Good On Em Both!

George Bush visits the troops and counts coup on our enemies. Being appreciated by the man in charge is wonderful. Good for the president!

James R. Rummel on the same.
Kim du Toit weighes in.
John Cole has a round-up of the reaction from some of the most prominent lefty sites. Via Wizbang.
Cori Dauber on Rantingprofs explains that this visit is grandly symbolic (the bully pulpit is an important Presidential function) and gives the sourgrapes from the uninivited press corps. More sour grapes here and here.
The Peoria Pundit praises the President, and predicts unfounded complaints. His prediction comes true.
DaveL on Deinonychus antirrhopus gets the absurd reaction from Democratic Underground.
Courtney points out that the President may just have wanted to do a good deed. Via Wizbang.
Atrios reports and some of his commenters are disgusted. Via John Cole
Dean Esmay has the President's speech.

Senator Clinton visits the troops in Afghanistan. Let's keep them in our thought and prayers, too, along with our folks in Bosnia, Korea and Kosovo, among many other places. Good for the senator! If Hillary won the Presidency I think she would fight the war on terror well. There is steel in that lady's backbone. You can see it in her eyes. She reminds me of Tony Blair. They both will defend the West, but their domestic politics are resolutely against the little guy. I was hoping to see a mention of how she'd had a religious experience on her way there and was resigning her Senate seat in favor of missionary work in India, but no such luck.

Dean Esmay on the same.

Both of these trips made good use of the bully pulpit to raise morale for the troops out there and those of us who support the war at home. You can tell they were good ideas by both the positive and the negative reactions it gets and who makes them. These were classy gestures - and since this war is also being fought in our hearts and minds - important ones.

New Link

Can't figure out why Ravenwood wasn't on my blog roll. Corrected.

I Also Have Zero Patience for Zero Tolerance

Wendy McElroy describes Zero Patience for Zero Tolerance.

Via geekwitha45.

The Strategic Beauty Of The Iraqi Campaign

Do you play chess? The battle against Hussein is such a fabulous move in the war against Arab Fascism because it works on so many levels. It's like moving your knight into a position where it is triply protected and it attacks five enemy pieces including the King and the Queen.

The case for battle against Hussein is thus:

1. We were already at war against him.
2. The ongoing war against him was tying up American resources anyway.
3. Iraq was a problem that hadn't been solved.
4. The solutions we were trying were showing few signs of working and there was increasing pressure to abandon them.
5. Keeping a large number of US troops in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to keep pressure on Hussein was expensive, unlikely to correct his WMD problem, very unlikely to result in his overthrow and even more unlikely to result in his replacement with a significantly better government.
6. Many of our troops were based in Saudi Arabia. This both upset Muslims who didn't want kufr in the Holy Land and demoralized our troops since the Saudi's treat kufr like excrement.
7. Iraq had WMD's and had used them in the past. They may have destroyed them before the war, but nobody on the left or right, in Europe or America believed this at the time.
8. Iraq supported terrorists with logistics, training and cash, including Al Quaeda.
9. Saudi Arabia is the biggest supporter of Islamic terrorism, especially ideologically.
10. Saudi Arabia had been our ally for many years and had fought alongside us in the first Gulf War.
11. As a democracy it is difficult and takes time to consider an ally to be an enemy.
12. Attacking Saudi Arabia could easily escalate in a major world-wide war with Islamic nations, and could go nuclear.
13. Saudi Arabia does have all that oil.
14. OTOH almost everyone hated Hussein.
15. Having all the Iraqi oil online will make the Saudi oil less crucial and it will lower oil prices which cuts their ability to fund terrorists and it will boost our economy which makes paying for the war easier.
16. It puts pressure on Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Egypt.
17. It pays off fabulously well in a humanitarian way.
18. It allows us to address a root cause of Islamic hatred by ceasing to support repressive dictators and bringing the very best thing we've got, democracy, to the Arab world. This is a worthy, positive goal to shedding our blood and spending our money. Not just fighting Communism or fighting Fascism, but promoting democracy.
19. I really hate 'He may be a dictator, but he's our dictator'. If you bring up Uzbekistan, please realize that I don't like their government and wish we could dump them but we can't do everything at once.
20. We've actually been pretty good at midwifing democracies when we stick with it. Sometimes it takes a long time. Here's a list: The Philippines, Western Europe (which was very iffy after WWII), Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
21. We're also very good at creating repressive dictatorships when we bug out before victory: North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, Angola, Somalia and Afghanistan.

The battle against Hussein has risks. The second biggest is that we bug out before mutual victory. The biggest is that when we bug out prematurely we end up with something much worse. Mutual victory is a good government in Iraq with a healthy relationship with the US.

The biggest problem with Iraq is that it is a war. To many this is like saying the biggest problem with my plan for personal wealth is that it involves a murder. They are completely repulsed by war. My reply is that we were already at war with Iraq. It was just a low level war with a large amount of red on red civilian casualties (Hussein's strategy seemed to be to kill more of his own people to claim we were creating a human right tragedy).

I had read about and considered all this before the war, which is why my opinion changed from unsure to blood-thirsty war-monger. I don't think Bush deceived us, because I don't feel deceived. To me it seems like a no-brainer, but then I'm not actually a very good chess player, nor do I seem to have written any respected military histories.

I've never had to promote or sell a war to a republic. In addition, Bush could not emphasize all these points because they could have driven other countries into the Iraqi camp. Perhaps his sales job could have been better. It seems to me that Tony Blair is good at that sort of thing, and look at what a hard time he is having.

Is your stand against the Iraqi campaign a no-brainer for you? Are you repulsed by war? Do you have trust issues with Bush? Do you dispute most of my claims? Since there are so many positives, I think you have to discredit a lot of them as well as come up with some big negatives to convince me the Iraqi campaign is a mistake.

Steve Malynn points out that 1-8, 16-18, 21 and 22 of my points above are expressly addressed in the Joint Resolution that authorized force in Iraq. (I don't know where he got number 22.)

I've often heard cries for liberals to provide counter strategy if they don't like Bush's. It is very difficult to come up with a different strategy because, well, strategy is really hard. I do hear doves, both liberal and conservative, make intelligent arguments against the Iraqi campaign. Note that there is a difference between 1) intelligent, 2) convincing and 3) absolutely free of logical errors. #2 is harder. #3 is way harder. Not sure I've ever seen #3 on any side. Jerry Pournelle, who has written important works on military strategy, has some excellent arguments against it, which can be summarized as follows: This march (accidental or not) towards an American Empire will doom the Republic and make serfs of our descendants.

Jerry also offers alternative strategies.

Jerry cannot, however, be described as a leftist. Too bad more leftists don't read his stuff.

Note: I pulled this from the comment thread of two posts by Dean Esmay. I know this post isn't well written but I like it anyway.

Read the Palace Of Reason

Francis W. Porretto of the Palace Of Reason is the best essayist in the blogoshere. Don't miss a day.

Eat at Burger King/People to Browbeat

Burger King has a new breastfeeding friendly policy. People who complain about breastfeeding in public need to be browbeaten, castigated and possibly shouted at. Would you want to feed your baby in a fast-food bathroom? How inconsiderate!

Blessed Events

Mark at Web.Kafe has the best possible excuse for not blogging. Congratulations to Mark and Edita!

My Votes In The New Weblog Showcase - Week Ending Nov 23

The New American Revolutionist tells how every single senator wanted to increase the federal budget, among other fiscal aggravations.

Free Market Fairy Tales complains about his fellow countrymen protesting in London.

I also like these non-political posts. Linus of Pepper of the Earth lists his favorite (and they are clever) Halloween costumes, and proves that he must be the one who picked the blog name.

Last we have Hailey Xie, a Chinese woman writing in English. Her topic is 'the boy flying like a roc', the most famous AIDS activist in China.

Range Report: Agulia .22 Colibrí

For National Ammo Day I bought 50 rounds of Agulia .22 Colibrí to try in my basement along with an assortment of other .22 LR to see what my H & R Sportsman break-top nine-shot target revolver and my Ruger 10/22 rifle like to shoot.

Colibrí is Spanish for 'Hummingbird'. This round has ballistics similar to a Crosman 2250 pellet pistol. It has a 20 grain bullet (a BB is 8 grains) propelled by the primer only, with no gunpowder. The published velocity is only 375 fps with a muzzle enery of 6 ft lbs.

These five were shot from my Ruger 10/22 at a distance of twenty-one feet. The red sticker is one inch wide. I now have experienced a called flyer. If you exclude it, this is a half inch group. Since I aim just below the dot, they went pretty much where I wanted them to go. Boy, do I love shooting this rifle. Kim du Toit wasn't the only one to recommend it, but he (and my friends who did) were so right. It is super fun to shoot, and even a complete novice like myself can get reasonably good results. I did have repeated problems with feeding the Ruger 10/22, but this was to be expected, since the shortened bullet makes the round more like a .22 Short than a .22 LR.

These four were shot double action from my H & R Sportsman at a distance of twenty-one feet. That is a one inch group. Out of the shorter barrel there seems to be a much bigger drop, over two inches.

I also shot a couple at close range from the H & R, one at close range from the 10/22 and nine rounds each double and single action from the H & R at twenty-one feet. The sound was more like a loud "fft" than a bang with my hearing protection on. My family on other floors of the house said it sounded like hammering or hand-clapping. The furthest any of the rounds penetrated my backstop was through nineteen layers of corrugated cardboard and 24 layers of newsprint. I was able to recover 26 of the thirty rounds I shot.

I was very pleased with the results with one very important caveat: Ventilation. I probably won't shoot more than five rounds at a time until I figure out how to ventilate my basement properly. Breathing burnt primer is not for me. Still, this is a lot cheaper than the eight dollar range fee, and I can work on trigger control and sighting just fine at short range, so if you have any suggestions for ventilation please comment below.

Is Bush Weak In The War On Terror?

Ara Rubyan at E Pluribus Unum says Bush is weak in the war on terror. His claim is that Bush is not prosecuting the war vigorously enough, but he does not wish to give specifics. The post was a reprise of a comment he made in response to a question I posed in the comment section of this post on Howard Dean. (Way to hijack a comment thread, huh?) Further down, Ara complains he doesn't like the Democrats any better so far. I get the vague unsupportable impression he wishes McCain had won in 2000.

How the Democrats and Republicans Have changed So Much

Ron Luciano (I think in The Umpire Strikes Back) tells a story of how control pitchers can get the umpire to call pitches strikes which are not. He says they throw one on the corner, which you call a strike. Then they throw one ever so slightly farther outside, which you call a strike. Pretty soon you are standing in the dugout calling strikes.

Over time, the Democrats and Republicans have gradually mutated into parties barely recognizable from what they once were. People who stay loyal to their parties end up supporting things they wouldn't have dreamed of years ago. The Constitution is home plate, and they are both standing in the left-hand dugout. Bring it home folks.

More Reasons To Home School

Mrs. du Toit has a fabluous post Children and Behavoir which tells a horrendous tale of Special Education gone wrong. Don't miss the comments section, which gives many more examples. Comment number 74 links to this description of the six soul-searing lessons public schools really teach. A true indictment, which might explain why, although I am addicted to learning, I have a real love/hate relationship with school.

Health Care Costs

My Canadian friend, the Show Me Canuck, has some nice points in this piece on Canadian and US drug prices. I am completely in agreement with him about patent length and meaningless follow on patents. The US Patent Office serves this country nearly as badly as the public school system.

As regards drug company advertising, well, I believe that is their right. It is also the government's right and your right and my right to refuse to purchase drugs from companies which spend too much on advertising.

As regards socialized medicine/required medical insurance he and I are very far apart. I think companies should not be allowed to provide insurance tax-free to their employees. Instead individuals should be able to buy however much insurance they want tax-free and not be forced to have the same amount. If I was a single man like my Canuck friend, I would only want to pay for catastrophic coverage, since I have to be nearly dead before I'll go to a doctor anyway and I am perfectly capable of treating nearly all my ills with over-the-counter stuff.

Many people in this country (I seem to remember Kim du Toit, for example, but can't find it on his or his wife's blog) choose to go without medical insurance, figuring they can manage their own health care costs, thank-you-very-much. And from the way I remember him describing it, I suspect he can.

I am not completely averse to government subsidies so that low-income families can afford reasonable medical insurance, but I would like to make a go at funding this through charitable contributions first. If we can't make that work then let it be subsidized, but I am in general very wary of government sponsored wealth redistribution schemes, since they seem always to degrade into voting oneself money. The Medicare Prescription boondoogle is like that. Sure, some poor old people will be helped, but so will all the rich old people and the middle class old people and the old people whose ungrateful kids should be helping them out. Who pays for it? Poor young people, among others.

My Votes In The New Weblog Showcase - Week Ending Nov 15

Collected Miscellany has An interview with John Derbyshire, with emphasis on his mathematical work, but enough about politics to wet that whistle, too. There were lots of other good posts, but I don't feel like writing about them this morning.

George Bush Was Not AWOL

Baldilocks, who took a leave of absense from the Reserves, explains that this common occurence is not going AWOL.

She then goes on to explain why claiming that George Bush went AWOL is a dreadful insult to the intelligence of our man and women in the service. The claim he went AWOL is either born of ignorance (like ever so many claims) or it is utterly mendacious and repugnant.

George Bush did not go AWOL.
George Bush joined the military, he did not dodge the draft.
George Bush learned to fly fighter jets. Just learning to fly fighter jets in the 60's and 70's was more dangerous than most combat is now. (For American troops, anyway.)
George Bush's unit had been rotated to Vietnam when he joined.

Sure, this could all have been a complicated little game to serve in the military without much risk. Jessica Lynch says that's why she got into a supply unit, but no one is questioning her patriotism. Ain't politics grand?

Via Mrs. du Toit.

My Dad, Veteran Keypunch Operator and Cold Warrior

Say Uncle has a great post about his Dad, the Vet.

My Dad was drafted into the Army around 1956 and served as a Keypunch Operator in Germany. I am not sure why they drafted him, since he was making artillery propellants for Du Pont at the time. He did not have many positive things to say about his service. He was drafted almost at the end of his Selective Service window and was older than his lieutenant. It sounds as though, in respect for his age he was responsible to keeping the furnace going during Basic Training and so he may never have actually fired his carbine.

When he came back he went to work for Bendix. He made lots of trips to Los Alamos, White Sands, and Lawrence Livermore Labs and he never would tell me what he worked on, but I guessed. Can you?

Thanks, Dad, for helping to win the Cold War. Detterence and containment worked, and I didn't have to go fight in a big war against the Soviets. I hope the war against Islamic fascism has even fewer casualties.

Kim Du Toit, Master of Nuclear Hyperbole

Warning: All links in this post lead to strong language. The previous sentence is often an understatement.

Kim du Toit has a now famous, crash his server post on the feminization of men and horrors of the Nanny state, with follow ups here, here and here.

Kim is dead accurate about the horrors of the Nanny state. Drugging our young men with Ritalin is particularly horrifying. I also hate the laws outlawing smoking in NY bars (I am allergic to cigarette smoke) and the proposed FDA menu regulations which will probably make it illegal to introduce a new dish until its calories are measured. (What's next, banning buffets?)

Actually I find Kim's style and his critic Philosoraptor's some what similar. They are both condescending and both insulting. Philosoraptor is more polite about it. Kim's essays are easier to read and better constructed and much more succinct. Philosoraptor rambles.

Mrs. du Toit had a useful comment in one of her defense posts:

"Kim, intentionally heat the debate with invective and hyperbole, challenging the very assumptions themselves in the language he used? NOOooo... heh heh"

I desperately need to understand her point.

I have been struggling with Kim's rants for some time now. Though I enjoy them very much, I cannot imagine handing them to my Depression-Era Democratic Mom and Dad to read. I would like very much to persuade them that the statism ensconced in the Democratic party (and, shudder, the Republican party for the most part) is incredibly corrosive to our Republic. However, I can't imagine them being persuaded by his favorite hang 'em from the utility-pole image. As a former Democrat, I find this imagery repulsive, off-putting and pretty well reprehensible. I thought of challenging Kim to a boxing match over it, but my wife pointed out that I have a family to feed, so please don't risk the injury.

Do I just lack imagination? Why would someone chose this style, and how can it be used to persuade?

Mrs. du Toit has other related posts here, here and here.

My Votes In The New Weblog Showcase - Week Ending Nov 9

I Pray Daily. Am I an Extremist?
A short rational explanation of why I would do this.
No Offense
rock stardom
Who Da Pope?
A Halloween Story

America First, Senator

I wish Senator Jay Rockefeller would read Steven Den Beste.

Did Walter's Loose Lips Sink Our Vietnam Ship?

Andrew, in the comments to Ara's A New Meme: The Press As Killers post, replys to my comments as follows:

Regarding Vietnam - Sloppy reporting such as telling the bare bone facts and showing the pictures? is that what you mean? If there are those still saying sloppy reportign contributed to the American failure they are in pure and hate-filled denial.

A country is the will of the people and we don't have a fucking king and royal court.


And I always ask this question - should journalists not report these facts. Is the job we're doing more important than American lives?

Lastly, I thought reporting on Iraqi civilian casualities was also going to sap American will. As also happened in Vietnam.

It comes full circle and you should sit and spin -- and think. (he says in the nicest possible way).

OK, Andrew, I thought about it, although without any actual spinning, and my number one problem with reporting in Vietnam was that they failed to report the Tet offensive as an American victory. But could they have done so? Perhaps not.

The North Vietnamese General Staff knew that the Viet Cong were finished as an effective fighting force. But I have no information to lead me to believe that the American General Staff knew that the Viet Cong had been destroyed. How could the press? Without this information, could the press have known enough about guerilla warfare to realize that Tet was an American victory? Maybe not. NVA/VC casualties were 45,000 dead and 7000 captured, with the number of wounded unknown. US/ARVN casualties were 4300 dead, 16,000 wounded and 1000 MIA. See here for my source.

So, even though the NVA/VC had surprised the US/AVRN, they had lost 10 soldiers for every one they killed. Westmoreland thought it was a victory, the North Vietnamese knew that their plans had failed, but Walter Cronkite and Lyndon Johnson lost their will to win.

I think they both messed up. In this, Johnson carries by far the greater burden, since he was the President. Lincoln, FDR and Truman would not have lost their will to win. But Cronkite was a uniquely powerful opinion leader, to whom there is no current analog. His stalemate broadcast completely failed to note the hard fought victory our soldiers had won at great cost. I think he, and the rest of the press, let America down.

All judgement calls, by someone who is well outside his area of expertise, your mileage will certainly vary.

I really appreciated Andrew's nicest possible way remark. I would have taken the spinning comment much more negatively than he meant.

Here is some more Vietnam wisdom from Jerry Pournelle's blog. See also Jerry's opinion that JFK messed up badly by killing Diem. And also, scroll down to see Jerry rebut some Colonel who compared Iraq to Vietnam improperly. I have a great deal of respect for Jerry, whose advice, with that of Stephan Possony, helped Reagan win the Cold War.

An Old Meme - Thoughtless Reporters Kill Soldiers

Dean Esmay wants a new slogan: Thoughtless reporters kill soldiers. His WWII model is: Loose lips sink ships. I can't speak for Vietnam vets, but the one who defended my right to say stupid things for over twenty years thought the press lost Vietnam, so this is not really a new meme.

Ara thinks the meme is lousy. He wants Dean to prove it. I cobbled this post together from two comments to his post.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that sloppy reporting risks wasting soldiers lives by sapping our resolve and causing us to fail in Iraq. I want America to win, I don't like Copperheads, and I want the Democratic Leadership to want to win. I took the trouble to restate Dean's position to show that I agreed with the general sentiment and not that reporting was directly causing any actual deaths. I think the direct cause of death will always be a car bomb, missile, bullet or some other weapon. We have no casualties from paper cuts. Dean was trying to come up with a slogan, like 'Loose lips sink ships'. I think you will find the ships in question were bombed, shelled or torpedoed. None were actually sunk by careless conversation. As slogans go, the big problem with Dean's is that it isn't catchy, not that it fails to carry its meaning.

Sloppy reporting, by overemphasizing the American casualties and never mentioning our opposition's casualties, gives a real morale boost to the enemy, which causes American deaths. Sloppy reporting, by underemphasizing casualties among friendly Iraqi policemen and soldiers, misleads the American people into believing the Iraqis aren't helping out and don't deserve our assistance. That could prevent the US from providing the help needed to win over Iraqi hearts and minds leading them to join the holdouts, which will cause American deaths. Sloppy reporting, if it causes America to lose its nerve, could cause us to reduce our forces too rapidly, over-exposing the remainder, which will cause American deaths.

I think you will find many thoughtful people who believe sloppy reporting was a significant factor in the way America lost the Vietnam war and that it cost many American, Cambodian and Vietnamese lives. The Tet offensive was such a battlefield failure that the North Vietnamese General staff was planning big concessions in the peace talks until the American press convinced them it was a strategic victory. Imagine if the war had ended in 1968. Would any lives have been saved?

Ara often says he wants Bush to win the war, but it isn't his job to say how. Well, I want the media to get out of Bagdhad, get out of their habit of molding every story to a familiar theme and report the war. I am not trying to intimidate the mainstream press. I am trying to get it to report the things I get from non-mainstream sources. I say this as part of my job as a consumer of media and as an American citizen.

Blocking The Constition Is Next

Symantec's Internet Security 2004 blocks pro-gun sites (all the NRA sites, for example, including the NRA Institute for Legislative Action) but not The Brady Campaign or Good Bye Guns. Symantec's phone number is 408-517-8000. The only email I've found so far is investor-relations@symantec.com, but maybe john.w.thompson@symantec.com would contact the CEO (just guessing). Will pro-war sites be next? (War is violent.) George Bush's reelection site? (Some people think he's a racist.) They'll hear from me tomorrow during their office hours. Go to their web site and ask for one of their officers.

The Bill Of No Rights

This piece of satire is double-plus good. From its prolog, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that a whole lot of people were confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim that they require a Bill of No Rights."

Safe-Storage Is Not Always Safe

Via Jeff at Alphecca, and Old Skool at Stop the Bleating! see this cautionary tale of safe-storage laws gone awry. Personally I prefer laws which encourage good judgement, rather than those which mandate a particular course of action. People have brains. Laws don't. In actual cases a law which seems sensible to many (zero-tolerance anything laws comes to mind) often produces truly stupid results.

Another Reason To Visit The Palace...

...if you like deliciously subtle humor. Look for the phrase "catastrophic renal backpressure" here.

Let's All Go Looking For Trouble

From Francis W. Porretto at the Palace of Reason comes these tales of wonderfully helpful people who are looking for trouble.

Econo-Legal Meditations On An Apple Jolly Rancher®

This morning my six year-old brought an Apple Jolly Rancher® to me (gained, as you might guess, from a cheerful walk around the block last night), having read and being concerned by this message:

CAREFUL: SMALL OBJECTS, LIKE HARD CANDIES, MAY INADVERTENTLY BECOME LODGED IN THE THROAT.

I told her it meant to be careful not to choke, and she seemed happy.

I was intrigued. Economically speaking, are the burdens placed on businesses by what seem to be wildly out of control legal liability claims balanced by increased consumption due to decreased risk (or at least compensated risk) to consumers?

My Votes In The New Weblog Showcase - Week Ending Nov 2

On Teaching Your Wife to Drive a Five-Speed Sports Car or, What is This Clutch Thing Anyway?
wait. wait. don't tell me.
Legalizing Illegals
Bare-Faced Betrayal

The Social Security Trust Fund Is Enron Writ Large

Megan McArdle presents the case that an IOU written to oneself is not a Trust Fund, even if you pay yourself interest. The bill comes due in 2013, when the government has to start paying off on that IOU. To do that we will, cut benefits, raise taxes, cut other spending or borrow the money. 2040 is meaningless. In other words, the Prescription Drug Benefit is the real quagmire. Can you say, "Increase the dole?" Dictatorship in America by 2020? Will the new word for tyrant be Bush, or Gore, Kennedy or Clinton? (Is it just me, or are aristocratic political families more common on the Democratic side? Or do they just get more play in the press? Come up with more future names for Caesar in the comments and I'll add them to the post. )

Via Instapundit.

Update: Francis W. Porretto came up with these, and I've commented on his lists:

Democrats: Kennedy/Shriver, Cuomo, Daley, Rockefeller (ignore Nelson; he was a sport), Clayton Powell, and Clinton, plus maybe the Longs of Louisiana. I'd add Gore. In Kansas we had the Dockings, but they never made it out of state.

Republicans: Bush and Taft. I'd add Dole, since if we consider Bill/Hillary we have to add Bob/Liddy. In Kansas we had Landon/Kassebaum, but again they never made it out of state.

I guess Al Gore is evidence that any state political family can go national.

Move On Should Live Up To Its Own Standard

Move On was started thus:

Censure and Move On was a bipartisan group of concerned citizens organizing around a single cause: reaching closure on the Clinton scandal. The vast majority of the American public understood that a continuing obsession with scandal will do great damage to our institutions, our economy, and our power and prestige in the world. We expect our representatives to understand this as well, and show true leadership.

So why are they sending out email critical of Arnold Schwartnegger's sexual escapades? Grrr.

My Vote In The New Weblog Showcase - Week Ending Oct 4

Here is my vote in The New Weblog Showcase:

More on Mylroie and Manufacturing Consent

Busier Than A One-Armed Paperhanger

Jeff at Alphecca wants Kim du Toit to update his blogroll and answer all his reader mail.

I wrote to President Nixon when I was ten and he didn't write back either. I suggested he do everything he could for peace, including dropping leaflet bombs, which I thought I had invented. I did get a nice note from his personal secretary, Rosemary Woods, (of the eighteen minute gap) though. Maybe when Kim gets his own personal secretary she can answer all his Reader mail. I figure that will be sometime after he's opened the "Du Toit Museum of Firearm History and Shooting Range".

Micheal Moore Is Just Another Joe

I know Rachel Lucas hates him, but Micheal Moore appears to be just another Joe in this video clip. He does admit that his films are 'op-ed' pieces, which explains their deceptive qualities. Even so, just because you believe someone is frequently wrong isn't a reason to demonize them. I believe I am frequently wrong, and I hope no one demonizes me.

Of course Micheal Moore does demonize George Bush and John Ashcroft. By my lights George Bush is a lot like Bill Clinton politically (although I like George's character better) and John Ashcroft is a lot like Janet Reno. None of them take the sort of principled stand for our Constitution that I'd like. Please, Mr. President, veto a popular law and say "I would have liked the law if I didn't think it was unconstitutional." Wouldn't that be refreshing?

Via Instapundit.

I Hope It's Not Spreading

Steven Den Beste may have been hacked. Urg. I hope he gets things cleared up.

Are Gun Rights Lawyers Worse At Strategy Than Saddam?

According to Dave Kopel, the answer is yes, most definitely yes. The first case, Quilici v. Village of Morton Grove, is over, and the damage is done. The second case, Silveira v. Lockyer, has already done considerable damage to gunrights and may yet do more.

All judges are human. All humans are political and biased. We want our judges to be above politics and beyond bias, indeed we expect our judges to be above politics and beyond bias, but we want our lawyers to know better. Sorry, the U.S. judicial system is a political system. So, here are some things to remember, organized in a fashion to be chanted:

The judicial system is political!
The judicial system is political!
The judicial system is political!

Choose your venue carefully!
Choose your venue carefully!
Choose your venue carefully!

Choose cases that will win!
Choose cases that will win!
Choose cases that will win!

Work from small to large!
Work from small to large!
Work from small to large!

Grandstanding beginners, looking to make a name for themselves, are right out!
Grandstanding beginners, looking to make a name for themselves, are right out!
Grandstanding beginners, looking to make a name for themselves, are right out!

Via the Volokh Conspiracy.

My Votes In The New Weblog Showcase - Week Ending 28 Sept

Here are my votes in The New Weblog Showcase:

Who Ate My Democracy?
I hate cruelty to animals
Caucasian Club

I seem to have got last weeks entries confused somehow. Hmmm.

My Votes In The New Weblog Showcase

Here are my votes in The New Weblog Showcase:

Who Ate My Democracy?
Red Sox Nation
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Aftermath--The New World 9-12-01
The WTO disaster and the security threat within
Caucasian Club

Guns & Mothers on PBS

Have anyone seen Guns & Mothers on PBS? It is supposedly a balanced look between the Million Mom March and Second Amendment Sisters, but my wife said it wasn't balanced at all. (Next time, wake me up, dear!) They have a talkback section.

Is The California Recall Ruling A Symptom Of Constitutional Cancer?

Here is what James Lileks said on Wednesday about the Ninth Circuit ruling on the recall:

I wrote my weekly column about the California recall / 9th circuit thang, so I’m not going to write about it here. Except to say this: imagine you’ve been asked to complete the sentence “I’m pleased that that the courts have canceled the election before it took place, because . . .”

I wouldn’t know what to say. And I’m fascinated by those who leap to finish the sentence. They’re perfectly comfortable with the courts calling off a vote in advance. Wow: jaw, meet Mr. Floor.

04 is going to be bloody, and it’ll be bloodier still after that. This is the sort of stuff that infects the body politic to the point where people demand that we saw off a limb, because the smell is too horrid. This is the stuff that leads to Constitutional Conventions. I’m always slightly chilled when I read a paper from the Center of the American Experiment, because the name reminds you that this is, historically, just that. And as any scientist will tell you: experiments fail.

The best argument that I have heard against the ruling is that it falsely posits that the new voting machines will be more reliable than the old ones. I implement new systems for a living, and the new systems generally are more reliable than the old ones, but not the first time.

This attitude by judges that they can interpret the Constitution as they please without regard for its original meaning, because they are more modern and therefore know better has got to stop. It takes two-thirds of Congress and two-thirds of the state legislatures to overrule the Supreme Court when it decides to change the Constitution like this. Republicans should be against this because it violates the the principle of seperation of powers of the three branches of government. Democrats should be against it because it is rather autocratic, not Democratic at all. The people should be against it because it is tyranny.

I Hope We Win

Here are two facts. George Bush is the President of the United States. The United States is fighting a war on terror. Here is some common wisdom: If the electorate thinks the war on terror is going well, George Bush will be reelected. Below are three possible strategies, if you want a Democrat to be elected President.

The first is to hope the war goes badly. There are almost certainly a few Democrats who feel this way. I would conjecture, however, that if there were a machine which could reliably identify such Democrats that they would be kicked out of the party on a vote with a healthy majority.

The second is to believe this: The war is going badly, since Bush is known to be incompetent. Your belief might convince the electorate, or it might give you false hope. A simple comparison to Vietnam, Korea, WWII, WWI and the Civil War shows that the war on terror is going quite well, I think. So if you believe that it is going badly, please show me how, and remember the wars I'm comparing it to.

The third is to convince the electorate that the war is going badly even though it is not.

Like James Lileks, I hope we win. I am not happy with any of the three strategies above. If you are a Democrat please do not support those within your party who would embrace any of these three.

Is George Bush Like Honest Abe?

Our sacrifice in the war on terror has been nothing compared to the Civil War or WWII. We have already saved 15,000 Iraqis, based on the average rate at which the Husseins killed their countryman. Sure, it is an estimate, but I am truly convinced that many Iraqi lives have been saved. The American military, responding to criticisms about the way the Vietnam war was fought, has conducted and is still conducting itself in such a way as to minimize both American casualties and civilian causalties.

Victor Davis Hanson in the National Review Online places the Iraqi conflict in its proper perspective. Current Copperheads need not apply. Buck up, people. We are at the start of another long war like the Cold War, and for stakes that are just as great. If you don't like Bush, show me how you would win the war on terror and bring constitutional republics and the rule of law to the Middle East, or something just as good. Give me the grand Democratic (or Green, Libertarian, etc) vision for peace and freedom. Tell me how you think America and the Arabs can truly win, not just prop up the clearly destructive, despotic and tyrannical status quo in the Arabic world. America needs a strong, vibrant opposition party which will bring something wonderful to the table. I was born in Missouri, and I beg of you: Show me.

A Groom's Story

Read this very funny day of the wedding story.

Via IMAO.

A Plea To All Democrats

The Democratic Party Leadership is not behind the war on terror the way they should be. This is World War IV, folks. (The Cold War was WWIII.) The Bush Administration is trying to win this war before we have the hugh loss of life that we had in WWII. Already we have saved the lives of 15,000 Iraqis by ending the Hussein reign of terror. I am not saying there should not be dissent or disagreement, but an anti-war Democrat should not even be a surprise winner in New Hampshire as McCarthey was in '68, much less be a front-runner like Dean. This war is going extremely well, not like Vietnam.

David Horowitz says this very well at FrontPage magazine.com. Money quote:

It is a dark day for Americans when one of their two ruling parties cannot be counted on to support the flag when it is committed in battle, and when the battle is America’s response to a bloodthirsty aggressor with access to biological, chemical and perhaps even nuclear weapons.

I know that the 'No WMD' response will be forthcoming, so I ask you: Were there anthrax attacks in the US? Did Al Queda try to obtain a crop duster here? Did Hussein gas the Kurds? Did you support the Clinton attack on the 'WMD' factory in Somalia? Do you want to wait until a WMD attack is unleashed here before you respond?

Here is my plea. Stop supporting the Democratic Presidential candidates who would let terrorists strike again and again without ever attempting to shut them down. Remember that Bill Clinton, your best political strategist, said that Bush was right to invade Iraq based on the intelligence we had. Support Lieberman and Edwards, now.

Via Mrs. du Toit.

State-Run Health Care Can Be Dangerous

This story about a woman in Britain whose son in Spain got to the hospital before her was a horrible case, but is still just an anecdote. This evidence against state medical care is equivalent to school shootings as evidence against gun rights. You are more likely to be killed by lightning than you are to be killed in a school shooting, and I suspect that you are even less likely to experience an eight-hour delay in ambulance service. The cold-blooded reaction of the ambulance service spokesman (at the end of the piece) is just as typical for a privately run service afraid of a lawsuit as it is for a government run one.

I say this because my Canadien friend still think their national health care is better based on his experience. (He lives in St. Louis for the music, not the health care.) We need something stronger than individual experience to make our case against socialism in health care. My position is that we should stop allowing employers to exempt health insurance costs from taxes, start allowing individuals to exempt them, and stop subsidizing other countries drugs. I am chagrined that I have no assistance beyond my meager opinions to offer, but you should be used to that by now.

Via Kim du Toit.

Now How Do I Establish Residency?

Missouri passed a concealed carry law. Here is the text of the law. The entire law is interesting. Here are some points:

1. Several kinds of irresponsible shooting are illegal.
2. No guns in churches, election precincts, government buildings, schools, school buses or 'any public assemblage of persons met for any lawful purpose'. That last bit could be pretty restrictive depending on the definition. Urg. Anyone know how to look it up?
3. Many goverment officials plus 'corporate security advisors' are exempt from most restrictions.
4. It allows anyone over twenty-one to conceal a gun in the passenger compartment of their car as long as they don't brandish it, and they can transport a student to school, too.
5. All other concealed cary licenses are reciprocated.
6. Concealed carry licenses shall be issued if the applicant:
a. Is at least twenty-three.
b. Is a resident for six months, or is a member of the armed forces or his spouse stationed in Missouri.
c. Is not a felon.
d. Is not a firearms violator.
e. Is not a fugitive.
f. 'Has not been discharged under dishonorable conditions from the United States armed forces'.
g. 'Has not engaged in a pattern of behavior, documented in public records, that causes the sheriff to have a reasonable belief that the applicant presents a danger to himself or others'.
h. 'Is not adjudged mentally incompetent' or 'committed to a mental health facility'.
i. Has completed firearm safety training.
j. Has paid $100.

So how do I establish residency?

An Anniversary Story on 9/11

Kim du Toit is right. Your eyes will not be dry after you read this story.

A Theory As To Why The Quality Of Political Debate Is So Poor

Human beings have good reasons to think badly, politically. Read this essay which describes why and how to combat it on a personal level. I suspect this theory can be tested scientifically. If it pans out, perhaps this essay should be taught in our schools and even in our businesses, since office politics probably works the same way. Maybe Francis Porretto at The Palace Of Reason knows some classical scholar who elucidated the whole theory before the birth of Christ. If any of you know of one, it would be cool to find out.

Via Tyler Cowen of The Volokh Conspiracy.

How Do We Improve The Candidates We Get?

Kevin at The Smallest Minority takes a cynical look at politics. There was a time when public service was considered a duty and some politicians served even though they didn't want to. We need to do something to make that happen more often. And figure out a way for voters to get the chance to elect honest men like Washington, Lincoln and Truman more often. Maybe we could select candidates for some offices randomly. Any ideas?

How The Third Republic Rotted From Within

I recommend Traitors Within Our Walls by Kim du Toit. It is worth noting that both parties harbor those who (though they often mean well) threaten this Republic (though they may not realize it). Rudi Guiliani, as much as I admire him, has never protected our right to bear arms, even though as a public official he is sworn to do so.

Run From A Knife And Jump A Gun

How to be hero by following Jimmy Hoffa's advice.

Via The Smallest Minority.

Unidentified Body Found, Foul Play Suspected

Melbourne, Florida (WBNN)

The body of an unidentified man was found today in an abandoned warehouse here. The man appeared to be of East-Asian descent and was wearing a Mao suit and a tatoo consisting of the letters BFP. The man had been shot twice in the chest with a .44 caliber weapon.

Anyone with information about this crime please call 321-409-2308.

Desecration By Obliteration

Rachel Lucas is furious that there will be no network coverage on the second anniversary of 9/11. So am I.

Why I Miss My Broadband

Do you know how much faster Rachel's dog pictures load with a cable modem? I'm so glad they love their new home and their old toys.

Posting Has Been And Will Be Light

I am on vacation in Milwaukee. We are here to visit the family, but intend to see lots of motorcycles in memory of a fine man, my brother-in-law, who loved Harley-Davidson. I miss my broadband.

No Evidence Clues In France

Headline: France to Israel: No evidence Hamas, Islamic Jihad are ''terror groups''

Wince to France: No evidence that miserable cowardly appeasement does anything other than cost innocent lives.

Via Hawken Blog.

Daredevil Refuses To Oust Aquaman

The Brain Stem, Wince's Brain (WBNN)

Attempts to recruit Daredevil to remove Aquaman from the neural protests around Wince's brain stem were rebuffed when the superhero invoked contractual issues. "I'm a Marvel Comics superhero," Daredevil explained, "Aquaman is a DC Comics superhero. We don't appear in each other's books and I'm not about to jeopardize my contract for this even if we are just ideas in someone's head."

Wince reacted to the setback stoically. "Daredevil is my favorite superhero. He never gives up. I was sure he could defeat Aquaman. I forgot Daredevil was a lawyer. I'd consult my own lawyer, but those guys can get you committed for something like this."

CELT Conference To Premiere In Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee (WBNN)

The first annual Consume Every Living Thing (CELT) Conference will be held this year in Knoxville. The conference is a joint effort of People Eating Tasty Animals (PETA) and Eaters Like Variety Especially Simians (ELVES). The conference sponsers are Best Friend Products of Knoxville and Prehensile Products, of Melbourne, Florida.

The BFP spokesperson, Jennifer, waxed enthusiastic about the conference, "America has long been blessed with organizations promoting beef, pork, poultry and fish. Now we have a forum for more unusual meats such as canine, simian and equine products. As an example, consider Wagglty Tail. Before CELT we didn't have a trade show of our own. Rumor has it our reclusive CEO will attend. I can't wait to meet him."

The PP spokespeople, Susie and Serenity were also enthused. "Our CEO, also a recluse, may also attend," said Susie, "I'm so excited!" When asked why Prehensile Products chose two spokepeople with the same firist initial, Serenity reported, "It's for the alliteration. Like Serenity sells Simian Sizzile or Susie sells Simian Sizzile. We wanted Dr. Seuss for the marketing department except he's deceased." The interview was somewhat disconcerting given that both Serenity and Susie wore the Prehensile Products company uniform, which features dark sunglasses and a Colt Anaconda in a shoulder holster.

What I Want For Christmas

I think I want SUPREME COURT GUN CASES for Christmas.

Via The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler.

Best Friend and Prehensile Form Second Joint Venture

Knoxville, Tennessee (WBNN)

Best Friend Products, of Knoxville, and Prehensile Products of Melbourne, Florida, have formed their second joint venture. "Our cooperation on the sales side was so fruitful", reported Jennifer, a spokesperson for Best Friend, "We just had to work together on the supply side." The new venture is side by side farms, Aboreal Acres, which raises monkeys, and Puppy Plantation, which raises young canines. They share a common labor force, utilizing the sort of progressive hiring practices for which BFP was once noted. "We're hiring hobos again," chirped Jennifer, "but we're not allowing them to have Wagglty Tail this time. I'm not sure why, since it seemed to help them rejoin society and stop disappearing. It's such a great product! Look how healthy I am! I guess we'll just have to deal with the turnover."

Aquatic Treachery!

The Brain Stem, Wince's Brain (WBNN)

Although he was sent to quell the neural protests here at Wince's Brain Stem, Aquaman has instead joined the protesters. "Of course I had to join the protesters," Aquaman said, "They want to save the whales! Besides, I hate Frank J. He thinks my name is gay!"

When asked to comment Wince replied, "I thought Aquaman's sense of honor would keep him from betraying me. What was I thinking! All the news reports mentioned that silly protester with the whale sign. I guess I thought when Frank pointed out that Aquaman could kick Robin's ass that he and Aquaman had patched things up. Go figure."

Riot Averted When Tails Wag Again

Knoxville, Tennessee (WBNN)

A riot at the Best Friend Products plant was narrowly averted today when management agreed to continue providing free Wagglty Tail to the workers. "I can't believe they were going to take away our Wagglty Tail! I was a bum, a hobo before I started drinking that stuff. It made me a new man!" said one of the highly aggitated staff. Management confirmed the policy snafu. "I guess we won't be hiring hobos anymore," said the plant manager, "Upper management is afraid of labor unrest. I thought it was working out great. Give em some Wagglty Tail and they even stop disappearing."

Grey Goose Goes Tail Wagging

Knoxville, Tennessee (WBNN)

Best Friend Products, whose Wagglty Tail energy drink is taking the nation by storm, has completed a takeover of the makers of Grey Goose Vodka. "Looks like the Goose is cooked," said a BFP company spokesman, "Starting next week we'll begin converting all production lines over to making Wagglty Tail. Our joint effort with Prehensile is going so well we needed the extra capacity. Back when I was a hobo I might have lamented Grey Goose's passing if I could have afforded it, but frankly I don't think anyone needs the stuff anymore. Look what Wagglty Tail did for me! I'm working productively and I'm back with my family. Before I don't think anyone would have missed me if I disappeared!"

Product Announcement: Simian Sizzile, The Burgers That Bite

Melbourne, Florida (WBNN)

Prehensile Products, of Melbourne, Florida announces Simian Sizzile, The Burgers That Bite, made from 100% pure Monkey Meat. Prehensile Products claims that Simian Sizzile is the first burger made only from monkey meat. "Other burgers may contain some monkey meat," claimed a company spokesman, "Who can tell? It's all ground up anyway. We guarantee that our burgers are 100% monkey." Simian Sizzle's initial markets are Florida, Tennessee and the Kansas City Metro Area. Prehensile Products, who slogan is "Ridding The World Of A Horrible Pest, Naturally", is also known for their unique company uniform, which features dark sunglasses and a Colt Anaconda in a shoulder holster.

In related news, Prehensile Products is negotiating with Best Friend Products, of Knoxville, Tennessee, to begin a joint marketing effort in conjunction with the roll out of Wagglty Tail, the Power Energy Drink in the Tennessee area.

Aquaman Sent To Deal With Protests

The Brain Stem, Wince's Brain (WBNN)

In an attempt to quell the neural protests against the Great Blog War of 2003, Wince has commissioned Aquaman and equipped him with soap in an effort to subdue the protesters. Chants of "Hey, hey, no, no, Wince and Frank have got to go!" echo around Wince's spinal column, and signs reading "We Love Gibbons!", "Je T'aime Francais" and the ever popular "No Blog for Links." One lone protester carried a sign reading "Save the Puppies! Whales!"

"I'm even more embarrassed", said Wince, "I took five years of high school French, and now it comes back to haunt me. I just wanted to be different from all the kids taking Spanish. Besides in fifth year I was the only guy, so if I kept my mouth shut and my head down, I got to hear what girls really talk about. How was I to know France's disgusting tendency towards real politik would lead them to back stab the US in the Security Council?" When asked about the gibbons, he replied, "Hey, I learned how to imitate a gibbon when I was six. I thought it was cool. Is it my fault Frank hates monkeys? I just hope Aquaman and the soap takes care of this. Everyone knows hippies hate soap."

Investigators Question Man In Beam Blaze

BARDSTOWN, Kentucky (WBNN)

Investigators of the fire which consumed 800,000 gallons of Jim Beam Whiskey have been questioning a local hobo about the conflagration. He just mumbles "Lightning, White lightning, Glenn White lightning," over and over, according to investigators. The hobo, who sports a tatoo with the letters BFP and a permanent pink stain in his mustache, has, in his more lucid moments, seemed to indicate a rival drink manufacturer may be responsible.

Question Authority

Read Val e-diction: The Allende Myth to uncover the myth that the CIA was responsible for Allende's overthrow. Don't know if it is true or not, but an old saying comes to mind: Question Authority. Every sword cuts both ways, so now I'm questioning left-wing authority.

PS #512 We Knew Ye Well...

The public schools, which did such a good job for me twenty-five years ago, have been ruined.

Product Announcement: Wagglty Tail

Knoxville, Tennessee (WBNN)

Best Friend Products, of Knoxville, Tennessee, has announced their first product, Wagglty Tail, the Power Energy Drink which makes your tail wag! Initial test marketing will be in Florida and the Kansas City Metro Area. The ingredients list for the pink, frothy concoction is unknown, but it is high in protein. Best Friend is negotiating for the rights to use the old tune "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?" in their advertising. Best Friend is also known for their progressive emploment opportunities.

"We hire hobos." said Fred Jones, Best Friend plant manager. "Occaisionally one will just disappear, but they are real hard workers. We just play "Big Rock Candy Mountain" on the intercom and they're happy. There's a little commuter train which runs to their shanty-town. Don't know why it's only made up of boxcars, though."

Cowboys

Extraordinary piece explaining why cowboy is not an insult here.

Half-a-Mile Away

I don't care whether it's the Bush Administration or the Secret Service, but pushing protesters half-a-mile away is unconstitutional. Or, if I were Ann Coulter, treasonous, just to acquaint you with the depth of my horror.

Via The Volokh Conspiracy.

Why Not Non-Lethal Weapons

In Feeling salty over pepper spray Joel Beck discovers well-meaning tyranny in Massachusetts. Here's the first mistake:

It's been that way since 1998, when state legislators passed the Gun Control Act, otherwise known as Chapter 180, and made it impossible for anyone in Massachusetts to own a weapon without first being approved for a Firearms Identification Card. Living in a post-Columbine world where serious questions are continually raised about gun ownership, legislators wasted no time in passing Chapter 180.

Still, there are those who feel the law is imperfect - for starters, the fact it required anyone who wanted to buy pepper spray for protection to acquire an FID card. And cough up the $25 fee that went with it.

Then came the fiscal crunch:

Earlier this year, with the state in financial turmoil and Gov. Mitt Romney using all kinds of stopgap solutions to try to solve the budget crunch, the FID card registration fee quadrupled to $100. The move not only made it that much harder for anyone in Massachusetts to buy pepper spray, it also fueled a growing sentiment among Bay Staters and North Shore residents that people looking only to protect themselves are instead being penalized.

Now factor in the backlog:

They are people like Richard Griffith, who recently encouraged his fiance to consider carrying pepper spray, only to discover that it could take up to 140 days for her to receive her FID Card, not to mention the hassle of being fingerprinted and undergoing a thorough background examination.

Result: Want some pepper spray to defend yourself against a rapist in your neighborhood? Sorry, there's a five month wait. Has there been a series of muggings in your parking garage? Think a stun gun might deter them? Nope, gotta wait five months. My advice: Move to Vermont. You can get a handgun and carry in any way you want, no license required. On the other hand, crime is so low you won't need one.

The appropriate scene in the Massachesetts legislature in 1998 is described here. Taking non-lethal weapons away from good citizens is tyrannical folly which should result in impeachment. Frankly I would encourage criminals to use non-lethal weapons. Would you rather be pepper-sprayed during your mugging or just shot? Someone please explain the reasoning behind this law, because from my viewpoint it is completely unjustifiable.

I have heard that these are good laws because of cases where citizens sprayed first and asked questions later. Gee, I don't remember any cases like that in the news. So I looked up "misuse of pepper-spray" on Google. The first five articles were on police misuse. The next was a Berkley PDF on how to use pepper-spray properly. There were more pages on police misuse, on pepper-spray return policy misuse, on the law regarding pepper spray, one where the school district just to the south of mine now prohibits possession of pepper-spray (I'm channeling Chomps, the World's Angriest Dog right now) and so on. Not one of the first forty articles was about a citizen misusing pepper-spray. I did better with "pepper-spray assault", where I found four crimes hidden among the first forty links. One was an assault with pepper spray and a tire iron in Minnesota. The second was an assault by an abortion advocate on a pro-life pregnancy counselor in Toronto, Canada. Oddly, Canada prohibits carrying pepper sprary, except for use against bears. Do these laws ever work? The third and fourth assaults were in Oregon. I also found this case where an assailant was fought off twice using pepper spray. "Pepper spray incident" found more crimes and "pepper spray" all alone found others. These were all criminals misusing pepper spray. Every one of the people was willing to break the law. How will a law against possession of non-lethal weapons prevent these crimes? I didn't find one incident where a person had been mistakenly sprayed by a citizen attempting to use pepper spray in self defense.

On the other hand, you can pick up the newspaper any day and find assaults, muggings and rapes where the victims could have defended themselves with a non-lethal weapon. In the United States in the year 2000 there were 15,517 murders, 90,186 rapes, 407,842 robberies and 910,744 assaults with a total of 1,424,289 violent crimes. So the Massachusetts legislature (and the Blue Valley School District) decided they would prevent a miniscule number of incidents where an armed citizen was irresponsible and enable innumerable crimes to be commited against the defenseless populace. Also please explain why we want to penalize criminals for carrying a non-lethal weapon instead of carrying a lethal one? One last quote from the article:

"We're not talking about a minor number of women who are being assaulted here each year," he adds. "We're talking about a substantial number of women who are being victimized. I don't think the Massachusetts legislature has been very responsive and I think they need to be."

Via The Smallest Minority and Keep And Bear Arms.

News Flash: Vocal Protests Begin Against The Declaration Of War

The Brain Stem, Wince's Brain (WBNN)

In spite of the overwhelming support of Wince's Declaration of War against The Enemy a large group of hippy neurons gathered near Wince's Brain Stem in vocal protest, waving signs proclaiming "No Blog For Links!" and "Frank J = Hitler". One hippy neuron accidentally showed up with a "Save The Puppies!" sign. In a shocking display of pacifism the remainder of the hippy neurons descended upon him, shouting and beating him with their signs until he realized his mistake. He soon rejoined the protest with a slightly altered sign reading "Save the Puppies! Whales!"

Asked for his reaction, Wince said, "I'm so embarrassed. This tiny group of neurons remains from my childhood in the sixties and my former devotion to liberal causes." Wince's Mom commented as well, saying, "He should have stuck with the liberal causes. He used to be such a nice boy."

A Declaration Of War

I, Wince and Nod, in solidarity with Frank J of Most Noble IMAO, the fine humorist who links to lesser bloggers, even when they lose his silly contests, declare war against The Enemy, he who sips blended puppy, who kills hobos, who is a communist who dances the robot dance, who punched Frank J and hits like a girl, who sits on his dark throne bestowing Enemy-lanches on the favored few, ruling the blogosphere with an iron-will and a clenched fist! And I also declare war against his allies most foul, She Who Smells Like A Monkey, their Evil Wizard Kevin and assorted other minions.

Read Annika's stirring Call To Arms! Join The Alliance!

As such, there have been some changes to my blogroll. In addition, I have begun a project to enclose Frank in a fortess of links, so that every one of his posts, no matter how undeserving is linked to, and so that his link count may surpass even that of the enemy. See IMAO: In My World - A Complete Review below.

IMAO: In My World - A Complete Review

Ratings Key
Biting monkey: Very bad
Chattering monkey: Bad
One fleeing monkey: Fair
Two fleeing monkeys: Good
One dead monkey: Very Good
Two dead monkeys: Excellent

I have noticed that the In My World posts improve over time.

In My World Posts - In Chronological Order From The Beginning

Title: Most of This Post is Made Up... I Think
Post Date: September 28, 2002 05:49 PM
Synopsis: Senator Torricelli flees from his life of crime.
Dramatis Personae: New Jersey Senator Torricelli, David Chang
Rating: One fleeing monkey

Title: Take One Last Look Before It's All Blown Away
Post Date: October 11, 2002 08:30 AM
Synopsis: Iraqi toothbrushes explained.
Dramatis Personae: Gen. Hussan Mohammed Amin, various reporters
Rating: One fleeing monkey

Title: In My World
Post Date: October 26, 2002 02:38 PM
Synopsis: Ari Fleishcer gets pissed.
Dramatis Personae: Ari Fleishcer, Donald Rumsfeld, a French diplomat
Rating: One fleeing monkey

Title: Iraq Definantly Refuses to Give Opinion on U.N. Resolution
Post Date: November 12, 2002 08:35 AM
Synopsis: Iraq, err, deliberately ignores US resolution.
Dramatis Personae: Ari Fleishcer, George W. Bush
Rating: Two fleeing monkeys

Title: Rumsfeld: Iraqi 'Bastards' Will Be Nuked
Post Date: November 15, 2002 05:27 PM
Synopsis: Donald Rumsfeld shows the proper attitude towards the press.
Dramatis Personae: Donald Rumsfeld, a reporter, a hysterical reporter, the French ambassador to America, George W. Bush
Rating: Two fleeing monkeys

Title: White House Scoffs at Daschle Criticism of Radio Commentators
Post Date: November 26, 2002 05:27 PM
Synopsis: Ari Fleischer proves extremely hostile to Tom Daschle.
Dramatis Personae: Sen. Tom Daschle, Ari Fleischer, a reporter
Rating: Two fleeing monkeys

Title: Dead Man Jeffords Slams Bush's Environmental Record
Post Date: November 30, 2002 05:47 PM
Synopsis: Sen. James Jeffords discovers that it's not nice to fool Mother Elephant.
Dramatis Personae: Sen. James Jeffords, the grim specter of death, Ari Fleischer
Rating: Two fleeing monkeys

Title: U.S. Unimpressed with Iraqi Inspections
Post Date: December 04, 2002 09:11 AM
Synopsis: Rumsfeld begins to lose patience waiting for the war.
Dramatis Personae: Hans Blix, assorted reporters, Saddam Hussein, Kofi Annan, Donald Rumsfeld
Rating: Two fleeing monkeys

Title: White House: U.S. Must Get to War with Iraq Before Rumsfeld Hurts Someone
Post Date: December 09, 2002 09:04 PM
Synopsis: Ari Fleischer explains why the White House fears Rumsfeld.
Dramatis Personae: President Bush, Ari Fleischer, Hans Blix, assorted reporters
Rating: Two fleeing monkeys

Title: Wussy, Whiny Liberal Powell Asks for Mercy for America's Enemies
Post Date: December 23, 2002 03:29 PM
Synopsis: Colin Powell disagrees with Donald Rumsfeld. I've noticed that Colin does not appear very afraid of Rumsfeld in Frank's posts, in spite of the rather rabid abuse Rumsfeld subjects him to. Maybe Frank respects the real Colin Powell's gravitas.
Dramatis Personae: Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, two reporters, President Bush
Rating: One dead monkey

Title: North Koreans Say that Sactions Will Mean They Will Commit a Violent Suicide
Post Date: January 08, 2003 08:55 AM
Synopsis: Donald Rumsfled explains that we can fight Iraq and North Korea at the same time.
Dramatis Personae: Donald Rumsfled, the press
Rating: Two fleeing monkeys

Title: Sen. Murray Defends Bin Laden Comments and Calls for Death of America
Post Date: January 09, 2003 07:00 PM
Synopsis: Sen. Patty Murray utterly fails to apologize.
Dramatis Personae: Sen. Patty Murray, reporters
Rating: Two fleeing monkeys

More Later...

1000 Visits

I just hit 1000 visits to this blog. My latest visitor was from home.com and came via http://new.blogger.com/home.pyra. Cool. About half of my visits probably came when I refreshed to see how the new feature or post looks, but hey, a it's a milestone.

I'm Still Glad We Took The Road To Bagdhad

Certain Bush Administration critics will be all over this Washington Post article with the "Bush Lied - People Died" meme. It looks to me like the Administration had a pre-conceived notion leading them to distrust the intelligence community because it missed several key events:

But the Bush administration had reasons to imagine the worst. The CIA had faced searing criticism for its failures to foresee India's resumption of nuclear testing in 1998 and to "connect the dots" pointing to al Qaeda's attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Cheney, the administration's most influential advocate of a worst-case analysis, had been powerfully influenced by his experience as defense secretary just after the Persian Gulf War of 1991.

Former National Security Council official Richard A. Clarke recalled how information from freshly seized Iraqi documents disclosed the existence of a "crash program" to build a bomb in 1991. The CIA had known nothing of it.

"I can understand why that was a seminal experience for Cheney," Clarke said. "And when the CIA says [in 2002], 'We don't have any evidence,' his reaction is . . . 'We didn't have any evidence in 1991, either. Why should I believe you now?' "

Still, the article makes it clear that the Iraqi government was seeking nuclear weapons, just that they weren't immanent. Since that was not the most important reason I wanted to go the war I am not bothered by this. I am more worried about the damage to Bush the candidate. I have seen this pattern followed many times when business or political decisions are made. I would call it "a pattern of self deception in an uncertain situation". Bush's enemies will just call it "a pattern of deception". It is in my interest to cut the administration some slack and it is in their interest to pull the noose tight. Ain't politics fun!

Site Plumbing

I submitted my site to Blogwise, a blog directory, and Daypop, a a current events/weblog/news search engine, which also ranks blogs like the Ecosystem. I also submitted to Popdex, which is like Technorati.

Our Childhoods

Mom says she likes it when I write like this. She says I should write something like it every day.

James Lilek writes something like that almost every day, only longer and better written. Yesterday he wrote about going home to Fargo. Today he continued his visit.

Since James grew up at the same time as I, his memories remind me of mine. We shopped at Ben Franklin. We went to Sambo's when I was a kid. I think we actually had "a clever colored boy" on our menus, rather than Fargo's Brahmin Sambo. Kansas City has been called the most northern city in the South, so I guess the corporate heads at Sambo's thought the clever colored boy would play well here, although I have always lived on the Free-State side of town, which I guess would be the most southern city in the North. But here in the smallest metro in the Major Leagues nearly all of the Sixties was wiped away by progress, so you really have to look to see what remains. When I go the Toon Shop in Prairie Village that old strip mall brings vague memories of how it was back then to the surface, disrupted only by the Wendy's around the corner. Driving along Johnson Drive in Mission has the same effect. I like the progress, but I also liked the Sixties.

Trackback Is Cool

By the way, if you want to use Trackback to let other bloggers know when you post about one of their entries, try this handy Bookmarket from Kevin on his Wizbang Tech site. So far I have not found a way to add Trackback to my own posts, since I am using Blogger, not Moveable Type.

Blogger Fix?

Annika discovered she couldn't scroll on my site. I asked her to try again in her comments, since I had a similar problem and it is working now, and bless her, she did. Still not working.

Ted Phipps pointed me to Kevin, who posted this fix at Wizbang Tech. Thanks, Ted and a big round of applause to Kevin!

I'll ask Annika if it is working now. I've crossed my fingers, thrown salt over my left shoulder, stroked my rabbit's foot and kissed my four-leaf clover. I would pray, but I think God has better things to do than fix Blogger templates. On the other hand, maybe that is why he sent us Kevin...

This Is Your Brain In Self-Defense

Annika uses her best weapon, her brain, to defend herself. Excerpt:

But then i noticed that the Mustang was going a bit too slowly, almost like the driver was waiting to see whether i would continue straight or make a turn at that intersection, where i was now stopped. In fact, it was driving way too slowly to be doing anything else. i felt a sudden adrenaline rush of fear.

Orange light!

i waited a second more, then i made a quick left turn and drove up a half a block. This neighborhood is entirely residential and where i had turned there were no streetlights and it was very dark. i decided to make a u-turn and then head south to Ventura Boulevard, which was a major street about a half mile away.

Sure enough, when i crossed over the intersection where the Mustang had lingered, i noticed that the driver had also made a u-turn and was coming back my way. i was safe however, since i was now headed toward Ventura Boulevard, where there were usually lots of cars including LAPD, even late at night. The Mustang did not follow me.

After i hit Ventura i doubled back and made it home by an alternate route. But my Threat Warning System worked again, thankfully. By paying attention to my yellow light, i prevented the red light from becoming lit.

Some of her readers noticed the similarity between her system and Jeff Cooper's.

Self-Defense Is A Human Right

Why aren't eighteen to twenty-one year-olds allowed to own a handgun to defend themselves? Are they bulletproof? (I know I thought I was.) Are they expendable? When I was younger, I was poor, and I lived in some rotten neighborhoods. Most of us don't have money when we are young so a rotten neighborhood or two might come with the territory. I wasn't wise enough to be aware of crime at 18. Why isn't someone wiser than me allowed to defend himself?

I would enthusiastically support a federal law extending the gun rights age to 18 from 21 and explicitly referencing the second and fourteenth amendments in applying it to the states. If you are old enough to enlist, you are old enough to possess your own handgun.

Why do some governments restrict non-lethal weapons? They don't kill people. Massachesetts requires a $100 license for a non-lethal weapon. In Canada you are allowed to carry pepper spray, but only for use on animals. I thought gun-grabbers would love non-lethal weapons. The more fool me. If you don't believe that gun-grabbers hate self-defense, look no further than these tyrannical, draconian laws.

As regards non-lethal weapons I would also enthusiastically support a federal law explicitly forbidding the states from taxing, licensing or restricting in any way the sales, possession and carrying of non-lethal weapons by any person over the age of fourteen. It should also reference the second and fourteenth amendments in applying it to the states. Incrementalism should not be a tactic for gun-grabbers only.

Actually, the idea that the state should restrict the rights of a free people to properly defend themselves should cause such a visceral response in our legislators that the mere suggestion that non-lethal weapons (much less lethal ones) should be regulated should cause the following series of events:

If the speaker is a man:

1. At least half the legislators should rise to their feet in sudden fury.
2. At least one-twelfth should rush the speaker with the intent to rain physical blows upon him.
3. The remainder of the standing legislators should begin haranguing the speaker, then turn and restrain the twelfth.
4. Those among the half who are men should attempt to restrain the women who rush the speaker, but it should cause them grave mental distress.
5. The restraint should fail to the extent that one to four hard blows impact the speaker.
6. After order is restored a resolution should be immediately passed condemning the notion.

If the speaker is a woman:

1. At least half the legislators should rise to their feet in sudden fury.
2. At least one-twelfth should rush the speaker with the intent to rain physical blows upon her.
3. The remainder of the standing legislators should begin haranguing the speaker, then turn and restrain the twelfth.
4. Those among the twelfth who are men should restrain themselves from striking the woman, but with difficulty.
5. Those among the half who are men should attempt to restrain the women who rush the speaker, but it should cause them grave mental distress.
6. The restraint should fail to the extent that one to four hard blows impact the speaker.
7. After order is restored a resolution should be immediately passed condemning the notion.

Inspired by Kim du Toit's posting a sample letter, and his implied lament that 18 year-old are not allowed to defend themselves.

Secularization Is Anathema To Me

The secularization of our media, our literature and our daily lives is anathema to me. It appears to be so easy to place God in a box and leave Him out of all we do. If you are an atheist or an agnostic I can see that you would never mention God, but Christians should note His presence every once in a while. God should not be absent from our newspapers, our TV shows, our magazines, our books, our schools and our workplace.

Why can't we have a TV show with an Atheist, a Christian, a Jew and a Muslim just like the shows with an Asian, a Black, a Hispanic and a White? Why don't some of the characters in our dramas routinely go to church without comment? Why are so many novels written as if neither God nor religion ever entered a human being's thoughts?

So if you believe in God, let Him filter into your writing. And if you don't, please don't think I'm trying to cram God down your throat. I'm just trying to avoid having secularism crammed down mine.

Is It Me, Or Is It Blogger?

My permanent links aren't working, even when I republish my archives. Urg. This is ruining my new About Me link.

About Me, Wince

I am a weak Christian, who attends a large Church of Christ (liberal branch). I pray every night with my children, whenever I feel desperate, and occasionally when the wonder of life overwhelms me. I worship most Sundays, unless there is an emergency or an implementation at work. I have ranged from a devout Catholic, to an agnostic, to an atheistic, to a devout Protestant, back through agnosticism and atheism to where I am today. Like Thomas, I doubt. Unlike Thomas I have not seen the holes in His hands, so I still doubt. I am not asking for a miracle, but I would not be offended to witness one. In this blog I hope to mention God every so often.

I am a husband to my wife.

I am a father to my daughters.

I am a son to my parents.

I am a brother to my brother and my youngest sister, and will be to my oldest sister if she ever ends her self-imposed exile.

I am a friend to my friends, although you wouldn't know it considering how much time I spend at work lately. Luckily I've made some new friends at work.

I read compulsively.

I provide Production Support for a small part of a large software system.

I believe in objective truth.

I believe opinions are easy, but truth is hard.

I think rusty barges are beautiful.

I am an American citizen.

I am a Republican, but I used to be a Democrat. I was a liberal, but then they changed what liberal means.

I supported the war in Iraq after a long bout of indecisiveness. Stephen Den Beste helped me decide the war was a good idea. Jerry Pournelle made me worry it was not.

I believe in human rights.

I believe that the right to bear arms is a human right. I used to believe in gun-control because I was worried about crime, but I worried about it because I always believed that self-defense was a basic human right. Now I know that gun control is wrong, my worries were right, and that disarming responsible people does not decrease crime, it increases it.

I like to target shoot, especially with pistols.

I believe Bill Maher is wrong about many things, but not Political Correctness.

I believe Social Security is a ponzi scheme which would have worked fine (other than the socialism) if we had kept having lots of kids and stopped improving our health care system. Now it is the main way for people to vote themselves more money.

I believe in fiscal responsibility.

I believe the welfare system had the unfortunate side-effect of keeping at least some people down and poor, but I know that it has helped some folks. I believe that Capitalism is the worst system imaginable for the poor, ecology and the human race, except for all the others we've tried.

I am a sports fan.

I love to write, which is the main reason I blog. I do hope people read this stuff, though. I want my wife to read it, my children to read it someday, my parents to read it, my siblings to read it, my other relatives and my friends to read it. I hope that some of the people who write the blogs I love will read it. I trust that God has read and is reading it. That worries me a little, especially with a piece as egotistical as this one.

I think it was Annika who said she wouldn't read a blog without an "About Me" section. Well now I have one.

The French Are A Pain

The Russian Dilettante doesn't get why all the French bashing. He also points out that they aren't all that fond of surrendering.

Well, I liked the French well enough to take French in high school. I know that the French surrender jokes are no more true than the previous Italian ones. (Note: I am half Italian, so I could be biased.) Both fought hard and died like crazy in many wars. Like everybody, including the English and the Americans (at least the Confederates, including some of my ancestors) they occasionally were forced to surrender. Maybe I can explain it.

The Free French were a pain during WWII. Patton wanted to bypass Paris and attack the German Army, but De Gaulle would not have it. The French were a pain during Vietnam. We should have bought off Ho Chi Minh so he became our ally against the Chinese (whom he really feared), told De Gaulle to stuff it, and never had to fight in Vietnam. The French were a pain about NATO, pulling their forces out, etc.

The French have always been our least reliable allies. Sure, they fight hard, but they seem to believe their vast experience gives them a Senior Partner Veto over everything the US does. The French way of doing things, however, with its utterly cynical power politics and its elitist intelligentsia, does not play well in Peoria (or with me). Right now the French are working at deliberate cross purposes to the US in terms of national security, trade, the EU, Kyoto and international law. Their obvious goals are to maximize French power at the expense of US power. To pretend that we are allies now rubs me the wrong way. It ain't just about Iraq.

Walking In The Rain

Today my middle daughter, the six year old with the soft voice and the steady gaze, walked with me to the optometrist to pick up her new prescription. It is only three blocks, but we had to hurry since they would close soon. It was raining, drizzling really, so I opened up the big golf umbrella with the red and white panels. We stepped out into the rain, my left hand holding the umbrella and her glasses case, my right hand cradling hers. The gentle breeze, magnified by the umbrella's size, twitched it vigorously in my grip. "Let's cross the street quickly, sweetie," I said, a refrain I repeated at every crossing. It was a mistake to describe my daughter's motion as walking. My girls do not walk, they skip, hop and dance, so my right hand moved as unpredictably as my left. What a treat for the senses! The gentle patter of the rain on our umbrella was interrupted by the loud whoosh and splatter of the cars along the busy street. We ducked under the low hanging branches of trees decked out in all their summer glory, their leaves brushing the top of the umbrella with a swishing sound. Occasionally we were forced to leave the sidewalk to avoid them. Every so often I could feel her hair brush my elbow. The deep green of the leaves, the weathered gray of a privacy fence, the reddish brown of wood chips and the wisps of steam billowing from the car's fenders as the rain contacted the hot engines were a treat for the eyes as well.

I thank God I am alive, and that I can share His world with my wife and our daughters.

Bring Back The Republic

I think the rallying document for the Constitutionalist Party has been written. Step one: Get the Supreme Court to declare as unconstitutional all state laws which disallow two political parties from nominating the same candidate for an office and having him appear on the ballot as such. Strengthening third parties makes it easier for good but not mainstream ideas (like the return to a Constitutional Republic) to become mainstream ideas.

Via Kim du Toit.