The Soundboard: Carrying On Edition

Filed under: Kewel! — Phil at 7:26 am on Thursday, December 4, 2008

The cable internet guy will be showing up to install the super-duper internet connection at Firebase Blue early tomorrow AM (hopefully), so tomorrow’s posts will be later than usual.

In a related item, during last week’s Great Painting Splurge I realized that I no longer own an operating portable stored music device and was stuck listening to local FM radio while doing my business with the roller. And because of that, you all will be paying the price today.


Thin Lizzy - The Cowboy Song


Manfred Mann’s Earth Band - Blinded by the Light


Bachman Turner Overdrive - Let It Ride

Enjoy!

PS – I’ll probably wait until the week before Christmas to fire up the traditional RNS Bagpiper’s Christmas Soundboard. Hard drives and logistics are my only excuse.

It’s On!

Filed under: Armageddon — Phil at 7:09 am on Thursday, December 4, 2008

Fourth Circuit Judge, J. Harvie Wilkinson III has written an article for the Virginia Law Review, titled “Of Guns, Abortions, and the Unraveling Rule of Law”. The premise of the article is that D.C. vs. Heller was as wrong for Federalism as Roe vs. Wade.

David Kopel of the Volokh Conspiracy and fellow legal eagle, Nelson Lund, take it out with their reply “Unraveling Judicial Restraint: Guns, Abortion, and the faux Conservatism of J. Harvie Wilkinson III”.

You can read Kopel’s preview here.

Forest and Trees

Filed under: Freaks, Mutants, and Morons — Phil at 7:07 am on Thursday, December 4, 2008

You saw the video Fred Thompson released earlier this week, right?

Well, so did FireDogLake contributor Tbogg, and being a partisan hack, couldn’t see the forest for the trees and pulled a Sonny Bono on the FDL front page.

How very fortunate for America that a camera just happened to be there and filming when Fred turned from his newspaper-readin’ and ruminatin’ (in a very unstagey manner, I might add) and spoke to us in that folksy unscripted way of his. The part where he started coughing and accidentally pooped himself was also a nice touch.

And if you think that was classless, the peanut gallery there really hates them some Fred.

And you too if you think he’s speaking even a little bit of truth.

RNS Quote of the Day: 12/04/08

Filed under: Quote of the Day — Phil at 7:04 am on Thursday, December 4, 2008

I said it yesterday, and I’m saying it again today.

Feel the Dumb!

What’s good for General Motors IS good for the country. Once the country is calling the shots.

Michael Moore

And he isn’t the only leftist maroon demanding the automakers be nationalized.

Oleg Volk on Mumbai

Filed under: Have Gun, Will Travel — David at 7:49 pm on Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Excellent, as usual. Clicky to go see and marvel.

Write Your Own Caption

Filed under: Uncategorized — David at 7:46 pm on Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Found at Oleg Volk’s place. Not his photo, but it made him smile.

Gettin’ Neighborly

Filed under: Kewel! — Phil at 7:59 am on Wednesday, December 3, 2008

I forgot to mention this earlier this week, but over the weekend while getting the painting done, I got a chance to see one of my new neighbors as we were both walking out to our respective trucks.

His shirt was one of those mural types with bannered lettering you get at Cabelas or Sportsman’s Warehouse.

In the upper banner it said: “Shootin’ Deers”

Then a Mule deer mural in the center.

And in the lower banner it said “Then Drinkin’ Beers”

Having read that I waved and smiled and climbed in my truck. He, then waved and smiled and climbed in his truck.

I’m beginning to think that this new neighborhood is one that I will enjoy (provided he is one to keep those activities in that particular order).

The Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

Filed under: Have Gun, Will Travel — Phil at 7:46 am on Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Ridefast points out this bit of bigoted folks writing for the SF Chronically Incorrect getting all giggly in the wiggly about Barry Bonds becoming a spokesperson for Christiansen Arms.

Yesterday seems to have been a hayday for bigots to come out of the woodwork.

Paul “No Balls” Helmke blathers here about the Plaxico Burress incident. Want a couple excerpts? Too bad, I’m posting them anyway

What these incidents show is that some people who we’re led to believe are responsible, law-abiding gun owners - people like Plaxico Burress - can still exhibit dangerous behavior with firearms in public every day.

…..

Hopefully, we can all learn a lesson from this - guns are dangerous and gun ownership is a serious responsibility. Any one of us has the potential to make a mistake, get angry, or get drunk, which makes carrying loaded guns in public all the more dangerous for all of us. We all need to understand the risks and responsibilities that go with guns.

And I’m sure Helmke wants to be the one to tell us exactly what needs to be understood, with no other opinions allowed.

Even the NYT Editorial Board decided to step onto their soapbox for some slapping around of your Constitutional rights

The gun lobby has long intimidated politicians with its war chest and its trumpeted ability to deliver single-issue voters, especially in tight races. After this year’s election, those politicians should be far less afraid and far more willing to vote for sensible gun-control laws.

The National Rifle Association directed much money and bile against Barack Obama. In false, misleading and, fortunately, ineffective ads, fliers, mailers and Web postings, the group said that Mr. Obama posed a “clear and present danger” to Second Amendment rights and that his election would mean a gun ban.

Despite that harsh barrage, Mr. Obama won states with heavy gun ownership, including Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. That success should send a signal to other politicians: consistency matters.

…..

And the N.R.A.’s poor showing was not just a single isolated event. A useful election analysis prepared by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence shows that its 2006 campaign effort also was a big flop.

We hope the trend continues. To fight crime and keep Americans safe, this country needs sound gun-control laws. To pass those laws as president, Mr. Obama will need strong Congressional support.

Ahh, yes! A new type of “Reasoned Discourse”. Where only your failed political opposites get to grade your performance.

As for that last paragraph, someone might want to ask St. Louis, MO Alderman, Charles Quincey Troupe, his opinion as to how folks should keep themselves safe

A city alderman frustrated with the police response to rising crime called Tuesday on residents to arm themselves to protect their lives and property.

Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe said police are ineffective, outnumbered or don’t care about the increase in crime in his north St. Louis ward. St. Louis has had 157 homicides in 2008, 33 more than last year at this time.

“The community has to be ready to defend itself, because it’s clear the economy is going to get worse, and criminals are getting more bold,” Troupe, 72, said Tuesday.

Troupe said that when he and residents approached a district police commander last year, they were told “there was nothing he could do to protect us and the community … that he didn’t have the manpower.”

Police did not immediately return requests for comment. Chief Dan Isom told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he understands Troupe’s frustration but doesn’t support citizens arming themselves.

Carrying guns, he said, is not a “recipe for a less violent community.”

Hey Chief, just you wait until a handful of dirtbags get hosed by homeowners. A couple more handfuls of dead dirtbags and you could be be out of a job.

RNS Quote of the Day: 12/03/08

Filed under: Quote of the Day — Phil at 7:25 am on Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The final paragraph in a well written post

So in a show of good faith, I would like to see our federal leaders take the lead in fiscal accountability by refusing to accept a salary until, as they’ve demanded of the automakers seeking a bailout, they can demonstrate a plan to bring their enterprise into the black and repay their debt. Until then, Congress should just be grateful that, like the fat cat executives that they castigate, their pay is not determined by their performance, and avoid drawing undue attention to the fact with their hypocrisy.

Patrick Mulligan

RTWT

Umm, what?

Filed under: Color me confused — Phil at 7:22 am on Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Michelle Malkin had a post up yesterday about this jackass-tivist in Miami who is moving vagrants into homes he knows to unoccupied because they are either under foreclosure or just for sale.

In the article, they quote a spokesperson for the City of Miami

There are no actions on the city’s part to stop this. It is important to note that if people trespass into private property, it is up to the property owner to take action to remove those individuals.

Now, I understand that the police don’t have time to go around neighborhoods checking to make sure that squatters aren’t holing up in unoccupied houses. And because government can fuck up a whorehouse, I wouldn’t want them to do that.

However, if a homeowner makes a complaint of squatters invading their unoccupied structure, and states that no one other than they, or in the case of a bank owned home, their employees, are allowed to be there, then surely the local precinct can pass this information on to their patrol officers. These guys keep lists of plate numbers posted to their visor, how about a list of addresses that have been reported to have had squatters?
Every address has its interactions with the police recorded in a database. The dispatch department has access to this database, or if the officer has a laptop in their cruiser, they can access it themselves.

Really, just how damn hard can it be to get this situation under control?

And if it is just that damn hard, how much force is a property owner allowed to use in Miami to evict these squatters? Does the City of Miami think it is easier to just wait for some homeowner to go too far so that they can arrest the property owner and not have to worry about complaints from that address any longer?

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