Cato Today: Remembering Milton Friedman.
'Cuz how often do I get to use the "Friedmanmen" tag...?
And while I'm at it, note this link in my left-handed sidebar: "Free To Choose" (1980) a TV Series by Milton Friedman
Also while I'm at it: Amazon.com: Milton Friedman: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle
Friday, July 31, 2015
QOTD, 07/31/2015
Quote of the day, seen at Thoughts from the ammo line | Power Line
Alas,I see no reason to think that Ammo Grrrll* is wrong.
*Three n"r"s and two "l"s, I counted. Twice.
George Orwell was a cockeyed optimist.
Alas,I see no reason to think that Ammo Grrrll* is wrong.
*Three n"r"s and two "l"s, I counted. Twice.
Amazon Deal Alerts! 07/31/2015
Bonus Deal of the Day: Surefire P3X Fury LED Flashlight
$144.99, which is (we are told) 42% off. Offer ends in 14 hours. (Midnight, PDT, unless it's sold out first.)
SureFire Single Output Reflector Flashlight
$164, 35% off. Ends in, um, 20 minutes from now...
SureFire Scout LED Weapon Light
$282, 42% off. Ends ion about 2 and a half hours from now.
I've been debating one of these, or the Surefire forend for the Mossberg 500...
SureFire Fury Scout Light Rail-Mountable LED WeaponLight
Or maybe this one...?
$286, 36% off. 4 hours and 40 minutes or so left.
And if you know any lady fighter pilots:
TAG Heuer Women's Formula One Chronograph Watch
A mere $1011, 56% off! Offer good for 4 hours and 40-odd minutes!
There are a bunch of Surefire products coming up later today; I'm wondering if the market has become saturated, perhaps they produced too much, what with the bottom falling out of the Global War on Terror market and all.
$144.99, which is (we are told) 42% off. Offer ends in 14 hours. (Midnight, PDT, unless it's sold out first.)
SureFire Single Output Reflector Flashlight
$164, 35% off. Ends in, um, 20 minutes from now...
SureFire Scout LED Weapon Light
$282, 42% off. Ends ion about 2 and a half hours from now.
I've been debating one of these, or the Surefire forend for the Mossberg 500...
SureFire Fury Scout Light Rail-Mountable LED WeaponLight
Or maybe this one...?
$286, 36% off. 4 hours and 40 minutes or so left.
And if you know any lady fighter pilots:
TAG Heuer Women's Formula One Chronograph Watch
A mere $1011, 56% off! Offer good for 4 hours and 40-odd minutes!
There are a bunch of Surefire products coming up later today; I'm wondering if the market has become saturated, perhaps they produced too much, what with the bottom falling out of the Global War on Terror market and all.
Take that, clickbait!
So, I read this article: Marine Corps to Hold Bake Sale To Buy Modern Sniper Rifles - Bearing Arms - M40, Marines, military, sniper rifles
which, despite the title, is not an actual Duffleblog article, but a commentary on the fact that Congress and/or the Navy can find the money for a fighter that costs $250,000,000 a pop butcannot will not buy the Marine Corps' snipers a new rifle that actually meets the current needs of the military.
At the bottom of the page is a clickbait link titled
Which isn't surprising when you consider that the photo with the link is of an OV-1 Mohawk.
You will note right away that this is not a jet aircraft.
What may not be quite so obvious is that it is not a fighter, although the original concept called for it to be used by the Marine Corps in a strike role, so the first prototypes had hard-points for weapons.
The Marine Corps dropped out of the program due to insufficient funding (hmmm, do we detect a pattern) and the Air Force pitched a fit at the thought that the Army would operate an armed fixed-wing aircraft, so all hard-points for weapons were eliminated. The attachment point you see in the photo is for photo-recon or RADAR/Electronic Intelligence pods. (I believe that some in Viet Nam retained the ability to launch smoke rockets for artillery spotting.)
The last Mo-chickens were built in 1970, and served into 1996. I never hung with the pilots, but got the impression that, except for the guys who wrangled them, they weren't too popular. On the other hand, or perhaps "for one thing", the flight crew was one pilot and one enlisted sensor operator, in a fixed-wing aircraft which was rumored not to be very high on the "easy to fly" list.
When I was at Ft. Huachuca training to be EH-60 Quickfix II flight crew/operator at one point we got to watch the 96D QUICK LOOK trainees going through "suspended agony", getting ready for their ejection seat training. So far as I know, these were the only enlisted personnel who had to get ejection seat training in any service. (I could well be wrong.)
Later on, my First Sergeant at Ft. Ord had some really awesome photographs on his office wall of mountains and volcanoes ("We were supporting the Forest Service and Geological Survey when Mount Saint Helens erupted") and...
"Top, is that Stonehenge?"
"Yeah, we were doing a joint exercise with the Brits at Salisbury Plain, and accidentally flew too low with the camera running. We got in trouble for it, but it was worth it."
Later, I was in Korea,but not physically present, when the commander (or that's the way I heard it!) of the 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion would crash on the OV-1's last operational flight.
Frankly, no one was surprised.
which, despite the title, is not an actual Duffleblog article, but a commentary on the fact that Congress and/or the Navy can find the money for a fighter that costs $250,000,000 a pop but
At the bottom of the page is a clickbait link titled
WOAH! - These 23 Military Fighter Jets are Now For Sale to the Public! America Loves HorsepowerAnd, yes, the misspelling of "whoa" is in the original.
Which isn't surprising when you consider that the photo with the link is of an OV-1 Mohawk.
What may not be quite so obvious is that it is not a fighter, although the original concept called for it to be used by the Marine Corps in a strike role, so the first prototypes had hard-points for weapons.
The Marine Corps dropped out of the program due to insufficient funding (hmmm, do we detect a pattern) and the Air Force pitched a fit at the thought that the Army would operate an armed fixed-wing aircraft, so all hard-points for weapons were eliminated. The attachment point you see in the photo is for photo-recon or RADAR/Electronic Intelligence pods. (I believe that some in Viet Nam retained the ability to launch smoke rockets for artillery spotting.)
The last Mo-chickens were built in 1970, and served into 1996. I never hung with the pilots, but got the impression that, except for the guys who wrangled them, they weren't too popular. On the other hand, or perhaps "for one thing", the flight crew was one pilot and one enlisted sensor operator, in a fixed-wing aircraft which was rumored not to be very high on the "easy to fly" list.
When I was at Ft. Huachuca training to be EH-60 Quickfix II flight crew/operator at one point we got to watch the 96D QUICK LOOK trainees going through "suspended agony", getting ready for their ejection seat training. So far as I know, these were the only enlisted personnel who had to get ejection seat training in any service. (I could well be wrong.)
Later on, my First Sergeant at Ft. Ord had some really awesome photographs on his office wall of mountains and volcanoes ("We were supporting the Forest Service and Geological Survey when Mount Saint Helens erupted") and...
"Top, is that Stonehenge?"
"Yeah, we were doing a joint exercise with the Brits at Salisbury Plain, and accidentally flew too low with the camera running. We got in trouble for it, but it was worth it."
Later, I was in Korea,but not physically present, when the commander (or that's the way I heard it!) of the 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion would crash on the OV-1's last operational flight.
Frankly, no one was surprised.
Seen on Twitter
These names are emblazoned on our hearts. pic.twitter.com/beOwVAVwn5
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 31, 2015
My response:
@HillaryClinton Do you have room in your heart for Ambassador Stevens Sean Smith Glen Doherty Tyrone Woods, too? #Benghazi
— Drang (@DWDrang) July 31, 2015
I am glad to note that most of the replys are along the lines of "If Trayvon had killed him, would you have had room in your heart for George?"
Thursday, July 30, 2015
"Overruled" - Book report and commentary
Just finished reading Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court, by Damon Root. This is, essentially, a libertarian history of the US Supreme Court.
That Is, perhaps, a poor description, in the sense that it makes it sound simultaneously dry as hell and also written by a wide-eyed, sky-castle dwelling, dreamer.
Not so.
Amazon's synopsis:
I also found the repeated use by the court of the reasoning expressed by Oliver Wendell Jones, Jr., in Blodgett v. Holden (1927), that
So, you're telling me that the Supreme Court is supposed to be predisposed to allow Congress run roughshod over the Constitution?
Explains a lot, doesn't it?
"Judicial Deference" they call it, "Judicial Restraint."
Appalling, I call it.
This, of course, is how the Roberts Court can rule that a tax is a fine is a tax, depending on the application, and therefore is, and isn't, subject to what the Constitution says on the matter of taxes. Also, how when a law refers to "The State" it acutally means "The government at any level."
And how previous courts can hold that marijuana grown in the backyard of a person with a legitimate prescription can somehow be held to impact "interstate commerce."
As for the book: Root writes well, presenting difficult legal concepts and arguments in a straight-forward style, making them easy to grasp.
I can't help that note that we also seem to have entered an era of Legislative Deference, in which the tools in charge of the congress will work harder to please th Imperial President than to obey the Constitution.
One thing I was surprised to learn was that, when Alan Gura took the case that would become Heller v. DC, he was not yet working with the Second Amendment Foundation, but rather for The Institute for Justice. SAF came along later, after NRA had tried to convince IJ that Heller was the wrong case at the wrong time...
That Is, perhaps, a poor description, in the sense that it makes it sound simultaneously dry as hell and also written by a wide-eyed, sky-castle dwelling, dreamer.
Not so.
Amazon's synopsis:
And it's actually quite interesting, or at least, I found it so.Should the Supreme Court defer to the will of the majority and uphold most democratically enacted laws? Or does the Constitution empower the Supreme Court to protect a broad range of individual rights from the reach of lawmakers? In this timely and provocative book, Damon Root traces the long war over judicial activism and judicial restraint from its beginnings in the bloody age of slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction to its central role in today's blockbuster legal battles over gay rights, gun control, and health care reform.
It's a conflict that cuts across the political spectrum in surprising ways and makes for some unusual bedfellows. Judicial deference is not only a touchstone of the Progressive left, for example, it is also a philosophy adopted by many members of the modern right. Today's growing camp of libertarians, however, has no patience with judicial restraint and little use for majority rule. They want the courts and judges to police the other branches of government, and expect Justices to strike down any state or federal law that infringes on their bold constitutional agenda of personal and economic freedom.
Overruled is the story of two competing visions, each one with its own take on what role the government and the courts should play in our society, a fundamental debate that goes to the very heart of our constitutional system.
I also found the repeated use by the court of the reasoning expressed by Oliver Wendell Jones, Jr., in Blodgett v. Holden (1927), that
...as between two possible interpretations of a statute, by one of which it would be unconstitutional and by the other valid, our plain duty is to adopt that which will save the Act.to be, well, shocking.
So, you're telling me that the Supreme Court is supposed to be predisposed to allow Congress run roughshod over the Constitution?
Explains a lot, doesn't it?
"Judicial Deference" they call it, "Judicial Restraint."
Appalling, I call it.
This, of course, is how the Roberts Court can rule that a tax is a fine is a tax, depending on the application, and therefore is, and isn't, subject to what the Constitution says on the matter of taxes. Also, how when a law refers to "The State" it acutally means "The government at any level."
And how previous courts can hold that marijuana grown in the backyard of a person with a legitimate prescription can somehow be held to impact "interstate commerce."
As for the book: Root writes well, presenting difficult legal concepts and arguments in a straight-forward style, making them easy to grasp.
I can't help that note that we also seem to have entered an era of Legislative Deference, in which the tools in charge of the congress will work harder to please th Imperial President than to obey the Constitution.
One thing I was surprised to learn was that, when Alan Gura took the case that would become Heller v. DC, he was not yet working with the Second Amendment Foundation, but rather for The Institute for Justice. SAF came along later, after NRA had tried to convince IJ that Heller was the wrong case at the wrong time...
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Earworm, 7/28/15, Eternal Hostility Against Tyranny edition
The Shee perform Dick Gaughan's "Tom Paine's Bones."
Inspired, of course, by the events which led to the previous post, (ATTENTION, EURO-WEENIES!), and to over-reaching regulators and bureaucrats everywhere. And -when.
UPDATE: Fixed typo in title...
ATTENTION, EURO-WEENIES!
After hitting "Publish" on my previous post, I noticed on the "Dashboard" that Google has the following advisory:
If any cookies end up on your computer (or whatever you call it in Euro-speak) they were put there without my knowledge.
Especially since that apparently means you're too stupid to block cookies and the like. Sheesh, it's the Twenty-First Century, people!
I deny any responsibility for anything that may happen to you or your devices while visiting my subversive, pro-liberty, anti-authoritarian blog.
Unless you start agitating for your country to ditch the EU and EC, and start organizing on libertarian principles. I'm all over taking credit for that.
And Google can go take a flying leap, too. Paying Word Press is looking better every day.
European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent.The only cookies I know anything about are the ones my wife bakes, or, under extreme duress, we purchase at the store.
As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies.
You are responsible for confirming this notice actually works for your blog, and that it displays. If you employ other cookies, for example by adding third party features, this notice may not work for you. Learn more about this notice and your responsibilities.
If any cookies end up on your computer (or whatever you call it in Euro-speak) they were put there without my knowledge.
Especially since that apparently means you're too stupid to block cookies and the like. Sheesh, it's the Twenty-First Century, people!
I deny any responsibility for anything that may happen to you or your devices while visiting my subversive, pro-liberty, anti-authoritarian blog.
Unless you start agitating for your country to ditch the EU and EC, and start organizing on libertarian principles. I'm all over taking credit for that.
And Google can go take a flying leap, too. Paying Word Press is looking better every day.
The Art Of The Headline, 07/28/2015
Do I even need to say anymore that it's from The Rumford Meteor?
Bill Clinton Expected to Be Named Winner, Judge, Honorary Chairman, Professor Emeritus, and Hall of Fame Inductee In This Year's Wife Carrying Contest - The Rumford Meteor
Bill Clinton Expected to Be Named Winner, Judge, Honorary Chairman, Professor Emeritus, and Hall of Fame Inductee In This Year's Wife Carrying Contest - The Rumford Meteor
Sunday, July 26, 2015
"How a defector from North Korea realized almost everything she learned about her country was a lie | National Post"
Via Instapundit: How a defector from North Korea realized almost everything she learned about her country was a lie | National Post
It would be easy to think that I managed to miss out on all the Big Things that occurred during my military career, not to mention the fact that they never seemed to think that I would be of much help in the Global War on Terror.
Then I read things like this, and remember that, while I may not have helped bring down a loathsome tyranny, I was part of the effort to prevent it's expansion.
I can live with that.
It would be easy to think that I managed to miss out on all the Big Things that occurred during my military career, not to mention the fact that they never seemed to think that I would be of much help in the Global War on Terror.
Then I read things like this, and remember that, while I may not have helped bring down a loathsome tyranny, I was part of the effort to prevent it's expansion.
I can live with that.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Earworm 7/25/2015
What did Kris Kristofferson know, and when did he know it?
The Year 2000 Minus 25:
The Year 2000 Minus 25:
I'd say he was about 40 years ahead of his time, but I was a Big Fan back in High School, which did nothing to dispel any rumors that that Drang kid is weird...
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Not Enough
Senate Republican will roll out bill to arm troops at military facilities | TheHill
It's not going to be enough for Congress to "get rid of regulatory hurdles", they need to overcome the inertia of the Brass who are so risk-averse that the idea of a soldier having a gun under less than strictly controlled circumstances causes pants-shitting hysteria.Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) will introduce legislation allowing troops to carry guns on military facilities, in the wake of a shooting in Tennessee that left four Marines dead.Johnson's office said the Wisconsin Republican, who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, will offer a proposal that would get rid of regulatory hurdles prohibiting troops from carrying firearms on military installations.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Looks like we got us a movement here...
Man with AR-15 stands guard at Va. military recruiting offices - DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG
The local recruiting offices are right across the street from the Friendly Local Gun Store and Indoor Range, so...
h//t Insty
The local recruiting offices are right across the street from the Friendly Local Gun Store and Indoor Range, so...
h//t Insty
Well, that's just unthinkable!
The Federalist: The Total Failure Of Gun Control Captured In One Photo
Later in this article is this tweet from AP:
 |
| This is, of course, the front window of the Marine Corps Recruiting station at which four Marines were murdered yesterday by a member of the Religion Of Peace. "FEDERAL INSTALLATION "FIREARMS ARE PROHIBITED IN THIS FACILITY" |
BREAKING: FBI: Man who attacked military sites in Tennessee purchased some of his guns illegally.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 17, 2015
Good! And also... Ridiculous!
Hiram residents hold watch at recruitment center - Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5
To paraphrase a comment seen on Pistol Forum, a neighborhood watch of volunteer security guards are guarding offices that recruit Embassy Guards.
And Paratroopers.
And Military Police, for that matter.
Et cetera.
To paraphrase a comment seen on Pistol Forum, a neighborhood watch of volunteer security guards are guarding offices that recruit Embassy Guards.
And Paratroopers.
And Military Police, for that matter.
Et cetera.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Authorize Military Personnel To Defend Themselves
Petition up at whitehouse.org:
DoD Directive 5210.66 restricts all DoD personnel from exercising the right to bear arms while on a DoD installation unless it is expressly written into their job duties. This Directive (and pursuant service regulations) effectively prohibit service members from carrying a concealed firearm for self defense.
DoD Directive 5210.66 restricts our highly trained service members from access to their firearms when it is most needed. In its place a new directive should be authored allowing a "Shall Issue" concealed carry weapon permit system to be established for all DoD personnel.
h/t OldNFO
Re-instate the Right to Bear Arms to All Military Personnel By Allowing Concealed Carry of Firearms While On Duty. | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government
we petition the obama administration to:
Re-instate the Right to Bear Arms to All Military Personnel By Allowing Concealed Carry of Firearms While On Duty.
We petition an immediate and full revocation of Department of Defense Directive 5210.66 and all pursuant military service regulations restricting the rights of DoD / Military personnel in regards to firearms.DoD Directive 5210.66 restricts all DoD personnel from exercising the right to bear arms while on a DoD installation unless it is expressly written into their job duties. This Directive (and pursuant service regulations) effectively prohibit service members from carrying a concealed firearm for self defense.
DoD Directive 5210.66 restricts our highly trained service members from access to their firearms when it is most needed. In its place a new directive should be authored allowing a "Shall Issue" concealed carry weapon permit system to be established for all DoD personnel.
h/t OldNFO
Speaking of Disasters and Emergencies...
Tamara explains why I don't watch TV in "Still more proof that speciation is well underway."
I mean, what I remember from TV back when I watched it -- and these mental images are from when color TV was still fairly new, and so were UHF stations, ask your grandparents -- were TV cooking shows where they left in footage of the chef throwing a lid on a pan that had flared up, and of "This is why you DON'T use flour to put out a fire!", because apparently someone somewhere had reasoned that she (yes, they said "housewife" back then, ask your grandparents) couldn't get to the baking powder to extinguish her pan fire, so she used flour.
When you're done asking your grandparents about the obscure references above go look up Fuel Air Explosion, AKA Grain Elevator Explosion.
Mind you, as I would comment at Tam's post if she allowed comments, there is a technique to using a fire extinguisher to fight large fires, which one practices in CERT Training, but for a kitchen fire, it's pretty much "Pull the pin, point, and squeeze the handle or push the button", depending on the type of extinguisher.*
Still, the idea of being afraid to use a fire extinguisher is just...
Y'know, I don't know what it is. But it isn't good.
*Of course there are web pages devoted to "How to use a fire extinguisher". The idea of a "quick reference guide" leaves me... ambivalent. "Oh, look, a fire. I'd better Google "How To Use A Fire Extinguisher..."
And of course there is an acronym.
Which, BTW, we learned in CERT.
I mean, what I remember from TV back when I watched it -- and these mental images are from when color TV was still fairly new, and so were UHF stations, ask your grandparents -- were TV cooking shows where they left in footage of the chef throwing a lid on a pan that had flared up, and of "This is why you DON'T use flour to put out a fire!", because apparently someone somewhere had reasoned that she (yes, they said "housewife" back then, ask your grandparents) couldn't get to the baking powder to extinguish her pan fire, so she used flour.
When you're done asking your grandparents about the obscure references above go look up Fuel Air Explosion, AKA Grain Elevator Explosion.
Mind you, as I would comment at Tam's post if she allowed comments, there is a technique to using a fire extinguisher to fight large fires, which one practices in CERT Training, but for a kitchen fire, it's pretty much "Pull the pin, point, and squeeze the handle or push the button", depending on the type of extinguisher.*
Still, the idea of being afraid to use a fire extinguisher is just...
Y'know, I don't know what it is. But it isn't good.
*Of course there are web pages devoted to "How to use a fire extinguisher". The idea of a "quick reference guide" leaves me... ambivalent. "Oh, look, a fire. I'd better Google "How To Use A Fire Extinguisher..."
And of course there is an acronym.
Which, BTW, we learned in CERT.
Speaking of Cascadia...
As I was in a two-month old post, here.
The New Yorker has just published an article about a Cascadia Subduction Zone quake in The Earthquake That Will Devastate Seattle - The New Yorker.
Note that the title of the article on the page is "The Really Big One", not "ZOMG THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!11!"
OTOH, that may be what it takes to get anyone in the Center of the Universe to acknowledge that maybe bad things do happen outside of their little urban paradise. (Note that the author manages to work Hurricane Sandy in, even though it was a minor inconvenience to most denizens of the Eastern Megalopolis.)
Not a lot of science there. Vivid imagery, dumbed down so you can peruse it over your morning bagel or on the subway.
Still, if you need to explain to your family elsewhere why you think it's a good idea to maintain a month's supply of food, water, etc., it's not a bad article.
OTOH, if your family is the type that won't leave you alone until you return to the safety of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, you might want to steer clear...
The New Yorker has just published an article about a Cascadia Subduction Zone quake in The Earthquake That Will Devastate Seattle - The New Yorker.
Note that the title of the article on the page is "The Really Big One", not "ZOMG THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!11!"
OTOH, that may be what it takes to get anyone in the Center of the Universe to acknowledge that maybe bad things do happen outside of their little urban paradise. (Note that the author manages to work Hurricane Sandy in, even though it was a minor inconvenience to most denizens of the Eastern Megalopolis.)
Not a lot of science there. Vivid imagery, dumbed down so you can peruse it over your morning bagel or on the subway.
Still, if you need to explain to your family elsewhere why you think it's a good idea to maintain a month's supply of food, water, etc., it's not a bad article.
OTOH, if your family is the type that won't leave you alone until you return to the safety of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, you might want to steer clear...
Question Of The Day?
Why aren't more works of Roger Zelazny available as ebooks?
Amazon's Roger Zelazny Author Page lists 124 titles*, of which a grand total of eight are available for Kindle.
Some of which, typically, are reviewed as "horrible OCR travesties." and one of which is the novelization of Damnation Alley, predating the cinematic travesty, but Zelazny said he preferred the short story.
And none of which are Amber novels, or Creatures of Light And Darkness, or Lord of Light, or Shadowjack, or A Rose for Ecclesiastes, or...
Well, I guess we'd better get hitting the "I Want To Read This on Kindle!" button.
*Many redundant, as is common on these, with multiple editions of the same title being offered by some used book seller.
Amazon's Roger Zelazny Author Page lists 124 titles*, of which a grand total of eight are available for Kindle.
Some of which, typically, are reviewed as "horrible OCR travesties." and one of which is the novelization of Damnation Alley, predating the cinematic travesty, but Zelazny said he preferred the short story.
And none of which are Amber novels, or Creatures of Light And Darkness, or Lord of Light, or Shadowjack, or A Rose for Ecclesiastes, or...
Well, I guess we'd better get hitting the "I Want To Read This on Kindle!" button.
*Many redundant, as is common on these, with multiple editions of the same title being offered by some used book seller.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
GOAL Post 2015-Special-9
Missed this yesterday, partly because Joe missed last week, and I didn't look, figuring the session was over...
TO: undisclosed-recipients:
SENT: Fri 7/10/2015 3:05 PM
SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2015-Special-9
Legislative Update from Olympia 10 July 2015
One of the funnier parts was when Senate Democrats reneged on one of the agreements. According to one news article, it was because the Republican Senate majority had excluded them from the original budget drafting (the Republican-led Senate passed a balanced budget during the regular session months ago). That apparently was enough Democrats to backtrack on the deal. Sounds to me an awful lot like what Nancy Pelosi did to U.S. House Republicans on the "Affordable" Care Act (Obamacare) in 2009. Looks like turnabout is NOT fair play. They'll be back in Olympia next week.
In any event, the Senate Democrats blinked, the budget deal was struck (with a gas tax increase to take effect in 21 days, road improvements to follow), and the legislature finally adjourned today, 10 July. Day 176 since the legislature first convened back in January, three special sessions, the longest legislative session in Washington history.
Contrary to rumors circulating at the beginning of the first Special Session, they did not take up any gun bills, pro- or anti.
This (hopefully) is the final GOAL Post until January 2016. GOAL Alerts will be published as circumstances dictate.
***
FROM: GOAL WA <goalwa@cox.net>TO: undisclosed-recipients:
SENT: Fri 7/10/2015 3:05 PM
SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2015-Special-9
Legislative Update from Olympia 10 July 2015
- IT’S OVER!!!
- NO GUN BILLS
- LAST GOAL POST UNTIL JANUARY 2016?
One of the funnier parts was when Senate Democrats reneged on one of the agreements. According to one news article, it was because the Republican Senate majority had excluded them from the original budget drafting (the Republican-led Senate passed a balanced budget during the regular session months ago). That apparently was enough Democrats to backtrack on the deal. Sounds to me an awful lot like what Nancy Pelosi did to U.S. House Republicans on the "Affordable" Care Act (Obamacare) in 2009. Looks like turnabout is NOT fair play. They'll be back in Olympia next week.
In any event, the Senate Democrats blinked, the budget deal was struck (with a gas tax increase to take effect in 21 days, road improvements to follow), and the legislature finally adjourned today, 10 July. Day 176 since the legislature first convened back in January, three special sessions, the longest legislative session in Washington history.
Contrary to rumors circulating at the beginning of the first Special Session, they did not take up any gun bills, pro- or anti.
This (hopefully) is the final GOAL Post until January 2016. GOAL Alerts will be published as circumstances dictate.
Friday, July 10, 2015
TV Show Review Commentary
Mrs. Drang has been watching this show Defiance on the SiFiFoFum Channel since it started.
I don't know why.
Exactly no one on the show is likeable.
One thing it's accomplished, is I am now of the opinon that, when aliens show up in orbit, we should blast them out of the sky immediately.
In fact, we shouldn't even wait for them to make orbit.
I don't know why.
Exactly no one on the show is likeable.
One thing it's accomplished, is I am now of the opinon that, when aliens show up in orbit, we should blast them out of the sky immediately.
In fact, we shouldn't even wait for them to make orbit.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Hmmm...
Last week Germany, today Japan...
Women’s World Cup: United States Defeats Japan to Win Third Title - The New York Times
4 goals in the first 15 minutes. The most die-hard Euro-ball hater has to acknowledge that that's pretty impressive.
Women’s World Cup: United States Defeats Japan to Win Third Title - The New York Times
4 goals in the first 15 minutes. The most die-hard Euro-ball hater has to acknowledge that that's pretty impressive.
The morning after...
Glenn Reynolds has some deep thoughts re: The Declaration of Independence in ": Declaration should still wake the powerful up at night."
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Independence Day, 2015
 |
| Image copywrite SharpWriter, used by permission as posted on the web page. Prints and posters available: George Washington The Original Master Chief by SharpWriter on DeviantArt |
 |
| Image copywrite SharpWriter, used by permission as posted on the web page. Prints and posters available: George WARSHINGTON by SharpWriter on DeviantArt |
Now go forth, and be Free.
General Washington would want it that way.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Attention Glockenspielers!
If you are a devotee of the personification of the polymer 2x4 that shoots, and wish that there were a way to block the striker when holstering in the same manner that a pistolero with pistol with an external hammer can use his or her thumb to hold the hammer back or block it from moving forward, some sort of Gadget, perhaps, well, there's a gadget update.
Bottom line, funding via Indiegogo will start next Friday (July 11, 2015); link will be posted at pistol-training.com.
Here's a review from someone who has been testing a prototype: The Gadget: an additional safety device for Glock pistols | Gun Nuts Media.
As for me, well, 2x4s are uncomfortable for my hands, so, until I can scrape up the dough to buy a used one and have some major surgery done on the frame, I'll just wish them well.*
I regret that I didn't order a CCF Raceframe before they ceased production. These were Glock pistol frames, mechanically, but made from aluminum or steel, and available in a 1911-like configuration.
Come to think of it, most of my regrets in life are about guns I never owned...
Bottom line, funding via Indiegogo will start next Friday (July 11, 2015); link will be posted at pistol-training.com.
Here's a review from someone who has been testing a prototype: The Gadget: an additional safety device for Glock pistols | Gun Nuts Media.
As for me, well, 2x4s are uncomfortable for my hands, so, until I can scrape up the dough to buy a used one and have some major surgery done on the frame, I'll just wish them well.*
***
*"Uncomfortable for my hands" is, perhaps, misleading. It doesn't hurt to shoot a Glock, but I cannot get a good grip on them. I have an acquaintance who derides the idea that ergonomics are -- is? -- of any importance in pistol marksmanship; all I can say is, "Whatever works for you.: I regret that I didn't order a CCF Raceframe before they ceased production. These were Glock pistol frames, mechanically, but made from aluminum or steel, and available in a 1911-like configuration.
Come to think of it, most of my regrets in life are about guns I never owned...
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Why didn't I know about this?!
The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has a web site.
For some reason I thought the contest had been retired years ago, but apparently rumors of it's demise were greatly exaggerated.
Alas, the gems and jewels from the earliest years of the contest are only availablein the remainders bins on the shelves of your local used book store.
I wonder if I still have my copies...? Or did maybe someone who shall remain nameless, but who is probably even now wishing I had never heard of The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, dispose of them...?
(For better or worse, there does not seem to be a website for the International Imitation Hemingway Competition, AKA "The Good Bad Hemingway Contest." Which does seem to be defunked. Alas.)
(It's killing me that I haven't been able to work any really horrendous puns or abuses of grammar or punctuation or sentence structure or usage or other really good examples of really bad writing in here because that just really seems like the thing to do here but if you can't do such a thing out of the joy of the thing, then...)
For some reason I thought the contest had been retired years ago, but apparently rumors of it's demise were greatly exaggerated.
Alas, the gems and jewels from the earliest years of the contest are only available
I wonder if I still have my copies...? Or did maybe someone who shall remain nameless, but who is probably even now wishing I had never heard of The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, dispose of them...?
(For better or worse, there does not seem to be a website for the International Imitation Hemingway Competition, AKA "The Good Bad Hemingway Contest." Which does seem to be defunked. Alas.)
(It's killing me that I haven't been able to work any really horrendous puns or abuses of grammar or punctuation or sentence structure or usage or other really good examples of really bad writing in here because that just really seems like the thing to do here but if you can't do such a thing out of the joy of the thing, then...)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)