newly relocated to quasi-free America.  Quoting a Massachusetts busybody, he vows:

With my hand to G-d, folks, if I ever receive a letter like this, I will make it my life's mission to have Christmas decorations so loud and garish that alien cultures will fly to earth just to tell me to knock that shit off. I will personally seek out, purchase, and install giant neon creches with the baby Jesus in a gold lame Elvis suit dancing around with a naked Allah while Ganesh busts out a hookah just to offend as many people as possible.

I'd pay good money to see that . . .

# # #

In the comment thread to Sarah Hoyt's latest blog post, the name of Peter Hathaway Capstick came up for discussion.  I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Capstick when he lived in Cape Town, South Africa, during the 1980's, and was introduced by him to the sport of 'minisniping'.  It's an addictive game to anyone seriously interested in precision shooting.  I highly recommend it.  You'll find more information about it here.

# # #

While on the subject of shooting sports and skills, Hilton Yam has a very useful primer on '50 Yard Carbine Drills'.  If you follow his prescription, you'll build up some handy core skills.

# # #

The Silicon Graybeard illustrates how not to start a chainsaw.

# # #

Aesop at the Raconteur Report discusses the background to and real impact of Obamacare, and points out:

The biggest problem isn't that the Obamacare sign-up website is broken. It's that someday, it's going to work exactly as designed.

Word.

# # #

Last but not least, Earthbound Misfit enjoyed the latest Martin Scorsese film, 'The Wolf Of Wall Street'.  However, she thoughtfully linked to an article by the daughter of one of the criminals concerned.  It was enough to persuade me never to spend my money on that movie in any way, shape or form.

# # #

That's it for this week, and for 2013.  More next week, God willing.

Peter

Around The Blogs

Time for our weekly wander around the blogosphere.

# # #

Dr. Grumpy has a Christmas gift suggestion that should leave you down in the dumps . . . literally!

# # #

Dr. Whitecoat reflects on how lucky a patient was to have broken his hip.  Upon reading the whole story, I couldn't help but agree.

# # #

The Hawsepiper reports on a Christmas present that's definitely nautical - almost too much so!

# # #

Lawdog brings us a Native American Christmas carol with a twist in the Santa's tail.  (Gigglesnort!)

# # #

Tam informs us with her usual weary cynicism (which I fully share on this subject) of yet another gee-whiz super-dooper felon-stopper magnum-blaster 'revolution' in ammo design.  My earlier caveat still applies:  If a particular defensive bullet design isn't in general use by police and sheriffs' departments, hostage rescue teams, and crack military outfits, don't bother with it.  If it was as good as the hype, all of those groups would have invested in it.  This new bullet is just another 'same old, same old' in new packaging.  Nevertheless, go read about it at Tam's place.  It'll help you to recognize the hype when the next 'revolution' comes down the pike.

# # #

PDB makes a similar point about defensive firearms.  'So if we’re looking for statistically sound, relatively bias-free information on pistol reliability, where do we look? ... Police departments and competition shooting.'  I entirely agree.  He knows what he's talking about.  You should go read the whole thing.

# # #

American Mercenary shoots down a ludicrous suggestion by an uninformed observer that the US Army can be cut to the bone to save money now, and built up again in time of need.  He points out that in the absence of the draft, this will be effectively impossible in any meaningful timescale.  'If we accept as fact that Congress will not pass a draft, then we must accept as true that we can not have another "massive mobilization" of America to field a gigantic Army ... I know the military is the low hanging budget fruit, but there comes a point where if you cut the Army enough, you might as well not have an Army at all.'  He speaks truly, and knows whereof he speaks.

In another article, he warns that 'arguing with crazy people is pointless', particularly when trying to defend our right to keep and bear arms against those who don't know what they're talking about and are manifestly unwilling to learn.

# # #

Erin Palette almost falls out of her chair laughing at a new product that combines shotguns and seedlings.  I don't know about laughter . . . I'm still trying to figure out how anyone in their right mind could think up a product like that!

# # #

Aesop, a.k.a. the Raconteur, reminds us that certain things that aggravate the hell out of the Powers That Be are, in fact, illegal and/or immoral and/or illicit and/or fattening, and should never be attempted by anyone of a law-abiding persuasion.  He goes so far as to point out how those who are not of a law-abiding persuasion can get away with such aggravations.  Terrible, that.  Just terrible.

# # #

Mike Vanderboegh brings us a stirring review of a book and film about Jewish brothers who fought the Nazis during World War II and saved over a thousand of their co-religionists from extermination.  He concludes:

For all the unanswered moral, philosophical and theological questions -- the bottom line is that millions of Jews were killed, because they could be. The only true defense against a Holocaust is the ability to resist and to survive one. Before the State of Israel was officially declared, the Bielskis made their own Jewish state in a forest, to live as free men and women mere kilometers from their would be killers, and though like the real state and its real leaders, they may have been flawed, their triumph is not some uplifting moral, but a matter of accomplishment, the 1200 they hid in the forest against all odds, and through determination and hard work, they did not become victims or fatalities, they survived. And through their guidance and efforts so did 1200 others. No higher praise is needed.

Mike goes on to reinforce the lessons we need to learn from the Bielski's experience and example.  Highly recommended reading.

# # #

Matt Walsh points out that, far from being anti-science or unscientific as alleged by many of its detractors, 'Christianity has done more for science than atheism ever could'.  True, that.

# # #

From the frozen wasteland (a.k.a. Alaska), Rev. Paul brings us 'a lesson in snow for all the Southern folks'.

Yeah.  Right.

# # #

Kathy Jackson, longtime friend and nationally-known shooting instructor, brings us a very interesting look at security preparedness when shopping at the mall.  I learned a lot from the examples she provides.  Highly recommended reading for all who take their personal security seriously.  (I do - which is one reason I deliberately avoid most malls!)

# # #

Roberta informs us about Walgreens' new, intrusive and extremely frustrating policies when filling prescriptions for painkillers.  I've already written about my disgust at being treated like a criminal in Tennessee when attempting to get painkillers to assuage my nerve damage.  Looks like it's becoming a national problem . . .

# # #

Rev. Donald Sensing brings us what he suggests might be 'the best Second Amendment speech ever'.  I won't argue with him about that . . .

# # #

Kent McManigal, otherwise known as the Hooligan Libertarian, points out a simple but obvious truth about the liberal approach to economics.  He concludes, 'Why are "smart" people too dumb to see this?'  I wish I knew.

# # #

Earthbound Misfit brings us a TV news report about a fire exercise that went badly wrong when the water they were spraying on the flames turned out to contain aviation fuel.  As she says, it 'Didn't work so well.....'  What can I say except, "No s***, Sherlock!!!"

# # #

Last but not least, CenTexTim informs us of an unexpected snag in a new Catholic approach to contraception.

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That's all for this week.  More soon.

Peter